Volume One: The Graveyard of Eight Coffins Chapter 22: The Death-Summoning Flute

The back courtyard of the mall was equally desolate, illuminated by a single lamp in one corner.

Several vehicles were parked in the lot behind the building, and there were heaps of discarded cardboard boxes and various debris strewn about. The place looked utterly chaotic, clearly untouched for quite some time.

The sound of Liang Yue’s knocking echoed harshly in the emptiness of the courtyard, so jarring it sent a chill down one’s spine.

She knocked for a long while before footsteps and a lazy voice sounded from inside the building: “Who’s there so late at night?”

Liang Yue quickly replied, “Uncle Xiao, it’s me, Liang Yue.”

There was a brief response and the sound of a door opening. With a clang, the iron door swung wide.

An old man, thin as a rake, appeared from within. His body was gaunt, his face oddly shaped, with high cheekbones and sunken cheeks, a sparse beard, and a pair of shifty eyes that made him look—well, just like a rat.

He must be the night watchman, Uncle Xiao. Since we’d just arrived, there was little for us to say.

Uncle Xiao was startled to see three people standing outside. Liang Yue asked, “Uncle Xiao, what took you so long to open the door?”

“Oh, nothing much. I was asleep,” the old man answered, then asked in confusion, “Miss Yue, what brings you here?”

It seemed Liang Yue and Uncle Xiao knew each other well. She waved her hand dismissively, “It’s nothing, Uncle Xiao. We’re just going in to have a look. No need to lock the door; we’ll come back out this way.”

Uncle Xiao nodded, glanced at me and my third uncle, and asked, “Would you like me to come with you?”

Liang Yue looked at my third uncle, who shook his head slightly.

She turned back to the old man and said, “No need, Uncle Xiao. Please go ahead and rest.”

Listening to their exchange, I found my impression of Liang Yue changing. She, a favorite of the company boss, was speaking so respectfully to a mere night watchman, calling him Uncle Xiao and showing him none of the arrogance one might expect. A girl with such character was surely no villain. Yet I couldn’t fathom how she’d ended up in such a dubious role by Wu Tianyou’s side. Was it all for money?

Lost in thought, I hurried to catch up as Liang Yue led my third uncle into the main building.

As I passed Uncle Xiao, I distinctly noticed an unpleasant odor emanating from him, and his body seemed to radiate a coldness.

I glanced back and caught him staring at us with those furtive eyes.

A shiver ran down my spine. Could there be something off about him?

But we’d come here with a purpose, and in such circumstances, suspicion was inevitable. Besides, Uncle Xiao was supposedly the only one left in the building at this hour.

Just then, my third uncle seemed to remember something and turned back to ask, “Master Xiao, have you always worked the night watch in this building?”

Uncle Xiao nodded, “It’s been seven or eight years now.”

My third uncle continued, “On the nights when those suicides happened, did you hear anything strange?”

Uncle Xiao thought for a moment, then shook his head. “As you can see, I sleep pretty soundly. I didn’t hear a thing the nights those people died. I only learned about it the next day from others.”

My third uncle and I both paused in surprise. He was clearly lying. Old Wei had insisted that Uncle Xiao had told him about hearing flute music that night. It didn’t make sense for Old Wei to lie.

My third uncle kept his composure and simply nodded, letting Liang Yue lead us toward the first-floor lobby.

At night, most of the mall’s lights were off. Only a dim lamp in the center of each floor stayed on, likely for patrols. But with only Uncle Xiao here, patrols seemed pointless.

Most places we traversed with flashlights. Liang Yue asked my third uncle if he wanted Uncle Xiao to turn on the main lights.

He shook his head, “No need for now.”

Entering from the back, we soon reached the spot near the lobby where we’d stood yesterday when coming in through the main entrance. A lamp glowed nearby, though it flickered uncertainly, making me uneasy.

My third uncle looked back at us and pointed to the floor. “This place is huge. In a moment, I’ll use the compass to find the spot with the heaviest yin energy in the building. If, by any chance—we get separated, don’t panic. Remember this spot at your feet. Let’s set a time: no matter what happens, we’ll all meet back here on the first floor at that time.”

I said, “We’ll just stick close to you, Third Uncle. How could we get separated?”

