15
Back when I drove big trucks, I always carried Five Emperors’ coins to ward off evil.
It was an industry rule: whenever a new route opened, veteran drivers would go first, both to familiarize themselves with the road and to reduce the risks.
If something hostile on the road made the truck suddenly refuse to start, you used the Five Emperors’ coins to tap all around the vehicle.
That was a technique my master passed down to me, and I always kept the coins with me.
To tap the vehicle with the Five Emperors’ coins, you had to start at the front and go clockwise, tapping five times in each direction.
The coins struck the bodywork with a series of clear metallic chinks.
With each tap, the fog around me thinned a little.
I’d just finished tapping the front when a bone-chilling gust rose behind me.
“I’ll say it one more time: I pity you, but don’t push your luck!”
I was born with a strong bazi and hot blood. I wasn’t afraid of things like this. If I hadn’t felt sorry for them after their sudden deaths, I would’ve sent them on their way right from the start instead of letting this drag on.
The thing behind me seemed to retreat for the moment, and the cold gradually faded.
When I turned back toward the front of the car, the fog had cleared completely. The black car was not far away.
The family of three had returned to their car.
Old Mu gripped the steering wheel, his whole body charred black, his flesh burned away. He couldn’t withstand the heat of the living world coming from the red-date tea.
The accident that year had been utterly horrific. The red sports car had been badly mangled, and the black car had been thrown against a cliff. A cypress tree had pierced through the car from the cliffside, nearly impaling Mu Xu and La Anh.
Both cars caught fire. Mu Giai was thrown over the cliff, while the girl in the red sports car, Tang Nhã, was flung onto the road, becoming the sole survivor.
Old Mu opened his mouth, full of fresh blood, and roared at me, “You won’t get away! She has to come with us—that’s what she owes us!”
I coolly drew my soul-striking whip. “She doesn’t owe anyone anything.”
16
The black car quickly backed away and soon disappeared from sight.
They were clearly wary of the soul-striking whip in my hand.
But I also knew we wouldn’t be leaving this mountain road easily tonight.
I returned to the car. This time, it started. The girl was still sitting dazed in the passenger seat, head bowed as she stared at her hands.
“Who am I? I’m not Mu Giai, so who am I…?”
I drove silently along the mountain road. To my eyes, the girl’s body was gradually turning transparent.
Just then, the girl in the long white dress from before appeared again by the roadside. The red patterns on her sleeves seemed even clearer now.
She looked terribly anxious, shouting toward the girl in the car, but the girl couldn’t make out what she was saying.
I wanted so badly to help her, but I couldn’t reveal the truth without permission.
If I did, there might be no way to undo what happened.
The girl had to remember on her own.
17
Thick fog began to rise in the mountains, and the figure of the girl outside the window gradually disappeared behind it.
The car began to jolt, as if there were many things on the road that shouldn’t be there.
Faint, distorted shapes appeared in the dense fog.
Suddenly, bloodstained cypress branches seemed to hurtle straight at the front of the car.
Blood smeared across the windshield. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to keep the car steady and prevent the windshield from bearing too much pressure and shattering.
Shrill screams and the sound of impacts and tumbling rang out just outside. It was as if the accident from years ago were happening all over again.
Sparks burst from the fog ahead.
I had no choice but to hit the brakes.
The fog scattered in every direction. A person drenched in blood lay sprawled in the middle of the road.
Not far away, two mangled cars burned, their twisted occupants writhing in the flames.
The girl in the passenger seat stared wide-eyed at the person lying in the road.
She had long hair falling over her shoulders, dyed the same reddish brown as the girl’s,
and wore a blue hoodie in the exact same style.
“Is that me? Is that really me…?”
The girl staggered, and in that instant, she appeared in the middle of the road.
18
I thought, This is bad, and hurried out of the car.
Just then, La Anh stepped out of the flames, a huge hole in her abdomen, clumps of thick black blood falling to the ground.
“It’s you, Tang Nhã! You’re the one who killed my whole family!”
“You and your crazy boyfriend were speeding recklessly along the mountain road. You’re the ones who killed us!”
“My daughter still hasn’t been found. The three of us have been trapped here for three years!”
