Forbidden Land – CH 041

Encountering the strange animal and bizarre events on the grassland, Zhang Chao and Chen Rong were both somewhat panicked and decided to leave quickly.

On the way back, Zhang Chao asked, “Do you think what I just experienced was really a ghost wall?”

Chen Rong replied, “I’m not sure, but I saw you ran in the wrong direction. Only you know what really happened.”

Zhang Chao pondered the scene.

The first time, he walked slowly towards the animal, his eyes fixed on it. Unexpectedly, as he walked, he found Chen Rong standing in front of him.

The second time, he ran straight towards the animal, his eyes still glued to it, and nearly ran into the river. It wasn’t until Chen Rong imitated a rooster’s crow that he suddenly realized he was facing a river.

This was the strangest experience he had ever had in his life.

Refraction of light? Diffraction of light?

No matter how hard he racked his brains, trying to recall everything he knew about the principles of light, he couldn’t explain what had just happened.

If he were standing inside a large, sophisticated light-reflecting machine, what just happened could indeed have occurred.

But he was standing on the grass; how could this have happened?

After thinking for a while, Zhang Chao asked again, “By the way, you were with me; how come you didn’t encounter any ghost walls?”

Chen Rong said, “I stood still and didn’t move. If I had run with you, I might have ended up in the river too.”

Zhang Chao said, “How can there be such a thing as ghost walls?”

Chen Rong shook her head: “I don’t know either. I’ve only heard people in the countryside talk about it before. This is the first time I’ve seen it. Although it didn’t happen to me, it still gave me a bit of a fright.”

Zhang Chao said, “Tell me, what exactly are ghosts and evil spirits? And why does something like ghost walls exist? Also, I’ve heard before that so-called ghosts are just electromagnetic wave signals. What do you think?”

Chen Rong said, “Whether it’s an electromagnetic wave signal, I don’t know. I’ve heard scientists have studied the phenomenon of ‘ghost walls,’ and it seems to be caused by changes in the surrounding magnetic field, leading to misjudgment of direction. It’s like whales swimming ashore—it’s the same principle. Apparently, foreign experiments simulating magnetic field changes have also shown that people experience ‘ghost walls.’ But what happened today, I really can’t explain.”

“Anyway, what I’m saying is what I heard from my village and my grandfather when I was a child. The elders said that not all ghosts can cause ‘ghost walls.’ Ultimately, ‘ghost walls’ are a kind of ghostly magic, requiring relatively powerful ghosts. And not everyone encounters ‘ghost walls.’ ‘Ghost walls’ are a kind of illusory magic; as long as a person’s ‘human energy’ is strong, then ‘ghost walls’ are useless. People like butchers and police officers won’t encounter them; even ghosts are afraid of them.”

Zhang Chao said, “Then I’m a man, so according to the saying, my ‘yang energy’ should be strong. Why did I encounter it?”

Chen Rong said, “People with weak constitutions are more likely to experience it. You just had a cold and haven’t fully recovered yet, so your energy field might be a little weak.” After a long silence, she sighed, “It seems that’s the only explanation.”

Zhang Chao said, “You just said that not every ghost has the ability to do this, only powerful ghosts. What do you mean by powerful ghosts?”

Chen Rong said, “That’s a superstitious belief. Powerful ghosts refer to those who died unjustly, those who harbored resentment in life, so they are naturally more powerful after death. However, ordinary ghosts are invisible to people, unless they are extremely weak. There’s also a mountain ghost, which people can see. Mountain ghosts are covered in hair and look like large monkeys. They are said to be transformed from jiangshi ^{(reanimated corpses)}. Mountain ghosts also have magic and can create illusions.”

“Mountain ghosts?” Zhang Chao remembered what Chen Rong had mentioned before and the comments he’d seen online. Thinking back, the dark-skinned child in the online photos, the shadow he’d seen through the fire extinguisher glass downstairs at the School of Medicine, and the dark-skinned animal he’d seen today—the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was the same thing. Could it really be a mountain spirit?

He asked, “Do you think what I saw today could be a mountain spirit?”

Chen Rong shook her head. “I still think the animal I saw today was just a wild boar or an otter or something like that. Those kinds of things probably exist in swampy fields. The ‘ghost wall’ you encountered, while hard to explain, I don’t think it really is a ghost wall. Perhaps there are other reasons, like there’s an iron mine below us, which changes the magnetic field, or maybe the mobile signal base station nearby is emitting too much radiation.”

Zhang Chao said, “There’s an iron mine below Zijingang? I don’t believe it for a second. I heard this place used to be a swampy field; where would there be any mineral deposits? There aren’t any mobile signal base stations on campus either; they are usually built on mountains or in sparsely populated areas.”

Chen Rong sighed and said, “Anyway, I don’t understand these things, but I still don’t really believe in superstitions. This matter is strange, but it’s over now. Don’t overthink it. Also, if you encounter such a big animal again, please don’t chase it. If it’s a dangerous animal, it could cause serious trouble.”

Zhang Chao took a deep breath and nodded. He’d been on edge lately; if he kept thinking about this kind of thing, he’d break down sooner or later.

The two said goodbye, and Zhang Chao returned to his dorm.

After returning, he carefully searched the dorm, finding that no one had moved anything or left anything new, which put his mind at ease.

The black cat named Bei Bei was starving, meowing incessantly. Zhang Chao gave it some treats to quiet it down.

“Zhang Chao, Zhang Chao.” Outside the window, Bai Qiu, wearing a red down jacket and with a fair and pretty face, was calling to him.

Zhang Chao hurriedly ran over, opened the window, and looked happily at Bai Qiu, saying, “You came to find me!”

Just then, Bei Bei stopped eating, jumped onto the washbasin, and seemed to be glaring fiercely at Bai Qiu, its body arched like a bow.

Bai Qiu looked at the black cat, her face turning pale with fright, and said, “Don’t let it pounce! It’ll scratch people!”

Zhang Chao quickly picked up the black cat and said to the window, “Wait for me; I’m coming out.” He then slammed the window shut, preventing the black cat from escaping.

Zhang Chao excitedly ran out of the dormitory, but after only two steps, someone behind him said, “Go out and close the door.”

“Oh, I forgot to close the door.”

But just as he was about to turn around and close the door, he suddenly froze, staring at the empty dormitory room except for Bei Bei eating.

Who was talking to him?

It was clearly a girl’s voice.

Why would there be a girl in a boys’ dormitory so late at night?

A chill ran down his spine. He sharply scanned every corner of the dormitory room, but there was no one hiding. Besides, the dormitory was only so big; there was no way anyone could hide there.

Zhang Chao’s heart pounded wildly. It took him a long time to calm down. Filled with doubt, he gently closed the door and turned to run outside to find Bai Qiu.

Before he even reached the dormitory corridor, Lin Yi’ang approached him. Seeing Zhang Chao’s strange expression, he asked, “Where are you going?”

Zhang Chao replied, “Bai Qiu is looking for me.”

Lin Yi’ang said, “Coming to see you so late again? I think Bai Qiu is really quite ill.”

Hearing this, Zhang Chao sighed slightly. Bai Qiu, who had seemed perfectly fine, appeared to be quite ill. She wouldn’t come out normally and wouldn’t accept his phone calls, only calling him in the evenings when she was in a good mood.

When would she ever get better?

Seeing his expression, Lin Yi’ang said, “Go on, but come back early. Don’t talk to her too late. You know she has mental issues; let her rest early. Oh, and bring me a pack of instant noodles when you come back.”

Zhang Chao nodded and ran out of Baisha.