Chapter 36: Qiu Xiaoli in the Lake

I stood there foolishly, watching the eerie scene unfold before my eyes.

If I had known Ren Yunwen was a madman, perhaps I wouldn’t have been so terrified. If I had known he was a cripple who could suddenly stand up and run, I wouldn’t have been so frightened either. But the truth was, I knew Ren Yunwen was dead. Yet here his corpse stood, beckoning to me.

Even more unexpected was when his body slowly turned around. It moved with such stiff, unnatural motions that it was truly grotesque. Then, Ren Yunwen’s corpse began to walk toward the other end of the corridor, his footsteps echoing: "Tap, tap, tap."

I snapped out of my trance, my body drenched in a cold sweat. Aside from fear, however, a seed of doubt had taken root. The pieces seemed to be connecting. A few days ago, his corpse had appeared on my bed, bringing me that cursed phone. Today, he appeared in front of our dormitory, beckoning me. Could it be that Ren Yunwen had something to tell me? Or perhaps, was there something he needed my help with?

Suddenly, I felt an urge to follow him. By then, his corpse had already reached the end of the corridor, the sound of his footsteps still echoing. Tap, tap, tap.

I turned to put down my desk lamp, grabbed my phone, and followed him. I didn't dare to get too close; after all, the thing walking ahead of me was a corpse. As we moved, I scanned my surroundings constantly, feeling a chilling sensation creep up my spine. It was terrifying.

Ren Yunwen soon exited the dormitory building and headed into the dark corners of the campus. Watching from a distance, his silhouette merged with the shadows of the trees, making him look even more sinister. Still, I followed, clutching my phone tightly, ready to dial for help at the slightest sign of trouble. He continued forward, and I trailed behind. Before long, we had crossed half the campus. I realized the path was becoming familiar—we were heading toward the lake.

I looked up and saw the benches by the lakeside in the distance, the water a pitch-black void under the night sky. The wind made the trees rustle, and from within the lake, a splashing sound emerged—the sound of someone swimming.

Who would be swimming in the middle of the night? My nerves frayed, and I hesitated to move forward. But just then, Ren Yunwen, who was about ten meters ahead, stopped. His body turned toward me with agonizing, stiff motions. Suddenly, he pointed one hand toward the lake. Then, his body seemed to drop a notch.

I trembled, my eyes locked on him. He hadn't just dropped; his legs had buckled, and he was kneeling on the ground. I was stunned. Everything the corpse had done along the way defied all logic. I felt as if my worldview had been shattered; I swore that from this day on, I would observe everyone I met with extreme caution. I was starting to lose the ability to distinguish between the living and the dead.

Ren Yunwen knelt there, leaving me in a state of turmoil. My earlier guess seemed correct—he had something to ask of me—but I never imagined he would kneel to me as a corpse. Strangely, the fear began to recede. I glanced at him one last time before turning my attention to the lake. The splashing continued.

I approached the shore, moving step by step. The lake was pitch black, and the benches along the bank appeared even more ominous in the darkness. Anxiety bubbled up, and the dread returned with a vengeance.

In fact, this lake was the subject of the most unsettling legends at our school. It was said that no fewer than ten people drowned here every year. Stranger still, not a single body had ever been successfully recovered.

Once, a girl drowned, and the next day, some students fishing nearby accidentally hooked her corpse, mistaking it for a fish. Terrified, they fled. When they later returned with a recovery team, the divers searched for an entire week but found nothing—not even a trace. Another year, a boy drowned. His body floated to the surface the next day. The school called in a recovery team again, but it went differently this time. The girl’s body had sunk back down, but the boy’s remained on the surface. Yet, even then, the team couldn't retrieve him. Why? Because as their boat approached the corpse, it capsized for no apparent reason, and one of the crew members drowned in the process.

From that day on, the lake became a forbidden zone for recovery teams. No one dared to fish or swim there. Yet, mysteriously, exactly ten people continued to drown every year—no more, no less.

Now, I stood on that very shore. The water was pitch black, yet the splashing persisted. My heart hammered against my ribs as I inched toward the water’s edge. It felt like an eternity before I finally reached the bank. Terrified, I gritted my teeth and leaned forward to look.

Suddenly, the splashing stopped, and the wind died down instantly. I saw it clearly: a person lay motionless in the water, facing me, wearing a soaking-white dress. The silence was absolute, save for the sound of my own ragged breathing. Seeing the figure in the white dress, my fear spiked—not because of the person in the water, but because of the realization that the splashing hadn't come from her.

Fear notwithstanding, I didn't retreat. I pulled out my phone and switched on the flashlight. When the beam hit the water, I saw the person in the white dress. It was Qiu Xiaoli. She was the great beauty of our department, the girl Jin Yuan said was dating Ren Yunwen.