Ewige Nacht

Kapitel 6

Professor Chen was so shocked that he almost dropped the cigarette from his mouth.

“Professor, I think you must be hiding something, right? You were also a student at our university, so I think the information you gave us must be the result of your years of investigation!” Xu Xian said slowly and deliberately.

It turned out to be a graduation photo, with the inscription "Graduation Commemoration of Class xx, 1964" on the back. Xu Xian had just discovered it by chance in his photo album.

Professor Chen lit a cigarette, sighed again, and after a long while, the cigarette had burned out, but he still hadn't taken a single puff.

Looking at the burnt-out cigarette butt, Professor Chen hurriedly put it in the ashtray, then frowned slightly as he looked at Xu Xian. After a long while, he finally spoke.

“I thought this kind of thing wouldn’t happen again this year, but it still happened.” He looked remorseful.

“Professor, these things didn’t happen because of you. You don’t need to blame yourself,” Li Ke advised.

“You don’t understand. Every twenty years, some strange things happen at the school, either someone dies or someone goes missing. In previous years there was only one case, but this year two people died, and right under my nose! I could have reported it to the school and suspended classes, but I trusted my abilities, so… in the end, this kind of thing happened again! It’s all my fault!” He confessed with self-reproach.

Wu Xi retorted softly, "Please, Professor, so what if you suggested the school suspend classes? Does that mean the school will necessarily agree just because you made the suggestion?"

Zhang Xiaodi wrinkled her nose and said, "That's right! Professor, the school doesn't care about the students' lives or deaths! It's not like they're the ones who are dying! Luckily you didn't apply, otherwise I believe the school would have thought you were crazy and kicked you out. Then, we wouldn't be meeting today."

Everyone nodded in agreement and then gave Professor Chen a reassuring smile.

Professor Chen looked at the child in front of him and smiled with satisfaction.

Xu Xian, who had been deep in thought, muttered to himself, "It happens every twenty years..."

"Xu Xian, what are you babbling about?" Li Ke looked at him suspiciously.

Xu Xian composed himself, then looked at everyone, finally settling his gaze on Professor Chen.

“Professor, there’s something you haven’t told us. Something must have happened in 1962.” He said firmly.

Professor Chen was slightly startled. "1962?"

"Yes, if I remember correctly, you just said that some strange events happen at the school every twenty years, but the information you gave us only mentions 1942 and 1982. Including this year, you didn't mention 1962. That's how it counts as every twenty years!" Xu Xian asked curiously.

"1962?" Fear appeared on the professor's face, his breathing became rapid, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Xu Xian looked at him with concern, then walked up to him and smiled reassuringly.

“Professor!” he called softly.

The professor shuddered.

"professor?"

Professor Chen looked at him.

"Yes, just like that, look into my eyes," Xu Xian guided.

Professor Chen calmed down in no time, though his eyes were a little vacant as he sat quietly in his chair.

Li Ke and the other three looked at Xu Xian suspiciously. Xu Xian could only smile blankly, then scratch the back of his head and replied stupidly, "Hypnosis."

Everyone was stunned. Xu Xian was truly terrifying. How could there be any secrets with someone like him?

"Xu Xian, where did your mind-reading ability go? Why don't you just use that? It would be much faster. Why do you have to ask me question by question?" Li Ke suggested.

Xu Xian stretched out his index finger and waved it from side to side. "I have another plan. You'll understand in a moment."

After saying that, he began to give Professor Chen hints.

"What is your name?" Xu Xian asked.

-- "Chen Dexun"

"age?"

--"Sixty-two"

"Profession?"

--"University professor."

"Okay, Professor Chen, do you remember what happened in 1962?"

Although under hypnosis, Professor Chen still acted somewhat lewdly, and Xu Xian also frowned. It seemed that something terrible had really happened that year, so he deepened the hypnotic suggestion.

Tell me about the thing that happened that year that scared you.

Professor Chen spoke in a trembling voice, those images flashing through everyone's minds...

"Xiao Xiao and I were high school classmates, and then we both got into XX University (Xu Xian's current school). We fell in love, very deeply. We climbed Fragrant Hills together, waited for the sunrise at the beach together, traveled to every corner of our country together, studied together, and even decided to study abroad together. We even ended up living together. Back then, society simply didn't accept unmarried couples living together, but she followed me without hesitation. In our second year of university, we rented a small room. Because I was worried about her being gossiped about, I chose to go back to school on Sunday to pack my things. That day, most of the students had gone home." Many of the remaining students had gone on outings, so there weren't many people on campus. I accompanied her to her dormitory. At that time, there was probably a leak in the underground pipes, and the hallways were flooded. Although it wasn't very deep, none of us considered why so much water had accumulated in the hallways or why the water level hadn't dropped. Her dormitory was on the fifth floor, and by the time we reached the fourth floor, the water was already up to her calves. Xiaoxiao had to go back to her dormitory to get her packed belongings, but she was a clean freak. So I carried her on my back the whole time. She wasn't light, but I felt very happy carrying her. To this day, that remains one of my fondest memories.

