Ghost Stories - Chapter 16
A message came through in less than two seconds: "Of course I'm here. Have you seen the pictures?"
Lin Feng said, "I'm sorry, I'm Wang Peng's friend, he passed away yesterday!"
"What's going on?!" Tornado exclaimed.
Lin Feng sent a message saying, "Can we schedule a time to talk in person?"
"Tornado" said, "Okay, come find me at the 'Wind and Cloud' Internet Cafe on Sunset Red Street this afternoon. I'm the owner!"
Lin Feng: "I'll be there at 3 PM sharp!"
Volume 2, Chapter 5, "Split Head" (5)
"Fengyun" Internet Cafe is located in the middle of the Sunset Red Internet Cafe Street in S City. The signboard is very eye-catching, and Lin Feng, Li Mingsheng, and Xiao Qian found it without much trouble.
Once inside the internet cafe, Li Mingsheng showed his ID to the bartender and said, "Excuse me, could you please find your boss?" The bartender pointed to a man in his thirties leaning against the window and said, "That's the boss!"
The three men approached, and Li Mingsheng asked, "Is it 'Tornado'? I'm Li Mingsheng from the Municipal Bureau, and these two are my colleagues!" He then extended his hand.
"Tornado" hurriedly extended his hand and said, "Young man, please come inside and sit down!" With that, he led the three men to his office and made them sit down.
As soon as he sat down, Boss Long sighed and said, "Alas, I never expected this to happen. How did Wang Peng die?"
Lin Feng did not directly answer Boss Long's question: "Did you send that picture to Wang Peng?"
Boss Long said, "Yes, is there a problem?"
Lin Feng asked, "Have you seen that picture?"
Boss Long said, "I didn't look at it carefully, I just glanced at it and thought it was quite novel, so I saved it to my computer. These past few days, the computers in the internet cafe have been getting viruses, so I haven't been in the mood to play on the computer and haven't looked at it!"
Lin Feng nodded and said, "It's best if you didn't see it. There's something wrong with that picture. Where did you save it?"
Boss Long said, "Right here!" and then turned on the computer in his office.
Boss Long found the picture and opened it before Lin Feng could stop him. Lin Feng said nervously, "Don't look!"
Boss Long glanced at it a few times and said, "No problem, I think it's alright!" Just then, the image suddenly began to disappear layer by layer, as if being erased by an eraser. It crumbled into a mass, like a beautifully crafted animation. Finally, it revealed the two characters "劈头" (pītóu, meaning "split head"), then melted like wax, turning into red tears and vanishing from the screen.
The people who witnessed this strange phenomenon were all dumbfounded. Lin Feng asked, "Where did you download this picture from?"
Still reeling from the bizarre disappearance of the image, Boss Long was startled when Lin Feng asked, "Ah, that website address is in my browser's bookmarks!" He clicked on his bookmarks, but the URL displayed "Page does not exist." Boss Long shook his head, saying, "What's going on? That's really strange!"
Lin Feng always felt that things weren't as simple as they seemed, so he asked, "Besides you, does anyone else know about this website?"
Boss Long said, "Yes, this website was given to me by my friend Zhang Xiang. He's always liked these weird and wonderful things, just like Wang Peng!"
"Oh?" Lin Feng asked, "Is it possible to get in touch with him?"
Boss Long opened QQ and said, "I knew he was online. I think he should be at work."
As Boss Long expected, Zhang Xiang answered that he was at his workplace. After finding out which company Zhang Xiang worked for, Lin Feng instructed Boss Long to tell Zhang Xiang not to look at the picture, and then he and Li Mingsheng hurriedly went to Zhang Xiang's workplace.
Upon arriving at his workplace, Li Mingsheng explained his purpose. The manager exclaimed in surprise, "Zhang Xiang died in a car accident yesterday!"
"What?!" Lin Feng could hardly believe his ears. "We just saw him online!"
