Lu Mian watched in sheer terror. Good heavens, they were illegally detaining someone! Fang Qinian didn’t have internet, but she did, so she’d be the one to call the police.
Lu Mian dialled the emergency number straight away, briefly explained what had happened, and the police assured her they would send a patrol immediately.
Lu Mian hung up the phone with a sense of relief and thoughtfully sent a message to the group chat to let everyone know.
[Lu Mian: Don’t panic, I’ve called the police.]
The others were also jolted into action, and messages began flooding the group chat.
[Ye Zhiyu: Is it that bad? Where are you now?]
[He Zhiluo: Damn, are the police coming quickly? If I’d known, I’d have skipped class and gone with you.]
The police had been called; the rest was in their hands. Worrying wouldn’t help, so Lu Mian went out onto the balcony to collect the washed clothes and get ready for a shower.
Lu Mian’s sudden appearance caught it off guard; the red tongue still dangling from the clothesline froze in mid-air.
Lu Mian blinked her short-sighted eyes. She hadn’t looked into any bright light, so why was there a red blur before her eyes again?
The red thing was very long, hanging from the clothesline all the way down to near the floor.
Lu Mian walked over and gave it a tug; it was full of elasticity and very resilient.
Who’s left this bungee cord here? Lu Mian leaned in for a closer look and noticed neat ridges running along the length of it; it was also slightly thicker than a standard rope.
Has someone bought a new rope? She hadn’t even noticed it when she’d been putting away the white dress just now. Since it must be her flatmate’s, she’d better hang it up for them—that way, it’ll be ready to use as soon as they get back.
Lu Mian measured the distance between the two walls, dragged a stool over, and, standing on it, tied the rope directly to the metal hook that held the original clothesline.
Having done this, Lu Mian looked at the extra red rope with satisfaction. Previously, the clothesline in their dorm had always been crammed together; adding another rope should make things a bit better.
Lu Mian put the clothes away and went to take a shower, revealing the full extent of the tied-up tongue.
Black hair cascaded down her back, and her pale face was contorted with rage and malice. It should have been a terrifying sight, but with the red tongue tied at both ends, it looked comical.
Ah!!!
It’s going to kill her!!!
All these years, when has it ever failed to kill its prey? Yet this time, she’s thwarted it and even tied it up here as a clothesline!
The red tongue began to tremble violently, producing a shrill, grating sound.
Lu Mian, who had just stepped into the shower, immediately poked her head out. “What’s going on? Is it that windy?”
Lu Mian spotted the trembling red rope at a glance. “Is this rope that unstable? Perhaps I should just take it down.”
Muttering to herself, Lu Mian prepared to step out and remove the rope, only to find that it had stopped moving and appeared quite secure.
Fixed itself? Lu Mian observed it for a few seconds and, seeing that the rope had indeed stopped moving, returned to the shower to continue washing.
…………
“Hello, where do I catch the bus to Liushu Village?” Tian Shenglai hurried to the Hejin Bus Station, but at this hour, the ticket clerk had already finished work, so he had no choice but to ask a taxi driver who looked like a regular here.
“You’re going to Liushu Village? That bus route’s been out of service for years. If you want to go, I can take you there.” The driver gave Tian Shenglai a once-over, his eyes glinting beneath his flat-brimmed cap.
“The bus isn’t running?!” Tian Shenglai exclaimed in surprise. Why had the old man with the hoe told him to come here to catch a bus?
“It’s been out of service for years. Who told you you could get there by bus? Your information is so out of date.” The driver pulled out a cigarette and replied as he puffed away, “The local bus goes there now, so there’s no need for that long-distance route anymore.”
The local bus goes there? Then he could just take the local bus!
Tian Shenglai quickly pulled out his mobile to check the bus timetable, only to discover that the bus to Liushu Village didn’t even pass through Hejin Bus Station. He’d have to change buses, and that particular service stopped running at ten o’clock in the evening. This meant he’d have to buy his ticket before nine and be waiting at the Liushu Village bus stop by then. But it was already past seven, and the journey from here to Liushu Village to catch the bus would take over an hour.
