C5 Buying Your Life

I asked her, "Why?" The little girl replied, "There's not a single good person here. You're doing the right thing by listening to me. Liu Rong is out to get you!"

My head started buzzing as if it were about to burst. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the sensation of being kept in the dark. This building must be hiding some secrets unknown to me, and it seemed like everyone else was in on it, while I was being unwittingly exploited. I asked the little girl, "How can I get out?" She earnestly responded, "If you can make it to next year's Ghost Festival, when the spiritual staircase reopens and the gateway is clear, you'll be able to leave."

I pressed further, "Between Wang Tao and Liu Rong, whom should I trust?"

The little girl skipped down the stairs. I was about to follow up with another question when a voice from behind stopped me cold: "What are you up to?"

I froze. It was Ms. Liu. I felt a rush of panic for a few seconds, wondering why the little girl had run off at the sight of Ms. Liu. Lost in thought, Ms. Liu approached and gave me a pat, snapping me back to reality. I replied, "I've sprained my ankle and was hoping to rest for a few minutes."

Ms. Liu asked, "Are you okay? Should we support him together?"

I declined, saying I could manage for a bit longer, and continued my descent.

Silence enveloped both Ms. Liu and me. I had no idea what she was thinking, but I had resolved not to trust anyone lightly anymore. It was clear that Ms. Liu was not to be trusted. If she were, she wouldn't have lured me here. After three clerks had died, why was she still recruiting? And why keep me oblivious to it all? If it weren't for Old Zhang and the others' discoveries, and if Wang Tao hadn't shared the secret with me, would I have been naively serving her, possibly to my death, without ever knowing if there was a dark conspiracy at play?

Out of the blue, Ms. Liu remarked, "Aren't you going to ask me what I've found?"

I hesitated for a few seconds before replying, "If you wanted to tell me, you would have."

Ms. Liu cracked a rare smile and whispered, "You're sharper than I thought." She had brought down the red paper and water left by Wu Yi. On the red paper, there was a line of text.

I exclaimed in surprise, "What are these characters?"

Ms. Liu explained that it was a sequence of numbers. After a brief pause, she inquired, "When is your birthday?"

A chill ran down my spine as I recalled the little girl's words. I turned to Ms. Liu, who appeared serene and showed no signs of deliberately concealing anything from me. She was looking down at the red paper in her hands, and it seemed as though her question had been asked casually. Suppressing a yawn, I chuckled and asked, "Why do you want to know?" Ms. Liu replied, "This sequence of numbers looks like someone's birth date. I'm wondering if it might be yours."

I stopped in my tracks and asked her to show it to me. Ms. Liu unfolded the paper and presented it to me: 197763. I nodded, confirming, "Yes, that's a birthday alright. June 3, 1977."

"This birthday is close to your age, isn't it? Is it yours?" Ms. Liu asked. Instead of answering, I pressed on, "Who wrote these numbers on the red paper?"

Ms. Liu shook her head, "It certainly wasn't Wu Yi." My heart skipped a beat, and I thought to myself that there was no one else in this building besides Wu Yi. It must have been either the little girl or the woman in white I had seen earlier. But what did this birthday written in red signify? And why was Ms. Liu so curious about my birthday?

We would only find out the answer once Wu Yi regained consciousness. We settled Wu Yi on the couch in the monitoring room. Ms. Liu boiled some water, while I took on the task of reviving him by pinching his philtrum. I suggested calling emergency services, but Ms. Liu disagreed, assuring me that Wu Yi was not in serious danger and would probably awaken before an ambulance could arrive.

An hour later, Wu Yi stirred, groggy and disoriented. Ms. Liu approached him first, and they exchanged a few hushed words, intentionally keeping me out of earshot. After a moment, Wu Yi gestured for me to come over. I approached and asked what was wrong. Wu Yi gestured toward his left arm and said, "My arm's gone."

I furrowed my brow and gave a wry smile, "What are you talking about? Your left arm is right there, isn't it?"

Wu Yi shook his head and recounted, "Last night, just as I had positioned the red paper, pen, and water and was ready to leave, something tripped me. The pain was so intense that I couldn't get up. Realizing time was short, I quickly texted you to go ahead without me. After you left, I tried to make my way to the staircase. As I reached the entrance, someone shoved me. I hit the ground and saw a woman with a knife slashing at my arm. The pain knocked me out, and when I came to, my left arm was completely numb."

I found it hard to believe. "Are you sure it wasn't a hallucination? How can your arm just lose all sensation? It could be due to inadequate blood flow while you were unconscious," I suggested. He chuckled and replied, "If I'm not mistaken, I encountered a ghostly force. My arm is definitely ruined by a ghost—I'm certain of it. By the way, bring me that red paper and the overnight water to check."

