Aula 407

Capítulo 33

"... Gu Xing..."

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Uncle An went downstairs, bought some wine, some flowers, and his favorite dishes, returned to the warehouse, placed them on the table where the flowers were offered, and began to eat. In addition to his own bowl and chopsticks, he placed an extra pair in front of the flower's memorial tablet, and said with a smile, "Little Flower, your father will be able to see you again soon."

Uncle An ate slowly, then spoke many things in front of Xiao Hua's memorial tablet. He then left the warehouse reluctantly, properly closed the warehouse door, walked to the back of the warehouse, and took out several iron containers from which some extremely irritating gases were emanating.

After a short delay, as darkness began to fall, Amber, carrying the ironware, walked to the old dormitory. The building was dimly lit at this time. Amber reached room 202, opened the door, and immediately a musty smell assaulted his nostrils.

There was only one large bed in the room, the wood of which was riddled with holes from insects. A cotton quilt on the bed was rotten and several cockroaches were crawling around on it.

After putting the things down, Uncle An looked around carefully, sighed, and remembering that Xu Chen was still on the roof, he went out of the room to go up and call her.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly saw many figures ahead. When he saw them, he stopped and stared straight ahead without any fear. At this moment, there was nothing left for him to fear.

All that could be heard was the uninvited guests whispering among themselves, "Look, there seems to be someone up ahead."

"Really? Open it up, go and take a look."

Why should I go?

...

Upon hearing this, Anbo knew it was Gu Xing and his group. He was very worried and quickly stepped forward, shouting, "It's you again! Didn't I tell you not to come?"

Gu Xing and the others were about ten meters away from Uncle An. When they heard Uncle An shout, Gu Xing and the others immediately said, "That old man has spotted us. Let's go!"

As he spoke, Gu Xing and the others headed towards the stairs, preparing to go upstairs. Seeing that they were about to go upstairs, Uncle An called out and chased after them.

"Hurry, he's catching up."

Li Xu called out, walking at the back. The stairs were narrow, and as they walked, Zi Yuan tripped and fell on the stairs, blocking the stairwell. Li Xu, unable to go up, anxiously looked back and bumped into Uncle An, who was catching up.

Amber grabbed him and shouted to everyone, "You should all leave now, this is not a place for you."

"Uncle, we're looking for Xu Chen, please help us."

Amber stamped his foot and said angrily, "I don't care who you're looking for, get out of here right now."

Da Kai cursed viciously, "We come and go as we please. We're just giving you face by telling you. This isn't some forbidden area. What business is it of yours if we come and go as we please?"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Amber's face turned ashen. Just as he was about to lash out, he suddenly heard a loud "bang" downstairs. The sound was extremely loud, and the echo lingered in the building for a long time.

Everyone fell silent. After a long while, Uncle An put his index finger to his lips, signaling Gu Xing and the others to be quiet. He then tiptoed down the stairs, looked around in the corridor, and seeing nothing amiss, turned back up the stairs and said to Gu Xing and the others, "I'm not going to say any more to you. If you want to live, get out of here right now."

He laughed dismissively and said, "What can you do to us if we don't leave?"

"You..." Uncle An was so angry that he couldn't speak. Just then, a loud thud of something hard hitting the ground came from downstairs.

Uncle Amber looked back, his heart filled with anxiety, and pleaded, "I beg you, please leave quickly."

Gu Xing then asked Uncle An, "Uncle, we really want to know what happened. Where did Xu Chen go? Please tell us."

Amber thought for a moment, then said helplessly, "Alright... You go upstairs first, I'll tell you as we walk."

When Gu Xing saw that Uncle An was going to tell him the whole story, he didn't bother going upstairs anymore. The group of people sat or stood on the stairs, listening attentively to what Uncle An had to say.

Seeing that Gu Xing and the others were unwilling to go upstairs, Uncle An did not force them, and instead began to talk about things that happened more than ten years ago:

More than ten years ago, there was a woman named Qin Lizhen, the wife of an accountant in the factory, who lived in this building like all the other workers. At that time, my daughter Xiaohua, Xu Chen's parents, and I all lived here with Qin Lizhen.

