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墨書 Inktalez
"What does it mean to be missing a soul?" I asked in surprise.
"I saw her soul inside before; it was still there, but hazy and unclear, as if it were incomplete. I dare say she must be missing a soul."
Seeing that I still didn’t quite understand, he continued to explain, "Everyone has Three Souls and Seven Spirits." After saying this, he glanced at me nervously. When he saw I had no reaction, he boldly continued, "The specific classifications vary widely, but according to Taoist theory, the Seven Spirits are divided into Corpse Dog, Fushi, Sparrow Yin, Devourer, Non-Toxic, Purification, and Stinking Lung. Each corresponds to different aspects of spirit, energy, and organs like the heart, stomach, kidneys, intestines, gallbladder, liver, and lungs. Both adults and children can lose their souls; generally, those who are unaware of these metaphysical concepts won’t realize they’ve lost one. People who have been frightened or frequently visit unclean places or have experienced strange events are likely to lose their souls."
"And then?" I asked. I wasn't particularly skeptical; after all, concepts like feng shui and the I Ching have existed for thousands of years. They must have some merit. I knew that just because you don’t acknowledge something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist; it simply lacks scientific explanation for the time being. So I patiently pressed on.
"If the soul is incomplete, various problems can arise—like difficulty concentrating, becoming careless or absent-minded, having a poor memory, emotional instability, or even excessive sleepiness. Or it could be like Fu Yuehua—remaining in a constant state of unconsciousness."
"What are the dangers of that?" I inquired.
"This... this..." Little Farmer suddenly hesitated. "It's nothing; just go ahead and say it." I patted his shoulder. "We're outside now; you can tell me this as a friend. I'll judge the rest myself."
"Alright," Little Farmer said with less hesitation and spoke fluently. "Generally speaking, if someone is missing their soul for an extended period, they could develop serious issues like depression or mania. But more importantly, they could easily fall into what we call being possessed by a ghost. Over time, this could lead to becoming mentally ill or even experiencing an accidental death. Company Commander," he added with a hint of disbelief in his expression, "you seem skeptical about what I'm saying. Actually, when we talk about ghosts being possessed—what we refer to as ghosts are essentially electromagnetic waves; they are forms of existence for souls after death that permeate every corner of this world."
"Stop with all that. I'm just asking how to determine the consequences," I interrupted impatiently.
"The specific symptoms depend on whether it's a soul or spirit that's missing and which among the Three Souls or Seven Spirits is lost," he explained.
"So what did she lose?"
Little Farmer shrugged his shoulders and said plainly, "I don't know; she's been asleep the whole time—there's no way to check."
"What the hell!" I cursed under my breath. It seemed relying on Little Farmer was futile; he was still in the stage of theoretical discussion.
I was at a loss for what to do next; Old Zhou was nowhere to be found. Anxiously rubbing my hands together, I realized that while Little Farmer had helped me a bit inside, Fu Yuehua was still lying there. I couldn't just ignore her situation. But what could I do? If she really had lost a soul as Little Farmer suggested, how would I even know where to find it?
After sending Little Farmer away, I wandered around outside the hospital for quite some time without knowing where to go or what to do. As I watched a bus slowly pass by with an advertisement for China Construction Bank Dragon Card on its side, an idea struck me—Long Xia.
This woman was also quite mysterious and didn’t seem like a normal person at all; she reminded me a bit of Old Zhou and Little Farmer. I replayed her words and actions in my mind again and became more convinced of my thoughts. It was rare for her to show such concern about this matter; regardless of her intentions, there was no choice but to seek her out—better to try than do nothing.
Resolute in my decision, I immediately hailed a taxi to Normal University. I remembered Long Xia mentioning she was in the History department. Xiaojing and I had strolled around there before; I should still remember the way well enough to find it again.
The car quickly arrived at National Taiwan Normal University. After getting out, I almost jogged from the school gate straight to the end where I had last visited with Xiaojing. When I arrived, I took a breath and looked at the sign for the College of History ahead.
I silently repeated the name Long Xia in my mind as I walked inside. Just as I entered, I noticed a concierge by the door, and an old man inside called out, "Hey, who are you looking for?"
