Xishuangbanna Valley of Horrors

Chapter 13

1. Abnormal sound

As I comforted Lü Fang, Ye Min couldn't get a word in edgewise, so she could only stay quietly by my side. Horse Face returned to his usual unfathomable expression. I realized that suddenly we had nothing in common to talk about again, so we all fell silent, each burying our own thoughts, which were further buried by the downpour.

It's really boring if we don't find something to do. After burying ourselves for a while, everyone was clearly a bit dazed—Lü Fang held the torn half of his shirt, turning it over and over again, looking heartbroken; I squatted on the ground, Ye Min linked arms with me, her head bowed, I didn't know what she was thinking; Horse Face couldn't stay squat, so he simply sat on a few gray, moldy bricks. I saw him reach into his pocket, pull out a cigarette, and then I remembered that I still had some in reserve, so I lit one too.

The surrounding smells quickly became extremely murky, a mixture of copper rust, tobacco, and dust floating among them. I was grimacing and wiping away my snot and tears when they started flowing down my face. "Can you smell anything?" I seemed to hear Lü Fang ask me.

Sure enough, I wasn't the only one who smelled it. I quickly cleaned my face, stubbed out my cigarette, and hurriedly agreed, "I smelled it a while ago. It's a strange smell, like copper rust or something, very pungent. I smelled it in the car, but I thought it was just my rhinitis acting up again, so I ignored it. Now I smell it again when I come in, and it's so strong. I don't know what it is. What do you think?"

Section 115: Dai Bamboo Houses (2)

As soon as he finished speaking, Lü Fang stared at me with an utterly dazed look. Not only him, but Ye Min and Ma Lian were the same way.

I looked at them, wondering what they were doing. Had I said something wrong? Lü Fang stared at me incredulously and said, "What coppery smell? I didn't hear anything. I was asking if you heard anything."

The weight in my heart suddenly became so heavy that I could hardly breathe.

This is not funny at all. "Huh? Oh! Uh... I misheard, no... it's okay." I paused and then continued, "What could you hear?" Isn't it obvious? I looked outside the door, "Besides the sound of rain."

I was pretty sure that apart from the patter of the rain, I really didn't hear anything. All my attention was focused on the smell in my nose; I had no time to listen carefully. Lü Fang seemed to doubt my hearing; he asked Horse Face, who also shook his head. But Ye Min shook me and said, "It sounds like there really is a sound. Listen carefully."

What? Young people all like to play pranks, huh? I frowned and looked at the two of them. By then, the torrential rain outside had subsided considerably, turning into a light drizzle. The air was a little fresher than before the downpour. I concentrated and searched for a while, but where was the sound they were talking about?

I said I didn't hear anything, and Lü Fang and Ye Min looked at me suspiciously. I had no choice but to clean my ears and listen again.

I held my breath for a while... still nothing? All I heard was the incessant patter of raindrops mixed with the occasional rumble of thunder. What's wrong with thunder? It's perfectly normal. My ears were practically worn out from listening, but I couldn't hear anything unusual, though there was a strange smell. Were they just incredibly bored and trying to amuse themselves? Just as I was about to snap, suddenly…

"Creak—creak—"

An untimely noise pierced my ears, like a cheerful piano piece suddenly interrupted by a stray sound, altering the entire melody and turning it into chaos. My heart skipped a beat. I glanced at the door; could it be the two doors being blown about by the wind? I stared at the door for a while; it was indeed possible, as they did make a similar creaking sound when blown by the wind. But after confirming for a moment, I panicked.

The door creaked when it was shaking; it creaked even when it wasn't shaking... The sound continued unabated from the moment I noticed it. The sound itself wasn't loud, and it was even harder to hear under the cover of the rain.

Section 116: Dai Bamboo Houses (3)

No wonder I didn't sense its presence even after listening for so long.

What could be making that noise?

"If it's not a door, it must be a window!" I thought through gritted teeth, but upon closer inspection, I realized it wasn't. The broken windows around us, like the broken door from before, were firmly nailed to the wall or doorway, unable to move, so how could they make any noise?

I couldn't take it anymore, so I stood up, felt my way out the door, and looked left and right. The sky was drizzling, and the ground was shrouded in a gray haze. With rain falling like this, perhaps it was the doors and windows of other houses that were swaying? I glanced sideways, and sure enough, there they were.

