Игра в убийство в Лиге плюща

Глава 7

Another gust of wind swept through, the well water in the courtyard turned icy cold and surged violently, and the giant hand transformed into a massive whirlpool, lifting the three coffins from the ground and hurling them at Tao Rujiu. Seeing the crimson wax being poured over him, the young man cried out and abruptly sat up in bed.

It was a dream; the night has passed.

The sky outside the window was faintly lit by the morning light. The soft, mournful voices of the opera troupe practicing their singing drifted into his dream. Tao Rujiu rubbed his eyes wearily, the image of Ling Li wearing a silver mask lingering in his mind.

He sat on the bed for a while, waiting for the sleepiness to completely wear off before washing up. Reaching under the pillow to find his glasses to put on, he unexpectedly touched two small, soft things.

It was his contact lens.

"Hi, Tao Tao, how did you sleep last night?"

Xiao Li, who was practicing his singing in the garden, saw Tao Rujiu and enthusiastically approached him.

"You seem to be in good spirits. Congratulations on having completed your first night in Hailing City."

I'd rather be sleepless.

Tao Rujiu gave a bitter smile.

After washing up, he took a voice recorder and sat on the doorstep listening to the opera troupe practicing their voices. He burned his contact lenses and buried them in the garden. Although he felt a chill, the daytime setting prevented him from panicking. There were still more than ten hours until sunset, giving him ample time to consider his future.

At 7:30, the tour bus arrived to pick people up for breakfast, and the atmosphere naturally became lively with so many people.

Tao Rujiu saw the flowers bloom at the dining table. The boy sat quietly in the corner, drinking porridge and eating pickled vegetables, his handsome face clearly showing two heavy dark circles under his eyes.

Recalling the dream from last night, Tao Rujiu took the initiative to bring breakfast and sit down next to him.

“You left the melon field yesterday and didn’t come back. I thought something had happened to you.”

Hua Kai put down his chopsticks, smiled, and slowly mouthed "sorry." His gaze swept over Tao Rujiu, then slowly settled on the V-neck of his blue T-shirt.

“What is this…” He drew four characters on the table with his right hand and pointed to the pendant hanging around Tao Rujiu’s neck with his left hand.

It was a small piece of jade strung together with a black oil rope, carved into the shape of a Bagua (Eight Trigrams).

“It’s the Later Heaven Bagua of King Wen.” Tao Rujiu looked down at it, then took it off and held it in his hand. “This is a talisman my father obtained from the Geling Taoist Temple in Hangzhou. It’s been consecrated.”

Hua Kai looked at the jade octagon and nodded. At that moment, Xiao Li also came over with breakfast.

"What good stuff is this? Let me see it for myself!"

Tao Rujiu spread the Bagua diagram out on his hand for him to see, but unexpectedly, Xiao Li reached out and tried to take it and play with it. Fortunately, Tao Rujiu was quick-witted and immediately clenched his fist.

“A blessed item can only be held by its owner; if it gets tainted by someone else’s energy, it becomes useless.”

Xiao Li quickly stopped and stuck out his tongue.

"There are quite a few rules here. Don't blame me if you don't understand."

Tao Rujiu said "It's nothing" and tied the Bagua back on.

"My birth chart is predominantly Yin, and my life force is weak, so I've had this Bagua (a traditional Chinese medicine concept) since childhood, which is why I've been free from illness and disaster..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard Master Lü yelling at him from behind.

"Hey, hey, hey, those three kids over there, eat faster! Be mindful of the time!"

The three of them shuddered simultaneously, then waved their chopsticks in perfect unison, almost burying their faces in the porridge bowls. Chapter 013

After breakfast, Tao Rujiu returned to Cuiying Pavilion, where the shops outside had also opened for business. After observing the stage for a while, Tao Rujiu got up and went to another section. To be honest, although recording the daily life of a theatrical troupe in an ancient-style city was indeed somewhat novel, to truly stand out, he still needed to choose the focus and think it through carefully.

Ever since discovering the signal problem in the cabin, Tao Rujiu had carried his phone with him at all times. He was not a particularly sociable person, nor could he be described as charming or shrewd. Aside from sending a few text messages to Uncle Qing to let him know he was safe, he hadn't contacted the outside world all day. Ling Li hadn't called again with his sarcastic remarks, which left Tao Rujiu with a faint sense of emptiness amidst his calm demeanor.

