Chapter 8, The Puppet of the Ghost School

This is the rhythm that is meant to separate us. Although I do not wish for us to be torn apart, I can no longer find a good reason, so I can only take my pen and notebook and leave with Liu Hui.

Liu Hui first served us meat soup, calling everyone to eat and chat together. Among the two teachers, one is the tall-faced one I know, while the other, wearing a green vest, I have no idea what he teaches, as I did not see him during the day

The pot is still hot, with the meat bubbling inside. Additionally, I noticed small black specks in the soup that resemble sesame seeds

As this cigarette was nearly finished, Panzi emerged with a pale face, rubbing his stomach. He even took the initiative to complain to me, saying he didn't know what was wrong, as he had been having stomach issues all morning

After I escaped from the classroom, my heart finally calmed down a bit. Then I thought again, I wonder how Panzi is doing. He wouldn't have encountered a similar situation in the office, would he?

I decided to first go to the restroom to look for Panzi. Following the direction indicated by the tall-faced person, I found that restroom. This restroom is quite unique, being just a stone structure divided into male and female sections. Although I didn't go inside to take a look, I suspect that it might just be a large pit dug out, where both urine and feces are disposed.

I secretly encouraged myself to hold on and not to falter, but ten minutes later, I took over the desk of the student next to me and fell asleep.

Can I admit this? Even if she really discovers something, deep down she knows that the two of us went out together, and I will also pretend to be confused on the surface. Otherwise, if it becomes public, it would undoubtedly lead to a confrontation.

I thought to myself, could it be that Liu Hui finished the lecture and switched to self-study? I then lifted my head and squinted my still drowsy eyes to look around.

In order to get closer to Panzi, I laughed and went along with the conversation while listening. When I felt that the atmosphere was about right, I suddenly threw out a topic.

Seeing that Panzi was fine, I felt a sudden sense of relief and my anxiety diminished. I decided to light a cigarette, waiting while I smoked.

Ke Panzi's expression was very serious. After thinking for a long time, he finally said to me, "Du Rui, you teach mathematics, and I will handle Chinese."

The place where we have breakfast is still that dilapidated tile-roofed house, the same place where we had potato soup last night. This time, as I entered with Liu Hui, I noticed that there were two people sitting at the round table, holding a bowl of porridge and drinking. In addition, there was an elderly woman standing in front of the stove, seemingly cooking.

I have never been an intern teacher, and I have no understanding of what I should or should not do. However, during my school days, I observed other teachers attending classes, and they all sat in the last row

Upon hearing this, I thought to myself, well, what kind of intelligence does Pan possess, that he can't even grasp elementary school mathematics

There isn't even a restaurant in this village; our gathering place is at the staff canteen. However, tonight we will not be having potato soup, as that plump woman has brought out a meat pot.

He ignored my indifferent expression and pointed in a direction, saying, "He went to the restroom."

I looked up at the sky; the sun was quite bright. I casually remarked, "Could it be a ghost? In broad daylight, isn't a ghost afraid of the sunlight?"

I wondered if something had happened to Pan. At that moment, there was another teacher in the office preparing a lesson plan; he has a distinctive feature: his face is quite long.

This afternoon, I was in the office reviewing lesson plans with Liu Hui, while Pan Zi went to attend a Chinese language class with another teacher

I had no inclination to argue with him about his stomach issues, so I recounted everything I had just seen to him

I will learn by following the example, and also find a chair to sit at the back

I observed her demeanor, and there was nothing unusual; she was just like any normal person. So I asked her a question: what kind of activities does she engage in with the students during class?

The student sitting next to me was swaying his head from side to side, to such an extent that I was worried he might break his neck. Moreover, he had a slight grin on his face, revealing a somewhat sinister expression.

I casually asked, if we don't become physical education teachers, what else can we teach?

A term suddenly emerged in my mind, "puppet". I could no longer suppress it; regardless of whether it was class time or not, I lifted my leg and ran.

I do not quite believe what he said, thinking to myself how coincidental it is that whenever something strange happens in the classroom, Panzi suddenly needs to urinate urgently

The three of us found a place to sit down, and Liu Hui brought over three bowls of rice porridge. During our porridge drinking, she brought up the main topic, mentioning that the school in Suiyuan Village is quite small, with only about thirty students in total, and there are no physical education classes at all, making it impossible for the two of us to serve as physical education teachers

Liu Hui introduced to us that those two drinking porridge are also teachers and colleagues of ours. Now I understand that this dilapidated tile-roofed house is what is referred to as the faculty canteen

My actions were quite obvious, and she should have noticed them. However, strangely enough, she completely ignored me. Furthermore, the people around her raised their hands and performed movements that only puppets would make

I acted with righteousness and allowed Panzi to choose first. I asked him whether he taught Chinese or mathematics. Deep down, I was quite certain that Panzi would definitely choose mathematics

I had not slept for long when Liu Hui came to knock on the door just as dawn was breaking

I shouted into the bathroom. That long-faced person was not lying; Panzi was indeed inside, and he immediately replied to me.

