Chapter 90: Chapter 88 This Old Monster Has Really Cheap Moves
The sky gradually darkened, and night fell.
The cold wind blew outside in gusts.
The classroom allocated to the Supernatural Society was in a relatively remote academic building, surrounded by trees with walls covered in vines. Passing by in the daytime didn’t feel eerie at all, just quiet and cool. But, when combined with the topic of "ghost stories," it suddenly seemed much more terrifying.
The Club President was quite satisfied with the setting. Who would have thought that the only reason he’d managed to secure this classroom was simply because all the less remote ones were already taken?
Unfortunately, this was the new campus. Although many buildings were designed with a sense of history, they were ultimately new. The classroom walls were clean, and the desks and chairs were new. If only it were an old building, it would have felt much more appropriate.
There were not many active, old members left in the Supernatural Society. Today, the session was mainly hosted by the Club President and the Vice President.
They arrived early and sat waiting inside.
The new members arrived one after another.
The Club President looked around and felt quite content.
Classes had just started these past few days, and everyone was busy, yet more than ten people still showed up. Most of those who couldn’t come had expressed their regrets to him.
This proved he was right—start with low-intensity activities, gradually cultivate the members’ love for and resistance to horror, and in time he would be able to host more interesting activities. Then he could use the opportunity for publicity to expand and strengthen the Supernatural Society. For this purpose, he had been wooing a campus newspaper journalist for a while now, humbling himself for a long time, and was close to succeeding.
The Club President glanced over to a corner of the classroom.
A highly attractive couple had also arrived.
Excellent.
Once the Supernatural Society made its first appearance in the campus newspaper, he would have this junior couple on the cover.
Reaching the pinnacle of university life was just within reach.
When the scheduled time arrived, the Club President counted the people. Everyone who had promised to come had arrived, including one who had been undecided. He then turned off the lights, lit candles, and used only the candlelight for illumination. The classroom’s lighting suddenly became very dim.
Everyone had a strong sense of immersion. Although nothing had happened yet, the atmosphere seemed to have already set in.
The Club President was closest to the candlelight. His face was intermittently illuminated by the flickering flames, his eyes reflecting the unsteady firelight: "This world is wonderful, and it’s also quite amazing that we’ve gathered here because of our shared interest."
"Today’s ghost story session will start with me and end with the Vice President. In between, everyone’s turn can be decided by drawing lots or by volunteering."
"Human exploration of this world is still very superficial. There are many things that science cannot explain. Next, I will tell a true story that happened when I was a child, in our village..."
The Club President liked to browse a small forum, and he had found this story there. He thought it was high quality. And it wouldn’t clash with any stories his juniors might tell.
However, he hadn’t noticed that in a corner not well-lit by the candlelight, Zhou Li’s expression was a bit stiff.
Zhou Li checked his phone then looked at Brother Nan.
Brother Nan seemed oblivious.
Huai Xu also listened with widened eyes, completely engrossed.
Zhou Li couldn’t resist nudging Brother Nan with his elbow.
Brother Nan turned her head. "What’s wrong?"
She was evidently clueless. Her expression, a mix of confusion and slight impatience, showed that Zhou Li had disturbed her listening.
"..."
Zhou Li had to lower his voice. "Didn’t you say the story you found for me wouldn’t be repeated by anyone else?"
"Yeah, I did... Could it be a repeat?"
"Yes."
Zhou Li pointed upwards.
Brother Nan fell into thought.
A moment later, she whispered, "Don’t worry about it. Just tell your story as planned, no matter what. Don’t stop. It’s so dark no one can really see each other’s expressions. If you stop, you’ll be the one who’s embarrassed. If you don’t stop, the Club President will be."
"..."
"Okay, I want to listen to the story now." Brother Nan focused intently ahead, signaling Zhou Li not to disturb her.
"..."
The Club President was quite good at storytelling, and this particular story was indeed very realistic. Though not extremely terrifying, it was easy for people to immerse themselves and feel a chilling sensation.
Everyone got goosebumps.
