The Mysterious Files 2 - The Bizarre and the Real

Chapter 2

[End of File 1]

The Mysterious Files 2 — The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real, Section 4

The Mysterious Files 2 — The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real, Section 4

Archives of the 28th Coffin Corpse Site

Author: Seeking No Desire

First published on: Tianya Ghost Stories (Reposting should be done responsibly)

A large, comprehensive commercial plaza is located in the heart of the provincial capital, where land is incredibly valuable. It boasts nearly a thousand shops, and while the area outside is bustling with traffic and pedestrians, the interior is sparsely populated. More than six years after its opening, a large number of shops remain vacant. The stark contrast between the deserted interior and the daily celebrations outside is like the difference between two worlds!

If the deserted atmosphere were simply due to poor management, it wouldn't be anything special; shopping malls open and close every day, which is quite normal. However, the reason for the sparse crowds is the repeated "suicide attempts" that have occurred within the mall. Although the plaza is quite large, it's not very high, and most people can only go up to the fifth floor. Yet, the fourth and fifth floors have become a local suicide hotspot, with people frequently jumping from the fourth or fifth floor into the central lobby, performing their "flying from the sky" acts in public. Although the victims only fell from the fourth or fifth floor to the basement lobby, a maximum drop of six stories, the cold, hard marble floor of the lobby meant that the bodies of those who fell usually had to be cleaned up with shovels.

People frequently commit suicide here, which causes a lot of trouble for the police. However, people who are determined to die will find another place to die, even if they don't die here. Therefore, the police have not taken any action against the square, but have asked the security guards to pay more attention to people loitering in front of the railings on the fourth and fifth floors.

The appearance of the shop owner added a layer of mystery to the suicide attempt. He was a stall owner in the plaza; business wasn't great, but he managed to make ends meet. Yesterday, however, he inexplicably jumped from the fifth floor. Fortunately, there was a clearance sale in the lobby at the time, so he didn't fall directly to the floor but landed on a pile of debris. He broke several bones but survived. However, during the statement taking, he claimed he didn't commit suicide but was pushed off the building, and that the person who pushed him was not human but a ghost.

Before arriving at the hospital, I had a rough understanding of Mr. Xiang's situation. He was an ordinary businessman who didn't speculate in stocks or gamble, had no debts or insurance, had harmonious family relationships, and hadn't had any recent disputes with others. Indeed, he had no reason to commit suicide. The hospital also stated that his mental state was good and he didn't seem to have any mental illnesses such as paranoia.

When I saw Boss Xiang, he was lying in a hospital bed with his arms and legs in casts, but he was very clear-headed, as if his head hadn't been injured. I chatted with him for a bit, and he opened up immediately. Perhaps most businessmen are like that; he not only told me what had happened, but also some unexpected things.

I told the owner, "I was one of the first stall owners to enter the plaza. I've been running my shop for over six years. Although the plaza is relatively deserted, it's in a prime location. Even a broken boat has some nails; I can't make a fortune, but I won't lose money either. So I've persevered, and before I knew it, more than six years had passed."

"People often jump off the buildings in the square. At first, I just complained that it would affect business and didn't think about anything else. Later, as more people jumped, some people said that the square had bad feng shui. Some even vividly described how eight coffins were unearthed when the foundation was being dug, saying that eight people had to die to stop people from jumping off the buildings. However, several people jump off the buildings in the square every year, and seven died last year alone, which is far more than eight. Later, some people said that the character '广' in the square's name written in cursive script on the plaque on the roof looked like the character '尸' (corpse), so many people secretly called the square 'Eight Coffin Corpse Field'."

"We business people would rather believe in such things than not, so almost all stall owners hang up a Bagua or paste a talisman at the entrance of their shops to ward off evil spirits. I also have a Bagua hanging in my shop."

