Wang Ya didn’t want to end up like her grandma or repeat the fate of the Zhongyin Feng Family. As she ate her noodles, she plotted her options in her mind and realized there was only one path forward.
After finishing her noodles, Wang Ya called her Second Uncle and told him the three out-of-towners were staying in the orthopedics ward of the County People’s Hospital. She asked him to come over and said she’d wait for him outside the hospital.
Wang Chengwei told her to be careful and said he’d be right there.
About ten minutes later, he called back. “When did you find them?”
“Yesterday,” Wang Ya replied. She knew their simultaneous deaths would seem highly suspicious, prompting the hospital to call the police for investigation. She had inquired about them from the young nurse, so the police might trace it back to her.
Wang Chengwei fell silent for a long moment on the phone before asking, “Where were you around midnight last night?”
“At the guesthouse!”
“The whole time?”
“Yeah! I got back around five in the afternoon, ate some fruit, and went to sleep. Slept too early—woke up before five this morning.”
“Stay put and don’t go anywhere. Wait for me.”
Wang Ya asked, “Second Uncle, has something happened?”
Wang Chengwei explained that he’d been worried since Wang Ya headed to the County Town yesterday and had asked a comrade to track down the three men, linking them to a missing persons case in town. He’d specifically mentioned Wang Ya was looking for them and asked his comrade to keep an eye out. Around midnight last night, the hospital reported that three patients in an orthopedics ward had suddenly died simultaneously, and the bodies had been taken to the Funeral Home.
Wang Ya realized her Second Uncle’s comrade must suspect her, which was why he asked about her whereabouts.
She waited outside the County People’s Hospital for over an hour. Around eight-thirty, her Second Uncle’s taxi pulled up to the entrance, with a wiry little man sitting in the car. Her Second Uncle had her get in, and they headed straight to the Funeral Home.
The wiry little man was called Li Erwa, a pickpocket who had seen the three men before. Her Second Uncle had brought him to identify them.
The Funeral Home was located inside the Crematorium, right next to the cemetery—backed by mountains and facing a river, a prime feng shui spot.
At the Funeral Home, Wang Ya saw several plainclothes police officers. Wang Chengwei greeted one familiarly and introduced her. “This is my niece. Yaya, come say hi to your Uncle Jin.”
Still looking like a student, Wang Ya obediently and shyly called out, “Uncle Jin,” then hid bashfully behind her Second Uncle.
After some small talk, Officer Jin said to Wang Chengwei and Li Erwa, “Let’s go in and ID the bodies first.” He led them toward the inner room.
Wang Ya followed behind into the freezer room, where staff pulled the bodies from the freezer cabinets.
Some officers noticed the little girl tagging along and asked if she wasn’t scared.
Wang Ya feigned a mix of fear and curiosity, saying nothing as she trailed behind silently. Soon, she saw the three men.
Their deathly appearances were anything but ordinary. Wang Ya figured it was because she’d struck too hard the night before—their eyes bulged as if about to pop out, mouths agape in silent screams, limbs rigidly straight, faces marred by purplish blotches. They were stripped naked, tattoos of some ghost entity visible on their bodies. Before she could look closely, Li Erwa yelped, “Aiya!”—scared off to the side by their grim faces. “Fucking hell, that’s terrifying!”
To play her part, Wang Ya pretended to be frightened and averted her eyes.
Wang Chengwei asked, “Li Erwa, is it them?”
Li Erwa said, “Kinda looks like it.”
Wang Chengwei pressed, “What do you mean ‘kinda’? Yes or no?”
Li Erwa mustered his courage for another look. “Yeah, it’s them three.”
After identification, Wang Ya followed them to the County Public Security Bureau, where an officer took her statement about her whereabouts last night. Her statement was simple and wrapped up in about ten minutes. Afterward, she saw her Second Uncle lounging in a chair nearby, leg crossed, flipping through a stack of files with photos. She sidled over to peek; he shot her a glare. She glanced back at him, then reached for the stack and flipped through—sure enough, finding photocopies of the three men’s ID Cards. She speedily memorized their addresses. All this effort—roping in her Second Uncle and the County Public Security Bureau police—was for these addresses! If they could track her hometown via her ID Card address, she could do the same to theirs.
Just then, Officer Jin came over. “The deceased’s family has arrived.” He asked Wang Chengwei, “Wanna take a look?”
Wang Ya thought to herself, They got here fast. But she wasn’t too surprised. These “family members” had come to deal with her grandma but had arrived just in time to collect the corpses instead. She had no desire to face them. “Second Uncle, I need the bathroom,” she said, and slipped away!
Wang Ya had just stepped out of the office into the hallway when she saw five short-statured figures shrouded in Necrotic Yin Qi approaching. Their gazes locked onto her simultaneously. The one in the center clutched a cane—Wang Ya recognized it instantly as the Dead Old Lady’s Ebony Staff. The sight of these five truly startled her, and she cursed inwardly, Fuck!
