Légende du village de Baima

Chapitre 2

He Ming clicked his tongue in satisfaction: "My dad has been retired for a long time, and his former sharpness has finally been worn away. If I had brought you here when he was still in power, you would have been in big trouble."

Lin Hong hummed in response, looking around anxiously, trying to find which door led to the bathroom. He Ming noticed her unusual behavior, leaned over, and touched her forehead.

"Honghong, what's wrong with you today? Your face is so pale."

There was a small mirror on the coffee table next to Lin Hong. Lin Hong tilted her head and looked at her face in the mirror. It was indeed as He Ming had said, deathly pale, with cold sweat trickling down her forehead. She hurriedly grabbed her handbag, took out her makeup box, and touched up her makeup: "Your dad... he's really a very kind person."

"Amicable?" He Ming shook his head with a smile: "He can't be amicable now, besides my precious son, who else listens to him?"

"Ah Ming, you're wrong to talk about your father like that." Lin Hong felt completely lost. She stood up, her eyes darting towards the door, which was so close. She felt a strong urge to take a few steps forward, to leave this house, this place that made her uneasy. It was as if an invisible danger was about to erupt at any moment, and she wanted to escape before that danger did, to flee this terrifying house.

She took a step forward, but He Ming grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the sofa: "It's only because I'm his son that I can say such things about him." He Ming's voice was sharp and grating, with an indescribable resentment hidden in it.

He Ming's intelligence is undeniable. It was he who skillfully released his father He Zhenggang's guilt and helped him return to normal. But this was merely He Ming's cleverness. This young man also possessed great wisdom. At just thirty-two years old, he became the CEO of Minghua Industrial, a powerful private enterprise in Taizhou City, making him even more influential than his father had been at that time.

His professional success, however, led to a profound sense of loss for He Ming. While this young man appeared authoritative and aloof in public, much like He Zhenggang in his prime, in private, he was extremely insecure, willful, spoiled, clumsy, and eccentric. Like many successful people, he harbored deep suspicion towards strangers, resulting in a severe psychological imbalance. This manifested as a paradoxical balance between arrogance and inferiority, specifically manifesting as domineering, irritable, and easily angered behavior, along with a pathologically demanding perfection from subordinates and colleagues.

Lin Hong glanced at He Ming, somewhat surprised to notice that this man acted very much like a child in his own home. One foot was propped up on the sofa armrest, slippers dangling from his toes, and his shirt was casually open. At the company, he was very strict about his employees' posture and demeanor: "A person's spirit and temperament are very important; they reflect your inner will and desires." He often said, "If your inner desire for success isn't strong, it will be very obvious on your face. Therefore, I require all of you to demand of yourselves the mindset of a successful person. Only in this way can you possibly achieve true success!" When he said this, he always wore a pale white jacket, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room, and almost no one dared to meet his eyes. That's how Lin Hong fell for this man at first sight—a man with an iron will, a proven success, a man with an infinitely strong desire for advancement. Such a strong man held a fatal attraction for a gentle woman like Lin Hong.

However, when she entered this man's life and came into contact with his fragile heart hidden beneath his tough exterior, she had to admit that the man was, in the end, nothing more than a willful child yearning for affection.

She had spent half a year living and working with this man. At the company, she was his assistant, and in the tiny 120-square-meter apartment he had bought for her on Fenghe Road, she was the haven where this weary man lingered. Only one thing haunted Lin Hong: the man's sleep was extremely poor, constantly plagued by nightmares. More than once, Lin Hong was awakened by a painful groan. She turned on the bedside lamp and was shocked to see He Ming, fast asleep, with a pained expression, contorted muscles, cold sweat beading on his forehead, clenched teeth, and his body writhing laboriously like a fish whose guts had been removed.

It was only then that Lin Hong realized that a deep sense of guilt lurked in He Ming's heart. This feeling followed him like a shadow, like maggots clinging to his bones, clinging to him tightly. No matter how successful he was in his career, no matter how aggressive he was, he could not escape the entanglement of this guilt.