"The Bagua (a type of Chinese amulet) will turn black after hanging for a while. I heard that it turns black because it blocks evil spirits. If it turns completely black and is not replaced, it will not only fail to ward off evil but will also bring misfortune. So, I replace the Bagua every one or two years. Yesterday, I saw that the Bagua was already very black, so I bought a new one to replace it. But as soon as I took the old one down, a guest came, so I went to greet the guest and forgot about it."

"Not long after, I thought I heard someone calling me. I was feeling groggy and for some reason, I followed the voice. I walked all the way up to the fifth floor, and when I realized something was wrong, I was already at the fifth-floor railing and had climbed up. I was terrified and was about to climb down when suddenly a very cold hand pushed me from behind. Even through my clothes, my entire back felt like it was frozen. Before I could figure out what was happening, I fell into the lobby. Luckily, there were some stores having a clearance sale in the lobby, and the empty boxes they were using to make it look impressive were piled up quite high. I landed on top of those empty boxes, which is how I survived."

Based on the clues provided to the boss, I conducted an in-depth investigation and discovered that eight coffins were indeed unearthed during the foundation excavation for the square. Although the coffins were all dilapidated, the wooden nails on them were gleaming and engraved with strange patterns, appearing brand new as if they had just been nailed in; no one knew what kind of wood they were made of. The corpses inside the coffins had decomposed, leaving only bones, but besides the bones, there were also several Taoist talismans inside the coffins that had not yet decomposed.

The builder notified the local police station, but the police knew nothing about it, neither when the coffin was buried there nor who was buried there. So it was treated as an unclaimed grave until it was taken to the crematorium for cremation.

Afterwards, in order to reassure the workers, the construction company invited a Taoist priest to perform a ritual at the construction site. However, after understanding the situation, the Taoist priest insisted that the eight coffins must be returned to their original positions, because this was a Qing Dynasty formation. Once the coffins were buried, they could not be dug up for thousands of years, nor could they be moved, otherwise eight people would die.

The builder believed the Taoist priest was spouting nonsense and trying to swindle more money. Besides, the eight coffins had already been burned and couldn't be put back in their original places, so he tried to bribe the priest to stop talking nonsense and pretend nothing had happened. The Taoist priest, enraged by the builder's words, glared and puffed out his beard, then stormed off without a word.

After the Taoist priest left, the construction company lied to the workers, saying everything was fine and they could continue work. The workers believed him and continued construction. However, before the plaza was completed, one of the workers died mysteriously. Deaths at construction sites were common, so it didn't attract much attention and was treated as a routine accident.

After its completion, the plaza, due to its prime location, saw a surge in tenant recruitment, quickly renting out all its shops, including major chains like KFC and Pizza Hut. However, less than a year after its opening, several suicides occurred, including among the plaza's stall owners. Subsequently, the plaza became a hotbed for suicides; locals immediately associated it with jumping to their deaths. As a result, many businesses gradually withdrew, causing the plaza to become increasingly deserted.

Rumors circulated that some workers involved in the plaza construction frequently had nightmares, dreaming of being pushed off a building in the plaza or dying for other reasons in the plaza's lobby. Another rumor claimed that a nearby middle school had several classrooms with windows facing the plaza. The rumor said that whenever someone jumped from a building, students in these classes could see a dark cloud appear above the plaza, slightly smaller than the plaza itself, hovering there, refusing to dissipate. Meanwhile, the surrounding area remained clear and cloudless. While these are merely rumors and not entirely credible, the discovery of eight coffins is documented in detail and is undeniably true; the government simply concealed it to avoid public panic.

Chapter 5 of "The Mysterious Files 2 - The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real"

Chapter 5 of "The Mysterious Files 2 - The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real"

I asked some people who work in the square. Xiao Hong, who works at a bar on the fourth floor, said, "The square feels quite eerie at night, and we often hear loud noises coming from the third floor, but the shops on the third floor are all closed at night, and there's not a soul in sight. I don't know where the noises are coming from. Also, if you look down into the lobby from the railing, you get an urge to jump, so we don't dare go near the railing, especially when we're alone..."

