Old Man

Ghosts could not be killed.

Only ghosts could deal with ghosts.

Discern the patterns of ghosts.

The three sentences were written clearly on the blackboard, messy yet legible. Zhou Zheng had clearly pressed down hard while writing them.

But the students in the evening self-study class looked at one another.

Was this man really here to teach? Could he be some lunatic who had escaped from somewhere? He was spouting nothing but incomprehensible nonsense to fool them.

Some students shook their heads below, showing that they did not believe him.

Others began whispering among themselves, with some even chuckling.

Clearly, most of them had not taken Zhou Zheng's words to heart.

Only Yang Jian's expression was somewhat grave. The story on that forum yesterday, along with that photograph, had made him deeply uneasy. Coupled with this man's strange remarks, could it be that the world was really undergoing changes he knew nothing about?

After writing down those three sentences, Zhou Zheng did not say anything further. Instead, he swept his bloodshot, haggard eyes over everyone. "Students, if you have any questions next, or if anything strange happens around you, you may ask me. I will answer them for you. If there is nothing else to ask, then today's safety lecture ends here."

Yet not a single student had a question.

Should I ask him about the old man in that photograph?

Yang Jian's eyes shifted as he took out his phone, opened the forum, and found the old man's photograph again.

But just as he hesitated, the lights in the classroom suddenly dimmed, and the entire room became rather dark.

"Hmm?"

Zhou Zheng's expression shifted slightly on the podium, and he immediately became extremely vigilant.

Yang Jian also instinctively looked up. But when he happened to glimpse a figure outside the classroom through the glass window, his eyes widened instantly. His entire body tensed reflexively as overwhelming terror surged from his heart and quickly engulfed his whole body. At that moment, he even lost feeling in his body.

Outside the window stood an old man in a black long gown, his face covered in livor mortis. He stood there stiffly, his grayish-white, dead eyes gazing into the classroom without a trace of life, like a cold corpse standing ramrod straight.

Around the old man was utter darkness, without the slightest hint of light. The corridor lights seemed to have completely gone out, and a dense darkness, like mercury, rapidly began to invade the classroom.

The wall near the old man visibly aged at a rapid rate. The freshly painted wall instantly seemed to have weathered more than a decade, becoming covered in moss as its surface blackened and peeled away in mottled patches. A gloomy, decaying stench gradually spread through the air.

"It's the old man from that forum story. Impossible... Why is he here?"

Yang Jian's palm had gone pale from gripping too hard. He clutched his phone tightly, its screen displaying the old man's photograph. It was exactly the same as the old man outside the window, except the one outside was even more terrifying than the image.

Then, thoroughly frightened, he rose abruptly from his seat. He was so agitated that he knocked his chair over.

His excessive reaction caused all the other students in the class to turn and look at him.

"Yang Jian, why are you standing up? Sit down already. Don't disrupt classroom discipline," Teacher Wang shouted from the back.

But Yang Jian seemed not to hear him at all. His terrified eyes were fixed on the old man in black outside the window.

The old man moved.

His stiff body turned mechanically, while those grayish-white, dead, horrifying eyes seemed unable to focus, merely following the movement of his head numbly.

"Tap, tap tap~!"

Crisp footsteps without any echo rang out in the corridor, faintly reaching the classroom.

Is he leaving?

Cold sweat covered Yang Jian's body. He desperately hoped that the old man would leave and not come inside.

If the story on that forum was true, then the consequences would be unimaginable if that old man entered.

But things did not go as he wished. The old man did not leave. He merely took a few steps before finally stopping in front of the classroom door.

"Yang Jian, sit down already! Didn't you hear what I said? You dare disrupt even a safety lecture?" Teacher Wang became somewhat stern.

"Ah!"

At that moment, a female student let out a scream, then pointed at the books on her desk, too frightened to speak.

The books on her desk rapidly yellowed, then grew moldy, then rotted, finally turning into a pile of black, decaying matter.

"It stinks. Su Lei, why is there a lump of crap on your desk?" Zhang Wei said, pinching his nose.

"Impossible. How could a Ghost Domain appear at a time like this?"

But a male student beside her had turned deathly pale. He suddenly stood up and quickly backed away several steps.

