A terrifying story that took place in an abandoned apartment

Chapter 2

"Didn't expect anything?"

"I never imagined that the legendary author was so young."

I scratched my head, wondering if this counted as a compliment.

The girl said excitedly, "Hmm, this place looks really nice. Wasn't 'The Deserted Village' written here?"

The boy in the lead glared at her, then smiled and said to me, "I'm sorry, we are all your loyal readers and fans, especially after reading your novel 'The Deserted Village' in 'Sprout' magazine. We have many questions we would like to ask you in person."

I see. But I was still a little hesitant, as I never usually greet readers in person—but I let them in anyway. The four of them carefully placed their umbrellas at the door. Although they were a little wet, I didn't mind much and poured drinks for these uninvited visitors.

All four of them were carrying backpacks, two men and two women, and they were young people like me, probably still in their first or second year of university.

My guess was confirmed by them. Another tall girl said, "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Han Xiaofeng."

Then, she introduced each person in turn: the tall boy in the lead was named Huo Qiang, the short girl was named Chunyu, and the last boy was named Su Tianping. They were all sophomores who participated in the famous "Robin University Student Adventure Club".

Huo Qiang got straight to the point: "We have read all your books and novels. After reading your novella 'The Deserted Village,' we were all deeply moved and read it more than a dozen times. We couldn't resist visiting you, so we came here to ask you to answer some questions for us."

I shook my head helplessly; this was my biggest worry after the novel was published.

"Excuse me, how did you get my address?"

"Well..." Huo Qiang scratched his head awkwardly, then said a name.

So it was that guy! He actually gave my address to those college students. I'll definitely give him a piece of my mind next time I see him.

The little girl named Chunyu spoke up: "I'm sorry, we kept pestering him until he had no choice but to tell us."

Forget it, that guy must have seen the pretty female student and couldn't resist the temptation, which is why he betrayed his friend.

"Okay, so what exactly is your problem?"

The silent boy named Su Tianping finally spoke: "First of all, I really like your novel. I think 'The Deserted Village' is really unique. Every word is a trap, a mystery to be solved. There must be other secrets hidden beneath the surface of the story of the deserted village, right? Is it because of the length? I think you still have many stories to tell us."

"Are you planning to write a long novel about a deserted village?"

Han Xiaofeng suddenly interjected. I honestly didn't know how to answer their questions, so I could only offer a few perfunctory replies. But these college students wouldn't let it go, bombarding me with questions like a machine gun.

The rain outside the window was getting heavier and heavier, and the dim light of the sky enveloped the room, easily giving people the illusion that the four people had come from another time and space.

Finally, Huo Qiang couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Alright, now please answer one question: Does the abandoned village actually exist?"

"I've said it several times already, this is just a novel, please don't take it too seriously."

Chunyu suddenly became agitated: "No, you're lying! The deserted village definitely exists! It definitely exists!"

Seeing her pitiful appearance, even the most hard-hearted person couldn't bear it. Perhaps that's why my friend "betrayed" me; after all, we're both soft-hearted. I gritted my teeth and reluctantly nodded: "Okay, I admit it, the deserted village does exist."

The instant I finished speaking, a dazzling flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder that seemed to shake even the windowpanes. Was this an ominous sign? My heart sank—

No, I can't say that. A deserted village shouldn't exist. Unfortunately, the words are already out, and I can't take them back. Now I really regret it.

After hearing what I said, the college students were all extremely excited, but Su Tianping remained calm. He asked, "Then please tell me, where exactly is the deserted village?"

"As I've already mentioned in the novel, the deserted village is located between the sea and the cemetery."

“We know that. What we want to know now is the exact address of the abandoned village. You said in the novel that the abandoned village is in Xiling Town, K City, Zhejiang Province. So where is K City?”

"What exactly do you want?"

Huo Qiang said decisively, "We want to go to the deserted village."

Before the words "We're going to the deserted village" had even finished, another deafening clap of thunder sounded outside the window. The girl named Chunyu instinctively hugged Han Xiaofeng tightly beside her.

