After leaving the hostel, Xu Wen’s group headed to the south side of the school campus. Zhang Yinyin stayed a safe distance behind. The place was rather desolate. They didn’t encounter anyone other than a few girls out on morning exercise. The girls skipped over Zhang Yinyin and Xu Wen as they stared at Zhou Taifu. The man couldn’t help but shiver.
“What… are they going to do?” Zhou Taifu only had a tank top, and his face was as white as paper. Thankfully, the girls only watched from a distance. They didn’t do anything out of line. Zhou Taifu swallowed silently. This world was too scary. If he were alone, he’d… He didn’t dare to think about it.
They paused at the end of the road. Before them was a volleyball court. The surrounding fences were rusted. There was no one at the court. Dust particles danced under the morning rays. A wet smell permeated the air. It was like it had rained the day before.
The court used old cement ground. There were faded white painted to mark the lines. Most of the net was gone. Only the bare rods remained. Next to the fences were seats. The plastic seats cracked from exposure to the elements. Clearly, this court had long been abandoned.
Zhou Taifu glanced at Xu Wen, who brought them there. His eyes glowed with confusion.
Zhang Yinyin looked like she was about to say something. However, her expression turned strange when she noticed that Xu Wen had turned into an alley. The alley was barely a road. It was a small path made from pebbles. It was wide enough for one person.
Soon, the trio lifted their heads, and a building identical to their hostel appeared before them. Zhou Taifu couldn’t help but swallow nervously.
Unlike their hostel, this place was not abandoned. Some of the windows were decorated with potted plants. Some had a clothesline. This place was occupied.
Xu Wen smiled, “Teacher Feng, sorry for disturbing you.” It was the woman from the rehearsal. The woman stood at the door as if hesitating whether to invite them into the room.
“Teacher Feng,” Xu Wen pointed inside the room. “Do you mind if we go in to rest our feet?”
“This…” The woman looked troubled.
“Thank you.” Xu Wen nodded and walked past her. The woman subconsciously moved away. Zhang Yinyin followed. The last was Zhou Taifu.
He examined the room. The room was similar to theirs, but only the woman stayed there. There was only a single bed. The other space was occupied by the woman’s personal objects. A hanger hung from the dresser hook. A few underclothes hung from it. They seemed to be just cleaned. Clear water stains pooled on the dark cement floor underneath it.
The woman sat on the bed and stared at the three of them. Just as Xu Wen was about to say something, the woman cut her off, “I know what you want to ask.”
Zhou Taifu was stunned.
Then, the woman lowered her voice as if afraid that something would hear her, “Did… some of you encounter those things?”
“Please continue.” Xu Wen didn’t deny or confirm. Then, she took out her notebook.
However, the woman seemed to confirm something. She asked nervously, “Is that person alright?”
Xu Wen thought about it. Their jaws were gone, so… However, to simplify the situation, she nodded, “They’re alright.”
“Goodness. Then, he’s really lucky.” The woman grabbed her clothes in fear. Then, she glanced at Xu Wen and said carefully, “After yesterday’s rehearsal ended, I suspected something had happened, seeing how frantic your group was acting. Actually, quite a few of the teachers here have encountered those things…” Her voice dwindled.
Xu Wen stopped writing and raised her head. “Does that include you, Teacher Feng?”
The woman shivered. Finally, she nodded. She continued, “Yes… It happened during the first year I came to this school. It was a normal day. I left the office with the other teachers once the class was over. Since I didn’t live locally, I requested to stay at the staff hostel. The canteen handled all the food. However, that day, I ate at the canteen and only discovered I had left my keys in the office drawer once I got back to the hostel. I was panicking because it was darkening.” At this point, she paused to explain, “There are many unwritten rules at this school. One of them is not to wander around the campus at night, especially not around Block C. But…” The woman’s face paled, “My office was at Block C.”
Zhou Taifu trembled involuntarily.
“Back then, I just transferred here.” The woman said, “I heard of the saying, but I didn’t know why. I had asked the other teachers about it, but they didn’t wish to elaborate on it. They merely told me that those were the rules that I had to follow.”
“But you still went back for your keys.” Xu Wen looked into the woman’s eyes.
After all, the plot had to continue.
“Indeed.” The woman sighed. She turned to look out the window as if she didn’t want people to look into her eyes. “When I arrived at Block C, the sky was fully dark.” After a pause, she added, “So was that building.
“It was a penetrating darkness. It felt like… something was consuming the darkness. Can you understand how that feels?” The woman held Xu Wen’s gaze. She suddenly became agitated. “That building… It was alive! It was waiting… for me to walk into it!”
“Please calm down.” Xu Wen was not led astray by the woman. She looked at her and said calmly, “It’s morning, and you’re not at Block C. You are safe.”
After a long time, the woman seemed to struggle from the grip of memory. She nodded and her lips pursed unnaturally.