Chapter 9
Qian Yiwei still didn’t realize the situation. He was in a state where his memory was still modified and wasn’t aware of the wrongness of the sideburns person. He ignored Zheng Yi’s strange behaviour as he spoke to the sideburns person in a dissatisfied manner. "Are you mocking me?"
The other person didn’t look at him but stared straight at Xiao Li, or the candle in Xiao Li’s hand.
The black-haired teenager had already lit the candle. The blue fire was the brightest light source in the bedroom. Under the illumination of the candlelight, Qian Yiwei’s expression gradually changed from anger to ignorance and eventually becoming fear as he took a step back.
The sideburns person had no intention of moving forward thanks to the candlelight. She stood there at the door, staring at them like a beast. There was a violent storm outside that blew the curtains up high. The candlelight swayed, elongating the shadow of the sideburns person on the wall.
"Sherlock, he is waiting!" Seeing that the disguised ghost had no intention of going forward, Qian Yiwei felt a bit relieved but he soon reacted to the ghost’s intentions and hurriedly shouted the name of the teenager. "Once the candle burns out, she can kill us without any hindrance!"
Xiao Li handed the diary back to Qian Yiwei and carried the candle towards the door.
Qian Yiwei was stunned for a second. This was indeed the only way but he didn’t expect Sherlock to be so decisive. After all, going out through the door was equivalent to passing by the ghost which required a high psychological quality to do. The young man looked at the teenager’s side profile with a complicated expression before following.
The ghost showed an uncomfortable expression at the approach of the candle and took two steps back. However, she still stared at them closely. The distance was so close that when they walked out the dormitory door, Qian Yiwei and Zheng Yi could even see the blood in the other person’s eyes and couldn’t help being surprised.
Compared to their shivering, Xiao Li was much calmer. The black-haired teenager turned to look at the ghost and approached with the candle in his right hand. Sure enough, the ghost moved a bit further away and Xiao Li’s lips curved, a hint of mischief flashing across his face. The smile was fleeting and he returned to his original appearance before the other two people could find it.
Xiao Li held a candle and wanted to go downstairs but there was a burst of footsteps from the chaotic third floor staircase. Listening to the sound, it wasn’t one person but a group of people. The masters of the footsteps appeared. They were wearing the uniforms of the Nandu Girls’ High School and all had pale faces and extremely stiff physiques. They came up the stairs from the third floor, staring at Xiao Li and the sideburns ghost.
The moment he saw this, Zheng Yi felt his legs soften and he had to hold the wall to stay upright. Qian Yiwei was just as frightened but he was calm. Only his voice slightly trembled as he told Xiao Li, "I... we’ll go upstairs."
The proximity of the group of ghosts meant the candle burned faster and faster. The remaining body of the candle became shorter and the candlelight swayed in the dark corridor, the darkness in the distance looking like dripping ink.
Xiao Li looked at the malicious eyes of the sideburns ghost and all the clothes from this school passed through his mind. He didn’t hesitate and went upstairs.
The more they went up, the more the group of ghosts moved tightly behind them, blocking the stairwell. It was widely known that in a time of crisis, going upstairs wasn’t a good choice because the stairs always had an end. They would have nowhere to go after reaching the top floor.
This truth was clear in Qian Yiwei’s heart but he couldn’t think of any other ways. He didn’t know where his reasoning had gone wrong and could only stare at Sherlock’s back. The teenager’s back wasn’t solid and was a bit thin but at this time, it gave a sense of security. The young man with glasses didn’t know why but his heart somewhat settled.
Zheng Yi didn’t have this feeling. He also realized the situation and was crying while walking on the stairs, especially when they came to the roof. If they stepped forward then they would die!
’I’m going to die,’ Zheng Yi thought desperately. ’I’m going to die!’
In this moment, the first half of his life replayed like a lantern. Things shouldn’t be like this, his life shouldn’t end like this. He was the young master of the Zheng family. He should be hugging a lot of money and finally lie in a coffin made of gold. He wasn’t willing to die here!
Zheng Yi wiped his tears and looked up with despair. He thought, ’If someone saves me at this time, I will call him Father!’
The view of the rooftop was very wide and the moon looked close enough to be touched by a hand. There was a view of the entire campus and—
In mid-air, the sideburns ghost that had been following the three of them appeared again. Her face gradually lengthened, revealing a sly smile as she looked at the three people on the roof, as if looking at those who had nowhere to go.
At the entrance of the rooftop, the dense group of students huddled and stared with empty eyes.