I was stunned. Outside the window, a white mist and rain filled the air. Strange, there shouldn't be such heavy thunderstorms at this time of year.

The four college students stared intently at me, waiting for my answer.

This made me even more uneasy. Strange premonitions pounded in my heart like rain, and echoed in my mind like a curse. I must not let them open the gates of Satan.

I answered firmly, "No, I can't tell you!"

The four college students, who had been looking forward to it for so long, immediately deflated like punctured balloons, especially the girl named Chunyu, who was almost in tears.

"Why?" Han Xiaofeng was obviously an impatient person, and she immediately asked me.

"For no particular reason, you just can't go to the deserted village."

Huo Qiang shook his head: "No, we are all ready. All the equipment for wilderness travel and exploration is in place, except for the detailed address. Whether you support us or not, our plan to explore the deserted village will not change."

Part 1, Day 1, Section 2, Day 1 (2)

"Cancel the plan; it's pointless. I suggest you pay more attention to UFOs or the Bermuda Triangle, and don't let fantasy overwhelm your reason."

“Bermuda is too far away, but the deserted village is right here in our neighborhood.” It was Su Tianping who spoke, and he was also a little excited. “Do you know? Chunyu and I joined the adventure club after we read your novel and became fascinated by your writing. Do you know how much effort we put in to find you? Today, we braved such a heavy thunderstorm to visit you. You must not let us, your loyal readers, down.”

My dear readers, how could I disappoint you? However, there is no room for compromise on the matter of the abandoned village. I must bite the bullet and say, "Go back, I will not reveal where the abandoned village is."

Huo Qiang said coldly, "It's a real pity. But it doesn't matter if you don't tell me, because as long as this deserted village really exists, we will definitely find out." After saying that, he got up and left in a hurry, with the other college students following behind him.

The girl named Chunyu was the last to leave. She turned back and glanced at me at the door, saying quietly, "I'm really disappointed."

All I could say was helplessly, "It's thundering outside, be careful."

Watching the four uninvited guests disappear into the stairwell, a wave of guilt washed over me. Should I have done this? They were all my loyal readers, and I should have done my best to help them, but the deserted village… no, let’s not talk about the deserted village anymore.

I thought that was the end of it. However, on the very night the four college students left, something even stranger entered my life.

Late at night, the thunder and lightning had stopped, and the rain pattered against the window like a woman's fingers tapping.

As usual, I opened my email inbox and received many emails about the deserted village, mostly from admirers and critics. But one email in particular caught my attention—

You missed the point.

The moment I saw this title, my eyelid twitched, and it was as if that deep, round hole reappeared before my eyes.

--well?

My mouse seemed to have been struck by the title, disappearing in the blink of an eye. I quickly waved my right hand a few times and finally found the timid mouse. Was it frightened by the title?

Clicking on the title "You Left That Well Uncovered," a passage of text jumped into my view—

Hello: You must be the author of *The Abandoned Village*. If you consider this email spam, please delete it now. This afternoon, I finished reading your novella *The Abandoned Village*. Please forgive me, but I am now commenting on your novel as someone with inside knowledge, not as a reader. I want to tell you that you omitted something important in the novel. I don't know if you deliberately concealed it or if you have a bad memory, but assuming you actually visited the old Jinshi Mansion in the abandoned village, and not just heard about it, do you remember the well in the backyard of the old Jinshi Mansion? You don't have to reply. Sorry to bother you.

A reader

After reading this strange email, I was stunned for several minutes. The words on the computer screen seemed to skip over my eyes and go straight into my brain.

My hand hovering over the mouse hesitated for a few moments, but I still didn't press the delete key. I slowly closed my eyes.

well?

The moment I closed my eyes, the dark opening reappeared—

I carefully peered into the well. The narrow, ancient well was bottomless, seemingly immersed in the darkness of time. Suddenly, ripples appeared at the bottom of the well, the gently rippling water reflecting the light from the opening. Instantly, I saw my own reflection in the ripples at the bottom of the well.

