"Damn! Are these people all crazy?"
Seeing the poll results on the campus forum, I really had the urge to smash the computer.
They say that rumors are scary, and today I finally realized it!
Such a far-fetched incident, but it was actually being described in great detail by these people? In the end, I almost started to waver myself...
Am I really that unfortunate?
The second day after the incident, I clearly felt that people in the school were even more fearful of me. In the past, no one dared to approach within five meters, but now it was exaggerated to the point where I couldn't see a person within ten meters! Even the head of the department sent me a text message, suggesting that I should stay away from the classroom for a few days to avoid causing panic among other students.
Feeling quite aggrieved about this, but also helpless, I simply stayed indoors and focused on studying.
What made me even more uncomfortable was that, for several days in a row, I had not seen old Zhang at all! Could it be that even he had become wary of me and decided to keep his distance?
I can disregard what others think, but it's different when it comes to old Zhang. After all, he is my only friend in school, and if even he begins to avoid me, I would truly be left all alone!
Feeling conflicted for several days, one evening, old Zhang, who had not been seen for several days, suddenly appeared in front of me and said with a sarcastic smile, "Hey, it's already so late. You still have the heart to study?"
"Huh?"
Hearing this, I felt a sudden surge of joy in my heart, and I jumped up from the bed like a carp and asked with a hint of complaint, "Where did you go? I haven't seen you for days!"
"Heh..."
Old Zhang wore a mysterious smile on his face and said, "Don't ask. Tonight, I will take you to see a good show!"
"A good show?"
Confused, I glanced at old Zhang and subconsciously asked, "What good show?"
"Tonight, I will take you to catch ghosts!"
Old Zhang said earnestly.
"Catch ghosts?"
I was taken aback for a moment, and then muttered, looking suspiciously at old Zhang. It was then that I noticed that old Zhang was holding a peach wood sword in his left hand and his "ghost-drawing talisman" in his right hand.
"Heh..."
Seeing old Zhang's serious appearance, I couldn't help but laugh. I thought it really sounded like nonsense.
Catch ghosts? What a joke!
"If you don't believe it, forget it."
Seeing that I was uninterested, old Zhang did not try to persuade me and coldly snorted, then turned and left with his so-called ghost-catching tools.
"Damn!"
Did he go nuts from reading those esoteric books every day? Turns out, he had disappeared for several days just to prepare these things?
I muttered and, feeling uneasy about old Zhang, hesitated for a moment before quickly following him out.
"Here we go..."
When I found old Zhang, he was squatting in front of the girls' dormitory building where the suicide happened, smoking. He looked up at me, grinned with relief, and said, "I knew you wouldn't leave me alone, a lonely old man like me!"
As he spoke, he threw me a cigarette he had rolled himself.
I shook my head, politely declining his offer. Although I occasionally smoked, I preferred those with filters, and old Zhang's hand-rolled cigarette was a bit hard to handle.
"Take a puff!"
Old Zhang continued to persuade, "The flavor is a bit strong, but it can cover up your scent. Otherwise, you might be possessed by a female ghost later, don't blame me for not warning you!"
"Pff! You talk as if it's real!"
I shook my head disdainfully, half jokingly, "A jinx like me, I bet even ghosts would be repelled..."
"Uh..."
Old Zhang was visibly stunned, then nodded solemnly, "Makes sense!"
"Damn!"
If Old Zhang wasn't so old, I really felt like giving him the finger; it was so infuriating.
As it got dark, Old Zhang wasn't in a rush and, while clutching me, began to chatter endlessly about some precautions for catching ghosts.
I didn't believe in ghosts at all, so I didn't pay much attention. I just went along with it to humor the old man.
As we chatted, I suddenly felt a vibration in my pocket—it was midnight already! Unknowingly, we had been squatting here for several hours?
"It's getting late, shall we..."
I was about to persuade Old Zhang to go back to sleep when suddenly, a cold wind swept in from a short distance away, bringing an unprecedented sense of chill that made my skin crawl.
Seeing this, Old Zhang's expression changed, he hurriedly stubbed out his cigarette and lowered his voice, "It's here!"
"Huh?"