“Tang Nhã, you think you can go on living? You have to stay here. It’s a debt you have to repay!”
The girl’s form grew fainter and fainter. Trembling, she shook her head and tried to back away, but then realized she couldn’t move!
The person sprawled on the ground—“Tang Nhã”—had somehow turned into a pool of blood, like a shadow clinging tightly to the girl’s feet.
The girl screamed in panic…
At that moment, I rushed in front of her and tossed her the thermos in my hand. “Remember clearly—who are you, really?”
19
Three days earlier, a girl named Đặng Huyên had come to see me. She looked frail, and her cheeks were abnormally flushed.
“Uncle, please help us. My friend has been wronged.”
The close friend Đặng Huyên was talking about was named Hàng Vi Vi.
Hàng Vi Vi was a pitiful girl. Just after taking the college entrance exams, she lost both her parents, one after the other, in accidents.
Her family’s circumstances took a terrible turn. Unable to go to college, Hàng Vi Vi had to go out and work to support herself.
Đặng Huyên met Hàng Vi Vi during that time. They worked at the same place and became very close.
“About a year ago, Vi Vi rented a new place. I went over when she moved in, and the landlady was really nice. She took special care of Vi Vi.”
Đặng Huyên wrapped her hands around the hot water I’d poured for her, trembling slightly. “But I never expected that after she rented that place, Vi Vi would start changing completely…”
20
“She grew her hair long and dyed it. She never used to like makeup, but after that, her bag was always full of cosmetics.”
“She once told me that blue was the color she hated most because her parents’ work uniforms were both blue. But then, all of a sudden, one day she wore a really fashionable blue hoodie.”
“When I asked why, she said the landlady had given it to her.”
“That’s when I found out the landlady knew Vi Vi had lost her parents, so she took special care of her. That concern was almost meticulous to the point of being extreme. From Vi Vi’s clothes and hairstyle to her hobbies and social life, the landlady asked about everything and interfered in it all.”
At this, Đặng Huyên’s expression grew gloomy. “Actually, for the past year, I’ve felt that something was off. Vi Vi often stayed over at my place, and the landlady would call to check on her.”
“She even wanted to know where we went and what we ate. She wasn’t Vi Vi’s mother!”
“I tried several times to warn Vi Vi, but she seemed to be enjoying that kind of relationship.”
“I know Vi Vi has always missed her parents terribly. Maybe the landlady’s presence made her feel as if she had a mother again, so she was willing to listen to her. I thought it over and over, and in the end, I didn’t stop her.”
21
By now, Đặng Huyên was so furious her teeth were grinding. “The strange things started happening three months ago. Vi Vi’s mental state suddenly took a turn for the worse.”
“She told me that every night she had nightmares. She always dreamed she was on a deserted mountain road. Sometimes she was alone; other times, a few people followed behind her.”
“At first, we thought Vi Vi had a sleep disorder. I went with her to the hospital to get medication, but before long, it stopped working.”
“Vi Vi’s nightmares grew more and more terrifying. I urged her to come stay at my place so I could look after her. But in her dreams, she kept screaming that they’d crashed the car, that they’d killed someone!”
I listened with a frown as Đặng Huyên gripped the cup so tightly it creaked in her hands.
“Worse still, the landlady kept calling Vi Vi, pressuring her to come back and stay at her place. Vi Vi didn’t want to disappoint her, so she refused to stay with me.”
“At the time, I thought maybe it would be better if someone looked after her. But just a few days later, Vi Vi started having hallucinations. She’d often panic, point at the empty doorway, and say, ‘They’re here. They’re looking for me!’”
“These things kept happening, and even her coworkers grew frightened. Her workplace wouldn’t let her keep working. All I could do was go to her place after work and stay to take care of her.”
At this, Đặng Huyên’s tears began to well up again.
“Vi Vi was really strong. She tried exercising, sitting in the sun, praying, taking medication… but nothing she did could free her from those terrifying things.”
“And I kept naively thinking that Vi Vi was just having psychological problems. That is, until five days ago…”
Đặng Huyên’s voice trembled as she lowered her head. “I… I suddenly blacked out at Vi Vi’s place. When I woke up, I was straddling her, and I’d nearly strangled her to death.”