Translator: CinderTL
"It feels like I'm the only one in the world who remembers them," Yuan Xiaoyi said, her voice heavy with grief.
"Don't rush," Shen Mengyun, the woman who had previously referred to Jiang Cheng as the newcomer, assured her. "We believe you, but we need you to tell us the whole story in detail."
"This happened half a month ago," Yuan Xiaoyi began, her mind racing through the memories. "My five friends were She Xinyu, Zhao Wenting, Jiang Yanran, Shu Wenlin, and Tong Jianhui."
"Xiaoyu, Xiaoting, Xiaoran, Xiaolin, Xiaohui," Jiang Cheng repeated, nodding. He glanced at Yuan Xiaoyi for confirmation. "Is it okay if I call them that?"
He was simply trying to avoid the hassle of using their full names.
"Yes, that's fine," Yuan Xiaoyi replied.
"The six of us were very close friends because we shared a peculiar hobby: we were all deeply interested in supernatural events." As she spoke, Jiang Cheng noticed a flicker of unease cross Yuan Xiaoyi's face.
"What kind of events?" someone pressed.
"The paranormal. We spontaneously formed a club where every Friday night, we'd gather and share our own supernatural tales."
Yuan Xiaoyi explained softly, "You all understand, I'm sure, that normal schools don't support clubs like this."
Her words painted vivid expressions on everyone's faces.
Jiang Cheng immediately thought of A Zhe, the Red-Clad Woman, and the others who had come by invitation, each required to share a supernatural tale.
"Since it's a club, there must be rules, right?" Jiang Cheng asked tentatively.
Yuan Xiaoyi nodded. "You're right. At the end of each meeting, we vote for the scariest story of the night. The storyteller then gets to make a request of the others—something within their capabilities."
"I won that night," Yuan Xiaoyi said suddenly after a moment of silence.
No one was surprised. Whether it was a game or a curse, only the winner survived.
What truly intrigued everyone was the request Yuan Xiaoyi had made after winning.
"What did you ask for?" Fatty blurted out.
The usually composed Yuan Xiaoyi immediately grew agitated. She tugged painfully at her hair, unable to conceal the despair on her face. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have made that request... but I didn't mean any harm. I just..."
"Who knew that from that night onward, they would all vanish without a trace?"
"Could the girls' disappearances be connected to Yuan Xiaoyi's request?" Jiang Cheng wondered inwardly, but his expression remained calm, his eyes filled with understanding and sympathy. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, you're not alone in this anymore. We'll help you."
"Thank you... thank you for understanding," Yuan Xiaoyi murmured, her voice trembling with emotion. The others dared not press her further, fearing they might agitate her.
After a few minutes, once Yuan Xiaoyi had regained some composure, she continued her story. "The supernatural tales they shared that night were all old stories that had been circulating in their respective departments for years."
"Xiaoyu, from the Art Academy, told a story about the sculpture hall."
"Xiaoting, a medical student, shared a story that supposedly took place in their medical building."
"Xiaoran, from the school's diving team, recounted a tale from the swimming pool late at night."
"Xiaolin, from the Physical Education Academy, told a story about the old eastern athletic field."
Shen Mengyun frowned slightly. "When we arrived, I saw the athletic field. If I remember correctly, it's on the western side of the campus."
Yuan Xiaoyi nodded. "That's the new field, built recently. There's also an older, more secluded one on the eastern side, where almost no one goes anymore."
"That's right," Shen Mengyun nodded, signaling Yuan Xiaoyi to continue.
Four girls had already shared their stories. If Fatty remembered correctly, the last girl's name was Xiaohui.
Having been interrupted earlier, Yuan Xiaoyi gathered her thoughts and continued, "Xiaohui was a straight-A student. Aside from classes and club activities, she spent almost all her time in the library. The urban legend she told also took place there."
With that, Yuan Xiaoyi lowered her head. "The challenge I proposed was for each of them to go alone to the location of their urban legend, at midnight, and take a photo." Her voice grew quieter with each word, as if she knew her request was excessive.
Fatty imagined the scenes: the deserted sculpture hall late at night, the eerily silent library, the abandoned old athletic field, the empty medical building, and the midnight swimming pool.
These places sounded downright sinister. How could these girls dare to go alone to take photos? They've clearly never faced death, Fatty thought.
Putting himself in their shoes, Fatty had already imagined at least ten ways a ghost could kill them. The very thought made him shudder.
Now the situation was clear: these five girls had disappeared after venturing alone to these five locations.
The granddaughter of the Old Madam they were searching for was one of these five girls.
Their greatest concern was that, unable to identify the correct girl, they might have to personally investigate all five locations.
"Is this some kind of traditional punishment for your club?" A voice dripped with sarcasm, belonging to another man who had remained silent until now. He appeared young, with thin, dense bangs that nearly obscured his eyes.
From the moment Fatty saw him, this man had given him an unsettling feeling, an instinctive aversion. Through the thick curtain of hair, it was impossible to tell if he was even looking at you.
"If not, I'd love to know how you came up with such a brilliant idea?" The man's lips twisted into a smirk, his voice heavy with irony on the word "brilliant."
"Wang Qi, watch your tone," the middle-aged man snapped, his brow furrowing.
Yuan Xiaoyi was clearly a crucial lead, and no one wanted Wang Qi to jeopardize the fragile trust they had just established with her.
"Heh heh." Unfazed by the rebuke, Wang Qi's eyes, hidden beneath his bangs, remained unfocused. After a moment, he drawled, "Just a joke. Surely no one's petty enough to take it seriously, right?"
Surprisingly, Yuan Xiaoyi turned to him and said, "You're right, it's not our club's tradition. This was my decision."
"I," Yuan Xiaoyi paused, then took a deep breath, as if finally making up her mind. "I want to use this incident to disband the club for good!"
Her words elicited a variety of reactions. Wang Qi, still stung by the middle-aged man's reprimand, seemed suddenly intrigued, his eyes, hidden beneath his bangs, taking on a peculiar glint.
"Why?" someone pressed.
"Because the school has found out about our club. They believe that an organization like ours shouldn't exist on a university campus. If word gets out, it could damage the university's reputation."
(End of the Chapter)
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