Thirty-three stories high, so tall that from the height one can see people as no larger than the size of a palm.
It is directly beneath this house, a "palm-sized" person with their face upwards, and the blood seems to spread like ink on paper, dyeing the ground a deep crimson.
Sunshine illuminates it, casting a blood-red hue.
More palm-sized people are flooding in from all directions outside the unit door!
The shout of surprise, the noisy discussion, even on the thirty-third floor can be heard.
Many more people are looking up, pointing towards the sky, as if to say that someone had jumped from there.
My face turned ashen, and I turned to leave the room immediately.
Jumping off a building is not an uncommon occurrence.
But that person downstairs... the clothes were too familiar, matching the color of Zhao Ni's exactly.
Moreover, its position and the same as that of Huāyīng's house, which makes me heart-stopping.
Pushing the bedroom door open, I took two steps into the living room!
At the sofa, Zhao Ni was still holding a glass of water, her gaze slightly distracted as she looked ahead.
My racing heart came to a sudden stop!
Huāyīng, who was right behind me, suddenly stopped in her tracks, her body rigid and unmoving.
At this moment, Zhao Ni turned her head towards us, managing to give a very strained smile and ask, "Brother Tang, what's wrong with you two?"
"It's okay," I whispered, feeling a huge relief in my heart.
Following her, I walked to the living room window and pulled down the curtain as I glanced down.
Below, there was a large crowd gathered around the person who had already been knocked down.
It's strange, people are afraid of ghosts and corpses, but when someone is dead, others don't seem to be afraid.
"The sunlight is a bit blinding. Close the window to make the light more gentle," I said calmly, without showing any emotion.
To be honest, I had earlier thought that Zhao Ni had jumped down.
After all, she has experienced so many things, her mental state has long been at the critical point.
Given that earlier she thought we could not deal with Zhao Kang, and I didn't deny it either, her mood has been even worse.
If she had a mental breakdown and saw no other way out, that would be the only option for her.
Fortunately, it was just me overthinking things.
Turning my head, I saw Huāyīng sitting next to Zhao Ni and whispering to her not to worry too much about Zhao Kang's affairs. We will solve the issue. For the time being, we will also find a safe place for her to live.
Zhao Ni's emotions stabilized further, and her eyes regained strength.
This made me slightly breathe easier.
In fact, I had originally thought Huāyīng would have Zhao Ni stay at her house. However, Huāyīng explicitly mentioned arranging a place, but I wonder where it will be arranged.
It's best not to leave the unit door right now, otherwise, Zhao Ni might be even more traumatized if she saw the dead person who jumped from the building.
I closed the curtains for this very reason.
With no extra sunlight, the living room's light was especially dark and somber.
The bamboo-crafted mice and other animals on the coffee table seemed eerie and lively.
Zhao Ni seems to be exhausted, leaning slightly against the sofa, closing her eyes, and quickly falling asleep.
Huāyīng took out her phone and tapped it a few times.
I walked closer to her, and she gave me a look, then glanced at Zhao Ni without speaking.
I understood her meaning roughly.
About six to seven minutes later, the sharp ring of a doorbell rang out.
Zhao Ni, who was just dozing off, suddenly woke up and anxiously looked towards the door of the living room.
"It's okay, my friend is here," Huāyīng smiled and went to open the door.
Zhao Ni looked up at me again, she didn't know what she was thinking, and her gaze immediately turned away.
I'm afraid that my earlier actions have left a shadow on her.
After Huāyīng opened the door, a woman walked in.
My first impression was that the woman was very attractive.
When I first got to know Huāyīng, Huāyīng also seemed to have a certain allure, but after some time of contact, one could discern that Huāyīng's allure was an illusion, as if it were deliberately done.
Therefore, while Huāyīng can attract people like Ma Ku, a low-class individual, she cannot move my emotions.
After a long time, that outwardly attractive aura can be ignored or even immune to me.
But this woman's allure seems to be ingrained in her bones.
Her eye shape is very special, between the phoenix eye and the willow leaf eye, giving her a fox-like charm.
A delicate almond-shaped face, fair skin with almost no imperfections, her hair was tied into a bun and slanted over her shoulder.
