Deserted Village Apartments

Chapter 20 No.17
From this day, I only have ten days left.

Because in ten days, the deserted village apartment at No. 13 Anxi Road will be razed to the ground by bulldozers.And this old house where the Ouyang family lived is my only hope to solve the mystery of the deserted village.

Last night, I tossed and thought for a whole night, and finally made up my mind, no matter what price I pay, I will unlock the secret of the deserted village.Therefore, before the deserted village apartment is destroyed, I must fully understand the house and dig out the secrets hidden in it.In this short period of ten days, I had no other choice but to live in the deserted village apartment by myself.

So, I first went to the property where the Huangcun apartment was located, and told them that I was a writer, and I was writing a book about the old Shanghai architecture in the 40s, and I was particularly interested in the old house of the Huangcun apartment.But I heard that the house was about to be demolished, so I wanted to hurry up and live in it for a few days, and the property owner readily agreed to my request.

Then I prepared a bit at home, such as daily necessities such as rice cooker and microwave oven, and a simple folding bed.As for big items like TVs and refrigerators, I don't think they will be needed there.

I rented a truck, and the porters loaded these things into the truck, and the destination was the apartment in the deserted village.Half an hour later, this miniature moving team arrived at Anxi Road.

When I walked off the store and looked at the old house at No. 13 Anxi Road, my heart beat faster again.The look in the eyes of the porters who carried my belongings through the demolition site told me that they thought I was probably crazy and why I moved to such a place.

Still entering through the back door of the deserted village apartment, through the dusty corridor, the porters frowned, probably they had never taken over this kind of work.I moved everything up the stairs and put it in a spacious and bright room on the second floor.

After the porters left, I spent another two hours cleaning the room, removing the dust that had accumulated over the years, and it was finally ready for people to live in.I made a simple cabinet and put my books and clothes in it. The folding bed was also set up, and the sheets were still very comfortable.I tried the power in the room again and the rice cooker and microwave are perfectly fine.

I didn’t clean like this in my own house. I lay on the window and panted heavily, but I felt a sense of accomplishment in my heart—this is my room now, even though it’s only been ten days.

Next, I looked at the various rooms on the second floor. There are six rooms in total on this floor, each of which is similar. There is no furniture inside, and the floor is covered with dust.I didn't have the energy to clean every room, so I went over to see what was hidden in the room, but I couldn't find anything.

At the end of the corridor on the second floor, I also found a bathroom, which is very spacious, at least ten square meters, with white tiles on the wall and floor, and the toilet is still usable.On the inside of the bathroom, there was even a tin tub, but it was dusty.There is a mirror behind the sink. Because the mirror is covered with dust, I am hazy in the mirror, as if I am facing an ancient bronze mirror.I turned on the faucet, which released muddy tap water, which gradually cleared up after a few minutes.I poured water on the mirror, and the water flowed down from the mirror like a waterfall, washing away the dirt accumulated over the years, gradually revealing my eyes in the water curtain.I stared at my eyes behind the water curtain, and suddenly I didn't recognize myself. I shook my head quickly, wiped the mirror with a rag, and finally recognized my face again.

I looked at the mirror out of the corner of my eye and slowly exited the bathroom.Strange, when I looked in the mirror just now, I seemed to see another person in the mirror?I didn't want to think about it any more, so I hurried downstairs.

The hall on the ground floor is too big, I can only wear a mask, sprinkle a lot of water on the ground, and then mop it again.Then, I came to the corridor leading to the back door, turned on the dim electric light, and immediately there was a puff of smoke from the debris piled up on both sides.Luckily I was wearing a mask, looking for clues that might help in the mess of old furniture.

These old furniture are all dilapidated, and we can't tell what age it is, probably all the valuable ones have been removed.There are also some broken pots and pans among them, and some things don't even take the broken ones.When I was sweating profusely from exhaustion, I suddenly saw something like a big trumpet from under a broken cabinet.

I hurriedly moved that thing out, only to find that it was an old-fashioned phonograph, with flower-like horns opening upwards, and a square box underneath, which should be an antique-grade guy.I hastily carried the phonograph into the hall, and set it on top of an old cabinet.Looking at the wide hall and the wooden floor under my feet, I immediately understood that the phonograph was placed here because Ouyang's family often held family dances.So, I couldn't help but walked to the center of the hall. There was an empty iron rod hanging in the center of the ceiling. There must have been a gorgeous chandelier here in the past.I looked around the hall again, imagining the grandeur of the ball. Is the gramophone playing a waltz or a waltz?
It was getting dark gradually, and the deserted village apartment under the night was silent. I stood alone in the center of the empty hall, as if I was confronting someone.Finally, I left the hall quietly, and when I stepped on the spiral staircase, the sound of my light footsteps could be heard throughout the old house.

