Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Search

Early the next morning, I arrived at the hospital and said, "An'an, you've been hospitalized for a whole day now. Look..."

An Mingshan replied, "What, are you that eager for me to go back?"

I said, "No, it's just that the shop can't even open without you."

An Mingshan said, "Do you want me to go back and serve as your storefront mascot?"

I said, "Look at me, do I look like that kind of person? I just need you to go back and do a little cleaning, that's all. By the way, I have an appointment with Dr. Wang, so I'm heading out now."

At a little past eight in the morning, in Wang Yong's office.

I said, "See, I arrived right on time, didn't I? Let's go, I've brought everything I need."

We grabbed a quick bite, double-checked the items I had packed, and then I drove Wang Yong to an abandoned apartment complex on the outskirts of the city.

Ten-thirty in the morning, inside a room of the apartment complex.

I coughed a few times and asked, "Dr. Wang, are you sure people actually lived here?"

Wang Yong replied, "This place has been deserted for nearly a dozen years. Alright, hurry up and find the items."

Feeling a bit awkward, I started wandering around the room. But as I emerged from the inner chamber, I saw Liu Wei standing there!

I gasped, "Weiwei!"

Liu Wei said, "Call me Reporter Liu. By the way, why are you here?"

I said, "I was about to ask you the same thing. What are you doing here?"

Liu Wei replied, "I'm looking for material. People say this is a 'haunted building,' so I came to check it out."

I said, "If you want material, go look in other rooms. I’m here for a specific reason, really."

Liu Wei said, "But the doors to the other rooms are locked; I can't get in."

I said, "How about this? Go to the room across the hall, and I'll teach you the 'master key' technique."

With that, I took Liu Wei to the room across the hall and kicked the door with all my might. The door flew right off its hinges and slammed against the opposite wall!

I said, "Go on in, it's open."

Liu Wei muttered, "I suppose... that works too..." And she walked inside.

I returned to my room to continue searching. Suddenly, Wang Yong called out, "Little Li, come here!" I hurried to one of the rooms, where Wang Yong pointed to a hole in the ceiling and said, "Look, it's right here."

I said, "Good thing I came prepared. Stay here, don't move; I'll be right back." I went downstairs, grabbed a telescopic ladder from my trunk, and returned to the room. I set it up and asked, "This, could you possibly..."

Wang Yong asked, "What's wrong?"

I whispered, "I'll let you in on a secret: I have a bit of a... fear of heights."

I stood below, watching Wang Yong climb up to retrieve the items. Suddenly, I heard a sharp scream: "Ah!"

My heart skipped a beat. "Something's wrong! Dr. Wang, I'm going out for a second, you keep looking!" I dashed out, only to collide head-on with Liu Wei. She fell into my arms, sobbing. It reminded me of the first time we met.

It was a night, shortly after the renovation of the Suiyi Residence was finished. I had stepped out for food and bumped into a girl who clung to me, trembling, saying she was being followed by a bad man and begging for my help. I took her back to my shop. It wasn't until the next morning that I learned she was Liu Wei, the younger sister of Liu Shan, and the "bad man" was actually her brother, who had been tailing her in disguise to ensure her safety.

Back in the present.

I said, "Don't do this, it doesn't look good. Go back where you came from, and we'll talk later. Be a good girl, okay?" Sensing that she wasn't going to get anywhere, Liu Wei left sullenly.

I returned to the room to find that Wang Yong had retrieved the items: a small floral quilt containing a few photographs, a birth certificate, and a letter.

I collapsed the ladder and said, "It seems we've found what we were looking for. Let's pull out! You wait in the car, I need to 'clean up' this place." After sending Wang Yong off, I did a thorough final sweep and actually found a bundle of dynamite! Fortunately, there was no detonator, or all three of us would have been checking in with the afterlife.

I scoured the site one more time, confirmed there were no other valuable clues, took a few photos, and left. I got into the car, drove to the hospital, dropped off Wang Yong, and headed straight to the Paranormal Bureau to report the situation and turn in the explosives.

Reader Q&A.

Q: Mr. Author, what are your hobbies?

A: I enjoy surfing the web, photography, reading, repairing appliances, performing clapper talk, building model aircraft, and playing with puzzles like Rubik's cubes, nine-linked rings, and Luban locks, as well as dominos. I have many interests, which means I've learned a lot of things.