At that moment, the tunnel they were in was like a monster with a big dark mouth, it was surprisingly dark, so much that even the searchlights werenât functioning for some reason. The dark that surrounded them was like the earth was being blocked and no light could get in. The darkness was filling every corner of the night, turning the sky a pitch black color, and the original starry sky was now covered by dark clouds. When everything turned into a pitch darkness, the air in the earth became dense, and once the gathering darkness covered out the sky hiding the earth, the moon had sank long ago. The trees of the Mausoleum Mountain rustled awakening an old man, who was peacefully sleeping through the night, screaming a âWuwu wawa <sup>1</sup> â cry.
The nightmares of that night came to life.
Qin Cheng didnât remember how he escaped or what happened, but later, lying on the ground, he vaguely saw the blue flame that burned Zhang Xiaomei out, and next to the blue flame, he seemed to see the Imperial clothes from his dream. The owner of these Imperial clothes was sneering disdainfully at the ghost.
âYouâre seeking for death.â
He didnât know where his glasses fell while he was trying to run away, his vision was hazy, and he couldnât see clearly, only the Imperial clothes seemingly approaching step by step. Subconsciously, he told himself that he had to run away at once, but his hands and feet lost all their strength. It was only after the Imperial clothes stopped right in front of him that Qin Cheng could see that that person was holding a sharp sword. The tip of that same sword was against his own throat.
His dizzy head caused Qin Cheng to pass out, unable to support himself any longer. A second before he lost consciousness, Qin Cheng thought â Iâm afraid Iâm really gonna die this time ââŠ.
With the tip of his word against the already passed out manâs neck, the man dressed with Imperial clothes dropped his gaze to the passed out manâs face, his strange clothes, and his short hair. He didnât seem to care much about his appearance <sup>2</sup> , looking incomparably unkempt.
Slowly moving his gaze towards the other few people curling on the ground, he saw that they were wearing identical outfits as the passed out man.
â Could they be prisoners who got their hair cut off? â Chuckling to himself, the man wearing Imperial clothes thought that it didnât matter who they were, in the end, this didnât affect his decision to kill them.
After a light swing of the sword, he made a cut on the menâs head as he looked down at him. The short-haired man should be dead by now, after all, his soul shouldâve been severed by that cut. However, when he looked at the short-haired man lying on the ground, he realized that he was intact. But, the sword in his hand had clearly left a shallow blood mark on his flesh.
His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, but in the next instant, they slowly relaxed, and the sword in his hand was withdrawn. Those smiling-looking eyes were staring at the men in front of him, and while smirking, he said: âHow could this be?â
âŠ
The sun in Summer had lost its tenderness from the Spring, shining like fire on earth. This bright and hot sunlight was entering through the glass window on the ward, and the smell of disinfectant and medicine was still pungent all around. After being in a coma for only half a day, when Qin Cheng woke up, he learned from Wu Hai that Zhang Qishuoâs serious injuries couldnât be cured, resulting in him dying right away.
After a long silence, Qin Cheng slowly spoke up again, asking: âWhat about the others?â
âHe Xin passed out just like you did, he hadnât woken up yet. Tang-shixiong <sup>3</sup> was hurt a little, but nothing serious happened to him. The others were just frightened, but theyâre all fine.â
âZhang Qishuo⊠Where is he now?â
With a light sigh, Wu Hai said: âHis parents insisted on burying him in his hometown, according to his family tradition, to keep his⊠while he was still breathing, they contracted a car to bring him back overnightâŠâŠâ Thinking of Zhang Qishuoâs parents grey hair, crying their hearts out until they nearly fainted, Wu Hai clenched his hands into fists: âHis parents said that this burial was the only way to keep his soul alive, and since they had nothing else to lose, they wanted to keep this illusion, so that they can accompany Zhang Qishuo when his soul returns home by the Ghost Festival <sup>4</sup> .â
After so many days, Qin Cheng began to believe in the older generation and ancestors superstitions. After all, only after half a month they had lost two colleagues, Qin Chengâs heart wasnât feeling good no matter what.
Looking at Qin Chengâs equally dim look, Wu Hai opened and closed his mouth for a whole before finally saying: âI saw Zhang Qishuo when he entered the operation room, heâŠ..â
âWhat?â
âHe said he wasnât happy, he didnât want to lose to you, andâŠ. his research, that took him four years to do, he gave it to you.â
These words were like a muffled blow that made Qin Chengâs head buzz, and filled his red eyes with tears.
Zhang Qishuo was his classmate and he was a very strong man. Even though they always disagreed on certain aspects, and their arguments would always seem like they had no end, at least, they acknowledged each otherâs abilities.
Zhang Qishuoâs postgraduate research on the ancient tomb in Ninghua Village, Qin Cheng was aware of it. He started it four years ago and was supported by special funds from the College and the State. The monetary value of the research could only be imagined by Qin Cheng, and he knew that this was Zhang Qishuoâs personal dream. And he actually gave it to himâŠ..
âZhang Qishuo doesnât have any siblings.â Raising his head, but also fearing that tears will fall, Qin Cheng took a deep breath and with a trembling voice he said: âI guess it wonât matter to begin work a little bit late. Iâll, Iâll go to his hometownâŠ.â
Wu Hai seemed to think about something, but decided to not say it, instead, he said: âThe Police should be in Ninghua Village right now, and theyâll probably come looking for us in the afternoon, so letâs go tomorrow.â
MLMLMLMLML ( â§Đâ§) !!! Ooohh why he canât kill MC (âÏâ)
Also, F for Zhang Qishuo, he mightâve been an asshole, but in the end he didnât deserve to die.