Zhou Yuanxin's voice lingered in my ears for a long time.
Chen Ling looked at the empty office, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter. He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then left the office and returned to class.
"Where have you been?" He Wanwan asked in a low voice.
Chen Ling looked up at her and asked, "How much do you know about Zhou Yuanxin?"
"I don't know. I only know that he is always silent and won't resist when being bullied, but he never cries." After saying this, He Wanwan lowered her head, pinching her hands together, and fell into some bad mood.
Chen Ling looked at her little movements, "He Wanwan, have you ever seen Zhou Yuanxin's soul?"
He Wanwan raised her head suddenly, her deer-like eyes widened like bells, "I, I haven't seen it."
"Why are you so nervous?" Chen Ling asked sharply.
He Wanwan pursed her lips tightly and said nothing.
Chen Ling put the books in front of him in order and said slowly, "The scar on your hand was caused by the wax dripping down when you were burning paper for Zhou Yuanxin."
He Wanwan subconsciously hid her hands. She bit her lower lip hard, feeling very conflicted.
It's not that she doesn't want to say it, but she doesn't dare to say it, for fear that she will get into trouble if she says it.
Chen Ling lowered his posture, resting his face on his folded arms, and his eyes became a little softer.
He looked at He Wanwan quietly for a while, then asked again: "I just saw Zhou Yuanxin, in the principal's office where Cheng Le got into trouble."
He Wanwan was frightened and shivered noticeably.
Her hands began to tremble, and her shoulders followed suit. "I, I haven't seen it, but, but I heard him talking to Ji Nan!"
That day, He Wanwan forgot to take her things after evening self-study, so she had to ask her female classmate to go back first and she returned to the teaching building alone.
Because of Zhou Yuanxin's matter, He Wanwan was very scared and walked very carefully.
She looked back as she walked and finally entered the classroom. Just as she picked up her things, she heard terrified shouts outside.
Human curiosity is always so strong. He Wanwan walked towards the back door of the classroom fearfully and looked at Class 5 which was three classrooms away.
At the front door of Class 5's classroom, Ji Nan's face was filled with fear. He leaned against the wall, staring at the scene in front of him in horror.
That night was the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and the moon was as round as a jade plate.
The moonlight shone down, casting a silver glow over half of the corridor, making things that she shouldn't have seen appear as blurry outlines in her eyes.
He Wanwan was shaking all over, and her upper and lower teeth were chattering uncontrollably.
She covered her mouth, retracted her head, and quietly moved towards Class 9, fearing that she would be discovered by the man and the ghost outside.
But Zhou Yuanxin's voice was so penetrating that she could clearly hear him saying, "Let's go, let's go..."
Ji Nan was probably so frightened that he even forgot which direction was more convenient for him to run. He Wanwan hid under a table and saw him running through the corridor outside Class 9 with her own eyes.
She was not sure whether Zhou Yuanxin's soul was still there, so she did not dare to go out immediately. It was not until nearly an hour later that she sneaked out of the teaching building and returned to the dormitory.
…
"After that, I was very scared. I was afraid that Zhou Yuanxin would come to me and blame me for not helping him before. So I secretly went to the place where he hanged himself and burned paper when no one was around."
He Wanwan's voice was very soft, choking with guilt, "The day I went to burn paper, the night sky was clear, but I don't know why, a gust of wind suddenly blew. The wind was so strong that the branch above my head that had Zhou Yuanxin hanged on it creaked. It was really scary."
"I, I really wanted to stand up and leave, but I was afraid that it would not be sincere enough." She sniffed, hugged her arms, and continued, "Because of the wind, the paper money was blown everywhere and almost extinguished. I walked to the side and squatted on the ground to block the wind, but the wax from the candle was blown directly onto my hand..."
The wind blew very strangely, and He Wanwan's first reaction was that Zhou Yuanxin had come to seek revenge on her.
But after that, the unusual movements stopped.
It is very true that when there is an avalanche, no snowflake is innocent. Although she did not directly participate in bullying Zhou Yuanxin, as a bystander, wasn't she also condoning the abuser
If she had taken action to stop it at that time, if the other students who were too cowardly to step forward had stood up with her, how could Cheng Le and He Jiajun, a small group of people, dare to continue to abuse Zhou Yuanxin
He Wanwan suddenly covered her face and cried. Everyone in the classroom heard it and looked at Chen Ling questioningly.
