Ghosts Behind You

Chapter 3

Li Hong felt her heart leap into her throat, her lips were dry, and she seemed to be trembling slightly. She wanted to ask who was there, but she couldn't utter a word for a long time. She stared intently at the door, her whole body stiff.

The footsteps stopped in front of her house, or rather, suddenly disappeared.

The lights in the hallway outside had been turned on sometime during the night, illuminating even the crack in the door. Did the hotel hallways never turn off their lights at night? Li Hong wondered anxiously. But why was it pitch black outside when I tried to open the door just now? Had the lights just been turned on?

She slowly and stiffly bent down, trying to peek through the crack under the door to see who was standing there.

The crack in the door was quite large. Although Li Hong was some distance from the door, her eyesight was excellent, so she could still see some of what was happening outside through the crack.

She saw a pair of black cloth shoes with white soles, but they were covered in dust and had turned a grayish-black. One shoe was facing her sideways, and the other was facing her directly. The shoes were large, probably size 42. However, something about these shoes looked wrong, because both were flattened, as if they hadn't been worn on the feet, but rather had been stepped on. Yet, Li Hong couldn't see anyone's feet at all!

*Swish, swish!* The shoes suddenly started moving again, startling Li Hong so much that she fell to the ground. The shoes were moving on their own, circling the doorway once, and then returning the way they came.

Li Hong covered her mouth, her eyes wide with horror, and bit herself hard. Ouch! This wasn't a dream!

10. Survey (1)

Li Hong fell asleep on the floor.

She didn't know how she had fallen asleep, still seemingly in shock, but before she knew it, she was asleep until dawn. She mumbled as she got up from the floor and dusted herself off. Outside, it was already bright daylight, and she could hear early risers shouting downstairs. She went to the window and drew back the curtains. A considerable number of people had gathered downstairs; they were probably waiting for their rides to their destinations. The television was still playing the morning news.

At 7:30, Li Hong glanced at her phone. It was still early; she could go back to sleep. But she felt she wouldn't be able to sleep. The events of last night were still vivid in her mind—the nightmare of the television, the dark shadow at the head of her bed, the clicking of the door lock, the rustling of footsteps, the empty black cloth shoes… Good heavens, in her 28 years of life, she hadn't encountered as many strange things as last night, yet she couldn't explain a single one. She scratched her head vigorously, even wondering if she had been dreaming the whole night.

Hmm, maybe. Maybe she had nightmares all night and rolled off the bed, ending up like this this morning. Wait, no, I bit myself last night! Look, the teeth marks are still there! Dark red teeth marks on her wrist; it looks like she really bit herself hard last night. Oh my god!

It's necessary to find that man named Zheng Zhihao and ask him what really happened. He's the only one who knows the truth, or rather, he's the one who orchestrated it all.

Thinking of this, Li Hong pictured the man's face and his ambiguous smile. She'd heard that people with delusions often had very poor intelligence or worldly abilities, but some did possess a surprising capacity for judgment regarding the unknown. While she couldn't yet discern how intellectually deficient the man was, that might explain why he hadn't been committed to a mental hospital.

It seems the key to the problem lies with this man, but we can't approach him now. Let's not alert him. We should investigate his background first.

Zheng Zhihao, could that be his real name? If it is, then we should be able to find his household registration information online, and even check if he has a criminal record. In short, if it's his real name, everything will be much easier. Hmm, let's start by investigating his identity.

Should we notify the police? Although I hold the nominal rank of Second Superintendent, I'm not a real police officer. If this person is truly suspicious, I don't have the authority to arrest him. What should we do? Let's not notify them yet, and wait until we have solid evidence! Right, let's draw his portrait first, then he won't be able to escape—she was very confident in her portrait drawing skills. She could completely reconstruct a face based solely on eyewitness descriptions or the skull of the deceased, so drawing a portrait of someone she had seen before would naturally be even more reliable.

Having cleared her mind, Li Hong felt more at ease; it seemed there was still much to do today. Suddenly, a thought popped into her head: Was Ma Guiping's death related to him? Why was she so enthusiastic about investigating Zheng Zhihao, almost forgetting her true purpose for coming here? Yes, the cause of Ma Guiping's death had been investigated, but why would such a healthy person die silently in a fire? Being burned to death was an extremely unusual way to die, with a pain level of 12; no sane person could endure such agony—ah, revolutionary martyr Qiu Shaoyun was another matter; he was a hero, not an ordinary citizen—Ma Guiping's motives and actions before his death were too strange. Could it be related to this series of strange events?

