Ghost Stories Series 10

Chapter 9

"I'm a laid-off female worker, 28 years old, and a mother. It's truly shameful, but I need to survive; I can't let my child be without hope. That year, I did many jobs, but none lasted long. I know I'm a beautiful woman, it's not my fault, but that time, I went to work in the county town at a toy factory. At first, I thought I'd found hope, but what happened! On my very first day, I was gang-raped by a group of shameless men! They forced me to do those things, but I refused, so they locked me up, giving me only a little water each day, and I was gang-raped every single day. What could I do? Who could save me? My child was waiting for her mother at home; she had only just turned one year old! I was desperate and gave in. It turns out that every female worker in that factory had experienced something similar. We cried secretly at night, but..." Where were those hypocritical people then? They rode on top of us, their faces so ugly and disgusting; they were our original sin! They pushed us into an abyss! What a hell it was! We were ravaged every day, forced to work, with no day or night. Many fell ill and were carried away, their whereabouts unknown. We dared not fall ill, fearing we would never see the morning sun again. For seven whole months, I don't know how many men rode me; their faces became blurred, I was numb, desperate. Finally, one day, the police came. There were gunshots, then the police rushed in. They made us kneel on the ground with our hands behind our heads, took roll call, and then we were all taken out of the factory in a line. Finally, we saw the outside world again, and all of us sisters cried. We came from different places—rural areas, towns, illiterate people, and so on. We were both college graduates, yet we suffered the same misfortune. Just when we thought we were saved, we were sent to a women's labor camp. They treated us, gave us lessons, and made us carry things. In their eyes, I saw no respect, only ridicule, contempt, and reprimands. This completely destroyed the last bit of dignity we had left! Three months later, when I returned to my city and saw the light of day again, I found myself an outcast. There was no place for me, neither on the streets nor in employment agencies. So much ridicule, so many strange looks, so much avoidance! How could I survive? My ex-husband didn't want anyone to know I was his wife. My parents, holding their daughter, refused to see me. They stood behind the door saying they didn't know me, and then they moved away and disappeared. My old friends—they all vanished. No one sympathized with me; no one offered me any warmth. A home, even just a warm embrace. I walk alone in my city, lonely and hungry. How can I survive? I miss my daughter. I search for her in the city, but this only solace is nowhere to be found. This fills me with despair and helplessness. How can I go on living? The hair salons on the street are lit up, men going in and out. I know what kind of business they're in, but do I have any other choice? My struggles are weak and futile. I wander from place to place, surviving under the crotches of those men, gradually losing hope. I only see my daughter in my dreams; she is so lively and lovely. But my dreams are always shattered by the appearance of men—a nightmare that never ends. But then I met you. You gave me dignity, but why did you give me dignity? Stepping out that door, I will continue my hopeless life, day and night, my pain will only grow more unbearable!

Yu Fu was sometimes filled with grief and indignation, sometimes shedding tears. He gently embraced Wu Huan and roared with fury from the bottom of his heart: What kind of world is this! What kind of society is this! What kind of humanity is this! Has justice fallen asleep? Has conscience died?

There were no answers; in the silence, only Wu Huan's low sobs could be heard.

The clock on the wall stopped, its buzzing sound descending from the sky. A massive fireball rolled across the city, crushing all the sins burning with blue flames in the void. Yet, after the fireball passed, the flames of sin were rekindled, continuing to spread in the corners.

Original sin, originating from human nature, can never be eradicated.

Yu Fu stood by the window and shouted, "You! You soul-poor people! I despise you!"

Wu Huan also stepped forward, took a timid deep breath, and finally shouted, "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! Why won't you give me even a little bit of love?!"

Tears rolled down my face. Ah, the poor of this city, the lonely souls.

<V> The Forgotten>

Yu Fu asked Wu Huan for her real name, but Wu Huan stopped abruptly, staring at Yu Fu in shock. Suddenly, she screamed, "Ah! I've forgotten my own name! I've forgotten!!"