Qin Lizhen had no children and often argued with her husband. One day, for some reason, everyone in the building went out on their own; some families went to the movies, others went to visit neighbors, leaving only a few people in the entire building. That night, Xiaohua and I were in our room when we suddenly heard a piercing scream. We rushed towards the sound and arrived at Qin Lizhen's room. Her husband wasn't there; only Xu Chen was there. Later, a man named Niu Erqing also arrived. We went to Qin Lizhen's bedside and saw a blanket draped over her stomach, blood flowing from her genitals. She kept crying for help, saying she was going to miscarry.

I was at a loss for what to do for a moment...

"Wait a minute," Ziyuan interrupted Uncle An, asking, "Did you see two children at the door back then?"

Amber nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, there were two children there at that time, one of whom was a boy who often came to play in the building."

Ziyuan muttered to herself, "It seems to be Wang Yujing and Huang Yi."

Seeing that Ziyuan didn't ask any more questions, Uncle Amber continued, "At the time, I was extremely anxious and couldn't think of calling the hospital. Everyone in the building had left, and I couldn't find you to help..."

"Then why don't you go find her husband?" Li Xu interjected.

“We didn’t have cell phones back then, so where were we supposed to find one? I remember we were in a complete panic, just watching Qin Lizhen bleed, and we couldn’t think of anything to do. After a long time, her husband came back.”

“Her husband kicked us all out, but we stayed outside, thinking that they might need our help somewhere. We heard a loud argument inside, and after a while, we heard banging and crashing noises. We were afraid something was wrong and wanted to rush in, but we didn’t know what was going on between the couple inside, so we were at a loss outside the door.”

"We listened outside for a while, and the noise inside got louder and louder. We realized that something had happened inside. We tried to open the door, but it was locked and we couldn't open it. We called out from outside for a while, but there was no sound from inside. With no other option, we had to ram the door."

As Uncle An spoke, his pupils dilated, as if he were transported back to that night more than a decade ago. His body trembled as he said, "We rammed the door, once... twice... after a few rams, the door was forced open. I, Niu Erqing, Xu Chen, and Xiao Hua all saw the accountant lying on the ground, face up, his stomach ripped open, blood everywhere. I immediately told Xiao Hua to take Xu Chen away, and told Niu Erqing to call the police. When Qin Lizhen saw Xu Chen being taken away, she rushed out to hug him, calling him 'daughter'."

Li Xu interjected again, "That woman treats Xu Chen like her daughter?"

Uncle Amber nodded and said, "Niu Erqing and I subdued Qin Lizhen and waited until the police came and took her away. Later, she was diagnosed with mental illness and has been in a coma ever since she was admitted to the mental hospital."

"We all thought things were over, but little did we know, that was just the beginning of a nightmare. From then on, Xiaohua and I started experiencing hallucinations of varying degrees, such as: 'Someone knocking on the door at night, but when we opened it, no one was there; their body didn't move, but their shadow would move strangely; we'd hear someone screaming in the middle of the night, and so on.'"

“I often heard Xiaohua talking to herself in a corner, as if she was chatting with someone. Later, our hallucinations became more severe, and Xiaohua and I couldn’t bear it anymore. When Xiaohua was fourteen years old, she committed suicide.”

At this point, tears welled up in Anbo's eyes. The others remained silent, while Gu Xing and the others glanced at Li Xu, noticing that his expression was more unpleasant than anyone else's.

Uncle An wiped away his tears and continued, "After Xiaohua died, I was utterly despondent and originally planned to end my life. But the neighborhood committee and the factory leaders came to comfort me and even had people watch over me every day, which made me give up the idea of suicide. However, those hallucinations tormented me even more, and I really couldn't stand it anymore. Every time I saw those lively girls on the street, it reminded me of Xiaohua."

