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Capítulo 26

Li Hong began to scan her surroundings, hoping to find a way in. But it seemed the bar's patrons had lost interest in her and continued their own conversations. A moment later, the cola arrived, and the waiter gave her a sweet smile.

It's definitely different. Li Hong thought to herself as she sipped her cola. All the customers at each table were of the same sex. Although it didn't seem like anything special on the surface, the atmosphere here was indeed different from a regular bar. Especially the various obstructions between the tables, making it impossible for others to see what was going on inside, which added to the mystery. Near the wall, the lighting was dim, and Li Hong couldn't see the faces of the customers there at all.

She should have come with Xu Feifei, she thought to herself. Coming alone seemed too conspicuous; there were practically no solo guests. It looked like she needed to change her strategy; she couldn't just sit there like an idiot.

She stood up, carrying her Coke glass, and walked towards the bar. As she stood up from the table, Li Hong felt someone was secretly watching her again, a strange feeling. She deliberately plopped down on the bar stool at the counter with a nonchalant air, pointed at her Coke glass, and said to the bearded bartender, "What would you like me to add?"

The bartender glanced at her, then poured some red liquid in. She took a sip, and the spicy taste made her wince.

"This is Liu Yun's favorite drink," the bartender said.

“No wonder,” Li Hong said. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”

"Yes," the bartender replied, without stopping wiping the glasses.

When did he die?

"Two or three years ago, I think. You should have come sooner."

"What's the meaning?"

"Liu Yun's sisters have all dispersed."

"What about the others?"

"Everyone else is fine. Don't touch them."

Li Hong stopped talking. Then, she gulped down the contents of her glass in one go. "Where's the restroom?"

The bartender pointed in a direction.

That's good. Li Hong walked towards the bathroom, thinking happily to herself, "Liu Yun only targeted those close to her; everyone else is safe. My deduction must be correct." She felt her steps become lighter. "Hmm, I drank cola this afternoon, and just now I drank a big glass. I need to go to the bathroom."

The restroom was tucked away in a corner of the lobby, separated from the entrance by a wall. Li Hong followed the prominent sign and turned the corner. Just as she rounded the bend, she saw a long-haired woman enter the women's restroom. But what made her feel like she was seeing things was that the woman didn't seem to open the door; she seemed to vanish as if she had disappeared right in front of it.

The sudden turn of events startled her. Li Hong stood there, unsure whether she was seeing things or actually witnessing something. Although she had just drunk some alcohol, it shouldn't have caused such a rapid reaction. She hesitated.

The bloating in her lower abdomen finally made her decide to go in and check. Li Hong carefully pushed open the door and entered the restroom. The restroom wasn't large, but its luxurious decor was in no way inferior to the main hall. The restroom was quiet; there wasn't even the sound of dripping water. Li Hong immediately bent down and peered through the gap under the partition to see if anyone was in the three stalls. Sure enough, she was alone; no one had entered before her. It seemed she had indeed seen something unpleasant—but she'd better take care of her urgent needs first.

A large mirror stood in front of the sink next to the toilet, reflecting the pale light and shadows of the room. After leaving the toilet, Li Hong still looked around with some confusion, her reflection in the mirror showing a suspicious expression. As she washed her hands, she carefully recalled the woman's silhouette from earlier, but she couldn't figure out who it was.

The tap water was running loudly as Li Hong stood in the middle of three sinks side by side. From the moment she arrived until now, she hadn't felt anything amiss, not the uneasy heart palpitations she used to experience when she saw something unpleasant. What exactly was that shadow from earlier?

Just as she finished washing her hands and the bathroom returned to silence, Li Hong suddenly noticed a pair of hands reaching out from the far right of her field of vision, as if waiting for water to flow from a sensor faucet; the hands remained in a cupping motion. Li Hong was quite startled; her heart skipped a beat, and her body, which was about to leave, froze instantly. She cautiously raised her head, trying to see who was there in the mirror. But the mirror was empty; only the white tiled wall reflected a blinding white light.

