Asesor militar y princesa

Capítulo 2

Fishing in the Snow

Reply [8]: Night of Return of the Soul

For some reason, I remembered that incident again.

This happened when I was in my third year of junior high school. I was fourteen years old, and because of my household registration, I transferred back to my hometown so that I could take the high school entrance exam.

Perhaps due to the change in environment, I fell seriously ill after only a few days of school, and naturally, my studies suffered. I was very anxious, but I was new to this place and my parents weren't around. Who would help me? Fortunately, someone volunteered. He was our class monitor—Avi, a fair-skinned and handsome boy whose grades were, needless to say, among the best in the class. So every evening after school, he stayed behind to tutor me (since we lived at school, there was no rush).

During my conversation with Avi, I learned that he lived in the countryside. Besides his parents, he also had a younger sister. Because his family was poor, his only thought was to quickly pass the entrance exam for a vocational school, find a job after graduation to ease the burden on his family, and support his sister's university education. At seventeen, he was very mature and humorous. With his help, I finally caught up in my studies.

One day, he stayed behind as usual. I said, "Class monitor, thank you. I'm almost catching up with my studies now, so you don't need to bother me anymore." Seeing this, he paused, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then stopped. He took a letter from his desk drawer, handed it to me, and left. Inside the envelope, besides the letter, was a photo. It was his, taken by a river nestled against the mountains, probably near his home. The letter said he thought I was cute and generous, and liked me, etc., and asked me to write back. At the time, I was only fourteen years old and really didn't know what to do. I just put the letter in my schoolbag, didn't reply, and intentionally distanced myself from him. Later, we became like strangers.

One semester passed just like that, and the second semester began in the blink of an eye. Because the high school entrance exam was coming up soon, everyone was busy reviewing their lessons.

On Arbor Day, the school kindly gave us a day off, though of course there were no benefits; we were supposed to go up the mountain to plant trees and then come back for evening self-study. My deskmate, Fang, a very lively and cheerful girl, and I slacked off, hiding in the classroom chatting and secretly enjoying ourselves. Just as we were getting into our conversation, some students from the next class ran over and said, "Someone from your class has had an accident. It seems like your class monitor fell off the bridge..."

Upon hearing this, Fang and I rushed there after finding out the location of the accident. On the way, we joked with each other, "Oh my god, if he hurt his head, he'll have to wear a bandage on his head every day at school, how ridiculous!" We had no idea how serious the situation was.

When they arrived, they found a large crowd gathered. Avi was lying on the rocks by the river under the bridge, his clothes soaked through.

"Why don't you go down and carry him up?" I asked in surprise.

The homeroom teacher's eyes were red, and she said in a low voice, "He's already gone. They just pulled him out of the water."

"Impossible! Quickly find someone to go down and carry him up. Do you want him to freeze to death?" I shouted, unable to believe that the man who was full of energy and joking with Fang this morning would be gone just like that.

Several classmates went down and carried him back up. I glanced at him, and tears welled up in my eyes. He looked so terrible: his whole body was bruised, his forehead was deeply sunken, and his eyes were wide open, his expression one of extreme pain. I could only imagine how much he suffered before he died, how desperately he wished someone could save him.

Fang hugged me and cried uncontrollably, repeatedly saying, "How could this happen? She was fine this morning, and now..."

The funeral hall was set up on the school playground. The so-called funeral hall was actually just a simple shed; his family members were all there. I saw his sister, a girl who looked remarkably like him.

Because of what happened, no one could concentrate on class. The teacher made us study on our own every period. And every time I turned around and saw that empty desk, I would burst into tears. Yesterday, I could still hear his voice and see his shadow, but today, the desk is still there, but he is gone forever.

Three days later, Avi was cremated. Because he died a violent death, he couldn't be taken home, so they had to find a desolate mountain and burn him.