The manager said doubtfully, "That's impossible. Could someone else be using his QQ account?"
Lin Feng said, "But he said he was at his workplace, that's why we came here!"
The manager shook his head and said, "He's alone in his office, no one uses his computer. Someone else is probably using his QQ account, he's probably just joking with you!"
Li Mingsheng called the bureau and asked them to check if there were any death records for Zhang Xiang in the past two days. They quickly replied, "Yes, he died in a car accident yesterday afternoon. But what's strange is that his entire head was crushed, it's disgusting! But there wasn't a single abrasion on his body, as if he deliberately put his head between two cars to be crushed, it's very odd!"
Li Mingsheng asked, "What about the driver who caused the accident?"
The person over there said, "He's still under investigation at the city traffic police detachment!"
Lin Feng felt his mind was in complete chaos. His intuition told him that there was something wrong with Zhang Xiang, but the clues suddenly went cold.
After the group said goodbye and left, Lin Feng rubbed his dizzy head, looking dejected. Li Mingsheng patted Lin Feng and said, "Don't be discouraged, let's go to the traffic police station first!"
Upon arriving at the traffic police detachment, Deputy Captain Wang, who was on duty, was quite familiar with Li Mingsheng and quickly brought the two drivers who had caused the accident over. Li Mingsheng noticed that both drivers looked dejected and somewhat dazed.
Lin Feng glanced at Li Mingsheng, indicating that he could ask a question. Li Mingsheng said, "I'd like to hear the details of your car accident yesterday, but we won't be taking statements now. If there's anything strange or incomprehensible to you, feel free to bring it up!"
The two drivers, who had just looked half-dead, both looked up at Li Mingsheng after hearing his words. One of them said, "Really?"
Lin Feng interjected, "It's true!"
The driver swallowed hard, then slumped back in his chair and said, "No, nobody will believe us. We don't even know what happened ourselves!"
Lin Feng said, "It's okay, go ahead and tell us, we can accept anything!"
The two drivers glanced at each other, and then started talking back and forth.
The tall driver slowly said, "Yesterday afternoon I went to W City to pick up a load of goods. On the way back, I felt a little hungry, so I parked the truck on the city road and went to a restaurant by the roadside to eat. I was eating in the restaurant when I suddenly heard the sound of brakes, followed by the sound of a car collision! When I rushed out to see what was happening, my car had already been hit by his car." He pointed to the bearded man.
Lin Feng asked the bearded man, "How did you crash into his car?"
The bearded man glanced at Lin Feng, his eyes revealing lingering fear.
Volume 2, Chapter 6, "Split Head" (6)
The bearded man asked Lin Feng for a cigarette and said, "Yesterday afternoon, I was delivering a truckload of coal to a cement factory in the suburbs. When I drove out of the city, I felt something was wrong, and I was really agitated. I thought about turning back, but then I remembered I had a contract with the factory, so I kept going. I figured it wasn't far, only about half an hour's drive, and as long as I was careful, nothing would happen! Who knew..."
The bearded man couldn't stop crying, appearing extremely agitated. After crying for a while, he calmed down a bit and said, "When I was driving on the national highway in the city, I kept feeling like there was someone next to me in the driver's seat, but there was definitely no one there. At that time, I was a little scared. I don't usually believe in ghosts or spirits, but that day I was really frightened. Later, a person flagged down my car on the side of the road and asked me to give him a ride. Since the only way in that direction was the cement factory, I didn't ask any questions and let him get in the car."
Upon hearing this, Lin Feng asked, "Do you know his name?"
The bearded man said, "We chatted for a bit in the car, and he said his name was Zhang Xiang."
Lin Feng and Li Mingsheng exchanged a glance and said to the bearded man, "Continue!"
