Lonelytree

  Millman97

  The blood rain from the sky had stopped. Inside the world enveloped in the black hair, the single drop of crystalline tear appeared so special. From beginning to end, Zhang Ya had not said a single word. Compared to words, she preferred to use action to communicate. The hair that covered the sky slowly pulled back, and the tear had no place to run until it was captured in Zhang Ya’s palm.

  Pleading and scream came from the single tear. Other than the voice of the patient, there were voices of other people. Those seemed to come from his family and friends. This one tear contained many things. Hearing the sounds from the tear, Zhang Ya’s pale hands slowly close upon itself. She seemed to wish to squish the tear. When she did that, the crying from the red city became more obvious, like something was hurrying there.

  “Do not kill him! The tear belongs to that man. It is part of his memory, a segment of humanity.” Chang Wenyu’s voice came from the three headed demon’s lips, but Zhang Ya did not listen to her at all. When the five fingers opened again, the tear had already disappeared, and the picture of a tear was added to her red and black dress.

  The black hair was pulling back. After Zhang Ya dealt with the patient, she turned to look at the door that she was stepping on. She reached out toward the three-headed demon on the door. When she touched the thing, her pale hand felt like it was scorched by fire and looked like a fresh flower that was rapidly wilting.

  Zhang Ya had gotten used to the sensation of pain, so she did not mind that at all. Her spirit was so determined that it would prove scarring to others. Soon, the cracks on the door appeared on Zhang Ya’s arms. All the specters on her dress started to wail. Trails of black and red blood slid down Zhang Ya’s arms and crawled onto the door of the School of the Afterlife. The door appeared to know that Zhang Ya was helping it, so it cooperated fully. Only Zhang Wenyu’s unwilling roar could be heard echoing through the entire school.

  “The door can move on its own. It has its own will, and it can lure living humans who are lost. It has broken through its limits! If you help it, you will be dragged along by it!”


  No matter what Chang Wenyu said, Zhang Ya was not affected. After her own death, she no longer cared about other people’s opinions. With the cooperation between Zhang Ya and the door, the three-headed demon’s picture slowly lost its activity, and the single red eye was plucked out by Zhang Ya!

  The picture did not disappear, and Zhang Ya did not appear to have the power to completely remove the picture. She could only make it go into hibernation.

  The School of the Afterlife’s door stopped cracking, and it started to heal on its own. Zhang Ya put away Chang Wenyu’s single eye and stood before the door for a long time. Her presence was seemed to flicker, strong one moment but weak the next. Controlling a sea of black hair was quite trying for her as well. The sea that was formed by the black hair around the school was slowly closing in, and it now just protected the area close to the education block. The black hair isolated the School of the Afterlife from the red city. The students at the school could hear the harrowing screams that came from outside, but they could not see what was beyond the windows of the school.

  The trials and tragedy were over. The door had quieted down at lot. It stopped before Zhang Ya as if waiting for Zhang Ya to push it open. From what the painter had said earlier, Zhang Ya had forced herself out of hibernation this time. She was still heavily wounded and was in a special state. She had the power of something above a Red Specter, but she could not completely control it.

  If she could push the door of the School of the Afterlife open and become the school’s new owner, with the aid of the school’s consciousness, she would not only stabilize her own condition, she might even improve her state. After all, the door pusher would have their power doubled when they were inside their own scenario. Staring at the door filled with cracks, Zhang Ya’s hand fell on the door, but she did not apply any strength. Her eyes moved away from the door. Zhang Ya looked into the School of the Afterlife like she was looking for someone.

  The door pusher would gain the school’s consciousness’ aid and a lot of power, but one would lose something as well. The door pusher would not be able to leave their own scenario for too long and would suffer the sin behind the door. The pale hand slowly pulled back. The crying now came from the outskirts of the school perimeter. Fresh blood leaked through the gaps in the black hair that wrapped around the door. Zhang Ya ultimately did not push open the door for the School of the Afterlife. Instead, she wrapped her black hair around it and walked out of the school.

  “Zhang Ya!” On the field, Chen Ge put away his black phone. He did not have time to look at the messages as he saw Zhang Ya heading out from the School of the Afterlife. The black hair fell to the side to reveal Zhang Ya’s increasingly beautiful face. She looked at Chen Ge with a faded smile hanging on her face. Then she walked through the wall of black hair, out of the School of the Afterlife, and into the red city. “She wishes to face the monsters coming from the red city alone?”


  Through the layer of black hair, Chen Ge had no idea what was happening outside the school. Even though Zhang Ya was the Red Specter that had stayed with him the longest, the more time they spent together, the more he realized that he did not really understand her. Placing Chang Wenyu’s uniform on the ground, Chen Ge did not choose to follow the other students back to the education block but waited at the field. There was no outsider around him. Chen Ge activated the black phone and looked at the screen. When Zhang Ya plucked Chang Wenyu’s single eye earlier, the black phone had vibrated, meaning that Chen Ge had gained a new message. Clicking open the new message, the content that appeared shocked Chen Ge somewhat.