Li Hong recalled the feeling she had when she was alone in that bathroom. Explaining that feeling was a difficult problem for her, because ignoring it was impossible. Although she knew those feelings were unreliable and that she could very well have been hallucinating, abandoning this clue might prevent her from finding the reason for Ma Guiping's strange behavior before his death. Her intuition told her that it was those unsettling feelings that caused Ma Guiping to lose his mind, and thus completely give up trying to save himself when he was engulfed in flames.

Li Hong gave a bitter smile, feeling like she was becoming a witch, failing to explain the problem from a scientific perspective and instead relying on "feelings" and "intuition." However, with her existing knowledge and experience, she really couldn't explain these problems. If she simply dismissed them as hallucinations or coincidences, although she could write a flawless report, she would be betraying her conscience and... her best friend, Li Li.

Oh God, although I do not believe in you, so many people regard you as omnipotent. Please show me your power and let me find out the truth!

11. Survey (2)

Li Hong suddenly realized that she couldn't do anything right now.

Although she had begun investigating this series of strange events and made a plan, she was currently unable to carry out her work due to insufficient preparation: drawing a portrait—she did not bring her own tools, such as paper and pen; investigating Zheng Zhihao—she did not bring her laptop, so she could not access the internet, and she could not log into the Ministry of Public Security's investigation system. In the past, she had always asked friends in the bureau for help with such matters.

She hadn't expected to encounter this situation, and had even brought some investigative tools like gloves, tweezers, and evidence bags, which were now completely useless. Did she really have to bother the police here again to help investigate Zheng Zhihao?

The thought of this person filled her with disgust. His wicked grin and that seemingly mocking "beautiful lady"—but why did she have such a terrible impression of him? Was it because he wasn't cooperating with the investigation and acted mysteriously? Hmm, that was a big reason, but maybe…maybe there were other reasons too.

Actually, Li Hong still doesn't want to admit it. She did follow his warning and didn't go out all night. As for whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, she can't tell yet, because she doesn't know what dangers she might face if she went out. Ah! By the way, how is Li Li now? Is she alright? That dark figure looked so much like her, did she also discover something strange? We can subtly ask her about it.

Li Hong jumped out of bed immediately. There was no time to lose; she had to go and check on Li Li as soon as possible, hoping that she was alright.

***********

Just as Li Hong finished washing up and opened her bedroom door, a piece of paper stuck to the door hit her eye because the door opened inwards. She was puzzled, then noticed the paper had floated to the floor. It was a yellow piece of paper with red strokes on it, but she couldn't make out what it said. She turned around, locked the door, and then picked up the paper.

She stared at it in disbelief for a long time before finally understanding that this was the legendary "talisman"!

She quickly threw away the paper, as if she had touched something very dirty. The paper talisman drifted to the ground again, like a fallen leaf. "Oh my god, who put this thing on my door!" she cried out inwardly, then looked back at her bedroom door. Thankfully, there were no other paper talismans.

"Who did this!" she shouted hysterically, pointing at the paper talisman, but no one in the hallway paid her any attention. A sense of foreboding washed over her; she felt like she'd been tricked, because she'd seen villains use talismans to harm people in movies and TV shows, though she'd only seen a handful of horror films. Could the strange things she'd witnessed last night be related to this thing? Had this thing caused those strange phenomena?!

After yelling, she calmed down a little. She picked up the paper again and carefully tucked it into her notebook. How would she explain it to her students if they saw it in her notebook? Sigh, she could only ignore it for now; there was no way to find out how the paper ended up at her door. She glanced at the corner of the corridor—of course, there were no security cameras there.

She simply couldn't believe it. How could an ordinary, even crudely made, piece of paper, with incomprehensible characters drawn on it in red ink (perhaps animal blood), possibly cause those strange phenomena at night? Hmm, she should have her colleagues at the station check if the paper had that strange man's fingerprints. If it did, they could detain him on charges of endangering public safety and force him to reveal what he knew. She could ask the police here to investigate his background as well. What was that forensic doctor's name again? Right, Yue Ling.

