Supernatural and Paranormal Research Society

Li Lingyun's hand was still suspended in mid-air, his fingertips still bearing the lingering chill of the touch he had just experienced.

He stared at Chen Haoran in astonishment.

One second his face was filled with terror, the next it was as if all his emotions had been erased by an eraser, leaving only a deep, calm pool.

"Did you take the wrong medicine?"

Li Lingyun lowered his voice, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

"I just feel like I'm fine."

Chen Haoran turned around, his movements strangely fluid:

"Not getting enough rest can cause sleepwalking, that's definitely the reason. A good night's sleep will fix it."

Sleepwalking.

The two words he uttered carried an almost obsessive certainty.

It's as if simply repeating this word can stuff the damp cold in the coffin, the red reflection in the mirror, and the hair pulled from the throat back into the box of "scientific explanation."

Li Lingyun stared at his retreating figure, her brows furrowed into a tight knot.

The person who was just trembling and crying for help now stands ramrod straight.

The curve of his shoulders, the distance between his steps, and even the frequency of his breathing all exude an eerie regularity.

Like a precisely calibrated instrument.

"Are you sure?"

Li Lingyun hesitated before speaking.

Chen Haoran didn't stop walking, leaving only a short syllable: "Hmm."

He walked back to his seat, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Open your English book and pick up your pen.

The entire set of movements was fluid and graceful, without the slightest unnecessary tremor.

Even as the school bell rang, Li Lingyun's gaze remained fixed on Chen Hao's neck.

His deskmate, Zhang Xiaowen, poked his arm with her pen cap: "Hey, what are you looking at?"

"Something's wrong with Ah Hao."

Li Lingyun avoided the teacher's gaze, turned to the side, and lowered her voice to a very low hue:

"His body temperature was frighteningly low, his attitude did a complete 180-degree turn, and the look in his eyes just now... was frighteningly empty."

Zhang Xiaowen gasped, her pen leaving a long, dark mark on the paper: "Are you sure?"

"I have no reason to joke about my brother's life."

Li Lingyun clenched his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, and... an undisguised fear:

"When he pushed me away just now, he was incredibly strong. His hands were as cold as frozen meat that had just been taken out of the freezer."

Zhang Xiaowen's face paled, and her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes.

"But what can we do? He's completely unresponsive now. If we drag him to Joy City, his physique is what it is; if it really comes down to a fight, we're no match for him. We don't even know where that expert is."

A sense of powerlessness washed over me like a tide.

The two looked at each other and saw the same anxiety in each other's eyes.

Meanwhile, Chen Haoran, the center of the discussion, was quietly copying notes from the blackboard.

The pen tip rubs against the paper, making a soft, rustling sound.

But if you listen carefully, the rhythm is too even.

It's so uniform that it lacks the variations in pressure and pauses that a living person would use when writing; it's just mechanical repetition.

……

Long break between classes.

Zhang Xiaowen walked quickly to Tong Qianxue's desk and lowered her voice:

"Qianxue, Li Lingyun said that Ahao has completely changed today!"

Tong Qianxue's brow twitched slightly, and she put down the physics test paper in her hand: "How exactly do you mean it?"

Zhang Xiaowen recounted the confrontation in the corridor in detail.

Tong Qianxue fell silent.

She didn't understand the complicated rituals of exorcising evil spirits, but the taboos passed down in her family and the fragments of the "Records of Yin Houses" were enough to piece together a dangerous outline.

When yin energy enters the body, it first invades the senses, then disrupts the mind, and finally takes over the body.

Chen Haoran's current state has crossed the boundary of "hallucination" and is sliding into the abyss of "mind overwhelmment".

"We can't just stand by and watch it rot away."

Zhang Xiaowen's eyes reddened with anxiety: "We have to do something."

"I see."

Tong Qianxue pushed up her glasses, her gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing on Chen Haoran.

The next second, her pupils suddenly contracted.