Back in my room on the second floor, I had already prepared dinner in the microwave.It's ridiculous to think that I'm actually living a life in the microwave era in this old deserted village apartment.

After eating this unique dinner, I leaned against the window again, some green vines had almost crawled into the room, I sniffed it with my nose, it should be the smell of ivy leaves, right?Will these weird plant smells mix with the stale smell in the old house, will some kind of chemical reaction occur to create a new chemical element?I stuck my head out of the window and breathed heavily, no, this nasty smell will stay with me for ten days.

Shanghai outside the window is already brightly lit, and tonight is another nightless day.Two roads away, dozens of high-rise buildings blocked my view, but I could still see the spiers of skyscrapers in Lujiazui, Pudong in the distance.Compared with the nightless Shanghai, the deserted village apartment is simply another world. Looking at the large ruins under the window, I feel like I am trapped on an isolated island.

Suddenly, my cell phone rang.

Ye Xiao's hurried voice came from the phone: "Where are you? I went to your house to look for you just now, and the neighbor said you moved."

"I didn't move, I just stayed outside for a few days." I hesitated for a while, and finally told the truth, "Well, I'll tell you——I'm in the deserted village apartment."

"Have you found it?"

"Not only did I find it, but I also lived in it."

"Are you living in a deserted village apartment?" Ye Xiao was obviously taken aback by me, I rarely heard him so anxious on the phone, "Are you crazy?"

"I'm not crazy. This is an old three-story house that has been closed for many years. Now all the houses on Anxi Road have been demolished, leaving only the deserted village apartment building. Ten days later, this building will also be closed. It's about to be demolished. I have no other choice but to live in this house by myself and solve the secrets of the deserted village and Ouyang's family within ten days."

Ye Xiao's tone became serious again: "Life is different from a novel. Don't think that you can be like the characters in the novel—you can't, none of us can, understand? We can't face The fear of living."

"My own affairs, I will deal with them myself."

Ye Xiao smiled bitterly and said: "No, you see that you are still under the shadow of Huo Qiang and Han Xiaofeng's death. Listen to me, whether it was a nightmare or a myocardial infarction, they all died of natural causes and were not killed by others. It could be seen as an accident."

"Accident? But no matter what, I have been to a deserted village, and I am also a 'foreign intruder'."

"Are you worried about your own safety?" Ye Xiao paused for a moment, "No, you will be fine."

"Who knows? Ye Xiao, can you help me now and check the past situation of the apartment in the deserted village. I believe that many things must have happened here."

"Okay, I promise you. But you have to promise me, get out of that ghost place quickly."

"I'll leave as soon as I find out about that secret."

Faced with my stubbornness, Ye Xiao really had nothing to say, and we ended the call.

Leaving the window, the light bulb above my head shone on my pale face, and I recalled the names of those college students—— Huo Qiang, Han Xiaofeng, Su Tianping, Chun Yu, and now two of the four of them are dead, one is crazy, The life and death of one remains unknown.On the first day of this story, when they came to me and proposed to me their plan to explore the deserted village, I never dreamed that it would end like this.

What exactly did they offend the deserted village?

Sitting down on the bed exhaustedly, with no strength left in his body, the air in this room makes people drowsy.But I sweated a lot cleaning the house today, I still struggled to get up, groped my way through the dark corridor by myself, and turned on the light in the bathroom.

The dim light illuminated the mirror and I poured a lot of dish soap into the tub and it took over half an hour to get it clean.Fortunately, it's hot now, so I connected a shower head myself and showered myself with cold water.

I went back to my room, dripping wet, turned off the light and collapsed on the rollaway bed.

In this dark night room, the smell of ivy continued to linger around my nostrils, filling my whole body like a tide, making me sink slowly until the depths of the night.

After an unknown amount of time, I floated up from the deep darkness, and faintly felt a slight tremor under the floor of the folding bed.Suddenly, I opened my eyes and slowly got up in the darkness. I touched the wall and walked to the door. I held my breath and listened carefully——

"Duk...duk...duk..."

Yes, I heard that sound, ghostly footsteps in the night, seeming to be stepping on the floor of the ground floor hall, floating leisurely throughout the old house.I covered my mouth lightly to keep myself from screaming out of fright.

