บท 11: Chapter 11 Eight Ropes Hanging in the Sky
At that moment, the room suddenly brightened as a massive lightning bolt tore through the dark sky, creating a blood-red tear and illuminating the entire room as if it were daylight. Immediately following was the deafening roar of thunder, emanating from above, causing the entire building to tremble in its resonance. I was startled; I had never witnessed such a colossal lightning storm before. Could it be a sign of something?
After the lightning subsided, my ears were ringing, and it took a while for them to calm down. The sound of rain tapping on the windows surrounded me. The torrential rain intensified, showing no signs of letting up, causing some concern about tomorrow's journey. If this rain continued into the next day, how would we make it to Yunju?
Leaning against the bed, I stared at my phone, which remained eerily silent, devoid of any messages or calls.
Unbeknownst to me, I had fallen asleep. In my dreams, I vaguely heard urgent knocking on the door. The knocks were rapid, and I sensed someone moving around me. A woman with shoulder-length hair, her back turned, seemed to be beside me, but I couldn't see her face clearly. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't wake up. The woman slowly turned around, and as I strained to open my eyes, hoping to see her face, I was sorely disappointed. A faint mist seemed to shroud her face. However, I felt that she was smiling, a smile that sent shivers down my spine.
The woman sat beside me, retrieving a dagger from her bosom, emitting an eerie blue light. Her smile became increasingly malevolent as she raised the dagger high and swiftly brought it down. Summoning some unknown strength, I broke free from my restraints in an instant, abruptly sitting up. The room was pitch black, and I hastily turned on the bedside lamp. The empty room greeted me, accompanied only by the sound of rain outside. My forehead and back were drenched in sweat.
"A nightmare, just a nightmare!" I reassured myself. I flipped my pillow, lay back down, but no matter what, I couldn't fall asleep again. Why would I dream such a dream? Was I too anxious? Just then, a rapid knocking on the door echoed through the room, mirroring the sound from my dream. Nervously, I sat up, grabbed my phone to check the time, only to be surprised—it was already half-past eight in the morning. Why was the sky still so dark?
The knocking persisted, growing more urgent. I swallowed nervously and cautiously approached the door. Through the peephole, I saw a familiar and delicate face—Jiang Mingyue. My emotions immediately settled, and after a few seconds of hesitation, I gently opened the door. Jiang Mingyue, upon seeing me, let out a sigh of relief, her previously tense expression dissipating. We locked eyes, stunned for a few moments before she finally exhaled and said, "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" I looked at Jiang Mingyue in astonishment, not understanding the context of her words.
"It's good that you're okay," she repeated breathlessly, still catching her breath. Only then did I notice that Jiang Mingyue's clothes and hair were soaked, rainwater dripping from the strands along the sides of her ears and onto her shoulders, revealing her alluring figure. My face blushed slightly, and I hurriedly said, "Come in quickly!"
Having said that, I stepped aside, and Jiang Mingyue, lowering her head to check her own condition, blushed as well. She then walked into the room.
"How did you come here?" I closed the door and asked Jiang Mingyue.
Jiang Mingyue looked around the room and said, "Do you... have spare clothes?"
I hesitated for a moment and said, "Wait a moment!" I immediately pulled out my suitcase and took out a white shirt, handing it to Jiang Mingyue. However, there were no suitable pants. At that moment, Jiang Mingyue said, "Don't bother, just the shirt is fine!"
I hesitated, nodded, and said, "Alright!"
Then, both of us fell into an awkward silence. After a while, Jiang Mingyue spoke, "Are you trying to watch me change?"
It was only then that I realized the situation, hastily stood up, scratched my head, and said, "Sorry, sorry..." as I walked towards the door. Closing the door behind me, I leaned against the wall, lit a cigarette, and couldn't help cursing myself for being a fool. After a few minutes, Jiang Mingyue gently opened the door and said, "Done!"
