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墨書 Inktalez
In the dead of night, Yang Su arrived alone at the clock tower. Following Zhang San Shui's instructions, he found the rusty iron key beneath a stone.
With a flashlight in hand, he discovered a loose stone slab in the grass. He moved it aside, revealing a pitch-black opening from which a musty odor wafted out. Taking a deep breath, he crawled into the entrance. Below was a narrow stone staircase that extended downward. The beam of his flashlight couldn't reach the bottom; all he could see were damp steps covered in moss.
After walking for about ten minutes, he came across a rusty iron door. He inserted the key, turning it several times before it finally clicked open. Behind the door lay a long passageway, its stone walls adorned with strange symbols that were identical to those on the classroom walls and the windows of the Art Room.
The passageway was cold, and a faint herbal scent lingered in the air. As he walked further, he could vaguely hear the sound of rushing water ahead. Shining his flashlight in that direction, he saw a thin stream of dark red water seeping through the cracks in the stones.
“Dong…”
A muffled sound echoed from ahead. Yang Su's heart skipped a beat as the beam of his flashlight flickered against the wall. This sound was different from what he had heard before; it was deeper and seemed to be much closer.
He steadied himself and continued forward. The passageway gradually widened, and the air grew increasingly damp. Ahead, there appeared to be a fork in the path—one leading left and the other right.
He raised his flashlight to examine closely and noticed dark red stains on the left path, trickling along the stone seams. Just as he hesitated about which way to go, soft footsteps suddenly echoed behind him—light, as if someone was tiptoeing. He whipped around sharply, sweeping his flashlight across but seeing nothing. Yet, the footsteps drew nearer, accompanied by a rustling sound like fabric brushing against itself.
“Who’s there?”
No one answered. But he distinctly saw a corner of white fabric fluttering around the corner. Gathering his courage, he followed it, only to find nothing but emptiness after turning the corner. The light from his flashlight illuminated the stone wall, where those eerie symbols seemed to writhe and shift into different shapes.
A gust of cold wind swept through, and suddenly his flashlight went out. In the darkness, footsteps approached from afar. He fumbled for his lighter and shakily struck it.
In the dim light, a pale face emerged from the shadows—sunken eyes and purple lips—it was a girl in white!
Yang Su stumbled back in shock, dropping his lighter onto the ground. In a panic, he picked it up again; by the time he reignited it, that face had vanished. But then came a low laughter from ahead, mingled with the tinkling sound of bells.
Gritting his teeth, he felt along the wall and continued forward. At the end of the left passageway stood a stone door intricately carved with patterns; at its center was an enormous character for "bell." The door was ajar, allowing a faint light to seep through.
Pushing it open revealed an expansive underground stone chamber that was much taller than an ordinary room. A ring of bronze oil lamps embedded in the walls glowed softly as if lit long ago. In the center of the chamber stood an altar beneath a massive Bronze Bell suspended above.
This scene matched perfectly with the photographs in his mentor's notebook!
Surrounding the altar were seven stone pillars, each inscribed with a woman's name and year; some dated back to the Qing Dynasty. On the ground lay a large Bagua Pattern with dark red water pooled in its center.
He held up his lighter to inspect the pillars closely when suddenly his gaze froze on the last pillar. It bore an inscription: “Wang Lanzhi, 1993”—Zhou Yue's mother!
“You finally arrived,” came a chilling voice from behind him. Yang Su turned to see Teacher Li standing at the doorway, holding a Marlight aloft. His face appeared particularly sinister under its dim glow.
“It’s you!”
"Not just me," Teacher Li sneered, as several figures stepped out from behind him. The light illuminated their faces— Old Woman Zhong, Zhang San Shui, and a few elderly villagers.
"You..."
"The secrets here," Teacher Li said, "should remain buried forever." He looked at Yang Su, his gaze cold and piercing. "You heard the bell; you are destined to stay here."
Before his words could fully settle in, the massive bell overhead suddenly began to tremble.
"Boom..."
A deafening sound echoed, causing pain to resonate in their ears. Yang Su felt the world spin around him, darkness closing in. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, he seemed to see seven girls in white emerge from the shadows, surrounding him as they began to dance an eerie dance.
The one at the front unmistakably resembled Zhou Yue.
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