Le retour de l'âme

Chapitre 34

The secret passage was unusually cold, and the deeper I went, the stronger the chill became. With each step, it felt like I was getting closer to the underworld. I don't know how long I walked there, but finally I saw a row of upward-facing blue stone steps. This passage was much simpler than the one I had discovered in the reading room; there was only one path, without as many intricate mechanisms and branching passages.

When I emerged from the secret passage, a familiar scene unfolded before me; the exit was located in the pavilion. It turned out the stone table inside the pavilion was the exit. Then I began searching for the well. Where could it be? I remembered Lingmin's suicide note. Could it be the well where Zhang Xueyao's body was found? Unfortunately, Lingmin's suicide note didn't specify the well's exact location.

She was returning to the dormitory area from the lab building. She must have taken the path leading to the morgue. I found the path and started walking. It was all based on intuition; I thought I saw a white figure flash by in the bushes ahead. I don't know how to explain it, but I really saw it. Without time to think, I chased after her.

After chasing for about ten minutes, everything returned to normal. The figure had vanished, and not far ahead, a well sat quietly.

The well under the moonlight seemed both mysterious and terrifying. A well is an ordinary thing, yet humans seem to have an innate fear of it, especially on nights like this. In ancient Chinese legends of gods and ghosts, wells are, to varying degrees, places where vengeful spirits dwell, and places where murders are committed and bodies are disposed of!

I slowly approached the well. Curiosity, purely driven by curiosity. Lingmin said in her suicide note that the ghost of "Zhang Xueyao" was standing by this well. Why was it standing here? Does this well itself hold some secret?

The Fourth Campus - Yuri Hasegawa (5)

It was an ordinary well, the water reflecting the bright moon, and I found nothing suspicious. I was about to turn around to look for the fungi when, at that moment, an invisible pressure made me unable to move, and a chill went straight to my back. I vaguely sensed that something was standing behind me.

The Devil's Umbrella (1) of the Fourth Campus

PART 1.

The night was still. The night sky was clear, and the moonlight was bright.

But I could feel a chill creeping up my back, and I vaguely sensed that someone was standing behind me.

There was no wind. But a "crack" sound came from behind. It wasn't the sound of leaves falling; those big trees were long gone, with only a few withered branches left. Nor was it the sound of fallen leaves being swept up by the wind; those leaves had already rotted away. It was the sound of withered branches being trampled and snapped!

It slowly approached me, its pace gradually quickening, and my heartbeat quickened accordingly.

The sound stopped not far behind me, and silence returned. But my heart didn't slow down, and I didn't dare breathe, because I clearly felt that thing was right behind me!

The sound lasted only four or five seconds, but to me it felt like hours. The thing seemed to know I had noticed it, and stood silently behind me. I could feel that I was completely at its mercy.

After a few minutes of stalemate, a chill suddenly ran down my neck as something furry brushed against me. In an instant, the images of the three female corpses in the reading room's secret passage flashed through my mind. Yes, that furry thing was a woman's long hair!

Nangong Xiaoxue!

Before I could react, her head slowly moved from my right shoulder, and I caught a glimpse of a dark head out of the corner of my eye.

I didn't dare to move. That terrifying face had already appeared in my mind. Then, the whole face was pressed against my face, and the cold skin felt like needles pricking my face.

I couldn't just sit and wait to die! I turned around abruptly. At that very moment, her hands shoved hard against my shoulders, and I lost my balance, tumbling towards the well. In terror and despair, I closed my eyes!

With a muffled "bang," I felt a sharp, visceral pain. I opened my eyes and realized I hadn't fallen into the water. In that life-or-death moment, I had involuntarily grabbed the woman's clothes. I was pressed against the well wall, while half of her body had been pulled into the well opening.

She struggled desperately, trying to pry my fingers off. I held tightly to her clothes, my feet braced against the well wall, and struggled to reach the edge of the well with my other hand. She pounded my fingers hard; the excruciating pain in my fingers ignited my rage. I was determined to drag her down, even if it meant death. With all my might, I pulled on her clothes and yanked her down. With a pitiful scream and a splash, she was pulled to the bottom of the well.

I struggled to climb out of the well, lying on the ground panting heavily, feeling completely exhausted. From the bottom of the well came shouts and splashing sounds, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. The fear made me quickly get up and leave the well.

