Three Ghosts of the City

Chapter 14

"Sure, go ahead and say it!" The driver was quite generous and immediately told me to continue.

"That's it, No. 77, Guhuai Street." As soon as I finished speaking, the driver's expression changed drastically, and he slammed on the brakes.

"Screech~~~~~~~!" The ear-piercing sound of brakes rang out, and I lost my balance and slammed forward. Luckily, I was wearing a seatbelt, which saved me from hitting my forehead on the glass.

"What are you doing?" I grabbed the handrail next to me and questioned the driver. The road conditions ahead were fine, and there was absolutely no reason to brake so suddenly.

The driver glanced at me, silently shifted gears, and the car started moving again.

"I don't know," the driver answered coldly. I could hear the tremor and fear in his voice; it wasn't feigned. I wanted to ask more, but seeing the driver's stern face and silence, I didn't dare to press the matter. The atmosphere in the car grew cold, broken only by the roar of the engine. We remained silent until we arrived at the police station.

I paid the fare, took the receipt from the driver, and was hesitating whether to say goodbye when the driver suddenly spoke up: "Young man, it's best not to ask about that place anymore." Without another word, he stepped on the gas and sped away, leaving me standing there dumbfounded.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Li Yang and Cao Ying

"Lin Xiao!" A familiar voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw Li Yang and Cao Ying.

"How did you two end up together?" I asked curiously. It seemed that Cao Ying was alright, and I had worried myself sick for nothing.

"It's a long story, let's go!" Li Yang dragged me away.

"Wait, wait!" I stopped and asked, "Where are we going? I have to go to work, I'm going to be late!" I pointed to my watch; I didn't want my bonus to be docked.

"Don't worry, I've already asked Chen Kai for a day off for you!" Li Yang replied calmly.

"What? Take leave? Did I ask you to do that?" I turned my head away angrily.

"Hey, there's a crucial clue in the Xinhu murder case, do you want to listen?" Cao Ying patted me and asked.

"Sigh, you've already arranged the leave for me, how can I refuse?" I sighed and let them drag me back into the car.

※※※

The three of us went into a teahouse. As soon as we sat down, Li Yang couldn't wait to take out a tape recorder and said to me, "Do you remember when I told you that I went to ask Shen Jian, the only survivor in the Xinhu murder case?"

"I remember you said you couldn't get any answers from me?" I asked.

“Yes, because he only knows how to hum tunes that nobody can understand, like this.” Li Yang pressed the run button, and a man’s indistinct voice came from the tape recorder, humming something that sounded like a song, or perhaps he was just muttering to himself.

"What is he humming?" I asked.

"Have you ever heard of Kunqu Opera?" Cao Ying suddenly asked, and I shook my head.

"Kunqu Opera is a very ancient opera genre with a very long history, and the International Organization for Cultural Heritage has officially listed it as one of the world cultural heritages. However, its popularity is far less than that of Peking Opera, and now very few people know how to appreciate it," Cao Ying replied.

"You mean?" I suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Chen Jian hummed Kunqu Opera?"

“That’s right,” Li Yang replied excitedly. “And he was humming a passage from The Peony Pavilion. The Peony Pavilion is a relatively famous play in Kunqu Opera.”

"So what?" Knowing that he was humming Kunqu Opera is no big deal. At most, it just means that he probably liked Kunqu Opera before he went crazy, so he still remembers it even now that he's gone mad.

"Do you know how we knew it was Kunqu Opera?" Li Yang didn't answer my question immediately, but instead asked me in return, "It was really a coincidence, or rather, a stroke of luck. That day, Cao Ying and I went to the West City Mental Hospital to see Shen Jian again and recorded what he was humming. At first, we couldn't figure out what he was humming at all. Unexpectedly, while we were eating in a restaurant and playing the recording over and over again, an old man suddenly ran over to us and said, 'You young people listen to Kunqu Opera too?' It was only then that we realized it was Kunqu Opera. Later, that old man told us that Kunqu Opera hadn't been performed in this city for many years, and he thought no one would understand it. He was surprised that people still listened to it. Because he used to love listening to it, he recognized it as Kunqu Opera as soon as he heard it, and it was even 'The Peony Pavilion,' a play that had been performed in this city before the Cultural Revolution. After that, no Kunqu Opera had been performed since."

