Supernatural and Paranormal Research Society

The damp chill as you climb up the paved surface felt like stepping into an abandoned, dry well.

He subconsciously rubbed his arms, his eyes quickly scanning his surroundings.

The clump of wet hair was no longer in the sink.

Only two burnt-out red candles remained, their wax dripping onto the edge of the mirror, the dark red wax solidified into irregular puddles that, in the dim light, resembled dried bloodstains.

A very thin layer of water mist covered the mirror surface, with a grayish-dark color around the edges.

There was nothing else.

There were no ghosts, no strange phenomena, only deathly silence and cold.

Li Lingyun dared not linger.

He quickly removed the phone holder, pressed the power button, and the moment the screen went dark, he stepped out of the bathroom as if fleeing for his life, slamming the door shut behind him.

Only when he leaned against the wall of the corridor and breathed in the slightly warm air outside did he finally exhale a long breath of stale air.

Tonight, I think I've really been possessed by an evil spirit.

……

The next morning.

Sunlight streamed through the gap in the slightly ajar curtains, cutting a bright strip of light across the floor.

Chen Haoran was awakened by the sound of birds chirping.

He opened his eyes, stared at the upper bunk, and looked blank for a few seconds.

He slowly sat up, looked down at his hands, and then touched his neck, chest, and shoulders.

"How...am I in bed?"

He muttered to himself, his voice hoarse like sandpaper being rubbed.

My memory is like it's been sliced ​​open with a knife. From the moment I finished reciting it for the thirteenth time in the bathroom until I woke up, there's an absolute blank in between.

"How dare you ask?"

On the opposite bed, Li Lingyun was already awake, leaning against the pillows and staring at him, her eyes showing obvious fatigue and dissatisfaction.

"What were you doing last night? The live stream suddenly went silent halfway through! I called you from outside and coughed to remind you, but you completely ignored me! Then, I was so worried something was wrong that I was about to open the door when you came out on your own. You wouldn't respond when I talked to you, you didn't turn off the live stream, you just threw your phone on the bedside table and lay down. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were planning to delete your account on the spot!"

Chen Haoran was stunned.

His brows furrowed slowly.

"I'm sorry, Lingyun."

He rubbed his temples, his tone revealing genuine confusion:

"I really don't remember any of those things you mentioned."

"...Did you black out?"

Li Lingyun squinted and looked him up and down.

The morning light fell on Chen Haoran's face, which was pale and bloodless, with dark circles under his eyes like ink spreading into shadows.

He reached out his hand, hesitated for a moment in mid-air, and then gently touched the back of Chen Haoran's hand.

The temperature transmitted through my fingertips was still frighteningly low.

"See?"

Li Lingyun withdrew his hand and sighed:

"I told you a long time ago, stop doing live streams and take care of your health. Look at you now, not only are you still working, but you're also completely exhausted. Last night, when I touched your hand, it was so cold I almost thought I was touching a morgue cabinet."

Chen Haoran did not respond.

His face darkened inch by inch.

"Lingyun".

He spoke slowly, his voice very low:

"Do you remember what I did livestream from Yinshan Village a few days ago?"

"Debunking fake ghost marriages."

Li Lingyun was puzzled: "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"Last night..."

Chen Haoran's Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes glazed over: "While reading Bloody Mary, I saw in the mirror... a woman in a red wedding dress standing there."

"What?!"

Li Lingyun sat up abruptly, his pupils contracting sharply:

"Wait! Bloody Mary is a Western urban legend. What does it have to do with the ghost bride you encountered in Silver Mountain Village?! These two are completely unrelated!"

Chen Haoran fell silent.

Yes, they're not adjacent.

Logically, it doesn't make any sense at all.

But that chilling feeling, that gaze from beneath the red veil, and that question, "Why doesn't my husband return home?" are now clearly etched into my mind, carrying the pungent smell of damp earth, and I can't shake them off.

"Alright, alright."

