An hour later, Zhao Yan and the others walked out of Liu Antong's house.
Her notebook contained a few items, and she held a bowl of sesame glutinous rice balls in her hand.
"Liu Antong was twelve years old, born in 1980. If she hadn't drowned, she would have been forty in 2020."
"She liked blue clothes, enjoyed the sesame glutinous rice balls her mother made, and her nickname was Tongtong."
"Miss Zhao, why are you investigating someone who died forty years ago?" Officer Xiao Qin asked, holding Zhao Yan's notebook.
"I heard Old Qin mention this morning that a child drowned at the tin factory. I was curious and wanted to offer my condolences to the family," Zhao Yan said softly.
Officer Xiao Qin handed the notebook back to Zhao Yan. "Your intention is good, but our visit might make the family relive the pain, and that doesn't feel right."
"Liu Antong's death became her mother's greatest regret. The old woman, over sixty, cries whenever she hears Liu Antong's name. She still can't forget after all these years," Officer Xiao Qin sighed.
Wu Jiaxin said, "Of course. Children are a piece of their mother's flesh. Moreover, her mother always felt guilty towards Liu Antong, believing her own negligence led to the child's drowning. She lives in self-blame every day."
"Her family never mentioned Liu Antong's name, not because they forgot, but out of fear that Liu Antong's mother couldn't bear it."
Having lost loved ones herself, Wu Jiaxin understood this feeling best.
Zhao Yan murmured softly, looking out the car window, "Yes, to make amends for this, I will bring Liu Antong to see her mother."
Zhao Yan made an excuse and asked Officer Xiao Qin to stop the car at the general store.
Taking Wu Jiaxin along, they went to buy things Liu Antong liked.
Following Liu Antong's mother's instructions, they bought a few blue outfits, along with candles, joss paper, and paper toys for children.
Logically, Liu Antong would be forty now, but she died at the age of twelve. The deceased always remain as they were at the moment of death.
By the time they finished, it was past seven o'clock. Zhao Yan rented an electric scooter.
Taking Wu Jiaxin with her, they returned to the tin factory.
It was almost nine o'clock when they arrived at the tin factory.
The wind was so strong it made her nose run. After this matter was settled, she definitely had to buy a four-wheeled vehicle.
Compared to their visit during the day, the tin factory now resembled a ghost town.
There were no lights, and the surroundings were pitch black.
They could hear the chirping of insects and the rushing sound of water.
The sound of the wind blowing through the trees was like ghostly wails.
Zhao Yan was not afraid, but Wu Jiaxin clung tightly to Zhao Yan's arm.
Reaching the riverbank, Zhao Yan handed the flashlight to Wu Jiaxin. "Xinxin, shine the flashlight on me."
Wu Jiaxin zipped up her jacket and nodded at Zhao Yan. "Okay, Sister Zhao."
Zhao Yan took a deep breath and took out four talismans from her backpack.
She then broke off four twigs, about the size of a thumb, tied red thread around their roots, and planted them in the north, south, east, and west directions, sticking the talismans onto the twigs.
She picked up a stone, on which was a spirit tablet specially made for Liu Antong.
She placed the sesame glutinous rice balls she liked on the stone and the few clothes on the ground.
She held a bowl filled with rice, with a black and white photo of Liu Antong buried inside, her birth date and time written on the photo.
Zhao Yan walked along the riverbank, holding the bowl in her left hand and an iron spoon in her right, tapping it with each step and calling out.
"Liu Antong! Liu Antong!"
She walked from the bottom of the riverbank to the top, calling out countless times.
Just as she was about to turn back to try again,
Wu Jiaxin said, "Sister Zhao, there are huge bubbles coming up in the middle of the river."
The flashlight beam shone on the middle of the river. The river in the middle made gurgling sounds, as if the water was boiling.
"Quick, bring the sesame glutinous rice balls," Zhao Yan said.
Wu Jiaxin brought the sesame glutinous rice balls over and handed them to Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan squatted down and called out, "Liu Antong, I brought you your favorite sesame glutinous rice balls."
As she spoke, Zhao Yan threw a sesame seed into the river.
After throwing all the glutinous rice balls from the bowl, she didn't see Liu Antong appear. She thought perhaps Liu Antong had found a substitute and gone for reincarnation.
Just as she was thinking this, a faint voice came from under her feet.
"Sister, you're stepping on my head."
Zhao Yan yelped and quickly looked down. Her foot was indeed stepping on a dead person's head.
Her foot was too close to the riverbank, and she hadn't noticed.
She quickly pulled her foot back, and Zhao Yan stepped back, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Tongtong."
Liu Antong's face was frighteningly pale. She revealed half of her small head and looked at Zhao Yan happily.
She had been in this river for so long, and this was the first time someone could see her.
Her mother had come to see her before, but no matter how much she called out to her mother, her mother couldn't hear her.
"Tongtong, I'm your mother's good friend. I brought you many clothes you like." Zhao Yan handed over the blue clothes.
Liu Tongtong smiled happily, but after smiling, she lowered her head sadly. "But I can't wear them."
"It's okay, I'll burn them for you," Zhao Yan said softly.
She quickly burned the clothes for Liu Antong.
Although Wu Jiaxin couldn't see Liu Antong, she felt the temperature around them drop significantly.
Looking in the direction Zhao Yan was looking, she saw that the water weeds under Zhao Yan's feet seemed to have been moved aside, leaving a clear space in the middle of the weeds.
"Tongtong, I bought you many toys, and I'll burn them all for you," Zhao Yan said.
"Okay." Liu Antong ate the things Zhao Yan gave her, her eyes curved into happy slits. As she ate, she looked at the clothes on her body and happily kicked her legs under the water.
"I've given you the things, and you've eaten what I bought. Are we good friends now?" Zhao Yan asked.
"Mmm-hmm," Liu Antong replied indistinctly with her mouth full.
Zhao Yan did not squat down. Some ghosts were very cunning, especially water ghosts who wanted to drag people down to become substitutes.
Liu Antong seemed to sense Zhao Yan's thoughts and said, "Sister, you don't need to be afraid of me. If I wanted to drag someone down to be a water ghost, I would have gone for reincarnation long ago."
"It's very cold in this water. I don't want to harm anyone. I don't want others to suffer as I have."
"Besides, the last time someone drowned, I saved him."
"That old water ghost was a bad person. I won't become like him."
Zhao Yan's expression remained unchanged. She squatted down and said, "Sister believes you."
"Then can you tell Sister what the person you saved looked like?"
Liu Antong said, "He was a man. He said he was crying by the riverbank, constantly calling 'Wenwen, Wenwen,' and then he wanted to jump into the river to commit suicide."
Zhao Yan thought for a moment. This man was likely a relative of the first victim.
"Then Tongtong, did you see anyone drag someone into the small woods behind here?"
Liu Antong thought for a moment. "He didn't drag, he carried!"
"He was just here."