CH5 - Villa-03

{{What year is it there?}}

Ye Huairui stood frozen in front of the desk, holding his phone.

He suddenly noticed something very eerie and horrifying.

The character "我" in "答我" had a particularly long slanted hook, with the end curving inward, resembling a deformed "6."

This was incredibly distinctive.

Ye Huairui had just recently seen an identical slanted hook—on the copy of Zhengbao he found in the desk drawer!

—No way!?

Ye Huairui was completely bewildered.

In an instant, he quickly concocted an interconnected schemes in his mind: someone had meticulously planned for him to buy the house, discover the secret room, find the desk, see the writing, and then use the eeeie water characters to prank him.

—But that made no sense!

Yes, not only did it make no sense, but it would also be extremely difficult to execute in practice.

Moreover, he was just a forensic pathologist with no connection to that great heist from years ago. Was it really worth going to such lengths to mess with him?

Ye Huairui hesitated for a full thirty seconds between "turning and running" and "taking another look," but ultimately, his intense curiosity won out. He moved back to the desk, dipped his finger in the tea, and wrote beneath the nearly dry character "答我" ("Answer me"):

【你又是谁?】("Who are you?")

Ye Huairui could read and write traditional Chinese characters, but he deliberately used simplified characters, to test the other party's reaction.

Soon, the invisible hand wrote a response nest to his writing:

【你唔知?】("You don't know?")

Ye Huairui's hand trembled, and he almost responded "You are Yin Jiaming."

However, his fingers hovered above the desk.

Rationality told him that this was impossible.

So, after thinking for a moment, Ye Huairui wrote:

【要么你是鬼,要么你是杀人犯.】("Either you are a ghost, or you are a murderer.")

This response seemed to agitate the other party.

The invisible hand quickly wiped away the line and responded swiftly:

【我唔係鬼,亦都唔係兇手!!!】("I am not a ghost, nor I a murderer!!!")

Judging by the three exclamation marks at the end, Ye Huairui felt tht whatever was replying to him seemed quite agitated.

At this moment, new characters appeared.

【我冇打劫!冇殺人!】 (“I didn't rob! I didn't kill!")

It was clearly a supplement to the previous statement.

Ye Huairui:"..."

The level of intelligent inthis question-and-answer exchange had surpassed the realm of tricks Ye Huairui coulod conceive, making it unlikely that someone was faking it.

He had to consider a possibility–that the entity communicating with him through water stains might indeed be that "someone."

At this thought, his heart uncontrollably ponded twice.

【你是殷嘉茗?】("Are you Yin Jiaming?")

The water stains neither confirmed nor denied, instead replying with a “哈哈” ("Haha”).

Then, the invisible man began to rant with extremely sloppy handwriting, roughly meaning: " You are really funny. You came looking for me, yet you know nothing? Why are asking me?"

Ye Huairui;"..."

He knew of some so-called "ghost-seeing methods" from folklore or urban legends, but he had never taken them seriously, nor had he ever been interested in trying them himself.

Moreover, he couldn't recall doing anything strange recently that would attract this seemingly Yin Jiaming-like entity that could write with water.

—Wait, why am I even believing that he is Yin Jiaming!?

Ye Huairui pinched his arm, trying yo convince himself to stay rational.

"... I'm talking to a ghost who has been dead for nearly forty years..."

Ye Huairui murmured:

"How can something so unscientific be possible?"

Meanwhile, the writing on the desk continue.

The entry asked Ye Huairui,"Aren't you a ghost? How come you know nothing?"

Ye Huairui: "..."

He suddenly realized a very important point.

The one "conversing" with him seemed to be taking the same stance as he was.

The other party thought Ye Huairui was the "ghost."

So, doesthis mean that "Yin Jiaming" believes he is still alive?

There was a classic trope in ghost stories where the deceased were unaware of their own death, continuing to live as they did before or trying to fulfill their unfinished wishes. This seemed very similar to the situation he encountered tonight.

Indeed, this secret room was where Yin Jiaming had hidden while alive. It seemed logical that his soul would linger here after his death.

Ye Huairui's mind was fiercely struggling between "believing in the existence of ghosts" and "this must be a hoax," but his fingers honestly wrote down a question.

He wanted to verify his hypothesis:

【你那儿是什么年份?】("What year is it there?")

The other party didn't hesitate and quickly wrote down the answer:

【82年】("82").

It was the very year the Great Heist of Jin City occurred.

Ye Huairui was almost certain of his hypothesis–that the other party was a wandering ghost, unaware of their own death, still stuck in the memories before they died.

However, to be cautious, Ye Huairui added another question:

【几月几号?】("What month and day?") The response came:

The response came:

【7-23】 ("July 23").

Ye Huairui:"!!! "

He stared intently at the three numbers on the desk, repeatedly confirming that he hadn't misread them. It was indeed July 23, which mean today!

