Seven Days, Seven Nights

 004 – You Can, You Up
※·※「someone said, knowledge comes from experiments.. 」

Su Er’s expression didn’t soften at all. Shifting his finger to the other side of the photograph, he rubbed the faces of the man and the child. “Who should I start with?”

The woman hadn’t the time or the energy to care about the pain from her shoulder. Resentfully, she said, “Threatening one with their loved ones, are you still human?”

Su Er told the truth. “At least you aren’t.”

It’s unknown whether anger might spark some hidden potential in the ghost. He didn’t intend to continue agitating the other with his word, instead starting a new round of questioning. “What happened here?” Then he paused and shook his head. “Never mind, asking questions one by one is too troublesome.”

Hua-la!

The flush sounded again. Su Er pressed it multiple times. The photograph, hung on the string taken off from the broom, almost came into contact the water a few times.

The culprit continued talking to himself, unrelenting. “I shouldn’t need to conserve water usage here. Also, you’ve just asked if I was human or not… I’ve always suspected that I have a pitiful and poor but actually awesome backstory.”

“I know.” The woman wanted to cry, but had no tears. “You crawled up from hell.”

If not an evil ghost from the eighteen levels of hell, how could anyone do such scary things!

Su Er looked down at the dangling photo, the aura about him akin to the deep melancholy of a literary youth. “I have a flushing toilet, do you have a story?”

“… yes.”

Not unlike most people, the woman called Lin Ji once had a rather good job and had successfully entered the hall of marriage with the boyfriend she had been in love with for years, but their peaceful life had been changed by the arrival of their child.

“He was very cute.” Because of having sunk into her memories, the hatred in her eyes had dissipated somewhat. “It’s just a pity that he naturally had very serious asthma. We went to a few hospitals and none of them could cure him completely.”

Every time they saw the child gawp like a goldfish and breath harshly, as parents, it felt like their hearts were being wrung.

“Until one day, after work when returning home, I met an old classmate I hadn’t seen in years who was very eager and passionate about chatting with me.” The woman released a sigh. “Afterwards I slowly noticed something off. She was, intentionally and otherwise, trying to pull me into a cult called the Nieyan Sect.”

As a person who had received higher education, her first reaction was naturally that it was ridiculous.

“I left with the excuse of having to go make food, but she insisted on adding my WeChat.” The woman said, “That night, my child’s asthma happened again and in the later half of the night he had a high fever, but no car would stop on the road. In the rush I was about to call the ambulance, but for some reason I opened the document the classmate had sent in the afternoon instead. Inside there was a photo of the Nieyan Deity… I had wished very sincerely that if a car would stop now, I would worship it forever…”

Su Er raised an eyebrow. “Coincidentally, a car really did stop.”

“It’s not a coincidence!” The woman became agitated. “It’s the Nieyan Deity protecting me! Since worshipping it, not only did my husband and I successfully climb the corporate ladder, our child had slowly become better too… and, when a relative without children passed away, he left the villa to us!”

Su Er analysed it rationally. “You’ve found something to entrust your mental well-being to, so you regained confidence in life, worked harder and was therefore more appreciated by your boss — this all makes sense.”

As for the relative, if their relationship was good before the other had passed, it’s normal for them to leave behind some inheritance.

“You defile the god, the Nieyan Deity will punish you!” 

“Chemistry teachers love experimenting — knowledge comes from experiments.” Su Er dipped his arm slightly. “How about I try throwing you into the toilet bowl, and we’ll see if your Nieyan Deity would come and save you?”

“…”

Su Er wasn’t just saying it. He really did submerge half the photograph in the water, moving it up and down, up and down continuously. 

“Are you there? Nieyan Deity?”

“You there?”

“Are you there are not?”

He tilted his head up and didn’t stop asking, just like a recorder without feelings. [1] 

Exactly fifteen minutes later, Su Er pulled the photo up and tossed it into the sink, turning on the tap and continuing to use the string to rinse it. “It seems like the Nieyan Deity is not with you.”

“…” That saying was quite right — ghosts knew how vicious humans were.[2] She really did thoroughly understand it today.

Having undergone this torture, the photo had lost its realism. The people’s faces appeared to have been blurred, the woman’s features twisted by hatred no longer clear.

