Winter Returns

Chapter 149 The Mysterious Cabin
Zhang Shutong returned from the ward, swinging his keys, and saw three people huddled together by the window.

He thought with relief, "I knew it! I knew it! The windows in the corridor are definitely human traps; no one can resist standing next to them in a daze."

So he quietly walked over and patted Ruoping on the shoulder.

Ruoping gasped in surprise, then turned her head, her body stiffening for a moment:
"Zhang Shutong, are you trying to die?!"

Zhang Shutong took a step back and said with a smile, "Sorry, sorry, but aren't we going to eat? It's almost seven o'clock."

“There’s a door,” Ruoping whispered.

"Door?"

“Look at that old house over there, there’s a door behind the ivy,” Du Kang said in a low voice.

"Oh." Zhang Shutong glanced at it.

Why didn't you say anything?

Zhang Shutong could only say that he had been watching it every day for the past few days. He said that while others thought it was a scene from a horror movie, he had simply taken it as a landscape photo and had long since become desensitized to it.

“But there’s a door hidden behind the ivy!” Ruoping and Dukang said in unison.

Zhang Shutong didn't know what to say. He turned on the flashlight and shone it over, but the flashlight couldn't reach the house at all. There was no thunder at that moment, and it was pitch black outside the window.

“Aren’t your questions a bit strange?” Zhang Shutong said. “Uh, I mean, since it’s a house, why can’t it have a door? Or rather, a house without a door is more frightening, isn’t it?”

"It seems that it really is?" Du Kang betrayed him instantly upon hearing this. He grinned and patted Ruoping's shoulder, betraying his teammate, "Let's go, let's go. I know you're afraid of ghosts, but why are you even afraid of houses?"

Ruoping glared at him, then, ignoring the chance to pinch his ear, quickly pushed Qingyi away.
"What do you say?"

"Shutong is right."

"Don't be like the second senior brother! Bah, don't be like the third senior brother!"

“Really?” Qingyi said calmly. “It was a little scary just now, but if you came across an old house during the day, like your grandparents’ house, made of bricks, you wouldn’t even glance at it, right?”

“Actually, it’s just a matter of habitual thinking,” Qingyi, true to his future STEM background, analyzed the situation with great clarity: “We saw the ivy first, so subconsciously we felt there was a door that shouldn’t have been there. But actually, the house and the door came first, and then the ivy appeared. Doesn’t that make it less strange?”

Ruoping nodded defiantly, seemingly convinced:

"But why aren't you curious at all? Shouldn't you have rushed out long ago under normal circumstances?"

“We’re the ones who hang out by the water; the land isn’t under our jurisdiction,” Zhang Shutong teased her in a serious tone.

He actually meant that he might go and take a look at it normally, but he had just finished an adventure today and was a bit tired, plus it was raining, so it was better to leave that house behind.

"Let's go, let's go." Du Kang urged Ruoping, who truly exemplified what it means to have a short attention span. "I'm starving, and besides, what's the point of shopping in the rain? Let's come back when it's sunny."

Ruoping glanced at the old house again before noticing that the three boys had already started walking away with their arms around each other's shoulders. She said angrily:

"You all just wait..."

But today, her words were like a blessing; as soon as she finished speaking, another booming sound erupted, even more powerful than before. The group of people who happened to be standing by the window were suddenly illuminated by the lightning, and even the overhead light bulbs flickered. Du Kang couldn't help but shudder.
"Didn't Ruoping say she checked the weather forecast and it said there wouldn't be much rain today? Why is this thing always wrong..."

The thunder seemed to be a command, followed by a torrential downpour. The raindrops pounded on the ground like beans, and for a moment there was only the sound of rushing water.

This isn't the kind of weather where you can ride a bike with an umbrella and not get wet; if we delay any longer, it'll only get worse. Du Kang walked over and shook Ruoping's eyes:
"Are you alright? Why are you still standing there like a ghost..."

She bit her lip, her voice trembling slightly:
"Didn't you see? That door opened!"

The three of them were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Was it closed when you were watching?" Zhang Shutong asked first.

"I guess so..." Qingyi hesitated, "I didn't see it clearly before either, it was Du Kang who called us."

