CH 19.1

It was evening when Tang Tian arrived at Qinghe County the next day. This was a small town next to Rong City. 10 years ago, the government built an expressway that led from there straight to Rong City, so most businesses had relocated. The area surrounding the expressway, called New City, featured many towering buildings, whereas the less bustling areas further away were known as the Old City. 

Tang Tian strolled down one of the older streets in the county. It was a weekday, so there were not many people out and about, and Tang Tian greatly enjoyed the peace and tranquillity. As she wandered around, an alley filled with various housing and employment agencies caught her eye. 

She stopped by one of the agencies, looking through the window at the advertisements which advertised houses for rent. 

“Are you looking for a place to stay?” croaked a weary, brittle voice behind Tang Tian. 

She turned around to see an old lady, her white hair streaked with grey, wearing an oversized flower print blouse. She cut a gaunt, almost skeletal figure, and stood slightly hunched over. As she fanned herself with a cattail-leaf fan, she said, “What kind of house are you looking for? Surely I have something to your liking.” 

“In that case, a single-bedroom apartment that costs less than one thousand per month. Preferably in a safe residential area with proper security.” 

Tang Tian’s estimate was based on her brief perusal of the prices displayed in the advertisements. Houses in the Old City were certainly cheaper, with each square metre valued at less than five thousand, and rental costs were much lower than that. 

“Come on in.” The old lady welcomed Tang Tian into her shop. She put on a pair of reading glasses and pulled out a thick notebook from her drawer, then flipped through the yellowed pages full of details regarding available houses for rent. Most property agents in larger cities would have pulled up such information from a digital database, but it was not unusual for an old lady in a small town to do things the traditional way. 

Suddenly, the old lady paused as her gaze landed on one of the pages, and she muttered, “Found one—what a suitable place for you, dear. It’s just nearby, please let me take you there. It fits your criteria perfectly.” 

Tang Tian was doubtful. She wanted to ask a few more questions, but before she could do so, the old lady seemed to have read her mind and said, “You’ll definitely like it.” The old lady wasted no time making her way to the door, indicating that Tang Tian should follow. 

Noticing Tang Tian’s hesitation, she turned slightly, peering sideways through the wizened, wrinkled folds at the corner of her eye at the girl. “You will, you will,” the old lady repeated, as if to reassure Tang Tian. There was something about her tone that rang with a deep certainty.

Since the old lady gave her no room for rebuttal, Tang Tian willingly followed behind her as they left the shop. 

The streets here consisted mostly of winding alleyways and narrow sidewalks. As Tang Tian obediently trailed after the old lady, she found herself taking countless turns at every corner. According to the old lady, they were taking a shortcut. 

After ten minutes, they arrived at a spacious, yet quiet area. 

From afar, it looked like a small residential area with an old apartment complex that seemed more like a courtyard belonging to a rich family. An old security guard sat by the entrance, snoring loudly, with his head tilted back such that it rested on the top rail of the chair. In his hands was a ceramic cup, which he held on to quite well despite being asleep. 

The entrance door was closed, but just as Tang Tian thought they might not be able to view the apartment, to her surprise, the old lady just pushed the door open and went inside without glancing at the sleeping guard. 

Tang Tian’s eyes flicked over to the guard who continued to sleep soundly, his snores as loud as thunder, completely oblivious to the door’s creaking noise, and seemingly the world in general. As a young woman planning to stay alone, security was her main concern, and her impression of this place immediately plummeted.

But, since she had come all the way here, she figured there was no harm in taking a look at the place first. 

Tang Tian took in as much as she could as she crossed the courtyard. Someone must have cleaned it recently, as there was not a single piece of litter to be seen. There were also several parasol trees that provided plentiful shade from the sunlight. 

It was very quiet and peaceful. Somehow, Tang Tian felt as if she had walked into an isolated part of town, detached from the outside world. 

Not far away, Tang Tian could see a few motorbikes and bicycles parked under a mostly empty shed. Similarly, only a few of the parking spaces right in front of the apartment complex were occupied by cars. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that all those cars seemed to have a thick layer of dust piled up on their window panes as she could barely see their interiors. It was as if the cars had not been moved for a very long time. 

Tang Tian lifted her head. The four buildings that surrounded the courtyard had six floors each, with two apartments to a floor, separated by a staircase that ran through the middle. It was almost six thirty in the evening, the ideal time to start preparing dinner, thus one would expect to hear the crisp, rhythmic sounds of clanging pots and pans echoing from the kitchens, but Tang Tian could not hear anything. It was as if there was no sign of any human life. 

“Yours is on the fourth floor1The number four is a slant-homophone for “death” in Chinese, thus is often seen as inauspicious.” The old lady seemed to finally notice Tang Tian had stopped in her tracks beyond the entrance door. Without turning to look at Tang Tian, the old lady stood by the stairwell and said ominously, “The previous owner, an old man, lived alone. It’s vacant now because he suffered a—fatal—heart attack. They found him inside… eventually.”

Tang Tian froze. “…I think I’ll leave now.” 

“Oh, he’s long gone. It’s been years! No relatives, so the community here pooled money to organise a funeral for him. They look after the house, too. I come here from time to time to help with the cleaning. There’s a proper living room and two bedrooms, so I dare say it’s spacious enough for you. As I said, the community keeps the house clean, so don’t you worry.” 

Tang Tian raised an eyebrow and shot her an incredulous look. “That’s not the issue here. Any proper housing agent wouldn’t simply bring a client to a house that has had some sort of death involved, isn’t that right?”

The old lady did not move an inch. Without turning back, she continued speaking as if she did not hear Tang Tian’s reply, “The apartment suits you very much. You’ll definitely like it.” 

That line again. Tang Tian thought as her eyebrows creased together warily. The entire building faced the east and the thick foliage of the parasol trees blocked the sunlight from reaching most of the apartments lower than the fourth floor, almost shrouding them in constant darkness. 

“No thank you, I should—” When Tang Tian tried to step backward, her words were interrupted by a skeletal-like hand reaching out from the dark corridor and clutching her bag in a death grip. 

Suddenly, the old lady was inches away from her face, her greyish, cloudy eyes flashing with an intense brightness up close as she stared straight into Tang Tian’s eyes. She opened her pale, dry lips and said in the same ominous tone, “Since you came all the way here, why don’t we take a look?”