He replied, “I’m just saying, just in case. It pays to be prepared. Things here are murky. Of course, stay close.”

I nodded. He checked his phone. “It’s eleven thirty now. If we get separated, meet back here at one o’clock sharp.”

He held his compass under the flashlight’s beam. I saw the needle spinning wildly before it finally slowed.

At that moment, I felt the same chill I’d felt the first time I entered this main building.

Back then, I’d sensed a cold current rising from beneath my feet. I’d assumed it was just the air conditioning. But now the whole building was closed; there couldn’t possibly be any AC running. In fact, it felt stifling inside, yet from my soles that chill crept up as if I were standing on ice.

I shone my flashlight at the floor, but nothing seemed amiss.

I was about to ask my third uncle if he felt it too, but after examining his compass for a while, he muttered, “Strange, my compass isn’t working right tonight. Is it broken? Never mind, let’s check the rooftop. Maybe we’ll find something there tonight.”

He was our anchor; with his decision made, we followed.

We walked to the elevator. It was waiting on the first floor. After pressing the button, the doors slid open.

I was the last to enter, and just as I turned around, in the split second before the doors closed, I caught a glimpse of eyes watching us from the shadows.

A shock ran through me, but the doors had already shut and the elevator was slowly ascending.

I turned and asked Liang Yue, “Do you keep cats in this building?”

“Huh?” She was baffled by my question.

I repeated, “Are there any pets, like cats or dogs, kept in the building?”

“Of course not. If there are cats, they’re strays. Our company is very strict; who would keep pets here? They’d be fired!” She must have thought I was out of my mind to ask such a thing.

But what I’d seen—those eyes—could they have belonged to an animal, like the black cat I’d seen in the abandoned building?

My third uncle asked, “What is it? Did you see something?”

I told the truth, “I think someone was watching us, right outside the elevator.”

Liang Yue scoffed, “Nonsense! There’s no one else here but Uncle Xiao. Don’t try to scare me with your tricks.”

My third uncle shook his head, “My nephew has always been sensitive to these things. Better to be careful.”

He knew I was deficient in yang energy, and sensed things others could not. But Liang Yue was even more dismissive, “Is it just the two of you making things up? Unless you find something real, don’t think you can fool me.”

I sneered, “No wonder you insisted on coming. You’re here to keep an eye on us, aren’t you?”

Liang Yue straightened her back. “You’re right. Listen, that two hundred thousand won’t come easy. If you dare trick me or Mr. Wu, I’ll make sure you pay every cent back, however you got it.”

She clenched her fists, her gaze icy as she glared at me.

I was about to retort when suddenly a sound came from outside.

At first it was faint, almost indiscernible. But soon, it grew clearer, drifting intermittently into the elevator.

My third uncle and I froze simultaneously. A flute!

It was a mournful, haunting melody, as if from a bamboo flute, though subtly different.

“Something’s wrong,” my third uncle and I exclaimed in unison.

Old Wei had said that every night someone died, this flute music sounded. It was a death knell.

Tonight the elevator seemed slower than ever. I glanced at the indicator—it was only at the tenth floor.

The sorrowful flute drifted on, and I found my mood sinking, wholly caught up in its melancholy.

But then the elevator stopped at the tenth floor and would go no further.

“This is bad. We need to get out—head for the rooftop, fast.” My third uncle pressed the door button, and as soon as the doors slid open, he dashed out, flashlight in hand, searching for the stairs.

I hurried after him. Liang Yue, still confused, shouted from behind, “Hey, what’s going on? Where’s that flute coming from?”

There was no time to explain. Following my third uncle, I raced up the stairs to the eleventh floor, then, retracing yesterday’s path, flung open the iron door to the rooftop and ran out into the night.

Moonlight bathed the rooftop in pale silver.

In the corner my third uncle had marked, a solitary figure stood.

With a shout, my third uncle rushed toward it.

I dared not hesitate and sprinted after him.

The truth was clear: tonight, the flute had sounded again, and another suicide was about to occur.

If we were quick enough, perhaps we could save a life.

But the person standing atop the low rooftop wall hadn’t noticed our approach. Their body swayed, then toppled outward over the edge.

(End of chapter)