Under the orders of the officer, Sun Mingyang took several brothers early in the morning to seal off the basement, and I couldn't let go of this matter, so I went along.\ Sun Mingyang looked at me amusingly and said, "Why not rest a bit more?"\ "I'm feeling fine," I said with a bitter smile.\ Sun Mingyang understood and smiled, then had the brothers weld shut the door leading to the basement.\ While the brothers were busy at work, watching their skillful movements, I felt uneasy. I still had the same thought — if they sealed the basement, Xiao Hei would never come out again.\ Thinking of this, my tears welled up, and my nose felt sore.\ At that moment, I suddenly heard Xiao Hei's voice again: "Don't close the door! I'm inside."\ "Xiao Hei, it's Xiao Hei," I said to Sun Mingyang. "I heard it again; he says he's inside."\ "Wait a moment." Sun Mingyang hurriedly told the brothers to stop working, then asked me, "Are you sure you heard it right?"\ "Absolutely," I said.\ "No way, we checked last night; there was no one in the basement," Sun Mingyang said to calm me down, then turned to the brothers sealing the door: "Did you hear any sound just now?"\ "No, we didn't hear anything," they replied blankly.\ "I didn't hear anything either; you must be too nervous, relax a bit," Sun Mingyang said. "When we were about to seal the door just now, you saw it—we confirmed there was no one inside, we even called a few times, and no one answered. Besides, with the welding noise so loud, how could you possibly hear Xiao Hei's voice?"\ Hearing him say this, I also thought perhaps I was being overly paranoid.\ "It's fine. After you weld the door shut, use cement to seal it," Sun Mingyang busied himself directing the site.\ The brothers moved very quickly, not daring to slack off at all. Perhaps due to the recent ghost stories, everyone appeared nervous and wanted to finish quickly to stay away from the basement.\ Sun Mingyang and I squatted on the ground watching them work.\ Sun Mingyang handed me a cigarette, and I took it and had a couple of puffs. By the time one cigarette was finished, they had already welded the steel plate shut.\ After everyone took a short break and drank some water, they continued working.At this moment, they switched to using cement to cover the steel plate, intending to hide it behind the wall. Halfway through, the two brothers—who had originally been painting the wall—suddenly froze, staring blankly at the steel plate. Sun Mingyang noticed their strange behavior and immediately shouted to them, "What's going on? Quickly smear the steel plate, and then everyone can finish and rest."
"Squad leader, that..." One of them turned to look at us, pointing at the steel plate in a daze, unable to speak the next words. Seeing his reaction, I instinctively felt that something was seriously wrong and immediately stood up and walked toward him. Sun Mingyang followed me, and once in front of the soldier, asked again, "What's the matter?"
At that moment, the other soldier interrupted, saying, "There's a sound inside."
"A sound?" Sun Mingyang looked at the steel plate in confusion. "Could it be that you heard wrong?"
"No, there's really a sound," said the taller soldier.
"What kind of sound?" Sun Mingyang asked impatiently.
"Knocking, knock on the door," the taller soldier said hesitantly.
Upon hearing this, Sun Mingyang reflexively turned to look at me.
I could only think of Xiao Hei—it must be Xiao Hei knocking! Just as I thought this, I clearly heard two knocks—knock, knock.
The two soldiers were so scared their faces turned pale because before sealing the door, they had ensured that no one was inside the basement.
Sun Mingyang was stunned as well, and the half-smoking cigarette between his fingers suddenly fell to the ground.
Just as everyone was at a loss, Sun Mingyang suddenly shouted angrily, "Damn it, seal the door! This is an order from the officer."
Upon hearing this, the two soldiers looked at each other and could only continue applying cement to seal the door.
"Hey," I called out to Sun Mingyang, just about to say that it might be Xiao Hei knocking, but Sun Mingyang gave me a sharp glare.
"Shut up," his eyes bloodshot, he clenched his teeth tightly, and his hands were balled into fists.
I dared not speak further and quietly watched him.
The knocking didn't happen again, and after the door was completely sealed, we did not hear any strange sounds.
Everyone silently packed up their tools and then went their separate ways.Sun Mingyang and I walked together toward the officer's office to report that the closed task had been completed. On the way, we didn't say a word, but I felt increasingly uneasy, constantly thinking about the knocking sound just now. What if... what if that really was Xiao Hei knocking on the door...
"Sun Mingyang." I called out to him.
"What?" His tone immediately revealed that he was in a bad mood.
"Why didn't you let them open the door and see?" I asked Sun Mingyang.
Sun Mingyang stopped walking. He bowed his head and remained silent for a moment before saying, "If the one knocking was human, he would surely knock again and make a sound. Since he didn't... he isn't human!"
Suddenly, I understood everything, and I understood Sun Mingyang's decision.
After being discharged from the military, Sun Mingyang and I had stayed in contact. It was not until much later that I learned from him that he also had the ability to see spirits.
In fact, Sun Mingyang had seen Xiao Hei. He knew that Xiao Hei was no longer human, but Xiao Hei himself didn't realize he was a ghost, so he kept clinging to me, hoping I could save him as soon as possible.
At that time, because the place was filled with strong yin energy, Sun Mingyang had not dared to reveal that he could also see spirits. He was afraid that if he did, the vengeful spirits there would latch onto him and never let go.
Sun Mingyang said that those vengeful spirits were actually looking for a way to return to the human world, and the usual methods to do so were either possession through substitution or finding a person to inhabit.
He said that back then he was very worried about me; he feared that I might be taken by Xiao Hei...
After hearing Sun Mingyang recount what happened at that time, a chill ran through my feet. I realized that I hadn't just walked near the gates of the underworld once, but twice.
Afterwards, we never heard any news about Xiao Hei again. It was as if he had truly disappeared from the human world, and even his body was never found.
As for that abandoned military camp, I suppose it will never be used again.