"You acted in it? Does the old man remember the exact time?" I asked hurriedly.

"It was 1965, the year before the Cultural Revolution. Two years later, the victim of the Xinhu murder case appeared," Cao Ying answered, turning off the recorder.

"In 1965, the Kunqu Opera 'The Peony Pavilion,' the murder case at Xinhu Lake, Shen Jian." I read through the clues that I could connect so far, but I found that something was still missing, and I couldn't quite put them together. After a long silence, I said, "Perhaps we should look into that Kunqu Opera 'The Peony Pavilion' from back then."

Li Yang and Cao Ying exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

"Where do we go to check?" Cao Ying asked.

"The city library, what place could be better than that?" I took a sip of green tea and answered slowly. Seeing that they had no objections, I finally couldn't help but ask a question that I was very curious about: "How did you all meet?"

Cao Ying immediately rolled her eyes at me and said, "It's all because you stood me up that night. I waited for a long time and you didn't come back. I was just about to go look for you when I saw him!" Cao Ying pointed to Li Yang next to her.

"Oh, you mistook him for the person I was looking for earlier, right?" I suddenly realized that Cao Ying had made the same mistake I had made, mistaking Li Hai for Li Yang.

"Hmph, do I look that much like that guy?" Li Yang snorted coldly, looking indignant. It seemed he knew we were referring to Li Hai.

"You knew he was coming, huh? But speaking of which," I said with a mischievous grin, deliberately trying to annoy Li Yang, "you two don't really look alike. One of you seems a bit more handsome!"

"Of course!" Li Yang puffed out his chest proudly.

"I wasn't talking about you!" I said seriously, forcing back a laugh.

"You!" Li Yang was so angry he almost choked, and grabbed the teacup on the table to smash it at me.

"Okay, just kidding!" I shrugged and quickly changed the subject; I didn't want to die young. "And then you two got together?"

"Yes, later I found out that we were all looking for you and we started talking about it. We found out that everyone was investigating the Heart Lake matter. Li Yang happened to mention Shen Jian, and I also wanted to go see him, so the two of us decided to go together."

I nodded. It seems that fate truly brings people together; those destined to meet will find each other, no matter what. I glanced out the window, but unexpectedly caught a glimpse of a man turning and walking away. His movements were so fast that I couldn't see his face clearly, but it gave me a sudden jolt. I felt like I had seen him somewhere before, but I couldn't quite place him.

"Let's go!" Li Yang nudged me. "What are you looking at so intently? Is there a beautiful woman?" Li Yang looked like he was about to catch me off guard, deliberately trying to embarrass me in front of the beautiful Cao so he could get revenge for the arrow he shot earlier.

"Damn it, a stunning beauty, huh!" I glared at Li Yang and walked out of the teahouse with them.

Li Yang's car was parked in front of the teahouse. I walked quickly to the front, but I was still a little uneasy. The image of that man's back was still on my mind, so I didn't say a word after getting in the car. Li Hai and Cao Ying also seemed to have their own thoughts. The car was very quiet.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Car Accident

The car was traveling on the outer ring road, which is a highway and a shortcut to the city library.

"Look behind us." Li Yang's words broke the silence in the car. Cao Ying and I looked in the rearview mirror at the same time. A large truck was following closely behind our car.

“This car has been following us ever since we left the teahouse,” Li Yang said, adjusting the mirror.

"Can we shake them off?" I asked.

