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Hu Fang sat slumped in the chair, her expression blank. As she hung up the phone, the ringing on the television abruptly ceased. Seeing this, everyone exchanged glances. I comforted Hu Fang, saying, "It's too early to conclude what's real and what's not; it could just be a coincidence." The others nodded in agreement, saying, "Yeah, let's go check it out first; there's no need to rush." With that, they got up to settle the bill and hurried to the scene of the incident.
According to the news, the incident took place behind a residential building on Ning'an Road. When we arrived, we found a crowd of onlookers gathered around. The police had cordoned off the area around the body, while reporters were snapping photos nearby.
As soon as Hu Fang arrived, she pushed through the crowd and broke past the police line to rush inside. Two officers quickly intervened, saying, "You can't do that; you'll disturb the scene! Please step back!" Hu Fang struggled and shouted, "I'm his sister!" as she pointed at the body covered with a plastic sheet.
Upon hearing this, the officers hesitated and allowed her to approach the body for identification. Li Zhisheng and I wanted to follow her but after much explanation, we were ultimately denied entry and nearly charged with obstructing justice. We had no choice but to stay outside the cordon. I watched as Hu Fang stood dazed next to the body, seemingly torn about whether to lift the plastic sheet.
Suddenly, she bent down and forcefully pulled at one corner of the plastic covering. The body came into view; despite its darkened color, I could still clearly see that it was Tang Qian. His chest was embedded with numerous shards of glass, even in his mouth. Many areas of his arms appeared to have been stripped of flesh, exposing stark white bones—a gruesome sight that suggested he must have endured immense pain before dying.
Hu Fang seemed unable to bear this sight and collapsed to her knees in front of the body. The nearby officers rushed over to support her and began asking questions. Li Zhisheng and I could only watch anxiously from outside the police line. Qiangzi muttered beside us, "Is it really necessary for someone to make their death look this horrific? If it was suicide..." Li Zhisheng echoed his surprise with an "Oh." I thought to myself: "This probably isn't suicide; it's more likely a homicide. The killer might not even be human but possibly a ghost. Since it's impossible to definitively attribute it to supernatural causes without evidence, it's understandable that they would initially classify it as suicide. However, if it were truly voluntary suicide, there would need to be severe self-destructive tendencies involved."
Before long, an officer helped Hu Fang toward us. One tall officer asked me, "You're her friend, right?" I nodded in affirmation. "Then please take care of your friend; our investigation is not yet complete. We may need your assistance later, so please don't leave for now." After saying this, he handed a sealed bag to Hu Fang.
Qiangzi leaned in and asked, "What did he give you?" Noticing Hu Fang's dazed expression, I didn't have time to answer Qiangzi's question and instead guided her over to a nearby flowerbed to sit down. Li Zhisheng comforted Hu Fang gently: "There's no bringing back the dead; you must grieve." Everyone lowered their heads slightly in respect.
At that moment, I felt that Tang Qian's death was too suspicious. How could someone who seemed perfectly fine suddenly die? If it were suicide due to emotional turmoil, there would be no need for such self-inflicted suffering. Li Zhisheng seemed to share my thoughts and asked, "Shen Xu, don't you think Tang Qian's death is too strange?"
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully: "Could there have been some mental health issues? I've heard that some people appear normal on the outside but harbor severe psychological problems within. Such individuals might choose suicide after experiencing certain triggers." I then turned my gaze back to Hu Fang, seeking her insight.
Hu Fang's face was clouded with sorrow; tears streamed down her cheeks as her disheveled hair fell over her shoulders. She glanced at me but remained silent, simply shaking her head gently. Then she opened the sealed bag and pulled out a mobile phone—Tang Qian's phone. She turned it on for everyone to see; indeed, there was an unread message from someone labeled "Sister."
I had initially hoped to avoid discussing ghosts, but it seemed unavoidable now; my heart involuntarily trembled at the thought. At that moment, Li Zhisheng said: "It seems my suspicions were correct. If we rule out mental illness as a possibility, then there's only one explanation left." Just as I was about to think "ghost," Qiangzi spoke up first.
I stared in shock at Qiangzi, unable to believe that those words had come from his mouth. He hung his head, staring blankly at the ground, his arms dangling by his sides, swaying slightly back and forth.
Li Zhisheng and I instinctively moved away from him, putting several meters between us as we noticed something strange in Qiangzi's demeanor. Hu Fang remained lost in her grief, completely oblivious to our conversation, still sitting by the flowerbed in a daze.
