Le mystère du journal K

Chapitre 7

She shook her head and said with unusual calm, "Now, let me tell you—the secret of this well."

"The secret of the ancient well?"

Nie Xiaoqian nodded slightly, took a sip of tea, and began to recount: "During the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China period, although the village was still a barren wasteland, the Ouyang family engaged in maritime smuggling and became the wealthiest family in the village. The Ouyang family lived in the ancient Jinshi Mansion, leading a life of luxury and extravagance. The three courtyards were lavishly decorated, practically a palace in a place like the village. The backyard of the Jinshi Mansion was a small garden at the time, filled with various precious trees and flowers. The ground was paved with cobblestone paths, and there were several Taihu artificial rocks among the flowers and plants. Every year during the coldest time, the plum blossoms would quietly bloom."

"Plum blossoms?" As she softly described it, the scene of the backyard of the old house seemed to appear before my eyes.

"Did you see the plum blossoms bloom?"

"Yes. The backyard of the old house I saw was not the small garden you described at all; it was just a desolate and barren courtyard. The old well was in the center of the courtyard, and a plum tree was blooming beside it, with some petals scattered around the well. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but I arrived in the deserted village at the coldest time of the year, and the plum tree seemed to be waiting for me. It was a strange feeling; in the desolate courtyard of the old house, there was only an old well and a plum tree, as if it were a scene from another time and space."

“Another timeline?” She nodded thoughtfully. “Your analogy is excellent. Let me tell you about the deserted village in another timeline. In the early years of the Republic of China, the patriarch of the Ouyang family was over forty years old but had no children. At that time, the Ouyang family was a single-lineage family; the patriarch had no other brothers or nephews, and this ancient family was on the verge of extinction. Although the Ouyang family's business was booming, making them practically the local tyrants of the deserted village, the patriarch could not be happy at all, and his wife, who had been married for several years without conceiving, spent her days in tears. In order to continue the Ouyang family bloodline, the wife finally came up with a solution—to sell her wife.”

“I remember now—I read Rou Shi’s novel ‘The Mother of a Slave’ a long time ago.”

Instantly, the words from the book resurfaced in my mind. I frowned, recalling that tragic novel—in the early years of the Republic of China, in a rural area of eastern Zhejiang, there lived an unfortunate young woman. Her husband was a gambler and alcoholic, and her son, Chunbao, was chronically ill. The husband "rented" his wife to an old scholar who longed for a son for 100 silver dollars. The young woman gave birth to a son for the old scholar, named Qiubao. The old scholar also liked the young woman, but his first wife wouldn't allow her to stay. The young woman could only return alone to her useless husband, embracing her sick son Chunbao through the long nights…

But I still shook my head: "But what does this have to do with an abandoned village?"

She coldly uttered two words: "Wife-selling."

Part Two, Day Seven, Section Twelve, Day Ten (2)

"What did you say?"

"The Mother of a Slave is about the custom of 'wife-selling,' where a wife is 'rented' to someone else for a certain price and then returned to her original husband after the rental period ends. Rou Shi was from the eastern coastal area of Zhejiang, and 'wife-selling' was a popular custom in the eastern coastal area of Zhejiang at that time."

"The deserted village is also located on the coast of eastern Zhejiang—I understand what you mean. Was this barbaric custom of 'wife selling' also prevalent in the deserted village back then?"

She nodded: "Yes, back then, Master Ouyang and his wife, in order to continue the family line, chose a poor couple in a deserted village. The couple had a healthy son, but the husband was weak and sickly, and the young wife worked hard to manage everything at home. Master Ouyang spent eighty silver dollars, and the young woman became his 'pawned wife,' with a three-year lease. This young woman was sent to the old mansion of a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, and she served the master in bed on the very night she entered. Although the 'pawned wife' came from a poor family, she possessed a natural beauty."

She was far more beautiful than the heavily made-up first wife, and thus won the master's favor. A year later, the "proxy wife" indeed gave birth to a son for the master, and the Ouyang family finally had an heir.

"As the ancients said, a mother's status rises with her son's. This 'wife-selling' situation is sure to be much better."

