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墨書 Inktalez
Gravekeeper
I never expected that Gao Zhi looked so weak for this reason. I was quite puzzled and said, "It can't be, this kind of illness is usually something that young people with unstable minds would have, right? How could you be like this?"
Gao Zhi shook his head with a bitter smile. "I don't know either. Besides, I suspect this illness is hereditary."
"Really?" I was taken aback. "Hereditary? Don't joke around."
Gao Zhi's expression turned serious as he said, "It's true. My son, who just turned fifteen this year... his bedsheets are often wet. At first, my wife and I didn't pay much attention, thinking he's just a young kid who might be watching too many videos. Plus, studying in Japan, where female classmates wear revealing clothes, seemed normal. But the frequency was too alarming; the blankets and sheets were never dry. I found it quite scary. I planned to talk to my son about it, but before I could, I ended up catching this strange illness myself. At night, I dream about being with women, though I can't see their faces clearly. But still..."
I started to take this seriously. "Mr. Gao, I'm afraid things aren't that simple. First of all, this kind of illness definitely isn't hereditary. Secondly, if your son is experiencing this issue, it could be pathological. However, now that both you and your son are showing these symptoms, it raises some questions; you might be under some kind of influence."
"What do you mean?!" Gao Zhi stared at me intently.
I shook my head and said, "Mr. Gao, you must have read Dream of the Red Chamber."
"Of course," Gao Zhi nodded and then laughed. "Do I seem like someone without cultural taste?"
I continued, "In Dream of the Red Chamber, the character who died from secretly loving Consort Feng is Jia Rui, right? He died from nocturnal emissions. Although it's fictional, such things do happen in reality. Moreover, I suspect that this situation could be due to someone deliberately causing harm. Now that both you and your son are experiencing this issue, it complicates matters. I need to visit your place to investigate further."
Gao Zhi quickly nodded. "I didn't expect you to understand these things; that's great! Honestly, I've also been thinking there might be something wrong in this regard. Recently, besides going to the hospital, I've consulted some monks who gave us talismans for protection, but they didn't help at all. The hospital checks were even less useful; they just told us that my son and I had psychological issues and advised us to relax."
"I can't say for sure right now; we can only go to your house first and take a look," I replied.
Gao Zhi nodded eagerly. "Alright then, let's go now; my house isn't far from here."
I agreed and stood up to grab my bag before walking out with Gao Zhi.
Outside the teahouse, the sound of police sirens echoed continuously. However, Gao Zhi seemed to hold some status, as he completely ignored the officers and led me to a Toyota car before driving away. After about ten minutes on the road, we stopped in front of a secluded courtyard. This place wasn't exactly suburban, but it was very quiet and elegant. Not far from the house appeared to be the Baishan Botanical Garden.
I got out of the car and looked around. "The environment here is really nice."
Gao Zhi nodded. "Of course. I spent quite a bit of money to acquire this property back in the day."
As we walked inside, it was easy to imagine how much he had spent. In Japan, real estate is even more sought after than in China. With a larger population and less land available, the per capita land area is significantly smaller than in China; otherwise, Japan wouldn't be able to reclaim land year after year.
Moreover, being in Tokyo made every inch of land incredibly valuable. Buying a house with a yard here would definitely not be cheaper than a courtyard house in Beijing.
We entered the house, and a Japanese woman dressed in a kimono walked in and bowed to Gao Zhi.
Gao Zhi exchanged a few words in Japanese, and the woman turned and left.
I looked at Gao Zhi and asked, "Is she your wife?"
"My maid," Gao Zhi chuckled. "Why would I marry a Japanese woman? We wouldn't even have a common language. My wife is busy managing our business back in China. Half of the success of my business here is thanks to her; she oversees our branch office in China while I handle technology and finance here. Together, we've built this business up."
I nodded and then headed toward the backyard. The garden was filled with cherry blossom trees, and surprisingly, many were still blooming despite the season.
There was a rockery bridge in the yard, which overall made it quite picturesque. As I walked through the garden, I suddenly stopped in front of two houses.
"What's wrong?" Gao Zhi turned to look at me.
I replied, "There's something off; the eerie energy is too strong."
