Li Cancan: “Small Braid actually killed that woman’s husband?! Won’t he do something unspeakable with that woman next?”
Sun Ning: “Be more confident, remove the ‘won’t from ‘won’t he,’ it’s definitely going to happen. When we visited their house earlier, Small Braid couldn’t hide his feelings for that woman anymore. Now, after being drenched and experiencing life and death together, they’re alone together. They’ve probably already crossed that line.”
“He’s beyond our control for now. The real question is, did this young man’s return happen by coincidence?”
“He returned at just the right time, neither too early nor too late, precisely during our task time.”
“Li Cancan, take a look outside through the window,” Sun Ning frowned slightly. “See if this man is your type.”
Li Cancan’s face suddenly turned red, and she stammered, “What are you saying? Why would I like someone I’ve only met once? I’m not that into romance.”
“I’m just speculating. Since male players have a soft spot for gentle women, could there be some male charm or allure designed for us female players? Perhaps this young man came back specifically to seduce both of us.”
“But don’t worry, I’m not interested in men. So, I’m not interested in him.”
Li Cancan blushed even more. “Don’t worry, I won’t like him either!”
Sun Ning had a lot to think about but when everyone gathered in the courtyard, the young man didn’t seem to have any intentions of seducing them.
Seeing two young girls now living in the house, the young man proactively suggested, “Mom, how about I sleep with you tonight? So the two young ladies won’t feel scared. If not, I can go to Uncle Wu’s house in the front.”
This move made Li Cancan quite embarrassed.
The young man continued, “Mom, when will you find a wife for me? I want to get married quickly now that I’ve earned enough money.”
After saying this, the young man opened his backpack and took out a thick stack of money, approximately around 30,000 yuan.
The old woman beamed with joy. “That’s great! I’ll tell the matchmaker tomorrow and have her find you a beautiful wife. What kind of wife are you looking for?”
The young man scratched his head shyly. “She doesn’t need to be too beautiful, but it would be best if she’s gentle and virtuous, and can take care of the elderly and children. After all, I still have to work in the fields. Looking beautiful is to have good-looking children in the future. That way, my children will have an easier time finding a spouse.”
Li Cancan and Sun Ning couldn’t help but frown.
Was this looking for a wife? This seemed more like he was searching for a free nanny and good genes.
Who wouldn’t shake their head at this?
The old woman smiled and nodded, “Alright, no problem. I’ll tell the matchmaker your requirements.”
Li Cancan glanced at Sun Ning.
‘Is that all?
Am I supposed to like him? Are you looking down at me?’
Sun Ning: “…”
‘So embarrassing. It seems I overthought things.’
The young man had just returned and needed to sort out his things. Bai Lixin didn’t notice any issues and left for the time being.
As he was leaving, Li Cancan and Sun Ning accompanied Bai Lixin out of the courtyard. Sun Ning whispered, “I subtly questioned the old woman today afternoon. She said the village has two wells in total. One is an abandoned well inside the school, and the other is the well they use to water the crops. Which one do you think it is?”
Bai Lixin replied, “Probably the abandoned well inside the school. That school itself is quite suspicious.”
Sun Ning nodded, “Great minds think alike. I also think it’s that well. Let’s meet at the village committee’s gate tonight when the whole village is asleep.”
Bai Lixin agreed, “Okay, see you tonight.”
—————————–
At nine o’clock that night, the entire village was fast asleep.
Two figures appeared at the school gate. One of them seemed to be carrying something heavy on their back, making their steps laborious.
Not long after they left, three more people followed closely behind, silently trailing them.
Seeing the two figures disappear into the shadows, Li Cancan lowered her voice, “It seems like it’s Small Braid and that woman.”
Sun Ning replied, “They’re definitely here to deal with the body.”
Li Cancan said, “This is strange. We were following them just now, but how did they suddenly vanish? Where did they enter from, and how can we get in?”
Sun Ning explained, “I came here during the day and saw a small dog hole next to the back door. It’s just big enough for one person to pass through. They must have used that. We can either go through it now or wait.”
Bai Lixin glanced at the rusty padlock and said, “Let’s wait.”
The three of them quietly waited behind a big tree. After about ten minutes, the two mysterious figures hurriedly passed by them again.
As they passed, the group noticed that one of them was limping.
Once the two figures disappeared from view, the three of them emerged from behind the tree. They went around the school from the front gate to the back and easily found the dog hole.
This dog hole had been pointed out to Bai Lixin by the little boy’s older brother who had disappeared.
Bai Lixin quickly suppressed his sigh. There were obvious signs of soil being scraped away beneath the dog hole, indicating that someone had just passed through here.
Li Cancan bent down and peered into the dark hole but couldn’t see anything except darkness. She gulped nervously and said, “Are we going through here? Should I go first?”
Bai Lixin glanced at the door that had been closed from inside. Then he looked up at the moon overhead and said, “Wait a bit longer. Let me perform a little magic for you.”
Li Cancan: “What kind of magic?”
Bai Lixin: “Watch this door. When I count to three, it will open by itself. One, two…”
Before he could finish saying “three,” the door creaked open.
From inside, a young man shook his furry ears and called out enthusiastically, “Xin Xin, the door’s open!”
Bai Lixin: “…” ‘Why didn’t you cooperate with my performance?!’
Li Cancan: “…”
Sun Ning: “…”
‘Is it really such a great magic trick? Should we applaud to ease God Xin’s embarrassment?’
