NFM Chapter 40

The library was located on the first floor of the west teaching building of Minghua High School. As the sun had already set, the large lecture hall that served as the library was bathed in the dim light of the street lamps on either side, giving it an eerie and unsettling atmosphere due to the insufficient lighting.

Generally, few students visited the library. The grumpy librarian and the limited collection of books were enough to deter most people.

The teacher in charge of the library had her back to them, staring at the computer screen with an eerie glow on her face. Chen Haoyu and Fang Cheng showed their student IDs to the teacher, who glanced at them briefly before returning the cards.

From start to finish, she never turned around.

Chen Haoyu, being oblivious, didn’t notice anything amiss and continued to walk inside casually. Fang Cheng followed him, nervously glancing around.

For some reason, he felt that the shadows of the trees through the windows, cast on the walls, resembled menacing Nether Beings, and the entire library seemed haunted.

The lighting inside the library was limited but sufficient to illuminate the bookshelves. Fang Cheng methodically scanned each row of bookshelves from left to right and front to back. Chen Haoyu, with his hands behind his head, walked beside him, chattering away: “I’ve never seen you so eager to study before. Ever since Teacher Lin arrived, you’ve been unusually enthusiastic…”

“I think Teacher Lin is right,” Fang Cheng said. “We need to get out of this high school first, then… aim for something higher.”

He paused momentarily, lowering his gaze. Chen Haoyu continued, “What’s with the ‘Little Teacher Lin’? Sounds like you’re talking about a Japanese person… Do you think Teacher Lin will stay with our class? He’s just a substitute teacher, right? Probably leaving in a month.”

“Yeah.”

After passing the social sciences section, they reached the science section. Finally, at the fourth row from the end, Fang Cheng found his target on the third shelf—a thick copy of “Intermediate Mathematics.”

He pulled the book out with some effort and held it in his arms. Chen Haoyu, seeing that he had found what he needed, exclaimed, “Let’s go back… Hey, why are those bookshelves over there all fallen over?”

Fang Cheng followed his gaze and saw that the last few rows of bookshelves on the other side had toppled over like dominoes. Before he could say anything, Chen Haoyu, ever the meddler, had already run over: “Fang Cheng, come help me lift these.”

His friend was always overly enthusiastic to the point of being nosy, even though evening self-study had already started ten minutes ago. Fang Cheng had no choice but to put the book down and help him lift the shelves one by one.

“Damn, these shelves are freaking heavy,” Chen Haoyu complained as he lifted them. “If someone was under the last row, they’d be crushed to dust.”

After he made this ominous statement, Fang Cheng complained, “Why are you telling horror stories at night?”

“Hey, what if there really is someone?” Chen Haoyu teased, deliberately provoking Fang Cheng as they reached the last row. “Come on, let’s see if there’s a pair of eyes behind the shelf…”

With that, he deliberately leaned over the shelf and looked inside.

Behind the layers of books, a pair of blood-red, unblinking eyes met his gaze.

“Ahhhh—” Chen Haoyu let out a scream. He jumped back, pointing at the shelf: “There’s someone under the shelf! Someone’s under there!”

Fang Cheng was startled by his scream, and his hair stood on end. Out of human curiosity, he also leaned over to take a look and let out a similar scream.

The two of them screamed and ran out of the library. When they reached the librarian’s desk, Chen Haoyu, panting heavily, slapped the teacher’s shoulder: “There’s someone under the shelf! Someone’s under there!”

The teacher, who had been facing the computer all this time, finally turned around.

The expressions of the two students froze in that instant.

“Where is this person?” she asked.

She was clearly speaking… but her face was completely flat, devoid of any features!

The two of them screamed again and bolted out of the library. After running for a while, they finally saw a familiar figure in a suit.

It was Lin Huai, the homeroom teacher of Class 3F, who had noticed that two of his “farmers” were missing and had come out to look for them.

“Teacher, teacher!” Chen Haoyu, panicked and babbling, said, “There’s a ghost in the library! A ghost!”

With that, he tried to pull Lin Huai toward the library, but after two steps, he realized how foolish he was being and started pulling Lin Huai in the opposite direction: “Teacher, let’s run!”

Lin Huai: …

He calmed the two nearly hysterical students with a “If you don’t calm down, I’ll throw you into the lake” approach. Chen Haoyu was too panicked to speak, so Fang Cheng managed to explain the situation. Lin Huai stroked his chin, deep in thought.

‘Even a librarian, a job filled with such righteous energy, has a ghost… This school really is beyond saving,’ he thought. ‘The fourth school mystery has appeared. I need to speed up the lessons for the students. I probably won’t finish the syllabus, and I’ll have to double the homework…’

No one could understand why he was still thinking about teaching at a time like this. Chen Haoyu was on the verge of tears: “What should we do now…”

“Now, you go back to evening self-study,” Lin Huai said. “I’ll go take a look.”

He took two steps before Chen Haoyu and Fang Cheng grabbed his arms on either side. Chen Haoyu, who was a head taller than Lin Huai at 1.85 meters, shouted, “Teacher Lin, you can’t go back to your death!”

