Forbidden Land – CH 119

Zhang Chao was stunned when Lin Yi’ang said that Li Weihao’s death was related to him, waiting for him to continue.

Lin Yi’ang hesitated, then slowly said, “After Bai Qiu died, you were hospitalized in a coma. When you came back, did you notice anything missing from your drawer?”

Zhang Chao immediately said, “The 5,000 yuan I put in the drawer is gone!”

Lin Yi’ang said, “Li Weihao took it. You know, Li Weihao’s family isn’t well-off. When you were in a coma, there were rumors that you had amnesia, so Li Weihao secretly took the 5,000 yuan from your drawer. He didn’t know if you would remember the money since you had amnesia. But on your first night back in the dorm, you insisted on going to study with him. Although you didn’t suspect him, he was very nervous, thinking you knew he stole it. Otherwise, why would someone like you, who usually doesn’t go to study, insist on going to study with him on your first night back?”

Zhang Chao said, “Exams were coming up soon.”

Lin Yi’ang said, “That’s what you were thinking, but Li Weihao did not. He thought you deliberately followed him. Think back: when you went to study together that day, did he act strangely?”

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Zhang Chao thought for a moment and said, “Besides thinking it was odd that he heard someone singing, it seemed… it seemed like he was a bit distant when he spoke to me, as if he was wary of me. Oh, and when he asked about my week in the hospital, I said I was fully recovered, and he seemed… he did seem a little nervous.”

Lin Yi’ang said, “He thought you knew everything, so he was afraid. If this got out, you know what it would mean. 5,000 yuan is enough for a prison sentence, and all his hard-earned reputation and future would be ruined. So in the end, Li Weihao chose ‘suicide.'”

Zhang Chao shook his head and said, “That doesn’t make sense. There’s no evidence. Even if he really stole 5,000 yuan, what’s there to be afraid of? Why would he ‘commit suicide’?”

Lin Yi’ang said, “Bystanders naturally think that since no one saw it, stealing 5,000 yuan doesn’t mean there’s any need to worry about being found out. But do you think the person who actually did it can have a clear conscience?”

Zhang Chao said, “But ‘committing suicide’ just doesn’t make sense. Also, why would Li Weihao ‘commit suicide’ on the sixth floor of the School of Medicine? The same location as Bai Qiu—that’s too much of a coincidence. By the way, besides Li Weihao himself, how did you know about this?”

Lin Yi’ang said, “Teacher Liu revealed it to me privately. He said Li Weihao actually had a diary in his bag, where he wrote that he stole your money and that you wanted to study with him, and he was very scared, so he took you to the School of Medicine to test whether you really had amnesia or were just pretending. That’s why he went up to the sixth floor of the School of Medicine.”

Zhang Chao said, “After he went up to the sixth floor, since I didn’t show any signs of regaining my memory, why did he jump?”

Lin Yi’ang was taken aback, thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, “According to what you’ve said, it seems… it seems he really shouldn’t have jumped.”

Zhang Chao pondered for a while, then let out a heavy sigh and said, “Does Chen Rong know about Bai Qiu and Li Weihao?”

Lin Yi’ang said, “She’s your assigned psychologist, so naturally she knows about these things.”

Zhang Chao recalled that Chen Rong’s grandfather said only those with guilty consciences would commit suicide. Chen Rong’s expression changed slightly at that moment; it turned out she knew the reason for Bai Qiu and Li Weihao’s suicides—they indeed had guilty consciences.

But it seemed that if that were truly the case, neither Bai Qiu nor Li Weihao, even if they had guilty consciences, would necessarily commit suicide, right?

Could it be that they were truly influenced by vengeful spirits, that the suicidal thoughts were obstructing their normal thinking, ultimately leading them to actually choose suicide?

For a moment, he couldn’t understand it. Although Chen Rong’s grandfather was a rural charlatan, he had even performed soul-summoning rituals for him. This was the first time he had encountered something so bizarre. Were the vengeful spirits, jiangshis, and mountain demons that Chen Rong’s grandfather spoke of real?

Silence.

“Recalling the scene after Li Weihao’s death, their homeroom teacher, Teacher Liu, told him not to stay in the dormitory and to avoid it for a day. It turned out it wasn’t because it would be inconvenient if the family came, but because Teacher Liu knew about the incident and feared the family would think Zhang Chao had “forced” Li Weihao to his death and might harm Zhang Chao.

