A terrifying story that took place in an abandoned apartment

Chapter 13

"He was the son she had with her original husband before she entered the Ouyang family. The old man said he hated the Ouyang family. In fact, everyone in the deserted village disliked the Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). After 1949, the Ouyang family declined, and no one paid any attention to them anymore. This family was like a wandering ghost guarding the old house, and their numbers dwindled. Now it seems that they have completely died out."

I sighed, "This must be some kind of karma."

Chunyu nodded, her voice trembling with difficulty: "Besides that... the old man also said that the deserted village was a... leper village in ancient times."

"A leprosy village?"

This is the first time I've heard of this. As for my description in the novel "The Desolate Village" that the villagers were northern immigrants from the Jingkang Incident of the Song Dynasty, that is entirely my own invention.

"Yes, in ancient times, lepers were discriminated against and driven from their homes, forced to wander pitifully. Many lepers gathered together to survive and traveled a long distance to this desolate coast, which they named the place 'Wasteland Village.' However, before they arrived here, a family had already settled here for generations—the Ouyang family."

"The Ouyang family lived together with leprosy patients, forming a desolate village?"

"But for some reason, no one in the Ouyang family contracted leprosy. And most of the leprosy patients who came from elsewhere lived to a ripe old age, raised children, and passed on their lineage. After more than ten generations, leprosy gradually disappeared from the deserted village."

"It's incredible. In ancient times, leprosy was considered an incurable disease, and no one could cure it."

"That's true, so for hundreds of years, very few people have dared to enter a leper village."

"Is this also why the deserted village is isolated from the world and so conservative and closed off?"

“Yes, but it’s not just that.” Suddenly, Chunyu’s eyes turned strange. “For hundreds of years, there has been a legend in the deserted village that there is a great secret hidden somewhere in the village, and all outsiders who intrude will be cursed by this secret.”

I suddenly gasped, looking at Chunyu's strange expression, and slowly said, "Will all intruders be cursed?"

"That's right, none of them will escape."

Spring Rain's answer was resolute.

But the problem is—I am also an “outsider.”

I felt as if I had been struck by something, and I was stunned for a moment. I involuntarily lowered my head and fell into deep thought.

However, Chunyu seemed to be bewitched, muttering the same phrase over and over again: "None of them can escape... none of them can escape... none of them can escape..."

Unbelievable, she looked like a little witch, and the words coming from her mouth sounded like ancient incantations, constantly repeating in my ear. I looked at her face anxiously and shouted, "Chunyu, what's wrong with you? Wake up!"

"Not one can escape... Not one can escape... Not one can escape..."

She seemed to have become a different person, staring blankly ahead, her head swaying as she spoke, the swaying becoming faster and faster, making me dizzy. I quickly called out to the nurse.

Just then, as the spring rain shook violently, the pendant hidden in her bosom jumped out. Instantly, my eyes felt as if they had been stung by something—the pendant was a jade ring.

I could no longer care about the crazed Chunyu; my eyes were fixed on the jade ring on her chest—it had a strange luster that made my eyes sway along with hers.

Part Three, Day Thirteen, Section 23, Day Fifteen (2)

Several strong male caregivers rushed in and finally managed to subdue Chunyu. Then a nurse gave her an injection. During Chunyu's violent struggle, the cord around her neck broke, and the jade ring fell to the ground. I immediately bent down to pick up the jade ring and stepped aside to watch Chunyu.

About ten minutes later, the caregivers left the room. Chunyu finally regained her composure and looked at me with a weary expression.

I waved the jade ring at her and said, "Sorry, you dropped something."

Chunyu squinted, looked at the jade ring for a while, and said, "No, this isn't mine. You can take it."

"Then whose is it?"

She said in a strange, quiet voice, "It belongs to a deserted village."

"A deserted village?"

I examined the jade ring more closely. It was slightly thicker than a normal ring and was mainly a translucent bluish-green color, but there was a strange dark red color on the side of the ring.

Instantly, my hand felt like it had been electrocuted, and Su Tianping's words flashed through my mind. Yes, they had stumbled upon a mysterious underground palace in the deserted village, and in the innermost chamber of the palace, they had discovered a mysterious jade box containing a jade ring.

—It is this jade ring, exactly as Su Tianping described.

Suddenly, I stared at Chunyu and said, "This jade ring should be in the secret underground chamber of the deserted village, right?"

She looked a little scared and nodded immediately.

"At the time, Huo Qiang's flashlight was smashed, so you took advantage of the darkness to steal this jade ring from the secret room?"

“Yes, you can take it away,” Chunyu said, her voice trembling, her eyes so cold.

Just then, the caregivers suddenly came in. They helped Chunyu up and were about to take her to the ward. Chunyu obediently walked out, but when she reached the door, she seemed to suddenly remember something, turned back to me, and said, "There's one more photo—"

"What photo?"

I rushed to her side, but the caregiver grabbed her hand and pulled her away forcefully. Chunyu used her other hand to cling tightly to the door frame and said urgently, "Han Xiaofeng took a photo of the deserted village."

