Date: August 1, 1999–2003
Weather: Overcast
Season: Summer
Prologue: The "Ghost Well" Case
’Who am I...’
’What’s my name...’
’Where is this...’
The world was pitch-black. All light was devoured by the darkness. Not a single glimmer could appear before her, as if the entire world was the very definition of darkness itself.
’Home... Yes, I remember now. I have a home... But... where is my home?’
A woman’s voice echoed through the darkness.
Her voice was devoid of emotion, like a simple, detached question.
TAP...
TAP... TAP...
TAP...
The sound of footsteps emerged. The world gradually grew dimmer, no longer a sheet of blackness. Faint, blurry shadows appeared before her.
This was a hallway. Square, identical doorframes lined both sides. The dark walls and vivid red doors were exceptionally jarring in this world.
TAP...
As the footsteps grew closer, the back of a figure, constantly walking, appeared before her.
She wore a vibrant red cheongsam, her long hair coiled up, walking down a hallway with no beginning or end in sight.
Her silhouette was exquisite. She had a slender waist, and her long legs took turns striding forward beneath her cheongsam, revealing occasional flashes of skin as white as mutton-fat jade.
The woman never turned around; only her back could be seen.
All one could see was her walking forward, endlessly, down this hallway.
’Home...’
’Yes, I have a home... Where is my home?’
The ethereal voice echoed through the hallway again. It was the woman’s voice. Her footsteps didn’t stop, nor did she turn around.
At that moment, the bright red doors on either side began to stir.
Tiny cracks seemed to appear, opening ever so slightly.
Through the cracks, countless eyes spied on the woman’s figure as she walked down the hall. Their gazes were filled with greed, confusion, indifference, and fiery passion, but without exception...
They all just watched with cold detachment.
The woman ignored the eyes behind the doors. She kept walking forward on this dark, endless path.
Suddenly, she stopped walking.
She stopped before a door, reached out a slender, graceful hand, and rested it upon the wood.
’Is it...’
’...this one?’
With a gentle push, the door before her slowly swung open.
...
「March 1, 1999」
This was Dongyun Science and Technology University in Sancai City, Dongyun Province.
It was a nationally renowned school, a top-tier Project 211 university. Without exception, every student here was a high achiever from their respective schools.
Some of them might be millionaires, others might come from poor families, but no matter their background, as long as they graduated from this university...
...their lives would become magnificent.
Outside the university, near a small food street.
The woman in red was standing there. As before, only her back could be seen. She stood as if she were transparent, completely unnoticed.
And in front of her, a girl in simple clothes but with a lovely face radiated youthful energy. She was very pretty and had a scholarly air about her. Cradling a few books, she looked both shy and wonderful.
She was currently sitting on a stool at a food stall, accompanied by a few of her classmates.
"Han Shi, what do you want to do after you graduate?"
another girl asked from a nearby stool.
"I want to find a decent job first, get two years of experience, and then move to a big company."
The young woman named Han Shi had clear eyes that shone with her hopes for the future.
She had a small birthmark on her neck, but the vivid red mark didn’t detract from her beauty. Instead, it added a hint of undefinable allure.
"I’ve saved a lot of money from tutoring these past few years. After working a few more, I can bring my parents over to live with me..."
"Dongyun Province is so prosperous. My parents have been farmers their whole lives, all to pay for my education. I want to give them a better life."
Han Shi said shyly, her eyes filled with a desperate longing for the future.
At twenty-two, she was vibrant and brimming with youth.
"But you don’t have to push yourself so hard, do you? Tutoring, working a part-time job, writing your thesis, and studying... It sounds exhausting."
One of the girls beside her said empathetically, stretching her back.
"If I work a little harder, my parents can relax a little more."
Han Shi smiled, her eyes curving into beautiful crescents.
"I’ve saved so, so much money..."
"I’m definitely going to give them a surprise!"
Her friends started to tease her. "What about your childhood sweetheart? That dear ’older brother’ of yours waits for you after class every single day. You two are practically inseparable. I even heard his roommate say that all the money he’s earning is to marry you, you know?"
"W-We’re not inseparable..."
Han Shi’s pretty face flushed red as she lowered her head and mumbled a defense.
"Hee hee, but you didn’t deny the part about him wanting to marry you, did you?"
"You’re awful!" Han Shi exclaimed, flustered, and playfully slapped her friend’s arm.
