Le cadavre de la femme enveloppé dans le placard

Chapitre 1

Introduction:

Have you ever had this experience? You arrive in an unfamiliar place, but the scenery feels familiar, as if you've been there before, even though you've never actually been there before. Or, when you're doing something, you have a vague feeling that you've experienced it before, and you can even recall what will happen next, and then it actually happens.

A friend once told me about this experience: He went on a business trip to a city he had never been to before. After dinner, he went for a walk and suddenly felt that he had been there before, and the scene was exactly as he remembered. He remembered buying a newspaper from a newsstand on the street, and sure enough, he saw a newsstand there.

So he bought a newspaper and wondered what would happen next. He vaguely remembered that a cyclist would fall at the intersection, so he stood there and waited. But after waiting a long time, nothing happened. He thought he was being ridiculous, shook his head, and turned to leave. Just a few steps away, he heard a loud crash behind him. He turned around and saw a young man on a bicycle had fallen at the intersection.

Feng Junzi also consulted many friends in the fields of metaphysics and religion about this matter. Some told Feng Junzi that this is called "wisdom eye," which allows one to see the past and future; others told Feng Junzi that this is "predictive ability," a supernatural power inherent in everyone. The reason why people living in the mortal world cannot feel it is because many things have blinded our minds; it can be said that each of us is like a precious mirror covered in dust.

Feng Junzi remained skeptical of this explanation. His skepticism stemmed from the fact that he had never learned about these things in textbooks, while his partial belief arose from the fact that some events did indeed occur in strange ways. For example, several years ago, one night, Feng Junzi had a very clear dream about a stock that hit its daily limit up. The next morning, the stock actually did indeed hit its daily limit up; Feng Junzi watched in astonishment as it climbed from the previous day's closing price to the limit up price.

After that experience, Feng Junzi kept dreaming about having the same dream again, hoping it would bring him wealth. Unfortunately, he never had another dream like that to awaken his clouded wisdom, and the result was—

result--

result--

As a result, Feng Junzi developed the habit of sleeping in late, and he still hasn't changed it.

Volume 1: Ghost Girl Drifting Away

1-1, Haier Mountain Villa

"Please stop talking, I'm so scared!"

“You’re scared of this too? Let me tell you another story, and you’ll find that the previous story wasn’t scary at all.”

It was an evening in 2002 at the Haier Villa at the foot of Laoshan Mountain in Qingdao. A group of people were sitting in a private room of the restaurant telling ghost stories. The one who said he was scared was Xiao Tang, the office secretary, and the one who wanted a story was Xiao Gao, the driver and assistant of Chairman Bi. They were a group of employees from a securities consulting company.

The man sitting in the middle was Lao Bi, and next to him was Feng Junzi, also a securities analyst at the company, but not permanently based in Qingdao. He had to return to headquarters for business, and Lao Bi, feigning enthusiasm, took the whole group to Haier Villa for the weekend. After dinner, with nothing to do, looking at the dark and eerie night view outside the villa, someone started telling ghost stories. Ghost stories are like that—they sound scary, but the scarier you are, the more you want to hear them; they're really quite interesting.

After Xiao Gao finished telling his even scarier story, Xiao Tang and Xiao Wang, the two young women in the audience, were trembling with fear. Feng Junzi looked at the group and didn't know whether they were brave or cowardly, so he decided to test them. He said, "Actually, what's scary about ghost stories isn't the story itself. Anyone can make up a story. The real fear comes from each person's inner feelings, especially the feeling of imagining being there."

"Teacher Feng, what kind of ghost story is truly scary?"

"Don't speak, just listen to the wind outside the window. I'm going to tell you a story." Feng Junzi said with a deliberately gloomy expression, "Once upon a time, there was a group of people who locked themselves in their rooms at night and told ghost stories. You know, it's not just people who like to listen to stories, other things do too. Hearing these people telling their stories, these things couldn't help but come over to listen. — Don't look around, even if there's something there, you won't be able to see it."

Feng Junzi's words sent chills down everyone's spines, and no one dared to utter a sound. The private room was quiet, save for the sound of the wind outside. With a half-smile, Feng Junzi continued, "When these people were telling their story, they attracted those things, but the doors and windows were all closed, so they couldn't get in. At that moment, these things tried to squeeze in through the cracks in the windows. If you listened carefully to the 'hissing' sound in the wind, you would have noticed it, but unfortunately, they didn't realize it at the time."

