Translator: CinderTL
"Then it's settled. I'll submit your name today, and we should have the results by tomorrow," the Old Professor said, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he looked at Jiang Cheng.
"My name is Jiang Cheng, Professor," Jiang Cheng reminded him again, trailing behind. "Jiang, as in the treacherous jianghu, and Cheng, as in deep chengfu."
Only after the Old Professor had left did Fatty and Huai Yi release Wen Liangshan. Wen Liangshan scrambled to his feet, his face flushed with anger, and stormed over to Jiang Cheng, demanding an explanation. "Why did you set me up?"
Jiang Cheng feigned innocence. "How did I set you up?"
"How dare you submit my name without my permission?!" Wen Liangshan pressed relentlessly, refusing to let it go.
The Middle-Aged Man stepped forward and waved his hand dismissively. "Enough, Wen Liangshan. Stop making a scene. You haven't lost anything. Let's drop it here."
Hearing the Middle-Aged Man's words, Wen Liangshan reluctantly fell silent, though his face remained grim with resentment.
He glanced at Fatty and Huai Yi, suddenly noticing they were staring at him with ill-concealed malice.
But as the middle-aged man turned to face Jiang Cheng, his demeanor shifted entirely. "Brother Jiang," he said politely, "we're all grateful for your help in class. I almost got you into trouble earlier, and I feel terrible about it."
Noticing Shen Mengyun watching him, Jiang Cheng straightened his shoulders and replied with deliberate emphasis, "It was nothing."
"Brother Jiang," the middle-aged man continued smoothly, "Miss Shen and I were just discussing the details of the mission. We've made some progress. Would you like to hear about it?"
Jiang Cheng didn't refuse. The three of them walked at the head of the group, chatting as they went, while the others followed behind.
As dusk began to settle, they deliberately returned to the classroom where they had their earlier lesson. Nearby, they found the female teacher who had brought them here.
"Where did you all run off to?" she asked, her tone a mix of exasperation and concern. "I searched everywhere for you!"
"We're sorry, Teacher," Jiang Cheng explained. "We're new here and thought we'd explore the area."
Fortunately, the female teacher didn't dwell on their lateness. Instead, she pulled a set of keys from her bag and pressed them into Jiang Cheng's hand. "The student dorms aren't ready yet. You'll have to stay in the faculty dorms for a few days until they're cleaned up."
There were three keys, each labeled with a number on a strip of white tape.
After handing over the keys, the teacher glanced at her phone, as if in a hurry. But after taking only a few steps, she seemed to remember something and turned back. "Oh, by the way, the faculty dorm is in an older building, located in a rather secluded area. The streetlights around there aren't very good, so try to get back early at night."
"And unless it's urgent, don't wander around outside after dark," she added.
"Understood," the group replied.
With that, the teacher hurried away, clutching her bag.
Before darkness fully descended, the group decided to head to the faculty dorm. Following the teacher's directions, they walked for nearly twenty minutes before finally spotting the low-slung building.
There were no other structures nearby. The squat dormitory was nearly hidden by a thick curtain of trees, its pale gray silhouette barely visible through the sparse branches.
A few lifeless streetlights hung in the air, as if guiding them into another world.
The ground nearby was carpeted with fallen leaves. As they approached the dormitory building, they found a stone staircase. The steps were remarkably clean, with only a scattering of leaves, suggesting regular maintenance.
The dormitory entrance featured an old-fashioned, double-leafed iron gate, painted a deep green. Its heavy, weathered appearance radiated a sense of history.
Just as the female teacher who had given them directions had mentioned, this dormitory building had clearly been standing for a long time.
An orange-tinted light bulb hung beneath the concrete rain shelter above the gate, its glow pushing back the surrounding darkness like a protective barrier, warding off something unseen.
The middle-aged man straightened his collar and whispered, "Let's take a look."
Their shoes slipped slightly on the damp stone steps. Shen Mengyun, her attention fixed on the dormitory gate, lost her footing and nearly fell.
Fortunately, Jiang Cheng reacted quickly and grabbed her arm. As Shen Mengyun regained her balance and instinctively went to thank him, she suddenly noticed his gaze lingering impudently on her chest. Her face darkened instantly, and she yanked her arm away.
"That's strange," Huai Yi muttered, crouching down to examine the steps. "Why is there so much water here? Did it just rain?"
"I don't think so," someone replied. "We didn't see any signs of rain on the way here."
Beyond the gate stretched a long corridor, dimly lit by flickering lights spaced far apart.
As if alerted by the voices outside, a door a few meters away creaked open, revealing the weathered face of an elderly man.
He wore thick, striped pajamas and wire-rimmed reading glasses, his eyes cloudy and indistinct behind the lenses.
Fatty was about to explain their purpose when the old man waved a hand, interrupting in a slow, deliberate tone: "Teacher Wu called this afternoon. He said you'd be staying here for a few days."
"That's right. Thank you for your trouble," Shen Mengyun said.
"No trouble at all," the pajama-clad man replied, leaning halfway out of the doorway. Jiang Cheng noticed a newspaper clutched in his hand. The old man's cloudy eyes slowly scanned the group, one by one.
"Since you're staying here, you'll need to follow the rules," the old man said. "As you can see, this building is quite old, and the wiring isn't in the best condition. The lighting is poor, so try not to wander around at night unless it's absolutely necessary."
"The toilet and water room are combined at the far end of the corridor, around the corner. You can get hot water there, but remember, only until 9 PM."
"There's also a bathroom on each floor, right across from the water room." The old man pointed down the hallway, his pajama sleeve slipping down to reveal an alarmingly thin arm—just skin stretched taut over bone, a disturbing sight.
"One more thing," he added, his voice brittle. "I'm a light sleeper, and any loud noises at night will wake me. Try not to make too much noise and disturb me."
With that, the old man slammed the door shut, as if relieved to have completed some tedious chore.
It seemed they would have to choose their rooms themselves. There were eight of them and only three keys.
He pulled out the keys, each marked with a number—107, 229, and 318—written in ballpoint pen on white tape. Each corresponded to a different room.
One room per floor, scattering them across the building.
Normally, everyone would prefer to stay on a lower floor, as it's easier to react to emergencies.
But this time was different. The person assigned to the first-floor room would have to face the gatekeeper they'd just encountered, an old man who had given everyone a distinctly unsettling impression.
Some had already conjured up images of a hunched figure pressed against the door of Room 107 in the dark hallway at midnight, peering inside to catch any movement.
(End of the Chapter)
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