Песни странников на краю земли

Глава 10

Sigh, the hope that had just begun to emerge was extinguished again, and I stupidly said "I'm sorry".

But I pressed on, asking, "Why do you remember the stories you heard as a child so clearly now?"

“I don’t know why.” She looked up and sighed softly. “You may not believe it, but I can’t even remember what my grandmother looked like. I only remember those stories clearly. It’s as if the stories of the deserted village have replaced my grandmother and have been stubbornly growing in my mind.”

"Yes, if those stories are true, then your grandmother must have had a deep connection with the deserted village."

She sighed noncommittally, "Who knows?"

“I will find out.” I stared coldly into her eyes, as if I wanted to dig out all the secrets hidden within them.

Finally, she looked at her watch and said, "I have to go. I'm way past the time I was given."

"Excuse me, I—"

"Goodbye." She interrupted me and hurriedly walked out of the bookstore.

I followed closely behind, shouting, "Wait a minute!"

But she acted as if she hadn't heard me, and dashed into the subway ticket gate like the wind, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye, leaving me standing alone in the empty hall.

Part Three, Thirteenth Day, Section 17, Thirteenth Day (1)

Today is the thirteenth day of this story.

In the eyes of Westerners, this is a very unlucky day, and coincidentally, it is also Friday.

By this day, things seemed to have spiraled out of control, completely beyond my wildest imagination. Perhaps it wasn't just the secrets of the deserted village yesterday that were frightening, but even the question of "what will happen tomorrow" had become part of the fear.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, my phone rang.

I immediately recognized the voice; it was Su Tianping, another male among the four college students who had visited the deserted village.

"Su Tianping, is that you? They said you've disappeared."

"That's none of your business. Can we talk now?"

His voice was trembling noticeably, but I tried to answer in a calm tone: "Okay, where?"

"The coffee shop across from our school gate."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, I immediately went out, hailed a taxi, and sped towards the university.

Sitting in the car, I became uneasy. Would it be like yesterday morning again? Han Xiaofeng asked to meet me to talk and told me about the deserted village, but she was already dead when I arrived. So what about Su Tianping this time? Does that terrible nightmare always get there first?

I finally arrived at the university gate, and sure enough, there was a small coffee shop across the street. I quietly went inside. It was a semi-basement, with a dark and gloomy atmosphere.

The café was almost empty, and low, mournful music was playing. For a moment, I thought I had been tricked, but then a voice rang out from behind me: "You've finally arrived."

I immediately turned around and found Su Tianping in a dark corner, almost invisible if you weren't paying attention.

He looked worried and spoke in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible: "I've been waiting for you for a while. Please have a cup of coffee."

"What's wrong? Why aren't you at school?" I took a small, symbolic sip of coffee.

"Huo Qiang is dead, Han Xiaofeng is dead, we've all been to the deserted village, who will be next? No, how dare I go back to school?"

He looked somewhat agitated, yet huddled in a corner, like a creature in a burrow in Kafka's story, constantly worried that someone would take its life.

"So, you want my help?"

Su Tianping nodded tremblingly: "Yes."

"Then you must tell me the whole truth—what happened to you in the deserted village?"

His eyes were fixed on me as he slowly uttered a few words: "Nightmare...nightmare..."

"Nightmare?" That terrifying word again sent a chill down my spine. "Could you be more specific? Did you have a nightmare in the deserted village, or did you experience something terrifying like a nightmare?"

“Perhaps it’s a combination of both.” He took a big gulp of coffee, finally calming himself down. “I’ve loved history and science fiction since I was a child, just like Huo Qiang loves travel and adventure. We joined the university adventure club because of our different personalities and reasons. I’ve read all your books and I really like your novels. Maybe it’s because of your novels that we have so much unknown and mysterious in our lives, especially your novella ‘The Deserted Village’.”

Do you believe that to be true?

"I don't know, but I believe that the deserted village must exist, and it must have many special stories, otherwise it would never have been written so vividly. That's why Huo Qiang, Han Xiaofeng, Chunyu, and I all became very interested in the deserted village, and that's why we decided to go on an adventure trip there."

"You went to great lengths to find me, but you didn't expect that I would refuse your request."

Su Tianping shook his head and said, "But that's not important. I know how to find the deserted village. I went to the map publishing house and looked through all the maps published in Zhejiang Province. Although I couldn't find Xiling Town on the provincial map, I was sure to find it on the maps of each county and city. Sure enough, I found the so-called 'K City' in your novel. On the city map of K City, the name Xiling Town was clearly marked. The map showed that it was indeed very close to the coastline."

