Whispers of the Forgotten Scholar: A Ghostly Requiem in Douban's Halls

In the heart of Douban's labyrinthine libraries, an ancient book with a leather-bound cover whispered secrets that were never meant to be heard. Its pages, yellowed with age, spoke of scholarly secrets, past lives, and a tragic tale of love and loss. It was said that those who dared to open its cover would be drawn into the mists of the past, where time itself would blur.

Amidst the rows of dusty tomes, there stood a solitary figure—a man who had made Douban his sanctuary. Dr. Li Wei, a historian with a penchant for the unexplained, was the keeper of these tales. His eyes often glazed over with nostalgia as he navigated the vast sea of knowledge that surrounded him. One day, as he stumbled upon the enigmatic book, an invisible hand seemed to beckon him forward.

"Dr. Li Wei, there is a story you must uncover," a voice echoed softly from the depths of the book. His curiosity piqued, he opened it and found himself transported into a different time.

He found himself in the grand halls of a forgotten university, its architecture an intricate tapestry of ancient designs. There, he met a scholar named Chen, a man who shared his own love for the past. Chen was passionate, intelligent, and handsome—a man of many talents and contradictions. The two struck a bond, and in time, they found love amidst the pages of old books and scrolls.

But their world was not as simple as it appeared. The university was shrouded in mystery, and whispers of the supernatural echoed through its corridors. Chen confided in Dr. Li Wei about a ghostly apparition that haunted the library, a spirit that claimed to be Chen's former self, trapped in this life due to a forbidden love.

Dr. Li Wei's mind raced with questions. How could a spirit remain bound to the earth? What had Chen done to incur such a curse? As the days passed, the lines between past and present blurred, and Dr. Li Wei found himself drawn deeper into the scholar's tale.

One evening, as the moonlight spilled through the library windows, Dr. Li Wei and Chen were interrupted by the ghostly apparition. The spirit revealed that Chen's love had been a mistake, for he had been betrothed to another—a woman who was also a scholar, but one whose heart was as dark as her name: Luo Yifei.

Luo Yifei had used her position to seduce Chen, promising him a life of luxury and power. But in the end, she had abandoned him, leaving him to the scorn of the university's scholars. Tormented by his own infidelity and her betrayal, Chen had taken his own life, but his love for his betrothed was so strong that it bound him to the library, where he had lived for centuries.

The spirit implored Dr. Li Wei to free him by performing a ritual that would require the scholar's blood. Torn between loyalty to Chen and his own sense of justice, Dr. Li Wei hesitated. What if the spirit's truth was only a ruse to further enslave him?

As Dr. Li Wei delved deeper into the mystery, he uncovered the library's hidden depths, revealing that the spirit was indeed a construct of Luo Yifei's vengeful ghost. It was her manipulation of the past that kept Chen's spirit trapped, a reminder of the power of love and betrayal.

The climax came when Dr. Li Wei confronted Luo Yifei's spirit. With a heart heavy with sorrow, he performed the ritual, allowing Chen's blood to spill upon the pages of the book. The ghostly apparition shuddered and faded, leaving behind a quiet silence that was as unsettling as the echoes of the library.

When Dr. Li Wei returned to his own time, he found that the book was no longer in his possession. He knew that he had changed the past, and with it, the future of the university and the fate of the souls entwined with its walls.

The story of Chen, Luo Yifei, and the library's ghostly past was one that would echo through the annals of Douban's history. It was a tale of love, loss, and the power of the written word. And as the moonlight continued to bathe the library in an ethereal glow, Dr. Li Wei knew that the spirit of the past would forever remain entwined with the heart of Douban's libraries, a haunting reminder of the stories that bind us all.