Wu Huan desperately pounded on the wall, even banging her head against it. Yu Fu held her tightly around the waist from behind, enduring her desperate struggles. But in Yu Fu's heart, he pondered: 'If a person forgets even their own name, how can they remember others? Humans, starting from the side of kindness, have veered towards the other side of selfishness—is this a natural choice? Or...?'

A choice based on human nature?

The sky outside the window suddenly darkened, a thick fog obscuring everything, reducing visibility to only five meters. Even more terrifying, the silent world outside was filled with hissing and panting sounds, as if some unknown, ferocious monster lurked within. Yu Fu immediately thought of the alien from science fiction movies—intelligent aliens, humanity's nightmare! This filled Yu Fu with dread, but Wu Huan seemed oblivious to everything.

"Listen, the sounds outside the window, those strange creatures in the darkness, they are watching you and me."

"What is it? Why didn't I hear anything?"

Wu Huan's answer made Yu Fu gasp. He gripped Wu Huan's right hand tightly with his left, then stared intently into Wu Huan's eyes as if he had discovered something extraordinary. This left Wu Huan bewildered, and he even temporarily forgot his grief.

Why are you looking at me like that? Am I no longer myself?

"That's right! In your suffering, you've transformed from one person into another. Haven't you noticed? You can never go back to the way you were before, and you can never live like you used to. This is your destiny, and it's also the clear direction of social development!"

"But I don't understand, am I an obstacle to the world's progress? Why must I make such a huge sacrifice? What did I do wrong?"

"Because you are no longer yourself, you cannot see the truth of the world."

What is the truth?

"Everyone is trying to forget themselves, which is why the world has become decadent! Humanity has become ignorant! And all kinds of evil can run rampant in broad daylight!"

Wu Huan continued to look at Yu Fu with a puzzled expression, but now there was a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Yu Fu excitedly jumped onto the bed, pointed out the window, and said excitedly to Wu Huan:

"Look! Outside the window, the thick fog has shrouded everything. Vehicles can't pass, and pedestrians can't move forward. Why? Because the road ahead is unknown, so no vehicle dares to proceed rashly, and no pedestrian wants to go out like someone who has just gone blind. But they have no choice but to go forward, because it is their destiny. So vehicles protect themselves with their hard shells, and pedestrians stretch out their arms or use umbrellas to shield themselves from being hit by others. In this way, who can know anyone's true face? So, self-preservation is acceptable, but why can't harming others? With the thick fog providing cover, between people, the perpetrator or the injured is not the person they truly are! Shamelessness is born from this! Wu Huan, do you understand what I'm saying?"

But Wu Huan's eyes were still filled with confusion.

Yu Fu jumped off the bed, took Wu Huan's hand, chuckled softly, and continued to explain:

"The suffering society inflicts on you is not due to your true nature, but rather to the distorted self-protective instincts driven by various desires that lie beneath that true nature!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Huan suddenly became angry. She shook off Yu Fu's hand, stood up, and used cold words to wake him up.

"Self-preservation instinct? When those men are on top of me, do you think like that? When those inhuman people ruthlessly destroy other people's lives, do you think like that? When human tragedies are repeated time and time again, do you think like that? Are you a pedantic scholar? Or just a mouthpiece for the powerful? Or perhaps just a lackey of the propertied class? Put away your useless philosophy! Human affairs should be resolved by human people!"

Yu Fu, pale from Wu Huan's scolding, sat blankly on the edge of the bed, suddenly recalling his experiences and misfortunes. How could such a thing be explained by mere self-preservation? The world is so complex, and human nature is so unpredictable. Making hasty conclusions will only invite ridicule.

The room was dark, and the two sat there in the darkness. Time passed slowly, and the outside world fell silent amidst the chiming of the clock and their even breathing.

Yu Fu stood up, turned on the light, and prepared to apologize to Wu Huan. But when he turned around, he found that Wu Huan had already fallen asleep against the covers on the bed, sleeping soundly like a newborn baby. Yu Fu's gaze softened. He gently lifted Wu Huan up and laid him flat on the bed, covered him with the blanket, and then quietly sat down on the chair by the window, resting his head on the windowsill and falling into a deep sleep.

Tonight is Christmas Eve, and everyone should have a peaceful dream.

