"Come in, keep your voice down," the old man said in a low voice, stepping aside to let us in.
The room was small and the furnishings were old, but it was very tidy and there was a faint smell of medicine in the air.
On the way, Zhou Ming told us that the old man's wife had passed away early, and he now lives alone.
Although this old man is quite optimistic, to be honest, he is also a pitiful person.
My husband died young, and I have no son, only a daughter, who is also married.
A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup; although she may visit him occasionally, she can never compare to a son.
Therefore, the old man valued his nephew very much.
I noticed that the old man had a small statue of Guanyin in his living room, and the incense burner was filled with a thick layer of incense ash. It seems he is quite religious, otherwise he wouldn't be so diligent in burning incense.
He knew why we were there. After we sat down, before we could even ask, the old man spoke first, his voice somewhat hoarse and low:
"Everyone in the alley calls her Xiao Fang. Her real name is Chen Yu Fang, or maybe Chen Xiu Fang, I can't quite remember. She lives at the east end of Willow Alley. Her father is a master craftsman in the factory. He is a very honest man. Her mother passed away early. Her father was worried that she would be mistreated, so he didn't arrange for her to have a stepmother."
I wrote down her name, whether it was Chen Yufang or Chen Xiufang, I could try some kind of soul-summoning ritual.
However, even though there is only a one-word difference, we still have to be careful. If we attract some wandering ghosts, things could get really out of hand.
The old man started talking, and a distant memory flickered in his eyes.
"That was in the mid-to-late 1980s. Many young men in the alley liked her, but she ended up with Liu Guohua, the second son of the Liu family at the end of the alley!"
"Liu Guohua is a smart, sweet-talking guy, but he's cunning and not one to stay put," my third great-uncle said with a complicated tone. "Everyone in the neighborhood knows he's dating Xiaofang, but then the factory's deputy director's daughter took a liking to him. Back then, getting close to the deputy director was a huge advantage! Liu Guohua got his eye on her..."
So that's how it is. I couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Not to mention in the past, even now, there are still many people who curry favor with the powerful.
"Did he dump Xiaofang?" Luo Tianhe couldn't help but ask.
"Hehe, if it were just a matter of dumping, there wouldn't be so much trouble. It's free love, after all. Back then, China had already started reform and opening up, and the older generation's thinking wasn't so outdated." The old man gave a bitter smile, seemingly still somewhat resentful.
"But his biggest mistake was getting engaged to the deputy factory director's daughter behind Xiaofang's back, making Xiaofang the other woman! When Xiaofang found out, she cried, made a scene, and tried to find him, but Liu Guohua avoided her. Later, he even spread rumors that Xiaofang was harassing him and ruining his reputation! Rumors can kill, and Xiaofang, a young girl, couldn't stand it!"
"And then what?" Although I had a general idea of how it would end, I couldn't help but ask.
"Later," my great-uncle closed his eyes, seemingly reluctant to recall,
"Just a few nights before Liu Guohua was to hold his engagement banquet, Xiao Fang disappeared. Someone saw her leaving home wearing a red dress and never came back."
"At first, everyone thought she was just feeling down and had gone somewhere to hide or visit relatives in other places. But after several days without any news, her family panicked and mobilized the neighbors to search for her. They even reported it to the brigade, but they still couldn't find her!"
"We searched for a long time, but we couldn't find him alive or dead. The only thing we found was a red cloth shoe in the wild land on the ridge."
The sight of the red cloth shoes startled us all, and our eyes involuntarily turned to the black cloth bundle.
My third maternal uncle was so engrossed in his story that he didn't notice our reactions at all, and his voice grew even lower:
"Although it was a human life, as time went on, no one mentioned it anymore. Some said she ran away, some said she jumped into the river, and some said she was killed by that beast Liu Guohua, or by his new father-in-law, and buried in the ridge!"
"But without evidence, no one dared to speak recklessly to his face. Liu Guohua later smoothly became the deputy factory director, and I heard he was doing quite well, having moved out of the western suburbs long ago!"
Upon hearing this, Li Huai, Luo Tianhe, and I exchanged a glance.
Liu Guohua is still alive!
Why didn't he just go directly to him for revenge, instead of clinging to Zhou Ming?
"Where is Liu Guohua now? Do you know?" I pressed.
"They're doing so well, living a glamorous life. How could an ordinary person like me possibly know?" The old man shook his head, seemingly a little forlorn.
"It's true, good people die so tragically, while bad people get promoted and make a fortune, all without any problems. It's such an unfair world!"
The old man sighed again, "I can tell he seems to really like that Xiao Fang."
But the trail ended there, which left me somewhat frustrated.
"Oh, right, there's something really weird about this!" My great-uncle suddenly looked up at me, his eyes filled with a strange light.
"What's up?!"
"Around the seventh or twenty-seventh night after Xiaofang disappeared, several neighbors said they heard a woman crying in Willow Alley in the middle of the night!"
The old man lowered his voice, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes.
"And there was also the sound of opera singing, the tune of which was 'The crescent moon shines over the nine provinces,' so mournful and desolate!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Tianhe, Zhou Ming, and I exchanged bewildered glances.
We are now 100% certain that it is he who is harassing Zhou Ming!
Otherwise, there's no way to explain why, by such a coincidence, this song was also being played on the radio!
"Not only that, but someone also got up at night and seemed to see a red shadow flicker at the alley entrance!"
At the time, we all thought it was because Xiao Fang's resentment was lingering and she had become a bound spirit. Later, we invited a master to come and see, and he said the same thing, saying that she couldn't leave the area of Willow Lane and Ling.
Everyone's scared, who isn't afraid of ghosts? Although she was a good girl when she was alive, who knows what she would be like as a ghost!
Later, everyone burned some paper money at the alley entrance, chanting prayers for her peace. After that, things seemed to quiet down for a while.
"Later, Willow Lane was demolished, and people moved away one after another. That area became even more desolate. Over the years, there have been people saying that they have seen a shadow wearing red clothes in the western suburbs, especially at night, or heard a woman crying. But I never thought that she would one day entangle you, Zhou Ming!"
The old man emphasized this point, seemingly extremely puzzled.
Zhou Ming looked dejected; he was completely baffled!
So many people pass by, why did she specifically target him? What did he do to offend her?!
I was lost in thought. After saying so much, we still don't know how Xiaofang died!
However, judging from her resentment, her death will probably be very tragic!
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