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墨書 Inktalez
I heard the agreement and said, "Let's do it this way for now. I'll look up some relevant information, and you two go find a couple more people to join us. Otherwise, we won't have enough participants. I'll let you know the time later."
Li Zhisheng responded, "I've heard of the Four Corners Game. Isn't it enough with just four people? Aren't we three already?"
I chuckled, "It's true that the common rumor about the Four Corners Game says four people are needed, but if even one person plays tricks or tries to joke around, the authenticity of the game can't be guaranteed. Just go find two more people, and you'll understand when the time comes." After that, I sent Hu Fang and Li Zhisheng off, and I stayed home to make a bowl of instant noodles while I began my research.
The Four Corners Game requires at least four people and an empty room that is square or rectangular. As I read this, I thought to myself, "I need to find a venue again. The last construction site was too dangerous; there was nowhere to hide. This time, I need a relatively safe place. At least if the Vengeful Spirit strikes again, I need somewhere to take cover."
With that in mind, I quickly opened an online map to search for locations. Just as I was engrossed in my search, a sudden cold breeze sent a shiver down my spine, causing every hair on my body to stand on end. I snapped back to reality and looked around, only to realize it was already late at night. The cold wind blowing in from the balcony made the curtains flutter restlessly.
"Where did this wind come from?" I muttered as I got up to close the floor-to-ceiling window on the balcony. Just as I reached the balcony, I caught a glimpse of a girl in the opposite building who seemed to be moving unnaturally by the window with the wind.
"At this hour, is she doing gymnastics? No, that movement isn't normal for someone exercising. It looks like her feet are off the ground, being blown by the wind..." My own thoughts startled me, and I rubbed my eyes wide open to confirm what I saw.
This time, I saw clearly that there was a red cloth hanging around the girl's neck. "Suicide by hanging!" The thought flashed through my mind instantly, and I grabbed the phone from the Tea Table and dialed emergency services.
"Hello? Is this 10?!" "Hello, we are City Emergency Center." "I need help! Someone is hanging themselves here!" "Please don't panic; tell me your current location." "I'm at..." Halfway through my sentence, I froze. The girl who had been there just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
"Uh... I'm sorry... I must have seen wrong." I hurriedly hung up the phone and looked curiously at that household. "Could it be that I've been staring at my computer too long? Am I seeing things? Or is it another hallucination?" Scratching my head in confusion, I decided to return indoors and continue my research.
Before long, dawn broke. I stretched lazily and thought, "I actually fell asleep while researching. It seems I've been lacking sleep lately." Rubbing my eyes, I glanced at the still-lit computer screen and noticed that the mouse was pointing at a location on the map: City Seventh Middle School. "Hey, isn't that an abandoned school?" I murmured as I zoomed in on the map. Suddenly struck with inspiration, I thought, "This could work as a venue! It has square rooms and places to hide."
With this idea in mind, I picked up my phone and called Hu Fang and Li Zhisheng to inform them that we would meet at City Seventh Middle School and asked when they were available. Li Zhisheng mentioned he had some matters to attend to before finding people and would call me back later. Hu Fang readily agreed that she could go right away.
After hanging up, I arranged to meet Hu Fang at Seven Middle School first to check out the venue so we wouldn't be caught off guard by the layout later in the evening. I headed out and took a taxi straight to Seven Middle School. Initially thinking I'd arrive before Hu Fang, I was surprised to find she had already arrived with her backpack and carrying a bag of something.
I approached her and said, "Sorry for being late! Didn't expect you to get here first; have you been waiting long?" She smiled slightly as she replied, "I just got here too; my home is nearby so I arrived quickly. Here~ this is for you." She handed me the bag she was holding.
"You even brought me a gift! Thank you!" I said as I accepted the bag. Opening it revealed ordinary breakfast items: soy milk and fried dough sticks. "I figured you might not have had breakfast yet, so I picked these up on my way." She turned her gaze toward the abandoned school gate and continued, "As soon as you mentioned this school, I looked it up; it has been abandoned for four years due to rumors of a homicide here."
As I bit into a fried dough stick, I said, "You've done quite a detailed job. So what now?"
"Then there's nothing more. It seems someone wants to hide something, so all the information has been blocked," she replied, looking dejected. I tossed the plastic bag into a nearby trash can and clapped my hands. "This news is both good and bad for us. Let's keep moving."
