Chapter 6: Face In The Water (6)
"That empty house ah, um… it was 100% flat, the entrance is an empty yard with weeds, there's no paving with a room and no compartment. Ah, yes, no compartment which is actually pretty strange. It was a big yard, half of it is open space and the other half is the house. In the house there is one pillar, but no walls… I always had the impression that it was just an empty house with no owner. The two doors paint is ruined with no lock. When there is wind, the door would slam shut. Oh right, that house didn't have a door or a window, it was a… very strange house."
"What's inside?"
"There's nothing inside. It was empty. No table, no stool. That was why it was called the empty house."
"When you guys went in, did anything happen?"
"Nothing happen."
"But you guys were in the house for a long time."
"Ah, that's right. We did stay there for a long time… let me think… that time… that time I think we did something, but it seems… it seems like it had nothing to do with the house. We were a group of kids and saw nothing in the house. There was no monsters, too… Oh, I remember now. My brother said that we had to wait till night to catch the monsters. We were making traps. Honestly, we were just some noisy children and digged a pit or something."
"Did you guys dig up anything?"
"No. At that time we didn't have any tools, so we used our hands to dig. We didn't even make a pit instead we were pulling out grass. Um… yeah we were pulling out grass. But there was a person who quarreled with my brother and said that he made up his mind and couldn't make the trap because he was too tired."
"No one in your village wanted to deal with the empty house? Was there a reason they left it there?"
"This, I really don't know."
"Then, do you remember where the empty house is located? This is the map of the village that year and this is the map of the factory. Can you still find the location of the empty house?"
"Um—— this picture is just a piece of land and there is no houses?"
"Yes, the file records are not so detailed."
"This… this is… my old house is probably here. If I go to the empty house, then I will go here and then… just go in this direction. Specifically, I really can't find out."
"Ok, thank you. This time I am bothering you."
"It's fine."
On July 22, 2015, I was able to contact Wang Feng, a member of the construction team of the factory. Audio file 09120150722.wav.
"Here, this is the place. When we first started to demolish buildings, we started here. No one lived here, the yard was surrounded by walls, the house is wood, and the inside has a wooden pillar. It was easy to disassemble."
"Here then, the workers didn't circle this part?"
"Yes they didn't. At that time, what was the second phase of the project? They said that they are going to build a factory and then organize the villagers to leave so would the construction team. Our captain went in a circle and saw that the house was empty and took it apart first without wasting any time. We asked the villagers and they said to just demolish the house, it doesn't matter. Later on, when the house was almost demolished and when we were building the factory, the drawings weren't here, so it was empty."
"After the expansion, the park is set here."
"Yes."
"When the park was being built, were you part of the construction team?"
"Yes. We got rid of the weeds and grew trees."
"Did you notice any special or irregular things that happened during that process?"
"Special things? I don't think so."
"For example, digging up something or some kind of accident in the construction team?"
"No, nothing."
On July 25, 2015, I searched for some history documents and looked for the copy of the prefecture of Jiao County before the founding of the People's Republic of China, recording all criminal cases together, using lynching for local villagers, specifically unknown.
Attached: Photocopy of the documents.
On July 26, 2015, I received a call from a villager from Jiaoxian and worker of the Red Star Factory, Jiang Meifen.
Call recording 201507260914.mp3.
"Xiao Liu, do you still remember Aunt Jiang? The one that you met at the park and you later contacted me to ask me about the empty house."
"I remember, of course. Auntie, did you think of something again?"
"Well not yet. But I referred someone to you, my great aunt. She is an elder from the village and knows a lot of things!"
"Oh! That's great! Is it convenient to meet her?"
"Yes, yes, but she is getting older, so when you guys ask her make sure to take it easy on her."
"Of course. Thank you so much!"
On July 30, 2015, I met with Tong Jiang. Audio file 09120150730.wav.
"Xiao Fen said you guys want to know about the village?"
"Yes. Mainly about the strange things on the empty house and the village."
"Strange things?"
"For example, haunted things."
"..."
"Grandma, let's talk about the empty house. Who was the house's original owner?"
"It used to be the ancestral hall of the village."
"Ah?"
"Ancestral hall? How could it be this ruined and empty?"
"Is it because of the lynching?"
"What? Young man, what did you say about the lynching?"
"Most of the lynchings used in rural areas and other places will be chosen in places like ancestral halls. We found out that when the village used lynching before the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was handled by the government as a case. That hall, must be because of that it became abandoned?"
"Tou Er, you realized this already."
"I realized it when I heard about it."
"*hu*... That was the last lynching in the village. That woman, I called her Sister Hua, she married from the outside of this village. Her surname wasn't Hua, but she can make these beautiful flower bracelets for every little lady in our village and even sell them in the city. She met that wild man just like that. They called him the wild man, haha! That person and Sister Hua didn't have any problems! But it was the city's hooligans that wanted Sister Hua, that man opened a shop beside her and went out to help her. They just met like that. Later on, Sister Hua would sell her flower bracelets next to that shop and the hooligans never came to bother her again. The two of them had nothing between them, but that bastard didn't believe it. That bastard… is not a thing! He is really not a thing!"
"Grandma, calm down, it's bad for your body."
"*hu*... *hu*... um… I'm fine. I have to say this thing, I have to say it before I go to my coffin!"
"Grandma…"
"It's nothing. That bastard even hitted Sister Hua, let's just say hitting doesn't count, but he even went to the head of the village and hitted him and called out the people of the village! They dragged Sister Hua from her home to the hall… that road was full of blood… full of blood! Sister Hua screamed the whole way and then… she couldn't even scream anymore…"
"Grandma, wipe your tears and breathe."
"Grandma Jiang, don't rush and just say it slowly."
"Ok. *hu*... I followed behind. I wanted to save Sister Hua, but with so many people, I didn't dare to go. I didn't dare to go… they entered the hall and people were everywhere. I knew that behind the hall, there was a hole and you can see inside from it and I went there. It was night and many people lit their torches. They tied up Sister Hua like they were killing a pig. That bastard had his knife in his hands and sliced open Sister Hua's throat… the blood was sprayed in the air and I saw Sister Hua looking at me, squinting… looking at me just like that…"
"Grandma…"
"And then they began to peel off Sister Hua's skin."
"What!"
________
peeling off her skin. honestly i had to reread it again, just to make sure i translated it right. so disturbing