Himmlisches Buch Die große Leere

Kapitel 16

I couldn't concentrate on the class all day; my mind was filled with the intense agility I felt in the blood pool. At 4 p.m., as soon as class ended, I rushed to Chen Yiming's workplace.

Chen Yiming was still chain-smoking by the window. Seeing me, he said:

"I've been waiting for you for a long time. Please sit down."

I sat down opposite him. "Have you informed Hu Xiaoli?"

"I've already notified her," Chen Yiming glanced at his watch. "She'll be here in half an hour."

"What did you find during yesterday's on-site inspection?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

"Aside from a suicide note, there was nothing of value. The on-site investigation concluded that she did indeed commit suicide."

What was written in the suicide note?

Chen Yiming took out a beautifully crafted letter book from the drawer and handed it to me.

PART 2.

Second suicide note:

Two years have passed, a full two years, and I still couldn't escape it. Why did I say it? Why couldn't I keep the secret I saw? Graduation was just around the corner, leaving this terrible place was just around the corner, and keeping such a horrific secret in my heart was so painful. I really wanted to tell it, I couldn't bear it! But why couldn't I wait another six months? Why couldn't I wait until I left this place before telling it? I was too hasty. That night, not only did I not tell the secret, but I was also entangled by that terrible curse once again.

Lin Yuan, perhaps I shouldn't have written anything to you here, because you don't know how terrible the curse is. But I'm so unwilling to leave this world with this secret. Forgive me.

That night, I hurried back to my dormitory through the woods. As I passed the morgue, I saw a girl in a white dress with long, flowing hair walking quickly ahead of me. Morgues always evoke fear, especially after Meng Li's disappearance in those woods and the mysterious death of a Japanese female student there; it sent chills down my spine. If I hadn't been delayed that day, I wouldn't have taken this shortcut. When I spotted her, I quickened my pace to catch up, wanting to walk with her to ease my fear. But I noticed how fast and eerily she was walking. A nameless dread instantly gripped my heart. I slowed my pace, yet couldn't help following her.

Who exactly is she? Why is she wandering alone in the woods? Curiosity led me to follow her further and further away without realizing it, until she disappeared from sight.

If I had stopped then and gone back to the path I was meant to take, perhaps none of this would have happened to me. But I couldn't help but keep walking in her direction until I came to a well.

I hid behind a tree and saw her standing with her back to me by the well, slowly bending over and placing her hands on the edge. Was she going to commit suicide? I was startled and accidentally stepped on a dry branch on the ground.

With a "snap," my heart leaped into my throat. I covered my mouth, hoping the sound hadn't startled her, but when I looked up again…

She slowly straightened up and turned around; I barely saw her move. She slowly raised her head, her long, flowing hair almost completely obscuring her face, which was now facing me. She had noticed me! I felt her glaring at me!

Then, her voice came from behind her long hair: "You've seen me. If you tell anyone what you've seen, I will haunt you and make sure you have no peace even in death." After saying that, she walked to the well.

I ran back like a madman, out of the woods.

The next day, I wanted to tell my friend everything, but I didn't dare. The third day, when I went to the reading room, I found a note on my seat, red with black writing, which read:

"My dying curse hasn't forgotten you. Don't forget, when you reveal this secret, I will haunt you forever, ensuring you never find peace even in death."

I tore the note to shreds and ran frantically out of the "clock tower".

On the fourth day, Zhang Xueyao, my roommate, was found dead in that grove of trees. Her body was pulled from the well. I didn't dare to look. I heard her entire face was disfigured from being submerged in water, and she was wearing a white dress!

Could the person I saw in the woods be Zhang Xueyao? But I saw her again after I ran back. She was the last one to return to the dorm that night. She gave me a strange look as soon as she came in, and went to bed without saying a word. I was puzzled. How could someone jump into a well first and then come back to the dorm to sleep? Could it be... could it be... that I saw Zhang Xueyao's ghost? The thought of a ghost spending the night with us in the dorm sent chills down my spine!

For two years, I dared not reveal this secret, because the ghost had warned me that once I did, I would not find peace even in death.

That day, Hu Xiaoli came to see me. I thought that since so much time had passed, it wouldn't matter if I told her. But I never expected that she was still secretly watching me! That white dress, that long, flowing hair, that face I couldn't see clearly—she was still beside me! That very night, just as I was about to tell her, she appeared!