A week later, on a Sunday, we were all in evening self-study. Suddenly, a classmate said, "Do you know what day it is today?" We listened intently. "Today is Avi's seventh day memorial. I heard that people come back on the seventh day after they die, to go to their favorite places and fulfill their unfinished wishes. If you sprinkle lime or something on the ground, you can even see his footprints if he passes by. If you don't believe me, try it tonight." As soon as these words were spoken, the students fell silent, probably frightened.

At 10:30 PM, after evening self-study, many students threw down their books and rushed back to their dormitories. Only a few bolder students and those who were usually close to Avi stayed behind, including Fang and me. We tacitly went to the back of the classroom, each grabbed a box of white chalk, crushed it, and then evenly scattered it around the teacher's desk—the only way to enter the classroom. After closing the door and turning off the lights, we all quietly sat down in our seats. The classroom was pitch black.

I don't know how much time had passed when a cool breeze blew in, and the door creaked softly. Fang, who was sitting next to me, was very close to me; I could tell she was nervous. I whispered in her ear, "It's okay, it's just the wind."

A few minutes later, I suddenly heard the sound of a chair being pulled out from behind, as if someone had sat down. Judging from the sound, it was probably coming from where Avi had been sitting. After a long silence, a mournful sigh was heard, faint and seemingly filled with helplessness.

Fang was trembling all over. Just as I was about to take her hand, she reached out and tightly grasped my left hand. It was ice-cold. She must be terrified, I thought. So I placed my right hand on the back of her hand. After a long while, her hand seemed less cold, and I slowly withdrew it. Then, I heard a sigh near my ear, the sound so close, as if it were right next to me. I forced myself not to jump in fright.

After that sigh, there was no sound for a long time, except for my own breathing. The student behind me whispered, "Shouldn't we turn on the lights now?"

When the lights were turned on, Fang was already pale with fright. Looking around, there seemed to be nothing unusual. We walked to the front of the classroom, where the chalk dust from before was still there, but we could vaguely see a footprint that was almost invisible unless you looked closely. It didn't look like a human footprint, otherwise it wouldn't be so faint.

I forced a smile and asked Fang, "Why were your hands so cold just now?"

"My hands have been in my pockets the whole time, how did you know?" Fang asked suspiciously, glancing at my hands. "Oh, what happened to your hands?"

I raised my hand, and there were several glaring, finger-like bruises on the back of my left hand, like bruises from being pinched hard, but they didn't hurt or itch.

I remembered that cold hand from earlier. Could it be…? Impossible. I shook my head. But how can this be explained?

The bruises took about half a month to disappear. During that time, I always felt a cold sensation on the back of my hand, as if someone was grabbing it.

Bifengke

Reply [9]: Blood Curse

One night, the night was cold and the moon was high in the sky. A few boys from the Department of Geology and Mineral Resources at China University of Geosciences suddenly had a whimsical idea: to have a barbecue on the playground.

It was past eleven o'clock, and the playground was silent and deserted. A few people quickly started a fire, and suddenly a crackling sound came from the ground beneath it. They found it strange, and one of them joked, "Wang Guangmei used to be imprisoned at the university; maybe this is where she hid her treasure." Although the others didn't believe it, their curiosity was piqued, so they moved the fire aside and started digging.

Sure enough, they dug something up, but it wasn't treasure. It was just a black wooden board with a few blood-red traditional Chinese characters written on it. Most of the students in the Geology and Mineral Resources Department weren't good at Chinese, so they unanimously elected a student who was good at it (whose name will be withheld, Chen Liang will read it) to see if it was related to the treasure. Chen Liang read smugly: "The night shines, birds die in the sky, loneliness endures sorrow. Three curses appear together, the reader will surely die." "Hey!" everyone chuckled. "We thought there was some real treasure, but it's just a silly joke!" Chen Liang didn't care and casually threw the board into the fire. The fire made the blood-red characters seem to bleed, and they sizzled as they burned. For some reason, Chen Liang felt a vague unease, as if something was about to happen, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. With something on his mind, even the barbecue tasted bland.

