The three of them snatched the corpse and bolted.
Lu Ji dragged the corpse with his Infernal Blood Whip, Chai Yingying summoned back the Glutton Ball she had sent into the lake to devour the Water Ghost’s hair, and Gu Jiu swung his sword to cut down the pursuing strands of hair.
The Water Ghost could only watch helplessly as the three bandits stole its corpse and fled, its rage causing the lake water to churn violently.
Finally, it erupted in fury, using all its strength to stir the waters and stretch out its hair-like tendrils, chasing relentlessly in a bid to reclaim its corpse. Unfortunately for the Water Ghost, being a water-dwelling spirit bound as a scapegoat, it couldn’t leave the lake. Its attack range was limited, and once its prey left that range, it was powerless to do anything.
The Water Ghost lay by the shore, letting out an infuriated wail.
The commotion of the churning lake and the Water Ghost’s enraged cries created quite a spectacle.
The kitchen ghosts in the cafeteria peeked nervously through the windows to watch the scene unfold. When they saw that the culprits stirring up trouble with the Water Ghost were those three tyrants again, they shivered in fear and silently lit a candle for the poor Water Ghost.
The ghosts of Shengying High School usually stayed in their own territories and rarely crossed boundaries.
The cafeteria, being close to the lake, meant the kitchen ghosts were well aware of the Water Ghost’s presence. It had been tirelessly searching for a scapegoat to free itself. Every evening at six, it would rise from the lake bottom and lurk in the water, looking for passersby to drag into the depths as replacements.
The Water Ghost’s strength was far superior to that of the cafeteria ghosts. They had assumed it would give Gu Jiu and the others a hard time. To their surprise, the Water Ghost was this useless.
While disappointed, the cafeteria ghosts trembled, too afraid to even entertain the thought of taking on those three tyrants.
Hearing the commotion, some players rushed over. Upon seeing the corpse Gu Jiu’s group was dragging, they were stunned.
“Is that the Water Ghost’s corpse? What are you doing with it?” Pei Yongyong asked curiously, a probing look in her eyes, suspecting they might have found some clue.
Chai Yingying smiled slyly. “It’s a corpse, of course! Without it, the Water Ghost’s power will weaken.”
The Water Ghost still had its corpse, which bolstered its strength. Without it, its power would gradually diminish.
Naturally, Gu Jiu and the others hadn’t stolen the Water Ghost’s corpse just to weaken it. They had other intentions, but there was no need to explain that to the players just yet.
Pei Yongyong and the other players seemed half-convinced, though they doubted the reasoning was that simple. Still, they figured everyone had their secrets, and it wasn’t hard to understand.
As the appointed time drew near, the players headed to Classroom 305 for self-study.
As soon as they entered the classroom, they noticed the ghostly students glancing at them surreptitiously. Their gazes lingered on Gu Jiu and her companions, filled with curiosity and complexity. But beyond a few extra looks, they didn’t do anything. Just as before, they quietly resumed studying, showing no intention of engaging with the players.
These students were unnervingly quiet—so quiet they seemed to lack any presence at all.
The players gathered to share their experiences from the previous night, supplementing each other on which areas still harbored ghosts.
For such a vast campus as Shengying High, after four nights of exploration, they still hadn’t mapped out all the ghostly presences.
“This school really is teeming with ghosts. Based on what we’ve encountered so far, there are nearly thirty locations with ghost activity, and these ghosts are no pushovers,” one male player said as he spread out a school map on the desk, marking the ghost-infested areas.
Pei Yongyong glanced at the map and said, “Brother Fan, doesn’t the pattern formed by the marked areas look like a broken circle? The ghosts distributed within it resemble the points of a pentagram.”
She didn’t need to elaborate; the others had already noticed.
The campus map Ji Linfan had specially obtained was marked with red circles indicating ghost-infested areas. When connected, the red circles formed a strikingly noticeable shape.
Of course, there might still be overlooked locations—after all, the school was crawling with ghosts.
Chai Yingying looked over the map and commented, “You didn’t mark the dean or the students.”
Ji Linfan replied, “They aren’t ghosts confined to one place. Besides, they can transform into human form during the day, so they aren’t as relevant for our analysis.” As he spoke, he adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, presenting his calm reasoning.
Both Ji Linfan and Gu Jiu wore glasses, but Gu Jiu’s were functional aids, while Ji Linfan’s were purely for effect. It was rumored that wearing glasses helped him think more logically, making him seem quirky in the eyes of the other players.
Ji Linfan was tall and slender, exuding the aura of a rational engineering student. His behavior reflected this impression—he was more adept at meticulous analysis than direct combat with ghosts. On the very first day, he had obtained Shengying High’s campus map and, over the past few days, pieced together much of the school’s ghostly phenomena.
Gu Jiu and Lu Ji didn’t join the discussion. They sat by the window, keeping watch.
They could also see the red-marked areas on the map.
“The broken part of the circle seems to be the school’s back mountain,” Chai Yingying noted, pointing at the map.
Shengying High was a prestigious school with a sprawling campus located at the base of a mountain in the suburbs. Naturally, it included a back mountain.
“This area was rumored to be a mass grave during wartime, with many bodies buried there.”
“Has anyone been there?”
“Yeah, but there’s nothing there. Even the teaching buildings are more dangerous.”
“Then why would the back mountain, rumored to be a mass grave, have no ghosts?”
“This shows rumors can’t always be trusted. Shengying High seems too normal during the day, and many of the students’ urban legends don’t align with the ghosts haunting the school at night.”
…
As Gu Jiu listened to their discussion, he suddenly glanced out the window and reminded them, “The dean is coming.”