Lin Huai: …

“Go back to class,” he said. “I’ll be back soon…”

“That sounds like a death flag!” Chen Haoyu yelled. “People who say that usually die within half an hour—”

“When I get back, I’ll continue evening self-study with you…”

“Teacher, stop setting flags! Stop cosplaying as the old general on the stage!”

“…”

As the three of them were entangled, the voice of a school security guard rang out behind them: “What are you doing here at night instead of being in evening self-study?”

The three burly security guards made the two students shrink back. Seeing the sticks in their hands, Chen Haoyu stammered, “There’s a dead, dead…”

“The Dead Poets Society,” Lin Huai quickly responded. “We’re having a poetry reading.”

Security guards & two students: …

“On a dark and windy night, two students are still awake, walking together in the courtyard…” Lin Huai said. “Seeing this scene, we formed the Dead Poets Society and couldn’t help but start reciting poetry. For the sake of the country, life and death, regardless of fortune or misfortune…”

Security guard: “Do you think we’ll believe that?”

Lin Huai looked at the two students. Although they didn’t understand what the teacher meant, Chen Haoyu wisely stammered, “Um… The moonlight before my bed?”

Fang Cheng said, “It seems like frost on the ground… The moonlight tonight is so beautiful…”

Lin Huai: “Oh captain, my captain!”

Security guards: …

After some confusion, the security guards finally left with their batons. Seeing them go, Lin Huai gently pushed the two students: “Go back to evening self-study.”

“But teacher…”

“Go back.”

“But…”

“Go back,” Lin Huai said coldly. “You’re annoying me.”

He was on the verge of losing his temper. Seeing the situation, the two students pursed their lips, clenched their teeth, and walked upstairs with a sense of helplessness.

Watching their retreating figures, Lin Huai was deeply moved by his own kindness. If it weren’t for the bond between teacher and student, he would have sent them ahead to scout.

Lin Huai entered the library through the main entrance. The librarian was still sitting in front of the computer, staring at the blue screen, lost in thought.

He didn’t bother to greet her and went straight into the library.

The last row of bookshelves was still toppled on the ground, with a copy of “Intermediate Mathematics” lying nearby. Lin Huai climbed onto the shelf to look and saw a person crushed underneath, their body limp and lifeless, as if they had been dead for a long time.

It seemed like the person had been killed by the falling bookshelf. Lin Huai lifted the shelf and identified the deceased through the items on their body—Qian Yiming from Class 3C.

Near the bookshelf, there was a note with the word “luxuria” written on it.

‘Luxuria, the word for lust. It seems this person was involved in a scandal,’ he thought, stroking his chin. ‘And such a gruesome death—the Evil Spirit must have hated them deeply.’

He searched the library again and found some traces of tape, but nothing else.

After walking around, he stopped again in front of the corpse. After taking a deep breath, he crouched down, placed his fingers on the corpse’s neck, and closed his eyes.

No breath, no warmth, no lingering spirit that would dissipate within seven days of death, nothing…

This was not a corpse that had died within the past month.

The time of death was much earlier, but some force had preserved the body.

All of Lin Huai’s conjectures had been confirmed. He had obtained the result he wanted, but he didn’t feel any relief.

“Yan Xi…” he slowly uttered the name.

The “Intermediate Mathematics” book was buried under several other books. To retrieve it, he had to move the books aside. As he removed the top book, “Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse,” a small library slip fell out from between the pages.

“Huh?”

Lin Huai opened the slip and saw a name on the borrower’s list.

“Yan Xi.”

Yan Xi’s name appeared many times.

At that moment, Lin Huai felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar.

A new conjecture formed in his mind. If this conjecture were true, it would be even more terrifying than the previous one. He turned on his flashlight and wandered around the dark library, pulling out books from the shelves repeatedly.

Various books.

“Journey Under the Midnight Sun,” “Malice,” “The Salvation of a Saint,” “The Secret,” “The Doppelganger”…

Yan Xi, Yan Xi, Yan Xi, Yan Xi, Yan Xi.

“Zoo,” “Goth: The Amputation Incident,” “Dark Fairy Tales,” “Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse”…

Yan Xi, Yan Xi, Yan Xi, Yan Xi.

The novels by Otsuichi were clear and legible.

The novels by Keigo Higashino, except for the most famous ones, were blurred and illegible.

Xu Chi had said that Yan Xi was a fan of Keigo Higashino.

Xu Chi had said that he actually preferred Otsuichi.

Xu Chi had said that he never went to the library.

Yu Xingjian had said that Yan Xi was very reclusive and often went to the library. The librarian was the principal’s relative, a grumpy old woman. She had taken this idle position and opened the library to store her collection of books.

But she had been very kind to Yan Xi, who loved reading.

Yan Xi and the librarian must have been close.

The librarian’s face was flat and featureless.

White Yan Xi, and red Yan Xi.

—Not only can dead spirits become ghosts, not only can split personalities form ghosts.

Excessive obsession, excessive love and hate…

All can become the breeding ground for the birth of Nether Beings.

—Oh my god.

