Chapter Nine, The Door That Cannot Be Opened

This turmoil has completely thrown me off balance, but since Qin Yiheng said we cannot run away, I can only hold on. The shepherd dog continues to bark, and I can't help but wonder why the neighbors around us haven't come to warn us not to disturb the peace. Could it be that they all think this house is haunted and the situation has escalated?

I stayed with Qin Yiheng until dawn before returning to the hotel. Throughout the journey, we were both discussing the events of that night, making various speculations. In fact, it was mostly him who was continuously speculating, while I merely echoed the discussion.

This feeling is truly suffocating; I want to speak but must keep my voice down, only able to swallow repeatedly. After a while, I saw the shepherd dog, which had been sleeping soundly, suddenly stand up, tilting its head as if it were looking at something. Suddenly, the sound of knocking on the door really rang out, and even though I was mentally prepared, I was still startled.

I asked him why he did not feel anything when he came in just now.

The next day, Qin Yiheng first sold the dog back to the pet store at a discounted price, and then brought four workers to do some work. Without any preamble, they entered and began to dismantle the wooden door of the house. With a bold stroke, they indeed discovered something unusual. The wooden door appeared to be custom-made, with a layer of material sandwiched in the middle of the wooden boards. I touched it with my hand; it was not very hard and had a certain texture. Qin Yiheng held it under his nose for a long time, examining it closely, and told me: "This is probably made from a mixture of vermilion, donkey-hide gelatin, wood shavings, and some unknown substances. If he is not mistaken, the wood shavings must have been crushed from the wood of a pulley that has been used for many years. The pulley operates along a fixed trajectory year-round, and due to its contact with human energy, some theories suggest it can ensure family reunions. This method serves to ward off evil spirits, but more importantly, it can ensure harmony between husband and wife. Given the current situation, it seems that the modification of this door was likely done by one of the couple, but unexpectedly, it backfired, trapping the male owner inside the house.

Qin Yiheng remained quite calm, making a "shh" gesture with his hand. The knocking on the door was not as loud as I had imagined; it seemed to be a gentle tap, making the person knocking appear very refined. I stared intently at the shepherd dog, but it did not bark, which surprised even Qin Yiheng. I quickly looked down and was indeed startled. I had not noticed earlier that Qin Yiheng's phone had disconnected at some point. I focused on the shepherd dog again, but it still did not bark, leaving Qin Yiheng momentarily stunned. I glanced down again and was genuinely taken aback. I had indeed overlooked that Qin Yiheng's phone had disconnected without my noticing. Just at that moment, the shepherd dog suddenly began to bark, and my heart sank. This was a half-grown dog, not yet an adult, so its bark was too juvenile. What chilled me the most was that the shepherd dog was not barking at the door but at the bedroom where the male owner had hanged himself.

I did not make any profit from this house. A month later, I entrusted an agent to rent it out to a few university students who were preparing for their postgraduate entrance exams, charging them a very low price. At that time, I also directly informed them that someone had died in this house, but I had already sought the help of a master to perform rituals. Fortunately, these students were not afraid; instead, they were all quite happy to move in. After this incident, I seemed to understand something, yet upon reflection, I could not summarize any particular reasoning. In any case, the matter of this house passed just like that. Subsequently, our business was delayed for a short period, and for more than ten days, we did not receive any news about a new house. This was mainly because Yuan Zhen had to go abroad for some reason, so there had been no news of new properties coming through. Luckily, our small business that we started together began to take off, and being busy with work helped alleviate the sense of emptiness. When Yuan Zhen returned, we took over the next house.

Qin Yiheng expressed that he did not know either, suggesting that it might be related to the layout of the house. To understand it, one would need to dismantle the renovations of the house, and perhaps the answer could be found. After a moment of calm, Qin Yiheng took the lead to check the bedroom. I followed him inside and found that the bedroom had not changed at all; my phone was still in its original position, but it had turned off. I turned on the phone again and discovered that there was still plenty of battery left. I had seen countless times in horror films how malevolent entities could affect electronic devices, but I had never encountered such a situation in real life before. I could not definitively conclude that it was that entity causing the issue based on this single instance, as it was also possible that the phone's system had malfunctioned.