She glanced to her right again out of the corner of her eye. This time she saw water flowing out and onto the hands, but she couldn't hear the sound of water beside her. Li Hong stared intently at the hands, then slowly turned around until she saw a woman standing beside her, bent over carefully washing her hands. The woman's long hair hung down, obscuring her face. Li Hong noticed that her clothing was inappropriate for the season: a brown leather jacket and black jeans.

The woman seemed completely oblivious to Li Hong, washing her hands as if no one else was there. Then she straightened up and began combing her hair in front of the mirror. At that moment, Li Hong finally saw her face. This face had appeared in Li Hong's dreams before, and she had even seen it slowly consumed by fire. Yes, this was the third time she had seen this face, and the woman beside her was Liu Yun.

2.22 Escape (Part 1)

Li Hong stood there motionless, her mind blank. She never expected to see Liu Yun here. Her first thought was whether she was in danger and what to do.

The woman continued combing her hair in front of the mirror, occasionally tilting her head to examine her hairstyle from different angles. Li Hong, unable to discern any impending trouble on her face, was stunned.

"Are you Liu Yun?" After a few seconds of stunned silence, Li Hong finally couldn't help but ask.

The woman didn't answer. After combing her hair, she slowly turned around, leaned against the sink, and took out a cigarette from her pocket.

"Are you Liu Yun?!" Li Hong raised her voice this time and asked again.

The woman seemed completely unaware of the person beside her. Ignoring Li Hong's loud question, she elegantly lit a cigarette and a lighter. In the glow of the lighter's flame, her figure gradually dimmed. Finally, with a puff of smoke, she vanished silently into the smoke.

Li Hong stretched out her hand and grasped at it a few times in front of her, as if trying to hold onto the ethereal shadow. Clearly, she couldn't grasp anything. She looked at her hand with a puzzled expression, unsure whether what she had just seen was truly Liu Yun's ghost.

"Okay, whatever it is, I'm still alive"—Li Hong instantly shook off her dazed state, quickly pulled out several tissues and vigorously wiped her hands, thinking as she did so—the facts were clear, it was time to get rid of it. Damn Zheng Zhihao, how long is he going to stay silent? She stretched out her right hand, carefully examining the wound that was still there, then rubbed it hard; it still hurt a little.

"Zheng Zhihao, hey, did you see that just now?" Li Hong said while rubbing her pet, as if calling her pet.

"What did you see?" This time Zheng Zhihao answered immediately, which surprised Li Hong.

"You're awake? Why didn't you tell me?" Li Hong complained.

"I just woke up..." Zheng Zhihao's voice sounded dry and tired, "Where am I?"

“This is the restroom of the Temptation Bar. I just saw Liu Yun,” Li Hong said.

"What?!" Zheng Zhihao seemed to wake up suddenly. "You saw her here?! How come I didn't feel anything at all?"

"You didn't know anything at all?" Li Hong frowned. "I'm wondering the same thing, why I didn't feel anything either."

"You didn't see a remnant of her image from before, did you?" Zheng Zhihao said. "If it were a remnant, we definitely wouldn't be able to sense anything."

"What afterimage?" Li Hong asked. "Isn't that Liu Yun's ghost?"

“It’s not a ghost anymore,” Zheng Zhihao said. “Do you remember when I taught you how to read residual information from notes?”

“I remember,” Li Hong said, then scratched her head. “You’re trying to tell me that the afterimage and the residual information are of the same nature, right?”

“Yes, it’s pretty much the same thing,” Zheng Zhihao said. “However, there might be something of hers in this bathroom, otherwise there wouldn’t be any afterimages.”

“What could it be?” Li Hong said, turning around to look around again. “I checked when I came in, and there was nothing there.”

“I’m just speculating,” Zheng Zhihao said.

Li Hong walked towards the door. She felt it was too quiet here; the buzzing echo when she spoke to herself made her feel uncomfortable. She decided to go back to the lobby first.

"Don't go yet." Zheng Zhihao stopped Li Hong from opening the door. "I feel something's off here."

"Something seems off," Li Hong said impatiently. "This is the women's restroom, there are no urinals like in the men's restroom, it's not strange at all." As she spoke, she was about to open the door again, with an urge to rush out.

