Histoires de fantômes

Chapitre 87

In the sink, the splashing water reflected light, like an unnamed monster looking at me with mocking eyes. The window was closed; of course, even if it were open, Xiao Keleng, without having practiced bone-shrinking techniques, couldn't possibly squeeze through the security bars.

Part 2: Tower of the Dead

— Chapter 2 — Guan Baoling's Bizarre Encounters —

I went to the sink, turned on the tap, and frantically plunged my head under the gushing cold water. I needed the cold water to cool my furious mind, because I couldn't think of any solutions when faced with two mysterious disappearances. I even wished that I could disappear with the water in this state and go find the two missing girls.

"Hey, Mr. Feng, how about you consider my terms?" Golden Finger tapped on the door frame.

I shook my head, flicking the water droplets from my hair, and raised my voice: "Impossible! For something this big, if you really want to be sincere, please have Chief Jin come out and talk to me. Otherwise, absolutely not!"

Golden Finger sneered, lightly stamping his foot in disdain, as if feeling a bit cold.

There was really no other way, so I had to call construction workers tomorrow to turn the bathroom upside down and see where they went—if Xiao Keleng had disappeared, all my work in Hokkaido would be affected, which would be the biggest loss. I pounded on the sink, splashing water, which puzzled Golden Finger.

“Mr. Feng, I’m just as familiar with everything in this villa as you are. What you can find, I can find too, and then you won’t get a single penny…”

To be honest, while Golden Finger's martial arts skills are impressive, she's not a good preacher. At the very least, the language and reasons she used were completely unconvincing. I impatiently raised my hand to interrupt her: "Fine, then go find it yourself. But I have the right to call the police, after all, this is my private territory."

Speaking of reporting to the police, I should first report the disappearance of the two girls. It's 7:30 PM now, around the same time yesterday when Guan Baoling was discovered to be missing.

My panicked face was reflected in the mirror; water droplets dripped from my hair, making me look utterly disheveled. Two people had already disappeared from this restroom; I wondered if I would be next?

Suddenly, a piercing whistle sounded outside the window, louder than 100 decibels, rising and falling in waves, as if many people had appeared on the desolate mountain outside the back window at the same time, rapidly transmitting some kind of message.

Golden Finger leaped to the window and cried out urgently, "Mr. Feng, our gang is on a special operation. The smart ones won't interfere. Whatever your connection to the plague—if you leave this villa, kill me on sight!" Before I could answer, she had already slipped out the window, as agile as an eel. It seems thieves always prefer to enter through windows; even if the front door is wide open, they won't choose to enter openly.

I have no interest in the "Black Angels" gang, and if the traitor they're hunting is the Plague, it's even less of my business. I can't be bothered with any of that.

The back window was wide open, and the north wind howled in. My wet hair grew increasingly cold, which actually helped me to think more deeply: "Both of them disappeared around 7:20 pm, in front of the sink. The only difference is that Guan Baoling had obvious signs that she was attracted by the mirror before she disappeared. So what about Xiao Keleng? Knowing that she would disappear, of course she would have tried her best to be vigilant and on guard."

"Hmm, the problem lies in the mirror. Think about it carefully, is it really necessary to have such a luxurious and complicated mirror in front of the sink? Or is there really something strange reflected in the mirror?"

I recalled three places where I had heard the sound of bubbles: a fireplace, a statue, and a mirror. All three were ancient bronze artifacts. Could there be something in common among them?

The whistling outside the window grew more urgent. I stood at the window and looked out. At least two hundred silver stars shimmered and twinkled across the mountains and fields, almost covering the limits of my vision, stretching all the way to the wall of Fengge Temple at the summit. If these were all the men of the "Black Angels," their sheer numbers were truly astonishing. So, what heinous crime had the Plague committed that warranted the gang sending so many people to hunt him down?

Located on the northern edge of Hokkaido, facing several small islands with uncertain ownership across the sea, it serves as a dilapidated gateway to northern Japan. Criminals from Russia, North Korea, and South Korea often choose this direction to secretly land in Japan. As a result, armed clashes, gun battles, murders, and other criminal activities are rampant year-round, causing headaches for the Hokkaido police, who often adopt a lenient "turn a blind eye" approach.

Last night, the Plague's words were vague in many ways. For example, regarding the magical "Book of Purgatory," although he did not explicitly say that he possessed the book, he made no secret of the fact that he had information about its whereabouts.

The whistling grew more urgent, and from the dark grove at the far east, starlight danced rapidly, forming a huge silver vortex, as if many people were attacking someone together.

I slammed the window shut and fastened the lock, not wanting to get myself into trouble; I already had enough on my plate.

Back in the living room, in desperation, I dialed Suren's international number, only to hear an answering machine: "Hello, this is Suren. Please leave a message and I will reply promptly." My mood grew increasingly depressed, and I lay back on the sofa, staring silently at the crystal chandelier.

