Conserves fantômes

Chapitre 2

Because the crime scene was quite far from the city center, there was only one bus route to and from it. When Lin Qiu arrived at the station, he happened to catch a bus heading to the suburbs, so he quickly boarded. There weren't many people on the bus; there are generally few people going to the suburbs. Lin Qiu found a seat at random and soon began to doze off.

The bus was driving fast, and in his drowsy state, Lin Qiu felt it stop. He slightly opened his eyes and saw that some passengers had gotten off halfway. Just as the bus slowly started moving again, Lin Qiu glanced out the window, and what he saw horrified him! He saw a woman in a blue dress standing under the bus stop sign. The woman seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen her before. Her face was pale, expressionless, and her eyes were coldly fixed on him. The moment Lin Qiu's gaze met hers, he felt that her eyes were like a bottomless abyss, strangely mysterious and profound, sending chills down his spine!

The car sped up immediately. Lin Qiu turned his head and glanced back, only to find that the woman was still staring intently at him. He couldn't help but gasp, a strange sense of fear welling up inside him.

Lin Qiu dared not doze off any longer. There were only three or four people left in the car, and they were already far from the city. Lin Qiu tried hard to recall the woman's face. Gradually, the woman's face became clearer and clearer. Large beads of sweat had already appeared on Lin Qiu's forehead. His heart was pounding violently, and his eyes were filled with terror. He remembered—the woman from before was the blue-clad woman who had tried to kill Bai Yue in his dream last night!

The car finally arrived at its final stop, leaving only Lin Qiu and another middle-aged man. The weather was unusually gloomy today, the sky and earth were a hazy gray, and the surrounding scenery was a desolate late autumn scene. Lin Qiu glanced at his watch; it was already past ten o'clock. He hurriedly headed to Wenhao Village, the scene of the crime. Wenhao Village was originally called Fentou Village, but because the name was considered unlucky, it was changed to Wenhao Village based on a similar pronunciation.

When Lin Qiu arrived, the police were busy investigating the scene, and many villagers were watching from a short distance away. On the surface, this case didn't seem like a particularly bizarre murder; at most, it was just a rape and murder case, only the perpetrator's methods were extremely cruel. The victim was a young girl around 22 years old. Her face had been slashed beyond recognition with a sharp blade, her eyes had been gouged out, and even more gruesomely, her breasts had been brutally cut off, and her genitals had been stabbed until they were a bloody mess—a truly horrific sight.

Looking at the poor girl's mangled corpse, Lin Qiu gritted his teeth in hatred for the inhuman pervert. He identified himself to the police, obtained the right to interview, took a few photos of the scene, and then asked an officer about the case. Because the case still required further investigation, the police didn't reveal much information to him. He also interviewed several bystanders, but the information he obtained wasn't of any significant value; it seemed he wouldn't be making the front page tomorrow.

Seeing that there was really no more material to dig up, Lin Qiu decided to go back. Suddenly, he remembered that a childhood friend lived in this village. Since the manuscript wouldn't be published until tomorrow, he wasn't in a hurry to go back, so he decided to go visit his friend.

Although the village is located in the suburbs of H City, it doesn't seem to have benefited from the city's advantages. The village as a whole is relatively poor, with more people living in tiled houses than in single-story or multi-story houses. Lin Qiu's friend is named Lin Wangchou, and he can't understand why the boy's father gave him such a strange name. The two were childhood friends, living together in a remote town more than ten years ago. Later, for some unknown reason, they both moved to H City, along with several other families, all former neighbors. Lin Qiu's family was better off at the time, so they moved to the city, while Lin Wangchou's family was poorer and could only move to the rural suburbs.

Lin Qiu hadn't been here for several years. He remembered that Lin Wangchou's family lived in the west of the village, and that they used to live in a tiled house. Lin Qiu quickly found Lin Wangchou's house and discovered that they had built a beautiful two-story villa.

It was noon, and the whole family was having lunch. Seeing Lin Qiu arrive, they quickly invited him inside and pulled him to the table to eat with them. Since they were old neighbors, Lin Qiu didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to eat with them. During the meal, Lin Qiu noticed that Lin Wangchou's family seemed to be troubled by something; everyone's face was clouded with worry and they looked melancholy.

After dinner, Lin Wangchou took Lin Qiu to his room on the second floor. His expression was unusually solemn. He closed the door tightly, as if he had something important to tell Lin Qiu.

"Wang Chou, what's wrong?" Lin Qiu asked in confusion.

Lin Wangchou poured Lin Qiu a glass of water, sat down in a chair, and remained silent, as if recalling something. Lin Qiu stared at him, puzzled. Suddenly, he saw a deep fear and immense pain in Lin Wangchou's eyes! Lin Wangchou's lips trembled a few times, but he couldn't speak, his face filled with an expression of agony.

