Chapter 112: The Sixth Staircase’s Decennial Cycle

Pushing open the activity room door, Su Mian found familiar figures already gathered within.

Lu Yang was animatedly chattering about something, while Qin Xuan sat before a computer, adjusting his glasses. Hua Liang leaned lazily by the window, idly spinning an ancient copper coin between his fingers.

Xue Li, in contrast, sat quietly in a corner, cradling a steaming cup of tea—its clear aroma carried a faint, ethereal hint of ice and snow.

“Oh, Mianzi’s back!”

Lu Yang was the first to spot her, immediately rushing over.

“Perfect timing, perfect timing! I’ve got some gossip for you!”

Su Mian consciously kept her expression neutral as she placed her backpack in its usual spot.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t your major get two transfer students?”

Lu Yang’s eyes lit up.

“I heard all about it! That boy and girl, both incredibly good-looking and refined! The boy is Ling Chen, right? And the girl is Su Baixue?

They just transferred, and the university forum is practically exploding. With our usual campus heartthrob and belle away, everyone’s busy electing new ones!”

He chuckled, then turned to Xue Li.

“Student Xue Li, your name is also on the voting list, and you’re ranked very high! I even cast my precious vote for you!”

Xue Li lifted her ice-blue eyes, casting a faint glance at Lu Yang, and nodded slightly.

“Thank you.”

Her voice was clear and calm, devoid of any discernible emotion.

Then, to Lu Yang’s astonishment, she naturally picked up another clean teacup, took a pinch of pale green tea leaves from her portable caddy, and slowly steeped them with hot water.

The fragrance of tea once again permeated the air.

She gently pushed the freshly brewed tea toward Su Mian.

“Drink some tea, it will calm your nerves.” Xue Li’s voice remained placid, yet a subtle flicker of concern briefly crossed her ice-blue eyes.

Su Mian was stunned.

Lu Yang, even more so, gaped. “Xue… Student Xue Li? Why are you only making tea for Mianzi? I want some too!”

Xue Li shot him a look but said nothing. She simply produced another cup, casually steeped some ordinary green tea, and pushed it his way.

The disparity in her attitude was so stark that Lu Yang’s mouth twitched.

“Talk about preferential treatment…”

Lu Yang grumbled, yet happily accepted the teacup.

Su Mian cradled the cup of snow tea, the warm sensation radiating through the porcelain and easing her nerves slightly.

She looked at Xue Li in surprise, but the latter had already lowered her head again, resuming her focus on the book, *Ecology of Low-Temperature Environments*, as if everything that had just transpired was merely an afterthought.

Hua Liang took in the entire scene, a playful smile curling on his lips.

The copper coin in his hand spun nimbly between his fingers, emitting a faint, crisp sound.

“Speaking of which,”

Lu Yang took a sip of tea, then remembered something and turned to Su Mian.

“Mianzi, I heard that transfer student is also named Su, and she doesn’t seem very old. They say she’s a gifted student who skipped grades to get into university, wait…”

Su Mian took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound natural.

“The transfer student… is my younger sister, Su Baixue.”

Lu Yang slapped his thigh. “Holy cow, she really is your sister!”

“But… when I passed by your class earlier, I heard her angrily telling a boy that she didn’t have a brother, and was just an ‘outsider’ boarding at home. What’s that all about?”

The activity room fell silent instantly.

Qin Xuan’s motion of adjusting his glasses paused slightly, his gaze shifting from the computer screen to Su Mian.

Hua Liang’s fingers, flipping the copper coin, stopped. A deeper meaning entered his smile.

Xue Li’s movement of turning a page also slowed. Her ice-blue eyes lifted, quietly looking at Su Mian.

With four pairs of eyes focused on her, Su Mian felt her throat go dry.

She tightened her grip on the teacup, her fingertips pressing slightly.

‘No brother, an outsider boarding at home.’

Su Mian’s heart ached as if pricked by needles.

Xue Li seemed to sense Su Mian’s emotions and suddenly spoke.

“If you have no family, I am willing to be your family.”

In an instant, Lu Yang’s expression became very peculiar.

“What do you mean, Student Xue Li? Aren’t you and Hua Liang… how could you be interested in Mianzi?”

Hua Liang laughed, explaining, “Xue Li probably just means she wants to be friends with Student Su Mian, the kind of bond as close as family.”

Lu Yang uttered an “Oh,” then turned to Su Mian again. “Then, Mianzi, you took a week off recently, was that also related to this…?”

Su Mian’s mood was low. “Mmm…”

“Personal family matters, no need to delve deeper.”

Qin Xuan’s voice, as calm as ever, interrupted Lu Yang’s thoughts.

“More importantly, I’ve organized the data from last night’s investigation and have some new findings.”

He brought up a complex heatmap, marked with “abnormal energy readings” for each floor of the old teaching building.

“I’ve established a preliminary energy fluctuation model for the entire old teaching building.”

Qin Xuan pushed his glasses up, the lenses reflecting the blue light of the screen.

“The data shows that the energy residue in the eastern bathroom area on the third floor exhibits a distinct periodic decay characteristic. However, after decaying to a certain extent, it recovers somewhat…”

He paused, seemingly searching for the right words.

“That energy is closer to a state that is being deliberately maintained.”

“It’s like an oil lamp; every so often, someone adds a little more oil to keep it from extinguishing.”

