Translator: Shewee
Chapter 5: Room 1303 (5)
Lin Banxia had a peaceful night in the bedroom. It was a quiet night, and nothing happened.
The next morning, he woke up feeling refreshed. After getting ready for work, he called Ji Leshui.
The phone rang for a long time without anyone answering. Just as Lin Banxia was starting to feel concerned, he heard a faint “Hello” from the other end, which was Ji Leshui’s voice.
Hearing him answer, Lin Banxia breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Good morning, how did you sleep last night?”
“Not bad.” Ji Leshui’s voice sounded faint, almost as if the signal was bad.
Lin Banxia said, “I’m heading to work today, but I’ll bring your luggage over tomorrow.”
“Alright,” Ji Leshui replied.
“Why do you sound a bit low on energy?” Lin Banxia asked.
“It’s nothing,” Ji Leshui muttered vaguely. “I’m fine. Go ahead, and don’t worry about bringing my luggage for now.”
Before Lin Banxia could say anything more, the call had already ended.
The reality of being an adult is that no matter how much something weighs on you, work still has to go on. Lin Banxia’s job was somewhat unusual, involving dealings with the mortuary, though he wasn’t directly employed by them. Most of the time, he handled bodies damaged severely in accidents. Corpses mangled from falls were commonplace, but the worst were those from car accidents, where bodies were so crushed that sometimes they had to be scraped up with shovels. A whole body was a rarity.
Due to the nature of his job, his workload wasn’t heavy. When there was work, he did it; when there wasn’t, he had a lot of free time. But few could stick to this line of work—most quit within two or three months. Lin Banxia was an exception, having worked for two years straight since graduating, never switching jobs. Despite its morbid nature, the job’s benefits and pay were good.
Today, Lin Banxia was lucky. Since starting work, nothing had come up. But with Ji Leshui on his mind, he couldn’t fully relax.
Since their call that morning, Ji Leshui had vanished—no replies on WeChat, no answers to his calls, and eventually, his phone wouldn’t even connect.
Lin Banxia sat in the office, feeling increasingly uneasy, deciding he’d check on him after work.
His colleague Liu Xi, a warm-hearted guy, noticed his rare, worried expression and asked, “Hey, Banxia, what’s up? You look really stressed today.”
“It’s nothing,” Lin Banxia replied.
“Doesn’t look like ‘nothing’ to me,” Liu Xi commented. “Your eyebrows are practically knotted.” He leaned in and added with a grin, “Besides, it’s a slow day today~”
Before he could finish, a colleague smacked him on the back, scolding, “Liu Xi, shut up already! You know there are things we don’t say out loud!”
Liu Xi mumbled, “Come on, it’s not like it’s a jinx or anything.”
In their line of work, there was a superstition against saying they were “free” or “idle.” Saying so would almost guarantee trouble. Liu Xi, being new and with only three months under his belt, didn’t pay much mind to such things.
Barely half an hour after Liu Xi’s comment, the office phone rang.
Another colleague who answered glared at Liu Xi and said irritably, “See? Now we’ve got work.”
“Wow, that was fast…” Liu Xi scratched his head in dismay. “It’s actually true?”
Lin Banxia patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.
Half an hour earlier, there had been a major traffic accident on the highway at the edge of town. A truck loaded with steel suddenly lost control, causing a disastrous collision. Several cars nearby, including one small vehicle that was completely crushed, were involved.
The small car was flattened, and the people inside likely didn’t survive. They were summoned to quickly handle the accident scene and prevent any chain reactions on the highway.
Lin Banxia and his team put on their uniforms and headed to the accident scene.
The atmosphere in the car was somber. Though they were used to dealing with the dead, seeing those who died in accidents like this never left anyone feeling unaffected.
Lin Banxia checked his phone one last time; it was 6:30 p.m., and there was still no reply from Ji Leshui. He sighed deeply and tucked his phone deep into his pocket.
An hour later, he and his colleagues arrived at the scene.
The police were already there, using cranes to lift the truck while firefighters cut into the crushed car.
Lin Banxia and his team, holding their tools, waited nearby. The ambulances had already taken the injured who were still alive, but no one expected any survivors from the small car—it was clear that anyone inside couldn’t have made it.
The small car was almost flattened. When they cut open the roof, they saw the blurry forms of the passengers inside.
It was hard to tell how many people were in there; only fragments of clothing gave hints. There seemed to be at least three or four.
Muttering prayers, Liu Xi gingerly began removing the bodies. Lin Banxia put on his mask, lowered his gaze, and started working too.
