"Girl's dormitory ghost infant incident?"
Meanwhile, in the security office of Shanghang Art School, Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng were chatting with a security guard nicknamed "Brother Wei."
Brother Wei was a retired soldier, in his early thirties, and had been a security guard at Shanghang Art School for eight years. Although not the head of security, he was the most senior.
Yan Shouyi and the two had come to the security office to meet the head of security to complete their onboarding procedures. However, the captain was nowhere to be found, and only Brother Wei was there. Upon learning that the two young men were about to become his colleagues, Brother Wei struck up a conversation with them.
As they chatted, the conversation turned to the ghost infant incident in the girls' dormitory that had occurred the previous week.
Upon hearing the words "ghost infant," Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng exchanged glances.
They hadn't expected to find a clue so soon after arriving at the school. Chen Dawei had fallen from the girls' dormitory, and it was perhaps related to the ghost infant.
Brother Wei, taking a drag from a cigarette handed to him by Long Feicheng, puffed away in a mysterious manner. "This place, Shanghang, used to be a cargo terminal. But places like terminals, you understand. In the old days and even now, those involved in earthwork, real estate, and logistics businesses often have some connection to the underworld. In the past, when people died in the city, they were directly brought to the terminal and thrown into the river. Although the Min River later changed its course, and Shanghang was developed into a tourist attraction, the vengeful spirits from the past still linger here and refuse to leave!"
"I heard that when this university was founded, a lot of human bones were dug up. Later, they invited Taoist priests to perform rituals and set up formations. Many teachers don't know about this, and only I, with my seniority, know the details. I don't usually tell others, but seeing as you two are honest, I'll tell you quietly. You must not spread this around!"
Seeing Brother Wei's demeanor, it was likely he had told this story to many others. However, Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng knew that what Brother Wei was saying was not baseless rumor but the truth. Huang Hai and Zhou Yuquan had mentioned it that morning, and the one who set up the formation was the sect leader of their Lush Mountain sect.
Long Feicheng, unable to contain his curiosity, asked directly, "Brother Wei, what exactly is this girl's dormitory ghost infant incident you just mentioned?"
Brother Wei chuckled, beckoned with his finger, and Long Feicheng, understanding, offered him another cigarette.
Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng did not find Brother Wei's habit of being opportunistic annoying. In fact, people like him were the easiest to get along with; a little favor could quickly establish a connection.
Brother Wei was an old smoker. He took one last long drag from his nearly finished cigarette before discarding it, then immediately lit another.
"Regarding the girl's dormitory ghost infant incident, the school administration has issued a gag order, prohibiting us from discussing it or spreading it. So, we should only talk about it in private. When the captain arrives, don't mention this matter, or I'll be implicated too!"
"Don't worry, Brother Wei, we're tight-lipped!" Long Feicheng quickly assured him.
Brother Wei nodded and continued, "The incident actually dates back five years. You know what Shanghang Art School is like. There are only two types of people here: the rich and the poor ghosts. The school is full of young people, and some of these hot-headed young masters like to target girls from ordinary families who are good-looking. They use all sorts of methods and means to lure them into having relationships. Things inevitably get out of hand, and five years ago, an incident like that happened..."
"A rich second-generation student with significant connections raped a female student in the library. Afterwards, the female student, under pressure, didn't dare to report it. A few months later, she discovered she was pregnant. Perhaps out of fear, the girl didn't even tell her family and hanged herself in the girls' dormitory. Many students at Shanghang Art School don't live in the school dormitories. The girl's roommates were not there that night. It wasn't until the next day during class that their counselor noticed something was wrong and went to check the dormitory. As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw the hanged body. The body was swaying back and forth, like a wind chime. The rope was hanging from the ceiling, and it made a creaking sound. At first, it sounded like a woman crying, which was terrifying!"
Brother Wei paused deliberately at this point, wanting to gauge Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng's reactions. However, neither of them showed any signs of fear, which disappointed Brother Wei.
In the past, when he told this story to other new security guards, their reactions were much more dramatic...
Yan Shouyi raised a question, "Brother Wei, how do you know so much detail?"
Brother Wei said, "The counselor was worried about trouble and called me to go with him. So, I know what happened as clearly as the police!"
Following that, Brother Wei put on his mysterious expression again and said, "Do you know what the most terrifying part is? The most terrifying part is that when the girl hanged herself, she was wearing a red dress, and a dagger was stuck in her abdomen. The blood flowed all over the floor. The counselor fainted on the spot! Later, I heard that the dagger was wrapped in a Taoist talisman, and the tip was precisely inserted into the forehead of the child in the girl's womb. Thinking about it now, perhaps it was that dagger that was problematic, very sinister. It's possible that the girl learned some evil practices from somewhere, and after her death, she transformed into a ghost, which is why things have been so unsettled ever since!"
