Exiting the alley, the old factory was just ahead.
The building had been around almost forty years, never repainted, its exterior gray and dull. A couple of households were cooking; thick smoke curled from the chimneys, encircling the entire building in haze, its outlines blurred.
Shen Xiaoxiao: “Why does it look like a mirage?”
But once they got closer, that hazy illusion disappeared. What stood before them was just an old, dilapidated factory building.
Sun Niu pulled out three sets of keys from her pocket: “I’ve sorted all the rooms at the rental office for you. I’ll take you upstairs. If the rooms are fine, I’ll leave.”
The two boys would obviously share a room. She looked to the four girls: “How do you want to arrange yourselves?”
Shen Xiaoxiao instinctively glanced at her sister, but Shen Huanhuan shook her head.
Shen Huanhuan looked towards Yu Renwan, who was standing far away: “Why don’t weโ”
Jiang Yan stepped forward, blocking Shen Huanhuanโs line of sight, cutting her off.
She pointed at Yu Renwan: “You’ll room with me.”
Shen Huanhuan immediately looked at Jiang Yan with concern.
Jiang Yan: “My fate is tough.”
Shen Huanhuan wanted to say more, but at that moment Yu Renwan nodded, softly saying, “Iโll room with you.”
So it was settled.
Sun Niu led everyone upstairs. This old factory was the type with staircases built in a ’90s style, five stories high and with two rooms per floor. The architecture and layout were impractical, with narrow corridors and temperamental sound-controlled lights, but the weirdest feature was the windows.
Each apartmentโs window opened directly onto the hallway, right beside the unit door. Anyone going up or down the stairs could glance in and see the layout of the rooms.
When Jiang Yan reached the second floor, she saw a resident poking her head out the window.
“Just moved in?” The seventy-something grandma wiped her hands on her apron. “How come youโre all so young, still in school?”
Shen Xiaoxiao fibbed, “Grandma, weโve all graduated!”
The woman, named Xu Jinhua, said her eyes werenโt as good as they used to be, and warmly added: “Come to grandmaโs house for a meal when youโre free.”
Shen Huanhuan smiled and nodded. Just then, Sun Niu had the key to the other second-floor room, so she picked that one.
Cheng Guang and Lin Xinjiu took the third floor.
The two rooms on the third floor hadnโt been lived in for years; the doors were plastered with adsโlocksmith notices, drain cleaning. Cheng Guang took the key, peeled off the flyers, and entered with Lin Xinjiu to drop off luggage.
Last, Sun Niu led Jiang Yan and Yu Renwan up to the fourth floor.
“I heard from the rental agent that there’s an old man on this floor, a bit eccentric. Drove the neighbours out before. Since you ended up renting here, money must be tightโso please have patience with the old guy.”
Jiang Yan smiled. “Of course.”
Between the third and fourth floors was a landingโsometimes called the ‘third-and-a-half floor.’ Normally, you’d expect a window or maybe a broom here, but there was nothing, just a yellowing, flat wall giving off a claustrophobic and oppressive feeling.
Strangest of all, a pair of festive red couplets was pasted there.
“Family in harmony brings a hundred blessings”
“Children and grandchildren fill the hall with flowers”
Horizontal couplet: “Welcome inside.”
Even Sun Niu paused at the sight. She couldnโt help but remark, “Thereโs no door here, so why paste a couplet welcoming you in? Whereโs the door?”
She stepped to the center of the couplets and knocked lightly on the wall.
“Creakโ”
The sudden sound startled Sun Niu so much that she shivered, the smile vanishing from her face. She quickly checked the wall, still flat and smooth, then looked up to see the door to the fourth floor open.
An old man emerged, using a cane, slowly coming down the stairs.
Sun Niu thought of the eccentric renter, figuring this was him, and made way for the man. To her surprise, just as he reached her, he stopped.
Sun Niu: “Um…?”
“Thud.”
The old man made a sound like knocking on a door.
Sun Niu froze.
“Thud thud thud.”
The old man made the same knocking sound again, his cloudy eyes unblinking as he stared at her.
Sun Niu felt a chill down her spine and reflexively pushed at him. “What are you doing? Move along. Thereโs no door. Why are you knocking? Open your eyesโthereโs no door!”
At these words, the old man slowly looked away and, without a word, went downstairs.
