Chapter 17: The Search
Chapter 17: The Search
It was quite unexpected that the library had accidentally left out one book during login.
He picked up the book again to examine it and found that it indeed did not have the Wu Long High School library mark. Moreover, this booklet might have been privately printed as a non-publication, with no other relevant information written on it…
Besides the title “Jiling Local Customs Research Survey Collection” on the cover, there was only the author’s name “Juemon Inshi.”
“I see…”
Fang Jing asked, somewhat puzzled, “Can I borrow this book then?”
“You can, but I need to register it again.”
That was what the senior told him, and she helped him register the book before handing it back to him.
Fang Jing felt his mood was quite good. He took the book and left the library.
He didn’t have many friends, and during lunch break, he had no one to talk to. Reading a book by himself seemed like a good choice.
“…If the online search yields no results, it looks like I’ll have to start with the wooden Buddha statue. Fortunately, I got a clue from Ms. Kyoko.”
“According to what she said, the appraiser at the antique shop she knows might have information about the statue’s origins, though I shouldn’t get my hopes up too much.”
“Also, since ghosts really exist in this world, perhaps I could try other methods, like seeking out religious groups, folk customs, or even exorcists…”
Fang Jing found a bench and sat down. His spot was right under the shade of a tree, with a gentle breeze passing by, causing the trees to sway slightly.
This made him feel that the accumulated fatigue was gradually fading away.
The weather was very pleasant. The dense branches and leaves overhead provided cover, and the ground beneath was filled with thick shadows.
The location of this bench was quite nice, perfect for him to rest.
“Hello!”
A female voice came from behind. He frowned, turned his head, and saw a girl in a black sailor uniform standing in the courtyard. A faint floral scent wafted from her.
“Excuse me, classmate, how do I get to the administration office?”
“Go straight for 150 meters, turn left at the entrance, go up to the third floor, and it’s the second door.”
Fang Jing put down the thin booklet in his hand. He realized this girl probably wasn’t from this school.
She had a neat appearance, with delicate features and long black hair tied into twin tails. The girl wore a jet-black sailor uniform, and her limbs were unusually slender, with skin as pale as milk. In fact, Fang Jing thought the girl was almost startlingly beautiful, giving off an unreal, doll-like delicacy.
…Also, there was an indescribable aura about her.
However, Fang Jing had little interest in girls of that age. Mentally, he could almost be considered a middle-aged man, and his personal preference leaned toward mature women.
His gaze was intensely focused on the female student because he noticed she was carrying a cello case.
“Thank you.”
She spoke softly, hurried forward, her hair swaying slightly in the wind as she walked straight toward the school building.
“Are there any schools nearby with this kind of uniform?”
He searched through Nishizuka Tsukasa’s memories but unfortunately found no relevant information.
“Could she have come from a neighboring city? But what is she doing here…”
The thought briefly crossed his mind but was quickly dismissed.
“Let me introduce everyone to the transfer student. She’s joining our class today, so…”
The homeroom teacher, Sugita, a middle-aged man with glasses, wrote the transfer student’s name on the blackboard with chalk.
It was four kanji characters: Amasue Suetora. It was quite an unusual name, Fang Jing thought, resting his chin on his hand.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Amasue Suetora. Nice to meet you.”
Standing at the side of the podium was the girl in the black sailor uniform. She stood upright below the blackboard, but her face showed little expression, as if she were naturally not very expressive.
Fang Jing naturally recognized her—she was the same girl he had encountered in the courtyard. He hadn’t expected that this girl in the black sailor uniform would be the transfer student in his class.
Had there been any rumors about a transfer student arriving in class before?
Hmm! Even if there were, he probably wouldn’t have known. He rarely interacted with his classmates.
After the first class in the afternoon, many students gathered around Amasue Suetora, eagerly asking her questions.
Although the transfer student, Amasue Suetora, seemed troubled by the attention, she politely conversed with everyone.
Fang Jing wasn’t far from her seat, so he could hear quite clearly. The topics were rather boring, mostly common questions like where she had studied before, what her interests were, whether she had a boyfriend, and if she was interested in joining a club…
Just listening made him feel utterly uninterested. He couldn’t help but sigh, realizing he truly had little in common with these young people.
Thanks to the original host, Nishizuka Tsukasa, he had always been alone, with no friends and no one willing to interact with him.
Probably only a few even noticed when he left the classroom. That was his situation in the class—an existence that mattered to no one.
After barely making it through the afternoon, he returned to the library, planning to use the computer to search for information.
(—Input: Ichinose Apartment)
He first typed “Ichinose Apartment” and repeatedly searched online but didn’t find much information.
The main reason was the overwhelming amount of data online, especially when using the keywords “Ichinose” and “Apartment.” There were at least thousands of related results.
With that much data, it was impossible to check each one.
“Wait, maybe I should narrow down the keywords.”
He added the word “case” to the search. Fang Jing thought that if the situation at the apartment was known to the public, it might have been reported.
However, this wasn’t certain. Not to mention the police might not have disclosed information, and the media could also be restricted by laws…
But this method did help narrow down the results.
“Wait, what does this mean?”
Fang Jing kept scrolling through the pages, using the mouse wheel to browse. After about 15 minutes, he unexpectedly came across a piece of information.
“Ghost… Ichinose Apartment ghost sighting incident.”
By chance, Fang Jing noticed a web search result that seemed linked to a website.
He opened it and suddenly discovered it was a paranormal website called “Shadow Mind Hall.”
In the main post, a blurry photo vaguely showed a stain-like black spot, though it was uncertain whether it was a ghost.
“Missing cases at Ichinose Apartment?”
Was this… had he actually found something?
His eyes grew serious as he clicked the mouse button to enter the article under that title.
—What follows are records related to incidents at Ichinose Apartment, specifically cases connected to Ichinose Apartment and its predecessor, “Yuuken Hall.”
The writer of the article recorded these events in a very serious tone, with about 20,000 words in total.
December 06, XXX: Kaku Fumito, the head of the Kaku family residing in Ichinose Apartment, hanged himself, and his son went missing.
August 13, XXX: A young child named Ago from Room 203 of the apartment went missing… A few days later, a highly decomposed, unrecognizable child’s body was found in a pile of cement pipes at a construction material dumping site several kilometers away from the apartment.
May 24, XXX: Resident Kotoko heard strange noises from the fourth floor and, on her way home, saw flames and thick smoke coming from there. After calling the firefighters, no abnormalities were found… A few days later, Kotoko herself went missing.
July 18, XXX: Fourth-floor resident Tsukuba Takaaki suddenly went mad and jumped in front of a train on his way to work.
“Could this really be a cursed building?!”
Fang Jing scratched his head, feeling a chill run down his spine. He couldn’t fully trust this report, as many of the details needed further verification. The lengthy analysis in the latter part of the post seemed exaggerated.