This situation lasted for a while. At first, He Ming didn't say a word to Lin Hong's questions, just silently turned his head away. But as their love grew stronger and their affection and dependence on each other deepened, finally, in a quiet midnight, when He Ming woke up from a nightmare again, he let Lin Hong hold his head like she was holding a baby, and told her about hiring a private caregiver to pretend to be a dead person buried in the International Exhibition Center building.

While recounting this story, He Ming's consciousness became somewhat confused, and his gaze wandered aimlessly. Lin Hong even doubted whether he had truly regained consciousness and had strong reservations about He Ming's account.

According to He Ming, who told her that night, when the International Exhibition Center building collapsed, a total of 42 construction workers were buried under the rubble. Among them, 26 were from the suburbs of Taizhou and were all fellow villagers of He Zhenggang. They came to the city to make a living under He Zhenggang's protection, and none of them survived the disaster.

When He Zhenggang was tormented by a strong sense of guilt, he stubbornly believed that the tragic deaths of He Dazhuang and others were caused by his poor decision-making. He Ming tried every means to persuade him, but to no avail. Hearing his father calling He Dazhuang's name repeatedly, He Ming began to consider a risky psychological therapy.

He drove to the suburbs and spent several days there, scrutinizing each person he met for a long time. When asked what he was looking at, he would just smile and continue driving, staring intently at the faces of the honest, rustic villagers. On the third day, he finally met a farmer named Ma Biao, so he immediately followed him in his car all the way to Ma Biao's house.

Ma Biao's family was destitute, their house bare. It turned out he was a gambling addict; his wife had been gambled away by him, and he barely survived by stealing money from one place to another. Because he would put any money he got into the gambling table, the villagers called him "God of Wealth Ma." Seeing how poor God of Wealth Ma's family was, He Ming asked him if he was willing to earn some money through his own labor.

At that moment, Ma Caishen's eyes lit up: "How do I earn it?"

He Ming leaned close to his ear and whispered, "As long as you listen to me, you can earn it."

Then He Ming took Ma Caishen to a hotel in Taizhou, had them put on work clothes and safety helmets, and taught him the script to memorize. Only after he was absolutely sure that everything was safe did he take Ma Caishen to the hospital. As expected, because Ma Caishen looked exactly like He Dazhuang, and He Zhenggang was in a daze, he naturally assumed that he had encountered He Dazhuang who had returned from the dead. He received understanding and forgiveness from Ma Caishen, and the knot in his heart was untied. So the old man immediately put down his burden and fell asleep peacefully.

The next day, He Zhenggang returned to normal. But He Ming was still worried, so he observed him for another week. Seeing that his father had truly returned to his former optimistic, calm, and domineering personality, he was finally relieved. He went to the bank and withdrew five thousand yuan to pay Ma Caishen as a reward.

That evening, He Ming drove to the hotel, but Ma Caishen was not in the room. He asked the hotel staff to open the door for him, went in, sat on the sofa, picked up the Taizhou Daily in the room, and casually flipped through the entertainment section, waiting for Ma Caishen to return.

After flipping through the newspaper for a while, He Ming casually tossed it aside. Just as he was about to get up, he looked up and was startled.

Ma Caishen had returned sometime earlier. He was still wearing his work clothes, which were riddled with holes and covered in filthy dust. His safety helmet was askew, as if something had hit it, and his face was filthy, as if he hadn't washed it for days. The grime had scabbed over, and his cheeks were covered with numerous scars, making his original features unrecognizable. His body was also strangely twisted, like a deflated balloon, with each joint contorted in a bizarre way. Upon seeing He Ming, he shrank back in fear, lowering his head as if afraid He Ming would see the scars on his face.

He Ming felt inexplicably displeased that Ma Caishen had turned himself into such a state after only a few days apart. He asked, "What happened to you? Did you get into a fight?"

Ma Caishen stammered, awkwardly retreating to the darkness where the light couldn't reach him, but didn't answer. He Ming was too lazy to talk to someone like him anymore, and casually handed over the money: "This is the agreed-upon reward, five thousand yuan. From now on, our deal is over. You'd better not let me see you again."