"Wang Chou, tell me what's wrong quickly. Don't be afraid, I'll help you!" Lin Qiu sensed the seriousness of the situation from Lin Wang Chou's face.

"No, you can't help me!" Lin Wangchou suddenly lowered his head in anguish.

"What exactly happened? How do you know I can't help you if you don't tell me?" Lin Qiu became anxious.

After a long silence, Lin Wangchou raised his head, his expression seemingly much calmer, as if he had just struggled out of a great terror.

"I...I saw it..."

"What did you see?" Lin Qiu's breathing became rapid, and he felt a vague sense of unease.

Fear instantly filled Lin Wangchou's face again, and his voice trembled slightly: "I saw it—the Blue Skull!"

As soon as Lin Wangchou finished speaking, Lin Qiu's face turned deathly pale. The words "Blue Skull" struck his heart like three heavy hammer blows. He shuddered, and the water glass in his hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Lin Qiu suppressed his fear and unease, and asked Lin Wangchou with feigned composure, "When did you see the Blue Skull? Where did you see it?"

Lin Wangchou regained his composure, lit a cigarette, and slowly said, "The night before last, around one or two in the morning, my room phone suddenly rang inexplicably. My wife answered the first time, but no one spoke. After a while, it rang again. I was a little annoyed. Who would be so bored as to call at this hour? They were clearly looking for a scolding. So I got up and answered the phone, intending to give the caller a piece of my mind, but no one spoke. Just as I was about to angrily hang up, a very deep and terrifying female voice came from the phone. She only said one sentence and then hung up."

"What did she say?" Lin Qiu's voice changed.

"I will come to see you at midnight tonight..."

"Ah!" Lin Qiu was stunned.

Lin Wangchou was surprised by Lin Qiu's timidity. He thought to himself, "Look how scared you are, and you still say you'll help me." Ignoring Lin Qiu's expression, he continued slowly, "When I first heard that, I was startled too, but then I thought maybe some bored guy was playing a prank. Thinking that, I didn't take it too seriously and went back to bed. However…" At this point, a flicker of fear seemed to flash in Lin Wangchou's eyes, and his hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly. He took a deep drag, suppressing his fear, and continued, "However, shortly after I lay down, I suddenly heard a woman crying. The crying rose and fell, filled with sorrow and resentment, sometimes sounding like it was coming from a guest room…" "The sound came from the hall, then seemed to drift from the open fields, sending chills down our spines, terrifying beyond measure!" Lin Wangchou paused, his hand holding the cigarette trembling slightly. He tried to hide the fear on his face as he continued slowly, "At the time, the crying frightened us greatly. My wife told me to go out and see who was crying. So I got up, grabbed a flashlight, and went downstairs. Suddenly, the crying stopped. I checked the area around the house, but found no one and heard no more crying. I then locked the gate tightly and went back inside."

Lin Wangchou stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray with a thud. His hands were trembling so badly he almost knocked it over. He took a deep breath and continued, "When I got back to the house, I needed to urinate, so I went to the bathroom. After I finished, as I was about to wash my hands, I suddenly saw a hideous and terrifying blue skull on the bathroom mirror! I was terrified! I screamed in fear, waking up the whole family. We tried everything to wipe this horrible thing off, but no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't get rid of it. Luckily, it disappeared on its own after dawn."

At this point, large beads of sweat appeared on Lin Wangchou's forehead, and his face showed great pain. He lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and continued, "I thought nothing more would happen. But who knew, who knew that last night, I heard that woman crying again, and saw that terrifying blue skull again!" Lin Wangchou lowered his head in anguish, clutching his hair tightly with one hand, and puffed on his cigarette.

Lin Qiu was pale, staring blankly into space. He dared not tell Lin Wangchou that he had also encountered the same terrifying event. He had a premonition that perhaps the horror had only just begun, and something even more terrible was yet to come…

It was already past five in the afternoon, and the sky outside remained overcast. Lin Qiu planned to go back, telling Lin Wangchou to call him immediately if anything happened. Lin Wangchou escorted him downstairs, and just as he reached the courtyard gate, he happened to run into Lin Wangchou's father, who was returning home.

"Uncle, I'm going back now. Please come visit me when you have time."

"Xiao Qiu".

Lin Qiu had only taken a few steps when Lin Wangchou's father suddenly called out to him. He turned around and found Lin Wangchou's father's eyes filled with unusual complexity: "Uncle, is there something you need?"

Lin Wangchou's father's lips moved slightly: "Oh, no, nothing's wrong. You should go back now, it's getting dark, be careful on the road."

"I understand, thank you for your concern, Uncle. Please take good care of yourself!"

