Chapter 16: Grandmother Meng

Huang Zhiwen lowered his head. He acted like I didn’t exist. He didn’t reply.

“Look at me! I know you can see me.” I pointed at him, “Let’s have a talk!”

Huang Zhiwen timidly glanced at me, but immediately looked down. Due to his inferior posture, I was only able to see his forehead.

“You’re actually still alive. It’s just that your spirit has temporarily left your body. Do you want to come back? Return to this life and continue living with your loved ones?”

Huang Zhiwen appeared to be terrified of me. By now, his head had practically shrank into his body, and he wouldn’t stop backing away.

“Stop moving!” I tried to stop him, “You don’t have to be scared of me. I am not here to harm you. That day, if you hadn’t led me to Sheyu, I am afraid Sheyu would’ve been dead by now. Currently, Sheyu still has a chance to come back to life. I’m also here to help you…”

I softly whispered as I tried to comfort Huang Zhiwen’s spirit. I went over to his bedside to look at his condition.

As expected, his condition was the same as Sheyu’s and the rest of the victims that were reported on the news. All the victims suffered from a cerebral concussion. Then, while they were losing their consciousness, they were stabbed over a dozen times. No matter how you looked at it, it was deliberate, merciless, and violent. The killer spoke the truth. Killing others satisfied him -it was his hobby.

“Right now, your body is still functioning fine. But for some reason, your spirit cannot return. I can help make you come back to life. What are you going to choose? Are you going to continue living a life of a ghost, or are you going to help me find the criminal? ….Actually, that would only benefit you. Right?” I was gradually trying to coax Huang Zhiwen with my words.

He finally lifted his head and appeared to be interested in what I had to say. At the same time, there was also hesitation and a lack of trust.

“You kept following the homicidal maniac. You definitely know where he is.” I continued, “Bring me to him. That is my condition if you want to come back to life.”

Although I was still unsure of how to return a spirit back into the body, as long as Huang Zhiwen will lead me to the criminal, it was ok to tell a white lie.

In my opinion, if ghosts hear that they can come back to life, they would instantly agree to unite with me. But Huang Zhiwen wouldn’t declare his position. I was surprised, and his indecisiveness made me very anxious.

“Are you suffering from post traumatic stress disorder or something?!” I asked. Could ghosts also have PTSD?

“You have to realize this isn’t the worse case scenario. If you don’t help me find the killer, he might come back to hurt you if he knows you’re still alive. What will you do then?”

Speech was useless; it wasn’t convincing at all.

I’ve already thrown the candies out. Now, it was time for a whip.

I gazed at the unconscious Huang Zhiwen and silently prayed to Buddha. Then, I ruthlessly slapped him across the face.

Huang Zhiwen’s ghost was stunned. He rushed over to stop me, but he could only go through my body.

I felt a blast of chilliness. It was so cold!

“See? Right now, you’re like meat on a chopping board. He can do anything with you, and you would be helpless. The only way you can guarantee your safety is if he is captured and locked up. And I promise you I’ll bring you back to life!”

Before I could get his response, the family member returned back with the water kettle.

“Who are you? Why are you in my son’s ward?” His father angrily rushed towards me.

“Uncle, please don’t misunderstand. I-I’m your son’s friend. I came to visit him!” I exclaimed as I dodged. I waved my hands crazily in the air to prove I wasn’t doing anything bad. However, since Huang Zhiwen’s father kept chasing me, after running around the ward once, I ran out the door.

“How come I have never seen you before? Who are you really?!”

Huang Zhiwen’s father wouldn’t give up. I didn’t dare to stay any longer, “Uh…Uncle, I’m done visiting! I’m going to go now! Don’t worry. Your son will wake up soon. It will all depend on his decision!”

I deliberately shouted out the last line for Huang Zhiwen to hear.

After visiting Huang Zhiwen’s ward, I hovered around Xu Ming’s ward. However, there were always visitors inside his ward. I had no opportunity to go inside.

Oh well, I wanted the same thing from both of them. As long as Huang Zhiwen was willing to a.s.sist me, I wouldn’t need to find Xu Ming.

Next, I took out the address that I had copied down last night and took the taxi with Sheyu to go to the Qing Tan building.

Building A, 16th floor. The moment I exited the elevator, the atmosphere felt very eerie. This was clearly one of the higher-end apartment buildings, but I could feel a faint cool breeze attacking my back.

My heart was beating a lot quicker than usual. I was having difficulties suppressing my anxiety.

But I had no choice. For Sheyu, I must harden my scalp. I wasn’t actually afraid of encountering ghosts. To tell you the truth, I was more afraid of encountering a human that was a hundred times more dangerous than a ghost.

