Chapter 2 The Other Half of Soul

  The room was pitch black, I couldn't even see my fingers. I couldn't even see the moonlight outside the window. I crawled onto my bed with a quiver, but all I could hear was my own heavy breathing. Suddenly, I opened my eyes wide and wondered if the other three people in the dorm were asleep? Why couldn't I hear their breathing sounds? I could even hear the sound of my own heartbeat so clearly. Remembering Nagu Yun'er's unfinished words earlier, I seemed to have guessed something. Fear came over me wave after wave, and finally, whether it was too much fear or exhaustion, I fell into a daze.

  When I woke up again, I saw the bright moonlight outside the window and the twinkling stars in the sky. "Are you awake?" I turned to look at the person who spoke to me, but was stunned once more because she looked exactly like me. "Is it strange? Ning Lie."

  I leaned against the wall: "Who are you?" She smiled at me: "Ning Lie, didn't you see? I am you! I am your other half soul." My hands tightly grasped the quilt, the cold sweat in my palms made it impossible for me to calm down and think about the problem, I could only look at her as she reached out to touch my face. "Ning Lie, actually you are so afraid, but why did you come?! You pretend to be strong, but are you really strong enough? Just looking at you makes me feel tired! Ning Lie, do you want a hug? Poor child."

  I don't know what possessed me, but I hugged her tightly as if driven by a ghost, and muttered to myself: "I'm really not strong, I'm so scared!" As soon as I finished speaking, my tears flowed down in streams, leaving me at a loss. "It's okay, it's alright to not be strong, I'll always be by your side." She said softly, gently patting my back, and gradually I lost consciousness. In the last second before losing consciousness, I felt as if she had vanished before my eyes, along with the moonlight and stars outside the window.

  I didn't wake up on my own, but was woken by the screams of the three girls in the dormitory again. They looked at my face with a frightened expression, as if they had seen a ghost. "Is there something wrong with my face?" I found that my voice was hoarse, and when I took out a mirror to look, I saw that my whole face was red and swollen, with dry white lips. I thought maybe I had a fever, and Zhang Yi pulled me up saying: "I'll take you to the infirmary."

  I feel weak all over, my vision is sometimes clear and sometimes blurry. Mosi and Chen Ying are hiding on one side, looking at me like I'm a plague, and their voices keep coming into my ears: "I think she's possessed by a female ghost, look how she came in and started having a fever right away. How unlucky!" "Shut up! Gossipmonger!" Zhang Yi's sudden roar made Chen Ying and Mosi shut up immediately. I wanted to thank Zhang Yi, but couldn't speak clearly. I thought to myself that I must be really sick.

  I had just fallen down from the dormitory building, and I heard a familiar male voice saying "Let me do it!" Then my body felt light, as if I was being carried on someone's back. "Hey! Ning Lie, why are you so weak? You've only just arrived at school and you're already sick." I asked unclearly: "Are you... Ye Zikuo?" "You have a good memory! Now I'm taking you to the infirmary."

  Ye Zikuo started to jog, and all I could hear was Zhang Yi's roar: "Ye Zikuo be careful!" My head hurt so much it felt like it was going to split open, the world kept spinning dizzily. I let out a "wa" sound and vomited, only to find that what came out was black water. Ye Zikuo also stared at the puddle of black water on the ground in shock. "Put me down," I said, and Ye Zikuo put me down: "Ning Hong, did you eat something dirty?"

  I hadn't even had time to answer the question, and my stomach was churning like a stormy sea, I couldn't stop vomiting violently, and the black water on the ground grew more and more. But when I finished throwing up, I seemed to feel a bit lighter, Ye Zikai walked over to pull me away, but was suddenly repelled as if by electricity.

  He looked at me awkwardly and said, "Are you feeling better? Shouldn't we go to the infirmary again?" Illusion, everything here is an illusion. I always thought they were still real in front of my eyes, but in this moment of clarity, I knew it was all fake. Zhang Yi jogged over to my side and said, "Ye Zikuo, didn't you tell her to take you to the infirmary? What are you standing there for?" I looked at them silently, unable to speak for a long time. The sky suddenly opened up like a crack, pouring down heavy rain that washed away the dark water, as if nothing had ever existed before. Ye Zikuo took off his jacket and put it over my head, saying, "You're sick, don't get rained on. Let's go to the infirmary quickly!" Zhang Yi also hastily pulled me towards the infirmary, but my mind was clearer than ever - they didn't exist. Neither did this rain, nor the two people standing in front of me. But I still didn't know where the doubt lay.

  The infirmary was quiet and empty, with a boy being bandaged for an injury on his arm. He looked at us with cold eyes, then drifted away to gaze out the window. The door to the inner room opened, and a woman in a white coat came out. She was very pretty, with two small dimples that appeared when she smiled, looking quite charming.