Li Lingyun glanced at the time on her phone and waved her hand to interrupt his thoughts:

"Forget about all that now, get up and wash up quickly. If you dawdle any longer, the morning reading bell will ring, and all the meat buns in the cafeteria will be sold out."

He paused, then added:

"Oh, by the way, those candle wax stains in the bathroom haven't been cleaned up yet. Go and take care of them. That stuff looks creepy; I'm not touching it."

Chen Haoran hummed in agreement, then threw back the covers and got out of bed.

As my legs touched the ground, a slight feeling of unsteadiness washed over me.

He held onto the edge of the bed and walked towards the bathroom after regaining his balance.

Pushing open the door, the yin energy had mostly dissipated, but the tiles still felt cool.

He stared at the dark red wax stain on the edge of the sink for a long time.

The solidified texture is winding and twisting, and at first glance, it really looks like a pool of blood that has been spilled and dried.

He turned on the tap and wiped it little by little with a paper towel.

When hot water is poured over it, the wax melts and disappears in a vortex down the drain.

He looked up at the mirror.

The person in the mirror was pale, with sunken eyes and bloodless lips.

I am very tired and haggard.

But Chen Haoran always felt... something was wrong.

It's not that my facial features have changed.

It is something more essential.

He leaned closer to the mirror and carefully examined his pupils.

The color of the iris seemed lighter than usual, and there was a very faint gray haze over the underside of the eye.

He blinked, and the person in the mirror blinked in unison.

The movements were perfectly synchronized, yet they somehow conveyed a sense of stiffness and mechanical rigidity.

It's like looking at yourself through frosted glass.

"Hao! Hurry up! We're going to be late!"

Li Lingyun's urging voice came from outside the door.

Chen Haoran looked away, quickly finished washing up, grabbed his schoolbag, and went out.

……

As soon as I stepped into the cafeteria, a strong smell assaulted my nostrils.

It smelled like rotting flesh fermenting in a sewer for more than ten days, mixed with the musty smell of aged grave soil and the fragrance of damp red silk threads.

Intense, sticky, and pungent.

"vomit--"

Chen Haoran suddenly covered his mouth and nose, his brows furrowing tightly:

"It stinks...who threw a dead rat here?"

"Smelly?"

Li Lingyun glanced at him, puzzled, and sniffed hard:

"Where's the stench? It smells amazing, like steamed buns and pancakes. Is your nose frozen?"

Chen Haoran took another careful sniff.

The nauseating stench vanished inexplicably the next second, as if it had just been a malfunction of the olfactory nerves.

Instead, the usual aroma of food from the cafeteria filled the air.

He frowned, but didn't say anything more.

The two of them lined up at the window.

Chen Haoran took the jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) with chicken cutlet, which he usually loved, and took the first bite.

chew.

It lacks the wheat aroma of noodles, the savory flavor of sauce, and the greasy taste of chicken cutlet.

It has only a rough, sawdust-like texture and a faint, earthy smell, similar to damp mud.

It spreads throughout the mouth, and when swallowed, it feels like sandpaper rubbing against the esophagus.

"What's wrong? Doesn't it suit your taste?"

Li Lingyun asked him while biting into a fried dough stick.

"It has no taste."

Chen Haoran put down the pancake, his voice deep: "It's like chewing paper."

"It's probably a loss of taste caused by a severe cold."

Li Lingyun patted him on the shoulder:

"Your hands were so cold last night, and your sense of smell and taste are off today. It's definitely the beginning of a viral cold. If you feel really uncomfortable, go to the school clinic and get some medicine. Don't try to tough it out."

Chen Haoran remained silent.

He silently finished the rest of the pancake.

Each bite felt like swallowing cold, wet mud, yet strangely, my stomach didn't resist; instead, I had a strange feeling of being filled.

The Yin meridian has been opened to the stomach.

Yang energy dissipates, and Yin energy enters the internal organs.

The food tastes bland, and the smell is like rotten earth.

He didn't know these words; he just vaguely felt that something was wrong with him... something very wrong.