"There’s a ghost."
In that instant, Tan Wenbin felt a chill run from his tailbone all the way to the top of his head.
Without hesitating, he stood up from his chair.
Then, he quickly turned halfway around and brought down the book in his hand with a loud slap onto Lin Shuyou's face.
With the vertical pupils wide open, he could sense the malevolent presence.
Tan Wenbin certainly understood the nature of Lin Shuyou; the guy had eyes that functioned like radar.
But the problem was, he should take a good look at himself right now… Even if he couldn’t see himself, he ought to pay attention to the person accompanying him, shouldn’t he?
However, Lin Shuyou was in a dazed state, still recovering from treatment and on an IV drip, appearing more like he was in some kind of deep stupor.
His body began to twitch, as if trying to rise but failing due to his wounded condition.
His lips quivered, murmuring what sounded like dreams:
"Malevolent spirit... Malevolent spirit... Exterminate the malevolent spirit..."
"Alright, alright, don't worry. Exterminate... exterminate..."
"Malevolent spirit... Malevolent spirit... Malevolent spirit..."
"Be quiet; it's fine. I’ll handle it. A little spirit is nothing in front of me."
It seemed he found comfort in Tan Wenbin's words, and Lin Shuyou settled down, likely because he was too weak to remain conscious.
Tan Wenbin let out a long sigh of relief; Lin Shuyou had quieted down, and he had genuinely worried that the noise would attract the spirit that should have just been passing by.
He remembered that Xiaoyuan once taught him that when encountering a malevolent spirit and feeling outmatched, the best course of action was to... pretend not to see it.
Were those two senior sisters from earlier the culprits? What a pity, to be so young and already tainted by such things.
Tan Wenbin walked to the door of the ward.
The two senior sisters had gone west down the corridor, so he headed east without hesitation.
Leaving Lin Shuyou alone in the infirmary with a spirit lurking around was dangerous, but Tan Wenbin had something more urgent to do:
He needed to quickly find Xiaoyuan.
As he descended the east staircase, Tan Wenbin quickened his pace, trying to act natural while occasionally scratching his head and muttering about how "there were too many things happening."
He didn’t know if the spirit would pay him any mind, but even if he wasn’t in view, he still had to demonstrate his professional demeanor.
However, the more he feared something, the closer it seemed to come.
When he reached the south door leading out of the infirmary, his peripheral vision caught sight of the two senior sisters reappearing.
One was coming from the east, the other from the west, and they converged at the entrance like parallel lines.
"Ah, it’s so annoying. Hospitals have so many issues; don’t expect me to come take care of you again next time."
Tan Wenbin continued his little performance.
After exiting the infirmary, he crossed the road back to the school, pausing for a few passing trucks.
He had to wait for a moment.
The two senior sisters didn’t cross the road but instead turned to head east.
He didn’t pay special attention, yet still caught the sight of them, one on the left and the other on the right, holding hands with a lively little girl of four or five dressed in patient attire.
The little girl giggled, her voice sweet and childlike:
"Is there really something fun ahead?" "Are you really taking me to buy toys?" "Sisters, you are so nice to me."
Tan Wenbin’s face remained calm while he continued to wait for the traffic to pass, but his heart began to race, and a moral guilt came over him.
If the two spirits were holding hands with an elderly man or woman, or even an adult, he could have played around and giggled a bit, without feeling any disturbance…
But the image of this little victim was just too powerful, evoking a sense of justice and protection within people.
Moreover, the two senior sisters took the girl across the road, turning right into a small thicket, beyond which was an artificial river.
What were they planning to do?
Tan Wenbin swallowed hard, then bit down on his tongue sharply.
The pain brought him back to his senses.
If it were a normal case of child abduction or common crime, he would have hurried in without a second thought to act bravely; that was his creed.
But Lin Shuyou had just opened his vertical pupils.
When he felt he lacked the ability to handle the situation, the most rational decision was to stay calm.
He wasn’t like Runsheng; Xiaoyuan might not give him a second chance.
Just then, one of the trucks passed by, and Tan Wenbin stepped into the road, heading straight for the school.
By the riverbank.
The little girl stopped in her tracks.
The two senior sisters, holding her hands, also halted simultaneously.
The cute expression on the girl’s face faded into something blank, a murky whiteness clouding her eyes.
She turned her head, looking back to see that no one was following.
Finally, the girl turned back, and the two senior sisters followed suit.
