IMMFBCG Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The Lingering Melody

Ye Xue returned to the dorm and found that her roommates were already back. Not only that, there was now an additional suitcase in the room.

Originally, there were just three suitcases lined up in the corner, but now there was a fourth.

The four suitcases, all about the same size, were neatly arranged together.

The previously empty fourth bed was now made up, with the bedding laid out, a mosquito net hung, and curtains set up.

Wei Caining heard the door open and came out. Her hands were still covered in soap, indicating she had been doing laundry.

Seeing Ye Xue, Wei Caining smiled and said, “Ah Xue, you’re back! Finally, our dorm is complete.”

Ye Xue’s gaze fell on the extra suitcase. “So, our fourth roommate has arrived?”

Gao Lan, hearing the conversation, poked her head out from her bed and said, “Yes, but she’s not here at the moment. She went out to grab something… Oh, she’s back now!”

Ye Xue thought that the name sounded somewhat familiar when she turned around and saw a girl in a black T-shirt and white pants walk in, carrying a bag of daily essentials.

The girl noticed Ye Xue’s gaze and looked over, their eyes meeting. Both of them were surprised, speaking at the same time: “It’s you!”

Ye Xue smiled knowingly, and He Siqi looked even more delighted.

He Siqi couldn’t help but exclaim, “Ye Xue Dao—”

Before she could finish saying “Daozhang” (Taoist priest), Ye Xue hooked her arm around He Siqi’s and cut her off with a smile, “What a coincidence! We’re dormmates!”

Gao Lan, watching them, curiously asked, “You two know each other?”

Ye Xue nodded naturally, “Yeah, we just ran into each other on the road earlier. I didn’t expect that Siqi would be our new roommate, right?”

She winked playfully at He Siqi as she spoke.

He Siqi instantly understood her meaning and played along, “Yes, I didn’t expect… such a coincidence.”

Her voice grew softer toward the end of her sentence.

The memory of Ye Xue beating up Peng Siyuan was still fresh in her mind, and He Siqi had been filled with gratitude for the Taoist priests who saved her. She had even thought of taking her parents to Xuanzhen Temple one day to offer incense and donate some money.

What she hadn’t expected was that the powerful priest from Xuan Zhen Temple was a university student—and her dormmate, no less!

After He Siqi explained, the other roommates didn’t suspect anything further, and the topic quickly shifted.

Soon after, Wei Caining remembered she still had laundry to finish and went back to the bathroom, while Gao Lan returned to her bed to continue playing on her phone.

In a soft voice, He Siqi said, “Sorry, Daozhang, I got too excited when I saw you and couldn’t hold it in…”

Ye Xue shook her head lightly, smiling, “It’s no big deal. But you don’t need to be so formal—just call me Ye Xue or Ah Xue. I’ll call you Siqi.”

He Siqi paused briefly, then smiled, dimples showing as she replied shyly, “Okay, Ah Xue.”

Ye Xue continued, “Earlier, we were all wondering what had happened to our new roommate’s family, thinking that’s why they hadn’t come to school yet. Turns out it was all because of that troublesome ghost.”

As she spoke, Ye Xue clenched her fists, still annoyed. “If I’d known, I would’ve punched him a few more times!”

He Siqi laughed at Ye Xue’s indignation.

After a while, Wei Caining returned from the bathroom, and the two of them dropped the topic about the ghost.

Later, when He Siqi had finished making her bed and cleaning her space, the four of them headed to the cafeteria together.

On the way, Ye Xue was approached by a few seniors asking for her contact information.

Seeing this, Gao Lan and Wei Caining teased her, “Siqi, you’ll get used to it soon. Our Ah Xue is pretty popular around here.”

He Siqi nodded in agreement, “Ah Xue is beautiful.”

The first time she saw Ye Xue, she had been stunned by her looks.

Ye Xue, already used to her roommates’ teasing, checked the time and kindly reminded them, “Ladies, if we don’t hurry, the spicy chicken at the cafeteria will be all gone.”