When I think of the "Book of Purgatory," I picture the second-floor study overflowing with books. Since Brother Yang Tian has so many books here, could his search be related to their contents? I know that a skilled tomb raider must have a wide range of reading habits. The broader the knowledge stored in one's mind, the more easily one can draw inferences and generate inspiration in practice.

Separated by vast oceans, Su Lun couldn't possibly offer me much help, especially given how bizarre and inexplicable this was. So, I abruptly got up, intending to go upstairs to check, waiting for Xiao Keleng to reappear while flipping through some books for clues.

Xiao Keleng is different from Guan Baoling. She is a martial arts expert. If she encounters any danger, she can at least protect herself, which makes me less worried.

Suddenly, I heard a rushing sound, this time not the strange bubbling, but the spraying sound of a faucet turned up to its limit. After a moment's thought, I chuckled to myself, realizing, "The sound is coming from the bathroom, not from the fireplace again! I'm being too paranoid; there must be something wrong with the faucet—"

The fire in the fireplace had completely gone out, leaving no warmth whatsoever.

I walked toward the restroom, the sound of running water still ringing loudly. Just as I quickened my pace and turned the corner, I suddenly heard a long, soft sigh: "Ah..." The voice was melodious and lingered.

I took two more steps forward and reached the bathroom door. Suddenly, I stopped as if struck by lightning, my mouth agape in utter shock, unable to utter a single word.

The sigh came from Guan Baoling, because I had clearly memorized her voice during our conversation last night. Girls in the entertainment industry, with their carefully tuned and refined voices, are all sweet and coquettish, constantly stimulating men's sensitive nerves. Her voice was soft and gentle, as rich as melt-in-your-mouth hot chocolate—

What I see right now is Guan Baoling.

She stood in front of the sink, slightly bent over, with her hands outstretched, her face turned toward the mirror, her eyes staring blankly ahead, looking utterly lost and dejected.

The water was turned up so high that it splashed all over her. Looking in the mirror, she could see that her clothes were soaked, especially around the chest.

I dug my nails into my palms, the excruciating pain reminding me that this wasn't a dream, nor a hallucination—"She's back... Guan Baoling has reappeared..." For a full minute, we remained motionless, staring at each other in the mirror. My face was filled with horror and fear; my feelings at that moment were hardly better than if I had seen a zombie ghost.

Her gaze finally fell on my reflection in the mirror, and she gave a pale smile: "What? Did I scare you?"

It was true, Guan Baoling was back—I walked slowly forward, holding my breath, as cautiously as a combat engineer about to deflect a landmine. I reached the sink and turned off the tap. The sound of the running water seemed to still echo in the bathroom, making my expression incredibly strange.

I checked the window first; it was tightly closed, locked with a hidden lock, and no one had been in or out.

"I was just a little tired, so I took a while to wash my hands... We can continue talking about the villa. Of course, price isn't an issue; my friend and I both need your help, Mr. Feng..."

She rubbed her face with her hands, then took out a Chanel lipstick from her pocket, leaned close to the mirror, and carefully applied it to her lips.

I took a deep breath and smelled the same enchanting fragrance in her hair as I had last night.

She turned around, put away her lipstick, and walked towards the door, tilting her head back as she went, casually running her fingers through her long hair without offering any further explanation.

I watched her retreating figure and gave a bitter smile, because anyone who returns after being missing for twenty-four hours wouldn't return without a few words of explanation. At the very least, she should tell me where she went and what she did—

Back in the living room, she glanced at her watch and exclaimed with a hint of surprise, "Huh? Time flies! It's already past eight o'clock?"

Her expression showed absolutely no sign of tension following the mysterious event. So, where did she go during those twenty-four hours she disappeared?

"Mr. Feng, could I have a glass of water?" She looked up at me with a smile, her expression serene.

I began to feel angry at being fooled, and sneered, "Miss Guan, I can give you water, but at least you have to tell me what happened yesterday?"

"Yesterday?" She frowned, glancing instinctively towards the gate, then smiled wryly, puzzled. "Yesterday I rushed from the film set to Hokkaido and have been staying at Fukichi-ji Temple. What? Does this have anything to do with you?"

My sneer deepened. She's a very dedicated actress, both an idol and a talented one. It's easy for her to pretend nothing's wrong, but it's a shame I spent the whole day searching and worrying.

"Okay, okay...okay!" I got up to pour her some water, having already decided that I would serve her tea and see her off in a little while, and that I would not be able to entertain her.

She looked down at her watch, muttering to herself in confusion, "Hmm? What's wrong with my watch? Why did it run an extra day? December 10th—isn't today the 9th?"