Wu Yi propped himself up with one hand, and he didn't seem to be faking his condition. Still, it was hard to accept that his left arm, which looked perfectly normal, could be rendered useless. He glanced at the red paper, his expression turning to one of shock, and then fixated on the cup of water for a long moment before letting out a sigh. "The birthdate on this paper... I suspect it's the ghost from the 14th floor who wants to enter into a hell wedding with you!"

"What!?" I exclaimed, nearly collapsing in shock. "How can you deduce so much from a cup of water?"

Wu Yi nodded, "This isn't just any water—it's overnight water. Water, being the purest element in nature, can reveal things invisible to the naked eye. The birthdate on the red paper is traditionally used to determine an auspicious day for a wedding."

Ms. Liu then shifted the conversation to other topics, ones that were beyond my comprehension. I sat there, my mind in turmoil, feeling as though the recent events were straight out of a ghost story. The mention of a 'hell wedding' nearly sent me over the edge. I was on the verge of yelling, "What am I supposed to do now?"

Wu Yi explained that there were two options. The first was to pick an auspicious day for a hell wedding; the second was to find someone willing to marry me within the next seven days.

My eyes widened in disbelief. The first option was out of the question. How could I possibly marry a ghost? Beyond the sheer terror of the idea, humans and ghosts walk different paths. Wouldn't I essentially become a living ghost myself? And the second option? Let's be realistic—finding someone to marry me on such short notice was next to impossible, whether it was seven days or seventy.

Ms. Liu urged me not to panic, suggesting there might be other solutions. She then asked if the birthday on the red paper wasn't mine and inquired about my actual birth date.

Cradling my head in my hands, I replied that I was born on April 4th, 1979. Ms. Liu questioned whether it was by the lunar calendar, to which I weakly nodded in confirmation.

As Wu Yi and Ms. Liu were leaving, I couldn't help but notice Wu Yi's left arm hanging limply by his side, resembling a dislocation. I observed him for a while and concluded that his injury was genuine. Although I preferred to believe it was simply dislocated, the fear of Wu Yi's own explanation lingered in my mind.

Ms. Liu tried to reassure me, reminding me that despite the situation stemming from my oversight with the elevator, it didn't mean there was no solution. She advised me to go home and rest while she and Wu Yi worked on finding a way out. I was half-convinced. If Ms. Liu truly intended to help me, she would have disclosed the truth from the start. Her prolonged secrecy made me suspect she had ulterior motives. I realized I had to depend on myself. My first thought was to turn to my parents in the countryside, but I feared for their health. Then, my thoughts turned to Wang Tao. Given the circumstances, and as one of the informed, he surely had more secrets he hadn't shared with me. Ms. Liu had mentioned three things to be wary of on my first day, yet she only revealed two. Why the secrecy? I had an inkling that Ms. Liu was intentionally leading me towards something.

The little girl warned me to be wary of Ms. Liu, and Wang Tao also cautioned me against taking her words at face value. If they weren't in cahoots, then something was definitely amiss.

Before reaching out to Wang Tao, I resolved to hunt for clues on my own. I phoned Qiao to assist me in tracking down the contact details for the previous internal affairs officer. I was determined not to be blindly led anymore.

The former internal affairs officer, Yu Er, was twenty-six years old. Qiao mentioned that Yu Er came from a destitute family, with a fifteen-year-old brother still in middle school and parents who worked away from home year-round. To get a clearer picture, it seemed best to start with this young man. Qiao drove me to the middle school, and upon meeting Yu Er's brother, we were both taken aback—he was mute. Just as I was about to lose hope, Yu Er's brother handed me a note that piqued my interest. It read: "My brother was acting strangely during his time at work, often muttering to himself at night, 'Why didn't he save me?'"

I urgently inquired, "Who is 'he'?"

The young man shook his head and wrote: "I don't know. Before my brother was hospitalized, he told me in a state of confusion that Liu Rong had deceived him and everyone else, even asking for his birth details."

I was shocked, as if struck by lightning. I asked, "Did they say your brother found a sum of money?"

Fear was evident on the young man's face as he wrote: "It has already been turned in. You're not debt collectors, are you? We have no money!"

I reassured him, "Don't worry. I'm just seeking the truth. This issue is of great importance to me. Could you share anything else about your brother?"

After a long pause, he continued writing: "My brother claimed the money was a life-saving fortune. He stumbled upon it while going to shut down the elevator, but because he picked up the money, he missed the time to do so. He also referred to it as a 'spiritual staircase' for transporting ghosts. That's all I know. You're choosing to believe the words of a madman, even though the police say my brother showed signs of mental illness."

I was completely taken aback, and it took me a while to gather my thoughts. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a hundred yuan, and handed it to him. "You know, I actually work with your brother," I said. "Keep this money for some school supplies and make sure to hit the books hard." After parting ways with Qiao, I immediately dialed Wang Tao's number. I was eager to see if I could pry any more details out of him!