Himmlisches Buch Die große Leere

Kapitel 18

If a person who rarely speaks suddenly becomes very noisy, there's only one reason—he's filled with fear! He needs someone to talk to, talk to, talk to, to alleviate that fear.

I sat down next to him and took out a cigarette to smoke. "I saw that old man before he died," I said.

Lin Duyu's eyes widened in surprise.

"But he's gone completely mad," I continued.

"You've seen him? Why did you go to see him?" Lin Duyu asked.

"Don't ask too many questions about these things, don't get yourself involved," I patted him on the shoulder, "I don't want anything to happen to my good friend."

Lin Duyu turned to look out the window, seemingly not having heard me. He pointed to the window of the reading room diagonally opposite, "Is the woman in your nightmare standing behind that window?"

"Du Yu, what's wrong with you?" I suddenly realized that something was wrong with him.

He shook his head and said, "It's nothing. Two people have died recently, which has made me a little nervous. I'm fine."

"Don't dwell on these things anymore, don't get involved with them, and everything will be fine."

He suddenly stood up. "Lin Yuan, I'm going for a walk."

"I'll go with you."

"No need, I want to be alone for a while." With that, he walked out of the dormitory.

What's wrong with Lin Duyu? He's acting so strangely today; this isn't like him at all. Even with two bizarre deaths in a row, he shouldn't be this nervous. I've been involved in these events, and I'm not this nervous. Why is he like this? I feel there must be a reason, so I decided to follow him and see what he's up to.

Just as he reached the top of the stairs, Chen Yiming came to greet him. "What, going out?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just wanted to go for a walk." I didn't want Chen Yiming to suspect my friend.

"How's the investigation about the keys going?"

"We couldn't find it. The old man was keeping the key. When we found him, he was acting like he'd gone mad."

Chen Yiming smiled. "I knew it; you were at the scene before the incident."

You doubt me?

Chen Yiming shook his head and laughed, "If I suspected you, I would have invited you to my place. Why would I need to waste time arguing with you here? I just want to ask about what happened back then. You said Old Man Sun acted like he'd gone mad, what was going on?"

I recounted what had happened that night. Chen Yiming frowned, looked around, and said to me, "It's not convenient here. Let's talk downstairs."

PART 2.

The night wasn't deep. But it was rare to see anyone on campus today, and those who were there were hurrying by. Places where couples usually frequented were now deserted. It seemed that the two consecutive deaths had indeed left a shadow in people's hearts.

"What is the curse that Old Man Sun mentioned?" I asked Chen Yiming, trying to get some insight from him.

Chen Yiming took a deep breath. "Just as Maeda Reiko said, rumors about a curse circulated two years ago."

"Oh, you've heard of it too?"

"I've been investigating this case, so of course I know something about it. Most importantly, the three diaries I found all contain descriptions of this curse, though not very detailed, but they are very valuable."

"Could it be the same curse mentioned in Lingmin's suicide note? Was this curse cast by the deceased 'Zhang Xueyao'?"

"No, it's not that simple. I think it's fundamentally different from the curse mentioned in Lingmin's suicide note. I didn't tell you these things when I showed you the note that day because I wasn't sure if there was a connection."

"And now?"

"Still uncertain, but it might be related to the curse Old Man Sun mentioned."

"By the way, how did Old Man Sun die?"

"The autopsy report is out; he died of fright."

I tugged at my collar, a chill creeping up my spine.

"It seems that Maeda Reiko sensed danger, so she pulled you away to run away."

"Yes, this woman seems to have a strange perception; she can easily see what people are thinking. Isn't that amazing?"

A strange smile appeared on Chen Yiming's face. "Heh, indeed very impressive. I'm actually quite interested in meeting this leader of the Spirit Summoning Association, but not now. Also, you must keep our cooperation a secret from everyone, including Maeda Reiko."

"I know what to do."

"Alright, I think I should go back now," Chen Yiming said, pulling a plastic bag from his coat pocket and handing it to me. "I'm going on a business trip to Hunan tomorrow. There's a case from last month that requires arrests, so things here will have to be put on hold for now. Take these diaries and study them carefully. I hope you can provide some valuable clues when I get back."

The Fourth Campus: The Secret Passage of the Clock Tower (2)

PART 3.

Ever since I got those diaries, I've gone to the reading room almost every night, even though I don't really like that place.

