The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 348 The Legend of the Haunted House_1
"Li Qing!"
"Li Qing!"
A hazy voice echoed in his ears.
Li Qing suddenly woke up with a start, sitting up in bed like a zombie.
It took a good while for him to come back to his senses from the bizarre remnants of his dream.
He turned his head to look at the furiously angry Qi Xuelan standing beside the bed.
"Big Brother, what’s going on with you? It’s already 3:30, and you’re still sleeping!" Qi Xuelan shouted indignantly.
"What time?!" Li Qing exclaimed, "Impossible, I feel like I’ve slept for less than half an hour. How could it already be 3:30?"
"Why would I lie to you? Look for yourself!" Qi Xuelan said angrily, thrusting her watch in front of Li Qing.
Li Qing grabbed the towel hanging over the headboard, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and muttered, "Something’s not right about this place. Dammit, I just went to sleep for the first time, and I encountered sleep paralysis!"
"Don’t make up these ridiculous excuses. Sleeping during working hours isn’t like being at home!" Qi Xuelan scolded, "Do you know what would happen if the school leaders saw you like this?"
"You’d be fired, and Teacher Guan and I would be implicated!"
"Wait a minute." Li Qing raised his hand, "As I recall, my contract states that my working hours aren’t fixed. As long as I ensure that I’m in school half a day for five days a week, that’s fine, right?"
"So, you could just think I was sleeping at home just now."
Qi Xuelan suddenly froze, "You do seem to be... quite comfortable. My apologies, I was wrong to blame you."
Li Qing looked at Qi Xuelan’s embarrassed expression, her eyes evasively shifting, and couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing.
"By the way, did you really experience sleep paralysis just now?" Qi Xuelan suddenly asked, sounding a bit anxious.
"Why would I lie to you, damn it, that almost scared me to death." Li Qing said, feigning a look of lingering fear.
Qi Xuelan immediately became nervous, looking around and quietly moving closer to Li Qing. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
"If I had sleep paralysis, why are you so nervous?" Li Qing asked, puzzled.
In Zhulong Valley, that desolate wilderness, he had never seen her scared before, so why was she frightened upon hearing about his sleep paralysis?
Qi Xuelan forced a smile and said hesitantly, "Have you... heard some rumors?"
"What rumors?" Li Qing suddenly had a bad feeling.
After hesitating for a moment, Qi Xuelan spoke up, "You remember the dorm caretaker from your school days, right?"
Li Qing nodded.
"The rumor is that he hanged himself right on this door frame!" Qi Xuelan said, her face pale, pointing to the doorway.
Fuck!
Li Qing felt a shiver run down his spine.
Indeed, there are no free lunches in the world. He had previously been puzzled by how leisurely the job was for such high pay.
Turns out, there was a reason!
This damn place was a haunted house.
"Of course, that’s just a rumor, but... it’s very likely true."
Qi Xuelan grew increasingly nervous, huddling close to Li Qing, "Later, the school hired another dorm caretaker, but that man worked for just over two months then died suddenly under mysterious circumstances."
"His family said that right before the old man died, he kept talking about mirrors, saying he was trapped inside a mirror."
"Afterward, the school didn’t dare to hire another caretaker. For about a year, teachers went to get things themselves. It wasn’t until last year that the school hired a new caretaker, yet that old man also lasted less than three months."
Listening to this, Li Qing felt chills all over and anxiously asked, "Did he die too?"
"No, but it almost drove him insane. He came to me many times, saying that at night a mirror would appear in front of his bed, with someone inside talking to him, inviting him to come in," said Qi Xuelan, "And the ghost pressing on his bed was frequent, especially during the day, it was even more aggressive..."
"Holy crap!" Li Qing was suddenly very unsettled, "Why didn’t anyone tell me about such a ferocious place before?"
"The school keeps this information under tight wraps. Teacher Guan probably doesn’t even know," Qi Xuelan glanced at Li Qing, "And because I’m in charge of the logistical side of things, I know a bit more. But as for the incidents with those two guys before, I only heard about them, never witnessed anything."
"No, no way." Li Qing clenched his teeth secretly and said, "I can’t do this job!"
"You make it sound so ominous, I’d like to live a few more years myself."
It just so happened that Principal Qi had threatened to fire him, and Li Qing figured it was better to seize the opportunity and slip away herself.
With these rumors ahead, her reason to run was completely justified.
Qi Xuelan looked at Li Qing with a strange expression, "You might want to take a good look at your contract when you have time, it should contain some clauses. Under normal circumstances, the salary for a logistics storeroom keeper is only eighteen hundred to two thousand, but yours is nearly double that."
"The main reason the school pays you such a high salary is probably because of those incidents before, but there must be some conditions, like requiring you to work for a minimum amount of time."
"Let me check, I remember I took a picture of it!" Li Qing quickly took out his phone.
As soon as he looked at it, he was shocked; there really were such clauses.
A minimum of six months!
If less than six months, the salary is only two thousand.
If the work exceeds one year, not only is the salary increased by five hundred, but there are also other benefits, like three types of insurance.
Li Qing was utterly flabbergasted.
The school had played him clear and plain.
However, he quickly recovered.
If he left now, whether it’s three thousand or two thousand, it seems to make no difference.
As long as there’s no compensation to be paid, everything’s fine.
"If there’s something wrong with this place, why not simply tear it down and rebuild it?" asked Li Qing, puzzled.
Qi Xuelan shook her head, "That, I don’t know either. The school probably has other considerations."
"I think the school leaders are not in their right minds. Tearing it down and rebuilding it outright is better than waiting for someone to die and then paying compensation," said Li Qing, cracking his neck and stretching his arms.
He had already made up his mind; he had to leave!
This place was too eerie!
His life had just started getting better, and he didn’t want to die here inexplicably.
Qi Xuelan stroked her chest lightly, "I should go first, if you need anything... just, just tell me."
"If there’s a way to help, I will think of something, especially if you’re feeling unwell."
Leaving these words behind, she ran off quickly.
Especially when passing the doorway, she took large strides.
Li Qing walked around the room a couple of times, carefully checking even under the bed, but saw no trace of a mirror.
Damn, it was like seeing a ghost!
The house, though a bit old, in no way looked like a haunted house.
He couldn’t feel that chilling sensation at all!
He stood under the door frame again, looking up.
Is this where the old man hanged himself?
