Chapter 19 tenth letter

Ye Xiao: Hi. How did you feel after receiving your last letter?Believe it or not, Shuiyue is by my side now, can you smell her smell in the letter paper? Yesterday morning, after I finished writing the ninth letter to you, I took care of Shuiyue again, telling her never to go out, let alone open the door to others.Then, taking the stamped letter with me, I quietly left the room. Ye Xiao, the typhoon is still blowing outside, I know it's dangerous to go out at this time.But you are my best friend, and I promised to send you letters every day, so please rest assured that I will keep my promise no matter what.

In the lobby on the ground floor, I borrowed a poncho from Achang, pushed open the door of the inn and rushed into the wind and rain.My whole body was wrapped in a poncho, and I hid the letter for you in my arms, trying my best not to let it get wet by the rain.Fortunately, the typhoon was blowing from the sea to the land. I followed the wind when I walked towards the deserted village, but I walked faster than usual. As I walked, I was thinking about Shuiyue in my heart, and I had arrived in a deserted village before I knew it.There was no one at the entrance of the village. It seemed that they had all hid at home. I put the letter in the mailbox, and hoped that the lovely postman from the village would come to pick it up on time.

Unfortunately, my way back was headed into the wind.It took more than 40 minutes to return to the ghost inn, and all the bones in my body were blown apart. Back in the lobby of the inn, I saw Qin Ran and Su Mei.I must have looked horrible in my poncho, maybe like a monster crawling out of the water and startling them all.I took off my poncho and smiled at them, only to realize that they were all dragging luggage in their hands. "Are you leaving?" I asked. Qin Ran replied helplessly: "Yes, but this damn typhoon..." "Yes, you can't leave now. Even if you get to Serang Town, the long-distance bus must not dare to drive when the typhoon blows."

I don't know if I should tell them about Shuiyue coming back to life.They already thought that Shuiyue was a bit weird. If I told them that Shuiyue had been resurrected from the dead, they might not be able to accept it at once, but I can give them some hints. So I lowered my voice and said, "I want to ask you a question: If Shuiyue comes back again, what will happen to you?" They stared at me blankly, as if they were looking at a mental patient, Su Mei suddenly said coldly: "Are you crazy? Have you become obsessed with writing novels?" "But after you go back, how should you explain to Shuiyue's parents?"

"I'll call them first." "No, not yet. Maybe we can think of a better way." Qin Ran suddenly lost her breath, and she said lightly: "I hope so." "Let's go back and put our luggage away first." Su Mei took La Qinran's hand.Then, the two walked up the stairs again with their luggage. I was alone in the lobby again, and when I was about to go upstairs to see Shuiyue, an ambiguous voice came from behind: "Zhou Xuan, can I talk to you?" I turned around suddenly, and it turned out that Qiuyun was standing behind me. "How did you get down?"

"This is my husband's inn, can't I come down?" Still wearing the black dress, she walked up to me and said, "I heard what you were talking to them just now." I replied vigilantly: "Did I say something wrong?" Qiu Yun stared into my eyes for a while and said, "Zhou Xuan, your complexion seems much better than yesterday." "Because I slept well last night." "Oh, this surprised me. There was such a strong typhoon last night, I didn't sleep well all night. Besides——you have a dead body lying in your room, am I right?"

"Yes, you are right." "I can't imagine you spending the night in the same room as a dead body—" I couldn't bear it anymore, and immediately interrupted her: "Please don't use the word corpse, it's too harsh." "I'm sorry, I broke your heart." Qiu Yun took a deep breath slowly, and suddenly said quietly, "How is she now?" "You mean Shuiyue?" She nodded.Perhaps, she has seen something in my face - she is suspicious of me? Ye Xiao, you know that I am not born to lie, especially in front of women.I didn't know what to say, so I just kept my mouth shut and said nothing.

Qiuyun stared into my eyes and said, "Something must have happened? Am I right? You don't need to say anything, but you should be responsible for your actions." Just as I was pondering the meaning of her words, she had already turned and left here, and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye. I feel a little depressed in my heart, although Shuiyue has returned to me, but there are more troublesome things, how should I explain to them? At this time, Achang appeared, and he put the food on the dining table, and it was time for lunch.I suddenly said softly to him: "Ah Chang, can you give me two lunch boxes and hold two lunches for me."

Achang looked at me coldly, and after hesitating for a moment, he still followed my instructions.I grabbed two tin lunch boxes and said in a low voice, "Thank you very much, Achang. Please keep it secret for me, please." After speaking, I ran up the stairs with two lunches. As soon as I came to the corridor on the second floor, I heard a fierce quarrel coming from a door, which was Gao Fan's room.The door was ajar, and I paused in front of the door for a moment, just in time to hear a few fragmented words inside. Sure enough, as I expected, it was Qingfen in his room again, and she said sadly, "Gao Fan, please stop pestering me, Xiaolong has already seen what happened to us. Maybe, last time His suicide was because of our business, he wanted to give us a warning."