With her plain white top draped over her shoulders, who would notice anything else? The shops around us were just houses and shops in the alleyways, the only difference being which houses were more dilapidated and which shops were worse. The shop on the left was damaged to the point of meeting the national standard for level three disability; it looked utterly ruined and unrecognizable. The one on the right was similar to ours; the door was open, and when I looked over, the two rickety wooden doors were creaking and groaning under the elements.

Suspicious! I was getting annoyed with these two kids. Didn't all my teachers, from elementary school to university, emphasize not to make things up or fabricate stories? A few swaying of the door in the wind, and they think they've erased all the knowledge I've gained over ten years? And this is supposed to be higher education! Thinking this, I strode over, grabbed one of the doors, and tried to close it, thinking, if you're unhappy about the noise, then just close it.

I planned to do that, but as I grabbed the broken door, I glanced at the room behind it and my heart started pounding. The interior of this shop was even darker than the one we had opened, so dark it seemed bottomless. I stared at it for a few seconds, then felt a little apprehensive. "Lü Fang! Ye Min!"

If you don't have alcohol to bolster your courage, then rely on your companions.

Lu Fang and Ye Min arrived upon hearing the commotion, and I noticed that Horse Face followed them out as well. I guessed that guy was probably feeling uneasy squatting alone in that house, so…

Seeing that Lü Fang and Ye Min had arrived, I started to lecture them: "There are no such things as noises. Look, the sound you heard is a natural phenomenon caused by the wind blowing up the broken door of this room. You know what a natural phenomenon is, right?" After saying that, I asked them to help me fix the door. Whether it's a natural phenomenon or a supernatural phenomenon, if we let it creak like that, we'll eventually be scared silly by our own paranoia.

Section 117: Dai Bamboo Houses (4)

Lu Fang, holding onto the door panel, hesitated for a moment, then dared to say to me with a frightened expression, "No...that's not right."

I felt a surge of anger: "What's wrong?!"

"We have all of these things, but... but the sound hasn't stopped yet."

Is that so?

Ghosts can scare people, but people can scare people to death. Suppressing my anger, I impatiently grabbed another door and said to him, "There are so many houses here, maybe it's something else making the noise? Can you even close all of them?"

A look of hesitation appeared on Lü Fang's face, after all, what I said was reasonable and justified.

At this moment, Ye Min leaned over and said to me, "It's not from far away... it seems... it's right here..."

"Fine! Whatever you say, just hurry up! Don't make a sound!" We'd like to see how it can make a sound now! The four of them fell silent instantly. Silence descended from the heart, and the surroundings immediately quieted down. The restless rain poured down from the broken eaves, splashing and scattering at our feet, creating a beautiful, rhythmic patter.

"The rain falls all night, my love overflows like raindrops, butterflies on the windowsill, like beautiful chapters fluttering in a poem..." Just when we were all on tenterhooks, searching for our swords by lamplight, a song suddenly burst from the horse's waist and scared us all into paralysis!

"What are you doing?!" I yelled at him.

Horse Face himself was quite startled by the singing. He frantically pulled something out of his waist like he was fiddling with a nuclear warhead. When everyone looked, it turned out to be a cell phone.

The volume of domestically produced mobile phones is absolutely unmatched; it's deafening.

"No...sorry, it's the alarm, it's the alarm." Hearing Horse Face explain, we finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was the first time in all our years working together that we'd heard the "noble" General Manager Ma Lian say "sorry." I wiped my face and asked him, "What time is it?" His alarm had gone off, so it must be six or seven o'clock, right? But the sky was still pitch black; there wasn't even a hint of dawn yet.

With sweat dripping down his face, he fiddled with the thing in his hand and answered me without looking up, "It's 4:30."

I thought I misheard. What? 4:30? This guy must be a psychopath. He's over forty and still listening to this kind of music. And it's so late at night, everyone's asleep. What is he trying to do by setting his alarm for 4:30? Steal underwear or something? When I heard Horse Face say 4:30, I couldn't help but whisper to Ye Min, "Make sure you put your personal belongings away properly tonight."