When we got to the fifth floor, the water was up to our calves. I walked slowly, looking at the dark yellow water, wondering where it came from. As we approached their dormitory…

Professor Chen stopped, his body trembling like a sapling in the cold wind.

"What's wrong? Go on!" Xu Xian pressed further.

"As I approached their dorm, I felt something grabbing at my feet, like a woman's long fingernails. I stopped, and Xiaoxiao asked me worriedly what was wrong. I endured the pain and didn't say anything, but Xiaoxiao noticed the cold sweat on my forehead. She worriedly wiped the sweat away, and I only told her to hold on tight to my neck and be careful not to fall. She obediently did so. I struggled to walk back, but those hands wouldn't let go; they kept tearing at my calves. But I didn't even flinch. I told her..." I told myself I had to persevere; for Xiaoxiao's sake, I had to get her out of there. As I struggled to the top of the stairs, Xiaoxiao's grip suddenly loosened. My heart skipped a beat. I yelled for her to hold on tighter to my neck, but she wouldn't listen, as if she were dead. Suddenly, she pushed me away and jumped into the water. I turned to look at her; she was already struggling in the water, which only reached her calves, but she seemed to be in two meters deep, her hands waving frantically above her head. Only then did I realize that the water clinging to me... Her legs and hands had somehow let go. I walked towards her, but she yelled for me to run. I got closer and closer, and she cried, begging me to let her go. She struggled in the water, then was swallowed up by the 30-centimeter-deep floodwater. The instant she disappeared beneath the surface, my tears flowed uncontrollably. I ran desperately outside the dormitory building, collapsing from blood loss. My pants were soaked in blood, my legs were clawed raw, but my pants were intact. The floodwaters receded from the dormitory building, but Xiaoxiao's body was nowhere to be found. Three days later, someone found her body in the sewers of the dormitory basement. Her entire body was swollen from being submerged in water, and her face had deep scratches that revealed her forehead. Her clothes were intact, just as she had worn them that morning, but the flesh beneath them had been torn to shreds. If it weren't for the clothes covering her, it would have been washed away long ago! Afterwards, no one mentioned it again, and I focused on my studies, but my heart was dead. I was in so much pain; God knows how much I missed her.

Professor Chen's wrinkled face was streaked with tears. The five boys also couldn't help but shed tears.

Xu Xian was putting the finishing touches on.

"Professor Chen, this matter ends here. Now listen to me. Xiaoxiao is not dead, and you two were never in love. You separated after graduating from high school. Xiaoxiao went abroad to study, while you stayed in China. Your relationship will be your most beautiful memory. You now have a happy family, a kind and simple wife, and you love her very much. Remember, when I wake you up in a moment, your memory will be just as I described."

Professor Chen nodded, and a gust of cold wind blew by, causing Xu Xian's soul-summoning bell to ring.

Xu Xian stared blankly out the window for a long time, then suddenly said "You're welcome" and broke Professor Chen's hypnosis.

When Professor Chen woke up, he was like a different person; he was no longer listless and was much more energetic. The sound of the summoning bell faded, and everything returned to calm.

Before Professor Chen could react, everyone hurriedly said their goodbyes.

Five people walked side by side down the street, and none of them spoke.

Li Ke smiled, then faced everyone and walked backwards.

"Everyone, please don't be sad for Professor Chen. Isn't he doing well now?"

Nobody paid him any attention.

"Hey, don't be upset! Didn't you notice that Xiaoxiao doesn't have that special gesture?"

The blurring was successful, and all four of them snapped back to reality.

Xu Xian frowned slightly and said softly to everyone, "She also had a gesture. Her gesture was the one she made when she died, with her hands raised above her head. It's just that everyone thought it was her struggling, so they didn't notice it."

The four of them were completely dumbfounded. Five hand gestures! Good heavens! Someone tell them what it means!

