Supernatural and Paranormal Research Society

evening.

The setting sun bathed the corridor in a dark red hue.

Chen Haoran took the initiative to walk to Li Lingyun's table.

He lowered his head, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping:

"I'm sorry... I was wrong about what happened today. I don't know what happened, my body and thoughts were like a kite with a broken string. My words and actions were out of control."

Li Lingyun looked at him.

His face was so pale it was almost transparent, and the weariness in his eyes was so deep it was impossible to shake off.

But deep within that weariness lies a kind of terror that is being slowly devoured.

He sighed silently and patted Chen Haoran on the shoulder:

"Fine. We're brothers, after all. I don't blame you." He paused, his voice turning serious, "But you really...aren't you going to go see him?"

Chen Haoran's body suddenly stiffened.

A few seconds later, he slowly shook his head.

The movements were slow, carrying a sense of resigned helplessness.

"It's nothing. I was probably just sleepwalking. Tonight, could you do me a favor and tie me to the bed with a rope? Tie me tight."

As long as you don't go to the cemetery.

As long as you don't get close to that coffin.

Physical isolation can always hold out until dawn.

He didn't believe that the custom of ghost marriages could be stronger than the strength of a living person.

Li Lingyun's Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally nodded:

"Okay, if you think it's okay, I'll go crazy with you."

Night falls.

The dormitory lights are turned off.

Li Lingyun rummaged through the storage room and found a half-bundle of thick yellow hemp rope.

The hemp rope was rough and carried the smell of stale, dusty earth.

He climbed onto Chen Haoran's bed and, as instructed, wrapped the rope around his wrists, ankles, and waist, finally tying it tightly to the iron railing at the head of the bed.

The knot was tied three times, and even after pulling hard, it didn't budge.

"Go to sleep."

Li Lingyun lay back on her own bed, staring at the upper bunk, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

In the darkness, Chen Haoran closed his eyes and breathed steadily.

The rough hemp rope cut into the flesh, causing a real, dull pain.

The pain reassured him.

He kept repeating to himself: The rope is still there, the railing is still there, I'm still in the dormitory.

But if he opened his eyes at this moment, he would see that the hemp rope on his wrist had been seeping out a layer of cold, damp moisture.

The red line clinging to the side of her neck, in the shadows where the moonlight couldn't reach, was slowly emitting a dark red glow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The wind outside the window has stopped.

The upper bunk bed made a very faint creaking sound.

The bound legs slowly curled upwards.

The posture is exactly the same as when the bride sits in the bridal sedan chair.

The rough fibers of the hemp rope gripped the wrist bone tightly, leaving deep red marks.

Chen Haoran lay on his back, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

At first, he did breathe a sigh of relief.

Thick hemp rope, three knots, and iron railings.

The absolute physical confinement, like a thick layer of armor, keeps those absurd fears at bay.

However, the comfort lasted for less than half an hour.

The tingling and numb sensation caused by impaired blood circulation started from the fingertips and quickly spread up to the forearms and calves.

If you maintain the same posture for too long, your bones and joints will make subtle protests.

He tried to move his shoulder very slightly, to relax the stiff muscles by half an inch.

The rope tightened instantly, and the bed frame creaked under the strain.

The sound of the iron bars scraping against the wall was amplified infinitely in the quiet dormitory.

Li Lingyun rolled over on the lower bunk.

"Hao, are you alright?"

The voice carried a clear hesitation.

"fine."

Chen Haoran gritted his teeth and swallowed the muffled groan in his throat:

"Don't worry about me, just tie it tight."

He definitely needs to be tied up tightly.

The last glimmer of hope in my heart had long been shattered by the fragmented memories and hallucinations of the past few days.

He knew very well that the challenge of the ghost marriage in Yinshan Village was like a barb, digging into his flesh and getting deeper and deeper.

But he cannot back down.

The berserker's signboard stands there, and the persona of exposing supernatural frauds is etched into his very being.

If they actively seek out some kind of master or Taoist priest, how will they face the camera and their fans afterwards?