Section 118: Dai Bamboo Houses (5)

Ye Min was confused. He kept pressing on the horse-faced man's head, but the singing didn't stop. In fact, the volume got louder and louder. I yelled at him like a petty thief worried about alerting the police: "What are you doing?! Having a party? Lock him up right now!"

Amidst the commotion, the singing changed. Because of this change, Horse Face's hand trembled, and his phone fell to the ground with a clatter, while the almost distorted and hoarse singing continued to linger.

"I...o the end of Shishishi's...you are the only...thing I want..."

I never imagined that Jay Chou's songs could give me the creeps.

I couldn't take it anymore. I figured Horse Face was completely mesmerized by the singing; he didn't even dare to bend down to pick it up. Without a word, I stomped on it a few times, smashing the strangely making phone to pieces until it finally quieted down.

This trivial matter left me breathless and drenched in sweat. Ye Min and Lü Fang, clinging to the door, looked at the mess on the ground with dismay. I squatted down, fiddled with it, and pulled out the SIM card. "Here, just leave it in." The man's expression seemed a little unpleasant, but I didn't notice. Then, I looked at everyone with a sigh of relief and said casually, "Alright, everything's alright now, right? Looks like Su Yan isn't here either. The rain has subsided a lot, let's keep going."

Actually, that was just me trying to comfort everyone. The rain didn't let up at all; it only weakened for a few minutes like a halftime break before starting to pour again. I had thought that spring rains were usually light and gentle, but I never expected such an exaggerated downpour. Even so, we couldn't stay here any longer; the atmosphere had become too terrifying. Reluctantly, I had no choice but to let everyone brave the wind and rain and move on.

Apart from me and Horse Face, the other two seemed still lost in the beautiful melody of a pop song, nodding at me with a half-understanding. The group had only taken a few steps, intending to brave the rain, when the creaking sound started again, and they all stopped. I turned around sharply; the broken doors around us were silent, but the sound was very clear.

"Where...where did it come from?" I asked Lü Fang in alarm. Lü Fang stared wide-eyed, also clueless. "I already told you!" I raised my hand to stop him, signaling him to be quiet and listen carefully.

Section 119: Dai Bamboo Houses (6)

The sound was very rhythmic, one after another, neither too fast nor too slow, neither too loud nor too soft, somewhat like... somewhat like... somewhat like the sound of a bamboo rocking chair swaying back and forth on a wooden floor! The associations made my heart race, and as I searched for the source of the sound, I think I found the approximate location.

I pointed behind the door, and Lü instinctively raised her flashlight and shone it inside, but it was empty. Just then, Ye Min patted me, and I whispered to her, "I saw it."

The shops here all have several floors.

"Let's go in and take a look." Who knows, that sound might have come from that little brat Su Yan. Back then, Rose was floating on the sea against a door and couldn't make a sound for help, so she used a whistle to attract attention.

Once inside, I looked up and saw only spiderwebs; nothing else. It seemed that nothing ventured, nothing gained. The sound was coming from the second floor, where the staircase leading to the second floor stood quietly in the corner, waiting for us to tread upon it.

When we gathered around, we realized that the wooden staircase was in a terrible state of disrepair. One person could barely climb it, but if several people tried to climb it together, it would definitely collapse. So... I turned to look at everyone, and they were all staring at me.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered; the tallest tree catches the most wind. A truth.

Reluctantly, I took the flashlight and, under everyone's watchful eyes, cautiously began to climb the rotten, almost moldy stairs. The stairs, unable to bear the weight, creaked discordantly with each step. My mind was empty, disturbed by the double creaking sounds from beneath my feet and above my head. Yet, I was also thinking that if I were to actually go up there without makeup, I would definitely "wield a hoe" and do all the work of holding up the blasting head. I might as well dig into the base of this wall!

There was a bend in the stairs, and I cautiously began to climb. The higher I went, the clearer the sound became. The stairwell was covered with huge, tattered spiderwebs (thankfully, I didn't see any spiders). I used the hand holding the flashlight to flick it back and forth, while my other hand reached into my pocket. I had a bad feeling, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it. But it didn't matter; at least I had my "time-traveling" Swiss Army knife.