“Deliberately maintained?”

Hua Liang raised an eyebrow. The copper coin in his hand had vanished at some point. He walked behind Qin Xuan, looking at the data on the screen.

“President Qin means that the lingering spirit has been able to exist for thirty or forty years not because of its deep obsession, but because… someone is nurturing it?”

“It’s just a hypothesis.”

Qin Xuan said cautiously. “It requires more data for verification. But if this hypothesis holds, then what is the purpose of the person or entity nurturing it? Why would they prevent the death from thirty-four years ago from dissipating?”

The atmosphere in the activity room grew heavy.

Su Mian recalled the female silhouette from last night.

Within it, there was not only sadness and fear, but also a plea.

Was it asking her for help?

Or was it trying to convey some message to someone through her?

“Additionally,”

Qin Xuan switched pages, bringing up another document.

“Regarding the rumors of the ‘Sixth Staircase,’ I’ve collected all related eyewitness reports and campus ghost stories since the university’s founding. I’ve discovered a pattern.”

He pointed to the markers on the timeline.

“Approximately every ten years, there’s a small peak in sightings of the ‘Sixth Staircase.’ The last peak was ten years ago, and the one before that was thirty years ago.

And within one to two years after each peak, the university experiences one or more accidental deaths. The victims are all female, and their causes of death are peculiar, often concluded as suicide or accident.”

Su Mian felt a chill rise from her spine.

The female student’s death thirty-four years ago… the peak thirty years ago… twenty years ago… ten years ago…

“This year,”

Qin Xuan’s voice was low, “is precisely another ten-year cycle.”

The activity room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Lu Yang swallowed hard.

“P-President, do you mean… that ‘Sixth Staircase’ thing comes out to harm people every ten years?”

Su Mian’s heart skipped a beat. She instinctively clutched the pendant of the necklace around her neck.

Xiao Moyuan had said the necklace could protect her from malicious spirits and monsters.

But what if she was facing this kind of cyclical, decades-old eerie entity?

“Therefore,”

Qin Xuan concluded, “we need to investigate the ‘Sixth Staircase’ as soon as possible. Ideally, we should uncover its truth before the next incident occurs.”

He looked at everyone. “Tonight at eight, meet at the fifth-floor stairwell of the old teaching building. Xue Li, Hua Liang, any problems?”

Xue Li nodded softly.

Hua Liang shrugged. “Always ready.”

“Su Mian,” Qin Xuan looked at her, “you experienced direct spiritual contact last night. You can rest first or…”

“I’m going too.” Su Mian interrupted him, her voice firm.

It wasn’t just to investigate the truth, but because—if that periodically appearing ‘thing’ was truly related to the evil spirit sealed thirty-four years ago, if Su Baixue had truly come for this reason, would her younger sister be harmed?

This was her biggest worry.

So, she wanted to uncover the truth before Su Baixue suffered any misfortune.

Xiao Moyuan had a direct relationship with her, so Su Baixue might resent her, hate her… she could understand all of that.

But for her, Su Baixue was now her only younger sister. Even without a blood relation, they were relatives who had grown up together since childhood. As an older sibling, she had to protect her only younger sister.

Despite this, she was also somewhat afraid… of that evil spirit.

Qin Xuan watched her for a few seconds, then nodded. “Alright.

Then, tonight at eight, we’ll meet on time. Everyone be prepared; this investigation might be even more… in-depth than last night’s.”

The meeting concluded, and everyone gradually left.

As Su Mian packed her bag, Xue Li walked over and placed a small silver metal box on her desk.

“What’s this?” Su Mian asked, puzzled.

“Snow Dew Cream.”

Xue Li’s voice remained clear and cold, but there was a hint of explanation in her tone.

“I mixed it myself. If you feel… uneasy, or if the ambient temperature rises abnormally, apply a little to your temples and inner wrists. It can calm your mind and settle your spirit.”

She paused, her ice-blue eyes looking directly at Su Mian. “When you returned earlier, your aura was very chaotic. Although it’s calm now, the place we’re going tonight… might make you uncomfortable. Take it with you.”

Su Mian stared blankly at the small silver box, a complex warmth bubbling in her heart.

‘Was Xue Li really a demon? She’s actually so kind to me… Sure enough, demons also have good and evil sides, right?’

“Thank you.”

She whispered, carefully tucking the small box into her pocket.

Xue Li gave a slight nod, then turned and left.

Outside the window, the lingering afterglow of the sunset was gradually swallowed by the night.

N University’s streetlights illuminated one by one, casting a dim, yellow glow into the deepening twilight.

Su Mian took out her phone and sent a message to Xiao Moyuan:

[Sweet Marshmallow: The club is going to investigate the ‘Sixth Staircase’ tonight, starting at eight. Qin Xuan found a ten-year cycle pattern and suspects it’s related to historical death incidents.]

[Sweet Marshmallow: I also want to improve; I don’t want to always be protected by you.]

[Sweet Marshmallow: Consider it training myself, so I want to go along too.]

A few minutes later, a reply came.

[Abyss: Understood. I’ll be waiting for you near the school before eight. I’ll be able to sense any danger to you immediately.]

[Abyss: Remember, no matter what you see, don’t take off your necklace.]

Xiao Moyuan’s words were filled with concern for her.

Su Mian felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

She seemed to truly enjoy the feeling of being cared for and protected by Xiao Moyuan.

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