Chapter 22:19

  19、

  Fang Yuan struggled hard to regain control over her body. She kept sending commands to her legs: stop! But they continued to move forward in a slow and stiff manner until they were blocked by the rusty iron gate of the girls' dormitory. If someone had seen this, they would have been frightened by the scene: Fang Yuan was like a mindless zombie, leaning against the gate with her face outward, while her feet kept treading on the spot...

  The evil instrument sound became more and more complacent, the rhythm getting faster and faster. Fang Yuan was like this, her body moving in time with the instrument's rhythm, becoming bigger and bigger, even trying to drill out from the gap of the railing. She couldn't succeed, the iron gate's gap was too narrow, her body simply couldn't squeeze through.

  Fang Yuan's head was getting more and more painful, the more she struggled, the stronger the backlash she received. However, if she didn't struggle and just listened to others, she might become a puppet in someone else's hands.

  This situation is somewhat similar to the "nightmare of being pressed by a ghost", which often occurs when the body is weak and tired. It's a very strange feeling, as if you've already woken up, with clear consciousness, able to express your intentions clearly, but unable to move your body. There is no visual, auditory, olfactory, or tactile sensation, nor is there any gustatory sensation, only fragments of light and shadow. Everything is non-substantial, shapeless, like air. You can even feel that your own body is sleeping on the bed, using all your strength but unable to open your eyes.

  Fang Yuan had experienced many such nightmares. She repeatedly drove her will in her sleep to wake up her body, exhausting herself before she could wake up.

  But this time, the situation was clearly different. The sound of the instrument seemed like a potent aphrodisiac that easily entranced her body, no matter how hard she struggled, it was all in vain.

  Just as Fang Yuan's head was heavy and her feet were light, the pain was about to split open and she couldn't hold on any longer, a series of strange sounds suddenly came from beside her ear, like chanting Buddhist scriptures, with ups and downs, continuous and unbroken.

  The musical instrument declaration was affected, as if a light and agile stream had been blocked, becoming stagnant. Fang Yuan's spirit shook, the pain greatly reduced, and in the excitement, her footsteps actually stopped.

  Fang Yuan was both shocked and delighted, her whole body aching as if she had just gone through an intense workout. She didn't rest, but instead covered her ears and ran back and forth.

  The sound of the instrument refused to give up, throwing out a high note again and stimulating Fang Yuan's eardrum. At the same time, that strange sound started again, with a hint of confrontation against the instrument sound. The two sounds entwined together, like an invisible war, coming and going, close combat. In the end, the instrument sound was the first to surrender.

  Fang Yuan rushed into the girls' dormitory, ran up the stairs, and burst into her room. She heavily closed the door, locked it from inside, and leaned against the door to catch her breath.

  The light suddenly turned on. Su Ya was wearing her pajamas and looked at Fang Yuan with a confused expression.

  "Fang Yuan, what's wrong with you? Why are you acting like you're being chased by a ghost? I just woke up and didn't see you, I was just about to look for you."

  Fang Yuan rushed over immediately and tightly hugged Su Ya, her whole body trembling with tension.

  Su Ya was shocked. In her impression, Fang Yuan was a particularly strong girl who had experienced all kinds of terrifying things. Unexpectedly, she was also scared like this?

  "Fang Yuan, don't be like this." Su Ya gently patted Fang Yuan and softly said, "It's okay, nothing happened. I'm here, you don't have to be afraid. Tell me, what exactly happened?"

  Fang Wei pushed Su Ya away and cried with laughter: "Do you think you're coaxing a child?"

  Su Ya also laughed: "Your expression just now, don't say it, but it really looks like a child who has been wronged."

  After Su Ya's disturbance, Fang Yuan's emotions finally stabilized a little. She briefly told Su Ya what had just happened.

  Su Ya's face also changed after listening. Just a few hours ago, she was still telling Fang Yuan about the death knell incident. She didn't expect that Fang Yuan would encounter a similar event so soon.

  "Kill with music?" Su Ya muttered to herself, "Could it be 'Black Sunday'?"

  Fang Yuan knew the allusion of "Black Sunday". It was a symphonic piece produced by a French musician, with unbelievable melancholy and sorrow. More than 100 people had committed suicide after listening to this music, which was called the devil's invitation book. It was jointly boycotted and destroyed by European and American countries, and even the author himself ended his life in depression. Until now, neither psychoanalysts nor psychologists can give a satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon.

  "Not 'Black Sunday' because it's not orchestral."

  "An instrument sound that can capture one's soul?" Su Ya seemed to suddenly remember something, "Could it be, the legendary Departed Soul Melody?"

  "Departed Soul Melody?" Fang Yuan was stunned, "I've only heard of Requiem Mass, it's a Christian ritual to mourn and pay respects to the dead, I've never heard of Departed Soul Melody before."

  "I also heard it from my seniors a few years ago. They said that the Medical College had been circulating rumors of the Soul Departure Melody's paranormal events three or four years ago. Anyone who heard the Soul Departure Melody would lose their soul and become a zombie-like creature, including two female students who became mentally ill because of it. At that time, I didn't pay attention to it, thinking they were just making it up to scare me."

  Su Ya thought for a moment before continuing, "The Soul Calming Melody you heard this time is clearly different from the Death Bell Sound I experienced last time. The Death Bell Sound only used low-frequency sound waves to cause internal organ vibrations and harm people, whereas the Soul Departure Melody can control people's bodies, which is obviously more complex and terrifying."

  Fang Yuan suddenly remembered a famous fairy tale - "The Magic Flute". In the fairy tale, the magic flute player, dressed in a flower-patterned robe, due to the distrust of the townspeople, blew his magic flute and attracted all the children in the town. With the sound of the flute, he led them into a huge cave and never came back.

  Ancient people said that humans have three souls and seven spirits. The soul is yin, the spirit is yang. The seven spirits are always present, while only one of the three souls, the life soul, is always there; the other two souls often wander outside, which is why there are many legends about summoning the soul. In the Qing dynasty, Yuan Mei recorded a story: in Hangzhou where he lived, there was a custom that when a new bride crossed over the threshold, she had to hold a precious vase. A bride named Liang held the vase and passed through the city gate, but because the gatekeeper asked for money and caused a commotion, she became frightened and her spirit became disoriented. Later, she told her family: "I have three souls; one soul was lost outside the city gate, one soul was lost in the vase, and I need to summon them back from both places." Her family did as she said and summoned back the two souls, and only then did the bride recover from her illness.

  "I'm so tired, I'll just go back to sleep first. Whatever it is can be said tomorrow." Fang Yuan yawned and her eyelids grew heavy, feeling exhausted all over. Now, she just wanted a good night's sleep.

  The two turned and walked towards the bedroom, but found Liu Xueyi standing at the door of the bedroom, staring blankly at them.

  Liu Xueyi's tone was strange: "So late, you two aren't sleeping, what are you whispering about over there?"

  Su Ya ignored her and walked straight into the bedroom. Fang Yuan smiled apologetically: "Sorry, I had a headache earlier, so I got up to get some fresh air, didn't mean to wake you up."

  Liu Xueyi said: "It's okay. I'm just a little curious."

  Fang Yuan walked into the bedroom and fell onto the bed. She was really too tired and soon entered a dreamland.

  Fang Wan didn't notice that when Liu Xueyi spoke to her, her eyes flickered restlessly.

  The bedroom was quiet once again.

  In the darkness, a pair of eyes shone brightly, like those of a wolf.

  Those were Liu Xueyi's eyes.