But the voice continued, and seemed to have a strange rhythm. My lips trembled slightly, and I muttered silently: "The dance has started?"

After a while, the sound of footsteps seemed to float up the stairs again, and the sound seemed to rotate along with the stairs.I'm standing in a dark corridor, I can't see anything—

Suddenly, a white shadow flashed past my eyes.

"Who?"

I yelled and ran forward quickly, and the shadow seemed to recede downstairs again.I couldn't see clearly in the dark corridor, so I could only follow the other person's footsteps and run down the spiral staircase.

It was too late to turn on the light. Relying on the faint moonlight outside the window, I gradually saw the slender figure clearly in the hall on the ground floor.I was almost about to catch up with that shadow, but I dodged and hid in the room next to the hall. I continued to chase in and finally reached out and grabbed him.

I felt myself grabbing the arm of a young woman.

"let me go!"

Is it Xiaoqian's voice?I froze for a moment, but I couldn't see her face clearly in the dark, so I held her hand tightly.

Turning on the light switch on the wall, I finally saw Xiaoqian's eyes, her eyes were so frightened and pitiful, like a young doe caught by a hunter.

Looking into her eyes, I didn't say a word, just continued to hold her tightly.And she gradually calmed down, staring straight into my eyes, as if she was confronting me.

Finally, I whispered in her ear: "Xiaoqian, why are you here?"

"I wanted to ask you that too." She let out a long breath, "Just now, I thought it was a ghost chasing me, but it turned out to be you."

"Ghosts? Do you think there are really ghosts in this house?" I looked up at the big room, with a big fireplace embedded in the wall, which was the place where Ouyang's family took family photos back then.

"I don't know, I hope not."

I took her hand and walked out of the room: "Let's go upstairs."

Xiaoqian was wearing a white dress, and when she walked through the hall, it was like a white shadow dancing.

Stepping up the spiral staircase, I led her to my room, and she said in surprise, "You moved here?"

"Yes, there are only ten days left for me. I must find out the secrets of the deserted village before this house is demolished."

"At any cost?"

"Yes, at any cost." I repeated her words emphatically.Then, I looked at the time, it was four o'clock in the morning, "Xiaoqian, what about you? Why did you appear here in the middle of the night?"

She avoided my eyes and said, "I had a nightmare."

"Nightmare?" Saying this word in the middle of the night made me feel a little scared, "Who did you dream about?"

"I dreamed of you."

Xiaoqian stared blankly into my eyes, which made me take a step back in fright, and said tremblingly, "You mean, I appeared in your nightmare?"

"Yes."

I secretly laughed at myself and said: Then am I not a monster?

She nodded slightly, and continued: "I dreamed that you were sleepwalking in the middle of the night... Walked on the road alone... Walked and walked in the dark... until you came to this ruined resting road... You quietly Walking silently into a deserted village apartment... in front of a mirror..."

Suddenly, her words stopped abruptly, I broke out in a cold sweat, and asked urgently, "What happened after that?"

"Later——I woke up." Panting continuously, her chest heaved and she leaned her back against the wall, she said, "I was really worried and couldn't sleep anymore, so I ran over."

"You are too courageous. A young girl walks to such a place in the middle of the night. What if she encounters a bad person? Your family must be worried to death."

Xiaoqian curled her lips and replied coldly: "I have no family."

I shook my head and smiled and said, "Are you really Nie Xiaoqian from Liaozhai?"

"So what?"

"Stop being angry, I'll take you home."

"I don't have a home." Xiaoqian's tone finally softened, with a bit of sadness in her voice, she read faintly: "I don't have a home...I don't have a home..."

Her expression became more and more sleepy, and she gradually closed her eyes and said, "I'm so tired."

But there are no chairs in my room, so I can only help her to sit on the folding bed.Her body became limp all of a sudden, I think she must be extremely sleepy, after all, no one can bear not to sleep in the middle of the night.

I put Xiao Qianping on the folding bed and covered her with a blanket. She seemed to have fallen asleep soon, and her expression returned to ease. A few strands of hair stuck to her forehead, just like the Sleeping Beauty in fairy tales .

Good night—I turned off the light, exited the room softly, and helped her close the door.Then, I went down the spiral staircase and out the back door of the deserted apartment.

Although I was extremely sleepy myself, a cold night wind blew away my drowsiness.I walked around the demolition site and walked to Anxi Road.Looking back at the deserted village apartment from here, this lonely old house shrouded in darkness - like Dracula's castle in the Transylvanian wasteland.

It is 18:[-] in the morning, the No. [-] day of this story.

(End of this chapter)