Mu Gesheng’s method for finding a person—or rather, a soul—was simple: the process of elimination. They would rummage through the classrooms one by one like headless flies until they stumbled upon their prize. It was a brute-force search, but it was bound to work eventually.
An Ping’s form of address for Mu Gesheng had evolved from "Classmate Mu" to "Big Brother," and finally to "Master Mystic." Clutching a broom, he asked tremulously, "M-Master Mystic, are we really just going out like this?"
Mu Gesheng had just told him that the Liminal Void was crawling with filth. What was a broomstick going to do against that?
"An-Bottle, if you’re really that scared, there’s a mop bucket over there." Mu Gesheng kicked the plastic bin by his feet. "I can help you strap it onto your head."
Realizing negotiations were futile, An Ping slumped his shoulders and wailed, "Then I beg of you, please, just keep me alive!"
"Easy enough. Just pay up."
An Ping was instantly relieved. His family was well-off; he was something of a second-generation rich kid. Any problem that could be solved with money wasn't a problem. "Name your price. How do you charge?"
Mu Gesheng fished a handful of coins from his pocket and tossed them casually. "I did a divination when I first came in. I’ve already determined that the class rep’s soul is somewhere in this Octagonal Building. Consider that reading a freebie. There are eight floors and ninety-six classrooms in total. You pick a room, and I’ll tell you if the soul is inside. Three thousand yuan per room. Thank you for your patronage."
An Ping wasn't stupid; he immediately smelled a scam. "Wait, can’t you just do one divination to find out exactly which room the soul is in?"
"I can. That’ll be three hundred thousand. Have you made up your mind, An-Bottle?"
An Ping stumbled, pointing at him, speechless. "You... you... you..."
"I’m a profiteer," Mu Gesheng finished the sentence for him with practiced ease.
A tree without bark dies; a man without shame is invincible. An Ping was clearly outmatched and had no choice but to concede. "Fine. Let’s check Room 103."
"Coming right up." Mu Gesheng flicked a coin into the air. "Why that one?"
"No special reason," An Ping said. "103 was our classroom back in tenth grade."
"Then there’s no need to waste a divination. Since we have a lead, we might as well just go in."
An Ping had the curiosity but lacked the courage. "No, no, no. If the reading says there’s nothing inside, I’m not going in there to get cursed."
The coin landed in Mu Gesheng's palm. He glanced at it and smiled. "A lucky start. Room 103 has something related to the class rep."
"Is it her soul?" An Ping asked expectantly.
"Hard to say. It could be a Nightmare Puppet or something else, but it’s definitely connected to her." Mu Gesheng smiled thinly. "I can give you a more precise answer, but that’ll cost extra."
His pleasant demeanor was entirely fueled by greed. An Ping was beyond words. "Forget it. Let’s just go up and look."
The two stepped out of the storage closet. Outside, the screeching of birds was deafening. White droppings splattered down like rain, occasionally splashing into the corridor. The entire space was filled with an indescribable stench—a suffocating, stagnant heat mixed with a muddy, fishy smell. The air felt thick, yet it carried a sharp, biting dry-cold.
Room 103 was at the other end of the hallway. Mu Gesheng, being taller, held his school jacket over both of them like a canopy as they strolled toward the destination. An Ping’s heart was hammering; he wanted to bolt to the other side, but he didn't dare go alone. He could only grip Mu Gesheng’s sleeve with a death grip, his mouth shut tight like a pressurized jar.
They finally reached the door of 103. As if sensing An Ping’s unease, Mu Gesheng hovered his hand over the doorknob, watching him like he was part of a show. "Ready? We’re going in."
"Agh! Stop messing with me!" Since the bird cries were already ear-splitting, An Ping gave up on silence and shouted, "Just open the damn door!"
The door creaked open.
An Ping didn't dare look. He covered his eyes and hissed, "Master Mystic, what’s in there?"
"It’s fine," Mu Gesheng’s voice drifted from inside. "Come in and see for yourself."
Mu Gesheng’s "fine" was rarely actually fine, but An Ping opened his eyes as if facing an execution. To his surprise, it really was an ordinary room.
