Chapter 7 (2/2)
“It’s not that we don’t want to exchange information,” Zeng JinPing smiled bitterly at Xiao Tangqiu. He seemed to have been temporarily assigned leadership among his teammates and took the initiative to speak on their behalf. “The truth is we haven’t been able to find anything. This fishing village really has nothing of interest. We’ve searched through all the houses and still came up with nothing. We don’t even know what we should be looking for.”
Ding Tiantian and Ding Mimi merely looked at Luo Mansu, who shrugged, “We got nothing as well. That’s why we came to see the village chief. We were hoping to get some information from him but he won’t talk.”
The couple and the quiet trio weren’t around, and it didn’t look like they could get any information from the players here. Xiao Tangqiu rubbed his chin and indicated for Tang Mianmian to start talking. He was also curious to know what Tang Mianmian had experienced earlier.
Tang Mianmian gulped and slowly narrated what happened. “Just now, Xiao Tangqiu and I went to the restroom together. After I was done, I realized I hadn’t any toilet paper with me; so, I called out to Xiao Tangqiu. At first, there wasn’t any movement in the next stall. But after a few seconds, a hand stretched out from a small crack in the wooden partition.”
Tang Mianmian looked like he was about to cry as he continued, “I thought it was Xiao Tangqiu, so I took it without thinking. But the texture just didn’t feel right, so I took a closer look. It wasn’t toilet paper! It was fucking paper money that’s used to burn for the dead! I immediately felt a chill up my spine and ran the hell out of there.”
“So you didn’t see what that ghost looked like?” Luo Mansu asked.
Tang Mianmian’s small face had turned completely pale, “I was almost frightened to death! Do you think I’d still go and find out what that ghost looked like?”
Yellow Hair frowned and asked, “How can we avoid that ghost then? Don’t go to the restroom?”
“That makes sense, we’ll try to avoid the restroom,” said the man wearing glasses.
The man in the suit looked repulsed, “What are we supposed to do if we need to use the toilet? Don’t tell me you’re planning to do it in the bushes! How disgusting and unhygienic is that?!”
Luo Mansu sniggered, “Is cleanliness more important than staying alive? If you’re dead, you won’t even have the chance to complain about cleanliness.”
The girls looked rather uncomfortable. But they were more afraid of the ghost in the restroom and didn’t express any objections.
Xiao Tangqiu asked Tang Mianmian, “So, did you use it?”
Tang Mianmian was confused, “Use what?”
Xiao Tangqiu replied, “The paper money.”
“………. I did.”
“Ha!” Luo Mansu’s laughter was a little strange, “How did it feel?”
“It was a bit rough but I’d already taken it and I didn’t have any toilet paper either……..” Tang Mianmian turned red.
Xiao Tangqiu suddenly took a step back, a look of disapproval on his face. “Wait a minute, you didn’t wash your hands, did you?”
Tang Mianmian blushed in embarrassment, “It was an emergency! Are you still going to harp on whether or not I washed my hands?”
“Well, it’s safe now and there’s water here. Quickly wash your hands.”
Tang Mianmian looked like a puppy that had been wronged, but he still walked over to the side of the village chief’s house. There was a bucket of water, which he used to wash his hands.
Xiao Tangqiu looked up at the sky and noticed that it had turned dark. There weren’t any villagers out on the streets, and there weren’t any lights either. The darkness seemed to announce the presence of the unknown. “Shouldn’t we be heading back now? It’s already getting dark.”
Luo Mansu nodded, “Let’s go back.”
Xiao Tangqiu looked inside the house and saw the old village chief sitting on a stool. He was completely motionless and resembled a statue. If it wasn’t for the fact that he still blinked, Xiao Tangqiu would’ve been convinced that the old man was dead. But the abnormality in his lack of movement only served to paint a more disturbing picture.
There was a dirty table in front of the old village chief. A faint yellow light radiated from the diesel lantern on the table. It was very dim and looked like it could die out at any moment, but against the swirling darkness of the night, this light seemed to be the only glow left in the pitch-black fishing village.
They all left the old village chief’s house and headed back to their temporary accommodation.
After taking a few steps, Xiao Tangqiu turned around to look at the village chief’s house. Without them noticing, the door had already been closed quietly.
Soon after, the lights inside the house went out.