A smile reappeared on the girl’s face, and the two sisters resumed their cheerful expressions.
Once again, the three, two large and one small, held hands and, chatting and laughing, left the riverbank, returned to the road, and went back into the infirmary, climbing the stairs.
When they passed Lin Shuyou’s ward, the little girl stopped just outside.
The two senior sisters entered the ward, a multi-bed room with only curtains to separate each bed.
They glanced at each bed, as if searching for their classmate from the hospital.
They passed Lin Shuyou’s bed.
At that moment, Lin Shuyou’s face was still covered by a thick professional book.
One of the sisters stepped forward, reached out to uncover the book, and saw Lin Shuyou, who had fallen into a deeper stupor.
At that moment, Lin Shuyou couldn’t even open his pupils, not to mention waking him with a slap.
The sister placed the book back on his face, unaware that anything was amiss.
After inspecting all the beds, the two walked back outside to stand behind the little girl.
The little girl leaned against the corridor’s balcony, peering through the gaps in the railing toward the school, which was the direction Tan Wenbin had gone.
In her eyes flashed a hint of resentment, as if feeling deceived.
Then, she closed her eyes.
"Thump... thump..."
Suddenly, both senior sisters collapsed, weak and unconscious on the ground.
Nearby nurses and doctors noticed and hurried over to attend to them.
The little girl quietly slipped through the crowd, returning to her small ward at the end of the corridor.
She lay back down on the bed.
Beside her, a weary-looking woman was dozing with her head on the bed.
The little girl reached over and gently touched the woman’s head.
The woman awoke, and upon seeing the girl with her eyes open, she instantly brightened and said, “Jingjing is awake? That’s wonderful; you scared Auntie to death!”
“Auntie, Jingjing wants to go home.”
“Alright, Auntie will take you home.”
After leaving Liu Yumei’s house, Li Zhiyuan followed his usual routine and arrived at the nearby affordable store for lunch.
With the upperclassmen gradually returning to school, four work-study students appeared in the store.
This meant that Runsheng and Yin Meng had their burdens lightened, allowing them more free time instead of being bound to the store.
After lunch and back in the dormitory, Li Zhiyuan began copying down "Liu Clan's Qi Observation Technique" and "Qin Clan's Dragon Viewing Method" in a dog-scrambling style.
He couldn't pass the original 'thief book' to them because its age was too obvious, so he had to copy it out anew... no, just memorize it.
Since he had read the books before, all the content should be clear in his mind; otherwise, it would be pointless to have read them.
Seeing that Liu Yumei had sped up her progress, he decided to accelerate his own work.
He would write it all out and hand it to Liu Yumei, allowing her to translate it leisurely without him needing to visit the study every morning, which would cut into his time with Ah Li.
As he was writing, the dormitory door was pushed open.
After entering the school gate, Tan Wenbin had taken off running and was now panting heavily.
“Xiaoyuan, there’s a spirit in the infirmary.”
Li Zhiyuan placed his brush back on the stand, not rushing to stand up and dash off to the infirmary, but silently waiting for Tan Wenbin to catch his breath and elaborate on the situation.
Since Tan Wenbin had run back, it indicated that he was safe; as for the other circumstances in the infirmary, the young man wasn't overly concerned.
After Tan Wenbin finished detailing the encounter, he looked at Xiaoyuan without speaking.
Li Zhiyuan nodded, saying, “Then let’s go have a look.”
They called in Runsheng and Yin Meng along the way, forming a group of four as they headed to the infirmary.
First, they went to Lin Shuyou’s ward.
Li Zhiyuan pulled the book off his face to inspect him briefly, confirming he was merely in a coma and had no other issues, before replacing the book and addressing Tan Wenbin:
“You should buy some tape later to stick on his eyelids.”
Afterward, Li Zhiyuan stepped out of the ward with everyone and began checking the other rooms.
They didn’t find the little girl that Tan Wenbin mentioned, but they did come across the two senior sisters.
Li Zhiyuan recognized these two sisters; he had seen them sitting on a slope drawing when he passed by the playground yesterday, and one had invited him to be their model, which he had declined.
Recalling their earlier conversation, one was called Xu Bailu and the other Wu Xue.
The two were looking weak as they lay on recliners with glucose drips, still somewhat disoriented.
The doctors mentioned they were experiencing low blood sugar due to malnutrition.
But looking at them, Li Zhiyuan clearly noticed signs of “external evil clinging onto them,” indicating a poor recent physical condition, suggesting they had been infected by something sinister.