Then came Gao Fan's dull voice: "Have you given up?" She seemed to be sobbing: "For Xiaolong, I can only give up." "Qingfen, don't be stupid. To tell you the truth, my goal is about to be achieved. As long as I get that sum, we can go far away." "What about the little dragon?" "Of course I will take it with you. As long as you have money, you can take him abroad and ask the best doctor to treat him. He will definitely be cured. Don't worry, I won't lie to you..." The sound gradually became lighter here, and I could no longer hear clearly.Forget it, what do they have to do with me?I left here quietly, took out the key and opened the door of my room.

Shuiyue was standing by the window waiting for me, she pouted slightly and asked, "Why did you come back?" "I brought you lunch." I put the lunch box on the table and said, "Eat quickly, I guess you must be able to eat now." She finally smiled and ate with me.With the accompaniment of the wind and rain outside, we quickly finished our lunch.She smiled and asked me: "Who cooked this dish? It's delicious." "Achang, his craftsmanship is really good." Shuiyue shook her head and asked, "Who is Ah Chang?" "You really don't remember? It's the dumb guy who looks like Quasimodo." "Quasimodo? Who is he? Do you know this man?" "My God, how did I know Quasimodo? That's a character in Hugo's novel, an ugly church bell ringer." I stroked her hair and asked in her ear, "Shuiyue , have you really forgotten all about it?" She sighed and said, "I only remember your eyes, maybe, and this ghost inn." I looked into her eyes, and she looked at me in the same way, looking at each other for a long time.Suddenly, I felt a slight tremor in my heart, as if I had known these eyes a long, long time ago, and they were unforgettable.I suddenly avoided her gaze and murmured, "Shuiyue, do you know? You are a miracle." "No, I'm just an ordinary person. I've temporarily lost my memory, but I'll remember it sooner or later." At this time, the typhoon outside the window was getting stronger and stronger, I only felt the walls trembling constantly, it seemed that the whole ghost inn was shaking.Suigetsu looked up at the ceiling, seemed to have some kind of premonition, and held my hand tightly. Suddenly, I heard a harsh bang from upstairs, as if something had smashed.My heart trembled suddenly, I really wanted to rush up to have a look, but I was worried about leaving Shuiyue. Shuiyue saw my thoughts: "Go up, I will stay in the room." I squeezed her hand tightly and rushed out of the room quickly. Gao Fan's shadow appeared in the corridor, and he didn't know what happened, so he ran up to the third floor with me.In the corridor on the third floor, I heard the sound of violent wind and rain, which came from Qiuyun's room. Gao Fan and I rushed into that room, and immediately felt a violent storm hitting our heads.When I looked up, I realized that there was a meter-square hole in the ceiling. Broken tiles were scattered on the floor, and the typhoon was going straight through the hole in the roof.It seems that the Ghost Inn has indeed been in disrepair for a long time. When encountering such a big typhoon, I am afraid it will be riddled with holes. Qiuyun was standing in the corner of the room. When she saw me coming in, she immediately hid behind me trembling. This was the second time I saw her scared. The first time was the night when she attempted suicide. . She hid behind me and said in fear, "Did you see that? That ghost came, and it knocked the roof off." I comforted her and said, "It's just a typhoon." "No—" Gao Fan said coldly, "This is a harbinger of death." At this time Ding Yushan also rushed in, holding a plastic canopy in his hand, it seemed that he was going to use it to keep out the rain.Gao Fan ran out suddenly, dragged a ladder from nowhere, and put it under the hole in the roof. I took the canopy from Ding Yushan and was the first to climb up the ladder. My whole body was immediately soaked by the wind and rain. Gao Fan and Ding Yushan held onto the ladder tightly, while I struggled to climb up against the wind. go. I finally climbed to the roof, and I finally put the canopy on it, just blocking the hole, and then fixed the four corners of the canopy with screws, basically it can be firmly supported on the roof. Suddenly, something passed in my sight—on the beams inside the roof, lay a small book full of dust. The book is only about