Upside Down Grocery Shop - Chapter 9

“Could it be that she was possessed or something?”

“At that moment, I was terrified. I clearly remembered that little black dog had been dead for a long time already. I even buried it with Tingting, and she cried for a long time over it. But how could it be here, and how did it turn out like this?”

“Although I didn’t know what it actually was, I knew it was that thing that had bewitched Haiqing, that turned her into this. So I decided to destroy it!”

“But just as I was about to destroy it, I realized Haiqing was standing in the doorway, holding a knife!”

As Zhang Haisheng spoke, he became noticeably agitated.

“Do you know how terrifying Haiqing looked at that moment? I knew, right then, that she wanted to kill me. But still, I wanted to save Haiqing. I knew she must’ve been enchanted by something.”

Xiao Ling felt a chill down her spine just imagining it—his own wife standing there, murderous, eyes filled with malice, intent on killing her husband. How could one not be afraid? How horrifying that must have been.

Now Xiao Ling understood why Zhang Haisheng had been so reluctant to speak. Perhaps if she were in his place, she wouldn’t want to talk about it either.

After all, it was such a terrifying experience.

Zhang Haisheng rolled up his sleeve, revealing a long scar on his arm, shocking to behold.

“This was from Haiqing. How laughable it is that I, a man, couldn’t handle a delicate woman. At that moment, Haiqing’s strength was astonishingly strong. She could actually lift me with just one hand, you know? If it weren’t for my daughter suddenly appearing and calling out to her mother, that knife would’ve gone somewhere far worse than my arm.”

Xiao Ling was horrified, frowning deeply as she interrupted for the first time, “Are you saying that Li Haiqing lifted you with just one hand?”

“Yes.”

Xiao Ling didn’t doubt that Zhang Haisheng was telling the truth; there was no reason to lie at this point. To make up a lie now wouldn’t make sense.

But lifting a person with one hand?

Zhang Haisheng wasn’t exactly small; he weighed over 160 pounds, while Li Haiqing was thin, weighing less than 100 pounds. To lift Zhang Haisheng with one hand, let alone throw him to the ground, would be no easy feat.

Even in the police force, someone well-trained would struggle to lift a 160-pound person with one hand, let alone when that person is resisting.

Based on what Zhang Haisheng said, after she grabbed him by the neck and lifted him, he fought back with all his strength, but Li Haiqing was completely unfazed and still had the strength to kill him. That was truly terrifying.

Things were growing increasingly strange and complicated.

Xiao Ling shook herself from her thoughts; this wasn’t the time to think about that. “And then?”

“After that, Haiqing seemed like she’d lost her soul. She just sat there, not saying a word or moving at all. I had to take care of her, even feeding her and giving her water. That period terrified Tingting and me, but seeing her calm again reassured us. We thought maybe she’d recover after some time.”

“But then, just a few days ago, Haiqing disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Xiao Ling asked in confusion. “Are you sure it was a disappearance? Why didn’t you report it?”

“Because just when Tingting and I were about to report it after searching all over, Haiqing came back. But she wasn’t alone; she came back with a whole group of people.”

“A group of people?!”

Xiao Ling stood up. “You mean Haiqing brought back a group of people? What kind of people?”

When Zhang Haisheng spoke of these people, his face was full of fear, his eyes filled with boundless terror. “I didn’t see who they were, but I clearly saw Haiqing when she returned—her whole body covered in blood, already dead!”

Xiao Ling was shocked. “They killed Li Haiqing and brought her back!”

Zhang Haisheng seemed even more terrified. “They did kill Haiqing, but they didn’t bring her back. It was Haiqing who walked back on her own.”

Xiao Ling’s eyes widened in disbelief at what Zhang Haisheng was saying. A dead person walking back on their own—how could that be possible?!

Was this some kind of zombie apocalypse?

Zhang Haisheng laughed, his eyes filled with fear as though his mind was breaking. “Haiqing’s neck had been torn open by a massive claw, her eyes empty, face frozen in terror. Do you know how terrifying it was for me to see her like that? Do you?”

Faced with Zhang Haisheng’s shouts, Xiao Ling realized she had been wrong. She’d been pressuring Zhang Haisheng to recall a memory so horrifying it felt like it was ripping his soul apart, essentially stabbing him in the heart all over again.

