Chapter 284: Chapter 245: Elevator
And yet, Tong Han, who had burst through the door, stopped in her tracks. She heard a painful and aggrieved cry behind her, which sounded not like a man’s, but more like that of a wronged woman.
"Why are you crying?" Tong Han asked, her voice pitched through the door. She still hoped to learn more clues from this ghost.
"I had an accident on stage. A heavy object fell from above and injured my right foot, and... and it also crushed my big toe. Do you know what that means for a dancer?" Mr. Hou lamented, slumped to the ground, crying helplessly. "I will never have the opportunity to step on stage again, even performing some complex dance moves is very difficult for me."
"I summoned those female dancers, hoping they could help me, but not one of them... not a single one was willing to! Those ingrates have forgotten that it was I who taught them their dance steps, I who was their mentor!"
"How could they help you?" Tong Han couldn’t make sense of it. These female dancers were just that, dancers, not Divine Doctors who could regenerate severed limbs.
"I need them to give me a toe, a right big toe!" Mr. Hou said, his emotions running high, as if he saw the moment of his dreams coming true, "With that toe, I could return to the stage, continue dancing. You don’t understand, a person like you would never understand!"
"Lunatic." Tong Han was too lazy to bother with him and turned to leave, convinced he was completely insane.
"I can take the toe to the 3rd floor administrator, she’s a doctor, the best surgeon! Only she can do it!"
The next second, Tong Han abruptly stopped, "Administrator?"
"Yes, Miss Zuo Qiu. She is one of the apartment’s administrators, and also Big Brother An’s wife. She is the best surgeon," Mr. Hou stressed again, his expression serious and persistent, as if this had become some sort of obsession in his heart.
This was major news; Tong Han immediately perked up. "Which room does this Miss Zuo Qiu live in, specifically?"
"I don’t know. I only know she and Big Brother An live on the 3rd floor. Miss Zuo Qiu keeps to herself, and few in the apartment have seen her," Mr. Hou said.
"How can I find her then?" Tong Han asked again.
Mr. Hou fell silent again and stared at Tong Han, his face softening after a while. He beckoned to Tong Han, "It’s not safe outside, come in first, and I’ll tell you all about it once you’re inside."
Tong Han nodded in understanding, "It seems you’re afraid to come out."
Mr. Hou’s eyes bulged in anger, but he indeed didn’t dare to step out and grab Tong Han, he could only stare at her fiercely, or more precisely, covet her toes.
Tong Han bent down, took off her shoes, and provocatively lifted her right foot towards the edge of the door, gently shaking it, which made Mr. Hou’s eyes fixate intensely.
"Do you like it?"
Mr. Hou fell silent, knowing she was toying with him, yet he was powerless to do anything about it.
"Just tell me how to find Miss Zuo Qiu, and I will give you this toe. I keep my word," Tong Han said seriously.
"How can I trust you?" Mr. Hou wasn’t foolish either, "Unless you come in here first, we can talk after you’re inside."
Tong Han suddenly laughed, gesturing to Mr. Hou to toss her the large scissors, "You want a gesture of sincerity, right? I’ll show you."
Picking up the large scissors that had been thrown out, Tong Han took a deep breath and, with a fierce cut, severed her right foot’s big toe. Blood immediately began to flow. After quickly stemming the bleeding, she endured the intense pain, bent down to pick up the severed toe from the ground, and showed it to Mr. Hou, "How... how is this, is my sincerity sufficient?"
Mr. Hou was also influenced by Tong Han’s decisiveness and stated plainly, "If you want to meet Miss Zuo Qiu, you need to enter the elevator alone on the third floor before a quarter to midnight, operate the elevator to ascend to the top ninth floor, then descend to the first floor. At that moment, press the elevator panel buttons for the second and fourth floors at the same time. Initially, the elevator will move back and forth between the second and fourth floors until it finally stops on the third floor."
At this point, Mr. Hou paused, his expression becoming grave, "The next words I’m going to say, you must remember. Normally, the elevator’s floor buttons light up with a yellow light, but this time, the third-floor button will light up red. Seeing the red light indicates your success."
Tong Han committed each sentence to memory, "And then?"
"At the same time you see the red light, you need to turn around immediately, with your back to the elevator doors."
"Turn my back?"
Imagining the wee hours of the night, turning your back to an elevator door that was about to open, that fear of the unknown was truly the most terrifying.
Mr. Hou nodded solemnly, "Yes, turn your back. That’s the key point. After hearing the elevator doors open, you must not look back. Maintain that position and walk out of the elevator backwards."
"What’s outside the elevator?" Tong Han asked in a lowered voice, "Is Miss Zuo Qiu standing outside the elevator, right?"
But this time, Mr. Hou hesitated, no longer providing a definite answer, "I don’t know, but I do know that someone found Miss Zuo Qiu this way."
"Who?"
"Mr. Wen, who lives in Room 5042," recalled Mr. Hou.
Upon hearing Room 5042, Tong Han’s first thought was that the room number seemed familiar. It was only a moment later that she realized, wasn’t that the room where Qu Yi had his assignment tonight? If she remembered correctly, Mr. Wen was a mystery novel author.
Seeing that Tong Han was silent, Mr. Hou clearly misunderstood, saying anxiously, "Miss Tong, I advise you not to disturb this Mr. Wen. He’s very strange, lives alone, and is extremely reclusive. He’s one of the earliest tenants in this apartment complex, yet he never interacts with his neighbors, and very few people understand him."
"Is he dangerous?" Tong Han asked bluntly.
"I’m not sure about that, but there’s a rumor among the apartment’s neighbors that Mr. Wen occasionally invites people to his room late at night for a substantial sum of money, both men and women. People see them enter, but no one has ever seen anyone leave." Mentioning Mr. Wen made him visibly nervous.
"What did Mr. Wen want with Miss Zuo Qiu?" Tong Han suddenly thought to ask.
Mr. Hou shook his head, "Sorry, I don’t know that. I’m not familiar with Mr. Wen either, it’s all hearsay."
After finishing, Mr. Hou stared intently at Tong Han and stretched out his hand to demand the toe, "Miss Tong, I’ve told you everything I know, now it’s your turn to fulfill your promise."
Tong Han had intended to indirectly probe further, but time was short, and by the look of Mr. Hou, he likely wouldn’t reveal more information.
Tong Han kept her promise and threw the severed toe to Mr. Hou, who caught it with one hand. Holding the bloody toe, he seemed almost mad, "With this toe, I can return to the stage to dance again, hahaha! And a female dancer’s toe at that!"
"Congratulations, Mr. Hou, your wish has been fulfilled," Tong Han said with a smile, blessing him. "Now please help me find some hemostatic medicine, as well as gauze and thread and needle. I need to treat the wound."