"Fang Jing, what the hell are you yelling about?"

Teacher Wang was furious. What was wrong with the usually disciplined students in the class during evening self-study today?

Zhou Zheng narrowed his eyes on the podium, his entire body filled with vigilance. His previous haggardness vanished completely, and he became like a fierce beast released from its cage, somewhat violent and savage as he stared at Fang Jing.

Yet Fang Jing displayed a calmness that did not fit an ordinary person.

"Looks like you know quite a lot. Are you a Ghost Tamer too?" Zhou Zheng asked.

"Zhou Zheng, this is my business. You don't need to interfere."

Then Fang Jing glared fiercely at Yang Jian. "It's all because of you. You brought all this here. I should have killed you sooner. Otherwise, things would not have turned out like this. And the you of the future is far too terrifying."

Yang Jian looked at Fang Jing in confusion, unable to understand what he meant. But what concerned him more was the old man in black standing outside the classroom door.

The other students were shocked to hear this.

"Holy shit, Fang Jing, what you just said nearly scared the hell out of me."

"What Ghost Tamer? What future? You guys are talking way too deeply. I don't understand any of it. Can someone explain it to me?"

"Fang Jing seems to know something. Big bro, please look after us. I vaguely feel like something is wrong around here. I don't know if I'm the only one."

"We're doomed, we're doomed. What is going on today? Why is everyone losing their minds? Am I falling behind the times, or is this world changing too fast? By the way, why have my books turned into a pile of shit too?"

The students saying these things seemed not to realize that danger had already descended despite the strange events that had taken place. They were merely curious, even somewhat excited and thrilled.

Suddenly.

"Thump, thump thump."

A dull, distinct knocking sound, as though it were rapping against everyone's heart, suddenly rang out and entered the classroom with an almost eerie rhythm.

At that moment, everyone felt as if something had gripped their souls, an oppressive sensation like being held underwater and unable to breathe.

"It's that knocking sound. Exactly the same." Yang Jian's heart trembled.

It was exactly the same sound as the one in the audio file from that forum, only far clearer when heard in person.

Zhou Zheng's expression was especially grave. He picked up a special phone and urgently pressed a button. The call was connected immediately.

"Is this Zhou Zheng? Report the situation."

A woman's voice came from the other end.

"A supernatural incident has occurred here," Zhou Zheng said immediately.

"It has already been recorded."

The voice on the other end spoke quickly. "Can you handle it?"

Zhou Zheng said, "That ghost has already formed a Ghost Domain and begun affecting my location. The lights outside can no longer be seen. The Ghost Domain is probably larger than I imagined."

"A Ghost Domain? The situation has escalated. It is not something you can handle. Please retreat immediately."

"With your current condition, using the ghost's power again is very dangerous. By then, there may be more than one ghost where you are, but two. I suggest you retreat. Although you are nearing your limit, even if you risk your life, you may not be able to save a single person," the voice on the other end said immediately.

Zhou Zheng said, "There's no time. I'm less than five meters away from that thing. It's right outside the classroom door, and it may have already targeted me. I will keep the line open from now on. If it disconnects, it means I'm dead. Please pass my will to my parents for me. That's all. I'm going to act now."

"Thump. Thump thump."

The dull, oppressive knocking continued outside, one long knock followed by two short ones, striking the classroom door over and over at a fixed rhythm.

"Teacher Wang, someone is knocking," a student who did not understand the situation shouted.

Teacher Wang hesitated somewhat. Zhou Zheng seemed to be facing a serious problem, but unable to suppress his curiosity, he still opened the back door of the classroom and walked out to see who was knocking.

"Don't go out!" Zhou Zheng shouted urgently.

But he was already too late. Teacher Wang had gone out, yet strangely, the moment he opened the door and stepped outside, he vanished as if in the blink of an eye.

Yes, he was gone.

Beyond the classroom door was total darkness. The dense blackness seemed capable of swallowing every trace of light. Once Teacher Wang walked out, there was no further movement, not even the slightest sound, as if he had vanished into thin air.

Moreover, as the classroom door opened, the darkness outside seeped in rapidly like thick black fog, continually eroding the space inside the classroom.