A week had passed since Old Man Sun's death, and the campus seemed to have returned to normal; nothing suspicious had happened. After nightfall, there were noticeably more people taking walks than in the previous days. More than half the seats in the reading room were occupied, but it was very quiet; everyone was focused on studying or researching. I chose this place, firstly to think quietly, and secondly to avoid worrying about others discovering the diaries.

After Meng Li and Ikeda Nami died, the three people who perished in that forbidden area were: Zhang Xueyao, Liu Li, and Ouyang Feifei. I carefully read their diaries and confirmed the characteristic Chen Yiming mentioned—every diary mentioned the word "curse," and they all seemed to foreshadow that they would be cursed; another word they all mentioned was the word "diary."

"A diary, a cursed diary that was rumored two years ago." Maeda Reiko's words kept echoing in his mind. Indeed, information about this cursed diary could be found in all three of the deceased's diaries.

All three deceased individuals had read this diary.

The deaths of these three people may all have been caused by reading this diary.

What kind of diary was it? Would reading it really lead to death? And who was the owner of the diary? I suspect it might be Meng Li's diary, but why did Ikeda Nami, who hadn't read Meng Li's diary, also die? And why did the murderer lead her to that mysterious red brick house, if they didn't want others to know this secret?

Chaos, I'm in chaos again.

Just when I was completely baffled, a passage from Zhang Xueyao's diary caught my eye:

Why is this diary tucked away on the bookshelf in the reading room?

These words struck me like a steel needle. I immediately went to look through Liu Li's and Ouyang Feifei's diaries. Sure enough, they had mentioned the same situation.

Reading room!

I looked up and around. Everything seemed normal. The people studying didn't notice the cursed diary in their vicinity.

I slowly packed up the east and west flasks, left my seat, and walked towards the bookshelf next to me. Hoping against hope, I decided to try and see if I could still find it there.

But there are so many books here; it would take at least several days to find them one by one. "Take my time," I encouraged myself. "It's just a matter of time." I turned around and walked to the innermost bookshelf, starting to search for the books one by one.

Hundreds of books flashed past my eyes. I rubbed my eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared to continue my search. Just then, I saw Lin Duyu.

"Hey, Duyu, are you looking for books too?" I greeted him casually.

Lin Duyu seemed reluctant to see me. He habitually pushed up his glasses. "Ah, yes... what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for books too." I shrugged.

"What book are you looking for?" Lin Duyu asked, looking a little flustered.

I walked over and patted him on the shoulder, laughing, "Why are you so nervous? It's just writing a paper. You think I'll steal your materials?"

Lin Duyu laughed, though a little forcedly. "Hehe, yeah, yeah. You know I'm not good at writing, so I have to come here to find some books to copy."

I touched my nose and chuckled, "But this seems to be the literature section. Shouldn't we be looking for forensic medicine materials for our papers?"

"Ah! Hehe, yeah, yeah. I just came by to take a look. I'm not going to chat with you anymore, I'm going to find some information." Lin Duyu said, walking towards the medical bookshelf.

PART 4.

Lin Duyu has been acting very strangely lately. I started noticing him the day I met him in the reading room. He goes to the reading room almost every night, but he never sits down to read a book; he's always looking for books in the literature section. What is he looking for? Could it be…?

I dare not think about it anymore, but I can't help but think about it.

Just like the previous days, I arrived at the reading room on time, chose a corner that was not easy to be found, and sat down to wait for Lin Duyu.

One hour, two hours passed, until the bell rang to signal the end of self-study, but he still hadn't appeared. I carefully looked at everyone leaving the reading room, but still couldn't find him. An ominous premonition rose in my heart.

I was the last to leave the reading room, and as I came out, I saw Wang Siyue tidying up the tables and chairs. She was one of the people in charge of the reading room, and it happened to be her turn to be on duty today. After exchanging greetings, I left first.

Back in the dorm, it was empty. Tomorrow was the weekend, and Xu Zhifei usually wouldn't be back in the dorm at this time of day. The game room had become his weekend "villa." Could Lin Duyu be with him?

Zhao Jun has been rarely returning to the dormitory lately. Since last month, he's almost always coming back very late, sometimes not returning all night. I don't know if it's because he's actually a year ahead of us and doesn't want to interact with us, but we almost never see him except in class. He also rarely initiates conversations with us.