"Could you please wait a moment?" Zheng Zhihao requested.

This was the first time Li Hong had heard Zheng Zhihao make such a polite request of her, and she stopped what she was doing. To be honest, she was still a little unaccustomed to it.

“Okay.” Li Hong pouted. “But someone might come later, so we can’t just rummage around everywhere.”

“You don’t need to rummage through anything,” Zheng Zhihao said.

Li Hong stood at the door, arms crossed, waiting.

"What is that?!" Zheng Zhihao suddenly exclaimed.

"What? Where?" Li Hong asked hurriedly.

"On the wall opposite the middle toilet stall."

Li Hong frowned. Because she was standing to the side of the wall, and with the reflection of the tiles, she couldn't see what was there at all. She slowly moved closer.

"Don't go over there! Let's get out of here!" Zheng Zhihao shouted as they got close.

Li Hong ignored her because she did notice that one of the tiles there was a bit unusual.

"Don't go over there!" Zheng Zhihao shouted again.

"Shh!" Li Hong made a shushing gesture. "I saw it, wasn't it that tile? The grout around it is red. Why didn't I see it before?"

"A hallucination! What you're seeing is a hallucination!" Zheng Zhihao shouted anxiously. "There's something bad there! Let's go! Come back tomorrow during the day!"

Before Li Hong's eyes, the edge of a tile was turning increasingly red. It was a small, white tile, no different from the others, but now the red grout line on this tile resembled a square red frame on the wall. Gradually, red liquid began to seep out from the grout line, flowing down the wall.

"How could it be a hallucination?" Li Hong squinted at the liquid. Judging from the color of the liquid, it looked like venous blood, dark red venous blood.

"I beg you, close your eyes and leave now." Zheng Zhihao seemed tired of shouting, and his voice lowered.

Li Hong ignored Zheng Zhihao's warnings, seemingly mesmerized as she watched more red liquid flow from the crack. The red liquid flowed more and more, appearing exceptionally vibrant against the white wall, staining the wall below. Li Hong smelled blood; she slowly extended a finger, touched it, and tasted it.

"My God! What are you doing?!" Zheng Zhihao shouted again.

“It’s blood,” Li Hong said with unusual calm. “How could there be blood flowing out here?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the tile closest to her suddenly made a loud "crack," startling Li Hong. The tile looked as if it had been smashed from within the wall, its surface covered in spiderweb-like cracks. The cracks were immediately stained red with a liquid.

"Run! Run!" Zheng Zhihao shouted. "We're all in danger now, we have to get out of here!"

"What's wrong?" Li Hong was still not free from her bewitching state. She took a small step back, as if waiting for a new change.

“What you’re seeing now is all an illusion,” Zheng Zhihao’s weak voice rang out. “Something evil is using your eyes to influence you. Let’s go…”

"Really?" Li Hong said absentmindedly.

The tile made another cracking sound, the crack gradually widened, and a piece of tile fell down with a thud.

Only then did Li Hong notice that her feet were completely submerged in red liquid, and she was standing in a bathroom that resembled a pool of blood. The red liquid licked at her feet, bringing a warm sensation.

Li Hong finally panicked. She retreated hastily, but stumbled and fell with a thud against the toilet stall door behind her. The door was flung open, and Li Hong slumped to the floor, her back against the toilet, the splashed red liquid staining her clothes. Before she could react, the toilet behind her started gurgling again. Li Hong, now like a frightened bird, immediately struggled to her feet, her hands covered in blood. She glanced back and saw red blood gushing from the toilet bowl, swirling rapidly, the tank lid rattling as thick, dark red blood flowed out.

"Ah!" Li Hong couldn't help but scream. She slipped and ran towards the door, yelling as she ran, "Zheng Zhihao! Help me!"

There was no answer, but a loud rustling sound came from behind her. Li Hong had already run to the door; she was leaning against it, panting heavily. The rustling sound started again, and she turned around to look.