After that, there was a long silence. Xiao Ling didn’t speak, and Zhang Haisheng was still sobbing, though there were no more tears.

The passing of time seemed to have a sound now, like the steady dripping of blood, filling the silence with an uneasy and unforgettable tension.

After a while, Zhang Haisheng finally calmed down somewhat. “Can I have a glass of water?”

Xiao Ling poured a glass of water, placed it on the table, and looked at him. “Zhang Haisheng, do you trust me?”

Zhang Haisheng looked at Xiao Ling without speaking.

“No matter who they are, no matter what strange things you’ve encountered, I promise to get justice for you!” Xiao Ling vowed confidently.

Zhang Haisheng’s lips twitched. It was hard to tell if he was smiling or crying, but he said nothing, only drinking the water.

“More,” he said.

And so, Zhang Haisheng drank over ten glasses of water, stopping only after he threw up.

Watching Zhang Haisheng, Xiao Ling felt a mixture of sadness and helplessness.

Pouring water on his own head, Zhang Haisheng took a deep breath before continuing. “They brought Haiqing back and took away that little black dog. That’s when I realized that the little black dog, long dead, was still alive and that I’d been wrong all along. It wasn’t a dog at all—it was a bear!”

A bear!

Xiao Ling’s heart skipped a beat.

“I saw it with my own eyes—a little dog turning into a giant black bear!”

Zhang Haisheng fell silent again, and the pause grew longer. “What they told me afterward is something I’ll never forget—or rather, it wasn’t even meant for me. They said it to Tingting.”

To Zhang Tingting?

“What did they say?” Xiao Ling’s nerves were on edge. What she thought was a typical murder case had turned into something beyond her imagination. Zhang Haisheng’s words had shattered everything she thought she knew.

Zhang Haisheng hesitated. Even after saying so much, he still hesitated about what he was about to say. “They gave Tingting a black umbrella and a jade pendant, saying if she wanted to see her mother again, she should go to the Upside Down Grocery Shop.”

A black umbrella! Upside Down Grocery Shop!

It all led back to Su Ran’s Upside Down Grocery Shop!

“What happened after that? Did they say anything else, or do anything else?” Xiao Ling asked urgently.

Zhang Haisheng shook his head. “That was it. They left and never came back.”

That was it?

“And Zhang Tingting?”

When he mentioned Tingting, Zhang Haisheng’s face filled with guilt. “The worst part is that I got her involved. She was so young, so young.”

Xiao Ling thought of something. “Did Tingting go to the Upside Down Grocery Shop?”

“Yes. After Haiqing died, Tingting never smiled again. She knelt beside Haiqing, crying nonstop, saying it was all her fault for bringing home that bear, that she’d caused her mother’s death. She just kept crying and crying, no matter how much I tried to comfort her.”

“One day, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep, and when I woke up, the black umbrella and jade pendant were gone,” Zhang Haisheng said. “I searched all night and couldn’t find her. When dawn broke, those people showed up again, told me Tingting was dead, handed me a black umbrella, and said if I wanted to see Haiqing and Tingting again, I’d have to go to the Upside Down Grocery Shop.”

So that’s how it was.

“Then what exactly happened between you and Su Ran at the Upside Down Grocery Shop?” Xiao Ling guessed this might be another key point.

But Zhang Haisheng just shook his head, unwilling to say anything further.

Just then, Xiao Ling’s phone buzzed with a message containing only a sentence: “Enough is enough!”

On instinct, Xiao Ling looked around. It was a closed room, and none of her colleagues could see or hear her, yet Su Ran seemed to be watching her every move like a ghost lurking by her side.

Xiao Ling stood up, her voice soft. “Mr. Zhang, I’ll remember everything you’ve told me today. Thank you.”

Zhang Haisheng didn’t respond.

Just as Xiao Ling was about to reach the door, Zhang Haisheng suddenly spoke. “Officer, that boss Su is a good person; otherwise, he wouldn’t have saved me.”

“I’ll remember that.” Xiao Ling nodded and left.

Everyone outside was waiting, curious to know what Zhang Haisheng had said for so long, but Xiao Ling hesitated and chose to say nothing.