Fantôme derrière toi

Chapitre 3

"Really?" Lu Hao rushed forward, grabbed Lin Han's wrist, and carefully looked at the hands of his watch.

Suddenly, the three of them seemed to realize something at the same time. They looked at each other, their faces pale. Fear, like wisps of cold air, slowly seeped into their bodies.

"How about we walk around some more? Maybe..." Lin Han didn't know what to say for a moment. Seeing the other two nod in bewilderment, he took a deep breath and made a gesture to move forward. Fear made the three of them huddle together, and their steps became heavy again.

9

I don't know how much time I walked, but the backward-moving hands of my watch could no longer keep track of the time. The corridor was still the same corridor, and the scene in the pale blue moonlight remained unchanged.

Li Leyu was the first to stop, then covered her face and burst into tears, crying out, "I'm not going anymore, I'm not going anymore, we can't get out of here."

The thoughts they had suppressed deep inside, unwilling to be spoken aloud, were suddenly revealed, and the two boys immediately deflated. They stood there, their terrified eyes darting around. Hope, once again, turned into despair.

"Why...why did you leave without waiting for me?" A hoarse voice came from behind, carrying a metallic, scraping quality.

"Who?" The three, gripped by fear, turned around abruptly. Behind them, in the shadows of the moonlight, a long, dark shadow swayed as it approached.

"It's me! Why didn't you wait for me?" A deathly gray face suddenly appeared in the moonlight. Faintly, a layer of black mist floated beneath the skin. It was Ye Chang.

Three piercing cries, muffled by overwhelming terror, burst forth simultaneously from the throats of Lin Han and the other two. They retreated step by step, their facial muscles twitching uncontrollably.

“Xiao Chang, you…you…I…” Li Leyu’s voice came through his tight throat, high-pitched and strange.

"Don't leave me here." Ye Chang pressed closer. "Take me away, don't abandon me." As she drew nearer, Lin Han and the others could clearly see that in her bloodshot eyes, there was some kind of black substance flowing at an extremely fast speed on the whites of her eyes, like a fish swimming on the surface of water.

"Run!" Lin Han, who was the first to overcome his fear, shouted in a low voice, grabbed the other two, and turned to run away like an arrow.

A cold wind swept across their cheeks, and Ye Chang's wails gradually faded until they were almost inaudible. But none of the three dared to stop, even though the suffocating pain in their chests made them feel like they were about to suffocate.

However, no matter how fast the three ran, it was as if they were going in circles. The completely identical scenery made them unable to feel their progress. Suddenly, a bend appeared ahead, which filled the three with elation. Their almost exhausted energy instantly doubled. After swerving around the bend, the three came to a sudden stop. Fear, like wildly growing weeds, stunned the three of them.

Ahead, in a bluish glow, Ye Chang crawled slowly towards the three of them, lying prone on the floor. The posture was exactly how she crawled before she melted, except this time, her body was intact. Not far behind her, countless others of her, in the exact same form, crawled towards the three of them one after another.

"Don't...leave me..." A hoarse, murmured voice came from behind, tearing at their eardrums. They turned around in horror to find countless Ye Chang figures closing in menacingly.

"This...this looks like two mirrors facing each other." Lu Hao managed to say this with trembling hands, but his face and body were already covered in cold sweat.

"What...what...what should I do?" Li Leyu's hair stood on end, and he was terrified.

An illusion! It must be an illusion! Lin Han closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and slowly opened them again. The terrifying scene was still vivid in his mind. He was immediately at a loss, frantically looking around, trying to find a way to escape. To the left of the three of them was a half-open door, through which flickering, dim yellow light shone.

A glimmer of hope rekindled in Lin Han's heart. He nudged the other two and pointed to the door: "Let's go in quickly."

Lu Hao and Li Leyu exchanged a glance, said nothing, pushed past Lin Han, and rushed to push open the door. Lin Han sighed inwardly and looked back cautiously. Ye Chang was getting closer and closer. He hurriedly followed the two, but unexpectedly, Li Leyu, who was backing away, stepped on his foot hard.

