PTYS Chapter 98

Liu Ya and Lin Xue currently lived on the third floor, in a dormitory that housed only the two of them.

Hearing Lin Xue’s words, Liu Ya pressed her lips together in reluctant acquiescence, stepped aside, and held the dormitory door. However, a cold smile appeared on her lips. “Come in,” she said, her tone full of disdain and menace.

As Xiao Muyu prepared to enter, Shen Qingqiu suddenly reached out, grabbed her wrist, and then positioned herself between Liu Ya and Xiao Muyu, accompanying Xiao Muyu inside. As they passed, Shen Qingqiu also smiled, her eyes as sharp as knives, directly challenging Liu Ya in a silent battle of intimidation.

The dormitory had two beds, but one was neatly made and looked almost new, as if rarely used. The other bed, while clean, showed obvious signs of being lived in.

Lin Xue provided chairs for them, and Xiao Muyu thanked her as she sat down. Liu Ya snickered and said coolly, “That’s rare. It seems you’re the only one in Class Seven who knows how to say thank you. The others, ha.” She glanced at Shen Qingqiu as she spoke.

Shen Qingqiu responded innocently, “She and I are one and the same. If she says thank you, then naturally, I am also saying thank you.”

Xiao Muyu gave Shen Qingqiu a sidelong glance, then focused on Liu Ya and Lin Xue. Without beating around the bush, she said, “I know about the curse, and I have a good idea of what you’ve been through.”

Lin Xue’s expression remained unchanged, but Liu Ya tensed. After a moment, she leaned in close to Xiao Muyu, her voice sinister, “Do you really know what we’ve been through?”

Immediately, her facial skin split open, quickly drying and withering.

Shen Qingqiu moved like lightning, grabbing Xiao Muyu’s shoulder and pulling her into an embrace, while her right elbow struck Liu Ya mercilessly.

Liu Ya staggered and fell onto the bed. Lin Xue’s expression changed as she rushed to support her. When she turned around, her usually gentle face showed cracks of distress.

Narrowing her eyes, Shen Qingqiu said coldly, “Talk properly. If you keep trying to scare her, I don’t care what you are, I’ll rip your head off.”

Liu Ya’s monstrous face returned to normal, the ferocity disappearing. She still looked a bit frightened of Shen Qingqiu.

Held in Shen Qingqiu’s single-armed embrace, Xiao Muyu hadn’t seen Liu Ya’s ghostly face clearly. The dull sound of impact in her ears made her feel pity for Liu Ya’s face.

Worried Shen Qingqiu might act out again, Xiao Muyu patted her arm and softly said, “I’m fine. I didn’t get a clear look, so I wasn’t scared.”

Hearing this, Shen Qingqiu let her go. Lin Xue and Liu Ya, who had forgotten their anger, stared at the two with complex expressions. Liu Ya, in particular, looked like she was on the verge of breaking down, holding Lin Xue’s hand, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Sorry, she was just too tense. We mean no harm, we just want to understand what happened. I sympathize with your experience. Anyone would find it unbearable. I don’t think you’re wrong to seek revenge, but…”

“But what? Huh?” Liu Ya interrupted Xiao Muyu harshly, a violent aura emanating from her again.

Her eyes turned red, not from sadness but from deep-seated hatred and resentment.

“Understand what happened? Sympathize with us? What a joke! You shouldn’t even be here. I don’t care why you’re meddling in my business, but if you do, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Liu Ya looked up, her teeth chattering as if restraining something, her expression pained.

Lin Xue’s face changed, and she hugged Liu Ya, choking up, “Xiao Ya, don’t be like this. Let it go. It’s too hard on you. They’re right. We’re not just taking revenge on them; we’re also punishing ourselves.”

Liu Ya could barely speak, glaring at Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu, blood-red tears streaming down her face, filled with silent despair and rage.

“Liu Ya, calm down. Some things aren’t as you think,” Xiao Muyu said, sensing something was wrong with Liu Ya’s state.

The sound of cracking bones echoed incessantly. Shen Qingqiu pulled Xiao Muyu back a few steps, the noise coming from Liu Ya’s body.

Blood began to seep not only from Liu Ya’s eyes but also from her face, arms, and body, as her skin started to crack.

Realizing the danger, Xiao Muyu grabbed Shen Qingqiu and ran for the door.

Liu Ya’s voice, hoarse like a broken organ, cried out to Shen Qingqiu with a sob, “I was just trying to scare her, and you couldn’t take it. But what about me? Seeing the person I care about most, the one I hold dear, being tortured to death, helpless… How would you feel? You said you understand, so feel it for yourself! Ah—”

As Liu Ya let out a roar, the entire scene of the room instantly changed.

“She triggered the hunting ground early,” Xiao Muyu didn’t expect this.

Xiao Muyu realized they were no longer in the dormitory.

Liu Ya’s body became extremely bizarre, her legs suddenly stretched and elongated, with the bones of her calves tearing through the flesh, revealing white tiger bones that sent chills down one’s spine. Not only her calves, but every inch of her body — arms, spine, neck — every bone grew frantically, breaking through the skin with a cracking sound.

The pain was unbearable to watch. It was clear Liu Ya felt it, as she shivered and screamed in agony. Her body was forcibly elongated, her hands and legs growing grotesquely. Crouching, she was already taller than a grown man.