a foot away from me.It's really strange, why should it be placed in such a high place?It can only be seen by climbing close to the roof.I suddenly had a strong interest in it, and my heart was secretly curious and impulsive. "Zhou Xuan, what's wrong with you?" Ding Yushan yelled at me from under the ladder. I took another look at the small book on the beam, thinking that Ding Yushan and the others should not see it.So, I intentionally let the screwdriver drop to the ground, and when the two of them lowered their heads to pick it up, I took the opportunity to reach out to the beam and stuff the little book into the undershirt. When Gao Fan picked up the screwdriver, I had already climbed down the ladder.I'm sure they didn't see it at the time, and Qiuyun didn't know where he went. When I got back to the ground, I was completely soaked.Ding Yushan patted me on the shoulder and said, "Thank you, you did a good job." "It's okay, I should go down." I clutched my chest tightly, concealed the small book in my arms, and ran out of Qiuyun's room quickly. At the stairs on the third floor, I almost bumped into Qiuyun head-on, she asked palely, "Is the roof blocked?" "Yes, it's all right." "Thank you very much." She looked at my chest and said, "Zhou Xuan, there seems to be something wrong with you." "No, nothing." I ran down the stairs with my head down, and returned to the room with the notebook in my arms. At this time, Shuiyue had already fallen asleep, she was lying peacefully on the bed, her body was slightly arched inward, looking like a white shrimp.I let out a sigh of relief, took the little book out of my arms, wiped my hair and body with a towel, and put on new clothes. The raindrops were hitting the windows densely, and I looked at the coast through the rain curtain outside the window, only to see the stormy waves constantly sweeping up, showing the infinite power of nature. I wiped off the dust on the little book, which looked like a notebook, and casually flipped through a few pages, and suddenly a photo fell out of the folder. I immediately picked up the black and white photo, which looked very old and had a faint musty smell. In the photo is a woman in ancient costume—— To be more precise, it was a costume, exactly the same as the one in the wooden box.The woman looked very young, with heavy theater makeup on her face, and I could see her sad expression, maybe it was a still from a certain play? Suddenly, a strange feeling appeared in front of my eyes, as if the person in the photo seemed familiar. I looked into the actor's eyes for a long time, and suddenly felt a little sour in my heart. what happened?I suddenly became upset, who is this woman?This old photo was taken in the open air, and the background seems to be a big black house, which seems to be a ghost inn.What does she have to do with this inn? Perhaps, only Achang in the entire inn knew about it.Now, Achang is also the only person I can trust. I hid the photo in my arms and quietly walked out of the room.In the lobby on the ground floor of the inn, I saw Achang, who seemed to be preparing for dinner. There was no one else around, so I pulled him into the kitchen and showed this black and white photo. Achang's big and small eyes narrowed immediately, looking carefully at the person in the photo—— Suddenly, his hands trembled violently, and his eyes radiated fear.I looked at him with trepidation, and found that his lips were moving constantly, and there was a strange sound coming from his throat, and a breath similar to that of an extremely thirsty person in the desert. I couldn't help but feel creepy. A Chang's hand suddenly let go, and the black and white photo exuding a stale smell floated to the ground like a dry leaf.As soon as I leaned over to pick up the photo, Achang let out a strange cry, pushed open the kitchen door and ran out. "Achang!" I called out to him loudly, and chased after him. Unexpectedly, Achang became so frightened, as if seeing a ghost, he pushed open the door of the inn. A gust of wind whizzed in immediately, and I could only cover my eyes with my hands.At this time, Achang had already quickly ran out of the inn and rushed into the violent typhoon. "Achang, come back quickly! It's dangerous outside." I grabbed the door frame and shouted loudly, but the sound was immediately swallowed up by the wind and rain, and I could only watch Achang disappear into the