Ten minutes later, Qin Ye and Wang Chenghao sat solemnly at the head of the bed.
The air was still filled with the stench of burnt paper money. The three Yin spirits stood in front of Qin Ye, rubbing their hands and smiling obsequiously.
Wang Chenghao sat beside him, wanting to make the bed but not daring to move.
"You've changed." Qin Ye lamented, "Back then, you were so mighty and domineering back at Clear Creek High School.
What about now? "
Wang Chenghao coughed dryly, "Brother Qin … people will always change when they encounter great changes …"
"Look at you. You have thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a height of 1.8 meters. No matter how you look at yourself, you're at least 80 points. You can't become a little wife … To train your courage, from tomorrow onwards, you'll be in charge of fetching water and buying dinner. Any questions?"
Something's wrong … Something doesn't seem right … However, Wang Chenghao still nodded.
His boldness was reserved for his own kind. But ever since he'd left Clear Creek County, he hadn't had much contact with humans …
Although she wasn't screaming like she was back at home, she still needed some time to get used to it, right?
He felt that this suggestion was for his own good. Courage was something that could only be cultivated through training …
Hmm … the logic is flawless … but I still feel that something is wrong …
"Alright."
Qin Ye waved his hand dismissively and turned to the three Yin spirits in front of him, "Do you want to go down yourself, or should I send you down?"
"My lord."
One of the baby-faced students scratched his head, "About that … can you give me a paper doll or something …"
"Possession?
Do you still not want to go down? "
Qin Ye rolled his eyes. He felt as though there was something stuck to his face, and he rubbed it with his thumb and index finger, "No. Rules are rules."
"My Lord … We died for no reason … I, I still want to tell my family."
Qin Ye rubbed his fingers even faster as he responded impatiently, "Nothing can be accomplished without rules and regulations. If you're going to leave, then you're going to leave.
Do you know that in another year and a half, you will really become evil spirits? "
"Milord …"
"But …" Qin Ye rubbed his fingers together, "Rules are made by men …"
What about comprehension?
Don't you have any basic understanding of this official's movements?
The three of them were stunned. Was he … asking for a bribe in person?
The dark side of society … I can't escape even in death?
This evil human relationship society …
"Sir …" The tallest student coughed dryly. "We … are all poor students …"
Without another word, Qin Ye turned around and picked up his demonhead saber.
"My lord!
No! "" Give me a way out!
I'm extremely familiar with Insignia University!
I can be your guide and your accomplice! "" Your Excellency, please be lenient outside the law!
I think we can still discuss it!
How about I sing you a lullaby every night? "
What kind of lullaby was this?
Qin Ye couldn't help but feel that his job was torturous. Ever since he'd started working, the only tycoon he'd ever known, Wang Zemin, actually had an heir.
The rest were either run-down hotel owners or poor students who only had a set of clothes left.
He really wanted to get rich, but there was no place for him to do so!
It's not that I want to be honest and clean … It's that society is forcing me to fight corruption and promote honesty …
"My lord!
We have grievances! "
Looking at Qin Ye's indomitable expression, one of the students finally knelt down with a thud and spoke with a trembling voice.
"Don't even think about delaying. I'll give you a head start of thirty-nine meters." Qin Ye caressed his demonhead saber. As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly froze.
Grievances …
It was a lowly word, but … it gave him a sudden flash of inspiration.
He stood up abruptly and turned to Wang Chenghao, "Go get a jug of water."
"... Wait a moment?" Wang Chenghao was incomparably relieved to see that there were ghosts who were even more miserable than themselves.
"Now!"
Wang Chenghao picked up the jug of water and left the room in a depressed manner. Qin Ye locked the door behind him, before turning around and gazing deeply into the eyes of the three Yin spirits.
"Interesting." Seconds later, the smile on Qin Ye's face faded away, and he asked placidly, "How long have you been dead?"
"Three years." The student responded respectfully.
"Three years … interesting … truly interesting …" Qin Ye seemed to be deep in thought as he tapped his finger on the table, almost as though he were muttering to himself, "As long as you're a human, and not a suicidal maniac, you'd definitely have some sort of obsession with dying a violent death.
That said … I don't think you guys have any. "
"To think that you've even become an earthbound spirit of this dormitory.
You're in a good mood, and you're no different from when you were alive … So … did you die of your own free will? "
The three Yin spirits shook their heads in unison.
"You guys didn't die willingly, and you don't have any obsession with dying …" Qin Ye's gaze grew cold as he glanced out of the window at the darkened campus grounds, "Then there can only be one possibility."
"You guys … died painlessly. In fact, you didn't even know that you were dead!"
The taller Yin spirit bit down on his lower lip and nodded fiercely.
"I don't want to die."
His earlier cheerful demeanor seemed to have vanished completely. His lips trembled, and his body trembled uncontrollably, "But … there's nothing I can do."
"We don't know how we died, and we didn't feel any pain either. It was almost as though we'd simply fallen asleep … I saw my parents packing up my belongings with my own eyes … I saw my mother crying and fainting on the bed … I was right beside her, but there was nothing I could do!"
His voice choked up, "Over the past three years, we've been desperately trying to find out the truth.
But … "
"But you can't get out of here."
Qin Ye continued, "Earthbound spirits can only be trapped in the last place they were when they were alive. For the past three years, you've only been able to move around in this place.
