“What’s wrong with you?” Luo Yi turned to Zhen Jianren beside him and asked.
Not too long ago, they reunited at the front of the main education building. They were exchanging information when Zhen Jianren suddenly paused. He lifted his head to look around. His eyes were sharp with alertness.
Luo Yi sensed something as well. He followed Zhen Jianren’s gaze and looked around. Before them was a sizeable garden with a pond in the middle. The pond was dry and cordoned off by a low fence. Red bricks were used to build a flower plot to the right of the fence.
Further to the east was a small forest. Due to the season, the leaves had all fallen. One could see through it easily. Other than the occasional students and staff passing by, nothing was out of place.
Luo Yi looked at Zhen Jianren with confusion. His lips moved. Before he could say anything, the latter said with worry, “Earlier that moment, I had a bad feeling.” The constant worry and action exhausted Luo Yi. He gathered his focus and whispered, “From which direction?”
Zhen Jianren eventually shook his head, “I don’t know. In any case, we’ve been targeted. We need to find the clues and escape this place.”
“What is our plan next?”
“We’ll split up.” Zhen Jianren stood up. “You go to the files room and see if you can find anything on the girl they mentioned. I’ll notify the others.
“We’ll meet up at Block C’s music classroom at 2 pm.”
Zhen Jianren was the last one to arrive. As he entered the canteen, he saw Jiang Cheng and Xu Wen’s groups squeezed at the same table. Fatty saw him instantly. He waved him over, “Mr. Guardian Angel, we’ve been waiting for you!”
Xu Wen shared the information she had from Teacher Feng Lan.
When Zhen Jianren heard that Feng Lan was once trapped in the office and all of the guards that came to save her had no chins, Zhen Jianren suddenly spoke, “It looks like what I found out was the prelude to your story.”
He and Luo Yi went to Year 3 Class 1 and 2 to learn more about the situation. Both classes participated in the rehearsal. In the video, the female ghost appeared beside them. Based on what Zhen Jianren heard, there was a rumour among the students of this school. It was related to the music classroom in Block C. The music classroom was wildly different in the day and at night, according to the rumours.
The place was so chilly that even if it were in the middle of the summer, one would shiver from the chills inside it. The strangest thing was one couldn’t fend off the chill no matter how many layers one wore. Because… the chill came from one’s heart. It was particularly obvious on rainy nights.
At this point, Zhen Jianren glanced at Xu Wen, something inscrutable in his eyes. After all, in the latter’s story, a rainy night was featured as well.
That night, Feng Lan, who just moved to this school, encountered something she would never forget: Four bloody ‘people’ with missing chins stood outside the office, staring at her.
“What happened on that rainy night?” Xu Wen asked coolly. It was clear that this aloof woman was not as calm as before. The cool tone was to hide her rising fear.
The clues were shattered, and time was running out.
According to the legend, if one came to Block C and walked up the staircase, when one was about to reach the fourth floor, something strange would happen. The stairs that had 48 steps would gain one extra to reach 49 steps. Then, one’s surroundings would change.
The walls, the floor, the corridor, the classrooms… Everyone would look brand new, like time had been reversed. One would encounter some people there.
Zhou Taifu swallowed nervously, “What kind of people?”
“Every kind.” Zhen Jianren looked into Zhou Taifu’s eyes, “Teachers, students, and even… people in the guard uniforms.”
Zhou Taifu trembled uncontrollably. He turned to Xu Wen for help, but the woman didn’t acknowledge him.
“You haven’t mentioned the music classroom,” Jiang Cheng reminded him.
Zhen Jianren moved his eyes away, “They said that if you push open the door to the music classroom, you’ll see a girl inside. She’d be dancing continuously. Her dance will be amazing, and everyone will be led to her tempo. Once the song is over, the girl will stop to ask you some questions, but you mustn’t answer her.”
Fatty frowned. “Why not?”
“Because if you do, something bad will happen.” Zhen Jianren remembered that when the girls told him these things, their voices were so soft that he could barely hear them.
However, he still heard what the girls said. They said if you answered the girl, you’d be trapped here forever like the others…
Once Zhen Jianren said that, everyone’s face dropped. Jiang Cheng believed that there was where the woman in the qipao and Long Tao had gone.
“Was the girl… dancing ballet?” Zhang Yinyin spoke after a long silence.
It would appear that this girl was the source of this music. After the ghost was confirmed, the hoof prints at the crime scene could be explained. They were not hoof prints but the prints from ballet slippers.
The ghost was dancing ballet as she killed the woman in the qipao and Long Tao. The scene would have been absurd and scary.
Regarding this time, they confirmed two rules… or the taboos of this mission.
One, when the ghost appeared, one should not answer her questions. If possible, do not make any noise.
Two, when they had to go to the music classroom in Block C, everyone had to stay together. Unless necessary, one shouldn’t move around at night.
“What about your partner?” Zhou Taifu looked around nervously, “Did he…”
“No.” Zhen Jianren interrupted him. “He went to the files room to see if he could find out anything about the girl. He’ll meet up with us later.”
Fatty cut in darkly, “Is it okay for Brother Luo Yi to go alone? Won’t it be too dangerous?”
“Thank you for your concern,” Zhen Jianren smiled, “I have confidence in my friend. But…” His eyes moved away from Fatty and fell on Jiang Cheng. He said with a trace of malice, “What did you find at the Prop Building?”