About time.

Su Er silently stared at the photograph. The dead had become really agitated and shouldn’t be too rational now, so the answers he received would likely be more truthful. 

“How did you die?”

“Mass suicide.” The woman said so with hatred, “Someone reported us to the local government. In order to serve the Nieyan Deity by His side forever, we chose to prove it with death!”

Su Er’s eyes went cold, and he listened patiently.

“It’s just a pity that I wasn’t piety enough.” The woman said with much regret, “Not having been chosen to be a follower of the god, the unwillingness and the envy had trapped me here.”

“What’s with the child downstairs?”

The woman said coldly, “That is not my child, just a monster that had taken over the baby’s body!” Very quickly she then said with a joy-filled face, “My child and my husband had already been taken away by the Nieyan Deity.”

Su Er’s grip on the tap tightened. “So you committed suicide with your child?”

The woman fell silent for a few seconds, before standing her ground. “The Nieyan Deity will protect him.”

This soul is clearly beyond salvation. Su Er didn’t argue with her, instead asking, “What story did he like listening to the most before passing on?”

“Story?” The woman was confused. “Nothing in particular.”

Su Er wrapped a thick layer of paper around the photo and stuffed it into his pocket, heading for where the storybooks were stored.

The attic, the bedroom and the basement — he found enough books to fill a big chest. It could be seen how much the couple had loved their kid. Someone else had thought of the same thing as him: Zhang He was also holding a few books for children. Upon seeing the chest behind Su Er, he was shocked still.

“There’s plenty in the attic.” Su Er explained.

Zhang He said, “Li Li found an idol [3] in the study. I’ve seen it too, it’s a little spooky.”

“Worshipping a cultish demon in a sea of knowledge?” Su Er was a little thoughtful. “Adults really do know how to seek their thrills.”

Zhang He wanted to speak, and stopped. In the end he still said, “I see that you’re still in school.”

His words are sharp!

Su Er nodded. “But I’m an adult.”

If he hadn’t stopped schooling for a while, by now he should be almost in his second year in university.

The two headed towards the study. Su Er suddenly asked, “Where’s Xuanyuan Aoyu?”

“His mental state is a little anxious.” Zhang He sighed. “If we failed again, he’d be in danger tonight.”

This was gambling with their lives.

Li Li was staring at the idol. Those eyes seemed to be glued onto her. She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t help but continue meeting the other’s gaze. The sudden sound of footsteps caused Li Li to shiver; she twisted her head around just in time to see Su Er enter.

Li Li came back to herself and voiced her reminder, “Don’t look into its eyes.”

Su Er did so nonetheless, only, his hand in the pocket didn’t leave the taser. Fortunately the effect the statue had on him wasn’t even on the same level as that photograph. After a moment he said, “I found some flyers too, proving that this family worship in a cult.”

“Fuck!” Zhang He cursed. “Someone actually believe in these things!”

It really was that they harmed people while alive and while dead.

Su Er glanced at Li Li. “Did you discover anything else?”

The latter shook her head. “These fairytales… to be read aloud for the child downstairs?”

Su Er made a sound of acknowledgement.

When going downstairs, they happened to meet the Xuanyuan Aoyu walking out of the room. The other’s demeanour was a little anxious and he also mentioned a cult. “They regularly gather here and pray.”

The drawers were filled with pamphlets spreading the cults’ beliefs. Just reading it was fear-inducing. 

The child was lying on the bed unmovingly. Xuanyuan Aoyu hesitated. “Would it wake him?”

Su Er said, “Not likely.”

From the schedule they’ve obtained through these two days, the child would only cry three times a day — morning, noon, evening. 

Xuanyuan Aoyu didn’t dally anymore. He randomly pulled out a book and read it aloud, not daring to speak too loudly whole time. Initially it was still okay, but as time passed, his throat slowly became hoarser and his tone became very harsh.

Li Li handed him a cup of water. Xuanyuan Aoyu didn’t drink it, mumbling, “When a wolf eats a human, does it hurt?”

Li Li had no idea how to comfort him and only could continuously repeat that there had to be a way.

Xuanyuan Aoyu picked up the book again and read on almost numbly. The originally heartwarming fairytale now only brought despair.

