Chapter 5: Words on the Bamboo

Sun Xingye's parents had their daughter when they were over forty. Since Sun Xingmei was at the rebellious age, they doted on her but didn't really know how to connect with her. As a result, they had no idea what she loved most. The situation was indeed tricky, but fortunately, Sun Xingmei's room remained exactly as it was before she disappeared. Her grieving parents hadn't touched a thing, still clinging to the hope that their daughter might return one day. As I stepped into Sun Xingmei's room, a faint floral scent filled my nose—a scent unique to a young girl's space. The room was simple: a desk and a single bed. The walls were covered with posters of Jay Chou, and a stack of his CDs sat neatly at the head of the bed. It seemed Sun Xingmei was a big fan of Jay Chou. I randomly picked up one of the CDs, trying to sense anything about her whereabouts, but I got nothing. Feeling a little disappointed, I continued searching around the room but found nothing useful. Suddenly, a rose-red diary caught my eye. In this otherwise simple room, it stood out conspicuously. I picked it up and noticed it had a password lock. However, I knew the lock didn't matter now—this diary would likely just contain the innocent musings of a teenage girl. But the moment I touched it, a familiar sensation surged through my mind… "Huff… Huff…"

A man's heavy breathing echoed in my ears. Green fields flashed before my eyes, followed by a sudden, dizzying spin as if the entire world had turned upside down. The sky appeared above me, and towering trees swayed in the wind… It was a bamboo forest. I realized this must have been what Sun Xingmei saw before she died. The man panting beside her must have been her murderer. But I couldn't see his face clearly. The bamboo in the forest grew tall and dense, and on some of them, red paint had been used to write strange markings. What were they? I strained to make them out. Just then, a shadow loomed in front of me. This time, I saw the man's face! He was a middle-aged man, around forty, with a face full of flesh and lifeless, greedy eyes. He stared at me—or rather, at Sun Xingmei—with a disgusting hunger. His hands roamed over Sun Xingmei's body, the sound of fabric tearing echoing in my ears. This beast! Even now, I could still feel Sun Xingmei's overwhelming despair and helplessness… As his body moved back and forth, my vision blurred. I knew this was the moment Sun Xingmei lost consciousness. I seized the last few seconds, desperately trying to read the words on the bamboo. It was a single character: "下" (xià, meaning "down" or "below"). In an instant, I was yanked back to reality. My mind was filled with a giant question mark. Where is this bamboo forest with the word "下" written on the stalks? When I stepped out of the room holding Sun Xingmei's diary, I found her parents and brother anxiously waiting outside. I struggled to piece together where her body might be, but there weren't many clues. The only certainty was that her remains lay in a bamboo forest marked with the character "下". Among her family members, only Sun Xingye seemed to keep his composure. I didn't want to tell her elderly parents what I had just witnessed, so I shot Sun Xingye a look. He understood and led me out of the house to the edge of a rice field. "Jinbao, Master Li told me you have the ability to find Xingmei. Just tell me what you know—I can handle it," Sun Xingye said, his eyes filled with sorrow. I let out a deep sigh and said helplessly, "I can confirm that your sister is no longer alive. Her body is in a bamboo forest." Sun Xingye's eyes instantly turned red. But when I mentioned the bamboo forest, he looked confused. "A bamboo forest? But we have bamboo forests everywhere around here!" I glanced around. He was right—there were bamboo groves all over the place. But I noticed that the species of bamboo here was different from the one in my vision. I randomly pointed to a patch of bamboo and asked, "What type of bamboo is this?" Sun Xingye looked at the bamboo I pointed to. Though he didn't understand why I was asking, he answered immediately, "That's giant arrow bamboo. It's very common around here." I thought for a moment and said, "Show me some pictures of the different types of bamboo found here. I need to take a look." Sun Xingye quickly pulled out his phone and searched for images of local bamboo species, explaining them to me one by one. Suddenly, an image of "Ci bamboo" caught my eye! "Stop! Where can I find this Ci bamboo?" Sun Xingye looked troubled. "Ci bamboo is common here too. Many forests have it." "Do you know of any place where people write on the bamboo?" I asked. Sun Xingye thought for a while, then shook his head. "I'm not sure… Writing? What kind of writing?" "The character '下'. Your sister's body is in a bamboo forest covered with that character," I said in a low voice. Sun Xingye fell silent, clearly trying to recall if such a place existed. But after a long time, he still couldn't remember anything. I could see the confusion on his face. He had no idea where to find this bamboo forest. Rather than standing here and guessing, it was better to go search for it ourselves. So I said, "Let's go. Someone must know where there's a bamboo forest with '下' written on it." That afternoon, Sun Xingye and I visited every bamboo forest that grew Ci bamboo in the area. We asked many locals, and some of them did know about the markings on bamboo. Apparently, the markings were used by bamboo farmers to indicate which stalks were ready for harvesting and selling. But as for a bamboo forest covered in the character "下"—no one had ever heard of such a thing. We had spent an entire day searching, but we came back empty-handed. I felt disappointed. More than anything, I dreaded facing Sun Xingmei's parents again. I couldn't bear to tell them that she was gone, yet we still hadn't found her body. Sensing my frustration, Sun Xingye unexpectedly comforted me. "Jinbao, don't lose hope. I trust Master Li, so I trust you too. We didn't find it today, but there's always tomorrow! You've had a long day. Let's grab some food." With my head hanging low, I followed Sun Xingye into a small restaurant. He ordered a few local specialties and two bottles of beer. To be honest, I had no appetite at all. Every time I thought about what happened to Sun Xingmei, I felt sick to my stomach.