Just as Li Zhisheng and I were warily watching Qiangzi's every move, he suddenly stood up without saying a word, turned his head down, and bolted out. Without thinking, I took off after him. The police behind us assumed we were trying to escape and followed suit.
Qiangzi ran incredibly fast. I desperately tried to catch him, and just as I reached out to grab his shirt, he suddenly spun around 180 degrees. Startled by his sudden movement, I quickly withdrew my hand.
Qiangzi grinned widely, a sinister expression crossing his face. In an instant, he leaped into the middle of the road. Just then, a truck was approaching; as its wheels were about to roll over Qiangzi's body, I saw his face twist from that menacing grin into sheer terror.
As he opened his mouth to say something, the several-ton truck crushed him beneath its wheels. Brain matter splattered everywhere, and the arriving police officers along with Li Zhisheng witnessed the horrific scene in its entirety.
I collapsed by the roadside with a thud, gasping for breath. In just a few moments, two of the five people who had gone to play the Four Corners Game were dead, and my mind was on the verge of breaking down.
Li Zhisheng rushed to my side. "I know you feel guilty right now, but this is not your fault. When I saw Qiangzi's expression earlier, I sensed something was wrong. I thought about it too late." From Li Zhisheng's words, I could tell he was also holding himself together, struggling against his own sorrow and regret.
"Now two people are dead. If this continues, none of the three of us left might escape. The ghost can't possess me or force me to commit suicide; I can still hide for now. But Hu Fang and you..." Realizing this, I stood up and said to Li Zhisheng, "Thank you for comforting me. I know you're not doing well either, but right now we need to protect those who are still alive." Then I shared my thoughts with him.
After listening, Li Zhisheng replied, "I've been thinking about where this ghost came from and why it attacked us. But after considering it all, there's only one explanation." "Onizuka!" We both exclaimed simultaneously. We exchanged glances and hurried back to Hu Fang's side. Thankfully, she seemed unaffected; she was still sitting by the flowerbed, holding Tang Qian's belongings and crying in a daze.
Fearing that more shocking news would overwhelm her further, I decided not to tell her about Qiangzi's death directly. She would find out sooner or later; at least let her recover a bit first. Li Zhisheng also refrained from mentioning Qiangzi’s fate to Hu Fang; instead, he muttered to himself nearby: "But if the ghost came from Onizuka, hasn't it already been exorcised? Could it be a wild ghost?"
I heard him mumbling: "The scene was too chaotic at that time; all I remember is a flash of white light before everything went dark." Just then, a light bulb went off in my head—"That white light... didn't something similar happen in Baiyan Village?! Yin Li seemed to have experienced it too; it must have had a purifying effect."
But Li Zhisheng was surprised by my words and asked, "White light? What white light? I only felt my body go limp after you collapsed, and then I fainted too." Hearing his question, I was momentarily at a loss for how to explain. I could only respond, "Maybe I experienced a hallucination." But deep down, I knew it was definitely not a hallucination.
He realized I was brushing him off and, seeing that I didn't want to elaborate, changed the subject. "One of the Nine Stars that disappeared from your chest must have sealed a Underworld Gate. However, before sealing it, it likely let many Vengeful Spirits escape, which is why all this is happening now."
"If that's the case, then such incidents will likely increase. Innocent people could get hurt," I replied. Li Zhisheng looked up at the sky and sighed, "It seems someone thinks this world is too peaceful..." After hearing his words, I sighed as well and said, "These events may not be entirely my fault, but since they have occurred, I will do my best to stop them. I just don't know if I have the ability to do so..." With that, I gazed into the pitch-black night sky.
Afterward, the police took the three of us to the station to take statements and asked many questions about Tang Qian and Qiangzi. I could only recount everything I knew in detail. Qiangzi's death was witnessed as a suicide, while Tang Qian had suspicions of homicide; however, after several investigations, there were no leads and it was tentatively ruled a suicide.
In the following days, we were busy arranging funerals for Qiangzi and Tang Qian. When we notified their families, the scenes of grief over their loved ones' passing still tug at my heart whenever I think back on them.
Strangely enough, ever since Tang Qian and Qiangzi died, everything seemed to have calmed down. During this time, there were hardly any unusual occurrences. Even so, I still had Hu Fang and Li Zhisheng move into my house. It was safer for everyone to live together; at least we could look out for one another.
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