Forbidden Land – CH 008

Zhang Chao had run up to the sixth floor to see what the woman in ancient costume looked like, but now she was just 20 meters away, turning a corner and walking down the stairs. He froze, too afraid to follow.

Even though he was a man, standing there in the middle of the night, seeing the woman’s back flash by, he didn’t dare make a sound.

Now that she had gone downstairs, he was too afraid to move, too afraid to go down, afraid that if he went down and took a picture with her, it would be quite a sight.

Zhang Chao’s heart pounded, but he didn’t dare make a sound. His back was pressed tightly against the wall, and he warily looked around. He took out his phone and dialed Lin Yi’ang’s number.

On the other end of the phone, Lin Yi’ang seemed to be playing a game, saying, “Zhang Chao, what are you doing? Li Weihao’s parents have packed their things and left. You can come back now.”

Zhang Chao’s eyes remained fixed on both sides as he lowered his voice, saying, “Quick, get to the School of Medicine’s Teaching Building! Hurry, I’m on the sixth floor. I’m too scared to come down. Brother, come quick, or you’ll never see me again!”

“Hey, what the hell is going on now!” Lin Yi’ang complained with a half-smile.

Zhang Chao said urgently, “Stop talking nonsense; come here now.”

“Explain yourself clearly; what exactly happened?” Lin Yi’ang’s voice became slightly more serious.

Zhang Chao didn’t want to say more: “Come quickly, save my life, buddy, I’m begging you! Sixth floor.” He then hung up the phone, barely daring to breathe.

The tension lasted for five or six minutes, but the figure of the woman in ancient costume didn’t appear again. Zhang Chao breathed a slight sigh of relief, but still didn’t dare let his guard down. Looking out the window, he saw the road was deserted, save for a few dim streetlights. To the west lay the undeveloped swampy fields of the school, overgrown with small lakes, puddles, bushes, weeds, and tangled trees. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. In the distance, in the swampy fields, stood a white figure. The figure was partially obscured by the bushes, making it difficult to make out clearly. A few seconds later, the figure walked into the swampy fields and disappeared.

Zhang Chao was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. Was that figure really the woman in ancient costume? Was the person in the swampy fields the woman in ancient costume? Which one was the woman in an ancient costume? How did she get into the swampy fields?

A series of questions, and a wave of panic washed over him.

Ten minutes later, a bicycle sped past on the road outside. Zhang Chao recognized it as Lin Yi’ang. Seeing Lin Yi’ang, his earlier fear completely vanished. He leaned out the window and shouted, “Brother Lin, I’m here!”

Lin Yi’ang looked up and yelled, “You fucking crazy! Calling me out this late to tell me you’re upstairs? You think you’re some kind of fairy who needs me to keep you company?!”

Zhang Chao blushed and said, “It’s okay now.”

Lin Yi’ang continued cursing, “I’m not coming upstairs to find you. Are you fucking planning to walk down yourself, or are you planning to jump—” He quickly stopped himself at the mention of “jump,” remembering that Li Weihao had just jumped from there yesterday, and he couldn’t say anything like that right now.

Zhang Chao smiled, no longer afraid. He quickly ran downstairs, grabbed his bike, and went home with Lin Yi’ang.

On the way back, Lin Yi’ang couldn’t help but curse again, “What the hell did you say on the phone? You wanted me to come save you? Weren’t you perfectly fine? Besides, if there was nothing wrong, why did you run up to the sixth floor in the middle of the night? You want to learn…” He quickly took back his words.

Zhang Chao smiled sheepishly, then said seriously, “Let me tell you, I wouldn’t have run up there normally, but this time, I saw the woman in ancient costume with my own eyes!”

“Screech—” Lin Yi’ang slammed on the brakes, almost flying off the bike. He stopped and said, “A woman in ancient costume?”

Zhang Chao, still shaken, nodded. “I was downstairs getting my bike from the garage when I looked up and saw a woman in white with her hair hanging down. She probably noticed me and immediately walked away. I rushed up to the sixth-floor corridor and looked around for a long time, but didn’t see the woman in an ancient costume. Then, just when I thought no one was there, she suddenly walked down the stairs. Hey, you have no idea; I was really scared—”

Lin Yi’ang said skeptically, “Really? I heard that the woman in an ancient costume is mentally ill.”