"That's nonsense. After giving birth to her son, the mistress's attitude towards the 'pawned wife' changed. She would beat and scold her constantly. Master Ouyang was afraid of his wife and didn't dare to protect the 'pawned wife.' The lease was for three years, and the 'pawned wife' had to stay in the Jinshi Mansion for two more years. She missed her husband and son from her original home very much, but the master wouldn't allow them to see each other. The 'pawned wife' was locked in the backyard of the old house, living a life of slavery where every day felt like a year. She began to curse the old house and the Ouyang family that had brought her suffering. She tried to escape from the Jinshi Mansion several times, but each time she failed and was beaten black and blue."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but sigh: "It seems she's even more tragic than the 'wife-selling' characters in novels."

"Yes, eventually one day, she escaped from the Jinshi Mansion and found her former husband and son. They wanted to escape the isolated village together and seek freedom in the outside world. However, the Ouyang family was powerful in the village and would not allow the 'wife-selling' to escape. Soon, they were caught by the Ouyang family in the nearby mountains. The poor husband had his leg broken, while the 'wife-selling' was taken back to the Jinshi Mansion. The wife had long regarded the 'wife-selling' as a thorn in her side, believing that the 'wife-selling' had been unfaithful to the Ouyang family during the lease period. The village was a conservative and backward place, and the punishment for a woman's infidelity was to use private torture by throwing her into a well."

"A caisson?"

"Although Master Ouyang was still somewhat reluctant, his wife had long since lost her humanity. She bound the 'wife-selling' woman tightly and took her to the backyard, and then—personally pushed her into that ancient well!"

"Oh my god."

Suddenly, I seemed to hear a splash of water, and well water splashed onto the damp well walls all around, followed by eternal darkness... I clutched my chest, speechless for a long time.

"What's wrong?" Her bright eyes moved closer to me.

"It's nothing, it's just that the story you told was so tragic that it made me feel a bit suffocated."

She suddenly gave a disdainful sneer: "Aren't you a writer? You've written so many thrillers and so many tragic stories, how could you be afraid of this?"

"I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe I'm just a sentimental person by nature." I shook my head and gave a wry smile.

"Alright, I've told you the secret of the well in the deserted village."

"But what happened after that? Was that well never used again?"

"If someone has drowned in a well, would anyone dare to drink the water from it? Not only that well, but no one dares to go to the small garden in the backyard either. People say that the vengeful spirit of the 'wife-selling' is restless and often cries in the garden late at night."

"So, the small garden in the backyard gradually became desolate, leaving only a well and a plum tree." Suddenly, I thought of something terrible. "No wonder the plum tree bloomed so strangely and beautifully, it was because the 'wife-selling' was at the bottom of the well."

At this point, I'm starting to get a little scared myself.

"Stop being so sentimental. Now you should believe me."

"Is this the secret of the deserted village?"

"Of course not, this is only a small part of the secret. For people like us, the deserted village will always be a mystery."

"You mean: there are many more important secrets in the deserted village?"

She nodded solemnly: "You can never imagine how terrifying the secrets of the deserted village are."

I asked with a skeptical look, "Is it really that scary?"

She stared into my eyes for a moment, then suddenly stood up: "I'm sorry, I have to go."

"But you haven't answered my question yet?" I was a little surprised.

"Let's do it next time. I'll answer all your questions then." She said, already walking towards the entrance of the teahouse. "It's too late today, I have to go home."

Arriving at Shaanxi South Road, Huaihai Road, not far away, was still brightly lit, illuminating her face, which resembled Nie Xiaoqian's.

Finally, I couldn't help but call out, "Xiaoqian—"

She turned around and looked at me with a strange expression.

"Excuse me, may I call you that?"

She paused for a long time before saying, "Of course."

"Where do you live? Let me take you home."

"No, please don't—" she suddenly stopped, as if she had remembered something, "Remember, don't answer the phone tonight."

"What do you mean?"

But Xiaoqian didn't answer. She immediately disappeared into the crowd of people walking at night and was quickly swallowed up by the men and women on Huaihai Road.