Strangely, Ma Caishen refused to take the money. He just kept shrinking back until he was in a corner, silently keeping his head down, as if waiting for something. He Ming was a little annoyed and asked, "What, you've earned five thousand in just a few days, and you still think it's not enough?"

Ma Caishen remained silent for a long time before finally mustering the courage to speak. When he opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of broken teeth and twisted cheekbones, he stammered in a clearly hesitant voice, "This...this can't be...it's too unfair...we've been wronged...you can't do this..." Upon hearing this, He Ming flew into a rage, slamming his hand on the table. "What nonsense are you spouting? Why can't this be done? You're someone I hired to do this work, what right do you have to interfere?"

Ma Caishen looked resentful but dared not say anything more. He Ming snorted coldly, flung his hand, and pushed open the door to leave. For some reason, standing before Ma Caishen made him feel extremely uncomfortable, as if a chill was seeping into his heart. He strode out of the room, determined never to see this Ma man again, even if he truly was a god of wealth.

As he walked down the corridor, he felt the chill in his heart gradually dissipate and his emotions calm down. Just then, someone walked up from the other end of the corridor and called out his name loudly: "Mr. He, you really keep your word! You've come so early."

"Oh, here it comes." He Ming replied casually, glancing at the surroundings indifferently, but suddenly froze.

The person walking towards him was none other than Ma Caishen, whom he had just met. At this moment, Ma Caishen's clothes were clean, and his face was full of flattery as he approached him step by step.

In an instant, a chill ran through He Ming’s heart. Ma Caishen was clearly here, so who was the person in his room?

Startled and suspicious, He Ming turned around and ran to the door of the room, peering inside.

Ma Caishen's room door was still open, but the room was empty and there was no one in sight. The five thousand yuan in cash was still lying on the bed, but the strange person from before was nowhere to be seen.

6)

The mysterious events that occurred in his office haunted He Ming, leaving him deeply troubled. He was consumed by a terrifying thought: he had violated the rights of the deceased, using their name to announce forgiveness for his father, He Zhenggang, without their consent. Regardless of whether this was the deceased's wish, his actions desecrated their dignity!

The dead can no longer speak for themselves, but their spirits must never be lightly desecrated!

This bizarre and inexplicable event disrupted He Ming's thinking, blurring the strict boundaries between life and death, and plunging his consciousness into a delirious and confused state. He could not forgive himself for violating the rights of the dead, and his will became despondent.

As time went by, He Ming's spirits gradually declined, and he even developed a strong desire to escape until he met Lin Hong one day, at which point his situation changed.

It is quite obvious that what happened to He Ming that day did not actually happen. He simply questioned his actions morally or did not agree with his behavior subconsciously. However, as a son, it was his responsibility to help his father relieve his guilt. This internal conflict led to a confusion in his consciousness, and his subconscious used dreams to prove his true desires to him.

In other words, the scene in Ma Caishen's room where he saw He Dazhuang's ghost was just a strange dream he had been thinking about all day.

Lin Hong's explanation was very convincing. He Ming seemed to have been looking forward to this explanation, just as He Zhenggang had been looking forward to the deceased's forgiveness. After obtaining this rational explanation, He Ming's confidence and decisiveness were restored.

It's easy to imagine that telling Lin Hong about this was of great significance to He Ming. It meant that he had laid bare his vulnerable, negative, and most hidden aspects of himself to Lin Hong, signifying an ultimate level of trust. At this point, Lin Hong knew that He Ming couldn't live without her.

Lin Hong's ability to help this man regain his confidence and courage gave her a strong and authoritative position in He Ming's mind, but this position is being challenged today.

The challenge for Lin Hong came from that inexplicable sense of fear.

She was afraid. Ever since she approached the house, she had felt an indescribable fear. She was so afraid that she trembled all over and became mentally unstable, but she couldn't explain what she was afraid of.