At that moment, he felt his entire body stiffen, even the nerve endings seemed frozen.

“So it was you,” he murmured. “It was you all along.”

“The one who didn’t like botany… it was you.”

Finally, he picked up the “Intermediate Mathematics” book, erased all traces of himself and the two students, and left the library.

As he left, the librarian still sat with her back to him.

‘Although I’d like to ask her, someone who dares to take on the role of a librarian, a job filled with such righteous energy, must have formidable abilities,’ Lin Huai thought. ‘In that case, I should control myself…’

He thought of some happy things and finally managed to return his mood to normal.

When he returned to the classroom, he called over Chen Haoyu and Fang Cheng, who were studying absentmindedly. Seeing Lin Huai alive and well, the two of them were moved to tears.

“Teacher Lin,” Chen Haoyu said emotionally, “It’s so good that you’re still alive.”

Lin Huai: …For some reason, he really wanted to hit him.

Lin Huai tossed the “Intermediate Mathematics” book to Fang Cheng and told the two of them to study hard before heading to the podium. Before he could take a few steps, Fang Cheng came up to him: “Teacher Lin…”

“What is it?”

Fang Cheng bit his lip and asked, “Are you looking for something in the school?”

Sensing the increasingly cold aura around Lin Huai, he persisted, “Haoyu and I can help you. From the beginning, we’ve felt that you’re not an ordinary teacher…”

“You two?” Lin Huai coldly crushed his expectations. “You’re too weak.”

Fang Cheng felt his heart tighten. He heard Lin Huai’s emotionless words: “Don’t think about anything other than studying. Focus on your books. Kids should act like kids.”

After saying this, he waved his hand, signaling Fang Cheng to return to his seat, and added, “You two are really starting to annoy me.”

Fang Cheng returned to his seat. Looking at the “Intermediate Mathematics” book that Lin Huai had brought back, he closed his eyes and started studying, no longer harboring any other thoughts.

The next day, in Class 3C.

Li Xinyi sat in the corner seat, watching the increasingly sullen expression of Yu Xingjian on the podium, feeling a mix of fear and satisfaction.

Yu Xingjian’s eyes were bloodshot, with heavy dark circles under them from days of sleeplessness. His face was unshaven, his hair disheveled, and even the strands at his temples had turned gray.

He looked utterly exhausted.

Ever since Lin Huai started visiting Class 3C three times a day, her life had become easier. One day, as she was walking downstairs, Lin Huai suddenly appeared from the side and held an umbrella over her head—

The next moment, water that had nowhere else to go splashed onto the umbrella.

Incidents like this had occurred frequently, and all the bullying directed at her had been mysteriously resolved by Lin Huai’s actions. The students in Class 3C gradually gave up on repeating the treatment that Yan Xi had endured and began to ignore her existence.

As she was thinking about this, the bell rang for the end of class. Just as she was about to go to the restroom, she saw Lin Huai standing at the staircase.

Li Xinyi ran over happily. In the past few days, she had used her gossip skills to learn a lot about Yan Xi. Sure enough, Lin Huai had come to ask her about someone again: “Do you know Qian Yiming?”

After hearing the name, Li Xinyi thought for a moment and said, “He’s a student in our class. He transferred a few days ago.”

“Another standard death ending…” Lin Huai muttered to himself. “Then, what’s his connection to Yan Xi?”

From Li Xinyi’s words, Lin Huai learned of a love triangle involving two boys and one girl.

In another genre, this story might have been labeled as a youthful romance or a campus love story, but in the infinite flow genre, it could only be described as a crime report.

The story was simple: Qian Yiming had a crush on the class beauty, who happened to be close to the shy and introverted Yan Xi. Qian Yiming hated Yan Xi and, after Yan Xi was ostracized by the entire class, went out of his way to make his life miserable.

Li Xinyi said, “…When Yan Xi went to the library to return books, Qian Yiming once deliberately pushed over a bookshelf to crush him. Luckily, Yan Xi ran fast, or he would have been seriously injured or killed. This incident caused quite a stir at the time, but Yu Xingjian suppressed it.”

She no longer referred to Yu Xingjian as “teacher.”

‘So, the one who throws the stone will eventually be hit by it. Only those with the resolve to be shot have the right to shoot…’ Lin Huai thought. ‘Since it’s a love triangle, it’s labeled as “lust.” All the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.’

“Teacher, is there anything else you want to ask?” Li Xinyi asked with starry eyes.

“Nothing else. Go back and study hard,” Lin Huai waved her off.

Li Xinyi returned to Class 3C, while Lin Huai, deep in thought, passed by Class B, went upstairs, and returned to Class F.

The second weekly exam was in two days. After assigning the study tasks, Lin Huai called Xu Chi out. He said, “You ranked first in the last exam.”

Xu Chi lowered his eyelashes: “Yes.”

“In that case,” Lin Huai smiled at him, “I’ll give you a reward.”

“Huh?”

“Or perhaps a challenge,” Lin Huai made a “shh” gesture. “I currently have 5,439 yuan and 20 cents on me. Your reward and challenge is—”

“Spend it all within today.”