As Mengna and Xu Silu said, I searched the vicinity for a long time, but I did not find the fungi they mentioned.

I suddenly realized I was a complete fool. Fungi grow in damp, warm places; how could they possibly exist in this dry, cold place? Had I been fooled?!

I glanced at my watch; the three-hour deadline was almost up. Without thinking, I hurriedly ran back the way I came. I'll understand once I get back and ask Xu Silu.

We quickly made our way back to the morgue through the secret passage, only to be confronted once more with the disfigured female corpse. I lifted the drawer to put it back in its original position, but it was too heavy, and the body rolled out of it.

"Oh no!" I had to carry the body up myself. Although I studied forensic medicine, this was the first time I had ever been in contact with a dead body like this.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, please forgive me." I said as I picked it up and put it back in the drawer. Just then, the moonlight shone on its arm, revealing a star- and crescent-shaped birthmark to my eyes.

Meng Na!

I turned her face around and examined the scars closely, forced to confront a fact.

--Meng Na is really dead!

Who moved her here? Who?!

Who did this?! Who?!

My heart is breaking.

But time is running out, I have to get back to that damn mental hospital!

"Meng Na, rest in peace," I cried, tears streaming down my face. "Once the truth comes out, I will come back and give you a proper burial!" I resolutely closed the freezer door.

PART 2.

I spent the night in that ward that could drive even a normal person crazy. Luckily, I made it back in time last night and wasn't discovered by the nurse on duty. Otherwise, I'd probably be sleeping in the police station right now.

Was the ghost I encountered last night Nangong Xiaoxue? Then why did she make a rustling sound when she stepped on the dry branches on the ground? And why did she struggle so much when I dragged her into the well? If she's a ghost, what is she afraid of?

Thinking about this, I became frightened. If what I pulled down the well wasn't a ghost, wouldn't I have killed someone too?

"The patient's condition has basically stabilized, but you'd better not ask any sharp questions, lest you agitate him and cause his condition to worsen," the doctor's voice came from outside the door. Then, the locked door was opened.

"Remember what I just told you? I have other things to do, so I can't stay with you any longer." The sound of the doctor leaving could be heard outside the door.

I pulled the covers over my head, knowing that those two damned cops had come again.

The man nudged me, "Stop pretending to be asleep, get up."

The voice was familiar. I threw back the covers, a surge of joy washing over me. It was him, Chen Yiming! He was finally back!

"I've been waiting for you for so long!" I was so moved that tears streamed down my face.

From Lin Duyu's death to his inexplicable admission to a mental hospital, I have been enduring unwarranted grievances. Now, I can finally confide in him everything I've been holding back.

Chen Yiming smiled and nodded. "Yes, I just got back last night, and as soon as I got to work today, I learned that a lot had happened in your college."

"My two best friends in the dorm are dead. Everyone suspects it's related to me, but that's not the case! For some reason, Zhao Jun suddenly turned his attention to me..." I was so agitated that I couldn't speak coherently.

The Fourth Campus: The Devil's Umbrella (2)

"Don't rush, tell me slowly. Just tell me everything that happened after I left, in chronological order. Then, I also have some things to tell you."

Time ticked by. After I finished speaking, Chen Yiming's expression became very serious.

"It seems things aren't as simple as we initially thought. The wild mushrooms that Mengna and Xu Silu mentioned might be crucial evidence; we need to find them quickly and have them tested."

"I went there yesterday, but I didn't find anything."

"Before she died, Meng Na confessed that she was the murderer of Meng Li, so she had no reason to lie to you. I believe those bacteria existed, but they were simply transferred or destroyed by the real murderer."

How could fungi possibly grow in such a dry environment?

"Yes, you've thought it through very carefully, but have you considered that they might not have seen those wild mushrooms in winter? There's also a well nearby, right? The area around the well should be quite damp in the summer."

I slapped my forehead. "Yeah, how could I not have thought of that!"

"If my deduction is correct, those bacteria are the Devil's Umbrella, the key to all the bizarre events."

"Yes, Xu Silu also believes that it is evidence of a crime."

"Do you remember that Nami Ikeda's autopsy report said that some anesthetic substances were found in her body?"

"I remember! But she didn't have a habit of using drugs or anything like that."