The taxi driver glanced at Tian Shenglai’s phone screen but didn’t stop him. Taking the bus to Liushu Village this late wasn’t practical; there was a good chance the young man would end up taking his taxi anyway.
“Er, driver, how much to Liushu Village?” Tian Shenglai put his phone away.
“It’s metered, but fifty should do it.” The driver smiled.
Tian Shenglai got into the car. “Fifty it is, then. Please drive as fast as you can, driver.”
“No problem.” The driver promptly stubbed out his cigarette, opened the door and started the engine.
Once in the car, Tian Shenglai kept searching his phone for information about Liushu Village.
However, there was very little information online; most of it was about agricultural support schemes and Liushu Village’s development plans, and so on.
“Young man, what are you doing heading to Liushu Village in the dead of night?” The driver was quite talkative and struck up a conversation with Tian Shenglai shortly after setting off.
Tian Shenglai put his phone away and replied casually, “Just a bit of business.”
“What sort of business? That place is terribly eerie; no one in their right mind would go there.”
Tian Shenglai perked up. “What’s the story?”
“There’s a reservoir near there. People have drowned there.”
“People have drowned? What’s so spooky about that? People get into car accidents on the road every day.” Tian Shenglai shrugged it off.
The car drove along the bustling streets; it was just past seven, right in the middle of rush hour. With other passengers in the car, the lively atmosphere made Tian Shenglai temporarily forget his fear.
“Of course, someone drowning isn’t exactly a supernatural phenomenon, but the fact is that people have drowned there for three years running—and they were all bus drivers.” The driver kept his eyes fixed on the road as the vehicle moved in fits and starts.
The driver didn’t stop talking, adding: “ ‘The bus you asked about today only runs twice a day. Back then, the city’s planning hadn’t extended to Liushu Village yet, but the villagers there needed to get into town. To demonstrate social responsibility, and since running the service wasn’t a loss-maker, the government arranged two buses to go there. They even specifically hired drivers from Liushu Village. The bus leaves the village at six in the morning and returns from the city at nine in the evening.’
“Later on, the driver drowned in the reservoir for no apparent reason. At first, people thought he’d gone there on a summer night to fish or swim to cool off, so the matter was simply left at that. Then they appointed a second driver, but he drowned too—this time, he drowned with a full busload of passengers.”
Tian Shenglai’s grip on his mobile tightened unconsciously, and his heart leapt into his throat.
The driver, seemingly oblivious to his tension, continued: “This time it was a major incident. How could a driver, with a whole group of people on board, just go and die like that? After all the investigations, they simply attributed it to brake failure. A third driver was brought in afterwards. Because of the previous two incidents, they even had someone’s fortune told when selecting the third driver, specifically choosing someone with a strong constitution. The driver was also extremely careful when driving at night.”
“But the third driver still drowned in the reservoir. I heard that before he drowned, passengers often saw him talking to himself in the cab; he even claimed to have seen an old man carrying a hoe.”
“Was it an old man wearing a white vest and black shorts?” Tian Shenglai blurted out.
The driver paused, his eyes peering out from under his flat-brimmed cap as if to size up Tian Shenglai. “You’ve heard these rumours too? Then why are you asking me?”
“Is it true?!” Tian Shenglai broke out in a cold sweat. The driver had no reason to lie to him—didn’t that prove the old man was a ghost?!
Damn it, why on earth would he go to Willow Village? If the old man was a ghost, could he really trust such ghostly tales? Besides, the name Willow Village sounded eerie enough; he was afraid he’d meet his end there!
“Driver, I’m not going to Liushu Village after all. Could you turn the car around, please?”
The driver replied, “We’re already on the motorway; it’s not easy to turn around here.”