L'affaire du messager fantôme - Le récit d'une âme qui quitte son corps

Chapitre 15

Before he could even react, the text message notification rang again.

At this point, Ye Xiao had no way to avoid it. Trembling, he opened the text message—"Welcome to hell."

Six o'clock in the morning.

In the dimly lit girls' dormitory, Chunyu had finally managed to fall asleep for a few hours when she was suddenly woken up by a text message ringtone.

Chunyu cursed inwardly, but didn't look at her phone, remaining still in bed. A moment later, the text message alert rang again. She could only reach out and look at her phone, only to find it was a message from Nan Xiaoqin: "Chunyu, I received a text message from Sulan."

Chunyu immediately came to her senses. Hadn't Sulan already hanged herself?

Although Nan Xiaoqin and Su Lan were not in the same dormitory, they were classmates in high school and later got into the same university and the same major. They have always been the best of friends.

Could it be that Su Lan has become a ghost and is still haunting Nan Xiaoqin?

Chunyu was now wide awake and immediately replied to Nan Xiaoqin: "That's impossible. What did that text message say?"

Nan Xiaoqin quickly replied: "Do you know what the 19th level of hell is?"

Seeing the word "Hell" on the screen, Chunyu's heart raced again. She instantly recalled the text message she received that night from Qingyou, who was already dead, asking the same fatal question. Chunyu quickly sent a text: "No, please don't reply to her."

Nan Xiaoqin: "It's too late. I've already replied to her, and she sent me another text: 'Welcome to hell.'"

Chunyu didn't know how to reply. Nan Xiaoqin's current situation was just like Chunyu's journey into "hell".

Nan Xiaoqin then sent another text message: "I have entered the first level of hell."

Spring Rain: "Don't go in!"

Nan Xiaoqin: "Su Lan took me to the Ghost Inn."

Chunyu felt a cold sweat break out on her back. She couldn't let Nan Xiaoqin continue any longer, so she quickly replied, "Where are you now? I'm coming to find you."

After replying to the text message, Chunyu sat in her dorm room for half an hour, but her phone remained silent. She wondered what was wrong with Nan Xiaoqin.

Chunyu sent her several more text messages, but still received no reply. Chunyu then tried calling her, but couldn't get through; it was as if Nan Xiaoqin had vanished underground. The morning light gradually illuminated the dormitory, bathing Chunyu's face in the dawn light, her skin taking on a milky hue. She asked herself blankly—"Can a dead person send text messages even in hell?"

It was already afternoon, and she still couldn't get in touch with Nan Xiaoqin. Chunyu paced anxiously back and forth in her dormitory. For some reason, she suddenly remembered when she was a teenager, cautiously waiting outside her mother's door, eavesdropping on the terrifying sounds coming from inside. Chunyu immediately covered her ears; that sound appeared again, sharp as tearing metal, piercing deep into her ear canals.

She felt as if blood was flowing out, splattering across the snow-white sheets. Her thirteen-year-old self stared at that person, and at the gleaming blade in the darkness. No—she couldn't bear to recall it any longer; every time she thought of that moment, her head throbbed with pain, and the piercing sound seemed to tear her eardrums apart.

Nightmares never go away on their own unless you can eliminate them.

Chunyu's current nightmare stems from Qingyou's mysterious death. And besides being related to that text message, the supposedly haunted school building must also be involved in Qingyou's death.

There must be some secret hidden in the haunted building that might explain Qingyou's death?

Chunyu had made up her mind. She put on a coat and immediately ran out of the dormitory.

Ten minutes later, she quietly approached the outer wall of the haunted building. Turning left would allow her to go around and enter. However, Chunyu's heart suddenly raced. It seemed as if some kind of aura wafted out from inside the wall, filling her nostrils and causing her to stop in her tracks.

Yes, she felt a deep fear surrounding her. This fear was something she had only ever experienced when facing a deserted village.

Just as she was pacing back and forth, a figure suddenly caught her eye, hurrying towards her. — It was Gao Xuan.

This was something Chunyu never dreamed of, and she could only nod awkwardly. Gao Xuan also seemed very surprised. He quickly walked up to Chunyu and said, "What a small world, I've run into you again."