"Yes, that's what I'm going to talk about next. Be prepared."

"Be mentally prepared?" I had a bad feeling.

Chen Yiming opened his briefcase and took out a stack of photos. "Look at these first. The things in the photos were what you were wearing before you came to this hospital."

The photo shows a white dress and a wig.

I looked at myself dressed like this and my heart skipped a beat.

"Impossible, this is impossible!"

"At first, I also thought it was impossible," Chen Yiming said calmly, "but it's true. That night, almost everyone in Girls' Dormitory No. 3 saw this scene in the photo—you, dressed as a woman, were knocked unconscious at the fifth-floor stairwell." Chen Yiming's words felt like bullets piercing my chest. "Before I came here, I went to your college to learn about the situation. Some teachers believed you had severe paranoia. That's why you were sent to the mental hospital."

"Severe paranoia! How ridiculous, they jumped to that conclusion without any diagnosis." I wondered who had decided to send me here. Zhao Jun was obviously out of the question; it was probably one of the college leaders, maybe even Dean Wu. Yes, it must be him, it must be him.

"That's what they say, and I did disagree, but your situation is exactly the same as Nami Ikeda's back then. Nami Ikeda also dressed up as an imaginary female ghost and wandered around, getting attacked in the girls' dormitory..."

"I've heard all that." My thoughts were in turmoil. I didn't understand what was happening. I was actually a ghost in my own imagination? Then what was it that I encountered in the forbidden area of the campus last night? Was that also just my hallucination?

"At first, I didn't quite understand why it was you. Could it really be severe paranoia? Now that you've told me about what's been going on lately, I'm starting to understand." Chen Yiming seemed confident.

"oh?"

"Anesthetic components were found in Nami Ikeda's body, and both Mengna and Xu Silu mentioned a type of fungus that grows in forbidden areas of the school. Do you think there is a connection between the two?"

You mean…

Chen Yiming nodded. "Yes, it might be a type of fungus that can cause hallucinations. Ikeda Nami also experienced terrifying hallucinations after accidentally ingesting it."

"And then she was terrified to death by her own hallucination!"

"That's right. Your strange behavior the other day might also be related to this. When people hallucinate, they often do things that seem strange to normal people."

"So, you're saying everything we saw was a hallucination? That's unlikely. How could so many people be hallucinating, especially Mengna's case? How do you explain that? She couldn't have been a product of a hallucination, could she?"

"Things aren't that simple, so you'll have to find a way to leave tonight. Let's go to the scene together."

"Why don't you get me out of here right now? I can't stand this awful place for another minute."

"You're a criminal suspect now, how could I openly demand your release? Even though you're hospitalized, you're still under police surveillance."

"Alright then. The doors are all locked from the inside, how are we going to get out?"

"Don't worry about that. Xu Silu is clearly in the know and needs protection. She managed to get the key and let you out without anyone noticing yesterday, so she can definitely do it today too. I'll figure something out; I'll go find her in a bit. When you leave tonight, I'll arrange for someone else to stay in your room."

PART 3.

At midnight, the locked door was opened again. This time, it wasn't Xu Silu who came in, but Mo Hui, the policeman I hated.

"It's you?" Even though I knew he was sent by Chen Yiming, I still didn't have a good impression of him.

Mo Hui gently closed the door and smiled, "You didn't expect it to be me, did you? Captain Chen has already told me everything. We were too hasty and inexperienced before, so I hope you won't take offense."

"It doesn't matter."

"Team Leader Chen is waiting outside. You must be back by 5 a.m. to relieve me. Everything we did today was without authorization; if word gets out, it won't be good for anyone."

"I understand. Then I'll have to trouble you." I said casually, changed my clothes, and quietly went out.

It was another cold, snowy night. The sky had been clear and blue in the afternoon, but now a thick layer of snow had accumulated. Chen Yiming was waiting for me in a corner by the hospital gate.

"Are you sure we're going to that forbidden area now?" I asked.

"No, let's go to your dorm first. Get in the car."

A police jeep was parked not far away.

Ten minutes later, the car stopped on the roadside 30 meters from the school gate. That damned mental hospital wasn't far from the school. We both got out of the car, and I led him over a relatively low wall on the perimeter of the campus towards the dormitory.

The Fourth Campus: The Devil's Umbrella (3)