Ye Huairui was so shocked that all his attention was focused on the old desk. He didn't even notice that the thunder outside was getting farther away, and the sound of raindrops hitting the glass was gradually diminishing, almost inaudible.

He dipped his finger in water and wrote:

【你确定是7月23号吗?】(“Are you sure it's July 23?")

The reply came quickly.

【梗係】(“Of course").

The invisible person answered:

【我冇必要呃你】I have no reason to lie to you").

These were the last two sentence left by the "invisible person."

Because after that, no matter how much Ye Huairui asked or how many messages he wrote on the desk, there was no response.

                     &&& &&& &&&

"...Did he leave?"

Meanwhile, a man stood in front of the same desk, muttering to himself in the Jin City dialect.

Unwilling to give up, he dipped his finger in water and wrote a few more words on the desk.

Still no response.

"Tsk, how could he just leave just like that?"

The man finally give up , leaning back in his chair and sighing in boredom.

He was none other than Yin Jiaming, who was being hunted by the Jin City police.

Yin Jiaming had been hiding in this secret room foe an entire day.

The basement was cramped and stuffy, both boring anf oppressive.

During the day, it was somewhat better, as a bit of light could filter through the vent window , allowing him to see, albeit dimly.

But at night, it was pitch black, and he worried that any light might shine trough the vent window and attract attention from outside. He didn't dare use electrical lights or even a flashlight, relying only on a kerosene lamp for illumination and moving around in the dark.

For someone like Yin Jiaming, who was outgoing, had many friends, and enjoyed socializing, the days spent staring at fout white walls were incredibly stifling.

But he didn't dare go out.

Armed robbery and multiple murders were heinous crimes, and Yin Jiaming couldn't prove his innocence.

To make matters worse, his father recently gotten into some trouble with his business, and Yin Jiaming feared that if he fell into the hands of the authorities, no one would be able to rescue him in one piece.

Yin Jiaming didn't dare contact his friends or family, and there was no television in the secret room. Hiding here was equivalent to being cut off from the world, leaving him completely unaware of the outside situation, which only amplified his anxiety and unease.

In such a situation, when he suddenly saw water stains on the desk spelling out his name, Yin Jiaming's first reaction was suprise. His second reaction, surprisingly, was not fear but excitement.

If Ye Huairui knew what Yin Jiaming was thinking, he would surely sigh and say that this must be the so-called "cultural difference."

In this era, most people in Jin City firmly believed in feng shui and metaphysics. Every year, cinemas were flooded with ghost movies, and late-night radio and television were filled with supernatural tales. Groundbreaking ceremonies always involved worshipping Guan Yu, and incense burners with three sticks of incense were placed by doors and stoves.

Given this cultural backdrop, Yin Jiaming naturally accepted the idea of ghosts and spirits.

So, when he saw the water characters appear on the desk, he didn't consider any other possibilities and was certain it was a haunting.

Ordinarily, when people think they've  "seen a ghost," they would feel very scared.

But Yin Jiaming had been cooped up in the basement for too long.

Under the "isolation effect," he inevitably experienced a fear akin to being abandoned by the whole world, making him desperately want to communicate with someone to gain some emotional solace.

Even if the one communicating with him was a ghost, it was better than being completely isolated.

Besides, since the other party was a ghost, they must have some supernatural abilities, right?

Yin Jiaming had just watched the popular movie The human lantern, where the beautiful female ghost said that ghosts were all-knowing.

Yin Jiaming thought he could ask about the damned heist and find out what really happened.

Unfortunately, this ghost seemed to lack any real powers and disappeared after just a few exchanges, without providing any useful information...

...

Just as Yin Jiaming was feeling a sense of regret, he heard the sound of a mechanism sliding from the direction of the hallway.

Yin Jiaming stood up warily, lifting the kerosene lamp to shine light in the direction of the sound.

Soon, a girl descended the stairs and walked into the basement.

"Lele."

Yin Jiaming breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ming-ge."

The girl, called Lele, greeted Yin Jiaming in the Jin City dialect and showed him the bags she was carrying:

"I bought you some bread and cookies, and some clean clothes."

As she placed the items she bought on the storage shelf, she said to Yin Jiaming:

"Cuihua and Ah Hua are both being watched by the police right now. I didn't dare tell them about you being here."

Lele turned around, her expression indifferent, but her words were very considerate:

"But I'll try to come by every day, dont worry."

"Thank you."

Yin Jiaming sincerely expressed his gratitude to the girl, "if it weren't for you, I would have been caught by the police long ago."

"Dont mention it."

Lele still didn't smile, but her voice noticeably softened.

"Meng-ge, previously, it was thanks to you that my brother and I were taken care of. Now that you're in trouble, it's only right that I help you."

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