Recap
“Have you not seen this treasure?” Mu Gesheng pointed to the sallow and thin statue of the Town God in the main hall, and explained reasonably, “This one has a slim figure, he is afraid of indigestion from eating too much.”
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“I was praying for one of our classmates. We are all in the same class. You may not remember her. She is the class representative. A few weeks ago, she suddenly contracted a strange illness and has not come to school since.”
Anping recalled, “The class representative is very strangely ill. She has always been in good health and I have never heard of any illnesses she might have…”
“Not bad… You know quite a lot.” Mu Gesheng was sitting on the threshold, breaking up the flatbread and throwing them into the enamel jar, “Is she your crush?”
“No, don’t talk nonsense!” Anping’s whole face turned red. “The point is that she asked for leave a long time ago. This is No. 1 high school in the city. The school will never allow such a long leave!”
“What’s so difficult about it?” Mu Gesheng said, holding a plastic fork in his mouth. “The number of times I ask for leave is probably the nth power of the class representative’s.”
Anping simply didn’t know what to say: agree with what he said? Or should he lament the fact that this school bully who repeated the year 3 times and became a legend actually knows the nth root?
What he experienced this afternoon can be called surreal. First, his classmates actually lived in the Town God’s Temple, then he was tricked into offering incense and fortune telling, and then he was sent out to buy some instant noodles as tribute… The most incredible thing was that the city’s No. 1 high school tyrant is actually a fortune teller.
Anping looked at Mu Gesheng and felt that this man was far different from the rumors. Not only was he very easy to get along with, but he was also very easy to talk to. Although he choked people up with a few words, he gave people this comfortable feeling that he could be confided in.
It was this casual demeanor that made people relax quickly. Anping had been holding this matter in his heart for a long time. He really couldn’t find anyone to talk to, so now he said it all: “Usually, whoever has such a serious illness, the whole grade will talk about it, but this time no one mentioned it at all. Even the teachers avoided talking about it… Take the homework as an example. I originally wanted to send it to you and then send it to her, But the head teacher stopped me and refused to let me go.”
“That’s interesting.” Mu Gesheng sucked up a forkful of instant noodles, “There was too much water… Did the class representative get sick in class? What was the specific situation at that time?”
Anping thought for a while, “It was during a break. She was sitting in her seat and was eating a bowl of noodles, and then she collapsed on the table. She couldn’t wake up no matter how hard we called for her. In the end, the teacher called 120, and she was carried away on a stretcher.”
“Sitting in her seat and eating a bowl of noodles.” Mu Gesheng was thinking about everything, “You remembered it so clearly, do you really not have a crush on her?”
Anping: I beg you, brother, can we talk about business?
Mu Gesheng finished teasing him and finally said something intelligible: “Do you remember what kind of noodles she ate?”
“I can’t remember exactly.” Anping thought for a moment and glanced at Mu Gesheng’s enamel jar. “It seems to have been sent by her mother. It smells very fragrant and has pickled vegetables in it.”
“What a coincidence.” Mu Gesheng laughed when he heard this, and stood up with the enamel jar, “What nice weather it is. Let’s go, Anping’er.”
The other party casually gave him a new nickname, and tone had a slight inflection, like fluttering catkins. Anping was stunned for a moment before he realized that the other party was calling him, “Huh? Where are we going?”
“Go back to school, No. 1 High School.”
No matter what city, whether it is big or small, the key was that it is called the “No. 1 High school”. No. 1 High School is the best school in the old city. The school is located near mountains and rivers, and there are several monuments nearby. The school was founded nearly a hundred years ago and has quite a few outstanding alumnis. Every year the enrollment is low and it is difficult to get in. It is probably the first time in the school’s history that a student, Mu Gesheng, has to repeat a grade and is on the verge of becoming expelled.
The city’s No. 1 High School has a day-school system. Since it is a two-day break this day, there are very few people in the school. Anping followed Mu Gesheng and watched as the man wore a loose school uniform jacket over his pajamas, his hair was messily styled, and he walked into the school gate holding the enamel jar.