As Lin Qiu walked, he was lost in thought. He felt that Lin Wangchou's father seemed to have something to say to him, but couldn't bring himself to say it, and he didn't know what he wanted to say. When he had walked quite a distance and then turned back, he found that Lin Wangchou's father was still standing at the door, watching him from afar.

Soon, Lin Qiu arrived at the bus stop by the roadside. He was the only one waiting for the bus; the road was deserted. In late autumn, night seemed to fall particularly early; it wasn't even six o'clock, yet the sky had already turned a hazy gray. The weather also seemed much colder. Lin Qiu wrapped his trench coat tighter, peering back the way he had come, hoping the bus would arrive soon.

He tried his best to suppress his thoughts of those terrifying things, but Lin Wangchou's pained expression and fearful eyes kept flashing through his mind. Suddenly, he remembered the mysterious and frightening woman in blue he had met on his way there that morning; it seemed as if she was hiding in some dark corner, coldly watching him.

Just as Lin Qiu was hesitating and feeling uneasy, the last bus finally arrived. The bus stopped, and several passengers got off one after another, all of them villagers from Wenhao Village.

As the last passenger slowly disembarked, Lin Qiu was horrified, and his face changed color!

The fourth section: a terrifying experience on the train

Lin Qiu never dreamed that the last passenger to get off the bus would be that mysterious woman in blue!

Her face was pale, and she stared coldly at Lin Qiu, her eyes unusually mysterious and deep. A chill emanated from her, a sinister aura that pressed directly towards Lin Qiu, sending a shiver down his spine.

Lin Qiu didn't dare look her in the eye and jumped onto the bus as if his life depended on it. There were only him and the driver on the bus.

The car started moving. Lin Qiu didn't dare look back, but he could feel the woman in blue staring intently at him. The thought of her pale, cold face and those enigmatic, deep eyes sent chills down his spine, filling him with fear and unease.

Night fell, and darkness soon descended.

A light drizzle began to fall again. The roads were almost deserted, with hardly any vehicles or pedestrians. The driver was completely focused on driving. Lin Qiu couldn't see the driver's face clearly because he never turned around; it was as if there was no one else in the car. The entire carriage felt empty, eerily hollow.

It was completely dark, but the driver hadn't turned on the lights, leaving the carriage pitch black. In the darkness, Lin Qiu felt as if a pair of eyes were coldly staring at him, as if those terrifying eyes were right behind him. He felt a chill run down his spine and broke out in a cold sweat.

He quickly told the driver to turn on the lights.

"The light is broken," the driver replied sullenly, still not turning around.

Lin Qiu found the driver a bit strange, even a little scary. Helplessly, he curled up in his seat. Outside the car window, it was pitch black, and the shadows of the trees on both sides of the road swayed in the wind, indistinct and ghostly.

The car continued to move forward smoothly. Lin Qiu felt a little heavy-headed and dizzy, so he couldn't help but close his eyes.

Suddenly, in a daze, Lin Qiu seemed to see a woman get into the car. The woman was wearing a blue dress, and her pale, indifferent face was expressionless. She walked straight towards Lin Qiu and sat down next to him. She exuded a chilling aura, and her mysterious, deep eyes stared coldly at him...

Lin Qiu jolted awake and opened his eyes abruptly. The carriage was still empty except for him and the driver, who was still focused on driving.

He stared blankly out the car window. The rain seemed to be falling thicker and thicker, pattering coldly against the car window, sending a chill down his spine.

After a short while, he closed his eyes again.

In his hazy state, Lin Qiu felt as if a pair of eerie eyes were coldly watching him in the darkness, as if those eyes were hiding behind him. A chill ran down his spine, and the fear in his heart grew stronger, but he dared not look back.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt the car suddenly stop, and the door slammed open. When he opened his eyes, a woman had already gotten out of the car. In the dim light of the streetlamp, he noticed the woman was wearing a blue dress, and her face appeared even paler and more forlorn in the dim light. Staring at that familiar yet terrifying face, Lin Qiu's head suddenly felt several times larger, his scalp tingled, and a wave of fear washed over him like a black tidal wave!

He asked the driver, trembling, when the woman in blue got on the bus.

"She's been sitting behind you the whole time, didn't you know?" The driver's voice remained sinister and somewhat terrifying.

Lin Qiu let out a cry and slumped back in his seat, breathing rapidly, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He finally understood why he had felt a pair of eyes watching him in the darkness—the terrifying woman in blue was sitting right behind him!

He didn't know exactly when she got on the bus or when she sat behind him!

Lin Qiu was completely enveloped in terror. He cautiously walked forward, intending to get closer to the driver so that perhaps his fear would lessen. However, when his gaze fell upon the driver's gloomy back, he stopped in his tracks, for he found the driver equally terrifying! He had no choice but to retreat to his original seat and sit down with trembling hands. Fortunately, the car had now entered the city and was illuminated by the lights.