The players, who had been huddled together in discussion, immediately scattered back to their seats and pretended to study.
A minute later, the dean appeared ghost-like at the window outside the classroom, her gloomy face scanning the students inside. From her drooping expression, it was clear her mood was terrible.
No, to be precise, the students had sensed her foul mood ever since she showed up in the cafeteria during dinner.
Why was she in a bad mood?
The players speculated it was because she had chased down some night-wandering players the night before, only for them to escape. Unable to punish those who broke school rules, she must have been frustrated.
Chai Yingying slipped a note to Gu Jiu.
[Eldest Miss, it’s confirmed now: the school’s loop resets the ghosts’ lives but preserves their experiences. Their memories aren’t erased, only their vitality resets each day.]
This meant that even if players killed a ghost, it would still resurrect the next night and remember being killed by the players—as if trapped in an endless cycle of revival.
Gu Jiu scribbled back: [Let’s check out the multimedia teaching building later.]
Chai Yingying responded with a quick “OK.”
As the self-study session ended, the students left the classroom. The players, wary of experiencing the bizarre time anomalies of the previous night, hurriedly followed, leaving the dangerous classroom behind.
On their way to the multimedia teaching building, Gu Jiu’s group gained an extra member.
Ji Linfan adjusted his glasses and said, “You’re heading to the multimedia teaching building? I’ll join you.”
Chai Yingying, a natural social butterfly who got along with everyone, grinned and asked, “Old Ji, what are you looking into?”
“I heard you killed the plaster ghost in the art room last night. I’m going to check it out,” Ji Linfan replied.
As expected, he was there to verify the situation.
Gu Jiu and his team welcomed him warmly; they didn’t mind having another cautious and capable player in the group.
The four of them arrived at the multimedia teaching building and once again encountered the Jumping Ghost. Ji Linfan took a long look at the ghost, observing as it shuffled toward them. After a few seconds of adjusting his glasses, he turned away and walked off.
“Why were you staring at her?” Chai Yingying asked curiously.
Ji Linfan replied, “It’s said that many ghosts, at specific times after their deaths, repeat the scene leading to their demise. This replay of their final moments brings them great pain, and they often seek a scapegoat to free themselves.”
“There’s truth to that,” Chai Yingying agreed. “But that Jumping Ghost’s body is so broken, and her movements so slow, I doubt she could manage to find a scapegoat even if she wanted to.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Ji Linfan said cryptically.
Chai Yingying gave him a puzzled look, unsure of his meaning.
When they reached the fourth floor, the pervasive sensation of being watched returned. Instinctively, Chai Yingying glanced at the mini birdcage pendant hanging from her waist. The embedded eye within it was still there.
“So, there’s another ghost eye here?” she murmured.
When they finally arrived at the fifth floor and entered the art room, it wasn’t surprising to find the plaster ghost fully restored, along with the portrait of the girl on the podium. Both were back as though nothing had happened the night before.
The plaster ghost immediately noticed the players outside the classroom and charged out without hesitation.
The girl in the portrait glared with icy resentment, her eyes filled with venomous hatred. Clearly, she harbored a grudge against Gu Jiu for the events of the previous night. Driven by this resentment, the plaster ghost, who normally stayed within the classroom, broke the norm and chased after the players before they even stepped inside.
The four of them turned and fled, heading to the seventh floor.
The plaster ghost followed them upstairs, charging after them as they flung open the door to the music room.
Feigning an attempt to enter the music room, the four baited the plaster ghost. As it lunged forward, Chai Yingying and Gu Jiu worked together to shove it into the room.
Music began to play.
The red music box that Gu Jiu had taken the night before was inexplicably back on the podium, perfectly intact.
Once the plaster ghost stepped inside, a shadow appeared on the back wall of the classroom, mirroring its form. The shadow began to control the ghost, forcing it to dance.
Ji Linfan observed the scene and remarked, “It seems ghosts possess absolute control within their own territories. Even intruding ghosts are bound to follow the rules set in these domains.”
Although the plaster ghost was strong, it couldn’t resist the control of the shadow once it entered the music room.
After witnessing this, the group left the seventh floor.
On their way back down to the fourth floor, they encountered another spatial distortion. This time, they were prepared and handled it calmly. Using her Nine Yin Compass, Chai Yingying once again located a hidden ghost eye on the fourth floor.
With practiced ease, they dug out the ghost eye and tossed it into the mini birdcage.
Chai Yingying held up the mini birdcage with a grin and said, “Do you think gathering seven ghost eyes could summon the big boss?”
“Don’t jinx it,” Ji Linfan replied coolly. “If that really happens, we’ll all be wiped out here.”
Chai Yingying playfully scolded him, “Old Ji, you really have no sense of humor!”
Ji Linfan shot her a glance, his expression clearly saying, ‘Are we even that close?’ Then he continued heading downstairs without a word.
“What a boring straight-laced guy!” Chai Yingying muttered in complaint. “I’m such a stunning beauty, and he doesn’t even spare me a glance. I definitely prefer someone like war hero Qu Xiao over a dull guy like him.”
When they reached the first floor, the four of them ignored the Jumping Ghost and left.
The Jumping Ghost stared at their retreating figures. Her gaze carried not only resentment but also an unfathomable glint.
Next, they headed toward the auditorium.
Seeing Ji Linfan follow along, Chai Yingying couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you tagging along?”
Adjusting his glasses, Ji Linfan replied, “Your group has impressive skills and uncovers a lot of ghosts. I figured joining you tonight might lead to some new discoveries.”
Chai Yingying rolled her eyes, silently thinking, He’s in for a disappointment.