Forbidden Land – CH 116

Ever since his phone call with Lin Yi’ang, Zhang Chao had felt uneasy.

Could Chen Rong really have killed so many people? The thought sent a chill down Zhang Chao’s spine.

If Lin Yi’ang was lying, how would he know about what happened to Chen Rong in the mountains when she was a child?

If Lin Yi’ang was telling the truth, then why was Chen Rong with him again?

She seemed perfectly normal, not like someone who had killed before. If she truly had an extreme personality disorder, unable to control her murderous urges, then how could he explain Bai Qiu, Li Weihao…?

In the following days, although Zhang Chao pretended to be as usual, his attitude towards Chen Rong seemed to subtly become more distant. Chen Rong, immersed in the grief of her grandfather’s unexpected death, didn’t notice.

Zhang Chao, an outsider and far from being committed to Chen Rong, always felt awkward being by her side.

After spending a few days together, before the seventh-day memorial service was even finished, Zhang Chao and Chen Rong said goodbye to her uncle because they had to return to school. Chen Rong had given her uncle 20,000 yuan, which was more than enough for a funeral in the countryside; the rest was just a matter of troubling him to handle the arrangements.

~

See less ads by logging in.

~

The two returned to school at 7 PM. Chen Rong went to her dormitory first, and Zhang Chao went back to Room 123 in Baisha. In just one week, the dormitory was covered in dust. Thinking about the black cat and the series of changes, he felt physically and mentally exhausted. But at this moment, what worried him most was whether Lin Yi’ang’s words were true or false.

He rushed to the next dorm room, called out Lin Yi’ang, and quickly pulled him into his own room, closing the door behind him. He anxiously asked, “What you said on the phone, was it true or false?”

Lin Yi’ang replied seriously, “I can’t be sure if it’s true or false.”

Zhang Chao angrily retorted, “Then how do you know so much?”

Lin Yi’ang quickly comforted him, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll show you something.” He ran back to his own room and, after a while, returned with a large envelope. He closed the door, handed the envelope to Zhang Chao, and said, “Take a look for yourself. I received a letter like this; it contains Chen Rong’s treatment report and some other information.”

“Who sent it?” Zhang Chao took the envelope, about to pull it out to read.

Lin Yi’ang said, “The name on the envelope is Li Jiaming. I think I’ve heard that name before, but I can’t remember right now.”

“Li Jiaming!” Zhang Chao was startled and took two steps back before regaining his balance. Looking at the envelope again, he saw the sender’s name was “Li Jiaming.”

Lin Yi’ang slapped his forehead, excitedly saying, “That’s right! I remember now! Li Jiaming is the name you told me about. The urn with the ashes had Li Jiaming written on it!”

Zhang Chao took a few deep breaths, remaining silent. He carefully examined the envelope; aside from the recipient being Lin Yi’ang and the sender being Li Jiaming, there was nothing else unusual. He then carefully took out the contents: a stack of documents. Attached to the documents was a piece of paper that read:

• Chen Rong is an extremely dangerous person. She suffers from extreme symptoms of dissociative identity disorder. Whenever she sees someone standing in a dangerous place, she can’t help but push them, hoping to see them fall. This has happened at least four times in her life. This condition isn’t uncommon, but many people, despite having sadistic urges, could usually control their curiosity and murderous intent in real-life situations. Chen Rong clearly struggles to control herself; her sadistic urges are too intense, resulting in multiple deaths.
• She is very aware of her condition, but in crucial moments, she always loses control. Her choice of psychology as her major in university is largely related to her illness. She has never had a boyfriend, partly out of fear that her illness would harm him. After becoming a doctor, she knows that if a psychologist’s serious mental illness becomes public knowledge, their career will be completely ruined. Therefore, she never reveals her illness to anyone, and her demeanor remains completely normal.
• In fact, every psychologist experiences mental illness. The more mental patients they encounter, the greater the pressure becomes, requiring alternative outlets. After becoming a doctor, Chen Rong faced increasing pressure, but her reason consistently restrained her; perhaps one day, she would break down.
• Last year, she went to a foreign-owned psychological hospital in Beijing, using the pseudonym Chen Fangfang, for treatment. The following is a record of her treatment under hypnosis.
• Don’t ask me how I got this record or what my relationship with Chen Rong is. You’ll never be able to contact me anyway. If you have any doubts about the contents of this letter, you can test Chen Rong.
• This is all for your own good. You absolutely mustn’t go to dangerous places alone with Chen Rong, especially high mountains, lakes, or reservoirs.

The letter was signed “Li Jiaming.”

