Chapter 11: Is There Really a Ghost?

I have participated in many clubs during my time in the police academy, including grappling, sanda, martial arts, taekwondo, investigation and counter-investigation, and police baton and shield techniques.
Although I was not particularly skilled in any of them, I inadvertently developed a strong physique and exceptional reaction speed.

Thanks to this, when I held the white skirt and looked up along the “female ghost’s” thigh to her pale face, I was able to react in just a fraction of a second.

Before she could even scream, I swiftly stood up and covered her mouth with my hand.

Of course, if the landlord or landlady had seen this scene, they might as well have let the ghost kill me instead! Just kidding.

“Stop moving; I mean no harm,” After the “female ghost’s” pupils stopped trembling, I pushed her into the room and gently closed the door.

I breathed a sigh of relief, enduring the pain from the burn on my calf as I picked up the thermos flask and cup.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked, my hands full and my posture awkwardly bent, looking really wretched.

“More than anything, I’m actually more curious about your appearance.”

The woman in front of me was the same one I had seen on the second floor.
She seemed remarkably calm, completely unconcerned about her exposed body.
“I haven’t talked to a normal person in a long time.
If this continues, I will be driven insane,”

“What do you mean? Can’t those two old people chat with you?” I was a little surprised.

“They’re both lunatics,” the woman replied with a bitter smile.
Suddenly, she noticed the camera in my hand and quickly covered her chest, crouching down on the ground.
“Turn it off quickly!”

The scene in front of me was indeed not suitable for children.
I moved the camera away and limped over to the bed.
I lifted the sheets and draped them over the girl.
“It was just an accident.
Don’t think too much about it.
I’m neither an undercover police officer nor a secret journalist.
I won’t harm you,”

“What are you doing with the camera then?” she asked, looking puzzled.

“I’m an outdoor live-streamer who is passionate about exploring paranormal phenomena and seeking supernatural experiences.
I checked into this inn late at night to make a show, which is why I was interested in your situation,” I explained.

“A spirit seeking show?” The girl’s expression could be summarized in just two words—very curious.

“You can see for yourself!” I laughed and handed her my phone, which had the recordings of my previous “ghost hunting” actions.

The super thrilling live broadcast room was being flooded with a barrage of comments:

“I want to see the girl!”

“This is a pornographic broadcast; I’m reporting the host!”

“Sister, you’re so beautiful.”

“Can you tell me how to quickly increase breast size?”

“Selling nutrition drinks and high-quality free-range eggs in the front row!”

As the comments were rapidly refreshing, the girl showed a rare smile and then looked at me with an even more envious expression: “You’re so lucky to have so many people accompanying you.”

Sitting at the end of the bed, I intentionally kept a certain distance from her: “Is that what you call happiness? Your definition of happiness is too simple.”

The girl was taken aback by what I said and stared at me for a long time: “You won’t understand my feelings, and I won’t explain either.
We’re just strangers who met briefly tonight.
I just want to talk about some light topics.”

“Suit yourself.
The long night is enough time to talk about many things.” I smiled slightly.
Even the most basic conversation could lead to a lot of information, which was the basic skill of a detective.

……

“The host’s smile is laden with hidden meaning, suggesting something to that young woman!”

“You better run, girl! The host is trying to pull a fast one on you!”

“The countless sorrowful stories of internet users.
The most arduous journey of my life was getting ensnared in the host’s scheme!”

During our conversation, I learned that the woman in front of me was named Xiao Feng, and she had been adopted by the elderly couple.
She revealed that the reasons for her adoption were not entirely pure.
When the inn was newly constructed, a half-monk, half-taoist geomancer advised the landlord that this was an ominous place.
To ensure safety and prosperity, the yin and yang energies had to be balanced.

At that time, the elderly couple only had one biological son, and they decided to adopt a daughter in order to balance the yin and yang energies in their home.

Here was the strange thing, though: whenever I asked about the missing two or three-year-old girl, Xiao Feng would clam up and avoid mentioning her name, as if it were taboo within this inn.

As our conversation grew deeper, I became increasingly puzzled.

I tried to read between the lines, and it seemed like Xiao Feng was struggling to tell me something but was afraid of being overheard.
I carefully examined every inch of her person, but found no listening devices or other such items.
I had already searched the entire room, and the most advanced piece of technology was the light bulb hanging above us.

“What is she afraid of? She always seems to hold back herself from saying anything, as if there’s a third person in the room with us.” I thought about the talismans under the bed – they say that there are spirits that dwell three feet above our heads.
Could she be afraid of these unseen entities?

Strange place, strange people.

It was already late into the night, and the darkness outside was impenetrable.
The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, and I could tell that it was getting late.
I gently tapped Xiao Feng on the shoulder and said, “It’s getting late.
You should head back home, or your foster parents might worry.”

I pulled out my phone, “What’s your WeChat? Let me send you a red envelope* to apologize for tearing your skirt.
My ID is ‘Peak of Happiness’.”

“Isn’t naming yourself ‘Peak of Happiness’ as a grown man quite revealing of your personality?”

“Peak of Happiness is the name of my store.
You can check it out, and I will give you a 20% discount if you need it in the future.” I didn’t gain much, and I rubbed my temples with a headache.
The clues I was hoping for didn’t appear, and it seemed like I could only sit and wait in this room.

