Ghost Bride 2

Chapter 13

Together with him, I watched the two men commit the crime, hanging Shi Quan's body from the bathroom pipe to make it look like a suicide.

Just then, someone else pushed the door open and came in...

"Turn off the tap! What a waste!"

Suddenly someone passed by the washroom and shouted at me.

I felt like I was just snapping out of a hysteria, suddenly snapping back to reality. The water had overflowed the basin, and the entire pool was filled with white foam. I wasn't dreaming; my eyes had been open the whole time, yet I had witnessed Shi Quan's murder. That must have happened seven years ago, and I was actually there?

Looking back, Shi Quan was nowhere to be seen.

It seems this vengeful spirit is quite powerful, able to infiltrate my cerebral cortex and interfere, forcibly grafting his memories onto me.

Feeling anxious and uneasy, I put the freshly washed clothes back into the laundry detergent...

When I carried the basin back to the dormitory, Apple sat on the edge of my bed, looking at me and smiling, her eyes sparkling.

"When did you get back? I was doing laundry and didn't see you pass by the washroom." I took out the clothes rack and hung the clothes on it one by one, leaving a wet patch on the floor.

"Don't rush, come here." She beckoned to me, smiling charmingly.

"You didn't do anything bad, did you?"

She gave me a dry, forced laugh.

I had a feeling of being watched by the Japanese, afraid they were setting a trap for me: "Why do I feel like you don't usually smile like this?"

"How can you laugh like that?" She reached out and pulled me over to sit next to her.

"Anyway, you shouldn't be smiling like that. Your face could practically burst into fireworks right now."

She just chuckled dryly and said, "Here, have some." She then produced a box of pineapple cakes from behind her back and placed it in front of me.

Where did it come from?

"If they're offering you food, then eat it!" That smile is a bit like a fox's.

I can't fall for that: "I won't eat it until you explain it clearly."

"Oh! I'm treating you to a meal, why are you being so formal?"

"real?"

"real!"

"You're nodding like a leaf, do you think I'm stupid?" I patted Apple's smooth forehead. "This is a southern snack. You never eat this stuff, and you don't have any relatives in the south. Tell me honestly where it came from."

"Sigh!" She suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon, listless. "Why are you so silly when you should be smart, and so clever when you shouldn't be?"

"Quick! Confess!" I pointed my finger at her ticklish spot, making a gun shape with it. "Confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and you'll be punished severely!"

She rolled her eyes at me: "I knew this wouldn't work. This stinky Jeep, it just keeps poking at me..."

"You haven't been bribed by someone, have you?" I stared at her like I was interrogating a spy.

"After you left this afternoon, Da Jipu and that Mo Yan became like brothers, acting like family. He even said he would help him pursue you. Mo Yan's hometown is Guangxi, and he brought these pineapple cakes from home. He asked me to bring them to you... Oh dear! I've never been a matchmaker before, how was I supposed to know this would be so difficult?"

I tidied up my clothes rack and hung the clothes up: "What's so difficult about that? Just take the snacks back to them and tell them you can't do it."

"How can you say that? I patted my chest and guaranteed to Stinky Jeep that with me in charge, it will definitely work..." She stopped mid-sentence.

I turned to look at her: "Didn't you say the Jeep was going to poke you? Why are you making a solemn promise now?"

"Oh dear! He said all that at once. Anyway, it was the Jeep who dragged me here. I refused, so he used reverse psychology, saying that we weren't that close, and he didn't care about my affairs at all. After he provoked me like that, I had no choice but to come."

"Are you stupid? You've been tricked by a man all along!" I bumped my head against her forehead, laughing just as foolishly.

"Who said that? He has to listen to me!"

“Really? Great! Tell him I already have a boyfriend, and tell him not to worry. Also, advise that silly Mo Yan to give up and not waste his precious youth.”

"Ruoxi, are you really out of your mind?" She came up and touched my forehead. "You don't have a fever."

Section 34: Case Tracking (3)

What are you thinking about?

"But...the great forest is already..."