I looked at Old Zhang in surprise, but before I could ask who was here, Old Zhang suddenly raised two fingers and patted my left shoulder, saying, "Look at it yourself!"
"Huh?"
After Old Zhang patted my shoulder, I felt the cold air becoming more intense, with mist forming, and followed Old Zhang's gaze.
"Oh my god!"
As soon as I looked, I was so scared that I shivered all over. If Old Zhang hadn't pulled me, I might have collapsed right there on the spot.
Just under ten meters from us, there was a woman dressed in white with maggots crawling all over her face, floating in the air! Half of her face had sunken in, and fat white maggots were continuously falling from her mouth and nose, making my scalp tingle and covering my entire body in goosebumps.
Perhaps it was psychological, but from this distance, I almost smelled an extremely nauseating stench of decay!
"My goodness!"
Is this the ghost from the legend?
This was the first time in my life that I had seen a living ghost! I yelled out and grabbed Old Zhang next to me, intending to flee.
"It's so beautiful; I can't bear to look!"
Old Zhang's every word was true after all; ghosts really existed in this world!
As I called out, the white-robed female ghost, who was initially hovering and about to enter the girls' dormitory, suddenly noticed me. Her face contorted in a hideous manner, and a gleam of red malice flashed in her eyes! Without warning, a tongue nearly several meters long extended directly toward my neck!
"You bastard!"
Old Zhang instinctively cursed when he saw me alerting the female ghost.
Originally, he probably intended to quietly approach the female ghost and catch her off guard. But with my disturbance, he could only confront her head-on!
Seeing the white-robed female ghost reaching out her tongue, Old Zhang quickly drew a yellow talisman and chanted, "Lao Jun instructs me to slay the ghost, with my divine method, to dispel evil, vanquish malevolent ghosts, and confront gods and ghosts! Urgent as an edict, amnesty!"
I knew this incantation; it seemed to be the "Slaying Ghosts Incantation" he had mentioned before.
After Old Zhang finished chanting, a miraculous scene unfolded. The light and fluttering yellow talisman in his hand instantly turned into a dazzling stream of light, shooting straight toward the white-robed female ghost's face.
Bang!
With a dull thud, the ugly face of the white-robed female ghost, full of maggots, was instantly burnt to a crisp, and her extended tongue retracted in an instant!
"Ah..."
Vaguely, I seemed to hear the ghost's hoarse and desperate scream!
However, this white-robed female ghost seemed to have considerable powers, and the simple "Slaying Ghost Talisman" was completely ineffective against her! Instead, it roused her ferocity!
"Aoo..."
With a toothy roar, the white-robed female ghost rushed towards Old Zhang. Nonetheless, Old Zhang was quick to react, as his peach wood sword swiftly fluttered, creating countless sword flowers, and with a swish, pierced toward the ghost's chest!
The unremarkable peach wood sword unexpectedly shimmered with a glamorous blood-red light.
Seeing this scene, I, who had just been shocked and frightened, finally calmed down a bit, thinking that the female ghost was probably going to die without a doubt...
"Bad luck for you! You're all going to die!"
This sound was full of murderous intent, as if coming from the depths of the underworld, causing goosebumps all over me, trembling and shivering, and my teeth chattering incessantly.
Old Zhang thrust his sword, but the white-robed female ghost just sneered and proceeded to open her five fingers.
Wow, those inky-black nails were close to a meter long! They were as sharp and hard as iron, causing sparks to fly when they collided with Old Zhang's peach wood sword!
At the same time, the ghost pounced forward, and her long and slender nails, with a snap, broke through the defenses and stabbed toward Old Zhang's chest.
"Trouble!"
My heart instantly rose to my throat, and I instinctively thought: this is bad! Judging by the situation, it seemed that Old Zhang was not the match for this white-robed female ghost after all.
Sure, here is the translation:
Sure enough, as I expected, I only heard a "chirp" sound, and the clothes on Lao Zhang's chest were instantly torn. At the same time, his dark and not very strong chest suddenly had five gory finger marks!
"Lao Zhang!"
Without thinking, my head was hot, and I had already forgotten the fear, subconsciously rushing towards Lao Zhang!