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墨書 Inktalez
"Hey," Zhang Kai said, looking closely at Wei Ning. "How is it that after just over a month, you've suddenly taken to fashion? This isn't the style you usually go for; you’ve always been more into traditional looks. What’s going on? Have you changed your tune?"
Zhang Kai immediately transformed into a know-it-all, explaining, "When you were peeking in the women's restroom, did you use both eyes to look through one hole? One eye is enough; that's what we call a glimpse of spring, right?" After saying this, Zhang Kai gave Wei Ning a suggestive wink.
"Well, now our dorm really has it all," Sun Bing said with a pained expression as he glanced at Zhang Kai. "Guo Aizi is painting her nails, and you’ve taken a liking to colored contacts. Seriously, boss, let’s all prepare ourselves tonight..."
Zhang Kai feigned innocence and patted Sun Bing on the shoulder. "Though those who dare touch my flower must face consequences, who could blame us for loving Wei so much? It’s a tragic fate we have to accept. Once it’s here, there’s no escaping it..."
The two exchanged glances and said in unison, "Then let the storm come even fiercer!"
"Fuck you!" Guo Xiaofei shot them both a middle finger, revealing her black-painted nails.
Wei Ning always found these guys amusing yet exasperating. Not wanting to delve too deeply into explanations, he quickly changed the subject. "Fei, you got here early. You didn’t take a car this time, did you?"
At the mention of cars, Guo Xiaofei shuddered as if possessed. The memory of that "Eight Ghosts Carrying the Palanquin" incident was still fresh in her mind. She would never dare to ride in a car again and quickly replied, "This time it was by train, train."
Zhang Kai and Sun Bing were baffled by their strange exchange and wanted to ask for clarification, but both Guo Xiaofei and Wei Ning laughed it off. Finding it dull, Zhang Kai and Sun Bing decided not to pursue it further.
After being reunited for a while, there was no shortage of conversation among the four of them—especially with the talkative Sun Bing and Zhang Kai around. Before they knew it, night had fallen. They tidied up and headed to Zhang Ye's restaurant for dinner.
At that moment, Zhang Ye was engrossed in a promotional brochure for Zangmi Jingen when he spotted Wei Ning and felt a surge of joy. "Did you see your grandfather when you went back?"
Wei Ning shook his head. Due to his mother's instructions, he couldn't reveal that his grandfather was still alive to Zhang Ye. Zhang Ye read the answer in Wei Ning's eyes but remained hopeful. "Just wait a bit longer; maybe there will be another chance." However, his words couldn't hide his deep disappointment. Wei Ning felt a pang of sympathy and could only silently agree.
After dinner, the four returned to their dormitory and engaged in lively banter until night fell again. Eventually, they began discussing school matters when Sun Bing suddenly said mysteriously, "Do you guys know? Our 'wife' committed suicide."
"Committed suicide?" Wei Ning exclaimed in shock. "Is it Yang Luo?"
Yang Luo was a female classmate from Wei Ning's year and recognized as the campus beauty at Provincial University. With her stunning figure and height, she was often fantasized about by Sun Bing and Zhang Kai, who frequently referred to her as their 'wife.' Naturally, Wei Ning had heard much about her.
Zhang Kai seemed very interested in this topic and jumped up from his bed excitedly. "You bet! I heard she was being supported by some rich guy—didn’t you see how every weekend there’d be a BMW picking her up? She was living large! Who would have thought...”
"I heard she didn't go home during winter break and got caught with that rich guy in her dorm room by an instructor. The guy just packed up and left after that; Yang Luo couldn’t handle the pressure of being reported school-wide and ended up taking her own life."
"Beauty often meets tragedy," Sun Bing sighed. "I can only imagine how that rich guy must have felt with Yang Luo around; after her death, he probably felt relieved."
