El misterio del periódico K

Capítulo 6

"Didn't you call the police?"

"Of course I reported it. It's been three years. The police said it might have been murdered. Sigh, good people don't live long..."

Xiao Bi's alcohol tolerance had clearly improved; she wasn't even slightly drunk when Aunt Gao started rambling incoherently. Just as we were about to take a stroll in the night, Xiao Bi's phone rang, and she told us with a long face that she was going to play mahjong with a certain doctor. Deng Fei and I felt endless sympathy for her departing figure.

To the north of the guest room were entertainment facilities like a swimming pool, cinema, and KTV, while to the south were mountains and streams. So Deng Fei and I went for a walk to the south. It was still chilly in March, and my fingers were icy after only a short stroll. However, the starry sky and the slightly sweet air made it so pleasant that I didn't want to leave. I took a deep breath, then jumped onto the artificial hill, spread my arms, closed my eyes in self-absorption, and loudly proclaimed, "Ah! The desires of dusk on the upper floor cease, ah! The jade steps are cut off, the moon like a hook. Ah! The banana leaves remain unfurled, the lilacs are still in bud, ah! Both face the spring breeze, each with its own sorrow. Ah!"

While I was still lost in reverie, I suddenly heard a woman's soft sigh, which flashed by amidst the fragrance of flowers carried on the wind. I opened my eyes and saw Deng Fei standing there dumbfounded, his fists clenched tightly. I asked him if he had seen anyone pass by, and Deng Fei glared at me through gritted teeth and said, "When you howled, all the creatures within a ten-mile radius were scared to death. Who would dare to pass by?"

I think Deng Fei is very uncultured; I was clearly reciting poetry! Reciting poetry!

Everyone at the resort was asleep by night, but my sleep schedule was messed up because I worked the night shift under the moonlight, so I tossed and turned in bed with my eyes wide open. Around midnight, I got up to pour myself a glass of water and drew back the curtains to look at the stars. As I was admiring the starry sky in the suburbs, a white shadow drifted past the window. I knocked over my glass, smelled a strong floral fragrance, and then, in the blink of an eye, a plain-looking woman's face was pressed against the windowpane, staring at me. I screamed in fright and backed away. A hint of surprise flashed in the woman's eyes, then she turned and disappeared without a trace.

Although I've seen Xia Canyue and some horrible rotting corpses, it's still terrifying to see a woman's face pressed against your window in the middle of the night, especially if that woman is definitely not human.

Just then, the door rang. He jumped up and hid behind the door, asking who it was. Deng Fei's voice came from outside, "Xiao Mo, what's wrong?"

I breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door, only to see him standing outside in his pajamas, shivering and looking very nervous. "I think I just heard you calling out."

I said, feeling wronged, that I had seen a ghost again. Deng Fei was skeptical, so I described to him the white-clad female ghost, the face pressed against the window, the sudden strong floral fragrance, and the sigh I heard from the artificial hill earlier.

After hesitating for a long time, Deng Fei decided to stay in the house with me. He said, "I'll sleep on the sofa, don't be afraid."

I said, "I'm not too scared. You should go back. I don't think she'll come."

Deng Fei said, "No, stop being stubborn. You're definitely scared."

I said, "I'm not afraid."

He said, "You're scared."

I said, "I'm really not scared."

He said, "You must be very scared."

I said, "I'm really not scared."

He said, "I'm scared."

"..."

"..."

Then Deng Fei drew the curtains shut, grabbed a blanket, lay down on the sofa, and told me "Little Red Riding Hood." I hid under the blanket, laughing so hard I almost cramped up, because Xiao Bi had said that Deng Fei would keep telling fairy tales whenever he was scared...

March 17, 2005 was somewhat gloomy.

I groggily opened my eyes in the morning, looking at the unfamiliar room, and suddenly remembered that I was at Er Gou Manor. The sofa was empty; Deng Fei was nowhere to be seen. My heart tightened. Had that female ghost kidnapped him?

I sat up and quickly got out of bed, only to find an unidentified object under the sofa. Slowly approaching, I couldn't help but laugh until my stomach hurt. The man, usually so elegant and serious in front of others, was now pouting, hugging his blanket and sleeping like a child, his eyelashes fluttering. I secretly took a hair and mischievously rubbed it against his face, covering my mouth and laughing as I watched the unsuspecting man on the floor furrow his brow and shake his head. I quietly grabbed my phone from the bedside table, lay down on the floor, and took a picture of the scene, grinning slyly. I was really looking forward to Deng Fei's furious reaction. If all went well, I could even extort a meal of stone pot barbecue…

The ancients said one should not harbor malicious intentions, but I never expected my retribution to come so quickly. Before I could even get up from the floor, I heard the door open, and then Aunt Gao's loud, laughing voice said, "Little girl, get up and eat..."

