I am a swordsman in a strange city

Chapter 113 Deep Well and Dark Cave
Pei Ju has no intention of attending the "Swordsman" class anymore.

He then went to the head of the teaching department to inquire if there were any courses specifically about 'the cave'.

The head of teaching pondered for a moment and said, "The course on the Dark Cave is not within the scope of the normal four-year curriculum, but belongs to a more in-depth research topic."

“If you want to participate, you need to submit a report and apply,” the head of academic affairs said, seemingly hesitant to finish his sentence.

"Director, please speak frankly. I am a swordsman, and I prefer to be direct. If there are difficulties, just overcome them." As Pei Ju met more people, the gloomy aura around him gradually faded, and he became relatively more talkative.

"The main problem is the research on the topic of 'exploring dark caves,' which always encounters some issues. Whether it's teachers or students, there are frequent personnel changes, especially for those with psychological vulnerabilities, who are prone to getting into trouble."

“Since the establishment of the ‘Cave Exploration’ project, nineteen teachers and students from our school have run into trouble. In fact, if someone could participate in this research project, the people in the project would be very happy, because it is rare to have a new person in. But you are someone personally recommended by the principal. If something happens to you, I'm afraid some people will be unhappy.”

“It’s okay, I’m an adult, I belong to myself,” Pei Ju said.

"That's true, everyone belongs to themselves, but that's not entirely true either. In other words, no one truly belongs entirely to themselves. Especially after a person dies, even emperors and generals can no longer decide what happens to them after they die. Too many people will use their death to make a fuss."

Pei Ju understood his meaning, so he said, "In that case, I can guarantee that I won't die, or rather, I can keep testing my condition. If there's a problem with my condition, I can withdraw. How about that?"

"I'd better ask the principal first." The dean of students did not give Pei Ju an immediate answer.

However, Pei Ju had nothing to do today, so he decided to attend other classes, a decision supported by the head of the teaching department.

While others were leaving get out of class, he chose some courses, all of which were basic courses. He listened to "Soul Studies".

The teacher was a young woman, and she didn't say anything when she saw that there was an extra person in the classroom.

The course "Soul Studies" mainly discusses what the 'soul' is, how to perceive the location of one's own soul, how to strengthen one's soul, and how to protect one's soul from disturbance.

Pei Ju had not read the book, but he benefited greatly from listening to this lesson, which discussed the relationship between the soul, consciousness, and dreams, and the deepest meaning of the word "spirit" in the soul.

He had no prior knowledge of this subject. This lesson focused on how to remain lucid in a dream. Here, he happened to hear the teacher explain a method. However, he realized that the effectiveness of this method depended on the strength of one's spirituality.

Only those who are strong enough can wake up when others are weaving dreams for them.

Of course, there is one advantage: at least in the dream, you feel a sense of incongruity.

He listened to other classes afterward, and by the end of the day, he had listened to all the basic classes he could. He found that the theoretical knowledge in them was very good. Although he already knew a lot of it, the teachers were able to explain it clearly in a more systematic way, which gave him a sense of understanding.

That afternoon, as he was about to leave the retreat, the head of the teaching department called him and told him that the principal had approved his participation in the research project "Exploring the Caverns".

And it can begin tonight.

This surprised Pei Ju; it happened so quickly.

So he ate dinner at the school, and then at seven o'clock in the evening, he went to the cave exploration research lab.

This research lab is actually underground.

He came in from above, and then there were stairs leading down, spiral staircases going down in circles. He felt a bit stuffy, and then a chill crept over him.

About ten meters later, when he reached the bottom, the air there became fresher, and he saw the application of modern technology.

However, there were already people there.

A few lamps cast a dull, yellowish light, and a woman was bent over drawing something. What caught Pei Ju's eye was her long, black hair, reaching her waist like a black tail. She had her back to Pei Ju, but when she turned around, Pei Ju saw a person with white hair covering their face.

You can tell from her eyebrows that she was originally very beautiful, with an oval face, but now her face is covered with white downy hair.

Upon seeing Pei Ju, she immediately lowered her head and continued drawing her own things.

However, when Pei Ju walked to her side, he noticed that her hand was on the paper and the pen tip was trembling, like a primary school student who couldn't write anything when being watched by the teacher to do a dictation test.

She is nervous.

Pei Ju sensed it immediately.

However, he didn't leave, but instead looked at what she had drawn on the paper before.

The drawing on the paper looked like a map.

A large black sheet of paper, on which is drawn a spiraling cave diagram.

From top to bottom, it's unclear where it leads, and there are occasional branching paths within this cave map.

The forks in the road were marked with symbols: triangles, squares, circles, and crosses.

Pei Ju didn't know what all this meant. Although he was curious, he didn't ask any further questions.

He stood there watching for a while. She kept her head down, the pen tip hovering over the paper, trembling, and didn't move.

Pei Ju turned around and sat down on a chair not far away. He noticed that the woman with long, flowing hair seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief.

He began to look around the place.

Looking up, you can see a dome about four meters high. This is a basement. There are no lights or decorations on it. Looking up, you can see complete darkness. The only light source is the few lamps on the table.

Rather than calling it a basement, it's more accurate to describe it as a deep well, a cave dug out by humans.

Below this area, besides the central section, there are several other rooms.

He didn't know what those rooms were used for.

However, the deep well was so quiet that Pei Ju could hear other people's heartbeats.

Pei Ju decided to break the silence because he could feel that the woman's heart was beating too fast and getting stronger, like a drumbeat.

"Hello, my name is Pei Ju, and I'm a new member," Pei Ju said.

"Hello," the woman with long, black hair replied in a low, nervous voice.

Pei Ju didn't know if she was born this way or if staying underground for a long time had made her like this, but he could feel that her heartbeat hadn't slowed down much.

Just then, a terrified scream suddenly rang out from the door next to them.

"Ah, don't come any closer, don't come any closer, Yama is here! Close the door, guard the door... No, hurry, hurry, open the door!"

(End of this chapter)