Chapter 105: The Woman in the Qipao

I chose to remain outside the room. For some reason, the moment the door opened, the March air of Hong Kong felt as biting as a December night in Northeast China, and a chill rushed toward my face, making me shiver uncontrollably.

I said to Cha Wenbin, "I'll stay here and wait for you."

He glanced back at me, then turned and gently pushed the door open. The room was similar to the one on the second floor—vacant and uncleaned for years, with its windows sealed shut by wooden planks. Cha Wenbin looked up and scanned the room; on the door frame, there were two lingering Taoist talismans. They were frayed and gnawed by insects, but I could still identify them as "Celestial Master" talismans, commonly used to suppress malevolent spirits. The brushwork appeared to be from the Maoshan school—exquisitely skilled.

Cha Wenbin thought to himself, "It seems something truly happened here."

However, with these two Celestial Master talismans present, there shouldn't have been any major disturbances. He scanned the room, and a few dust-covered rag dolls sitting on the bed caught his eye. He held up a fire-starter and counted them: four in total, both male and female. For some reason, their eyes had all been gouged out, leaving only empty, hollow sockets that were deeply unsettling.

Looking up, I saw a ceiling fan with rusted blades, and upon closer inspection, a piece of rope still dangled from the motor. Recalling Zhu Zihao's words about four women who had hung themselves in this house, they had likely died on this very fan.

The windows on both sides were boarded up, leaving the room in dim, murky light. Cha Wenbin felt along the wall for the switch. With a sharp "click," the room suddenly flared to life, and a flickering incandescent bulb swung creakily overhead.

Seeing the light, my courage returned, and I stepped inside.

Once inside, I saw Cha Wenbin sitting on the bed. There was a mirror at the head of the bed, and as I glanced at it, I saw a woman in a white nightgown, her hair disheveled, reaching out to throttle Cha Wenbin's neck.

I was shocked and shouted, "Wenbin, there's something there!"

As I finished my shout, I saw Cha Wenbin draw his sword and strike into the air with a "whoosh," followed by a loud "clatter" as the sword shattered the mirror. He looked back at me and yelled, "Close the door!"

The moment the door shut, the chill surged through me again, and goosebumps rose in layers across my skin. I trembled as I walked toward Cha Wenbin. For some reason, he seemed different tonight; there was a faint, blood-red tint in his eyes.

He said to me, "I've been waiting a long time, but you scared it away."

"I saw..."

He looked up at me, his expression stern. "You need to be careful lately. Seeing these things isn't a good sign; your vital energy is weak."

"How many are there?" I asked.

"One," Cha Wenbin replied, turning away to continue examining the room. "But even this one is a headache. It's almost become a demon. The resentment is so heavy, it must have been trapped here for decades. Look at the wall."

I looked up and saw numerous palm prints scattered across the opposite wall. Given the shape—long, slender fingers—it was likely a woman, and the outlines suggested they were all made by the same person.

"Do you want to force her out?"

Cha Wenbin said, "No. Xiao Yi, help me go downstairs and get a quilt. I'm sleeping here tonight."

Since he had asked, how could I refuse? But the short walk downstairs felt impossible; I nearly tripped on the stairs several times. I felt as if those things were everywhere in this house. I scrambled back up with a quilt in my arms.

"Are you sleeping next to me, or are you going back down?"

I glanced around. Even though I knew something was here, I chose to stay with Cha Wenbin; at least it felt like some form of protection.

I remember a voice inside telling me not to sleep. The room was truly strange; despite the windows being sealed shut, the lightbulb overhead kept swaying back and forth. I stared at the bulb until, overcome by exhaustion, I drifted off.

As I slept, I felt a weight on my chest and suddenly woke up. I wanted to reach out and push the quilt away, but my hands wouldn't obey. I could clearly feel Cha Wenbin leaning against the headboard, his breathing audible. I wanted to call out to him, but my throat felt as if it had been stuffed with socks; I couldn't make a sound.

At the same time, the pressure grew more intense. I couldn't open my eyes, but I felt something fuzzy brush against my face—it felt like a woman's hair.

Then, the pressure began to move upward, as if someone’s hand was sliding from my stomach toward my chest. I could feel nails scratching my skin. I struggled with all my might, but I was powerless.

The hand moved toward the right side of my chest. Suddenly, a woman's scream pierced my ears, shattering the eerie night and pulling me out of that state.

I lunged upward with all my strength and jumped off the bed. I opened my eyes to total darkness. A flash of fire suddenly ignited; by its light, I finally saw Cha Wenbin brandishing a burning talisman with his sword.

He was about two or three meters away, chanting under his breath, circling the bed repeatedly and occasionally throwing things onto the mattress. I glanced over and saw that one of the things he had thrown onto my bed was a piece of charcoal.

The talisman danced to the rhythm of his swordplay. I tried to get off the bed several times, but his sword moves forced me back. Though he didn't speak, I figured he didn't want me to leave.

"Five stars align to suppress, light shines upon the dark abyss; thousands of gods and saints, protect my true soul!" He spun around, threw a rope toward my side of the bed, and shouted, "Take it! Tie yourself up!"

