Translator: CinderTL
"Everyone suspected Xiao Yao had been frightened in the middle of the night and that everything was just a hallucination—or rather, a Nightmare."
"But when they found the notebook in Xiao Yao's backpack, the Psychology Professor assigned to counsel her, along with the doctors, were all stunned."
Yuan Xiaoyi took a deep breath, turned to Jiang Cheng, and whispered, "The notebook had a pitch-black handprint on it. It wasn't drawn; it looked as if a charred hand had grabbed it. You could clearly see all five fingers, and there were even black embers left behind."
"No one dared tell Xiao Yao about this, fearing she'd lose control of her emotions and something unexpected might happen. But by then, everyone realized this wasn't as simple as they'd thought."
"After Xiao Yao's mood stabilized a bit, the Psychology Professor tried to communicate with her. Based on her account, he drew a diagram."
Yuan Xiaoyi explained, "It depicted the circulation desk she'd seen before passing out, along with a few nearby tables."
Jiang Cheng could guess what he was trying to do. The fourth floor of the school Library had been closed off long ago, so Xiao Yao wouldn't know what it looked like inside.
If the drawing based on Xiao Yao's memories matches the layout of the fourth floor, wouldn't that lend some credibility to her story?
The fourth floor of the Library indeed concealed some unknown secrets.
"The communication went surprisingly smoothly," Yuan Xiaoyi said later, her tone peculiar. "The Psychology Professor was astonished by Xiao Yao's remarkably clear memory of that night. She could even pinpoint the exact seating arrangements of everyone at the table."
"Based on his experience, this didn't seem like a dream."
"Because the fourth floor had been closed for so long, some of the younger teachers had no idea what it looked like inside. The Psychology Professor took the drawing to the Library's Old Curator."
"The moment the Old man saw the drawing, he began to tremble. Then, in a questioning tone, he demanded to know who had authorized the opening of the iron gate leading to the fourth floor."
"The Psychology Professor explained Xiao Yao's situation, asking if something terrible had happened on the fourth floor."
"I'm not sure what the Professor and the Old Curator discussed, but the usually silent Old Curator finally spoke, recounting an event from many years ago."
"When the Library first opened, the fourth floor was indeed open to the public."
"Because the books on the fourth floor were highly specialized and complex in their organization, a dedicated lending desk was set up there for easier management. That's the location depicted in the painting."
"Those tables also existed. The Old Curator remembers them very clearly."
"The school even assigned a retired elderly teacher to oversee the floor. Since few people visited the fourth floor, it was a relatively quiet and leisurely position. This arrangement was also meant to accommodate the teacher's poor health."
"Gradually, however, the teacher began reporting strange noises during her night shifts—sounds like someone rustling through books. But when she followed the sounds, she found nothing behind the bookshelves."
"Even stranger, books on the corresponding shelves would be inexplicably disarranged. At first, the teacher dismissed it as a prank by students and ignored it. But eventually, the situation worsened."
"Books started appearing on the floor, and one night, an entire bookshelf was pushed over."
The teacher, pushed to her limit, called in the other librarians and locked the fourth-floor gate. They began searching, but after combing every corner, they found no one.
That's when someone realized something was wrong. They couldn't explain why, but after the gate was closed, the temperature inside the fourth floor plummeted rapidly.
The librarians felt as if they were trapped in a freezer.
As they searched, everyone felt as if they were being watched.
It wasn't a direct gaze, but a furtive one—as if an eye were peering at them from behind the bookshelves, through the gaps between the books, fixedly staring.
Yet they couldn't pinpoint the source.
The unsettling gaze seemed to come from all directions.
Someone privately advised the librarian at the circulation desk to report the situation to the school, take a leave of absence, and wait for the matter to be resolved.
The librarian agreed, saying she would pack up and request leave, not coming in the next day.
But fate had other plans. "In the end... something still happened," Yuan Xiaoyi shook her head, exhaling deeply with a sigh of regret. "That very night, the Library caught fire. The blaze started on the fourth floor, and the elderly librarian didn't make it out. She was burned to death inside."
"After the fire was extinguished, the strange circumstances at the scene became apparent."
"Though the flames were fierce, they were concentrated solely in the circulation area and a very small surrounding area. The books on the other shelves and some flammable wooden furniture remained completely unscathed."
"Of course, the most bizarre thing was the Retired Teacher's body."
Yuan Xiaoyi paused, looked up, and stared at Jiang Cheng with a peculiar expression. "Her body was found on a chair behind the circulation desk. She was sitting upright, her hands resting on the armrests, completely charred."
"But the chair beneath her was untouched—it was a wooden chair!" Yuan Xiaoyi's voice was urgent, her pupils trembling. "Senior, can you imagine it? The entire circulation area was destroyed, leaving only a charred corpse sitting upright on a wooden chair, as if waiting for someone to come and see her."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Cheng immediately thought of the creaking old chair from Xiao Yao's story.
There was also an invisible "person" sitting on a chair, radiating the stench of burning flesh.
"That is indeed strange," Jiang Cheng said, stroking his chin with a serious expression. "Normally, someone burned to death would struggle violently in their final moments due to the agony. Their skin and muscles would char and contract, leaving the corpse severely contorted."
"But in her case, it's as if she was already dead before being burned."
This measured and reasonable deduction was intended to ease Yuan Xiaoyi's suspicion, as she had already begun to doubt him. Jiang Cheng was carefully gauging his words.
"Senior," Yuan Xiaoyi's eyes sparkled. "You know so much."
"Xiaoyi, hearing you say that makes me ashamed," Jiang Cheng said, his voice choking slightly. "If I knew more, perhaps..." He pressed his lips together, his voice trembling. "Perhaps Xiaolin, Xiaoting, and the others wouldn't have died."
"Senior, it's not your fault! Please don't blame yourself!" Yuan Xiaoyi rushed to comfort him, her efforts appearing somewhat clumsy.
Jiang Cheng rubbed his face with his hands. When he lowered them a moment later, his eyes were red-rimmed.
"Alright, Xiaoyi, let's not dwell on this. Please continue," Jiang Cheng said, exhaling slowly.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (NS) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c1184. [+2]
🔑Early Access at $1.
💥Translated (6) Series, (4.6K+) Chapters, (6.7M+) Words.