I lit a cigarette, then habitually opened the window and leaned against the windowsill to look at the scenery. I like to do this when I'm feeling down.

Before we knew it, it was already the end of October. The south was still relatively warm at this time, but the north had already seen its first snowfall. On such a cold night, naturally few people went out for a stroll, and the campus was quiet, except for a few dormitory buildings that were brightly lit, with occasional bursts of noise coming from them.

I cast my gaze into the distance, and the ancient "clock tower" came into view. In the darkness, only its outline could be vaguely seen. I couldn't help but wonder; the clock seemed to have never rung, except, of course, in my nightmares.

The memory of that nightmare sends chills down my spine. I couldn't help but look at the reading room window, but all I could see was a blurry outline.

"That terrifying woman I saw in my dream, she must be in that place, right behind that window," I thought to myself. "Was that woman Nami Ikeda or Xueyao Zhang? Heh, how silly, it was just a dream. That woman wasn't either of them, just my imagination." Thinking this, I couldn't help but laugh. It was indeed silly to think about such a question. But soon my smile froze on my face.

The Fourth Campus: The Secret Passage of the Clock Tower (3)

I felt my heart racing and my muscles twitching. Was it from the cold or from nervousness? I think it was both. If you had seen that fleeting glimmer of light through the window of the "Clock Tower" reading room, you would have felt the same way.

Wang Siyue? She was the first person I thought of, because she hadn't left when I came out. But if it really was her, why wasn't the light on? That fleeting light looked like it came from a flashlight. Then, I remembered that nightmare.

I threw down my cigarette butt, slammed the window shut, drew the curtains, and hid behind them. Was I seeing things? After a moment of calm, I gently lifted a corner of the curtain and peered into the reading room. The same scene came into view again; there was definitely light. Who could be there!

I dashed to the dormitory door, broke the broom in half, picked up the broken stick, and ran out.

PART 5.

Fear fueled my anger! And anger gave me strength. I ran as fast as I could from the dormitory to the "clock tower," with only one thought in mind: to deliver a fatal blow to that person.

However, as I entered the "Clock Tower," my anger was swallowed by darkness and silence. Not a single light was on in the corridor. The pitch-black darkness and the creaking of the wooden stairs felt like a layer of ice frozen solid for millennia, instantly freezing the flames of my newly ignited rage. Every step I took, the damned floorboards groaned, no matter how lightly I moved. And at that moment, it seemed as if an unseen eye in the depths of darkness was watching me, observing every movement.

By the time I stepped over the last step and reached the top floor where the reading room was located, my underwear was soaked with sweat. The sixty-odd steps felt like over six hundred steps, and it took me a full fifteen minutes to climb.

Exhausted. Aside from fear, the only feeling I had was exhaustion. Those sixty-odd steps had drained most of my strength. I slowly sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall, panting. I needed to recover.

The reading room was so close, but I no longer had the strength or courage to go there. I could only stare at the frosted glass on the door of the reading room. Occasionally a ray of light would flash by, but soon it would be pitch black again.

Who's inside? I remembered that dream again, that ghostly woman standing at the reading room window staring at me. I started praying, hoping the person inside wouldn't come out now, at least not until I regained my strength to escape.

There was no sound from the reading room, but I could hear the sound of the wooden floorboards downstairs.

"Crunch--Crunch--" With each crunch, my heart skips a beat.

Who could it be? Could there be someone outside besides someone inside the reading room?

The sound from the floor grew closer. I slowly got up from the ground and looked down from the stair railing. A flashlight beam was slowly moving up the stairs, and a dark shadow followed it—the shadow of a woman, the shadow of her long hair, which felt like a sharp sword piercing my heart.

"Creak--creak--" The sound grew closer, and my heart pounded faster. I moved my feet to the rhythm of the sound, hiding on the stairs leading to the roof. I hoped my steps weren't jerky, that she hadn't heard me.

"Creak--creak--" The sound seemed to have reached the spot where I had just been sitting. I peeked out again, and this time, I saw her. No, I saw two women!

I gripped the broken stick in my hand, jumped down the stairs, and grabbed one of them by the neck.

"Ah--!" Another woman screamed, and in the dart of the flashlight, I saw her face—Wang Siyue! The other woman I was grabbing by the neck was Hu Xiaoli.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in a low voice, then instinctively turned to look at the reading room door. I hoped the door was soundproof enough so the people inside hadn't heard Wang Siyue's scream.