  “Congratulations Specter’s Favored! Congratulations for unlocking a new employee’s special page!”


  Chen Ge was confused. Of all the employees that he had, only Zhang Ya had her own special page.

  Clicking on the phone, when Chen Ge saw the new special page, he was beyond shocked. Zhang Ya’s special page was red in color, but the background color of this new special page was gray, and it was crawling with endless black hair. In the middle of the cage formed by the hair was a maddened girl. She ignored all the rules, and her body was covered in wound. In her single eye, there was a desperation that was close to being a sickness.

  Clicking on Chang Wenyu’s special page, the phone showed him a single line—lingering soul, still remaining.

  Chen Ge clicked on the other message on the black phone according to the sequence. After entering the School of the Afterlife, the four-star Trial Mission on the black phone had been activated. Comparing it to the timeline, whenever he was in danger, the black phone would give the corresponding hint. However, the phone had been confiscated by Chang Wenyu, and he did not have the chance to view them. Looking down further, Chen Ge still did not see the alert that the mission had been completed. He was becoming more and more agitated and kept turning to look outside the School of the Afterlife.

  In a few short minutes, the black hair that wrapped around the school was like the receding tide, slowly fading away. As the black hair faded away so did the screaming outside the School of the Afterlife. Blood fog floated into the school again, and in the fog, there was the blurry figure of a woman. The black and red dress fluttered in the wind. Demons surrounded her, and screams and wails formed a wall around her.

  “Zhang Ya!” The agitation in Chen Ge’s heart almost dissipated instantly. He ran to the woman in the fog, but when he was a few meters away from her, a strand of black hair moved to stop him. For some reason, Zhang Ya did not want him to get too close. “Are you alright? Let’s go home now.

  Hearing Chen Ge’s voice, Zhang Ya’s lips moved slightly like she wanted to say something to Chen Ge, but in the end, she did not say anything. Her presence had weakened a lot compared to before. The black hair behind her slowly fell away to reveal the door that had been hidden. Zhang Ya turned to look at Xu Yin as if she was asking the latter to push open the door, but Xu Yin shook his head. No one knew what Zhang Ya and the door of the School of the Afterlife had experienced at the gate of the school. Chen Ge only knew that both Zhang Ya and the door were at their weakest. Other than Xu Yin, Zhang Ya was cautious regarding anyone else at the school.

  She let go of the door. The door was at its breaking point. The moment Zhang Ya released it, it disappeared. At the same time, there was a click that came from one of the cubicles at the top of the education block. Everyone turned to look at it. Light red blood vessels started to spread through the entire school, centered around the toilet at the top floor of the education block. The lingering Specters and many half dead monsters slowly disappeared. The blood vessels pierced through their bodies, and the door used them as the foundation to rebuild and reconstruct the School of the Afterlife.

  “The door still does not possess a door pusher, but this can be considered the best ending.” Chen Ge pulled his eyes away and turned to look at Zhang Ya when he realized that Zhang Ya was already standing behind him. At that moment, the redness of her dress had faded away, and she looked just like a normal girl. The two locked eyes, and Zhang Ya phased through Chen Ge’s body before disappearing in his shadow.

  “That…… was an illusion right.” When Zhang Ya phased through him, the chilliness on his body decreased a lot, and the sense of discomfort was taken away by Zhang Ya. Staring dumbly at his shadow, Chen Ge slowly squatted down. He reached out to touch the face of his shadow. One would think that the man had lost his mind, but no one went to disturb Chen Ge.

  After a long time, he stood up. “Let’s go. We have wasted too much time here. It’s about time we go home.”


  Leading all the employees back to the education block, Chen Ge followed his initial plan and had the old headmaster stay. The students at the School of the Afterlife did not know the exact details between the door and Zhang Ya. They now believed that Zhang Ya was the new owner of the School of the Afterlife and that the old headmaster was the new admin selected by Zhang Ya.

  “In the future, you will find that you respect this new headmaster with your actual belief and sincerity.” Chen Ge had confidence in the old headmaster. After confirming the new admin of the school, he started to deal with the students. The school’s consciousness did not receive much damage. The main reason was because the painter had taken most of the suffering and attacks on his own.

  “All the lingering spirits that wish to leave the School of the Afterlife can come with me. Those who wish to stay can continue to live your life here. From now on, this will be your home.”


  The boy with the stench chose to leave with Chen Ge. Zhu Long, Zhang Ju, Yin Hong, and Han Song though chose to stay. For them, the world behind the door was their home. With the aid of those few Red Specters, the work of the old headmaster would be much easier. Most of the seniors chose to stay. They had gotten used to the life at the School of the Afterlife.

  Those who chose to leave were mostly lingering spirits and spiritual essence. Most of their bodies were lying in the hospital, stuck in comas. After their many trials at the School of the Afterlife, the lock in their hearts had been opened, and despair was no longer with him. They wished to face the horrible, scary, unavoidable truth and reality that had light in it once more. There were many students who wished to leave. The door of the School of the Afterlife could move on its own. The range of the students that it had accepted was very wide, so it was far beyond the city of Jiujiang.