Though it was a classroom door, the interior had changed. The walls were bare concrete, and a tattered bed sat in the corner.
Mu Gesheng stood in the center of the room, surveying the surroundings. "It’s a Coffin Room," he remarked.
"A what?" An Ping’s heart leaped back into his throat. "A Coffin Room?"
"No windows, no ventilation, no light. But the ceiling leaks." Mu Gesheng pointed upward. "Imagine a coffin buried in the dirt. After years of rot, water starts seeping through the lid..."
An Ping’s imagination immediately sprinted toward zombies and hopping corpses. He shuddered. "What does this room have to do with the class rep?"
"She entered the Liminal Void because of a mental knot. The things in this room are reflections of her inner thoughts." Mu Gesheng looked around, then suddenly walked to the bed and pulled something out from underneath.
It was a plastic washbasin filled with a dark, mushy substance.
An Ping’s mind went to even darker places. "What is that? Internal organs? A stillborn? A placenta?"
"You read too many web novels, Study Rep." Mu Gesheng peered into the basin. "The ingredients here aren't that complex."
"Then what is it?"
"Leftover food, excrement, and vomit." Mu Gesheng held the basin with total indifference. "From a living person, not a corpse. Someone was likely locked in this room, eating and sleeping in the same spot. This looks like several days' worth."
"The class rep?" An Ping’s mind raced. "Was she kidnapped? Or sold to some remote village where she gave birth to a stillborn?"
"Stop reading those clickbait headlines. If the class rep heard you, your life wouldn't be worth a cent."
"That’s not important. The point is to save her... Wait, what are you doing?!" An Ping’s voice jumped an octave.
Mu Gesheng had actually reached into the basin and pinched something out.
"What is it?" An Ping endured the nausea to lean in. "Is it really a stillborn?"
"An-Bottle, what is your obsession with stillborns?" Mu Gesheng sighed, pulled out a pack of tissues, and slowly wiped the object clean.
It was a Sunshine Doll.
"This is a type of Nightmare Puppet, same category as the ones upstairs, but with less malice. A budget version." Mu Gesheng shook the doll by its head. "It won't attack. You don't need to stand that far away."
An Ping wanted to be ten miles away. He hovered at the far end of the room. "What’s the connection?"
"Too little information to tell yet." Mu Gesheng pulled out more coins. "Let’s keep moving. Which room next?"
An Ping thought for a moment. "Room 207. I remember the class rep had a good friend who had classes there."
Room 207 did indeed have something. When they pushed the door open, they found an office.
An Ping’s heart rate had gone through several rollercoasters by now, and he was finally starting to calm down. "This shouldn't be a school office."
"Oh? Why do you say that?"
"I go to the teachers' offices all the time to ask questions. None of the faculty rooms are decorated like this." An Ping looked at the framed calligraphy on the wall that read *Sinology*. "The school doesn't even offer Sinology classes."
"You’re the top student; I’ll take your word for it." Mu Gesheng circled the office, his gaze landing on a row of glass bookshelves. The cabinets were ordinary, but strangely, they were filled with clocks. All the hands had stopped, pointing to different times.
"What does this mean?" An Ping noticed the clocks too. The scene was eerie. "Is there something wrong with these?"
"I’m looking at the times." Mu Gesheng tapped the glass, pensive. "8:35, 9:30, 10:14, 11:07... An-Bottle, do you know the school’s bell schedule?"
An Ping didn't follow. "The schedule? You mean the timetable?"
"No." Mu Gesheng had clearly been out of school for a while and struggled with the terminology. "I mean the daily routine. What time does each period start and end?"
"I know it. Why?" An Ping did the mental math. "Five periods in the morning. Classes start at 7:50, lunch break starts at 11:50... Wait."
He looked up at the cabinet again. "I think I get it."
Mu Gesheng hummed. "Good reflexes."
The times these clocks pointed to were all the start times of the class breaks.
"Except this one." Mu Gesheng finished scanning the cabinet and pulled out a specific clock. "This one points to a time during a lecture." He looked at the object and smiled. "Found it."
