Chapter 08 A terrifying ghostly sound

　　I walked around upstairs and downstairs but found nothing out of the ordinary. I cleared a clean spot on the cement playground and lay down for a while. It wasn't dark yet. According to what the father and son had said, once night fell, terrifying ghostly cries would echo through the school.

　　The strange phenomena I witnessed during the night burial and later in the eyes of Jiang the Taoist and Ling had been puzzling me. I've always been an atheist, but when fear crept in, my beliefs started to waver, which made me ashamed.

　　This time, I was determined to uncover the secret of the campus ghost, perhaps also to prove that I was still a brave and fearless people's policeman.

　　The sky gradually darkened.

　　Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Ah Jing calling. He had arrived near the school. I told him the specific route to Cuiping Primary School and then waited quietly for his arrival.

　　The campus was deadly silent, not a breath of wind. I closed my eyes, listening to the faint sounds coming from the grass, where some insects were playing and mating.

　　In the distance, the sound of a car horn echoed. I knew Ah Jing had arrived. In this desolate mountain, it was rare to have a car come by.

　　As the sound of the car drew closer to the school, I stood up. A flying insect, disturbed by me, crashed into my face, angry that I was blocking its path, and gave me a sharp bite.

　　I ran to the school gate. Ah Jing walked over on foot. Clearly, with his driving skills, he couldn't manage to get the car all the way here.

　　Ah Jing saw me and waved, saying, "This godforsaken place is really hard to find!"

　　Ah Jing had the sharp instincts typical of a professional media person. He had a video camera slung over his shoulder and a flashlight in his hand. With my help, he climbed over the wall and entered the campus.

　　"How's it going?" Ah Jing asked me.

　　"I haven't found anything special yet," I replied.

　　Seeing a hint of disappointment in Ah Jing's eyes, I added firmly, "It's real. According to that father and son, as soon as it gets dark, terrifying strange noises will come from this school. Let's just wait a bit longer."

　　We sat quietly on the playground, not saying a word, not smoking a cigarette, just hoping for night to fall quickly.

　　It was completely dark. But the terrifying strange noise didn't sound. We looked at each other. Ah Jing's face was blurred in the darkness, but his eyes emitted a cold, eerie glow, like those of a lone wolf.

　　My heart skipped a beat. I thought of Jiang the Taoist's eyes again. Until this moment, I had to admit that fear still lingered in my heart. Otherwise, I wouldn't keep thinking about those so-called "ghostly eyes."

　　I didn't dare look at Ah Jing's eyes again. I felt a bit guilty, and this guilt stemmed from fear.

　　I took a deep breath and stood up. In the empty campus, a gentle breeze blew, and the weeds all over the yard rustled softly. The sound was pleasant and melodious, nothing like the terrifying ghostly noise.

　　"Aah~ Woo~"

　　Just as Ah Jing and I were getting restless from waiting, the terrifying ghostly cry suddenly echoed through the campus, floating in the air.

　　"Aah~ Woo~"

　　The ghostly sound came in fits and starts. It wasn't very loud, but in the darkness, it sounded sinister and terrifying.

　　We cheered up. Finally, we had waited for it.

　　Ah Jing shouldered the video camera and walked ahead. I followed closely behind him, straining my ears to listen for any sounds around us. Since the ghostly sound was intermittent, it seemed extremely ethereal and elusive, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from.

　　However, the campus wasn't that big. By checking place by place, we believed we would find out the truth soon enough.

　　The ghostly sound came at intervals, giving us plenty of time to investigate. We wandered around the entire teaching building, from the front to the back. The ghostly sound became noticeably louder.

　　"It's here!" I said with certainty.

　　I pressed my ear against the corner of the west wall of the teaching building and clearly knew that the source of the terrifying ghostly sound was inside this wall.

　　"Buzz~ Buzz~"

　　I had trained my ears, and my hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people.

　　I listened against the wall and realized that what was actually coming from inside this wall was a muffled sound. But after being transmitted through the wall, it turned into that terrifying "Aah~ Woo~" ghostly cry.

　　"What could be causing this wall to make such a strange noise?" Ah Jing handed me a cigarette and muttered excitedly. He was dancing with joy at the thought of having a great material for his program.

　　I didn't know the reason either, but now that we knew the source of the terrifying ghostly sound, I believed the day when the truth would be revealed wasn't far off.

　　I was just as excited. Once the cause of the haunting was found, Cuiping Primary School could reopen. I was happy that I could do a good deed.