Flowers of the Departed Souls - Chapter 6

Luo Yifu didn’t go home immediately; instead, she went to the inn to find Luo Xiaofeng. Although Luo Xiaofeng was three years older, they had grown up together and were cousins, with a very close relationship. So, whenever Luo Yifu had something on her mind, she liked to talk to her.

Ever since the guest’s eye-gouging suicide incident at the inn, Luo Xiaofeng’s heart had been filled with terror. She dreamt that Xia Yimin’s horrifying face would constantly appear, float, and circle in every corner of the inn, appearing and disappearing like an unquiet ghost. Moreover, his stiff mouth would endlessly repeat those hollow words: “I didn’t commit suicide, I didn’t commit suicide…” For a while, Luo Xiaofeng truly suspected that he hadn’t committed suicide, but that there was another reason.

She sealed off the room Xia Yimin had stayed in. She swore she would never enter that room again, but every time she passed its doorway, she felt a chill all over, as if Xia Yimin was still crouched at the window, staring at her with his empty eye sockets, full of despair, as if to say again: “I didn’t commit suicide.”

At this moment, she was passing Room 308, trembling with fear, when Luo Yifu’s clear shout almost snapped the taut string in her heart. She ran downstairs like a madwoman, only to see Luo Yifu looking at her in surprise. “Sister, what’s wrong? Why is your forehead covered in sweat?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just working, working hard. What’s wrong? It’s so late, why aren’t you home yet, coming to find me?”

Luo Yifu swallowed hard. “Sister, let’s go to your room to talk.”

So, the two went to Luo Xiaofeng’s room. Now, it was Luo Xiaofeng who was surprised by Luo Yifu’s tense and peculiar expression. “What happened? You look so nervous.”

Luo Yifu suddenly clutched Luo Xiaofeng’s hand. “Sister, I think Xiaojie is still alive.”

“Xiaojie is still alive? Where is he? Where are you? At your house? I’ll go see him.”

“Hey, don’t rush.” Luo Yifu held Xiaofeng back. “I just feel he’s still alive. Although I’m not sure, this feeling is really strong, very real.”

“Feeling? A feeling, a feeling, sigh…” Xiaofeng didn’t know what to say. Perhaps she missed her brother too much, although some feelings weren’t entirely groundless.

“Really, Sister, do you remember when Xiaojie disappeared, a child from East Village also disappeared right after, but that child’s body was found quickly, drowned. However, Xiaojie’s body was never found. If he accidentally fell off a cliff, his body should have been found long ago. There’s no reason for him to just disappear, is there? There’s another strange thing, Sister, I’m a little scared. Xiaojie’s things seem to disappear mysteriously, especially things he liked. His room was always locked, and only my dad had the key. But once, I missed him too much, so I secretly took the key while Dad was asleep and went inside, but many things inside were gone. Although Xiaojie was young, he knew a lot, and his mind was excellent. He was also eager to learn and research things. You surely haven’t forgotten that he even made a lightning rod, and his favorite things were absolutely not allowed to be touched by others. Did my dad throw these things away for fear of touching objects that brought back sad memories?”

Xiaofeng looked at her with great confusion. “I suppose so. If he were alive, there’d be no reason for him not to appear, no reason for him not to see you, unless—unless—”

She originally wanted to say words like “kidnapped,” but afraid that would make Luo Yifu overthink and guess wildly, she changed the subject. “It’s strange, why, after all these years, are you suddenly thinking about this again?”

Luo Yifu was silent for a long time. “Do you remember the legend of the man in black?”

“The man in black?”

Luo Yifu nodded. “I don’t know why, but lately I keep dreaming about this person. He’s like an indelible nightmare, constantly floating in my dreams. I can dream of him almost as soon as I close my eyes. Sister, I’m really terrified, and he has an extremely horrifying face, or rather, wears a terrible mask.”

Xiaofeng comforted her, saying, “It’s just a dream. I don’t think this person exists. Maybe you’ve heard too much, thought too much, and then you dreamt of it. As the saying goes, ‘what you think about by day, you dream of by night.’ If Xiaojie were alive, why wouldn’t he come back? If he’s truly alive, why has no one seen him again? Did he leave here and go to another very distant place?”

Luo Yifu shook her head. “I don’t know either. Sigh, I can’t explain what kind of feeling this is, but what I do know is that this feeling is getting stronger and stronger, as if that terrifying aura is also getting closer to me.”

Xiaofeng touched her forehead. “I think you’ve been reading too many horror novels lately. You should go home quickly and get some sleep.” Just then, the phone in her room rang. She answered a few words and hung up.

“Your mom called; she’s looking for you everywhere. Go home quickly.” At this point, she saw Luo Yifu covering her mouth with her fingers, her face filled with terror as she stared above her head, as if she had seen something terrifying, but she couldn’t utter a single word.

It was then that she felt something sticky dripping down her hair, drip by drip by drip. That pungent, thick smell spread like spilled acid, stinging.

She instinctively touched her cheek. She found her fingers covered in fresh red blood.

Luo Xiaofeng looked up and saw large pools of blood dripping from the cracks in the wooden ceiling. Right above them was Ge Jianliang and his wife’s room. At that very moment, a terrible scream rang out from above, “Wife—!” Only then did they fully awaken, realizing they were trembling all over. After a long moment, they regained their composure and rushed out as if fleeing for their lives.

They saw Ge Jianliang kneeling there, wailing, while his wife, Zhong Dan, lay on the ground face up. Her eye sockets were two black holes, and a fruit knife was plunged into her chest. Her death matched Xia Yimin’s exactly.

Luo Xiaofeng’s voice trembled slightly. “What exactly is going on? I’ve worked at this inn for three years, and nothing like this has ever happened.”

“How would I know? I went downstairs to boil water for tea. When I came back, my wife…” He suddenly seemed to remember something and seized Luo Xiaofeng by the neck. “Does this inn have a devil? Did you kill her? Tell me, why have two people died so tragically here in three days? You owe me my wife! You owe me my wife!”

Ge Jianliang, almost out of control, choked Luo Xiaofeng. Luo Yifu desperately tried to pull him away, but her strength was limited. If Chi Ziming hadn’t arrived just then, the situation might have become truly uncontrollable.

Chi Ziming managed to separate them with difficulty. Ge Jianliang remained inconsolable, looking at them with a mixture of grief and indignation. “I’d like to know who among us will die next. Two now, two people. This damned place, only eight people were staying here in total. Are you two conspiring to kill my wife?”

Chi Ziming shouted, “Calm down! This doesn’t seem that simple. I’m not close to Xiaofeng, and I have no grudge against you. Why would I harm her?”

At that moment, Luo Yifu, who had unintentionally pulled open the curtains, suddenly cried out, “Look! There are some words here.”

On the window glass were several blood-red words, clearly written in fresh blood: The chill of hell will pursue you like a nightmare, no one can escape… Thanatos.

These blood-words were clearly written on the outside of the window, and the window was tightly shut. This meant someone had written them from outside the room. But this was the second floor, and there was no balcony outside. Only by hanging in mid-air could these blood-words have been written. So, what kind of person would that be?

Everyone’s face was ashen.