"He's gone. I know. I'm not sick."

"You can't live in the past forever. People used to say that the best way to forget a relationship is to start a new one. You can try it! You yourself once said that if you stand in the shade for too long, you forget that the world also has the warmth of sunshine. You have to free yourself!"

"You little brat!" I shushed her. "You talk like it's the truth."

“That’s true!” she said, mimicking the accent of Hunan TV host Wang Han, shaking her head.

"I will."

I waited with hope for the return of the great forest, neglecting the presence of Mingyang beside me. But now that they're both gone, I realize I long for more than just their spirits; I long for their return too! My heart is still turbulent, rippling with unending waves, hoping only that they will both come back…

"Lan Ruoxi! Someone is looking for you at the door!" The loudspeaker in the gatehouse blared.

Looking for me? Who would be looking for me?

Could it be that Mingyang has returned?

I was so excited that I knocked over the clothes hanger on the storage shelf and ran towards the dormitory door...

I ran up to him and froze. The person who came to find me wasn't Mingyang.

It is Shi Mei.

“I’ve seen you before, where…you look familiar.” She looked at me, her mouth wide open, her almond-shaped eyes wide.

“Yes, on the long-distance bus.” I reminded her, and she rolled up her sleeves.

There's no escaping it; what's meant to happen will happen sooner or later.

"Yes, yes, on the bus, you gave me water, and I even saw your student ID. You and my brother go to the same school, he..." Her smile suddenly froze. "I searched all day to find this phone number and address. Did you call me last night?"

I nodded.

"You said your brother asked me to pass on a message to you?"

I nodded in affirmation: "Your brother."

"You...you didn't see his spirit, did you?"

I lowered my eyelids, looked at my reddened fingers, and nodded.

"So, you..." She suddenly rushed over, grabbed my shoulders tightly, and said excitedly, "When have you ever met my brother?"

How should I put it?

“Do you know, because of your phone call last night, my whole family couldn’t sleep all night. My brother’s image kept appearing in my mind. I told my husband that I must find the girl who called me, no matter what her motive was, I would be grateful to her. I’ve been looking for the murderer for seven years. Seven years without any news, not a single clue, the leads kept going cold. Every time I dream of my brother standing by my bedside, covered in blood, watching me… I… I feel so bad…” She choked up, unable to speak.

“I saw him last night,” I said calmly. “I’m someone who can see ghosts.”

Her lips trembled a few times.

“The phone call last night was made by your brother at my request… I saw him not only yesterday, but I saw him today too.”

What did he say to you?

"He recounted the events surrounding his murder."

"Oh." She lowered her head, her eyelashes drooping.

"After he was strangled, he was dragged into the bathroom and hung from the pipe to create the illusion of suicide. That's when you came back..." I really don't know the rest; I was interrupted.

She suddenly raised her head and stared straight into my eyes.

"You want to ask me why, since I witnessed the people who killed my brother, I didn't arrest them then, but instead spent seven years searching for them?"

"I won't force you if you don't want to talk about it." I turned to leave.

She called out to me, "Don't go! Wait! I'll tell you everything. Please also tell me what your brother left behind. I'll do whatever he asks me to do."

"You love your brother very much?"

“I only have this one younger brother.” Her eyes reddened.

He said that if you help him find the murderer, you will have to pay back your debts and repay your life with your life.

“Okay… I’ll tell you what happened that day. Although the police have questioned me many times, all these years… I’ve always been reluctant to think about it…” Shi Mei choked up as she spoke. “That night, when I got home, I saw that things in the living room had been moved. The coffee table looked like it had been kicked over, and there were broken glasses everywhere, with shards all over the floor. But before I could see clearly, my mouth was gagged, and another person immediately grabbed a rope and tried to strangle me. I struggled and begged for mercy, pleading with them not to kill me. I have a baby at home who is just a month old and still breastfeeding. I can’t let my child lose his mother so soon after birth.”

Section 35: Case Investigation (4)

Oh! I see. I understand. Once a woman becomes a mother, she values her child more than life itself.

