Chapter 36.2 Red Embroidered Shoes 03
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Chen Yang stepped aside, allowing Teacher Li to pass, who picked up the attendance sheet and left. He tapped the table and walked to the small lounge where the teachers rested. At this moment, there were still three teachers in the lounge—two women and one man. When Chen Yang sat down, the two female teachers displayed kindness upon seeing his handsome appearance.
One of the female teachers with the surname Liu inquired, “Are you a new teacher?”
“No, I was invited here to solve a murder case.”
The three teachers suddenly understood. The other female teacher patted her hand and stood up. “Teacher Liu, we’ll leave first.”
Teacher Liu nodded, and as soon as the two left, she poured a cup of tea and handed it to Chen Yang. “You want to ask me about the matter, right?”
Chen Yang was slightly surprised, but then he smiled gently. “Yes.”
“Go ahead and ask.”
“During the second murder, were there red high heels present?”
“The students told you, didn’t they?” Chen Yang remained silent, but Teacher Liu had already guessed. “Teacher Li wouldn’t include any supernatural events in the file. He doesn’t believe in such things. Let me tell you, there were indeed red high heels. They belonged to a former female teacher in the school. She used to wear them often and liked them. They looked beautiful on her.”
“She committed ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ, right?”
Teacher Liu nodded.
Chen Yang: “Why did she commit ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ?”
Teacher Liu fell silent and let out a heavy sigh. “I had just joined Jinshui High School at that time when the incident involving that female teacher broke out. It was said that she had seduced students and was involved in embezzlement. Overwhelmed with despair, she took her own life. It happened in one of the bungalows in the back hill. It was a gruesome scene.”
When the incident occurred, Teacher Liu had visited the crime scene. The once beautiful teacher’s face had turned purple, her mouth wide open and distorted, her tongue extended to her chest. Her entire neck was broken, and her eyes stared accusingly at the person who had driven her to her death.
“She was wearing red high heels when she died. When I saw the high heels that night, I guessed it was her who had returned.”
“When did she commit ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ?”
“Actually, it wasn’t long ago, just last year.”
Chen Yang furrowed his brow, feeling that something was amiss. If someone died unjustly, their vengeful spirit would be strongest during the first seven days. Once the seven days had passed, the desire to harm others would diminish quickly. It was unlikely for such malevolence to persist for a short period of time, especially considering that the school was free from any ghostly aura.
“Do you think the deaths of the two victims are related to that female teacher?”
“I don’t know. The high heels made me believe it was the deceased female teacher returning, but both victims were students from the same class. They had good academic performance and were generally disciplined individuals. Honestly, they were good kids. If it’s true that the deceased female teacher caused their deaths, I can’t fathom the reason behind targeting them.”
Chen Yang nodded and expressed his gratitude. “I understand. Thank you.”
Teacher Liu waved it off, stating that she didn’t want any harm to come to the students. As she prepared to leave, she hesitated at the doorway, contemplating for a moment. “Master Chen, what worries me the most are the students. I don’t mind much myself. I’m old and not so afraid of death. If possible, I hope you can save all the students.”
Chen Yang smiled, his gaze earnest. “I can’t guarantee the safety of every student, but I will do my best to protect each and every one of them.”
“Thank you,” Teacher Liu sincerely expressed her gratitude. After a brief pause, she continued, “If, and I emphasize if… you truly can’t resolve the supernatural events at Jinshui High School, I hope you leave as soon as possible. After all, you have little connection to Jinshui High School, and I wish for as many people to survive as possible. Ah, of course, I also hope that after you leave, you can find even more capable individuals to save the students.”
Chen Yang quietly watched Teacher Liu, who seemed hesitant to make eye contact with his calm and clear gaze. Teacher Liu patted her forehead, laughed nervously, and hurriedly left.
Chen Yang lowered his gaze. Teacher Liu was probably hiding something. However, being at Jinshui High School, they should be able to uncover what they needed. With that in mind, he took out his phone and sent a message to Du Shuo.
He stared in a daze at the red circle beside the words “miss you” on the screen. “The signal still can’t go through. It’s too weak. If something happens and I lose signal while calling for help, that would be disastrous.”
Muttering to himself, Chen Yang used both hands to type numerous shamelessly affectionate words that he wouldn’t dare say out loud but were fun to type out. Since there was no signal, he couldn’t send them anyway. But as he typed, he had the strange feeling that they were actually being sent. He got caught up in the moment and started to enjoy himself. When he finally looked back at his messages, he saw that the last message had a status of “sent.”
