Цветы персика

Глава 23

The women's bathhouse was now guarded by a different, plump woman. She smiled kindly at me, and after my ticket was checked, I entered the changing room. A hazy mist of steam drifted in from the shower area, and my breath condensed on the windows, creating a dreamlike atmosphere inside.

Section 57: The Campus Blood Curse (9)

I saw a familiar figure at the entrance to the shower area. Long, jet-black hair almost reached her feet, and a white gauze dress flowed gracefully, making her look like a fairy. A jolt went through me—was it that faceless woman?

I stared at her intently until she disappeared into a mist.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder: "Still not in?"

"Apple?!" I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hurry up! I just saw a notice on the blackboard that the water's out early today!" she said, already tearing off her clothes and throwing them into the closet.

The bathroom was slippery; it was easy to slip and fall if you weren't careful. The shower room was filled with steam and the cacophony of voices. As the water was about to be shut off, people gradually finished showering. While walking up the stairs, a girl in front of me slipped, cried out, and tumbled down. I grabbed Apple's arm, holding on tightly.

"It's okay!" she reassured me. "There's water on the ground, just hold onto the handrail and go down."

As we passed the girl, we saw she was covered in bruises and gave her a pitying look. The girl went back up the stairs to wash up, complaining, "What bad luck, all that washing for nothing..."

We left the bathhouse, but I was still incredibly anxious.

Sure enough, that very night the disastrously crowded bathhouse was surrounded again. People carried in a stretcher and brought out a young woman, her body fair and naked.

On Thursday, Apple brought me another rumor: "The girl who fell down the stairs died in the shower."

I was having a room temperature class during evening self-study when she said that.

"The way she died was quite horrific," she said with great interest, discussing it animatedly with a classmate.

How did you know?

"The bathhouse security guard said the water valve was already shut off, and she was going to clean inside when she suddenly heard water still running in the shower stalls. At first, she thought she was mistaken. But then she heard not only the sound of running water, but also a girl singing. She was terrified, but luckily she had the foresight to call the male security guard from the next bathhouse to go in and check. What they found was shocking. There was a person lying on the floor of the women's shower stall, already dead."

I stared at her blankly.

She continued, "She was lying face down. When the aunt turned her over, she was so frightened she almost fainted. The girl's pupils were so dilated that you couldn't even see the black parts of her eyes anymore, and her whole face was distorted like a water ghost... Oh my! This wasn't a heart attack; she was scared to death by something..."

My mind went blank, and my hands and feet were ice cold.

Apple shook me: "What are you staring at?"

"N-nothing...it's nothing." I suddenly remembered what the girl on the swing in the east playground said: Every year an even number of people die, and next, it's your turn.

Could I be next...?

“Apple!” I asked her seriously, “You told me last time that an even number of people die at the school every year, is that right?”

She was also taken aback: "Yes."

"Can you tell me what happened? Everything has a cause. Finish what you didn't say last time!"

"Last time? Hmm. In 1979, a dormitory tragedy occurred at our school, which later became a well-known story among students about the red vests."

Tell me about it.

"The story goes that one day, Ma Ying, the prettiest girl in the dormitory, had a dream in which she kept searching for a red vest. After waking up, she remembered the dream and kept muttering to herself, 'Red vest, red vest.' The dormitory leader said, 'What are you looking for? The red vest is right there on you!' Everyone in the dormitory stared at Ma Ying, speechless. Ma Ying looked down and saw that the red vest really was on her. It was her own skin that had been peeled off into the shape of a vest, a bloody and gruesome sight."

By the time she finished speaking, we had already left the classroom and were walking on the tree-lined path.

I asked her, "What does this have to do with the fact that an even number of people die at the school every year?"

"That's what everyone says, but who knows if it's accurate? Besides, there are indeed murders at the school every year, but they're mostly covered up. Whether it's an even number or not, nobody knows."

"Has the case of the Red Vests from 1979 been closed? Surely the story of the Red Vests didn't just appear out of thin air?"

"Some suspect that the murder was caused by psychological issues among the students in the same dormitory. Just as nine sons of a dragon are all different, the phenomenon of varying student abilities is never taken seriously, and teachers often show favoritism. It's said that Ma Ying was so outstanding that she was the target of jealousy. For a time, rumors circulated that her roommates were responsible, but there was no evidence. What's even more bizarre is that after Ma Ying's death, her roommates also died one after another—eight in a year, all from the same dormitory. This caused a sensation at the time, and no one could explain why."

Section 58: The Blood Curse on Campus (10)

I suddenly had a feeling that death was very close. Look, this bathhouse is right behind our window, and in just three days, two people have died, all right under my nose.

Friday's evening self-study session was held in the science building.

I glanced at the empty seat next to me—Apple was absent again. Jeep was also absent.

The people in the classroom were drowsy, possibly due to the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, or perhaps because the combined drowsiness of everyone amplified the hypnotic effect.

After evening self-study, the people in the building gradually dispersed. I stood by the corridor in the central hall, looking down at the entrance hall on the first floor and up at the stained-glass dome of the atrium. The vast night sky appeared bizarre and surreal outside the glass dome, and the positions of the stars were indistinct. The night grew darker and darker, and I knew she would arrive soon.

The lights in the hallway were off, and the surroundings were deathly silent.

I looked left and right; the darkness stretched endlessly. People often have boundless imaginations about darkness, and fearful illusions follow them like a shadow. More often than not, it's their own psychological barriers that they can't overcome. I didn't want to scare myself, so I forced myself to remain calm.

My left and right hands, fingers intertwined incessantly, when suddenly I heard a gust of wind whisper in my ear: "You've come?"