After their bout of playful teasing, she rested her chin in her hands, her eyes filled with hope.
"He needs to work hard, too. Then we can earn money together—lots and lots of money..."
"And then we’ll buy a big house and live in it. I’ll grow some flowers, and he’ll do chores nearby. I want to be with him, forever and ever..."
She hadn’t denied the ’dear older brother’ part.
The two of them had been together since childhood, always helping each other. Their families both knew one another; they were a classic case of childhood sweethearts.
They went to elementary school together, middle school together, and got into the same high school...
The excited hug when they got their university acceptance letters.
The memory of them working part-time in their uniforms, of her leaning on his shoulder, gazing at the starry sky, quietly listening to him describe his plans for their future and the eternal vows he made to her...
As she recalled the past, Han Shi’s eyes filled with nostalgia.
"Forever and ever..."
A moment later... a van pulled up in front of the food stall...
...
’My home...’
’...is not here.’
The woman left. The woman in red departed, closing the door behind her. The sounds of joyful laughter from within immediately diminished by more than half.
Her footsteps resuming their rhythm, she continued her walk down the gloomy hallway.
The half-hidden doors in the hallway once again cast greedy gazes, staring at her graceful back.
After a moment, she paused briefly and stopped before a second door.
’Is it...’
’...this one?’
...
...
「March 6, 1999」
This was a remote village, so isolated that few people could even find it.
There were no concrete or asphalt roads; even airplanes seemed reluctant to fly overhead. Desolation and decay were the best words to describe this village.
The woman in red stood here.
Her back was as lovely as ever. At this moment, she was facing several men, standing quietly to the side as if watching a TV show.
"Two thousand!"
"Two thousand? No way! One thousand, just one thousand!"
"Eighteen hundred. For one of this quality, I’m only asking eighteen hundred. See if you can find one for sale anywhere else!"
"Fifteen hundred. If it weren’t for my little brother gettin’ married, I wouldn’t even be buyin’."
"Seventeen hundred! Seventeen hundred is the lowest I’ll go!"
"Deal!"
After a round of haggling, the two men reached an agreement.
A moment later, one of the men opened up the van and pulled out a woman.
The woman’s hands and feet were bound. Trussed up like a pig, her lovely face was already streaked with tears. She had cried herself dry and was now motionless.
The other man looked at the woman, a crude smile spreading across his face as his rough hand cupped her cheek.
"From now on, yer name’s Zhang Cui. Yer my woman now!"
He finished speaking, opened his mouth to reveal a set of yellow teeth, and planted a kiss on her face as she stared back in terror.
The woman was taken away.
Dragged and pulled, her body covered in blood from being beaten, she was hauled to a corner of the village.
Along the way, a few families had their doors ajar, and pairs of eyes could be faintly seen in the cracks.
The woman cast a pleading gaze in their direction.
But all she received in return were searing, greedy stares.
...
The woman in the blood-red dress departed.
She continued to walk forward.
The woman opened many doors.
She saw the woman named Han Shi escape in the middle of the night.
She saw the woman flee to the village to report the crime, only to be raped by the very person she sought help from, and then be sent back to the man’s home by the villagers.
She saw the woman get sent to the train station, becoming what they called a "broken shoe," a "rotten crotch"... a complete whore.
She saw that another woman had chosen not to escape with her, reporting the attempt instead. She saw what became of that woman after she was tortured.
And yet, all of this...
...was not her home.
’Where is my home?’
’What is my name...’
The woman walked aimlessly, her figure floating through the gloomy hallway as her own voice echoed in her ears.
Her silhouette was so exquisite, yet so lonely.
Until...
CREAK~
A sound rang out as the last door opened.
It was pitch-black inside; nothing could be seen.
All that was there was a dog cage, a suffocating stench, and the clamor of barking dogs.
The woman stood outside the door, watching in silence.
After a long moment, she lifted her foot and stepped inside. Then...
CREAK~
She opened the dog cage and crawled inside.
Her exquisite figure grew filthy, her soft hair became matted and foul-smelling.
She curled up inside the dog cage, huddling in a corner.
The sound of dogs barking filled her ears, interspersed with her own incredibly faint voice, which sounded like she was muttering to herself.
’My home... where is it?’
’I...’
’...who am I?’
...
...
(The "Ghost Well" Case)
(Case Closed!)
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