The Accountant in the Secret Room
The morning light filtered through the theater's broken windows, casting mottled shadows on the ground. Lu Ye and Qi Chen, carrying shovels, stood in the weeds in the theater's backyard. The burial site Mr. Song had mentioned was right here—under an old locust tree. A deep knife mark still etched its trunk, as if someone had chopped it with a knife many years ago.
"This should be it." Qi Chen squatted down and pushed aside the waist-high weeds, revealing the hardened earth beneath. The soil was darker than the surrounding area, as if it had been turned over.
Lu Ye gripped the shovel tightly and was about to dig when he felt a chill beneath his feet—not the coolness of the earth, but a chill like being stuck to ice. He abruptly pulled his foot back and looked down. A trace of dark red liquid was seeping through the weeds, slowly spreading through the cracks in the soil and shimmering eerily in the morning light.
"What is this?" Lu Ye's voice trembled, "It's not blood, right?"
Qi Chen dipped his hand in the liquid and sniffed it. There was no smell of blood, just a faint musty odor mixed with a hint of ink. "It's aged ink," he frowned. "When Xiaoyun was buried, there might have been something else buried underneath."
Without another word, the two began digging. Shortly after the shovel entered the soil, it struck something hard—a clang that made Lu Ye's palms numb. Qi Chen slowed down, carefully pushing aside the dirt, and a rusty iron box gradually emerged.
The iron box wasn't big, only palm-sized. It had a small lock welded to it, and half a sheet of paper was stuck in the keyhole. Lu Ye carefully pulled the paper out and unfolded it. It was a yellowed account page with a few lines of calligraphy on it: "In June of the 25th year of the Republic of China, the troupe owner embezzled fifty yuan from the theater's public funds, bribed the accountant, and falsified the accounts."
"The troupe owner is corrupt?" Lu Ye was surprised. "Before, he said it was an 'honor' for the audience to die here. So, there's such a thing?"
Qi Chen said nothing as he pried open the iron box with a shovel. There was no gold, silver, or jewelry inside, only a thin account book with "Theater Accounts - Year 25 of the Republic of China" written on the cover. He flipped to the first page, which was densely packed with records of the theater's income and expenses. When he turned to the page for June, Lu Ye suddenly pointed at a line of words and shouted, "Look! It says here, 'On the seventh day of the seventh month, ten kilograms of kerosene were purchased. Purpose: Unknown!'"
"Kerosene?" Qi Chen's eyes darkened. "That fire wasn't an accident. The owner set it on purpose! He embezzled public funds and was afraid of being discovered, so he wanted to burn down the accounting office to destroy the evidence, but ended up trapping the audience inside!"
At that moment, the old locust tree suddenly shook with a rustling sound, and leaves rustled down, as if someone was stamping on the treetop. Lu Ye looked up and saw a blurry figure hanging from the branch - wearing a gray gown, holding an account book in his hands, his feet dangling in the air, as if he was hanging from it.
"Who's up there?!" Lu Ye shouted.
The figure slowly lowered his head, revealing a pale face. His eyes were devoid of pupils, only two black holes. His lips moved, and a voice seemed to come from a tree hole: "Account... My account is not settled yet... The boss hasn't paid me back yet..."
"Are you the accountant?" Qi Chen asked coldly.
The figure nodded, then slowly floated down from the tree branch, landing in front of the two men. His long gown was stained with ink and dark red stains, like blood. "The owner embezzled public funds and asked me to falsify the accounts. When I refused, he killed me, buried me under this tree, and set fire to the theater..." His voice grew increasingly agitated. "My account book isn't finished yet, and my revenge isn't yet complete..."
Lu Ye's back was covered in sweat. He subconsciously leaned towards Qi Chen: "He is obsessed with seeking revenge on the class leader, but the class leader's vengeful spirit has been dispersed by us..."
"Not yet!" the accountant suddenly roared, his voice as sharp as nails scraping against wood. "His soul is still in the secret room of the theater! He hid the embezzled money there, intending to take it out after the storm has died down!"
"Secret room?" Qi Chen grasped the key information, "There is a secret room in the theater?"
The accountant floated towards the main theater building and pointed at an inconspicuous brick in the corner. "Right there, behind the brick is the entrance to the secret room. Only my account book can open it..."
His figure gradually became transparent, and the account book in his hand floated in front of Qi Chen: "Help me... hand the account book to the government, so that the boss's crimes will be made public... My account is settled..."
Before he finished speaking, the figure disappeared completely, leaving only the account book on the ground, with a hint of ink on the cover.
Lu Ye picked up the account book, and when his fingers touched the pages, he suddenly felt a chill—as if the accountant's hand was still on them. "Are we really going to the secret room?" He hesitated. "If the boss's vengeful spirit is still there, it will definitely be difficult to deal with."
Qi Chen gripped the Soul-Calming Bell tightly, his eyes determined: "We must go. His crimes cannot be covered up, and the accountant's obsession must be resolved."
The two walked to the corner the accountant pointed to. The bricks there were indeed different from those elsewhere—darker in color, with tiny cracks along the edges. Following the pattern on the last page of the account book, Qi Chen pried open the third brick with a shovel, revealing a dark hole. The hole emanated a damp, musty smell, tinged with a hint of rust.
"I'll go in and explore the way." Qi Chen handed the account book to Lu Ye and went in first. The entrance was narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through with his back bent. It was pitch dark inside. Qi Chen turned on his flashlight, and the beam swept across the surroundings—a narrow passage. Water droplets seeped down the walls, and a few pieces of blood-stained paper were scattered on the ground, like fragments of the account book.