The bearded man, now much calmer, continued, "Because I had a bad feeling about something, I didn't say much to him, and we didn't talk much on the way. Then I suddenly felt something was wrong; the car started moving forward uncontrollably. I thought something was wrong, but I didn't dare tell the person next to me, afraid of scaring him. But when I glanced back, I saw him looking at me with a very strange expression. I was startled, but I still tried desperately to control the car. No matter how I moved, the steering wheel wouldn't obey me, and the brakes were completely useless. Finally, it crashed straight into a car parked on the side of the road. At that moment, I suddenly realized the steering wheel was working again, and the brakes were working, but it was too late. I slammed on the brakes, but we still crashed!"
The bearded man's eyes grew increasingly terrified, as if he were deeply afraid of that horrific memory. Trembling, he said, "After the collision, I asked the man next to me if he was alright, and he smiled and said he was fine. I got out of the car and saw this guy coming out of the restaurant." He pointed to the tall man and said, "Then I apologized to him and told him I would pay for his repairs and not to worry!"
The tall man next to him nodded, meaning that he was right.
"But when we got to the front of the car, we wanted to check the extent of the damage. And then..." The bearded man stammered, unable to speak.
The tall man continued, "We saw a person squeezed between the two fronts of the car, sitting on the ground."
Everyone knew it was Zhang Xiang, but Lin Feng still asked, "That person is Zhang Xiang?"
The bearded man nodded and said, "Yes, his body was sitting on the ground, and his head was squeezed flat between the bumpers of the two cars. But when I got out of the car, he was clearly still sitting in the car perfectly fine." After saying that, the bearded man lowered his head and ran his hands into his hair, rubbing it incessantly.
Captain Wang listened patiently, clearly not believing him. Li Mingsheng asked Deputy Captain Wang, "So, Lao Wang, what are the results of your on-site investigation?"
Captain Wang said, "The two cars barely made contact, just bumped each other, but it wasn't serious. However, the deceased died in a very strange way, as if he deliberately put his head on the bumper and got hit."
Li Mingsheng nodded and said, "We are also investigating this matter with the Special Investigation Department. Thank you, I'll treat you to dinner another day!"
Captain Wang asked in surprise, "You believe what they say?"
Lin Feng smiled and said, "I have reservations about believing you."
Captain Wang said, somewhat puzzled, "Although we're also puzzled, but..."
Li Mingsheng patted Captain Wang and said, "No buts. I believe that if they wanted to harm people, they wouldn't have come up with such a shoddy scheme. Even a fool could see it."
Captain Wang nodded and said, "That makes sense!"
Li Mingsheng said, "Thank you, Captain Wang. We'll let you know if there's any progress in the case. If it's really as they say, we'll request that the case be transferred to the Special Investigation Division!"
Captain Wang laughed heartily and said, "No problem."
The three left the city traffic police station as darkness fell. Exhausted from running around all day, they were all worn out. But Lin Feng insisted on going to Wang Peng's house, feeling he'd overlooked something. Li Mingsheng was used to working on cases even after hours, while Xiao Qian insisted on seeing his girlfriend. In the end, Xiao Qian got his wish and left.
The two got out of the car at the entrance of Wang Peng's building. Only two houses had their lights on; it was an old building with few residents left. The lonely building stood there, like a monster in the night, its gaping maw wide open.
The two entered Wang Peng's house, and Lin Feng turned on the lights. Under the light, the living room was filled with an eerie atmosphere. Red walls, a red ceiling, a red floor—everything seemed unfathomable.
Lin Feng stared intently at the messy graffiti on the wall. Li Mingsheng looked for a while but couldn't make heads or tails of it. Feeling stifled in the house, he paced back and forth restlessly.
Lin Feng watched for a while and said, "This is extremely strange!"
Li Mingsheng asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Feng looked at the scribbles on the wall and said, "These all seem to be things from the evil sect's 'voodoo spells,' but I don't know much about 'voodoo spells,' so I can't figure out what they are!"
Li Mingsheng spread his hands and said, "If you can't figure it out, then we're even more clueless!"
Lin Feng smiled but didn't say anything. He glanced out the window and saw that it was already completely dark.