I turned around and saw Aunt Gao standing frozen in the doorway, her mouth trembling for a long time before she managed to swallow the word "food." Then she pointed at me and then at Deng Fei beside her. I remained lying on the ground, watching Aunt Gao stomp her feet and run out, her face flushed. Then I got a sharp rap on the head that made me ache. Deng Fei had woken up at some point and asked me with a wicked smile, "Xiao Mo, do you have ulterior motives towards me?"

I didn't say a word, I just kicked him out of the room, vowing to find the most expensive stone pot barbecue and then eat it until Deng Fei collapsed on the ground, vomiting blood...

Aunt Gao didn't even look up while I was eating breakfast. I think my image in her mind has changed. I don't know how to explain it, so I simply don't explain.

After dinner, we went to karaoke. The sound system was pretty good. Deng Fei suggested I record a CD. I was wondering why he praised my singing skills when he added, "I really doubt how you can sing Linkin Park's 'In the End' and Jay Chou's 'Nunchucks' like children's songs. Your skills are quite lacking..."

I glared at Deng Fei, feeling an urge to sell him to Thailand to become a ladyboy, but I refrained from doing so for the sake of the stone pot barbecue.

There was a performance at the resort at noon, so I took advantage of the time to stroll around the scenic area to the south. When I got close to the front gate, I suddenly realized something was wrong. I stopped and thought for a long time, then looked at the lush green plants and asked Deng Fei, "Have you seen any flowers?"

Deng Fei said, "The flowers in Kunming should be blooming by now."

I said, "When I came in yesterday, there were flowers everywhere, and I could smell a very special floral fragrance."

Deng Fei said, "It was so dark yesterday, are you sure you saw it?"

I thought about the dappled shadows of the trees but couldn't answer. I clearly smelled the fragrance of flowers and thought it was some kind of flower that could bloom in March, but I forgot to ask Aunt Gao in my haste. I didn't expect that after one night, there would be nothing left.

I banged my head hard, but Deng Fei grabbed my fist. He stared at me as if he remembered something, then murmured, "Floral scent? Xiao Mo, do you remember telling me about the strong floral scent last night?"

"You...you mean last night..." I opened my mouth wide, then remembered the particularly strong floral fragrance when I saw the female ghost by the window, as if, as if the fragrance was emanating from her.

Who exactly was that female ghost, and why did she have such a peculiar scent? I only remember her ordinary face and a hint of surprise in the corner of her eye.

"What did the one you saw yesterday look like?" Deng Fei asked.

"It looked normal, no blood, no tongue sticking out. If it hadn't floated to the window, I would have thought it was a person."

"Is there anything special about it?"

"Something unusual? Your face is very pale."

"Nonsense, aren't all ghosts pale-faced?"

"No, Gu Ming said some ghosts are very ugly, with black faces, red faces, all kinds."

How do you know he's not lying to you?

Why did he lie to me?

Why can't he lie to you?

"Anyway, you didn't lie to me, you didn't."

"..."

"..."

"We seem to have drifted off-topic."

While eating lunch and watching the performance, my mind was filled with images of female ghosts and the fragrance of flowers. I saw Aunt Gao eating at the table next to me, so I went over and sat down next to her. Then I smiled and said, "Aunt Gao, this place is really nice."

Aunt Gao looked up at me, forced a smile and said thank you, then continued eating with her head down, her expression very unnatural. I asked her again if there were any fragrant plants in the villa, and she thought for a moment and said, "No, the flowers only bloom in spring."

I thought for a moment, then leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "Aunt Gao, I've heard that restaurants and hotels hire people to cleanse themselves of any unclean things before they open. May I ask, have any strange things ever happened here?"

Aunt Gao's body stiffened, then she lowered her head and said, "Our place is very clean, and the garbage is disposed of very promptly."

I smiled and nodded, not asking any more questions. Her unnatural physical reaction just now had already explained everything; it seemed that the female ghost had indeed appeared here.

After finishing my meal, I pulled Deng Fei aside and said I wanted to go back. Deng Fei asked me if I was scared. I shook my head and said that the female ghost had no grudge against me, and I didn't want to figure out if the fragrance came from her. Once I walked out of this gate, I would still be myself. Since someone was deliberately keeping quiet about what happened here, we would just pretend we didn't know anything, pay the bill, and leave.

Deng Fei nodded, losing interest in continuing to play. He said goodbye to Aunt Gao and went to get the car. As he left, Aunt Gao looked at me as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately didn't say anything. She just gave me a big bag of red dates, saying they were a local specialty from the mountains.

I took it; it was quite heavy. After thinking for a moment, I turned back and gave her a phone number, telling her to call this number if she encountered any strange problems that she couldn't solve. Aunt Gao nodded and saw us off.