"The man who was about to strangle me with the rope suddenly stopped. The man who was covering my mouth asked him, 'Why aren't you doing it yet?' The man said, 'Come to the inner room. I have something to discuss with you.' They released me temporarily and went to the inner room to talk behind closed doors. I couldn't catch my breath and crawled to the door to listen. What they said terrified me."

Murderer A: Why didn't you kill her? Murderer B: I couldn't bring myself to do it. Murderer A: Why? Murderer B: I killed that guy because my wife just gave birth, and we didn't have money for baby formula. I wanted to make some money, not kill more people. Murderer A: Killing one is the same as killing ten. This woman has already seen what we look like. If you don't kill her, and she finds out you killed her brother, she'll want your life. Murderer B: Do I have to kill her? Murderer A: If I can't bring myself to do it, I'll lose my own life! If you want to live, you have to silence her!

"I was terrified listening outside the door, so scared that I couldn't stand up. At that time, I knew that Shi Quan had been killed, but I thought I couldn't die here too. I had to go out and deliver the message, and save as many people as possible."

"Fortunately, I managed to break free of the ropes binding my feet. I stumbled down the stairs, my legs were weak, and I fell several times on the steps."

"After I called the police, my house was empty. Only two thousand yuan in cash was missing, but my brother lost his life."

I felt bad, but that's only natural. Her desire to survive was instinctive, and it can't be considered abandoning her brother.

"Has the murderer still not been caught after your brother's death?"

"No, the leads went cold several times. We arrested a lot of suspects, but none of them were the real culprit."

"Is your father still doing business and hasn't come back yet?"

"No, when Father learned of his younger brother's early death, he returned from the border in a daze. He sold the nightclub and handed over the hotel to a friend to manage, his mind solely focused on avenging Shi Quan. Every day, he hired more than twenty people to distribute thousands of advertisements on the street seeking information from witnesses. As soon as there was a clue, he would rush there day and night. He struggled his whole life, spending half his life savings on finding his son's killer. But after searching for several years, all his efforts were in vain. Every time he went out with high hopes, he returned disappointed."

"Shi Quan said that he and you depend on each other for survival and rarely see his father. He thinks his father doesn't love him, but actually... that's not the case."

“After my brother died, I said some very harsh words, which hurt my father’s heart. He blamed me for not taking good care of my brother, and I scolded him for only knowing how to do business and never caring about us. In fact, he was very bitter. My father lost his mother at the age of sixteen, his wife at the age of thirty-six, and his son at the age of fifty-six. All three of life’s greatest misfortunes befell him. His stubborn spine did not bend, and his strong head refused to bow. For him, seeking justice for his son and catching the murderer was the only belief that kept him alive.”

"You and your daughter have had a really tough time..." I have no better words to comfort you. The pain of losing a loved one can only be truly felt by someone who has experienced it firsthand.

“I haven’t suffered nearly as much as my father over the years; he’s the one who truly suffered. I still have a home, children, and a husband, but he has nothing. Chinese people believe in old-fashioned ways; a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup. I asked him to move in with me, and I would take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days, but he refused. He preferred to live the life of an ascetic, punishing himself with solitude. The only belief that sustained him was to catch the murderer as soon as possible. He told me that he also dreamed of my brother, and dreamed that General Shi Quan cried to him, begging, ‘Dad, avenge me! I died unjustly!’” Shi Mei squatted down, sobbing uncontrollably.

I cannot console them. Humans are driven by greed and selfishness, seeking to destroy others to fulfill their own desires. Yet, humans possess an innate nature that yearns for nature, kindness, and harmony. What has caused this innate nature to be extinguished? In today's materialistic world, where has humanity's most primal innocence and purity gone? Can a heart clouded by dust still be considered human?

A house full of gold is not as valuable as a family reunion and peace. One should not speak carelessly, lest one invite trouble and disaster.

“What can I do for you?” I asked her.

Will we ever see Shi Quan again?

It's easy for ghosts to find people, but difficult for people to find ghosts.