Pride and fear tugged at my chest, finally turning into a barely audible sigh.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to fall asleep.

Time crawled slowly amidst the tingling numbness and the creaking of the bed frame.

Li Lingyun hadn't slept.

The light from the phone screen flickered on his hand; he deliberately lowered the brightness, but his ears were perked up like radar.

The noise from the upper bunk gradually subsided, and the breathing became longer and more even.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, tiptoed to the balcony to wash up, and splashed cold water on his face, which dispelled some of his fatigue.

Before climbing back into bed, he made a point of looking up.

Chen Haoran was still tightly bound, his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling steadily.

Moonlight streamed through the gap in the slightly ajar curtains, slicing a cold, hard line across his pale profile.

It's finally done...

Li Lingyun breathed a sigh of relief, returned to bed, and closed her eyes.

……

"whee."

A very soft laugh, like a cold needle, unexpectedly pierced the dream.

Li Lingyun suddenly opened his eyes.

The dormitory was pitch black, with only the regular hum of the air conditioner's outdoor unit.

He instinctively reached for his phone, the screen lit up, and the time was 02:14 AM.

Auditory hallucination?

He rubbed his temples, preparing to turn over and continue sleeping.

"Hehe...hehe..."

Laughter broke out again.

This time it's much clearer.

Dry and sluggish, like a man trying to imitate a woman's coquettish laughter in a pinched voice, but the imitation is extremely uncoordinated.

The last syllable was drawn out, carrying a damp, misty quality, as if someone were gently rubbing the earlobe with a red silk cloth dampened with cold water.

Li Lingyun felt the hairs on his body stand on end instantly.

He held his breath and, using the faint moonlight filtering in from the window, slowly moved his eyes.

There was no one else in the dormitory; the outlines of the tables and chairs remained still in the darkness.

Business as usual.

"Damn... I really should see a doctor."

He muttered under his breath, grabbed a pillow and covered his ears, trying to block out the chilling sound.

The pillow pressed down on half of my face, and my breathing became labored.

But the laughter did not disappear.

It changed its location, becoming sometimes near and sometimes far.

Sometimes it feels like it's seeping down from the corner of the ceiling, and sometimes it feels like it's climbing up the bed frame.

Even more strangely, another sound began to be mixed in with the laughter.

A very faint "tap, tap" sound.

Like fingernails tapping on wood.

It's like some kind of soft, damp cloth being slowly dragged along a rough hemp rope.

Li Lingyun suddenly threw off the pillow and sat up.

The source of the sound was clearly from the upper bunk.

"...Hiro?"

He tentatively called out, his throat dry and tight.

There was no response from the person in the upper bunk.

Only the sound of long, steady breathing could be heard, as if the soft laughter just now was merely an illusion caused by the night wind blowing through the window cracks.

Li Lingyun stared into the darkness, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.

He recalled the faint red line on Chen Haoran's neck during the day, and the look in his eyes when he pushed away his spatial rift.

Reason told him he should go up and take a look, but his legs felt like lead, and he was rooted to the spot and couldn't move.

Forget it.

The person is still in the dormitory, and the rope is still tied up.

What could possibly happen...?

He lay back down and pulled the blanket over his head.

He wasn't as bold as Chen Haoran; he was just an ordinary person who felt fear when facing the unknown.

Sleepiness and fear intertwined, dragging him into a chaotic nightmare.

There was no light in the dream, only an endless gray fog.

Gray rats, as big as calves, scurried about in the fog, their fur soaked and their eyes gleaming with a dark red light.

They didn't bite; they just circled around him, making rustling, friction-like sounds, like countless red ribbons intertwining.

He struggled to wake up, covered in cold sweat.

The sky outside the window was already turning white.

Li Lingyun sat up with heavy dark circles under her eyes and rubbed her throbbing temples.

He turned to look across at the other side, his tone revealing undisguised weariness and complaint:

"Hao, I really think you should see a neurologist. That sound last night... it was terrifying."

The upper bunk was quiet and still.