Forbidden Land – CH 057

After using his phone for a while, he removed the SIM card. This way, he could use it as a watch to tell the time without being bothered by phone calls.

Finally, it was 10 PM. Zhang Chao wearily stood up, put the black cat in his backpack, and headed towards the School of Medicine under the cover of darkness.

After walking for more than ten minutes, he finally arrived at the Teaching Building that was both incredibly familiar and incredibly strange.

He glanced up; none of the windows were open.

Zhang Chao started walking and went straight up the south staircase.

Silence reigned, save for the sound of his footsteps, unhurriedly echoing in the corridor.

There was no knocking, no woman singing.

The lonely streetlights streamed in through the corridor windows; everything seemed normal.

He reached the sixth floor without any trouble. Zhang Chao looked around and finally stood before the door of that particular room.

Just then, “Meow, meow,” the black cat meowed, seemingly anxious, its claws flailing wildly inside his backpack, as if desperately wanting to jump out.

Did it need to pee? Peeing at such a crucial moment—what an animal!

Helpless, Zhang Chao had no choice but to take it out of the backpack. The black cat meowed again and jumped out, but then, it didn’t seem to need to relieve itself. Instead, it rushed to the iron door and frantically clawed at it.

What was wrong with the black cat?

It was said that black cats could see things that humans could not. Could it be, could it be, that the secret really lay behind this door?

Zhang Chao didn’t move, just calmly stared at the door.

After scratching for a while, the iron door was naturally intact, so the black cat stopped dejectedly, but its body was arched like a bow, staring at the door, growling lowly in its throat.

Zhang Chao stood there, still quietly watching the door.

What exactly was hidden behind this door?

“Why not give it a try…” He thought for a moment, then, mustering his courage, took a few steps forward and gently knocked on the door.

“Knock, knock, knock.” The sound wasn’t loud, but it echoed down the corridor.

“Meow—” The black cat seemed to suddenly become even angrier.

Zhang Chao glanced at the black cat’s state, his heart tightening.

Just then, from somewhere, seemingly far away yet very close, but with no discernible direction, a faint female opera voice rang out again.

Upon hearing it, Zhang Chao’s blood boiled, his heart pounded, and he forced himself to remain calm, shouting into the air, “Which bastard is singing!”

After the shout, silence fell, as if the female voice had vanished completely.

After waiting for a long time without hearing a response, just as Zhang Chao was beginning to doubt whether the voice had even existed, suddenly, he felt a chill on his neck.

What was that?

Icy cold.

It felt slightly slippery, slowly rubbing against the base of his neck, wriggling as if trying to slip down his back and into his clothes.

An insect?

That was the first thought that flashed through his mind.

But the next second, his teeth began to chatter, his mouth twitching slightly.

This feeling…this feeling…it definitely wasn’t an insect.

It felt like…like human fingers, slippery fingers!

An absurd thought inexplicably popped into his head: this…this was a finger soaked in formaldehyde.

Thud!

His mind seemed to have been struck a heavy blow; his whole body froze, holding its breath, too afraid to move. His eyes slowly turned to the right, glancing sideways out of the corner of his eye.

Then, the cold sensation on his neck disappeared.

Taking advantage of this moment, Zhang Chao suddenly turned around, only to find the glass window of the corridor in front of him devoid of everything.

How could this be? What was that just now?

Wait!

Just now, when he turned around, was there…was there still a woman standing on the stairs?

The feeling grew stronger; a gaze was silently watching him from behind.

He slowly lowered his head, wanting to sneak a peek.

Then, he suddenly noticed something: why was the shadow behind him so dark?

Thud! His mind cleared instantly.

Behind him, someone was standing tightly against his back! Standing motionless.

The next second, he almost suffocated, instinctively lunging forward, leaning against the wall, and turning around.

Still nothing. Looking back at the stairs, there was no woman standing there.

But the black cat was standing at the top of the stairs, its back to him, staring intently down the stairs.

Could it be that the woman at the top of the stairs was indeed standing there, and now she had gone down?

Just then, from the classroom in front of him came a broken female opera voice. “My lord is like the moon in the sky…”

A sobbing aria faintly echoed in the corridor. But the voice only sang one line before silence returned.

This time, he could finally hear it clearly—it was indeed opera, and Yue opera at that!

If he knew Yue opera, he would know that this piece was called “Pan Fu,” a famous excerpt, its melody extremely mournful.

But at this moment, he cared nothing for the moon in the sky. He collapsed to the ground, staring at the iron door directly in front of him, afraid to think any further, afraid to stay any longer, wanting only to leave as quickly as possible.

Just as he tried to get up, preparing to flee, the black cat standing at the top of the stairs suddenly leaped out and ran downstairs.

Then, from the stairs came the black cat’s howling and frantic scratching. Finally, the cat’s cries seemed to grow hoarse and shrill.

After a moment, the sounds faded away, and soon, there was no sound at all.

Only when the sounds completely disappeared did Zhang Chao panic. He quickly got up, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and knew he had to get out of this awful place as fast as possible.

Just as he reached the fifth floor, in the moonlight streaming in through the window, Zhang Chao noticed something on the ground. It was a small piece of cloth, about the size of his palm. Zhang Chao picked it up and examined it closely. The cloth had originally been white, but it was covered in dirt and dust. Moreover, it was as thin as paper and seemed quite old.

Could it be that the woman in ancient costume who had been watching him from the bottom of the stairs was the one? And this piece of cloth was what the black cat had torn off when it was chasing her?

Zhang Chao initially considered throwing the cloth away, feeling it would dirty his hands. But then he thought it might be evidence, so he put it in his bag.

Upon reaching the fourth floor, Zhang Chao saw a few drops of blood on the floor, and next to them, a tuft of black cat fur.

The black cat was dead? Did it die trying to save him?

He was extremely anxious and rushed downstairs to search for the black cat. On the first floor, he saw more drops of blood and some cat fur but found no trace of the cat’s body.

He searched for half an hour but found no more blood or cat fur.

Where did the black cat go? Was the black cat really dead? Who was it fighting with?

Zhang Chao felt overwhelmed by the sheer terror and strangeness of the night. He had neither the will nor the energy to figure it all out. He was so tired; he didn’t want to deal with any of this anymore.

Maybe he should go back to his dorm, live a normal life from now on, and never come here again. That would surely solve everything, wouldn’t it? The fortune teller had said not to go to secluded places, and that rest would help.

Life just needed to get back on track quickly.

Suddenly, he felt utterly dejected about everything. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but he was powerless.

He wanted to cry his heart out, to completely release his pent-up emotions.

Standing there, he thought for a long time and finally decided to go back to his dorm. No matter what, things had to come to an end.