After a day and a night of publicity, almost all the employees of the replica ancient city knew that a new young reporter had arrived. Whenever Tao Rujiu came to various sections to gather material and introduced himself, they would look him up and down with strange eyes, then some would sigh deeply, while others would pat him on the shoulder forcefully, as if to encourage him.

It wasn't until lunchtime that Tao Rujiu learned that the park's staff had been placing bets on Sun Zhendao via their mobile phones the previous night, hoping that Tao Rujiu could survive tonight and break the previous reporter's record.

This could be considered a bright spot in the monotonous work, Tao Rujiu thought with a wry smile.

So the young man spent the whole day in the spotlight, waiting for evening to arrive. The last bus departed after dinner, which was also the moment Tao Rujiu decided whether to stay or leave.

The cafeteria was much livelier at dinner time than yesterday; even Sun Zhendao stayed behind. He walked up to Tao Rujiu with a smile and said:

"President Ling called to ask if Reporter Tao had changed her mind?"

The once noisy hall suddenly fell silent. Even the cooks were sticking their heads out of the windows to look out.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Ling, Mr. Sun, and everyone else."

Tao Rujiu put down the knife he was cutting, stood up,

"Actually, when I heard that some reporters had left midway through a trip before, I couldn't understand it. But after last night, I realized that there are indeed some things in Hailing City that defy common sense..."

As he spoke, he suddenly felt a sense of tragic heroism, like a warrior cutting off his own arm. Some of the audience members below, thinking he was about to retreat, began to whisper among themselves.

"I only found out at noon that my decision about whether to stay or leave was no longer just a personal one."

A crowd below burst into laughter. Tao Rujiu paused for a moment, then scratched his head sheepishly.

"However, no matter what choice I make, some friends will be disappointed, so I think I should follow my own wishes—stay in the park until I finish the interview assignment."

There was a moment of silence after he finished speaking, then a variety of voices erupted from the crowd. Although there were gains and losses, most people cheered for Tao Rujiu's courage. Xiao Li, who had bought the "stay" option, even jumped up and threw himself into Tao Rujiu's arms. Only Sun Zhendao pulled the young man aside and whispered some words that made him realize the gravity of the situation.

"Reporter Tao, don't think that having the opera troupe with you will protect you. Others may not understand, but I can tell you with certainty that the opera troupe and most of the other people living in Hailing City have been carefully selected. If you don't want to believe this, please forget it, but please believe that I am doing this for your safety."

Tao Rujiu simply responded with a smile to his words.

To issue further warnings and admonitions now would only increase psychological fear and burden one's pride. All Tao Rujiu can do now is stay in the city and finish the dispatch to forcefully counter the sharp contempt.

After dinner tonight, Tao Rujiu did not go to the melon field again. He only asked Master Lü to put his name on the list of melon pickers, but it would take another seven days before it was his turn.

He thought that by then, he should have gotten used to the nights here.

That night, Tao Rujiu slept in the same small room filled with the smell of candle wax. He used a towel blanket as a curtain, pressing it to the window with thumbtacks. The incandescent light shone overhead all night as he ran his computer, organizing materials, forcing himself not to fall asleep.

The area outside the house gradually quieted down, leaving only the chirping of insects, the rustling of the wind, and the soft rustling of leaves. Occasionally, Da Afu would walk on the roof tiles in the distance, calling out softly, which at first glance sounded like the crying of a baby.

Time passed slowly in loneliness and fear. At five o'clock, the sound of a hoarse singing came from outside the window. Only then did Tao Rujiu turn off the computer with a sigh of relief and bury her head heavily in the pillow.

Having skipped breakfast and the fresh air, Tao Rujiu lay in bed catching up on sleep. He was too tired to think about whether he'd have nightmares during the day. Cuiying Pavilion opened to the public at eight o'clock, so he asked Huakai to get him out of bed around seven-thirty.

However, the annoying fact is that Tao Rujiu was woken up by his cell phone ringing at around 6:14.

Who is it?

Tao Rujiu, still sleepy-eyed, had a slightly hoarse voice and had no intention of changing her gentle Wu accent. Ling Li, on the other end of the phone, had also just gotten up, but was already clear-headed and concerned about the situation in Hailing City.

Since hearing last night that Tao Rujiu had decided to stay in the city, the man was surprised, but also gained some appreciation for the young man's resilience.

"Who is it... speak up..."