Hearing this, Long Feicheng couldn't help but look at Yan Shouyi. Yan Shouyi's brow was furrowed.
Yan Shouyi had not shown such a solemn expression even when they were arrested for soliciting prostitution and detained in the detention center the previous night.
"Hoo..."
Brother Wei was getting into the story. He took a puff of his cigarette and exhaled slowly, continuing, "After that girl died, the dormitory remained empty. At first, there were no problems. It wasn't until the second semester, when new students moved in, that the strange occurrences began. That new student, like the deceased girl, came from a poor family and also stayed in the dormitory on weekends. One night, her roommates had all gone home, and she was the only one in the dormitory. In the middle of the night, she felt uncomfortable, especially her toes, as if someone were pressing on them. When she opened her eyes, she saw a little baby covered in blood sitting on her bed, grinning sinisterly and sucking on her toes!"
"Hiss..."
Long Feicheng felt a bit overwhelmed. He was braver than the average person, but Brother Wei's ghost storytelling was so atmospheric that he felt a chill run down his spine.
"After that night, the girl went mad. After her family took her back, there was no more news about her. But rumors began to circulate in the school that the souls of the girl who hanged herself and her child were still trapped in the dormitory and had made it their home. Anyone who moved in and disturbed their peace would surely be haunted by them!"
"Under public pressure, the school sealed off that dormitory, locking the door and prohibiting anyone from entering. It's said that talismans were plastered all over the room to trap the mother and child ghosts inside. But whether that's true, I can't say for sure. However, since the dormitory was sealed, things have been peaceful for five years, until last week..."
"Last week, two girls in the dorm opposite the haunted one had a fight, seemingly over a boyfriend. The two girls couldn't stand each other and insisted on transferring dorms. The dorm manager couldn't arrange it immediately and asked them to wait a couple more days. One of the girls remembered that the dormitory opposite had been empty for a long time and asked to move into the rooms on the other side. However, the dorm manager knew that dormitory was haunted but didn't dare to say it directly, only claiming that the dormitory was used for storing miscellaneous items, with no beds and no electricity. Who knew that these two girls couldn't wait another moment? When the dorm manager was asleep at night, one girl directly took her bedding to the opposite dormitory. The padlock that usually secured the door was gone, and the room was lit. The girl was puzzled. Wasn't this dormitory converted into a storage room? How could someone be living there? Clearly, the dorm manager was just deceiving them to avoid trouble!"
"To preserve evidence, the girl took out her phone and quietly filmed outside the window. She saw a girl wearing a red nightgown and looking very beautiful living in the dormitory. To the girl's surprise, this girl was holding a child in her arms, seemingly feeding it. The girl found it even more incredible. Could it be that a student in the school had an unplanned pregnancy? Accidentally, the girl bumped into a flowerpot on the windowsill. The girl in the dormitory heard the commotion and looked up, almost scaring the girl outside to death!"
"According to what the girl later confessed, the girl in the dormitory had a sallow complexion, her eyes were wide as saucers, and tears of blood were streaming from the corners of her eyes! Even more terrifying, what the girl was holding in her arms was not a child, but a dead infant the size of a fist! By the time everyone found the girl, it was already the next morning. The girl woke up and kept saying there was a ghost in the dormitory, but when everyone checked again, the padlock on the door was intact, and the room had no electricity. Apart from a rusty bed frame, there was nothing inside! What do you say, isn't this creepy?"
Brother Wei was a good storyteller and didn't forget to interact with Yan Shouyi and the other.
He held his cigarette between his fingers, crossed his legs, and added, "After what happened last week, the school administration strengthened the patrol of the girls' dormitory, intending to appease the students' emotions. Who knew that four days ago, a security guard happened to fall from the corridor outside the haunted dormitory. He's still in the hospital, his life hanging in the balance. Alas! Poor old Chen, he always used to tell me he could read fortunes, why couldn't he foresee this calamity for himself!"
Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng exchanged glances, knowing that the security guard Brother Wei was referring to as Old Chen was indeed Chen Dawei.
Having understood the situation, they now had a clearer picture of what had happened.
All the problems must stem from that haunted dormitory. If Chen Dawei's soul was taken, it must have been the work of the female ghost or the ghost infant.
With a lead, the rest of the matter would be easier to handle. At worst, they would directly storm that girls' dormitory. Yan Shouyi was not worried at all that the female ghost and the ghost infant would dare not show him respect.
As Yan Shouyi was contemplating, a voice came from outside the security office, "Are you all so idle? Don't you respect me as the head of security?"