Chapter Forty-One: Haunted

I had originally expected the old gentleman to be difficult to communicate with, but to my surprise, he was quite open and had a very amusing way of speaking.

As Ning Shuyi sent the information regarding the vehicles to Zhao Dabao, requesting his help to pull traffic surveillance records from the vicinity of Deng Qingrong’s home for the period leading up to the incident, she couldn't help but smile at the old man’s conversational style.

"Oh, right, there is one more thing. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with your investigation, but I just felt like something was off, and my wife is quite frightened by it, so I figured I’d mention it to you all as well!"

Having finished sharing the leads he had originally intended to provide, the old man recalled something else: "There have been noises upstairs."

"Upstairs from you—that would be the unit across the hall from Deng Qingrong’s place, right?" Ning Shuyi glanced at Huo Yan with a puzzled expression. "Isn’t that unit vacant? Have there suddenly been sounds coming from it recently?"

"No, no! That’s my fault for not making it clear! It’s not that there’s noise in the unit directly above us; it’s that there have been movements on the floor above us!" The old man said, his expression serious. "As you said, the unit above mine is vacant, and the unit across from it is Deng Qingrong’s, where the tragedy occurred. So, naturally, no one should have been going up there since that happened.

"In the older buildings around here, the ceilings are low. Those two units are on the top floor. Even though there’s a staircase leading up, that’s just for the workers who go to the roof to do waterproofing or melt asphalt; there are no residences up there.

"But a few days ago, my wife, who usually sleeps late, was watching TV in the living room when she heard footsteps. It sounded like someone was heading up the stairs, as if someone had returned to the unit where the incident happened. It scared her to death. She asked me if the place was haunted, wondering if the 'seventh day' after the death had passed or something like that.

"I’ve never believed in that supernatural nonsense in my life. I told her she must have misheard, but I grabbed my flashlight and went up to check anyway. The police seals on the door were perfectly intact; no one had touched them at all.

"When I got back home, I comforted her, telling her that while our hearing is still decent, we’re in our seventies, so it’s possible we’re experiencing some auditory hallucinations, mistaking random noises for footsteps in the hallway.

"But two days later, my wife, who is a light sleeper, heard it again. Our bedroom wall shares a side with the hallway. She woke me up, and once I listened, it was true—someone was definitely heading up the stairs.

"I jumped out of bed, grabbed my heavy-duty flashlight, and rushed out. You have no idea, that flashlight is an old-fashioned one, thicker and longer than a rolling pin, powered by large D-cell batteries. It’s like carrying a club in your hand!

"I threw on my coat, grabbed the light, and bolted upstairs. When I got there, I found a food delivery guy banging on the door of the unit above mine, holding a large container of takeout.

"I asked him who he was looking for, since that unit is empty. He looked a bit confused. Then he turned to knock on the door across the hall, saw the police seals you had posted, and was clearly shocked—he’d probably never encountered something like that before.

"After that, the guy walked downstairs, grumbling. It sounded like he’d been sent on a wild goose chase in the middle of the night. I don’t know who could be so malicious, playing tricks on a delivery person just trying to make an honest living in the dead of night, but my wife’s mind went to a different place.

"She insisted that it must be a ghost! She said that when Deng Qingrong was alive, she used to order food on her phone. Others might not have known, but we, living right above and below her, certainly did. She was more tech-savvy than the rest of us. If you asked me to order food on a phone now, let alone whether I’d actually want to eat it, we wouldn’t even know how to do it. But Deng Qingrong knew how! So, my wife thinks maybe Deng Qingrong is still restless even after death, which is why this happened."

"Ma'am doesn't need to be afraid. Once someone is gone, they have no use for takeout!" Ning Shuyi said, trying to comfort them with a mix of amusement and frustration.

The old man clapped his hands together. "Exactly what I told her! I said, I’ve seen people burning paper money for the departed during the Qingming Festival or the Ghost Festival, but you never hear of anyone ordering takeout for the dead!

"I told her, even if you insist on thinking about ghosts and spirits, when did Deng Qingrong used to order food? It was always during the day, when her son was out at work and couldn't come home to cook for her! So, there’s no such thing as those ridiculous theories. Someone just put the wrong address in when ordering, and the poor kid made a wasted trip!"

"When you and your wife heard the noises downstairs, was it always in the middle of the night?" Ning Shuyi asked to confirm.

The old man nodded. "Yes, if it wasn't the middle of the night, it was close to it! But there hasn't been any noise for the past few days. I was just wondering what it was all about, and it felt a bit strange, so I thought I’d mention it to you."

"What did the delivery driver look like?" Huo Yan asked.

The old man waved his hand. "I didn't get a good look. He was just wearing that uniform—the same one all the delivery drivers on the street wear—with a safety helmet on!"

After chatting with the old man, he needed to head to a nearby park to pick up his wife, who was out doing square dancing. Huo Yan offered to drive him there.

The old man was delighted. After thanking them, he kept asking if the information he had provided was helpful. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, he seemed even more encouraged, promising to keep a close eye on the surroundings and contact them immediately if he noticed anything unusual.

"You see, officers!" the old man said, patting his chest before getting out of the car. "I may be up in years, but my passion for justice hasn't cooled down one bit!"

Ning Shuyi smiled and nodded in affirmation. Watching the old man walk away, she turned her attention to Huo Yan, who was preparing to drive off. "What were you two talking about while you were playing chess earlier? How did you manage to get him so enthusiastic and cooperative?"

If it were any other area of expertise, Ning Shuyi wouldn't have any doubts, but when it came to interpersonal rapport... Huo Yan’s ability to connect with people was, at best, barely passing—a fact the nurses at the hospital where they had recruited during the Wang Yuluo case could attest to.

"Nothing much. The old man served in the military when he was young," Huo Yan said calmly. "When I went over to play chess, he sensed a military bearing in me. I told him I had only recently retired from active duty, and we started talking from there. He probably just recalled the glorious days of his youth, so he got a bit fired up."