Chapter 216: The Disappearance of Guan Zengbin

2022-05-20

Gu Chen stood still, adjusting Wu Xiufen on his back, and looked at me.

I explained, “Mary said there’s a village near Dongxing City called Wanghu Village. In that village, yellow paper is burned for those who die naturally, while black paper is for those who die unjustly. But I bet you all noticed something: when Wu Xiufen left her house, she was burning yellow paper along the way, but later she switched to black paper.”

Wu Xiufen’s corpse kept slipping lower as Guan Zengbin held her and said to me, “Yeah, I noticed that too. But maybe Wu Xiufen just wanted to avoid attention. She burned yellow paper on the road to keep the villagers from suspecting anything, but once on the mountain, knowing no one was around, she switched to black paper.”

Watching Wu Xiufen dangling behind Gu Chen, I spoke slowly. “That’s possible. But have you considered another explanation? Maybe she wanted to mourn two different people. One died naturally, and the other… not so much.”

“So you’re saying there were two deaths?” Gu Chen said. “But if that’s true, who’s the other person?”

I sighed, my eyes resting on Wu Xiufen behind Gu Chen. “I don’t know. Still, this might be connected to the case we’re investigating. We need to dig deep into this unless, of course, Wu Xiufen suddenly speaks up and tells us the truth right now.”

My lame joke didn’t get any laughs. Instead, it made the mood even more awkward.

Guan Zengbin shot me a look. “Seriously? That joke’s colder than this night. If Wu Xiufen did start talking, you’d probably wet yourself, kid.”

“I’m not even afraid of the living. Why would I be scared of the dead…”

I was about to finish my sentence when suddenly, somewhere in the darkness, I heard a woman’s cough. It was faint and blurry, but in the pitch-black woods, it felt like someone was watching us. Gu Chen obviously heard it too. We exchanged glances, then turned to Guan Zengbin at the same time.

“Don’t look at me. That wasn’t me.” Guan Zengbin stood his ground.

All three of us heard it, and it was unmistakably a woman’s cough. But on this dark mountain, it was just the three of us—or four, if you include Wu Xiufen. If that cough wasn’t from any of us…

Right then, Wu Xiufen’s head was resting on Gu Chen’s shoulder. If Gu Chen turned, he’d basically be nose to nose with a corpse. We all stopped, straining to hear where the cough came from. Maybe it really was Wu Xiufen behind Gu Chen who made that sound.

Could Wu Xiufen really have come back from the dead?

We fell silent. Suddenly, we became hyper-aware of our own breathing.

One cough, then another, before the sound twisted into a sharp, piercing laugh.

The laughter—”giggle, giggle, giggle”—reminded me of someone being tickled, then it shifted, scraping like a spatula across a pot, each sound getting louder and more shrill. One thing was clear: this wasn’t coming from Wu Xiufen.

I quickly raised my flashlight, sweeping the beam all around, trying to pinpoint where the sound came from.

I’d heard this laugh before—more than once. It was the signature of the killer who’d slipped through my fingers so many times. The way it made my scalp prickle was unforgettable, but no matter where I aimed the light, I saw no one.

“The killer!” I shouted.

As soon as I said that, Gu Chen quickly untied the rope that strapped Wu Xiufen’s body to his chest and laid her flat on the ground.

The laughter grew sharper, sometimes fading, drifting through the trees so it was impossible to tell where it was coming from.

“This way!” Just as I swept my flashlight around, Gu Chen shouted and bolted off in a direction. Guan Zengbin and I dashed after him, the high-pitched laughter echoing as we ran.

But no matter how hard we chased, the laughter just kept getting farther and farther away.

I didn’t know why the killer was here or what the connection was to Wu Xiufen, but I knew one thing: if we caught the killer, everything would fall into place. But catching someone who could move so fast in the dark was nearly impossible.

And I sure wasn’t up to that challenge.

Within minutes, shadows from my bouncing flashlight made everything blur together, and I lost track of both Guan Zengbin and Gu Chen. Gasping for air and clutching at my chest, I leaned against a tree. My lungs felt like they were on fire. I shined my flashlight around—nothing but tall trees with fresh buds reaching up all around me.

