Fog City Detective

Chapter 28: Ghostly Shadows

Silence lingered for twenty minutes as they sat without talking. After the hamburgers arrived, they began to eat. Poppy's manner of eating was remarkably refined, prompting Liang Xi to inquire, "Since you have a proud personality and disdain roadside food, and there's plenty of time, why don't you go eat what you like?"

Poppy pretended to be mysterious, "Because if I leave, you won't see any ghosts... This hamburger is delicious, even more flavorful than the ones I usually eat."

Liang Xi responded, "That's because you're hungry."

Poppy questioned, "How do you know?"

Liang Xi replied, "If you weren't hungry, why would you ask me to order food for you? Are you insulting my profession or your own character?"

Poppy looked at Liang Xi and said, "Fair point, you're not a bad detective."

Poppy gave a slight affirmation to Liang Xi, acknowledging that he wasn't a bad person. Liang Xi followed suit, "You, as a medium, are also interesting," although he wasn't sure in what way.

Poppy didn't answer that question but seemed lost in thought. After finishing the hamburgers, Poppy spoke up, "I'll tell you a secret."

Liang Xi said, "You don't have to."

Poppy said, "Actually, I can't communicate with ghosts."

Liang Xi asked in disbelief, "Really?"

Unable to contain himself, Poppy raised a middle finger, feeling it wasn't enough and put down his cola to raise another one. Liang Xi couldn't be bothered to respond, having exhausted his repertoire of English swear words. Ignoring Liang Xi's lack of reaction, Poppy felt awkward, quietly lowering his middle finger and saying, "Since high school until today, I've been to over a hundred haunted houses and places rumored to be haunted that I found online, but I've never seen any ghosts."

Liang Xi asked, "Why? Don't the ghosts want to see you?"

Waving his hand dismissively, Poppy didn't want to talk to Liang Xi. He went to the restroom in the main room. After using the restroom and washing his hands, he walked out. Liang Xi greeted him, "Hey."

Poppy jumped three feet in the air, furious. Liang Xi quickly ran away, and Poppy chased him into the hall. Liang Xi explained, "Just checking if you're scared of ghosts."

Poppy glared at Liang Xi, realizing that getting into a fight would not be in his favor. He gritted his teeth, saying, "I'm not afraid of ghosts; I'm afraid of people."

The two returned to their positions, with Poppy sitting back in his sleeping bag, and Liang Xi sitting directly on the wooden floor. After a while, Liang Xi, feeling uncomfortable on his backside, stood up and said, "I'll go to the nearby store and buy a cushion."

Poppy quickly objected, "No, you leaving the house might prevent the ghosts from appearing."

Internally questioning, Liang Xi had already developed a mature reasoning about the so-called haunted house. He only needed to meet and talk to Lily, filling in the missing pieces to confirm whether it was Lily's mental issues or the presence of an actual intruder. However, Poppy's assertion that ghosts would appear tonight puzzled Liang Xi. Regardless of the actual presence of an intruder or Lily's mental problems, according to his reasoning, ghosts could not possibly appear tonight.

Liang Xi could sense Poppy's pride, and his unwavering insistence and certainty about being able to see ghosts made him uncertain. Thinking about Poppy's experiences of staying in haunted houses over a hundred times, Liang Xi felt a bit uneasy.

Liang Xi asked, "Have you ever seen a ghost?"

Poppy didn't immediately answer Liang Xi's question and instead asked, "Do you believe it?"

Liang Xi shook his head.

Poppy wasn't surprised, "No one believes me. When my grandfather passed away, I was ten at the time. The night before his burial, I saw him. He told me that the priest was sick and couldn't conduct his funeral the next day, so I should contact another priest. After I finished calling the other priest, he smiled and disappeared. Sure enough, the next day, the priest was too sick to get up, but luckily, another priest arrived and conducted the funeral."

Liang Xi remarked, "Too bad you didn't ask him for the next lottery numbers."

