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Reply [160]: ... I read it all. ...

---imnpk

Reply [161]: Belle is back from her midnight snack! Looks like there's a new post! Thanks for your hard work, OP. I'll make myself a cup of milk and then go to sleep.

---Hiber

Reply [162]: I'm starting to feel tired...

---imnpk

Reply [163]: The Legend of the Mirror

This is a small, quiet town in the south, possessing all the characteristics of southern cities: spring-like weather all year round.

In the northern suburbs of this small town, there's a university where a story of a female ghost in a dormitory toilet circulates. It's said that a female student committed suicide in the toilet after a heartbreak. Since then, people have heard mournful cries emanating from that toilet late at night. There's also a rumor that a student encountered the ghost in the toilet one night, was so frightened he fell ill for half a month and eventually dropped out. The ghost stories grew increasingly terrifying and realistic. Some even vividly described the ghost's appearance: long hair, blood-red eyes, and a bright red tongue protruding more than two feet from her lips. She was always looking in a mirror, combing her hair while sobbing softly, her tears blood-red. It was as terrifying as it could be. Therefore, many students are afraid to go to the toilet alone at night. And every time new students arrive, upperclassmen kindly advise them: never go to the toilet alone at night!

Hang, being a freshman, naturally received the same kind of attention. But the ever-bold Hang didn't take such a ridiculous story to heart at all. "There are no ghosts in this world!" Hang said dismissively. "People just scare themselves. 'If you haven't done anything wrong, you won't be startled by a knock at the door in the middle of the night,' I'm not afraid!" "Not afraid? Then dare you go to the bathroom alone in the middle of the night?" his roommate retorted. "Dare, why wouldn't I? Tonight I'm going to go and confront that female ghost," Hang shouted back.

At 1 a.m., Hang left his dormitory alone and headed towards the haunted toilet at the end of the corridor. The corridor light cast a long, long shadow of him. The long corridor was dimly lit by the flickering lights, and in that gloom, a nameless fear seemed to be suppressed. Hang's footsteps echoed in the corridor, each thud heavy against his heart; it was the only sound Hang could hear besides his own heartbeat.

The midsummer night was stiflingly hot, without a breath of wind. Hang walked down the corridor to the toilet, pushed open the door, and went inside. The toilet was brightly lit, and the small space was clearly visible; there was nothing there. Hang smiled dismissively, shook his head, and turned to leave. Halfway to the sink, he noticed a large mirror on the wall above it. He looked at his reflection, fixed his hair, made a face, and laughed at himself, saying, "There's no ghost! If there is, it's just a coward, otherwise why wouldn't it come out? Humph! Boring!" He then walked out of the toilet towards his dormitory. Just as he was about to push open the dormitory door, he suddenly felt a cold wind blow across the back of his neck. In the sweltering summer, this chill, which should have belonged to autumn, was truly strange. Hang turned back to look out the window; the trees were motionless. Where was the wind? Hang shook his head in confusion, not paying attention, and turned to go inside. The corridor light cast Hang's long shadow—two long shadows, one of a man and one of a woman.

The next morning, while his roommates were still washing up, Hang proudly recounted what had happened the night before. When he mentioned looking in the mirror, one roommate suddenly exclaimed, "A mirror? What mirror? I've never seen a mirror in the bathroom before!" "Yeah, yeah, there's no mirror in the bathroom!" the roommates chimed in. "Let's go see for ourselves," Hang said defiantly. So the group went to the bathroom. The walls were pristine white, smooth and spotless, without a single mirror, not even a trace of anything having been hung there. "Where's the mirror?" his roommates asked Hang. No mirror? Then what Hang saw yesterday was... "A ghost!" Hang screamed and fainted.

Three days later, Hang died on the snow-white hospital bed, his wide eyes filled with fear. In his hand, he clutched a shattered mirror tightly.