Xiang Yunshang replied, "I don't have a microphone here. Hurry up and lock the door, and you'll be fine." All she could think of at that moment was locking the door.

"Okay!" Yun Lan gave me an "okay" and then went silent. No matter how Yun Ya called out to him or shook the window, he wouldn't make a sound.

Yun Ya said with a trembling voice, "Could something have happened to Yun Lan? Go save him!"

I said in a deep voice, "He's not necessarily in trouble. If a dead person really does enter the door, it'll be too late for me to get there now. Keep calling him."

Xiang Yunshang called out several times before Yun Lan finally responded, "If I don't reply to you tomorrow morning, then something has happened. Remember, don't enter my house. Just take a look from the outside.

"When you come to see me, climb up the old peach tree on the north slope, and pull apart the two branches tied with white cloth strips, and you'll be able to see into my courtyard."

"Don't climb anywhere except for the branch tied with the white cloth. If you look into the courtyard from other branches, you won't be looking at my house, and you might see something else."

I said in a low voice, "Ask him why he has to look from the tree."

Yun Lan replied, "That's how people check on their house when the house number changes. You can ask around the village, and you'll find out. If you see me walking around inside the house…"

Just as I was staring at the computer screen, waiting for the rest, the door suddenly clanged, followed by a few creaking sounds.

When I turned to look, the hotel room door was ajar, as if blown open by the wind, with a finger-sized crack.

Xiang Yunshang shuddered. "After I came in, I specifically checked the doors and windows, and locked them all before sitting down. How did the door open?"

"Don't be afraid!" As I walked slowly towards the door, I saw that the bolt had fallen to the ground.

The clang I heard just now was the sound of the bolt falling.

The old-fashioned hotel we were staying in didn't have electronic locks, just a ball lock. The owner had added a chopstick-thick bolt on the inside of the door for extra security.

The bolt had fallen right next to the door on the left side, which clearly meant that someone had fiddled with it, causing it to fall in that position.

I stepped forward and gently pushed open the door.

In the hallway outside, close to the door, a red spark had appeared. Someone had lit an incense stick in the hallway. The strong fragrance poured into the room through the crack in the door, and the spark on the incense stick flickered like an eye in the dark hallway.

Yun Ya said with a trembling voice, "Mr. Li, what do you see?"

"Nothing!" I closed the door and went back to the computer.

Xiang Yunshang kept looking at the computer. "Yun Lan hasn't replied yet."

Just as I was about to speak, Yun Ya whispered, "Li Po, the bathroom… the bathroom door is open. The room door is also open."

When I turned my head again, the room door was already half open.

Just now, when the door was only open a crack, I could hear it. This time, the door was open wide enough for someone to enter sideways, so how could I not hear it?

If someone held the doorknob and pushed the door open slowly, it definitely wouldn't make a sound.

Did someone come in just now? Are they hiding in the bathroom?

I turned to look towards the bathroom, and the room door made another sound.

The door trembled back and forth a few times before falling silent. It was as if someone had brushed against the door frame while running out of the room.

I asked Ye Yang, "Did someone come into the room just now?"

Ye Yang had been standing in the room the whole time. If someone had come in, there's no way he wouldn't know.

Ye Yang shook his head. "No one came in. The door is moving on its own!"

I was just about to speak when Ye Yang shook his head slightly at me. He must have discovered something, but he wasn't sure yet, so he was signaling me not to speak.

Was Ye Yang planning to feign weakness?

I stood next to the computer without saying a word. "Did Yun Lan reply?"

"Yes!" Xiang Yunshang said, "He said: If you see him walking around inside the house, then we should leave quickly. Don't go inside under any circumstances. If we go in, we'll die too."

"If you see that he's already dead inside the house, then we should go in and get him out. Take him to the Black and White Clinic (Hei Bai Yi Guan), where there's someone who can save him."

I said in a deep voice, "What is the Black and White Clinic?"

Soon after Xiang Yunshang sent the message, Yun Lan sent several angry emojis. "You don't know the Black and White Clinic? That's where your father was born. You don't even know the Black and White Clinic?"

No matter how much Xiang Yunshang sent messages, the other side didn't respond.

Xiang Yunshang looked at me helplessly. "Li Po, he's not replying."

I lit a cigarette and said, "Miss Yun, have you heard of the Black and White Clinic?"

Yun Ya shook her head. "I don't… I don't think so."

I asked again, "Is it yes or no?"

Yun Ya recalled for a long time before saying, "When that person who placed the shoes in reverse was looking for my father, he seemed to mention the Black and White Clinic. He also said that my father wouldn't be able to avoid going back, and if he didn't go back now, he would be forced to go back one day."