Sleepy Valley - Chapter 22
Then there must be another reason. Thinking this way, he seemed to understand Tang Wan's pain, and surprisingly, he felt a strange sensation for the girl on the bed. He thought of that night when he spied on her from the cliff. He had only been watching from afar, yet he felt such deep fear, and couldn't wait to leave Sleeping Valley the next day. Tang Wan, on the other hand, was right there in that scene. Although she might not be able to fully perceive it, people always have some kind of sixth sense, right?
He suddenly felt a great deal of sympathy for the girl in front of him.
Even in her nightmares, Tang Wan retained her unique beauty—a melancholic, terrified, and helpless beauty—more captivating than any seductive or sexy allure. It easily awakened the most primal desires deep within human nature. This beauty was unguarded; it was fully revealed before you, and you only needed to reach out to easily grasp it.
He stared at Tang Wan and suddenly felt some subtle changes in his body.
This was unbelievable. He was a normal man, but lust was something he had tried so hard to rid himself of over the years. He was ashamed to face his own body, so how could he expose it to a woman? Therefore, he preferred to release that energy himself, sometimes for days on end, exhausting himself completely. That way, he could maintain a peaceful state of mind for the next few days. In his eyes, women were creatures he loathed because they had the most worldly perspectives; they always had ulterior motives when they approached a man. They were clearly as lowly as a female dog, yet they insisted on dressing themselves up like princesses.
He had almost forgotten what it felt like to be impulsive for a woman.
But now, facing a woman whose body was buried in the blankets and only her head was showing, he suddenly felt an impulse, and the impulse was so strong that he could hardly control it.
Later, he turned off the lights and managed to calm himself down in the darkness.
In the darkness, he recalled the women he had once abducted, all of whom had shown fear before him, some even kneeling and begging. He could have easily possessed them if he so desired. But the more such women they were, the more he loathed them. Why was Tang Wan so different? Was it because of her innate melancholy, her deep-seated helplessness?
He was bewildered until Tang Wan woke up, then huddled under the covers, trembling.
Tang Wan's trembling aroused him again, and he couldn't resist reaching out to gently touch her cheek. Just then, the blanket suddenly flew up, completely covering him. Then, he followed Tang Wan onto the street.
Tang Wan's figure had already disappeared from sight. He thought sadly, "Could it be that I have fallen in love with this girl?"
He quickly dismissed the thought, knowing he would never love any woman in his life. But why did his body still tremble incessantly in the darkness?
Chapter 22: The Murderer's Secret
The person who died that night was a Tima from the town. Tima is a colloquial term of the Tujia people living in the Wuling Mountains, meaning someone who worships gods and bodhisattvas, essentially a "shaman" or "witch." The Wuling Mountains are located at the junction of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces, hundreds of kilometers from Sleeping Valley. Legend has it that during the Qianlong era, when an official surnamed Chen was exiled to the Sleeping Valley region, the people living there were Tujia. After hundreds of years of vicissitudes, only a few Tujia families remain in Sleeping Valley, but some of their customs and traditions have been preserved.
Tima are shamans among the Tujia ethnic group. The Tima of Sleeping Valley is named Tian Yangzong. Three years ago, after his father passed away, he became the new Tima of Sleeping Valley. The peak season for Tima activities is from the autumn harvest to the following spring. When shamanic rituals are less busy, Timas live and work like ordinary people. The sacred duties of a Tima mainly include presiding over large-scale group shamanic rituals, presiding over family-based shamanic rituals for the purposes of seeking offspring, praying for blessings, warding off disasters, and redeeming souls, as well as consulting the gods, divination, and practicing shamanic medicine. In recent years, Tima activities have greatly decreased; large-scale shamanic rituals are not held for many years, but many people in the town still prefer to see shamanic doctors when they are sick.
This Tianyangzong Tima possessed considerable supernatural abilities. Not long after he succeeded his father as Tima, a mother brought a three- or four-year-old boy to see the shaman. The little boy's face was ashen, his eyes tightly closed, and his forehead was covered in sweat; he was already unconscious. Tianyangzong Tima touched the child's stomach and, with his eyes closed, muttered incantations. After two or three minutes, he said, "It's alright. Take the child back, shoot three arrows directly at the house, then sprinkle some water and rice, and he will be fine." The next day, the woman came to thank him, and the little boy woke up that very night.
