The "lingering charm" and new "invitation" of Jingyuan

After Su Qingyuan's injustice was cleared, the atmosphere of Jingyuan completely changed. No more eerie footsteps or cries, no more phosphorescent shadows. Only the autumn sun streamed through the windows, casting warm patches of light on the floor. The scent of "Shuangmei" perfume in the air faded, replaced by the fresh fragrance of old wood.

Lu Ye and Qi Chen did not leave immediately. They wanted to sort out the old things in Jingyuan and hand them over to the local cultural relics protection department so that more people would know about Su Qingyuan's story and her belongings would be properly preserved.

"Look at this," Lu Ye found a small music box on the bookshelf in his bedroom. It was made of brass and engraved with a gardenia. When he opened it, an old song from the Republic of China era, "Song Girl of the End of the World," played. The melody was melodious and tinged with a hint of sadness. "It must be Su Qingyuan's. She must like this song very much."

Qi Chen took the music box and gently wound it up. The melody began to play again, echoing through the empty bedroom. "We'll put it together with her diary and account book and hand it over to the cultural relics department," he said, "so that future generations will know that there was once a girl named Su Qingyuan here. She was upright and brave, and she should not be forgotten."

The two spent two days in Jingyuan sorting out Su Qingyuan's belongings, classifying and labeling them one by one. These included the diary, account book, photos, music box, and the men's cufflinks - which they later found in the drawer of the study. They were engraved with "C" and belonged to Chen Jingming. Now they have become one of the evidences proving his crime.

That afternoon, after finishing the tidying up, they sat in the living room, watching the sun slowly set. Lu Ye suddenly felt that Jingyuan was no longer a terrifying place, but a place full of stories. Su Qingyuan's story, though sad, also showed people justice and courage.

"Where is Su Qingyuan now?" Lu Ye asked.

Qi Chen looked at the sunset outside the window: "She should have gone to reincarnation, starting a new life with innocence and dignity."

Lu Ye nodded, a warm feeling welling up inside him. Just then, his phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. After he answered, an elderly voice rang out, "Excuse me, Mr. Lu Ye and Mr. Qi Chen? I'm the owner of Wangchuan Garden on the outskirts of the city. Something's not right here... I'd like you to come take a look."

"Wangchuan Garden?" Lu Ye repeated. The name had a gloomy feeling.

"This is the garden left by my grandfather," the old man said, his voice trembling. "Recently, there have been strange noises and figures in the garden. I've contacted many people but to no avail. I heard from the cultural relics department that you could help, so I took the liberty of calling you."

Qi Chen glanced at Lu Ye and nodded: "Let's go and take a look tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Ye looked at Qi Chen and asked, "A new story?"

"Well," Qi Chen said with a smile, "Wangchuan Garden is another garden from the Republican era. It's older than Jingyuan and may hold more secrets."

The next morning, the two packed up and headed for Wangchuan Garden. Wangchuan Garden was located at the foot of a mountain on the outskirts of the city, more secluded than Jing Garden. It was surrounded by dense woods. From a distance, the garden walls were high, covered with vines, like a green barrier.

"This is it," the old man was already waiting for them at the door. He was wearing a gray Mao suit, his hair was gray, and he was leaning on a cane. "My name is Zhou Mingyuan, and I'm the third-generation owner of Wangchuan Garden."

"Mr. Zhou," Qi Chen said, "please tell me about the situation in the garden first."

Zhou Mingyuan sighed and led them into the garden. "For the past month, there have been strange noises in the garden, like crying and footsteps in the middle of the night. Someone even saw a woman in white walking by the lake. I sent people to investigate, but they found nothing. In fact, several workers were so scared that they didn't dare come."

The two followed Zhou Mingyuan into the garden. The vegetation was dense, mostly tall trees, which blocked the sunlight and made the garden look gloomy. In the center of the garden was a lake called "Wangchuan Lake." The water was dark, like a mirror. Beside the lake stood a small pavilion called "Wangchuan Pavilion." The pillars of the pavilion were engraved with vague words that looked like couplets.

