I was utterly horrified. It was broad daylight! How could the ghost of the deceased appear in front of me?!
Wasn't she supposed to have been captured by that faceless ghost guard?
"Mrs. Gu..."
Another shrill voice rang in my ear. Instantly, I felt the temperature around me drop a few degrees. The faceless ghost guard materialized not far behind me. "It's high noon now. This is the time when yang energy wanes and yin energy rises. During the alternation of yin and yang, great yang can turn into great yin. That's why we can manifest..."
The faceless ghost guard was extremely polite to me this time. Seeing me frown, he immediately explained at length.
"Aren't you supposed to have taken her back down there?!" I still couldn't understand.
On the faceless ghost guard's flat face, I could somehow detect a hint of helplessness and grievance. He sighed and said, "I didn't take her to the underworld. I took her to repeat the moment of her suicide... Wang Anran committed suicide by jumping off a building. Her lifespan on earth was not yet over, and her earthly ties were not severed. She couldn't enter the underworld or be reincarnated. She has to repeat the pain of self - harm every day as a punishment for wasting her parents' essence and blood."
"Ugh..." I couldn't help but get goosebumps. Repeating the moment of death every day... What a terrifying experience!
Wang Anran was only twenty years old when she died... If she was supposed to have a lifespan of seventy years, wouldn't she have to repeat the agony of her brains splattering nearly twenty thousand times?
"Last night, she used your qi screen to deceive this humble one, thus missing the time for divine punishment. Now, she has to endure the additional pain of being boiled in oil. And this humble one has also been punished and won't be eligible for promotion for a hundred years..."
As he said this, his blank face turned towards Wang Anran, who was kneeling on the ground, and gave her a fierce "stare".
Wang Anran, who had been kneeling stiffly on the ground, suddenly trembled. As if receiving some kind of order, she crawled towards me. Her cold voice was filled with fear and despair.
"Lu Xiyu, please help me! Help me!"
As she nervously muttered, red and white stuff gushed out of her mouth. The stuff hit the ground and immediately gave off white smoke, vanishing in an instant.
"You committed suicide. How can I help you!"
My back was pressed against the tree, with nowhere to retreat. But I thought that with this faceless ghost guard around, she wouldn't suddenly harm me.
"I didn't commit suicide. I've always wanted to escape and find someone to take revenge on, but I couldn't. Every day when it's time for my fall, I'll be dragged back... I really didn't mean to push you down. I just wanted to find a substitute so that I could escape this lousy school and find the enemy who caused my death!"
Wang Anran gritted her teeth in excitement. Half of her broken face revealed her toothless gums, which creaked as she gnashed her teeth.
"Is that even possible?" I turned to glance at the faceless ghost guard hidden in the shade of the tree.
"Yes... This is how a wronged ghost tries to find a substitute. As long as someone dies in their place, they can be freed." The faceless ghost guard seriously provided a side - line explanation. "However, we ghost guards aren't idle. We won't allow them such an opportunity... It's just that... You, you're an exception."
The domineering tone of the faceless ghost guard instantly turned into dejection. "You're the wife of Mr. Gu, a ghost. You've broken the rules and gotten involved with the dead. That's why she's come to plead with you!"
"What does she want me to do?" I asked.
"She wants you to help her find her enemy and lead that person to the place where she harmed herself, thus resolving the karmic tie between you..." The faceless ghost guard continued to explain.
"How... can I help?" This was a mystery without a clue. It must have been a case already closed by the police. How could I possibly find any leads for her?!
"You're Mr. Gu's wife. I'm sure he won't stand by idly."
The faceless ghost guard tried his best to persuade me. I always felt that he was more eager than the ghost girl.
"If you don't agree... I'll haunt you every day until you do..." Wang Anran knelt straight in front of me.
"Don't... don't..."
I waved my hands repeatedly. How could a ghost be so stubborn?
By now, many passing students were casting strange looks at me. They probably thought I was gesturing at thin air and that I was crazy.
"Ah! Xixi, why aren't you going to eat?"
Zhao Zifeng's voice came from afar. She was holding a water cup and walking towards the cafeteria with two classmates.
I saw her say something to the two classmates beside her, then she dashed over in a flash.
"Why are you leaning against the tree... Are you having low blood sugar?"
True to her role as my deskmate for three years, Zhao Zifeng immediately noticed my discomfort. She took out a Ferrero from her pocket and stuffed it into my hand. "Eat it. It's so hot. Don't faint."
I thanked her. When I turned around again, Wang Anran and the faceless ghost guard had already disappeared without a trace.
"Come and eat with us."
Seeing me pop the chocolate into my mouth, Zhao Zifeng grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the cafeteria. As she walked, she chattered on. "I wanted to ask you to have dinner with me last night, but the senior sisters insisted that we freshmen play some kind of courage - testing game! As a result, it was already after twelve o'clock..."
Hearing Zhao Zifeng's words, my mind stirred.
Wasn't Wang Anran a sophomore in the urban rail major?
Maybe I could get some clues from Zhao Zifeng's seniors...
Sure enough, the students in the urban rail major were extremely outgoing and talkative. Zhao Zifeng's two newly - made friends started chatting away at the dinner table.
From them, I learned that the urban rail major at Green City Vocational College had been established for ten years and had always been a popular major, even more competitive than the flight attendant major. After all, working underground was much safer than working in the sky.
However, working in the dark underground every day, everyone was bound to encounter some supernatural events. So, since the opening of the urban rail major, a ritual different from other majors had emerged, which was the courage - testing game after the welcome party.
The rule was simple: go to the internship classroom of the mortuary major and get a specific item.
That classroom was on the top floor of the experimental building I had been to last night.
"Last night was really strange! We couldn't open the lock no matter what!" Zhao Zifeng said rather exasperatedly. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have failed!"
I suddenly remembered that at that time last night... It seemed that it was exactly when Gu Fancheng had pressed me on the desk and bullied me wantonly. At that time, were there actually many people outside the door?!
"Xixi, what's wrong with you?"
Zhao Zifeng suddenly noticed that my face was as red as a boiled shrimp. She thought I was suffering from heatstroke and quickly reached out to touch my forehead. I wished I could bury my face in the plate. I whispered to Zhao Zifeng, "I'm fine."
Zhao Zifeng's classmate glanced at me and then continued. "Actually, it's normal to fail the courage - testing game. Our major is in its tenth year now, and there have only been four successful attempts!"
"That's right! Only once did a girl succeed!" Another classmate added. "That senior sister was really amazing. No one has been able to break the time record she set... What was her name again?"
"Wang... Wang Anran!!" Zhao Zifeng thought for a moment and then continued.