Ghosts really do exist in this world! Curses really do exist! This terrifying curse clings to me relentlessly! Since I returned to school from the hospital, the curse hasn't stopped for a single day. Every night, it hovers around me. At night, I'm afraid to go to the bathroom in the hallway alone; that white figure always suddenly appears. I don't even dare look out the window; that terrifying face always flashes past! At first, I thought it was a hallucination, but every time it appears, it leaves a puddle of water. It's not just me saying this; many classmates have seen it! When will it finally strike? Why is it tormenting me like this? I know it's deliberately tormenting me, like a cat playing with a mouse, only delivering the fatal blow when it's tired of playing. No one believes me; they treat me like a madman. Whenever I confide my fears to my best friends, they always brush me off, saying behind my back that I haven't regained my senses. I'm so desperate, so utterly desperate!

The Fourth Campus: Curse (2)

Several times, I wanted to go find Lin Yuan and Hu Xiaoli, but I was afraid that this terrible curse would befall them. I could only endure the fear alone! But I really couldn't bear it any longer!

I'm leaving, leaving this maddening world. I seem to have already glimpsed the beauty and peace of heaven, where I will be freed from this terrible curse.

Silu, my best friend, we met here, in this dorm. You've been my best sister for four years, and I'm so sad to leave you. I know you'll be heartbroken when you see me go, but for me, it'll be a complete relief. Never ask why I'm leaving, never be like me, tormented by that terrible curse to the point of wishing you were dead!

Farewell, my loved ones! Farewell, my friends! Farewell, my alma mater! When will you be free from this gloom?

PART 3.

With a heavy heart, I returned the letter to Chen Yiming.

"So? Did you find anything in her suicide note?" Chen Yiming asked.

I nodded. "At least I understand one thing now: the person who appeared in the corridor of the Youth League Committee office that night wasn't Ikeda Nami, but Zhang Xueyao."

"Oh? Why did you initially mistake her for Nami Ikeda?"

"Because of Reiko Maeda. She came to see me after the incident that day, and when I recounted what happened, she said Nami Ikeda's name in horror."

Chen Yiming seemed thoughtful and said, "According to you, Maeda Reiko should have met Ikeda Nami, of course I mean the deceased Ikeda Nami. Because we already know that what you and Lingmin met was actually Zhang Xueyao."

I nodded. "Yes, Maeda Reiko has indeed met Ikeda Nami, and many times at that. She said Ikeda Nami seems like a different person. Also, Ikeda Nami was present when I first met Maeda Reiko—in our school's reading room—but I didn't see her clearly."

"You should still remember the general outline, right? Could you describe it?"

I shook my head. "That can't be considered seeing anything at all. It was just a shadow, like a person, and it was seen through Maeda Reiko's eyes."

Chen Yiming was even more surprised, "You saw it in her eyes?"

"Yes. She wouldn't let me turn around, as if there would be danger if I did. She gave me a mirror, but I couldn't see my reflection in it."

Chen Yiming leaned back in his chair, his hands stroking his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

"Is there anything suspicious?" I asked.

Chen Yiming smiled. "No, I was just wondering why I can't see myself in the mirror."

I said, "I don't want to believe in ghosts either, but how do you explain what's recorded in Lingmin's suicide note?"

Chen Yiming ignored my question. "How did Maeda Reiko explain what she saw in Ikeda Nami? Did she call it a ghost?"

"No. I asked her the same question, and she said with certainty that Ikeda Nami wasn't a ghost, but a real, existing life form."

How could she be so sure that the Nami Ikeda she saw wasn't a ghost?

"I'm not entirely sure either, but ghosts shouldn't have shadows, right?" Suddenly, I remembered that Zhang Xueyao had a shadow when she appeared. "That Zhang Xueyao must also be a living entity," I exclaimed.

"None of us have ever seen a ghost. Ghosts don't have shadows; we've only heard about them from ancient folk tales. But I must say, I don't believe in ghosts. I handled Zhang Xueyao's case; the body was indeed found in a well, which matches Ling Min's suicide note, but you seem to have missed a crucial point."

"oh?"

"Lingmin's suicide note does record that Zhang Xueyao was going to jump into the well, but did you notice that she didn't actually see Zhang Xueyao jump in? She fled frantically after being cursed."

"But her body was indeed found in the well, wasn't it?"

"Yes. When Zhang Xueyao was found in the well, we determined she had been dead for a week, but Ling Min's suicide note only stated four days."

"One week...four days...Could it be that when Lingmin saw the woman about to jump into the well, Zhang Xueyao was already dead in the well? And even that woman wasn't the real Zhang Xueyao?"

