The Haunted Dormitory of the Hidden Halls: A Ghostly Riddle

In the bustling city of Jingcheng, there was a prestigious university known for its rigorous academic standards and rich cultural heritage. Among the many buildings on campus, one dormitory stood out, hidden away in the shadow of the ancient Hidden Halls. The dormitory, numbered 404, was the subject of many whispered legends, each more chilling than the last. It was said that those who dared to spend a night there would never leave the same way they came, and that the dormitory itself was a riddle waiting to be solved.

One autumn evening, a group of five freshman students found themselves drawn to the dormitory. They were Xiao Li, a curious and adventurous soul; Wang Mei, a keen observer with a knack for understanding people; Zhang Hong, the silent type who loved to read; Liu Wei, a jock with a heart of gold; and Chen Xiao, a tech-savvy girl who could fix anything with her fingers.

The five friends were intrigued by the stories of the haunted dormitory. They decided to spend a night there, hoping to uncover the truth behind the rumors. They arrived at the dormitory just as the sun began to set, casting long shadows over the eerie, abandoned building.

As they stepped inside, the air grew colder, and a chill ran down their spines. The dormitory was silent, save for the occasional creak of an old floorboard. Xiao Li, ever the leader, turned to his friends and said, "Let's start at the beginning. We'll go through each room and look for clues."

The first room they entered was filled with dust and cobwebs. The only thing of interest was a large, ornate mirror on the wall. Xiao Li approached it cautiously and noticed a faint, glowing light in the reflection. He reached out to touch the glass, but his hand passed right through it. "This mirror is no ordinary mirror," he said, his voice tinged with awe.

The friends moved on to the next room, where they found a dusty bookshelf. They rummaged through the old books, hoping to find something useful. It was Wang Mei who made the discovery. She found a tattered piece of paper tucked between the pages of an ancient tome. The paper was covered in strange symbols, none of which they recognized.

"Look at this," she said, holding the paper up for her friends to see. "It seems to be a map of the dormitory, but the symbols are from an ancient language."

Zhang Hong stepped forward and began to translate the symbols. "These symbols point to a hidden room in the basement," he said. "We need to find the key to unlock the door."

The friends made their way to the basement, where they found a large, heavy door. The door was locked, and there was no visible keyhole. Liu Wei examined the door closely, looking for any clues. "I think the key is in the dormitory," he said. "It's hidden somewhere, waiting to be found."

They split up and began searching the dormitory. It wasn't long before they found a small, ornate box in the corner of a room. The box was locked, but Chen Xiao was able to unlock it with her tech skills. Inside, they found a key that matched the lock on the basement door.

With the key in hand, they made their way back to the basement and opened the door. They stepped into a room that was unlike any they had seen before. The walls were lined with ancient books and scrolls, and the air was thick with the scent of old parchment.

In the center of the room stood a large, ornate table. On the table was an ancient scroll, and in the center of the scroll was a riddle. The riddle spoke of a ghostly spirit that had been trapped in the dormitory for centuries, waiting for someone to set it free.

The friends gathered around the table and began to decipher the riddle. After much debate and a few false starts, they finally solved it. They discovered that the ghostly spirit was the soul of a young student who had been unfairly accused of a crime and had died of a broken heart.

To set the spirit free, they had to perform a ritual. They found an old, dusty ritual book in the room and followed the instructions carefully. As they chanted the ancient words, the spirit began to take form, emerging from the scroll and standing before them.

The ghostly spirit was young and beautiful, with a look of sorrow and regret on her face. She spoke to the friends, explaining that she had been trapped for so long because no one had believed her story.

The friends listened intently, feeling a deep sense of compassion for the spirit. They knew that they had to help her. They asked her what she wanted, and she replied, "I want to be remembered for who I was, not for who they said I was."

The friends agreed to help the spirit find peace. They took her to the university library, where they found her old records and photographs. They shared her story with the students, ensuring that she would never be forgotten.

As the spirit's story spread throughout the university, the dormitory of 404 began to lose its eerie reputation. It became a place of remembrance and hope, a testament to the power of truth and the importance of being heard.

The friends returned to their normal lives, but they never forgot the night they had spent in the haunted dormitory. They had solved a ghostly riddle, set a spirit free, and brought peace to the university. And in doing so, they had learned a valuable lesson about the power of friendship and the importance of standing up for what is right.