Seeing everyone holding their breath and listening intently, Feng Junzi secretly tucked a coin under his chair with his right hand and flicked it behind him. The coin struck the windowpane with a sharp, piercing sound, startling everyone into screams and shouts, like a pot boiling over.

"Teacher Feng, you can't talk like that! You'll scare people to death!" Everyone was both surprised and amused, and they all scolded him.

"Alright, alright, everyone stop shouting," Xiao Gao said. "Teacher Feng is quite good at studying psychology; he can really scare people to death. But has Teacher Feng ever seen a real ghost?"

"Of course not, has any of you seen him?"

Xiao Gao said, "Of course none of us have seen it, but we all know there's a place where it exists, right here in Jimo City, Qingdao." Jimo is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Qingdao, and everyone present except Feng Junzi is from that place.

After Xiao Gao finished speaking, the room, which had been noisy just moments before, suddenly fell silent again. Someone interrupted, "Xiao Gao, stop talking."

Seeing their expressions suddenly turn serious, Feng Junzi realized that everyone knew what Xiao Gao was talking about, which meant he was serious and not joking. Feng Junzi's curiosity was piqued, and he pressed Xiao Gao, "What? Is there really such a place? You have to tell me, I want to go and see it sometime."

At this moment, Lao Bi spoke up: "There is indeed such a place called Ghost Alley, and all of us from Jimo know about it."

1-2. The precious mirror is covered in dust.

The Chinese have a long history of drinking yellow wine. Yellow wine is more popular in the south, with the famous production area being Shaoxing. It's less common in the north, hence its limited production areas. However, a special type of yellow wine called Jimo Laojiu is produced in Jimo, Shandong. Jimo is now under the jurisdiction of Qingdao and is only 20 kilometers from Liuting Airport.

Ghost Alley is located in Jimo. This isn't some mythical place; it's a real alley. If your curiosity is really strong, you can go and see for yourself. Feng Junzi, also driven by curiosity, couldn't resist going to see it for himself after hearing everyone's descriptions.

Ghost Alley is just an alley, a typical passageway between rows of houses. However, Ghost Alley is unique in two ways: First, it's extremely long, with no side streets—over a mile long. If you enter, you either have to turn back or go directly to the other end; there are no turns. Second, the houses on either side have neither windows nor doors. For some reason, all the doors and windows face the opposite direction of the alley, making it a completely enclosed passageway, except for the two exits at the beginning and end. Walking through this alley, you might hear many sounds coming from the houses on both sides, but you will absolutely not see a single person. This alone is enough to frighten the timid.

The residents living on both sides of Ghost Alley seemed to live in peace. It was a working-class neighborhood, and of course, the truly wealthy wouldn't live in such a place. The alley was eerie even in broad daylight. Even in the height of summer, standing at the entrance, one could feel a chill in the breeze blowing through the alley, and faintly, one could hear the wails and howls of ghosts.

What's it like inside Ghost Alley? Nobody knows for sure; it seems like no one has been inside for many years. Occasionally, mischievous kids will stand at the alley entrance after school, testing their courage. A few of them will cautiously walk into the alley, but after only a few steps, someone will always scream, and then they'll all run back like madmen, as if the slowest one will be dragged in by something. Xiao Gao and Xiao Tang had similar experiences when they were little.

Feng Junzi is a person who loves the unusual and always looks for trouble. When he heard about such a place, he naturally wanted to check it out. His flight was at nine o'clock the next night, so he had a whole day to spare. He kept pestering Xiao Gao to take him to see Ghost Alley, and Xiao Gao had no choice but to agree.

The next day, Feng Junzi slept in again, not leaving Haier Mountain Villa until noon. Xiao Gao drove him to the airport, making a detour to Jimo to see the legendary Ghost Alley. The mountain air was fresh, and the jagged rocks and peaks that looked menacing at night became beautiful scenery under the sunlight.

Feng Junzi saw a spring on a mountain peak not far away, where water flowed down from between the rocks like a thin chain. He pointed to the spring and asked Xiao Gao, "Is this Laoshan mineral water?"

"Yes, there are many mountain springs here. I hadn't noticed before. It must have rained a few days ago."

"It's related to rain, but this spring water is groundwater, not rainwater. How come you don't know about mountain springs when you're in Qingdao?"

