Thriller Night Talk

Chapter 93: Goodbye

Translator-Rhapsodite

Editor- Koneko, Proofreader-Ghostie

After [Thriller Night Talk] ended, Bei Quan walked out of the studio and went straight towards Wei Fuyuan and Jiang Nan’an.

“It’s getting late– let’s all head back and get some rest.”

He turned to Jiang Nan’an.

“Tomorrow morning Zhu Ling should be able to gather the information we need. We will look over everything again.”

He then turned to face Wei Fuyuan.

“Xiao Wei, you…”

.

Bei Quan was stuck for a rare moment, “By the way, you are preparing to leave tomorrow, right? Have you found anywhere to move into yet?”

Wei Fuyuan: “……”

His heart was on fire. He didn’t want to talk to Bei Quan, but when he realized he would have to leave the following day, he suddenly felt an unspeakable sense of grievance and sadness.

Inexplicably, Young Master Wei’s nose turned a little sour.

“Yes.”

Wei Fuyuan nodded softly.

This dismissal came too suddenly— Wei Fuyuan could only find a ready-to-move-in apartment hotel in the same city, which could be checked in at any time via the Internet.

Fortunately, the salary offered by Bei Quan was not low, and he was given another three months’ salary as resignation compensation. Young Master Wei calculated with his fingers, realizing he had enough money to spend some time in the hotel whilst he looked for another job to help him take care of the basic essentials of life— to eat, have shelter above his head, keep warm and to live comfortably.

——Just… Where can I find a place like “Sāntúchuān”?

Wei Fuyuan’s eyes burned with tears threatening to spill out, he hurriedly turned his face to the side, not daring to look at Bei Quan in the eye in his emotional state.

Although the work in “Sāntúchuān” was very dangerous and frightening for most ordinary people, Wei Fuyuan had to admit that he felt a different sense of fun from this “job”.

People’s hearts are wicked, good and evil are difficult to distinguish, and it is difficult to calm desires.

The stories hidden behind the hotline allowed him, a wealthy boy who had not yet been deeply involved in the world, to peek into a completely different environment that was absolutely untouchable from the ivory tower.

In the process of hunting down the Hui Gui’s, he had seen the dark side of the human heart, and at the same time, he had found the glitter of human nature with the smallest and most miniscule of details.

With his time in the job, he started to relax and focus on what was important. He didn’t know when, but suddenly he no longer felt doubt, resistance, or was overwhelmed.

He even gradually found some ways to use his power of merit and virtue.

… actually, even more than that.

Wei Fuyuan clenched his teeth, grinding slightly.

He admitted that he was reluctant to give Bei Quan up.

Young Master Wei still wanted to stay with Bei Quan. Like before, he wanted to accompany him and investigate the unusual cases that arose, helping him whilst sharing the danger. Even if he was just a qualified tool man, letting Bei Quan use him, he was also more than willing to do so.

… besides, Bei Quan was still injured.

“…”

Wei Fuyuan opened his mouth.

He wanted to say, “Bei Quan, you still have injuries. Even if I have to work for free I want to solve the case with you.”

But when the words reached his mouth, they seemed to stick in his throat. No words came to the surface and he couldn’t speak at all.

Bei Quan reached out and patted Wei Fuyuan on the shoulder, “Then, go to bed early. You have to work tomorrow.”

After that, Bei Quan smiled and turned, heading for his room.

Wei Fuyuan stared at Bei Quan’s back, his teeth creaking from being unable to express any of the wide range of emotions he was feeling.

——Why couldn’t he do or say anything!?

Wei Fuyuan hurriedly washed up and returned to the small attic. With a loud “thump”, he fell on top of the single bed that was too narrow for him— like a defeated rooster, he was depressed and decadent.

It was already one o’clock in the morning of July 30th, but Wei Fuyuan couldn’t fall asleep.

He was lying on his back, gazing at the ceiling above his head— staring at a specific crescent-shaped mold spot.

He didn’t know how long he had been staring at this one particular spot, or when it had? begun to gradually blur, reshaping in his vision.

Gradually, he felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier.

Finally, he closed his eyes.

——Knock, knock, knock.

A few light taps came from the door.

Wei Fuyuan was unaware, and laid still in his bed fast asleep like a little piglet.

“Creak—”

The door opened slowly. A small head peered inside, and looked in the direction of the single bed.

“He is in a deep slumber…”

Tian Jia Xing said to another person as the burning incense was snuffed out.

The door was completely open now. Zhu Ling and Tian Jia Xing went further into the attic and approached Wei Fuyuan’s bed.

“Alas, to tell you the truth, I’m a little reluctant!”

The tiny child scrunched up his light eyebrows and sighed anxiously, “I think he works well with Bei Quan. In fact, I…”

“No. He’s just an ordinary man.”

Zhu Ling resolutely interrupted Tian Jia Xing’s unfinished words, “You know our principles, don’t you?”

Tian Jia Xing pouted and stopped talking.

He took out another incense stick from a small basket and ignited a small flame, lighting it before putting it on the bedside table.

An indescribable and unusual odor soon filled the attic space.

Suddenly, Wei Fuyuan opened his eyes.

What appeared in front of him was Zhu Ling’s palm, which drew a vortex shape with red ink.

———————-

July 30, 06:00 am.

The sun had just risen when Wei Fuyuan woke up.

The room was still filled with a pungent smell, but Wei Fuyuan appeared to be unaware of it and carried out his usual morning routine— brushing his teeth, washing his face, and changing his clothing.

After fulfilling his morning duties, he threw his worn pajamas into the corner of the room and then dragged his suitcase down the stairs.

