34. Chapter 34: The Flesh-Soul Curse

With Liu Sui gone, the dormitory returned to a deathly silence. However, I felt a chill creeping up my back, and my heart was filled with intense unease.

The desk lamp was still on. Once Liu Sui vanished from my sight, I turned to look at Hu Tou on his bed. I was startled to see him rolling his eyes back, his mouth foaming. To think he had been scared into such a pathetic state by what just happened—it left me both exasperated and amused.

Afraid that something might be wrong with him, I found a way to rouse him. Hu Tou let out a long, wailing cry the moment he woke, and only after a frantic outburst did he finally settle down to sleep.

Once he was asleep, I walked over to Li Xiang. Compared to Hu Tou, Li Xiang was much better off; at least he hadn't fainted from terror. He was curled up under his covers, trembling uncontrollably.

I patted Li Xiang and asked if he was all right. From beneath the covers, he replied vaguely, "I'm fine. What could possibly happen to me? It's just a damn ghost, isn't it?"

I offered a few more words of comfort before returning to my own bed, overwhelmed by a sense of profound dread. I did not open my eyes again until the next morning.

The moment I woke, the events of the previous night flashed through my mind. After what had transpired, Liu Sui’s stature in my eyes had grown significantly. I even suspected that his mastery was likely not far off from that of the old man who had jumped into the lake.

Yet, beyond the shock, I was filled with questions about him. His identity, his age—there were too many unknowns. If an enigmatic person were ordinary, no one would pay them any mind. But if that person were extraordinary, perhaps even stunningly capable, they would inevitably invite suspicion.

Who exactly was Liu Sui? He said he arrived at this school a year ago, but what did he do before that? And why did he come here?

At this moment, I could no longer believe that Liu Sui was merely a janitor.

There were simply too many mysteries surrounding him. I decided to pay him a visit to see if I could resolve my doubts. With that thought, I got out of bed and headed straight for the dormitory building.

Soon, I reached Liu Sui’s room. I didn't stand on ceremony; I knocked, but no one answered. I simply pushed the door open and walked in. Inside, Liu Sui was sipping morning tea. He glanced at me, then looked away.

I sat down across from him and stared at him. "I have many questions, and I wonder if you are willing to help me clear them up."

Liu Sui set down his teacup, poured one for me, and said coldly, "I'm busy."

I remembered what he had said before leaving our room last night, so I asked, "You said I had a 'problem' last night. Why did you say that? Surely you can answer that for me now."

"Fine. That I can do," Liu Sui replied readily.

Suddenly, he strode over to me, grabbed my shoulders, and began to pull at my clothes. I was stunned and tried to struggle, but his strength was too great. In a few moments, my clothes were stripped away.

My mind went into a tailspin. Had this guy been living alone for so long that he’d become desperate? Was he looking for... that?

However, his next words dispelled that thought. He suddenly asked, "What is this?"

He was referring to the human-shaped ghost fetus on my back.

I stared at him in shock. Ever since my eighteenth birthday, when the mark appeared, I had never undressed in front of anyone. How did Liu Sui know?

I looked at him, silent for a while. After some deliberation, I decided to tell him about my grandfather. After all, Liu Sui was a master; perhaps he could help me exorcise this thing.

I started from my childhood and spoke until my eighteenth birthday. When I finished, Liu Sui’s brow furrowed. "Ghost Arts? Was your grandfather from the Ghost Arts Sect?"

"You know of the Ghost Arts Sect?" I asked.

Liu Sui nodded slightly. "I have heard of it, though I don't know much about it. Now I understand why I always felt something was wrong with you—you are harboring a fierce ghost."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You really don't know?"

I looked at him blankly, even more confused. Liu Sui sighed. "The human-shaped ghost fetus on your back is what we call the 'Flesh Soul Curse,' a very malicious dark art. In truth, the so-called 'flesh soul' is a fierce ghost. To refine one, one must find a fierce ghost and have it consume the souls of forty-nine living infants, imbuing the ghost with the characteristics of those souls. Finally, the flesh soul is implanted into a pregnant woman, where it grows and develops alongside the fetus, eventually fusing with the child."

"What do you mean, 'fusing'?" I asked.