The spicy chicken was a famous dish at Haicheng University, very popular among the students. If you arrive too late, you might not get any.

Hearing this, Wei Caining and Gao Lan quickly stopped teasing her and each grabbed someone, dragging Ye Xue and the others toward the cafeteria.

…

After dinner, they took a walk around the school track to help with digestion.

As they walked, Gao Lan suddenly said, “I heard the music building was just finished a few days ago. After National Day, we’ll have our music classes there. Do you want to go check it out and familiarize ourselves with the layout?”

Haicheng University was quite large, and when they first arrived, it had taken them some time to find their classrooms. They had almost been late a few times.

Gao Lan’s suggestion was met with agreement from Ye Xue and the others, and the group began making their way to the music building while familiarizing themselves with the campus.

By this time, it was already dark, but the path to the music building was lit by streetlights, casting a soft glow. They noticed there was also a dessert shop nearby, which they could visit after class for some sweets.

Laughing and chatting, Ye Xue and her friends approached the music building.

It had just been built, and as they neared it, they caught the faint scent of fresh paint in the air.

The music building had a total of ten floors, and Ye Xue and her friends decided to walk through each one, identifying the classrooms on every level.

The music rooms were already set up, with pianos, CD players, and neatly arranged desks and chairs in each room.

Looking at the setup inside, Gao Lan remarked, “No wonder the class next door already had their lesson today—it’s all fully furnished.”

Afterward, the group continued heading upstairs, and before they knew it, they were on the fourth floor.

Suddenly, Wei Caining seemed to remember something and said to the group, “Have you ever heard the famous campus legend—the story of the music classroom? Rumor has it that, at night when no one is around, the piano in the music room starts playing by itself…”

Gao Lan immediately got goosebumps, “Caining, you’re scaring us with ghost stories again!”

He Siqi instinctively moved closer to Ye Xue, seeking some comfort.

Ye Xue, seeing that Wei Caining was still in the mood to tell stories, couldn’t help but laugh.

Caining sure had guts. It seemed her recent nightmare hadn’t affected her at all—at most, she probably thought it was just a bad dream where she was being forced to do math problems.

Wei Caining’s eyes curved into a smile as she laughed, “What’s there to be afraid of? There’s no such thing as ghosts! It’s not like the piano will start playing just because we’ve come here…”

But before she could finish speaking, the familiar melody of Für Elise drifted from nearby.

Wei Caining was dumbfounded. “Wait, did I predict that?”

He Siqi turned pale with fright and clung tightly to Ye Xue’s arm. “!!!”

Gao Lan, her voice trembling, added, “S-Someone’s playing the piano… but no, the music room lights are all off, and there’s no one inside.”

If no one was there…

Then it had to be a ghost playing, right?

Ye Xue furrowed her brow slightly and glanced toward the classroom from where the music was coming.

The music room was just ahead.

Turning to her friends, Ye Xue calmly instructed, “Stay here. I’ll go check it out.”

“No, no way!” Gao Lan quickly objected, “In horror movies, the person who goes alone is always the first to get caught by the ghost! We can’t let you go by yourself. I’ll come with you!”

Wei Caining took a deep breath and chimed in, “We’ll all go together. If we see something strange, we can figure it out as a group.”

He Siqi, sticking close to Ye Xue, nodded, “I’ll go too.”

Ye Xue felt a warmth in her heart.

He Siqi trusted that she could handle the situation, but Gao Lan and Wei Caining didn’t know that Ye Xue practiced Taoist arts. Even though Gao Lan was the most timid of the group, she was the first to offer to accompany Ye Xue.

Despite their fear of the eerie music, the girls insisted on sticking together with Ye Xue.

Ye Xue smiled, “Alright, we’ll go together.”

Ye Xue and Wei Caining, the braver of the group, stood at the front, shielding the others behind them.

