Nightmare Assault

“What was Yi Zhenliang talking about?” Lin Wan ‘Er suddenly asked. “Also, he mentioned a door. What door?”

Jiang Cheng avoided the topic because he didn’t want to involve her. However, he didn’t dare to formulate a cheap lie. “I don’t know, but it sounded like Xiang Nan had been taken over by the ghost. She was threatened to kill her children. The real thing that killed the children was the ghost. The wild dogs were just an excuse.”

The children’s deaths matched Du Feng’s death. Their heads were removed from their bodies. The difference was that Du Feng cradled his head, but the children’s heads were gone.

“So… The ghost we’re facing is not Xiang Nan, but…” Lin Wan ‘Er hesitated, wondering which term to use. “The thing inside her body,” Lin Wan ‘Er glanced at Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng nodded. He glanced out the window. Eventually, he said, “That should be the case.”

“So, we need to figure out this thing’s goal,” Jiang Cheng resumed. “I fear it is more than just killing Director Qi.” When he listened to the recording and heard the static, Jiang Cheng was reminded of something that had happened in his office. When the woman, Hu Yan, told him her story, there was also a strange static sound. As Jiang Cheng pondered the relevance between the two, the man’s voice came again. The recording… was not over.

“The situation became worse. Xiang Nan became stranger and stranger. I took her to the hospital for a check, but all the doctors claimed that she was fine, both mentally and physically. A doctor even promised me that she was a perfectly normal person. She had no issues communicating with others. She was merely a little shy. He comforted me that it was normal. She felt insecure because I had to spend a lot of time away from home. Therefore, he advised me to spend more time at home.

“Damn it. He didn’t know what I was facing.

“After we returned from the hospital, Xiang Nan began to change. I could see from her eyes that she knew something was wrong. Of course, I lied to her that we only went for a normal physical check-up.

“She started to sneak looks at me… She looked at me when I was eating, on the phone, and even… when I was sleeping. At first, she would start far away to glance at me. But lately, she had stopped trying to hide it. I felt like she had turned into a stranger. I didn’t dare to face her. When we sleep at night, I have to turn away from her. If I look at her, I can’t sleep.

“I’ve considered sleeping in separate rooms, but I’m still worried about her. I innocently believed that as long as I stayed with her, her conditions would become better.

“One night, when I suddenly woke up, I noticed she was kneeling and staring right at my face. Our faces were less than 10 centimetres away! I could see the lines in her eyes. At that moment, I felt like… she was about to eat me!

“I knew that I couldn’t delay it anymore. Therefore, I called Director Zhang. I didn’t know him that well, but I knew he had a good reputation. I would have no worry leaving Xiang Nan with him.

“Even now, I’m worried about her, worried that she’d be bullied at the hospital. Trust me. I really love her!”

Then, there was another static.

Yi Zhenliang’s voice returned. The static seemed to represent time passing. He recorded the things at different intervals, probably for evidence. Zhang Zhaowei hid it for the same reason.

“I finally delivered Xiang Nan to the hospital. After he heard me, Director Zhang said that he needed to consider it. It was clear that he didn’t want to get involved. However, I had my solution. I would pressure him through his superiors. In the end, Director Zhang promised to look after Xiang Nan for me.

“I told him a bit about Xiang Nan. Forgive me for not being able to tell him everything. If I did, he wouldn’t take her into his hospital. Plus, he might even call the police.

“After Xiang Nan was gone, I finally had the time to figure out what to do. The person revealed that Xiang Nan was already 70 years old. I didn’t believe it because I’ve lived with her for so long… We even had a child together. I believe my own eyes and feelings.

“However, after so many inexplicable events, I decided to dig a little deeper. We met each other at a bar. Soon after, we got married. She told me her parents were dead when she was a child. She came to the big city on her own from her hometown in the countryside. Thinking back, I was a fool. Why didn’t I question her about her hometown?

“She was too pretty. All of my friends said so. It was as if she were radiating beauty. A friend told me in confidence that he found her eyes to be captivating. Her eyes were filled with stories, and they didn’t match her age.

“I didn’t think much of it. But now, thinking back… I had to shiver.

“I had been working for a while and had experienced many things. Xiang Nan was a decade younger than me but the way she assessed the world was more mature than I was.

“Eventually, I decided to have my friend investigate Xiang Nan’s background.

“Three days, no, two and a half days later, a call reached me when I was asleep. It was 1 am. It was my friend. After I answered it, his voice travelled over…

“Zhenliang!” The voice trembled, “I… need to tell you something, but don’t be scared.”