Jiang Cheng’s words reminded Fatty of many bad things. In the last mission, the world also sunk into the eternal night when the mission was ending. The school campus was silent. The occasional bug chirping from before had already disappeared.
Jiang Cheng and Fatty stopped wasting time. They hurried to their destination. Along the way, Fatty’s face was scrunched together. He looked at Jiang Cheng and opened and closed his mouth many times. In the end, he uttered anxiously, “Doctor, do you think the others have been killed?”
Jiang Cheng thought about it and replied, “Not necessarily.”
Hearing that, colour returned to Fatty’s face.
“Perhaps one or two have been captured by ghosts.” Jiang Cheng said, “Their limbs have been yanked off, and they are being kept as pets.”
Fatty almost cried hearing that. After twenty minutes of hurrying, they saw the building that was sitting alone on the empty field. It shouldn’t have been that visible in the dark, but there were two giant red lanterns hanging in front of the front yard gate. The lanterns emitted crimson light. They were the eyes of a giant beast, staring at the approaching humans wickedly.
“Doctor,” Fatty hid behind a tree, and his voice rose in pitch, “What are those two lanterns?”
Jiang Cheng knelt beside Fatty. He had his hand on the branches and looked at the Prop Centre through the gap. “Thank you, Fatty.”
Fatty was startled. He asked curiously, “Why are you thanking me?”
They observed for almost ten minutes. The Prop Centre was very quiet. Other than the two lanterns, nothing had changed. After being shot down by Jiang Cheng, Fatty was a lot more careful with his words. He tried to avoid stating the obvious, “Doctor,” He licked his lips. “What do you plan to do next?”
“We’ll go over to check it out first,” Jiang Cheng said. When they approached the gate, they discovered more anomalies, actual evidence that something was not right. A giant chain locked the gate from the outside. It shone darkly and looked very firm.
“Strange…” Fatty’s eyes widened. “Why are the chains locked from the outside?”
Jiang Cheng stood there to think. “Come,” He turned around to say, “We’ll walk around the place.”
Fatty turned his head back with every few steps. He was scared that the gate would suddenly open and a ghost would jump out. Soon, they found a side door hidden in the bush at an inconspicuous location. This was a wooden door. It looked battered and old. The edges were spotted. However, the thing that grabbed Jiang Cheng’s attention was… that the door was sealed shut from the outside with wooden boards. The door was surrounded by nails that were the size of thumbs.
Jiang Cheng walked forward and gave the door a slight push. It didn’t even budge.
Fatty caught sight of a yellow corner of something near the ground. It was stuck under the door. He slowly edged it out. He realised it was a yellow piece of paper that had been folded many times.
“Doctor,” He carefully opened the paper and called Jiang Cheng over, “Look.”
Bright red paint was used to draw on the piece of paper. The brush strokes were intentional. It was not a doodle. There was handwriting on the sides of the drawing, but Fatty couldn’t read it. Jiang Cheng stood there and looked up at the door. He slowly knelt down. Soon, Fatty heard a deep sigh. Fatty followed his gaze. He realised that the yellow papers were stuck in the door gap. Strangely enough, all of them were folded into standard triangles. Fatty’s hand that held the yellow paper shivered. A bad feeling rose in his heart.
“It looks like something bad has once happened here.” Jiang Cheng announced firmly, “This is a Daoist talisman. They are stuck here to suppress the ghost.” Fatty had thought of that as well. He didn’t voice it because he was scared. The next second, Fatty tossed the paper away.
“Doctor,” On the way back, Fatty looked like he was about to hang onto Jiang Cheng, “This is so scary. Just how strong is the ghost that so many talismans are shoved under the door?”
Fatty’s heart was still racing. Based on existing clues, Fatty shared his thoughts, “Could Chen Yao have returned to be together with Su Yu because she didn’t have that chance to do that when she was alive due to Li Yanwei?
“She knocked on Su Yu’s door daily. Out of fear, Su Yu got these talismans, hid himself in the Prop Centre and refused to come out.”
Jiang Cheng frowned. “Then, why didn’t he leave this school? He’ll eventually be found if he stays here.” Jiang Cheng pressed, “Plus, Su Yu is just the manager of the Prop Centre. He is too low on the position of the school admin to be able to utilise talismans everywhere at this place. He must have gotten permission from the admin.”
Fatty frowned deeply. Then, his eyes flashed. He looked at Jiang Cheng, “Doctor, do you mean it was Li Yanwei who had allowed this?!”
By then, they had returned to the front gate. Before Jiang Cheng could answer, there was a strange sound coming from inside.
Fatty and Jiang Cheng held their breath. They hid behind a small wall. As the surroundings became quiet, the sound became clearer.
It sounded like a snake hissing. But, just as the two were about to lean closer to the gate to take a closer look, there was a click from the gate.