"No problem." Li Yang smiled confidently. One of Detective Li's greatest skills was driving fast cars. As soon as he finished speaking, I grabbed the handrail, and with Li Yang slamming on the gas, the car shot off like an arrow. However, the guy behind me didn't seem to be one to back down either, and he followed closely behind. Instantly, a thrilling car chase began on the road.

"Hey bro, can you be a little more careful?" I yelled at Li Yang. Although his driving skills were fast, he was also wobbling a lot. I suspected I could shake my breakfast out of the car.

"Shut up~~~~~~!" Li Yang roared back. Now that the rush hour was over, there weren't many cars on the road, and since the city library was near the suburbs, there were even fewer cars on the road. Although this allowed him to drive very fast, he hadn't expected to meet his match today. The truck showed no signs of being shaken off and even gradually overtook him. Now, the two vehicles were driving side by side.

"Bang!" The truck suddenly veered to the right and crashed into our poor Santana. With a violent impact, I fell headfirst into the back seat.

"Damn it!" At this point, Li Yang didn't care about maintaining a gentlemanly image anymore and swore.

I braced myself against the doorknob, barely managing to straighten up, when another violent impact struck me, leaving me dizzy and disoriented. I struggled to look out the window, and there was the truck's cab beside me. I recognized the driver—a chill ran down my spine. It was the man from outside the teahouse! And then, like a floodgate bursting, memories flooded back: the minor accident on the way to Heart Lake, the pedestrian I hit, the pale-faced man, the gleaming knife, and the cold sensation of it piercing my heart—all these images flashed before my eyes. I had thought it was all just a hallucination, but this man really existed, and now he was looking at me with a strange smile.

"Watch out!" Cao Ying suddenly shouted. I saw the truck hurtling towards us at an extremely high speed. Then there was a dizzying spin, a screeching sound of brakes, Cao Ying's scream, and then my body was violently thrown against the car door, my head hitting the car window. My vision was filled with stars.

After being violently struck by the truck, the car flipped over, landing upside down. I was crammed into the back seat in an extremely uncomfortable position. I felt a burning sensation in my head, liquid was streaming down my cheeks, and a familiar smell of blood filled the air. I almost fainted, but I knew I couldn't; I had to escape before the car exploded. With that thought, I bit my lip hard and kicked the car door with all my might. Perhaps the impact had warped the door, because I managed to kick it open. Thank God, as I prayed to the gods, I staggered out of the car. But it wasn't time to celebrate yet; I still had two friends inside. Cao Ying's arm was covered in blood. I immediately opened the door and, with tremendous effort, finally dragged her out of the car.

I never imagined that dragging someone for less than three meters would leave me so breathless. I stood up unsteadily, wiped the blood from my face, and walked back to the car.

"Whoosh!" Suddenly, flames shot out from the front of the car. The smell of gasoline grew stronger, and a plume of black smoke choked me, bringing tears to my eyes. There wasn't much time left. I don't know where I got the strength and courage, but I quickly walked around to the driver's side and forcefully opened the door. Li Yang was trapped in the driver's seat, blood streaming down his forehead, and his feet seemed to be stuck in the accelerator and brake pedals.

"Damn it!" I tugged at Li Yang, only to find that I couldn't move him at all, and the fire was getting bigger and bigger. I knew that in less than a minute, this car would be finished.

"Hurry...hurry up!" Li Yang, who had somehow woken up, said to me with difficulty. I didn't have time to pay attention to him. I gripped the steering wheel tightly. Damn it, when did this lousy car become so sturdy? I used all my strength, and even my knuckles turned white from the effort.

"Go!" Li Yang yelled at me, "If you don't leave, you'll die too."

"Shut the fuck up!" I yelled at Li Yang without restraint, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably. I didn't want anyone else to die in front of me; I was so scared. I'm not strong at all. I remembered Yin Xue's face, that night, Yin Xue's legs hanging limply. I remembered the afternoon my parents were in the car accident, their bodies covered in blood. I held my breath and shouted with all my might. God, if you truly exist, could you have pity on me? Could you help me?

