Yin and Yang - Chapter 20

The Seven Star Lamp couldn’t illuminate the living, nor could it illuminate unnamed corpses. Clearly, the Head Ghost belonged to the latter category. But why was she an unnamed corpse? Shen Qingwei couldn’t figure it out, and Yin Zheng clearly couldn’t either. “Let’s go to the elevator first,” Yin Zheng said.

Shen Qingwei packed up their things and returned to the elevator. The Head Ghost stared at them with wide, curious eyes, her delicate face full of anticipation. “Did you find my home?”

Yin Zheng replied calmly, “No.”

She stated bluntly, “The Seven Star Lamp couldn’t find it.”

This was the only method they had thought of so far. The Head Ghost seemed disappointed, letting out a soft “Oh.” Shen Qingwei reassured her, “Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise to you.”

Since the woman had mentioned the Head Ghost’s connection to the elevator, Shen Qingwei decided to visit the Landlord again. She was certain she could get some information from him.

The Head Ghost said, “It’s alright. I’ve been here for so long, I’m used to it.”

But she didn’t know what that lingering attachment in her heart truly was. Perhaps if she could understand it, she could finally leave in peace. Shen Qingwei and Yin Zheng exchanged glances. Yin Zheng said, “We’ll find out your identity.”

The Head Ghost nodded slightly, as if agreeing. After exiting the elevator, Shen Qingwei said to Yin Zheng, “I’ll go see the Landlord again.”

“I’ll go with you,” Yin Zheng said, her voice tinged with concern. Shen Qingwei looped her arm through Yin Zheng’s, but before she could reply, a sharp pain pierced Yin Zheng’s chest, as if her heart were being torn out. The agony was so intense she staggered, leaning heavily against Shen Qingwei, who instinctively caught her. Yin Zheng glanced at her wristwatch—the third episode of angina had struck. She’d lost track of time.

Sweat beaded on Shen Qingwei’s forehead as panic surged through her. Without hesitation, she prepared to carry Yin Zheng back to the hotel. Yin Zheng, draped across her back, patted her shoulder. Shen Qingwei turned her head to see Yin Zheng’s gentle expression. “Let’s rest here,” Yin Zheng murmured in her ear.

“It’s too noisy here,” Shen Qingwei protested. The neighborhood below was bustling with people after the dinner rush. “It’s fine,” Yin Zheng insisted.

Shen Qingwei’s eyes reddened. She found a relatively clean spot and gently lowered Yin Zheng, letting her lean against her. Yin Zheng’s face was pale with pain, but she remained silent. Shen Qingwei took her hand. Yin Zheng glanced at her but didn’t refuse, though her grip was feather-light, as if afraid of hurting Shen Qingwei.

“It’ll pass soon,” Yin Zheng said. “It’s nothing serious.”

The corners of Shen Qingwei’s eyes flushed crimson, tears shimmering brightly in their depths. She bit her lip.

The affairs of the Underworld belong to the Underworld. When the living interfere, they risk a journey through the Gates of Hell.

The Yin-Yang Sect was responsible for guiding souls, performing exorcisms, and allowing Malevolent Spirits to seek vengeance. While this didn’t necessarily mean a trip to the Gates of Hell, it still disrupted the balance between Yin and Yang, hence the rule of seven days of angina.

Angina tormented the living, causing physical pain and draining their life force.

How could Shen Qingwei not feel heartache?

Seeing her furrowed brow, Yin Zheng reached out with teary eyes and placed her hand on Shen Qingwei’s forehead, as if trying to smooth away her worry. Shen Qingwei lowered her head. “Senior Sister, you should have let me do it!”

Even if punishment was due, it should have been her to bear it!

Yin Zheng asked, “Why?”

“I’m younger,” Shen Qingwei said with a pained expression. “Losing a little life force doesn’t matter.”

Yin Zheng’s expression shifted slightly as she stared at Shen Qingwei. “Don’t talk nonsense,” she chided gently.

“I’m not talking nonsense,” Shen Qingwei protested, her voice tinged with hurt. “I just can’t bear to see you in pain!”

Yin Zheng’s heart fluttered. She leaned closer to Shen Qingwei, saying nothing more. The two enjoyed a moment of quiet intimacy, the surrounding clamor fading into insignificance. Shen Qingwei glanced sideways and saw Yin Zheng gazing up at the stars. Curious, she asked, “Senior Sister, what are you looking at?”

“Nothing much,” Yin Zheng replied, turning her head. The angina symptoms had subsided considerably, the pain now bearable. After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Qingwei, do you remember when Master told us that people become stars after they die?”

Shen Qingwei certainly remembered. When she was little and missed her parents, her Master would tell her they were in the sky. Too young to understand, she’d been easily fooled, believing for a long time that people became stars after death. She even earnestly explained to Yin Zheng that her Master’s words were true.

Looking back now, she felt a little embarrassed.

“Master was such a liar,” Shen Qingwei said.

Yin Zheng turned to her, her expression gentle. “Lying to you, my little fool.”

Though she was being teased, Shen Qingwei felt a warm sweetness in her heart. She glanced at Yin Zheng. “Does it still hurt?”

“Much better,” Yin Zheng replied. “Let’s rest a bit longer, then go ask the Landlord what’s going on.”

Shen Qingwei nodded. Just as they finished speaking, Yin Zheng’s phone rang again. She answered, her expression gradually turning serious. She glanced at Shen Qingwei and said softly, “Okay, I’ll get there as soon as possible.”

“Martial Aunt?” Shen Qingwei asked. “Is it something urgent?”