Chen Ling pretended to be a stone man and felt nothing.
He turned around, facing away from those eyes, and patted He Wanwan on the shoulder: “He doesn’t blame you, and that scar is the best proof.”
He Wanwan was stunned for a moment, then recalled carefully.
Starting from the poker bridge game, all the people who had accidents were those who had used violence against Zhou Yuanxin. Of course, some of the bystanders got the cards, but they were just participants.
She thought that the burns on her fingers were Zhou Yuanxin's resentment towards her for not helping her, but also forgiveness.
Otherwise, she would never have been able to escape so easily that night.
He Wanwan gradually stopped crying, but her voice sounded strange and her nose was blocked. "Chen Ling, why are you so concerned about Zhou Yuanxin's affairs?"
Chen Ling’s thoughts turned back to the memory of He Wanwan.
Zhou Yuanxin's warning hinted at the dangers lurking within this campus, so the letter he wrote to Ji Nan might not have simply been about wanting him to stay away from campus violence, but rather about wanting Ji Nan to completely leave the school.
However, it is unknown whether the danger comes from Fan Xiaozhou or the evil spirit that even Jiang Yu finds strange.
Chen Ling suddenly let out a sigh of relief, and an idea flashed through his mind.
He remembered what Principal Jin had said, that this land had once been a mass grave.
As the saying goes, "Moisturizing things silently", if a place is soaked in yin energy for a long time, over time, the soil, flowers and plants, and even a tile here will be contaminated by the yin energy.
Even though time has passed, the negative energy that has sunk into the soil will still rise continuously, but it is not as strong as in ordinary ghost houses, which people can detect.
This type of place has a special name. I seem to have seen it somewhere before. What is it called
Chen Ling couldn't think of anything, so he sent a message to Jiang Yu.
The reply from the other end was: Rongshen is the land of Jiuyin
Nine, the extreme number.
Jiuyin naturally refers to a place with heavy yin energy.
Seeing the other party respond so decisively and quickly, Chen Ling knew that the ancestor might have known something.
"Chen Ling!" Seeing that the young man did not answer and was playing with his mobile phone, He Wanwan unconsciously raised her voice.
Chen Ling came back to his senses and subconsciously put away his phone. It took him a long time to remember He Wanwan's previous question and replied, "Curious."
He Wanwan frowned and advised, "It's better not to get involved in ghosts and gods. You should put away your curiosity. Don't run into anything, or you'll be in trouble."
After she finished speaking, she blinked hard a few times, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and asked tremblingly: "Tell me, if I say this and Zhou Yuanxin hears it, will he blame me?"
"No." Chen Ling said with a smile, "Zhou Yuanxin is very kind."
He Wanwan felt relieved.
After pouring out the things that were hidden in her heart, she felt a lot more relaxed.
She glanced at Chen Ling secretly, then glanced again, "Has anyone ever told you that you're scary when you question people?"
It's not that scary, but it's quite intimidating. It feels like a head teacher questioning a student who has made a mistake.
This was the first time Chen Ling heard someone say this, and he was a little confused. He rubbed his face and asked, "Really?"
He Wanwan nodded repeatedly, "Yes."
She thought of something and leaned over Chen Ling's desk. "It's September 3rd now, and it will be the 14th day of the seventh lunar month in a few days. I heard that the gates of hell open on the 14th day of the seventh lunar month, and close on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. Do you think Zhou Yuanxin will leave with the other ghosts when the gates of hell close?"
Although it is a private school, it is still subject to higher-level supervision.
In order to circumvent the regulation that prohibits charging for tutoring, they are now attending the free preparatory class for the second year of high school to consolidate the knowledge learned in the first year of high school and preview the knowledge for the second year of high school.
But the wool comes from the sheep. Once the school officially starts, the school can just add a few items to the fees and make up the money.
"Let me see." Chen Ling took out his mobile phone, stared, and quickly unlocked it with his fingerprint to enter the main screen.
Even so, He Wanwan still saw the message window floating on the screen before unlocking.
She didn't understand what the Nine Yin Land was, but she could see the nickname of the sender.
He Wanwan's cheeks flushed slightly, she was excited and curious, "You, your boyfriend."
