Chapter 37: The Hair in the Lake

My eyes involuntarily drifted to the corpse of Ren Yunwen, and a chill surged up my spine from the depths of my heart.

Ren Yunwen’s body was kneeling before me, and just before he knelt, his finger had pointed toward the lake. Now, I saw Qiu Xiaoli lying on the water's surface.

This sequence of events rapidly connected in my mind, and I couldn't stop myself from trembling.

Not far from me, Ren Yunwen’s corpse remained in that kneeling position. With his back to me and his head bowed, he seemed to have become motionless the moment he went down.

While I shuddered, I hesitantly shifted my gaze toward the lake. To be honest, my brain was still short-circuiting; I hadn't fully regained my senses. The lakeside was inherently gloomy, and my heart was crawling with dread.

But I didn't have time to dwell on it—saving her was the priority.

I steadied my chaotic thoughts, gritted my teeth, and descended the stairs to the shore below. Qiu Xiaoli was there, only two meters away in the water. Beneath my feet lay the very lake steeped in countless horrific legends.

I was still terrified, but I clenched my jaw tight. I called out her name, though there was clearly no response from her. I grabbed a small tree by the shore and reached out as far as I could, but I couldn't reach her.

Eventually, with some effort, I managed to grab the hem of her dress and pulled her, bit by bit, from the water to the shore. Perhaps the urgency of the rescue made me feel less afraid as time went on.

However, just as I dragged her upper body onto the bank and prepared to pull her completely out of the water, a cold sweat broke out all over me again.

I put all my strength into pulling her, but I couldn't budge her. I looked down at her feet and saw them tangled in a thicket of water weeds. I reached out to brush them away.

It was strange—the weeds on her feet were soft, oddly greasy, and very fine. I didn't pay much mind at the time, thinking only of clearing them away so I could pull her out.

But as I cleared most of the weeds, I vaguely caught sight of something white hidden among them.

I began to feel that something was wrong, but my hands didn't stop. As I continued, the white object became increasingly distinct. I couldn't tell what it was; it looked a bit like a tile or perhaps a white porcelain bottle.

I sped up. As I brushed away more, the white object grew larger. Suddenly, I shivered violently and jumped back, startled.

When I had completely cleared the weeds from her feet, I saw an eye peering out from that white mass. It dawned on me in an instant: what was wrapped around Qiu Xiaoli’s ankles weren't weeds at all—they were strands of hair.

In that moment, I was stunned. Afterward, I had no memory of how I even left the lakeside.

Vaguely, I heard someone calling my name. I slowly opened my eyes and heard Li Xiang’s voice: "Li Xi, wake up, you idiot."

I opened my eyes and looked around, realizing I was lying in a hospital bed. My roommates, Li Xiang and Hu Tou, were standing before me, looking at me with nervous expressions.

"Li Xi, are you all right?"

My head throbbed, and I instinctively touched my forehead. "What happened? Why am I in the hospital?"

Hu Tou and Li Xiang looked at me, both clearly confused. Li Xiang said, "We were going to ask you that. Why were you with Qiu Xiaoli?"

I shook my head and looked out the window. Li Xiang and Hu Tou began recounting what had happened that morning.

Early that morning, Qiu Xiaoli and I had appeared on the school’s soccer field, soaked to the bone. Early-rising students had called the police, who then brought us to the hospital.

Li Xiang was clearly enjoying the drama; he slapped his thigh and said, "Li Xi, you wouldn't believe it, but something huge happened at school this morning."

I looked at him. "What was it?"

"Ren Yunwen’s corpse appeared by the lake again. You have no idea how terrifying it was. When we found him, he was actually kneeling on the ground."

I stared at Li Xiang, instantly dumbfounded. The scenes from last night played out before my eyes, piece by piece.

After finishing the story about Ren Yunwen, Li Xiang told me more. It turned out the people who discovered the body weren't them, but an old man who had gone to the lake to fish early in the morning. When he arrived, he saw Ren Yunwen kneeling in the distance.

The old man had been puzzled, wondering why someone would be kneeling by the lake at such an hour. He walked over and tapped Ren Yunwen on the shoulder.

The old man had been so terrified he collapsed on the spot and was also sent to the hospital.

Seeing that I was fine, Li Xiang and Hu Tou hurried back to school for class and said their goodbyes. After they left, I climbed out of bed and went to Qiu Xiaoli’s room.

Inside, Qiu Xiaoli was lying quietly, as if asleep. Her face was pale—unusually so. Yet, this only made her look even more like an ice-cold beauty.

In truth, I was anxious. When I pulled her from the water last night, I hadn't even checked her breathing. I hadn't known if I was rescuing a person or a corpse. Seeing her in the hospital bed now, it seemed she was okay.

I didn't enter the room. After glancing at her, I turned and walked away silently. To be honest, I didn't dare to get involved with Qiu Xiaoli. After all, the sight of Ren Yunwen’s corpse the night before was still fresh in my mind.

Just as I walked away, several doctors and nurses rushed into her room. I seized the opportunity and grabbed a doctor. "Doctor, what’s going on?"

The doctor looked flustered, his face drenched in sweat. "The patient’s vital signs are dropping rapidly. We’re trying to stabilize her!"

He slammed the door shut. I looked at the door with worry, but eventually walked away. Was Qiu Xiaoli still in danger?

A full hour passed before the door opened again. I rushed over and grabbed a doctor. "How is she?"

The doctor shook his head. "We’ve never seen anything like this. Her body is perfectly normal, but she is fading away."

Fading away? What did that mean? I let go and hurried to her bedside.

I touched her forehead and checked her breath; everything was indeed normal. But she wouldn't wake up.

My mind suddenly flashed back to the hair I had seen wrapped around her feet when I pulled her from the lake. If there was nothing physically wrong with her, she had to be haunted by a ghost.

With that thought, I sprinted out of the hospital and headed straight for the school. I found Liu Sui, who was cleaning, and after promising to help him finish his chores, I dragged him back to the hospital.

Liu Sui was indeed a man of profound knowledge. As soon as he entered the room, his brows furrowed. He then said something that left me only half-understanding: "Her current state is no different from that of Ren Yunwen."