Chen Yiming nodded. "Yes, the Zhang Xueyao Lingmin saw by the well, the Zhang Xueyao she saw in the dormitory, might not be the real Zhang Xueyao, but rather the woman who looks exactly like her. Of all the information, the most crucial is this—a person who looks exactly like the deceased! Meng Li's suicide note mentioned 'another self'! It is indeed unbelievable, but look at this." Chen Yiming opened a drawer and took out two black and white photographs. The people in both photographs were Premier Zhou Enlai.

"These are all remakes I made. Compare them carefully and let me know your thoughts."

I looked it over and over, but I didn't find anything wrong. Chen Yiming said:

"One is the original news photo, and the other is a still from a movie. Do you understand? When I reproduce it using black and white film, you can't tell who the prime minister is and who the actor is."

I suddenly realized, "You mean, the person who looks exactly like the deceased was in disguise!"

"Yes," Chen Yiming picked up two photos and tapped them on the table, "I can also conclude that none of the people who saw the 'ghost' actually came into contact with it. The murderer exploited people's fear of the 'ghost' to plan a series of murders."

"But what was the killer's motive? You said last time it was to silence her, so what exactly was the secret they were trying to cover up? I still can't figure that out. Also, why didn't the killer kill Lingmin immediately after discovering her?"

"The secret might be in Meng Li's diary. As for why she didn't kill Ling Min immediately to silence her, I can't figure it out either."

I suddenly remembered those three diaries belonging to the deceased. "Did you know Meng Li had a diary from those three diaries?"

"Yes, the deceased mentioned Meng Li's diary. It seems they saw it quite by chance, but they didn't write anything clearly. Only one word appears repeatedly in all three diaries—'curse'!"

The Fourth Campus: Curse (3)

"I want to look at those three diaries again."

"I'll show it to you later. Right now, too much information will confuse us both. Let's sort out the clues we have."

I thought for a moment and said, "I agree with your theory. All the victims became targets for the murderer to cover their tracks because they inadvertently learned a secret. Secondly, the murderer's method was to impersonate the victims' 'other selves.' Thirdly, apart from Li Xiaofei, all the victims were women. Therefore, it can be inferred that the murderer must also be a woman; otherwise, it would be difficult for her to impersonate the victims."

Chen Yiming smiled and nodded. "Anything else?"

"I can't figure it out. Although my previous thought made some sense, the things written in Lingmin's suicide note, and the woman in white I saw in the morgue last night, have confused me again."

"What? The woman in white from the morgue?"

"I almost forgot to tell you, so much has happened lately..."

What were you doing at the morgue last night?

"The Séance Society discovered that the bodies in the morgue had been moved, suspecting that someone was performing a 'soul-summoning' ritual, so they launched an investigation. I've joined the Séance Society, and last night it happened to be my turn to monitor them."

Did you get a good look at that woman?

I shook my head and then told him everything that had happened. "After seeing Lingmin's suicide note today, I felt that person looked a lot like Zhang Xueyao."

Chen Yiming remained silent for a long time, then lit another cigarette. "It seems your surveillance of the morgue has been discovered. There's more to this than meets the eye; if I'm not mistaken, the secret might lie within!"

"Oh? You think this is related to the previous murder?"

"It's highly likely. If you don't object, take me to see it in person tonight!"

To be honest, I would never want to go back to that place, not because of fear, but because it's too cold.

"I have classes tomorrow, I'm afraid..."

Chen Yiming smiled. "Don't worry, I'll just go and take a look. Don't worry about not being able to get out of there; I have a police ID, that's the best way to get around."

Just then, someone knocked on the office door, and Hu Xiaoli arrived.

Part Three of the Fourth Campus

The Fourth Campus - Old Man Sun (1)

PART 1.

It was late at night. When I returned to the dormitory, Xu Zhifei and the others were already asleep.

I didn't turn on the light so as not to wake them. After getting into bed, I couldn't fall asleep.

I just accompanied Chen Yiming to the morgue. He carefully studied the spot where Lin Musen and I had been and came to a conclusion—the morgue incident was indeed related to those bizarre deaths two years ago.

From the spot where Lin Musen and I were, it would be impossible to see anyone behind the large rock in the darkness of the morgue. This means that the woman in white knew beforehand that we were monitoring her there, and deliberately made a terrifying expression in that direction to scare us and make us stop. But how did she get into the morgue? The morgue has always been locked, and Chen Yiming checked the lock today and found no damage. It's practically impossible for her to climb in through the window; there isn't a single window large enough for a person to pass through in the entire morgue. The air vents are not only very high off the ground but also far too narrow.

Chen Yiming speculated that the woman in white likely had the key.

If she has a key, where did she get it?

"Find out who has the key to the morgue!" This was the task Chen Yiming assigned me.

PART 2.