Liu Sui looked at me. "Fusing means that the person implanted with the flesh soul will have it with them for a lifetime. As long as you live, the soul cannot be destroyed. Do you know why it's called a 'flesh soul'? On the surface, it is a fierce ghost, but it has become a part of your own flesh and blood—hence the 'flesh'."

I stared at him in disbelief. Liu Sui shook his head. "Though it cannot be destroyed, it can be sealed. I see a sigil on your back; it is incredibly complex and belongs to a tradition long lost to the world. That is why, when you mentioned the Ghost Arts Sect, I suddenly understood."

I asked expectantly, "Can you help me seal it?"

Liu Sui shook his head and walked away. Clearly, he was unwilling to intervene. The atmosphere turned awkward. I hurriedly changed the subject, recalling another thing he had said last night: "You said this school is very complicated? What did you mean by that?"

Liu Sui sighed. "When I first came to this school last year, it wasn't like this. It was crawling with ghosts everywhere. It took me a whole year to subdue them one by one. But I discovered that the ghosts here are endless—they appear every few days."

I continued to look at him, puzzled, and asked why. Liu Sui replied, "I don't know why, and I have been pondering that question myself. But even if I haven't figured it out, I know there is something wrong with this place. I just don't know where the root of the problem lies."

I had strange feelings about Liu Sui. He seemed to possess immense power, yet he was content to be a janitor. He didn't care about money, and he took the initiative to catch ghosts on campus. Either the man was a fool, or there was some treasure hidden in this school that drew him here.

As I pondered, Liu Sui spoke again: "Furthermore, I feel that a great disaster is coming. A few days ago, I had a dream. I dreamt that someone suddenly broke into the campus, and the school was suddenly drenched in a rain of blood. Do you know? A real rain of blood—the entire school turned red."

This terrified me, but Liu Sui continued, lost in his own thoughts: "That person will surely bring a bloodbath to the school. The school itself is already flawed; it might just be waiting for a trigger. For example, if a millennium-old fierce ghost is sealed somewhere here, when the trigger arrives, that ghost will likely awaken."

I pointed at myself. "Are you saying that the person you dreamt of is me?"

Liu Sui looked up abruptly. "I am not entirely certain, but I suspect it is very likely. From the day you entered this school, I noticed you. There is an aura of doom about you—a massive, overwhelming doom. And I can sense that the flesh soul on you is no ordinary one."

The more Liu Sui spoke, the more surreal it became, and I broke out in a cold sweat.

Suddenly, Liu Sui waved a hand. "Enough. I have said too much today. Go back. Some things are already in motion, and I cannot stop them. But I hope that if there are any changes to the flesh soul on your back, you will come to me immediately."

I looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then nodded. As I left his room, my mind was full of mysteries.

I thought about how, ever since I opened the package my grandfather left me on my eighteenth birthday, I had encountered so many strange things. First the 'Ghost Mother,' then the old man in the lake and the ghost master, and then the incident with Zhao Yong's girlfriend. These events seemed unrelated on the surface, but I knew they were connected.

How?

First, on the same day I received the package, the ghost fetus appeared on my back. And the moment it appeared, these people began to enter my life. In the darkness, I felt as if someone was controlling everything, orchestrating my encounters with them one by one.

Could it be the flesh soul on my back?

Before leaving, I glanced at Jin Yuan on the bed and asked Liu Sui, "Is he really going to be okay? If you have time, can you tell me what is going on? How did he end up with you?"

"There is nothing to say. He is fine, don't worry," Liu Sui replied. "When he wakes up, I will naturally send him back to your dormitory."

I nodded and left.

Back at the dorm, life returned to its usual rhythm. Knowing that Jin Yuan’s ordeal wasn't caused by the Ghost Mother, I felt relieved and relaxed. Yet, Liu Sui’s words echoed in my ears from time to time.

After that, I actually had a nightmare of my own. I dreamt that I was standing on the school playground—the place where we usually did our morning exercises—but it was covered with corpses. And the sky had turned a deep, blood-red.

In the distractions of daily life, I had almost forgotten about the "Telephone Ghost."

But to my shock, two days later, Ren Yunwen’s corpse appeared before me once again.