Flowerpot (IV) [Correct typos]
Almost in sync with the team leader's reaction, Zhang Tianyi had already reached the door and opened it. The house was empty, and the middle-aged man and his men who had just left could no longer be seen. At the same time, a series of footsteps sounded overhead, and they were actually running upstairs.
I was filled with shock and anger, and without thinking I shouted, "Upstairs, chase them! Catch them!"
I said and chased after him. After running two steps, I saw a figure flashing at the top of the stairs. Hearing my voice, the figure moved very fast without any hesitation. I watched the corner of the clothes pass by, and I was so angry that I almost vomited blood.
There was a rooftop above, and there was no other way out. How could a few people escape? I was furious and kept shouting "Stop" to see who was causing trouble.
But when I was about to rush up, someone grabbed me from behind. I turned around and saw that it was Zhang Tianyi who was firmly holding my shoulders. I tried to break free, but he took a step forward and blocked my way.
What the hell is this bastard doing? Wasn't he the first one to realize that something was wrong? Why didn't he chase after the person but came to stop me?
"Stop chasing, you can't catch up." Zhang Tianyi said to me. At this time, the guys in the room also ran out, noticed our actions and looked at each other in surprise.
I took two breaths to calm down, and felt uncomfortable with the chill in the corridor. I stopped and looked up, but the figure had disappeared.
Seeing that I looked unhappy, the team leader came up to me immediately to smooth things over and comforted me, "The situation is still unclear. It would be difficult for you, young master, to be caught with your small body. Just hide upstairs. There are so many of us, are you afraid that we won't catch you?" Then he winked at the guys next to him, telling them to surround him right away and told me not to worry.
I shook my head. “No.”
I waved my hand to tell everyone to stay still, and a feeling of fatigue surged in my heart. I turned around and asked Zhang Tianyi: "Who was upstairs just now?"
Zhang Jia was stunned, obviously not understanding my sudden change, and touched his forehead in confusion.
Neither of us meant to play dumb. I sighed, leaned on the stairs and slowly sat down. My head was still aching. "There's something wrong with the footsteps. They're too far away. It's not that old guy."
Zhang Jia was even more confused: "What do you mean by far? Ancestor, can you explain it clearly?"
At this time, someone in the room climbed back from the window, patted the wall dust on his body, walked over and said strangely: "What's going on? There's no one upstairs."
The person who spoke was Xu You. When Zhang Tianyi opened the door and chased after the man, he was still leaning against the window to watch us reconstruct the scene. He was stunned for a moment and then immediately flipped out of the window, climbed up the wall to the third floor, and took a shortcut to block the man. Seeing that he failed, he returned the same way.
"No now," Zhang Tianyi said, "but before ten o'clock, weren't there two people looking after the old man on the fourth floor?"
The team leader was stunned for a moment, "But didn't those two guys disappear?" The words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't help but gasp, "That was...was that their footsteps just now? But why would they run away... Damn, they rushed out of the room when they heard the consultant shouting to arrest people!"
After he called out like that, the corridor fell into deathly silence for a moment.
Although I had reached a conclusion in my mind when I stopped chasing, I still felt a chill down my spine and an inexplicable fear from the bottom of my heart.
Just as Zhang Jia reacted, when Zhang Tianyi stopped me, I suddenly realized that the distance between the footsteps above my head and the flashing corner of clothes was not right.
When people look up at the stairs, the stairs above are stacked like a whirlpool, and the sense of distance is actually very vague.
So much so that when I was chasing out frantically, I didn't notice that the footsteps and figure at the corner were not on the third floor, but at the corner of the fourth floor.
A small problem that I had originally had was solved for me in an unexpected way.
Why did I let two guys stay on the fourth floor to watch over the old man who was resting, but the old man came down alone when he fainted from shock? Where did the two guys go? Why didn't they stay by the old man's side? If they were lured away by some trick, who could have let their guard down to the point where they couldn't even take care of the old man?
——Because it was me who led them away.
There were two people on the fourth floor watching the old man. When the old man was looking out the window out of boredom, he suddenly heard me shouting on the second floor, "Upstairs, chase! Catch them!" What would be his first reaction?
Those two guys naturally thought I was calling for support.
"Someone broke into the corridor and even went upstairs." After making the judgment, the two would not hesitate at all in such a serious situation. They would immediately lock the old man in the room and rush out to catch him.
No one was approaching on the third floor, so they were "upstairs". The speed and reaction of the two made them reach the entrance of the corridor in an instant and I saw them. When they heard me continue to shout "Stop", they certainly did not slow down or stop, but only chased upstairs faster. At this time, what they and I were chasing was the sound of our own footsteps after being dislocated.