“I saw it clearly, it was definitely closed.” Du Kang muttered. “The question now is whether Ruoping saw it clearly or not. I think she’s seeing things.”

"Really, no!" Ruoping stamped her foot in frustration. "Why would I lie to you? Can't you see for yourselves!"

But that's what they say. The lightning was hidden in the clouds, and there was no moon tonight, so all you could see was pitch black.

Du Kang pressed his face hard against the glass:
"I also feel like this is a bit creepy, what do you guys think we should do?"

"Let's wait a little longer." Zhang Shutong glanced at his phone. "It'll probably thunder again in a few minutes. If you want to see it, take your time. It won't make a difference."

The four of them made up their minds, lined up by the window, and held their breath.

Zhang Shutong kept track of the time in her mind; a minute had already passed, but all she could hear was the sound of rain.

To be honest, he still didn't quite understand what they were so nervous about, but he treated it like an adventure. Anyway, they had nothing to do after dinner. It's just that the weather wasn't cooperating; there was no thunder. Zhang Shutong was about to suggest borrowing a flashlight from the front desk when Du Kang whispered:

"Ruoping, if you don't say something, I think your words will be very effective today, like thunder and lightning..."

"You shut up..."

But before she could finish speaking, a clap of thunder sounded, and her vision suddenly brightened. The girl's face turned pale, but she stared intently ahead.

Zhang Shutong followed suit and looked over. In his line of sight was a wooden door, full of cracks, almost rotten, about to fall off the frame. The door was indeed open, just as Ruoping had said.

Just as he was about to check the situation inside the house again, Lei Guang slipped away.

The flickering light was really bad for the eyes. Zhang Shutong turned around, rubbed his sore eyes, and his three best friends were still standing in front of the window.

"Wow, it actually opened..."

"I... I told you so, but you still didn't believe me!"

"Wait a minute, the point isn't that it's open, brother and sister, the point is why it's open!" Du Kang shivered.

“That door was already close to breaking down,” Zhang Shutong recalled. “It’s not surprising…”

“But it opens inwards,” Qingyi suddenly said.

The three looked at him, and Qingyi, as usual, analyzed:

"Let's assume the door is broken. If it opened outwards and was blocked by ivy, it wouldn't be surprising if it opened on its own once the ivy was gone. But this door opens inwards..."

Qingyi gestured with her palm:
"Has anyone heard anything else?"

"You don't think someone sneaked into the house before the thunder started, do you?!" Ruoping shuddered.

"Who can say for sure? I just felt that the door wouldn't open under normal circumstances, but it did, which means—"

"Does this mean there must be something strange going on?"

Du Kang punched the windowsill:
"You should have said so earlier. I'm familiar with this. Now there's only one question left, everyone..."

"Go or not?"

……

As Shakespeare said, to go or not to go, that is the question.

When faced with such disagreements, they often resolve them by voting.

Du Kang cast his vote in favor first, and Ruoping immediately cast hers against.

Don't be fooled by her staring intently at the old house; she was simply trying to prove herself right. As for what was strange about it, who cares?

Qingyi also voted in favor.

All eyes turned to Zhang Shutong.

"I don't care." Zhang Shutong genuinely didn't care. "I'm focusing on energy conservation lately."

"What energy saving?" Ruoping sometimes really admired their ability to talk about one thing and then steer the conversation to another.

"It's a mystery anime, Hyouka, which just aired this year. It's about a life motto: 'Don't do unnecessary things, and resolve necessary things as quickly as possible,'" Qingyi explained.

Ruoping breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this:

"That's good. Shutong, your fries will be doubled later. You can have anything else you want..."

Before she could finish speaking, amidst the girl's incredulous gaze, Zhang Shutong smiled and raised her hand:
"So my advice is to go and come back quickly."

...As they went down the stairs, Ruoping was still complaining that he was taking a deep breath.

Zhang Shutong occasionally has mischievous thoughts:
"But seriously, with the rain so heavy right now, riding a bike to the shopping street would definitely get you soaked, so I might as well just sit here doing nothing."

"Can't we wait at the hospital for a while?"