storm.Soon, the wind was so strong that I couldn't even open my eyes, so I could only close the door of the inn with difficulty. Taking a few deep breaths, I silently looked at the photo in my hand.I don't understand, why is Achang so frightened?Was he terrified of the photo itself, or of the woman in it?However, at least it is certain that Ah Chang must know something. I shook my head and ran back to my room on the second floor.Shuiyue is still asleep, it seems that the collapse of the inn will not affect her.I put the picture back in the little book, and stuffed it in the desk drawer. Ye Xiao, I'm really going crazy now, everything in the inn is getting weirder and weirder, I can't stay here for a minute.I think taking Shuiyue out of here now should at least send her back to her parents.However, this damn typhoon has completely trapped us, and now the Ghost Inn has become an island, and we are cut off from the world and unable to move. I just thought about it for a long time, until the sky gradually dimmed.Shuiyue woke up leisurely, her complexion was very pale, she looked at me flusteredly and said, "Where am I?" I became nervous: "Shuiyue, have you forgotten again?" "Ghost Inn?" She looked around the room, her eyes fell on the opposite wall, she seemed to see something, and said faintly, "I had a dream, I dreamed of a small dark room , with dim candlelight flickering. On a bamboo bed in the room, lay a very beautiful young woman. She closed her black eyelids tightly, and her whole body was stiff and cold. A foreigner in a white coat stood beside her. , slit open her stomach with a sharp knife—" "No!" I tightly covered her mouth, "Stop talking, Shuiyue." She managed to break free from my grasp, panting and asked, "Tell me, who is that woman I dreamed about?" I remembered the story Ding Yushan told me about the initial establishment of the ghost inn. After hesitating for a moment, I finally said the name: "Midnight." "Midnight?" She frowned and thought for a while, as if she was searching for something in her mind. Suddenly, she blurted out, "The front thread is broken, and I want to make friends. Spring silkworms are susceptible, and the silk has been revived." "Can you recite "Midnight Song"?" Shuiyue shook her head in pain: "I don't know what it is, but these few words suddenly flashed through my mind." I gently stroked her hair, comforting her with silence and quiet, only the sound of wind and rain outside the window. It was 6pm and I had to go downstairs for dinner or they would be suspicious.Before walking out of the room, I specially took care of Shuiyue again. As I expected, everyone including Qiu Yun was already waiting for me in the lobby.At this time, I saw Achang again, he looked a little flustered, fidgeting and walking around the counter.Maybe it was because of neurasthenia, but I always felt that when they sat around the dining table, the pale light made their faces very strange, which looked like some kind of ancient sacrificial sacrifice ceremony. I sat next to Gao Fan without saying a word, grabbed my rice bowl and started eating.They seemed to have finished eating, just sat at the table and looked at me.I simply pretended that they didn't exist, gobbled them up like no one else was there, and soon got full. "Zhou Xuan, have you finished eating?" Ding Yushan said coldly, I think his eyes are like a beast, he didn't allow me to answer and continued, "Let's talk about Shuiyue." "What do you want?" "I hope you understand my difficulties. We can't let a dead person stay in the hotel room all the time. It's neither humane nor safe." How should I answer him?You mean Shuiyue has come back to life?No, I can't tell him that.At this moment, I have already made up my mind, as long as the typhoon leaves here, I will quietly take Shuiyue away and send her back to her parents. At most, I can only let Qin Ran and Su Mei know.I replied coldly, "You still want to bury her?" "No, I just hope that you can hand over Shuiyue and let me deal with her. Please rest assured that Shuiyue will get the best arrangement." I looked into his eyes and shook my head slowly. Qiu Yun suddenly said: "Zhou Xuan, Shuiyue does not belong to you, you have no right to hide her, at least let us have a look at her, she will be dealt with properly." "You guys won't be able to stand seeing her." I'm right, if they see Shuiyue now, they will definitely regard Shuiyue as a "deceitful