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墨書 Inktalez
I woke up to find myself in the dormitory bed. Rubbing my groggy head, I looked down at Shangguan Mingyue and asked, "How did I get back here?"
I clearly remembered fainting in the bathroom; how was I now here?
Shangguan Mingyue glanced at me with confusion and said, "What happened to you? I just saw you walking back like you were in a daze, then you collapsed into bed, looking pale. Something's off with you. Are you hiding something from me?"
In the end, I couldn't hold back and recounted the strange events that had occurred.
After hearing my story, Shangguan Mingyue's expression grew serious. She looked at me and asked, "Yan Xi, do you know what the second half of that saying is?"
Without thinking, I blurted out, "Even if there are a thousand charms, who can share them with?"
Shangguan Mingyue analyzed, "Exactly. It seems that ghost wants to find you; she must have something to ask of you."
"Ask me? But she knocked me out; how could that be?" I was skeptical of Shangguan Mingyue's analysis.
She rolled her eyes at me. "She entered your dream once, and you didn't even notice. Naturally, she had to take some action to let you know. And now you do, right?"
I still didn't understand. "Then why didn't she just come directly to me instead of using ancient poetry?"
"Yan Xi, many vengeful spirits are silenced after death; they can't express their own matters."
"What should I do next?" I asked.
"Since she doesn't seem to want to harm you, just wait for her to give you further instructions," she replied.
Shangguan Mingyue reminded me that it was time for my appointment with Ruo Qing, and we headed to the park together.
When we arrived, we saw Ruo Qing in a white dress waiting there. Her gaze was distant, and she seemed rather unhappy.
I leaned closer and asked her, "What's wrong?"
She forced a smile and shook her head. "Yan Xi, I'm fine. Thank you and Mingyue for helping me regain my memories. My wish has been fulfilled, and I have no more regrets."
I sensed that Ruo Qing wasn't truly happy this time; she just wasn't showing it.
"Yan Xi, can I ask you for one last favor?" Ruo Qing said.
Seeing her like this made my heart ache. Without thinking, I replied, "You."
"Come out, dear."
Ruo Qing called out to someone behind her, and slowly, a baby floated into view.
Though its face was pale, it looked chubby with delicate skin, its cheeks resembling soft dough that made me want to rush over and pinch them.
Ruo Qing led the boy to me. "Yan Xi, this is my poor child. He has suffered alongside me before even being born. I can no longer take care of him; could you please help?"
With her memories restored, Ruo Qing had even found her child, but I felt pity for the baby. The cruelty of adults had made him the most innocent victim.
His black-and-white eyes were untainted, sparkling with innocence as he gazed up at me.
I couldn't help but reach out to him. He flew into my arms, snuggling against my neck and calling out "Godmother."
It must have been Ruo Qing who taught him to say that. Behind me, Shangguan Mingyue tugged at my sleeve, but I ignored her and accepted the child wholeheartedly.
From the very first glance, I knew this child was destined to be connected to me.
Only two remained, and Ruo Qing was about to lose her mind. I felt a surge of sympathy for this pitiful woman.
"Yan Xi, I'm leaving. There are only two left, and I want to see my parents and my friends. Come here, let me hug you as a farewell."
I placed Bao into Mingyue's arms and stepped forward to give Ruo Qing a hug. She buried her head in my neck and whispered softly, "The one close to your heart."
And then she vanished without a trace.
I didn't understand her meaning—who was the one close to my heart?
Since Ruo Qing spoke to me like that, it must have been a secret matter. I buried her words deep in my heart, not even sharing them with Mingyue.
Returning to the dormitory with Bao in my arms, I found myself growing fonder of this child. However, Mingyue disdainfully tossed a gourd at me. I looked up and asked, "What’s that for?"
Mingyue replied with annoyance, "To keep that ghost in! You can't even let it see the sunlight like this."
I asked Mingyue about how to care for a ghost; I wanted to take good care of Bao.
It turned out that ghosts were like humans—they needed to eat too. The difference was that while humans consumed grains, ghosts fed on incense.
For Bao, one stick of incense per week was sufficient.
I pulled a stick of incense from Mingyue's bag and lit it. Bao immediately pounced on it, slowly beginning to absorb its scent.
There was one thing that had been weighing on my mind, preventing me from finding peace: the female ghost who had left me the poem.
Eager to clarify this matter, I decided to go to bed early, hoping she would come find me in my dreams.
Treasure is a ghost, and they live in a world turned upside down. He wanted to go out and play for a while, so I let him, reminding him to be careful and return at the first sign of danger.
I thought for sure that the female ghost would come back, but to my surprise, I woke up early without having any dreams throughout the night.
Sitting at the edge of the bed in a daze, Shangguan Mingyue saw me and asked, "What's wrong?"
"The female ghost didn't come looking for me."
Shangguan Mingyue shot me a glare. "Do you really enjoy being haunted by ghosts?"