I trembled as I looked at myself at the bottom of the well, as if facing Einstein's hypothetical "black hole," a cosmic black hole billions of light-years away that absorbed all matter with infinite power, while time itself was distorted and warped around it. Yes, facing this ancient well, I seemed to sense a breath rising slowly from the bottom, surging through the narrow, moist walls like a baby's birth canal, and bursting forth from the narrow opening, spraying onto my face, my nostrils, and filling my chest with each breath. I couldn't touch it, but I could greedily inhale it; I knew it was here. Now, it had escaped from the well…

Who is it?

I suddenly opened my eyes, and the deep, ancient well vanished instantly, replaced by my computer screensaver. I let out a long sigh. The scene that had just flashed before my eyes was so unforgettable that I didn't even know whether to describe my feelings as fear or sorrow.

But I knew I shouldn't open that well, because I didn't know what would happen next. All I could do was keep its existence a secret.

This strange email is right; the ancient well does exist in the deserted village, right in the backyard of the old Jinshi Mansion. I just didn't include it in my novel "The Deserted Village".

Because I have a particular fear of this well, I can't imagine what the consequences would be if it were to appear in a novel and be presented to countless readers.

No! I can't imagine it.

Now, I'm facing this strange email. I don't know how the other person knew about that well. Maybe it was just hearsay.

Although the other party said I didn't have to reply, I thought it would be better to reply anyway, at least I want to know who the other party is? Is it just someone who is bored and made up an ancient well to scare me, or does it really have some kind of connection with the deserted village?

After much deliberation, I replied to the other party with an email.

Hello: I don't know how to address you, nor do I know who you are. But I must admit that there is indeed an ancient well in the backyard of the Jinshi Mansion. How did you know about that well? Please reply.

After sending the email, I shut down my computer and finally breathed a sigh of relief. The rain continued to patter, like the receding tide on a deserted coastline. That night, I didn't realize that my life would be drastically changed by those two emails.

Part 1, Day 1, Section 3, Day 2

Sure enough, around midnight the next day, I received a reply in my email inbox—

Hello: I told you you didn't have to reply.

But since you acknowledge the existence of that well, why did you omit it from the novel? As for how I knew about that well, I'm sorry, I can't answer that question.

Forgive my frankness, but after reading your "The Deserted Village," I had a feeling—if you're not deliberately hiding something, then you've never actually been to a deserted village. There are just too many errors in your novel; I'll point them out to you one by one when I think of them.

If I don't remember, then you're lucky.

Tell me, have you really been to a deserted village?

This time, there was no signature at the end. Looking at the aggressive words in this email, I really couldn't imagine what the other person was like.

After hesitating for a moment, I gave my reply—

Hello: Who are you?

I feel that our current communication is like children playing hide-and-seek in a big house. Both of us believe that the other cannot guess where we are hiding, while we can accurately guess where the other is hiding.

To reiterate, "The Deserted Village" is only a short story of a little over 20,000 words.

What is a novel? I think a novel is a dream; all novels are the ramblings of a novelist. And whether it's a beautiful dream or a nightmare, no matter how realistic it seems, there's always a distance between dreams and our real lives. That's why we like to dream, and that's why we like novels.

Okay, believe it or not, I did visit the deserted village. However, the deserted village in the novel and the deserted village in reality are two completely different worlds; otherwise, it wouldn't be called a novel.

Finally, I have a small request: could you please leave your signature?

After sending the reply, I turned off my computer and sat in my chair thinking for a long time.

Ever since my novella "The Deserted Village" was published in the magazine, my mind has been in turmoil. Strangely, I can't recall what I was thinking a few months ago when I decided to write it. My memory has shattered into fragments, impossible to piece back together. I searched desperately in my mind until I remembered that cold winter afternoon—

Yes, I remember that day they said it was going to snow. I looked up at the sky, anticipating the moment the snowflakes would begin to fall. All around me was a cacophony of voices, carrying a musty smell that seemed to come from hundreds of years ago. Oh, and that day I went to the used book market. Standing in the middle of the aisle, I saw stalls on both sides that looked like they were collecting junk.