corpse", and it would be strange if they didn't scare them to death. "My patience is limited!" Ding Yushan finally got angry, and he yelled at me loudly, "Hand her over to me." "No—" I replied decisively. Ding Yushan immediately stood up from the dining table, ran to me aggressively, reached out and grabbed my collar tightly.At this time, I heard the screams of Qin Ran and Su Mei, and Qiu Yun also shouted: "Ding Yushan, let go!" I pushed him away violently, and suddenly I was full of hatred for him, it seemed that the evil of the entire Ghost Inn was concentrated in his eyes.When he rushed towards me again, I only felt a rush of blood rushing to my forehead, and I punched him heavily on the nose.Then, we twisted together like a dick. Ye Xiao, I can't remember clearly what happened next, but don't worry about me, although he and I have been hit by each other several times, but at least I didn't suffer.I only remember that Gao Fan forcibly pulled Ding Yushan away, and Qiuyun helped me up from the ground. I felt a burning sensation at the corner of my mouth, and I gasped and asked, "Am I bleeding?" "Yes, but it's just a split lip, you'll be fine." Qiu Yun comforted me. At this moment, I saw Gao Fan supporting Ding Yushan up the stairs.A contemptuous smile appeared on the corner of my mouth, so I stood up again and gently pushed Qiuyun away. I staggered to the counter, took advantage of the time when everyone else was busy, and said softly to A Chang at the counter: "Wait in 10 minutes, please bring me a dinner. Please." , don't let them know." Then, I left the lobby in a hurry and went back to my room on the second floor. After opening the door, I saw Shuiyue's terrified expression, she gently touched my lips and asked, "What happened?" "It's okay, I just had a fight with a friend." "Why fight?" I looked into her eyes, was silent for a while, and finally told the truth: "Because they want to bury you." "Bury me?" "Because—they think you're dead." "Am I a dead person?" Shuiyue narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, and said to herself, "Have I ever died?" No, I shouldn't have let her know that, she should have completely forgotten the painful experience of dying.I grabbed her by the shoulder and said, "No, let them all go to hell, I will definitely protect you, Shuiyue." "But can you protect yourself?" Shuiyue said with a sigh, then took out a piece of my towel, dipped some water and wiped the corners of my mouth.I stopped talking, and half-lyed on the bed with my eyes closed. I only felt that her hands were extremely gentle, and the towel, with a cool breath, moistened the cracks of my hot lips. After wiping, she showed me the blood on the towel and said softly, "Promise me, don't quarrel with others for me in the future." "Okay, I promise you, when the typhoon passes, we will leave this damn ghost inn, and I will send you home." "Go home?" She shook her head blankly, "I can't remember where my home is?" "I will ask Qin Ran and Su Mei, and I will explain clearly to them." She was silent for a while, then suddenly said lightly: "Zhou Xuan, I really want to take a bath." Yes, it's time for Shuiyue to take a bath, and the clothes on her body were brought up from the sea.However, I shook my head and said, "No, not yet, or they will see it. However, we can wait until midnight, and I think Achang will boil water for us." At this time, I remembered something again, so I asked Shuiyue to wait for me for a while, and then walked out of the room. In the dark corridor, I knocked on the door of Qin Ran and Su Mei's room. When they opened the door, they were startled and looked at me suspiciously.I didn't enter the room, so I stood at the door and said to them, "Can you give me Shuiyue's bag?" Qin Ran hesitated, but Su Mei didn't say anything, she went back and found the bag, and then handed it to me, as if sending away the plague god, their expressions became a little more relaxed.Su Mei said coldly: "Do whatever you want, the things left by the dead scare us." I shook my head, I didn't expect Su Mei to say such a thing, fortunately they are still friends who grew up with Shuiyue.But I didn't answer a word, and left here with Suigetsu's bag. As soon as I got back to the room, Shuiyue asked me: "What are you holding in your hand?" "Here's your bag." Shuiyue took the bag, looked at it on the bed, shook her head and said, "I really can't remember." "Open