Special Forces Medic-Chapter 623 - 585 Terrifying Scene
It was hard to tell whether it was a compliment or sarcasm, as Hua Qingyi stroked his lips with his fingers. "Isn’t it a bit much to speak ill of the dead?" In this regard, Hua Qingyi was quite scrupulous; it’s whatever when someone is alive, but speaking ill of the dead is lacking in morality.
"It’s not that I want to speak ill of the dead, but Xiao Mei is unreliable. What kind of person is our Ah San to like her? I’d never believe it unless something happened that made him entangled with her." At this point, it was clear to hear Director Zhao’s deep-seated dislike for Xiao Mei.
"Isn’t it said that Xiao Mei is just a hostess and quite self-respecting?"
"Hah, that’s just a façade. If she didn’t sell herself, where would she get so much money?"
"Huh?" Hua Qingyi suddenly expressed a sound of confusion.
"What’s wrong?"
"Oh, nothing." It seemed that Director Zhao’s attitude towards Xiao Mei was somewhat different; Hua Qingyi remembered that day when he subtly implied that Xiao Mei was a salesperson from an underground channel, so why was he pretending to know nothing today?
"The brickyard is just ahead." The police car stopped on an open piece of land, and Director Zhao took a searchlight from the car, handed one to Hua Qingyi, and shone it on the black building ahead.
The communal searchlight was much stronger than the civilian one, with a range of several meters. When the beam hit the dark wall ahead, it disturbed a group of insects in the weak light.
Hua Qingyi cautiously approached the nearest building, shining the searchlight around but finding nothing unusual. A light from behind shone over, with the strong light hitting his face, causing him to instinctively raise his hand to shield himself.
"Sorry!" Director Zhao came running over, trying to get closer to Hua Qingyi, who took a step back to maintain distance.
"Why did you follow me?"
"I wanted to tell you that this house has always been locked and vacant, and no one has ever been inside."
"Oh!" Hua Qingyi shone the light on the door, where several thick chains were wrapped around the doorknob several times. "Are you sure no one has ever entered here?"
"Yes!" Director Zhao nodded with certainty.
"Hmm!" Hua Qingyi turned off the searchlight and started to briskly walk around the house, which no one had ever entered. There were fingerprints on the chains, not just one. Although they were treated, it seemed they forgot that the chains, unused for years, should have thick dust, and the paint on the doorknob was worn to rust.
"You said Captain Wu was here to reinvestigate the scene of Ah San’s body. Now take me there." After waiting a while without hearing a response from Director Zhao, Hua Qingyi turned around to see him standing motionless at the doorway, his hand holding the searchlight trembling, making the old components rattle.
Something was off! An alarm went off in Hua Qingyi’s heart, and he abruptly turned off his searchlight, slowly approaching Director Zhao against the wall. Crouching forward on the ground, he stopped at the corner of the wall, hearing Director Zhao mumbling to himself, followed by the air filled with a stench of urine.
"Damn it!" Hua Qingyi covered his nose with his arm. What was this old guy up to, scared out of his wits? He wanted to go up and kick him but suddenly saw him drop the searchlight and run, shouting about ghosts. This made Hua Qingyi, who was about to jump out, halt; Director Zhao’s behavior was getting to him.
No matter how fierce the enemy, he was not afraid, but dealing with something paranormal was a first. Could there be something in the house? He crouched even lower as he thought. But could a ghost open the door by itself? So he stood at the main door, using the searchlight on the ground to gaze at the lock on the doorknob.
The word ’human’ echoed in Hua Qingyi’s mind. The chains that had been wrapped around the doorknob had fallen half-way, and the door had a gap as wide as five fingers. A place where no one had ever come and gone suddenly changed like this; no wonder Director Zhao was so scared he wet himself. This made him wonder what he could do.
If it was human, there was a way to deal with it! He touched the chains with both hands, then withdrew them. Hua Qingyi stood still and turned back; he was standing where Director Zhao had stood earlier. How did the chain open a loop by itself? Did someone pull it open from the inside, causing the chain to fall half-way?
Hua Qingyi retreated a few steps, staring at the building from afar. In the darkness, it indeed had an aura as if it would swallow people whole. If there was someone inside, how did they lock the door from the outside? Facing the building, Hua Qingyi lit a cigarette. In the darkness, the red tip flickered.