"Driver, could you play some music? It's too quiet."

"What kind of music do you want to hear?" the driver asked coldly, without turning around.

"Any music is fine."

The driver put a cassette tape into the stereo, but strangely, no music played for a long time.

Lin Qiu was puzzled when suddenly, there was a sound from the stereo, but instead of music, it was an extremely low and terrifying woman's voice:

"I will come to see you at midnight tonight..."

Section 5: Midnight Knocking

Bai Yue sat blankly on the living room sofa. She had already reheated the food on the table, but it was almost cold again. Tonight, she had specially made Lin Qiu's favorite sweet and sour pork ribs. However, the clock on the wall showed it was past eight o'clock, and Lin Qiu still hadn't returned. She tried calling his cell phone, but it was switched off.

Outside the window, it was pitch black, and the rain was falling heavier and heavier. Inside, the large space felt empty. A faint unease crept into Bai Yue's heart. Her eyes were fixed on the living room door, hoping to hear Lin Qiu's familiar footsteps.

It's already past nine o'clock.

Bai Yue felt a little panicked. She kept dialing Lin Qiu's cell phone, but she couldn't get through. She then called the newspaper office, and the colleague on duty said that Lin Qiu hadn't returned yet.

Bai Yue hung up the phone, her mind a jumbled mess. She didn't know where Lin Qiu had gone. Perhaps something had happened to him? A car accident? Encounter with thugs? Bai Yue dared not think any further. She felt weak all over, her heart filled with a panicked sense of helplessness. She went to the window, opened it, and a gust of wind mixed with rain blew sharply at her. Instantly, she felt a chill on her face. She hurriedly closed the window again, her mind sinking into an endless darkness.

"Lin Qiu, where did you go?"

Bai Yue muttered to herself, filled with worry and fear. At that moment, she desperately wished Lin Qiu would appear before her immediately, but the door remained silent, without a sound.

She sat back down on the sofa, staring blankly into space.

Time quickly reached ten o'clock.

Bai Yue felt increasingly sleepy. With Lin Qiu not returning, she lost her appetite, so she put the food back in the refrigerator and took a hot shower. Afterward, she felt much more refreshed and waited for Lin Qiu in the living room. She still couldn't get through to him on his phone.

It was eleven o'clock, and Lin Qiu still hadn't returned.

Swallowing her in waves, Bai Yue couldn't stay awake any longer. She turned off the living room light and went back to her bedroom. Afraid to sleep alone with the lights off, she turned on the bedside lamp, sat on the edge of the bed with her pillow for a while, and then, with a vague sense of unease, drifted off to sleep.

Bai Yue had a terrible dream. She dreamt of Lin Qiu, covered in blood, his eyes gouged out by ruthless thugs, leaving them dark, gaping holes—a truly terrifying sight. But he was still alive. He stumbled along a densely wooded, overgrown mountain path, repeatedly calling out Bai Yue's name, his voice filled with pain and despair. Suddenly, Lin Qiu's hair began to fall out, then his scalp, and pieces of flesh peeled away from his face. Slowly, his head transformed into a grotesque, terrifying blue skull…

Bai Yue woke up from a nightmare, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. The terrible dream kept haunting her, refusing to leave her mind. Her body trembled violently; she couldn't resist the terror's corrosive influence on her soul. She cried, sobbing softly.

Just then, she thought she heard someone knocking on the door. She immediately stopped crying and listened carefully. However, she heard nothing. Bai Yue felt a little strange; she clearly heard someone knocking. She listened for a while longer, but still there was no movement. Perhaps she was just imagining things due to excessive fear. Thinking this, Bai Yue didn't dwell on it. She got up, poured herself a glass of hot water, and sat on the bed, slowly drinking it, hoping to use the water to suppress her fear.

After drinking the water, her fear gradually subsided, and she felt much more peaceful and comfortable. She put down the cup, lay back down on the bed, and although she felt very tired, she could no longer fall asleep.

Just as Bai Yue was tossing and turning in bed, lost in thought, the knocking suddenly started again! This time, Bai Yue heard it clearly; someone was definitely knocking. Who would be knocking at this hour? Could it be Lin Qiu returning? But Lin Qiu has a key, so why doesn't he just open the door? Maybe, maybe he's lost his key.

Thinking of this, Bai Yue quickly got out of bed, turned on the living room light, and asked, "Lin Qiu, is that you?"

There was no response from outside the door. Bai Yue was a little surprised. She nervously walked to the door, hesitated for a moment, and then put her eyes to the peephole...

Suddenly, Bai Yue froze as if she'd been electrocuted, her face turning deathly pale, her lips trembling, and her eyes filled with immense terror…

Chapter Six: Mysterious Disappearance

Daylight broke.