If Zhang Tianyi hadn't stopped me, I could almost imagine that no matter how hard I tried to rush up, the footsteps would be one step faster than mine. The three footsteps came one after the other, and the consistency in number brought great confusion. I was afraid that I would not react when I reached the rooftop. The person in front was not the middle-aged guy and the two novices he took away.
The fear came at this moment, and my back was immediately wet with cold sweat. I wondered if Zhang Tianyi hadn't blocked me that time, what would have happened after I caught up with him, would I have disappeared without a trace like the two guys guarding the fourth floor.
This is too evil. If this kind of perverse thing continues to happen without our knowledge, things will get out of control to a very extreme extent.
I have to assume the worst:
Under this unpredictable rule of seeing the "effect" first and then the "cause", if anyone among us is like Lao Lin and has died, or even his body is lying somewhere, he will still be standing in our team without knowing anything. Any action we take next may be one of the causes of his death.
Please, please, it would be better if those two missing guys were just trapped somewhere and we don't find their bodies.
No, I should say that we hope that none of our bodies will be found anywhere next time.
A terrifying and equal possibility has befallen each of us.
All the guys present obviously realized that something was wrong, sooner or later. I could feel more than one gaze falling on me. No one put pressure on me and asked me what to do, but I still felt very bad.
"...It's best not to be alone from now on. No matter what happens, everyone should be within sight of each other."
I took a deep breath, paused, and said, "Don't leave the team. Don't let yourself disappear."
I stood up holding the handrail of the stairs. I thought for a moment and said, "Let's go up to the rooftop and take another look to see if they left any traces or clues. No matter what the result is, we will exit this building and find an open space with a wide view outside to rest. There should be no obstructions at all."
Xu You patted my shoulder and said, "Relax, we basically acted together after entering the building. If something goes wrong again, it will start with me. What are you afraid of?"
As he spoke, he cursed with a smile, "Damn it, I should have known not to climb over the wall. Even though I was proactive for once, I still ran into risks when I was alone. Could it be that God can't stand our lack of manners in sneaking through doors and windows?"
I knew he was joking on purpose, but I still felt bad.
But emotions are really the most useless thing at this time. The worst result is that everyone will close their eyes and live and die together. Everyone present participated because they believed in me. They have no complaints. It would be a bit hypocritical for me to complain.
We all went upstairs, and this time it didn't take much effort to reach the rooftop. The broken door lock was still tilted, and it was clear that the rooftop was empty.
I didn't hesitate, I took my people and turned around and left.
There was no conversation along the way. Everyone walked faster and faster, and then went out of the first floor and into the outdoors.
At 10:05 it was already very bright in the neighborhood, and the wind blowing on our faces was warm and very comfortable. We all stood there, not wanting to move. We were sweating slightly from the sun and felt a little lazy, and it actually felt like we were in another world.
Back to the present, after we came out of the building, I went up to the RV to see the old man.
The door of the RV was opened as wide as possible. I took two steps towards the old man. At least five or six guys were standing at the door staring at me, not daring to breathe.
Huobing was a little confused after noticing that everyone's eyes were almost deliberately following me. I told him the general situation and asked him if he heard or saw anything unusual when he and the old man were alone in the car.
He hesitated for a moment and was a little anxious, but everything was calm and nothing had happened, so he couldn't provide any clues.
I didn't force it, thinking it was a good thing. At least the old man and he could rest in peace, and it was also good to have one less person involved in the incident.
He was trying very hard, and he was determined to help. After thinking for an unknown amount of time, he said with a bit of trepidation:
"Advisor, I have an idea, but it may not have much to do with these things..."
I was cheered up and decided to try it out whether there were dates or not and ask him what he thought.
Seeing that I took it seriously, he also became serious and said that while waiting for us to come out, he squatted in the RV and watched the flow of people at the entrance of the community for a long time.
"Advisor, as you can see, this is an old neighborhood, and the security is almost non-existent."
Huobing pointed to a certain building. That should be the one that chanted the Great Compassion Mantra and burned sandalwood in the early morning. Now it's quiet. "I noticed that there should be many houses here that have been bought by people to be used as columbaria. There are also many people who come to rent houses for the third shift to find a cheap price."
I still know what the so-called urn room is.
Nowadays, most people are cremated when they die, but the older generation still wants a tomb. If they don't want one, they can just go to a public cemetery and find a frame to put in a small grave.