Yu Fu knew he would have a strange dream, and indeed, he did. In his dream, Yu Fu transformed into a carp, swimming freely before the Dragon Gate, and said to another carp, "Is the fate of a carp to leap over that gate? Who decided this? Or does life truly change after leaping over that gate? But who has seen the mocking smile of the Creator? I would rather live out my days freely before that gate than leap over it." Then, an unseen hand pressed down on Yu Fu, suffocating him underwater. But he was a carp; fish shouldn't suffocate in water. So, what caused Yu Fu to suffocate?

It has been forgotten by others, and forgotten by itself.

<VI> Details of the City Bottom

The midday sun shone into the house, the floor was damp, and a faint mist hung in the air. Cheerful singing drifted from the kitchen; it was Wu Huan's voice.

Yu Fu sat up, a rare smile on his face. He noticed the sunlight, this sacred gift that had vanished yesterday, not the dim, indistinct light emanating from somewhere; and there were sounds—Wu Huan's singing, the hustle and bustle of traffic outside the window, even the wind, real and tangible, carrying the scent of dust. A slightly damp, musty smell—from the books unread under the bed for years. Yu Fu bent down...

Pulling out the box and brushing away the dust, I found it was all books that Yu Fu and his wife had read. Every page bore his wife's fingerprints and even the faint scent of her perfume.

In an instant, every single detail came to mind.

In an instant, tears fell, and the soul trembled gently.

But it was too late; even death couldn't bring him back. Yu Fu wiped away his tears, sat on the bed, and turned to look at the blue sky outside the window—a gesture his wife often made. The sky was a deep blue, the clouds were still, and the bright white snow blanketed the city.

"You're awake? I made you lunch as a way of repaying you for giving me a place to sleep peacefully."

"Oh, that's nothing. Anyone with a conscience would do that."

"But I still want to thank you. You gave my dignity a moment of awakening, letting me know that I am still alive, which is more important than anything else."

"A momentary awakening of the soul is still an awakening, and it is always better than hopelessly sneaking around in the long, dark night, not knowing where the front is or where the back is."

"Okay, okay, let's stop talking like that. It's not even human!"

Wu Huan laughed, so happily. Yu Fu stood up with a book in his hand and handed it to Wu Huan.

"It is 'Resurrection'. From this moment on, you and I will be resurrected."

Wu Huan smiled with pure eyes. She took the book "Resurrection," gently brushing away the remaining dust as if cradling hope. A faint smile finally appeared on Yu Fu's solemn and sorrowful expression. The midday sun shone brightly on the concrete ground, so pure and holy.

After lunch, Yu Fu and Wu Huan were talking in their room when someone knocked on the door urgently. Yu Fu opened the door to find a young woman dressed as a nun. She kept glancing back at the stairwell, where hurried footsteps and a man's filthy curses could be heard.

"Please, benefactor, save me! A bad guy is chasing me!"

"..."

Before Yu Fu could answer, he saw two men who looked like urban management officers rush upstairs. The nun screamed and ran upstairs, while the men, panting heavily, continued to chase after her, cursing.

"What's up?"

Wu Huan asked from behind.

"We went up."

Wu Huan peered through the crack in the door at the top of the building. Heavy footsteps stopped on the roof, followed by a man's voice shouting, "You dare to run?" Then came a woman's desperate scream, and then the man's shouts, "Let's talk this out, don't jump!" But then there was no more woman's voice. Yu Fu felt a shadow flicker before his eyes, as if he could already see the woman plummeting to the ground, her body crashing heavily onto the concrete, blood splattering, her face unrecognizable.

However, there was no sound; there was no sound in the silence.

"What happened?"

Wu Huan asked again, but Yu Fu didn't answer. Instead, he trembled as he pushed open the door and stood in the middle of the corridor. The two men who looked like urban management officers came downstairs and were taken aback when they saw the angry Yu Fu.

"You beasts!"

Yu Fu suddenly shouted, his excitement making him appear somewhat abnormal. But what did it matter? Yu Fu finally dared to boldly voice the words he had suppressed for so long, feeling as if his former self had truly come back to life.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"You're sick! You're asking for a beating!"