"What's this about a mountain spring? Groundwater? The groundwater level isn't that high, how could it be gushing out from the mountain?" Xiao Gao asked curiously.

"The groundwater level on flat land is certainly not this high. The rise in the groundwater level is due to the pressure of the mountain. Because of the pressure of the mountain, groundwater will seep out from the cracks in the rocks, which is the mountain spring. Of course, the more rain there is, the more groundwater there will be, and the more mountain springs there will be."

Feng Junzi actually only had a superficial understanding of geomechanics; he was just chatting idly with Xiao Gao. As they talked, the car left the Laoshan Scenic Area and headed towards Jimo.

As they approached Jimo city, Xiao Gao saw a large group of people gathered outside the gate of a construction site by the roadside, making a racket and doing something he couldn't understand. Xiao Gao muttered to himself, "What are these migrant workers doing gathered there? This is a project of the Jimo municipal government, and it's already completed."

“They’re demanding their wages. The building is almost ready for handover, but they haven’t received the outstanding payments. The contractor owes these migrant workers six months’ wages, and they’ve come to collect the debt today,” Feng Junzi replied without hesitation.

"How can this be? Is nobody going to do anything about it?" Xiao Gao asked angrily.

"Nobody cares right now, but don't worry, someone will start paying attention after a while. It won't work if they don't."

"Why? Who would care?" Xiao Gao asked curiously.

Feng Junzi replied thoughtfully, "Did you see those mountain springs? They'll gush out when the pressure is too great, and even spurt out when the pressure gets too high. Sometimes it's very dangerous. The number of migrant workers like this is growing larger and larger in cities these days. If they can't get paid to go home, they'll become stranded in the area. If this group of dissatisfied people gathers more and more, it could cause trouble at any time, like a powder keg. After a few incidents, the leaders will take it seriously."

"Is it because you care about the masses?" Xiao Gao then asked.

"No, it's defusing the fuse of the bomb, making his own position secure. It's like the stock market releasing some positive news every now and then to trigger a rally. Just wait and see."

“Teacher Feng is right,” Xiao Gao suddenly realized something and asked Feng Junzi, “Teacher Feng, you’ve never been here before, so how can you be so sure that this group of people are also here to collect debts, and you know so much about it, that the government hasn’t paid for the project and the contractor owes the migrant workers six months’ wages?”

"Yes! How did I know?" Feng Junzi was also taken aback. The thought had just popped into his head naturally, as if he had known all along that he would see this. Feng Junzi looked out the window in surprise. He had been to Qingdao before, but had never been to Jimo, yet the scenery he was seeing now seemed familiar.

Feng Junzi stopped talking and stared fixedly out the window. The car drove into the city of Jimo, and then drove through the bustling city center to the suburbs on the other side.

Feng Junzi looked at the street and thought to himself, "I should turn right at the next intersection."

Sure enough, at the next intersection, Xiao Gao turned the steering wheel right. Feng Junzi was even more certain that he had been to this place sometime in the past, but he also knew clearly that he had never been to Jimo, Shandong since birth. Feng Junzi silently planned the next route the car would take, but the more Xiao Gao drove, the more alarmed he became, as the route was exactly as he had predicted.

Finally, they arrived at the legendary Ghost Alley. Feng Junzi got out of the car and looked at the alley, which was exactly as described in the legends. A narrow alley was formed behind two rows of houses, winding and seemingly endless. Although it was broad daylight, it had an eerie feel to it. Feng Junzi's inexplicable memories, however, became increasingly clear. He "remembered" that there should be an old locust tree not far from the alley entrance. He turned his head and looked; sure enough, there stood a solitary old locust tree not far away.

Feng Junzi's vague impression seemed to extend only to the entrance of the alley. He had no idea what lay inside, and in this situation, he had a complex feeling. On one hand, he felt inexplicably afraid, but on the other hand, his curiosity grew even stronger. In any case, he decided to go in and take a look. After all, it was broad daylight, and the sun was very strong, so he shouldn't be too afraid.

He said to Xiao Gao, "Wait for me at the other end of the alley, I'm going to make a trip."

"Teacher Feng, are you really going in? Don't blame me for not going with you. I think I'll wait for you here. You might come back after walking a short distance."

"Alright then, if you wait here for a while and I don't come back, then come and pick me up over there." With that, Feng Junzi straightened his collar and stepped into the familiar yet unknown world.