“Why didn’t the security guards stop you when you are dressed like this?” Are the school rules and regulations eaten up by this person?
Mu Gesheng’s face was very pale, and there was an inconspicuous greenish tint under his eyes. He did look a little sick, but his words and actions did not have the characteristics of a sick person. Anping’s impression of him has completely changed now. This person is either a lazy charlatan, or a big liar.
“I have greeted the guard for six years, he can be considered almost a relative. Of course we are not strangers.” Mu Gesheng said proudly, “By the way, my uncle likes to smoke Hongtashan*. Every time I want to go out, I’ll just give him a pack. Effective every time.”
*(
Brand of Chinese cigarettes. source: baidu)
Anping’s mouth twitched when he heard it, “Then where are we going now?”
“Go back to class, our class.” Mu Gesheng waved his hand as if inspecting a veteran cadre, “Anping’er, you lead the way.”
“Aren’t we just going back to class?” Anping was confused. Why does he still need to lead the way?
“A young boy left home and a young man came home*.” Mu Gesheng said confidently, “I asked for too many leaves and I can’t remember where it is.”
*(Idiom: that person was still a boy when he left home, when he came back, he was already an adult.)
Anping: “…”
The teaching block of No. 1 High School in the city is called the Octagonal Building. It has a very special style; each classroom has eight corners. Anping’s classroom was on the second floor, with the windows facing the street. It was almost dark when they entered the class, and they could see the street lights outside the window.
Anping turned on the lights and walked to a table, “This is the class representative’s seat.”
The table was by the window, and it looked like a place where a good student would sit. It was filled with textbooks and exercise books. Mu Gesheng pulled out his chair and rummaged around, voicing out: “Something is missing.”
Anping asked hurriedly: “What’s missing?”
“Isn’t she a class representative? Why doesn’t she even have the answers to the questions in that textbook?” Mu Gesheng rummaged around the drawer, “I know the answers are taken back, but why are teachers so picky now? The class representative doesn’t get to keep a portion either?”
Anping simply couldn’t count how many times he was speechless: “…No, I beg you, brother, don’t go off topic, okay? I’ll let you copy my homework after we finish this.”
“Great!” Mu Gesheng agreed happily, picked up the enamel jar and started eating noodles, “Let’s start working, Anping’er, go and adjust the time.”
He pointed to the clock above the blackboard, “Do you remember the time when the class representative had the accident? Set your watch to that time.”
Anping looked at the instant noodles in Mu Gesheng’s jar and understood somewhat, “Are you trying to recreate the situation at that time?”
“Yup. Break, window seat, noodles.” Mu Gesheng sipped the instant noodles, “Young master, I’ll finish this if you delay any little longer.”
Anping turned around to adjust the time, and the sound of Mu Gesheng eating noodles echoed throughout the classroom, “I don’t want to say this, but I think you should eat slower, just in case anything happens…” He was taller and stretched out his hand. He took the clock off the wall and set it to half past six in the afternoon.
After he put the clock back in its place, he turned around and was instantly dumbfounded.
The seat where Mu Gesheng was originally sitting was empty, except for an enamel jar.
The sound of eating noodles still echoed in the classroom.
Anping received nine years of compulsory education from an early age. He was born in New Era China and grew up under the red flag. He had never seen any strange or mystical power. He was so frightened that goosebumps appeared all over his skin. His first reaction was to grab a Compulsory Course on Ideology and Politics II from the podium and recite it. He recited Marxist materialism in a loud voice, as if he was performing an exorcism.
The effects of the passages in the textbook probably have the same effect on every high school student. It not only makes people feel immense pain all over and dread living, but also cures all diseases, allowing the living to die and the dead to live. Anping probably belonged to the latter group at this time. A bunch of key points were read out in a blur, which made him sober. He suppressed the urge to run away and forced himself to calm down.