"I understand." I sighed. Actually, I should have thought of that a long time ago.

"After finding out where the abandoned village was, we immediately packed our bags and took a long-distance bus to K City. That afternoon, we arrived in K City, Zhejiang Province, and immediately transferred to a minibus to Xiling Town. It was already dusk when we arrived in Xiling Town. We had a quick dinner in town and then asked around for directions to the abandoned village. But to our surprise, even in such a wealthy place as Xiling Town, the abandoned village was not accessible by car. To get there, we had to walk more than ten miles of mountain road. Perhaps we were too excited and impulsive. Everyone wanted to see the abandoned village as soon as possible. Huo Qiang insisted on traveling through the night because he had camping experience, so we had no choice but to follow him."

"You guys are really brave." But when I went to the deserted village, I was just as impulsive as they were.

"I still remember that night clearly. The road was rugged and uneven, with the wind howling all around. All I could see were barren mountains and ridges, as if I had entered another world. The two girls, Chunyu and Han Xiaofeng, were very scared. Huo Qiang walked in front with a flashlight. I didn't expect that we would walk for several hours. When we finally arrived at the deserted village, it was already 11 p.m.

"And then you called me?"

Su Tianping took a breath and said, "I'm sorry for bothering you that night, but we were too excited and wanted to share our joy with you. To be honest, when I looked up at the archway in the darkness, I suddenly felt a strange sense of oppression, as if the stone archway might collapse at any moment and crush us to pieces."

"And then, you ignored my advice and immediately went into the village?"

"We stormed into the deserted village overnight, feeling like we were braving the gates of hell. Everyone was terrified yet incredibly excited. Our first destination, of course, was the ancient mansion, the Jinshi Mansion, described in the novel. We wandered through the maze-like village for ages without seeing a soul; every house had its doors and windows tightly shut. Finally, Huo Qiang's flashlight shone on the gate of the Jinshi Mansion. We cautiously knocked, but no one answered for a long time. Only then did we realize that the gate wasn't locked at all, but rather ajar. So we pushed the gate open and quietly entered the ancient mansion. Naturally, it felt just like what you described in your novel—the Jinshi Mansion was eerie and terrifying, filled with a musty, rotten smell."

"Didn't you find anyone in the Jinshi residence?"

"No, we searched the entire old house carefully, from the front hall to the back courtyard, checking almost every room, but there was no sign of anyone living there. This surprised us greatly. Could it really be as you wrote in your novel, that Xiaozhi's whole family died?"

I didn't know what to say, so I just kept shaking my head.

Su Tianping licked his lips and said, "That night, we slept in the Jinshi Mansion. Fortunately, we had prepared for our outdoor trip in advance, such as blankets and tents. We chose a room on the ground floor of the second courtyard, and each person slept in a tent. We were close to each other and could take care of each other. Our first night in the deserted village passed just like that. Perhaps because we were too tired, everyone slept very well that night, and nothing unusual happened."

"The next day, you went to ask the villagers in the deserted village?"

"Yes, because we couldn't figure out whether Mr. Ouyang in the novel was dead or alive. During the day, we finally saw some villagers, who were very surprised to see us, as if they had seen a ghost. With great difficulty, we managed to ask a few villagers who could speak Mandarin, and they said that Mr. Ouyang had died eight months ago. Later, we asked several other people and got the same answer. Someone even told us that Mr. Ouyang's grave was on a nearby mountain. We immediately went to the mountain behind the deserted village to search, and sure enough, we found a very new cement tombstone with Mr. Ouyang's name engraved on it."

Although his description was so detailed, I still shook my head: "No, I did see him four months ago, the living, breathing Mr. Ouyang. I wrote in my novel that he was dead; it was entirely fictional. I was even worried that he might be unhappy if he saw it. Could the Mr. Ouyang I saw be—"

I suddenly stopped talking, not uttering that terrible word.

Su Tianping took several deep breaths: “I don’t care what you saw, the point is Mr. Ouyang is dead. That day, after discovering Mr. Ouyang’s grave, our curiosity and desire for adventure intensified, so we wandered around the abandoned village. You’re right, the abandoned village is situated between the sea and the cemetery, with graves covering the hillsides on one side and a coastline full of reefs and cliffs on the other. Even the sea was black, and the surging waves crashing against the rocks made a chilling sound. In short, what we saw was just like in the movie ‘Jamaica Inn,’ so desolate that it was hard to believe this was on the southeastern coast of China. That afternoon, we all returned to the Jinshi Mansion, thinking that such a large house, empty, must still hold many things waiting to be discovered. Sure enough, I discovered something you didn’t mention in your novel—a well.”