Ye Xue led the way to the music room, opened the door, and switched on the lights.

In an instant, the dark room lit up.

They all instinctively looked toward the source of the sound—the piano remained still, and the music was coming from a nearby CD player.

Wei Caining let out a sigh of relief, “It’s just the CD player.”

But Gao Lan wasn’t comforted. She seemed even more frightened, “Isn’t that even scarier? No one turned it on in the first place!”

Ignoring her, Wei Caining walked over to the CD player, saying, “Maybe the person who had class earlier today forgot to turn it off. I’ll just switch it off, and everything will be fine.”

As she pressed the button, the music continued to play without stopping.

Wei Caining was at a loss for words.

The eerie silence that followed was unsettling, broken only by the continued piano music from the CD player.

A flicker of confusion crossed Wei Caining’s face.

Then, as if seeing something, her expression turned pale. In a shaky and frightened voice, she muttered, “How is this possible… this CD player… it’s not even plugged in.”

If there’s no power, how could it be playing music?

The horror of the situation gripped everyone except Ye Xue. The other three girls were filled with dread.

Ye Xue, however, walked over and pressed the CD player again. Wei Caining warned her, “Ah Xue, let’s just go. I already tried—it won’t turn off.”

Ye Xue didn’t respond. Instead, she tapped the machine, seemingly testing it. When it still didn’t stop, she simply punched it.

With a loud “thud,” the CD player broke into two halves.

Für Elise had barely reached the middle when it abruptly stopped, and the room fell silent once more.

Wei Caining, Gao Lan, and He Siqi were speechless.

Was that even an option?

In a calm tone, Ye Xue said, “It’s broken.”

At this, Wei Caining’s fear faded, replaced by amusement as she laughed and said, “It’s broken. But Ah Xue, won’t you get fined for destroying school property?”

Ye Xue replied seriously, “No, I mean it was already broken, which is why it wouldn’t turn off.”

Wei Caining exhaled in relief. “That makes sense. I was wondering how there could be ghosts.”

Gao Lan, still puzzled, asked, “If it was broken, how was it playing music? And there wasn’t even a power cord?”

Ye Xue, still unfazed, answered, “Maybe it had some charge left, so it could keep playing.”

While Gao Lan was still caught up in the logistics of whether CD players could store a charge, He Siqi suggested, “It’s getting late. Let’s head back.”

The group checked the time—it was almost eleven.

Realizing how late it was, they hurried downstairs without further thought.

Walking closely beside Ye Xue, He Siqi quietly asked, “Ah Xue, was the CD player broken?”

Ye Xue gently shook her head.

He Siqi’s heart sank, and she muttered with a pained expression, “Great, we encountered another ghost.” She was starting to feel emotionally scarred by these encounters.

Just as the group was about to leave the music building, Ye Xue suddenly stopped.

Wei Caining noticed that Ye Xue had stopped walking and asked, “A Xue, what’s wrong?”

Ye Xue replied, “I left something in the music room. You all go ahead, I’ll catch up later.”

Wei Caining and the others glanced at her and noticed her backpack was missing. She had accidentally left it behind in the music building.

Both Wei Caining and Gao Lan, concerned for her safety, said, “But it’s so late. It’s not safe for you to go back alone. How about we go with you to retrieve it?”

Ye Xue had other matters to take care of, so she politely declined, “It’s fine. I’ll just grab my stuff and come right back.”

As she spoke, she glanced at He Siqi.

Understanding Ye Xue’s silent message, He Siqi realized she was heading back to check on the situation in the music room. So she suggested to the others, “Isn’t there a dessert shop nearby? Why don’t we wait for A Xue there? I’m a little hungry anyway, and we can grab something to eat.”

Wei Caining looked at the shop not far away and reluctantly nodded, “Alright then. A Xue, do you want anything?”

Already heading toward the music room, Ye Xue turned back and replied, “A piece of Black Forest cake—”

Waving goodbye to her friends, she continued up the stairs.

