by Lei Mi
Frowning, Liu Jianjun looked at him for a moment. Then he snorted, turned, and strolled over to the bathroom, his feet clapping against the floor.
Once his silhouette disappeared into the darkness of the bathroom, the door to Room 313 slid soundlessly open. Sticking his head out, Du Yu glanced toward the bathroom. Then he turned and whispered something, and a moment later Zhang Yao ran out of the room, her hair a total mess. She shot Fang Mu a vicious glare as she passed.
That's when Du Yu noticed Fang Mu was still standing awkwardly across the hall. He waved for him to come inside.
Once inside, Fang Mu sat on his bed and took a very deep breath, and then he looked up at Du Yu. "I'm sorry."
"You bastard!" muttered Du Yu, clutching his head. "I figured you weren't coming back tonight, so when I heard you knocking I thought it was campus security. Scared me so bad I almost went soft."
Fang Mu gave an exhausted laugh.
"You okay?" asked Du Yu. "You're not looking too good."
"I'm fine," said Fang Mu, shaking his head. "You should get to sleep. I know I interrupted you just now, and for that I really feel sorry."
Embarrassed, Du Yu just nodded in response. Then he climbed into bed, pulled up the covers, and before long was snoring away.
Fang Mu switched off the light and sat for a long time in the darkness. When his breathing was completely calm, he took off his clothes and slid under the covers.
You've returned.
The figures silently surround my bed. Someone standing behind me places a pair of hands on my shoulders.
"Actually, you and I are the same."
There's no need to look back. I already know it's Wu Han, his face distorted beyond all recognition.
No, you and I are not the same!
Four days after his arrest, Ma Kai finally started to talk. But even though he openly admitted to having killed the four women, he insisted that it was done out of necessity, since he was afflicted with the same serious case of anemia that killed his father and older brother. A doctor was then brought in to give Ma Kai a full physical examination. The results showed his blood levels were perfectly normal. Their evidence assembled, the city bureau decided to bring his case to trial as soon as possible.
When Tai Wei called Fang Mu to give him a summary of the recent developments in the case, Fang Mu asked if he could speak alone and in person with Ma Kai prior to the trial. At first Tai Wei was hesitant, but at last he relented.
The conversation was arranged to take place in one of the reception rooms at the lockup where Ma Kai was awaiting trial. Although Tai Wei suggested that he be in the room as well, Fang Mu insisted on being alone with Ma Kai. Unable to dissuade him, Tai Wei had no choice but to agree.
At last, the big day arrived. As Tai Wei led Fang Mu into the reception room, he repeatedly warned him to be extremely careful. "This guy's been placed in solitary confinement. You know why? Because on the night he arrived, he attacked another prisoner, bit his neck and wouldn't let go. Keep that in mind while you're in here."
The reception room was empty except for a table and two chairs, all of them fixed to the floor. There were no windows and only a single iron door. Tai Wei pointed to a red button on the wall beside the door.
"We're going to be right outside. When you're done talking, just press this button and we'll come get you." He paused. "And if anything bad happens, you be sure to press it then as well. Understand?"
Fang Mu nodded.
Tai Wei looked him over. "You didn't bring any kind of weapon, did you?"
Fang Mu hesitated for a moment. Then he reached into his backpack, grabbed his dagger and handed it to Tai Wei.
"What did you bring this thing for?" Taking the dagger, Tai Wei looked at it and frowned. "I'm going to have to confiscate it for now; afterwards I'll give it back." Raising his index finger, he feigned a threatening expression. "Ordinarily, it's illegal to own a blade like this. You follow me?"
Fang Mu laughed but said nothing.
Tai Wei placed the dagger in his pocket. "Have a seat. I'll go get the prisoner."
A few minutes, Fang Mu heard shackles dragging along the floor.
Hobbling, Ma Kai was led into the room by Tai Wei and two guards. He kept his eyes on the floor the whole time. Bruises were visible on his newly shaved head. The guards placed him in the seat opposite Fang Mu. They were about shackle him to the chair when Fang Mu stopped them.