Part Three, The Thirteenth Day, Section 18, The Thirteenth Day (2)

Upon hearing the word "well," I immediately thought of Xiaoqian and that terrifying story: "You've gone to the backyard?"

“That’s right, I found that backyard. In the middle of the yard was a well that looked very old, and next to the well platform was a short tree.” Su Tianping recalled as he spoke, his eyes suddenly turning very dark, like two deep ancient wells. “When I saw this well, I suddenly had a very strange feeling, like… like I heard some kind of sound? I leaned over the well platform and looked down. It was dark and gloomy, like an eye. A chill from the ground suddenly rushed up, making me shiver immediately. I felt that this well was somewhat ominous, so I stayed far away.”

I stared into Su Tianping's deep, well-like eyes and asked, "Are you scared?"

"Yes, I was a little scared. But that only made me more curious. I'm sure there's some secret in this old house. We had dinner that day with the food we brought ourselves. Now, I suggest we all experience the life from the novel, specifically the room you lived in."

"Is it the room upstairs in the second courtyard?"

I did live in that room.

“That’s right, we rushed up there excitedly. The room was indeed just as you described in your novel, with a screen in the middle and a wooden couch behind it. Yes, the four paintings on that screen, you were right in the novel, they were truly amazing. I was completely stunned and still can’t describe them in words.”

"You stayed in this room that night?"

"Yes, but no one dared to sleep on that wooden bed. The four of us each picked a spot in the room, set up our own little tents, and slept there. Of course, everyone was too excited, and no one could sleep for the first half of the night, so I had to tell them stories. I had read Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and Notes from the Thatched Cottage of Close Observation carefully, and they also enjoyed listening to these stories. Now that I think about it, it's a little scary. In such a terrible place as a deserted village, in such a gloomy and terrifying old house, a few people gathered under a flashlight telling Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. Who knows, the characters in these stories might really come out."

Hearing this, I felt a pang of self-mockery. Hadn't Nie Xiaoqian from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio already intruded into my life?

Su Tianping had no time for jokes. He said nervously, "That night, we talked until 2 a.m. Everyone was exhausted and went to their tents to sleep. I fell asleep quickly, but after some time, I woke up in the dark because I heard a strange sound—"

What was that sound?

"It sounded like—footsteps—I don't know which room in the old house it was coming from, 'tap...tap...tap,' like the sound of wooden-soled slippers walking on the floor, drifting over. In an instant, my heart jumped, and I hid in the tent, too afraid to move. Then, the strange footsteps disappeared, and after a few seconds, I heard an extremely faint sound, like...like a woman's crying, the sound was intermittent, sometimes there, sometimes not..." Su Tianping's lips trembled, and he gasped, "But, it also sounded a bit like a baby crying? Anyway, the sound that night terrified me. I barely slept for the rest of the night, and it just passed by in a state of constant anxiety."

"Your second day in the deserted village just passed like that?"

"Yes, after I got up this morning, I asked other people if they had heard that strange noise, but they all said they were fast asleep and didn't hear anything. I also found it a bit strange. Could it be that my ears are too sensitive? Or was it just a hallucination caused by being too tired? Or was it just a nightmare?"

When I mentioned the word "nightmare," he suddenly stopped, stunned. I said coldly, "Are you afraid of nightmares? Go on."

He remained silent for a long while before speaking again: "This is our third day in the deserted village. Everyone was convinced that there must be something hidden in the Jinshi Mansion. So, we started searching the old house, opening every room in front and behind. Some rooms had probably been empty for decades, covered in thick dust and cobwebs, and the musty smell made our eyes water. But there was one room upstairs that was different. It looked like a girl's room, and there was even a computer and a TV inside. The room was also very clean, just like in the city."

“That was Xiaozhi’s room, which is now dead.” As I said this, I suddenly felt a pang of sadness, and I finally couldn’t hold back anymore. “Enough! Opening someone else’s room without permission—don’t you realize that this is illegal?”

“We didn’t care at the time. Like I said, we were all blinded by curiosity. We’d already come to this deserted village, and it would be a waste of all our hard work if we didn’t find something important. Besides, the old house was empty, and all the owners were dead, so no one would care about us. But more importantly—” A strange light suddenly appeared in Su Tianping’s deep, abyss-like eyes, “We did discover some secrets.”

As he said this, I felt a chill run down my spine: "What did you discover?"