On another occasion, Tian Yangzong performed a ritual to drive away a white tiger from a newborn girl who was only seven or eight days old and had suddenly started foaming at the mouth and nearly died. He took a large red-crested, red-feathered rooster that the girl's family had prepared beforehand, bit open its comb, and smeared the rooster's blood on the girl's forehead. Then, holding the rooster and a peach branch in one hand, he scattered soaked rice and millet from inside the house with the other, chanting incantations as he waved the peach branch in a scare-inducing manner. About two hours later, the tima (a local deity) said that the white tiger had been driven away, and the girl gradually regained consciousness.
After these two incidents, Tianyangzong Tima earned the trust and respect of the people in Sleeping Valley.
But now, young Tianyangzong Tima has died in the alley in front of her own house. The news spread quickly throughout Sleeping Valley, and people flocked to Tima's house from all directions early in the morning.
Tima's death was gruesome. He had been stabbed at least ten times in the chest, and his face had multiple slash marks. The fatal wound was a slit in the throat. Tima's blood stained ten bluestone slabs, and his entire body lay in a pool of blood.
The crowd that had arrived became angry, angry out of fear.
The person who killed Tima must be a devil!
Some shouted out the name of the Yaksha, while others yelled, "If our ancestors could kill him, we can kill him again!" Many more were eager to unite and fight the Yaksha.
If the perpetrator was indeed Yaksha, he had already killed three people in the town, but he shouldn't have chosen Tima as his target. Tima held a very important place in the hearts of everyone in the town.
The alley in front of Tima's house was already packed with people, all of them excited and creating quite a noisy scene.
Just then, Tima's twelve-year-old son suddenly stood up and shouted in a sorrowful and hateful voice, "It wasn't a Yaksha who killed Tima, it was a stranger!"
If dealing with Yakshas could still instill fear in many people, now, no one is afraid anymore.
The twelve-year-old son of Tima said again, "I know that stranger, I know where he lives!"
Thus, the twelve-year-old son of Tima suddenly became the leader of the entire town. Everyone surrounded him, and they marched out of the alley, across the iron chain bridge, into another alley in the east of the town, and then stopped in front of a door. With a wave of his hand, the son of Tima sent people flooding into the small courtyard like a flood, and those who couldn't get in surrounded the house.
After learning what had happened, a frightened elderly couple silently retreated back to their room. Several burly men rushed into the west wing, where they found a man who, while not tall, was exceptionally strong. The man was clearly unprepared for what was happening and, before he could even speak, was knocked to the ground. The men who had rushed in continued to beat the stranger until he lay motionless on the ground.
So the outsiders were tied up and pushed out the door. Some people were still not satisfied and smashed things inside the house before they stopped and left.
The crowd had filled the entire alley, and when the outsider came out, he was beaten again.
Someone pointed at him and shouted, "He has several accomplices who are also in town now."
So, the excited crowd, escorting the stranger, reappeared in a grand procession on the street. This time, their target was the Night Sleep Inn, located in the middle of the street.
Perhaps due to the effects of the sedative, Tang Wan didn't wake up until the early morning.
First, her hand trembled slightly, then she called out Tan Dong's name before opening her eyes. Instead of Tan Dong, she saw Sha Bo. She exclaimed in surprise, then realized she was still tightly holding Sha Bo's hand. She quickly withdrew her hand, her face flushed.
"You're awake," Shabo said softly, his face flushed despite not having slept all night.
"How did I get here? Where is Tan Dong?" Tang Wan asked.
Sha Bo hesitated, unsure how to answer Tang Wan's question. Tang Wan, waiting for no reply, quickly sat up, realizing she was still in her pajamas. She crossed her arms in surprise, asking, "What happened? How did I get here? Where did Tan Dong go?"
This was a question with no answer, and Shabo looked at her with a hint of guilt, as if it were all his fault. Tang Wan calmed herself down, recalling a nightmare she seemed to have had last night, in which she was being chased by that dark figure again. She kept running, and on that small street, she vaguely saw two people running towards her.