Back in the dorm, Chen Liang tossed and turned, unable to sleep. "Those who read this will die? Could it really be true?" Just as his mind raced, the dorm lights suddenly blazed on, blindingly white. Before anyone could react, the light tubes exploded one after another, shards flying everywhere. The room was plunged into darkness again. Everyone scrambled to turn on their flashlights, checking to see if anyone was hurt. A classmate in the next bed suddenly sat up, smiled eerily at Chen Liang, and said, "The first one..." before falling back asleep. Chen Liang was startled. "The first one? Could it be the first spell? 'Glowing in the darkness'?" He thought about how the lights suddenly blazing on in the dark was exactly what "glowing in the darkness" meant. This thought sent chills down his spine, and his heart pounded. He quickly shook the classmate awake: "What did you just say?" "What did I say? I didn't say anything," the classmate replied impatiently, still half asleep. "You've seen a ghost!" The last sentence terrified Chen Liang even more. He trembled, panting heavily, and repeatedly reassured himself: "Hallucination, hallucination, it must be a hallucination..."

Chen Liang had only managed a short nap as dawn broke when the bell rang, signaling it was time for class. Still half-asleep, Chen Liang was pulled out of bed by his classmates and headed straight for the teaching building.

As they hurried along, a gunshot rang out, and a bleeding sparrow fell from the sky, landing right in front of them. Chen Liang was startled: a bird died in the sky?! The second curse had come true!! Chen Liang felt a chill run down his spine, his mind a jumble of thoughts. Just then, a physical education teacher from the school, carrying an air rifle, came running over with a grin. He picked up the sparrow, passed in front of Chen Liang, suddenly looked up, gave Chen Liang a sinister smile, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth, and said, "The second one..." Chen Liang instantly turned pale and trembled violently. Seeing him standing there shivering, his classmates asked, "What's wrong?" Chen Liang grabbed his classmate's arm and stammered, "He, he, he just said, said what?" "Crazy! He didn't say anything! Class is about to start!"

His classmate dragged him to the classroom. Chen Liang couldn't concentrate on the lesson at all. He barely made it to the end and rushed to find a teacher he knew, telling him about the strange incident. Unexpectedly, the teacher burst into laughter: "Such a thing exists! We materialists oppose this kind of far-fetched idealism. I think you've been under too much academic pressure lately. University students should have a balance between work and rest. I have a collection of Shakespeare's plays here; take a look!" Chen Liang randomly flipped to a page. In the book, a sentence was underlined in red: "Willing to endure sorrow alone." Those blood-red words leaped at him like monsters—it was the third curse! Like being struck by lightning, Chen Liang was speechless and quickly closed the book. At that moment, the teacher shot out two cold, electric beams of light from behind his glasses, gave a sinister smile, and leaned close to Chen Liang's ear to whisper, "The third one..." A chill ran through Chen Liang's body, and he stumbled back a few steps. He looked at the teacher, who was engrossed in writing at his desk, as if nothing had happened. Chen Liang threw the book away as if it were burning his hand and stormed out the door.

"When the three curses appear together, the reader will surely die!" Chen Liang knew that death was closing in on him, and he was powerless to resist, with nowhere to hide. Ironically, this brought him a sense of calm. Chen Liang told his roommates everything, but no one believed him. Chen Liang sighed softly and sat on his bed without saying a word. His classmates assumed he was sick and didn't pay much attention, going to class instead.

When the students returned to their dormitories in the afternoon, they found Chen Liang still sitting there, staring blankly, his face ashen, as solemn and heavy as a statue. They called his name several times without response, and one of the students jokingly gave him a light push. Chen Liang collapsed, blood flowing from his seven orifices; he was already dead. The students gasped in shock, and students from several dormitories rushed over. One of the bolder ones unfolded the crumpled paper clutched in Chen Liang's hand, revealing several large, blood-red characters. He read aloud: "The night shines, the bird dies..."

Bifengke

Reply [10]: I know what you saw.