Behind the clock sat a glass jar filled with loose change.
Mu Gesheng took the jar and shook it. The head of a Sunshine Doll emerged from the coins.
Its features were drawn with a watercolor marker—half-crying, half-smiling. The wide, grinning mouth looked somewhat grotesque.
"Buried in spare change?" An Ping watched Mu Gesheng pull the doll out, feeling both confused and spooked. "What does this mean? Collect seven dolls to summon a dragon?"
"From this clock onward, the times are all messed up." Mu Gesheng closed the glass cabinet. "Don't touch the other clocks."
An Ping’s hand, which had been resting on the glass, snapped back instantly. "What now?"
Mu Gesheng pulled a key ring from his pocket and threaded the Sunshine Dolls onto it like keys. "Let’s go. Next room."
Behind the third door was a kitchen. It was large, looking like the school cafeteria’s back-end. An Ping found a decapitated Sunshine Doll on a chopping block. Mu Gesheng took one look and said, "Move on. This room is useless."
Behind the fourth door was a restroom. The sinks were filled with stagnant water. Mu Gesheng dismantled a drainpipe and fished out a soaking wet Sunshine Doll. "This one is borderline. Might still be salvageable."
The fifth room was the campus store; the Sunshine Doll was in a half-eaten cup of instant noodles. The sixth was the broadcasting room, the seventh the equipment room, the eighth the boiler room, the ninth, the tenth...
They worked their way from the first floor to the sixth. Mu Gesheng’s key ring was now heavy with a large bunch of Sunshine Dolls. An Ping was starting to understand the pattern. "You’re collecting these dolls? Do they have something to do with the class rep’s soul?"
"Good guess." Mu Gesheng’s voice came from ahead. "Want to take it further?"
"There are too many possibilities. I can't tell." An Ping shook his head. "Master Mystic, just give it to me straight."
"Having a wild imagination isn't a bad thing. Boldly hypothesize, carefully verify." Mu Gesheng stopped in front of a door—the room he had just divined. "You want it straight? A thousand yuan per sentence. Thank you for your patronage."
An Ping decisively turned and pushed the door open.
In the center of the room sat a computer. An Ping walked toward it, his mind already filling with hundreds of horror movie tropes. "Do I have to turn it on? Is a ghost girl going to crawl out of the monitor?"
"Sadako crawls out of televisions. A computer monitor is probably the wrong size for her." Mu Gesheng stepped forward and pressed the power button. "It’s just a computer—mostly."
The screen flickered to life. A piercing scream erupted from the speakers, mixed with incoherent sobbing and laughter. The screen was filled with a mass of Sunshine Dolls, frantically slamming their heads against the glass as if trying to break out.
Their expressions varied—some were manic, some vacant, some spiteful—but all of them stared fixedly at An Ping and Mu Gesheng. More terrifyingly, these white heads were actually bleeding. In the blink of an eye, the screen turned a vivid crimson.
Mu Gesheng looked at the paralyzed An Ping. "Not leaving?"
"W-w-w-what?"
"They’re about to come out." Mu Gesheng pointed at the computer. Just as he spoke, the screen let out a sharp *crack*, and several fissures appeared.
An Ping let out a belated howl and bolted out the door.
"That was a nice pitch. Very funeral-dirge-esque." Mu Gesheng followed An Ping out and shut the door. "An-Bottle, do you have anything for self-defense?"
"What self-defense? Are those dolls really coming out?"
"We’ve already provoked them. That door won't hold for long." Mu Gesheng locked the classroom from the outside. Suddenly, he paused. "The bird cries stopped."
The birds had indeed fallen silent, but the hysterical screaming continued from behind the door, creating a strange echo in the hallway.
Mu Gesheng blinked. "This building is about to wake up."
"What do you mean 'wake up'?!?"
Before An Ping could finish, a scratching, rustling sound echoed from deep within the corridor. "It’s the Nightmare Puppets. And probably some other things. They’ve been disturbed." Mu Gesheng looked into the distance. "Hoh, quite impressive. They’ve even brought weapons."