"The woman in white often appears in the pavilion," Zhou Mingyuan said. "I saw her once. She had her back to me and her hair was very long. When the wind blew, her clothes seemed to float. I called her and she disappeared."

Lu Ye felt a chill run down his spine. He stared at the waters of Wangchuan Lake, feeling a lingering sense of hidden depths. Qi Chen's soul-calming bell felt slightly warm in his pocket, even more so than in Jingyuan, suggesting a greater sense of resentment here.

"Let's go to the pavilion first," Qi Chen said, "there may be clues there."

The three of them entered Wangchuan Pavilion. On one of its pillars was a couplet inscribed: "Gazing at the end of the world, the sound of time flows by." The writing was blurred, but still legible. On the pavilion's stone table sat a small blue-and-white porcelain vase, a lotus flower carved into the vase, with a withered lotus pod stuck inside, as if someone had just placed it there.

"I haven't seen this porcelain vase before," Zhou Mingyuan said. "It only appeared recently."

Qi Chen picked up the porcelain bottle and looked at it carefully. There was a small seal on the bottom of the bottle, engraved with "Made by the Su family in the 10th year of the Republic of China." "Made by the Su family?" He frowned. "It's the same surname as Su Qingyuan. Could there be a connection?"

Lu Ye leaned over and saw a tiny crack on the inside of the porcelain bottle. Inside, there was a little dark red substance, like dried blood. "There might be a clue in there," he said. "Let's take it back and examine it carefully."

At this moment, there was a "splashing" sound from the lake, as if someone was swimming in the water. The three of them immediately looked towards the lake and saw a white shadow in the middle of the lake, like a woman struggling in the water, and then slowly sank to the bottom of the lake and disappeared.

"That's her!" Zhou Mingyuan's voice trembled. "That's the shadow I saw!"

Qi Chen's face darkened. "This woman is filled with resentment. She might have died in vain in the lake. She is obsessed with finding her murderer, or wants her body to be discovered."

Lu Ye looked at the dark lake water and felt a tightness in his heart - the water of Wangchuan Lake was very deep, and there might be many secrets hidden underneath, including the woman's body and clues.

"Let's walk around the garden first," Qi Chen said, "and see if there are any other clues, such as old items, letters, or hidden rooms."

The three of them spent the entire afternoon wandering the gardens, discovering that Wangchuan Garden was larger than Jingyuan, containing many abandoned buildings, including a main residence, several side rooms, and a derelict ancestral hall. The furnishings in the main residence were simple, mostly old furniture from the Republican era, covered in thick dust. In one of the bedrooms, there was a dressing table with a rouge box on it, very similar to Su Qingyuan's, except it was engraved with lotus flowers instead of gardenias.

"This rouge box is 'Made by the Su Family,'" Qi Chen picked up the rouge box. The seal on the bottom was the same as the one on the porcelain bottle. "This means that this woman and Su Qingyuan may be from the same family, or have some other connection."

Lu Ye opened the rouge box, and the rouge inside had dried up, but he found a small piece of paper at the bottom of the box with a line of words written on it: "July 7th, Wangchuan Lake, waiting for you." The handwriting was beautiful, somewhat similar to Su Qingyuan's, but more mature.

"The seventh day of the seventh month is Qixi Festival," Lu Ye said. "She might have been murdered on that day. She had made an appointment to meet someone at Wangchuan Lake, but she was murdered."

Qi Chen nodded: "This clue is very important. We will investigate it carefully tomorrow. Let's go back today and prepare the diving equipment. We will go to the lake tomorrow to see if we can find her body or other evidence."

It was already dark when the three of them left Wangchuan Garden. Lu Ye looked back at Wangchuan Lake, feeling that the white shadow was still there, quietly waiting for them, waiting for them to find the truth.

"Another soul waiting for the truth," Lu Ye said, "We must help her."

Qi Chen looked at him with warmth in his eyes: "Yes, we will."