"Hey! Why don't you go in?" Lin Han jumped up, clutching his aching right foot, completely baffled by the actions of the two people in front of him.

“Here…here…is…” Li Leyu was sweating profusely and stammered, unable to get the words out.

Lu Hao swallowed hard: "We're back in the big classroom."

"What?" Lin Han stepped past the two men and peered into the open doorway. The large, dark, and dilapidated room was empty. In front of the podium was an old, large mirror, reflecting a circle of flickering candlelight. Where else could this be but a large classroom? He gasped, but when he looked back, Ye Chang, crawling along, was already more than ten feet away. "It's too late, we have to go in."

Seeing Lu Hao and Li Leyu standing there blankly, motionless, Lin Han didn't care about anything else. He grabbed them and rushed into the room. A cold wind suddenly rose, and everything went dark. The surroundings became deathly silent. After their feet touched solid ground, the three of them looked around and were all dumbfounded.

10

The scenery before them changed completely the moment the three landed. They were back in the corridor, thankfully, Ye Chang was gone. A chilling wind blew in gusts, chilling them to the bone. The wind blew in through a small, square window in front of them, along with moonlight—moonlight colder than ice.

Gradually regaining their senses, the three slowly lowered their gazes from the window. The stairwell?! A look of disbelief flashed across their faces, quickly replaced by delighted smiles. Before Lin Han could react, Lu Hao and Li Leyu were already engaged in another race. Lin Han also took long strides and surged forward, overtaking Li Leyu and closely following behind Lu Hao.

Suddenly, Lu Hao, making his final sprint, let out a shrill scream and vanished from Lin Han's sight in the blink of an eye. Lin Han and Li Leyu's hearts tightened, and they rushed forward, only to be horrified to discover that below the stairwell was a bottomless abyss. From the bottom of the abyss, a muffled rumbling sound could be faintly heard, accompanied by a ball of scorching red light shooting straight up.

"Lu Hao, Lu Hao?" Lin Han called anxiously, enduring the unbearable heat, and peered down. Beneath the empty wooden floor, Lu Hao was hanging from one arm, struggling desperately. Seeing this, Lin Han didn't hesitate. He lay face down on the floor and stretched out an arm towards Lu Hao. "Lu Hao, grab my hand, I'll pull you up."

"Lin Han, save...save me." Lu Hao struggled to raise his arm, again and again...and finally managed to grab Lin Han's outstretched hand tightly.

As Lin Han pulled Lu Hao with all his might, he glanced at the dazzling red light at the bottom of the abyss. My God! What a sight that was! The abyss was filled with molten lava, and semi-transparent figures were struggling and wailing in it. Countless faces were filled with immense pain, and countless arms were desperately reaching out to the air. This was clearly—the word "purgatory" instantly popped into Lin Han's mind.

Yes, it must be. Lin Han couldn't bear to watch those souls struggle hopelessly any longer. He looked away and mustered all his strength to pull Lu Hao up. But compared to the tall and burly Lu Hao, the much thinner Lin Han, even with all his might, could only maintain his current position and couldn't move Lu Hao an inch.

Li Leyu remained standing three or four steps away from Lin Han and the others, his face deathly pale as he stared at the two boys, two strange glimmers flickering deep in his eyes. Seeing that Lu Hao, his face a deep purplish-red, was about to give up, an exhausted Lin Han called out in a hoarse voice, "Li Leyu, don't just stand there, come and help!"

Hearing Lin Han call her name, Li Leyu's stiff body trembled slightly. She hesitated and took a small step forward, the flickering light in her eyes slowly fading. Suddenly, as if she had made up her mind, she bit her lower lip tightly, clenched her fists, and walked slowly to the edge of the abyss.

"Leyu, quick... pull me up." Lu Hao used almost his last bit of strength, his pleading eyes fixed on Li Leyu's.

"Stop dawdling." Lin Han didn't look up. "Come and help!"

