Translator: CinderTL
"Xiaoyi." Jiang Cheng had been building up his emotions all along the way. Finally, seeing Yuan Xiaoyi waiting for him at their usual spot, the pent-up feelings burst forth.
Yuan Xiaoyi's dull eyes lit up the moment she saw Jiang Cheng. "Senior, you're finally here!"
Jiang Cheng's eyes were red-rimmed, and his voice choked with emotion. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't save Xiaohui. It's all my fault..."
At his words, Yuan Xiaoyi swayed, as if she couldn't stand. Jiang Cheng quickly wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her.
A few seconds later, tears streamed down Yuan Xiaoyi's face. "Xiaohui... she... she..."
It seemed both parties felt the emotional groundwork had been laid, so they didn't linger on the grief. They moved smoothly into the next phase.
"Senior," Yuan Xiaoyi said, her eyes filled with a pitiful gaze, her voice trembling slightly. "I saw Xiaoyu last night."
Xiaoyu?
Jiang Cheng quickly searched his memory for information on the missing girl—the one connected to the sculptures. They had found a clay sculpting knife in the Activity Center's warehouse.
"What did Xiaoyu say?" Jiang Cheng asked patiently.
Yuan Xiaoyi recalled, "Xiaoyu said she was in the Sculpture Hall, alone and in complete darkness. No matter how she tried, she couldn't find her way out. All the gates had vanished—not locked, but completely disappeared!"
"Where the gates used to be, there were now solid walls!"
"She also said there were countless strange sculptures she'd never seen before. Even though she was the only person in the Sculpture Hall, she... she could hear footsteps behind her, along with rustling sounds, as if..." Yuan Xiaoyi's tone shifted, her gaze fixed on Jiang Cheng. "Something was crawling on the floor!"
"When she turned around, the strange sounds vanished."
"Xiaoyu said she was going mad, but she couldn't do anything. She didn't dare cry out or make any loud noises. She could only hide, find a place to hide..."
"A place where no one could find her."
"But she also said that although her hiding place was safe, she couldn't last long. If she stayed there too long, she would die anyway. Senior, please, you must save her! Xiaoyu is my best friend!" If one didn't know the true nature of "Yuan Xiaoyi," her performance would be utterly convincing.
After so many years traversing the martial world, the number of people whose acting skills rivaled his own could be counted on one hand.
This Heart-Corroding Demon was one of them.
Jiang Cheng cupped Yuan Xiaoyi's face, his thumb gently caressing her cheek. "Xiaoyi, I promise you, I'll give it my all."
"Mm," Yuan Xiaoyi nodded, then began to brief Jiang Cheng on the background of this mission.
After a moment of thought, she recalled, "Senior, that Sculpture Hall is a really eerie place. I heard that even during construction, accidents happened. One worker had his leg crushed by falling debris, and another's safety rope snapped, sending him plummeting from a great height and smashing his head."
"The school almost got sued because of a dispute with the construction team."
"Anyway, from the moment construction began, all sorts of problems kept cropping up. Eventually, they brought in someone to investigate, and they said it was the land itself that was the problem."
"Long ago, this was a mass grave, and they buried executed criminals here," Yuan Xiaoyi whispered conspiratorially, her voice dropping low.
Jiang Cheng played along, feigning a few shivers and a look of mild fear.
"Later, we revised the blueprints according to their instructions, and that's how the Art Center was finally built." Yuan Xiaoyi paused, as if suddenly remembering something. She quickly added, "Senior, the Sculpture Hall is inside the Art Center and takes up a large space."
"Some people also say that if you look down from above, the entire Art Center resembles an octagonal diagram. But I'm not sure if that's true."
"I see." Jiang Cheng nodded, then turned to Yuan Xiaoyi and asked gently, "Xiaoyi, there must be rumors about this at school, right?"
"Yes, Senior." Yuan Xiaoyi seemed nervous, wringing her hands together. Her face paled as she continued, "There was an incident there once that caused quite a stir."
"It involved a newly hired intern teacher from the sculpture department. Being new, he wanted to work hard and prove himself so he could stay on."
"The sculpture exhibition was being held at the Sculpture Hall at the time. It was crowded and chaotic during the day, so he stayed behind every night to study in peace."
"Technically, this isn't allowed, but the Security Guard on night duty is a nice guy. Seeing that this young man was also from the countryside and worked so hard at his studies, he didn't stop him. He just told him he had to leave before 9 PM."
"Because at 6 PM every day, the Art Center's gates are locked from the inside. No one is allowed to stay overnight except for the Security Department's on-duty personnel."
"That's the school's rule."
"So the Security Guard told the Male Teacher to come to the Security Office on the first floor after he finished viewing the exhibition. He would then open the gate and let him out."
"This arrangement continued for several days. Then one night, the Security Guard dozed off on duty. When he woke up, it was already the middle of the night."
"He found this odd. Usually, the Male Teacher would have come looking for him by now. Why hadn't he?"
He grabbed his flashlight and threw on his coat, heading toward the Sculpture Hall. The corridor was eerily silent. When he reached the hall, he found the outer gate ajar and the lights off.
He pushed the gate open and peered inside. The interior was pitch-black.
The Security Guard called out the Male Teacher's name several times, but when he received no response, he assumed the teacher had left. Seeing that he had fallen asleep, the guard didn't bother to wake himself.
At first, he didn't think much of it. Just waking up, his head was still foggy. He simply closed the door to the Sculpture Hall, wrapped his coat tighter, and started walking back to the Security Guard room to continue his nap.
But as he walked down the corridor, a gust of wind swept through, sending a shiver down his spine and clearing his head considerably.
Slowly, he realized something was wrong. The Art Center's main gate was locked from the inside, and he had the key. How could the Male Teacher have left?
Just then, he heard a strange sound.
It was very faint, a rustling noise that would likely have been overlooked if the surroundings hadn't been so quiet.
For some reason, the sound sent a primal chill down his spine.
Summoning his courage, he turned around and cautiously followed the sound step by step. He discovered it was coming from the Sculpture Hall, the very door he had personally locked.
Through the door, the sound grew clearer, like something—perhaps a rat—scratching at the wooden panels inside.
"Or," Yuan Xiaoyi paused, her voice dropping to a whisper, "something is crawling on the floor."
(End of the Chapter)
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