**********

Li Li's spirits have improved considerably, especially after the arrival of Ma Guiping's parents, which brought her great comfort. However, the two elderly people are now in tears, and Li Li needs to comfort them again, so Li Hong's arrival has made things much easier for Li Li.

The elderly woman didn't try to avoid the question; instead, after learning she was a forensic pathologist, she kept pestering her with questions. She refused to believe her beloved son would commit suicide, insisting they were murdered. The woman's analysis was quite logical: with so many colleagues, who knew which one harbored resentment towards her son and seized the opportunity to cruelly kill him?

Li Hong listened attentively. Indeed, the old man's analysis wasn't without merit. If the murderer was Ma Guiping's colleague, then something must have given him a motive (everyone knows there are bound to be conflicts in the workplace). However, the police had ruled out homicide because everyone had an alibi. Almost everyone was waiting in the car for three people: Ma Guiping and two female colleagues living in room 402. They were showering at the time, and when Li Hong saw the two girls, she immediately realized they couldn't be the perpetrator, because they were both small and thin, and three girls like that couldn't possibly subdue Ma Guiping. Moreover, there was no evidence of a second person present at the scene—it could only be an accident.

It seemed she couldn't handle the persuasion herself. Fortunately, Li Li had already called the police, saying they would go to the police station that afternoon to investigate further and bring back Ma Guiping's remaining hand. Hearing this, Li Hong felt relieved. However, she still needed to speak with Li Li alone.

Suddenly, Li Hong remembered something and decided to conduct an experiment. She changed her seat so that Li Li could sit between her and the window, where the light from outside was brighter. From her vantage point, she could only see Li Li's silhouette—she wanted to verify whether the dark figure she saw last night was Li Li's appearance or just her subjective guess.

Seeing Li Hong's strange behavior, Li Li was completely baffled. But when she saw Li Hong sit on the edge of the bed and quickly lie down to find a suitable angle, her face turned pale: "What...what are you doing?"

Li Hong had seen it clearly; the dark figure was indeed Li Li. She straightened up, her mind a jumble of thoughts, then suddenly noticed Li Li's pale face and trembling lips. Her heart skipped a beat—could something really be wrong with Li Li?!

12. Dreams

Li Hong led Li Li to the corridor. Seeing that no one was around, she asked, "What's wrong?" Li Li didn't speak; her face was still pale, but her lips were no longer trembling. She looked up at Li Hong and said, "Let's talk somewhere else."

The corridor was definitely not a place to talk; besides the echo, someone could pop out at any moment. Li Hong felt that what Li Li was going to tell her was definitely related to the strange events of last night, so she didn't want anyone else to hear. It would be fine if others thought they were crazy, but if they really scared someone (like the old lady in the house, who might be eavesdropping), it could be troublesome. After all, the fewer people who knew about such things, the better.

Just like back in high school, the two walked side by side on the small bridge. The sun wasn't too strong, the temperature was very comfortable, the lake water rippled gently, and a breeze caressed their faces. If nothing had happened, being able to take a walk on such a summer day would have been incredibly pleasant. Li Hong was even a little intoxicated by it.

"Do you remember when we went on a field trip in high school?" Li Li was also touched by this feeling, and asked while staring at the lake.

"You mean that time we went to Bayi Lake?" Li Hong said. "Of course I remember. Zhao Dazhi (a high school classmate) was thrown into the lake by them and got covered in mud." Thinking of the scene, Li Hong smiled.

"Sigh! It's been almost ten years." Li Li said thoughtfully, "If it weren't for this, I don't know when we would have met again."

"Yes, it's been over a year since we last saw each other."

“But I dreamt last night that you were killed,” Li Li said, her lips trembling. “It felt so real, I even cried.”

A weight was lifted from Li Hong's heart. Since it was just a dream, there wasn't much of a problem: "What did you dream about?"

“I dreamt that a policeman told me you were murdered, so I rushed to see what was happening. I ran and ran until I got to your room, but the door was blocked by yellow police sashes. I didn’t care and just squeezed in. Then I saw you lying on the bed—just like you were lying there just now, it felt so real—but I couldn’t see how you died. There were no wounds or anything, I just saw you lying there motionless…”

"Are you half-lying down with a pillow behind you?" Li Hong asked.

Li Li's face turned pale again. She looked at Li Hong in disbelief, as if she had seen a monster.