"When did he get that thing on his neck?"

Zhang Xiaowen followed her gaze and her breath caught in her throat.

Chen Haoran's school uniform collar was slightly open. A very thin red line was running along the side of his neck.

The colors were so vibrant they were almost blinding, like threads drawn from freshly congealed blood, or like the roots of some living thing, digging deep into pale flesh.

As he swallowed, the red line undulated slightly, as if it were alive, drilling deeper into the ground.

"Absolutely not before class."

Zhang Xiaowen's voice trembled: "I was sitting right behind him, how could I have missed him?"

Tong Qianxue didn't say anything.

A sharp pain suddenly shot through the peach wood amulet on his chest.

The talisman was cool to the touch, and a fine layer of white frost appeared on its edges.

She lowered her eyes and secretly tightened her grip on the backpack strap.

The words of advice from my family echoed in my ears:

"Xue'er, your constitution attracts negative energy. The amulet can protect you, but you must never intentionally get involved with other people's negative karma. Some karmic entanglements, once committed, lead to certain death."

She was strictly disciplined from a young age and avoided esoteric arts and magic.

But right now, my friend's life hangs in the balance.

Rules and sentiments tore at her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

While I was pondering this, a heated argument suddenly broke out at the front of the classroom.

"I already told you I'm fine! I'm not going! Can't you understand human language?!"

Chen Haoran abruptly shook off Li Lingyun's hand.

The force was so great that it brought with it a chilly wind.

Li Lingyun staggered back half a step and bumped into the desk, scattering books all over the floor.

"I'm saving you!"

Li Lingyun's temples were bulging with veins, and his voice was strained.

"No need."

Chen Haoran sneered, the curve of his lips stiff, his eyes devoid of any warmth:

"I have no need for your feigned kindness."

"Fake kindness?"

Li Lingyun laughed in anger, but her eyes reddened:

"Fine, Chen Haoran. You've gone too far today; we're not even friends anymore!"

He turned and strode towards the back door.

Chen Haoran stood still, his shoulders twitching almost imperceptibly.

Tong Qianxue saw it clearly.

In that instant, a fierce struggle flashed across Chen Haoran's eyes.

Something was surging wildly deep within his pupils, and his lips were slightly parted, as if he wanted to call out to Li Lingyun.

But in less than half a second, that panic vanished as if extinguished by cold water.

"Oh My God……"

Zhang Xiaowen covered her mouth, her face turning deathly pale.

"They practically grew up together. Did they really have a falling out?"

"Xiaowen".

Tong Qianxue tugged at her sleeve, her voice very soft:

"You just said he was acting strangely today?"

"Yes, he's completely unlike himself."

Zhang Xiaowen suddenly looked up, a hint of horror flashing in her eyes:

"You mean... the current Ahao isn't... at all..."

"Just a guess."

Tong Qianxue interrupted her, patting her cold hand: "Perhaps it's just an emotional breakdown caused by neurasthenia."

Even so, both of them knew that this was just a fig leaf for self-comfort.

The school bell rang sharply.

Zhang Xiaowen reluctantly sat back down in her seat.

Li Lingyun returned just as the bell rang and received a few perfunctory words of reprimand from the teacher.

He sat down with a cold face, deliberately avoiding Chen Haoran's back view, leaving him only with a stiff profile.

Zhang Xiaowen bit her lip, tore off a corner of the draft paper, quickly wrote a few lines, crumpled it into a ball, and handed it over.

Li Lingyun unfolded it, and there were only two sentences on it:

"Qianxue said that Chen Haoran tried to call out to you just now, but he didn't. She saw it very clearly."

Li Lingyun stared at the line of words, his knuckles turning white from gripping them so tightly.

He slowly raised his head and looked at the faint red line on Chen Hao's neck.

A very low, hoarse sound escaped from his throat, a sound reminiscent of traditional Chinese poetry.