pozo profundo

Capítulo 77

“But if there is no way to defeat one’s master,” Tian Niang did not answer my question, but said coldly, “the only thing waiting for the disciple is death.”

"Does the ritual only accept one living person?" I asked.

"That's right, so if you want to become my disciple, you must be prepared to fight me to the death. Moreover, I must tell you that once you become a disciple of the Ancient Tomb Sect, your body will be immortal unless your head is cut off."

"Immortality?" I was stunned by this sudden revelation. Immortality—this is the dream of so many, the elusive ideal that has driven countless emperors mad, yet it suddenly appears so real before me. Everyone fears death. While immortality is a pursuit for many, and it certainly appeals to me, does it truly have any meaning? What use is immortality when loved ones and friends depart one by one? It would only leave one with eternal loneliness.

"Do you still want to become my apprentice?" Tian Niang asked.

"I don't know." I was unable to make a decision for a moment. "I'm not afraid of being killed by you in the future ritual, but I'm afraid of immortality."

"Oh, aren't you humans the ones who love immortality the most?" Tian Niang was a little surprised.

"You live forever, but are you happy?" I asked, looking into Tian Niang's eyes.

"Survival never equates to happiness." Tian Niang slowly stood up, walked towards me, and reached out her hand. I felt her hands running through my hair, her face slowly getting closer and closer. Tian Niang's body was nestled tightly against me, and I could feel her incredibly soft and warm body.

I could almost hear my own heartbeat. My mouth went dry. Tian Niang's face was right in front of me. I could feel her breath on my face, and then a tingling sensation rose from the bottom of my heart.

"Let go of me." I pushed her away while I was still conscious.

"You really don't understand romance." Tian Niang glanced at me reproachfully and said, "How can you be so disrespectful to your master?"

"I haven't even formally become your apprentice yet!" I said angrily.

"Then think it over. Power comes at a price," said Tian Niang.

"I'll consider it." After saying that, I almost turned around and rushed out the door. I was afraid that if I stayed any longer, I would immediately ask Aunt Tian to take me in, since immortality is a huge temptation for everyone.

When I stepped out of the teahouse again, it was already late. The stars were mostly obscured by the branches and leaves of the surrounding trees, with only a few glimmers visible. Looking up, the stars twinkled like diamonds among the green leaves, as if they were set in a huge piece of green jade. I kicked a pebble on the path in frustration. I didn't know where to go. I felt as if everything in this world was irrelevant to me, and the men and women before me were just strange, living beings.

For some reason, I suddenly felt a gaze watching me from behind. This feeling of being watched made me very uncomfortable. Just as I was about to leave, someone suddenly patted me on the back.

"Yu Bo?" I turned around and saw that Yu Bo had already silently stood behind me. In that instant when I turned around, I seemed to see an extra hand next to his right hand.

"Lin Xiao." Yu Bo's hoarse voice sounded as if his throat had been burned. His sunken eyes were surrounded by dark circles like a panda's, his pale lips were bloodless, and his cheeks were sunken. Looking at his hands, they were also horribly thin, just skin and bones, making him look even more haggard and tired than when he was last seen in the Black Forest.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, puzzled.

"And what about you?" Yu Bo countered.

"I'm here to attend a forensic medicine academic seminar, and I'm staying at my alma mater. I just came out for a walk tonight. By the way, why did you just leave last time? I had to look for you everywhere," I complained.

“I just saw Baiyun!” Yu Bo stared intently into my eyes and said, “She’s standing right next to you.”

White clouds? Beside me? I shuddered for some reason, then forced a smile and said, "Impossible."

"Really, I really saw it!" Yu Bo's eyes flashed with an almost insane madness. I felt that he was no longer the senior he used to be; it seemed that something had changed him.

But just as a gust of wind blew by, I saw another pair of hands appear behind Yu Bo, slowly reaching out towards me...

Volume 3: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 12: The Female Ghost

Volume 3: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 12: The Female Ghost

It was exactly 8 p.m. when Li Yang swallowed the last bite of food with difficulty. Juanzi, who was supposed to treat him, was easily abandoned by her ex-boyfriend with a phone call, leaving Li Yang alone to deal with the dinner that had already been ordered for two.

"Love over friendship!" Li Yang muttered to himself as he paid the bill and left the restaurant. Perhaps because he had eaten too much for dinner, he kept burping, making him feel very uncomfortable. Patting his chest, Li Yang suddenly noticed that right at the restaurant entrance, A Bao was standing there all alone.

"Li Yang!" A Bao seemed to have been waiting for Li Yang to come out. She came over without waiting for Li Yang to greet her, her little face full of grievance and worry.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Li Yang asked with concern.

"Where is Lin Xiaoren?" Abao asked.