"Hmm." Li Leyu slowly stretched out her hands, her bent arms pausing in mid-air for a moment. Suddenly, a cold smile appeared on her lips, and she shoved Lin Han hard in the back.

Two overlapping screams ripped through the silence of the night, fading into the distance. Li Leyu stood at the edge of the abyss, cautiously peering out. She watched as two black dots shrank smaller and smaller until they sank into the scalding lava, their faint screams abruptly ceasing. She nimbly withdrew, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. Then, the smile turned into laughter, and then into maniacal raucous laughter: "Hahahaha... You two idiots! With Xiao Chang dead, we can leave the Great Classroom. If you die, won't I be able to leave too? Don't blame me, please don't blame me! After I get out, I'll burn extra paper money for you every year. Hahaha..."

Lin Han and Lu Hao racked their brains but couldn't figure out why Li Leyu would suddenly change his attitude and push them into the abyss. The feeling of being suspended in mid-air and falling rapidly was truly unbearable. They involuntarily let out desperate screams, and all they could hear, besides two identical cries, was the howling wind.

Strange! Lin Han kept his eyes tightly shut. His nerves, almost in a daze from the rapid fall, still allowed him to feel that the closer he got to the terrifying center of that inferno, the lower the temperature became. He didn't know if his senses were playing tricks on him, or if there was some other reason. The strong wind made it impossible for him to open his eyes, and his breathing became labored.

Soon, his falling body felt as if it were cushioned by something, cool and weightless. Then, Lin Han felt his toes touch a human body, followed by a light, soft landing. His mind went blank; he dared not open his eyes for a long time, until the smell of wax intensified in his nostrils. A voice approached, initially distant and its direction unclear. But in a brief moment, the voice became clear; he knew without opening his eyes that it was Lu Hao's voice, coming from above him.

"Lin Han, get up quickly." Lu Hao's voice was filled with a variety of complex emotions as he shook Lin Han's prone body vigorously with both hands.

"Are we...dead?" Lin Han slowly got up and looked around blankly.

"N-no... I don't know." Lu Hao hesitated as well. "But I didn't feel any pain at all just now. What about you?"

Lin Han shook his head and stood up with Lu Hao's help: "Where are we..." He didn't need to finish asking, nor did he need Lu Hao to answer. He could see very clearly that they had returned to the large classroom. The strange large mirror was still standing steadily to their side, reflecting the flickering candlelight.

As they hesitated, a sound seemed to come from the other side of the large mirror. Lin Han and Lu Hao were startled, exchanging glances. Their intense curiosity temporarily overcame their fear, driving them to investigate. Supporting each other, they cautiously approached the mirror, their muscles tense, on high alert.

They couldn't see their reflections in the mirror, a sight they seemed used to. But the scene in the mirror still astonished them, causing them to stare intently at the surface, their eyes wide. The mirror seemed to have transformed into a giant television screen, slowly playing a series of interconnected images.

That was Li Leyu standing on the edge of the abyss. At this moment, she was shrinking back, laughing wildly with her head thrown back. The sound mixed in with the laughter was not loud, but it was very clear. Every word was like a steel needle, piercing the hearts of Lin Han and Lu Hao. Especially Lu Hao, facing his lover who had betrayed him, felt a pang of pain in his heart. His face, twisted with anger, was shiny with grease.

Li Leyu's laughter grew increasingly maniacal, her voice brimming with triumph, her petite body swaying back and forth with each laugh. Behind her, the chilling moonlight gradually pushed back the scorching heat of the lava, and her face, once flushed red by the firelight, slowly dimmed, becoming eerily grim, giving her a somewhat monstrous appearance. The abyss, untouched by the moonlight, became utterly black, its deep darkness seemingly flowing slowly.

Unbeknownst to them, Lin Han and Lu Hao moved even closer to the mirror. The darkness flowed faster and faster, silently churning up towering waves like the sea. The two were stunned, while Li Leyu, with his back to the abyss, remained oblivious, laughing triumphantly.

