SES Chapter 21

Chapter 21 — Translated into Proper U.S. English

After the incident, Pingting remained at her home in Xiaoshanghe, looked after by Uncle Zheng. Every two days, a nurse hired from the hospital came by to help her bathe and clean up. She also received a full health check-up once every quarter.

For both Uncle Zheng and the nurse, it was an easy job. Pingting wasn’t the violent or hysterical kind of “crazy.” She was quiet—so quiet it bordered on lifeless. She often sat on the floor from morning to night, unmoving, occasionally pointing with fear at the spotless carpet as if seeing something filthy there.

Uncle Zheng’s sense that something was “off” dated back a few nights ago.

Due to its location, Xiaoshanghe was especially quiet at night. Often, the only sound was the wind howling past. Uncle Zheng, being older, was used to the wind, but anything out of the ordinary would still wake him up immediately.

That night, something startled him out of his sleep.

He heard singing—soft and eerie—drifting like silk through the empty house.

Pingting was singing.

She had always been musically gifted—a graceful dancer in her youth, once trained in ballet, and her singing had always been beautiful and fluid. Even though this midnight performance felt odd, maybe it was just another evolution of her madness.

After hesitating, Uncle Zheng decided to check on her.

Ever since Luo Wenmiao’s disappearance, they’d kept Pingting’s room locked, just in case she too vanished without warning. For convenience, the upper half of the door had been converted into a barred window, so things could be passed through and she could be observed easily.

That also explained why her singing sounded so clear—the room wasn’t soundproof.

Following the sound through the house in the dead of night sent chills up Uncle Zheng’s spine, but he braved his way to the door. That’s when he realized—Pingting wasn’t just singing.

She was dancing.

Not like the soft, elegant movements she used to perform, but wild, exaggerated gestures. The dance was archaic, strange—almost as if she were circling something invisible, singing and dancing in a trance.

Luo Ren asked, “What was she singing?”

“She kept repeating the same eight words over and over,” Uncle Zheng recalled. “Something like, ‘Hold steady,’ ‘Empty bamboo,’ ‘Flying rabbit or maybe bandit,’ and… ‘Pork.’”

…

For several days, everything was calm. Luo Ren made no contact. If the silence continued, Mu Dai figured it wouldn’t be long before she forgot all about Luoma Lake and Luo Ren altogether.

But then one night, Li Tan called.

His voice trembled with excitement.

“I didn’t expect things to progress so fast. After the sketch was done, I thought I saw that guy in Xiaoshanghe, so I should start looking there. I didn’t want to attract attention, so I walked around the streets, scanning faces… And then, two days ago, a car drove into Xiaoshanghe. I saw the driver. I saw the driver…”

He was so worked up he couldn’t finish his sentence.

“I followed the car—it wasn’t hard. I’d seen it before. The owner is Luo Wenmiao. Funny, right? The day after the Xiaoshanghe case, that guy turns up dead. And the guy in the sketch? His name is Luo Ren…”

Mu Dai felt a headache coming on. How was she supposed to tell Li Tan he was wrong—that things weren’t as simple as he thought? Why was he so stubborn?

“Anyway,” he said, like he had made a decision, “if anything happens to me… You know what to do.”

Know what, exactly? Before Mu Dai could respond, he hung up.

There was something tragic in his voice, like a lone warrior heading toward a doomed battle.

Mu Dai had a bad feeling. She tried calling him back, but he didn’t answer. So she texted him instead, urging him to stay calm. Things were complicated. It wasn’t how he imagined. Luo Ren wasn’t an accomplice.

No reply. Like a stone dropped in the ocean.

She had no choice but to call Luo Ren, her heart filled with unwillingness: Why do I have to be the one to call, when he left without a word?

Luo Ren picked up quickly. Mu Dai briefly explained what had happened, then warned him, “Li Tan is looking for you.”

“Thanks,” he said.

Mu Dai suddenly got annoyed. “Look, I know you can handle yourself, but don’t hit him too hard. He’s kind of pitiful.”

Her voice trembled at the end. She didn’t wait for Luo Ren to respond before hanging up.

At first, she’d only said those things about Li Tan to Huo Zihong to make a point, to make her storytelling more vivid. But now, the more she thought about it, the more it hurt. She rested her head on her arm and fell asleep, feeling that this night was especially cold and desolate.

He had gone to Xiaoshanghe right after the hypnosis sketch. Did he not care about living a peaceful life anymore? A person’s life isn’t that long. If Red Aunt was Li Yaqing, then Li Tan had wasted most of his life chasing after what many would call a hopeless obsession.

Tossing and turning, Mu Dai finally drifted off and dreamed she was answering her phone.

Luo Ren’s voice said, “Li Tan’s here.”

She mumbled, “Oh.”

“Mu Dai, are you awake? Li Tan’s here.”

As her consciousness sharpened, she realized—the phone was in her hand. The screen was glowing, the call timer ticking upward second by second.

So… it wasn’t a dream. She was on the phone.

Mu Dai shot upright. Still groggy, she asked, “He’s there… with you?”

“Yeah. Climbed over the wall. Lucky you warned me… he’s tied up now, staring daggers at me… Uncle Zheng, don’t let him near the wall!”

That last part sounded like he was talking to Uncle Zheng. Mu Dai’s heart pounded as she tried to imagine the scene.

After a while, Luo Ren came back on the line. “He’s been yelling nonstop since I tied him up. I taped his mouth shut, but he started banging his head against the wall. I hate this kind of guy—won’t listen to reason no matter what.”

Even pitiful people could make you grit your teeth in frustration. Suddenly, Mu Dai was fired up. She leapt out of bed without thinking. “Wait for me. Don’t hang up.”

She dashed to Huo Zihong’s room. But just before knocking, she hesitated. Forget it—it’s late. I don’t want to make her mad…

She turned to leave, only to see a sliver of light under the door.