Volume 2, Chapter 18 (Chapter 56): Die!

Lu Yibei found himself back in the room, staring at the oil painting. Her scarlet orbs had a faint gold shimmer, and Sixian couldn’t help but stare at the girl before her.

She decided to return to check on Yibei.

‘There’s something wrong with her. She looks as if she’s in limbo.’

She recalled somebody in the forums mentioning a limbo state, where people’s minds would be transported into another space while their physical bodies remained.

If the girl before her was able to do this at will, then she may not be as simple as she claims to be.

According to the forums, people like her are called “ghost busters.”

And among many ghost busters, only a small part can yield psychic spells.

Hence…

She’s probably an incredibly powerful ghost buster!

That’s right. She didn’t need any equipment, nor did she need any rituals.

She easily killed that painting within seconds. Could other ghost busters do this?

Sixian was delighted with her observations: ‘I can’t believe I have the chance to meet someone this powerful. I need to maintain a good relationship with her. I should invest in her!’

‘So, even if I split the bill, I won’t lose any money!’

An avaricious smile appeared on her face subconsciously. Just as she was immersed in a future filled with money, a muffled sound came from the corridor outside the art room, interrupting her train of thought.

It sounded as if someone had kicked something over. It wasn’t loud, but the silent corridor made it extraordinarily clear.

She peered outside the corridor; it was so dark that she couldn’t even see anything.

“Boom!”

Not long after, the strange sound sounded again, and it seemed to get closer.

She instinctively took a few steps back into the classroom: ‘What the hell! Are that Pharoah and the others?’

Another muffled sound came from the corridor, and it was eerily close now.

It was like a block of wood hitting the ground, and the muffled sound resounded outside the window of the classroom. Immediately afterwards, she could see two pale, long, and narrow shadows slithering outside the window.

They looked like a pair of legs, but they were definitely not human legs.

Sixian began to panic a little as she held her breath, refusing to move.

She could feel evil emanating from those shadows.

She shifted her eyes towards Yibei anxiously, hoping that she would deal with it. However, Yibei was still in limbo.

Another muffled sound sounded again, but it gradually drifted away from their location.

Sixian let out a sigh of relief, massaging her numb hands and feet.

“I need to get out of here,” she muttered.

She tiptoed towards Yibei, wondering how to wake her up from this deep limbo.

Suddenly, the muffled sounds stopped for a moment, followed by the sound of doors opening, which echoed in the dark and silent corridor. The rusted door hinges croaked, and strange, distant, and painful voices could be heard.

“Inside…?”

“No…”

Sixian seemed to understand something, and her pupils shrank.

That thing outside was looking for something in the classrooms, one by one!

The thought flashed in her mind as the hairs all over her body stood up. The dull footsteps in the corridor and the sounds of doors opening were getting closer. She had no time to think and darted towards Yibei, placing her on her shoulders.

Sixian wanted to run out of the class, but when she heard the sound of keys clanging from the corridor, she realised that the shadows were just next door.

“Inside?”

“No…”

Sixian felt her legs go limp. The evil voice shook her soul violently.

‘I won’t have time to run; I can only…’

Cling, cling, cling!

The soft clinging sound of the keys was like bells that called for death, and Sixian gritted her teeth.

In the dimly lit room, various art supplies were scattered all over the floor. A canvas was lying face down in the centre of the room, and a bronze statue was placed right on top of it.

Squeak!

The door to the art room was pushed open, and a shadow squeezed through the crack of the door.

It was shaped like a human, but its limbs were elongated as if it were without bones.

The pale shadow was supported by an easel, and its body was as thin as paper. The head was painted with a deformed and stiff smile.

Its weird body floated around the classroom, and its limbs pressed against the surfaces of the room, making a soft, paper-like rustling sound.

Sixian was pressed against Yibei in the room’s locker and observed the situation outside through the gap in the locker. She silently covered her mouth with her hands.

She had no doubt that as soon as she let go of her hand, she would cry and alert them.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely, passing as slowly as possible.

Gradually, a burning sensation spread from her arms.

She looked down at the girl in her arms and frowned.

‘Why is she burning up? It-it must be her psychic state.’

Sixian was getting anxious; Yibei’s body temperature was getting higher and higher, and she felt like she was trapped inside an oven. Her heart dropped as her consciousness started to blur.

In a daze, she felt the girl in her arms twist her body, followed by the door of the locker being pushed open. Cold air rushed into the locker, instantly relieving her discomfort.

Vaguely, she could hear some talking and, in the next moment, a scream of panic.

It sounded like the muffled cry of someone whose throat had been slashed, and it sent chills down her back.

The strong negative emotions in that cry were like a sledgehammer hitting her head; all she could see was black.

The story of Zhao Ke’s past ended abruptly in darkness.

Yibei opened her eyes and found that she was locked in a small space, and she couldn’t help but panic.

‘W-what the hell?’

She subconsciously stretched her arm out, and the iron door of the locker bounced open with a bang.

After she regained her composure, Yibei noticed that in the centre of the messy classroom, a boy stood there quietly with his back to her, trembling all over.

The boy let out a terrified cry and turned around, saying, “Y-you scared me!”

“Oh, uh, my bad,” Yibei apologised as she massaged her head. “What are you doing here at night? It’s dangerous to be alone out here.”

“I-I know, but I came here for a trial of guts with my classmates… but we saw something, and we got separated. I heard a noise in this room, and I thought it was my friends, but I met you instead,” the boy said as his gaze drifted towards the unconscious Du Sixian. She was unconscious, and there were a few scorch marks on her clothes.

“Is that so? I’m here for a live broadcast, and I encountered some… weird things too. Please don’t hurt us.”

The boy froze for a moment. Nobody would want to harm a young, teenage girl.

“How could I hurt you? I’m scared too. Why don’t we stick together? That way, we can look out for one another.”

“My companion is still asleep, so…”

Yibei turned around and crept towards the statue of Acala, the Immovable. Just as she was a step away from the statue, a wave of ruthlessness flashed across her eyes.

“Die!”

Yibei yelled as she grabbed the statue and hit the boy with it in one swift, clean motion.

Yibei’s sudden violent outburst was beyond the boy’s expectations. His body was hit hard by the statue, and he flew sideways, smashing the easel into pieces.

At that moment, many questions appeared in his mind.

‘Why did she attack me? It should be me who attacks first, right?’

‘Why is she so strong?’

‘Why are her psychic fluctuations…’

The boy’s neck seemed broken, and he crawled backwards helplessly.

In a daze, he saw that pristine face stained with blood, exuding a cold aura that made him shudder. She was like Death himself, approaching little by little.