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墨書 Inktalez
The phone line fell silent as Long Xia looked at me with a mocking expression, as if she were laughing at my inability to recognize a word. My face flushed quickly; damn it, that word was indeed quite rare.
"You must have finished high school before joining the army, right?" What does that mean? Is she implying that I lack education? I didn't argue and replied, "You have some skills. Are you a physical education teacher?"
She smiled and said, "I'm afraid I disappoint you; I'm a teacher at the College of Literature and History. Can I take that as a compliment?"
"Uh-huh." I stopped in my tracks, surprised to look at her. I never expected that. The last time I visited the College of Literature and History with Xiaojing, it was a place filled with winding paths and seemed entirely academic. However, I couldn't associate this girl with that place at all. In my mind, those who delve into literature and history were usually old men wearing glasses. This girl had good reflexes; she didn't seem like someone engaged in research.
"Haha," I chuckled awkwardly to brush it off.
"You have some skills too; don't soldiers train for this?" she asked curiously.
"Not really," I admitted; fighting wasn't my strong suit.
"Our Company Commander is an expert with weapons; his staff techniques are unmatched in the military district," Jinghe chimed in from behind.
"Oh really?" She looked incredulous.
"My major is History and Archaeology."
Seeing my surprised expression, she casually smiled. "I didn't expect that. Let me continue. My identity is somewhat related to this matter." She tossed her hair back and continued, "You know that building we just passed? Two girls have jumped from room 514 already. The last one—did she ever go there?"
I had heard Xiaojing mention some campus legends before, so I wasn't too shocked. However, I was curious about why she thought Fu Yuehua had been to room 514.
But I didn't question her; I simply replied, "During Military Training, an incident occurred where this girl indeed entered the Old Building and was found unconscious in room 514."
"Then that's it," Long Xia immediately interrupted me.
"What do you mean by 'that's it'?" I was a bit confused.
"Wang Wei, are you a party member?" She suddenly asked without any context.
"Yes, what does that have to do with anything?" Her thoughts were too scattered. I realized I was having trouble keeping up.
"Do you believe in the concept of demons?" she suddenly stopped, turning her head to look at me seriously.
"Well..." After experiencing so many strange events, I found myself unable to answer that question directly.
"I think everything can be explained by science," I replied vaguely, glancing back at Jinghe, who was thankfully keeping a respectful distance of about three to five meters behind us.
"Is that so?" She gave me a meaningful glance before continuing, "The first girl who jumped from the Old Building did so four years ago. Coincidentally, she was a student from our College of Literature and History, about to graduate, and then she committed suicide. The official conclusion was that she suffered from anxiety related to graduation."
Here we go again, I thought, but I patiently listened. In the short time I had interacted with this girl, I realized that being with her required patience; she never gave direct answers but instead guided your thoughts so you could find what you were looking for. It was a shame she wasn't pursuing a career in law, I mused.
After a moment of silence, noticing my lack of reaction, she seemed a bit disappointed. "I knew her; I stayed on for graduate studies and we were friends, so I paid special attention to this incident."
When I responded with an "oh," she continued, "This girl had a great personality; she didn't seem anxious or depressed at all. I really don't believe she would take her own life. However, there was one thing that caught my attention. A few weeks before her suicide, the unit where she interned, the Changsha Cultural Relics Work Team, had uncovered an ancient tomb. She had participated in that excavation."
"An ancient tomb?" I couldn't remain calm anymore and blurted out.
"Yes, an ancient tomb. Shortly after that excavation, my friend jumped off the building. Then the following year, around the same time on May 14th, another girl committed suicide. After that, the school decided to relocate everyone due to the Old Building being too dilapidated. For three years nothing happened until a year later when another incident occurred."
"What do you mean?" I hesitated to ask.
"Don't you think it has something to do with that tomb?" Long Xia said calmly.
"What’s so special about that tomb? I'm not an archaeologist," I admitted my ignorance.
"According to the information I later obtained, the tomb was first discovered by the Horticultural Center in Tianxin District of Changsha City. Archaeological excavations confirmed it as a brick-arched tomb from the Western Jin period, measuring about 8 meters long, 4 meters wide, and 2.5 meters deep. Among the cultural relics unearthed were figurines of people and animals, various pottery items like tables and jars, porcelain tigers and bowls, as well as jade and gold ornaments. The gold artifacts found in the tomb were exquisitely crafted with beautiful patterns and showed signs of Middle Eastern influence—evidence of cultural exchange between East and West during that time. The identity of the tomb owner has never been clearly established, but based on its scale and accompanying items, it likely belonged to someone of high status."
She recounted the archaeological findings as if reciting from memory. To me, it felt like a completely foreign world; I couldn't imagine how any of this was connected and could only respond with silence.
Seeing my expression, Long Xia decided to stop beating around the bush and said directly, "I suspect that the first girl who jumped must have been influenced by something from within that tomb."
This was getting too bizarre; my mind immediately went to the curse of the Egyptian pyramids—the legend that archaeologists who uncovered pharaohs' mummies often met with accidents or sudden illnesses.
"What about the other people involved in the archaeology?" I asked without hesitation.
She fell silent for a moment. "The problem is right here; everyone except my friend is fine."
"Then we should ask them if there were any unusual circumstances," I suggested.
"Yes, I've directly or indirectly asked those involved, and they all said there were no abnormalities during the excavation."
"Then how did you end up here at 514 today?" Her thoughts were jumping around too much; I needed to bring her back to the point.
"I heard that a student jumped off a building. My first instinct was to come back to 514 to check it out. Since no one lives here anymore, I was curious. I thought maybe I could find some relevant clues, but who knew I would run into you?" she explained.
"Alright, that's about all I know. Now tell me what you know."
I scratched my head, thought for a moment, and decided to tell her everything about how I went to the Old Building last time and discovered that something was wrong there.
After finishing my story, we reached the bottom of the Security Department building. I took the lead up the stairs, and after climbing a few steps, I turned back to ask her, "Now it's your turn to tell me—do you believe in demons?"
To be continued; the next chapter will be even more exciting.
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