“He had something to do and wasn’t with me,” Li Yang replied.

"I see!" Abao seemed relieved and asked Li Yang, "Can you come with me somewhere?"

"Where are you going? Aren't you a police witness? Can you just wander around like that?" Li Yang asked with some concern.

"So I sneaked out!" Abao tugged at Li Yang's sleeve like a child and asked, "Are you coming with me?"

"Then you also need to say where you want to go?" Li Yang asked.

“I want to go to that laboratory building,” Abao said seriously.

"What? Go to that godforsaken place?" Li Yang was a little surprised.

"I want to go and see again. I'm worried that I might have really wronged Lin Xiao, and that he might not be the murderer," A Bao replied earnestly.

“Lin Xiao is definitely not the murderer.” Li Yang scratched his head and said, “Alright, I’ll go with you!”

"Okay!" Upon hearing Li Yang's answer, A Bao's face immediately lit up with a long-lost smile. She skipped and jumped, pulling Li Yang along. Looking at A Bao's childlike smiling face, Li Yang's previous gloom from being stood up by Juanzi lifted, but he was completely unaware of just how dangerous the place he and A Bao were going to was.

The two chatted and laughed as they walked towards the laboratory building. Although it was only around 8:45 PM, there were very few students around; in fact, not a single person could be seen. The dim light of the streetlights couldn't illuminate the path leading to the building, and the usual lively sounds of the campus seemed to have been suddenly shut out. This atmosphere gradually made the two of them stop joking around, as if something was really following them. Unconsciously, Abao had already hooked her arm tightly around Li Yang's, while Li Yang would occasionally pat Abao's already cold little hand.

The dark outline of the laboratory building was gradually emerging from the gaps in the green canopy, like a monster hidden in a dark jungle. The yellow light bulb on the ground floor of the laboratory building seemed unusually bright at this moment, like the eye of a monster, with a ghostly and eerie feeling.

This place was already deserted, and since the murder a few days ago, even fewer people have come here. Looking at the few fallen leaves blown by the wind, Li Yang felt that this place was like an old house from the last century, with a musty smell.

"Don't you find any smells unpleasant?" Li Yang turned to ask A Bao.

"Hmm, it seems like it exists, but it didn't seem to be here last time I came," Abao said.

“Yes, I came here during the day last time, and there was no smell at all.” Li Yang frowned in disgust. The air was filled with a faint scent of grass, which should have been pleasant. However, a strange smell wafting from the building completely overwhelmed the refreshing grassy scent, making one feel as if they were in a dilapidated and moldy house during the plum rain season.

The moment Li Yang stepped into the laboratory building, he felt as if he had entered another season. The damp air immediately gave him goosebumps, and his hair stood on end. On the floor and walls, there seemed to be a thin layer of water droplets due to the dampness, which looked like a strange brown color in the dim light.

"Why is this place so gloomy?" Li Yang touched the water droplets on the wall; they were greasy.

"I feel so cold." Abao rubbed his exposed skin, hoping to warm himself up.

"That's fucking weird!" Li Yang cursed, then turned to A Bao and asked, "Do you want to go back?"

"No!" Abao immediately rejected Li Yang's suggestion, saying, "We're already here."

"Alright then!" Li Yang shrugged helplessly. Since even the young lady had decided to stay, he naturally had no reason to leave. However, this place was really too cold, and Li Yang subconsciously shrank his head. At this moment, the jade pendant on his chest gradually warmed up, making Li Yang, who felt cold, feel a little better.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Li Yang sensed something rising from the blackened surface of the stairs, forming a vortex like air currents, the twisted shapes resembling the face of a demon.

“Li Yang…” Abao paused a little embarrassedly and said, “I…I need to go to the toilet!”

"You're such a pain." Li Yang chuckled, annoyed. "Don't you even know where the restroom is? Let's go upstairs and look for it!"

“Okay.” Abao nodded.

The second floor wasn't as dark as the two had imagined. A little moonlight shone through the window at the end of the corridor, so Li Yang spotted the toilet sign at a glance.

“The toilet is over there,” Li Yang pointed to the end of the corridor and said, “Go ahead, I’ll wait for you here.”

"Okay!" Abao nodded obediently.

Watching Abao dash towards the restroom, Li Yang carefully looked around. The classroom doors were all closed, the paint peeling off due to their age. Looking at the gap under the door, perhaps it was just his imagination, but Li Yang felt something was flowing out, moving…

As Abao entered the restroom, she began to regret not having called Li Yang to wait at the door. The musty smell inside was even stronger, almost suffocating Abao. To make matters worse, there wasn't a single light in the room. Abao had always hated darkness, and the world without any light made her feel extremely helpless and lonely.