Huāyīng casually closed the door and walked with the woman into the living room, then she smiled and said, "Let me introduce you, this is Shi Qing."
"This is the person I told you about, Zhao Ni," she said.
Introducing Shi Qing is directed at both me and Zhao Ni. After that, her gaze fell on Zhao Ni.
Zhao Ni quickly stood up and said, "Hello."
Shi Qing nodded and said, "I'll take you to a safe place later. For the time being, you can stay with me for a few days."
Zhao Ni appeared slightly nervous, her hand clenching her clothes, and she sat back down, agreeing with a simple nod.
Then Shi Qing turned her gaze towards me.
Looking at each other from close range, she smiled slightly. It wasn't just her eyes that were beautiful, but the two faint dimples on her cheeks added a touch of grace.
"Thank you... Luo..." Shi Qing paused for a moment, her voice soft, "Tang Qian."
"It's okay." I shifted my gaze, without lingering on Shi Qing's face for too long.
"You can follow me first, Tàng Qiān Dà Gē, Huāyīng needs to do something with you. I can take care of you." Shi Qing's voice was very soft and tender.
Zhao Ni stood up again, looking anxious.
"Don't worry, we'll send you back safely when Zhao Kang's situation is completely under control." I reassured Zhao Ni.
Huāyīng comforted Zhao Ni a few more times, and her expression finally became more resilient.
Shi Qing led Zhao Ni towards the door.
I watched as they closed the door and left.
Only myself and Huāyīng were left in the living room.
"Still watching? Isn't it beautiful?" Huāyīng said, and then she gave a light hum.
"No, I was thinking, they shouldn't have left the unit building, Shi Qing should be staying in this one," I said.
"Oh, I won't tell you which floor."
Me: (...)
Huāyīng has some predetermined opinions about men, regardless of the fact that we're friends. She still tends to make preconceived judgments about things.
Turning around, I walked to the window and drew the curtain open again.
Looking down again, I furrowed my brow slightly.
The crowd watching the commotion was dispersed, and a barrier similar to a screen was set up around the area, preventing people from seeing inside.
The people gathered around the body were not police officers; by their attire, they were actually officials from the Huángshī.
The officials from the Huángshī have their jurisdiction over this community. If there are incidents like this involving human lives, they would take responsibility for it.
Huāyīng also came over, her expression slightly changed, and she muttered to herself, "It's getting a bit strange."
I asked Huāyīng, what was strange?
Huāyīng only explained that in general, if someone committed suicide by jumping, it would be the officials' responsibility.
But only for special cases, like when the deceased was not normal, would they involve the Huángshī.
It's like when bodies are retrieved from a river; although there seems to be an official body recovery team and boats, the Huángshī often sends someone along to assess the situation.
This person jumping off the building and directly letting the officials handle the corpse means that there are abnormalities with the deceased person, making it a non-normal death.
After a pause, Huāyīng finally said, "What's strange about this is that the officials only used the underground third floor as a meeting point. This community has some of the lowest-ranking people, basically having no shortage of items to fend off evil spirits. How could there be a non-normal death?
I understand the meaning.
"Do you want to go check it out?" I asked.
Huāyīng rolled her eyes at me and then said, "You have a lot of time, huh? A non-normal death won't cause too much trouble; the Huángshī can handle it themselves. The person in charge wants to meet you. I've talked to them and they must find Sun Hǎidài's people. Only then will you agree to help out."
"However, the leader still hopes that you will first listen to what they want to do, so you can be prepared."
I didn't insist on going to see the corpse of the person who jumped off the building.
After thinking for a moment, I said, "What are they going to do for the morgue?"
"The leader hasn't told me either; they still want to have a face-to-face talk with you," Huāyīng replied.
I furrowed my brow in thought, wondering whether to meet them now or wait until they find Sun Daqiao.
A cold wind blew in one after another, and I reached out to close the window.
Instinctively, I remembered that Huāyīng had always kept the windows closed before. Had she opened them?
My gaze shifted inward, and what I saw was some mud on the window edge, as if someone had stepped on it.
Suddenly, an inexplicable feeling of fear seized me.