"What is this Eerie Energy?" Gao Zhi asked, his voice tinged with tension.
I shook my head; I could feel it, but I couldn't describe it.
I circled the house twice and then asked, "Mr. Gao, what are these two rooms for?"
"This is where my son and I sleep, and that's my study. The living room is up front, but I only bring people here for tea if we have a particularly close relationship," Gao Zhi replied earnestly.
I looked around but didn't see anything particularly eerie. "It must be underground. So, this place is only visited by you and your son?"
"Of course," Gao Zhi confirmed.
I nodded. "You started experiencing nocturnal emissions about a month ago?"
"Yes!" Gao Zhi said. "My son experienced it a bit earlier than I did, but it was around a month ago."
I continued, "At that time, had there been any renovations in this house or had anyone else come here?"
Gao Zhi thought carefully before responding, "Absolutely not. The house was renovated a few years ago with my wife, and we haven't touched it since this year. This is truly my home; my son and I come back here almost every day, especially him. He’s in high school now and always does his homework and sleeps here. No one else has come."
As Gao Zhi and I were talking, a woman in a kimono approached him and spoke to him for a while.
Gao Zhi responded briefly before the Kimono Woman left.
I watched her go, feeling a sense of suspicion rising within me. Once the maid was out of earshot, I turned to Gao Zhi and asked, "What about that maid?"
“How is it?” Gao Zhi glanced at me, understanding what I was asking. “She has been working at my place for a year now. Generally, she’s quite reliable, and I’ve treated her well, paying her a decent salary. Why? Is there something wrong with her?”
I shook my head. “I can’t say for sure yet, but Mr. Gao, could you send her away for a while?”
Gao Zhi looked at me, probably realizing I was serious, and nodded. “Alright then.” With that, he walked ahead.
I turned around at the bedroom door, sensing the atmosphere here. The Eerie Energy was faint, but I guessed it was due to the daylight; if it were nighttime, the Eerie Energy would be much denser.
Before long, Gao Zhi returned and said, “I’ve sent her away to buy groceries. I told her to prepare a good meal for you tonight. What should we do now?”
I walked a couple of circles in front of the bedroom and then stopped in an area where the Eerie Energy was strongest. Standing on the ground, I said, “Right here—dig it up; there’s something buried.”
“Here?” Gao Zhi looked at me in confusion but then nodded. “Okay, I’ll get an Iron Pickaxe.”
We each took an Iron Pickaxe and began digging in the garden by the door. The soil on top seemed normal at first, but after a few strikes with the pickaxes, things started to look unusual. The soil became loose, clearly showing signs of having been disturbed before.
“There really is something!” Gao Zhi exclaimed after catching his breath. “Damn it! I’ve been nice to this maid; I never expected she would actually harm me... I’m exhausted; every night I’ve been having wet dreams—I’m about to collapse from it.”
I laughed. “Isn’t that what everyone dreams of—night after night of revelry?”
Gao Zhi chuckled back. “The problem is, during all that revelry, you can’t even see who you’re with! It doesn’t feel satisfying at all—hahaha… What the hell?! What’s going on?”
Just as Gao Zhi and I were joking around, his expression suddenly changed, and he hesitated to let his Iron Pickaxe drop any further.
I looked down and saw purple-black blood starting to ooze out from the soil below, staining it red.
Gao Zhi's expression changed. "It's okay, let's keep digging; it should be right here." I struck down with my Iron Pickaxe, and with a clang, it seemed to hit something. I pried it up and pulled out a black box from beneath the soil.
Gao Zhi was breathing heavily; he was clearly a bit scared.
I slowly pried the object up. As sunlight hit it, a puff of white mist emerged. I put on my gloves, crouched down, and pulled the object up, brushing off the dirt on top.
It revealed its shape—it was actually a coffin!
"Ah!" Gao Zhi took a step back and sat down on the ground. "What... what is this thing?"
"I don't know either," I replied. "It's something Japanese; I don't often come across such things. However, all methods stem from the same source. The Japanese Yin-Yang Ghost Technique must have originated from our China, so there should be similarities." As I spoke, I continued to wear my gloves and began to open the coffin.
"Song Fei, be careful!" Gao Zhi crawled behind me. "Should we call the police?"
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