"Young Master Hua, this place is really eerie. Why don’t we head back and come again tomorrow?" Realizing his own loss of composure, Director Zhao shouted from a distance at Hua Qingyi.
"It’s only two hours until six o’clock. The back and forth is too troublesome." Hua Qingyi wasn’t planning to leave just yet. He stared at the building, calculating every possibility in his mind.
"Then, should I go back to change clothes and come pick you up again?"
"Okay!"
Director Zhao hadn’t expected Hua Qingyi to agree so quickly. He got in the car and drove back, leaving Hua Qingyi alone. "No one here!"
Was Director Zhao panicked when he saw the chain fall, or because the door was open? He wanted to find out. He was the first to stand in front of the door; at the time, the chain and door were completely still. Hua Qingyi recalled the scene.
Since Director Zhao’s light shone on his face, he didn’t continue to pay attention to the chain but turned his head, then circled the building with Director Zhao trailing behind. Why did only he see, but not himself, even though he was so close?
Could it be that the people inside wanted to scare away Director Zhao? With this realization, he moved closer to the building. The sky was beginning to brighten, and with light, the building didn’t seem as terrifying. There was no longer a need to rely on a spotlight to view the surroundings. Hua Qingyi half-walked before stopping.
Next to this locked building was a low single-story house, resembling an employee dormitory, and beside it appeared to be a latrine. What era still needed such outdated facilities? These typically only appeared in remote places, used for farming with the most primitive waste.
Hua Qingyi temporarily gave up further observation of the building ahead and walked toward the latrine that piqued his curiosity. The building’s style didn’t seem to be from too outdated an era, and latrines were built intentionally, not just for cost-saving. Building this kind of pit wasn’t actually cheap.
After a few steps, Hua Qingyi felt a breeze, the humid air hitting his face. The air didn’t bring any strange scent. He turned a corner, reaching the end of this barren land with a stream roughly three meters wide, the water clear. From this end, it appeared endless; it should be live water, or else the water would have been dirty over the years.
Hua Qingyi glanced at the bottom of the stream, noting some fish swimming around. He followed the bank to the latrine. It had only one pit, over which a wooden chair was perched, supported by two sticks on the hole. It showed no signs of use, which made him uncomfortable upon seeing the entire setup. The entire brick kiln showed no signs of use; why was this built?
His fingers brushed over the wooden chair, covered in a thick layer of dust—just a prop. Hua Qingyi circled back to where money was kept, at the corner where many clay pots sat, the door unlocked. He pushed it open and entered.
The first room didn’t have anything special, resembling a kitchen and dining area, with long tables and chairs, devoid of utensils, pots, or pans. Hua Qingyi turned on the tap, not expecting water to flow. After sputtering sounds from the pipe, a yellow liquid emerged. Even at full flow, the water remained yellow. The pipes had rusted from disuse over the years.
The sky had completely brightened, still slightly misty, but the proximity to the lake made Hua Qingyi’s normally allergic nose more comfortable in the morning humidity.
The water pipe connection to the low house was strange. Why take the long route? Following the pipe’s direction, its source came from the locked building, while directly in front of the tile house was river water, usable after treatment. Hua Qingyi looked distantly at the building, more doubts crowding his mind, sure that Xiao Lin noticed, too.
At night, investigating here indeed wasn’t ideal. Where would Xiao Lin be in seven or eight hours? He searched everywhere but didn’t find any clues left by Xiao Lin, growing increasingly uneasy. Could ghosts really exist?
Hua Qingyi stood between the tile house and the building, a cigarette held between his fingers. It was a good day; the rising sun ascended from the horizon. Flies buzzed around the clay pots in the corner. He walked over, casually picking up a pot. Feeling a sticky sensation at the edge, he raised it closer, revealing black-red sticky residue. A foul odor invaded his nose.
Detecting something amiss, Hua Qingyi kicked the pot away. The ceramic shattered, and what was inside scattered across the ground.
Fingers! Hair! Bones! Eyeballs! What other components? Hua Qingyi ran to the side, vomiting—not from the horror but the extreme disgust of it all.
"Who? Who’s there!" a voice suddenly came from behind. Hua Qingyi rolled to the side, drawing his gun. Who would appear here now? A killer? (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your vote, your support is my greatest motivation.)