Uncle Amber sighed and said, "More than a year after Xiaohua died, I went up to the rooftop of this building, ready to meet Xiaohua in the afterlife."

“Do you know?” Tears welled up in Amber’s eyes again. “My wife ran off with another man the year after Xiaohua was born, leaving me and Xiaohua to depend on each other. Xiaohua died, and with the torment of hallucinations, I really didn’t want to live anymore. So, at that time, I had already made up my mind to go with Xiaohua.”

I jumped.

Li Xu asked Uncle An anxiously, "Did he die from the fall?"

Upon hearing this, Da Kai glared at Li Xu and scolded him, "Your stupid question proves that your IQ is only at the level of a three-year-old child."

Amber chuckled and said, “I jumped down, but I didn’t die. The doctor told me that almost all of my ribs were broken, and the broken bones were even piercing my heart. My spine was also broken, but I didn’t die. It’s unbelievable. But I know it must be related to Qin Lizhen. Later, I attempted suicide at home several times, but no one found out. I woke up on my own. Every time I woke up, I saw that my blood was flowing all over the floor, but the wound on my wrist had healed.”

"I won't die."

Li Xu forced a smile and said, "Isn't this fine?"

“It’s not good at all.” Amber said to Li Xu in a heavy voice, “I can’t sleep well every night. As soon as I fall asleep, I am plagued by nightmares. When I wake up, I see terrible hallucinations. I am tormented like this almost every day, 24 hours a day.”

As Amber spoke, he laughed, a cold and desolate laugh. He continued, "If ordinary people encounter something, they can find a way to solve it. If they can't solve it, they can just die. But I can't."

"Then..." Ziyuan asked Uncle An in a low voice, "Why is Xiaohua able to..."

Uncle An looked at Zi Yuan. Although Zi Yuan didn't finish her sentence, Uncle An guessed what she wanted to say. He replied, "Perhaps at the beginning, Qin Li's power wasn't too great, but later, as her power grew, the illusions became more and more terrifying, so..."

Gu Xing then asked him, "Is Xu Chen the same way?"

"Yes, I think she was the most affected. Qin Lizhen used to like her very much, and before Qin Lizhen left, she still regarded her as her unborn daughter."

"So, does she also often experience terrifying hallucinations?"

Amber looked down the stairs, without looking into Gu Xing's eyes, and said, "Of course, and there's also Niu Erqing."

Zhang Da then realized what was happening and exclaimed, "That's right, it's that murderer!"

“Yes,” Amber turned to look at Zhang Da. “I’ve heard that he killed a lot of people. I think he must have been unable to bear the torment and used killing to help himself and fight his fear.”

"Later I heard that he was sentenced to death. But I know he will not die. He is like me, a soulless walking corpse who cannot die and will never find peace."

Then, Uncle An looked at Gu Xing and said, "I already know about your situation since you came to see Xu Chen. You must have seen a lot of strange things, right? Actually, I've always lived alone because Xu Chen and I both felt that there was something always following us. We can't explain what it is, but I know that it can be contagious to others."

“No wonder we also saw hallucinations,” Yang Mian said, clutching his chest.

Just as Uncle An was about to say something more, a sound suddenly came from downstairs. Uncle An was startled and said nervously to Gu Xing and the others, "You should leave quickly. Qin Lizhen has been released from the mental hospital. Xu Chen and I both guessed that she would come back here. She has no relatives, and she has nowhere else to go but here."

"Didn't you say she was unconscious?" Gu Xing asked Uncle An.

“A few weeks ago, she woke up, escaped from the mental hospital, and found Xu Chen.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Xing recalled the time when Qin Lizhen took Xu Chen away at school. Uncle An then added, "Not long after, Xu Chen secretly called the police and sent Qin Lizhen back to the hospital. Xu Chen then called me and told me about it."

"So, what are your plans now?"

Amber didn't answer and remained silent. After a few minutes, there was another noise downstairs. Amber looked down the stairs for a while, then turned to the group of people in the middle of the stairs and said, "You stay here for now. I'll go down and take a look. Don't wander off."

