At this moment, I felt time was passing very slowly, as if it had stopped. I really wanted to drag the screen over to see the strange man's face directly, but my body didn't want to do so. After enduring so much suffering, I could finally see his face.
In the video footage, the strange man followed An Lili step by step backward, and I slowly saw his body appear in my eyes from bottom to top.
I held my breath, my heart pounding wildly. I could already see the man in black's neck, and then his head appeared on the surveillance video.
But I found it hard to accept because I couldn't see his face. The strange person was wearing a mask. The only thing I could see was that he had long hair, and I couldn't tell his exact age.
I felt incredibly disappointed, as if something I was certain to have had vanished in the blink of an eye.
An Lili disappeared from the surveillance footage first, and the strange person followed closely behind. Just as she was about to disappear, she suddenly stopped and looked at the surveillance camera.
When I saw her eyes, I was jolted, and my scalp tingled.
How can eyes be like that? Why is that?
The strange man's eyes were an eerie green, yes, and they were even glowing green, while the pupils inside were white.
From her eyes, I could almost feel that the face beneath her mask was wearing a strange smile, as if she were watching me from afar through the phone.
"Damn it!" I yelled, my hand trembling so much I almost dropped my phone.
When I looked again, the strange person had disappeared from the screen.
I shakily pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. My fear slowly subsided.
I don't know who could have eyes like that, or maybe she's not even human. If that's the case, then An Lili is...
I shook my head, not daring to think any further.
To completely shatter that last glimmer of hope, I fast-forwarded through the entire surveillance video until, in the end, no one ever left through the back door again.
I took another deep drag on my cigarette. The strong tobacco smell calmed my chaotic mind considerably. I could think about An Lili later. Right now, the most important thing was to deal with Fang Lei, or my life would be in danger.
To determine if the filthy thing was Fang Lei, I picked up my phone, found Old Li's phone number, and pressed call.
I didn't have Old Li's phone number originally, but I asked him for it when I went to see him that day. I didn't expect to use it so soon.
The call was answered quickly, and Old Li's lazy voice rang out, "Hello, who is it?"
"Uncle Li, it's me, Zuo Changming." I stubbed out my cigarette and said into the phone.
"Oh, it's Changming. Why did you suddenly call me? Is there something you need?" Old Li's slightly surprised voice came from the phone.
"It's nothing much, I just wanted to ask you about something." I didn't ask about Fang Lei directly, because I was afraid that Old Li would be unhappy and wouldn't say anything, because according to my guess, Old Li's son also died because of Fang Lei.
"Oh, I see. Okay then, ask away, I'll tell you everything I know."
I thought for a moment and asked, "Uncle Li, how much do you know about Fang Lei?"
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before Old Li's somewhat deep voice could be heard, "Changming, why are you asking this?"
"It's nothing, I just wanted to know some things about him, but I couldn't find it online, and I thought you should know." I didn't tell Old Li the truth first, but made up an excuse.
"Changming, tell me honestly, did you hear anything at the courier station, or did you see him?" Old Li asked me in an extremely serious voice, especially the last sentence, which was much more forceful.
“I…sigh…” I wanted to say I hadn’t seen him, but I sighed. Old Li was no stranger, so it wouldn’t matter if I told him. So I said, “Uncle Li, to be honest, I have indeed seen him.”
I briefly recounted Xu Huihui's story and my encounter with Fang Lei to Old Li.
Of course, I didn't tell Old Li that An Lili and her group opened the brass lock.
"What……"
Old Man Li was so shocked that he couldn't speak. After a long silence, he said in a heavy tone, "Changming, you really have seen him? What does he look like?"
"I've never seen what he looks like, but every time he appears, he always has a pair of worn-out, tan leather shoes." I can't describe what Fang Lei looks like either, because I've never actually seen him.
"Is it made of tan leather, with a black sole and a plastic name tag on the top?" Old Li asked anxiously.
I thought for a moment and said, "Yes, yes, how did you know?"
Old Li on the other end of the phone was silent for a while before saying in a trembling voice, "The shoes you mentioned belong to Fang Lei. I remember he was wearing these shoes the day he hanged himself."
"Oh." I was already somewhat prepared, so I wasn't too surprised by what Old Li said; it just confirmed my suspicions.
"Changming, where did you think these shoes were?" Old Li asked immediately afterward.
“I’ve seen it a few times. The first time was at the door of your little room, and the second time was in the hut by the wall. Oh, right, there’s an old ceiling fan in the hut with a rope hanging from it, and a bed on the left with a quilt on it. It’s bulging inside, and it looks like there’s someone lying in it.” I told Old Li everything I had seen.
"What? This...this is impossible."
Old Li sounded extremely shocked, and I even heard the sound of the glass shattering after the water glass fell.
"What's impossible about it? I saw it with my own eyes." I didn't understand why Old Li was reacting so strongly. He knew perfectly well that Fang Lei had become a tainted person.
"Changming, to tell you the truth, I was there the night of the ritual. There was nothing in that little room except for that old ceiling fan, and I locked it myself," Old Li said with a trembling voice on the other end of the phone.
"That shouldn't be the case, but I clearly saw so many things that day!" I said uncertainly. Could it be that I was seeing things that day? But even I didn't believe that explanation.
"Impossible. Fang Lei's body was taken to the funeral home the day after he died, and the hemp rope was burned along with it," Old Li said in an extremely serious tone.
"But I clearly saw it that afternoon," I said earnestly.
"You said you saw it this afternoon?" Old Li asked me on the phone, then continued, "By the way... could it be that matter?"
"Uncle Li, what's the matter?" I asked hurriedly.
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