An Ping made the mistake of looking back. A mass of white shadows was approaching from the end of the hall—the same paper puppets he had seen in the classroom. Some held objects like rulers, tapping on each classroom door as they passed. With every tap, a door opened, and more paper puppets emerged, their speed increasing. Suddenly, one puppet lunged forward, leaping high into the air, its red mouth agape as it charged straight for An Ping—
"Up you go—" Mu Gesheng grabbed An Ping by the collar, swung him in a wide arc, and threw a handful of coins with his other hand. The coins punched through the puppet, and it collapsed limply to the floor. Simultaneously, An Ping was tossed toward the upper floor. "Room 707! Open the door and see what’s inside!" Mu Gesheng’s voice drifted up from below.
The throw was incredibly powerful. An Ping didn't even have time to land before he crashed through a door, his head spinning. When he finally scrambled up and checked the room number, it was indeed 707.
"Are you okay?!" An Ping craned his neck to look down the stairs, only to be forced back by a flying coin. "Don't get distracted!" Mu Gesheng shouted. "Check the room!"
An Ping yelled back, his voice like a wailing ghost: "It’s full of dolls!"
The room was packed with Sunshine Dolls.
They were hanging from the ceiling like nooses.
Their heads were pinned to the walls.
The floor was covered in shredded fabric and bloody red stains, as if they had been drawn and quartered.
Before he could say more, Mu Gesheng vaulted up to the floor and glanced into the room. "Found all the ones that can be saved. Looks like the ones that are dead-dead are all here."
An Ping was completely bewildered. "What do you mean 'saved'? What 'dead-dead'?"
"Stop trying to rhyme and keep this safe." Mu Gesheng handed the key ring to An Ping. "The class rep’s soul fragments are all here. I’m going to throw you toward the exit; just take them out." He reached for An Ping’s collar again.
"Wait, wait, wait!" An Ping kicked his legs in mid-air. "I’ll pay more! More money! Just explain what the hell is going on!"
"How much more?"
"You name it!"
"Ten thousand?"
"Deal!"
"Then thirty thousand. Thank you for your patronage."
Mu Gesheng kept his grip on An Ping’s collar but didn't throw him. Instead, he started running. "This Liminal Void isn't large. The class rep has been unconscious for too long; her consciousness has almost merged with this space. The rooms we just opened are her memories—or rather, her mental knots."
"The things in the rooms are her memories?"
"Exactly. The Liminal Void has almost finished digesting her. Piecing her consciousness back together is extremely difficult. I was actually divining where the remnants of her mind were hidden."
Mu Gesheng spoke as he ran. "Each Sunshine Doll is a fragment of her consciousness. Every time one is destroyed, a piece of her soul is consumed by the Void, until there’s nothing left and she becomes a permanent puppet of this place."
"So 707 is full of her 'dead' consciousness?" An Ping asked in disbelief. "With so many gone, can her soul even be saved?"
"You get what you pay for. Don't worry, boss." Mu Gesheng said. "The living ones we found are enough. I’ll make sure she’s sent back to you in one piece."
An Ping quickly tucked the dolls away. "Where are we going now?"
"Running for our lives. Nightmare Puppets are what the dead Sunshine Dolls turn into. We just woke up a whole room of them. They grow fast; they’ll be on us any second."
As he spoke, the building began to shake. The ceiling collapsed, and a swarm of Nightmare Puppets lunged at them, their screeching voices terrifying. Mu Gesheng simply used the An Ping he was holding as a weapon, swinging him in a circle to clear a path.
An Ping, flailing in the wind, had one of his shoes bitten off by a paper puppet. Before he could process it, he was face-to-face with another white face, which shrieked at him in a high-pitched voice: "Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar!"
An Ping: *What the hell is this thing quoting Confucius for?!*
"Ooh, quite the scholar, aren't you?" Mu Gesheng laughed. He flipped down to the next floor, landing right in front of the broadcasting room. He kicked the puppets clinging to him into the room and locked the door. The door shuddered under the sound of sharp nails scratching against it.
