Blood slid down the gaps in the wall, the smell lingered in the air and the corridors were eerily quiet. Han Fei did not know what happened at the hostel after he got offline but things felt extremely ominous. Afraid of staying at a place for too long, Han Fei found his way down the stairs carefully. When he reached the landing between the 2nd and 3rd floor, an indiscernible sound came from the 4th floor. It sounded like flesh splatting against the floor. The sticky and wet sound repeated uncomfortably down the steps.
The smell of blood in the air thickened. Han Fei closed his mouth and nose. He moved faster but when he reached the second floor and glanced down the steps, his body froze. There was someone standing in the landing between the 1st and 2nd floor.
He stood right there in the staircase, facing away from Han Fei. His body was strangely contorted. ‘Something doesn't feel right.’ Walking alone inside a creepy building was already scary enough but the scarier thing was to run into a stranger during your exploration. Instead of approaching the man, Han Fei silently retreated.
‘There are staircases on both sides of the corridors, there is no reason for me to accost him. My most immediate concern is Zhang Guanxing’s safety.’ That was Han Fei’s plan but when he turned his face to look down the 2nd floor corridor, there was also a person standing in the middle of it.
Similarly, this man stood facing away from Han Fei and did not budge. ‘The fuck?!’ Focusing his eyes on the man’s back, Han Fei slowly noticed a problem. Even though the man had not conspicuously moved, somehow he had gotten closer to Han Fei!
‘Is this the same man as the one inside the staircase? He’s very different from the other ghosts I’ve met in this hostel.’ Han Fei was a peaceful person, he’d rarely go on the offensive especially when his own safety could not be guaranteed. Han Fei moved his eyes slowly back towards the staircase.
The man who previously occupied the space in the staircase had disappeared. But when Han Fei turned his head back, the man inside the 2nd floor corridor had moved closer.
Han Fei was reminded of a game he once played at the orphanage, it was called the traffic light game. Basically one person was to act as the red traffic light, whenever he turned to face the other players, they would have to stop. The game was over when one of the players managed to touch the traffic light without being caught, or all the other players were caught moving during the red light.
With his eyes fixed on the man, Han Fei walked backwards down the stairs with his hands on the wall.
Due to the extra blood and dirty stains, the walls of the staircase were slippery. The strange sound from the 4th floor was still there. The smell of blood became more pungent. Under such circumstances, Han Fei kept a safe distance from the other man. He slowly nudged his feet until he reached the 1st floor corridor.
When he arrived, he noticed that the smell of blood was thickest at the 1st floor. The entrance of the hostel was posted with many things, including unfinished exam papers, stained clothes and unknown talismans.
The hostel manager’s office which was closest to the front door was not spared. The windows were all shattered. The previously clean and well-made bed was covered in bloody handprints. The notes of ‘appreciations’ were torn into pieces, trampled fruits scattered on the ground.
Han Fei’s original plan was to enter the office to find the key but with the man on his tail, he could not afford to let himself be distracted. With his eyes on the man’s back, Han Fei moved backwards down the 1st floor corridor. He maintained a constant safe distance with the man.
Silently counting the number of the rooms he had passed, when Han Fei reached the door of Room 104, he knocked on it lightly, “Zhang Guanxing? Are you in there?” There was no reply.
‘Something wouldn’t have happened to him, would it?’ It was dangerous to stand there in the corridor. Fixing his eyes on the man following him, Han Fei whispered again, “Guanxing, it’s really me. I’ve once said that I would not give up on any of my students, no matter whether they are males or females.”
After Han Fei said that, footsteps came from inside the room and a gap eased open. “Sir, it really is you!” Zhang Guanxing hid behind the door. The expression on his face changed from anxiety to excitement, it was like he had just reunited with his long lost family.
“Caution is a virtue, you have done well.” Han Fei entered Room 104 with the snake. After the door closed, he sighed slightly in relief.
“Sir, I really didn’t think I would ever see you again!” Zhang Guanxing was happy to see Han Fei, his joy was undisguised.
“What exactly happened here when I was gone?” Han Fei leaned against the door and perked his ears to pay attention to the sounds outside the room.
“Everyone at this hostel has gone insane.” Fear entered the man’s eyes. “Screams echoed down the corridors and inexplicable things emerged from darkness. Some of the bedroom doors were forced open and none of the students managed to escape.”
“How did you manage to survive if it was so dangerous yesterday night?” Han Fei was quite impressed.
“I’ve hidden myself inside this room. Yesterday, people came to knock on my door, they pretended to be students asking for help. I almost fell for their tricks but I managed to keep still and didn't move.”
“They?”
“I recognized three distinct voices. They were boys, arguing and fighting with each other. They were cunning and cruel.”
‘That has to be Ma Manjiang’s 3 sons.’ Han Fei was not too worried about those 3. He was more concerned about Ma Manjiang himself. According to the police, Ma Manjiang had gone missing, Han Fei had no idea whether he’d run into the man in the game or not.
“The 3 kids appear to purposely go after Yi Ming Private Academy’s students. They have some way of telling their locations. I was spared probably because I was already expelled and wasn’t considered a student here anymore.” Zhang Guanxing was very careful and clever. He had a bright future, he merely took the wrong path.
“When did the chaos stop?”
“About a few hours ago,” Zhang Guanxing thought about it and added, “Before it settled down, the front door was opened and something entered the hostel.”
“We have some new arrivals with us?” Han Fei thought about the man he encountered in the stairwell. “Guanxing, have you heard any story about a man with his face always turned away? I encountered such a man when I was coming down the stairs earlier, he has been following me since.”
“You know what, I think I heard something like that from a first year student before but I always thought it was just a story!”
“A story told by a first year student?” Han Fei believed that first year student was Jin Sheng, “Do you mind telling me more about it?”
“There was a senior who had a crush on a girl at school. The girl reciprocated his feelings so they got together quickly. The male senior came from a bad family, his parents were divorced and his father had serious violent tendencies. For the senior, his only family was not his father but his girlfriend.
“He shared his pain and humiliation with the girl and promised to give her happiness. But after the school found out about their relationship, it became a big deal. In the end, the senior voluntarily dropped out from school to protect his girlfriend. He took on all the blame.
“After the senior dropped out, he maintained contact with the girl. They promised that they would work hard and get married after they both had stable careers. It was a sweet and innocent promise but they both really put their hearts into it.
“However, the couple’s happiness was broken again. One day, the senior was unable to contact his girlfriend. He sneaked back into school to ask for an explanation. If the girl had moved on, he would take it in stride. He didn’t want to hold the girl back either.
“Nonetheless, the senior was unable to find his girlfriend. People whom he asked refused to talk to him. Eventually, one of the girl’s friends passed him a note. It said that he should go to the rooftop of the education block that night.
“The senior did not think much of it, he just wanted to see his girlfriend. No one knew what happened up there but the next morning, there was a body discovered inside the school the next morning.
“The senior fell down from the roof. His spine snapped and his neck was twisted 180 degrees as his eyes stared transfixed at the rooftop of the education block.
“From that day onwards, some of the students claimed they would run into a person standing facing away from them in the corridor.”
Han Fei was confused after he heard Zhang Guanxing’s story. He studied Zhang Guanxing and realized with a shock that the tattoo on the young man’s arm had disappeared.
