(Four)
Back at the hotel, Zhou Ziqiu was still thinking about the Red Fiend he had encountered that night when his phone suddenly beeped. He took it out and saw it was a message from Wen Su. First, there was a screenshot of his phone's location, followed by a message: "Are you in Houcheng?"
Zhou Ziqiu then belatedly realized that Wen Su's hometown was in Houcheng.
"Yes, I need your help."
"What do you need help with? I'm in Houcheng too."
Unexpectedly, Wen Su was also in Houcheng. It would be perfect to call Wen Su over to find the Red Fiend together. Zhou Ziqiu quickly replied, "Qingju Hotel, 2305, come to my place."
"good."
Half an hour later, Wen Su arrived at Zhou Ziqiu's place. No one knew where he had come from. When Zhou Ziqiu took out slippers for him to change into, he noticed the mud on the soles of his shoes, but Zhou Ziqiu didn't pay any attention to it. After Wen Su sat down in the room, Zhou Ziqiu told him about what happened that night.
After listening, Wen Su raised an eyebrow: "You guessed right."
Zhou Ziqiu nodded, but he didn't know where that was, so he suggested that Wen Su check his memories. Wen Su didn't refuse. After drawing a talisman for borrowing vision, he pressed his index and middle fingers on Zhou Ziqiu's forehead. After a moment, he released them and said, "I know where it is."
Zhou Ziqiu was relieved to know that Wen Su knew, and he didn't notice anything wrong. After asking if Wen Su was also staying at a hotel, he told Wen Su to go back first. However, Wen Su booked another room next to his and did not go back to his own hotel.
After arranging everything for tomorrow, Zhou Ziqiu sat alone on the bed and realized that he seemed to have forgotten something. He opened his laptop and saw the email from Cui Yongle, then remembered that Cui Yongle had said he would send him an email during the day. So he clicked on the email.
What came into view were several identity documents, registered in different years, all bearing the same name. Zhou Ziqiu was shocked. He scrolled down further and found several death certificates, dating back even earlier than the identity documents, some even from the last century. These were photographs that had been sent over, and all of these death certificates belonged to people with the surname Wen.
"What...?" Zhou Ziqiu's voice trembled slightly. As he scrolled down further, he saw a black and white retro photo. Several people were standing in three rows, like students taking graduation photos nowadays. Everyone was wearing a long robe, and their appearances were very clear. However, he could make out the face of one person in the photo, and there was even a certificate of studying abroad.
"...Our boss studied in England." The fat man's voice rang in his ears, and Zhou Ziqiu suddenly understood the meaning of those words.
Zhou Ziqiu quickly picked up his phone and called Cui Yongle. The call was answered very quickly, as Cui Yongle had obviously been waiting for Zhou Ziqiu's call for a long time. As soon as the call connected, Cui Yongle lowered his voice and asked, "Finished watching?"
When the call connected, Zhou Ziqiu was at a loss for words: "...Hmm."
"Shocking, right? I'm shocked too."
"...What's wrong with him?"
“I don’t know. This is all the information I can find. There’s a lot of information from the past, but there’s very little left since the last century. Only the necessary population information is available.” But Cui Yongle was more curious about something else: “With the same name and the same face, how did he get an ID card? And even go abroad?”
“...Maybe you could look up the death certificate.” Zhou Ziqiu rubbed his eyes. He had done the same thing when registering his population information, forging his own death and then obtaining a new identity certificate.
“...That makes sense.” Cui Yongle wiped his face, remembering that he was the kind of person who did this kind of thing. “So what exactly happened to the Wen family? How could Wen Su…?”
After a moment, Zhou Ziqiu replied, "This is their business. Let's not interfere and just leave it at that."
"Too."
Out of respect for the deceased, they have no way of knowing what happened to the Wen family, but since the person has already passed away, let's not add any more hurt to the only surviving person.
Having reached a consensus, Zhou Ziqiu's expression didn't betray him when he saw Wen Su again the next day. Wen Su put the fried dough sticks and soy milk he had bought that morning on the table for Zhou Ziqiu to eat after washing up.