Time seemed to crawl by. Lü Fang and Ye Min stood anxiously at the bottom of the stairs, looking up to see what was happening, only to be met with a constant descent of dust. They considered calling out to President Yang, but feared startling him, so they could only stand there helplessly. Horse Face looked around and said to them, "There's no use in being anxious. Just wait." He then stood behind them, glanced at the stairs Yang Feng had gone up, and took out a match to light a cigarette.

Section 120: Dai Bamboo Houses (7)

He was blowing smoke rings while fiddling with something in his hand—a SIM card. The cigarette glowed and dimmed, obscuring his facial expression.

Meanwhile, Yang Feng, who is on the second floor, had a completely different expression from Mr. Ma on the first floor: I had already come up to the second floor, or rather, I was standing a few steps away from the second floor. I was standing on the stairs, not going up, but that did not prevent me from peeking at the situation on the second floor.

The second floor seemed to be a place for travelers to stay, with several small, adjacent rooms… Would you care? I certainly wouldn't, because on the empty floor upstairs, I saw something I never want to see again in my life. My guess was always a close call; the noise from upstairs really did come from a rocking chair, but I was wrong. The person sitting in the rocking chair wasn't Su Yan. Instead…

The white clothes and the withered white face—I thought I had forgotten it, but in fact, I had just been suppressing my desire not to recall it or mention it.

I was immediately terrified, my brows furrowing as I turned to run! But in my panic, I lost my footing and fell, tumbling down from the second floor into the first, amidst a cloud of dust and debris. I landed between Lü Fang and Ye Min, who were equally frightened by my sudden movement. Before they could even reach out to help me, I leaped to my feet, ignoring the dust and searching for a flashlight, grabbed Ye Min, and ran outside.

Even someone as composed as me was terrified. The moment I started running, how could Lü Fang and Ma Lian dare delay? Without asking a single question, they immediately followed me out. I ran wildly, ignoring Ye Min's calls. I knew exactly what I was doing; I didn't want to die, much less have my neck snapped.

I ran quite a distance before stopping, collapsing to my knees, gasping for breath. Rain soaked my mouth and nose, making it even harder to breathe. After a few moments of catching my breath, I pushed aside Lü Fang, who was blocking my view, and stared at the street behind him. Good...good...he didn't catch up, he didn't catch up...

Everyone was exhausted from running with me all the way, and they were all out of breath. No one dared to ask me what I had seen. In this situation, everyone was at a loss, and the leader had to take charge.

These streets are so long and deep, it seems like I'll never reach the end. The road ahead is unknown, the road behind is fraught with danger, it's raining, and I'm lost. I think... I've reached my limit... I...

Section 121: Dai Bamboo Houses (8)

Exhausted, I collapsed onto the ground where the rain had turned into streams. Why are some things like nightmares, impossible to escape?

"Do you think I like you?" the boy asked the girl.

"Maybe... it's just a childhood feeling," the girl said.

The boy was a little disappointed. "But I really like you."

The girl smiled and said, "I know."

The boy didn't know what to say, so he just smiled along.

It was sunset, and the sky was ablaze with rosy clouds.

"Can you stay with me tonight?" the boy asked nervously.

The girl thought for a moment, then asked playfully, "Won't you turn into a pervert?"

“Of course not!” the boy assured him.

She had no idea how the boy endured the most unbearable eight hours of his life because of this gentleman's promise.

He had no idea how much hope the girl had placed on this one night.

This promise later caused him pain for the rest of his life, but it also brought him the greatest pride of his life—he felt that he was a true gentleman in her presence.

The next day.

She suddenly hugged him tightly.

The rising sun outside the window suddenly became unusually intense, piercing through the heavy floor-length curtains, through the not-so-spacious room, and through his heart. He had never imagined that the warmth she gave could be so natural, so real, its overwhelming presence making it hard for him to breathe.

He was a little dazed, a dazed feeling from being overwhelmed.

What am I to you?

If you don't tell me, I'll never know.

If I hadn't let you leave like that, if we hadn't separated...

Will it last forever?

Will they stay together forever?

If I asked you this now, would you laugh at me for being silly?

A jumble of thoughts relentlessly pursued me, and I was once again trapped in those endlessly recurring eight hours of my youth. My eyes stung and ached, just like my left chest. I don't know why I'm thinking of these things in this situation; it's making me unable to pull myself out of the memories. The difficulties I face now seem insurmountable, but…