Ye Xue went straight to the fire hose cabinet, grabbed the bag she had stashed there earlier, took out her sword, and headed toward the haunted classroom.

The surrounding area was eerily quiet, with only the sound of Ye Xue’s footsteps echoing through the hallway—”click, click, click…”

She opened the door to the classroom, walked over to the piano, and without hesitation, gave a swift kick. A round object rolled out from underneath the piano, tumbling about until it finally stopped at her feet, where she firmly pinned it down with her foot.

Lifting her foot slightly, Ye Xue used the back of her sword to flip the object up for a closer look. She realized it had only eyes and a mouth, its eyes wide like bronze bells, glowing with a faint blue light in the dark classroom. The sight almost startled her.

Upon closer inspection, Ye Xue was surprised. “A sound spirit?”

The phrase “lingering music echoes through the rafters” comes from a story about a woman named Han E in ancient times, whose beautiful and captivating singing lingered in the rafters, stirring the hearts of many. This phrase later became a metaphor for enchanting music.

The “sound” in “sound spirit” refers to this concept—an entity born from music.

Though it didn’t stir the world like Han E’s song, the sound spirit’s music could bring calm and peace.

But Ye Xue didn’t release the spirit, keeping it firmly underfoot. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “So it was you scaring us earlier?”

The sound spirit trembled under the pressure of her sword’s energy, almost wetting itself in fear, and quickly pleaded, “Master Taoist, I didn’t mean to frighten anyone. I thought no students would come this late, so I played the piano.”

Ye Xue understood, “So it was you playing earlier, and when we showed up, you switched to the CD player?”

The sound spirit nodded frantically, “Yes, yes! I didn’t mean to scare the students. I just wanted to play some music. Please, spare me!”

Ye Xue, however, remained serious, “That won’t do. That stunt with the unplugged CD player almost scared me to death.”

The sound spirit was on the verge of tears, thinking, Wasn’t I the really scared one?

Aside from her three terrified friends, it didn’t sense that Ye Xue had been frightened at all.

Clearing her throat, Ye Xue said, “Alright, I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself.”

“Yes, yes! I’ll do whatever you ask!” The sound spirit was clearly at fault for breaking the rules by causing disturbances in a human-inhabited place.

Ye Xue gestured toward the CD player, which was now in two pieces, “Fix that, and I’ll let it slide.”

The sound spirit looked at the completely shattered machine. “Um…”

It hesitated, wondering if this celestial-like Taoist was deliberately making things difficult.

“Hmm?” Ye Xue raised an eyebrow slightly.

She didn’t say anything threatening, but the spirit was so intimidated by the slight rise in her tone that it almost collapsed.

Reluctantly, the sound spirit nodded its nonexistent head and cried out, “I’ll fix it! I can fix it!” Worst case, I’ll borrow some money from the other ghosts to buy a new one.

…

The next day, Wei Caining and the others were awakened by a beautiful melody, feeling refreshed and energized.

By then, Ye Xue was already up, tinkering with something on the balcony.

Wei Caining asked, “A Xue, what’s this song? It’s so beautiful.”

“I don’t know. I just picked something random from the music app,” Ye Xue replied casually.

As she spoke, she nudged the round head of the sound spirit, signaling it to leave.

The sound spirit, which had been singing to them in their dreams all night, had long wanted to go home. Seeing Ye Xue finally letting it go, it nodded eagerly and jumped off the balcony.

The day before National Day, Ye Xue packed her belongings, planning to return to the countryside to spend time with her master.

Her roommates had all gone home, leaving her alone in the dorm.

As she gathered the talismans she had drawn over the past few days and prepared to place them in her bag, her phone suddenly rang.

Picking it up, she saw it was a call from her master, Ye Yangyun.

Ye Xue answered the call and soon heard her master’s solemn voice on the other end.

“A Xue, the female sword suppressing the Ghost Well has gone missing.”