Muro fantasmal

Capítulo 1

School of Humanities

Chinese people are strange; whenever something unbelievable happens, they always tend to think of it in a bizarre way.

In the past, this might have been a tactic used by so-called intellectuals to ridicule ignorant farmers. However, with China's rapid urbanization, these so-called intellectuals, overwhelmed by the fast pace, have begun to use the bizarre to explain away mysteries they cannot or do not have time to investigate.

There are fourteen colleges in the South Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, and each college has its own story. Today, our story takes place in the College of Humanities.

I heard that the site of the School of Humanities was originally a cemetery. Later, some builder bought the land, moved the graves, and built buildings. Of course, the School of Humanities wasn't the first building there. Just some hearsay, but before Sun Yat-sen University was built, there was a villa belonging to a wealthy businessman surnamed Jia. His concubine lived in the villa. As for the businessman and his story, it's impossible to verify, but according to older generations, a major event happened to the businessman, and he disappeared without a trace. Moreover, no one dared to live in the villa afterward, supposedly because it was haunted.

Of course, tales of ghosts and monsters have always been dismissed as superstition. Yet, despite this rejection, from Communist Party members to farmers, people deeply believed in them. It wasn't until the establishment of Sun Yat-sen University that the villa was demolished and replaced by the current School of Humanities.

After I finished speaking, Li Heng took a deep breath, his pale face slowly returning to normal, and his deep eyes remained fixed on me.

"Well, well, that's just what I heard. If you don't believe me, fine, but don't look at me like that." He still didn't say anything, just kept staring at me intently.

Li Heng was my high school classmate. He lived a dog-like life, meaning he spent his days lounging around with his tongue hanging out, doing absolutely nothing. Of course, there was another meaning to that: he longed to kiss another tongue all day long.

"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore. I really just heard it from those old folks. I like taking walks, and then I accidentally started chatting with those old devils."

"Phew..." He took a deep breath, then suddenly asked me in a strange tone, "Lin Wei, have you studied magic?"

"Hehe, I've learned a little bit, enough to fool people, but not so much to fool ghosts."

“Don’t joke around,” he said seriously, “I want your definite answer.”

"Yes, I've studied it." I felt that Li Heng must know something, because I had never seen him so serious before.

"Then can you see those things?"

"What?"

"Ghost"

"Sometimes."

He stood up, took out a cigarette with his left hand, took a deep drag, and sat down in front of me again. In a serious tone he had never used before, he said to me, "There's something fishy going on in the School of Humanities."

The cigarette in Li Heng's hand hissed and burned until it was almost completely gone before he suddenly realized it and quickly threw it to the ground. For someone to be so distracted, the secret in their heart must be extraordinary.

I tugged at his hand and comforted him, "Maybe you're just seeing things. There are no ghosts in the world."

"No?" he murmured, pulling out another cigarette with his left hand and lighting it.

"Lin Wei, do you know why I was in such a hurry to find you?"

"Could it be that he really just wants to hear me tell ghost stories?"

"I know you're good at telling ghost stories, and you've also said you know some magic, so I need your help."

"help?"

"Hmm." He turned around, stood up, walked to the balcony, looked up at the sky, and said in a low voice, "My girlfriend is missing."

"Haha, you're so desperate for a woman, it's almost 2 a.m., of course you won't see her."

Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [4]: "No, I watched her disappear with my own eyes." He emphasized again.

“Tonight, we went to study in the Humanities Department. Around nine o'clock, we were both a little tired, so she suggested we go for a walk. I don't know what possessed me, but I grabbed her hand and walked to the main gate. You know, the main gate of the Humanities Department is never open, so there are hardly any people passing by, especially at night. We hugged and kissed there. Suddenly, I felt very cold. Oh, it was her I was holding who was cold, almost like a block of ice. I was startled and pushed her away. She stood in front of me, looking at me coldly. I had never seen her look at me like that before. It was like…” He took another deep drag of his cigarette, as if he was still shaken, “Those eyes were like the eyes of a dead person, without a trace of life. Yet they were fixed on me, not moving away.”

I didn't dare move. Or rather, I felt there was someone behind me, and if I moved, they might move too. A few minutes passed like this. Suddenly, my girlfriend spoke, but I didn't understand a word she said. I didn't know what language it was; it sounded a bit like Teochew, with a hint of Hakka.

