The three walked along the road, and Tong Xiaosong asked softly, “What do you think that black shadow was?”
Ke Lin: “What black shadow?”
Wu Mabo explained, “You didn’t see it when you went out. There was a black shadow that defeated those skeletons, allowing us to escape. I don’t know if it’s an ally.”
Ke Lin was surprised, “So powerful?”
Wen Dong gave Wu Mabo a strange look and asked, “Ally? What’s this? Do you have friends like that?”
Wu Mabo: “…I definitely don’t, but don’t we have one in our dorm? Did you forget about the copper basin?”
Wen Dong: “…It can’t be. If it could materialize, wouldn’t it have appeared in front of us long ago?”
Wu Mabo: “You’re right. What could that black shadow be?”
Ke Lin: “Maybe just a coincidence.”
Although Tong Xiaosong didn’t speak, he felt that it didn’t seem like a coincidence. However, upon careful consideration, he couldn’t find any connections or origins. It seemed that the black shadow really appeared out of thin air.
Wen Dong stopped and pointed to a hot pot restaurant sign nearby, “Let’s eat here, have something hot to dispel the chill.”
***
Wen Dong, after checking the information on the laptop for a long time, furrowed his brows deeper the more he searched.
Wu Mabo climbed up the bed ladder and approached Wen Dong curiously, “What did you find? Your expression is so serious.”
Wen Dong sighed and turned the laptop for Wu Mabo to see the pictures on it. “Look, the disappeared air-raid shelter. You can still find it online. I compared it, and it’s almost the same as the land of our school. Because it was privately built and not completed yet, when the bombs came, the villagers took shelter there, but a collapse occurred, leading to no survivors.”
Tong Xiaosong stopped writing and looked at Wen Dong and Wu Mabo.
“Oh damn…” Wu Mabo took a sharp breath. “Is it that terrifying?”
Ke Lin leaned in, “So eerie?”
Wen Dong continued, “And there’s more. Later, this place became a mass grave. Strictly speaking, our school was built on this mass grave.”
Before everyone could react, Wen Dong added, “And I found some pretty scary things. Tong Xiaosong’s three former roommates died, right? I saw online that this isn’t the first supernatural incident at this school.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Kbcu Wljbrbcu kjr regqglrfv, kjixlcu bnfg, “Rba atf olgra?”
Qe Zjyb jrxfv, “Yatfg qfbqif vlfv abb?”
Qfc Gbcu bqfgjafv atf ijqabq jcv ygbeuta eq rfnfgji vbmewfcar, rjslcu, “Obbx, ragjcuf lcmlvfcar jcv jmmlvfcar bmmjrlbcjiis bmmeggfv rlcmf atf obecvlcu bo atf rmtbbi. Yc atf regojmf, la kjr fzqijlcfv jr atf gfreia bo raevfcar’ jmjvfwlm ragfrr ifjvlcu ab j rqlxf lc relmlvf gjafr. Dea ibbx ja atfrf ogbw akb sfjgr jub. Ktlgaffc raevfcar, jii vlfv wsrafglberis klatlc j wbcat, jcv atfrf atlgaffc raevfcar kfgf jii gfijafv ab atf biv rmtbbi yelivlcu bg utbra ujwfr.”
Tong Xiaosong asked anxiously, “What about the cause of death?”
“Suicide, of course.” Wen Dong frowned, “And the forensic autopsies indeed confirmed suicide. Your three former roommates also committed suicide, right? Look at the forensic autopsy reports from two years ago. The students on them died in various bizarre ways. Have you ever seen a student who committed suicide by swallowing charcoal? It’s not burning charcoal but swallowing carbon, or carbon in combustion.”
“Is this for suicide?” Wu Mabo blurted out, “Isn’t this for self-torture?”
Wen Dong nodded at the computer screen, “There’s also someone who used sulfuric acid to brush their entire body, used a knife to peel their own skin, and scooped out their own eyeballs…”
Tong Xiaosong had a vivid image in his mind, scenes flashing through, and his stomach churned. He quickly covered his mouth.
“Okay, okay, okay…” Wu Mabo couldn’t bear to look, “Stop talking. Tong Xiaosong is about to vomit. If you keep going, I’ll vomit too. Is this really suicide?”
Wen Dong calmly closed the laptop, “Yes, all suicides. And what’s worth noting is that, among these incidents two years ago, there was the shadow of Gu Xuan. He was even temporarily listed as a criminal suspect.”
Tong Xiaosong’s heart skipped a beat, “What did he do?”
“Oh damn?” Wu Mabo looked devastated, “So, is our fate going to end up like that? Swallowing charcoal, sulfuric acid, not to mention skin peeling and gouging out eyeballs…”
Ke Lin was at a loss, “I don’t want to swallow charcoal or sulfuric acid, and certainly not peeling or gouging out eyeballs…”
Wen Dong’s expression turned serious, “The key lies in the final investigation results. There’s no evidence proving what Gu Xuan did, but the school still gave him a disciplinary warning because Gu Xuan played ghost games with those deceased students, considered promoting feudal superstition and causing serious consequences. However, there were no other punishments.”