Su Er stood near the wall and went through the original booklet again. It had mentioned that the newbie round shouldn’t be too hard. From what they’ve seen so far, the pattern for reasons of death was very clear and, while searching, the only thing that was a threat was the photograph he encountered. There had to be something he’d missed…

His gaze landed on the child with his eyes squeezed shut, trying to see something.

The sun continued down the path and at noon, the child cried again. Xuanyuan Aoyu repeated the story about the Big Bad Wolf nearly numbly.

The child unwillingly had to close its eyes again.

Su Er found that his speed when closing his eyes this time was delayed by a few seconds. In that time, his periphery vision seemed to linger on the book of fairytales in Xuanyuan Aoyu’s hands, his expression ridiculing. 

This wasn’t an expression a child would have. Su Er suddenly remembered the woman emphasising that the child in the living room was not hers. Then, he had thought that the other was lying to herself, but now it appeared that there really was something going on.

Before night fell, the familiar crying sounded. Xuanyuan Aoyu suddenly threw away the book on his hand. “It’s useless, it’s useless… I want to leave this place!” 

Despair caused one to become much stronger. Zhang He attempted to hold him back and wound up getting shoved into the corner of the table.

Xuanyuan Aoyu dashed towards the door, and Zhang He pulled him back while enduring the pain. “It’s written in booklet that rushing out willy-nilly will result in death!”

“Who said that what’s written in it is true?” Xuanyuan Aoyu turned his head around and roared, “Maybe the easiest way to break through is to charge out!”

While speaking, the door to the villa had already been opened. Outside, the skies were like a sticky black fog, the dark clouds with their mouths wide open, ready to swallow something at any time.

Seeing that things weren’t too great, Li Li pointed at Su Er and said, “We’ll go help Zhang He hold the other back.”

“Why must you hold him back? What he’s saying isn’t impossible.” Under Li Li’s shocked gaze, Su Er walked over to Xuanyuan Aoyu’s side. “But there’s something you still haven’t done.”

He pointed at the crying child.

A faint, pathetic smile appeared on Xuanyuan Aoyu’s face as he walked towards the bed rigidly. “Make the most use of me while I’m still around?”

The child had already kicked off the blankets because he didn’t hear the story in time, revealing the sharp claw-hooks that were ready to take a life at any time.

Xuanyuan Aoyu stood in front of the bed expressionlessly. “The Big Bad Wolf is coming.”

The child licked the bloodied teeth with bits of meat on it with much regret and slowly closed its eyes. 

The sound of crying stopped abruptly, and the air sunk into a dead silence.

At this moment, Su Er dashed over, reached out and scooped at the bed. In the next moment, a perfect parabola was drawn in the air. With a ‘ka–cha’, Su Er closed the door and put on the lock in one breath.

His speed was too quick. It took less than three seconds, resulting in no one actually reacting in time.

Teammates, “…”

Gentleman Rosa, “…”

Xuanyuan Aoyu was the first to come back to himself. Swallowing some saliva, he said, “You just… did what?”

“Although it’s not very likely, perhaps rushing out there might be our salvation.” Su Er pointed outside the window. “Knowledge comes from experiments.”

He had carefully thought through this. There was a pattern to the child’s killing of people — he only became irascible when he didn’t hear a bedtime story, whereas when he was asleep, he was clearly at his the weakest. Risking it to try killing him was not too advisable: who knew if the other was set to be able to automatically fight back.

“Don’t just stand there.” Su Er beckoned them all to stand by the window. “Go find a torch and we can see what’s happening outside.”

the author has something to say:
Su Er: specialising in treating all kinds of dissatisfactions.

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t/l: cin

notes:
[1] there’s a reference here that i have no idea how to translate. basically there’s a film sometime ago where the main character is an emotionless killer (i’m pretty sure it’s leon the professional, but i could be wrong), and then instead of saying he is someone who lacks emotions, they added a dialect reading into it? so it’s not ‘without feelings/emotions’, it’s a mispronounced /dialect version. if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to share (:
[2] from a quote from a book by pure little dragon! ‘humans know how scary ghosts were and ghosts knew how vicious humans were.’
[3] a statue or a photograph of something to be worshipped