Before An Ping could breathe a sigh of relief, deafening music blasted through the building: "The Second National Radio Exercise for Primary and Secondary Students—*Time is Calling*!"
An Ping nearly choked. "Of all the places to kick them, you had to pick the broadcasting room?"
"This school’s exercise music is so tacky." Mu Gesheng sighed. "But be grateful. At least they didn't play the ceremony music. Our school’s award ceremony background music is always *Pigsy Carries His Bride*."
An Ping: "..."
More doors flew open, and more paper puppets swarmed them. Mu Gesheng used An Ping to plow a path, accompanied by the rousing, rhythmic beat of the radio exercise: *One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight! Two, two, three, four...* They fought their way down to the third floor. Mu Gesheng kicked open a classroom door, dispatched the puppets inside in a few moves, and said, "Look around. See if there’s any Master Kong Braised Beef or Pickled Cabbage noodles."
An Ping realized they were back in the campus store. He found a bag on a shelf. "What do we need this for?"
"Not the bag. Find the cup version." Mu Gesheng stood guard at the door. "Unless you plan on brewing noodles in a plastic bag."
"How can you think about eating at a time like this?"
"The class rep entered the Void while eating pickled cabbage noodles. We entered while eating them, too. This stuff is the anchor to the outside world. You have to eat it to get out." Mu Gesheng kicked a puppet halfway down the hall. "Hurry up. My legs are getting tired."
"I’m on it, I’m on it!" An Ping moved faster. "Weren't those coins working great? Why are you fighting them by hand now?"
"I’m saving money."
"...Forget I asked."
An Ping finally dug out a cup of Old Tan Pickled Cabbage Beef Noodles. Mu Gesheng dragged him to the boiler room to get hot water, then tossed him into another room. "Wait for the noodles to soak. Eat as much as you can, and we should be able to get back soon."
An Ping looked around. "...Why do I have to eat in here?"
"The Liminal Void is where yin and yang clash. This is the place with the heaviest yin energy, which makes it the most unstable spot—and the easiest place to leave from." Mu Gesheng said. "It’ll take a while for the noodles to be ready. An-Bottle, do you have anything for protection?"
An Ping looked around. "Will a plunger work?"
"No weapons. With your skills, you’re useless in a fight. I mean a talisman or something to ward off evil."
An Ping pulled a red string from under his shirt, a jade buckle tied to the end. "Will this work?"
"It’ll do." Mu Gesheng bit his finger, smeared a drop of blood onto the jade, and then stuffed it into An Ping’s mouth. "Just hold it there. Don't spit it out, and don't swallow it. This way, if anything pops up, it won't be able to get near you."
An Ping mumbled around the jade, "What about you?"
"I need to clear out the things outside. This Void is unstable; I have to make sure nothing else escapes." Mu Gesheng stepped out. "Save a bite of noodles for me. I’ll be back in a bit." He promptly shut and locked the door.
An Ping was still worried and tried to follow, only to find the door bolted. Then, a realization hit him. How was he supposed to eat instant noodles while holding a piece of jade in his mouth without swallowing it?
And he was in the girls' restroom, for god's sake.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
:--- | :--- | :---
三途间 | The Liminal Void | A space between heaven, earth, and the underworld; a "no-man's-land" for the half-dead.
魇傀儡 | Nightmare Puppets | Malicious entities in the Liminal Void, often appearing as paper figures.
晴天娃娃 | Sunshine Dolls | Teru Teru Bozu; here, they represent fragments of the Class Representative's soul/consciousness.
棺材房 | Coffin Room | A windowless, cramped room resembling a coffin.
时代在召唤 | Time is Calling | A real-life set of radio exercises used in Chinese schools.
安瓶儿 | An-Bottle | Mu Gesheng's nickname for An Ping (a pun on "ampoule").
半仙儿 | Master Mystic / Half-Immortal | A colloquial term for a fortune teller or someone with supernatural skills.
学委 | Study Rep | Short for Academic Representative (学习委员).
猪八戒背媳妇 | Pigsy Carries His Bride | A famous, humorous folk tune from *Journey to the West*.