Bai Lixin walked in stiffly. ‘As long as I’m not embarrassed, it’s others who will be embarrassed.’
The three of them took out flashlights from their backpacks and, instead of immediately searching for the abandoned well, they scanned their surroundings with their flashlights.
The school appeared to have been abandoned for many years. Weeds grew everywhere, some reaching over a meter tall. The roofs of the former classrooms, which were now overgrown with weeds, had deteriorated. The wooden windows and doors were in disrepair. The flashlights revealed a few dilapidated tables and scattered pieces of chalk and pencils inside.
It was a desolate scene.
Li Cancan shivered and rubbed the raised hairs on her arms. “This place gives me the creeps.”
As soon as she finished her sentence, Bai Lixin had already raised his flashlight and walked towards one of the classrooms.
Beast Eared Dijia hurriedly followed him, sticking close to Bai Lixin.
Sun Ning and Li Cancan exchanged a glance. Sun Ning smiled and said, “You seem quite scared, aren’t you?”
Li Cancan retorted, “I mean, aren’t you scared at all?”
Sun Ning: “I’m actually okay. I have a strong heart. If you’re really scared, you can hide behind me.”
Li Cancan looked at Sun Ning’s back and then nervously glanced behind her into the pitch-black darkness. Her scalp tingled, and she hurriedly ran to stand in front of Sun Ning. “I’d rather not be at the back. It’s scarier at the back.”
And so, the four of them entered the classroom one by one.
Even without the passage of time, this classroom couldn’t be considered good.
The blackboard wasn’t a real one but a small wooden board painted black.
Such a blackboard wasn’t suitable for writing, it was difficult to write on, and erasing was equally challenging.
The classroom was very basic, and the desks and chairs were also rudimentary.
The desks didn’t seem like a complete set, they looked more like a haphazard collection of mismatched pieces.
Li Cancan looked around and could only imagine how difficult the lives of the children who used to study here must have been.
Bai Lixin walked up to the blackboard, took out a piece of cloth from his backpack, and wiped the blackboard. In no time, the thick layer of dust covering the blackboard was swept away, revealing its original surface.
On the blackboard, there were traces of writing that hadn’t been fully erased. Due to the passage of time, the writing was quite faint, but it was still possible to discern that the handwriting was beautiful, suggesting that the writer possessed excellent calligraphy skills.
Bai Lixin swept his flashlight over the blackboard, scrutinizing it for any clues. He then moved on to the teacher’s desk that was nearly falling-apart.
Upon reaching the desk, Bai Lixin noticed something laying upside down in the desk’s hole.
He probed it a couple of times, and a few sheets of paper were dug out.
– Escape.
– I need to escape.
– They lied to me, they all lied to me.
– I don’t want to be here, I want to escape!
– Escape.
– Escape.
– Escape.
Three sheets of paper were filled with repetitions of the phrase “escape.”
The author of these notes might have been on the verge of a breakdown when writing them, resulting in the chaotic handwriting.
Pan Pan’s mother had mentioned that this school had been sealed off a long time ago. After the school’s closure, they began teaching at the village committee’s courtyard.
This implied that back then, the village’s school hadn’t been officially merged into the city’s education system, so they still needed the existence of this “school.” However, despite this need, the school had been sealed off.
Why had it been sealed off? Could it be related to the author of these notes?
Bai Lixin carefully compared the handwriting on the papers with that on the blackboard. He took his time to ensure that the writing on the papers and the blackboard had come from the same hand.
The characteristics of writing on wooden boards and paper could differ due to the materials used, but certain stroke details wouldn’t change significantly.
After pondering for two seconds, Bai Lixin folded the papers and placed them in his backpack.
Once he had secured the items, he continued to sweep his flashlight around the room.
As he quickly scanned the classroom, his flashlight suddenly paused and then swiftly returned to one spot.
Li Cancan and Sun Ning had been observing Bai Lixin’s expressions all along. Now, seeing the sudden tension in his face and movements, they quickly turned to look at the spot where his flashlight had stopped.
It was a corner of the room, empty and desolate except for cobwebs and weeds.
However, the expression on Bai Lixin’s face just now made it seem as if he had seen something weird that shouldn’t be there.
Li Cancan felt like crying She wanted to hide behind Sun Ning, but she was afraid something would sneak up behind her. She wanted to stand in the front, but being in the front meant facing whatever fear awaited there. She was scared, wuuuuu.
“B-Bai Lixin,” Li Cancan’s voice trembled, “W-what were you looking at? Did you see something just now?”
‘Please, give me a straightforward answer, I’m terrified.’
Bai Lixin remained silent for two seconds before saying, “It’s nothing. I saw cobwebs, and I pulled the flashlight back to take a closer look. There’s nothing here, let’s go out.”
The fear that had reached her throat instantly receded, and Li Cancan let out a long sigh. “So, I scared myself for nothing. Let’s go quickly; I’m really not cut out for this supernatural stuff.”
Sun Ning didn’t say anything. She just cast a deep look at Bai Lixin and then back at the corner.
Bai Lixin had definitely seen something just now, but it had flashed by so quickly that he didn’t want to frighten them, hence his lie that there was nothing there.
After the two girls had exited the room, Bai Lixin turned to look at the corner again.
During that brief moment when his flashlight had passed by, he had seen an eerie red figure there.
The figure was pale as a zombie, dressed in tattered red clothing, with long hair hanging from the back to the front, obscuring a mysterious face…
It was just a moment, and when he pulled his flashlight back, the red figure had already disappeared.