"Take off his shackles," he said.
"Absolutely not," said Tai Wei, his tone firm.
Fang Mu took Tai Wei aside. "He has to be completely relaxed for me to get what I need," he said in a low voice.
According to the available data, despite having lost his mother as a child, Ma Kai was a normal young man until the age of 26. After graduating high school he went straight to college, where the only blemish on his record was a single failed exam. Following his college graduation, he became a business manager at a small company, and although he rarely socialized, he displayed no sign of mental illness. He was even in a serious relationship, which ended for the normal reasons. In other words, if Ma Kai's ordinary, unexceptional life was really proceeding on the proper course until he turned 26, then something must have happened to him afterwards, something that changed him completely and ended the lives of four innocent people.
What Fang Mu wanted to know was also the chief question of the entire case: what happened to Ma Kai's mind in the past two years?
"Not a chance," said Tai Wei. "This guy is extremely dangerous, and I'm responsible for your safety."
"Nothing's going to happen. But on the outside chance something does, I'll just press the button."
Tai Wei gave Fang Mu a long look. Then he signaled to the guards that they could remove the prisoner's shackles. A moment later Tai Wei walked over to Ma Kai and stood directly in front of him.
"Behave yourself!" he snapped fiercely. "You hear me?"
Once Tai Wei and the two guards exited through the iron door, Fang Mu returned to his seat at the table. He opened his notebook and switched on his tape recorder.
"Your name is Ma Kai, yes? Hi, I'm from the behavioral science department at the city bureau." Fang Mu had been about to say he was from the local TV station, but at the last second decided to switch identities.
Ma Kai made no response; just continued to hang his head.
"Are you able to hear me?" asked Fang Mu, raising his voice. At the same time, he made sure his tone remained calm. "Ma Kai, please lift your head."
Very slowly, Ma Kai looked up.
Fang Mu held his breath.
My God, what kind of eyes are these? Under the too-bright incandescent lights overhead, Ma Kai's eyes looked ashen, as if there were no pupils, as if they were just a pair of tombs set in his face. They held not a shred of life.
A graveyard, deathly still and cloaked in mist. Bare branches swaying in the wind. Crumbling structures, vaguely discernible in the distance. In a flash, Fang Mu felt himself transported into a waking dream, one from which he could not escape. Faint sounds filled his ears: the mournful squawk of crows, the peal of the funeral bells.
Fang Mu and Ma Kai faced each other for several seconds. When at last Ma Kai dropped his head once more, Fang Mu let out a deep breath.
"The reason I've come today," said Fang Mu, doing his best to keep his voice calm, "is because I'm very interested in you. If you don't mind, I would like to speak with you about yourself and the things you've done."
Still Ma Kai said nothing. His hands were clasped between his legs and Fang Mu noticed that he was swaying back and forth—slightly, though with a definite rhythm.
He was trying to divert Fang Mu's attention.
An instinctive defense mechanism.
"You've been to college," said Fang Mu, "so perhaps you're aware that my opinion will not affect the verdict of your case." He now spoke very slowly. "But I can sense that inside you there is terrible pain. If you do not want this pain to torment you until the end of your life, i
f you want those who have misunderstood you to know the truth, then please, trust me. Tell me what happened."
Ma Kai seemed unmoved. But then several seconds later he again raised his head. "Many people believe I'm a homicidal monster, don't they?"
Fang Mu nodded.
Ma Kai smiled wanly and shook his head. "None of you understand. I didn't want to kill anyone."
"What do you mean by that?"
Ma Kai didn't respond. He just stared at the blank wall behind Fang Mu. Again his body began to rock.
Fang Mu thought for a moment. Then he grabbed a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Ma Kai. "Would you like to smoke?"
Ma Kai looked up. He stared at the cigarettes on the table before him. Then he slowly shook his head, a look of scorn flashing through his eyes.
Seemingly indifferent, Fang Mu lit one for himself and took several deep drags. A cloud of smoke soon filled the air between him and Ma Kai. He sensed that Ma Kai's eyes were following the rising smoke. At last they came to rest on the cigarette in Fang Mu's mouth.
