Chapter 1 The Belated Reunion

From time to time, teachers and students passed by. It was obvious that everyone knew Yuan Xiaoyi, so they looked at Jiang Cheng and the others with strange expressions.

"Take her away first," Jiang Cheng said, "and don't let Wang Qi follow."

To ease the tense atmosphere, Jiang Cheng slowly led Yuan Xiaoyi, stopping and starting, until they reached the small forest they had visited before.

Wang Qi seemed to know he wasn't welcome and hung back at a distance, his hands in his pockets, looking nonchalant.

"Let's sit for a while," Jiang Cheng said softly.

Perhaps because of their interaction yesterday, Yuan Xiaoyi was clearly less resistant to Jiang Cheng than to others. She nodded slightly and prepared to sit on a nearby step.

But suddenly, a hand reached out and gently supported her.

"Wait," Jiang Cheng said. He took off his coat, folded it a few times, and placed it on the step. "It's cold. It's okay now."

Yuan Xiaoyi was taken aback, then became embarrassed. Fatty could see that her ears were turning red.

Jiang Cheng didn't think much of it and sat down beside her naturally. Then he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Don't worry about what others say. I believe you."

Yuan Xiaoyi looked up at him, her lips moving. But before she could make a sound, Jiang Cheng continued, "I'm sure your memory is correct. Even if everyone else says you're wrong, I'm on your side."

"Thank... Thank you, Jiang..." A touch of emotion suddenly welled up in Yuan Xiaoyi's eyes. She knew Jiang Cheng's name, but the words she spoke at this moment...

"Call me *xuezhang* (senior)," Jiang Cheng said, putting on a serious face.

"*Xuezhang*..."

"Alright." Jiang Cheng unconsciously shuffled closer to Yuan Xiaoyi, and said, tilting his head, "Xiaoyi, what exactly did you dream about last night? Why is your face so pale today?"

"*Xuezhang*, I dreamed of Xiaoting. No, it wasn't a dream. She really came back to me last night!" Yuan Xiaoyi said urgently, "It wasn't a dream, it was real!"

"Xiaoting?" This was different from what Jiang Cheng had expected. If he remembered correctly, this Xiaoting had disappeared in the medical building. Jiang Cheng had thought it would be Xiao Ran.

"Yes, it's Xiaoting!" Yuan Xiaoyi trembled all over, her face full of fear.

"Don't be afraid, Xiaoyi. I think Xiaoting must have something to say to you, right?" Jiang Cheng placed his hand on Yuan Xiaoyi's leg, gently comforting her.

Fatty and Huai Yi were just outside the small forest, keeping watch for the doctor.

"*Xuezhang*, you're right. Xiaoting told me a lot of things. She said she was in the medical building, but she was lost and couldn't find her way out. It was very dark and terrifying, completely different from what she had seen before. She was very scared."

Jiang Cheng pondered briefly and said in a comforting tone, "Xiaoyi, I agree with what you said earlier. Xiaoting and the others are not dead. They are just trapped, trapped in a place that no one can find." Jiang Cheng deliberately emphasized the last sentence.

Yuan Xiaoyi nodded repeatedly. "*Xuezhang*, I understand what you mean. They... they must be trapped in the corresponding *guaitan* (weird tale)."

"We are best friends, *xuezhang*. Please, you must help rescue them!" Yuan Xiaoyi said, grabbing Jiang Cheng's hand.

"Xiaoyi, you are braver than I thought." A hint of emotion beyond encouragement appeared in Jiang Cheng's eyes as he looked at Yuan Xiaoyi. "Even if it's just for you, I will help with this."

"Can you tell me what *guaitan* (weird tale) Xiaoting described that night?" Jiang Cheng's tone was gentle, like a considerate older brother.

Yuan Xiaoyi took a deep breath and raised her head. The first sentence she uttered immediately caught Jiang Cheng's attention. "It's a rumor that has been circulating in the medical school for a long time, the Old Woman with the Ghost Face."

"*Xuezhang*, you may not know, but there are many stories about *guaitan* (weird tales) circulating in Jiangtan University. There are even rumors that the school was built to suppress something underneath."

"I once found an aerial photograph of our school. Xiao Hui, who reads a lot, said that the overall shape resembles a *bagua* (eight trigrams) formation."

"There are several places in the school that are generally recognized as the most evil. The medical building is one of them. At night, unless there is something special, the teachers in their department are unwilling to go there."

Seeming to realize that she was digressing, Yuan Xiaoyi paused and began to get to the point. "Years ago, an old woman contracted a strange disease. A strange lump of flesh grew on the back of her head. The family initially thought it was a tumor, so they rushed her to the hospital. But tests revealed that it was not a tumor, just ordinary flesh. So the hospital scheduled surgery."

"What was strange happened later. Just a few days before the surgery, the lump suddenly grew faster, several times larger in just a few days. And what was even more terrifying was that the lump... gradually grew into the shape of a face."

"A face?" Jiang Cheng was slightly surprised.

"That's right." Yuan Xiaoyi nodded solemnly. "Eyes, nose, mouth... they were all there, but it was just a shape. The whole thing was still a big lump of flesh."

"But one night, a nurse on duty was passing by the old woman's ward when she suddenly heard voices inside."

"The voice was very small, but very shrill, as if the speaker's throat was stuck, and they could only breathe out of a very small trachea."

"The nurse didn't think much of it, assuming that the old woman was worried about the surgery and couldn't sleep. So she pushed the door open to comfort her. But the moment she opened the door, she suddenly realized that the face on the pillow was not the old woman's face! It was the face on the back of her head!"

"Her head... her head looked like it had been twisted 180 degrees!"

"The mouth on that fleshy face was still opening and closing, and the eyes were just facing the door."

"The nurse was so scared that she sat on the ground, only knowing to scream."

"Not long after, it was said that the old woman died, suddenly, one night. The specific cause of death was not mentioned."

"Then, the day after her death, the family signed a body donation agreement, donating the old woman's body to the Jiangtan University School of Medicine for dissection and research."

"But that's not how it was!" Yuan Xiaoyi suddenly lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "There were rumors in the hospital that the old woman was particularly superstitious. When she was alive, she was a shaman in the village. A few days before her death, she even foresaw that she would not escape disaster."

"So when she was conscious, she repeatedly told them that after her death, her body must be cremated and never left behind."

"But the old woman's illness was very rare and had great research value. So the hospital secretly found the old woman's children and wanted to buy the body for research."

"It is said that they finally offered a very high price. The old woman's children couldn't resist the temptation and signed a contract with the hospital. Of course, it was said on the surface that it was the old woman's own wish to donate her body after death."