Xiao Feng sat up, the bedsheet covering her body slipping off slowly.
“I don’t have a cell phone.
My foster parents don’t like me contacting the outside world.”

“Oh.” This girl was like a domesticated animal—young and beautiful, but with many dark secrets buried deep inside.

“Can I stay here tonight?”

“Of course… Wait, what?!” Her sudden request caught me off guard.

“If I could stay here, my foster parents would be very happy.”

“What do you mean? What’s your relationship with them?” I couldn’t make sense of it, so I glanced at the dark night outside the window.
“Forget it, if you want to stay, stay.
At least two people can keep each other company.”

I cleared up half of the bed for her and rolled up my pants to examine the burn on my leg.

“Don’t move, it could get infected.” Xiao Feng sat next to me in her simple clothes and placed my leg on her lap.
“The burn is stuck to your pants.
If you just roll it up, it’ll burst the blister.”

She was familiar with Room 203 and turned to grab a pair of small scissors from the bedside table.
She cut open the pant leg for me and then went to the bathroom to get a towel.
She rinsed the wound with cold water and gently wiped it clean.

Xiao Feng’s movements were skilled and gentle, making her seem like the kind of woman who regularly did household chores.
“What a shame…”

“What did you say?”

“I said you should rest.
I can take care of it myself.”

It was already 1:30 AM by the time we finished treating the burn.
Xiao Feng lay on the bed with her back to me, and I could tell from the slight movement of her body that she wasn’t asleep.

“Let’s not tell her about the talisman under the bed,” I spotted one comment after taking out my phone.
Maybe because the expected ghosts and monsters hadn’t appeared, the increase in viewers had slowed down significantly.

“Let’s promote civilized live streaming.
Starting with ourselves.
Don’t let the host take advantage of the girl,” one comment said.

“Hey, Mr.
Demon Spirit? Is there a person broadcasting a naughty livestream?” someone else commented.

“I’m sorry, you dialed the wrong number.
This is KFC!”

“Hehe, Uncle McDonald’s is laughing silently,”

…

The barrage of comments in the chat room was all over the place.
I lit a cigarette and watched with great interest.

It wasn’t until after 2 a.m.
that drowsiness hit me, and the chat room gradually quieted down.
I covered Xiao Feng with a thin blanket and lay on the other side, my eyelids slowly becoming heavy.

girl who loves handsome and talented men: “The host wants to wait for us all to sleep before enjoying the girls alone.
How is that possible? I must expose his true face.’”

Teemo Stew with Mushrooms: “I have a moral and ethical exam tomorrow.
I’m going to sleep.
Goodnight everyone.”

Officer Huang of the third year class 2: “Nothing happened; it seems that I was overthinking things.”

Half-immortal Liu from Qingcheng Mountain: “Overthinking? Water injures the body and breaks the balance of yin and yang.
Smoke penetrates the face and covers the spiritual altar.
This is the manifestation of a lingering ghost, not to mention the deceased themselves.”

In the end, I missed Half Immortal Liu’s comment in the barrage as an irresistible sleepiness pulled me into a dream.
The hazy scene was somewhat familiar—an abandoned rural inn where I was imprisoned by a female ghost whose face remained obscure.

I had this dream in the morning, with the same building, the same ground, and the same walls…The ‘Female Heart (Nuxin) Inn’, woven from small light bulbs outside the window, was emitting a faint red light.

“So, the place in my dream was actually the Female Heart Inn.”

My consciousness was sometimes clear and sometimes blurry.
I only knew that I was running frantically, but I was not sure what was chasing me.

I wanted to turn back, but I couldn’t control my body.
I wanted to shout out loud, but I couldn’t make any sound.”

“Who’s behind me? Who’s behind me?”

I struggled to wake up from the dream, biting my tongue and veins bulging on my face, but even so, all I could do was twist my head.

My narrow field of vision was slowly overtaken by blood, seeping in crimson from various corners of the inn.
In the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a woman’s figure at the last moment.

“She is…”

“It’s so hot!” My chest suddenly felt like it was on fire, and I woke up from my dream in a startle.
Sweat had already soaked through my clothes, making me feel like I had just been pulled out of the water.

“How did I fall asleep? That was a terrifying nightmare,” I muttered to myself, looking down at my chest where the source of the heat had come from.
I noticed the talisman I had stashed away was lying there.

“Geez, this thing is definitely not ordinary.” I carefully put it away and glanced at the girl lying motionless in front of me.
“Luckily, that thing in the dream didn’t catch me.
This girl is really a heavy sleeper though.”

“But then again, it’s not appropriate to keep staring at her sleeping position like this.” I wiped the sweat off my forehead, propped my head up with my own arm, and turned to the other side.
In front of me was a girl sleeping soundly under a thin blanket, breathing evenly and deeply.

“Oh, this girl really sleeps like a log…wait a minute! Wait! Wait!”

“If the girl lying under the thin blanket in front of me is Xiao Feng, then who is the woman that…is now sleeping behind me?!”

************

TN: translating “Feng Shui” to “geomancy”, this is a very appropriate translation since the two terms mean the same thing.
Both terms refer to the practice of arranging physical spaces in a way that is believed to promote harmony, balance, and positive energy flow.

TN: Sending a red envelope is a traditional way of giving money as a gift.
Nowadays, in China, it’s also common to send red envelopes digitally through mobile payment apps such as WeChat or Alipay.