God intervened! I felt the steering wheel loosen slightly, and then Li Yang lurched towards me. I immediately seized the opportunity and pulled Li Yang out of the car. Without thinking, I shoved him away from the vehicle as quickly as possible. Just as we had gone three or four meters, a huge explosion erupted behind us.

The force of the explosion knocked Li Yang and me to the ground, but it didn't matter, because we were safe now. Looking at Li Yang beside me, his eyes were red; a grown man, he was crying like a child. Looking into his eyes, I saw gratitude, but even more so, a friendship only men understand. From that moment on, I knew that Li Yang would be my friend for life.

A siren blared, and I turned to see several traffic police cars and an ambulance heading our way. Honestly, where were they when things were so tense? Now that the car that caused the accident is nowhere to be seen, they've all come.

I breathed a sigh of relief and lay back. The situation had been so tense that I only now realized how painful the wound on my head was, and I felt dizzy. Just like that, Li Yang and I were lifted into the ambulance and rushed to the hospital.

※※※

When I regained my senses, I immediately saw Fang Lei looking anxious, while Li Yang and Cao Ying were lying next to me, and Li Hai was looking at Li Yang on the bed with concern.

"You're awake?" Fang Lei asked with concern. "How could you be so careless?"

Fang Lei's concerned expression was like that of a gentle wife, which warmed my heart. Touching the bandage on my head, I smiled and said, "This time, someone deliberately tried to harm me. There's no use being careful!"

"Did you offend anyone?" Li Hai asked.

"We're just normal, law-abiding people, how could we possibly offend anyone?" Li Yang clearly wanted to argue with Li Hai. It's really hard to understand what's going on between the two brothers; they seem like enemies, the tension is palpable.

Li Hai glanced at Li Yang and said irritably, "It must be you. You're the most impulsive person. You must have offended someone without even realizing it. Now look what's happened, you've dragged others into this mess."

"My fault? Do you have any proof?" Li Hai was so angry that he tried to sit up, but he probably aggravated his wound and lay back down. A hint of concern flashed in Li Hai's eyes, but Li Yang didn't see it and was still fuming.

"Can you be quiet? I'm still a patient!" I sighed. The matter between these two brothers could wait. The most important thing now was whether the police had found the killer. He was clearly a formidable figure, and it was definitely intentional. But who was he? Why did he want to kill us? I initially thought he was targeting me, but now it seemed he wanted to kill all three of us. Perhaps Li Yang and I had offended someone while working on some case before, and this was his revenge. What about Cao Ying? She only arrived in this city a few days ago; she couldn't possibly have any enemies. Or perhaps he only wanted to kill Li Yang and me, and Cao Ying just happened to be unlucky enough to ride in our car?

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Are people scarier, or are ghosts scarier?

"Did you get a clear look at the killer's face?" Fang Lei interrupted my thoughts and asked.

"I was busy driving and didn't see clearly," Li Hai shook his head, and Cao Ying next to him also shook her head. I considered whether to tell them about what happened last time, but after thinking about it, I still didn't have the courage to say it. After all, even I couldn't be sure whether that time was a hallucination or real. So I decided to skip that matter, took a deep breath, and answered, "I caught a glimpse of him, it was a man, his face was very pale, but I can't remember anything else."

"Really? Tell me, why would this person want to kill you?" Li Hai asked.

"I don't know, I'm a first-class citizen." I patted my chest and answered.

"Don't you guys think these recent cases are a bit strange?" Fang Lei bit her finger and said, "Old Cao was killed just before he was about to give you the autopsy reports on the victims at Xinhu Lake, and you guys were also being hunted down while investigating the Xinhu Lake murders. Isn't all of this too much of a coincidence?"

"Didn't you say that Lao Cao's death was a case of burglary followed by silencing him?" Li Hai asked, looking at Li Yang.