I can no longer see her. Standing alone by the roadside, a cool night breeze blows by, and suddenly I am reminded of the story of the 'wife-selling'.

On my way home, I kept thinking about Xiaoqian's words and the image of that well—no, maybe it was just her imagination. Perhaps after reading my novel "The Deserted Village," she associated it with Rou Shi's novel and put the plot of "The Mother of a Slave" into the environment of the deserted village and the Jinshi Mansion, thus weaving this terrible story about the deserted village and "wife-selling."

But that well really does exist, doesn't it? And that plum tree—I haven't told anyone else about it. Besides, her eyes tell me that every word she says is sincere; she doesn't seem like the kind of person who would harass others.

No, I shouldn't be fooled by her appearance. Who knows what else she might say?

Lost in thought the whole way, I finally made it home. It was already late, and I felt incredibly tired. I didn't even have time to turn on my computer before going to bed early.

But even lying in bed, I felt uneasy and tossed and turned for a long time, unable to fall asleep. After what seemed like an eternity, I felt increasingly agitated and silently began counting sheep in my mind.

One sheep, two sheep... a hundred sheep—

The phone suddenly rang!

I sat up in bed as if by reflex, my eyes wide open in the darkness, and I seemed to see something—then I realized that all the sheep had vanished instantly, leaving only the ringing of my cell phone.

"Don't answer the phone tonight."

Suddenly, I remembered her last words when she left. Could it be that she was the one who called me?

Thinking of this, I immediately answered the phone: "Xiaoqian, is that you?"

But to my surprise, a male voice came from the other end of the phone.

"No, I am Huo Qiang."

"Huo Qiang?" It was that college student who went to the deserted village—hearing that name, my heart sank, but I still pretended to be calm and asked, "Where are you?"

"We are back in Shanghai."

"You're back so soon?"

This news came as a complete surprise to me. Since they have returned to Shanghai, I should be happy for them, but I can't say anything to express my joy.

"Yes, we are getting off at the long-distance bus station on Hanzhong Road and are now getting ready to take a bus back to school."

I heard a lot of car horns blaring on the phone; it must have been at the train station.

Are all four of you alright?

Huo Qiang was silent for a while before slowly saying, "No—it's nothing, everyone is safe and sound."

My heart finally settled down, and I breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "It's good that you're all safe and sound. I've been urging you to come back sooner. Okay, now hurry back to school."

The other party went silent again; all I could hear were some noisy voices and car sounds.

My heart suddenly tightened again: "Hey, what's wrong with you guys? Say something!"

There was still no response on the phone. I waited for a few seconds and then ended the call.

Strange, why is my back so sweaty?

I fumbled for the light in the darkness and turned it on. It was midnight. That meant the four college students had rushed back to Shanghai from the deserted village overnight.

I let out a long sigh of relief, and suddenly thought of Xiaoqian again. She said not to answer the phone tonight, which must have meant this call—but how did Xiaoqian know that?

I shook my head, unable to explain it, so I turned off the light and lay back down.

I hope they are all safe and sound.

Part Two, Day Seven, Section 13, Day Eleven (1)

I spent the entire day writing my new novel, hoping it would break free from my existing ideas and frameworks. I knew the process would be very painful, but I didn't expect that an even more painful process awaited me.

That evening, Ye Xiao suddenly came to my house.

He barged in with a cold expression, staring at me with a chilling gaze that instantly made my heart race. Although he was a...

He was a police officer, but he was usually very casual with me. I've mentioned before that I've written many novels about him, and I was personally involved in many of the mysterious cases he handled. We could say we were brothers and close friends. However, he never looked at me with that kind of gaze—the suspicious look typical of a police officer.

Finally, I couldn't help but ask, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Where did you go today?

"I didn't go anywhere; I just stayed home writing novels."

Ye Xiao said calmly, "Don't be so nervous."

"what happens?"

“This morning, I took on a case,” he said, pacing on my floor. “The deceased was a college student who died in his dormitory. His roommates woke up in the morning and found him lying in bed, unable to wake him, and then they discovered he was dead.”