Sun Niu swallowed, finding the atmosphere stifling, and hurried up to the fourth floor. “Check the room quicklyโif it’s fine, Iโm leaving!”
Jiang Yan went up, took the key, glanced inside, then turned and asked Yu Renwan:
“Howโs this place look to you?”
Yu Renwan stood by the landing, tiptoeing to check, but found nothing unusual. “Seems fine…”
Jiang Yan nodded.
“If you think itโs fine, it is.”
She told Sun Niu, “We’re good.”
Sun Niu responded, turned, and hurried downstairs. She now found the couplets on the wall increasingly bizarre. As she passed Yu Renwan, she suddenly slipped and landed hard on the stairs.
Yu Renwan quickly hugged the wall, but Sun Niu didnโt complain; she steadied herself using the handrail and headed straight out.
Outdoors, the damp evening air hit, and she tightened her jacket, finally breathing a long sigh.
The strange chill was gone.
Only then did she dare recall what the old man had muttered before going down the stairs.
โ”You should be grateful for your decision.”
After seeing Sun Niu off, Yu Renwan looked up at Jiang Yan, who also happened to be looking at her. The two gazed at each other for a few seconds.
Jiang Yan tilted her chin, indicating for her to come up: “What are you standing there for? Come in and put your luggage away.”
Yu Renwan crept upstairs, head down like a quail, eyeing Jiang Yan as she passed, set down her bag, then tentatively edged a step closer.
Half a minute later, another small step.
After a dozen such steps, she was practically standing flush against Jiang Yan. Seeing Jiang Yan totally unbothered, Yu Renwan finally gave a long exhale, whispering, “Turns out tough fate isnโt affected.”
“Having a tough fate is great, hope everyoneโs fate is tough.”
Jiang Yan: “Next time you mutter, try farther away. Or Iโll hear you.”
Yu Renwanโs face flushed instantly.
Jiang Yan left her be, going into the room to check the furniture and appliances. There was no air conditioner or fridge, but the weather was decent, so neither was essential. Once sheโd also checked the bedroom and bathroom, confirming the Bureau had prepared all necessities in advance, she was at ease and returned to the living room.
Yu Renwan was sweeping the living room floor.
“Can you cook?” Jiang Yan asked her.
“A bitโฆ”
Jiang Yan smiled. “Then dinnerโs on you?”
Yu Renwan saw the groceries Jiang Yan had bought at the market and promptly took them to the kitchen to wash and start cooking.
Her movements were deft. In less than twenty minutes, she made two dishes and a soup, all with appealing colour and aroma.
After dinner, she refused Jiang Yanโs help and efficiently cleared the dishes. She obviously did housework oftenโwithin seven or eight minutes, the kitchen was spotless.
“I thought youโd break a few bowls.”
Yu Renwan, just emerging from the kitchen, froze at the comment.
She got the implication and shook her head slightly: “Not everything I do goes wrong. The more practiced I am at something, the less often I have accidents. I havenโt botched housework in ages…”
“And, well… With people Iโm meeting for the first time, if theyโre too close, bad luck follows, but if weโve known each other a while, itโs fine.”
Finished, Yu Renwan let the crow out of the gold cage and fed it some bread from her canvas bag.
Jiang Yan texted Shen Huanhuan.
The twins were currently at the old ladyโs apartment across the hall. Theyโd dropped in with Jiangcheng specialties and were kept for dinner.
Shen Huanhuan: “Iโll try to find some info. Iโll contact you tonight.”
Jiang Yan: “Mm, Iโll look around nearby.”
At 8 p.m., Jiang Yan and Yu Renwan went out.
There was way too little useful info for this assignment; all they knew was that the buildingโs energy was erratic and recently, two elderly people had died, but not who or which rooms. Theyโd have to ask around.
Their first stop was the small store nearby.
This whole old factory zone was undeveloped, frozen in a late-’90s stateโeven the tiny store was stocked with every little thing in a space of less than three square meters.
Jiang Yan bought some items. The boss, seeing unfamiliar faces, was curious, “You and the girl outside here for vacation?”
“Renting nearby,” Jiang Yan paid, pointing at the factory, “That oneโIโm staying with a friend.”
She watched the boss closely. As expected, he frowned.
“Why rent there? Didnโt you hear two old folks just died? The place is inauspicious. Kids like you are so fearless nowadays.”