Her elongated hands supported her body on the ground, resembling a spider or someone on stilts, giving off a horrifying appearance.

Xiao Muyu didn’t show much shock, whispering, “As expected, that thing was Liu Ya.”

Sure enough, Liu Ya’s flesh began to wither and turn black, her appearance becoming identical to the tall, dried-up corpse they had encountered that night. Her body now lacked any human features, with two eyeballs in the sockets, glaring malevolently at Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu, feeling a surge of anger, said, “She’s already gone mad. I thought Lin Xue was the mastermind, but it seems Liu Ya is the real culprit, only using Lin Xue to kill and exact her revenge.”

Xiao Muyu, feeling a bit tense, grabbed Shen Qingqiu’s hand, sensing that this game was targeted at them. Liu Ya’s words before her transformation concerned Xiao Muyu deeply.

“Let’s not get separated.”

Hearing this, and seeing her sudden action, Shen Qingqiu was momentarily stunned but then tightened her grip, saying, “Yes, stay close to me. I’m afraid she’ll come after you.”

Thinking along the same lines, Shen Qingqiu gritted her teeth and coldly added, “If she dares to hurt you, I’ll stop playing this game and make sure she can’t even be a ghost.”

Despite the tense situation, Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but smile, feeling a bit playful towards Shen Qingqiu. She asked, “Why would you target her partner?”

Shen Qingqiu replied without hesitation, “If she hurts my partner, I’ll hurt hers.”

Her righteous declaration made Xiao Muyu feel as if she had somehow agreed to be her partner.

“Who is your partner?” Xiao Muyu rolled her eyes at her.

As they retreated, Shen Qingqiu said, “A pursued partner is still a partner.”

Just then, Liu Ya, fully transformed into the dried corpse, lunged at them. Xiao Muyu clearly remembered how Shen Qingqiu had been injured by it before and quickly warned her, “Stop joking, be careful.”

Before she finished speaking, Liu Ya had already leaped, smashing down where they had been standing with such force that it left a large crater.

Shen Qingqiu barely managed to roll away with Xiao Muyu, dust rising around them, obscuring their vision. When the dust settled, they found themselves back in the dormitory, the night hunt having begun again.

Xiao Muyu stood up and observed the surroundings. The dormitory layout was strange, completely different from before. Initially, it was a long corridor with rooms on either side, but now it had multiple corridors, each room leading to another, forming a large maze.

Every room had the number 409 hanging above it, the three crimson numbers looking like curses surrounding them.

Xiao Muyu felt her heart tighten. She picked up her phone, disregarding the awkwardness of using it, and activated it. It still worked, which was a relief.

“Sujin, Xiao Zuo, Chen Kaijie, where are you?”

The response was a series of static noises, like an untuned radio. Amidst the noise, Xiao Muyu heard a scream.

Her expression changed instantly, repeating, “Sujin, are you okay? Please respond!”

More static, then a painful voice came through faintly, “Muyu, Muyu, don’t… don’t, you bastard…”

Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu held their breath, their faces turning serious as they looked at each other, filled with tension and doubt.

The noise turned into static and then disappeared.

Xiao Muyu looked at Shen Qingqiu, taking a deep breath, “That was…”

“My voice,” Shen Qingqiu said, her words cold as ice, filled with anger and a bit of fear.

What did this mean? How could her voice be heard in this place?

And those few words suggested one thing: Xiao Muyu was in trouble!

Suddenly, Sujin’s voice came through, breathless and tense, “Xiao Team, are you okay? Are you alright?”

The urgency in his voice was unusual. Shen Qingqiu immediately asked, “Why so urgent? Did something happen to Muyu?”

Sujin sounded more panicked, “Isn’t Xiao Team with you? We heard her calling for help, seriously injured. What’s going on?”

Shen Qingqiu’s heart went cold, her right hand unconsciously tightening around Xiao Muyu.

Xiao Muyu, trying to comfort her, said quickly, “I’m fine. Did you hear some static noise?”

“Yes, wasn’t that your voice?” Sujin, both surprised and relieved, responded quickly.

“No, it wasn’t. Muyu wouldn’t call for help like that!”

Shen Qingqiu, both anxious and cold, firmly denied it, fearing it might be true, then added coldly, “That wasn’t me either. I would never be that useless!”

“No,” Xiao Muyu looked at Shen Qingqiu, her thumb gently stroking her hand. She continued, “Where are you now? Still outside?”

“No, we encountered that dried corpse again. It threw us into a place full of dorm rooms. Every room is 409. We haven’t figured out its plan yet. Weren’t you talking with Liu Ya and Lin Xue? What happened?” said Zuo Tiantian, calming Xiao Muyu down temporarily. “We’re in the same place but can’t see you. Liu Ya didn’t want to talk and started the hunt early. Be careful. Is Chen Kaijie with you?”

“Yes, Xiao Team.”

Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu exchanged a glance, calming down a bit. Before they could say more, a sharp, baby-like cry suddenly exploded behind them.

Xiao Muyu jumped in fright, her scalp tingling.

Shen Qingqiu, extremely tense, almost pulled her into an embrace to protect her, turning towards the sound.

They saw an emergency alarm outside the dorm, a red square box flashing red lights, emitting a piercing alarm sound.