She pointed at me, spoke for a few minutes, then covered her face and cried. Then she suddenly disappeared.

"No way?" This is so bizarre? Even I, a self-proclaimed charlatan who claims to know magic, can't imagine it.

"So I know, that's not her, not my Ma Kexin."

I glanced at my watch; it was 2:15. The moonlight outside was beautiful, making the world appear pale.

I said, "Alright then, are you brave enough to come with me to the School of Humanities now?"

"Ah?" His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Scared? Don't dare to go? What about your girlfriend?"

"Maybe we shouldn't go? Let's report it tomorrow, call the police?" He stammered, his teeth chattering.

"Will the police believe you? Or do you not even love your girlfriend?"

He lay on the ground for a while, then, as if he had suddenly made up his mind, said, "Okay, I'll go with you."

--

The night view of Sun Yat-sen University is truly beautiful, but Li Heng's silence along the way prevented me from appreciating its beauty.

Perhaps this is fate. Just a few days ago, I heard Li Heng say that he was going to break up with Ma Kexin, but he cried because of her gentleness and her true love for him. I never thought that now, instead of breaking up, they would be separated almost forever.

If things are really as bad as Li Heng says, then Ma Kexin is probably not going to make it.

Following Li Heng's suggestion, I suddenly had a strange thought. If the ghost was the concubine of the wealthy merchant surnamed Jia, then perhaps the merchant's wife knew of her existence and was therefore trying every means to kill her. I heard from the old folks that the merchant disappeared; could it be that he was accidentally killed in a dispute between his wife and concubine? But I quickly dismissed this theory. That was during the Republic of China era, when polygamy was still legal, and male authority was absolute. What excuse could a woman possibly use to cause trouble?

What's even stranger is that since the School of Humanities built such a large gate, why is it always kept closed? Could there be some hidden reason behind this? Speculation is just speculation, and I dare not create any rumors. If I were to be falsely accused of promoting feudal superstition, that would be disastrous.

Li Heng walked to within a few dozen meters of the Humanities College gate, then suddenly refused to go any further. He said he was still scared, but if I could find any information about Ma Kexin, I could tell him to come over immediately. I laughed at him, calling him a coward, and turned to walk over. The Humanities College faces west, a layout I found strange. From a Feng Shui perspective, in Guangdong, buildings should ideally face south to dispel yin and gather yang. Facing west has a connotation of returning to the west. As an architect, even if I don't believe in Feng Shui myself, I should at least understand these things; after all, whether the people buying the property believe in it is the most important thing.

I approached the gate and peered inside. It was pitch black, with only sparse moonlight illuminating the floor. The lock on the gate, rusted from long neglect, was completely untouched. Yet, I sensed no yin energy whatsoever; logically, the gate shouldn't be closed. Leaving it open allows the feng shui to flow smoothly, counteracting the negative influences of its east-facing orientation.

Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [5]: “Hey~~~” A very soft voice came from behind me. I was startled and quickly turned around and shouted, “Who is it?” There was no one there, only Li Heng looking over from a distance.

"Hey..." Another sound rang out. This time it came from inside the door, and the sound was noticeably louder than before. It was a woman's voice, but it was very different from a typical woman's voice.

While a woman's voice is usually high-pitched, it's never as piercing as hers, like the sound of steel rubbing together.

I was startled and silently recited the Bodhidharma mantra to steady myself and prevent my legs from trembling too much.

"Hey what?" I didn't turn around, I only dared to ask softly.

"Sigh..." That was all she said.

"Hmph." I turned around, and sure enough, there was someone standing in the doorway.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" It was indeed a woman. Through the glass, I could only vaguely see her long hair fluttering? Fluttering? There wasn't any wind.

"Let me see what kind of ghosts and spirits are causing trouble here," I said, mustering my courage.

"Hehehe... Is that so?" She laughed sinisterly, her grating voice making me feel uneasy.

"What are you laughing at? Release Ma Kexin, don't hurt her!" I shouted, her voice making me feel very uncomfortable.

"Lin Wei, what are you doing? Who are you chatting with?" Li Heng shouted at me from a distance.

I ignored Li Heng and just stared intently at her.

She suddenly felt like she had no life left. After a long while, she suddenly said, "Okay, I'll let you see her."

