He was extremely scared. Hong He had never thought that those rules would actually be true.
He had only regarded this whole thing as a joke. Now, he regretted it deeply. Why did he have to be so vain and hold this event?
Hong He was shivering, hiding behind the curtain.
The window behind him was closed, but the strong wind outside still made it rattle from time to time.
The night was as thick as ink, so dark that one couldn't see one's own hand in front of one's face. Being in it was like sinking to the cold and dark bottom of the sea, with a suffocating feeling that made one terrified.
Hong He's scalp went numb. He was always the tough guy in school, but now he just wanted to be a coward.
The rustling of the leaves outside the window sounded as if it was right in his head, crystal - clear.
He kept comforting himself. The door and window of the utility room had been locked. There were no blind spots in this room. They couldn't get in. As long as he hid here until the next day when others came to find him during class, he would be safe.
Hong He's mind was in a whirl. Time seemed to stand still for him. He thought a long time had passed, and this illusion made his vigilance relax a bit.
When he calmed down, all he could think about was shifting the blame. He just wanted to complain about his teammates. Grinding his back teeth, he cursed silently:
"What kind of people are they? Those idiots must have deliberately abandoned me and run away. Just wait until tomorrow. I'll beat you guys to death."
Hong He was venting his anger alone in the corner, scolding the others. It seemed that this could help him regain some of his lost face.
Just as Hong He finished speaking, suddenly a cold gust of wind blew.
He was still wondering where the wind came from since the windows and doors were all sealed. Then the curtain that was covering his figure was blown up by the wind.
Hong He panicked and quickly reached out to grab the flying curtain. Without it, he would lose his sense of security.
But the wind seemed to be on purpose. It kept rising and falling, capturing all of Hong He's attention. Before he knew it, he had stood up.
When he stepped away from the window, the curtain disappeared in a flash, as if it had never been lifted.
Without the curtain's cover, the whole view of the utility room was revealed in front of Hong He. Two blood - smeared faces suddenly loomed large, and they stretched out their pitch - black hands towards him.
One of them grinned wickedly and spoke in a voice as harsh as nails on a chalkboard:
"We've found you."
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Hong He's scream echoed throughout the building.
At this moment, the other four people were still crouching in the corner of the washroom.
Liao Ruochun frowned tightly and asked the other three in confusion:
"Did you guys hear Hong He's voice?"
Mu Jiajun answered blankly:
"No. Are you hearing things? Didn't he say he wanted to go back and ran away? But have you guys noticed that the sound of water is getting louder?"
The other two boys chimed in excitedly:
"I thought I was hearing things because it was so quiet. So you heard it too."
One of the boys, Shi Bu, shivered a few times. He tightened his coat and sniffed, asking:
"Do you guys feel really cold? Did the temperature suddenly drop in the middle of the night?"
The boy next to him, Zhang Chi, smacked his lips and said disdainfully:
"Can you be more of a man? You're already scared of this little bit of cold. If you're scared, go back early."
Shi Bu had to shut up.
Just as the surroundings had calmed down for a while, the sound of water became extremely prominent, as if the faucet had suddenly been turned on.
"Splash, splash, splash..." The sound gradually grew louder.
The sound of water was straining their already tense nerves.
Even Zhang Chi, who was originally tough - minded, was a bit scared now. He swallowed hard and said boldly:
"Hey, let's go to the faucet and take a look together. It just feels so strange. Maybe Mu Jiajun didn't leave and is just trying to scare us on purpose."
Although he said so, he reached out and pushed Liao Ruochun, saying:
"Hey, turn on the flashlight on your phone. We'll turn it off after we see clearly."
Zhang Chi just wanted Liao Ruochun to go first. But unexpectedly, Liao Ruochun didn't hesitate at all. She walked to the front of the group, turned on the flashlight, and walked towards the source of the water sound.
But what she didn't expect was that Zhang Chi, who had said so seriously that they should go together, was now pulling Shi Bu and crouching in place. Only Mu Jiajun followed her.
Zhang Chi simply didn't want to go on this adventure alone.
He was kicked by Mu Jiajun and called a coward. Seeing that Mu Jiajun was a head taller than him, he didn't dare to say a word. Shi Bu pretended to be okay and crouched beside Zhang Chi.
Liao Ruochun didn't stop. She strode towards the source of the sound, and Mu Jiajun walked side by side with her.
But when the light illuminated the scene in front of them, Mu Jiajun gasped.
The faucet was indeed turned on, but what flowed out was a continuous stream of blood. The bright red blood had overflowed from the sink, and it was about to reach the place where Zhang Chi and the others were crouching.
Mu Jiajun felt a chill run down his spine. All the hairs on his body stood on end, and his palms were full of sweat.
Liao Ruochun was obviously also stunned by the sight. She didn't show much reaction. After regaining her senses, she just parted her thin lips slightly and softly uttered a sentence.
"Rule Five: 'When blood flows out of the sink, report it to the dorm supervisor immediately.'"
Liao Ruochun seemed to suddenly wake up. She tightly grabbed Mu Jiajun's arm, stared into his eyes, and said word by word:
"Immediately, report it to the dorm supervisor."
These words woke Mu Jiajun up. He immediately turned around and was about to call the two hiding in the corner. But when they turned around, they saw a figure floating behind Zhang Chi and the others.
The figure had black and wet hair clinging tightly to the skull. It was a female corpse, looking like a student, wearing an ordinary school uniform, and a pair of extremely eye - catching red shoes on her feet. The red shoes were very old, a deep red color, with mottled patterns and patches of worn - out leather. Her face couldn't be seen clearly.
Liao Ruochun, who noticed the anomaly, was beating so fast that it felt like her heart was in her throat. She saw Mu Jiajun standing there, stunned with fear. She screamed in the direction of Zhang Chi to warn them:
"Run! There's something behind you!"
Then she grabbed the stunned Mu Jiajun and ran outside.
They were closer to the door. Liao Ruochun didn't even dare to look back. She buried her head and ran forward as fast as she could in her life, dragging the big - built Mu Jiajun along with her.
Liao Ruochun and Mu Jiajun didn't dare to look back until they had run out of the building.
The moonlight was a pale, greenish - white color, shining on the silent mountains. It was as if a sticky veil had been thrown over the fields, making the scene in front of them blurred. Everything looked hazy and eerie, like a nightmare.
After they stopped, Mu Jiajun finally came back to life and gasped for air. His hair was soaked with cold sweat.
Before he could even ask anything, Liao Ruochun looked around warily. Without saying a word, she pulled Mu Jiajun and hid in the rockery and bushes opposite the building.
The mountain cast a heavy shadow, covering the path beside it.
The trees beside the path blurred into dark masses, swaying wantonly in the night wind and making rustling sounds, as if something was sneaking up on them, which made one's hair stand on end and filled one with fear.
Mu Jiajun was extremely nervous. He whispered urgently to Liao Ruochun:
"Shouldn't we go find the dorm supervisor now? The rule said we should find the dorm supervisor. Maybe all these things will disappear after we find him."
Compared with Mu Jiajun's panic, Liao Ruochun was calm. Naturally, in Mu Jiajun's mind, she became the leader.
But Liao Ruochun didn't answer him. With the moonlight, he could barely see her figure, but he couldn't see her expression clearly because her hair was loose.
"Loose hair!!"
Mu Jiajun's scalp went numb. Liao Ruochun had never let her hair down! She wasn't Liao Ruochun!