She shook her head violently, trying to shake off the chilling aura that clung to her. She didn't want this strange feeling to continue tormenting her; a calm mind would help her gain the family's favor, and she had every reason to do so, just for He Ming. However, no matter what she did, no matter how futilely she tried to convince herself to calm down, it was all in vain. The fear grew stronger and stronger, and finally, under the pressure of this fear, she stood up in a daze.

"What do you want?" He Ming asked with concern as she suddenly stood up. "I'll get you whatever you need."

"No, no," Lin Hong shook her head frantically, "Xiao Ming... I think... I remember now, there are still some things to take care of at the company, I have to go back."

"Going back for a bit?" He Ming looked at her in surprise, his face full of astonishment. After a long while, he burst out laughing: "Honghong, what are you talking about? My dad is about to buy the fish. Why are you suddenly leaving? If you leave, how am I supposed to explain to Mom and Dad?" As he spoke, he laughed heartily.

“Listen to me… Xiaoming, listen to me,” Lin Hong explained in a panic, “I really need to leave here right away, I feel… I feel very… very nervous.”

"Are you feeling unwell?" He Ming leaned closer and touched Lin Hong's forehead. Lin Hong took the opportunity to say, "Yes, I'm not feeling well. If I stay any longer, I'm afraid I'll upset your parents. It's better if I leave now."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" He Ming laughed without caring, stood up, took the remote control and turned off the TV, then put an arm around Lin Hong: "Listen to me, stay here properly. If you're not feeling well, I'll help you upstairs to your room to lie down for a while."

"No, no, no," Lin Hong shook her head mechanically. Her panic had reached its peak. A chilling atmosphere seemed to permeate the house, making her heart pound. All she wanted to do was leave. "Let me go first. I'll explain to you later. I really..." Her hand suddenly loosened, and she looked at a woman slowly walking down from the second floor with some surprise.

The woman was in her forties, with curly hair, heavy blue eyeshadow, and slightly smudged lipstick, which made her expression look a bit strange. She wore a light blue short nightgown and wooden clogs, and she looked at Lin Hong with her cold eyes as she walked down the steps.

Lin Hong looked at her somewhat bewildered, not understanding why there was suddenly another woman. Fortunately, He Ming said to the woman in a sarcastic tone, "Second sister, are you tired from sleeping?" Lin Hong then realized that this woman was He Ming's second sister, He Jing.

Hearing He Ming's sarcasm, He Jing snorted. Without even glancing at Lin Hong, she walked to the coffee table, casually picked up a piece of apple and put it in her mouth. Then, glancing at He Ming's collar, she frowned immediately. "Look at you," she said, pointing at He Ming with one finger, "Why did you tuck your collar in again? What kind of look is that?" With that, she plopped down on the sofa, glancing at Lin Hong, "You didn't even bother to straighten him out before he went out like that? It's so embarrassing."

He Ming retorted irritably, "It's none of your business. I'm happy to do it." He Jing immediately followed up, "I can't stop you from embarrassing yourself if you want to." Then she raised her eyelids, as if she had just seen Lin Hong, and said, "Please sit down. What's the point of standing there all the time?"

Lin Hong gave an awkward smirk but remained silent.

Of course, she knew He Ming's second sister, He Jing. She was a carefree woman with no job or income, and had been married twice. According to He Ming, she suffered from severe interpersonal communication difficulties, which manifested in her inability to interact with people. From the few words she uttered as she came downstairs, it was clear that this woman had no place for anyone else in her heart. In her daily life, she was arrogant, domineering, and self-righteous, relying entirely on her younger brother He Ming to work hard outside to maintain her luxurious lifestyle, yet she had never uttered a single word of gratitude.

She sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, scrutinizing Lin Hong with a critical eye: "Why are you still wearing the same clothes? You even said you'd change before coming to our house. Isn't that a bit too casual?"

He Ming snorted angrily and said to Lin Hong, "Ignore her, that's just how she is."

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me?" He Jing stuck out her bottom, looking at her younger brother defiantly, poised to start a fight at any moment: "You gave me the cold shoulder as soon as I came downstairs, what did I do to offend you?"