The thick scent of blood seeped through their masks. Lin Banxia heard grief-stricken wails and turned to see a woman collapsing behind him, likely a relative of one of the deceased. She was sobbing uncontrollably, barely being held up by others.
“How tragic,” Liu Xi whispered. “They’re so mangled, it’d be impossible to tell them apart…”
“Don’t say that,” Lin Banxia murmured.
“It’s just… hard to watch,” Liu Xi sighed.
Lin Banxia shushed him again, and Liu Xi fell silent with a sigh.
At times like this, it was best to remain silent. No words could console the grieving family, and speaking only made it worse.
As Lin Banxia placed a body into a body bag, he overheard nearby police discussing the accident.
It turned out to be a family trip, with the wife in one car ahead who had managed to avoid the collision. The husband, children, and elderly family members in the car behind weren’t so lucky. When she returned to the scene, she saw the crushed car.
Witnessing her whole family gone like that… who could bear such pain?
Given the condition of the bodies, they couldn’t let her see much and quickly loaded them into a vehicle bound for the morgue.
As the bodies were being loaded, the grieving woman threw herself onto the car, refusing to let it go and crying that she needed to see them one last time.
The police tried to dissuade her, but she was resolute, so they eventually agreed.
Lin Banxia and Liu Xi sat in the vehicle, exchanging worried glances. They knew letting her see the bodies might only add to her distress, but she wouldn’t budge, so they opened the door.
The woman clambered onto the vehicle, crying and nearly clawing her way in. Trembling, she pulled at the body bags one by one, revealing the disfigured bodies inside. Due to the extreme compression, they no longer resembled their former selves. But, perhaps driven by her overwhelming sorrow, she embraced one of the bodies and cried out.
Standing nearby, Lin Banxia faintly heard her murmuring, “It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault—I’m the one who killed you all…”
He wondered why she would blame herself—was she the one who had insisted on the trip?
“She’s the only one left… how tragic,” Liu Xi murmured.
Looking at the woman, Lin Banxia felt a strange sense of unease. “The only one left? Who is that person?”
“What? Who?” Liu Xi asked.
Lin Banxia scanned the area behind the woman and, pressing his lips tightly, mumbled, “Nothing… I must’ve seen wrong.”
But it was no mistake. About a meter behind the woman, facing away from them, stood another figure dressed in black, who matched her height and build and stood still as a shadow. The highway was closed, and only police and authorized personnel were allowed near, making the presence of this black-clad figure all the more peculiar. Yet, no one seemed aware of her presence.
As the woman finished her grieving, the police helped her out of the vehicle and onto the patrol car, but the black-clad figure quietly followed. When she entered the car, Lin Banxia got a glimpse of her face, and it gave him a chill—this black-clad woman was identical to the grieving woman, except her face was deathly pale and her pupils were eerie white, like a doll. Each of her movements mirrored the grieving woman’s exactly.
After the woman finished crying, the police helped her out of the car, and she hobbled into the police car. Following right behind her was another woman dressed in black, who also climbed into the vehicle, mirroring their every move. When she took her seat, Lin Banxia caught a glimpse of her face, and his heart skipped a beat. This woman in black looked exactly like the distressed family member—only her face was as pale as paper, and her pupils were eerily white. She moved like a puppet; for every step the other woman took, she followed. Lin Banxia couldn’t shake the feeling that the distance between them was shrinking, inch by inch.
“Banxia, what are you looking at?” Liu Xi glanced at Lin Banxia curiously.
“Nothing,” Lin Banxia replied, pulling his gaze away and casually checking his phone. “Let’s head out.” The remaining colleagues still needed to clear the scene and help the police restore traffic flow.
“Alright, let’s go.” Liu Xi started the car.
The two of them drove toward the funeral home, transporting the body.
In the car, Lin Banxia seemed distracted.
Next to him, Liu Xi was in a somber mood as well. He took a cigarette out of his pocket and offered it to Lin Banxia, who shook his head, politely declining.
Liu Xi lit a cigarette for himself, took a deep drag, and asked, “What’s on your mind?”
“Stuff at home,” Lin Banxia said. “Seems like my roommate might be possessed or something.”
“Possessed?” Liu Xi echoed.
Lin Banxia thought about it and explained the strange happenings in their apartment complex to Liu Xi, who was wide-eyed by the end of the story. “Are you serious? Work is already intense, and now you live in a place even more nerve-wracking. How does anyone stand it?” After his spiel, he noticed Lin Banxia looking down thoughtfully and ventured, “But you don’t seem to be scared of this stuff.”
Lin Banxia slowly responded, “Actually… it’s not that I’m not scared.”