Zhou Li was very flustered.
The Club President asked around if anyone wanted to volunteer, and when no one did, he randomly picked someone.
"Zhou Li?"
"..."
Brother Nan gave Zhou Li an encouraging nod.
Huai Xu covered her mouth, stifling her laughter.
Zhou Li took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and said, "I found this story in an ancient book. Back in ancient times, some people could interact with beings that ordinary people couldn’t see. The story I will tell happened in the early Ming Dynasty..."
This story was one of the Spring Mountain Taoist’s accounts.
It wasn’t scary at all, but it was still intriguing.
After Zhou Li finished his story, the Club President started asking for the next person.
Huai Xu was somewhat disappointed.
Brother Nan, however, was a bit stunned. She hadn’t expected Zhou Li to pull such a stunt, which put the dilemma back on her.
Since there had been one overlap, there might well be a second. She had chosen the two most popular stories on the forum. If the Club President and Vice President had browsed the same forum—
Hmm...
Brother Nan pondered for a moment, then raised her hand. "I’ll go next!"
The Club President was overjoyed but forced himself to remain calm.
"Excellent!"
"When I was a kid, in the village next to ours, I think it was a place called Caijia Bend, there was a person..."
"..."
The Club President’s expression changed slightly!
The Vice President’s expression was even worse!
A few minutes later, Brother Nan finished her story, elevating the terrifying atmosphere in the classroom to new heights. Many people then began to spontaneously share their prepared stories, and the Vice President was overwhelmed.
This directly caused the concluding story’s quality to drop significantly.
Fortunately, everyone still had a great time.
Especially Huai Xu.
When the ghost story session ended, the Club President said, "Today felt pretty good. We’ll have sessions like this often. If anyone feels a bit awkward or scared coming alone, you can bring roommates or good friends. It’s okay; we welcome anyone who enjoys horror and excitement to join us, whether they’re club members or not."
"Also, we’re planning to try out the Immortal Pen soon. If you’re interested, you can come, and we’ll ensure it’s safe."
"Meeting adjourned. Be careful on your way back."
The Club President still hadn’t turned on the lights, letting everyone leave in the dark to make the eerie feeling last longer.
Brother Nan left the classroom and started giggling.
TEE HEE HEE...
Good thing I’m smart!
Did you see the Vice President’s face...
Zhou Li couldn’t be bothered with her. He looked around and, noticing Huai Xu hadn’t followed, turned back. He saw she was still in the classroom, where only the Club President and Vice President remained—
The Old monster was standing before the candle, pinching the wick.
FSSS~~
The candle flame died.
The lights in the classroom suddenly turned on.
Then they abruptly went out again.
They flickered several times.
Zhou Li had good eyesight. He could see the dumbstruck looks on the Club President and Vice President, as well as the focused, serious expression on Huai Xu’s face.
POOF. Huai Xu reappeared at Zhou Li’s side, pretending as if nothing had happened. She even turned her head to look. Only when she saw the Club President and Vice President scrambling out of the classroom did she show an amused expression.
At some point, a light rain had begun to fall.
「The next day, Friday.」
The weather remained cool and damp, with occasional rays of sunlight piercing the clouds.
There was only one class in the morning.
The second period in the afternoon was physical education.
It was a combined class for Class Three and Class Four.
Gathering on the football field, a middle-aged teacher in sportswear approached. He led them through some warm-up exercises, had the boys run three laps and the girls two, exhausting most of them. Then, he led them in stretches.
The entire routine took over twenty minutes.
The PE teacher said, "Next is free activity. There’s sports equipment over there you can borrow, free of charge. You can’t go back to your dormitories. We’ll gather here again at 5:30 for roll call."
"Dismissed!"
"Wait a second!"
Brother Nan burst out of the crowd and went to the front. She said to everyone, "Just to let everyone know, after the 5:30 roll call, both our classes will head directly to the dinner party venue. It’s a bit far, so we’ll need to take taxis. Don’t forget."
With that, she waved her hand. "Dismissed."