  Ye Zi Ke pushed me and said: "Teacher Xu, she seems to be ill, can you take a look?" The woman named Teacher Xu stretched out her hand to touch my forehead, I reflexively dodged back. Zhang Yi pushed me forward with an impatient face: "Teacher, quickly take a look!" The icy hand seemed to draw away all the temperature from my body, I couldn't help but shiver. Teacher Xu gave me a strange smile: "Hmm, indeed she's not lightly ill! Come, let's get some water for an IV!" After saying that, she pushed me into the inner room's bedroom, "There's a bed here, lie down and rest first, I'll go get the medicine."

  I stared at the white bed sheet on the hospital bed, and couldn't help but touch it with my hand, only to feel something sticky on my palm. Upon closer inspection, I found that it was coal ash. "What's wrong?" Ye Zikuo asked curiously as he looked over at me. "Nothing," I replied, plopping myself down onto the hospital bed. Through the gap in the door, I caught sight of Teacher Xu secretly staring at me, which made my spine run cold instantly.

  "Zhang Yi, I'm much better! I'll just go back to class!" I just want to get out of this eerie infirmary as soon as possible. Zhang Yi stared at me and said, "But your face is very pale, are you okay?!" "I'm fine, I'm just a bit cold!" I feel the chill, it's true, my whole body is shaking nonstop, although I'm calm on the surface, I'm trapped in an indescribable fear.

  "Are you cold? Then lie down and have a good sleep!" Ms. Xu appeared in front of me like a ghost, "I don't need to, I can go back to the dormitory to sleep, it's the same!" I didn't dare to look straight into her eyes, although they were beautiful, but after looking for a long time, I saw things that I shouldn't have seen. "Are you still afraid?" Ms. Xu suddenly grabbed my hand and I let out a scream. With an incredulous face, I stared at her, her pupils kept flashing with her ghostly figure, swaying back and forth, as if wanting to swallow me up.

  "I'll stay with her!" Ye Zikuo said suddenly, "Alright then!" Teacher Xu patted my head and said: "Have you seen something interesting? Your eyes will get tired if you stare for too long! Get some rest!" After saying that, she pulled Zhang Yi towards the outside. Cold sweat dripped down my neck onto the floor, "Hey, are you okay?" Ye Zikuo asked, trying to pat me on the shoulder. "Don't touch me!" I shouted, but was stunned by my own outburst. I turned around to see Ye Zikuo's embarrassed face and said apologetically: "I must be delirious, sorry." He smiled, a bright and sunny smile, and I looked down at my canvas shoes in a daze. "You rest well, I'll stay by your side," Ye Zikuo pulled up a chair to sit next to me and said. I looked up at him gratefully and said: "Thanks!"

  I lay in bed, staring out the window at the relentless rain, feeling like a pair of eyes was fixed on me. I turned my head to see Xu Laoshi's eyes peeking through the gap in the door, smiling at me, sending shivers down my spine. "Yezikuo, come sit over here for a bit!" Yezikuo moved his stool to block that piercing gaze from me. "I'll sing you a song!" he said with a smile, not waiting for my response before starting to sing: "The sky is blue as smoke and rain, while I wait for you, the misty smoke rises, across the river, ten thousand miles apart." It sounded so good, I gradually drifted off to sleep.

  In my dream, I saw the so-called other half of my soul. She just looked at me with a worried face: "Leave quickly! If you stay any longer, you will be trapped here forever." "Who are you? If you really want to help me, why don't you tell me what happened here?"

  She quietly turned around and disappeared into a corner of the corridor. "Wait!" I ran after her, but accidentally fell down. I numbly opened my eyes to find that the rain outside had stopped, and the warm sunset was shining on my face, making me feel an unreal warmth. Turning back to look at the empty stool, Yezi Ke was no longer there, probably gone to class! I got up and walked out of the room, Xu teacher was nowhere to be seen, I walked out of the infirmary in confusion, finding the entire corridor empty, with only the sunset's afterglow shining on the ground, I thought I should head back to my dorm.

  As I walked, I started thinking about things, but I kept hearing someone following me from behind. I turned around suddenly, but couldn't see anything. When I was about to go down the stairs, my foot hesitated on the spot. Now it's dusk, and this corridor can still see a weak afterglow, but the staircase going down is so dark that it seems like something is waiting for me below. I was startled and pulled my foot back, preparing to head up the stairs instead. But when I looked up, it was also pitch black. The sound behind me lingered in my ears, and I didn't dare go downstairs or upstairs. All I could do was listen to the footsteps getting closer and closer, and the creaking windows making a noise, with cold sweat dripping down, not knowing what to do.

