18. Chapter 18: Headfirst

Then, I watched helplessly as an incredibly bloody scene unfolded right before my eyes. Zhao Yong, holding an axe, approached the man who had just fallen from the building and swung the axe down onto his chest.

Blood splattered at my feet, and it took me a moment to react. Then, I was stunned, staring blankly as Zhao Yong kept swinging the axe repeatedly. I stood rooted to the spot, utterly unmoved.

After a while, Zhao Yong finally stopped, panting heavily, and moved to the side. He threw down the axe and sat on the ground. At that moment, he was covered in blood, resembling a demon.

Shortly after, several police cars arrived on the street. Zhao Yong and the bodies on the ground were taken away, and because I was his close friend and the nearest person to him, I was also taken with them.

In the police car, I sat beside Zhao Yong. He kept his head lowered, saying nothing.

I was even more confused. All evening, I had worried something would happen to Zhao Yong, but I never imagined it would end like this. Why did Zhao Yong use the axe to strike those three men? And just moments ago, I saw Zhao Yong’s girlfriend lying over the back of the man who fell. Could it be that Zhao Yong and his girlfriend were working together to kill them?

Was his girlfriend responsible for pushing the three men off the building, and if they weren’t dead, Zhao Yong would finish them off with the axe?

About ten minutes later, the police car pulled slowly into the station. It was there that I learned the whole truth from Zhao Yong himself.

“Why did you kill them?” I asked him in the detention room after the police had left.

Without turning, Zhao Yong replied coldly, “What’s it to you?”

I was angry and almost punched him, but held back. “I want you to tell me.”

Zhao Yong finally looked at me, sighed, and said, “Fine, I’ll tell you.”

He began to speak slowly, and I listened quietly. Only after hearing his story did I understand the truth.

It turned out Zhao Yong’s girlfriend did not commit suicide because of Zhao Yong, but because of those three men. They were notorious gang leaders in the neighborhood; two of them had complex ties, involved in both legitimate and underground affairs. In short, they were powerful and few dared to cross them.

Zhao Yong’s girlfriend was a beautiful, well-behaved, and academically excellent girl at our school. She never acted out of line and had never even slept with Zhao Yong.

One day, those three men noticed her and immediately took an interest. They began harassing her relentlessly at school. She was just a fragile girl and felt helpless, often crying alone.

But these ruthless men went as far as to assault her.

At this point, Zhao Yong’s voice faltered and turned into sobs. I didn’t press further. I had grasped the gist. Because of this, Zhao Yong’s girlfriend was driven to despair. Though Zhao Yong appeared calm on the surface, deep inside, he harbored a profound hatred.

“Two days ago, I had a dream,” Zhao Yong looked up at me. “I saw her. She said she had returned, and that she was seeking revenge.”

“So that’s why tonight happened?”

His eyes suddenly turned fierce. “This is their retribution.”

Soon after, the detention room door opened, and a policeman came in to take me away. I stood and glanced at Zhao Yong, nodding at him slightly. But just before the door closed completely, I glimpsed inside and saw a pale face beneath Zhao Yong’s chair.

I froze, a cold sweat breaking out. Zhao Yong’s girlfriend had seemingly followed him to the police station?

With a loud bang, the door shut. I was quickly led to the interrogation room but was only asked a few casual questions before being released. Zhao Yong’s situation was different. The autopsy revealed that the three men died from the fall, not from axe wounds.

Still, Zhao Yong was suspected of wielding a deadly weapon and faced at least a month in custody.

Seeing that Zhao Yong was unharmed and not severely punished, I finally breathed a sigh of relief and left the station feeling somewhat oppressed.

When I got home, it was already midnight. I couldn’t help but call Xie Lao Wu. To my surprise, this old fellow was still awake at such a late hour.

The call connected quickly, and Xie Lao Wu’s voice came through: “You little rascal, what are you calling me for at this hour?”

I was taken aback but replied, “You old scoundrel, it’s late, shouldn’t you be asleep?”

“Cut the crap. What’s going on?” His voice was sharp with curses.

Without hesitation, I told him everything that had happened tonight, adding my usual embellishments. But after hearing it all, Xie Lao Wu suddenly cursed loudly.

“So you’re saying it’s the work of that vengeful spirit? It’s already taken revenge? You damn kid, do you realize you’ve stirred up big trouble?”

I had been feeling elated, but his words stopped my silly grin immediately. “What? Big trouble?”

“Has the female ghost not been appeased yet?”

I answered yes. Xie Lao Wu asked, “After killing, did the ghost return to her boyfriend?”

I said yes again. He queried, “The last time you saw her, was she still upside down?”

I shuddered as I recalled the ghostly pale face beneath the chair when leaving the detention room, her feet resting on Zhao Yong’s waist. That meant her body was still upside down, feet up, head down?

I swallowed hard. “Yes, she was upside down.”

Xie Lao Wu sighed, “I told you you were messing with things you don’t understand. Your friend’s still in danger. Before the 27th, he might die—and it won’t be a peaceful death.”

“Why?”

“Because the ghost is still upside down, which means her grudge remains. Now that her three enemies are dead, who do you think she’ll take her revenge on next?”

I said, “It can’t be Zhao Yong; he has no grudge with her.”

“No, no, no. A vengeful ghost becomes so because of a deep grudge. When a ghost can’t find the right target to take revenge on, it first goes after the person it cared about most in life. Ghosts have no humanity, only grudges. When the ghost finds the person it cared about most, its grudge intensifies. You understand?”

I shook my head. “I don’t. What do you mean by the grudge intensifying? Are you talking about the grudge between the ghost and the person she cared about in life? Like between Zhao Yong and his girlfriend?”

Xie Lao Wu said, “Exactly. That grudge between your friend and his girlfriend. Don’t say there’s no grudge—they’ve fought and argued before. Those things become grudges too. When the ghost can’t find anyone else to take revenge on and can’t release her grudge, these little grudges grow bigger. Soon, your friend will die.”

Hearing this, I suddenly realized the gravity of the situation.

P.S.: Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. Wishing everyone a happy new year.