Jiang Yan feigned surprise: “The landlord never told me about any deaths; donโt scare me.”
“Why would I scare you?” the boss said. “If the landlord told you, youโd never rent! Around here, everyone knowsโtwo folks in their seventies died back-to-back in that building half a month ago. At that age, passing away isnโt tragic, but the way they died was terrifying. When we carried the bodies out, I took a peekโcouldnโt eat for two days!”
“What was so terrifying?”
The boss was about to answer, then clammed up and waved her off. “Why do you wanna know so much? If you donโt care, just keep living there. If you werenโt my daughterโs age, I wouldnโt have told you at allโkindness wasted!”
Of course, Jiang Yan couldnโt leaveโshe still didnโt know how the elders died.
After a secondโs thought, she picked up several boxes of milk. “Iโll take these too.”
The boss was puzzled: “You can drink that much?”
Jiang Yan pressed her lips. “No, but just scan me.”
“โฆโฆโฆ”
“…………”
The boss silently scanned her code, looking up again, then suddenly went on, “Eh, itโs no big secret, itโs just that the way they died was bizarre. When they died, it was like their souls had been sucked out.”
ใPfft.ใ
ใ? Can you blink if youโre being held hostage by morality??ใ
ใLMAO She blackmailed the boss into spilling with extra milk hahahahahaใ
Jiang Yan: “Had their souls sucked out?”
“I donโt know how else to describe it,” the boss whispered. “They looked like skeletons with a thin skin stretched over. Both families claimed it was a sudden illnessโbut how could that be? Who dies overnight with skin still tight on bones? Now rumours are swirling the two died from shame, got together to hook up with some woman from a paper slip, took medicine, couldnโt handle it, and had their essence sucked dry…”
“Hey, why are you, a young girl, listening with such shining eyes? Whatโs interesting about this, get going, get goingโ”
Jiang Yan: “?”
She corrected, “Your eyes were shining.”
Boss: “You sure can talk.”
This time, he truly refused further questions, shooing her away, and Jiang Yan left with her haul.
Yu Renwan took the initiative to carry two milk boxes, trailing limply alongside.
Sheโd worried that going in herself would get the boss unlucky and irritable, making him refuse to talk.
“Itโs fine.” Jiang Yan read her thoughts. “See those chess-players? Iโll have you stand where I say and use your constitution.”
Yu Renwan froze, glancing up at Jiang Yan.
Her eyes were unusually deep black, gazing both darkly yet hollowly at peopleโlike threatening to drown others, yet already drowned herself.
“Is that okay?” Jiang Yan asked.
Yu Renwanโs expression turned suddenly rather sad. She nodded quickly, stammering, “Okay, okay.”
The stream chat was a bit confused about this development.
ใDoes Yu Renwan remember sheโs ranked 107? Why is she so obedientโฆใ
ใI thought sheโd go act on her own.ใ
ใYeah, Jiang Yan was powerful in the previous two rounds, but sheโs a rookie, no streaming record, canโt even be rankedโcompared to Yu Renwan, she doesnโt have the same reputation.ใ
ใThatโs why Jiang Yan is considered a psychology master. You all donโt get why Yu Renwan listens to her.ใ
Jiang Yan had made spot-on assessments just from dialogue in previous rounds, so her “psychology master” persona was rock solid.
ใThink about how unlucky Yu Renwan normally is. No one wants to team up with her; itโs always solo missions, struggling and guarding against bad luck. Put yourself in her shoes, and youโll get why she listens to Jiang Yan.ใ
Back in the factory courtyard, there was a ring of eldersโsome doing tai chi, some playing go, but mostly playing Chinese chess. The scene was lively.
Jiang Yan observed from afar; the youngest chess player was over fifty, and most were in their sixties or seventies. Only when a seat opened did she slowly approach.
Jiang Yan knew the basics of chess from seeing people play long ago.
Her opponent was a man in his sixties, long white hair and a beard. He looked surprised to see Jiang Yan, but soon started to play.
After a while, it was clear Jiang Yan was running out of moves. She glanced at Yu Renwan, then at the spot behind the elder.
Yu Renwanโs eyes opened wide.
“……?”
Jiang Yanโs gaze pressed her.
