Chapter 12 The Key to the Gate of Ghosts

Buying a car is not like going to the market to buy groceries. We were simply there to choose a car, make the payment, and wait for two days to pick it up. Two days was already considered fast. His imposing appearance made people think that he was someone not to be messed with. He promised to have the car delivered within forty-eight hours. Su Haicheng, having been in the military before, was probably accustomed to driving that type of vehicle, as he immediately gravitated towards the Hummer. I had to remind him that he was currently a dead person, and if he bought such a conspicuous car, it would attract gossip and media attention. In that case, some research institute might actually come and capture him for dissection and experimentation.

In the end, he bought an SUV model.

Besides that, I also helped him get a mobile phone, using my ID card.

In the afternoon, just as we were about to head back, we received a call from Kakashi. He sounded excited on the phone, saying, "Siyi, are you at home? Is that dead guy of yours there?"

"His name is Su Haicheng, not 'dead guy'!"

"Fine! Are you guys there or not? The boss and I have found something very important and want to show it to your 'dead guy.'"

"You told the boss about Su Haicheng's situation?"

"I only told him that he had also been to that village. I didn't mention anything else."

I looked at Su Haicheng across from me, covered the receiver, and whispered to him, "Kakashi and the boss found something important and want to show it to you."

He nodded in agreement, and only then did I respond to Kakashi, "You and the boss can come to my place. We'll be back soon."

After hanging up the phone, we hurried back to my little abode.

Upon arriving at my place, Kakashi and the boss were already waiting at the door. I was a bit nervous since it was the first time the boss had come to my house, and he was the man I liked. How should I put it? I felt a bit embarrassed for him to see me in such a shabby state.

"Boss, my place is a bit small and messy."

Kakashi pushed me forward. "Who cares about that? Hurry up and open the door. We've got some good stuff."

I opened the door, and the four of us entered the house. I realized that they truly didn't care about what my house looked like. Su Haicheng and the boss didn't even introduce themselves properly; they just nodded at each other. Everyone instinctively focused on the information that Kakashi had brought.

Kakashi went into my room and connected his tablet to the computer, displaying the screen.

The boss said, "This is a video that we obtained this morning when we were putting up missing person notices. A security guard at a shopping mall claimed to have seen Sakurayuki. It was just yesterday. When we requested to view their surveillance cameras, we were denied. Kakashi hacked into their network and retrieved this footage. Take a look. At one minute and six seconds, the person walking from this side of the entrance is Sakurayuki."

The four of us stared at the computer screen until the silhouette of the woman appeared and walked away. The whole process took only three to four seconds. All we could see was her back.

After watching the video, I said, "Yesterday, Kakashi and I saw the same woman's silhouette at the entrance of the studio. I'm sure it's her. The clothes she's wearing are exactly like that - a beige top. It's really Sakurayuki."

The boss turned to Su Haicheng, looking at him with a serious expression and asked, "You also went to that village. Did you see this woman there? Did she die from an infectious disease or was she burned to death? Did she follow those corpses from..."

"Boss, boss!" I interrupted him, feeling that he was getting more and more excited.

The boss lowered his head and sighed, "Please, tell me what really happened in that village? Where is Sakurayuki? Why won't she see me? What happened in that village?"

Su Haicheng's gaze was still fixed on the image of Sakurayuki's silhouette frozen on the screen. He said, "When we went there, the whole village was already dead, even the medical team. I have no recollection of this woman you're talking about. Besides, it's just a silhouette. Even if I had seen her in the village, I couldn't determine anything based on a silhouette alone."

The boss took two steps back. "What else? I just want to know what really happened to Sakurayuki. Why did she come back and not want to see me? What happened in that village?" He became more and more agitated, raising his voice.

I nudged Kakashi, and he turned off the screen, walking to the boss's side, saying, "Boss, calm down for a moment. There are four of us now, I don't believe we can't find any clues."

Upon hearing Kakashi's words, I felt a bit ashamed. I hadn't been much help in this matter. Su Haicheng sat back in front of the computer, opening a picture on the screen. It was something similar to the small stick he had received. He said, "Take a look at this. According to the information, this should be a key. I found something similar in the village. Did your girlfriend ever mention anything special about their village? For example, any enemies they might have."

The boss stared at the screen, and Kakashi remarked, "A key? It doesn't really look like a key, does it?"

After a while, the boss finally said, "A key? On Sakurayuki's birthday last year, we drank a lot of alcohol. She got drunk and told me something. I don't know if it's true. She said their village has a long history. Even if young people leave for studying or work, some even get married and have children outside and don't come back. But the village chief and his family always stay there. And their village chief is not elected according to the national law; it's a hereditary position within a family. Because their village chief also has a responsibility, which is to guard a key. That key guards their graveyard, where all the dead are buried. If they don't safeguard the key properly, it's possible for those dead people to come back."

"The dead come back?" I exclaimed in surprise. "Is this the key to the Gate of Ghosts?"

But Kakashi tugged at my clothes, using his eyes to indicate Su Haicheng next to me. "The dead! They're all coming back!" His words implied that this dead person he referred to was Su Haicheng.

Having spent these days with him, I had subconsciously forgotten about Su Haicheng's unique nature. I couldn't recall that this dead person he mentioned might not be a ghost but someone like Su Haicheng, a dead person.

"So, someone moved the key, and that's why all this happened?" I said.

However, Su Haicheng took out the small stick from his pocket and said, "No, this I found under the body of an old man. From his posture at the time, he seemed to be trying to protect this key before he died. Something you want to protect means you don't want it to be discovered or taken away. In other words, this key hasn't been used by anyone yet."

Kakashi couldn't help but be sarcastic, saying, "If all this happened without the key being used, what would happen if someone actually did use it..."

Before Kakashi could finish his sentence, the boss suddenly stood up and rushed towards Su Haicheng, trying to grab the key from his hand.

Su Haicheng, being a soldier and a powerful one at that, quickly kicked the computer table, causing the wheeled chair underneath him to slide away, evading the boss's grasp.

When the boss lunged for a second time, Su Haicheng held the key in one hand and grabbed his wrist with the other, twisting it. The boss cried out in pain.

The two actions happened too quickly, catching both Kakashi and me off guard. When Kakashi regained his senses, he immediately attacked Su Haicheng. I quickly turned my face away because with Kakashi's strength, Su Haicheng would have collided with the computer.

"Ah! You dead man, we should send you to the research institute for dissection."

"Kakashi! Shut up!" I shouted. Su Haicheng's gaze toward him clearly emanated a dangerous chill. "Su Haicheng, don't be angry. He didn't mean any harm. Just let go of the boss for now!"

Su Haicheng didn't release his grip. He coldly asked the boss, who was still unable to move his wrist due to the pain, "What do you mean?"

The boss gasped in pain as he spoke, "Give me that key. I want to go back, go back to that damned village. I want to use the key to open that door and release all the dead inside. I want to release Sakurayuki!"

He's gone mad! He's truly gone mad! To have such thoughts!