Suddenly he blurted out: "Smoking is bad for your health."
Fang Mu immediately seized on this topic: "Oh, well, in that case, how do you feel about your health right now?"
Ma Kai stared at Fang Mu for several seconds. Finally he shook his head. "It's not good."
"In what way is it not good?"
The muscles in Ma Kai's face twitched. Then he looked away and his voice grew soft. "I have severe anemia."
"But the doctor already examined you and said your blood is completely normal."
"What do they know?" said Ma Kai, his voice rising abruptly. At once his body straightened up and he whipped his hands out from between his legs. "I know my own illness the best! My father died from blood sickness, my older brother, too, and as for me, sooner or later all the blood in my body will dry up, and I'll die like a crumbling, old mummy. I know it's true."
"You don't trust the doctor's diagnosis?"
"You're all liars. You all want me to die. You'd never help me. I pay you money, you give me blood! But suddenly they say it's not okay. What kind of logic is that? Why is it not okay? My father was lying on the hospital bed, his face growing paler and paler. I knew his blood was slowly drying up. Then they gave him a transfusion and he could walk, he could eat, he could talk with me. Why won't they give me a transfusion? They want me to die. That's why. I know it."
"So what did you do?"
"I won't die, not like my father and my brother, lying on the hospital bed, withered to nothing. I won't do it," he said heatedly. "I will save myself!"
Fang Mu sat there in a daze, as if he had just received an electric shock. All of a sudden, the words in his ears seemed to grow farther and farther away….
One library card. Eleven trembling students. Chen Xi, her long hair fluttering. A devil's banquet: the twisted bodies of Fourth Brother and Wang Jian, burned black as charcoal.
And him.
A scorched odor filled the air. The person before him blurred. He looked close. A smiling mouth, wriggling slowly open:
Actually, you and I are the same.
Click. The tape recorder abruptly stopped.
With a start, Fang Mu snapped back to reality. Ma Kai's nervous chatter continued to sound in his ears:
"…she was such an ample woman. Her cheeks were so flushed. I followed her all the way back to her building corridor…When I forced my way inside she still thought I was going to rob her…" He chuckled to himself.
"Why always women?" asked Fang Mu as he changed the tape.
"Because their blood is clean and soft and easy to absorb. Male blood is too thick, too coarse."
"Really? How do you know?"
"It's just what I think."
"In that case, why this woman?"
Ma Kai was silent for a moment. He seemed not to have considered this question. After thinking about it for a while, he scratched his head and said, "No reason, really. I was walking along, I saw her, so I followed."
"You never considered whether there might be someone waiting for her at home?"
"If there was, I'd get out of there. It happened once; this woman's husband was already there. Good thing I'm a fast runner!" Ma Kai opened his mouth and laughed aloud.
"Sucking blood," said Fang Mu, staring into Ma Kai's eyes, "does it work?"
At once Ma Kai's expression became serious. "Of course it does. I'm still alive, aren't I? Without it I'd already be dead."
"Then why do you mix the blood with other liquids? Couldn't you drink a lot more of it by itself?"
"Look, I'm not some crazed killer; I just need it to survive. Also," Ma Kai shook his head, "the stuff tastes terrible."
"Well if you want to suck blood, why not just suck it? Why do you need to cut open their stomachs? Wouldn't it just be easier to slit their wrists?"
Ma Kai shook his head, a faint smile on his face. "You don't understand. I like the feeling, all of it rushing out at once. Like a flood. I would do anything to make my blood rush like that."
Ma Kai closed his eyes, his expression that of a man savoring a delicious memory.
What was he imagining? Fang Mu wondered. Was he swimming through a boundless lake of blood, one that was all his, that beckoned him to the endless horizon? Here he could stop to drink his fill whenever he wanted—never needing to wipe his mouth, or worry that it would ever dry up. How wonderful to live forever, even if he was cursed to become a vampire.
"Tell me about the little girl."
"Which one?" asked Ma Kai, sounding puzzled.
"The one you killed." Fang Mu suddenly wanted to vomit.