Li Mingsheng said, "It's already dark!"
Lin Feng said, "Alright then, let's go!" The two walked towards the door one after the other. The door, which had been slightly ajar, suddenly snapped shut with a "snap" as if blown by the wind and locked.
Lin Feng and Li Mingsheng immediately felt a chill run down their spines, because all the windows in the room were tightly closed, and there wasn't a breath of wind.
Volume 2, Chapter 7: Head-Splitting (7)
Li Mingsheng stepped forward and pulled hard on the door, but no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn't budge. It was as if the doorknob was embedded in the wall, as if it weren't a door at all. Sweat poured down Li Mingsheng's forehead. He turned to look at Lin Feng and muttered, "Damn, that's really weird!"
Lin Feng tried the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. He ran his fingers along the door seam and found that it was perfectly fitted to the frame, without the slightest gap. Normally, doors in these old buildings are wooden and would have some gaps.
Lin Feng and Li Mingsheng looked at each other, unsure what to do. The house was eerily quiet, save for the incessant ticking of the large clock in the living room. Lin Feng looked around and went to the window. They were on the second floor; if they could open the window, getting down wouldn't be difficult.
He drew back the curtains, but it was pitch black outside, without even a glimmer of moonlight. Lin Feng tried to open the window, but it was as if it had been welded shut; there wasn't a sound.
Li Mingsheng checked the remaining windows, but none of them could be opened. This angered him, and he ran into the living room, picked up a chair, and smashed the glass in the living room window to pieces. Lin Feng smiled wryly; this was indeed a last resort. The two immediately realized something was wrong; there was no clanging sound of glass breaking from downstairs at all, as if the glass had suddenly disappeared—this made no sense.
Li Mingsheng stood at the window, cursing and swearing, and looked down into complete darkness. The two men exchanged a glance, both seeing fear in each other's eyes. From the second floor, one should at least be able to see some scenery below—but now it seemed like a bottomless abyss, completely obscuring everything. The surrounding scenery was also completely invisible, shrouded in eerie, ghostly energy.
Li Mingsheng stared blankly at the scene below for a long while, then threw the chair he was holding down. The chair vanished into the darkness instantly, without a sound. Li Mingsheng swallowed hard and cursed, "Damn it!"
Lin Feng pulled him back to the living room, where they sat on the sofa and each lit a cigarette. Just as the two were at their wits' end, a loud laugh suddenly came from the bedroom, startling them both.
They got up and slowly walked towards the bedroom. As they reached the door, they could clearly hear a commotion coming from inside. Lin Feng boldly pushed open the door and found the computer monitor, which lacked a computer case, was lit up. A movie was playing. The two walked in, and Lin Feng noticed it was an unknown soap opera.
Li Mingsheng crouched behind the monitor, pulled out the monitor's plug, and showed it to Lin Feng, saying, "Damn, it plays movies automatically even without being plugged in or having a computer case. That's fucking high-tech!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the monitor suddenly went black. Li Mingsheng froze, stunned for a moment before finally saying, "This...this is a bit too much!"
Lin Feng shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Don't look at me, I'm also completely bewildered right now!" As the two were talking, there was a sudden sound in the living room. They ran out to check and found that the TV had turned on by itself again.
Li Mingsheng nearly broke down, saying, "You don't have to play me like this!"
Lin Feng unplugged the TV from the socket, but the TV continued to play programs without any impact.
The two stared blankly at the television screen, unsure of what to do.
A horror movie was playing on TV, telling the story of a woman whose soul was imprisoned after death and forced to do evil deeds. The two hadn't been paying attention to TV, but after watching the movie, Lin Feng seemed to vaguely sense something. When he saw the female ghost's soul finally being rescued, he jumped up excitedly, snapped his fingers, and said, "I know!"
Li Mingsheng was startled by Lin Feng's sudden action and said, "Damn, what do you know?"