Yin Zheng nodded. “Yes, something unexpected happened there. Martial Aunt wants us to come immediately.”

“Then let’s ask the Landlord for information first,” Shen Qingwei suggested. “Should we head straight there afterward?”

Yin Zheng agreed. After resting briefly, she and Shen Qingwei went straight to the landlord’s office. The landlord was delighted to see them and was about to greet them when Shen Qingwei cut to the chase: “Did a human head ever appear in the elevator of Building 17?”

The landlord froze. “How did you find out about that?”

Shen Qingwei tried to intimidate him. “We helped you resolve the Haunted House issue. You know whether it was truly haunted. If you don’t explain about the head, something worse might happen. It won’t affect us. We can just leave. But for you…”

The landlord’s expression shifted. “Masters, wait, wait! Let’s talk calmly. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s just that I don’t know anything about it!”

Shen Qingwei and Yin Zheng exchanged glances. The landlord spread his hands helplessly. “This happened a long time ago.”

So many years had passed that even the community records had no mention of it. He genuinely couldn’t remember. Besides, if the head was going to cause trouble, it would have done so already. Why wait until now? That’s why he hadn’t told Shen Qingwei about it. Now that she had asked directly, he didn’t dare be evasive. “It was winter, I think. Building 17 wasn’t very populated back then. One morning, a resident reported a black travel bag in the elevator. It wasn’t big, but it stank terribly. They called the management office, and Auntie was sent to dispose of it.”

He happened to be in the neighborhood that day and went to investigate when he heard about it. The stench was truly pungent and nauseating. When the Auntie went to retrieve the travel bag, she found a pool of dark brown sewage underneath it. Someone asked, “What is that?”

“Could it be… human flesh?”

The words hung in the air. Driven by morbid curiosity, the others insisted on opening the bag. A human head popped out, terrifying everyone present, including him.

The police arrived shortly after, took the bag away, and warned him to keep quiet. They didn’t mention the case, where the head came from, or even conduct a proper investigation. Strangest of all, the matter was never pursued. He was naturally relieved; who would want such a gruesome incident tainting their property? Who would dare buy it? So he spread rumors that it was just a child’s prank, and the matter eventually faded into oblivion. No one ever mentioned it again, until Shen Qingwei brought it up.

The Yin-Yang Sect truly possessed some formidable skills.

The Landlord, now taking Shen Qingwei seriously, recounted the entire story without holding back. He asked, “So, what do you think…?”

“Here’s what we’ll do,” Shen Qingwei said. She had already suspected the Landlord only knew fragments of the truth. Now that he had revealed everything, she saw no need for further pretense. “Please go to the police station and have the head’s identity verified.”

The landlord, a man of some experience, nodded decisively. “Right away.”

Shen Qingwei and Yin Zheng were in a hurry to get to Dadu University, so she gave only a few brief instructions before turning to leave with Yin Zheng.

Dadu University wasn’t in Qingping City. The high-speed train took two hours, so it wasn’t too far. However, the journey from the train station to the university was circuitous, requiring over an hour. Nestled between mountains on three sides, the campus was built along a river, boasting picturesque scenery. Originally a pleasant place, rumors later spread that it had once been a mass burial ground, leading to a proliferation of ghost stories. Tales of female ghosts combing their hair at midnight and faucets turning on by themselves in the restrooms were common fare in every school, so no one paid much attention, until the 404 Incident.

Room 404 was a female dormitory housing four girls. One of them claimed to see an extra person in the room at night, but when she asked the others, they all denied seeing anything. The girl dismissed it as her imagination. Less than a month later, she hanged herself from the ceiling fan in Room 404. The remaining three girls immediately moved out, but they couldn’t escape their fate. Within a week, all four girls had died. The university administration desperately tried to suppress the news and sealed off Room 404.

For the next decade or so, things remained calm. Last year, a new principal took over, dismissing the rumors as mere coincidence. “There’s no such thing as supernatural occurrences,” he insisted. So when the dorms were overcrowded this year, he assigned several girls to live in Room 404. By the fourth day, tragedy struck.

The first girl hanged herself, her death mirroring the one from ten years prior. Simultaneously, other students reported seeing an extra person in the dorm. Someone who didn’t belong there.

Panic swept through the school. Students clamored to go home, and reporters snuck in to take photos and report the story. Though the school administration tried to suppress the news, the uproar was too great to contain. The Old Principal, who had ties to Yin Zheng’s Martial Aunt, finally implored the Yin-Yang Sect to investigate.

Shen Qingwei stepped out of the car, her eyes fixed on her phone. The school had sent her a video clip. Because of the collective suicides in Room 404 years ago, the girls assigned to the room this time had been on edge. One had even installed a security camera, which captured the girl’s suicide on video.

The girl sat on her bed, head bowed as she played with her phone. Her lips moved as if she were talking to someone. After a few seconds, she looked up at the empty dormitory. Her pupils dilated, and she opened her mouth to shout something before setting down her phone. As if possessed, she pulled a hemp rope from under her pillow, looped it around the ceiling fan, stepped onto the corner of the desk, slipped the noose around her neck, kicked off with her legs, struggled briefly, and then went still, her hands dangling limply, her breath gone.

It was the sheer malevolence of this video that had prompted the Old Principal to contact the Yin-Yang Sect.

Shen Qingwei watched the video again, then turned to Yin Zheng. “Senior Sister, did you see it?”

Yin Zheng replied calmly, “I saw it.”

Others might have missed it, but the two of them clearly saw a figure clinging to the girl’s back. After the girl hanged herself, the figure tilted her head toward the camera, grinning sinisterly.

The smile sent a chill down their spines!