A big living person just disappeared from sight. At least he had to figure out what happened.
The sound of eating noodles still echoed in the classroom. After Anping calmed down, he realized that the sound did not come out of thin air, but came from the radio speakers – the sound was repetitive and mechanical, without any pause.
How big of a mouth is this? Isn’t he afraid of choking if he eats for so long without stopping?
Anping listened for a while, goosebumps broke out all over his body, but he didn’t hear anything else. He thought carefully about everything that had happened before and made a decision – to repeat what Mu Gesheng had done.
He set the clock to half past six again, walked to the class representative’s seat, sat down, picked up the enamel jar, and took a bite of noodles.
The slurping sound on the radio suddenly disappeared.
Anping raised his head and found that the classroom was full of people.
After being shocked again, Anping was much calmer this time – not at all. First he screamed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and then he quickly covered his mouth and shook like a sieve.
He had no idea where the people in this classroom came from. They seemed to appear out of thin air. No matter how you look at them, they don’t look benevolent. Anping glanced around. Everyone was wearing school uniforms, their backs were stiff, and the strangest thing was that he couldn’t see anyone’s face.
Judging from his experience in passing cheat sheets in class, no matter where a person sits in the classroom, there are always some people whose faces you can directly see, it is impossible for everyone’s faces to be shrouded like this. However, at this time, the people around him either covered their faces with their school uniform collars, or had long hair that was half-covering their faces. The more Anping looked, the more horrified he became. Isn’t this a room full of dead people?
He couldn’t stand it anymore and stood up suddenly. The table under him made a “crack” sound. The figures in the front row reacted to the sound and turned around stiffly.
That’s a person made from paper!
The other party’s neck was twisted 180 degrees, and he had a blank piece of paper for a face, with facial features drawn on, and his lips were red. The most horrifying thing is that everything about this ‘person’ looks fake, except for the long hair that looks extremely realistic, as if someone’s scalp is pasted on white paper – this paper man faced Anping and curled up the corners of his mouth in a not-smiling manner. He made a “gurgle” sound like nails scraping against the door.
The worst part was that when this paper man smiled, the “people” in the classroom turned their heads. Each one has a white paper for a face, but their expressions varied. They are joyous, anger, sadness, greedy, dazed, resentful, miserable, ridicule and mocking, causing Anping’s remaining sanity to crumble into paste.
The case has been solved. This is not a room full of dead people, but a room full of paper figures!
Anping even forgot to scream, opened the window next to him, and jumped out without thinking.
Since ancient times, there have been many tales of heroes standing on the second floor, and they always end up jumping off the building. The window was not far from the ground, and there were bushes under the window. Every time someone failed an exam, they would jump on it and cheer for each other. Anping was very familiar with this matter. He wanted to jump off the building to escape, but as soon as he opened the window, he became distracted by the hysterical chirping of birds, which sounded like a child crying at night. Anping was so shocked that he almost fell down.
This side of the classroom faces the street. The city is built in the old city. The street is full of sycamore trees*. It is green in summer and full of bird’s nests in winter. From the end of October to the beginning of the next year, there are endless calls of birds day and night. One or two birds can be considered gentle, but thousands of birds can make it sound like the sky is falling. The streets seemed to have been enveloped in a cacophony of noise. Anping fell to the ground in a rather embarrassed state. Before he could stand firm, he was hit all over by white dots falling from the sky.
*(
Wherever there are birds, there is naturally no shortage of bird droppings. If thousands of birds live in groups, that is the bird droppings from the heavens!
When people are unlucky, the gaps between their teeth will be blocked even when they only drink cold water. Anping was first frightened to death by the white paper man, then fell down and was hit on the head by bird droppings. It can be said that his head turned gray in an instant. Anping simply collapsed. He was filled with fear and anger. He wanted to shout to the sky, “What the hell is this!”
However, howling twice is not good unless he wants bird droppings to fall into his mouth.