But now the land is very expensive, and it is difficult to buy a grave, so it is better to find a cheap second-hand house and use it as a small mourning hall. This kind of house is not uncommon in old communities, and modern people are no longer surprised.
As I was talking, I followed the direction of the fighting and indeed saw at this point where some young and middle-aged people with tired faces were walking into the residential building. It seemed that they were planning to go back to their residence to rest.
There were also people with incense ash on their bodies. When they came out of the corridor, the gray and white color on their clothes was quite conspicuous, but people passing by seemed to be used to it and didn't take it seriously. They didn't even glance at them.
I vaguely grasped the meaning of the fight. He was looking at this community from the perspective of an ordinary resident.
This leads to the other. Did Lao Lin also look at this community in this way before making some decisions?
"Advisor, this may sound strange, but in the Zhang family, the reason we can become Zhang family members is because we are homeless, not because of our abilities."
Huobing paused, a little embarrassed and said:
"So, there are experts like the captain and the instructor, and there are also many elite veterans who follow you to the most dangerous places. But the majority are actually people like us who don't have any strengths and can't help much. We can only be scattered around and patrol where there may be abnormalities. Most of the time, we still do odd jobs to live an ordinary life."
"I think... people like us should handle things from a similar perspective. From my experience, Lao Lin's renting a house is a bit strange."
I was stunned: "Is there anything wrong with renting a house?"
Huo Bian shook his head: "If it were me, I would use the name of buying a columbarium to find an agent to quietly buy the second floor. It would be best to let the guys I know stagger their time and find different agents to buy the rooms on the side that are convenient for vantage points."
I was a little surprised: "Isn't this too much of a fuss? And doesn't it cost too much?"
One of the guys guarding the door couldn't help but slap his thigh and exclaimed in confusion:
“Yes, renting a house is dangerous.
People like Lao Lin, who are at the grassroots level, don’t have much skills. Apart from having more experience, they are just ordinary people and have low ability to deal with risks. If you rent a house in an old community without security, a sub-landlord with dirty hands or someone who walks in empty-handed could come at any time. If you open the door at a critical moment and bump into them, things will become very troublesome.”
"If you really encounter something weird at the critical moment, and accidentally mess it up, it will cost more than just one life."
Another guy beside him also nodded and said curiously:
"If it were me, I would also prefer to disguise my place as a columbarium. It would be inconspicuous in this neighborhood. I would put a tape recorder on the balcony and play the Great Compassion Mantra every day. Then I would draw the curtains and put up two big red electronic lights. Even break-ins wouldn't bother to come over and take a look. That would be the safest place where you won't be disturbed."
"If you just want to pretend to be a resident and get to know other people, you can just book another room in an unimportant place next door. It won't make any difference if you hang out there."
As soon as I woke up, I understood.
Yes, this is a mission, not a personal matter. The Zhang family itself has never been stingy with money and will not limit the funding for their hard-working brothers.
Since Lao Lin is a steady and cautious person, he would not be so careless as to save a little money.
Judging from the furnishings in his room, it is obvious that the room on the second floor is very important.
When I think back to the various troubles I encountered when renting my small grocery store, I remember that I once encountered an unreliable landlord. Halfway through the lease, he suddenly announced that he would not rent the store anymore, leaving me less than two days to move out. It was really painful for me at that time because I was caught off guard.
Not to mention that there are unscrupulous landlords who rent their rooms to different people one after another. Tenants are scared to death when someone opens their door in the middle of the night, and several people who have paid for their room look at each other and squeeze into a room to argue about who should check out.
At his age, Lao Lin has more life experience than I do, so he should be more likely to consider such sudden and uncontrollable situations.
I was too impetuous to say that I was only thinking about the taboos of ghost stories, which inevitably made me a little unrealistic. If Huo and the others hadn't put themselves in their shoes and noticed something strange, I really wouldn't have thought that renting a house was not right.
But that's strange.
If so, why did Lao Lin do this? His motives and starting point seem a bit strange.
Doesn't he care about our concerns?
We got together and discussed it for a long time, and the more we thought about it, the more it didn't make sense.
This is the time to change your mindset and not get stuck in a rut.
While I was waiting for the old man to wake up, I caught Zhang Tianyi and continued to ask him about the waterless land.
Zhang Tianyi said that he knew where the waterless land was, but he just knew it.
I was confused by him and stared at him suspiciously, wondering if he was teasing me or making fun of me.
He looked at me helplessly and said, "Let me ask you a question. When you first came into the second floor and saw the red mud on my hands, I was trying to wash my hands, right?"