"Could it be... could it be that what happened last night wasn't a dream?" Her fear deepened.
"What did you dream about?" Shabo said softly. "Don't be afraid. You're safe with us now."
Qin Ge then walked to the bedside and greeted Tang Wan with a smile.
Tang Wan felt a little relieved, but then she thought of something that terrified her even more: Tan Dong was missing. If what happened last night was true, then when she woke up in the middle of the night, Tan Dong was no longer by her side.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She murmured, "He's gone. He's finally abandoned me."
She recalled Tan Dong's unusual behavior that evening, the gardenia he had trampled into the mud, and his slightly hunched back as he stood beside the flower. She groaned in despair, and her body began to tremble again.
Shabo put his arms around her shoulders, bewildered by the sudden surge of emotion in the girl before him. He tightened his grip, forcing Tang Wan to face him: "No one can hurt you now. What are you so afraid of?"
"Tan Dong is gone, and there's no one left to protect me," Tang Wan cried out hoarsely.
“Everyone here will protect you!” Shabo said emphatically. He suddenly cupped Tang Wan’s face, forcing her to look directly at him. “I don’t know what you’re afraid of. This is a society governed by law. No one can hurt others at will. Even if someone could, there are so many good people in this world who will protect you and keep you safe. But you have to pull yourself together first. No one is born weak!”
Tang Wan listened blankly, tears still streaming down her face, her body convulsing from sobbing. Sha Bo gently said again, "Alright, don't cry anymore. I'll go with you to find Tan Dong, okay?"
Tang Wan shook her head heavily, wanting to say that Tan Dong had already left her, but she was choked up and couldn't speak. Then she nodded repeatedly, still hoping to find Tan Dong and ask him how he could bear to abandon her.
Qin Ge went to the bathroom to get a towel, handed it to Tang Wan, patted Sha Bo on the shoulder, and whispered, "Let her calm down on her own."
Shabo hesitated for a moment before standing up.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Tang Wan, lying on the bed, perked up instantly, her strength returning in a flash. She rolled off the bed barefoot and, without allowing Qin Ge and Sha Bo to stop her, was already at the door. She called out, "It must be Tan Dong who saw I wasn't here and came looking for me, it must be him."
The door opened, and Tang Wan stood there blankly, then her body went limp. Fortunately, Qin Ge and Sha Bo were already in front of her and helped her up. Tang Wan's face was once again filled with fear.
The person standing outside the door, dressed in black with a cold expression, was none other than the skinny man.
"What are you doing here?" Shabo asked in a deep voice, unconsciously developing some hostility towards the skinny man.
"I've come to tell you the truth."
“What truth?” Shabo said, helping Tang Wan back to sit on the bed. He stood in front of Tang Wan, “Right now, I just want to know why you came to Sleepy Hollow.”
Tang Wan seemed stunned by the sudden appearance of the thin man. She sat there blankly, silently shedding tears.
Qin Ge stepped forward and whispered to the skinny man, "Let's talk outside."
“Right here, in front of her.” The skinny man pointed at Tang Wan. “I feel there are some things she has the right to know.”
"That depends on whether she's willing to listen to you," Qin Ge said, her voice tinged with hostility.
Shabo turned to Tang Wan and said softly, "Are you willing to listen to what he has to say?"
Tang Wan showed no reaction and continued to weep silently.
Qin Ge stepped forward and gestured for them to come out: "If you really want to say something to us, then come out with me. Her current mental state really can't withstand any more stimulation."
“Telling her the truth is helping her. Your superficial attempts to protect her are actually harming her,” the skinny man said. “I used to be a doctor, and I know how to treat patients.”
"You're a doctor?" Qin Ge blurted out, "Then what about that note on Sabo's bed?"
"I left it behind," the skinny man readily admitted.
"Do you know what happened last night?"
The skinny man nodded: "I thought that after you found the note, you would have gone to find her sooner, so that you would have known what had happened without me having to tell you. But you were too slow."
"What exactly happened last night?" Qin Ge's tone had softened.