A few seconds later, Yu Renwan, shoulders hunched, stood behind the elder, face mortified.
From that moment, the elder started making errors. Jiang Yan held her own, winning three straight games in an hour, leaving the old man in despair.
He gulped his tea, blew his beard, slapped the table: “Again! In over ten years, Iโve never lost. I donโt believe thisโagain!”
But Jiang Yan stood to leave.
“Next time. I just moved in with my friend today, got to tidy up the room.”
The old man reluctantly agreed. “Fine, just come over when you have time. Which building did you rent? The factory ownerโs a friend of mine. If you come tomorrow, Iโll get you a discount!”
Jiang Yan gave a subtle smile.
Sheโd noticed the elder was surrounded by many peopleโs desiresโambitions for networking and currying favour. As expected, he had some pull.
“That one.” Jiang Yan pointed behind her.
The man frowned just as the shopkeeper had earlier.
“Why rent there? Move out at once. Iโll have my friend get you a better placeโmove tonight!”
Even the livestream and Jiang Yan herself were startled at his decisiveness.
“Why move?” Jiang Yan asked.
The man, not wanting her to stay, spoke plainly, dipping his finger in tea and writing two characters on the table, then wiping them away.
“Half a month ago, several of these died in that building, and then came two deaths.”
He saw Jiang Yan as his new chess buddy and was candid: “I knew both deceased, healthy, kind, family in harmony. Recently, rumours claim their morals were unsavoury, but only outsiders believe that. I absolutely donโt. Itโs cursed by that thingโdefinite revenge!”
“Iโm not just superstitious. At my age, Iโve seen a thing or two. Move out while you can; listen to elders to avoid loss.”
Jiang Yan found an excuse to refuse; the man, out of options, made her promise to “apologize at the door” whenever she entered or left, releasing her at last.
Afterward, Jiang Yan and Yu Renwan wandered a bit more but gained nothing new.
On the way back, Jiang Yan pondered the two characters the chess elder had written in tea:
ใWillow Immortalใ
Which meant: snake.
Half a month ago, several snakes died in the factory. Then two elders passed away in quick succession.
You couldnโt deduce causation from this alone. Jiang Yan considered a few possibilities, then stopped. Theyโd only been here a few hours, and the information was too scant. No point overthinking; better to rest and wait.
At 11 p.m., they returned to the factory.
The courtyard was deserted. Everything was utterly quiet with not even wind or insects.
Inside, Yu Renwan stomped, but the sound-activated light didnโt turn on; the hallway was pitch black. She quickly switched on her phoneโs flashlight.
Weak light illuminated five or six stairs ahead.
They kept climbing. On the second floor, they ran into the friendly grandma from earlier.
She was crouched in a corner with her back to them, murmuring to herself.
Jiang Yan ignored her, continuing upstairs, as did Yu Renwan.
Itโs not wise to speak to people muttering in the dark at midnight.
At the landing between floors, Jiang Yan looked back.
The old woman had stood up at some point, her face directly toward them.
“Why are you back so late?” she suddenly asked.
“Just finished dinner.” Jiang Yan replied.
“Dinner, eh,” the old woman nodded dully. She unconsciously licked her lips, as though recalling something tasty. Drool trickled down from her mouth.
Yu Renwan nudged Jiang Yan; neither glanced back, heading upstairs.
Entering the apartment, Yu Renwan whispered, “Her eyes… did you notice?”
Jiang Yan nodded: “Her pupils were vertical.”
There was no more to say.
Yu Renwan went to wash up; Jiang Yan sat on the sofa messaging Shen Huanhuan, describing their odd meeting, then asking about dinner.
After some ten minutes, Shen Huanhuan replied:
“Everything normal.”
“During dinner, the grandma was totally fine, but halfway through, she took a bowl into the inner room. I asked if anyone else was at home, and she said it was an offering for her husband. He was one of the elders who diedโhis name is Shang Demin. I peeked at the altar; it did say those three characters.”
“I planned to ask more, but she kept talking about her early love story with her husband. Marriage seemed good, and before we left, she mentioned her grown children, all working elsewhere and rarely home. She told us to visit often if we had time.”
“Nothing out of the ordinary.”
That was indeed perfectly normal.
Jiang Yan: “She didn’t say how Shang Demin died?”
Shen Huanhuan: “I asked once, she just ate without a word, so I didnโt press.”