I'm right, don't interrupt me, what about the land without water?
"——But why did I wash my hands then?" Zhang Tianyi smiled and said calmly, "I was stained with red mud when I rescued you later, so why did I wash my hands before that?"
My brain buzzed and I was stunned for a moment and said "Oh my God", and my hair stood on end.
I understood what he meant. At that time, he just knew that there was red mud on his hands, so he went to wash his hands.
But he just "knew" it.
He had no answers as to where the red mud came from, when it appeared, what its function was, or what impact it might have.
"For me, it was a very strange feeling at the time. I just subconsciously accepted the result and subconsciously knew that there was such a thing as red mud."
Zhang Tianyi said, "You know, I'm a germaphobe. It's okay when conditions don't allow it, but the bathroom is right next to me, so the only thing I can do is to find a faucet."
But the faucet had a gate and the copper head had been taken away.
So Zhang Tianyi could only come out of the bathroom and be seen by me with the red mud that appeared out of nowhere. So I only "knew" the existence of the red mud until I realized its origin when I fell from the building and survived.
"Similarly, I only know about the Waterless Land and that it is in a specific location."
Zhang Tianyi added, with a bit of self-mockery and helplessness, "It's weird. If you want me to tell you how to get there, which county or province the place belongs to, or where in the world it is, I have no idea. But I know it should be in a community with no water at all."
"Like you said, if I knew the destination, why would I ask you to bring a group of people to investigate a suicide case? Only now can I match the number and know that it is here."
My hands and feet went cold and I was dumbfounded.
Even if the same thing happened to someone else, I wouldn't be so shocked. This is because human memory is biased, and it is actually very normal to forget or misremember something.
But it happened to be Zhang Tianyi.
He probably guessed what I was thinking and didn't give me any chance to hope. He confirmed that, whether as a guard or a wanderer, "amnesia" and "memory confusion" were also a kind of injury in themselves, which would be repaired along with the wound for him and would never happen to him.
In other words, there is no possibility that he originally knew certain secrets but lost his memory and forgot them, and only recently remembered some fragments.
I was still making my last struggle: "Then can you be sure when the idea of 'knowing the waterless land' appeared in your mind?"
"I don't know. It's like it was engraved in my subconscious mind since birth and has always existed. But the problem now is that it has been confirmed that there is no possibility of amnesia being reawakened. And this is also my impression of the red mud."
Zhang Tianyi made a gesture and patted me on the back, and told me to imagine that he would take a piece of white paper, dip it in water, and stick it on my back.
Then he asked me a very scary question, asking me if I could feel the presence of the paper if I touched my back now.
My throat was all hairy, and I said, of course not, because this is something that hasn't happened yet. He hasn't even started to act yet, so how can I be aware of the result that should appear in the future?
"Yes, but now, the 'results' are happening ahead of the actions again and again."
Zhang Tianyi sighed and touched my forehead.
"Ranzi, things have really gotten serious. Now all the weird things are like this piece of white paper, which has been soaked in water and stuck behind you. Everyone can see it and naturally find reasons to think that you have some deep meaning, without any prior doubts. If you touch it, you will know it exists.
But when will I put it on your back?"
I subconsciously touched my back and felt a chill down my spine for a moment.
Zhang Tianyi is just a metaphor, and there is certainly no blank paper on my back. But when I reached out, I found another terrible thing.
I got a little oil on the side of my sleeve.
I got it from the old man when I just woke up in the morning.
At that time, he leaned over to say hello to me, holding a hot fried dough stick in his hand.
There were a lot of breakfast vendors hawking outside the car, and the aroma of fried dough sticks mixed in without feeling out of place. Seeing the old man enjoying the food, I actually felt a little greedy.
We stopped afterwards because the traffic jam was really serious. Zhang Jia came to call for help and we had to walk into the crowd. At that time, I was still dazed because I hadn't met so many strangers for a long time, and my mind was flying to the sky.
"...Did we stop on the way here?" I asked, finding the two guys who were on night duty in the RV. "Or, did anyone call the breakfast vendor to buy food for the old man?"
"——Where do you get the fried dough sticks from?"
When they were called by my name, their faces turned pale.
"The car never stopped." The taller one murmured, "Yeah... where did the fried dough sticks come from?"
Huo Bing looked at me, sweat on his forehead: "Advisor... Should we stay overnight today?"
"I mean," he stuttered, "under normal circumstances, we will have to eat when we wake up tomorrow. I only saw vegetable markets and fruit stalls along the way near this old neighborhood, not many stores."
"So...churros. Is it possible that we just bought some?"
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