it and have a look, there are your clothes inside." She gently opened the zipper and took out the bag of clothes, some books and odds and ends.Her eyes were immediately attracted by that book. She picked up the book and flipped through it, and suddenly a piece of paper fell out, on which was written the poem by Tachihara Michizo. Suigetsu picked up the piece of paper and read it softly—— "You have turned into a ghost/Forgotten/But in front of my eyes/Aloof..." When she read the last two lines "May you rest in peace forever under the tree full of green apples" At that time, tears were streaming down his face. She hastily wiped away her tears, then put away her books and things, and never spoke again.I thought she might have remembered something, so I stopped bothering her. Several hours passed like this, until 11 o'clock in the middle of the night, we quietly walked out of the room. I held Shuiyue's hand tightly, and walked in the dark corridor with the clean clothes in her bag.I could feel her heart beating faster and faster from her wrist, so I whispered softly in her ear: "Don't be nervous." When I came to the lobby on the ground floor, I quietly pushed open the kitchen door.When the light was turned on, A Chang who was sleeping in the kitchen immediately jumped up and stared into my eyes vigilantly.He found Shuiyue standing behind me, and was immediately scared out of his wits. He took a big step back and leaned his back against the wall, his lips were trembling, but he couldn't say a word. I said softly to him: "Don't be afraid, Ah Chang. Shuiyue is not dead, she has come back to life, you see, she is a living person." At this time, I looked back at Shuiyue, her face was pale and pale under the light, and she had no expression.Then, I explained the purpose of coming to Achang, hoping that he could boil the bath water for us. Achang trembled for a while before recovering. He stared at Shuiyue for a long time with fearful eyes, finally nodded, and led us to the bathroom, and then went to the small room next to him to boil water. I opened the small door of the bathroom and let Shuiyue go in first with her clothes. At this time Achang came out, and I thanked him again, and hoped that he would keep it a secret for us for the time being.I also wanted to give him a few hundred dollars as a reward, but he refused. He shook his head and pointed to the door of the bathroom, perhaps referring to the water moon inside.I don't know what he means, but I can see the fear in his eyes. There is no paper and pen here, so I can't communicate with him.He sighed, and hurried away. I have been guarding outside the bathroom and waited for nearly an hour before Shuiyue came out.She put on a new dress, still all white from head to toe, and the hem of the skirt just covered her knees, and she looked as flowing as the waves.Her long hair was still steaming, hanging down her shoulders like a black hot spring waterfall, and she still had an otherworldly look. Shuiyue lowered her eyes and looked at me. Although her skin was still pale, it already had a lot of luster.There was a faint fragrance from her body, which floated into my nostrils, and she said softly: "Go in and wash, I'll wait for you outside." I looked at the small empty room next to her, and told her to hide there and not run around anywhere.Then, I went into the bathroom. Soaked in the hot water of the wooden barrel, the tense body and spirit of the past two days can finally relax.However, as soon as I thought that Shuiyue was still waiting outside, I immediately speeded up the speed of taking a bath. In less than 10 minutes, I changed my clothes and came out. Shuiyue quietly hid in the small room and waited for me, but I gently pulled her out.We left here quietly, turned off the lights and walked up the stairs. Suddenly, there was a slight sound of footsteps from above, and before I could react, a gloomy kerosene lamp pierced the darkness and shone on my face. We had no way to escape on the narrow stairs, and we had to involuntarily reach out to block our eyes.But with the help of the kerosene lamp, I quickly saw clearly that the person carrying the lantern was Qiu Yun in black. Qiuyun is holding up a kerosene lamp to shine on my face.Suddenly, her gaze fell behind me, and her expression changed in a blink of an eye. Her mouth opened slightly, but she couldn't close it anymore.Her eyes were wide open, her eyeballs