1-3, The Endless Hutongs

In the winding alley, there was nothing but a thick layer of fallen leaves swept in by the wind, never swept away. Walking on them made a rustling sound, always sounding like footsteps behind him. Feng Junzi wanted to turn around several times, but restrained himself. He didn't know who had told him that three flames on a person's shoulders and head ward off evil, and that turning around abruptly would extinguish them.

As he walked, a sense of fear slowly crept into his heart. Feng Junzi really wanted to turn back, but he didn't want Xiao Gao to laugh at him. So, he steeled himself, straightened his posture, and strode forward, hoping to get through the alley as quickly as possible. Feng Junzi thought he was walking fast, but if someone were watching, they would have seen that he was actually walking very slowly, taking large strides but landing very lightly, as if afraid of stepping on an ant. His chest was upright, but his waist was slightly bent.

But Feng Junzi didn't find anything ridiculous about his steps; he was so nervous he was almost numb. He continued walking forward, step by step, for an unknown amount of time before suddenly realizing something was wrong. The alley, though not short, was only a little over a mile long, easily walkable in fifteen minutes. But Feng Junzi had been walking for almost an hour, and he was still in the alley?

Feng Junzi really wanted to turn back, but at the same time, another thought came to mind: "Maybe I'm almost at the exit, just a few more steps and I'll be there. If I turn back now, it'll take another hour. I should hurry on." Feng Junzi continued walking forward, and after walking for an unknown amount of time, the alley ahead was still winding and the exit was nowhere in sight.

"Could I be stuck in a ghost wall?" Feng Junzi thought carefully about the explanation of ghost walls in the book: In the open field or at night, since there are no reference points around, if a person's stride is longer with one leg than the other, they may end up walking in circles back to the starting point. But this phenomenon is impossible in alleys. Feng Junzi thought, "Could I have walked into a circle? Is the alley entrance shaped like a '9' here?" But then he remembered that he had never seen a three-way intersection on the way here, so theoretically it was impossible for him to have walked into a loop.

A nameless terror enveloped Feng Junzi. He finally understood why this alley was called Ghost Alley. Feng Junzi had no other choice but to grit his teeth and continue walking. The sunlight gradually dimmed, time ticked by, and the alley showed no end. Suddenly, a cold wind blew by, and Feng Junzi shivered, suddenly feeling an intense urge to urinate.

Feng Junzi now understood why some people wet their pants in fear; he was in a similar situation. Normally, in this deserted alley, Feng Junzi could easily relieve himself against any wall, but now he dared not. He suddenly remembered a story he'd heard before: A man walking at night suddenly felt the urge to urinate, so he found a secluded spot in a deserted grove and relieved himself. When he got home, he discovered his bundle was missing. The next day, as he sat at home, someone walked straight in, threw the bundle at him, and cursed, "You old bastard! Yesterday we were all chatting in a circle, and you barged in and took a dump!"

Walking through the ghost alley, Feng Junzi thought of ghost stories, and goosebumps rose all over his body. He cursed himself inwardly, "Can't I think of something righteous and inspiring to bolster my courage?" So he thought of singing, and after thinking for a while, he could only think of one song, "We Workers Have Strength," so he started singing.

The sun on the horizon wiped away its last rays and disappeared below the horizon where the Wind Gentleman could not see, just as the Wind Gentleman was about to sing. The Wind Gentleman had only sung half a word, before we workers could finish the powerful "I," when suddenly the sound was as if pressed back down by an invisible hand.

Feng Junzi opened his mouth wide, unable to utter a sound, his eyes fixed on the distance not far ahead—how could there be anyone else in Ghost Alley?

1-4. Can you see me?

Feng Junzi did indeed see a person standing not far ahead, sideways to Feng Junzi, neither moving nor speaking. Feng Junzi immediately felt a buzzing in his head, as if all the blood in his body rushed to his head. This feeling couldn't be called fear anymore; perhaps extreme fear makes one's senses almost numb. Feng Junzi was quite surprised that he hadn't fainted.

The reason Feng Junzi didn't faint was partly because the person he saw wasn't as terrifying as the legendary ghosts and monsters; on the contrary, if they weren't in this place, this person even seemed somewhat endearing. Feng Junzi had a somewhat romantic nature, and he was especially unafraid of beautiful women. And the person in front of him was a young woman, who looked quite pretty.