I was standing by the stairs, watching the kettle boil water, when I heard her say that, and then saw her take off her wristwatch to adjust the time. Suddenly, I felt like I was struck by lightning for the second time: "My God! Yesterday was only the ninth! What does her saying prove? Doesn't she know that she has been missing for twenty-four hours?"

Guan Baoling adjusted the watch, put it back on her wrist, and proudly waved it in front of her eyes. The classic Vacheron Constantin tonneau-shaped diamond-set watch gleamed coldly under the light.

I very, very carefully reminded her: "Miss Guan, today... should be the tenth, yesterday was the ninth."

Unexpectedly, Guan Baoling stared at me blankly for a moment, then burst into laughter: "How could that be? Tomorrow, December 10th, I have a press conference at the top of the Imperial Building in Sapporo, and I'll also be giving a special interview to a reporter from the culture section of the Asahi Shimbun. How could I be wrong?"

The water boiled, making a bubbling sound, exactly like the sound of bubbles I had heard before.

I made two cups of Nescafé instant coffee, placed them on the coffee table, and stared seriously at her face, making sure she hadn't lied or joked.

“Ms. Guan, I have to remind you, something strange seems to be happening. Don’t you feel it?” I stared at the hand she was using to pick up her coffee, repeatedly telling myself, “This isn’t a hallucination! This isn’t a hallucination…”

"What strange thing? Please just say it, okay?" She seemed unimpressed by my cautious tone, a faint sneer on her face.

“You…you disappeared…right here in the bathroom of this villa…” I carefully chose my words to minimize the sudden shock, so she wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the unexpected blow. Even a man like me, who has traveled the world and made my way in the world, would find it hard to understand what had happened, let alone a delicate girl like her.

Guan Baoling froze for a moment, then burst into laughter: "What? What disappeared?" She turned her head toward the restroom, paused for a moment, raised her eyebrows, and her face darkened: "Mr. Feng, I don't think you're like those ubiquitous paparazzi, installing hidden pinhole cameras or something in the restroom, are you? If that's the case, I reserve the right to take legal action..."

She misunderstood me, which made me both laugh and cry.

I shook my head: "Miss Guan, you've misunderstood. What I mean is, you disappeared in the restroom for twenty-four hours. Today's date is December 10th, not the 9th as you thought, understand? For some strange reason, you suddenly disappeared and then suddenly came back..."

Guan Baoling burst into laughter, splashing coffee from her cup onto the coffee table.

I know these words sound funny and absurd, but they actually happened in the restroom of Xunfuyuan. If she hadn't accidentally returned, she might be wandering in some unknown space right now!

Holding my coffee, I waited until she finished laughing, then wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes before calmly continuing, "I have ample evidence to prove that you disappeared for a full twenty-four hours, from 7:20 PM on the 9th to 8:00 PM on the 10th. If you don't believe me, I can call in witnesses—"

At this point, I raised my hand to cover my mouth with an "Ah!" because the "witnesses" could only be Plague and Xiao Keleng. One of them was missing and could be assassinated by the "Angel of the Night" at any time; the other mysteriously disappeared for the same reason as Guan Baoling.

I have witnesses, but I can't summon them now.

A slight awkward silence fell over the living room. Guan Baoling kept secretly sneering, assuming that I was a delusional liar.

Things had reached a bottleneck. The villa wasn't for sale, and with negotiations failing, Guan Baoling would have no choice but to leave. I found her, only to lose Xiao Keleng in the process—it was yet another cruel joke played by fate.

I pointed to her watch, cleared my throat, and forced a smile: "Ms. Guan, have you ever wondered why such an expensive watch would suddenly have an incorrect date? Has the same thing happened before?"

Guan Baoling scoffed coldly, "This... this alone, can it prove I ever disappeared? I only went to the restroom for a short while. If there's anything strange about it, it can only be..."

I quickly interrupted her: "What did you hear at the window? Was it the 'glug glug' sound of water bubbles? And then? And then? When you went back to the sink, what did you see..." I deduced her movements from the footprints she left on the ground.

Guan Baoling looked confused: "You were following me and spying on me, weren't you?"

I waved my hand forcefully, ignoring her sullen expression, and shouted, "Tell me, what can I see in the mirror? What is it? Tell me now—"

The key to the problem is that she first heard the sound of bubbles, and then it disappeared. I want to know what the next step is after the "bubbling sound".

"Yes, I heard the sound of bubbles, very loud and rapid, and then I left the window and ran to the mirror..."

"I deduced that the bubbling sound was coming from the mirror, though I wasn't sure if it was coming from behind the mirror or from the mirror itself. In a daze, I turned on the tap, hoping the cold water would calm me down... I placed my hands on the mirror, then moved them to either side of the carved frame. Being so close, I suddenly felt as if I had entered the inside of the mirror..."