【Hubby, miss you, want to see you, want to be ???????????? with you.】
Below was an instantaneous reply: 【Wait for me.】
Chen Yang’s hands trembled as he typed out a long string of explanation. He edited it many times, making sure that his reasons were sound and logical. He pressed send, but the message failed to send. He stared in a daze at his embarrassing messages and Du Shuo’s concise reply. Slowly, he covered his face, his cheeks burning with shame.
As he put his phone back in his pocket, he touched a piece of paper. He took it out and saw that it was a used Three Days of Auspicious Blessings Talisman. Chen Yang instantly understood why his message had suddenly been sent successfully.
Chen Yang walked out of the office and followed the corridor. The classrooms for the senior students were on the fourth and fifth floors. Currently, the classrooms on these floors were occupied by the sophomores preparing to enter the senior year for evening self-study. Class 1 and Class 2 were on the fifth floor, and the remaining three classes were on the fourth floor. The other vacant classrooms on the fourth and fifth floors had been converted into laboratories.
In each classroom, a teacher sat while the students remained silent, diligently focused on their assignments. Except for when Chen Yang passed Class 5, where he noticed a few students engaging in some mischievous activities, making him feel like he was truly in high school.
After observing for the entire evening without noticing anything amiss, Chen Yang left the academic building with the intention of going to the library to search for information. On his way, he encountered Kou Xuanling, and they conversed about their respective findings as they walked towards the library.
After listening to Chen Yang’s description, Kou Xuanling said, “I went to the basketball court first. It seemed to be locked due to the murder case. So I climbed up the wire fence and tried to summon spirits, but nothing appeared. However, when I attempted to climb over the wire fence and reach the vacant lot in the back hill, my magical tool suddenly became hot, and only then did I regain my senses.”
“Regain your senses?”
“When I came to my senses, I realized I had been hypnotized. I was standing in the vacant lot in he back hill, with a hole dug in the ground. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had my magical tool with me. I probably would have buried myself alive.”
“Even you can be affected.” After pondering for a moment, Chen Yang said, “I want to go to the back hill and take a look.”
“Go during the daytime. I didn’t even know how I fell for it.”
The two entered the library and encountered the Qiu siblings inside. They briefly nodded at each other in greeting and then went about their respective tasks. Time flew by quickly, and when the sound of a broadcast came from outside, the library administrator hurriedly approached them, urging them to leave. “Closing time, you need to leave quickly. It’s almost 10 o’clock, and the dormitory doors will be locked. No one should remain on campus.”
The four of them were ushered out of the library, and the administrator swiftly turned off the lights and closed the library doors before hurrying out. Seeing their surprised expressions, he asked, “Why are you still here? It’s almost ten o’clock. The dormitory gates will be closing. No one must linger on campus.”
Chen Yang: “Let’s go.”
Upon returning to the dormitory building, Chen Yang walked to the door of Room 401, where a slight tilt of the body allowed him to observe the situation of the academic building and the student dormitory building. The sound of the broadcast continued, and suddenly, many students surged out of the academic building and hurried back to the student dormitory building.
Three minutes before ten o’clock, the campus instantly returned to tranquility. As the clock struck ten, not a sound could be heard across the campus. The mountain breeze blew, driving away the heat and bringing a coolness that gradually turned into a chill.
Chen Yang returned to their room and shared thisobservation with Kou Xuanling. Kou Xuanling was still pondering about the vacant lot in the back hill and casually replied, “It’s probably a rule to prevent students from lingering on campus and being harmed.”
Chen Yang lowered his gaze, not saying much as he went to take a shower. After finishing, he lay on his single bed and stared at the messages he had sent from his phone, feeling somewhat melancholic. Kou Xuanling came out after his shower to pay respects to his ancestral master. Upon noticing Chen Yang’s deep and bitter expression, he inquired about what was bothering him.
“If your phone was lost, and someone picked it up and sent some questionable messages, and then you managed to retrieve it. How likely is the person who received the messages to believe your explanation?” Chen Yang asked, looking at Kou Xuanling.
“Why would someone send messages to people you know? Did you send inappropriate messages to someone close to you, demanding money or insulting them?”
“…Just go to sleep,” Chen Yang replied, unable to comprehend the thought process of a straight male.
In the dead of night, silence enveloped everything. The minute hand on the rooftop clock of the administration building took its final step, freezing at the exact center of midnight. Jinshui High School seemed to be frozen in time, and then, as if a droplet fell and disturbed the serene surface of Jinshui High School, it erupted with a thunderous commotion.
Chen Yang suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from his single bed. Kou Xuanling across from him also got up and turned on the lights. The two locked eyes for a second, then simultaneously walked out of the room and ran to the entrance of Room 401 to look outside.
Kou Xuanling: “Manger Chen, what do you see?”
“Yin soldiers passing by.”
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