7)

The He family's living room was nearly 100 square meters, furnished in a simple style with no superfluous decorations, making it feel almost empty even with many people around. But as soon as He Jing started arguing, Lin Hong immediately felt that the huge living room became crowded. He Jing's voice was like hundreds of people arguing at the same time, creating an indescribable chaos.

Like a hedgehog with its quills ripped off, He Ming jumped up in a rage, arguing with his second sister for no apparent reason. In the kitchen, the bickering between Lin's mother and the country maid, Xiao Zhu, seemed to join in the commotion, instantly transforming the once quiet three-story riverside building into a noisy and chaotic mess. Lin Hong rubbed her temples in surprise, a sense of unreality washing over her. If she were to agree to He Ming's request and marry this man, this family would be more than she could handle.

But things were strangely like that. Before He Jing came downstairs, Lin Hong had felt a sinister and terrifying atmosphere, but now, listening to He Jing and He Ming's sarcastic and witty banter, that inexplicable sense of dread had vanished. Just before He Jing came downstairs, she had been thinking of leaving, but now she wanted to stay a little longer and see how President He Ming, this powerful businessman who held absolute authority in his Minghua Company, was arguing with his sister for no apparent reason. This was a completely new experience for Lin Hong. She had already witnessed another hidden side of this man, but the way He Ming's nose was red with anger was something she had never seen before. She couldn't help but sit down and watch with great interest.

"Fine, fine, I'm not talking to you anymore. You're the kind of person I can't reason with!" He Ming got tired of arguing and angrily pulled Lin Hong up, saying, "Let's go, let's ignore her."

Just then, He's mother appeared at the kitchen door: "Xiaojing, why are you making such a racket again? When will you ever stop?"

"Who argued with him? He's just looking for trouble." He Jing leisurely picked a grape from the fruit plate and put it in her mouth, seemingly deliberately slowing down the action so Lin Hong could see it more clearly—clearly a show of defiance. Looking at her like this, Lin Hong found it inexplicably amusing.

Mother He then asked He Ming, "Xiao Ming, where are you going? Your dad will be back from buying the turtle soon. Let me tell you, your dad is unusually happy today. Can you two not make him angry?"

He Ming glared angrily at his second sister, He Jing, resenting her for not giving him, her younger brother, any face. He pulled Lin Hong upstairs and said, "Honghong, let's go upstairs. This is your first time here, and you haven't seen the riverside view from the third floor yet. I'll take you there to see it."

He Jing, seizing the opportunity, added, "What's so interesting about that? The river is full of condoms floating around."

He Ming didn't want to argue with his second sister in front of Lin Hong anymore, fearing that Lin Hong would leave a terrible impression on their family. However, He Jing's relentless behavior was unbearable for him. He turned around and shouted, "Can't you speak like a human being? If you can't speak, shut up and no one will think you're mute!"

Mrs. He looked embarrassed and didn't know what to say to Lin Hong. At this moment, the strange fear in Lin Hong's heart had dissipated, and she was able to calmly deal with the situation. She smiled slightly: "It's nothing, Auntie. When my parents were still alive, they always argued."

Before He's mother could say anything more, He Ming practically grabbed Lin Hong's hand and dragged her up the European-style spiral staircase, throwing the whole family downstairs.

The staircase was covered with an imported Italian carpet, its colors noble yet muted, giving it a dignified feel. Lin Hong frowned; this style of carpet seemed unsuitable for a living room. It was too serious, too rational, too luxurious, creating a stark contrast with the warmth of home life.

The staircase handrail is made of common pine wood, sprayed with antique patterns, blending seamlessly with the Left Bank-style metal balustrade. The balustrade is inlaid with spray-painted glass, which is precisely not Lin Hong's preferred style. Relatively speaking, spray-painted glass, with its bright colors, evokes beautiful thoughts and aesthetic enjoyment, creating a wonderfully artistic atmosphere. However, this building material is more suitable for interior screen partitions and decorations, rather than disrupting the overall aesthetic effect of the building with its cluttered details.