were almost protruding, and an expression of extreme fear appeared on this mature woman's face. She saw the water moon! My heart immediately jumped up and down, I didn't know what to do, I only held Shuiyue's hand tightly.And Qiuyun stood on the stairs and looked at us blankly. The kerosene lamp was shaking like a pendulum, and the dim yellow light flickered accordingly, so our faces flickered, as if we were wandering between Yin and Yang. No one spoke, and the three confronted each other on the stairs for dozens of seconds.Finally, it was Shuiyue who broke the eerie silence. She hid behind my shoulder and asked, "Who is this woman?" I stared blankly at Qiu Yun and said, "The owner of the Ghost Inn." Qiuyun didn't seem to have woken up from the deep fear, she took a deep breath and said, "No wonder you didn't agree to bury her, and didn't let us see her." "Okay, you don't have to be afraid, I'll tell you everything now. Shuiyue just had a medical 'fake death' phenomenon, and then came back to life. Don't you think she is fine now?" Although I tried my best to explain, Qiuyun couldn't be moved. She stared coldly into my eyes and said, "Zhou Xuan, you are wrong, you made a big mistake." "What do you mean?" She shook her head and said, "Do you think she is a human? No, she is definitely not a human, but a ghost." There was a faint light in her eyes as she spoke the last words, and she looked like a witch.Suddenly, I felt Shuiyue's trembling behind me, and I immediately grabbed her hand tightly. "Get out of the way!" I pushed Qiuyun away and pulled Shuiyue past her.For a moment, I looked back and saw Shuiyue and Qiuyun's eyes facing each other. Their eyes were so close that Qiuyun was obviously terrified. She opened her mouth wide but couldn't speak a word. Stepping on the narrow stairs, we returned to the corridor on the second floor.I was afraid that Qiuyun would catch up again, so I deliberately looked back and saw that there was no light behind me, so I opened the door. After returning to the room, I realized that I was also in a cold sweat. Maybe my fear was no less than that of Qiu Yun.Now that she knows, what next?We can only hope that the typhoon will end as soon as possible so that we can escape from this terrifying area as soon as possible. Suddenly, Shuiyue rubbed my shoulder and asked, "Zhou Xuan, why did that woman say I was dead?" "No, don't take it to heart, she's talking nonsense." Shuiyue shook her head and said, "Did I really die?" "Never, you just had a 'fake death' phenomenon." Suddenly, her expression became sad, and she stared into my eyes and asked, "Did you tell me that I have been missing at sea for a long time?" "yes……" As much as I hate it, I can't deny the fact. Her lips trembled a little: "Did you see with your own eyes that I was washed ashore by the high tide on the night of the accident?" "No." "I understand, maybe I didn't 'fake death' at all-the fact is that I was drowned at the bottom of the sea on the day of the swimming accident. In the afternoon of the next day, my body floated up from the bottom of the sea again, and then It was washed ashore by the sea, just in time to be discovered by you." I quickly shook my head and said: "Shuiyue, all this is just your illusion, your delusion." "This is not a delusion. The so-called 'fake death' is actually all fabricated by you. It is a lie to comfort me, isn't it?" Shuiyue suddenly raised her head, and the light shone on her fair neck, like It was pouring down like running water, and she choked up and asked, "That is to say: I'm already dead?" "No, you are not dead, you will never die!" Shuiyue closed her eyes, her lips moved a few times, but she couldn't say a word.I could find a few teardrops overflowing from the corners of her eyes, and I gently wiped away her warm tears, searching for all comforting words in my mind, but couldn't speak them out.I was afraid that the more I explained, the less clear I would be, which would make her fall into deeper fear and pain. I let her lie flat on the bed, and then turned off the light, I just hope she can fall asleep quickly and forget all the pain and unhappiness. The sound of wind and rain outside the window seemed to be lighter, and I curled up on the floor alone, feeling heavy like the weather outside.After an unknown amount of time, I collapsed on the mat and gradually sank into the deep night. I was woken up by a strange sound until