Wei Fuyuan didn’t say goodbye to anybody. He went straight through the living room to the front door of “Sāntúchuān” and opened the front door directly. He took his luggage and walked into the alleyway with the twilight of the morning upon him, without once looking back.

Bei Quan leaned against the door and watched Wei Fuyuan leave.

He didn’t let Wei Fuyuan catch his gaze and remained in a concealed position.

This was not the first time Bei Quan has faced the scene of his “partner” leaving, but unlike the previous partings, this time he strangely felt……

…

The word “sad” flashed through his mind.

He rested his palm on his chest, pressing down firmly on the position of his heart. He then curved the corners of his lips and forced himself to show a smile.

——Well, at least I sent him away with a smile.

Bei Quan silently muttered to himself.

“Goodbye.”

He waved gently towards the direction of the alley, which had long become void of Wei Fuyuan’s shadow.

——————-

July 30, 10:00 am.

Bei Quan and Jiang Nan’an read through the materials that were given to them by Zhu Ling in the study.

This was the first time Jiang Nan’an had participated in an investigation. Needless to say, he was as hyper as an over-excited dog, which was ready for it’s owner to take it out for a walk.

“Let me see what’s going on!”

The talkative comrade Jiang rubbed his hands together before opening some of the packets of information that was laid out on the table.

Zhu Ling was worthy of being an artefact that did not need sleep. Her efficiency was very high, it only took her the night to collect all of this information.

There were only some video clips left on the Internet about the “spirit exploration of abandoned amusement park’. Except for the four men and two women who were six well-known anchors, other members that were at the scene were temporary “foreign workers”, whose information weren’t made available by the platform. Even if the supernatural skills were as powerful as Zhu Ling’s, they could only gather as many clues as they could from the information made available to them.

“I’ve counted it in detail. There should be twelve people who entered the amusement park that day. All the information is right here.”

Zhu Ling leaned against the bookcase and pointed to the large stack of A4 paper held by Jiang Nan’an, “But Miuya’s friend left early and was not recorded by the camera. I haven’t found out her identity yet.”

“Oh, what a pity. Otherwise, that girl should be a good starting point, right?”

Jiang Nan’an went through the information again, talking his thought process and ideas out loud,

“After all, I’m really curious about how she knew that her friend would die. I mean, she could predict her death in advance. That’s amazing!”

Bei Quan’s reading speed was so fast that although there was a chatterbox right next to him constantly making noise, it didn’t affect him in the least.

Miuya, a female anchor who committed suicide by jumping from the ferris wheel in the amusement park, was called “Miuya witch” on the platform. Her real name was Wang Jialin and she was only 27 years old. She started working as a game master when she was in college— specializing in thriller, horror, suspense, and puzzle games. Slowly but steadily, she became popular amongst her peers, being recognized as the big sister in her circle until the accident.

The date of her death was September 12th last year, it has been more than half a year now.

After Wang Jialin’s suicide, the platform locked her account with millions of followers to quell the flood of public opinion. The company’s Weibo account is also unavailable for viewing.

As for the young girl who called [Thriller Night Talk] last night, the online name showed as ‘Rou Rou who is not afraid of ghosts’. Her real name is Luo Yanyan and she will be 19 years old this coming year. Her hometown is in the North-East and she stayed in Fèng Xīngchéng City alone after graduating from her technical secondary school, continuing on to become a successful female anchor.

The girl is naturally very beautiful, so people would flock to watch her videos. Of course, if the sword moves with a side stroke, it would move the pulse of the audience. She had become very popular in just two years, and was one of the most popular anchors in the channel.

However, after Wang Jialin died, her popularity was greatly impacted. The girl seemed to be discouraged and her live streams were no longer managed properly. The live broadcast was also fishing for three days and drying the net for two, which was very unusual.

Bei Quan drew a page from Luo Yanyan’s information.

“Look here.”

He circled a specific time with his pen, “You see, Luo Yanyan’s last live broadcast was from 9:30 pm to 12 pm on the 24th…”

Before Bei Quan finished, Jiang Nan’an quickly interrupted, “She hasn’t had a live broadcast for five days!”

Bei Quan said with a smile,”Yes, that’s correct.”

“Luo Yanyan’s cell phone can’t be reached, and there is no one in the rented apartment.”

Zhu Ling said from the side.

“I’m already trying to contact Luo Yanyan’s family to see if we can find her whereabouts.”

Bei Quan nodded in understanding and then continued to read the rest of the information presented to him.

The second suicide case occurred last year on December 14th, the deceased’s name was Mo Fan, who had also been an anchor. However, he had terminated his contract with the live platform six months ago and found an ordinary white-collared job.

Mo Fan committed suicide by cutting his wrists. He was alone at home when he died, so the police decided that the cause of death was not suspicious.

The third case occurred on March 22nd of this year. It was male anchor named Li Si and his girlfriend Gu Lingling.

They went back to the man’s hometown in J province. On the third day after they had returned home, they hung themselves on the beam of the warehouse.

So far, four of the twelve people who participated in the live broadcast of “spirit exploration” on that day are dead…

PR Ghostie’s Poem

Parting without words; the grief and sadness buried deep beneath

The northern wind passes through the deep valley

Red strings tied by fate, who can unravel?

Sharing the dew and rain, the unspoken words in one’s heart

Who can stop the surging emotions?

Eyes colored by the twilight, gazing deeply at the long gone unrestrained silhouette..

Deep spring reflecting the soft moonlight; waiting for the haitang flowers to bloom…

– Xue