Illuminated by the beam, the twisted branches looked just like monsters, claws ready to snatch me up.

I rubbed my eyes, thinking that since I’d already lost them, I might as well head back to where Wu Xiufen was and wait. But after just a dozen steps, a rough hand shot out from the darkness and hauled me over. My heart leapt, then settled when I felt how coarse the grip was.

“Gu Chen?” I called out. “How’d you end up here?”

Gu Chen replied, “I chased the killer all the way to the tombstone, but he vanished into the darkness in a blink. I searched the area for ages and saw no one, so I waited here for you. What about Guan Zengbin—wasn’t she with you?”

I frowned at Gu Chen. “You know I’m always last when it comes to running. But I thought Guan Zengbin was with you?”

“Nope. Wasn’t she with you?” Gu Chen answered.

A wave of dread crept up my spine at his words.

“Call her,” I said.

Already thinking it myself, I hurriedly dialed Guan Zengbin’s number, but when the automated message came—’The user you are calling cannot be reached’—my heart sank.

“No answer?” Gu Chen’s voice was tight.

“No.” I said quietly. “Her phone was disconnected, which means someone hung up. If it was Guan Zengbin herself, she’d never hang up on me, and I didn’t call long enough for the system to cut me off. So there’s only one explanation.”

Gu Chen spoke softly, almost as if he didn’t believe himself. “You mean…the killer hung up the phone.”

I nodded, shaking all over. “Which would mean the killer probably has control of Guan Zengbin. And if we don’t find her soon…the killer’s always been ruthless. She could be in real danger.”

Gu Chen punched a nearby tree, making the little sapling quake.

“Where exactly did you lose the killer?” I asked him.

Gu Chen pointed his flashlight into the distance. “Near the tombstone. The guy moved like a ghost. The mountain’s packed with trees. Get off the path, and you’ll trip over branches or rocks and hurt yourself, but the killer moved like the darkness didn’t bother him at all.”

“Do you really think there are people who can see in the dark like that?” I asked. “Humans aren’t made for the night.”

Gu Chen hesitated. “I don’t know. But this killer seems fine in the dark. Maybe there are people like that.”

Then I finally understood—some people really are made for the darkness. Humans aren’t nocturnal, but they can learn to become creatures of the night.

While talking, I kept dialing Guan Zengbin’s number. At first, somebody just hung up, but soon enough, her phone had been switched off completely.

“Guan Zengbin’s probably been taken by the killer.” I said.

“What now?” Gu Chen said. “We didn’t hear a ringtone when you called, so she’s a ways off. The killer’s probably cleared out already—this mountain’s huge and there’s only the two of us. We won’t find her alone.”

My anxiety was through the roof, but reason told me this was the critical moment to keep my cool. If panicking could solve problems, people with anxiety would rule the world. I took deep breaths, calming my pounding heart.

“You’re right. Darkness is the killer’s greatest weapon. We can’t catch up in these conditions. Let’s go back, round up help! Even if we have to turn this whole mountain upside down, we’ll find Guan Zengbin!”

I fought to keep the anger out of my voice as I told Gu Chen, “Carry Wu Xiufen’s body back down. The villagers say they’re afraid to come up the mountain because of ghosts. Now, it looks like the killer is that so-called ghost. There’s definitely more to Wu Xiufen and the killer’s connection—dig deep.”

Gu Chen nodded silently.

I went on, “Even now, Mary hasn’t sent me the fourth story. That means the killer hasn’t posted it online yet. It’s about ten at night. The drive to Dongxing City takes four hours, so even if the killer wanted to strike there, he couldn’t make it until at least 2 a.m.”

After a while, Gu Chen and I made it back to where we’d left Wu Xiufen’s body. But looking around, the ground was completely empty—she was gone.

“We set the body here, right?” Gu Chen said. “How does a corpse just vanish like that? Maybe some wild animal dragged it off?”

I stared at the empty patch of forest, speaking softly. “There aren’t any wild animals left on this mountain. It was the killer…”