around 3 o'clock in the morning.The sound seemed to come from underground, but it became very faint here, and could only be heard with the ear pressed to the floor—and I happened to be sleeping on the floor. I always felt that there was something terrible hidden in the ghost inn. At this time, I had lost all sleepiness. I listened to the sound carefully, and some kind of hallucination appeared in my mind.I shook my head violently and immediately jumped up from the floor.Shuiyue was still fast asleep on the bed, the underground voice could not reach her ears. I had to go down and have a look, so I gently opened the door. Through the dark corridor, I came to the lobby on the ground floor, and I heard that sound again, it sounded like the feeling of soil cracking, floating leisurely in the inn like a ghost.Following the sound, I pushed open a small door, turned around several winding corridors, and suddenly saw a dim candlelight. In the flickering candlelight, I saw the back of a man.Suddenly, the man turned around vigilantly, his face was illuminated by the candlelight, it turned out to be the painter Gao Fan. He looked drenched in sweat, and was shocked when he saw me.Still holding a shovel in his hand, he waved it lightly and asked, "Why did you get down?" 我向前走了几步，看到他正在挖一个很深的坑，大概有两米见方，深度起码有一米半。我立刻就明白了，冷冷地问道：“挖金子？” “嘘——”他立刻做了一个禁声的动作，表情有些无奈，更有些紧张，“好的，我承认我在干这件事。我想我已经找对方向了。” “金子的方向？” 高凡的眼睛里，又露出了一丝不易察觉的兴奋：“是的，金子就藏在这下面，就差最后一口气了。” “你说真的？”我低下头，满脸狐疑地看了看被他挖开的大坑。 “行，见者有份，我会分给一部分的。”话音未落，他已经跳到了坑里，手中的铁铲又挥了下去，把一堆潮湿的泥土铲到了外面。我看着他挖坑的样子，在幽暗烛光的照射下，越看越像是在盗墓。 忽然，高凡的铁铲停在了泥土里，手微微颤抖了起来，他那张脸的表情也很怪异，缓缓地朝向我说：“我想我挖到金子了。” 他把铁铲扔到了旁边，半蹲下来用手挖着泥土，看起来底下似乎是有什么东西，然后又停了下来，似乎手里抓到了什么东西。忽然，他的表情发生了戏剧性的转变，从极度的兴奋变得极度地恐惧——他缓缓地举起了双手，我看到在他沾满泥土的手心里，正捧着一个死人的头盖骨！ 我立刻向土坑的底部看去，在烛光下依稀可见一段阴森的白骨。高凡似乎还不相信自己的眼睛，他喃喃自语道：“不可能，这不可能，底下一定有金子的。” 于是，他又低下头拼命地挖了起来。但黄灿灿的金子并没有出现，倒是一具完整的白色骨骸呈现了出来。 ——他挖出了一具死人骨头！ 我的身体也颤抖起来，这才发现幽灵客栈的地底埋着一个死人，这就是那个困扰我的幽灵吗？我立刻想起了客栈里种种难以解释的现象。 这时候高凡已经放弃了，他缓缓地爬出了那个坑，神情恐惧地摇了摇头说：“是他在呼唤着我，是他把我带到了这里。” "What do you mean?" 他的手颤抖着捧着头盖骨说：“这些天来，我每晚都会梦到地下的金子，它们就埋在这个位置。对，就是这些奇怪的梦，指引着我找到这里的。我现在终于想明白了，其实是这个地下的死者，他一直渴望着重见天日，于是通过金子作为诱饵，把我吸引到了这里，让我挖开了地面，把他从地下解救出来。” “你相信鬼魂的存在？” “我不知道，但我应该完成的他的意愿。等明天……明天我就把他埋到海边的墓地里。”看起来高凡的神智有些不清了，我不敢再呆在这里，于是悄悄地退出了这个小房间，然后快步地跑回了大堂里。 我飞快地回到了二楼的房间里，不愿意再想刚才的那一幕，便又倒在了席子上，昏昏沉沉地闭上了眼睛。 第二天，天还没亮我就睁开了眼睛，却没想到水月比我起得更早，正在窗前梳着头发。她怔怔地看着窗外，半侧着头让瀑布般的黑发垂下，遮盖了她半边的脸庞和肩膀，两只手缓缓地梳理头丝的缝隙，这是一幅让人联想到古老年代的画面。 透过半边头发外露出的一只眼睛，我看到了水月心中的忧伤和恐惧——她不知道自己是活着还是死了，心头带着这个沉重的疑问，足以让任何人发疯。 我悄悄地来到楼下，从阿昌手中盛了两碗热粥和早点，又回到了房间里。 水月一言不发，她不知道死人还是否需要吃饭？我不断地劝慰着她，她是一个好好的大活人，在海上只是一场意外而已。最后，在我的不断催促下，她还是吃完了早饭。 接下来，我就给你写信了。 好几个小时过去了，水月一直在旁边看着我写信。现在她终于说话了，她说可以想象出你是什么样的人。 叶萧，你相信这一切吗？ Yours sincerely! your friends hang around the ghost inn 上海的雨渐渐小了下来，雨点稀疏地打在病房的窗玻璃上。周寒潮半躺在病床上，怔怔地看着窗外的雨景，在一片阴沉的天空下，只见到几片树叶正在雨中颤抖着。 他想自己也许真的老了，这些天总是回忆起年轻时代的事情，那一幕幕宛如永不磨灭的电影胶片，反复地在脑子里放映着，比如——30多年前的那个清晨。 30多年前的那个清晨，在幽灵客栈三楼的房间里，他发现了洪队长的尸体。当时周寒潮被吓坏了，洪队长的身上还留有余热，面朝着天花板躺在地上，整张脸完全扭曲，眼球都几乎要突了出来。但奇怪的是，尸体并没有受伤或流血的痕迹，看不出他是怎么死的。 兰若正蜷缩在旁边颤抖着，周寒潮的心里又紧张起来，难道兰若被洪队长……他轻轻地拍了拍她的肩膀，她身上的衣服很整齐，看起来没有被人欺负过的样子，他才微微地出了口气。 然而，当周寒潮回过头来，看到身后那些人的目光，他的心一下子又凉了。所有的眼睛都盯着兰若，就好像在看一个女巫。不一会儿，三楼的走廊里已挤满了人，在外面嘈杂喧闹的声音里，周寒潮听到有人在大声地叫嚷着，说洪队长是被兰若杀死的。 周寒潮再也控制不住自己，他冲到外面问：“刚才是谁说的？” “是我。”原来是过去的那个女主角，她惊魂未定地说，“刚才我听到隔壁房间里有奇怪的声音，就进去看了看，结果发现了洪队长的尸体。” “那么说来，你并没有亲眼见到兰若杀死了洪队长？” “事情不是明摆在这里吗？洪队长是死在兰若房间里的，而她就在洪队长尸体的旁边。这几天没人愿意和她住在一起，所以她是独自睡在这房间里的。不会再有别人了，只有可能是她杀死了洪队长。” “那你说说兰若是怎么杀死他的？” “我不知道。”女人摇着头说，忽然她睁大了眼睛尖叫起来，“邪术，她一定是用邪术杀死了洪队长。” 忽然，有人附和着喊道：“对，前些日子死去的那两个人，也是因为中了她的邪术了吧？天哪，难道她不是人，而是女鬼附身？” “没错！她不是人，她会把我们都杀了的。” 后面一大群人都叫嚷了起来，周寒潮紧张地看了看戏团里的其他人，这些人却毫无表情，仿佛兰若的生死与他们无关。不，他相信兰若是无辜的，他用身体阻拦在兰若面前，大声地劝阻着激动的人群，但他的声音立刻就被别人淹没。 十几个愤怒的人，大叫着冲进了狭小的房间，周寒潮被他们推到了墙壁上，动弹不得。他只能眼睁睁看着兰若被推到外面去了。 周寒潮感到自己浑身的骨头都快散架了，他在房间里挣扎了好一会儿，才摇摇晃晃地站起来。这时周围已经没有人，他顾不上浑身的酸痛，飞快地跑下了楼梯，一口气冲出了幽灵客栈，爬上一块高岗眺望远方，只看到一大群人正向海岸走去。 他立刻向那里追去，大声地叫他们停下，但距离实在太远了，那些疯狂的人们根本就听不到。 “兰若……兰若……”周寒潮在心里默念着她，用尽全力飞奔而去。在许多年以后，他曾无数次在梦中重温那次海边的狂奔，夹带着冰凉雨点的海风，吹乱了他的头发和衣服。他张大着嘴呼吸着潮湿的空气，只感到越来越窒息…… 当周寒潮终于追到那群人的时候，他们已经转过头向回走了。这些人的眼睛里都似乎带着血丝，喘着粗气从他身边跑过。 等人群散尽以后，周寒潮看到了兰若。 她俯卧在海边的浅滩里，半边脸正埋在海水中。 No!周寒潮不由自主地浑身颤抖起来，虽然是在夏日，他却感到自己仿佛掉到了冰洞里。 周寒潮飞快地跑到她身边，将她从海水中拉了出来。然后，他轻轻地扶起了兰若的头，看清了她那张被海水浸泡得苍白的脸。 她已经停止了呼吸！ 周寒潮深深地吸了口气，仿佛整个胸腔里都充满了兰若的气息。他像个傻子一样呆呆地凝望着，眼前浮现出了那副可怕的画面——兰若被那些疯狂的人们，强行按到了海水里，就这样被活生生地溺死了。 他能够感受到兰若死亡时的痛苦，感受到嘴巴和鼻子被海水覆盖，感受到窒息和死亡的降临。可是，兰若的脸上并没有多少痛苦的表情，只是苍白而冰凉，嘴角露出一丝淡淡的哀怨。 周寒潮把兰若紧搂在自己怀中，凄凉的风雨洒在他们的身上。他温柔地摇着兰若的身体，对她的耳边轻声呼唤。然而，她再也无法说话，再也无法唱出那惊艳绝伦的子夜歌。 在那个瞬间，他仿佛听到从大海的深处，传来了那幽幽的歌声。 周寒潮这才深深地感受到，在这个茫茫的世界上，兰若就是他最爱的那个人。 ——她已化为了幽灵。