The skinny man glanced at Tang Wan: "I came to you to tell you the truth, but now I need to know whether she," he pointed at Tang Wan again, "also wants to know, just like you do."
Tang Wan suddenly nodded forcefully, so forcefully that tears welled up in her eyes and flew up, landing on Sha Bo's face beside her. "I want to know," Tang Wan said.
The skinny man took a step closer to Tang Wan: "But before I tell you the truth, you have to do one thing first."
"What is it?" Shabo asked eagerly.
The skinny man ignored Shabo and stared at Tang Wan with a gloomy look: "You must apologize to me first, and then we can both be free."
"Apologize?" Tang Wan asked, puzzled. Sha Bo and Qin Ge beside her also looked confused.
“I think you must not have forgotten that the first time we met was in the elevator of your company. At that time, you were with a girl named Yuan Li.”
Tang Wan understood immediately. Without hesitation, she whispered, "I'm sorry. If we hurt you back then, I apologize to you now."
The skinny man didn't speak, staring blankly at Tang Wan. After a long while, he suddenly let out a long sigh, and his gaze finally softened. He said, "So this is how easy it is to forgive someone."
Tang Wan was also taken aback. When she looked at the skinny man again, she suddenly no longer felt the panic she had before. She seemed to understand the meaning of the skinny man's words, yet she didn't seem to fully understand them, but that was enough.
The skinny man turned around, took two steps back, and surprisingly stopped looking at Tang Wan. His voice became more frank: "You want to know why I came to Sleepy Valley? I'll tell you now, it's because of her. She once mocked me to one of her colleagues in the elevator, so I had to get revenge."
"Just because she made fun of you, you traveled all this way to get here?" Qin Ge asked incredulously.
"Yes, I once swore that I would never let anyone mock me. All those who have mocked me will pay the price."
"Yuan Li!" Tang Wan suddenly called out the name from beside the bed.
The skinny man was still facing Qin Ge: "That girl named Yuan Li is dead. Don't think I killed her. I was just punishing her. As a result, she couldn't take the shock and walked into the Rose River."
Qin Ge suddenly became angry: "Who gave you the right to punish others?"
“Heavens!” the skinny man said heavily, “Cause and effect is the law of Heaven, but not all causes in this world will have effects. This is the injustice of Heaven. If Heaven is unjust, then I will make it just myself.”
Qin Ge was speechless for a moment, unable to utter a word. The skinny man's words were theoretically irrefutable; there were too many unfair things in the world, too much good being bullied by evil, and the idea that good deeds were rewarded and evil deeds punished only existed in our ideals. However, Qin Ge still felt there was something wrong with the skinny man's words, but she couldn't immediately pinpoint what it was.
Tang Wan stared blankly at the skinny man. She completely believed what he said: Yuan Li was dead. No wonder she felt so terrified when she saw the skinny man again in that Yi town. It turned out that she had already sensed the murderous aura emanating from him back then.
“I’m not here to talk to you about the heavens. I’m here to tell you what happened last night, which I think is what you’re all eager to know right now,” the skinny man said.
The crowd remained silent, tacitly agreeing with his words.
“I followed her to this town because she had a man with her, and I couldn’t punish her. So, every night I would go up the mountain to secretly monitor them.”
Tang Wan opened her mouth in astonishment, seemingly forgetting even the grief she felt upon learning of Yuan Li's death.
“I found a spot on the cliff behind their rented house where I could see their window perfectly. I also bought a telescope in this town, so every night, their every move was under my watchful eye. My intention was to find their weakness and then strike when the opportunity presented itself. But just the night before last, I actually discovered a secret, a secret about that man named Tan Dong.”
The skinny man stopped abruptly, a chill creeping into his heart once more.
“That secret shocked me. I suddenly lost all confidence in myself. I was terrified. The next morning, I rushed to the station, intending to take a train away from Sleepy Hollow. But some things you can’t avoid. The mute driver died on the suspension bridge. I was even more frightened after I found out, because only I knew that the one who killed the mute was not the Yaksha that the townspeople were talking about.”
"Then who is the murderer?" Qin Ge asked nervously.