Zhang Chao said, “Absolutely! When have you ever seen me so scared? I even called you over; I was genuinely terrified!”

Although men were generally concerned with their image, it was okay to admit to being afraid in front of a close friend, since he knew Lin Yi’ang wouldn’t tell anyone.

Lin Yi’ang said, “By the way, those feet in the surveillance footage you mentioned this morning, could they be the feet of a woman in ancient costume?”

Zhang Chao said, “Very likely, but I heard from Teacher Liu that the police technicians confirmed it was just light reflection; the image was blurry to begin with, so it can’t be definitively identified as feet.”

Lin Yi’ang said, “Forget it, I don’t care if it’s true or not. Just be more careful in the future. You were unconscious for a week last week; your health isn’t good. Don’t scare yourself.”

Zhang Chao said, “I need your help with something.”

Lin Yi’ang said, “Why are you being so polite, kid? Go ahead!”

Zhang Chao said, “Before you came here, I saw a white figure in the swampy field to the west. It might be the woman in an ancient costume. I can’t figure out how she got in.”

“Impossible.” Lin Yi’ang denied it outright. “That area has never been developed; it’s surrounded by paddy fields, and you can’t get in at all. Didn’t you see all the signs in the swamp fields? ‘Swamp is dangerous. Don’t enter!’ You must have seen it wrong. From that distance, even a plastic bag would look white.”

Zhang Chao didn’t deny this point. It was indeed far away; a plastic bag hanging on a tree could look like a person’s figure. As for walking into the swamp later, the March winds could easily have blown the plastic bag away.

Most people had had this experience. For example, at the beach, looking at a distant circular buoy, you might mistake it for a human head floating on the water.

However, he clearly saw the white figure that had just passed by on the sixth floor. A science student wouldn’t believe he was hallucinating.

Lin Yi’ang then said, “What do you need my help with? You haven’t said it yet.”

Zhang Chao said, “I’ve been going to the School of Medicine library to study lately. I want to see what this ‘woman in ancient costume’ is all about.”

Lin Yi’ang immediately refused, “Get lost! I don’t have time to study with you! You have to retake your exams, but I do not, and the exams aren’t even here yet. Besides, you’re not the only one who’s seen that woman in ancient costume. I bet some lunatic picked up a tattered piece of clothing and wandered around at night; that’s why people are calling her a ‘woman in ancient costume.’ You’re such a coward; don’t bother investigating this kind of nonsense. Yesterday’s incident is over; let it go. Also, let me tell you, looking at your pathetic state, I suggest you don’t come to the School of Medicine library to study anymore. It’s bad feng shui.”

Zhang Chao asked curiously, “What do you mean?”

Lin Yi’ang said, “I just heard it as a joke. This Zijingang used to be a huge swamp, with a few old cemeteries. Also, some people died here during the Hangzhou armed conflicts of the 1960s, so it’s said to be full of yin energy. I heard the northeast and southwest corners are the most yin. Now the northeast corner is the school hospital, and outside is the back gate street. So many people set up food stalls there every day, so naturally, there’s no yin energy. Only the southwest corner, next to it, is still an undeveloped swamp, and it’s also the School of Medicine, so there are many dead bodies inside. Hehe, I think you should give up on that. Anyway, you’re just cramming at the last minute, not the type to study on your own.”

Zhang Chao smiled, not taking it seriously, and said, “If you don’t want to come, fine. I’ll bring a flashlight next time. If I see that woman in ancient costume again—”

Lin Yi’ang interrupted him: “If you see her again, don’t call me for help. Do whatever you want with her.”

The two chatted and laughed as they returned to Baisha Dormitory. After parking their bicycles, they walked out together and saw a girl in a red down jacket standing in the small square of Baisha—it was Bai Qiu.

Zhang Chao smiled: “Brother, you go ahead; I’ll chat with your cousin a bit more. By the way, brother-in-law, thank you for saving my life today.”

With that, Zhang Chao ran towards Bai Qiu. Lin Yi’ang walked slowly and deliberately in a direction far away from Zhang Chao and his cousin, back to his dormitory, with a hint of unease on his face.