I looked up in astonishment, and there she was, standing directly above me. The difference was that I was standing on the floor, while she was on the ceiling. In the moonlight, she looked like a delicate, porcelain doll. Wait, I was surprised to find that she was now a complete ghost, her two halves fused together.

“I remember now. When I was standing behind that girl watching her wash her face, I remembered everything,” she said. “I was standing in front of the sink when suddenly someone hugged me from behind…” Tears streamed down her face. After a pause, she pursed her lips and said, “But my suffering is over. You have to be careful.”

Me? Be careful of what?

I've always had this feeling—that death is standing to my left.

Section 59: Imminent (1)

Imminent

Her expression was very strange; her lips moved, her mouth opened wide, but no sound came out.

Before I even realized what was happening, someone covered my mouth from behind. My neck was then gripped tightly, making it hard to breathe.

"Ah—" she screamed in terror, covering her ears, a scream that sent chills down my spine.

"It's him! It's him!!" she cried as she lunged at me, but he passed right through me like air. "It's this scoundrel! I remember his face! I'd remember it even if he were ashes! It's him!"

I was unwilling to die like this, so I desperately tried to pry his fingers off, but it seemed to have the opposite effect, and he was squeezing me tighter and tighter.

Sudden--

"Snap!" A dull sound.

A dark figure leaped out of the air, kicking away the thug who was choking me. He unleashed a barrage of kicks and sharp punches, each move aimed at victory, pressing relentlessly until he cornered the thug and knocked him unconscious, still not satisfied.

My eyes welled up with tears: "Ah...the great forest!"

The shadowy figure approached, bent down, and said to me, "You're such a worrying kid."

I reached out and wrapped my arms around his neck, then started coughing violently.

The phantom hovering in mid-air watched us silently, as if it wanted to say something but couldn't.

He patted me on the back and whispered, "Wait for me, I'll be right back."

Where is he going?

He turned around, picked up the unconscious thug, and carried him towards the stairs.

What were you doing?

About ten minutes later, I heard a "thud" and a dark shadow fell from above, landing with a dull thud.

I was stunned, and saw the wronged spirit with tears in its bright eyes, smiling gently.

"I'm leaving." She stood up and walked towards the large French windows, bathed in moonlight that shone on her smooth, radiant skin, making her look like a fairy shimmering with a watery halo under the moonlight. "My enemy is dead, and I want to thank you! And..." Her last words to me were, "You are truly, very lucky..."

That smile was as beautiful as the cold moon, and she disappeared under the moonlight, like flowing water and falling flowers, fading away in a cold and lonely way.

I saw the big forest come downstairs and help me up.

I asked him, "What about the bad guys?"

"That beast flew off the rooftop," he said casually. I knew he was the one who threw it.

"Can you still walk?" He stretched out an arm for me. I remembered last semester, in the grove of trees at school, when Yu Qing's bicycle chased me down, and he asked me the same question.

"It didn't dislocate this time." I smiled at him to reassure him.

Without saying a word, he picked me up in one swift motion.

The autumn wind was bleak, swirling up fallen leaves as we passed through the passageway in front of the west dormitory. The towering sycamore trees cast rustling shadows. I looked up at his proud chin, unable to fathom what he was thinking.

"Where are you taking me?" He remained silent, so I had to find something to say.

"I'll take you back to your dorm."

"How do I deliver it?" The dormitory building's gates were already closed.

"Flying over rooftops and scaling walls." He smiled calmly.

“Great forest!” I said, “I want to see your face.”

He said, "I've found Mingyang's whereabouts, and he needs you."

I decided to take a gamble: "Big Forest, do you like me?"

He swallowed hard and gasped, "I like him, but I love Mingyang more. He's my only brother."

My tears fell uncontrollably at that moment: "Is it true that you would give anything to Mingyang as long as he likes it?"

"I am the older brother."

A heart steeped in bile shattered, staining the ground crimson. I had just tasted a hint of sweetness when you brought me bitterness. People say life and death are separated by an uncertain future, and I was overjoyed that you had returned alive, but the joy of our reunion was frozen by the coldness in my heart, leaving not a trace of warmth. I looked up at the sky, no longer gazing at his haughty chin.

Perhaps only the cold moon in the sky can compare to him!

I climbed in through the water room window, and it was Big Forest who pulled me up by clinging to the water pipes. Just as he said, there was nothing he couldn't do.

“I will help you with the leave of absence procedures,” he told me. “You can come with me on Monday.”

Where to?

"Dongxing in Guangxi, or Hekou or Menglian in Yunnan."

"They're all small border towns, what's the point of going there?"

"All the information I've received is over there; Mingyang might be in one of these three small towns."

"What if I don't go?" I glared at him stubbornly.

"Mingyang needs you!" He repeated those words, then shrank back into a dark shadow and disappeared into the night...

Apple was already asleep. I sat on the stool opposite her, lost in thought. I remembered the old folks always saying: Don't look in the mirror at midnight. But right now, I really wanted to look in the mirror. I found the dressing mirror, picked it up, and looked at myself. Suddenly, I noticed several horrifying finger marks on my neck. These marks were exactly the same as the reflection I had seen that night at the swings on the south side of the east playground.

Does this mean we've... narrowly escaped disaster?

Early Friday morning, rumors circulated among students that a man had jumped to his death from the rooftop of the science building. The school was handling the aftermath and making every effort to suppress the news. However, the identity of the man who jumped remained unknown, as no one had yet come to claim his body.

Apple paced around the room while I silently packed my simple luggage. She glared at me menacingly: "What are you going to do in the South all of a sudden?"