Pausing for a moment, Wen Dong continued, “And I found out that, after those students died, shortly after the calm, Gu Xuan inexplicably became rich.”
Wu Mabo exclaimed, “Are you saying…”
Wen Dong said, “His money is ill-gotten, but we didn’t expect it to be this sinister. In any case, we must be extra careful with him, so as not to follow in the footsteps of those thirteen students.”
Tong Xiaosong murmured, “So, the deaths of those thirteen students two years ago and my first three roommates were because they played ghost games in the old school building? I also participated in the ghost games. Why am I okay…?”
Wen Dong replied, “It’s hard to say. As you mentioned, if it’s because of the ghost games, then why are you okay? There are still many things we don’t know and understand. The information we have now is only speculation based on temporarily gathered data, so we can’t be certain. The only thing we can confirm is that we must be vigilant against Gu Xuan, especially you, Tong Xiaosong.”
Tong Xiaosong, who was called out, was stunned, looking somewhat dazed as he raised his head to look at Wen Dong.
Wen Dong continued, “He has been targeting you. No matter how cautious you are, there’s always a chance of a slight slip. Therefore, you must try to stay away from him as much as possible and not be influenced by him, understand?”
Wu Mabo added, “If you have any trouble, come to us. We’ll help you!”
Tong Xiaosong nodded and said, “I will be careful.”
***
Wen Dong organized the gathered information and submitted it all to the principal’s office.
As expected, Wen Dong received a scolding from the principal and was expelled from the office.
However, in the afternoon, a Taoist priest appeared on the construction site of the old school building, performing rituals. This indicated that Wen Dong’s information had indeed had an impact in the principal’s office.
***
With the help of study notes, Tong Xiaosong made rapid progress in his studies.
He even managed to directly enter the top five in the exams.
The principal, impressed by this achievement, called Tong Xiaosong to his office to praise him. He also rewarded him with some stationery and mentioned that financial aid would soon be available to support his efforts. The principal encouraged him to continue working hard.
***
The school seemed to be calm and peaceful.
There didn’t appear to be any more strange incidents on the construction site.
Under the bright sun, the sound of students reading echoed through the teaching building.
During breaks, the lively laughter and playfulness of students could be heard in every corner of the school, bringing a vibrant energy to the surroundings.
***
In the dormitory of Tong Xiaosong, everything was extremely harmonious and peaceful, as if the bizarre incidents had finally distanced themselves from them.
Except for the highly noticeable copper basin.
Snacks and fruits piled in the basin were always placed by their pillows in the middle of the night or early morning.
Though somewhat eerie, they gradually got used to it, and a strange illusion arose that the copper basin was also a roommate.
At night, the four in the dormitory would always have some casual conversations.
They dared not discuss the matter of the copper basin, fearing that saying the wrong thing might invite the basin’s peculiar blame.
They avoided discussing the strange and supernatural events that had happened before, as just mentioning them brought a spine-chilling feeling.
As for studies, aside from Tong Xiaosong and Wen Dong, who could engage in conversation, the other two, although not academically weak, detested studying.
As they chatted, the topic shifted to the construction site of the old school building.
Perhaps due to the strange occurrences earlier, the pace of construction noticeably accelerated after the Taoist rituals were performed at the site.
They could already see tall buildings taking shape.
Wu Mabo sighed, “It’s being built so quickly, who knows how many standards it’s not meeting? Feels a bit dangerous.”
Ke Lin sighed, “Da Bo, you’re such a jinx, but indeed, it’s too fast. I understand the workers’ desire to leave as soon as possible.”
Wen Dong sighed, “Stop overthinking. As long as nothing goes wrong, it’s fine.”
Tong Xiaosong turned silently, “Should be… fine, right? Don’t they build buildings quickly in the city?”
Wu Mabo explained, “It’s only been a week. Just a week ago, they hadn’t even finished the foundation, and now the building is already up. Even if it’s fast, it’s not this fast.”
Tong Xiaosong didn’t say anything more. He hadn’t paid much attention to how fast buildings were constructed in the city before, only knowing that it was easier than building houses in their mountainous area.
Various large machinery entered the construction site, and building the structure seemed like assembling building blocks, both solid and rapid.
***
Thud, thud, the table was tapped twice by a familiar large hand.
Tong Xiaosong saw this hand, and his heart sank. He looked up.
Gu Xuan had a wicked smile on his face, standing in front of his desk.
He felt like Gu Xuan was akin to a harbinger of bad news—whenever he showed up, trouble was sure to follow.
Gu xuan istg >:(
Thx for the chapter <3
ˁ•ᴗ•ˀつ～ 💞
Gu xuan better stay away from our baby! >:((((
Gu Xuan stay away from our precious baby xiaosong!!😭😭
Maybe it’s like those novels where they steal the luck of lucky people? Maybe he somehow killed Zhou xin and then inherited his wealth, grades and even face. Because in every novel the only time we get the description “handsome” is with the main characters. For vicious people it should be like first impression handsome and then all the people around you keep saying “handsome he’s bad”. Here there’s the other way around, despite being bad the author always compliments gu xuan so maybe his face isn’t his own! Zhou xin can’t show his face in the dream cause he hasn’t gotten his face back!