Forbidden Land – CH 019

After the sun set, darkness followed.

Day always passed, and night always fell.

That evening, Zhang Chao and Chen Rong went to the School of Medicine library to study again. As usual, there were only about ten people in the library, all exceptionally diligent students.

Halfway through their studies, Zhang Chao suddenly felt unwell and asked Chen Rong if she had any tissues. Chen Rong looked at him with a completely understanding smile and handed him some. Embarrassed, Zhang Chao ran out of the library and towards the restrooms about ten meters away, around the corner.

Upon entering the restroom, all six large stall doors were wide open. He ran to the innermost stall, closed the door, pulled down his pants, and immediately started running.

After the most intense burst of running subsided, he let out a long sigh of relief.

The restroom light was white, but it was clearly an energy-saving bulb with low wattage, appearing somewhat dim in the quiet night.

Just as he was preparing for another burst of running, suddenly, footsteps sounded at the restroom door.

The footsteps were slow, low, and rhythmic, a “thud,” a “thud.”

This didn’t sound like someone going to the toilet. People who needed to relieve themselves didn’t walk this slowly.

Moreover, there was a full three-second interval between each step.

Zhang Chao’s stomach ached, but he couldn’t care less at that moment. He lowered his head and exhaled, trying to calm the nagging pain.

But just as he looked up, he saw a pair of feet on the white tiled floor through the gap under the door.

Black cloth shoes!

Are you kidding me?!

“Thud,” another footstep, and one black cloth shoe moved forward a step.

A few seconds later, “thud,” the other black cloth shoe moved forward a step.

The feet stopped 30 centimeters from his doorway.

A silent terror spread.

Like a slowly crawling spider, it moved forward slowly, step by step, in his heart.

A Silent Struggle

This…this…Zhang Chao’s heart clenched tightly.

“Ah…” A long sigh, seemingly near yet far, drifted in from outside the door.

Zhang Chao squatted, barely daring to breathe, intently staring at the black cloth shoes. But the black cloth shoes stopped about 30 centimeters from the door, remaining motionless.

Waiting for him at the door?

Will the person knock?

Waiting was the most agonizing form of torture.

The bathroom, the dim light, the silent waiting, and that final long sigh—Zhang Chao felt his last line of defense was about to crumble.

After a long silence, Zhang Chao took a deep breath, then lowered his head again, still staring at those feet.

His gaze could only reach the ankles: black cloth shoes, but inside, a pair of snow-white feet.

Paper-white skin, without pores.

Were these human feet? He remembered a relative dying when he was a child, dressed in burial clothes, lying in a coffin; his feet then looked something like this.

Was it really a woman in ancient costume?

Was it really the eerie figure he’d seen before?

What was the woman in an ancient costume doing in the restroom?

Zhang Chao couldn’t help but gasp. Mustering his last bit of courage, remembering he’d never heard of anyone dying in the school restroom, he secretly took out a tissue, quietly wiped his bottom, slowly stood up, and pulled up his pants.

His hand remained on the door latch, a constant internal struggle.

Should he open the door or not?

What should he do with the woman in an ancient costume standing there?

If he waited here, someone would eventually come to use the restroom. But there were only a few people in the library; when would the next person arrive?

Finally, courage overcame fear. He yanked the latch and pushed the door open with all his might.

He looked down and let out a long sigh of relief.

On the ground lay a pair of cloth shoes, stuffed with a folded, white, printed sheet of paper. The lighting was dim, and looking through the gap under the door, he initially mistook them for real feet.

He was filled with rage. This, along with the method of delivering the coffin and placing Li Weihao’s clothes, must have been the work of the same person. He picked up the shoes, threw away the paper, and flipped them over. Underneath, he saw “Old Beijing Cloth Shoes” printed on the bottom, along with a tag: “55 yuan.”

Damn it!

Who was behind this? What was their purpose?!

Zhang Chao cursed inwardly, dusted the shoes off, stuffed them back into his clothes, and returned to the library.

Chen Rong, seeing him, chuckled softly, “Why did it take you so long?”

Zhang Chao lowered his voice and said, “Pack your things; let’s go.”

“Where to? So early?” Chen Rong asked, puzzled.

Zhang Chao said, “We’ll talk outside.”

The two packed their bags and headed towards the School of Medicine building at the back. Chen Rong said, “What’s wrong? Can you tell me now?”

Zhang Chao stopped, unzipped his jacket, and took out a pair of black cloth shoes.

Chen Rong looked at the shoes, her face showing surprise. “This…what is this? It can’t be…”

Zhang Chao shook his head, turned the shoes over, and pointed to the sole. “It’s not what you’re thinking. Look closely, it’s even ISO9001, 55 yuan. Brand new!”

Chen Rong asked suspiciously, “You bought it?”

Zhang Chao was about to scream with a headache: “How can you, a psychology major, be so clueless? Am I crazy to buy a pair of old women’s shoes?”

Chen Rong said, “Then tell me, what happened?”

Zhang Chao said, “Someone’s trying to target me.” Then he recounted what had happened in the restroom.

Chen Rong’s eyes widened in surprise. “No one’s that bored to play a joke like that,” she said.

Zhang Chao said, “Then who else could it be? Would a woman in period costume really be so bored as to go out of her way to buy a pair of old Beijing cloth shoes to scare me?”

Chen Rong frowned. “That kind of joke is a bit much.”

Zhang Chao said, “It isn’t just that!” He recounted how someone knocked on his window in the middle of the night, a coffin was hanging in the window, and Li Weihao’s clothes were hanging on the toilet door.

The more Chen Rong listened, the more incredulous her expression became: “Only someone with a deep-seated hatred for you would do something like this.”

Zhang Chao sighed: “I guess even the hatred of killing one’s father wouldn’t be this intense. It’s hateful; I still don’t know who’s behind this. I initially thought it was some sleazy guy who liked Bai Qiu, but now that I know about Bai Qiu’s illness, it seems impossible.” He paused for a moment, then said, “There’s something I don’t know if I should tell you.”

Chen Rong said, “Just tell me what it is.”

Zhang Chao hesitated: “You’re a psychology major. What if I tell you and you think I’m mentally ill and start treating me every day?”

Chen Rong laughed: “A person who says that definitely isn’t mentally ill. If you don’t tell me, I’ll get someone from Hangzhou Seventh Hospital to arrest you and put you in for electroconvulsive therapy tomorrow!” She deliberately made a “fierce” expression.

Zhang Chao recalled how much Chen Rong had talked to him these past two days, especially their time together today. Chen Rong had even told him about her family, which made Zhang Chao feel she was trustworthy. He then recounted the events of the two nights after Li Weihao’s death, when he was half-asleep and half-awake, hearing voices responding to him.

After listening, Chen Rong’s expression became even more incredulous. “You said you heard Li Weihao’s voice?” she asked.

Zhang Chao sighed. “If it weren’t for that, I would have thought it was that bastard messing with me, but the voice sounded so real that it made me panic.”

Chen Rong said, “Maybe, maybe it really was just your hallucination.”

Zhang Chao said, “You can’t understand it if you haven’t experienced it. Anyway, let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s go up to the Teaching Building and take a look.”

Chen Rong asked, “You’re still going?”

Zhang Chao laughed. “Going every day, I’m sure I can catch that crazy woman.”

Chen Rong scoffed. “You dare? I’ve seen your face before.”