Seeing her furrow her brow repeatedly, He Ming knew what she was thinking. He brought his soft, moist lips close to her ear and whispered, "Don't judge this place with your interior design perspective. Do you know that when this house was built, the best designer we could find was just a teacher from the Central Academy of Fine Arts who had studied there for two years? How could he compare to you?"

He Ming was panting heavily as he said this, indicating that he was still angry.

He Ming's anger had a reason. He Jing suffers from interpersonal communication difficulties; her mere presence in any situation inevitably leads to an argument. Therefore, He Ming deliberately chose a time when He Jing wasn't home when he brought Lin Hong back, fearing she would start a fight for no reason. Unexpectedly, his second sister remained at home. If Lin Hong were unaware of the situation, she might think He Jing was intentionally making things difficult for her, but that wasn't the case.

Lin Hong knew perfectly well what was going on, so she didn't mind at all. She just found the family amusing. Both He Ming and He Zhenggang were prominent figures in public, so who would have thought they'd be like this at home? Willful, temperamental, and constantly bickering like children. But it was precisely because of this that she felt a sense of warmth towards them. Suppressing her amusement, a strange tenderness welled up within her. Her languid gaze drifted away from the luxurious carpet, and a painting on the second-floor wall suddenly caught her eye.

The painting came so fiercely, like a meteorite falling from the sky, shimmering with intense heat as it quickly entered her field of vision, stealing the peace and tranquility of her inner world and triggering a destructive roar and shock in her heart!

She shoved He Ming away abruptly, her terrified gaze fixed on the oil painting on the wall. This painting... this painting held an exceptionally important place in her life, even dominating her life's journey at one point! But such an oil painting shouldn't exist in the world, it shouldn't, because she had buried it deep in her heart ten years ago.

She never forgot the painting, even though she had never seen it before.

The image shows a small villa in a riverside setting. A quiet, leaf-like awning boat floats on the river. Several silvery-white plants, neither fluffy nor reedy, detach from the surface of the image and sway in the wind. On the opposite bank of the river is the villa that is etched deep in her memory, with its European-style conical tower and Baroque-style arcade, combining decoration and practicality without appearing pretentious.

The villa is grayish-blue, a dark and cool color that further accentuates the building's austere style.

Beneath the dark gray buildings lies a path paved with gravel. Cars, parasols, men and women sitting under the parasols sipping beer, and a woman with a shoulder bag walks alone from afar, accompanied by an animal whose shape is not very clear, most likely a dog, and it can only be a dog!

One of the villa's doors was open, while the other appeared to be open but not quite. The iron rings with animal-shaped handles on the doors were so realistic that it seemed you could reach out and pull the door open.

Several star-shaped windows are located on the second floor, two on each side, all tightly closed. There are only two windows on the third floor, also closed, but a woman's face is visible through the glass of one of the windows. The woman's eyes are vacant, as if she is struggling to escape from an indescribable and terrifying state, and she is shouting out loudly.

Upon seeing the woman in the third-floor window, Lin Hong felt as if she had been struck heavily in the chest by a hammer. She involuntarily staggered backward, her face pale, her lips bloodless, and her finger pointing at the oil painting on the wall trembled violently.

Although the woman on the third floor in the picture is blurry, she knows who that woman is.

That's her! That's her!! That's her!!!

That was the person she knew about today, more than a decade ago!

8)

Lin Hong was born in a small town about 20 miles from Taizhou. The town was called Jijialuo, which was probably a village that had been inhabited by the Ji clan. After decades of changes, the Ji family had all scattered, and Lin Hong only remembered an old man who was as old as could be.

The old man lived alone in a mud house and worked as a gatekeeper for a machine factory. He was severely deaf; even if you banged a gong in front of him, he wouldn't hear you. But that didn't stop him from being an excellent watchman. At night, he wouldn't sleep. He would take a flashlight and wander around the factory yard, shouting every now and then, "Come out! I've seen you! If you don't come out, I'll arrest you!" He would shout like this all night long, driving the thieves crazy. They couldn't argue with a deaf man, so they stopped trying to steal the few pieces of scrap metal from the factory.