This incredible experience immediately captured my attention. I couldn't care less about anything else, so I grabbed the pencil on the coffee table and started taking notes quickly.

Guan Baoling's voice was like a dream: "A mirage appeared before my eyes... a huge, magnificent palace, like a set built in an ancient costume drama. The ground was paved with shimmering gold bricks, and lifelike pink lotus flowers were imprinted on the bricks. It was so beautiful. I had never seen such a magnificent set before... I walked forward, as if in a dream, because I knew that a mirage could only be seen from afar, but could never be touched..."

My mind raced: "A palace? A palace appearing in the mirror, or was Guan Baoling hallucinating from the strange bubbling sounds?" She's a movie star; using a term like "film studio" to describe what she saw is perfectly plausible. So, where exactly is this mysterious space she entered?

"The sky seemed so distant, more distant than ever before, and I felt as if I were standing deep underground, looking up like a frog in a well. I could see the sun, the moon, and the stars all hanging together..." She suddenly laughed, looking at me earnestly: "Were you secretly laughing to yourself? How could the sun, the moon, and the stars possibly appear at the same time?" She raised her hand to stroke her long hair that hung down to her chest, smiling wistfully, and continued—

"The phrase 'sitting in a well and looking at the sky' best describes how I felt at that time. It was as if I were looking up at the sky from twice the distance from the ground, and everything seemed so distant. I continued walking into the palace and crossed an arched bridge with white marble railings. Those were real white marble stones, which could emit a dazzling white luster even in the dim sunlight, a hundred times more exquisite than anything made by prop masters and set designers."

"Nobody here? No sound?" I prompted her.

Guan Baoling shook her head: "No, it was like a silent movie, I couldn't hear anything. When I stepped through the main gate of the palace, what appeared before me was an endless series of gates, incredibly deep and desolate, but the carved beams and painted rafters I looked up at were all extremely magnificent, more luxurious than any ancient Chinese building I had ever seen before..."

This passage undoubtedly means that what she saw was an ancient Chinese palace.

"Where's the sound of bubbles? Is it still there?" I was concerned about the source of the sound of bubbles, so as not to let it bother me again and again.

She shook her head again: "I couldn't hear it anymore. I hurried forward, and finally started jogging. Subconsciously, I seemed to know that someone was waiting for me ahead—someone was calling me, calling me continuously, but I couldn't hear their voice, I could only rely on my senses... So many doors, layer upon layer. I was surprised that I was wearing high heels, how could I run so fast? Suddenly the doors disappeared, as if I had reached the center of the palace..."

I drew layers of horizontal lines in my notebook, representing the portals she traversed. In truth, her narrative could be viewed as a strange dream, a journey of thought. Regardless of why she disappeared or reappeared, from a purely conceptual standpoint, it means she was dreaming, embarking on a strange journey within a dream.

The end of a dream should be a safe awakening, but what did she see after passing through dozens of portals?

So, what about Xiao Keleng at this moment? Is he also repeating the same dream after disappearing in Guan Baoling's footsteps? I can understand Guan Baoling's "mysterious call" because I also felt a call from the Turkic pyramids in the Egyptian desert before.

I drew a huge square at the very beginning of the line segment because I felt that there must be a large hall in the center of a palace. Whether Earthlings build houses, buildings, or palaces, it's all for the purpose of "living." They would never build countless gates only to have the middle become an empty space where they can neither gather nor rest, turning it into a meaningless "performance art building."

Part 2: Tower of the Dead

— Chapter 3 — Two Lotus Flowers —

"I saw a large open space, at least the size of a standard football field in terms of length, width, and height—" Guan Baoling gestured with her hands. As far as I know, tycoon Ye Hongsheng is keen on setting up gambling schemes on football. Having been exposed to this, Guan Baoling should have a clear understanding of the size of a football field. In other words, at the end of the gate, there was an open space that was nearly ninety meters square...

"Believe it or not, there's a huge cylinder parked in the middle of the open space. Its surface has a silvery-gray sheen, like the color of the Boeing planes we used to fly in. I guess it's made of steel, but it doesn't have the nose, wings, or tail that an airplane should have, or even landing gear. It just stands there, upright in the middle of the open space, taking up half of the football field. I looked up to find its tail, which is at least twenty stories high, stretching strangely into the sky."

"At that moment, I imagined myself standing in the center of the ruins of the Colosseum in ancient Rome, surrounded by towering buildings that formed a deep well, and this strange column stood in the very center of that well..."

I can't continue describing it because the plot she's telling is too absurd, like a story from a space adventure.

Her final additions were even more outrageous: "Mr. Feng, I also have a feeling that the palaces, railings, gates, and pillars are all placed in the most transparent and purest water. My vision is not obstructed by the water, but my body can feel everything, yet I don't feel any lack of oxygen or suffocation—"