A story circulated at a school: There was an old girls' dormitory building that hadn't been renovated because few people lived there. A third of the rooms were empty. Xiao $ and Xiao # were new students. Late on their first night, they vaguely heard a mournful crying sound coming from the corridor. This continued for the next few nights, chilling them to the bone and keeping them awake. They told the upperclassmen about it. At first, the upperclassmen denied it, but after Xiao $ and Xiao # pressed them, they finally revealed that a girl had hanged herself in one of the rooms. Xiao $, an atheist, immediately disbelieved it. She said, "The crying at night must be someone playing tricks. I'll expose them tonight!" With that, she left. The timid Xiao # hadn't quite grasped the situation when the upperclassmen finished speaking; only Xiao # heard the rest.

That night, neither Xiao $ nor Xiao # could sleep. Just after midnight, a faint crying sound drifted over again, a mournful wail that sent chills down their spines. Xiao $ said to Xiao #, "Let's go look for it." She then pulled Xiao # along, following the sound. Xiao # was already ashen-faced, numbly letting Xiao $ lead her. The dormitory corridor was filled with an eerie atmosphere in the dead of night. A few flickering lamps cast long shadows of them on the floor. They followed the crying to the fourth floor. Almost all the rooms on this floor were closed. Here, the crying sounded even more pitiful and terrifying. Now even Xiao $ was a little scared. They arrived at the door of a dormitory room, the source of the crying. This room had clearly been empty for a long time; the peeling old paint and cobwebs on the door indicated that no one had tended to it for years.

The terrifying crying suddenly stopped, leaving a deathly silence. Little $ composed herself, glanced at the trembling Little #, and then pushed hard on the door, but it was locked tight and wouldn't open. Little # stammered, "I—let's go back, I'm so—so scared!" Little $ didn't listen. She noticed the lock was old-fashioned, with a keyhole about the size of a little fingernail. She peered into the keyhole, seeing only a blood-red patch, nothing else. She rubbed her eyes and looked again; it was still a blood-red patch. She murmured, "Why is it all red?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao # collapsed to the ground, her blue lips trembling as she said, "Senior said that when that girl hanged herself—her eyes were stained red with blood—Xiao $, her eyes were red!!!"

Bifengke

Reply [11]: ZT Be careful of your hickeys!

(a) hickeys

Coming to this godforsaken school wasn't my intention, but my mom said, "No matter how bad it is, it's still a provincial-level school!" So I had no choice but to put up with it.

In the corner of the school playground stood a rusty iron gate, its rickety lock a real nuisance to those of us yearning for freedom. Opposite the gate was the city hospital. An upperclassman said, "It faces the hospital morgue. If it's opened, something bad will happen to the school." When asked what kind of bad things would happen, no one could give a clear answer. At night, the area around the gate was darker than the rest of the school, like a bottomless black hole—once you went in, you couldn't get out. So, most people didn't dare approach. But for couples deeply in love, it was a dating paradise.

Dan and Chao were among them. Dan was a girl in our dorm, the kind of girl who was hard to understand. Chao said he just liked her quietness. Every time after evening self-study, they would go for a walk on the playground. One time, we were bored, so we followed them, but they suddenly disappeared into the "black hole." We didn't have any chivalrous escorts, so we could only chase them back home. Dan didn't come back until almost lights out, with a large red patch on her neck. Looking at her blissful expression, everything was obvious. Qian jokingly asked, "Sister Dan, what happened to your neck?" "Ugh, it's mosquitoes..." Before she could finish explaining, we burst out laughing and said, "Oh, your Chao's mosquitoes are so annoying!" Dan's face turned even redder...

(ii) Betrayal

Later, Xue appeared. It's said that at first they were just playing around, but later they both took it seriously, which was undoubtedly a huge blow to Dan. When she found out, she decisively broke up with him, acting as if she didn't care at all. This made us think that all her previous kindness towards Chao was fake. But only a few days later, she changed her mind. A tug-of-war of love between the three began. Whenever Chao and Dan argued, he would go to Xue; whenever he separated from Xue, he would go to Dan. This back and forth was getting worrying even for us. Later, it seemed that Xue and Chao developed a relationship even closer than the one involving the hickeys, and Chao naturally stayed by Xue's side.