After a night of exhaustion, we slept until the afternoon. We found the hostess, and after some negotiation, I finally managed to bring the price down to an ideal level. After signing the contract, Qin Yiheng and I returned to the hotel to rest, deciding to call a group of workers the next day to take care of the house.

After scattering this handful, the feeling of something approaching me disappeared. This feeling came back two or three times afterward, and each time I used the same method to scatter the soybeans. There were not many soybeans left in my hand, and when I wanted to ask Qin Yiheng for more, the shepherd dog suddenly stopped barking

After Qin Yiheng finished speaking, he took a handful of soybeans from his bag and instructed me to hold them tightly in my left hand. If I suddenly felt cold and wanted to shiver, I should throw one out, and so on. Since we are already here, we might as well see what it really is.

I suggest you stop shouting and quickly tell me what to do, as everything has become a complete mess

After retrieving the phone, nothing else happened that night, and the knocking ceased abruptly when the barking of the shepherd dog stopped

Qin Yiheng remarked: "Many things have their predetermined outcomes. Many individuals who commit suicide or have been ill for a long time tend to choose death on New Year's Eve. Most people consider this a coincidence, but it is not. To delve deeper, it relates to fate and lifespan; to put it simply, it aligns with the saying, 'The King of Hell wants you to die at midnight, and does not allow anyone to linger until dawn.' Moreover, he boldly hypothesized that if he had not accidentally frightened the thief into falling, the thief might have come to their home to rob and could have killed the entire family. From a perspective of fate, everything has its reasons; perhaps this is the choice of the male protagonist in the unseen realm. In other words, it is also possible that the psychological impact of having caused someone's death greatly affected him, leading to long-term depression and a sense of world-weariness. However, choosing to die on New Year's Eve might truly be a mistake; firecrackers are meant to ward off evil, and every household adorns itself in red. Without a little ghost to guide him, the male protagonist might indeed struggle to find the door to reincarnation.

Seeing this, Qin Yiheng slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "This is bad. We miscalculated. Damn it, every night when he knocks on the door, it's not that he wants to come in; it's that he wants someone to open the door and let him out. There is most likely a hidden compartment inside this door, and this house definitely has issues"

The Qin Yiheng conjecture suggests that this room was tampered with by a skilled individual during its decoration, which is why the male owner has been trapped in the room since his death, unable to reincarnate, and he continuously relives the process of his death at the same time each day. Qin Yiheng stated that such phenomena are unlikely to cause harm; rather, he feels a sense of grievance every day. If someone moves in, over time, the owner will become ill. As for why the male owner committed suicide by hanging, we cannot ascertain.

In that moment of thought, I truly felt a chill run through my body. I couldn't tell if it was just a psychological effect, but with Qin Yiheng by my side, I felt quite alert and immediately scattered a few yellow beans. Originally, I only intended to scatter one, but I was so tense that I couldn't control the force.

Subsequently, we proceeded to knock down the wallpaper and the ceiling, but we did not discover anything new. In the end, Qin Yiheng left the doors and windows wide open for a few days, saying, "That male occupant should leave on his own." Although Qin Yiheng said there was nothing to worry about, I remained preoccupied with the male occupant, who had taken his own life for no apparent reason; this truly is a mystery

Both Qin Yiheng and I stood still for a moment before we dared to move

This is not the most important aspect for us, as we are focused on the value of the house. Qin Yiheng said, "Given the current situation, it is certainly impossible to solve the problem unless we buy the house, remove all the wallpaper and decorations, and perhaps we can find the answer. In fact, I am really interested in purchasing this residence, but it does seem to carry certain risks at the moment. Because even if we buy the house, it is very likely that the issue will not be resolved. In fact, I am really interested in purchasing this residence, but it does seem to carry certain risks at the moment. Because even if we buy the house, it is very likely that the issue will not be resolved. However, I also support Qin Yiheng's suggestion to buy it, after all, I am also curious." Thus, the two of us discussed and felt that we could negotiate the price with the lady of the house, and if the price is right, we would go ahead and purchase it.