Tales of Aegiceras: Cave in

12. The Night Watchman (12)

Translator: Superbomb

No one knew where Zhang had gone.

The footsteps lingered between the 4th floor and the 2nd day and night as if there were a trapped beast hovering desperately between the two flights of stairs.

Mao never came back.

One night, he once quietly pushed open the door of the morgue.

Sneaking into the pitch dark room, which reeked of formalin, he flashed the torch at that ominous corpse.

The dead’s head was shaved. With a piece of black cloth over his eyes, he looked pale and ferocious.

When Mao reached out and forced open the dead’s mouth, he seemed to have heard the cracking from the joint of the latter’s rigid cold chin.

It was inevitable that he would touch the dead’s cold dry tongue and crisp teeth while taking out something from his mouth.

It was a piece of fine gold wrapped in a mess of hair.

He grabbed it tightly and turned to the door.

Behind him, the dead lay quietly in the darkness with his mouth open.

Beneath the black cloth lurked the terrible secret of the night watchman…

“What should we do next?” Sun Zheng finally broke the long silence.

Lu Xia scratched his head. “I have no idea. Do you think Mao and Zhang will come back?”

Sun Zheng nodded unconsciously, but next, he shook his head and glared at him. “No matter what, we have to go downstairs. We may ‘follow Zhang downstairs’.”

Lu Xia gave him a look of approval as he fanned himself with his hand.

Sun Zheng was a little confused when he saw Lu Xia fanning himself. After a while, he continued, “Let’s go down to the 3rd floor. If…” he paused, as if he was reluctant to say. “If we don’t want to ‘bump into Zhang and Mao’, we can go around the elevator and go to the staircase on the other side. By the way, there’s…”

“What?” Seeing his indescribable look, Lu Xia moved closer, looking at Sun Zheng curiously.

“There’s a men’s room over there…”

“Hahaha!” Lu Xia laughed loudly, clapping.

Sun Zheng cast another glance at him. “Everyone needs to answer the call of nature. Is it so funny to go to the restroom?”

Lu Xia fanned himself with his hand again. “No, no, no! you still want to go to the men’s room in such a situation. I really admire your courage!” he said, shaking his head.

Sun Zheng glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes. “Why not? What’s to be afraid of?”

“The restrooms are dark and damp, usually on either side of each floor. The restrooms, especially the lady’s rooms have a strong negative aura and were very likely to summon something that can’t make a turn. Even though you’re going to the men’s room, we can’t take the risk.”

“Ridiculous!” Sun Zheng pouted. “Nonsense!”

Lu Xia didn’t seem to be offended. He then suggested, raising his eyebrows, “Can you just solve it here? Anyway, you can’t hold it any longer.”

“I’m not in a hurry,” Sun Zheng turned his head, his voice sounded calm.

“Don’t be shy. We’re both men. You’re not afraid of me, are you? Besides, nobody else will come here, so no one will mind, “Lu Xia said with a sincere expression.

Sun Zheng neither turned his head nor answered him. Lu Xia could not see his expression, but from behind, he had noticed that the muscles in his back tensed.

“It’s not good to hold it for too long, Zheng!” Lu Xia added with a smile.

Sun Zheng suddenly rose to his feet while shooting an angry glare at him. However, though he was reluctant, he had to walk towards the corner behind Lu Xia.

“It’s not a big deal,” Sun Zheng muttered in the corner as he unzipped his pants.

Lu Xia smiled while looking at him walk to the corner. Feeling so hot in the room, he unconsciously wiped the sweat off his forehead.

After a while, Sun Zheng turned around. However, instead of looking like he had just relieved himself, he put on a look as if he was constipated. When he was about to talk to Lu Xia, he suddenly cried out in surprise. “Why did you take off your clothes?!”

Lu Xia waved his coat and said, aggrieved, “It’s too hot in the room!”

Hearing that, Sun Zheng suddenly felt that the temperature around him was a little unusual, and now fine beads of sweat were seeping out from his forehead.

As if he had noticed something, Lu Xia suddenly pointed at the spot behind him where Sun Zheng had just pissed. “What’s that?” he asked with a frown.

Sun Zheng was a little annoyed at the thought that Lu Xia was about to make fun of him. However, before he could protest, he looked back and froze on the spot.

Soaked with his urine, a corner of the paper on the wall fell off, revealing a bit of a black wall.

Lu Xia immediately flashed the torch at the wall. Then the two of them exchanged glances.

How come the wall was black?

It looked as if it had been burnt.

Lu Xia immediately stood up and ripped off the drawing in haste. Instantly, a sheet of a blackened wall was exposed before them.

“We’re screwed!” he collapsed to the floor. “You must have made a mistake.”

“What do you mean?” Sun Zheng was confused.

“We’re not in the TCM Department that we are looking for. We’re… in the room where the fire broke in 2000. As the walls were blacked in the fire, they pasted many drawings on them. This room has been abandoned for years…”