"Don't be scared, I was just making a hypothetical situation. Have you forgotten that I used to like lying like that in my dorm?" Li Hong quickly said, not wanting to frighten her, and also regretting interrupting her earlier.

Li Li's expression softened noticeably: "You scared me to death! When I was talking about my dream just now, I felt goosebumps all over my body, and you suddenly described it exactly as if you saw it with me. It scared me to death!"

"Hehe, maybe my sleeping posture is imprinted in your mind, so you dreamed about it." Li Hong felt a chill run down her spine, because when she saw the dark figure last night, she couldn't move her body, and she was lying in that very same half-reclined position... God!

"Go on, what happened next?" Li Hong asked calmly.

"Then I came closer to you and sat down, and then I thought, you are really dead. I sat there, very sad, and tears fell down my face. I sat there for a long time, not daring to look at you anymore, and then I left."

"Oh..." Li Hong felt her heart pounding, because she realized that Li Li's dream was exactly the same as her reaction to the shadowy figure she saw last night. Li Hong had woken up just as Li Li was sitting there, tears streaming down her face; no wonder she seemed so still. And the sound of the door? Li Hong suddenly remembered. She wanted to ask Li Li directly, but was afraid of startling her, so she pretended to be thoughtful and asked, "Did you still slip out the door?"

Li Li was stunned for a moment, then realized: "I don't think so, I don't remember. I just felt really sad at the time. My husband and best friend are dead, what's the point of me living..." As she spoke, she started to cry again.

"Li Li!!" Li Hong was a little anxious when she saw that she had made her cry. Her spirits had just recovered, and now she had made her cry again. "Don't cry, don't cry..." Li Hong hugged her. "I'm still alive and well, how could I die..." She hated herself for not knowing how to comfort people and didn't know what to say.

Li Li sobbed for a while, then stopped crying, sighed deeply, and continued, "In my dream I was even more heartbroken than I am now. Looking at you now makes me feel much better. In my dream I didn't crawl out; I opened the door and left, then gently closed it, afraid of disturbing you."

"Did the door close with a click?" Li Hong asked quickly.

"I think so, but I don't remember. Did you take your dream seriously? Are you afraid you'll die?" Li Li asked with a surprised look, curious why Li Hong was asking such detailed questions.

“No, that’s not it,” Li Hong said softly, leaning on the bridge railing and looking at the distant mountains. “I’ve had a dream like that too.” Then she turned to Li Li and said, “I dreamed that you came to see me.”

13. Dreams (2)

Li Li looked at Li Hong in disbelief, as if she had never seen her before: "You mean, you dreamed that I came to your room to see you?"

Li Hong nodded—of course I can't tell her I saw it while sitting on the bed! That would definitely scare her, so I'll just pretend it was a dream.

"Did you feel like you were...alive or dead in your dream?" Li Li asked cautiously.

"Of course it's alive!" Li Hong laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "What would I see if it were dead!"

Li Li was very curious: "And then?"

"Nothing much after that. It was like a fragment of a dream. I dreamt that you were sitting there, and then you left. But what I remember very clearly is that you gently closed the door, and the lock clicked."

“But I really don’t remember any door making a sound,” Li Li said, frowning. “But this is so strange! We both had the same dream, but from our own perspectives.”

"It was just a dream. Besides, we've been dealing with the same thing these past few days, so it's normal for the content to be similar occasionally," Li Hong quickly said, afraid that Li Li might get obsessed with it. Before she could speak, Li Hong continued, "I'm much relieved to see you in a better mood. If you're going to the bureau this afternoon, I'll go with you and take care of some things."

"What do you need me for?"

"It's nothing major, just official business."

"Oh, okay, I'll call you when we leave this afternoon."

"Alright. Let's go back first, the old folks must be getting impatient."

********

As Li Hong walked back to her room, she was still puzzled by Li Li's dream and gained a deeper understanding of the dark figure she had seen the previous night. "So, that dark figure was Li Li's avatar in the dream," Li Hong told herself. "No wonder I couldn't observe her. But from any scientific perspective, this is completely impossible and inexplicable."

Psychiatrists have explained the mechanisms of dreaming quite well, but they haven't fully understood its biochemical processes. Although there's a saying that "what you think about during the day, you dream about at night," many people still dream of being in a completely unfamiliar place, meeting completely unfamiliar strangers, or even dreaming about scenarios that will happen in the future. Explaining these dreams solely through the lens of "what you think about during the day, you dream about at night" simply doesn't make sense.