Chunyu looked around. Because of the rumors of it being haunted, this was the most secluded spot on campus, almost deserted. "How did you end up here?" "I pass by here almost every day because it's a shortcut from our art department to the parking lot. Taking the main road would take a long time." "So you're leaving campus now?" "No, I just came back from an art gallery by the Suzhou River in the city." Gao Xuan glanced back at the wall and said softly, "Then what are you doing here? The building inside the wall is haunted."

Chunyu didn't know how to answer and hesitated before lowering her head. "You don't want to go to the haunted building, do you?" Gao Xuan moved closer to her and said in a particularly deep voice, "Many curious girls want to go in and take a look, and you're one of them, aren't you?" "It's not just because I'm curious. My best friend died in this building."

Gao Xuan's expression immediately changed. He frowned and said, "I heard that last week, a senior girl committed suicide in a haunted building. Was she your classmate?" "Not only a classmate, but also my closest roommate. More importantly, I was the first person to discover her dead." "You?" He gasped, shaking his head. "I never imagined you'd gone through something so terrible. No wonder I noticed a deep sense of wariness and fear hidden in your eyes when I first saw you."

Upon hearing this, Chunyu quickly averted her gaze from him.

But Gao Xuan pressed on, "I guess you're here to go inside and take a closer look, to find out why your roommate chose to commit suicide in the haunted building, right?" "I'm sorry. I know the school doesn't allow students to enter the haunted building without permission." She knew Gao Xuan was a teacher and would never allow her in.

However, Gao Xuan's answer surprised her greatly: "Do you really want to go in? It takes a lot of courage for a girl to go into a haunted building. If you're willing, I can go in with you."

Chunyu initially thought she had misheard: "What did you say? You're willing to come in with me?" "As long as you're willing." "But you're a teacher." "But everyone has curiosity, even teachers are no exception." At this point, Gao Xuan laughed again, "Besides, protecting students is also a teacher's duty."

As they talked, Gao Xuan had already walked inside; it turned out he also knew the secret path into the haunted building. Chunyu hurriedly followed behind him, carefully stepping into the courtyard of the haunted building together.

The eerie building still stood, exuding a chilling aura under the cold winter sky. Chunyu instinctively took a step back, but Gao Xuan turned back and whispered, "Don't be afraid, come with me."

She glanced at the second-floor window again, but the figure she had imagined did not reappear, and all the windows were obscured. She calmed her racing heart and said, "You must have been here before, right?"

Gao Xuan didn't answer, but merely curled the corners of his mouth slightly. He noticed that the main door to the ground floor was locked shut; it must have been relocked by the school after Qingyou's incident.

But he immediately turned to the right side of the haunted building. There was a side door there, which was locked from the inside, but the glass on the door was missing. Gao Xuan reached into the door, pulled the latch, and went inside with Chunyu.

Seeing Gao Xuan's practiced ease, Chunyu couldn't help but whisper, "How do you know this place so well?" "Because—" Gao Xuan walked into the dimly lit passage, paused for a moment, and then said, "I've taken classes in this building." "What? You've taken classes in a haunted building?"

Spring Rain breathed in the unpleasant smell, as if she had returned to that midnight.

Gao Xuan turned around, his face shrouded in shadow. "That was seven or eight years ago. I was a freshman or sophomore in college, and our art department often came to this building to sketch." "Weren't there any ghost stories back then?" "There are no ghosts in the world." Gao Xuan answered coldly, then stepped onto the stairs. "It's just an ordinary teaching building, albeit a bit dilapidated. As for the ghost stories, that started after my sophomore year." "Why? Did something happen that year?"

Gao Xuan seemed to have become much more sullen, and only after going up to the second-floor corridor did he answer, "I'll tell you later."

It was the second-floor corridor again. Although Chunyu felt a tightness in her chest, she dared not breathe deeply. She followed closely behind Gao Xuan. Although Gao Xuan made a gesture to hold her hand, she carefully kept her hands tucked in, not daring to let him pull her.

Spring Rain will never forget that room.

Perhaps there really is a ghost in the room?

She cautiously walked to the door and gestured to Gao Xuan. Gao Xuan's expression was very strange; he hesitated for a long time before gently pushing open the door. Gao Xuan went in first, but stared blankly for a long time without making any move. Chunyu, unable to wait any longer, followed him in.

It was the same small classroom, with nothing but desks and chairs. Chunyu glanced around, trying to find some clues, but all she saw was dust on the floor.