"That's in the second courtyard of the old house. There's a small wooden building on the side, and a room under the building. The furnishings inside look relatively new, with some furniture that was only added in the last few years. There's also a large bed against the wall, made of very good wood, and there are complete shelves around it. It looks like it's an antique piece of furniture from the Ming or Qing dynasty."

"You mean Mr. Ouyang's room, right?"

"Maybe so, but we found this room a bit strange. Compared to the rooms next door, it was the same width, but much smaller in length or depth. Anyone could tell at a glance. Huo Qiang went to the bottom of the room and knocked on the innermost wall. It felt like it was hollow inside. We all got excited. Maybe there was a hidden room inside the wall? So, the four of us worked together to move the antique bed, and we found a hidden door behind the mosquito net."

"A hidden door in the wall? It sounds like an ancient tomb."

Su Tianping immediately nodded: "Yes, I did have that feeling at the time, like tomb raiders had discovered the entrance to the tomb passage. However, the hidden door was sealed with bricks. Huo Qiang carefully touched the bricks and found that they weren't glued together; they were just placed on the door piece by piece. It seems that the door can be used to enter and exit, and sealing it with bricks is just a cover. We immediately moved the bricks away, and the hidden door finally opened. We excitedly crawled into the hidden door, and sure enough, it was a secret room, about ten square meters in size. Chunyu took a few steps in the dim light, then suddenly slipped and screamed. If Huo Qiang hadn't grabbed her in time, she would have almost fallen. She was so scared that she thought she was going to die. Only then did we notice that there was an opening in the floor of the secret room. Shining a flashlight on the ground, we saw that there seemed to be a series of steps."

"You discovered the tunnel?"

"Doesn't it sound like tomb raiding? That's right, we found a tunnel in this dark room. Everyone was both excited and scared, and after much hesitation, we decided to go down. Huo Qiang was in the lead, holding a large flashlight and carrying various wilderness survival tools in his bag, with the others following closely behind. The steps seemed to be made of stone, and we descended step by step. It was pitch black all around, and there seemed to be an echo coming from the tunnel in the distance, which felt no different from tomb raiding. After walking about ten meters, we came to a smooth passageway. Huo Qiang shone his flashlight forward, revealing a large stone door. The door was made of two bluestone slabs, and there were some strange patterns carved on the stone. But at the seam between the stone doors, there was a large iron padlock, which firmly locked the door."

I suddenly thought of the underground palace of the Eastern Qing Tombs. The ancients generally did not use locks on the tomb passage doors, but usually used ancient techniques such as "self-locking stones" to close the doors: "What kind of lock is it? Is it rusty?"

"The large iron lock was of very good quality, with almost no rust. It didn't look like an antique; it was probably one of those common locks from the 1980s. We were stunned. We pushed the stone door hard, but it wouldn't budge. But we couldn't let this lock ruin our efforts. Huo Qiang took out a pair of steel pliers from his bag, a tool occasionally used for wilderness survival. He clamped the lock with the pliers, and I helped him hold the other handle. The two of us boys used all our strength and finally broke the large iron lock."

"How is this behavior any different from that of robbery?"

Su Tianping continued, "After opening that underground stone door, a strange smoke immediately rushed out. My first thought was the smell of a corpse, but then I realized it didn't quite seem like it. After the smoke dissipated, we cautiously went inside. The passageway was dark and narrow, with a noticeable downward slope, meaning we were heading deeper underground. We made two turns along the way, surrounded by dark tunnels. Everyone was on edge, even Huo Qiang, who was usually the bravest, was trembling. Finally, the flashlight beam illuminated a large open space, which looked like a 'hall' in a cave."

"Have you arrived at the underground palace?"

"I don't know, but it felt very strange at the time. The flashlight's beam had a limited range, so we couldn't see into the deep darkness. We could only roughly estimate the size of the 'hall,' maybe several hundred square meters. Suddenly, Han Xiaofeng shouted. It turned out that something white had flashed by in the beam of the flashlight. We immediately focused our attention there and saw some strange objects lying against the wall. We walked up to them cautiously and found dozens of jade artifacts piled on the ground."

"Jade artifacts? What kind of jade artifacts?"

"At first I didn't notice, but Chunyu saw it immediately because she really likes jade bracelets and other jewelry. We roughly counted them, and there were about twenty jade pieces in total. The larger ones were several tens of centimeters in diameter, while the smaller ones were only the size of a finger. These jade pieces came in all sorts of shapes, some were round like large cakes, some were cylindrical like wooden stakes, some looked like axes, and the rest were small objects. Chunyu said that the styles of these jade pieces were too strange and completely different from what you see on the market."