11

The dark waves surged higher and higher. A giant wave, over ten meters high, crashed in. Suddenly, on the crest of the wave, two pale, withered arms, as if playing in slow motion, slowly reached out, inching closer to Li Leyu. Li Leyu slowly stopped laughing, bent over to clutch his aching stomach, and dabbed away the tears of laughter with his fingertips, completely unaware of what was happening behind him.

Seeing the chilling changes reflected in the mirror, Lin Han snapped out of his daze. He lunged at the mirror, pounding on its cold surface and screaming, "Li Leyu, Li Leyu, watch out behind you! Run! Run!"

"Who? Who's calling me?" Li Leyu suddenly straightened up, his face turning panicked and fearful again, and he looked up to search for the source of the voice.

Although his betrayed soul was still writhing in agony, Lu Hao couldn't help but worry about Li Leyu's current situation. He imitated Lin Han, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Leyu, it's Haozi! Run! Don't look back! Run!"

Having clearly heard Lu Hao's words, Li Leyu's fear only intensified. Ignoring his advice, she stiffly turned around. The sight before her terrified her. She opened her mouth, tilted her head back, and stared blankly as the two strange hands gradually enlarged in her tear-filled eyes. She felt a tightness around her neck, and a chilling, sticky sensation spread throughout her body with a tremor of fear.

They watched helplessly as Li Leyu let out a short, heart-wrenching scream, pulled into the surging waves by the excavator, floating briefly on the crest of a wave before disappearing without a trace. In her last glance, her eyes held nothing but the despair of impending death. Lin Han and Lu Hao felt a lump in their throats, staring blankly at the mirror as their reflection rapidly faded, eventually being replaced by the scenery of the large classroom and their own figures.

For a long time, neither of them spoke. The sound of the burning candles was particularly clear, adding a touch of eeriness to the oppressive atmosphere. A breeze brushed their faces, lifting the short hair on their foreheads. A faint fragrance drifted past their noses on the breeze.

What's that scent? It's so familiar. Lin Han's heart skipped a beat. Almost instantly, he recognized it as the fragrance of a young girl. The scent invigorated him, and he turned around with delight. In the hazy moonlight, a girl in white leaned against the window, her long hair and skirt fluttering gently in the breeze. The soft blue moonlight enveloped her, and her beauty instantly washed away the fear within him.

"Chen... Yan." Her voice, filled with disbelief and hesitation, startled Lu Hao, who was standing beside her.

Before Lin Han could make a move, Lu Hao's pain vanished instantly. He wiped the sweat from his face, tossed his head casually, and walked to the window: "Hey! Chen Yan, what are you doing here?"

Chen Yan turned her head gracefully to look at Lu Hao, her unfocused gaze seemingly lacking direction: "I've always been here."

Lin Han put his hands in his pockets, his heart pounding, and he stammered as he approached. His shy eyes met Chen Yan's melancholy gaze, and the words he was about to say froze on his lips; he was at a loss for words.

Having escaped the terror, Lu Hao, who always considered himself a "love saint," became quick-witted again: "Thank goodness you're alright, I was so worried about you. You have no idea what we just went through, it's terrifying to even talk about..." Although he said this, he still embellished his terrifying experiences and told Chen Yan about them, of course, how worried he was about her.

Lin Han cleared his throat and went to the window, standing on the other side of Chen Yan. He couldn't get a word in edgewise from Lu Hao's rambling. Occasionally, Lu Hao would throw him a hostile glance, his eyes filled with smugness, as if Chen Yan's boyfriend was definitely his.

Damn! What a heartless bastard when it comes to women. Thinking back to how he risked his life to save Lu Hao, and then looking at the other man's current face, he could only offer a helpless bitter smile. Intentionally or unintentionally, Lu Hao walked over to Lin Han, placing himself between Lin Han and Chen Yan. The incessant chatter meant nothing to Lin Han; his gaze swept past Lu Hao's swaying head and fell upon Chen Yan's melancholy eyes. That's enough, Lin Han thought. If he could see Chen Yan like this every day, he would do anything for her, even though he knew it was just wishful thinking.