Upon returning to school, I found that it was just the time for the break activities. Liu Hui also came out of the classroom to relax and greeted us when she saw us.

Upon reflection, this is quite good, as the saying goes, many people make for good conversation. Thus, Pan and I decided to walk together with Liu Hui

Upon seeing the old lady, especially her stoutness, I felt a jolt in my heart. She was the same old woman who had been rambling by the well last night. Fortunately, she did not recognize either of us, and neither Panzi nor I had spoken to her. Otherwise, with our fear evident, any change in our tone would have easily given us away.

I walked over and, feeling somewhat impolite, asked this long-faced person, "Where has Panzi gone?"

After work in the evening, I was considering inviting Liu Hui to our place to sit and chat, hoping to gather some clues. However, before I could say anything, she preemptively suggested meeting for the two of us.

I calculated and thought that if we only taught elementary school textbooks, we could indeed make do. Elementary school mathematics is merely about addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and it doesn't even require solving equations. In comparison, teaching language arts is much more challenging than mathematics. Language arts, in particular, loves to dissect and analyze words meticulously.

He stuttered a bit and said to me, "Du, Du Rui, this village is not clean; the students in this school must have been possessed by ghosts just now, otherwise how could they have turned into puppets?"

Liu Hui said that it is a neck health exercise, and she also asked us whether we would like to learn it, as it is quite effective

Liu Hui spoke about application problems today. This is my first time interning, and regardless of whether it's true or not, I still have to put on a show, right? I told myself to focus and take some notes, but I truly overestimated my patience.

She did not ask any further questions. Once everything was tidied up, she took us out the door, saying we would go have breakfast together. Just as we stepped outside, Panzi turned back and exclaimed, "Oh"

Panzi shook his head again, and I also did not know what he was thinking. In any case, as soon as he clutched his stomach, he turned around and returned to the restroom. I stood outside the restroom and could hear the sound of him farting. This time, I suspected that his stomach upset was not due to having eaten something bad.

I asked them, "By the way, before I came here, I heard that several people in Suiyuan Village have gone mad. Is this true or just a rumor?"

Can Panzi and I learn this? Neither of us is really an intellectual; we usually do tasks that do not involve desk work. Seeing us both shake our heads, Liu Hui did not say anything more.

She said that since we just started our internship, two teachers wanted to treat us and invited us to gather for a home-cooked meal

In just one night, she underwent quite a transformation. Last night, she wore a white outfit that made her look rather eerie, almost like a female ghost. This morning, she changed into a floral checkered dress and styled her hair with bangs, which made her appear much more vibrant. Particularly, the bangs subtly concealed a dark mole, adding an indescribable charm.

She mentioned that currently there is a shortage of one mathematics and one language teacher, and it seems she has noticed that neither of us has much of an educational background. She specifically reminded us that teaching in Suiyuan Village involves using elementary school textbooks, which are not difficult.

I am puzzled, wondering if someone really came in the middle of the night and even took away the door god

In less than twenty minutes, our eyelids began to droop, as if Liu Hui's lecture was akin to singing a lullaby, drawing out my boundless drowsiness

Panzi, like me, shook his head in denial, pretending to be foolish and confused

After listening, Pan Zi's expression worsened. At this moment, there was no shroud available; otherwise, wrapping him up in his current state would not pose any problem for disguising him as a corpse

I am not sure whether this can be considered a characteristic of Suiyuan Village, but why do they always like to add this kind of black sesame-like seasoning to the dishes

I was in a daze, not knowing how long I had slept. In any case, I suddenly felt something was amiss. Why has it become so quiet in this classroom? Where has the sound of the lecture gone?

At the beginning, they were all discussing some topics related to school, such as what recent events had happened with certain students

I hurried to the office, but Pan was not here at all

This sight startled me greatly; all the students in the classroom stood up, staring intently ahead. Liu Hui on the podium was also gazing fixedly at the audience below, both of them with their hands on their hips, exaggeratedly twisting their heads in a chaotic manner

I fear that strange occurrences may arise again. Several times during the day, I slipped out of the office and wandered around the classroom. However, this afternoon was quite peaceful

Liu Hui said that there is a mathematics class this morning, and I have to attend it, while Pan Zi has no choice but to stay in the office and communicate with other teachers

This matter has been settled. After eating, Liu Hui took us for a tour of the school. In my opinion, the school in this village is not just small in scale; it essentially has no scale at all. There are two large tile-roofed houses surrounded by a vast fence. The larger one serves as the classroom, while the smaller one functions as the teacher's office, and that constitutes the school. A group of students, varying in height and age, are all crammed into the same classroom attending the same lesson.

I turned back to take a glance, and the two door gods on the door were gone. These door gods were affixed with great care by Panzi, and even in strong winds, they would not be so easily blown away.

After she chatted with the two of us for a few moments, she suddenly changed the subject and asked whether we had been wandering around the village irregularly last night

This reminded me of the gruesome female corpse, and my heart began to race uncontrollably. I lost all desire to sleep and was even more afraid to recklessly approach this student, fearing something might go wrong. I slowly stood up and waved my hand at Liu Hui.