Chapter 5: Face In The Water (5)
On July 9, 2015, Zhang Hongda and Xu Lishen were identified as "Fatty" and "Xiao Xu". The two committed suicide in 1992 and 1993 respectively. The cause of death were pesticide poisoning and lying on the railroad tracks. Xu Lishen's family all moved out of the city and so the contact information was foundable. Zhang Hongda's relatives all have passed away, the only one able to be contacted was his niece, Lin Juan.
On July 11, 2015, I met with Lin Juan. Audio file 091017171.wav.
"My uncle's problem, actually… I don't really know much of. At that time I was very young, just got into elementary school, I think? And I didn't live with my uncle, so it's not clear what had happened."
"It's okay, just tell me what you know."
"I know that my uncle met a ghost and was in the middle of evil. Grandma and grandpa wanted to move out with my uncle and asked my mom and dad to find a new place. At that time, you couldn't just sell or buy a house, my dad had a close relationship with my uncle, so he found a place in the countryside of Pingnan City with one courtyard for them to live. My mom at that time had to run back and forth for them, it was tiring for her. After my mom saw that my uncle's situation was stable, she took me to see them once."
"Ok. Did you meet Mr. Zhang Hongda?"
"Yes… I saw him… he… at that time he looked really bad, like a madman, but you can't really say that he is one…"
"Ms. Lin, can you talk about what happened that day in detail? The detail is very important for us."
"In detail… oh… yes I can. Well in detail… that day was a sunny day, the sun was very bright. My mom took me to Pingnan and took a tractor that passed by. That place was not very crowded, the rural dirt road was not easy to walk on, I sat in the tractor for a long and after I continued to walk more. And then I saw my grandma's new place… now I don't remember what it looks like, but I know that when I saw it was scared to death. That house was very lonely, far from people, and behind it was a pitch black mountain forest… now that I said it… my grandma and the others wanted to find a place like this, far from other people…"
"Uh huh."
"When we arrived at the door, my mom called out and my grandma or grandpa came out to greet us. I couldn't remember it, but anyways I never saw my uncle. My mom was talking with grandma and grandpa, my uncle sat beside them, and whatever they were talking about I didn't pay attention. I was a naughty child. When I saw that the courtyard had a chicken and a duck, I ran out to chase them. Then, from the window stood a person that I didn't know. He glared at me, those eyes look like he was about to eat someone. Under the sun, with his glare, I felt shivers run down my spine. I probably yelled or something, I just wanted to find my mom and ran into the house. He moved too, running from the window, I saw him coming from the back of the wall. He stood in front of me, blocked the door and pushed me to the ground. And then he proceeded to tear up my skirt!"
"Skirt?"
"Yes, my skirt."
"What happened next?"
"Later, my mom came to protect me, my grandparents were pulling him away, but he just wouldn't let go and continued to rip my skirt… that skirt… that skirt was one of my new ones, I remember this very clearly. I scored a 200, so my dad bought me a red skirt, a bright one with small floral patterns on it… he ripped the whole skirt and screamed. Finally, my mom couldn't take it anymore and let go of me and went to get something and slammed it on his head."
"Was that person your uncle?"
"Yeah it was my uncle. He changed. He became so thin that I didn't recognize him."
"Did he see your dress as a ghost?"
"I don't know. At that time, I just cried, my mom was hugging me and we left quickly after. She never took me to see my uncle ever again. When my uncle died, I didn't attend his funeral."
"Did you hear anything from your mother concerning it?"
"Nope. I was still young at that time, most of the things I forgot. Or I just deliberately forgotten them. Even till now, I don't wear skirts. When I see a lot of red on clothes, I feel uncomfortable. Ai, I am so sorry, just talking about my own problem and not giving you much help."
"It doesn't matter because to us this was a big help for us."
"There's another question I want you to think about."
"You may ask."
"Did your mother ever heard about her hometown situation?"
"What?"
"As far as we know, that people there worked at the factory before it closed down. They changed from a farmer to a factory worker and the living area did not change. Your mom was one of the few people who moved away. Has she ever mentioned anything about her old home? Did your parents have any special place for their wedding?"
"This… I don't think so. My parents's marriage… was it special in their era? They fell in love freely. My mom went to work in the city where she met my dad. They looked at each other and became friends and got married later."
"Ok, then. If you recall anything else, feel feel to contact us."
"Ok."
On July 14, 2015, a total of 14 members of the former Jiaoxian Rural Commune and the former Red Star Factory were investigated. No clues were found; the history of Jiaoxian was investigated and no clues were found.
On July 17, 2015, I received a call from Lin Juan. Call recording 201507171109.mp3.
"Hello, is this the reporter from "Unbelievable Strange Things"?"
"Yes, are you Ms. Li Juan?"
"Ah yes! It's me. I just remember something that may help you."
"You may speak."
"Ok. This is what I heard from my mom when I was young. I forgot what I did, but when she disciplined me, she tried to scare me by saying what she's going to do and that she's going to lock me inside an empty house. That empty house seemed seemed to be near our place. It has been unoccupied for many decades, it was empty. The elders there would also scare children by saying that they will lock them in that empty house and that there will be monsters that appear at night that will eat children."
"So… are there any practical case of it?"
"How could that be? Haha. it's just a local legend. Your magazine should be interested in this, right?"
"Yes, this is very interesting. Thank you for the content."
On July 17, 2015, the "empty house" was investigated. Audio file 09120150717.wav.
*rustling sound*
"...The empty house, I know, there is a place like that. But it's probably a deserted one? I've never been there."
*rustling sound*
"...Oh! The house with monsters! Isn't it just something to scare the children? I've went there, but it wasn't much. A lot of people heard of it!"
*rustling sound*
*snap!*
"Aiya! When you said it, I just remembered. When Captain Li was a kid, he went to that empty house with other people! A lot of people went and didn't come back for dinner. Each of them were getting chased by their family, making a big ruckus!"
"Auntie, are you sure it's Captain Li?"
"Besides him, who would do that! Ai, that Captain Li met a ghost, unless he was targeted by a monster?"
On July 19, 2015, I contacted Li Aimin. Audio file 09120150719.wav.
"Empty house? That… I went with my brother and other people. Why we went there, I forgot. I just remember that we all went home late and was beaten."
"About that empty house, how much do you remember of it?"