That shouldn't be the case. You guys have an obsession with dying, and yet your obsession has been suppressed by someone else, causing you to be trapped here as earthbound spirits. "
There's something wrong with this academy!
"What do you remember?"
He didn't have much hope in the first place. After all, how could he possibly remember the signs of death if he didn't even know how he died?
But, as soon as he finished speaking, the three Yin spirits immediately responded in unison, "The sound of gongs and drums!"
Whoosh … Qin Ye gazed deeply at them, and then turned to the floor, almost as though he were trying to see through the floorboards to Old Man Liu's shriveled face.
The sound of gongs and drums …
"Every night at midnight, there would be people beating gongs and drums as they walked up the stairs, followed by the sound of messy footsteps.
But … the doors of this academy are always locked at midnight! "
"Every day … I'd see four pairs of wet footprints here!
It was almost as though … as though someone was standing right in front of a locked door, staring at it until dawn … "
What a coincidence.
"That was three years ago in the spring … When we first heard the sound of gongs and drums, none of us paid much attention to it."
The taller Yin spirit gritted his teeth, "But when I asked around the next day … none of the other students heard it!"
"Only we … we heard it loud and clear. It was almost as though … as though they were congratulating someone for their promotion and fortune. The sound of gongs and drums, as well as the sound of firecrackers and suona. It was so noisy that we couldn't sleep at all!"
"At first, we thought it was a prank, but … it wasn't. We squatted at the door all night long, and even installed peepholes!
Not a single person could be seen! "
"My lord … can you imagine it? At midnight, the lights on this floor would suddenly go completely dark. Then, the sound of gongs and drums would abruptly echo out amidst the deathly stillness … and we couldn't see a single person through the peephole.
Yet, we could hear footsteps … stopping right at the door of the dormitory!! "
"We almost went crazy!"
The baby-faced Yin spirit recalled the scene back then, and he continued with a trembling voice, "There were several times when the footsteps stopped at the door. When we lit the candles, we could see a person standing right under the door … There really was someone there!
I could even see his shadow under the door!
But … but the peephole was completely blank! "
"We reported it, but nobody believed us!
Then, just as we were about to move out … we couldn't remember anything at all. "
The three students began to sob.
In the Mood for Love, they had perished in this place for no apparent reason. They could only become earthbound spirits who couldn't even take a single step beyond twenty square meters.
No living person entered the dormitory, apart from cleaning the dormitory every year when the school reopened.
Nobody remembered them either. They forced themselves to be happy.
They didn't dare to scare anyone who entered the dormitory.
They wanted to talk.
They wanted to go out.
They wanted to know what was going on.
Unfortunately, they couldn't do it.
Qin Ye pondered for a long time, "You've been here for three years now. Have you ever heard the sound of gongs and drums at any other time?"
"No. I've never heard of anything so terrifying!
Otherwise, we wouldn't be staying here in the first place! "
"Got it."
Qin Ye pointed to the opposite side of the dormitory, "Go and stay there. I'll bring back three paper effigies tomorrow. You guys can stay here for the time being."
"Thank you … thank you, my lord!"
He wasn't being overly kind.
Rather … if this incident was related to Insignia University, then this was a supernatural incident that was worth millions of Spirit Stones!
Wang Chenghao returned from fetching some water.
The two of them sat on the table and looked through the university's curriculum, while Qin Ye discussed with Wang Chenghao which society he wanted to join. It was already 10.00 p.m.
Due to the nationwide broadcast of supernatural incidents, the entire academy fell silent as soon as the sky turned dark.
There was no hustle and bustle in the playground.
There was no light from the canteen.
And there were no bustling bicycles either.
Apart from the dormitory buildings, there were only the monotonous streetlights on the streets.
The night breeze rustled the trees like the whimpering of a giant beast.
The entire dormitory building was also silent. Nobody dared to make a ruckus in the corridors, almost as though it would awaken a terrifying existence. The corridors were deathly silent.
Wang Chenghao had brought his laptop with him. Unfortunately, he wasn't connected to the internet yet, and he soon grew bored after playing single-player games for a while.
He yawned and got into bed.
Qin Ye browsed through his phone in boredom, and then fell asleep as well.
Tap … tap … The darkness of the night, devoid of entertainment and communication, swallowed up one light after another. By the time Qin Ye drifted off to dreamland, the entire academy was shrouded in darkness.
Qin Ye slept soundly.
After some time, he suddenly woke up.
Dong … There was a huge clock on the school building, and it let out a melodious chime that reverberated throughout the entire campus.
It was almost as though … the bell had struck a taboo for the living, and the echo of heaven for the dead.
It was midnight.
Qin Ye woke up right on time.
Qin Ye furrowed his brows. Then, just as he was about to go back to sleep, a resounding sound suddenly entered his ears!
Dong, dong, dong!!!
First, there were three dull sounds of drums, followed by the crisp sound of gongs. And then, a split second later, the sound of trumpets sounded in unison!
Firecrackers rocked the heavens!
Qin Ye sat up gently and glanced at Wang Chenghao. He was sleeping like a pig.
Then, he turned to look at the three Yin spirits on the other bed. They were completely dumbfounded. Their bodies trembled as they stood up, and they glanced around in disbelief.
"It's here … it's here!!"
"That's it … that's it!"
"The sound of gongs and drums from three years ago … is here again!!"