It's certain that there's a problem with the square, but what exactly it is is hard to say, let alone how to solve it. Tian Shu and I racked our brains but couldn't come up with anything, so we had no choice but to visit the Seven Seeking Immortals and ask for their advice.

As soon as he explained his purpose to Master Qiqiu, he shook his head and sighed, saying, "This square should never have been built in the first place. Unless it is demolished, people will continue to die there."

I asked Master Qi Qiu to explain in detail, and he said, "That area is where the dragon vein is located, so it is always bustling with people and has been a prosperous place for business since ancient times. However, the square is located on the eight dragon teeth, which are also the places where the violent energy is strongest, so frequent bloodshed is inevitable. During the Qing Dynasty, a master used the technique of 'eight coffins to suppress evil' to put the corpses of eight vicious death row inmates into coffins and bury them on the location of the eight dragon teeth. The principle is the same as hanging food on the dragon teeth, so that the dragon has something to eat and will no longer harm people."

"Once the formation is complete, the eight coffins and the corpses inside cannot be moved for a thousand or ten thousand years. Moving them will awaken the dragon, causing temporary harm or even widespread disaster. Now, not only has the dragon been awakened, but even the 'food' hanging in its mouth has been stolen. At present, it is already quite good that it only occasionally harms one or two people as a snack."

I asked Master Qiqiu if there was a solution, and he said, "It's the same as before: unless the square is demolished and the 'Eight Coffins to Suppress Evil' technique is applied, people will continue to die."

I submitted the information I had collected to my superiors, whose response was: "Keep it confidential!" That meant the matter would be dropped, the square would continue to operate, and people would continue to jump off the building.

I can understand the decision made by the higher-ups. After all, demolishing the square would affect the interests of a large number of people, and it would also be tantamount to admitting that the square was haunted. It could also lead to the downfall of many officials. I think that's the key point.

As the saying goes, "Every man for himself." A few deaths a year may seem insignificant, but being brought down from power or having one's record tarnished is a life-altering event. Those in power will judge the relative importance of these consequences; what can ordinary people do but accept it helplessly?

Archives: The Story of Ahua

Author: Seeking No Desire

First published on: Tianya Ghost Stories (Reposting should be done responsibly)

Her name is Ahua, wagging her tail.

It only drinks milk. That day I was having tea with it.

When you're studying with me, you never scold me for being lazy.

At night, Ahua loves to climb the roof beams.

Then I became strong and tall.

The tabby cat didn't get fat; it just shed its fur.

My mother wished me progress every year on New Year's Day.

But Yong never told Ahua that she would live a long and healthy life.

I will never forget that day when I was soaked in the rain.

I was only six or seven years old when I went to school alone that day.

And now I finally understand why tears...

On the day Ahua disappeared from the world

…………

…………

A girl surnamed Yuan was quietly singing this Cantonese children's song. She was the victim of an attempted rape case. Because the perpetrator was seriously injured by her, despite her frail appearance, the case was assigned to me. However, the first thing she said to me was whether cats become ghosts after they die, just like people do after they die.

"When I was little, my parents were very busy every day and no one played with me, so they raised a tabby cat to keep me company. I named it Ahua."

“When I was little, I was very well-behaved. As long as Ahua was by my side, I wouldn't cry or fuss, even if my parents weren't home. I would be very quiet because Ahua was with me, so I wouldn't feel scared. Ahua also liked me very much. Wherever I went, it would follow, and it would even eat with me. Although my parents didn't like me letting it eat with me, I wouldn't eat if it didn't eat with me, so my parents couldn't do anything about it. Its favorite thing to do was to snuggle into my arms and sleep. I would often sit on the ground and hold it. When it fell asleep, I would fall asleep quickly too.”