This happened around 3 AM last night. At this time, most people are in the first stage of the third sleep cycle, which is REM sleep, the period when many dreams occur. If Li Li's dream, for some reason, was replayed in my room at that moment, it should be synchronous, meaning I simultaneously saw Li Li's dream. But what does that mean? I saw it with my own eyes, not through any equipment, and there doesn't seem to be any machine that can see dreams. Could it be that Li Li's brainwaves were abnormal during her dream, triggering some electromagnetic phenomenon that caused this? Because the television screen completely lost its picture—ah! If my professor knew I was thinking about this, he would definitely scold me for being absurd.

Furthermore, when people dream, they only have sight and no other senses such as hearing or smell. Therefore, it is normal that Li Li did not hear the clicking sound. So where did that clicking sound come from?

Her mind was about to explode, but she still couldn't figure it out. To fully understand what happened, she needed to first perform an EEG on Li Li and analyze her brainwave pattern (that was easy); then she needed to recreate the situation (which was practically impossible), using optical equipment to detect the shadow and analyze why it absorbed light without reflecting it; if she could remove a small piece of the shadow (which was also impossible), she could analyze its chemical composition using a spectrometer. And, of course, she'd need a magnetic field recording device to record the magnetic field distribution around the shadow before she could analyze its physical properties, and then try to find the relationship between the shadow and Li Li's EEG…

absurd!

Sitting on her bed, Li Hong felt utterly exhausted. She had no other options but to wait until she went to the police station that afternoon. But what was Zheng Zhihao doing now? Hopefully, he hadn't run away. Right, what was his purpose in coming here? He said he wouldn't come if it were a robbery or murder. So, was he here to "investigate" these strange things? Hmph, religious workers. All the signs pointed to this being the perfect time for "religious workers" to operate. Those who specialize in superstitious activities would definitely take advantage of this situation to swindle and deceive. Would he go to Li Li? Would he try to get her to pay for some kind of ritual? He's not a monk, after all. No, I have to send her a text message and tell her not to fall for it!

14. The Mystery of the Toilet (1)

After sending the text message, Li Hong sat on the bed, considering her next move. She was a little anxious because if Li Li and Ma Guiping's parents retrieved the hand that afternoon, they would leave soon. Although Ma Guiping's case seemed to be over, Li Hong felt that things were just beginning. She wanted to tell Li Li the whole story, hoping she could stay a few more days, but her reasons were too weak, especially her "feelings," "intuitions," and even hallucinations—they weren't convincing at all—they were still preparing for the seventh day after his death in Beijing. Although Li Hong knew that if she forced Li Li to stay, she would definitely stay.

A moment later, Li Li replied with a text message, just a few simple words: "Understood."

Li Hong felt relieved and began calculating the time: she would go to the police station this afternoon to investigate Zheng Zhihao's background and the talisman. If all went well, she could get the background information on the spot; if not—for example, if his name was a pseudonym—then this lead would be lost. As for the fingerprints on the talisman, she wouldn't get the comparison results until tomorrow at the earliest, because she didn't know which finger's fingerprints would be left on the talisman. Therefore, she needed all ten of Zheng Zhihao's fingerprints to make a comparison—damn it, why didn't I think of this at the beginning? How could I possibly get his fingerprints now!

It seems I have too little experience in criminal investigation; I haven't made any progress at all.

Li Hong angrily threw her pillow down. No, she couldn't just leave like this. She had to find another way: call her police friend in Beijing and investigate Zheng Zhihao's background. She had to do it now. If he was using a fake name, she'd have the local police detain him for using a fake ID, and then they could compare his fingerprints. That's it!

*******************

Her police friends in Beijing were very helpful; they told Li Hong she'd get the results in about an hour. Li Hong checked the time: 10:40. She had an hour to wait, but she wasn't going to waste it. She decided to retest the feeling she'd had in the bathroom. Her physical condition was good now, and she wasn't prone to hallucinations.

Room 104 had been unsealed, and although no guests were staying there, she was still able to get the key to the room by showing her police ID. She went to the front desk, showed her ID, and stated her request.

The receptionist seemed surprised: "A police officer took the room key this morning. Weren't you together?"