Translator: Cinder Translations
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After returning to the room, Fatty was still in shock.
But since it was the dead of night, he couldn't speak loudly and had to keep his voice very low.
"Doctor, what were you doing?"
"Nothing much," Jiang Cheng said, wiping his hands with a damp cloth while muttering softly, "I just thought they weren't taking things seriously enough, so I decided to give them a little pressure. You know, it's for their own good."
Fatty had grown used to Jiang Cheng's antics and instead asked, "And the blood...?"
"It's exactly what you're thinking," Jiang Cheng shrugged. "Borrowed it from Long Tao."
Fatty's expression became even more complex.
After hesitating for a moment, he tried to reason it out aloud: "I guess you're trying to make them think they've already been marked by a ghost. If they don't solve the task soon, they'll be the first to die."
Licking his lips, Fatty followed closely behind Jiang Cheng. "I get that part, but you could've just left a handprint. Why did you make the fingers so long?" He looked at Jiang Cheng, confused. "Is there some deeper meaning to that?"
"You want to throw them off, make them think the killer ghost has abnormally large hands, right?" Fatty suddenly thought he understood. "Is that what you're going for?"
"Actually, not really," Jiang Cheng said, scratching his head in slight embarrassment. "It's just that there was still a bit of blood left in the bottle, and I didn't want to waste it."
Fatty's mouth twitched, "... On behalf of Long Tao, I thank you."
"You're welcome."
After using up the last two bottles of water, Jiang Cheng finally managed to wash off the strong smell of blood from his hands. Satisfied, he crawled back into his bedding to sleep.
"Doctor," after a while, Fatty called softly, "Are you asleep?"
"I'm sleeping soundly," Jiang Cheng answered clearly, "I just dreamed about Long Tao. He said he can't eat sweet-and-sour ribs because he has no chin, so he wants to borrow yours for a couple of days and promises to return it afterward."
"I was just helping you out in the dream, but you woke me up," Jiang Cheng mumbled while turning over, "Don't worry, he should be here soon, in just a few minutes at most."
"Doctor..." Fatty was almost in tears, wishing he could sew Jiang Cheng's mouth shut, "Please just stop talking."
There were still about two hours until dawn, and Jiang Cheng figured that after hearing this story, Fatty wouldn't be able to sleep again.
Fatty, being sneaky, whispered, "I have a question that just came to mind." Lowering his voice even more, he asked, "When we were in the hallway earlier, weren't you afraid of being attacked by a ghost? You know, the woman in the cheongsam died in the hallway."
Jiang Cheng pulled the blanket up to his chin, muffling his voice slightly. To Fatty, it even sounded a bit eerie.
"Precisely because the woman in the cheongsam died in the hallway, there's nothing to fear."
Fatty's eyes widened. "What did you just say?"
"Nothing," Jiang Cheng turned his back to him again, "I'm tired."
"Oh, okay," Fatty nodded repeatedly, "You rest. If anything happens, I'll wake you."
With that, Fatty didn't dare disturb Jiang Cheng any further. He sat cross-legged on his bed, trying to stay vigilant.
If Jiang Cheng saw how Fatty had managed to fold his bulky legs, he would probably marvel at the wonders of creation.
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In the cafeteria, Jiang Cheng leisurely picked his teeth.
Most of the students were in class, and only a few were scattered around having breakfast.
Fatty, knowing they would soon head to the equipment center for information, furrowed his brows until his eyebrows nearly overlapped.
He tore his eyes away from a scantily dressed girl and turned to Jiang Cheng, "When are we going?"
Blinking his small eyes, Fatty suggested, "How about around noon? The yang energy will be stronger, so maybe those things will stay hidden a bit more."
"Unlikely," Jiang Cheng, with a toothpick in his mouth, glanced at him sideways. "Remember when Long Tao died?"
Fatty thought for a moment, and his expression suddenly darkened.
Jiang Cheng was right. Long Tao had died not long before noon, so it seemed time didn't have much influence on the ghosts in this mission.
Fatty sighed, grumbling again, "Why did you have to be so brave and take on the equipment center? Anyone could see it's the most dangerous place!"
"Now look what's happened," he sighed again, "Forget it. When do we leave?"
Jiang Cheng looked up, "Leave for what?"
"For the equipment center!" Fatty was surprised, "You didn't forget, did you?"
"Since you know it's the most dangerous place, why would we go there?"
Fatty was momentarily dumbfounded and stammered, "But wasn't that the plan from yesterday's meeting?" He paused, "Zhen Jianren and Luo Yi went to find the students, 407 is looking for the rehearsal woman, and we're supposed to go to the equipment center."
"Oh," Jiang Cheng nodded, understanding, "I just said that casually."
"Casually?"
"Yeah," Jiang Cheng stirred his tofu pudding with a spoon but didn't eat it, "The equipment center is clearly dangerous. Only an idiot would go there."
Fatty felt like his brain had turned to mush. He couldn't even process this conversation anymore. "Then how are we supposed to report back?"
Fatty had a point. Later, they'd have to regroup and share their findings.
If they returned empty-handed...
Fatty leaned in and urged, "I think we shouldn't be playing tricks like this. If we come back with nothing, those two groups won't let it slide."
"Who says we'll come back empty-handed?" Jiang Cheng smiled.
For some reason, whenever Jiang Cheng smiled, Fatty's right eyelid started twitching.
"Stop smiling, doctor," Fatty pressed his right eyelid but found he couldn't control it.
Jiang Cheng turned serious. Lowering his voice, he said gravely, "This morning, we went to the equipment center, but just as we approached the door, before entering, we saw a woman inside."
"Her hair was disheveled, and she was hunched over in a very creepy posture. The scariest part? One of her hands was abnormally large."
"We didn't dare get close, so we hid behind the door, watching from a distance."
"After a while, the woman walked away with an eerie strut. That's when we realized she was painting."
"A portrait," Jiang Cheng blinked, "And the subject was a person."
Fatty, engrossed in the ridiculous tale, turned to Jiang Cheng and asked, "Who was in the painting?"
Jiang Cheng took a deep breath, raised an eyebrow, and replied, "Zhen Jianren."
(End of the Chapter)
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