Chapter 13: It Must Be a Ghost—A Real Ghost

“How is that possible?”

Wang Shufen had been thinking just outside earlier that it couldn’t be.
Who would’ve thought the police really did find the key?

“If we found the key, then it proves she didn’t steal the compensation money,” the officer said logically. “It’s impossible that she broke in at night to steal, and then left the key here, right? And how could she have locked the door properly afterwards?”

The police officer posed the question back at them. Lu Minghua quickly walked over to the door and looked closely at the latch. Something didn’t sit right with him.

Meanwhile, the neighbors outside had started whispering among themselves.

“Qiangwei really is unlucky. Yesterday, they tried to make her support them in their old age and wouldn’t even give her the compensation money?”

“Today the money disappears and they immediately accuse her of stealing it. But the key was still here. How would a young girl like her sneak in?”

“Maybe it’s because those two old folks have done too many bad things—this is karma!”

“Look at Wang Shufen, always acting high and mighty. She kept bragging that her son would make a name for himself, that they’d move into a military family compound and she’d go live with the troops. And now what?”

“The money vanishes into thin air. Maybe even the heavens couldn’t stand seeing them bully Qiangwei like that!”

“She was a newlywed who hadn’t even consummated her marriage before her husband died. It’s already unreasonable to expect her to care for her in-laws. And they won’t even give her the money!”

“What is she supposed to live on? All she got was a bit of betrothal money, and now this proper young lady’s gone from unmarried to widowed. And they still want her to care for them for the rest of their lives?”

“They’re in this situation and they’re still stingy as hell, refusing to hand over the money!”

“They deserve it!”

…

While everyone chattered noisily, Lu Minghua stared at their door and rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

This morning, after they got up, they went straight to make breakfast. It was Wang Shufen who wanted to go buy some furniture and discovered the money was gone. That’s when they realized they’d been robbed and reported it.

He remembered clearly—when he went to report the theft, he had to unlock the latch on the door to leave.

Which meant no one had opened the door during the night. They always locked the bolt when they went to sleep.

That was like having double protection.

So, if even the latch hadn’t been touched and yet their money was stolen—could it be a ghost?

Last time, when the house had been cleared out, it was the same situation.

Lu Minghua thought more carefully. Logically speaking, no normal thief could clean out a whole house.

There was just too much stuff. Even if someone wanted to move it all out, it would take hours—and more than one person.

And yet, all of it was stolen in a single night, while they slept like logs. They hadn’t heard a thing.

That didn’t make sense.

The more Lu Minghua thought about it, the more off it felt. A chill ran down his spine. He really started to believe—maybe it was a ghost!

“The facts prove that your money wasn’t stolen by Gu Qiangwei. You’d best consider if there are any other clues,” the police officer said again.

Lu Minghua suddenly turned around. “It must be a ghost! A ghost!”

Wang Shufen had been ready to scold the officer, but when she heard her husband say that, she also felt like something wasn’t right.

What was really going on here?

“Both last time and this time, our doors were tightly shut. If Gu Qiangwei’s key is still in the house, that proves she didn’t come back!”

“If she didn’t come back, then where did our money go? It has to be a ghost!”

Lu Minghua seemed like a man possessed.

Wang Shufen also suddenly remembered the last time and grabbed the officer’s arm. “Yes, it must be a ghost! You have to help us!”

“Last time our entire house got cleared out overnight. How could that happen? That’s clearly a haunting!”

The police looked at the two of them—both of their faces full of fear.

He tried to remind them seriously, “Comrades, please don’t engage in feudal superstitions.”

“We’re not being superstitious!”

“You think about it too—last time we called the police because our entire home was cleaned out. Even if it were thieves, how many would it take?”

“There were three people in our home that night, but none of us heard a sound. And by morning, everything was gone. How is that possible?”

“Not a single neighbor saw anything strange either. Doesn’t that prove something’s off?”

“The only reason we’re saying this is because we thought it through! Otherwise, why would we spout nonsense?”

Now both Wang Shufen and Lu Minghua were making sense.

“And last night, the key was in the house, but our money still got stolen!”

“We don’t want to believe in ghosts, but what other explanation is there?”

“Aiya…” Wang Shufen started sobbing again. “That money was bought with my younger son’s life. Now it’s all gone—what do we do?”

What the two of them said actually did sound reasonable. As soon as they finished speaking, even the neighbors took a step back. Even the two police officers felt a sudden chill run through them.

They looked at the empty, desolate room. It did feel a little eerie.

Could it really be true?

So creepy!

Even the officers started to feel uneasy.

Just standing there made them feel chilled to the bone.

Why were they getting scared?

They were police! They shouldn’t believe in superstition—but they just couldn’t stop their minds from wandering.

They kept imagining things!

“You know,” one of the neighbors said, “the two old folks might actually be right. It could be a ghost.”

“I think so too.”

“Last time was seriously strange. They had so much stuff, and if they were moving, it would take days to haul it all out. But it was all gone overnight, and not one of us neighbors heard a thing!”

“Something’s really off here!”

“Could it actually be a ghost?”

The neighbors whispered among themselves, gulping as they spoke.

It was too creepy!

The more they thought about it, the more scared they became. Just then, a gust of wind blew through, and everyone felt a chill. The atmosphere turned truly eerie.

They all ran off.

After running a few steps, they stopped and huddled together.

“There’s a ghost in their house—it might be the ghost of their dead younger son returning with his ashes!”

“Yeah, that’s right! Didn’t they just bring back the ashes?”

“That’s the only explanation!”

“It must’ve come back with the ashes. The only ghost would be their younger son—he’s been dead for quite a while already.”

“The old folks always say the spirit returns on the seventh day after death! Their son probably died and was sent to the crematorium, and a few days passed before they brought the ashes home, right?”