While Fang Xiu was pondering, it was already noon. He found a random ramen restaurant, ate a bowl, and continued on his journey.
He wanted to observe more strange things, to uncover more truths.
Soon, it was afternoon, and it was already dusk.
The dim sunlight cast a shadow over Green Vine City, casting a haze over the entire city, and the strangeness within it grew increasingly hazy and sinister.
Finally, Fang Xiu arrived near Bailiu Academy.
Bailiu Academy was a luxurious villa complex. Although it was relatively remote, with the streets deserted and devoid of pedestrians, it couldn't conceal the high prices of the land.
The villas were primarily designed for luxury and tranquility, perfect for harboring mistresses or setting up underground clubs.
Those who could afford to buy a house here were mostly driven by luxury drivers. The distance was insignificant to them; instead, they valued the tranquility of the place. Fang Xiu rode a shared bike along a quiet, tree-lined road. The greenery on both sides was lush, with shady trees and lush flowers, all trimmed into various exquisite shapes.
This road, the developer of Bailiu Academy, had spent a fortune renovating it. This road served as the main route to the academy, and at its end was Bailiu Academy.
Perhaps due to the remote location and sparse population, even the surrounding spooky sightings were relatively rare, scattered here and there.
Fang Xiu crossed the main road and suddenly stopped, carefully examining the building before him.
An undercurrent surged beneath his calm eyes.
Bailiu Academy... was gone!
The once beautiful, neatly arranged, and luxurious villa complex had vanished.
In its place was a mental hospital. The psychiatric hospital covered a vast area, consisting of several buildings connected by overpasses.
The walls were dilapidated, with paint peeling in many places, as if it had been abandoned for a long time, exuding a gloomy and eerie feeling. The sign at the entrance was tilted and covered in dust, but the name was still legible.
Qingshan Mental Hospital.
Fang Xiu stared at the mental hospital before him expressionlessly, knowing full well he hadn't taken the wrong path.
This was Bailiu Academy, not some Qingshan Mental Hospital.
"Another weirdness? Unlike the previous living weirdness, this time it's a mental hospital? Or is this one also a creation of a weirdness?"
Fang Xiu became curious. This was the first time he had seen such a sight on his journey, and his intuition told him that this place might contain some mysterious secret.
Fang Xiu put down his bicycle and turned on his phone.
He had turned off his phone because his manager, Wu Dahai, kept calling him, and he found it annoying, so he turned it off.
He turned it on and saw 13 missed calls from Wu Dahai, and three from Zhao Hao.
Zhao Hao was Fang Xiu's colleague, and they had a close relationship.
After a moment's thought, Fang Xiu called Zhao Hao. Beep, beep...
After waiting for about thirty seconds, Zhao Hao's voice, panting and deliberately lowered, reached the other end of the line.
"Brother Xiu, why did you call so late? What's going on over there? That bastard Wu Dahai is furious. He's going to fire you and not get a penny."
A rapid-fire barrage of words came from the other end, his tone filled with anxiety and concern.
Fang Xiu fell silent.
Is he okay?
Evidently, Bailiu Academy has been transformed into a mental hospital, but from the looks of it, it seems the colleagues working there haven't been affected.
Is this a hallucination?
Or is this, like all those other strange things, a strange building, visible only to him? "Brother Xiu, why aren't you talking? Did something happen to you?"
"I'm fine," Fang Xiu's voice rang out calmly. "You're all still at work, right?"
"Yes, we are. You didn't come today, and that bastard Wu Dahai took it out on us. He's making us work overtime again. By the way, Brother Xiu, you..."
"Let's talk later."
Fang Xiu interrupted Zhao Hao, hung up, and turned his phone off again.
He planned to enter Qingshan Mental Hospital to investigate. Naturally, he couldn't let his phone ring at the critical moment, like in the movies, and cause unnecessary trouble.
Fang Xiu walked straight towards the main entrance of Qingshan Mental Hospital.
The gate was eerie and dilapidated, and the dark sky made it look like a giant, devouring mouth, terrifying.
But it hardly frightened Fang Xiu, or rather, he seemed to no longer have any fear left in him.
Whenever he encountered something strange, the first emotions that arose in him were anger, hatred, and even excitement.
The only emotion he never felt was fear. Tap, tap, tap...
The surroundings were silent, filled only by the sound of Fang Xiu's footsteps.
Then, a second later, bang!
Fang Xiu slammed hard into the air, his face aching.
"Air wall?"
He was standing at the gate, heading inside, but a wall seemed to block his path.
He reached out to touch it, feeling a cold, rough sensation.
"It's not an air wall, but a real wall, invisible. Is this a mental hospital that's off-limits?"
Fang Xiu refused to believe it. Like a blind man, he groped along the invisible wall, trying to find the entrance.
"Xiao Fang, what are you doing there? Is this the latest performance art?" a slightly teasing voice called from the side.
Fang Xiu's heart trembled, but his expression remained impassive.
Having been killed so many times by his wife, he had long since developed the ability to remain as still as a mountain. In such a strange mental hospital, if someone suddenly called out to him, he would likely be eaten in the next second if he reacted. But he wasn't completely inactive. He continued groping, moving in the direction of the sound.
When he was about the right distance, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw a figure standing in front of him on the left.
A young man in security uniform, a cigarette dangling from his lips, staring at him with amusement.
Fang Xiu recognized this man; he was the security guard at Bailiu Academy.
Unlike the security guards at other residential complexes, those at Bailiu Academy were young, after all, they were considered high-end.
As for when they would be replaced by elderly men, that would have to wait until most of the houses were sold.
Is it an illusion? Or a spooky impersonation?
Just as Fang Xiu was pondering this, the security guard approached and patted his shoulder.
"Xiao Fang, why are you ignoring me? I saw you banging your head against the wall from a distance just now, and then you started touching it again. What's going on? Is this wall sexy?"
Fang Xiu felt the warmth of his body against his shoulder, lost in thought.
Can he touch me directly?
Is he not spooky?
Fang Xiu then turned around. "Brother Zhao, have you been here the whole time?"
The security guard, named Brother Zhao, looked slightly surprised and even waved his hand in front of his eyes.
"Xiao Fang, isn't it time for you to get glasses? I'm standing guard in the pavilion, straight and straight, and you can't even see this?"
Pavilion?
There were no pavilions in Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital; Fang Xiu was certain of that.
He couldn't help but look in the direction Brother Zhao had just walked from, and was stunned.
He saw that the previously empty space had actually appeared to be a pavilion.
He had seen this small pavilion every day during his workday, and had even been inside. It had a small air conditioner inside, keeping it very cool in the summer.
How could this be possible?!