Chapter 717: Strange Tales in the Wax Museum
(To be revised later) Xie Ling couldn't help but swallow her own saliva at this point, calming herself before continuing, "My grandmother was terrified. After my mother fell asleep again, that immortal prepared some tools and had my grandmother take toys from the house to the place where the twins died, burning paper money to send them off."
"My grandmother did as she was told. Whether it was psychological or not, she seemed to hear children's laughter while burning the paper. She was scared too, so she hurried home as soon as she finished."
"The ritual for my mother's side was already done. The immortal told my grandmother that everything would be fine the next day."
"My grandmother couldn't sleep and stayed by my mother's side all night. Sure enough, when dawn came the next day, my mother woke up. But after waking, she didn't remember anything about the twins wanting to play with her. My grandmother was afraid she'd fall ill again, so she told the whole family never to mention it again. From then on, she also forbade my mother from going into the woods."
"But I heard that occasionally people would still hear sounds coming from the garbage pit nearby, though no one dared to get close anymore. That garbage pit gradually fell into disuse."
Xie Ling let out a long breath. "My story is done."
Xu Huo noticed her eyes were red-rimmed and said, "A place for dumping trash might have rats. Sounds wouldn't be unusual."
"Your mother might have developed hallucinations after hearing the rumors and falling ill. It's not even certain whether those twins really died in the garbage pit."
Xie Ling looked at him in surprise. "Why do you say that?"
"If two children had really died, the pit would have been filled in long ago." Without any detailed analysis, whether it was considered unlucky or to prevent future trouble, if children died inside, the first choice would definitely be to fill in the garbage pit.
Bai Wenxian nodded beside him. "You said the opening of the garbage pit looks like a well. Its actual depth probably wouldn't exceed ten meters, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered digging the side corners."
"Your village must have dogs and pigs, right? That means there wouldn't be much kitchen waste. What gets thrown in is mostly plastic products and old clothes that can't be disposed of easily. That's basically a soft cushion. How could it be so coincidental that two children fell in and died together?"
"Your mother didn't even have any external injuries when she fell in."
Xie Ling was stunned. "What you're saying does make sense... After hearing your analysis, I'm not so scared anymore."
The room began to rise. As she was leaving, she said, "I'll wait for you outside once I get the clue. You two come out quickly."
"A group of children scattered in all directions. My mother wanted to run too, but she slipped and accidentally fell into the garbage pit."
"Because over those two years, a lot of trash had been dumped in, creating a sloped mound. My mother wasn't injured when she fell, but the other children had all run far away. No one answered when she called for help. Then she remembered the twins dying there. Overwhelmed by fear and shock, her energy drained, and she slowly fell unconscious."
"The children who were with her all returned to the village. My grandmother only then realized my mother hadn't come back. She went door to door asking and found out they had gone to the garbage pit. She gathered people to search along the way, and finally discovered my mother in the pit."
"My mother started running a fever the day she came back. Even with medicine and injections, she remained unconscious. Someone in the village suggested finding an immortal to take a look."
"In my hometown, people who do fortune-telling, divination, and solve spirit-related problems are called immortals. As soon as he arrived, he said my mother was in trouble. He fed her some special potion, and she suddenly woke up for a moment. She told my grandmother that the twins were standing hand in hand on her bed, asking her to play with them..."
Xie Ling couldn't help but swallow her own saliva at this point, calming herself before continuing, "My grandmother was terrified. After my mother fell asleep again, that immortal prepared some tools and had my grandmother take toys from the house to the place where the twins died, burning paper money to send them off."
"My grandmother did as she was told. Whether it was psychological or not, she seemed to hear children's laughter while burning the paper. She was scared too, so she hurried home as soon as she finished."
"The ritual for my mother's side was already done. The immortal told my grandmother that everything would be fine the next day."
"My grandmother couldn't sleep and stayed by my mother's side all night. Sure enough, when dawn came the next day, my mother woke up. But after waking, she didn't remember anything about the twins wanting to play with her. My grandmother was afraid she'd fall ill again, so she told the whole family never to mention it again. From then on, she also forbade my mother from going into the woods."
"But I heard that occasionally people would still hear sounds coming from the garbage pit nearby, though no one dared to get close anymore. That garbage pit gradually fell into disuse."
Xie Ling let out a long breath. "My story is done."
Xu Huo noticed her eyes were red-rimmed and said, "A place for dumping trash might have rats. Sounds wouldn't be unusual."
"Your mother might have developed hallucinations after hearing the rumors and falling ill. It's not even certain whether those twins really died in the garbage pit."
Xie Ling looked at him in surprise. "Why do you say that?"
"If two children had really died, the pit would have been filled in long ago." Without any detailed analysis, whether it was considered unlucky or to prevent future trouble, if children died inside, the first choice would definitely be to fill in the garbage pit.
Bai Wenxian nodded beside him. "You said the opening of the garbage pit looks like a well. Its actual depth probably wouldn't exceed ten meters, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered digging the side corners."
"Your village must have dogs and pigs, right? That means there wouldn't be much kitchen waste. What gets thrown in is mostly plastic products and old clothes that can't be disposed of easily. That's basically a soft cushion. How could it be so coincidental that two children fell in and died together?"
"Your mother didn't even have any external injuries when she fell in."
Xie Ling was stunned. "What you're saying does make sense... After hearing your analysis, I'm not so scared anymore."
The room began to rise. As she was leaving, she said, "I'll wait for you outside once I get the clue. You two come out quickly."
*
Only Xu Huo and Bai Wenxian remained. They exchanged a glance, and Bai Wenxian said, "I'll tell the last story."
Xu Huo glanced at the wax figure beside him, whose head had already been burned off, and gestured for him to begin.
The stories in the Strange Tale Night Talk continued. Meanwhile, on the ground floor, Xie Ling had also received a clue.
The envelope containing the clue was hanging in the hall outside the Strange Tale Room, held by a wax figure. Another wax figure stood nearby, which hadn't been there when they entered earlier. It must have come out to deliver a clue as well.
"Just as I thought, Long Aotian's story was unreliable. He probably didn't get any clue at all."
"Could he be looking for Xu Ruosi?" Xie Ling glanced toward the Wax Museum, hesitated for a moment, but didn't leave. Instead, she opened the envelope. However, when she saw the content on the letter paper, her pupils violently trembled. She threw the thing in her hand away and stumbled back several steps.
The discarded letter paper landed face-down on the ground. She suddenly noticed something written on it.