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After taking this order,Michael and I immediately bought train tickets to New York.The next day,we came to New York from our hometown.
As soon as we got out of the New York train station,the two of us dragged two huge suitcases and went straight to the alley where the haunted house was located.
Before coming,Michael and I did some simple research on this haunted house.
The alley where the haunted house is located has a total of twenty-one alleys counted from south to north and thirteen alleys counted from east to west.They crisscross each other like a chessboard,so it is named Chessboard Alley.
Twenty-two years ago,New York began large-scale urban renovation,and Chessboard Alley where the haunted house is located was also within the scope of urban renovation.
But the scope of all demolitions was too large,so the Planning Bureau planned to demolish half of the alleys and keep the other half as a city business card.
However,the Planning Bureau was in a dilemma when dividing the demolition scope.If there were twenty alleys,it would be easier to deal with,but there were exactly twenty-one alleys.To which side should the extra one be assigned?
The eleventh alley where the haunted house is located is right on this embarrassing dividing line.
At first,after discussion by the Urban Planning Bureau,this alley was included in the reserved scope.
Two years later,when the building under demolition and reconstruction was half built,the Planning Bureau suddenly decided to demolish this eleventh alley and turn it into a city park.
Demolition means getting rich overnight for New Yorkers.The residents in the alley were as happy as during the Spring Festival when they learned of this decision.
But unexpectedly,not long after,a mass murder occurred in the alley.The police pasted seals and set up a cordon here,and the demolition plan was forced to be suspended.
After this alley was left idle for half a year,the Urban Planning Bureau decided to cancel the demolition plan.
Overnight,the dream of becoming a millionaire shattered.So the residents in the eleventh alley,besides being afraid of this haunted house,also had a layer of resentment.
They thought it was this house that caused them not to live in a high-rise building,and it was this family that caused them to continue living a poor life.
But this family has been dead for twenty years,and no matter how much resentment there is,they can't feel it.And the most awkward one is the younger brother of the owner of this house,David,who is the heir of the haunted house.
David lives in the Eighth Chessboard Alley in the north,two alleys away from his sister's house.
It's boring to scold the dead.Gradually,the residents in the eleventh alley transferred all their resentment to him,as if he was the one who killed the people,and he was the one who gave the order to suspend the demolition.
The younger brother was originally an honest person.Over the years,he has been silently bearing the accusations and abuse from the neighbors towards his family,such as"the ancestors lacked virtue","they deserve to die a bad death",and so on.He has silently endured all kinds of insults.
No matter how much everyone scolded him,he got through it.But some time ago,his little grandson fell and bled continuously.
The doctor diagnosed that his little grandson had hemophilia,and the initial treatment cost was five hundred thousand dollars.When the neighbors knew about it,they gloated and cursed that his family deserved it.
It doesn't matter if he is the one being scolded alone,but he can't let the next generation continue to be scolded.
Most importantly,his little grandson is sick now and needs a large sum of money for treatment,so he has the idea of selling the haunted house.
But if something happens to the person who buys the house,then he really won't be able to explain it away.So before selling the haunted house,he wants to make sure that there are no"evil things"in the house.
Michael and I stood at the entrance of the alley.Opposite the road was the New York Financial Building.
The huge glass curtain wall reflected the afterglow of the setting sun,and well-dressed company white-collar workers came out in a stream.And behind us was the dilapidated and crowded alley.
The alley that was originally reserved as a city business card was gradually abandoned by the new urban development process and no longer fulfilled its original mission.
Michael and I waited for about ten minutes,and then a black bicycle stopped in front of us.There was a leather handbag hanging on the black bicycle.The four corners and the handle of the bag had peeled off a layer of leather.
The person riding the bicycle was wearing a pair of metal-rimmed glasses and a dark blue Zhongshan suit.
The buttons were fastened all the way to the neck,and the clothes were neatly and meticulously worn,as if he had traveled directly from the last century without experiencing the changes of the times.
We looked at each other,and the other party tentatively spoke first:"Are you the sleeper tester,Ms.Lily?"
I nodded,"Are you Mr.David?"
"Yes,I'm David."The other party smiled apologetically,"After class,there were always students coming to ask questions,which delayed me for a few minutes.I'm really sorry."
"Are you a teacher?"
I didn't know the employer's occupation before coming,but since the other party spoke in a gentle and refined manner,it was reasonable that his occupation was a teacher.
"Yes,I'm a Chinese teacher."David got off the bicycle,"I thought only you would come alone."
"Oh,this is my partner Michael.We take orders together.I'm sorry I didn't tell you in advance."
"Oh,it doesn't matter.I just thought only you would come,so I didn't dare to recognize you just now."Teacher David got off the bicycle,"Let's go to my sister's house first.It's getting dark.You can see what's missing and hurry up to buy some."
"Teacher David is off work!"
"Does Teacher David have guests at home?"
Teacher David led the way in front,and the neighbors warmly gathered around to greet us.