“Jiang Yan-jie, did you find anything?”
Jiang Yan: “Before the two elders died, several snakes died in the building.”
Shen Huanhuan took longer to reply: “Hmm? Do we know how?”
Jiang Yan: “Not yet.”
Shen Huanhuan: “Thatโs probably significant. Iโll ask around too. Spiritual animals killed violently do exact revenge, and how they died mattersโletโs hope it wasnโt cruel.”
Finished reading, Jiang Yan put away her phone.
It was nearly midnight. Yu Renwan was still washing up; Jiang Yan let her have time, then fell asleep first.
When Yu Renwan finished her shower, she found Jiang Yan sound asleep.
Jiang Yan must have been exhausted from the day, sleeping deeply and breathing peacefully. Yu Renwan set down her hair dryer and climbed carefully into bed, her hair still damp.
Yu Renwan had never shared a bed with anyone but her mother. Ages ago, sheโd formed a team once, but after a dayโs mission, nobody would stay in a room with her.
So lying next to someone she’d just met was a very special experience.
Yu Renwan opened her phoneโs notepad, gratefully recording todayโs date and Jiang Yanโs name.
After that, she felt sleepy, too. There was no air conditioner, and the night got chilly. Yu Renwan slid a little closer to Jiang Yan, closed her eyes, and started drifting off.
But just as she was falling asleep, she suddenly felt her palm itch.
A light tickle.
At first, Yu Renwan ignored it, but the sensation got clearer, like someone scratching her palm with a nail. She slowly opened her eyes.
No one was thereโin front of her was a red wooden wardrobe.
She tended to sleep with her hand over the edge, so now her position had changedโshe was no longer facing Jiang Yan, but turned away.
Yu Renwan lifted the covers, inspecting her palm by phone-light.
There were a few red marks, as if scratched several times.
Awake in the middle of the night, she was a bit groggy, and slowly laid her arm back in the same spotโher palm facing down, over the side.
So somebody had been scratching from underneath.
Yu Renwan slowly bent down to peer beneath the bed. Below was pitch black, ink-like, not a hint of light. She shivered violently, all sleep gone.
Climbing quickly off the floor, she decided not to freak herself out.
But now awake, she decided to use the bathroom before bed. She left the bedroom and entered the bathroom by the door.
There was a small light by the mirror. She turned it on; the yellow light reflected her pitch-black pupils and utterly bloodless lips.
After using the toilet, Yu Renwan washed her hands and leaned close to the mirror, pressing her lips together for some colour. Her lips were always pale, and combined with her black hair and eyes, made her seem unhealthy.
Yet as she neared the mirror, she suddenly noticed a new freckle on her right cheekโa tiny, faint mole.
…When did that appear?
Was it always there?
Carefully recalling, she was sure it hadnโt been there that morning. Yu Renwan touched her face in the mirror and found a mole had appeared on the back of her hand, in her reflection.
Oh, so the spot was just dirt on the glass.
Yu Renwan smiled sheepishly; a bit obsessive-compulsive, she tried to wipe it off. After a few wipes, though, it didnโt disappear. In fact, it grew visibly larger.
Looking closely, it had also moved slightly.
Did she wipe it off-kilter?
She scrubbed hard, but the black speck bizarrely kept growing longer, actually swaying from side to side. At last, Yu Renwan stared, finally seeing what it actually was.
And in that instant, goosebumps popped all over her body.
It was a snake, drawing closer and closer.
It stood upright like a human, swaying side to side, its flexible body contorting in a nearly unnatural way. Earlier, it must have been far away, so sheโd mistaken it for a tiny speck.
Now it was coming at her!
Yu Renwanโs mind went blank. Instincts kicking in, she spun around to look behind her.
Nothing, not a hint of a snake.
So the snake was in the mirror.
Yu Renwan had never encountered this before; she hurriedly slapped some talismans on the glass, but to no avail. As the snake lunged with a flickering tongue, she gave up on fighting and dashed out.
She ran to the bedroom, trying to wake Jiang Yan so they could flee, but as she reached out to the bed, a chill shot to her scalp.
Yu Renwan remembered clearly that the covers had been pushed aside when she got up.
But now, not only was the quilt smoothed out on the bed, but there was a small, raised lump.
There were two people on the bed.