"When I was six years old, it was time for me to go to school. I wanted to take Ahua with me, but my mother wouldn't let me. I cried all day, but it was no use; my mother just wouldn't agree. I didn't want to go to school because I couldn't be with Ahua, but my mother insisted on taking me there. When I was crying and wanting to go home to find Ahua, I suddenly heard her barking. It turned out that she had secretly followed us to school. Although my classmates would laugh at me for carrying her to class, I didn't care. As long as she was by my side, I didn't care about anything else."

"Once, I was carrying Ahua to play on the street. When we were crossing the road, she suddenly barked. I stopped and asked her what was wrong. But as soon as I stopped, a car whizzed past in front of me. I was so scared that I fell to the ground and stood there for a while before I started to cry. I cried for a long time until Ahua climbed on me, licked my face, and licked away my tears. Only then did I stop crying."

"Almost all my childhood memories are related to Ahua. Perhaps only things related to her can I remember. Later, Ahua got older and gradually became listless. I was still young at the time and thought she was sick, so I kept asking to take her to see a doctor. But my mother said that Ahua was not sick, she was just a little tired from playing with me all the time, and she would be fine after a rest. I didn't doubt my mother's words, so I held Ahua all day and let her sleep peacefully."

"One day, I woke up and found that Ahua was gone. I asked my parents, but they didn't know either. I refused to go to school and kept crying that I had to find her. My parents had no choice but to help me look for her, but when they found Ahua, she would never wake up again."

The Mysterious Files 2 — The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real, Section 6

The Mysterious Files 2 — The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real, Section 6

"It was raining heavily that day, and I buried Ahua under the big tree in the garden with my own hands. At that moment, I finally knew what sadness was, the true meaning of tears, and that I would never see Ahua again, never play with her, eat with her, or sleep with her."

"Adults often say that children forget things quickly, but for a long time after Ahua left, I didn't forget her. Whether it was something happy or unhappy, I would go to the big tree in the garden and tell it. I always felt that she hadn't left me, and was still with me at all times, making me feel warm and safe."

"When I was a teenager, I moved to this city with my parents, left my old home, and made new friends. This made me stop talking about Ahua all the time, but I never forgot her. And what happened later made it even more impossible for me to forget her."

"That day, I was shopping with two classmates. In the window of a boutique, we saw some very exquisite accessories, so we stopped to look at them. As we looked at them, we discussed which type of clothes each accessory should be paired with. When we were having a great time, we suddenly heard a familiar voice. I immediately thought of Ahua and quickly dropped my classmates and walked towards the direction of the sound to find her."

"However, I couldn't find anything. I didn't find Ahua, or even a cat. When I turned back in disappointment, I saw a truck lose control and crash into the sidewalk, right where I had just been. My two classmates were knocked down by the truck, and the impact shattered the glass, embedding them in the shop window. Sharp shards of glass left countless terrible wounds on their bodies, and blood gushed out like a tide, staining the ground near the shop window red."

"I don't know how long I stood there, the scene before me terrified me. My classmates and friends, who were just a minute ago chatting about clothes, were now two frozen corpses. When I came to my senses, the first person I thought of wasn't my classmates, but Ahua. I knew it must have saved me. If it weren't for its cries, I would still be standing in front of the shop window with my classmates, and like them, I would have been hit by the truck. I frantically called its name, but there was no response. Ahua was dead, she had been dead for many years. I sat helplessly on the road, crying, until the police arrived…"

"This incident made me realize that Ahua hadn't left me; it had actually always been by my side, I just hadn't noticed. After that, whenever I had something on my mind and wanted to confide in someone, I would talk to it. Although I didn't get any response, I knew it was listening attentively."

"After entering university, I remained as quiet as before. Apart from a few close roommates, I didn't have any other friends. But I didn't feel lonely because I knew that Ahua was always by my side. My roommates kept urging me to join the student union, hoping that I could make more friends and stop spending all day alone. I didn't want to join at first, but my roommates meant well, so I felt embarrassed to refuse."