I went to work at Moonlight last night and noticed that Gu Ming had gotten his hair permed and dyed, and he looked really handsome. He must have charmed a lot of girls on the street. I asked him when he got his hair done, and he said last night. I then asked who was at Moonlight last night, and he said they closed yesterday.

"You didn't close down just because I took leave, did you?" I asked.

"Of course not, I booked my hair appointment a few days ago."

"So that means I would have rested yesterday even if I hadn't asked for leave?" A surge of emotion began to rise in my mind.

“Yes,” Gu Ming said, looking at me innocently.

"Then why didn't you tell me? Why did I have to ask for leave?" I felt a strong urge to bite down.

"I was planning to tell you, but I didn't expect you to call first."

"Then why did you deduct a day's wages from my pay?" His fist cracked.

“Because…because that’s just enough to cover my haircut costs, so why wouldn’t I do it?” Gu Ming said with a smile.

I clenched my fist, then released it, then clenched it again, then released it again…

She glared at him resentfully, thinking, "No matter how he dresses up, he's still a charlatan, a blond charlatan, a treacherous charlatan..."

The weather was so-so on March 18, 2005.

At midnight, the moonlight welcomed its first ghost guest. I asked Gu Ming why ghosts always float around, and Gu Ming countered by asking me if I would still choose a train if I had an airplane. I nodded, realizing the answer.

Today, a male ghost came in. He had fair, pink skin and very handsome features. He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old and was dressed casually. I watched him come in and sit at the bar, and then I watched him smile at me. Out of habit, I asked, "What would you like to drink?"

The adorable little ghost boy blinked and chuckled, his lips curving into a smile. His sweet, sticky voice reached your ears, "I'll drink whatever my sister gives me."

Just as I was reveling in that innocent look in his eyes, a sinister fist slammed down on my head. Turning around, I saw Gu Ming's innocent face. "I was just reminding you that your drool is about to spill out."

"Gu Ming..." I was about to get angry when I was interrupted by a voice next to me. The little boy looked at us with a smile and said, "Brother is so handsome. You two are such a good match, hee hee."

"Heh, heh," I chuckled awkwardly, muttering to myself, "This kid's eyesight is really bad." I poured a glass of cola from the freezer, intending to hand it to the kid, but Gu Ming took it from me. He stared at the kid with a half-smile and said, "How strange, a ghost can drink cola?"

The little devil grinned at him, "Or, brother, could you get me something to drink?"

Gu Ming raised an eyebrow, pulled out a talisman from somewhere, and with a flick of his finger, the talisman spontaneously combusted. Gu Ming then tossed the burning talisman into a Coke cup, placed it on the bar with a clatter, and looked at the little devil with a mischievous smile, "Good boy, this is for you, drink it."

The little devil's eyes flashed, and he said calmly, "I'm not thirsty right now."

"Aren't you thirsty anymore? It would be a waste not to drink."

"You..." The little devil frowned and looked at me. I blinked and looked at Gu Ming again. Before I could figure out what was going on, Gu Ming had already picked up the cola in one hand and grabbed the little devil's neck with the other. He poured the drink, which was mixed with the talisman, into the little devil's mouth. The little devil's body trembled and he coughed violently. Then, a sharp scream pierced my ears. His young and cute face shattered into pieces. His pink skin was torn into black and red muscles. His eyes burst and became bloodshot. His tongue and white teeth protruded. Where was his cute appearance? I stared blankly at this scene, unable to move.

After a while, Gu Ming gradually loosened his grip, and the now terrifying little ghost lay panting on the bar. Gu Ming raised one corner of his mouth and asked, "A ghost that's been dead for two years can't just change its appearance at will, right? Tell me, who sent you here?"

The little devil shook his head weakly. "I...I don't know. I was wandering around at night when something suddenly knocked me unconscious from behind. Then my body just wouldn't obey me and I ended up here. And those words weren't my intention either. I...I really don't know how this happened?"

Gu Ming looked up at him and smiled, "Seeing that you don't dare to lie, little guy, how did you die? And how did you escape reincarnation?"

The little ghost looked at us with a terrifying expression, then lowered its head and whispered, "Two years ago, my mother went to work, and I fell asleep while boiling water. I died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Later, I saw a path leading me to reincarnation. I wanted to go there, but a wild cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere, biting my neck and scratching my body. When I woke up, I could no longer find the path and became a wandering ghost."

Gu Ming nodded, and I snapped out of my daze, secretly tugging at his sleeve from behind. Gu Ming turned around and looked at me helplessly, "Don't worry, with me here, what are you afraid of?"

I looked at the child who had been so cute and rosy just moments before, and I couldn't accept his current appearance. So I asked, "Was his face scratched like this by that stray cat? Why can't someone who's been scratched by a cat go through reincarnation?"

Gu Ming patted my head and said with a smile, "That's not a stray cat, it's a lizard."