I quickly stubbed out the cigarette, turned around, and saw that Jiang Mingyue had changed into my clean white shirt. The shirt was oversized, reaching above her knees, exposing a pair of fair thighs. The sleeves were rolled up, and it reminded me of a classic scene from a movie, though in this case, we were somewhat familiar strangers.
After being stunned for a few seconds, Jiang Mingyue suddenly said, "Have you seen enough?"
I was startled and felt my face redden. I hurriedly scratched my head and said, "I've seen enough, seen enough!" As soon as the words left my mouth, I began silently scolding myself for being so clumsy.
Back in the room, Jiang Mingyue sat cross-legged on the bed. Her original clothes were placed in the bathroom. The oversized white shirt hung loosely, revealing glimpses of what lay beneath. I swallowed hard, trying to avoid staring at her body. Clearing my throat, I asked, "How did you find your way here?"
Jiang Mingyue smiled faintly and said, "Didn't you tell me where you were staying yesterday?"
"Oh!" Perhaps I had not fully awakened from the dream just now, so my mind still felt a bit sluggish. I struggled to recall our conversation from yesterday and asked, "By the way, you didn't finish what you were saying yesterday. You mentioned something about Yunju... What happened?"
At the mention of Yunju, a lightning bolt suddenly streaked across the sky, followed by thunder, as if her words had foretold the event. Nervously, we locked eyes, and the thunder continued for nearly half a minute before stopping. I looked at Jiang Mingyue in disbelief and said, "Ghost town? Are there really ghosts in this world?"
Seeing my half-believing expression, Jiang Mingyue sighed and frowned, saying, "Let me tell you something. During the Sino-Japanese War, a Japanese unit of several hundred soldiers somehow entered Yunju. Upon entering the town, they found it completely deserted, yet everything inside was surprisingly clean. Thinking that the townspeople had fled to the nearby mountains, they decided to stay for the night. Strange things happened that night. While the Japanese soldiers were sound asleep, they heard gunfire from outside. Startled, they woke up, only to discover that their comrades who had been sleeping beside them had mysteriously disappeared. They quickly assembled, realizing that only about half of their original group remained. However, there was no time to investigate the reason for their comrades' disappearance. Surrounded and pressed for time, they immediately engaged in combat. The town was shrouded in fog, making it impossible to see the enemy's location clearly. They could only hear the sound of bullets coming from the opposite side. So, they engaged in a fierce battle, lasting for over an hour, with the gunfire gradually diminishing until only sporadic shots were heard. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, and survivors found that the enemy used the same weapons as they did. With daylight breaking, the fog gradually cleared, revealing that the surviving Japanese soldiers were facing their missing comrades. After a night of battle, it turned out that the opposing side was their own missing men!"
"After this battle, the originally few hundred Japanese soldiers were reduced to less than ten. They regrouped, only to realize that the remaining people were about half of the original number. But at that time, there was no time to investigate the cause of the events. With the approaching day, the fog slowly dissipated, revealing no trace of Yunju. Instead, they discovered a large number of Japanese corpses in a nearby ravine, already decomposed due to the hot weather!"
"The 'Eight Paths Hanging Heaven Bureau!'" I muttered to myself.
"What?" Jiang Mingyue asked curiously.
I shook my head hurriedly and said, "What happened next?"
"Afterwards, it's said that the Japanese internally conducted lie detector tests and mental evaluations on those soldiers. They concluded that all of them suffered from varying degrees of mental illness," Jiang Mingyue said softly. "However, despite this, the Japanese secretly sent several more units to investigate Yunju!"
"And what was the result?" I asked.
Jiang Mingyue shook her head slightly and said, "Those who were sent never returned or went silent. Either way, they never found Yunju!"
"Mile was right after all!" I muttered to myself. "I didn't expect there to be actual Mohist mechanisms here!"
"Mohist mechanisms?" Jiang Mingyue frowned at me and asked, "You're saying those are mechanisms?"
I was about to answer when suddenly, a rapid knocking on the door interrupted us.
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