Chapter 119: The Fourth Is Indispensable 12

“Why do you ask that?” Wan Qianqian hesitated. “Are you suspecting Bai Yuxi? That can't be possible, can it?”

“I’m not suspecting her. I just want to clarify something else—I need to know the true relationship between Bai Yuxi and Du Xiaoling,” Shi Xianyu replied.

Wan Qianqian pondered briefly, then said softly, “I can’t give you a definite answer. But from what I see, their relationship is good—too good, actually. For a while, Xia Yu was quite upset, feeling that Xiaoling had taken away her best friend. Later, Xiaoling introduced me to Bai Yuxi, and the three of us became close. That made Xia Yu feel even more excluded and she started targeting Xiaoling everywhere.”

Shi Xianyu asked, “So, compared to Bai Yuxi, you’re more suspicious of Xia Yu, right?”

“Of course…” Wan Qianqian paused, biting her lip, then after a moment of silence replied, “Yes… I do suspect her, but sometimes I feel… she shouldn’t be that kind of person.”

Shi Xianyu nodded slowly. “It seems you have strong reservations about Xia Yu.”

Wan Qianqian looked up at her, forcing a bitter smile. “She thinks Xiaoling and I have corrupted Bai Yuxi and caused trouble for her—especially me, because of my case…”

Her gaze dropped to the sordid photos in her hands.

“Du Xiaoling… she cannot tolerate any impurity. When she learned that my photos were being widely circulated at school, she suggested I sue the boys who leaked them and even convinced Bai Yuxi to pay my legal fees. Everything was set in motion, but when the time came, I backed out. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it—I just wanted to retrieve all the negatives. But Xiaoling refused; she believed they should pay the price—expulsion, compensation, ruined reputations. Xia Yu, on the other hand, thought I had it coming. She said I was the one who pursued that boy first and that I was careless, which allowed him and his friends to take those photos…”

Shi Xianyu listened silently and then reminded Wan Qianqian, “There really are ghosts in this school, but right now, I’m more worried about someone stirring trouble. In any case, you need to be careful from now on.”

Wan Qianqian was stunned, suspiciously asking, “What do you mean by that? Aren’t we supposed to find Du Xiaoling’s killer? If I’m not the culprit, why do I need to be careful?”

“I don’t know…” Shi Xianyu frowned, hesitating. “You all say there’s Du Xiaoling’s restless spirit here, but I’ve only heard voices. Taoist Zhou hasn’t caught any ghosts or monsters yet. So I wonder, does Du Xiaoling’s spirit truly exist?”

Wan Qianqian was momentarily speechless, unable to react.

Shi Xianyu continued in a low voice, “If I hadn’t stopped your argument with Xia Yu earlier, you’d probably have been accused as the murderer. And once someone is labeled guilty, what might happen next is hard to control. Even if you were the mastermind behind this, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt here.”

Wan Qianqian murmured distractedly, “Could it be Xia Yu…? She’s always disliked me. Could she have planned this whole scheme just to make me lose all value in front of Bai Yuxi, so she can regain her position?”

“Don’t let your imagination run wild. It’s not at that stage yet,” Shi Xianyu said, frowning deeply. “There are too many abnormalities. We can’t jump to conclusions.”

But Wan Qianqian seemed possessed. She grabbed Shi Xianyu’s hand tightly, nervously saying, “If anything happens to me, you must tell everyone—it’s Xia Yu who harmed me! It has to be her!”

“Calm down!” Shi Xianyu snapped. “Maybe this is a trap set specifically for you all. Although the purpose isn’t clear now, don’t jump to wild conclusions. The culprit will eventually reveal their true colors.”

Wan Qianqian’s face tensed, lips pressed into a thin line. After a long moment, she finally nodded very slowly.

Shi Xianyu felt a vague unease.

She sensed that everyone had been stuck here too long, their emotions on the verge of collapse. Any suspicion or doubt could push them over the edge.

If she stayed here much longer, she might become just as paranoid and unbalanced.

Who could the ghost hiding among the students be?

What was its purpose?

Would it strike again?

…

Time seemed frozen. The sky was perpetually gray—neither bright nor dark.

As time ticked by, fatigue showed on everyone’s faces.

They had been trapped too long. When hungry, they went to the first-floor cafeteria for food; when sleepy, they squeezed onto the second floor to rest. Now, after gaining nothing on the third floor, everyone stayed there to rest.

There were simple bunk beds in the staff dormitory on the third floor. Shi Xianyu shared a room with two other girls.

Zhou Bushan wasn’t planning to rest yet. He carefully placed talismans on each door and instructed everyone not to close their doors while sleeping. He would stand in the hallway to guard against accidents.

Shi Xianyu couldn’t sleep, her mind filled with Du Xiaoling, Bai Yuxi, Xia Yu, and Wan Qianqian—the four girls.

They were the ones who played the spirit board game. The victims were connected to them, and all the clues pointed toward them.

If someone—or some spirit—wanted to harm this group of friends, why involve so many unrelated students?

The presence of these other students felt terribly out of place, like a suspense film where the killer plans revenge but drags in a bunch of bystanders unnecessarily.

…Yes, bystanders!

A thought struck Shi Xianyu. She suddenly opened her eyes wide—she had felt something was off. Helping Du Xiaoling find the killer wouldn’t need an audience. Yet those photos were clearly meant to humiliate Wan Qianqian in front of everyone!

Who would do such a thing?

Du Xiaoling’s restless spirit?

But weren’t they friends?

Shi Xianyu’s mind was a tangled mess. At that moment, a soft voice came from a nearby bed.

“Xiaoqin, are you asleep?”

The girl above replied, “Ah, no. I’m so tired but just can’t fall asleep. It’s so annoying. I should never have gone to that class reunion.”

“...Xiaoqin, I’m a little scared. Could you come with me to the bathroom?”

“Sure, actually I want to go too.”

…

The two girls quietly got up and slowly left the room.

Shi Xianyu heard Zhou Bushan ask a few questions outside, then silence returned.

She couldn’t sleep, turned over in bed, and noticed several strands of black threads floating outside the window, gently swaying in the breeze, growing in number…

The sliding window wasn’t locked, leaving a narrow gap.

Shi Xianyu sat up silently and recognized that they weren’t threads—they were hair.

Long hair drifting down from above, as if someone was slowly climbing down. But the building only had three floors. Above was the roof. Who could be up there?

She tiptoed to the window, moving slowly to lock it.

She didn’t dare move quickly or shout, fearing any noise might alert the other party.

But the other side was faster. As she reached the wall beside the window, from the thick, sticky black hair that looked like congealed ink, a withered, slender hand reached out and grabbed the glass!

Scritch!

The sliding glass window was pushed open!

Shi Xianyu instantly held her breath, pressing her body against the wall, not daring to breathe out!

At the same moment, a shadow silently crawled up her ankle. She stared wide-eyed in shock—how was this thing here too? When did it get in?!