Chapter 13 Old Liu 5

All three flashlights simultaneously focused on the door of Pit Number Two, Xiao Wang swallowed hard and pressed his ear against the door of Pit Number Two.

Hehehehehe...

A low, eerie laughter emanated from inside, but the voice somewhat resembled Xiao Yang. Xiao Wang kicked open the door to Pit Number Two, and with a loud bang, something crashed against the wall. Squinting, they saw it was indeed Xiao Yang, who wasn't angry because of the kick but just stood there laughing crazily. In his hands, he held two pieces of toilet paper, one red and one white.

The trio dragged Xiao Yang out, thinking he was possessed as he continued to laugh foolishly.

Smack!

Xiao Wang raised his hand and slapped him; a crisp sound echoed from Xiao Yang's face.

"Fuck, what the hell are you doing? Is going to the toilet a crime now?" The slap snapped Xiao Yang out of it, and he cursed as he spoke.

"Going to your sister's toilet; you're fucking possessed, you know that?"

The place was indeed too eerie, and none of them wanted to stay a moment longer. They climbed out through the window one after another, quickly vaulted the iron gate, and ran toward the dorm.

At that moment, if they had looked back, they would have seen a girl in an old-style school uniform standing by the second-floor window, waving at them, her face so pale.

The group climbed up the drainpipe in turn, and it wasn't until they lay in their dorm beds that they could breathe a sigh of relief, though they were still severely shaken. They didn't speak, just lay there in silence.

A week later, Xiao Yang met a tragic death in the toilet. His family cleared out his belongings that very day, leaving behind just an empty bed. The dormitory that housed four now had room for only three.

The three looked at Xiao Yang's empty bed but didn't dwell on it; they simply felt sorry because just a week earlier, they had all been chatting and joking there. As for the vow they had made to be born on the same day, in the same month, and to die on the same day, no one remembered it.

On the night of Xiao Yang's untimely death, Old Liu and the other two had the same dream, in which Xiao Yang returned to the dorm, telling them he was so cold and lonely on his own, hoping they could keep him company. As roommates and sworn brothers, the three made the same decision—to always be there for him as long as he was happy.

Afterward, the three adapted to the atmosphere of a three-man dormitory, attending classes by day and chatting and shooting the breeze at night, but they tacitly agreed not to speak of Xiao Yang.

…

A month later, on a certain day, Xiao Wang walked alone on the sidewalk outside the school, his hands weighed down with three big bags of food. Just after the start of the month, everyone had sent living expenses, so the three planned to splurge a bit. Not wanting to go out, they decided by drawing lots, and unfortunately, it was Xiao Wang's turn.

A speeding car suddenly veered onto the sidewalk, striking Xiao Wang squarely. He flew about five or six meters before landing heavily on the ground. Instantly, blood flowed freely, covering the ground, and the three big bags of food scattered, slowly turning red in the pool of blood.

The car, as if nothing had happened, swerved away and sped off, disappearing into the sea of traffic within minutes.

The next day, the vehicle involved in the accident was found. The driver claimed he had swerved onto the sidewalk to avoid a young man and insisted he had not hit anyone—otherwise, he would have taken them to the hospital immediately.

When the police asked the witness to describe the person in the middle of the road, the witness provided a detailed description. They were certain it was a student from this university because he was wearing the school uniform.

The police found the school and sought out this eyewitness. With the police's description, Old Liu and his two companions identified the person; it was none other than their former roommate—Xiao Yang. At this point, Old Liu and Xiao Cao became unsettled. Could this really just be an ordinary traffic accident?

They thought back to the dream they had that night and remembered the scene when they took their oath of brotherhood, not asking to be born on the same year or the same day, but to die on the same day in the same year.

Yes, it must have been Xiao Yang coming back for them, to claim their lives.

The two of them went together to the school, requesting to switch dormitories, but the school authorities refused them citing a shortage of space. They thought about dropping out, but their families didn't agree, thinking it was just an excuse.

So, the two spent their days in a state of constant fear, losing their appetite for food and drink. Every night, as darkness fell, any little sound or movement would send them into a cold sweat.

A few days later, in the afternoon, there was chaos in the dormitory building. Rumors spread of a freshman playing free fall from above the sixth floor. Old Liu, wearing slippers, eagerly followed the crowd downstairs, thinking that a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle like this should not be missed.

Bang!

Old Liu had just stepped out of the dorm building when a loud noise startled him; then, something sticky and thick splashed across his face. Wiping it with his hand, he found white and red substances; it was a mixture of brain matter and blood.

Before he could get a clear look at the jumper's face, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

When Old Liu came to, he found himself in the campus hospital. Only after asking around did he learn that the jumper was none other than his dorm mate, Xiao Cao.

Old Liu felt utterly powerless. Three were gone, already three had died. Would he be the next one?

When the school authorities heard that Old Liu had awakened, they hurried over to ask if Xiao Cao had done anything strange before he jumped. Old Liu didn't hold anything back, he recounted everything, including the adventure that night.

In the end, the school made a decision: for the sake of Old Liu's life, they ordered him to leave the school.

When Old Liu heard the decision, he wasn't sad but rather relieved. Perhaps this way he could escape the curse. He wrote a letter home, didn't even return to his dorm, bought a train ticket, and rushed back to his family.

After hearing the description from his subordinates, the old principal sighed deeply. He had thought that the incident was over, but it had happened again. It seemed that it was time to demolish the abandoned teaching building; perhaps only by doing so, could they truly put an end to this affair.

When Old Liu returned home with the expulsion notice, his family was surprised. But after he told them everything, they fell silent. It seemed the family knew about the incident the old principal mentioned. After some running around, Old Liu quickly transferred to another school to continue his studies.

After the transfer, nothing else happened, making Old Liu quite relieved. It seemed he had indeed escaped the ordeal.

Time flew by, and it wasn't long before Old Liu graduated from university and was assigned to teach at an elementary school. His classes were lively and engaging, and he cultivated one batch after another of excellent seeds for the nation.

This literacy campaign in the countryside was led by him, aiming for the children in the villages to also emerge from the mountains and become the pillars of the country.