Hu Fang followed me as we entered the school. Curiously, she asked, "Why is it both good and bad?" We reached the entrance of the teaching building, and I looked around. "Think about it. Since a murder has occurred, there must be a ghost involved. If we play here, we can basically be sure we'll see a ghost. Isn't that a good thing?"
She nodded. "Hmm, but what's the bad part?" I chuckled lightly. "A murder means it's either a homicide or a suicide; even an accident counts as an unjust death. Haven't you heard that those who die unjustly can't reincarnate and become Evil Spirits?"
"I have heard something like that, but what if there are good ghosts too?" Her words reminded me of Yin Li. Although he had dragged me into trouble, his intentions were to save someone, so he could be considered a good ghost.
Just as I was getting lost in thought, Hu Fang tugged at my sleeve. "Don't you think this building is a bit strange?" Upon hearing her, I focused my attention.
The school wasn't large; it had only one basketball court and two four-story teaching buildings located on either side of the court. I couldn't detect anything unusual and asked Hu Fang in confusion, "What's strange about it? Doesn't it seem pretty normal?"
Hu Fang replied, "Look, there are two buildings with four floors each, and each floor has only four classrooms with four windows each. The number four sounds like 'death' in Chinese. Don't you think that's ominous?"
Raising an eyebrow at her, I said, "This kind of structure is actually quite common in many schools. By the way, was your math teacher also your gym teacher?"
"No, my math teacher only teaches math and physics." I couldn't help but chuckle at her serious tone. "Think about it; there are two buildings, right? Two times four equals eight—eight is lucky!"
We chatted aimlessly as we strolled around the campus and had roughly explored the entire area by now. Most of the school's facilities had already been cleared out; not even half a desk remained. It was just as well since we wouldn't have to clear out any rooms ourselves, but there was one thing about this school that puzzled me.
We had checked both buildings thoroughly, yet I hadn't seen any teachers' offices or even restrooms. Although I felt suspicious inside, I kept quiet to avoid Hu Fang's wild guesses complicating things further.
"Looks like we've seen enough; let's go prepare some things," I said while walking alongside Hu Fang.
"Prepare what? A camera?" she asked.
"I almost forgot about that; it's best to bring a camera too. By the way, have you found anyone to join us?"
When I mentioned finding people, she scratched her head and laughed sheepishly. "I forgot about that too! Hehe." I shook my head helplessly. "Then hurry up and find someone." She stuck her tongue out at me before heading off on her own.
As for me, I remembered the Peach Wood Doll that Yin Li had used and wanted to prepare a few myself. However, since I had no idea where he got them from, I could only search for fortune-tellers to inquire about them.
After searching for a while, I found that most of the people were nothing but frauds. Aside from those selling miracle pills, there were also those pushing dubious ointments. The most ridiculous was a fake monk who insisted on helping me overcome my calamity with some sort of ritual. I was so furious that I wanted to knock him out with a stick.
In the end, I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands. I bought a piece of peach wood and carved it into a figure that looked neither human nor ghostly. I remembered that Yin Li required human blood, but fearing the pain, I settled for some chicken blood instead. I wasn't sure if it would work, but it was better than nothing.
Just as I finished all this, I received a call from Li Zhisheng. He had found an old friend of his who was also interested in this matter and wanted to give it a try.
Not wanting to waste time, I quickly found a restaurant and asked them to come over for a meal to get acquainted. I ordered several dishes—three cold and five hot, plus a soup—and sat there playing on my phone while waiting for them.
Before long, Li Zhisheng arrived with his friend. When I saw his friend, I estimated he was at least six feet three inches tall, with a muscular build. Standing next to Li Zhisheng, the contrast was striking.
They approached my table, and Li Zhisheng introduced him: "This is my friend, Li Qiang." Seeing that they were both standing, I felt awkward remaining seated and quickly stood up. "Hello, I'm Shen Xu." Li Qiang introduced himself as well: "Just call me Qiangzi; I'm a fitness coach." He reached out his hand to shake mine, and I hurriedly extended mine in return. The moment our hands met, I felt an overwhelming strength that was on an entirely different level. He merely squeezed lightly, and it hurt so much that I quickly pulled my hand back.
Seeing he had applied too much force, Qiangzi rubbed the back of his head and apologized, "Sorry, sorry! I'm used to lifting weights." I rubbed my hand and replied, "It's fine, it's fine! Please sit down; why are we all standing?"
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