Forbidden Land – CH 095

Zhang Chao was taken aback and whispered, “The Quishi Society? Why is it the Quishi Society again? The annotations after the school song are exactly the same. What does it mean?”

Chen Rong flipped through a few pages of the diary. The yellowed pages were all blank; there was nothing else written on them.

Closing the diary, Zhang Chao saw that it was an old, red-covered notebook with cracked and frayed edges—clearly the kind of notebook from decades ago. Chen Rong shoved the notebook under a pile of books on the desk, saying, “I found it at the very bottom of these books. Looks like it was hidden quite well.”

Zhang Chao pondered for a moment, then said, “This ‘Quishi’ Society must be an organization’s name. Do you think this Professor Chen and that girl in black are in cahoots?”

Chen Rong nodded, saying, “Probably. I just can’t figure out what those strange lines at the end of the school song mean.”

Zhang Chao said, “We’ll get to the bottom of this today.”

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The two stayed in the study for several more minutes. Then, the door opened, followed by the aunt’s voice. “Old Chen, your two students are waiting in the study.”

“Oh, I’ll go see them,” Chen Demao replied, walking into the study. The man entered the room, his face contorted with shock and anger, glanced around, and saw his wife still in the kitchen. He quickly closed the door to the study and hissed, “You two actually came to my house! You’re disturbing my home! I’m calling the police!”

Chen Rong smiled and said, “Professor Chen, don’t be angry. We just wanted to ask you some questions.”

Chen Demao said decisively, “Get out! And never come to my house again!”

Zhang Chao said, “Professor Chen, we know you must know many secrets. Since we are here today, we definitely need to ask you before we leave.”

Chen Demao muttered in a deep voice, “Why are you two so annoying? Go back to school and study properly. Don’t meddle in so many things!”

Seeing his lack of cooperation, Zhang Chao snapped, “I was almost killed by a water ghost! How am I supposed to study properly now?! Who almost killed me? Your daughter!”

“What!” Chen Demao’s face turned ashen, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets as he glared fiercely at Zhang Chao.

Zhang Chao and Chen Rong were both intimidated by his gaze and slowly took a few steps back.

But Chen Demao pressed closer, his aggressive stare making Zhang Chao extremely uncomfortable, even fearing he might go berserk and attack.

After a moment, Chen Demao’s expression seemed to soften. He said, “What you’re saying is impossible.”

Zhang Chao and Chen Rong exchanged glances. Zhang Chao said, “Professor Chen, to be honest with you, if it weren’t for your daughter falling into the water and you finding a substitute, and me almost being the next one, we wouldn’t have found out you were Chen Xu’s father.”

Chen Demao paused, then calmed down, exhaled, and said, “Just say what you want. In my house, don’t let my wife hear about our daughter; her health isn’t good.”

Zhang Chao said, “Professor Chen, we just want to ask you some things, things you definitely know.”

Chen Demao waved his hand and said, “Sit down. Since you’ve been so clear, I can only tell you what I know today.”

The three of them sat down. Zhang Chao said, “Professor Chen, how exactly did your daughter die?”

Chen Demao’s face darkened, as if he were reverting to his past sorrow. After a long silence, he slowly said, “It seems you know about my daughter’s case. To be honest, I don’t know exactly how she died, but it certainly wasn’t suicide. With so many students witnessing her swimming alone in the lake, it couldn’t have been murder.”

Zhang Chao said, “So you mean, it really is what the old saying says—a water ghost seeking a substitute to kill her?”

Chen Demao nodded helplessly. “In my opinion, that’s the only explanation.”

Zhang Chao said, “Do water ghosts really exist? Then why haven’t any incidents happened in recent years?”

Chen Demao said, “Whether water ghosts exist or not is beyond scientific explanation; most people wouldn’t believe it. After my daughter died, she wasn’t murdered, and I don’t believe it was suicide. My wife and I specifically consulted a high-ranking monk about this. The monk said it’s possible she was killed by a water ghost seeking a substitute. Later, the monk analyzed the cause and said it was…it was due to unfavorable feng shui.”

“The feng shui is off?” Zhang Chao and Chen Rong exchanged surprised glances. Chen Rong said, “Professor Chen, so you believe in feng shui too?”

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Chen Demao said, “I’m not a science teacher, but in my opinion, feng shui has some basis.”

Chen Rong said, “My grandfather in the countryside also helped with feng shui, so I know a little about it. Logically, with so many people in the school, the feng shui should be very good.”

Chen Demao said, “Logically, the feng shui should be very good, but this area used to be a swampy wetland. According to feng shui, it has heavy yin energy, and some areas were old cemeteries. People died in the armed conflicts there in the 1960s. Although feng shui factors were considered in the design during construction, there are many things I don’t understand. There’s something I don’t know if you’ve noticed: for a period of time, the water in Qizhen Lake smelled very bad.”