"Damn it." Poppy threw an empty cup at Liang Xi, and the paper cup landed between them. Poppy sighed, "No one wants to believe me. They even asked if I had a high fever and told me to get a brain MRI..."

"I need to use the restroom," Liang Xi stood up.

Poppy questioned, "Do you have no basic manners? Can't you wait for me to finish speaking?"

Liang Xi replied, "I'm afraid I'll pee my pants out of fear."

Liang Xi entered the bathroom, relieved himself, washed his hands, and stopped by the door, saying, "When I get scared, I instinctively throw a punch."

"Heh." Poppy chuckled and left the doorway.

It seemed like a false alarm. Liang Xi didn't have X-ray vision, so he couldn't see if anyone was at the door. He had just casually made up a statement, expecting a reaction.

Time passed second by second, and the night rain arrived as scheduled. Only the second-floor corridor and the hall were lit inside the house. Poppy crawled into his sleeping bag to rest, while Liang Xi lay down casually on the wooden floor.

In the distance, the ancient church chimed in the early morning hours. Poppy immediately emerged from his sleeping bag and glanced at Liang Xi. Liang Xi opened his eyes, and Poppy made a silent gesture, motioning for both of them to lean against the wall and quietly wait.

"Squeak!" Ten minutes later, a sound of wood being pressured echoed from downstairs, sending a shiver down Liang Xi's spine. The first floor didn't have wooden flooring, while the second and third floors were entirely made of wood. The sound originated from downstairs, with the only possibility being the wooden staircase. Something was on it, causing the noise. However, thermal expansion and contraction couldn't be ruled out as the cause of the creaking in the wooden stairs.

A gust of night wind blew into the second-floor hall. Liang Xi looked at Poppy and pointed at the window: Did you open the window?

Poppy slowly shook his head, stood up, leaned towards the hall, took a quick glance, and immediately recoiled, whispering, "Something came in."

Liang Xi inquired, "Can we talk now?"

Poppy scoffed, "Do you think they're afraid of us?"

Liang Xi walked to Poppy's side, mustering the courage to look down the corridor. He saw that the window at the end of the corridor was open. Liang Xi felt a chill because he had used the restroom at 11 o'clock, and the window was closed at that time. From 11 o'clock until now, Poppy hadn't left the second-floor hall. The only possibility was that someone used a long pole to open the window.

Poppy's expression became serious. He took out a small makeshift talisman from his bag, crafted from an unknown material with rough workmanship. Holding the talisman in his hand, Poppy muttered some words and slowly walked towards the corridor window, hanging the talisman on a nail beside the window. Turning back, he walked towards the hall and said, "I've sealed off their escape route."

When Poppy returned to the hall, there was a muffled thud, as if someone were stepping on the wooden stairs or something had fallen on them. Liang Xi could be a hundred percent sure that it was not a sound produced by thermal expansion and contraction.

Fearless! Liang Xi sprinted downstairs and, upon reaching the first floor, turned on the lights according to his memory. The small living room on the first floor was empty. Liang Xi glanced upstairs, and Poppy shook his head, indicating that he didn't want to come down.

Impossible, there couldn't be ghosts. Liang Xi took a deep breath, gathered his courage, pushed open the kitchen door, and found it empty. The back door and windows were tightly closed. Liang Xi used a flashlight to shine on the doorknob, where he had placed a piece of scrap paper. The paper, in its appearance, shape, and even the way it was arranged, showed no signs of being touched, indicating that this door hadn't been opened by anyone.

Liang Xi pushed open the doors of each room on the first floor one by one, and the answer remained unchanged – empty rooms.

Soon, Liang Xi confirmed that there was no one hiding on the first floor.

Damn!

Liang Xi ascended the stairs and saw Poppy holding a string of Buddhist beads, counting them affectionately while looking at him, saying, "You will be its prey."

Liang Xi asked, "Where is it?"

Poppy replied solemnly, "It's right behind you."

Liang Xi abruptly turned around, but there was no ghost... Pfft!