“Then why don’t you react at all?” Liu Xi asked. “When my former colleagues first went to scenes like these, they couldn’t stop throwing up, but you don’t even flinch.”
Lin Banxia hesitated.
“What’s up, bro? Why the silence?” Liu Xi pressed.
Lin Banxia said, “Did they ever mention that I haven’t eaten meat in half a year?”
Liu Xi scratched his head.
“It’s not that I’m fearless; I just react slower,” Lin Banxia sighed. “It’s like when something taps you on the shoulder while you’re walking down the street, and when you turn around, no one’s there. Most people would be freaked out, but me… I probably wouldn’t process it until an hour later.”
Liu Xi looked at him speechlessly, as if he were staring at some kind of strange creature.
“This has been going on for a while,” Lin Banxia said, resting his hand on the car window and feeling the cold night breeze. Light rain began to fall outside, drifting in through the window and brushing against Lin Banxia’s cheek.
Liu Xi shivered suddenly. “It’s freezing, Brother Lin. Close the window, will you?”
Lin Banxia nodded and rolled the window up.
“When did you start noticing you were like this?” Liu Xi resumed the conversation.
Lin Banxia replied, “Back in college. There was this girl… She said, ‘Lin Banxia, I don’t want to spend Singles’ Day alone.’”
“So what happened next?” Liu Xi asked, intrigued.
Lin Banxia said, “I told her, ‘Skipping Singles’ Day is a real loss, isn’t it?’”
Liu Xi: “…”
Lin Banxia added, “She repeated herself, and I said, ‘No way, no way. Any holiday can be skipped except Singles’ Day.’”
Liu Xi: “And then?”
Lin Banxia said, “And then that was it.” He paused for a moment and added with a sigh, “It wasn’t until last year during Singles’ Day that I suddenly understood what she meant…”
Liu Xi let out a long sigh, saying, “Oh Lin-ge, now I understand why you don’t have a girlfriend. Look at you! Even I have a girlfriend! You’re handsome, with a good temperament, but the only company you keep is female mosquitoes buzzing around you.”
Lin Banxia glanced at him and said, “You have a girlfriend? I don’t believe it.”
Liu Xi: “Hah, in a few days, I’ll bring her here so you can see for yourself!”
He was boasting enthusiastically when he suddenly heard a sound. Hesitantly, he looked at Lin Banxia. “Lin-ge, did you hear something?”
Lin Banxia tilted his head to listen. “From the cargo compartment?”
They exchanged glances, and Liu Xi felt a chill down his back. The cargo compartment was empty, holding only a few badly crushed bodies. The sound was like something scratching against the body bags—a grating noise that sent goosebumps up his arms.
“Should we stop the car? What could it be?” As the sound grew louder, Liu Xi’s foot on the gas pedal began to tremble.
Seeing Liu Xi’s state, Lin Banxia realized they couldn’t keep driving like this, so he told him to pull over so he could check the cargo compartment himself.
Liu Xi asked, trembling, “Lin-ge, should I come with you?”
Lin Banxia replied, “No need.” Judging by Liu Xi’s expression, he was afraid the man would wet himself as soon as he stepped out of the vehicle.
Lin Banxia jumped out, walking decisively toward the cargo compartment. He raised his hand, pulled open the door, and saw a few body bags inside. They had carefully placed the bodies in an orderly manner earlier, out of respect for the deceased. But now, the bodies were piled on top of one another, as though someone had moved them. The strange sound was coming from within the pile of body bags.
Lin Banxia climbed into the compartment and, moving gently, rearranged the bags. Normally, the bags are leakproof, but for some reason—perhaps because the bodies were too mangled—liquid was seeping out of them, dripping onto the floor of the compartment.
Just as he finished arranging the bags, the scraping sound stopped. Lin Banxia looked down, inspecting carefully, but found nothing unusual. However, in his peripheral vision, he noticed a small detail: the zipper on one of the body bags at the bottom was partially open.
He would never make such a mistake, and Liu Xi, who had been working with him for months, was unlikely to forget to zip it up either. Lin Banxia stared at the zipper for a moment before silently zipping it shut. Then, acting as if nothing was wrong, he closed the compartment door with a heavy thud.
“What was it? What made that sound?” Liu Xi asked nervously when Lin Banxia returned.
Lin Banxia replied, “A rat got into the compartment. I only caught a glimpse before it scurried away. Let’s leave it be and deliver the bodies; we can deal with it later.”
Liu Xi let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, a rat, huh? Scared me to death…” He muttered about how he knew there were rats around, how the rat poison they bought was useless, and now the rats were even crawling into their vehicle.