In the dim light, Abao finally saw that this was an old-fashioned toilet, so there was no flush toilet, only a few squat toilets. He pushed open the small door of one of the squat toilets, and creak! The rusty door hinges made a jarring sound, and Abao immediately shuddered.

With his head down, deliberately avoiding looking around, Abao quickly squatted down, but felt as if someone was passing by him, or as if several pairs of eyes were watching him from next door. This was almost the most difficult time Abao had ever relieved himself; his legs were even a little weak when he stood up.

She pushed open the small door with her head down and stepped out, but her body suddenly froze on the spot. What came into her view was a pair of hands on the ground. Looking up, she saw a woman in a white shirt and blue skirt crouching on the ground, seemingly searching for something. Her long hair covered most of her face, but through the small gaps, her snow-white skin, devoid of any color, was visible. Her appearance was completely unexpected, without a sound.

At this moment, A Bao didn't shout or move. He just stood there blankly. After a long time, the woman slowly raised her head towards A Bao. She had a very pretty face, but her eyes were a little dazed and unfocused.

She's a very pretty woman! Ah Bao has never been wary of pretty people, and he didn't consider how this woman got in or why Li Yang hadn't made a sound.

"Sister, what are you looking for?" Abao's curiosity, coupled with his helpful and altruistic spirit, kicked in again.

"The thing...the thing is gone!" The woman's words came out very unclearly, as if something was stuck in her throat.

"What is that?" Our adorable Abao, still unaware of the oddity, continued to ask.

"Ah...what...what is that?" The woman gave a miserable and eerie smile, her mouth slightly splitting to reveal snow-white teeth and a rotten, decaying oral cavity. This made A Bao take a step back in fear, wanting to call for Li Yang, but he found that he had lost even the strength to call for help.

"Find this!" The woman suddenly ripped open her white shirt, revealing her blackened body underneath. What terrified Abao even more was that the woman's chest had a hole the size of a fist, and her heart was gone, leaving only shrunken, withered internal blood vessels and outwardly rolled-up flesh.

"Ah~~!" Abao screamed immediately, closed her eyes, and ran away with her head in her hands. Completely disoriented, she crashed straight into the wall on her right. Just as she was about to hit the wall, a door suddenly appeared, and Abao took the opportunity to run out through that door.

"Li Yang, Li Yang, help..." A Bao shouted as he ran with his head down, his mind in a panic, not even looking at the road in front of him, and ended up bumping into someone's arms.

"Ouch!" Abao looked up in shock, only to see... Lin Xiao?

"Abao, what are you doing in such a panic?" I helped Abao up as she was about to fall to the ground. Her face was unusually pale, and she looked very scared and flustered.

"Lin...Lin Xiao? Is it really you?" Abao touched me as if grasping at a straw, and after confirming that I was real, she pinched herself, then patted her chest as if carrying a heavy burden, and began to cry out, "How scary, just now... just now the female ghost!"

"A female ghost? Where is she?" I asked.

"The women's restroom, it's in the women's restroom!" Abao pointed behind her.

"Toilet? Where's the toilet here?" I looked behind Abao in confusion. It was the door to a classroom. "The toilet is only on the first floor."

"What? No, I clearly saw it just now..." Abao said, looking around, but then suddenly stopped, an incredulous expression on her face. She then stared at me with a strange look and asked, word by word, "Where is this?"

"It's an old teaching building, but now it's only used as a study hall." I was a little puzzled as to why Abao would ask such a question.

"What?" Abao grabbed my clothes, then stared blankly at the two-story staircase that had already ended, and asked me, "What floor are we on?"

"On which floor? This old teaching building only has two floors!" I replied.

"Old...old teaching building?" Abao muttered to himself, his body completely limp. If I hadn't caught him, he probably would have fallen to the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked worriedly.

"Lin...Lin Xiao...I...I'm so scared!" Abao suddenly hugged me tightly and burst into tears, which threw me into a panic.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" I patted Abao's back to comfort him.

"Li Yang, Li Yang!" A Bao suddenly stood up straight again, grabbed my hand, and rushed towards the classroom behind him.

"Where are you going?" I asked, puzzled.

"Li Yang is still there! Go find him!" Abao said anxiously, "I was just in that lab building, but in the blink of an eye I'm here. But Li Yang is still inside; that female ghost is going to kill him!"

"What?" I shouted as well, rushing into the classroom. Fortunately, this old teaching building was always a taboo for students, so there was no one in the classroom.

"Quickly, find out if there's a door to that lab building!" Abao looked at the classroom and said anxiously to me.

"How could that be? This old teaching building is at least several hundred meters away from the laboratory building! Do you think it's a time jump?" I said.

"What should we do?" Abao stamped his foot anxiously.

"Let's run over there!" I grabbed Abao and rushed downstairs, saying, "We can still make it in time!"