After finishing his sentence, Uncle An slowly walked down the stairs, one step at a time. Gu Xing and the others watched Uncle An descend the stairs, not daring to breathe loudly. As soon as Uncle An reached the top of the stairs and looked to the right-hand passageway, his expression suddenly changed drastically. He turned back and shouted to Gu Xing and the others, "Hurry up, let's go up to the rooftop!"

Gu Xing and the others didn't understand for a moment, so they stood still. They couldn't see what was happening in the corridor, but they could see that at the end of the stairs below, Uncle An was anxiously telling them to go back upstairs immediately.

Just then, everyone heard a sound coming from the corridor—someone running in leather shoes, getting closer and closer. Amber glanced at the corridor to the right again, then hurriedly climbed the stairs and shouted to Gu Xing and the others, "Hurry up, hurry up!"

Gu Xing and his group began to realize the danger. Just as they stood up to leave, a burly man suddenly appeared from the right side of the passageway. He was carrying a large hammer used for driving wooden stakes, and his face was covered in stubble. The sound of his leather shoes was coming from him.

Uncle An realized someone was chasing them and turned around, shouting, "Niu Erqing, stop..."

Before Amber could finish speaking, the large, bluish-black hammer drew an arc in the air, and with a terrifying sound, Amber's head exploded, splattering red and white matter all over the ground.

"Hello everyone." Facing Uncle An lying on the ground, Niu Erqing's expression remained unchanged as he calmly said to Gu Xing and the others, "Let me have some fun."

Chapter Twenty-One

The sledgehammer in Niu Erqing's hand weighed at least several dozen kilograms, yet he moved with incredible speed, taking only two steps in three to reach Li Xu.

In the narrow stairwell, everyone was frozen in fear, completely unable to resist or escape, watching as Niu Erqing raised the sledgehammer into the air...

Suddenly, a large, tattered cloth emitting a pungent odor flew down from the top of the stairs and covered Niu Erqing's face.

A familiar voice rang out, announcing, "Ignite!"

Gu Xing turned around and exclaimed with delight, "Xu Chen!"

At this moment, Yang Mian also came to his senses. After hearing Xu Chen's words, he took out a lighter, bravely rushed in front of Niu Erqing, and lit the tattered cloth on his head. The cloth seemed to be soaked in gasoline, and it ignited instantly. Niu Erqing's upper body was engulfed in flames, and he lost his footing and tumbled down the stairs. The scene was quite a sight.

Xu Chen urged, "Hurry up, what are we waiting for?"

Startled by Xu Chen's words, everyone rushed upstairs as if their lives depended on it. Li Xu and Yang Mian were at the back. When they turned back, they saw that Niu Erqing had already gotten up from the ground. Although the cloth had been torn off, his hair was still sparkling. He was furious and was about to take a step to catch up when he was suddenly pulled down by Uncle An, who was lying on the ground with only half a head left. He could not move an inch.

Li Xu and Yang Mian were taken aback. After a moment of stunned silence, they followed the others upstairs.

"Gah... Xu Chen... Where did you go..." Gu Xing walked along, eager to speak to Xu Chen, but all the words he had to say before were now left unsaid.

"Run! Don't speak!"

"Xu Chen, who is that guy with the big sledgehammer?"

“Niu Erqing, that murderer, that’s why I told you to hurry up and leave, so he doesn’t catch you.” Xu Chen said, glancing back at Gu Xing.

“Xu Chen…” Gu Xing continued.

"Shut up! Didn't I tell you to stop talking and just keep running?" Xu Chen said, turning back to look at Gu Xing as he walked.

Gu Xing and the others stopped abruptly, pointed ahead at the stairs, and said, "Xu Chen, look."

Xu Chen noticed that they had stopped and looked a bit strange, so he looked ahead and saw a four or five-year-old child holding a doll and looking at them at the corner of the stairs.