"Last night, my senior asked me to meet him by the lake to discuss joining the student council. I never expected him to do this to me… Just as he was tearing my clothes, I suddenly heard Ahua's cry, and then felt it enter my body. The feeling was warm and comforting, like when I used to cuddle with it as a child, and it made me feel less afraid. When I woke up, the police had arrived, and my senior was covered in bruises; his face was scratched, and one of his ears had been bitten off. He was trembling with fear when he saw me, while I had no idea what had happened…"

After recounting what happened, Xiao Yuan asked me again about the question of whether cats become ghosts after they die, and said that after the incident, she could no longer feel Ahua's presence.

I comforted her, saying, "Everything has a spirit, and cats also become ghosts after they die. Actually, Ahua is still by your side. Every time she appears, it consumes a lot of her energy, which is why you can't feel her presence. As long as you are careful in everything you do in the future and don't let her worry about you anymore, she will always be with you."

After getting the answer, Xiao Yuan left satisfied, saying before leaving that he would never let Ahua worry about him again, as long as it was by his side.

After Xiao Yuan left, Gui Tong walked over and said, "That little girl is really easy to fool. Her Ah Hua is probably already gone, because I didn't see anything on her."

I smiled wryly and asked the Heavenly Book for its opinion. She said, "Although cats also have souls, they are slightly weaker than humans. Moreover, Ahua's ghost followed Xiao Yuan to this city, far away from the burial site of the body, and the connection with the body was almost completely severed. Without the support of the body, even a human ghost would not last long due to energy depletion. Ahua's ability to last for more than ten years is already the limit."

"To protect Xiao Yuan, Ahua used its last bit of strength to possess her and repel the senior who was assaulting her. This exhausted all its energy, and like a creature that died from exhaustion, it disappeared forever."

Human friendships can often be described in four words—mutual exploitation. Some might argue that they have no vested interests with their friends and therefore no "exploitation." But honestly, when you feel lonely, do you "use" your friends to pass the time? When you're burdened with worries, do you "use" your friends as confidants?

The friendship between animals and humans is much purer, like that between Xiao Yuan and Ahua. After Ahua passed away, there was no longer any mutual benefit between her and Xiao Yuan, but she still silently protected Xiao Yuan, even at the cost of her last bit of strength.

[End of File Three]

Chapter 7 of "The Mysterious Files 2 - The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real"

Chapter 7 of "The Mysterious Files 2 - The Critical Point Between the Bizarre and the Real"

Archives Four: Cultural Rats

Author: Seeking No Desire

First published on: Tianya Ghost Stories (Reposting should be done responsibly)

A university psychology professor surnamed Zhang sought help from the police, saying that something inexplicable was happening in the university library. Since it couldn't be explained by common sense, it was naturally up to our team to handle.

Professor Zhang was an exceptionally intelligent old man. Although he only had a few strands of hair left, he styled them neatly with hair wax. He spoke calmly, as if he were lecturing me, only the topic was rather bizarre. He said, "Some time ago, the library underwent renovations and a large number of books were added. However, after the renovations, students kept claiming to hear a sharp, piercing scream. These students thought they had psychological problems and were experiencing auditory hallucinations, so they all came to me for help. But I conducted many tests on them and found nothing wrong with them. Moreover, even if it were a psychological problem, it's impossible for so many people to experience auditory hallucinations unless it's a case of 'mass hysteria.'"

"I spent several nights in the library, even spending the night there, and I didn't hear the sharp sounds the students were talking about. However, I personally witnessed several students being troubled by these sounds. After observing for many nights, I found that the students who heard the auditory hallucinations had something in common: they were all senior students who didn't study hard and were struggling with their graduation theses. Moreover, they all heard the auditory hallucinations while writing their theses."

"I suspect that these students put too much pressure on themselves because they are worried about not being able to graduate smoothly, and they have a collective hysteria after hearing related rumors. It's like in the cafeteria, a few students eat unclean food and have poisoning reactions such as vomiting. Other students who are not poisoned will also suspect that they are poisoned after witnessing this scene and have similar poisoning reactions."