"Oh, I'm looking for a teacher named Long Xia."
"Teacher Long?" The old man glanced at me. "Who are you to her?"
"Just a friend," I replied casually.
"If you're a friend, then you should know where her dorm is. We're not working during the holiday here. There are Cultural Relics inside, and teachers have to register when they come and go during holidays. She isn't here today," he said, waving a notebook in his hand.
"What the hell!" I was taken aback. How was I supposed to know where her dorm was? Xiaojing had mentioned that National Taiwan Normal University was huge, with many dorm buildings scattered around, and teachers didn't live in one concentrated area. Where was I supposed to look?
Feeling frustrated, I slowly walked back toward the main gate of the College of History, thinking about how I would find that woman now. I hadn't even saved her number, and now that I needed it urgently, it was nowhere to be found. Sighing as I walked, I inadvertently realized that I had taken a wrong turn and ended up by a small lake. I recognized this lake; it was by the mountains, and from here, I could see three dorm buildings arranged like stairs across the water.
What a nice view! How could this happen? I muttered to myself just then when a man's voice came from ahead.
I turned to look in the direction of the sound and saw what appeared to be a couple sitting on a bench by the lake.
The man seemed to be telling the woman a story, perhaps unaware of my presence behind them. His voice was quite loud. "Baby, did you know this used to be one of the Campus Eight Sceneries? But then a girl committed suicide here, and that's when things went downhill."
The man spoke mysteriously while the woman turned her head curiously and asked, "Wasn't it that girl who jumped from the old building across the lake? I've heard about it since my freshman year. What happened?"
The man chuckled a few times and said, "Why did that girl commit suicide? Of course, I don't know. But I heard from an older teacher who stayed on campus that she jumped from the fifth floor over there. You see, five floors is pretty high, but somehow her head hit the window stage on the first floor. As a result, that room on the first floor was covered in blood! The most terrifying part is that they couldn't wash it away; they had to scrape off both the wall paint and the blood together."
"Ah!" The girl leaned closer to the boy. He wrapped his arm around her waist and continued speaking. "You know what? That was the first girl who jumped. The following year, another girl jumped from that same room too. The seniors said that before the second girl committed suicide, many strange things happened. One night, she woke up to see the light fixture swaying. Curious about it, she looked closely and saw another girl swinging on top of it."
Unconsciously, the girl pressed closer to the boy, gripping his hand tightly as he continued his tale. "It's strange; both girls who jumped had poor family backgrounds but were very studious. The second girl loved reading so much that she would hide under her mosquito net at night to read without disturbing others when lights were out. One night, late at night when everyone else was asleep, she finished reading and went to use the bathroom. Just as she entered, she heard giggling outside her window. When she looked up, she saw a girl smiling and waving at her from outside! That girl turned pale with fright and fainted."
As the girl listened more and more intently, the boy felt a sense of pride. "Later, the Second Girl also committed suicide. After that, strange occurrences in the building increased, and the school had no choice but to seal off the Old Building, installing Iron Bars at both ends to prevent anyone from entering. You see, all the lights in our old dormitory rooms used to hang from the ceiling, but now all the dormitory lights are flush against the ceiling. It might all be related to that building. You might not believe it, but a senior once told me that when he first entered school, the Old Building was sealed off but not completely blocked at both ends. He went inside once. He said that standing at the Dormitory Entrance, he felt a chill—an eerie kind of cold—and then he seemed to hear something moving in the corridors on the upper floors, but he couldn't make out what it was. It gave him goosebumps. Ah, darling, that's just hearsay; you mustn't believe it! Hehe, otherwise tonight there might be something outside your mosquito net."
"Ah! You scared me! You're so mean! I won't listen, I won't listen!" The girl exclaimed, covering her ears playfully.
Honest observed that even though it was a bright sunny day, when he cast his gaze toward the Old Building across from them, he couldn't help but shiver. It wasn't just because of the boy's vivid storytelling; he knew it was due to his own experiences in that room.
"Hmph! Trying to scare little girls again," came a cold voice from behind—it was Long Xia.
To be continued; the next part will be even more exciting.
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