Forbidden Land – CH 129

Back in his dorm, Zhang Chao pondered Brother Yang’s words and the words of others before him. He wondered what he might be carrying that could attract a malevolent spirit.

He changed his clothes every few days and didn’t wear any jade pendants or other ornaments.

What could it be? Could it be in the dorm?

But the dorm had already been searched several times during Bai Qiu’s appearance there, and nothing strange had been found.

He decided to search the dorm again carefully.

He searched the headboard, under the bed, all the wardrobes, and the desk, but found nothing else.

Until he climbed to the top of the cabinet, he was shocked to see three pens nestled amidst a thick layer of dust on top of the cabinet, over two meters high. The nibs were positioned perfectly at the edge of the top, pointing directly at the room.

Zhang Chao picked up one of the pens and examined it closely. He instantly realized—this pen was a pinhole camera!

The end of the pen had a protruding point; clearly, it was a wireless signal transmitter. Zhang Chao was utterly astonished. These three pinhole cameras were pointed in different directions of the dormitory room, meaning his every move inside was being observed!

Then, a thought struck him. He knew from common sense that these wireless signal transmitters weren’t mobile network base stations and their signals were weak. If he could receive a signal, it meant the person watching him had installed a computer terminal nearby.

Outside was grass; a computer terminal obviously wouldn’t be placed on the grass.

That left only one possibility: the person watching him was in one of the neighboring dorm rooms!

And all the neighboring dorm rooms were occupied by students from his major!

A chill ran down Zhang Chao’s spine. If a classmate was watching him, could the person sending the text messages also be involved?

After some thought, he walked around the neighboring dorm rooms, briefly checking their computers, but found nothing unusual and couldn’t guess who it was.

He decided to put the matter aside for now.

When it was time for dinner, Zhu Xiaoyu invited him to eat with her. Zhang Chao felt a little embarrassed because of what had happened the night before, but Zhu Xiaoyu didn’t seem nervous at all, acting as usual.

After dinner, they studied together. Afterwards, Zhang Chao walked Zhu Xiaoyu back to her dorm. Just as he was about to go back to his own dorm, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw another long string of numbers sending him a text message.

“Want to know what’s in the swamp? Tonight, the Quishi Society will be there. Hehe, do you want to know who I am? You’ll definitely find out. Are you afraid to go? Or do you not know how to get into the swamp? The Quishi Society has already set up a plank road behind the School of Medicine. You’ll regret it if you don’t go. Perform well and win the final reward that belongs to you.”

Zhang Chao pondered for a long time. Someone behind the scenes was instructing him again! Could that person have been following the Quishi Society all along? The Quishi Society wanted to eliminate the evil, so what was this person behind the scenes planning to do? Who exactly was he?

And what was the final reward?

The most pressing question facing him was whether to go now or not to go.

After much deliberation, he decided to go check it out. After all, it was at school, and he didn’t think he’d be in any real danger. But just in case, he went back to his dorm to get his stun gun, then went downstairs to get his bicycle and rode along the path behind Baisha.

Just as he exited the small path behind Baisha’s dorms, he unexpectedly encountered Chen Rong walking towards him with a backpack.

Zhang Chao didn’t know how to face Chen Rong, so he quickly lowered his head, trying to slip past her. Chen Rong saw him and called out, “Zhang Chao, where are you going?”

Zhang Chao stopped the bike, looking at her somewhat awkwardly, and said, “Just going out for fresh air.”

Chen Rong sighed softly and said, “I know I shouldn’t bother you anymore, but there’s something I still want to remind you of.”

Zhang Chao asked suspiciously, “What is it?”

Chen Rong said, “The man and woman you saw didn’t seem like good people.”

Zhang Chao narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “You were following me?”

Chen Rong pursed her lips and said, “I… I’m doing this for your own good.”

Zhang Chao sighed. He knew Chen Rong had never meant him any harm; she was just concerned about him. He took a breath and said, “I can judge for myself.”

Chen Rong shook her head and sighed softly, “You cannot; you don’t understand. I feel that the man you saw… he had a ghostly aura about him.”

Zhang Chao was startled and asked, “What ghostly aura?”

Chen Rong said, “He didn’t seem like a living person.”

Zhang Chao smiled and shook his head. “The clothes he wore and the makeup on his face naturally made him look like a dead person. That’s what they need. I’ve spoken to him; he’s the boss of a big company. You wouldn’t understand these things.”

Chen Rong said, “Maybe he’s lying to you?”

Zhang Chao said, “You haven’t had direct contact with him; you don’t understand. I know about their affairs, but it’s a secret; I can’t tell you. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Chen Rong’s expression was somewhat strange. After a long silence, she finally said, “You and Zhu Xiaoyu?”

Zhang Chao was stunned. He felt that having just broken up with Chen Rong and then doing that with Zhu Xiaoyu was indeed… indeed too much to bear. He silently lowered his head and sighed.

Chen Rong’s eyes reddened slightly. “Forget it,” she said. “Where are you going now? Tell me the truth, okay?”

Zhang Chao thought for a moment and said, “I’m going to check out the swampy fields to the west.”

Chen Rong’s face showed a hint of panic. “What are you going there for? It isn’t clean!”

Zhang Chao asked curiously, “You know about that place?”

Chen Rong nodded. “I’ve learned a bit these past few days.”

Zhang Chao asked, “What exactly is buried there?”

Chen Rong shook her head. “I haven’t seen anything specific. I only know it’s a very ominous thing. You…please don’t go.”

Zhang Chao thought for a moment, then said heavily, “No matter what it is, I don’t believe anything can harm me. Things always need a resolution. Chen Rong, actually, I’m sorry, but I really… If things aren’t cleared up, I’ll always have a question mark about this stage of my life. I’m sorry; this time, I can’t listen to you.”

With that, he got on his bicycle and was about to ride off. Chen Rong said, “You must be careful of Li Jiaming!”

Zhang Chao was startled and turned around, asking, “Why? Wasn’t he dead?”

Chen Rong said, “His grandfather was a sorcerer. You really need to be careful of him.”

Zhang Chao said, “Sorcerers don’t know martial arts. How can they kill people from afar?”

Chen Rong said, “I don’t know either, but I know his grandfather was a sorcerer. He’s his only grandson, and his grandfather was a famous feng shui master in Southeast Asia. Many wealthy people sought him out. His family is very rich. He might come back to plot something.”

Zhang Chao nodded, comforting her. “If he comes looking for trouble, just tell me. No matter what our relationship is, I’ll stand up for you. After all, this is Hangzhou. No matter how rich his grandfather’s family is, they wouldn’t dare hire someone to kill someone.”

Chen Rong sighed, shook her head, and then said a few more casual words before watching him ride away on his bicycle with a face tinged with melancholy.