For both of them to faint simultaneously only confirmed this latter point.
“Thanks to you, Wenbin, for not impulsively rescuing that child; that little one might actually be the real malevolent spirit.”
"Damn, it’s too despicable. I really fought hard with myself about it back then; my tongue still hurts," Tan Wenbin muttered, glancing at Runsheng, who paid him no mind.
As everyone exited the infirmary, Tan Wenbin intentionally lagged behind and nudged Runsheng's arm, pressing his tongue against the roof of his mouth, making a “click” sound.
“Look at me, I’m so clever.”
Runsheng finally reacted, casting a calm glance at him, and asked, “Afraid to make a mistake?”
Tan Wenbin: “…”
With no further progress made, the four returned to campus.
“Wenbin, you should investigate those two sisters’ backgrounds; often, when something sinister attaches to someone, it tends to keep targeting familiar paths.”
Just like how the little yellow warbler had done to him before.
“Alright.” Tan Wenbin nodded. “I’ll go grab some tape from the shop then return to the infirmary; after the two sisters wake up, I’ll see about extracting information from them.”
“Runsheng, you can go with Wenbin; since that little girl is missing, it suggests Wenbin’s actions caused a stir that interrupted her; she might just come back.”
“Got it.”
Li Zhiyuan added, “Once Lin Shuyou regains his ability for self-care, don’t worry about him—let him be. If he dies, he dies.”
The four returned to the shop, and Tan Wenbin grabbed some tape before heading back to the infirmary with Runsheng.
Li Zhiyuan descended to the basement to feed Xiao Hei.
When Xiao Hei saw Li Zhiyuan, it walked out of its cage and rubbed its head against the boy's pant leg, then returned to its cage as if having completed a task.
This dog was always in good health, and it showed no interest in the outside world at all.
Yin Meng brought over some freshly fried medicinal food, which Li Zhiyuan poured into its bowl, and Xiao Hei began to drink.
After finishing, Xiao Hei lay sideways in its cage, extending a paw through the bars in a posture inviting attention.
After taking some of Xiao Hei’s blood with a syringe, Li Zhiyuan gently patted its head.
Xiao Hei retracted its paw and continued to lie sprawled out, wagging its tail as if saying farewell.
It was odd; although it was just a dog, it felt oddly like it was above the mundane and detached from worldly affairs.
Li Zhiyuan couldn’t help but wonder if, once the time was up, freeing it would have it return on its own, ever so willingly slipping back into the cage.
It truly enjoyed this lazy life of drinking delicious medicinal soup, receiving nourishment without care, paying the small price of giving just a bit of blood every so often.
Indeed, while pet dogs needed to please others, guard dogs required to work, and stray dogs got into fights, they certainly lead worse lives, pouring out far more blood and sweat than it did.
As Li Zhiyuan prepared to leave the shop for the dormitory, a car happened to pull up.
The window rolled down, and Xue Liangliang leaned out, waving, “Xiaoyuan, get in!”
Li Zhiyuan opened the door and took a seat in the passenger seat.
Sitting in the back was Luo Gong; he was focused on the documents in his hands.
When Li Zhiyuan got in, he smiled and looked up, “Xiaoyuan, how have you been lately?”
"I'm doing well, Teacher."
“Good. There have been some incidents at school recently, and I’ve already taken care of it for you. From now on, if you have issues, just go find the department head directly.”
“Thank you, Teacher.”
“How’s that student doing?”
“Tan Wenbin is studying hard to prepare for his professional knowledge.”
“Hmm.”
Luo Gong returned to his documents.
Xue Liangliang shared while driving, “Teacher and I just came back from Xuzhou. We have to head to Huangshan tonight as there’s a meeting there tomorrow. Today we specifically carved out time to see the teacher and have dinner before we leave.”
“Sounds tough.”
Li Zhiyuan fastened his seatbelt and didn’t mention picking up Tan Wenbin again since Luo Gong had already addressed it.
“Originally, the teacher’s house was on campus, but there were some recent adjustments, and the school assigned a new property.”
“I heard someone from outside wanted to live in our teachers’ building due to its nice environment and donated a substantial amount for laboratory equipment.”
“Ha, these days, there’s truly all kinds of people. Such a pity, even though the teacher’s home isn’t large, its layout is excellent, and the renovations were overseen by the teacher himself back in the day; you missed out on seeing it.”