"Moreover, Xiao Xiao's soul was actually summoned out of her body. While she was on the professor's back, she was actually dead for a period of time. But those whose souls leave their bodies can see many things, like ghosts. She saw a ghost grabbing the professor's leg, while the professor insisted on carrying her. Their love made her soul desperately want to return to her body. Just then, the professor called out to her loudly, which successfully brought Xiao Xiao back. Xiao Xiao didn't want to see her beloved man die, so she jumped into the water. The female ghost clung to her, constantly grabbing at her leg in the water, but she only wanted the professor to leave. She wanted to protect him, just as he wanted to protect her. Their love was so great! After she died, she couldn't bear to be reincarnated. She came to see the professor every day, and his unwavering love for her over the decades made her happy yet heartbroken. So, when I chose to make the professor forget that incident, she was satisfied and went to be reincarnated. Perhaps in the next life, they will be together again!"

As Xu Xian spoke, a tear rolled down his cheek.

The road back to school was so long and so quiet...

Before they knew it, final exams were approaching. Of the six students, four except for Liu Quan and Zhang Xiaodi had failed, some even failing multiple subjects. According to the rules, the four of them had to stay at school to prepare for make-up exams in mid-August.

Liu Quan and Zhang Xiaodi rushed home on the first day of the holiday, leaving the other four students who were in debt to study hard in the dormitory!

Early in the morning, Li Ke started yelling at everyone to get up and study, but no one paid any attention to him.

He simply picked up the air conditioner remote and turned it off with a "beep," but instead of being woken up by the heat as expected!

Li Ke looked at the thermometer in the room: 30 degrees Celsius! Good heavens! It was almost like a steamer, but he couldn't feel any heat at all.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Thinking he was sick, he swallowed hard and woke everyone up. After listening to his story and considering their own feelings, they realized that Li Ke wasn't the only one who felt this way. Instantly, everyone's hair stood on end.

After this incident, everyone in the dormitory building was in a panic, and after two days, there were hardly any people left in the dormitory building.

In the early afternoon of August, cicadas chirped in the trees. Xu Xian and his three friends sat under the shade of a tree by the playground. Now they would rather be hot than go back to that eerie dormitory.

A gust of wind blew by, and Wu Xi sneezed, "Ahhhhh!"

Wu Xi casually rubbed her nose and said with a smile, "Someone must be missing me!"

Liu Bin chuckled: "You think someone's thinking of you just because you sneezed? You're being way too arrogant!"

"Don't you know that I think about it, then I curse it, then I'm thinking about it?" Wu Xi said, rubbing her nose, and then suddenly sneezed, "Achoo!"

Liu Bin chuckled, then said with a "you deserve it" look, "So now someone's insulting you?"

Wu Xigang wanted to retort, but the sneezing continued one after another, as if it would never stop.

The group quickly returned to their dormitory. Wu Xi took out his allergy medication, took the prescribed dose, and stopped sneezing, which had been going on for thirty minutes.

Taking a deep breath, Wu Xi muttered, "Strange, I only have allergy symptoms in early spring, and it's already midsummer now, how can I still have allergies?"

The group remained relaxed, laughed it off, and completely failed to notice anything amiss.

The following afternoon, the sky was filled with flying catkins, which terrified everyone.

Poplar and willow catkins should only appear in spring, so why are they still appearing in summer?

While covering her nose with a handkerchief, Wu Xi said, "I knew it! So that's what it is. I'm most afraid of willow catkins. It must have been because of this that I kept sneezing yesterday."

In the days that followed, willow catkins continued to drift around the campus. Strangely enough, this didn't happen outside the campus.

Around mid-August, Zhang Xiaodi returned to the team because: "My parents have gone abroad again, and it's no fun for me to stay at home alone. I might as well..."

The next day, Liu Quan also returned to the team, explaining: "Some relatives came from my hometown, and there was no room at home, so..."

Actually, everyone knows in their hearts that it's not because of those long-winded words...

Liu Quan mysteriously took out a small bottle from his backpack, and Liu Bin took it and tried to spray it into his eyes.

Fortunately, Liu Quan stopped it in time!

"What? Isn't this eye drops? Why are you being so stingy?" Liu Bin muttered, pouting.

Liu Quan let out a "whoosh" and then handed the bottle to Xu Xian.

Xu Xian stared intently at the liquid in the small green bottle.

"Ox tears?"

Liu Quan nodded, then gave a thumbs-up, looking appreciative.

The other four people stared blankly at the two of them.

Xu Xian stepped forward to explain, "Ox tears are also a type of floating water often used in the Dharma realm. When dripped into the eyes, they can reveal things that are normally invisible."

"For example?" Zhang Xiaodi's interface.

"A ghost?" Liu Bin also asked.

Xu Xian nodded slightly, which was taken as tacit agreement.