028 Hunting
“A-Zhi’s diary started in 2013, five years ago, when I first bought her this computer. The early entries were pretty normal. She mostly wrote about what books she read, which restaurant had good desserts, and how she always went alone… But since mid-last year, her diary entries started to change. Her writing became chaotic and dark, filled with the kind of antisocial remarks that a world-weary criminal might make.”
“Since the Mid-Autumn Festival of 2017, A-Zhi has been repeatedly having the same dream. The content of that dream is… twisted, oppressive, just like those horror games on her computer. Each time she has the dream, her mental state deteriorates a little more, and the diary entries become even more disordered, leaving me cold with fear.”
“I’m really worried about her mental state, but I’m also afraid that if I tell her directly, A-Zhi will blame me for snooping on her privacy. So, I copied the entries where she wrote about the dreams and sent them to a psychiatrist at the Mental Health Department of Qinzhu City Hospital.”
“The doctor said A-Zhi might have developed a delusional disorder and hysteria from not having normal social interactions and family relationships for a long time, while her mind has been immersed in morbid, terrifying virtual works. He said as long as she adjusts her mentality and spends more time outdoors, it should help. If necessary, he could visit in person for a consultation.”
“But I know it’s not like that!”
Feng Yushu’s emotions suddenly became agitated, and her voice grew louder.
“Because the dream A-Zhi has… that terrifying recurring dream in her diary!”
“The dream takes place in a strange village where everyone has yellow paper stuck to their faces with their names written on them. The people in the village all worship an evil god who appears as a serpent. The name of that village is… Hejia Village.”
Ning Zhe’s face immediately darkened. “You should have told me such an important clue earlier!”
But Feng Yushu seemed not to have heard him, continuing her rambling in a nervous manner. “I can’t die here, Ning Zhe, I really can’t die here. I must live to get out, to see my daughter again. She’s already been entangled by the strange forces of Hejia Village… I have to help her, a mother has to help her…”
“Do you know, Ning Zhe, I really don’t care. I don’t care about anything! You can ask me to do anything, I just want to know how A-Zhi is doing. She can’t be in danger. She’s still so young, with so much life ahead of her. If something happens to her… I really don’t know how I can go on living…”
Seeing Feng Yushu’s hysterical and incoherent state, Ning Zhe felt a headache coming on.
“Auntie, your mental state… isn’t much better either…”
It was no different from being insane.
In fact, Feng Yushu had been able to hold it together until now, not because of any maternal strength, but because she had already been broken long ago—just not showing it until now.
Once Feng Yushu’s condition seemed a little more stable, Ning Zhe stopped walking and asked, “Your daughter… her name is Bai Zhi, right? What horror games are on Bai Zhi’s computer? What kind of morbid comics is she into? Tell me everything, she might have dreamt of scenes from one of those games or comics.”
Feng Yushu thought for a moment before listing a few names. “The games are: Extreme Panic, Evil Spirit Possession, Asylum, Silent Hill, Mandarin Duck Debt, Red Silk Tangles, Paper Man, Port Ghost Files… [tl:mostly created but except Silent Hill others might be referring to Fatal Frame, Outlast, and The Evil Within or some similar] The comics are mostly foreign, and I don’t recognize them. Only one is Chinese, a youth manga called Extreme Split, but it’s not rural, more like a modern urban supernatural story.”
Ning Zhe pondered the names Feng Yushu gave him, realizing these games and comics didn’t match anything about his current situation. “None of them fit. Hejia Village isn’t a scenario from any horror game or novel or comic.”
It seemed that what he was experiencing wasn’t some cliché game invading the real world, but that they were truly involved with something inexplicable and eerie.
“This is interesting. Bai Zhi dreaming about the scenes from Hejia Village, and repeatedly having the same dream,” Ning Zhe muttered. Then he asked, “Auntie, does Bai Zhi’s diary have specific descriptions of what she dreams about?”
Feng Yushu shook her head. “No. Bai Zhi’s descriptions of her dreams are very chaotic, just some fragmented sentences, disconnected descriptions of scenes and conversations, and it all feels… odd.”
Just like how it had felt when she first entered Hejia Village.
“Okay.” Ning Zhe didn’t push further on that line of questioning.
Bai Zhi’s dream could be a crucial clue in understanding the connection between this eerie place and the real world, but Ning Zhe thought that, as someone likely on the verge of death, it was better to focus on saving himself first.
The most important thing right now was to make sure Feng Yushu never learned the truth about the ‘Lin Zhiyuan’ call from this morning.
He absolutely couldn’t allow her misunderstanding to be corrected; otherwise, all would be lost.
“Auntie, do you want to survive?” Ning Zhe asked abruptly.
“Of course I do.” Feng Yushu looked confused. “What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing…” Ning Zhe released Feng Yushu’s hand, stood on a stone step by the street, stretched his arms wide, and lazily stretched his back. Then, he continued, “I want to leave here alive too, but I need your help. Do you understand?”
Feng Yushu nodded. “How do you need me to help you?”
Ning Zhe lowered his head. “I’ve come up with a way to break the rules here. The plan is already in motion, but the ghost has seen through it and is trying to sabotage it…”
“The good news is that the plan has proven effective. The ghost is getting desperate. It has been calling me, changing identities, doing whatever it can to stop me, which just proves my idea is correct. I… might really have a way to kill it.”
“The bad news is that this plan is very fragile, fragile to the point that the ghost can destroy it with ease. If I’m not careful, it could all collapse.”
“And the key to my plan lies in you. If the ghost wants to kill me, it has to go through you first. So, Auntie, I need your help.” Ning Zhe said calmly.
Feng Yushu, half-understanding, nodded. “What… do you need me to do?”
“Do nothing.” Ning Zhe said firmly. “I need you to go find a place to hide right now. Don’t listen to, trust, or accept anything anyone says or does. Just bury your head in the sand like an ostrich until it’s over. Everything else, leave it to me. I’ll handle it.”
“Listen, Feng Yushu, I will get you to your daughter safely, I promise.” Ning Zhe spoke calmly, his eyes devoid of any emotion, only a cold indifference and detachment like a hunter observing its prey. “But can you guarantee that you’ll ignore all outside interference and blindly trust whatever I say?”
“If you can answer yes, then…”
Ning Zhe turned his head, his emotionless eyes locking with Feng Yushu’s.
“…I can go kill that ghost right now.”