"Chen Yan, let's not stand here talking in this awful place, let's go outside together." Lu Hao stepped back, using his back to push Lin Han aside, and took Chen Yan's hand. Chen Yan didn't resist, letting Lu Hao hold her small hand in his palm, her face icy cold. "Wow! Your hand is so cold, you're not dressed warmly enough, don't catch a cold." As he spoke, Lu Hao grabbed his collar with one hand, seemingly wanting to take off his coat for Chen Yan.

“We…go out.” Chen Yan suddenly said this, startling the two boys. Her voice was completely different from the pleasant one before; it was hoarse and had a harsh, metallic trailing tone.

At this moment, Lin Han had moved to stand in front of Lu Hao and Chen Yan. He saw that Lu Hao's smile was a little stiff: "Uh... Chen Yan, your voice..."

Chen Yan laughed abruptly, a rather sorrowful and eerie laugh. She glanced sideways at Lu Hao: "Hmph! We've only been apart for a short while, and you've already completely forgotten me?" Before she finished speaking, another face slowly emerged beneath hers, translucent, as if seen through a layer of water.

"Ah—Le Yu?" Fear gripped Lu Hao, his face paling. He forcefully shook off Chen Yan's hand and retreated repeatedly. "No...don't come any closer! Stay away from me! Go away! Go away!"

"Didn't you say you'd come out with me?" Chen Yan's voice completely transformed into Li Leyu's, the two faces shifting back and forth on her face. Li Leyu's face gradually became clearer, his deathly pale skin revealing crisscrossing bluish-black veins, his eyes, covered by a layer of white film, devoid of any life. Just as she bent down to approach Lu Hao, Lin Han, equally terrified, was astonished to see a wisp of white smoke rising from the depths of the large mirror, shaped like a human hand bone, still gripping the back of her head. "Don't you love me? Take me out."

Chen Yan, Chen Yan has been controlled. His mind raced, but Lin Han was helpless. The instant Li Leyu's face disappeared from Chen Yan's, he could clearly see that Chen Yan's face was filled with pain, her muscles slightly contorted.

"No, no, no! I don't love you!" Lu Hao collapsed to the ground, unable to move, his head thrown back to its maximum extent, his features contorted in fear, his pupils contracting violently. "Get out! Get away from me!"

"Chen Yan, I...I love you!" Lin Han's voice was soft, but very firm. Being able to say what he had kept hidden in his heart to Chen Yan's face made him feel incredibly relieved, even at a moment like this.

"You?" Chen Yan mechanically straightened up and turned to Lin Han. At this moment, her face was even more terrifying, with more than a dozen faces, some exuding black death aura, others rotting and deformed, alternating on her face. Blood dripped from the ends of her long hair, splattering black and red blood flowers on her white dress, and the air was filled with the stench of rotting blood.

"Yes, it's me." Lin Han opened his arms and nodded with a smile.

A cold wind rose from the ground, whipping Chen Yan's blood-stained dress into the wind. The dappled moonlight made her ever-changing face appear even more grotesque. Each step left a bloody footprint in the thick dust. Her eyes, though filled with melancholy, couldn't conceal her longing for love. Step by step, Chen Yan walked towards Lin Han, slowly resting her head on his shoulder, her voice soft and uncertain: "You...are you really?"

"It's true, absolutely true." Lin Han, enduring the stench, embraced the cold, slender body tightly with deep affection.

"Aren't you afraid of me looking like this?" Chen Yan suddenly looked up, her tone becoming unusually sharp.

"I'm not...afraid." Lin Han pursed his lips, staring intently at Chen Yan's face. Blood streamed down Chen Yan's upturned face, her pale eyes bulging, staring fixedly at Lin Han. Lin Han pulled Chen Yan back into his arms, and with a swift movement, extinguished the wisp of white smoke behind her head. A searing pain shot through him; he gritted his teeth, remaining silent, his forehead quickly beaded with cold sweat.