“I’m almost sick of the smell of medicine these past few days.” Zhang Shutong spread his hands. “Besides, Qingyi may not be right. Anything can happen with an old door like this. There won’t be any problems with the four of us together.”

Ruoping remained silent, only sighing repeatedly.

Actually, she was quite conflicted. If she really didn't want to go, she wouldn't have this attitude. Zhang Shutong felt that she was probably both scared and curious, and needed someone to give her a push, but she regretted agreeing.

An adventure cannot be undertaken empty-handed.

But the so-called preparations were nothing more than borrowing a flashlight from the front desk in the lobby.

When I borrowed the flashlight, I asked about the origin of the old building, but the receptionist didn't know either, only that it seemed to have existed before the hospital was renovated.

“That’s really early,” Du Kang explained. “Shu Tong, you don’t know, this used to be a hospital. When we were kids, around four or five years old, the old hospital was demolished around 2000 and a new one was built on top of it.”

Zhang Shutong nodded. As an outsider, he was certainly not as well-informed as the locals. He asked for a plastic bag to cover his arm, which was in a cast, to prevent it from getting wet in the rain.

Everyone called home to let their families know they were safe and sound, saying they would be going home a little later that day.

After doing all this, I left the hospital. It was evening, but it was as dark as midnight outside.

The torrential rain fell, making the night thick and sticky, the air heavy with moisture, making even breathing difficult.

They lined up in a row, the four of them sharing two umbrellas, their flashlights casting a narrow path of light.

A flash of light occasionally streaks across the sky, reflecting the rolling dark clouds and illuminating the dark umbrella.

The four teenagers carefully avoided the puddles. To get to the back of the hospital, they had to go through a narrow alley, which was more like a gap between two buildings. It was so narrow that one person could fit in comfortably, but two people would feel cramped.

The three boys naturally had to act like gentlemen. Du Kang led the way, Zhang Shutong was the second, and Qingyi was the last, with the two of them sandwiching Ruoping in the middle.

With everyone pressed together, their vision was not very good, so Du Kang changed the direction of his flashlight from directly in front to his feet.

Ruoping simply closed her eyes and stopped looking. She put one hand on Zhang Shutong's shoulder, lowered her head, and followed his steps, muttering to herself:
"Are we there yet? Why aren't we here...?"

Zhang Shutong comforted her, saying that they would be leaving soon.

He timed it in his mind. After walking about twenty steps, they got used to the darkness after the initial anxiety and gradually quickened their pace. Another flash of lightning illuminated their vision. Just as Zhang Shutong was about to see the situation ahead, Du Kang suddenly stopped.

It was like a train suddenly coming to a stop, causing the carriages behind it to collide, resulting in umbrellas falling over and chaos.

"Sorry, sorry, Shutong, is your hand alright?" Du Kang hurriedly called out.

"I'm fine," Zhang Shutong said, her right hand protecting her left arm as she held her phone. "How are you?"

"Damn, it's not flat, there's a step, I almost tripped," Du Kang cursed. "You guys be careful, Shu Tong, hold the flashlight for me..."

After saying that, he nimbly jumped down. "It's not very high, come down!"

Zhang Shutong tentatively took a step forward. After a drop of one step, his toes first sank into the water. The terrain ahead was indeed low, and the water had already covered the soles of his shoes. Then he felt the texture of mud under his feet.

Zhang Shutong then relayed the information to Ruoping, and the two people behind her carefully walked down.

"Why is there a step?" Zhang Shutong asked subconsciously. "This isn't a real alley."

“Let me see,” Du Kang squatted down and studied the “steps” for a while. “Oh, I see…”

"What exactly is it like?" Ruoping poked his shoulder with the umbrella handle.

Du Kang wiped the water from his face, then turned around and shone the flashlight behind him:
"Look, this isn't behind a hospital, or rather, there isn't such a thing as behind a hospital, but rather..."

He murmured:

"A fenced-off wasteland."

A deafening explosion rang in my ears, followed by a flash of lightning that finally illuminated the scene ahead: a red-walled house stood silently in the rain, surrounded only by swaying wild grass.