The following materials were the doctor’s questions and Chen Rong’s dictation during her hypnotherapy treatment at the mental hospital. They were basically the same as what Lin Yi’ang had said on the phone, only much more detailed.

After reading it all, Zhang Chao was stunned for a moment, feeling as if he had been electrocuted, unable to move.

Lin Yi’ang said, “I don’t know if this is true or not, but judging from the letter and the paper used for the materials, it’s properly bound and printed paper. I think if someone is deliberately slandering or playing a prank, then doing this is completely meaningless and a waste of so much energy. No one would be so bored as to make up such a ridiculous story. So I was worried that if it were true, it would be dangerous for you and Chen Rong to go to her hometown in the mountains, so I quickly called you to warn you to be careful. Now that you’re back safely, I’m relieved. By the way, do you think what’s in this letter is true or false?”

After thinking for a while, Zhang Chao said heavily, “I don’t know about other things, but when Chen Rong was little, she might really have pushed a child in the village off a cliff, and he died!”

Lin Yi’ang was also stunned, then slowly said, “Could it be…could it all be true?”

Zhang Chao said, “Why did they give you this letter?”

Lin Yi’ang said, “I don’t understand either. At first, I just felt that Li Jiaming sounded familiar, but I couldn’t remember who he was. It was only when you came back that I suddenly remembered it was the name on the urn. Wait! I heard you say that this person was already dead, so how could it be him who sent it!”

Zhang Chao shook his head, sighed, and said, “I don’t know either. If this is true, then what Chen Rong said might not be reliable… No, Chen Rong wouldn’t lie to me; she absolutely wouldn’t lie to me!”

He felt increasingly sad and depressed. After all, his relationship with Chen Rong had progressed beyond that of ordinary friends. If he suddenly learned that his girlfriend was a severely mentally ill person who had killed several people, no one could accept it.

Both were silent for a long time. Lin Yi’ang patted Zhang Chao’s shoulder to comfort him, then thought for a moment and said, “I don’t think the contents of this letter are necessarily true. Think about it, if Chen Rong really killed several people, would the police have ignored her? She went through university, became a PhD student, and even became a psychologist? If she really had such a serious mental illness, wouldn’t anyone have noticed when she was a doctor? That’s impossible.”

Zhang Chao sighed and said, “That’s not the point. If someone pushes someone from behind when no one sees them, and they fall to their death, no one has any evidence; they can only say it was an accidental fall. If Chen Rong really did it, she and the victim were complete strangers with no connection whatsoever. Neither the police nor anyone else would suspect her. She always acted like a normal person; no one would suspect that behind that normalcy lay secrets.”

~

See less ads by logging in.

~

Lin Yi’ang said, “Then how did someone get hold of these treatment records? By the way, if all this is true, why didn’t the hospital report it to the police when they discovered these things during hypnosis?”

Zhang Chao said, “What’s said under hypnosis can’t be used as evidence. There’s something strange: treatment records at mental hospitals are patients’ secrets, absolutely confidential. It’s impossible to obtain them without extraordinary abilities. If it’s true, then who sent these documents?! Ugh… my mind is a mess, I need to calm down. I… I don’t believe this is true. I can’t believe it!”

Lin Yi’ang looked at him worriedly and said, “Zhang Chao, are you… Are you alright?”

Zhang Chao nodded, sighed, and said, “I’ll investigate this myself and handle it properly. Don’t worry.”

Lin Yi’ang frowned and nodded, saying, “Actually, after I called you, I thought about it carefully. I might have been too hasty. I called you before even confirming the truth of the matter. If this letter is fake, Old Zhang, then I… I’m really sorry; I’ve gotten you guys into this…”

Zhang Chao patted him and said, “No need to say more. Whether it’s true or not, this is definitely not simple. If I were you, I would have done the same. You’re doing this for my own good, Brother; don’t overthink it, I’ll handle it myself.”

Lin Yi’ang asked with concern, “How are you going to handle it?”

Zhang Chao said, “No matter what, Chen Rong is my girlfriend now; I can’t completely distrust her. I’ll find an opportunity to subtly probe. If it’s fake, then everyone’s happy; if it’s true, I… sigh, it can’t be true!” He shook his head decisively, not because he didn’t believe it, but because he couldn’t believe it.

Anyone in his situation would be incredulous.

Lin Yi’ang sighed, patted his shoulder, and said, “Brother, don’t overthink it. I think that Li Jiaming thing is very suspicious. Don’t test Chen Rong too obviously. What if it’s fake and you fall out? That would be falling right into Li Jiaming’s trap. If you need any help, just tell me!”

Zhang Chao nodded gratefully.

This day was May 5th, 2008.