She gripped her own neck with both hands, pulled upwards with force, and it snapped off. Blood gushed from her neck to the ground. Holding the severed head close to the glass, she heard the other end say, "Is this what Marco Xin looks like? Quite a beauty, isn't she?"

"Wow..." I was startled and quickly stepped back, only to fall down several steps.

I quickly turned and ran towards Li Heng, pulling him along. Seeing the fear in my eyes, Li Heng, though unaware of what I had seen, also hurried off. We only stopped to rest when we were completely out of sight of the Humanities Department.

Li Heng, panting, asked, "What's wrong with you?"

I slumped to the ground and said to him, "I... I saw Ma Kexin."

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, he immediately tried to run back, but luckily I had anticipated his reaction and grabbed him.

“Listen to me first, Ma Kexin can’t be saved. Because of me just now, I just now…” “What happened just now? Tell me, tell me!” He gripped my shoulder tightly.

"What I saw was her head, understand? Only one head."

"Huh? Sigh..." He immediately deflated and sat down next to me.

"Forget it, but maybe it's that female ghost's scheme. I mean, Marco Xin might not have died like this."

"Then," he exclaimed, his excitement rising. "Let's go back and save her right away!"

"Wait a minute, going back now won't help. I have absolutely no way to deal with that thing."

"What should we do then?" Disappointment emanated from his voice.

"Let me go back and think of a solution. It would be best if I could find out more about your compound's gate. Let's go."

Although I had class the next day, I decided to skip it. If this dragged on for a few days, and the police got involved, things would become much more complicated. I went to Li Heng's dorm early, and he was still asleep when I arrived. Chen Penghai opened the door. Since Li Heng was still asleep, I decided to let him sleep; otherwise, he might feel unwell again if he woke up.

When Chen Penghai saw that I had arrived so early, which was unprecedented, he pulled me aside and started chatting with me. I told him the general situation and advised him not to make a fuss, because, to put it bluntly, it was superstition.

After listening, he stared at me for a long time before letting out a sigh of relief and saying, "Lin Wei, if I had told you sooner, maybe his girlfriend would be alright."

"What? What do you know?"

"That happened a semester ago. Once, I went to the college library to read a book, and by sheer coincidence, I found a diary tucked inside a book on the history of ancient Chinese literature. The diary was very thin, only a few pages long, but the more I read, the more frightened I became. It contained the experiences of a senior from the class of '88, and a very mysterious legend from that time."

"Wow, really? What kind of legend is that?"

"Alas, the reason I dare not speak of it is because the legend is too bizarre. So I put it back in the book, hoping that someone with the ability can unravel the secret of the legend."

Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [6]: en

sign

Wisp

Reply [7]: "Hey kid, don't tell me anything else yet, just tell me what the legend is."

"Hehe..." He smiled at me.

--

Chen Penghai pulled a notebook out of the drawer, handed it to me, and waved the cigarette in his hand, saying, "Although I put the diary back, I also copied down a few passages that interested me. Actually, I'm not sure now, so why don't we go back there and look for them?"

I took his notebook and replied, "But I don't have your library card." "Pig, just ask Li Heng for his library card." He tapped my head.

"Okay, I know. Let's talk about it when he wakes up. Now let me see what you copied down."

He grunted in response and busied himself going online. I sat down on Li Heng's bedside, turned to the first page, and it read: "September 10th, 1989. It's already 2 AM, but I still can't sleep. It's terrifying. Blood is flowing out of the college gate, but where is it coming from? Nobody knows, and nobody dares to go and see. But I clearly saw a person covered in blood in the middle of the gate. Although it was blurry, I'm sure it was Zhang Xue. Wasn't she missing for several days? Why does everyone seem to be unable to see her?"

September 11, 1989

The main gate remained closed all day; the college said it was for renovations and even used some materials as a cover. But as a result, there was no more bloodshed.

But what I find strange is that Huang Jing hasn't come to class all day. Many people have asked her roommates, but the answer is that she didn't go back to the dorm last night either. This is odd. I clearly saw her leave with Shan Liang last night when the bloodshed happened. Zhang Xue has been missing for two days now, and my classmates are starting to have wild guesses. The police have come, but they haven't found anything. Was the person I saw last night really Zhang Xue?