I ignored him as Treasure suddenly tumbled over and landed in my arms.
"Godmother, last night an aunt told me to call you and ask you to meet her at the library."
Last night, an aunt, the library?
In the middle of the night, could it be a ghost?
Thinking it over, I realized something was off. I pulled Treasure closer and quickly asked, "What kind of aunt? What did she say to you?"
Treasure was momentarily stunned by my question and hesitated to answer.
It was Shangguan Mingyue who stepped in, gently pulling him aside to ask, "Treasure, dear, was that aunt floating around like you or more like Godmother?"
"Like me, floating around," Treasure replied.
It seemed it was indeed her; otherwise, no one else would have latched onto Treasure and figured out our connection so quickly. Who exactly is this female ghost? Is she lurking around me? The thought sent a chill down my spine.
I asked Bao, "Does the aunt have anything else?"
Bao tilted her head and replied, "The aunt will meet her at three o'clock in the afternoon."
I exchanged a glance with Shangguan Mingyue, and we came to a decision.
...
At three o'clock in the afternoon, I arrived punctually at the library.
As the clock's hands settled on the hour, the curtains in the library began to sway gently with the breeze.
She had arrived; I knew it.
But she did not reveal herself, as I could not sense her ghostly presence.
Thud...
A book suddenly fell from a shelf on my left, causing my heart to leap.
Once I calmed down, I sensed something was off and walked over to pick up the book.
As I held it, the breeze turned to page 107. I looked at the text on that page.
Nothing special caught my eye, but a note in the margin drew my attention.
It was a string of numbers: 9711410784114.
The string of numbers seemed completely chaotic, and I couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Feeling the ghostly presence around me dissipate, I knew she had left.
This ghost really knows how to lead me in circles. With no other choice, I could only borrow this book and go back to discuss it with Shangguan Mingyue.
"You are here because that female ghost sent you to the library for this book," Shangguan Mingyue asked me.
I nodded. "Yes, I didn't find anything else at the scene."
Suddenly, she clapped her hands and shouted at me, "Hey, I have an idea!"
"Hurry up," I urged.
"I once saw someone on Weibo use this as a code based on the order of the alphabet, then piece together words. Should we give it a try?"
I reached out and tapped Shangguan Mingyue on the head, teasing, "What’s the 104th letter of the alphabet? There are only 26 letters, you know?"
However, her comment did give me a hint; it might not be related to the alphabet after all, but perhaps the direction was right.
I took out a pen and paper, treating that string of numbers as a sequence. One by one, I found the corresponding letters in the book and wrote them down, then I saw this sentence.
"Lin Qing Neng and Jiang Sisi are good."
Good? What does that mean? The first part made sense, but what about those last two words?
Shangguan Mingyue stood beside me, glanced at it, and casually said, "Silly, 114 means 'a lifetime'."
I suddenly understood that the female ghost wanted to express a lifelong bond between Lin Qing Neng and Jiang Sisi. Could it be that the ghost's name was Jiang Sisi?
Did she want to tell me her name for a reason, perhaps to lead me to find her?
I shared this conclusion with Shangguan Mingyue, hoping to hear her thoughts.
"Since it's written in the book above your library, it's likely a student from your school. Just ask around if anyone knows this person," Shangguan Mingyue replied.
But how could I inquire about someone with no name or age? How could I investigate?
Every year, thousands of new students enroll at the school, and there are plenty of people with the same name; it would be impossible to track down.
I pulled Bao over to the side, playfully teasing him.
Bao looked at me with his big eyes and asked, "Godmother, aren't you happy?"
"Yan Xi, doesn't your school have a record book?" Shangguan Mingyue asked.
Even if there was a record book, it wouldn't help; those records were locked in a database that I, as a student, couldn't access. I shrugged at Shangguan Mingyue and shook my head. "Yes, but we can't get in."
"We can't get in, but he can," she said excitedly, pointing at Bao in my arms.
Humans can't enter, but ghosts can; Shangguan Mingyue had a point there.
"Will Bao be in danger?" This was my biggest concern.
After Shangguan Mingyue assured me with a pat on her chest and with Bao volunteering for it, I finally agreed.
Carrying the gourd filled with treasures, I arrived at the school's archive room, where I stood at the door with Shangguan Mingyue.
I let the treasure enter to retrieve the files from the computer inside. This place held not only school records but also information about all the teachers who had ever worked here.
Nervously crouching at the door with Shangguan Mingyue, I was afraid that someone might discover us.
At that moment, time felt like it was dragging on painfully, each second stretching into eternity.
Finally, a transparent A4 sheet floated out into the air.
Phew, thankfully Shangguan Mingyue had cleverly blocked the camera beforehand; otherwise, rumors of ghosts would have spread.
I took the paper from the treasure and examined what was written on it.
Upon glancing at it, I was stunned.
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