Lu Ye followed behind, his palms sweaty. The corridor was eerily quiet, with only the sounds of their breathing and footsteps, echoing back and forth in the corridor, as if someone was following them.
After walking about ten meters, the passage suddenly widened and a stone door appeared before us. Carved on the door was a complex pattern—an abacus, with the beads positioned exactly as on the last page of the account book.
"The account book should be used to open the door." Qi Chen took the account book and placed it in the groove in the center of the stone door according to the pattern. With a "click", the stone door slowly opened, and a strong smell of mold and blood hit him.
The secret room wasn't large, only about a dozen square meters. In the center sat a wooden box, a brass lock fastened to it. In the corner lay several bundles of account books, some moldy, others tattered by rats. Sticking to the wall were pieces of paper with the words "Debts must be paid" and "Blood debts must be paid with blood" scrawled in red ink. The handwriting was distorted, as if written by a trembling hand.
"The boss's money should be in the box." Qi Chen walked over and was about to unlock it when he heard a "dong" sound behind him - the stone door closed by itself!
Lu Ye turned around abruptly, the flashlight beam sweeping across the doorway. No one was there, but he could clearly hear a rustling sound behind him, as if someone were flipping through account books.
"Who?!" Lu Ye shouted.
Qi Chen turned quickly, shaking the Soul-Calming Bell in his hand. With a crisp "ding" sound, a beam of light swept across the pile of account books in the corner. One of the books flipped open by itself, and the writing on the page slowly turned red, as if written in blood: "You...broke into my secret room and tried to steal my money?"
"Boss!" Lu Ye recognized the voice, it was exactly the same as the one he heard in the theater before.
The pile of account books suddenly exploded, and a dark shadow leaped out, charging straight at Qi Chen! Qi Chen was prepared, dodging sideways as the Soul-Calming Bell slammed heavily into the shadow. The shadow let out a shrill scream, took a few steps back, and revealed its true form—the vengeful spirit of the class owner. His body was more transparent than before, yet even more hideous, his eyes bloodshot, and in his hand, he clutched a rusty abacus.
"My money! My secret room!" the owner roared, the abacus beads clacking. "No one can take it!"
He swung the abacus, and the beads flew towards Lu Ye like bullets. Qi Chen pushed Lu Ye away, and the beads "popped" and hit the wall, leaving small holes.
"Lu Ye, find the account book!" Qi Chen shouted, "His crimes are all in the account book. If we find the key evidence, we can dispel his resentment!"
Lu Ye immediately squatted down and rummaged through the scattered account books. The class leader tried to rush over to stop him, but was blocked by Qi Chen's soul-calming bell. The "ding-ding-ding" sound echoed in the secret room, and the class leader's body was enveloped in golden light, making a "sizzling" sound, as if it were burning.
"Found it!" Lu Ye suddenly shouted, holding up an account book. "Here are his corruption records and receipts for kerosene!"
Qi Chen snatched the account book and held it in front of the class owner: "Your crimes are all here! Misappropriation of public funds, arson, and the murder of 128 people! Do you think you can escape punishment by hiding here?"
The class leader's body trembled violently, the madness in his eyes gradually giving way to fear. "No... it wasn't me..." He was about to argue when blood suddenly seeped out of the wall of the secret room. The four characters on the wall, "Pay Your Debts," became increasingly red, as if they were dripping blood.
"It's you!" a voice came from the wall. It was the accountant's voice. "It's you who killed me and burned down the theater! Give me back my life!"
"And our lives!" Countless voices came from all directions, from the spectators who died in the sea of fire!
The vengeful spirit of the class leader was surrounded by countless voices, and his body gradually became transparent. He let out a desperate scream, and finally turned into a wisp of black smoke and disappeared into the secret room. The stone door opened with a click, and sunlight shone in, dispelling the coldness in the secret room.
Lu Ye and Qi Chen breathed a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground. Qi Chen picked up the crucial account book and carefully put it away: "This must be handed over to the government. Let the boss's crimes be made public, and the accountant's obsession will be completely resolved."
It was almost dark when the two of them emerged from the secret room. In the theater's backyard, the soil beneath the old locust tree had been refilled. Lu Ye buried Xiaoyun and Bai Wanqing's silver hairpins in the soil and placed a bouquet of wildflowers on top—picked from the roadside in the ancient town, they resembled the pattern on Bai Wanqing's costume.
"Mr. Accountant," Lu Ye whispered softly to the air, "Your account is settled. Go with peace of mind."
A gust of wind blew, and the leaves of the old locust tree swayed gently, as if in response.
When they returned to the inn, Mr. Song was already waiting for them at the door. He held a cloth bag in his hand and handed it to Qi Chen: "These are Wanqing and Xiaoyun's costumes. I washed them. You can burn them and let them travel with peace of mind in their own costumes."
Qi Chen took the cloth bag and nodded solemnly.
That night, on the theater stage, the two burned their costumes and the crucial account book. The flames illuminated the stage, like a special grand finale. In the flames, Lu Ye seemed to see Bai Wanqing, Xiaoyun, and the accountant standing nearby, smiling at them before slowly disappearing into the night.
"It's all over." Lu Ye said softly.
Qi Chen nodded, reached out and touched his hair, with a hint of warmth in his eyes: "Well, it's over. But our journey is not over yet."
Lu Ye looked up at Qi Chen. Under the moonlight, his profile softened considerably. "Where are we going next?"
"Let's go to the next place where we have an obsession." Qi Chen said with a smile, "There will always be people who need our help."
The two walked out of the theater side by side. The flames behind them gradually died down, and the theater returned to peace. But Lu Ye knew that the stories here would not be forgotten. The souls that were once trapped, the obsessions that were resolved, would become part of their memories, supporting them to continue on.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