Lin Banxia rolled down the window and rested his hand on the frame, silent.
Liu Xi looked at him curiously. “Lin-ge, are you okay?”
Lin Banxia shook his head. “Nothing, just craving a smoke. Got one?”
Liu Xi grinned and handed him a cigarette.
Lin Banxia didn’t smoke often, only occasionally. On the latter half of the journey, he leaned back in his seat, dozing off, while the scratching sounds from the compartment persisted. Liu Xi cast a few uneasy glances at Lin Banxia, but in the end, he said nothing, just pressing the gas pedal harder as if wishing they could fly to their destination.
By the time they reached the funeral home, the staff was already waiting.
The man waiting for them was Wang Jinqiao, a familiar face they often worked with. His mood was sour, likely from being called in at such a late hour, and he muttered complaints under his breath. Liu Xi greeted him with a cigarette and exchanged a few pleasantries before Wang Jinqiao slowly approached the cargo compartment to unload the bodies.
Some traffic accidents require autopsies, but this case was clear-cut with no suspicious elements, so an autopsy wasn’t necessary. The funeral home just had to wait for the family to complete the paperwork for cremation.
As he reached for the compartment door, Wang Jinqiao casually asked, “I heard it was a family?”
But when he looked inside, his face turned ashen, and he was silent for a long moment.
Noticing Wang Jinqiao’s reaction, Liu Xi, puzzled, was about to ask what was wrong when he heard the man shout angrily, “What did you do? Who loaded these bodies like this?”
Liu Xi and Lin Banxia were taken aback by his anger. They hurried forward to look inside.
What they saw was completely unexpected. All the body bags were open, the corpses haphazardly piled together. Because of the severe trauma, they looked like a mountain of flesh, with dark red stains of blood coagulated on the floor.
“Urgh!!” Liu Xi took one look, then turned away, retching violently.
Lin Banxia didn’t look much better.
“What’s going on? How are we supposed to separate them like this?” Wang Jinqiao scolded, “What do you expect us to do—burn them all together? The families would have a fit!”
“But we arranged everything properly before we left!” Liu Xi, after retching, wiped his mouth and said in a trembling voice, “How did it end up like this… Lin-ge, Lin-ge?”
Lin Banxia took another look inside the compartment, remaining silent.
Liu Xi wanted to say something else, but Wang Jinqiao, sensing something off, waved for him to be quiet. “Enough, I get it. Wait until the families arrive and then you can explain yourselves.”
He scowled, motioning for the others to begin the grueling task of separating the bodies.
Both Lin Banxia and Liu Xi, feeling at fault, stood silently to the side.
Liu Xi lit one cigarette after another, his hands shaking uncontrollably. He wanted to ask Lin Banxia if the noise he’d heard in the compartment was really a rat, but seeing Lin Banxia’s calm profile, he swallowed his words.
As they painstakingly worked to clean the compartment, the sole survivor from the accident arrived in a police car.
The accident had taken all her family members, leaving her the only survivor. Such a tragedy would be devastating for anyone.
Perhaps understanding her fragile state, the police had driven her over carefully, but the timing was unfortunate, as the funeral home staff was still struggling to separate the mixed remains.
The woman stepped out of the police car, and as she looked up, she saw the chaos inside the compartment.
Liu Xi, afraid of an emotional outburst from the family, took a step back, hiding behind Lin Banxia. He whispered, “Lin-ge, are we going to get hit?”
Lin Banxia replied in a low voice, “It’s just a young woman. Taking a few punches is no big deal.”
“True,” Liu Xi chuckled bitterly. “If I saw my family like that, I’d want to punch someone too.”
But to their surprise, instead of anger, a strange smile appeared on the woman’s pale face. Her bright red lips curled into an exaggerated shape, as if laughing or crying. She walked slowly to the compartment, her gaze chilling as she stared at the pile of broken bodies. With a twisted smile, she murmured, “So, you really never considered me part of the family.”
“I suppose I deserved this.” She let out a bitter laugh, then turned and walked away, the hem of her black dress swirling in a graceful arc.
Behind her, just as Lin Banxia had seen earlier, the same shadow-like figure followed closely, the distance between them shrinking even further.
—
Author’s note:
Liu Xi: Lin-ge, want a smoke?
Lin Banxia: …
Liu Xi What do you think was in the compartment?
Lin Banxia: …
Liu Xi: Kind of cold today, huh?
Lin Banxia: …
Liu Xi: Lin-ge, it’s time to clock out.
Lin Banxia: Let’s smoke!
(The custom of placing urns in residential buildings has real-life precedents. You can look it up in the news.)
