Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dashun froze, his breathing suddenly turning rapid.

I stared at the old man as he walked toward the sink, one slow step at a time.

I moved aside to give him room and grabbed Dashun, intending to head out, but the old man stopped right in front of us, blocking our way.

“Sir, is there something you need?”

I asked, but the old man said nothing. He just stood there.

Up close, it was only a perfectly ordinary aged face.

Maybe we were overthinking it. Maybe all the old people around here liked wearing that kind of Blue Cloth Gown.

Dashun was extremely tense. I had a grip on his arm, and I could feel him trembling faintly.

Fortunately, the old man did not linger for long. Just as I was about to ask him again, he turned around and slowly shuffled toward the door.

“Brother Long! Brother Long!”

Once the old man had left the restroom, Dashun called to me in a panicked voice. “Look-”

I followed Dashun’s gaze toward the sink and saw that the half cigarette that had just given off a spark had already burned all the way down to the filter.

A cold wind blew in through the window, scattering a drift of ash.

“Mr. Long! Mr. Long-” Ren Song’s voice came from outside. Dashun and I hurried out.

Liu Xun was standing not far away, repeatedly making phone calls, his expression full of impatience.

“What happened?” I asked Ren Song, who looked extremely anxious.

“We just went to that little supermarket over there to buy some things, and I think we saw Sun Guangxin!”

Sun Guangxin was an employee at Liu Xun’s company and one of the drivers involved in this accident.

“The two of us were inside paying when he walked past the window.”

Ren Song pointed toward the supermarket. “By the time we ran out, he was gone.”

“Could you have mistaken someone else for him?” Dashun asked hesitantly.

Ren Song scratched the back of his head. “I don’t think so. We know Sun Guangxin really well. Besides, it’s not like both of us could have seen wrong, right?”

Liu Xun walked over then, his tone full of irritation. “Their phones still won’t go through. What do we do? Should we search around here? Maybe they never went down Huai Mountain Old Road at all.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

Since someone had seen him, we could hardly pretend otherwise. I led the others toward the supermarket.

When Huai Mountain Service Area was first built, it seemed to have copied the layout of Zhenya Village somewhat.

The buildings in every direction were arranged in three horizontal rows and three vertical columns, and the ones facing the parking lot were all raised seven steps above ground level.

But in reality, there was no need for that many buildings. Only a few small shops were open in the outermost row. The rest of the rooms were all dark and hollow.

By now, the sky had gone completely dark. The lights in the service area were all dim, with only a few large lamps shining over the parking lot.

We passed the small supermarket where Liu Xun and the others had just bought things. The lights inside were on, but there was no sign of the owner.

Dashun glanced into the supermarket through the open door, then hurriedly grabbed my arm.

I turned my head and looked. There was a small room inside the supermarket, and in that room sat a wooden rocking chair.

The Old Man in Blue Robe we had seen earlier in the restroom was sitting in that rocking chair now.

His face was hidden in the shadows, and the rocking chair creaked back and forth.

“He was there when we were buying things just now,” Ren Song said unconsciously from beside us.

Dashun’s face turned even paler.

“It might not be the same person. Don’t scare yourself.”

I lowered my voice and said this to Dashun. Dashun nodded, doing his best to calm himself down.