The shattered tile collapsed completely, revealing the cement wall stained red behind it. An arm slowly emerged from the crack, its red muscle tissue exposed. A muffled roar, like a groan, rang in Li Hong's ears, as if someone was enduring agonizing pain behind the wall.

Li Hong dared not look any longer. She turned around frantically and twisted the doorknob with all her might, hoping to escape this terrifying hell. But in the end, she despaired; the doorknob broke…

2.23 Escape (Part 2)

The muffled roar behind her gradually turned into painful groans, low and echoing in the empty room, vibrating in Li Hong's ears. She dared not turn around, her heart pounding as the groans grew closer. Now, holding the broken doorknob, she didn't know what to do, or what she was about to face. She thought of Zheng Zhihao again, and cried out in a choked voice, "Zheng Zhihao, save me! Take me away from here!"

Zheng Zhihao still didn't answer, as if he had abandoned Li Hong and left alone. All she could hear was the crackling sound of tiles breaking and a series of muffled roars. Then, she heard the sound of breaking stones and bricks behind her, and Li Hong turned around in surprise.

The crack had widened considerably, and two arms, one in front of the other, were protruding from it, struggling desperately towards the outside of the wall. In the almost reddish light, Li Hong could see that the skin on both arms had been peeled off, leaving only exposed muscle tissue and bits of fat clinging to them. Clearly, the person buried in the wall was crawling out; its head was almost protruding from the surface, and Li Hong could already see the red skull. Red liquid was still flowing from the crack, and the wall beside it was covered with messy, red bloodstains left by the struggling arms—it all looked so real.

Li Hong stared blankly as the creature slowly struggled out of the wall, as if she had seen this scene before, desperately trying to figure out where it had come from. But now, all she knew was that once it climbed over the wall, she would surely die. What to do? What to do?!

"Prick your finger..."

Just when Li Hong felt there was no way to escape, Zheng Zhihao's voice finally rang out again, but now his tone was very weak, like a faint stream that might stop flowing at any moment. However, in her panic, Li Hong couldn't discern the change in his voice at all, and instead anxiously shouted at him, "And then?"

Zheng Zhihao paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Smear the blood on your eyelids..."

Without hesitation, Li Hong stretched out her index finger and bit down hard. Normally, it wouldn't be easy for someone to bite their own finger, but now, she felt no pain at all after biting it, and blood gushed out from the wound on her index finger.

Another heavy breathing sound came, as if the thing had poked its head out of the wall and was breathing in fresh air. Li Hong had no time to pay attention to the approaching threat. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then shakily raised her index finger to smear the still-steaming blood on her eyelids.

The instant her index finger touched her eyelid, a sharp pain shot through the wound on her right hand. She heard a hissing sound, like air being sucked out, drift past her ear. The previous cacophony vanished, leaving only silence. Li Hong opened her eyes and found that the chaotic, hellish bathroom had returned to normal. She stood by the door, her disheveled reflection in the mirror. Just when she thought it was all over, she suddenly saw a humanoid, bluish mist not far from her. It only had an upper body; its face was completely obscured from its front, except for its darker eyes and mouth. It was reaching out its hand, slowly drifting towards her.

Li Hong realized that all the images she had just seen were caused by this ghost with only an upper body. Now that she had come out of the illusion, she could see the ghost's true form.

A surge of anger rose in Li Hong's chest. In a fit of rage, she grabbed the trash can from the ground and threw it at the cloud of mist with all her might, cursing as she did so: "I'll f*** you!"

The trash can passed through the humanoid figure, crashing against the wall and falling to the ground with a loud thud that echoed through the bathroom. However, the humanoid figure showed no sign of retreating and continued to drift toward Li Hong.

"Let's go quickly! It has a powerful energy field here, and we're surrounded by it. We need to get out of here!" Zheng Zhihao said urgently, seemingly having regained his strength.

"Can't we take down this bastard?" Li Hong said breathlessly after throwing away the trash can with all her might. She was still planning to find something to smash that hateful humanoid figure, because she felt like she was about to cry from being tricked by it, and she had to get revenge.

“We can’t subdue it here. Listen to me, let’s leave quickly, okay?” Zheng Zhihao almost pleaded.