Just as he was restless, a person wearing a school uniform jumped down in front of him, “What are you doing standing there? You don’t find a place to hide. Instead, you’re just standing here to…take a shower?”
It’s Mu Gesheng.
Before Anping could grab him and ask him where he went, he was grabbed by the collar and dragged along. After they finally stopped, Anping took off his school uniform and asked, “Where is this place?”
They were probably hiding in a utility room somewhere in the hallway, surrounded by brooms and trash cans. Mu Gesheng replied, ignoring his question: “Do you see those birds on the trees?”
Nonsense, he’s not blind.
“Most of the old neighborhoods are planted with sycamore trees. It is common for birds to gather in groups in winter, and the area around No. 1 High is no exception.” Mu Gesheng said: “However, in recent years to regulate the city’s appearance, the noisy birds are not conducive to the teaching environment, so the school has driven away a large number of them. Several times, the number of birds has gradually decreased in the past two years, and most of them have moved to the east of the city.”
Anping reacted suddenly and realized that Mu Gesheng was right. The number of birds near the school had indeed been gradually decreasing in recent years. They didn’t even see a few when they entered the school gate. Just now, he was panicked and related back to 2 years ago when bird calls were the norm- so then, where did these sudden birds come from?
Mu Gesheng glanced at him and said, “You have a guess.”
Anping calmed down and said in disbelief: “Could it be that we are currently in the No. 1 High of a few years ago?”
“That’s right.” Mu Gesheng nodded, “The No. 1 High that we are in now, but it is not the No. 1 High we just stayed in. There was a large flock of birds near the school, at least two years ago.”
“How is this possible?” Anping tried to defend his shaky world view. “Is it possible that time and space are misaligned?”
“If you have nothing else to do, read some comic books – you should know some of the clichéd campus ghost stories, right? For example, which dormitory has a death occurred in, which toilet has been haunted, etc. Such rumors are very common in schools.”
Mu Gesheng didn’t seem to be panicked at all and talked leisurely: “Some of them are indeed right. For example, some schools will buy land in cemeteries. On the one hand, it is cheap, and on the other hand, young people are full of yang qi*. They believe it can suppress evil spirits.”
*(living/vital energy)
“Don’t tell me we are in a cemetery now…”
“It’s almost the same idea.” Mu Gesheng looked at Anping’s white as a sheet face and shrugged, “The old city has hundreds of years of history. There are many ancient buildings near No. 1 High. This generation was densely populated during the beginning of the Republic of China. Similarly, during the war, most people died here. Some grievances are difficult to fade even within decades. This is not a cemetery, but the yin qi* and evil energy is not lighter than that of a cemetery.”
*(death energy)
Anping was so scared that he almost fainted and said worriedly: “And?”
“Although the yin energy is strong, the yang qi is also strong. The two conflict, and it is easy to tear a gap between yin and yang – we probably ran into this kind of half yin but not yang place now.”
“This kind of rift is also called the ‘Three Realms Displacement’. It is located between the three realms of heaven, earth, and underworld. It is considered a three-dimensional place that is abandoned by gods and ghosts. It is filled with half-dead things that are neither human nor ghosts.”
“It’s very common in the Three Realms Displacement. It exists everywhere in the yin-yang rift, but it’s very difficult for ordinary people to get in.” Mu Gesheng clicked his tongue: “Have you seen those paper figures with crooked noses and weird eyes?”
Anping immediately inhaled a sharp intake of breath: “I saw it, what are those things?”
“Those things are called nightmare puppets, a type of nightmare. Logically speaking, there shouldn’t be such a thing in the Three Realms Displacement. It should have been brought in by the class representative.” Mu Gesheng pushed the door of the utility room to open a crack, “The class representative probably had some kind of knot in her heart that was very heavy and unresolved for a long time, which led to the appearance of this Three Realms Displacement.”
“The knot in your heart is like a prison, imprisoning yourself and others. You said she hasn’t woken up yet. It seems that her soul was lost here. We’ll need to find her and bring her back.”
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