Just as Yu Fu was about to make his move, Wu Huan suddenly rushed out from the side, wielding a kitchen knife. He leaped onto the steps and slashed at one of the men. Wu Huan's movements were so fast that the two men didn't even have time to react. However, something happened that puzzled Wu Huan: the knife pierced through the man's body, leaving a trail of sparks on the wall behind him, as if the man were merely a shadow in mid-air.

"ah?!"

The two men in uniform vanished into thin air, but their terrified expressions lingered in the air.

Nothing had changed. But was this real? Yu Fu wondered. As he expected, Wu Huan's knife had pierced through the man's body. Yet it was all still an illusion, all emptiness; nothing truly existed.

Between this moment and that moment, the object does not exist.

"how so?"

Wu Huan stared in horror at the two people who had disappeared, and asked Yu Fu in a trembling voice.

“I don’t know either. The world has been like this since yesterday. But perhaps the world has always been like this: everything we see is emptiness.”

Wu Huan threw aside the knife, grabbed Yu Fu's arm tightly, and trembled to keep himself from falling.

"How could this be? Why didn't I notice it yesterday?"

“You can’t see them because you don’t want to see them, and you don’t want to see them because your selfishness has blinded you. ... Yes, selfishness, just as I just caused a woman’s life to be taken away because of my selfishness.”

"I'm selfish? I'm just an unfortunate woman."

They fell silent, standing blankly in the stairwell, listening to the howling wind coming from afar and going away again.

“We are all people with a conscience, but evil is something that we, cowardly yet conscientious people, have allowed to flourish. Having a conscience does not mean that we are not selfish; we are all sinners.”

Wu Huan didn't answer, but instead pondered his own little secret. After a long while, he suddenly uttered these words:

"Yes, I understand. Misfortune is not a reason for selfishness; greed is."

Having solved this problem, Wu Huan was still puzzled by something even more perplexing: the anomalies of this world. Yu Fu didn't know how to explain it to her, so he decided to let her see for herself and feel for herself, to uncover the truth behind it all.

Leaving home, Yu Fu and Wu Huan set off on their journey to find the truth.

It's Christmas Day, and the streets are bustling with people, joy radiating from their faces. Everything seems perfectly normal. Yu Fu reaches out to touch the sunlight; it's indeed cold. He breathes out, but sees no mist, even in the depths of winter. Wu Huan tries to perceive the world with his senses, even rushing into the road to stop a car. Just as Yu Fu said, it's all emptiness. Wu Huan watches the cars disappear before his eyes, watches the screaming pedestrians vanish into nothingness, watches the sunlight fade into a dark green, the sky shrouded in gloom. Wu Huan stands motionless, his face ashen.

"Can you tell me where I am?"

Wu Huan stared blankly at Yu Fu and asked, and Yu Fu sighed and gave the following answer:

"We live in reality, in our real world."

Wu Huan turned back to gaze at the streets, pedestrians, sky, trees, and distant buildings. Was all of this reality? She was deeply lost in a whirlpool of thoughts. In a city, everyone has their own space to live. Some people will never meet others because they walk different paths. In other words, each person may live their entire life in their own world, never encountering others. So, what happens beneath the surface of this city?

All sorts of strange phenomena: those who live in poverty and hardship, those who still retain ancient customs—they constantly build and intertwine to form the foundation of society. And then there are the wicked, roaming freely within the city's grid. The kind majority, however, remain silent—an age of speechlessness!

The giants of thought are still being conceived, perhaps waiting for the next turbulent era.

However, Wu Huan pondered: Does all of this have anything to do with me?

"Let's go together and uncover the truth of the world! In order to be an upright person."

Yu Fu walked ahead, his back straight and upright. Wu Huan didn't hesitate and immediately followed him, heading towards the overpass. However, they didn't notice that behind them, amidst the dark green light and shadow, ghostly shadows overlapped, as if whispering secrets.

"Are they awake?"

Are they about to leave?

Will they find the light?

"Can they save themselves?"

"They are holy!"

...