This wasn’t a horror movie, it was a horror event in real life. However, Xiao Li’s eyes were unusually shiny. The pure black pupils had a beautiful fire ignited like the stars above the head. The bright moonlight reflected the side of the teenager’s face as he stared at the candle burning in his hand. There was only a small bit of life. The faint candlelight shone in his pupils and Xiao Li’s heart beat very quickly as he suddenly spoke to the female ghost in midair.
"Tan Li, you were born a poor student. You knew your family’s situation and worked hard to study, finally being admitted into the famous high school, Nandu Girls’ School. When you first started school, you were very happy because this was the school you dreamt of. When you looked at this beautiful campus, you were happy. You studied hard, had a good time and made friends. Everything looked perfect."
"Then you saw ’it’, a ghost wandering the campus. You saved the girl who was first haunted by the ghost but as a ’reward’, you found there was one more person in the class. You didn’t know their name and couldn’t see their appearance but you knew there is one more person. Thus, you had been counting and telling classmates. You wanted to save them but they didn’t believe you. They even yelled at you and started bullying you."
"’It’ wanted to manipulate you and to make you get revenge. You certainly didn’t want to be manipulated by a ghost so you chose to fight. You wanted to protect your teammates even though they bullied you. Thus, you alienated them and tried to weaken their sense of existence."
"Unfortunately, they didn’t under your intentions and intensified their bullying of you. Your friend Xu Min chose to abandon you and you became more desperate."
"Time passed and one day, you discovered that your classmates were planning out how to kill you. Then everything became uncontrollable. You became more and more extreme, giving yourself to the devil. It is a pity that the dragon slayer eventually became a dragon."
Xiao Li stopped here and quietly looked at the expression of the ghost.
The ghost hand in the air, her face slowly elongating and changing to the face of ’Tan Li’ that Xiao Li saw in the classroom. The girl was wearing thick clothes and her pupils were motionless as she stared at him. Only her mouth was pulled into a terrible sneer.
"From the diary, it is indeed like this." Xiao Li stared into the girl’s eyes before smiling and continuing. "However, I don’t think so. You changed the diary, right? All the words at the end were added by you."
"Tan Li is a very strong girl, kind and persistent. She wouldn’t give up so easily and offer her soul to you. If I guessed correctly, it should be that you used some means to integrate with her. You dominated her body and killed the students. However, Tan Li’s consciousness wasn’t annihilated and she was still struggling. That’s why only one classroom would turn on its lights in the middle of the night. Maybe she saved the other classes..."
The teenager made a ’shoot’ gesture. "She still has some awareness and is fighting you, asking for help. Therefore, there are two types of ghosts here. One is manipulated by the consciousness of Tan Li and is good while the other one is manipulated by you. That’s why the female ghost I met in the classroom was harmless despite reproducing the scenes of bullying in the past."
"Then you, I don’t know who you are but you are a ghost with the ability to modify. You’re not very strong so you modified the diary to mislead the humans who came looking for the truth. It is because you don’t want someone to help her."
"Am I right?"
The moment Xiao Li finished speaking, the little yellow book heated up and started vibrating like a mobile phone receiving non-stop WeChat messages.
Tan Li’s cold smile was gone and a slight struggle appeared in her expression. After a moment, she seemed to change persons as her eyeballs moved hard and she stared at Xiao Li. The girl’s still lip line moved slightly up, the curve small. She might be smiling or perhaps not.
Tan Li blinked. It was as if something had fallen from her eyes but never fell to the ground. She didn’t cry because ghosts couldn’t cry.
The little yellow book emerged automatically at this moment. From the cover of the book, countless golden thin lines were projected. The female ghost in the air was caught and trapped by them, turning into a golden light that shot towards Xiao Li’s little yellow book.
Xiao Li found that the originally empty cover of this book now contained the picture of a girl. It seemed to be Tan Li. Then he opened the inside of the book and found several words as well as nonsense.
【 The reincarnator Xiao Li has completed the original task two, evaluation level S. The mission is 100% and successfully copied the ghost Tan Li. 1,000 survivor coins have been obtained as well as a lucky draw qualification. 】
【 Scenario conversion. 】
【 3, 2, 1—】
【 Great. 】
【 Heart gesture. 】
【 Although a bit hurt, you are still stubborn. 】
Xiao Li, "........."
’Then you are really stubborn.’
The group of people quickly disappeared from the rooftop. The Nandu Girls’ High School was restored to the silence of the past and it stood quietly like a beast.
A gust of wind blew threw the school. Compared to the past, this was an unusually mild gust. In a room where the blood-stained curtains blew up, there was a shadow hidden with his side profile barely revealed.
The man was looking at the roof, fingers tapping the window frame. It wasn’t until the teenager above disappeared without a trace that he lowed his head, thick lashes covering the overflowing emotions in his eyes.
He desperately wanted to get this person.