The sender’s name was very long, “a boyfriend who should be worshipped like an ancestor”. If she didn’t have good eyesight, she would not have been able to read it all at once!
Chen Ling reflexively pressed the screen of his mobile phone on the desk and stammered, "hmm."
I changed the nickname on the spur of the moment on the way back to school. After all, I had kissed him, so I should give him a name.
Moreover, before leaving, he took advantage of the old man's inattention and secretly looked at his mobile phone. Tsk, the nickname was even more direct than his, directly skipping the romantic relationship and becoming his fiancé.
The old man usually looks serious, but he can be quite reserved at non-critical moments. I don’t know how long he has been using this nickname.
Chen Ling tried his best to ignore the heat on his face, turned the phone over again, and looked at the calendar intently.
There are still six days until July 14th. At midnight six days later, the gates of hell will open and hundreds of ghosts will roam the night.
Chen Ling put away his phone, shook his head, and continued the previous topic under He Wanwan's eager eyes, "I don't know if Zhou Yuanxin will leave."
Over the years, Fan Xiaozhou has never hurt an innocent person, which shows that she is not like other evil spirits, who have been tortured by time and hatred to lose their minds and become bloodthirsty devils.
Therefore, the Mid-July Festival should not have much impact on Fan Xiaozhou.
The same cannot be said for Zhou Yuanxin.
Chen Ling put away his phone, ignored He Wanwan's gossiping questions, stood up, said he was going to the bathroom, and left.
In the bathroom, a few cowards who had surrounded him before but were scared away by the cards were standing in the corner smoking. The room was full of smoke, and the mixture of the smoke and the smell of the bathroom was quite intoxicating.
Chen Ling held his breath and entered the cubicle. After putting down the toilet lid, he wiped it with toilet paper before sitting on it and calmly took out his cell phone.
There was one more message from my ancestor on my mobile phone.
The second one is very concise, just two words: I miss you.
Chen Ling smiled foolishly while holding his phone, and replied: I have a physical education class later, and the sun is shining brightly outside.
There was a kind of intimacy and coquettishness in his tone that he himself didn't even notice.
Jiang Yu: I'll pick you up at the school gate
Chen Ling: I want to eat ice cream cones
Jiang Yu: Buy
Chen Ling sighed in his heart, his ancestor always gave people a feeling of being far away from the world, but the word "buy" suddenly cast a layer of worldly air on him.
So down-to-earth, with the aura of a domineering president.
Chen Ling was tired of squatting, so he stood up and stretched his legs. He turned the topic back on track and asked, "How do you know that the Nine Yin Land I am talking about refers to Rong Xin?"
Jiang Yu sent a voice message.
When Chen Ling clicked on it, there was only noise and it lasted only two seconds.
I guess it was because our ancestors were not skilled in the operation and something went wrong.
About two or three minutes later, the ancestor sent a 59-second voice message!
Chen Ling looked at the time prompt behind the voice message and felt a headache. He clicked it and put the phone to his ear.
The man's slow and magnetic voice sounded: "That night when I came back from Rongshen, I asked the land god to check the local county annals. The place where Rongshen is located was indeed a mass grave. Not only that, there was a small hill here a hundred years ago, and Rongshen happened to be located on the north side of the hill where there was no sunlight. The north of the hill and the south of the water are all yin. For a mass grave, which is already extremely yin, it is not disturbed by yang energy all year round, which allows the yin energy contained in it to accumulate and penetrate for a long time. Over time, it formed the Nine Yin Land. Such a place is a world of its own. Once the soul is trapped, it will never come out unless the situation is broken. If a living person is in it, a normal person will not be affected too much, but if a depressed person stays for a long time, his emotions will be damaged and he will easily end up in a dead end..."
Chen Ling finally understood. No wonder Zhou Yuanxin let him and Ji Nan go.
That's because he saw that he and Ji Nan were also ostracized by others, and he was afraid that they would go further and further down the dark path like him and eventually choose death.
Chen Ling thought of Fan Xiaozhou again. No wonder she was born out of hatred, but was able to stay in school soberly for so many years.
It was because the Yin energy of the Nine Yin Land nourished her, allowing her to always maintain a clear mind. Unlike other innocent ghosts, she was not tortured by hatred and driven crazy, becoming evil ghosts who killed innocent people indiscriminately and were extremely violent.