Li Zhiyuan didn’t think it was a pity; most likely, he would be going there every morning down the line.
The new home was located in a bustling section of an older neighborhood.
Upon entering the neighborhood, everyone got out of the car.
Luo Gong reminded Xue Liangliang of the apartment number and went upstairs, while Xue Liangliang took Li Zhiyuan to a nearby restaurant to pack food.
“Something came up at the teacher’s home, so the teacher’s wife probably doesn’t have the energy to cook for us.”
“What happened?”
“The teacher’s wife’s sister's husband had a car accident some time ago, leaving behind a four or five-year-old daughter. The teacher’s wife has taken her in, which the teacher agreed to. The teacher's own daughter is attending university in the city, and he’s busy working, so having a child around for comfort is nice. However, the child has been sick lately and fainted unexpectedly; the teacher heard about it, so he made time to visit home.”
“Xiaoyuan, you should be prepared. Back in elementary school, I didn’t understand when I read in lessons how Yu the Great passed his home three times without entering; now I get it.”
“It’s indeed not easy.”
“One can only hope that infrastructure improves, more flights come to the airport, providing greater convenience for you to return home to Nantong. A single day off would be enough for a round trip.”
“When that time comes, Liangliang, you’ll be older too.”
“What drink do you want? Let’s skip the wine.”
“Soy milk.”
Xue Liangliang and Li Zhiyuan took the food upstairs.
A gentle-looking middle-aged woman opened the door; exhaustion was written all over her face.
“Liangliang, you’re here! Haha, and this must be Xiaoyuan, our province’s top scholar!”
As she spoke, she pulled out a red envelope and handed it to Li Zhiyuan.
“Thank you, Teacher’s wife.”
He accepted it; it was his first visit, and due to their student-teacher relationship, taking something was appropriate.
“This child is really good-looking; our Lao Luo has struck gold!” The teacher's wife looked at the food in their hands and added, “Oh dear, I’ve cooked already, why are you buying food outside? Nothing compares to home-cooked meals.”
Xue Liangliang replied, “It’s just to avoid tiring you out.”
“With this much food, we can’t finish it all.”
“It’s fine. If there are leftovers, I’ll pack them up for the teacher and me for our trip tonight. We promise not to waste it.”
Once inside, Li Zhiyuan saw Luo Gong sitting on the living room sofa, cradling a little girl in his arms.
“Come, Jingjing, call your older brothers. This is Liangliang, and this is Xiaoyuan.”
“Liangliang Brother, Xiaoyuan Brother.”
Jingjing’s voice was sweet and pleasant, and she looked adorable.
But as soon as her voice rang out, Li Zhiyuan's gaze toward her took on a special nuance.
For in this world, there was likely no one more adept at “playing a child” than him.
“Wow, where did this little beauty come from, hahahaha!”
Xue Liangliang opened his arms, bent down, and embraced the little girl.
She giggled as they embraced but wrinkled her little nose.
Li Zhiyuan wore a pleasant smile but thought to himself: Heh, can she smell the odor of the Bai family that she dislikes?
After the embrace, Xue Liangliang stepped aside.
The little girl continued to beam and came over to hug Li Zhiyuan.
From a child’s perspective, she was likely more fond of someone closer to her age.
Li Zhiyuan stood still, then asked, “Who exactly are you?”
It was the same question as Liangliang's before, but with a different tone, especially as a smirk gradually appeared on the youth's face.
A hint of confusion crossed the girl’s features.
But remembering she was at home with so many people around, her doubts dissipated, and her smile grew brighter.
However, as the little girl approached, Li Zhiyuan suddenly lifted his foot and kicked her.
“Bang!”
The little girl fell to the ground, shock etched on her face: How dare he?
Li Zhiyuan dug a bright red bag from his pocket containing freshly drawn black dog blood, still warm to the touch.
“Smack!”
The entire bag of black dog blood was hurled at the little girl, bursting open and splattering her all over.
“Ah!!!”
The girl let out a terrible scream.
Li Zhiyuan straightforwardly addressed Xue Liangliang and Luo Gong, “She’s been possessed by something sinister!”
Things came up at home, so writing got delayed.
I’ll try to code another chapter late in the night.
Everyone, please don’t wait; check back tomorrow morning.
Lastly, as the end of the month approaches, I’d like to appeal for everyone’s monthly votes.
If you have extra votes, please consider giving them to your humble author.
(End of Chapter)