Having encountered so many things, Lin Yi’ang was also a little distressed. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and left it on.

Zhang Chao looked at it and asked curiously, “When did you start smoking?”

Lin Yi’ang was taken aback and said, “Occasionally, when I’m annoyed. Want some?”

Zhang Chao shook his head, his eyes lighting up. “You smoke Zhonghua? Soft pack?”

Zhang Chao knew Lin Yi’ang’s family wasn’t well-off, so it was one thing for him to smoke, but soft-pack Zhonghua was quite unexpected.

Lin Yi’ang smiled awkwardly. “I won a few thousand yuan in the lottery; I’m just indulging this once.”

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Zhang Chao didn’t take it seriously.

After Lin Yi’ang left, Zhang Chao sat blankly at the table, thinking about what had happened that night. It was getting increasingly chaotic, and his head was spinning.

He struggled to sort things out, wondering if the truth was really like this.

Initially, Bai Qiu’s “suicide” stemmed from cheating on him, being threatened by Lin Yi’ang, feeling guilty and remorseful, and having a guilty conscience, leading to suicidal thoughts. As a result, she was influenced by a ghost; her mind couldn’t process it, and she jumped off the building.

Li Weihao stole money. When he returned, he insisted on going to self-study with him, and he was afraid Zhang Chao would find out, so he chose to go to the School of Medicine to test if he had amnesia. When he got to the sixth floor, his guilty conscience, combined with the influence of a ghost, led to his “suicide.”

If these two events were true, then it meant that there was indeed a very ominous creature in the western swamp, which was why ghosts, jiangshis, and mountain demons existed.

The whole thing started with something in the swamp that disrupted the feng shui, attracting evil spirits.

Because of these evil spirits, people who harbored guilty consciences had even their slightest suicidal thoughts amplified in their minds, eventually leading to actual suicide.

And that Hei Qiu was a member of the Quishi Society, secretly preparing to eliminate the evil spirits.

But if the above was true, the remaining questions were: Why did Zhu Xiaoyu also encounter strange things at the School of Medicine? Could it be that she also had something to hide? That seemed unlikely.

Also, why was he able to see Bai Qiu? What exactly happened before he fainted?

Was Hei Qiu dressed so frighteningly simply to cover up the secrets of the Quishi Society?

Was Li Jiaming still alive, or was someone else behind this? And what role did Li Jiaming play in all of this?

Pondering these questions, Zhang Chao realized that while the remaining questions were dwindling, the remaining events seemed completely unrelated and couldn’t be pieced together.

Was it a human playing tricks, or something sinister? Or was someone using something sinister to cause trouble?

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Zhang Chao was completely bewildered. Just then, his phone beeped with a text message. He picked it up and saw it was from Chen Rong, containing only a few words. “I was too selfish. I don’t ask for your forgiveness, but you must be wary of Li Jiaming’s appearance. His grandfather is a sorcerer from Southeast Asia.”

Zhang Chao looked at Chen Rong’s message, a wave of sorrow and inner turmoil washing over him.

Perhaps, he should let it all just fade away with the wind!

He suddenly felt a scholar’s melancholy.

Half an hour later, just as he was preparing to sleep, his phone beeped again. He picked it up and saw a long string of unfamiliar numbers with a single message.

“Welcome to this grand spectacle. Everyone is playing a magnificent role-playing game. Only a diligent performance will bring you rewards. Your fearful expressions delight me, and your distorted faces revitalize me. I can’t help but admire the wonderful life of university students. You don’t need to ask questions, because questions won’t be answered. You don’t need to choose, because you’re already in the game. You don’t need to be curious about who I am, because I won’t tell you. You don’t need to reply to my texts either, because this is unfortunately a disconnected number. I’m sorry, I killed your black cat. If you ask me why, I can only tell you that it blocked my view of you. Actually, I’m a dying man, but I find joy and rebirth in your terror. Don’t worry, this is a game with an ending. You need to perform your best to receive my reward. Perform to your heart’s content, give it your best acting. Win the reward I bestow upon you! Okay, now, announcing the next victim, Zhu Xiaoyu.”

The last sentence ended abruptly.

This day was still Friday, May 9th, 2008.