  “After you leave, if you find out that you are unable to get used to everyday life or you have nowhere else to go, you can come and find me at Western Jiujiang New Century Park. My Haunted House will provide you with another home.”


  The term Western Jiujiang New Century Park was deeply seared in the minds of all the students. It was not that Chen Ge was hoping for free labor—he was really worried and put in consideration toward these children.

  The School of the Afterlife would require a long time to recover. Chen Ge could not stay there for that long. He hugged the present box that he had taken from Zhang Ya’s dormitory and dragged the unconscious Chang Gu. He had the boy with the stench carry the mirror that contained the non smiler and the previous headmaster that had been turned into a doll.

  The non-smiler was related to the cursed hospital, and if Chen Ge wanted to gain information about hospital, he had to take him with him. He took the previous headmaster of the School of the Afterlife because he knew too many secrets about Zhang Ya. Chen Ge planned to find an opportunity to return him to Zhang Ya. After dealing with everything, he summoned all the employees and the lingering spirits who wished to leave to the top floor of the education block. No matter the depth of the despair that those students had been through, those children had chosen to leave, and Chen Ge chose to respect their decision.

  “After staying too long behind the door, you will be assimilated into this blood red world. It will drag people deeper into the dark abyss. You are lucky to have run into me. Now, the nightmare is about to end.” Chen Ge walked into the toilet at the top of the education block. This was the source of the blood vessels. He stopped before the last cubicle. The door of that cubicle was filled with cracks and pulsing blood vessels, looking quite scary.

  “You are the most unique door I have ever met. Since Zhang Ya has let you be, it means that she has her own plans. I won’t interrupt her, but I hope you know how lucky you are.” Chen Ge did not get any reaction from the door. He raised his arm to grab the doorknob. When he pushed, there was a strange and hard to describe connection that was made between him and the door. In that split second, Chen Ge seemed to see three doors standing in his mind. He blinked, and everything returned to normal. Chen Ge did not feel uncomfortable, and he increased his pushing force. The blood vessels slithered away, and the door of the School of the Afterlife slowly opened.

  Many different voices rang out behind Chen Ge. The lingering spirits morphed into wind and rushed out into the world. Standing quietly at the door and ensuring that he did not miss anything else, Chen Ge reached out toward the old headmaster.

  “Sir, I will leave the School of the Afterlife in your hands. The school’s consciousness is made up of the consciousness of every single student here. After you gain everyone’s approval, you will naturally become the new door pusher. In a way, this door is very fair.”


  “I do not dare guarantee anything, but I will try my best.”


  “That is more than enough.” Chen Ge turned to look at Xu Yin, and the latter understood what the man wanted to communicate. He left the old headmaster with a drop of his blood. “If you wish to contact me, swallow this drop of blood, and I will come. Other than that, sir, I have one more thing that I need your help with.”


  “What is it?”


  “If you gain any information about my parents, you have to tell me no matter what.” Chen Ge looked at that red city outside the window. “I have a feeling that I am getting very close to them.”


  After saying everything that he had to say, Chen Ge carried the present box, his own backpack, and Chang Gu and walked out from the bleeding door……

  Pa!

  A crisp sound came from his ear, and Chen Ge slowly opened his eyes. The ground was covered in shattered glass, and all he saw was the white colored bedsheet of the hospital. He slowly sat up in bed and realized that Chang Gu was lying on the ground. Blood came out from every orifice of his body, and he looked like he was already dead. On the clean bed that was not far away, Chang Wenyu lay quietly. She was completely motionless like a body that had lost its will to live.

  This was Chang Wenyu’s sickroom. After a very long night, Chen Ge had finally returned. The black phone in his pocket kept vibrating, and Chen Ge took it out to see. Clicking on the screen, streams of messages came into view.

  “Congratulations, Specter’s Favored! Congratulations for completing the four-star trial mission ‘School of the Afterlife’!

  “Mission Completion Rate is ninety percent!

  “The optional mission with the highest difficulty, The Painter’s Heaven, has been completed! Unlocked the special building Red Specter’s Painting Room (Inverted World)!

  “Red Specter’s Painting Room (Special Building): Thirteen hells left behind by thirteen Red Specters.

  “Optional Mission ‘Left Oculus’ completed! Unlocked Chang Wenyu’s special page!

  “Chang Wenyu (Top Red Specter): She is not yet completely dead! You have to protect your own secret!

  “Optional mission ‘The School That’s Called Mu Yang’ completed! You have gained the approval of everyone from Mu Yang High School, you are their most respected individual.

  “Optional Mission ‘Red and White’ has been completed! Unlocked the employee’s page for Yin Hong and Yin Bai.

  “Yin Hong (Red Specter): I am the most venomous flower in the world. I like red, and I will suffer all the pain on your behalf!

  “Yin Bai (Lingering Spirit): Life is closely tied to death. No one can split us apart.”