Before I could answer, Chunyu was pulled into the corridor by the caregiver. She forced her head to turn and look at me with a strange expression before quickly disappearing from my sight.

I stood alone at the door, recalling Chunyu's last words, my body seemingly frozen in place.

At this moment, that small jade ring is tightly clenched in my hand.

I slowly opened my palm, and some beads of sweat were clinging to the jade ring. I gently wiped them away, feeling as if I were panning for gold in water. Suddenly, out of some kind of instinct, I placed the jade ring on my fingertip. Just as I was about to try putting it on, my phone rang.

I shuddered, first stuffing the jade ring into my pocket, then answering the phone.

A magnetic female voice came through the phone: "Hello, this is Nie Xiaoqian."

Was it her? After not seeing her for several days, suddenly hearing her voice filled me with an indescribable feeling. I stammered, "Where are you?"

"I'm at the subway bookstore where we last met, so where are you?"

"Mental hospital."

"Oh my god? They locked you up?"

Anyone would probably faint upon hearing such an answer. I chuckled inwardly and said, "Sorry, I didn't explain clearly earlier. I was visiting a patient in a mental hospital."

"Hey, you can't just go to places like that."

Then I tentatively asked, "Can we talk now?"

"Okay, I'll wait for you in the bookstore, but you have to hurry, or I'll be leaving soon."

"OK."

After ending the call, I quickly ran out of the room, leaving only the sound of my hurried footsteps echoing in the corridor of the mental hospital.

After leaving the mental hospital, it only took me twenty minutes to get to the bookstore inside the subway station.

As I stepped into the bookstore, panting, searching for Xiaoqian among the rows of bookshelves, I suddenly heard a soft voice behind me: "You're late."

I breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to see Xiaoqian. She was wearing a black dress and her hair was tied in a ponytail. She looked a little different from last time.

"Who are you going to see at the mental hospital?" she asked me, striking a peculiar pose.

Spring rain.

"That female college student who went to the deserted village?"

"She's gone mad."

Xiaoqian's expression turned serious: "Why?"

"I don't know. Of the four college students who went to the deserted village, two died one after another after returning to Shanghai. The other boy also disappeared, and his fate is now unknown. As for Chunyu, he has gone insane and is locked up in a mental hospital."

"It was like a nightmare."

“That’s right, it was a nightmare.” I sighed softly, and I seemed to hear Chunyu’s voice again. “Just now in the mental hospital, Chunyu told me a story about a deserted village—the story of the wife being sold and the well. That’s right, the story she heard in the deserted village is exactly the same as the story you told me.”

Xiaoqian nodded and said confidently, "Now you should believe me, right?"

“Okay, I believe you. Chunyu also told me that the deserted village harbors a secret, and all outsiders who venture into it will be cursed by this secret.” I stared intently into her eyes and asked, “Xiaoqian, is that true?”

Part Three, Day Thirteen, Section 24, Day Fifteen (3)

She seemed a little scared, avoiding my gaze, and said, "I don't know... I don't know... I'm sorry, I suddenly feel a little panicked."

I suddenly looked down and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, no, don't make wild guesses." She interrupted me decisively.

"Alright, I won't ask any more questions. You should go back and get some rest."

As we talked, we arrived at the bookstore entrance. She said casually, "So, where are you going?"

"I'm taking the subway now to Chunyu's university."

Xiaoqian seemed to perk up again: "What are we going there for?"

“There’s a photo related to the deserted village. Chunyu just said that Han Xiaofeng took that photo.”

"Then let's go."

She turned and walked out, leaving me confused: "Walk? Where to?"

“Go to that university? Didn’t you say you were going to find that photo? I’ll go with you.”

This answer left me speechless, and I said somewhat awkwardly, "What are you going to do? This has nothing to do with you."

"Anything related to abandoned villages, I must participate. Let's go!"

Xiaoqian pulled me to the subway ticket gate, and I asked in a daze, "Aren't you going to work at the ice cream shop today?"

"Anyway, it's just a job, so it's okay to skip a day occasionally."

As we were talking, she had already passed through the ticket gate and turned back to me, saying, "Are you going or not? Otherwise, I'll go by myself."

So I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go inside, and walk with her to the platform.

While waiting for the bus, I suddenly asked softly, "You'll regret this."

She replied coldly, "No, you're the one who'll regret it."

The subway train roared in, and we hurriedly stepped into the carriage, but suddenly fell silent, letting the train carry us through the tunnel at high speed.

I didn't say a word the whole way, just staring blankly out the car window. In the dark tunnel, our faces appeared on the glass. I felt like she was watching me the whole time, but I couldn't see her eyes clearly. It was like looking into a blurry mirror, and there was someone else hiding behind the mirror.

More than twenty minutes later, we returned to the ground and arrived at Chunyu's university.

When I found Han Xiaofeng's dormitory and wanted to see her belongings, a teacher stopped us. Presumably, the deaths of Huo Qiang and Han Xiaofeng had made the school very nervous, and they didn't want more people to know.