"Dead is dead, what's the big deal?" Guo Xiaofei scoffed. "In this school, people die all the time. Every year there are a few who jump off buildings; it's either a love tragedy, failing exams, or just too much pressure..."
Zhang Kai suddenly slapped his thigh and jumped up from the bed. "The key is that her way of dying was different."
"Do you know?" Zhang Kai took the cigarette that Guo Xiaofei handed him. Guo Xiaofei then passed one to Sun Bing and another to Wei Ning, who smiled and politely declined since he didn't smoke.
Guo Xiaofei wasn't particularly well-liked in the dormitory. On one hand, he was thin and looked like someone who could easily be bullied; on the other hand, his gloomy personality made him quiet and somewhat reclusive. Additionally, Guo Xiaofei had an inexplicable wariness towards Sun Bing, which made Sun Bing not very fond of him.
Guo Xiaofei rarely smoked, and in Wei Ning's impression, it was the first time Guo Xiaofei had actively offered cigarettes to his dorm mates.
Zhang Kai took a puff of his cigarette, squinting as he recalled vividly, as if he had seen it with his own eyes: "I heard Yang Luo committed suicide by hanging. She tore several sheets from the beds in the dormitory and twisted them into a rope. One end was tied to the radiator in the room, and then she jumped out the window. When they found her, she was hanging outside the window with her tongue almost a foot long. And then, when the wind blew, her whole body swayed in the air..." Zhang Kai's vivid description frightened Guo Xiaofei so much that he felt a chill run down his spine. "That's terrifying."
"Isn't it? Just think about it; the building behind Yang Luo's dorm is doomed. Every night, someone died across from them, and those eyes just stare blankly... that feeling..."
At this point, Zhang Kai suddenly stopped speaking because all four of them realized something— their dormitory was directly opposite Yang Luo's room. Zhang Kai and Sun Bing had even bought a telescope to sneak a peek at Yang Luo while she showered after lights out.
A chilling breeze seemed to sweep through, plunging the dormitory into an eerie atmosphere.
"Yang Luo!" Zhang Kai suddenly shouted.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me..." The most timid among them, Guo Xiaofei, actually buried his head under the blanket, trembling all over.
"What a coward," Sun Bing scoffed at Guo Xiaofei, who then realized that Zhang Kai was just joking around. His face turned red with embarrassment.
Zhang Kai mysteriously continued, "I heard that Yang Luo is dead but her body is still at school?"
"Still there? Where?"
"I heard she wrote a letter before she died saying she wanted her body donated to the school. It should be in the Mortuary now."
"Is that true?" Guo Xiaofei asked.
"Don't believe it?" Zhang Kai replied. "This is absolutely true; I've heard many people have gone to see her."
"Look at her? That place, the Mortuary, is so eerie and terrifying. Who would go there? Besides, there's that strange old man who guards it. They say he's quite sinister; anyone who talks to him ends up dead. Didn't three people die last year because of him?" Guo Xiaofei said.
"Pfft, with your cowardice, you believe those baseless rumors? But I’ll tell you, that old man seems to have been dismissed," Zhang Kai replied.
"Dismissed?" Wei Ning perked up, listening intently. "Does anyone know where he went?"
"Nobody knows that," Zhang Kai shook his head.
"Then who's watching the Mortuary now?" Wei Ning asked.
"It seems no one has taken over for the time being; it's in a state of limbo—whoever takes it on is bound to have bad luck," Zhang Kai explained.
Hearing the old man had left without a word puzzled Wei Ning. The last time he had helped the old man deliver a message, it had led him to Lin Lingsu and a series of subsequent incidents. The old man had come and gone without explanation, leaving Wei Ning with a pile of unresolved mysteries.
Who exactly was he? How did he know the Five Thunder Palm?
What was his connection to the Woman Who Reads Bones? Why did he use her hand to kill himself?
Wei Ning pondered these questions in silence, originally wanting to talk to the old man face-to-face, but now it seemed that opportunity was lost.
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