"… I have been waiting for you to ask me, but I didn't expect you to realize it only now. Your sensitivity needs to be improved, and your reading of books must be more comprehensive."
Chen Ling: “…”
Chen Ling was speechless. The conversation was long as it should be, but he didn't expect that there would be a scolding at the end.
Seeing that the voice bar finally stopped playing, he breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to reply "I will definitely continue to study hard" when the door of his cubicle was suddenly knocked by something.
Chen Ling's heart skipped a beat, he lowered the compartment lock and pushed hard.
Can't push it open.
It was blocked by something from the outside.
He squatted down and looked out through the gap under the cubicle door. He saw several pairs of feet standing outside.
Those people were whispering, with some ridicule mixed in, and the sounds penetrated the wooden board and reached Chen Ling's ears without missing a beat.
Chen Ling stood up, put his hands on his waist and stared at the door: "Do you think I don't know who it is just because you whisper?"
The people outside did not hide anymore and said proudly: "You are so cool, keep on showing off."
Chen Ling calmly sat back on the toilet seat, crossed his arms, and stared coldly at the cubicle door, "Are you among the people who bullied Zhou Yuanxin? The poker card today was also aimed at you."
"I don't understand what you are saying!" The man outside seemed angry and spoke in a violent tone.
Chen Ling said: "Although I picked up the poker cards, the retribution will still fall on you. I heard that the Ghost Festival will be in six days... Guess what will happen that night?"
There was a loud bang, and the cubicle door seemed to be kicked hard by someone.
Chen Ling sneered, "Are you feeling guilty?"
He lowered his head and sent a message to Jiang Yu on his phone, "Brother Jiang, do you have any green or purple talisman paper?"
Jiang Yu: What happened
Chen Ling: Locked in the toilet qwq
When Jiang Yu saw the little expression behind him, his face immediately became gloomy and he turned around and went to the study.
All the tools for drawing talismans in the study were prepared for Chen Ling. Whether it was the yellow label, talisman paper, or a simple brush washer, they were all made of the best materials and could help the spiritual power of the talisman drawer.
Green and purple talisman paper are one of the five elements of talismans, which borrow the power of spiritual objects, such as cats, dogs, plants and trees.
The talisman paper drawn by Jiang Yu contained such vigorous spiritual power that the thin talisman paper could hardly bear it.
After the talisman was written, the man came to the window, faced the direction of Rongshen Middle School, folded it into a paper airplane and flew out.
While Chen Ling was waiting for the talisman paper, he sent a message to Wu Weiwei, asking him whether Principal Jin had woken up.
Wu Weiwei was starving. In order to protect Principal Jin, he didn't even go to eat. He sat on the steps and typed silently: Not awake, still in a coma, even the posture has not changed
If Brother Chen hadn't taken his pulse, he would have suspected that Principal Jin was dead.
Chen Ling asked: Have you eaten
Wu Weiwei sent a crying emoji and said: No, I'm starving.
Chen Ling felt a little guilty. He was so busy kissing his ancestor that he forgot about his brother. Wait, I'll order takeout for you.
In order to reward my brother, I ordered takeout and went to a restaurant far away to buy authentic local cuisine.
After ordering the takeaway, Chen Ling opened the chat interface with Jiang Yu again.
It’s strange, why hasn’t the ancestor reacted yet
As soon as the thought came to my mind, a yellow paper plane flew over my head and went to the next door.
Chen Ling thought that Jiang Yu would send the drawn talisman paper to his mobile phone in the form of a photo, but unexpectedly, the other party sent the talisman paper directly to him.
The paper plane swayed in the next compartment and then fell back to the top of Chen Ling's head, as if confirming something. It circled above for several times and finally floated down and landed accurately in Chen Ling's hand.
Without waiting for Chen Ling to make a move, the paper airplane unfolded automatically, and it was flat without any creases.
Chen Ling lowered his head and smelled it. Although it was written in red seal script, it had a slight scent of ink.
The power carried by the thin talisman paper was something he had never felt before. Chen Ling held the talisman paper excitedly, a little reluctant to use it.
He closed his eyes and calmed himself, then the spell slowly flowed out of his mouth: "All things are in form, all spirits are present, bow before me, listen to my command, and obey my command immediately."
The next second after the spell was cast, a German Shepherd's head popped in from the gap under the compartment door.