"The simplest way to confirm whether the students' auditory hallucinations were caused by mass hysteria was to conduct an experiment. I recruited several senior students with poor grades, and after informing them of relevant information about mass hysteria, I had them write papers in the library. However, the result of the experiment was that they all claimed to have auditory hallucinations, without exception."

"The results of the experiment made me doubt my previous assumptions. Perhaps I'm just stubborn, so I wanted to conduct an experiment myself. I spent several nights writing papers in the library, and the rumored shrill voices didn't ring in my ears. Therefore, I was certain that the students were experiencing mass hysteria, and I usually informed all students about the situation via the school's public address system. I thought that was the end of it, but the auditory hallucinations continued to occur, which left me feeling very confused."

"I decided to conduct another experiment. I had a student with poor grades, but from a wealthy family, who didn't have to worry about graduating, write a paper with me in the library on the topic of collective hysteria. About an hour after we started writing, the student suddenly jumped up, his face turned very pale, and told me that a very sharp sound was ringing in his ears, somewhat like the sound of a mouse."

"Because the student seemed very panicked at the time, I didn't force him to stay and continue writing his paper, and let him leave first. After he left, I compared his paper with mine, hoping to get some clues from it."

"It would have been better if I hadn't looked at it. Once I did, I was so angry I was practically fuming. This paper was utter nonsense, full of errors. In my anger, I suddenly had a thought: the biggest difference between me and these students, besides our mindset, is our academic level. If I also wrote a piece of nonsense, would I hear strange noises?"

"Although I am an atheist and believe that all talk of ghosts and gods is a product of imagination caused by psychological changes in people, at this moment, I have a restless feeling in my heart. On the one hand, I want to prove that the students' auditory hallucinations are a collective hysteria, and on the other hand, I want to experience this 'auditory hallucination' myself."

"Although it was quite late when the student left, and there weren't many people left in the library, and it was about to close, I still decided to stay and write a nonsensical paper. So I told the librarian that I would be staying in the library tonight. The librarian was an old acquaintance of mine, and he handed me the key, said something like not to overwork myself, and then left."

"When I started writing, there were only two or three students in the library besides me, and they left one after another soon afterward. The quiet environment, the bookshelves that blocked the view, and the strange rumors—these negative psychological suggestions could create psychological pressure and make people feel fearful. Even a psychology professor like me would feel uneasy. However, this unease was exactly what I wanted. The more uneasy I felt, the more likely I was to experience pathological mental phenomena such as hallucinations and auditory hallucinations."

"In a state of anxiety, I pondered how to write this utterly nonsensical paper. To be honest, writing a nonsensical paper was harder for me than writing an authoritative one; I only managed to write the beginning before I couldn't continue. So I closed my eyes, recalled the papers my students had submitted, and then wrote down the most absurd ones. Ironically, I was actually going to plagiarize students' papers, and those were the very papers that had made me so angry I wanted to curse them out."

"I incorporated the flawed viewpoints I'd observed in students' papers into this paper, and while writing, I suddenly felt someone standing behind me. I wasn't scared, because I know this is a normal psychological phenomenon; when people are alone, especially late at night, their vigilance increases unconsciously, leading to some unfounded psychological phenomena. However, this time my judgment might be wrong."

"I ignored my unusual feeling and continued to recall the student's paper, writing down the erroneous arguments. Suddenly, a sharp scream rang out deep in my ears. In the silent library, the scream was like a bomb exploding in my ear, startling me so much that I jumped up. A nameless fear rose from the bottom of my heart, and all sorts of monsters and demons I had seen in movies and TV shows flashed through my mind instantly."

"I involuntarily looked around to make sure there was nothing scary around me that could threaten my safety. Although everything in the library seemed normal, at that moment, every bookshelf behind and every dark corner where the light didn't reach seemed to me to be a place where ghosts and monsters were hiding. Although I felt scared, I still clung to the idea that everything could be explained from a scientific perspective, and therefore suspected that I was also affected by mass hysteria, which was why I was having auditory hallucinations."