  The pendant Na Gu Yun gave me was icy cold, seeping into my bones, while the ring on my finger suddenly became scorching hot. My hands couldn't stop shaking as I thought of the dormitory manager who fell from the window last night, and I lost the courage to turn back. What should I do? A chill crept up my neck, mixed with a faint smell of blood, and I instinctively grabbed the hand that was trying to strangle me, which was covered in sticky, nauseating blood.

  "Hahaha" sounded from behind me, and a strange voice came out of the person's throat. I was then thrown to the ground by a strong force, my hair was pulled violently, and I didn't dare to look up. I gritted my teeth to bear the pain, as a pair of bare feet dragged me down the corridor by my hair. The "hahaha" sound continued to echo, I should have remained calm, but the fear and unease had completely overwhelmed me. With a loud "clang", the person behind me let out an angry "hahaha" sound, and only then did I notice that the small knife ring on my little finger had transformed into a half-meter-long knife lying in front of me.

  I grasped the knife with a sudden burst of energy and swung it at the person in front of me. Blood splattered my face, and I stared at the man before me in shock, my hand trembling as I held the knife. What a face! The sunken cheeks, the empty eyes that glared at me with anger, the blood vessels and tendons that crisscrossed his face like a map. The right hand that I had inadvertently chopped off was crawling towards me on the ground, twitching feebly.

  "Kua kua kua kua" His throat seemed to be choked, and a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, that severed arm quickly crawled towards me, I didn't care about the darkness downstairs, and ran wildly down the corridor, The crawling severed arm behind me was also chasing after me, very afraid, very afraid. In the endless darkness, just now on that floor I still saw the sunset, but here I couldn't see even a thread of light, could only run, desperately running, desperately trying to ignore the severed arm behind me, but it was like a snake spitting out its tongue, pursuing relentlessly. It seemed like at a corner, I was pulled to one side, and that severed arm also disappeared without a trace.

  "Don't move!" Then a familiar voice came, and my tears flowed uncontrollably. "Where did you go? Ye Zikuo." I asked tremblingly. Ye Zikuo covered my mouth, I couldn't see his expression, but I could feel his extreme unease and tension in the darkness.

  We stood silently at the corner without speaking, after a long time, Ye Zikai said: "I just fell asleep in the infirmary and woke up in the dormitory. I don't know what happened either, thinking you were still here, so I came to find you." In this silent period, my thoughts were rearranged again. "What's the time now?" I asked, Ye Zikai shook his head: "I remember it was 7:30 when I woke up. Don't know what time it is now."

  After 7 o'clock in the evening, you can't leave the dormitory door. This warning has been echoing in my mind. Why did Ye Zikuo, who was clearly in the infirmary, end up waking up in the dormitory? Just as I was stunned, Ye Zikuo grasped my hand and said, "Let's go! I'll take you out!" I held his hand back and said, "Thank you, Ye Zikuo." He smiled softly and said, "You're welcome." Everyone will be afraid and fearful, but if there is someone willing to accompany you in fear and terror, then doesn't one person's fear become a two-person adventure? I felt incredulous at the inexplicable thought that suddenly emerged from my heart.

  The corridor was still very dark, and we continued to move forward slowly. "Don't be afraid, I remember the way back," Ye Zikai said. "I'm not afraid!" I retorted. "Oh, really? Then can you please put down that knife, it's making me scared." Ye Zikai sneered with a smile.

  I looked at the knife in embarrassment, just as I didn't know what to do with it, and it suddenly transformed back into a ring. Ye Zikuo stared at this transformation and said: "Do you have any more amazing things like that?!" I proudly put the ring on my pinky finger and said: "You can't even get jealous." "What's so great about it, it's just magic tricks!" Ye Zikuo snorted.

  The familiar yet eerie sound of "heh heh heh" echoed again, and I exchanged a glance with Yezi Ke for a moment before quickly darting into the doorway of a classroom at the side of the corridor and hiding. The "heh heh heh" sound was getting closer and closer to us, seemingly with something trailing behind him, which appeared to be his severed arm. I gripped Yezi Ke's hand tightly, listening to the footsteps getting closer and closer. I thought we would be discovered, but unexpectedly, the sunset outside the corridor cast a glow inside, and I looked at Yezi Ke in confusion, who also looked back at me with a puzzled expression.

  The footsteps faded away at the end of the corridor, and we cautiously came out. "What's going on?" Ye Zikuo looked strangely at the corridor illuminated by the sunset. I gazed up at the stairs where the footsteps had disappeared and said, "Maybe we can follow where the footsteps went, maybe we'll find something." "Aren't you scared?!" Ye Zikuo walked over to ask me, I shook my head: "Why would I be scared, wandering around in the dark is no better than following the light. Isn't that right?" Ye Zikuo reached out and grabbed my hand, saying: "Don't let go of my hand, got it?" I nodded, and together we headed towards the light upstairs.