In the deep mountains
This incident from the 1990s is probably unheard of by many. It all began with four men going into the mountains for an inspection. They were alumni and colleagues, with good relationships, often gathering in the evenings to play cards. However, none of them anticipated the terrifying outcome of this trip.
They got lost in the deep, ancient forest, and as they walked, they stumbled upon a golden necklace on the ground, adorned with a heart-shaped ruby. The eldest among them, Ah Hua, urged the others to keep quiet about it, suggesting they sell it and split the proceeds evenly. Two of the others agreed, but Xiao Tao argued that the origin of the necklace was unclear. It could have been deliberately left there by someone, perhaps to ward off intruders, or it might be a relic of someone who fell off a cliff. He recalled hearing about mountaineers going missing in the area before.
The other three laughed at Xiao Tao's timidity and superstition, dismissing his concerns. As darkness fell, they eventually found their way out of the wilderness and onto a proper path down the mountain. Just then, Xiao Tao glanced back and couldn't believe his eyes. He called out to the others, telling them he had seen a woman dressed in white. Her hair was long, jet black, almost reaching her hips, and she was standing at a distance.Far away, unable to see the face clearly. However, the others said they didn't see anyone. Xiao Tao continued to point to where the woman was, saying, "She was right there!" But when they looked again, the woman had vanished. The three mocked him for seeing things and didn't take it seriously.
Afterward, they continued to play cards together, but strangely, they could never gather a full four players. Someone always had an excuse to leave, with Xiao Tao being the most frequent absentee. Until one day, Ah Hua told the other three that they must meet that night. He revealed that the golden necklace had been sold for a good price, and they needed to split the proceeds. He also warned Xiao Tao that if he didn't show up, they would consider their friendship over.
That night, they still didn't see Xiao Tao. They called his home, but no one answered. Since Xiao Tao lived alone and wasn't married, they speculated that he might be ignoring their calls. They decided not to bother anymore, declaring they wouldn't consider him a friend from then on. The absence of one player persisted until around 1 a.m., as reported by Ah Hua's wife, who was in the next room putting their child to bed.
After 1 a.m., she heard no more sounds, but she also didn't hear the door being opened or closed. Later, when she woke up in the morning, she discovered something eerie in the next room. There was nobody in the bed, cards were scattered on the table, and tea cups and ashtrays remained untouched. However, what was truly bizarre was the sight of the three chairs, each with the clothes and trousers worn by one of the men the night before placed neatly on them, and shoes on the floor in front of each chair, with socks stuffed inside. The only pager belonged to Ah Hua, which he usually kept with him, but it was now lying on the table.
Just then, the phone rang. It was the wife of another man (at that time, only he and Ah Hua were married), saying she didn't want to call initially because her husband had said he'd be back later, and they had stayed up overnight before. However, she had a terrible nightmare and was terrified, so she called to ask her husband to come back soon. Both wives were very worried about their husbands and couldn't understand why, on such a cold night, they had gone out without proper clothing.
Unable to endure the worry any longer, they went to knock on the door of the third man's house, but there was no response. They then went to Xiao Tao's house, but again, nobody was there. In the evening, they reported to the police. After answering a barrage of questions, the police began organizing a search, gradually expanding the area. However, two days passed with no success. Just as the families and colleagues were starting to post missing person notices, the police received a report from villagers saying they had found three male bodies deep in the mountains.
The bodies were confirmed to be those of Ah Hua and the other two men, located below a cliff. It was suspected they had frozen to death, as all three were wearing only underwear. What could have prompted them to venture into the mountains they were surveying at night? And why did they remove their clothes and shoes before leaving? No one knew. Ah Hua's wife insisted they hadn't left the house because the sound of the front door closing was loud, and she always heard it, except this time.
The police soon found Xiao Tao. He was hiding at his parents' house, looking completely dazed, refusing to speak no matter what. His parents said he had looked like that since he came home that night, and they thought something terrible had happened to him.
Xiao Tao was my father. He died in an accident when I was eight years old. Among his belongings was a diary, with a crumpled piece of paper tucked inside, seemingly crumpled up to discard but then placed back. On the paper was my father's handwriting.
Somewhat faded, but still barely legible. The content goes like this:
"I really saw it! That night, I went to Ah Hua's house. They were playing cards and didn't notice me. The chair on the left has always been mine, and there's a full-length mirror in the corner behind it. The chair was empty, making it three players short of a full game, with just me missing. However, in the mirror, there were clearly four people. Why was there a woman with hair trailing to the ground sitting in my chair? Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah Hua and the others are all dead! When will it be my turn..."