I had pepper spray ready in my bag in case of emergency as I bravely walked towards 1804.

The entrance of 1804 was very dark. However, I could still vaguely see two figures. When I got closer, I realized it was two security guards.

“Excuse me. I posted something on the web …..” I carefully began. But before I could finish my sentence, the door automatically opened.

“Huh?”

A door that opens on its own? Spooky…

Subconsciously, I shrank my body and took a deep breath. The two security guards didn’t even look at me.

Why so cold?! They’re colder than my security guard!

I observed the room from the outside. The entire room had strange lighting; it was red and purple.There were also all sorts of weird ornaments and a talisman paper. If I were to describe the scene in two words, it would be strange and creepy.

I entered the apartment, but Sheyu was blocked from the outside. I think it was due to the talisman paper. The door automatically closed, and I was all alone in this gloomy place.

Not to mention, this place was extremely chilly. I had uncontrollable gooseb.u.mps all over my arms. I could even see my breath.

“I’m here….” A rustling voice came from a room on my left. I attentively stared at that direction and took another deep breath as I bravely proceeded with caution.

I tried my best to take light steps. It was as if I was worried I’d fall into some kind of trap. Although I didn’t do anything bad in this lifetime, I subconsciously had a guilty conscience of a thief. From the door crack, I could somewhat see a grey haired old person’s rear view on a chair.

“Hi…I…I am the person who posted the question on the web. Y-you mentioned if I wanted an answer, I would have to come here….” I walked over and slowly sat down onto the chair as I stated the reason why I came.

Before I could finish, the chair turned over and I was faced with a b.l.o.o.d.y human skeleton.

“AHHHHHH!!!” I shrieked on top of my lungs and tried to flee from my chair. But because I was too traumatized, I ended up flipping over with the chair as well…

“HAHAHAHA! So fun!” Laughter echoed from behind me. I clenched my fists and adopted a fighter pose.

I got up and noticed an old granny of around seventy years of age holding a remote control toy. She was like a child that had successfully pulled a prank as she continued to point at me and laugh.

I must admit her prank succeeded. But there was no need to laugh so loudly?

“Old woman…” I was speechless. Did she purpose called me over for the prank?

“This was so fun! Hahaha! Miss, I give you 99% for your reaction. I’m not giving you the last 1% in case you become too conceited!” She threw the human skeleton on one side as she sat on her chair.

My level of annoyance was gradually increasing and I turned to leave.

“Miss, don’t go!” She called, “You’re here for your friend outside, right?”

Hearing her words, I stopped and turned around once more to face the old granny, “You can see Sheyu?”

The old granny shook her head, “I can’t see her, but I can sense her. Just like the two bodyguards outside my door. I can’t see them, but I have the ability to make them guard my place.”

“The two security guards are ghosts?”

No wonder they gave me such an odd feeling.

“Miss, come and sit. We have time to talk.” Out of nowhere, the old granny took out a fruit platter and placed it onto the table, “We can eat and chat the same time!”

Can I even trust her?

Although my heart was filled with doubts, I chose to sit back down. I noticed the sign on her desk.

Grandmother Meng.

“Miss, I just heard you speaking to the security guards. You can see ghosts, right?” Grandmother Meng narrowed her eyes as she shook her head, “But having the abilities to see ghosts is not enough. You must also be able to differentiate their abilities.”

“I didn’t come here to talk about myself today. I came to find out how to get the spirits to return to the body!”

“Calm down. Listen to me. I more or less understand your friend’s situation. After all, I also watched the news….*cough cough*!”

Grandmother Meng coughed twice and then continued, “The reason why she can’t return back into her body is because of resentment!”

Resentment? I recalled Sheyu’s face. Although she was an innocent victim, her face didn’t display any signs of resentment? She looked the same as before; she still had a pretty and kind face -except a paler version.

Grandmother Meng continued, “Don’t merely judge by the surface. As long as a person died innocently, he/she will have resentment. Sometimes, they don’t even know it. Ghosts cannot come in contact with humans. But all ghosts possess an aura. But since all ghosts are different, the intensity and strength also varies. For instance, if a ghost has enough willpower, he is able to extinguish all the candles in a room. A higher level one can even use its aura to move objects. Currently, your friend has a very weak resentment aura that is causing her body and her spirit to repel each other.”

“So you’re saying…as long as the resentment is gone, Sheyu can return in her body?”

“Mmm…I think so!” Grandmother Meng said as she peeled off the skin of a tangerine.

“Then how can I get rid of Sheyu’s resentment?”

“Whoever that started the trouble should end it. Do you understand what I mean?”

I nodded.

“Capture the killer and prosecute him.”