Zhang Shutong wasn't surprised; he had looked up from upstairs many times before. Of course, this was his first time being there in person, and he looked around—

This wasteland is only half the size of a basketball court, and its creation seems more like an accident, as it was simply overlooked during the city's development.

The land around it has been paved with cement foundations and new buildings have been erected on top, while the place itself remains in its original state.

The terrain here is low-lying, and the so-called steps are actually the junction between the cement road and the soil.

Looking down, my shoes were soaked in puddles, and a chill ran through me. The mud had been softened by the rain, and I had to be careful not to slip with every step, as if I were walking through a swamp.

"Should we continue forward?" Ruoping asked hesitantly.

"We've come this far," Du Kang advised her, "Going back would be such a disappointment."

"I feel like my shoes are going to get wet if I walk any further, and I hate it when my socks get wet..." The girl shivered as she spoke, revealing that this was what she was worried about. But Ruoping was Ruoping for once. She glanced at the houses not far away, gritted her teeth, neatly rolled up her trouser legs, tossed her hair, and said, "Let's go!"

The surrounding buildings completely blocked out the streetlights, and only when you turned around could you feel a little reassured by the lit windows at the back of the hospital.

The four of them slowly made their way toward the old house, but the closer they got, the slower they walked.

"Hey guys, how about we put out some rules, just in case something unexpected happens?"

"Why worry about all that? Let's go! Stop talking nonsense!"

"Big sister, don't talk like that without understanding the situation. I'm the first one..."

"Shhh."

As they drew closer, the ivy on the ground became visible. The group lowered their voices, and Du Kang held his flashlight straight up, aiming it at the open door.

He stopped, intending to move further away to take a closer look, but it was too dark around him; the beam of his flashlight seemed to be swallowed up, and he could only see the puddles inside the house.

The area illuminated by the light was completely white. The house was not situated on high ground, and only murky sewage flowed through it, making it appear even deeper than the outside.

"It seems..." Du Kang took a few more steps closer, looked around, and asked in confusion, "There doesn't seem to be anything there?"

His voice returned to normal:

"Hey, it's just an empty house, not even furnished. You know what I fear most, right? Shining a flashlight in and finding an altar right at the entrance, with a portrait of an old lady on it..."

"Hey, stop talking, it's creepy!" Ruoping quickly stopped her.

"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore," Du Kang wasn't trying to scare her. "Didn't I tell you, there's really nothing here?"

"Really not?"

Ruoping finally dared to peek out from behind Zhang Shutong.

“No, don’t be afraid.” Zhang Shutong took over and walked to Du Kang’s side. He took the flashlight and looked at it. “From what I can see right now… it’s just an abandoned old house. Everything has been moved out.”

He then asked Qingyi for his opinion, but to his surprise, Qingyi was even bolder. He walked directly to the doorway, leaned against the doorframe, and peeked inside:
"There's definitely nothing inside. The only question is how this door was opened."

Zhang Shutong was also studying the half-open wooden door.

He saw a pin tumbler lock on the door, with some rust on the surface, but the lock itself was intact—it turned out that the problem wasn't with the lock, but with the key bolt.

The wooden door rotted because the lock lugs installed on it came loose, so the lock itself was fine, but the door opened instead.

Zhang Shutong shook the wooden door again; it was indeed loose and might fall down at any moment.

He was just about to call Ruoping over to reassure her when Du Kang suddenly cried out, "Ouch!"

The three were startled and quickly asked what was wrong, only to find that Du Kang had somehow entered the house and was looking distressed.
"I shouldn't have come in. The water is so deep in here, and my shoes are all wet..."

Zhang Shutong looked down at his feet and saw that his sneakers were submerged in water, which had even reached his trouser legs.

"Then why did you go in there for no reason?" Ruoping said.

"Since I'm already here, I might as well take a look around. Who knew the inside of this house would be even lower than the outside?" Du Kang sighed as he wandered around the house. "You guys wait here. Anyway, my shoes are all wet. I'll just take a look and come right back."

The beam of his flashlight danced in all directions. He waded through the water, hugging the wall as he circled around, and wondered:
"Hey, that's strange, why are there no windows?"

(End of this chapter)