Psych Hunter (Haunted House Notebook) : Book 1

Chapter 38 - Corpse

Even though there is some light in this room, I couldn't help but feel cold. I leaned close to Qin Yi Heng and planned to ask him what we should do next and whether he really planned to open these wardrobes.

Before I could speak, we both stood up immediately in surprise as we suddenly heard a knock in the door. The sound is very soft, but as it was deathly silent, even the lightest movement can be heard.

Qin Yi Heng glanced at me and made a gesture to silence me, then he touched the door and pushed his ear to listen carefully. He then turned back and shake his head at me. I didn't say anything, but I kept using my eyes to ask him what just happened. Qin Yi Heng merely used gestures to signal me not to come forward, but the knock on the door suddenly disappeared. To be honest, I wasn't particularly afraid, as I thought the one knocking must be a living person. But, my heartbeat increased when the knock stopped. Is it possible that the person outside intended to break in? I stepped back instinctually, but there was no movement outside.

I saw that Qin Yi Heng is also surprised, he first saw the door then he took a look at the grains he spread before, when he saw there was no reaction, he then said to me, "The one knocking on the door is not an evil spirit. But, we still need to be careful. We should pack and go out."

Even if he told me to pack, the only thing for me to do is to grab my backpack and tightening my shoelaces. After my preparation, Qin Yi Heng then blew the candles and told me to wait for an ambush. Then, he walked out of the door and turned on the flashlight. I followed him and looked around carefully. This corridor is very narrow, it might not be able to hide a mouse, let alone a person. When I saw that there wasn't anyone, I asked Qin Yi Heng, "Who was that person that knocked earlier?"

Qin Yi Heng was also rather puzzled and said, "It is indeed very strange, as the door wasn't locked. If someone wanted to come inside, all they had to do is to push the door."

I became very confused when I heard his words. Why would they knock the door? Could it be that they're telling us it's time for us to come out? But, I don't want to think about it anymore. We should think about this matter when we are out.

After walking for a while, Qin Yi Heng suddenly stopped when we almost reached the end of the corridor. He then moved his flashlight for a better look.

As I was behind him, my view was obstructed, so I can only peek from behind him. I was really taken aback, because there was a person lying beside the iron fence gate. I am quite unsure if they are dead or alive. Qin Yi Heng did not act rashly and merely inspected it with a flashlight. It seemed to be a corpse.

I also thought it was really strange, and had wanted to take a closer look. But, as I was about to take a step forward, Qin Yi Heng turned his body to warn me, "Don't come closer." He then took something out from his backpack, and shakes it in front of the body, and told me to come over.

His voice sounded rather depressed, so I know that things might be bad. I didn't expect it when I approached it, but it really was a corpse! Even though it's rare to see a corpse in my line of work, but there's a thing that surprises me more, this corpse turned out to be Yuan Zhen!

Qin Yi Heng flashed Yuan Zhen's face with a flashlight. His face was a bit dirty, but his expression is quite peaceful and not in pain. Even though we are not particularly close, as we have worked together for a long time, I still felt sad when I saw his corpse.

Qin Yi Heng also seemed to be quite depressed and neither of us spoke for a while. After a long pause, he gave the flashlight for me to take a look. Yuan Zhen wore a brand-name suit and there were no wounds. But upon closer inspection, I was shocked to see that Yuan Zhen's hands are gone!

I immediately looked at Qin Yi Heng, but darkness obscured his expression. I then asked him, "Where did Yuan Zhen's hands go?" In fact, this question is rather outrageous as Qin Yi Heng could not probably answer it. At first, when I saw Yuan Zhen's body, I had thought that it was Yuan Zhen who had knocked the door. But, he was unable to and he had somewhat died of poisoning or fainted. But, now that I saw that Yuan Zhen's hands are gone, the one who knocked is surely another person? Was he an accomplice of Yuan Zhen or his murderer? I am extremely confused. Qin Yi Heng didn't say anything for a while, and he sighed and told me to follow him. He didn't go to the center of the ancestral hall but took me to the room with three windows.

He lighted a cigarette and sat down, before saying, "It would be dangerous for us to go out now, so we can only wait in this room until the sun rises. With the three windows here, it should be the safest place in the whole house."

I just sat down when I heard his words and asked him, "What's your plan?"

Qin Yi Heng replied, "Are you confused by all this?"

I said, "Are you kidding me?"

He gave a wry smile before saying, "I'm not fully sure, but I can give you my guess. First of all, I did come to find the address book. But, I was wrong about the true form of the address book. I just understood earlier, the wardrobes must be brought by some people earlier. But, I'm not sure what their motivation is. I only realized now that the wardrobes are not address book, because the address book is not an object, but a human!"

I was extremely dumbfounded when Qin Yi Heng said this. I am not dumb and I can roughly understand the meaning behind his words, it turns out that Yuan Zhen co-authored the address book? Isn't this way too ridiculous?

Qin Yi Heng continued, "Yes, we had a text message warning us before, but we didn't understand it. We did know that Yuan Zhen had a spirit latched in his body. But, thinking about it now, I'm afraid that he might have gotten possessed when he had went to the brothel which contained a strong yin energy and that might not be connected to this. I know that what I said might sound too ridiculous, but, we have in fact encountered a lot of incredulous scenes."

I tilted my head and thought that Qin Yi Heng might not be mistaken. After encountering so many strange incidents, my worldview has been completely overturned. Since a person can turn into an evil spirit, why can't a person turn into an address book? I raised my head and I saw Qin Yi Heng quietly watching me, so I nodded and motioned for him to continue speaking.

Qin Yi Heng nodded and continued, "We all know that a lot of fortune tellers look at palmistry, and the trend of a person's palmistry can roughly infer the fate of that person. But, they can only get a rough divination as palm lines can change and is not fixed. In fact, the amount of information contained in a person's palm is beyond our imagination. I don't know what Yuan Zhen's palm is like, but it appeared that the address book is located in Yuan Zhen's palms. This address book must have required a special identification method, so that it might not be easily found even by experts. And Yuan Zhen didn't know so he might have searched those houses based on these directions, but he had asked for our help as he's unable to deal with evil spirits. It also happened that our business is in line with his motivation, so he introduced us to the haunted houses to find the house located in the address book."

Qin Yi Heng talked very slowly, but my heart beats faster when I heard it. Does this mean that Yuan Zhen's palm is a map? Is it a natural map or a special map? But, I was afraid of interrupting his thoughts, so I stayed silent and prodded him to continue. Yuan Zhen must not have been alone. What kind of house are they looking for? What for? We are totally in the dark regarding this. However, I am certain that the house in Jiuzi town is one of them. The ancestral hall is so big, and although there are no records of the ancestor's life, it is very likely that the feng shui business is inherited from the ancestors of Wan Jin Rong. In other words, the houses in the address book might not be the houses built by Wan Jin Rong, but the houses left behind by the ancestors. However, this might not make sense. China is so big, but there are very few ancient houses.

Qin Yi Heng must think I might not be able to understand his words, so he spoke even more slowly. However, I am still very confused to the point that I don't know what questions to ask him. Qin Yi Heng seemed to wait for my questions. After a while, he said, "I still have an outrageous theory, instead of buried inside those wardrobes, it might be buried beneath this hall itself!"