"Oh, her." Ma Kai leaned back as if it was nothing. "What do you want to know?"
"You already killed the woman, why didn't you suck her blood? Why'd you take the little girl instead?"
"Ah, yes, the little one." Ma Kai smacked his lips. "Oh, she was very pretty. Plump little arms, such delicate skin. She seemed ready to burst if you pinched her. And her neck was so thin. After only the slightest effort she was unconscious."
"Why did you need to kill her? At that point you already had blood ready to drink."
Ma Kai laughed quietly. "Little brother, if I offered you a potato or a cherry, which would you eat?"
Fang Mu's clenched his fists. Potatoes? Cherries? These were two living human beings!" He thought of Tong Hui's big lifeless eyes, still wide open when they found her. Struggling to keep his cool, he forced himself to speak as flatly as possible. "Why did you bring the little girl with you? You could have just killed her and drank her blood right there. Why take that big of a risk?"
"Are you crazy?" Ma Kai frowned at Fang Mu, the look in his eyes like he was sitting across the table from a madman. "How could I let a child see something like that? She was far too young."
Fang Mu's blood, which had only just now settled down, began to boil once more. He looked at Ma Kai in disbelief. The other man stared back at him, a scolding look on his face, as if he were lecturing an ignorant young man.
You need to calm down. He's beginning to trust you. Don't blow it.
"Do I take you to mean that…" Fang Mu forced his voice to remain relaxed, "You still very much respected…those women?"
"Of course." Ma Kai's voice was very serious. "As I said, I killed them purely out of necessity. There was no reason to make them suffer any further." Ma Kai then dropped his head and thought for a few moments. When he looked up, his voice was sincere. "Couldn't my behavior be considered a case of dire necessity? I remember one of my college professors taught us about a legal case in which the British Crown sued two men, Dudley and Stephenson. They were being charged with cannibalism. My situation was the same as theirs; we were each just trying to save ourselves. If you have a chance, do me a favor and talk to the judge. Tell him it was dire necessity."
"Yeah, sure," said Fang Mu, not wanting to continue on the topic. "Now back to the little girl. How did you feel when you drank her blood?"
"Excellent. Pu
re, clear-headed, full of energy. She was a child, after all." Ma Kai paused for a moment, remembering the sensation. The look on his face was one of great satisfaction. "That night I slept very well, and for many days after, my spirits were high. It's just different when they're young."
"That's why you decided to begin selecting young girls?"
"Correct," said Ma Kai, without a hint of shame. "Their blood is much more ideal."
Fang Mu stared into Ma Kai's eyes. He imagined Xu Jie convulsed with terror, trapped in Ma Kai's apartment. What had this man felt when he strapped her to his bed? Joy? Excitement? Or was it satisfaction?
Noticing the expression on Fang Mu's face, Ma Kai quickly added: "You think I was only considering myself? This way I could last a lot longer." Again he dropped his head. "And I could also hurt fewer people."
"You'll never hurt anyone again!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Fang Mu felt a burst of vengeful delight. There was nothing else he needed to ask. They could send this guy straight to hell. He began organizing his things, his arms shaking. It took a lot of effort to remove the tape from the recorder.
He put on his backpack and glanced over at Ma Kai, and then he walked to the door and pressed the red button.
There was no response.
The whole time Fang Mu was interviewing Ma Kai, Tai Wei was next door in the control room, observing everything on the security camera screen. Next to him stood a prison guard, holding an electric baton. Although he was also staring at the screen, his mind was actually tuning into the on-duty room across the hall where the voices of his coworkers could frequently be heard cheering wildly and swearing in disgust.
It was a World Cup warm-up match: France versus South Korea. The score was tied 2-2. Zidane had been hurt and was sitting out.
Suddenly Tai Wei's cell phone rang. He picked it up.
"Hello, Officer Tai?" said the voice on the end. "It's Little Chen from the Hongyuan substation."
Tai Wei was about to ask which Little Chen when he heard a sudden beep from the phone, indicating another call.
"Officer Tai? It's Xu Liansheng."