The German Shepherd probably hadn't been called by humans for too long, and was shaking its head excitedly from side to side, sticking out its tongue and making "hahaha" sounds.
Chen Ling: “…”
He squatted down and touched the dog's head, "Be good, help me open the bathroom door."
The German Shepherd let out a howl and quickly retracted its head, followed by a series of ping-pong sounds.
Hearing a heavy object fall to the ground, Chen Ling pushed hard and the door opened.
The German Shepherd jumped up, lay on the man, and stuck out its tongue to lick Chen Ling's face.
Chen Ling tried to stop him several times, but it was useless. He reluctantly stretched his face forward and said, "Go ahead and lick it."
The German Shepherd had licked enough, so he contentedly folded his legs and fell back to the ground, circling around the young man.
Chen Ling squatted down and stroked the dog's fur again, "Come on, I'll take you to the playground."
The German Shepherd became even more excited when he heard the command. The black shadow passed by and he rushed out in the blink of an eye.
Chen Ling rushed to the playground. The physical education class had already started. The physical education teacher was also greeted by the principal. He was dissatisfied with the latecomers, but he didn't say anything. He pointed to the last seat in the last row of boys and said, "Go and stand there."
Everyone ran two laps around the playground, panting. Chen Ling had just bent down, supported his knees and was about to take a few breaths before running again, when someone pushed him from behind and he fell directly to the ground.
My knee scraped against the bumpy plastic track, causing the skin to break and bleed.
Chen Ling glanced at the German Shepherd that was circling around him. Without saying a word, the smart and alert little thing rushed out and opened its mouth to bite the right calf of the bad guy.
The man only felt pain in his calf, but he couldn't see what attacked him, and he stood there in a daze.
The man who had led the group to block Chen Ling walked over and slapped his younger brother hard, "What are you standing there for? Do you want to be punished and run away?"
He turned his head and looked at Chen Ling meaningfully, "We are not like some people who have privileges. Not only can we come and go freely with access cards, but we also don't have to be punished for being late for class."
Just as he finished speaking, a huge, invisible force rushed towards him, and then something terrible happened.
Everyone saw that a long cut suddenly appeared on his mouth out of nowhere!
The cut was slanted and deep, but the man didn't seem to notice anything unusual and roared angrily: "Who the hell is trying to trick me!"
The students who were running around had already stopped, and several girls came up to Chen Ling and asked him if he needed help.
Chen Ling took the mineral water from He Wanwan, washed away the dust and small pieces of stone in the wound, and smiled at the other girls, "Thank you for your concern, but it's okay."
The girls looked at the man and whispered, "Don't mess with Tang Ke. He has a bad temper and doesn't like anyone. He is only as obedient as a dog when it comes to Cheng Le and He Jiajun."
Another person continued, "Now that Cheng Le and He Jiajun are not here, he calls himself the king. I heard that he lost his temper in the dormitory last night and smashed all of Lin Xiangxue's cups."
"No, his lips are almost split into four pieces. How can he still have the energy to curse? Doesn't it hurt?"
After hearing this, everyone focused their attention on Tang Ke's face.
The wound on his mouth was getting bigger and bigger, and the flesh was visible, but he seemed to have no sense of pain. He shouted, "Whoever dares to do this and not take responsibility, stand up!"
With the help of his classmates, Chen Ling stood up from the ground. His knees felt as if they were being torn apart every time he moved.
He shouted to Tang Ke from a distance, pointed at his lips, and reminded him: "You're pierced here, so you'd better talk less."
Tang Ke raised his hand and touched his mouth for some unknown reason, and the blood that had not seeped out suddenly gushed out, flowing all over his hand.
“What’s going on… What’s going on…” His pupils trembled violently, and he looked at his younger brother in confusion and bewilderment.
"Cell phone! Take a picture of me!"
The little brother was frightened by the sight of his mouth full of blood. He took out his mobile phone tremblingly and turned on the selfie function of the camera.
Tang Ke's mind went blank. He couldn't figure out why his mouth was like this. As soon as this doubt passed through his mind, the pain that had been lurking for a long time surged.
He wanted to scream, but he held back because he was afraid that the wound would rupture further.
The physical education teacher was attracted by the noise and asked loudly, "What's going on?"
"Teacher, Tang Ke's mouth is rotten!"