There were no plans for today, except to arrive at the place where the Ghost Bride and the Red and White Duo appeared in the afternoon. According to Wen Su, it was in the mountains southeast of Houcheng, and there was a village called Tongqian Village at the foot of the mountain. So the two left the hotel at noon, rented a car, and drove to the location of Tongqian Village.
Wen Su drove very steadily this time. The road was relatively flat when they left Houcheng city, but after twenty minutes they entered the mountainous area, the car started to bump, and Zhou Ziqiu was swaying in his seat.
Tongqian Village was quiet in the afternoon. Most of the houses had soot on their chimneys, indicating that people were busy cooking their lunch after a busy afternoon. The only sound was the barking of dogs.
After traveling for about fifteen more minutes on the rugged mountain road, the vehicle reached the depths of Tongqian Village. Seeing that there was no road ahead, the two got out of the car and prepared to walk along the path deeper into the village.
The two had only taken a few steps when an old man came up behind them and blocked their way.
What are you doing going into the mountains?
Hou Cheng's accent wasn't strong, so Zhou Ziqiu stepped forward and started negotiating with the old man: "Grandpa, let's go hiking."
The old man looked Zhou Ziqiu up and down. He had stopped countless young people who came to risk their lives after hearing about the "haunted house" in the back mountain. He had heard this kind of lie many times.
"Don't go too far in. Just follow the path. There are bad things inside."
"Okay, sure." Zhou Ziqiu replied with a smile. The old man saw that he looked kind and left without saying anything more.
The two of them came here because of the bad things, so they continued walking into the mountains. However, as they walked, Zhou Ziqiu frowned slightly as he looked at the mountain path.
That was the place where he encountered the Red and White Duo.
At the same time, he also discovered something and a strange feeling arose in his heart: how could Wen Su know where this was in such an ordinary scene?
"Let's keep going," Wen Su suggested when he saw Zhou Ziqiu stop.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziqiu immediately took a step back, looking at Wen Su warily—something's not right!
"How did you know the Red and White Duo were here? Have you been here before?"
Suddenly exposed, Wen Su's expression remained unchanged; he still smiled and asked Zhou Ziqiu a question in return: "Didn't you already know?"
What do you know? He suddenly remembered that Wen Su had mud on the soles of his shoes when he came to the hotel last night. No, it hadn't rained here recently, so dry mud wouldn't have stuck to the soles of his shoes for so long. When did he come here?
Wen Su smiled as he looked at the slightly conflicted expression on Zhou Ziqiu's face, then turned and continued walking forward: "Let's go, I'll tell you when we get there."
Zhou Ziqiu pursed his lips and followed Wen Su's footsteps.
The mountain path grew narrower and narrower until the two reached a point where there was no path at all. However, Wen Su did not stop at all, but continued to walk forward through the grass, clearly having memorized the path.
After walking for about ten minutes, Zhou Ziqiu saw the faint outlines of houses in the distance, and a dilapidated sign by the roadside came into view: "Danger building, do not enter".
Wen Su didn't even look at it and walked straight ahead.
As the two moved forward, the silhouette of the house gradually came into view.
It was a dilapidated Chinese courtyard. The plaque above the entrance was covered in dust, and the words "Prince's Mansion" were still faintly visible. Large sections of red bricks and white tiles had fallen off, and half of the red gate was missing. Standing at the entrance, one could clearly see the interior hall.
It seems this is the mansion that Ji Lin saw in his dream, Zhou Ziqiu thought to himself, but what does this have to do with Wen Su?
Wen Su didn't notice Zhou Ziqiu's expression behind him. He just patted the head of the Suanni at the door, stepped onto the steps, pushed open the only remaining door, stepped over the threshold, and put one foot on the courtyard floor tiles.
Almost instantly, Zhou Ziqiu heard a rustling sound in his ear, like countless people whispering in his ear. The voices were low and soft, and he couldn't make out what they were saying. They were as annoying as mosquitoes. But he clearly heard a sigh in the middle of it: "A-Su".
"Asu?"
Zhou Ziqiu murmured, and Wen Su, who was in front of him, suddenly turned his head to look at him, his gaze carrying a hint of fierceness: "What did you say?"
18:57:37
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