"That was Chen Kai and his group's conclusion." Li Yang glared back at Li Hai, clearly thinking Li Hai was just repeating hearsay. "Old Cao's death isn't that simple."

“That’s right.” Cao Ying, who hadn’t spoken until now, suddenly interjected, “I’ve asked Chen Kai and Lin Xiao about the case. In my opinion, there are two suspicious points. First, my adoptive father was killed with a single stab. I don’t believe an ordinary thief could be so accurate. Second, he died in the yard, which means the murderer killed him first and then entered the house to stage the scene. If it were an ordinary thief, he would usually give up and move on to another target when he found the owner of the house was there.”

“Yes,” I replied. “Breakthrough robbery and murder do happen, but usually it’s when the thief thinks the house is empty, and then when he enters the house he finds the owner is actually there and has no choice but to kill him to cover it up. But in Lao Cao’s case, the thief broke in knowing the owner was there, and then killed him before robbing him.”

"We can't completely rule out the possibility of a home invasion robbery and murder, but we also can't rule out the possibility of premeditated murder and staged crime scene!" Cao Ying's tone was full of anger. In fact, she was a girl who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. I could feel the sadness behind her anger.

"So I really don't understand what Chen Kai was thinking, making such a quick conclusion!" Li Hai angrily pounded the bed with his fist. I didn't know whether I should tell him some of the possibilities I was thinking. In Li Hai's heart, Chen Kai had always been his idol and mentor, even though Chen Kai had given him a long vacation this time.

Fang Lei glanced at his hesitant expression and said, "Perhaps Chen Kai was forced to make such a quick decision?"

"What do you mean?" Li Yang pressed.

Fang Lei sighed, looking troubled and quite charming. My heart immediately warmed, and I continued Fang Lei's topic, saying, "I heard that Chen Kai did this on the orders of his superiors."

"What? Why?" Li Yang was so excited he almost jumped up.

"It seems like someone higher up doesn't want us to investigate any further. And today, official orders have been issued regarding the murders at Xinhu Lake, saying that the driver was responsible," Fang Lei said.

Her words shocked us all. We hadn't expected such a big change to happen after just one day of not going to work. It seemed like everything was over, the case was closed, and the murderer was found. As for Lao Cao's case, it would soon be classified as a case committed by a migrant worker. There are many cases like this where robbery and murder with no motive are shelved for years before the murderer is found, and it's even possible that the case will be shelved forever. I was very unhappy, not because of today's car accident, but because the case was solved so hastily, with so many obvious loopholes!

"What's wrong with the higher-ups? It's just that the case took a little longer to solve, is it really necessary to find a scapegoat like this?" Li Yang said angrily, his arms crossed.

The female victim in the Xinhu murder case, the mysterious woman, the Black Forest Bar, Lao Cao's death, the pale-faced man, the scapegoat taxi driver, the Kunqu Opera "The Peony Pavilion," and today's car accident, the eagerness to close the case above, and the past victims of Xinhu—all of it seems connected, yet so chaotic. I closed my eyes, and the experiences of the past few days flashed before my eyes. What chilled me even more was No. 77 Guhuai Street; I felt it wasn't just a simple old-style Western-style house.

If all of this was the work of that mysterious woman, is she human or a ghost? If she is a ghost, and all of this is related to her, why would she go to such lengths to kill Old Cao and send people to kill us? A ghost wouldn't need to go to such lengths to kill; she could easily make us look like those female victims. If she is human, then how do you explain the strange lividity on her body, the cause of death of those female victims, and many other strange phenomena? Or...? A thought suddenly occurred to me: what if there are both humans and ghosts? I opened my eyes, and suddenly it seemed like everything could be explained again.

"Comrades, comrades!" I cleared my throat. Although this idea was bold, daydreaming is often the key to solving a case. "If, I mean if, someone knows the truth about the Xinhu murder case, but for some reason doesn't want others to know, so they try every means to prevent others from knowing."