So every night after lights out, Dan would squat by the door, using the hallway light to write her endless diary entries and letters. Then one day, she suddenly said she was leaving. Xue felt incredibly guilty when she found out and talked to her at length. When Dan returned, she just kept crying. Most breakup stories are like this, and we were speechless. The next day, Chao found Dan and said, "What will it take for you to stay?" "..." "Do you really want me to break up with her?" "..." Tears welled up in Dan's eyes, but I suddenly saw a slight smile rise on her lips. And so, the three of us became strangers again. Until...

(III) Diary

That day, Xue angrily questioned Dan, "Why did you do this?" Seeing our blank expressions, Xue threw something and stormed off. Wasn't that Dan's diary, which she wrote every night? Ying picked it up and read it, then angrily said, "Tang, Qian, look what she wrote..."

"10.7. Chao wants to date Xue, I hate her..."

"10.9. I'm not leaving anymore, they all fell for it, haha..."

"On October 13th, Chao and Xue broke up because I said I was leaving..."

IV) Abnormalities

Dan was sick; she was shivering, pale, and unable to speak. We had no choice but to take her to the hospital. The doctor said she had a psychological condition called "heterosis," and if not treated properly, it could develop into a mental illness…

We had no choice but to call Chao over. He didn't say anything for a long time before finally saying, "Is she acting again?" Dan, who had been sleeping, suddenly opened her eyes and said, "Get out!"...

Dan was discharged from the hospital quietly, just like when we first met her. Sometimes she would even laugh out loud in her sleep. That put our minds at ease.

But one day, another hickey appeared on her neck, in the same spot as the previous one, and exactly the same. This shocked us. Miraculously, after lights out that day, she didn't write in her diary or write a letter…

In the middle of the night, I heard someone go out.

The next day, someone screamed in the toilet, so we went to check...

(v) Suicide

Dan was dead in the bathroom, her left hand holding a love letter Chao had written to her, her right hand a fruit knife stained with blood. She hadn't slit her wrists, but her throat, clearly cut from the hickey. Even more horrifying, there was no sign of pain on her face; instead, the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned…

(vi) Resurrection

We dared not live in our old dormitory anymore, so we moved to the sixth floor, where Xue lives too.

Forty-nine days after Dan's death, on what was said to be the night of his return, we dared not go to sleep early. Later, it seemed as if the door opened...

(vii) Revenge

When we opened our eyes, the sunlight rushed in, and everyone in the dorm was still there. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. After Xue got up, I noticed a faint hickey on her neck, right where Dan used to be. Though faint, it was quite noticeable. I didn't dare tell her…

Chao was indeed disappointed for a while, but he was quickly infected by Xue's happiness. After evening self-study, he took Xue to the iron gate for a date. Each time Xue returned, the hickeys on her neck would deepen, until they turned blood red…

That night, Qian and I slept together. In the middle of the night, I suddenly woke up with a start. I opened my eyes and found the door open. Dan came in and floated straight to Xue's bedside. Even through the mosquito net, I could feel Dan's icy gaze...

Xue woke up very early in the morning, crying and saying, "Dan is back, Dan is back..."

(viii) Bloodstains

Snow went mad, she just suddenly went mad, constantly shouting things like, "Kiss me! Kiss me!"

A month passed, and Chao drowned his sorrows in alcohol every day, becoming a pathetic figure, his eyes sunken. For some reason, he still went to the iron gate every night, talking to himself, as if confessing, or perhaps pleading. That day, the wind was strong, like Dan's silent reproach. Chao suddenly went berserk, shouting, "Dan, let Xue go! I can't live without her!" Later, Chao collapsed from exhaustion. At the same time, someone found Xue dead in the hospital, dark red blood flowing from the black hickey on her neck…