After passing by Teacher David's house,we turned four or five times in the narrow alley like a snake eating,and then came to the Eleventh North Chessboard Alley.
But this alley obviously didn't have that kind of harmonious living atmosphere just now.Everyone's face was tense.
The appearance of Teacher David made the atmosphere drop to the freezing point.
The residents sitting outside resting all stopped their actions and stared closely at the three of us.
I noticed from behind that Teacher David was gripping the handlebars tightly,seemingly trying hard to overcome the psychological fear to resist the malice of the neighbors.
The five-minute journey seemed to take a century.When we walked to an open area,we finally got out of the sight of the residents.
Teacher David wiped the sweat from his forehead,pointed to the house diagonally ahead and said,"That's my sister's house
.I won't go in.Since that incident happened,I haven't gone in again.Every time I pass by here,my heart beats faster and I feel dizzy.I'm really uncomfortable."
Teacher David closed his eyes and shook his head.It seemed that the headache symptoms had already started.
"Is there anyone else living in there?"Michael looked into the haunted house.
"Yes,there were originally two other families here.After my sister's family had the accident,they all moved away."Teacher David pushed up the glasses on his nose,"I heard from my friends that you have some special skills.
To be honest,I'm a teacher and shouldn't believe in these things.But if I don't believe,I can't explain why I have a headache as soon as I come back here.So I trouble you to put in more effort and help me solve this problem."
At the end,Teacher David still seemed not to believe it.After a little hesitation,he asked again:"Do you really have special abilities?Can you really get rid of the evil things?"
"Whether it's a person or a ghost,they all have appeals.Just like you,Teacher David,you now want to figure out whether there are evil things in that room and whether you can get rid of them.
The same is true for the deceased.They also have appeals.Once their appeals are solved,they will leave."I explained to Teacher David.
Teacher David nodded thoughtfully.
"However,Teacher David,before solving the problem,we still need to know some basic information about your sister."
"Oh,feel free to ask whatever you want to know."
"Can you briefly tell us about your sister's family situation,such as your sister and brother-in-law's occupations?"
"My sister has been in poor health since she was a child and couldn't do any heavy work.My brother-in-law drove a large truck outside.
He could come back for a few days every month,and the rest of the time he was basically outside.
My wife and I are both teachers,and we are rarely at home.So my children and my sister's two children were all taken care of by my sister alone.
Later,my brother-in-law had a car accident.Besides taking care of the three children,my sister also had to take care of my paralyzed brother-in-law.It was very hard for her."
Twenty years ago,materials were scarce and living conditions were not convenient.My parents often complained about the hardship of life when taking care of just me.It was imaginable how difficult it was for his sister to take care of four people alone.
"I heard that your sister's child was adopted?"I asked again.
"Yes,my sister couldn't get pregnant all the time,so she adopted a child and named her Lisa.But just after bringing the child back,my sister got pregnant.
Actually,this thing is quite coincidental.After all this,the child in my sister's family and the child in my family were born on the same day."
Teacher David sighed,"If I had known this,I would have said anything to send Lisa back at that time.If there hadn't been this child,my sister might have already moved into a big house and lived a good life."
"Can I ask you something boldly? What exactly happened on New Year's Day in 1999, that is, the day of the incident?"
Teacher David lowered his head and awakened the long and painful memory,"That day,my wife and I went to my in-laws'house.I only found out later that such a big thing had happened in my sister's family.
Lisa never liked studying.She dropped out of school in the second year of junior high and often stole money from home.
On the day of the incident,she should have killed people on impulse because she was found stealing money.But this is just my guess.Lisa is dead,and there is no way to prove it.No one knows what happened that day..."
"Old thing."
A young voice suddenly interrupted our conversation.
"It's my son."Teacher David's face turned slightly red,and he was obviously a little embarrassed.
Before Michael and I could react,Teacher David's son,wearing a flowery shirt,had already walked over,"Yo,old thing,aren't you afraid of death now?You dare to come here?"
"Why are you back?Who is in the hospital?"Teacher David pulled his son aside and said in a low voice.
"The old thing still has a lot of money.Why are you looking for a sleeper tester?Just find me."Teacher David's son glanced at me and whistled,"Yo,a man and a woman.Don't do anything bad in my aunt's house.I'll come for a surprise inspection at night."
"Sorry,sorry."Teacher David apologized to Michael and me while pulling his son to a more secluded place,"What are you back for?"
"To get money.The hospital asked for the payment.Give me the bank card."Teacher David's son lit a cigarette and looked at Michael and me with lecherous eyes again,"Don't do anything bad.I also have special abilities.I can know immediately what you two are doing."
Teacher David quickly took out a bank card from the handbag and stuffed it into his son's hand,"Hurry up and go."
"I'm really sorry.
"Let you see a joke.I've been teaching and educating people all my life,but I haven't taught my own son well."Teacher David apologized awkwardly again,"I'm ashamed,ashamed."