In a daze, Tao Rujiu repeated himself, while yawning softly. Ling Li hadn't expected to hear such a casual reaction. He had originally wanted to ask about his experience on the second night, but since Tao Rujiu hadn't recognized his voice, he had some mischievous thoughts.

He covered the microphone with a napkin and spoke in a deliberately hoarse voice:

"It's...me..."

Tao Rujiu took his phone and fell back onto the bed, his eyes still tightly closed. In his hazy state, he still thought he was lying on Xi Yao's bed in the dormitory. The deep voice on the other end of the phone reminded him of the old professor's hypnotic lecture on a summer afternoon.

"...Who is it?"

"...It's...a ghost."

Sitting at the dining table, Ling Li suppressed a laugh and waved for Han Fei, who had been frozen in the doorway after hearing those words, to leave.

"Who is it...you're crazy..."

His brief sleep was interrupted, and Tao Rujiu, with his eyes still closed, complained about the guy on the other end of the phone who was disturbing his peaceful dreams. With his current mental capacity, he couldn't possibly process the meaning of "ghost," so he decisively hung up the phone, tossed it under the bed, turned over, and continued to catch up on his sleep under the rising sun.

On the other end of the phone, Ling Li, who had been disconnected for the first time, held the receiver. After realizing that the last sentence in Wu dialect was a swear word, the man immediately dialed back. However, the notification tone kept repeating that Tao Rujiu's phone was no longer in service.

Less than an hour later, the blooming flowers woke Tao Rujiu as promised. Another day seemed to begin smoothly. Unlike life in Xiyao City, surrounded by information and electronics, Hailing City before nightfall was more like a mirage. Although it was summer, the streets with sea breezes were still quite pleasant.

In the morning, Tao Rujiu gathered some interview material. After lunch, he went to the control room, found a place to hide, and took a nap.

If the sun in Hailing City never sets, such a life would indeed be very pleasant.

Around two or three in the afternoon, the young man was woken up by Sun Zhendao, who told him that Ling Li wanted him to check the call logs on his phone.

Tao Rujiu then recalled that there seemed to be a strange phone call that morning. He returned to Cuiying Pavilion, rushed into the room, picked up the phone from under the bed, and ran to the courtyard to check. Sure enough, it was a sharp-sounding number.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Ling Li was in his study reviewing the last batch of documents related to Xiyao Bay when the phone on his desk rang.

When I answered the phone, Tao Rujiu's hesitant Mandarin came through the other end.

"Mr. Ling... about this morning... I'm here to apologize... that..."

A sharp, cold laugh.

"Didn't you swear smoothly this morning? Why are you stuttering now?"

"I really didn't know it was President Ling this morning!"

Tao Rujiu defended himself.

"I was still asleep at the time, and I answered the phone without checking the number. I thought it was just a regular spam call..."

Upon hearing this, his eyebrows, hidden behind his sharp sunglasses, twitched, triggering his combative instincts.

"You mean I'm harassing you? Ha, if I had nothing else to do, I'd rather harass beautiful women, you skinny brat."

Tao Rujiu was caught off guard by this sudden mockery, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word. As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Li regretted it. In truth, he had sent Sun Zhendao with a message not simply to seek revenge for the "arrow's wrath" from that morning.

Heaven knows why he couldn't help but want to bully Tao Rujiu. Even though he hated reporters, he used to just watch them run away and sneer.

"never mind."

He didn't intend to investigate further.

"I'll come to Hailing City in a few days, and I'll talk to you then. I hope you can hold on until then."

He then hung up the phone, and Tao Rujiu never responded to him before or after he finished speaking.

Chapter 014

A cool breeze blew through Cuiying Pavilion in the evening, but Tao Rujiu didn't go out to enjoy the cool air. He sat inside organizing materials. There weren't many materials today, and he organized them repeatedly, copied a few copies meaninglessly, and then suddenly deleted them all.

He almost wanted to give up.

It wasn't the darkness that bothered him; rather, it was the men's sharp edges. The man's arrogant attitude and overtly contempt made him feel humiliated, but what frustrated him most was that he had to smile and endure the sharp hostility. This kind of life, where one cheek was turned on and the other turned away, was suffocating.

But if he gave up halfway, wouldn't that give others more ammunition to criticize him? He was troubled.

Lost in thought, I heard a knock at the door.

He was holding a notebook and a pen. These past few days, his interactions with Tao Rujiu at Cuiying Pavilion had almost always been like this.

(Why aren't you out enjoying the cool air?)