658 Homecoming

 

“Someone bought the haunted house on purpose?” Han Fei looked at the white candles on the floor. “And he prepared all these?”

“Naturally. Who would do this other than madman… Well, that might not be true. There are other crazy people living here.” The old man was reminded of something, “But he’s definitely responsible for the white candles. I’ve caught him red-handed before.”

“Why would he do this?”

“Who knows? He refuses to explain, and the community manager doesn’t care. We’ve called the police, but the man refuses to change.” The old man sighed. “If you’re that curious, you can go and ask him yourself. However, heed my advice. You can’t trust the words of a madman, or you’d go mad too.”

After that, the old man entered his room and closed the door. He only wanted to mind his own business.

“The cripple’s girlfriend returned on the seventh day of her death. Is it possible that the new tenant is doing all this to meet his girlfriend again?” Lee Guo Er’s expression changed. “This is bad. We saw the bride yesterday night. She might have entered his house already! He is in danger!”

“Let’s go and see.” The three walked through the white candles and came to the fourth floor. Lee Guo Er was worried about the new tenant, so she moved quickly. However, Han Fei stopped when they were on the fourth floor.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Jia walked into Han Fei.

“This room…” Han Fei stared at the rusted grille. His pupils narrowed, and the expression on his face became out of control. “I’ve been here before.” Han Fei grabbed the lock and shook. The sound shocked Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia.

“Calm down!” Xiao Jia tried to pull Han Fei away, but Han Fei’s hands appeared to have joined with the grille.

“I didn’t move. It was my body that moved. I’ve opened this door many times that it has become muscle memory.” He had no key. His hands burst with veins turning the doorknob. The room appeared to be very important to Han Fei. He also had no idea why he was doing this. ‘Is this really my home?’

Soon, urgent footsteps came from inside the house. The door opened to reveal an elder with white hair. He had a face full of wrinkles. He wore loose pajamas, and a cigarette dangled on his lips.

“Who are you looking for?”

“Is this your home?”

“Naturally.” The old man studied Han Fei through the grille. “Did something else happen in the neighborhood?”

“Have you always lived here?”

“What do you think?” The old man had a bad temper. He puffed out the smoke impatiently. “Why do you keep looking into my house? Are you looking for someone?”

“Are you sure you’ve always lived here? From 20 years ago?”

“I’ve lived here for almost 40 years already. I’ve moved in since the neighborhood was built. Do you have any problem?” The age spots on the old man’s face were dark. He didn’t look long for this world. However, he didn’t care about his health. There were lots of alcohol and cigarettes inside the room.

“Do you mind if I look inside your house? We are visiting every house because children have been going missing.” Han Fei’s voice was gentle.

“Enter my house?” The old man frowned. His eyes leaped over Han Fei to look at Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia. Lee Guo Er was quiet and sweet. Xiao Jia was harmless and blundering.

“Fine.” The old man opened the door.

“Sir, how shall we refer to you?”

“My surname is Fu. I used to work at an orphanage. The neighbors here call me Director Fu.” The old man flicked the cigarette and kicked the bottles to the corner. “Sorry for the mess.”

“Director Fu?” Han Fei couldn’t tell if the man was lying or not. This room gave Han Fei a very familiar feeling, but Director Fu said he had always lived here.

“You can look around. At my age, do you think I have the energy to kidnap children? I suggest you can go to Building 11. You might find something there.” The old man sat beside the window. He felt old. His eyes contained the passing of several decades.

“Building 11?” There was a unique connection between Han Fei and Lee Guo Er. She didn’t know why Han Fei was so hung up over this room. But since Han Fei insisted on investigating this place, she would cooperate. Lee Guo Er sat down opposite the old man. She asked him many questions like she was really there to investigate missing children to buy time for Han Fei. The old man answered half-heartedly. He was in his twilight years. He didn’t care about money or fame. He allowed Han Fei to wander around his room. Han Fei inspected every room and then paused inside the innermost bedroom. The place looked normal, but a picture frame caught his attention. After he pulled open the wooden drawer, the house’s spare keys sat together with a frame that was facing down.

“Who is this?” Han Fei picked up the frame. The picture was a girl in a red dress. She held a pot filled with dirt as if waiting for the seed to grow.

“That’s my granddaughter.” The old man stared at Han Fei and then shouted.

“Where’s your other family?”

“They are all gone, including my granddaughter. This picture is the only thing I have of hers.” Director Fu puffed on the smoke. The melancholy in his eyes deepened.

“Granddaughter?” Han Fei caressed the girl in the picture. He had no memory related to the girl, but he had the urge to drag her out of the picture.

“Do you have any other questions?” Director Fu was getting impatient.

“We’re leaving.” Han Fei replaced the frame. As he turned around, he caught something strange from the corner of his eyes. The image in the picture changed. It was no longer the girl holding a pot, but the girl poked her head out of a monster’s stomach. She reached out her hands to Han Fei for help. Han Fei looked at the picture, and everything was back to normal. ‘What was that?’

Even after they left the old man’s home, Han Fei couldn’t forget the girl. She was young. Even though she was covered in blood, she tried to tell him something.

“Snap out of it!” Lee Guo Er patted Han Fei’s shoulders. “The neighborhood is normal in the day. The ghosts will come out at night. Don’t give up even if you don’t find the things you want. We can come back after dark.”

The trio walked to the fifth floor. The white candles ended here before the door of one of the rooms.

“White candles, white paper money, white couples, white invitation, what is going on?” Seeing the decoration, Xiao Jia took a step back. Lee Guo Er went to knock on the door. Soon, the door opened on its own. A thick smell of meat drifted out. The sound of cooking came from the kitchen.

“The owner is cooking when it’s just dawn? And they’re all meat dishes?” Lee Guo Er looked into the house. The small house was decorated like a bridal suite, but everything was black and white.

“Is anyone here? We want to ask you something.” Lee Guo Er sneaked into the room. She studied the black and white invitations left on the ground and the giant black and white wedding picture in the bedroom.

Under the wedding picture, there was someone lying in the bridal bed. Its body was fully covered up. It didn’t move at all. It had a vaguely human shape.