The girl in front of him seemed to have appeared suddenly when Feng Junzi wasn't paying attention. The May dusk still held a hint of chill, yet the girl wore a moon-white long dress, making her slender figure appear somewhat thin. From the side, her features were beautifully sculpted, like a marble sculpture by an artist, partly due to her delicate skin and partly due to her pale complexion.

Feng Junzi stopped when he saw her, but the girl seemed not to see him at all, simply standing there quietly lost in thought. After a few seconds, or perhaps a few minutes, Feng Junzi finally couldn't help but cautiously greet her, "Hello, Miss!"

Unexpectedly, the girl was startled by Feng Junzi's voice. She quickly retreated a distance, staring at Feng Junzi with her dark eyes, and asked timidly, "Who are you? How dare you come here alone? You gave me quite a fright."

The moment the girl spoke, Feng Junzi felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. People's emotions can change very quickly sometimes. Feng Junzi was scared half to death just now, but now that he saw that the girl was startled by him, his fear vanished without a trace. Not only was he no longer afraid, but he also felt a little embarrassed.

Feng Junzi even found the girl's voice sweet and pleasant, especially in this deserted alley. He didn't answer her question but instead asked, "How dare a little girl like you come here? Who are you?"

The girl answered timidly, "I live here. You barged in and startled me. How did you see me?"

Feng Junzi: "I was startled when I looked up and saw you standing there in a daze. I'm so sorry."

The girl didn't answer Feng Junzi's question, but instead asked, "How did you see me?"

Feng Junzi found it a bit strange and replied, "I just saw you like this, it's not like you're someone to be ashamed of."

The girl seemed a little surprised, and a little happy, and said to Feng Junzi, "Don't be afraid. I'm telling you I'm not human, I'm a ghost. Humans can't see me, but you can see me and even hear me. That's wonderful!"

Feng Junzi was startled, feeling his scalp tighten again, but while he was still afraid, it wasn't as terrifying as before. He had indeed thought, "Damn, this ghost alley is so eerie and empty, it'd be nice to even encounter a ghost." He never expected his thought to come true. Perhaps what's truly frightening about ghosts is the uncertainty of where and under what circumstances you might encounter them; actually meeting such a beautiful little female ghost face-to-face didn't seem so scary after all.

However, Feng Junzi didn't quite believe the girl's words; she didn't look like a ghost at all. Feng Junzi forced a smile and said, "Don't joke with me, Miss. You're quite humorous. Let me introduce myself. My surname is Feng, and my name is Feng Junzi. I'm here to explore Ghost Alley today. Miss, what is your surname, and what brings you here?"

The girl smiled and said, "My surname is Qiao, and my name is Qiao Fangsi. You can just call me by my nickname, Piaopiao. I really am a ghost, or I can prove it to you."

Feng Junzi quickly waved his hand: "No need for proof, I believe you!" Although Feng Junzi didn't believe what the girl said, he thought that if it were true, she might conjure up something terrifying and scare him to death. Whether she was a human or a ghost, finding a way out was the most important thing. So he said in a flattering tone: "Little Ghost Sister Piaopiao, since you are a ghost and live here, could you help me get out of this ghost alley? I'm sorry, I seem to be lost. I've been walking all afternoon."

Piao Piao: "Since you can see me and are talking to me, I'll help you. Follow me, and I'll take you back the way we came."

Upon hearing that she knew the way, Feng Junzi quickly added, "Could you help me get there? I want to exit from another exit."

Piao Piao: "Ghost Alley has no other exit; you can only leave from the place you came from."

Feng Junzi asked in surprise, "Impossible, there are clearly two exits from the outside."

Piao Piao: "You don't know this, these two exits are not connected at all. No matter which end you go in, it's a dead end. That's why no one has ever walked through Ghost Alley."

Feng Junzi suddenly realized, but was still skeptical: "Isn't there a way to get from one end to the other?"

Piao Piao laughed again: "There is a way, though. Demolish the houses and remove the tiles. If you flatten the homes of the people here, you will definitely be able to get to the other side."

Feng Junzi laughed at Piao Piao's words and muttered to himself, "After going through so much trouble to navigate Ghost Alley, I still ended up going back the way I came. How embarrassing!"

At this moment, Piao Piao had already started walking behind Feng Junzi, saying as she walked, "Are you coming or not? If you don't come, I'm leaving."

Feng Junzi: "No, no, wait for me, I'm so scared to be alone in this awful place."

Piao Piao: "What are you afraid of?"