"This..." I looked at the rope and listened to his tone; he didn't sound like he was playing around. Fine, I'll tie myself up. I wrapped the rope around my body from head to toe, tied a dead knot, and shouted, "I'm tied up! What are you doing?"

"Great heavenly beast, subdue the five weapons; five-day demons, perish and vanish; wherever I am, may the gods attend. By the order of the Supreme Lord Lao, act with haste!" After that, he carried the burning talisman to the side of my bed. I caught a glimpse of a bowl placed at the head of the bed; he shoved the burning talisman into it, and a pungent, scorched smell hit the air.

Next, he grabbed my jaw, forced my mouth open, and shoved the bowl toward me. I didn't know what the black sludge in the bowl was, and I really wondered if he was playing some sick game. Did he have some twisted hobby?

After forcing down several mouthfuls, before I could even react, Cha Wenbin lit two more candles.

I thought to myself, isn't this like something out of a Japanese horror film? I shifted back against the headboard, thinking if this guy had really gone insane, I’d just have to find a way to stop him.

Thankfully, he didn't drip wax on me. He placed the candles on the nightstands on either side of the bed. Then he went to the foot of the bed, holding a small copper mirror. It was an Eight-Trigrams mirror, its surface badly worn. He pointed it at me, and I wondered if he wanted me to see my own miserable state.

In the mirror, I saw myself, but it was blurry. I wanted to tell him to move the mirror closer, as it was too far away.

Cha Wenbin asked, "Do you still recognize yourself?"

I thought, that's a damn stupid question!

I could still move my hands, so I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. "Why are you doing this to me? Have you lost your mind?"

Just then, I heard a woman's ghostly voice ring out: "You must be the person that bitch sent to harm me. Even after death, she won't let me be."

"Who?" I looked around, but the candlelight on the cabinets was just dancing; there was no one else there besides him and me. A thought flashed through my mind: was it the woman in the mirror?

With that thought, I stared intently at the copper mirror in Cha Wenbin's hand. Good heavens, I shivered so hard I nearly fell off the bed.

The reflection in the mirror wasn't me—it was a woman with disheveled hair!

"Don't move!" Cha Wenbin barked at me. "Just lie there and keep sleeping. She's on you."

I really admired this guy: "Master, your nerves are made of steel. We're in this state, and you still want me to sleep..."

"When a person dies, the light goes out; the living and the dead are worlds apart. No matter what your reasons are, you cannot linger in this mortal world. It will only harm others and yourself. When the judges of the underworld catch you, you will either be cast into the eighteenth level of hell to suffer eternal torment, or you will remain in this house until your soul scatters, never to be reincarnated."

The female voice screamed, "Why? I want revenge! I want justice for my child!"

Cha Wenbin held up the mirror and said, "When will this cycle of vengeance end? If you do not submit now, I will banish you!"

"Banish? Can you really banish everything? This house is full of evil. You can banish me, but you cannot banish my heart! If you want to kill me, just do it. I've died once; I don't fear dying a second time."

Cha Wenbin asked, "Who is your enemy?"

The female voice laughed wildly. "Who? You're a funny one. Aren't you the one sent by that bitch to harm me?"

"This house has been abandoned for twenty years. How could anyone be here?"

"Abandoned? Twenty years?" The female voice’s tone changed. "What year is it?"

"1985!"

"1985?" the voice murmured. "So many years have passed. Where is that bitch? Where is she?"

"The old acquaintances are all gone; those who should be buried are buried. Can't this hatred disappear with them?"

"What about Zhu Dingtian? Where is he?"

"Dead. He died a long time ago. Didn't you know?" This Zhu Dingtian was Zhu Zihao's grandfather; his name was carved on a marble slab outside the mansion.

"All dead?" The voice paused, then began to laugh hysterically. The laughter made my eardrums tremble. I couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "Master Cha, stop playing around! Send her on her way! I'm going crazy!"

As I shouted, the woman began to cry. The wailing grew louder and louder. Slowly, I saw the silhouette of a person appearing by the bed. My eyes weren't playing tricks on me—it was a graceful lady in a white cheongsam. She walked with her back to me toward the pillow I had thrown. She leaned down and gently touched the pillow. Her crying turned into sobbing, and the sound made me feel a sense of pity; her story must have been tragic.

She crouched on the floor and said, "I can go, but who will avenge my child?"

"What vengeance?"

The woman said, "There is a diary in the third drawer of the wardrobe. You will know if you read it. It is still in this house; I can feel it, but I cannot leave this room."

Cha Wenbin lowered the mirror. "You have revealed your true form. The vital energy in this room will soon consume your essence. If you wait until morning, you will vanish. Why suffer like this?"

It was the first time I heard that ghosts could reveal their true form. Later, Cha Wenbin told me that it came at a great cost. One day in the human world is an eternity in the underworld; by revealing herself like this, she had exposed herself to the living world.

The woman stood up and bowed to Cha Wenbin. "Sir, banish me. But if that thing is not removed, this house will never be habitable. All four of us sisters died at the hands of that thing."

"Where is that thing?" Cha Wenbin asked.

The woman shook her head. "I don't know..."