chapter 18
In the living room on the first floor.
Meng Yifan was acting meekly in Seventh Master Zhao’s house, pouring tea for him.
“Seventh Master, I was out of line just now. Please be generous and let it go.”
“Heh heh.”
After all, when your life is at stake, pride isn’t worth much.
Experts have strange tempers. Just now he told us to get lost, and now he’s invited us back in.
He glanced at Meng Yifan and snorted, “Who introduced you?”
I hurriedly mentioned Brother Liu’s name, saying we were close friends with him.
“Oh, so it’s that kid.”
Seventh Master Zhao nodded, sipping his tea while sizing up Meng Yifan and me.
His gaze was a bit odd-I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it felt like he’d already seen through something.
“This is a tough one.”
After a long pause, he finally spoke, sending us into despair: “Let me be clear, I might not be able to save you.”
Meng Yifan and I panicked instantly: “Seventh Master, we haven’t even told you anything yet-how can it be so difficult?”
Seventh Master Zhao explained, “Ghosts, as you call them, aren’t always that scary. Sometimes, they’re even afraid of people. But if they’re not afraid of people, then people have to be afraid of them, because they’ll cause trouble-and they’re vicious.”
“Not to mention, you’ve provoked more than one Ghost. One of them has been dead for at least ten years.”
We were stunned, utterly speechless.
Before this, we hadn’t revealed anything, yet Seventh Master Zhao could tell so much-and everything matched.
“Seventh Master, please find a way to save us!”
“We’re still young, we really don’t want to die!”
Meng Yifan completely set aside his pride-after all, nothing is more important than staying alive.
Seventh Master Zhao sighed, “Tell me the situation first, let me see what’s going on.”
I quickly explained everything, including the Massacre Case from fifteen years ago and the Corpse Hiding Case, sharing all the details.
“Dead for fifteen years, and walled up-so much resentment.”
Seventh Master Zhao’s expression grew grave: “This woman was evil in life, so she won’t be kind in death. With all that resentment, this Ghost is extremely dangerous.”
“But who’s the other Ghost? Haven’t you investigated?”
I shook my head, saying we’d racked our brains but couldn’t figure out who the other ghost was. At first, we even suspected the ghost knocking at the door might be Li Xiumei.
“That definitely wasn’t Li Xiumei.”
Seventh Master Zhao shook his head too, saying: “Li Xiumei was sealed in the wall the whole time. Until her remains were dug up, her Ghost could only wander in that room-she couldn’t leave. So the one knocking wasn’t her.”
“And the other ghost was actually guiding you to find Li Xiumei’s remains. That night when you opened the door, she was giving you a clear sign.”
Meng Yifan and I exchanged glances, instantly recalling what the girl did at the time.
Back then, Meng Yifan wanted to close the door, but the girl wouldn’t let him, even raising her hand to point at the master bedroom.
Thinking back now, she really was giving us a hint.
“Didn’t you say you received a photo? Let me see it,” Seventh Master Zhao looked at me.
I quickly took the photo out of my pocket and handed it to him, then Meng Yifan and I crowded around.
Seventh Master Zhao looked at it and frowned: “This photo is too old-the faces are hard to make out.”
I said I’d even had someone restore it on a computer, but it was so blurry that even after restoration, the faces were still unclear.
“Could the woman be Li Xiumei, the man Lv Zhengxian, and the little girl their daughter?” Meng Yifan speculated.
I said, “Judging by the woman’s attire in the photo, it’s highly likely that this woman is Li Xiumei.”
Because when Li Xiumei’s body was dug up, she was wearing these exact clothes.
“But the little girl in the photo is unlikely to be the daughter of Li Xiumei and Lv Zhengxian, because Brother Liu never mentioned her, and fifteen years ago Li Xiumei was only twenty-three. This little girl looks about five or six years old. If she were Li Xiumei’s daughter, then Li Xiumei would have had a child at seventeen or eighteen.”
“At that time, she and Lv Zhengxian hadn’t yet committed the Massacre Case. The hospital would definitely have records of her giving birth, and the little girl would have been registered in the household either under Li Xiumei’s family or Lv Zhengxian’s.”
So this little girl can’t be their daughter.
Seventh Master Zhao pondered and said, “I’ve heard about the Massacre Case from fifteen years ago. Back then, it was a family of four, three died, and a five-year-old girl went missing-her fate unknown. Isn’t that a coincidence?”
I was startled: “You mean, the little girl in the photo is the only survivor of that Massacre Case? The daughter of that family?”
Seventh Master Zhao nodded, “This photo gives the impression of a family portrait. Since Li Xiumei and Lv Zhengxian had no children, yet they took a five or six-year-old girl to take this family photo, their relationship with her must be significant.”
“Maybe the only survivor of the Massacre Case was adopted by them.”
Meng Yifan exclaimed, “Damn, those two beasts! How is this little girl supposed to face her life when she grows up?”
Seventh Master Zhao looked at us and asked meaningfully, “The girl who knocked on the door-how old do you think she is?”
I hesitated, then said, “Just over twenty, very young.”
Seventh Master Zhao said, “Fifteen years ago, the little girl in the photo was five or six. Fifteen years later, how old would she be?”
I blurted out, “Just over twenty…”
Before I finished, Meng Yifan and I both gasped.
“The other ghost is the little girl in the photo!”
“She’s dead!”
How could this be?
If Li Xiumei and Lv Zhengxian adopted her, and Li Xiumei died fifteen years ago, then she must have lived with Lv Zhengxian ever since.
Could it be that Lv Zhengxian killed her?
Is Lv Zhengxian a serial killer?
Seventh Master Zhao, like a detective, continued, “Li Xiumei’s death was only just discovered. The only person who could have killed her is Lv Zhengxian. Only someone living under the same roof could kill her quietly, seal her in the wall, and keep it hidden.”
“If that’s the case, how did the girl who knocked on the door know that Li Xiumei died in that house, and specifically in the master bedroom? Unless the girl who knocked on the door also lived in that house and witnessed the entire process of Li Xiumei being murdered.”
“But why would she live with Li Xiumei and Lv Zhengxian? There’s no doubt-the girl who knocked on the door is the little girl in the photo. There’s no mistake.”
Meng Yifan was struggling to process it all.
But I quickly sorted out the logic in Seventh Master Zhao’s words.
I marveled at this wise man’s insight, but at the same time, even more questions arose.
Why did this girl survive fifteen years ago, only to die fifteen years later?
Is the ghost trying to harm us Li Xiumei, or is it this girl?
Or do both women want to harm us?