Chapter 120: The Trio Is Incomplete Without the Fourth, Part 13

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Shi Xianyu suddenly recalled the leather ball she had thrown into the shadows, and immediately her spine stiffened, goosebumps erupting all over her body! What did it want? Could it possibly want to swallow her too?! Instinctively, she wanted to flee, but before her feet could lift, the window creaked again!

Turning her head, Shi Xianyu’s heart nearly stopped. Outside the window, a hand stretched in like a withered white candle, slowly crawling inside. Its cracked nails scraped against the wall with a hissing sound, while strands of sticky long hair seeped into the room... Then she saw a pale, woman’s face in profile.

Shi Xianyu dared not move. Pressing her back against the corner of the wall, she held her breath, staring unblinkingly at the ghost crawling in. She had seen it before—it was the female student in the red dress who had jumped from the building. Ghosts roamed everywhere in this school; she didn’t understand why the red-dressed ghost had suddenly stopped jumping and instead climbed here. Could ghosts get lost?

Her attention shifted, and she momentarily forgot she was trapped by the dark shadow. Her eyes fixed solely on the creeping female ghost. The ghastly figure’s limbs twisted into bizarre shapes, but its movement was unhindered. As it crawled, the room echoed with creaks, like dislocated joints—bone-chilling to hear.

Shi Xianyu hesitated, wondering whether to throw her talisman over or call for Zhou Bushan’s help. The female ghost searched inside the room but failed to notice the living person standing in the corner by the window.

Shi Xianyu: “.........”

She silently glanced at the shadow on her body, puzzled. Could this shadow have the power of invisibility? Could it conceal her presence from ghosts? What was the mechanism? And why would the shadow in this dead-end alley come to her aid?

Just as she was lost in thought, a loud shout came from the corridor:

“Heaven’s thunder and earth’s fire, banish all evil! By the urgent decree!”

A peachwood sword flew like a missile, piercing directly through the red-dressed ghost’s face!

Instantly, Shi Xianyu felt the temperature inside plummet, as if it had dropped to freezing in a moment, chilling her to the bone.

The ghost screamed in agony, a sound piercing her eardrums. It howled and arched its neck backward until its body contorted into a terrifying angle, then scurried like a gecko toward the window, trying to escape.

Zhou Bushan charged into the room wielding colorful silk threads, chanting again. The threads scattered, ensnaring the ghost’s limbs by the window before igniting into blue flames.

But before the flames could consume the ghost, it vanished without a trace.

Zhou Bushan dared not pursue; he had too many students to protect and couldn’t split his attention. He looked angrily out the window, then scanned the room with concern.

“Have the girls who went to the restroom not returned yet? This is bad!”

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Saying that, he turned and rushed toward the girls’ restroom, worried something had happened to them.

Several students outside peeked anxiously into the room, then hurried after Zhou Bushan, unwilling to stray far from him.

Shi Xianyu remained hidden in the corner. Except for the patch of shadow covering her, she had no other concealment. Yet somehow, the ghost, Zhou Bushan, and the students outside all seemed unable to see her.

She worried that she might be trapped by this dead-end alley.

She tentatively stepped forward and easily stepped out of the shadow. Looking back at the corner, the shadow occupied nearly a third of the room, blending so naturally with the light that it resembled a naturally formed shadow. Unless one looked carefully, it was hard to detect.

So... what exactly was this thing?

Shi Xianyu found it hard to explain. The shadow didn’t seem hostile, but she wasn’t sure if it could communicate.

She tried asking, “Are you... a ghost?”

The shadow wobbled.

Shi Xianyu was amazed—it could shake its head in this form?

“Then are you... a spirit?” she asked, puzzled.

The shadow wobbled again.

Shi Xianyu muttered to herself, “It can’t be a person, right?”

Just then, the shadow began to shift, condensing like black smoke gathering in the room, growing darker, thicker, and denser until it formed a black humanoid figure.

Startled by the transformation, Shi Xianyu stepped back, then saw the shadow’s “face” emerge with distinct features—it was unmistakably Lin Yuan!

“Lin Yuan?!” Shi Xianyu widened her eyes. “You—you’re Lin Yuan? How did you become like this?”

The shadow appeared confused as well. After a pause, the face morphed again, becoming Lin Yuan’s visage.

Shi Xianyu: “?!!”

She was dumbfounded. “Who... who are you really? And why can you change into Lin Yuan’s appearance?”

Suddenly recalling her earlier contact with the shadow, Shi Xianyu wondered if this strange shadow could peer into others’ hearts and take the form of the person she longed for.

“Can you change into anything?” she asked nervously. “Try changing into a dog.”

The shadow was silent.

“Can’t do that?” She bit her lip. “Then what else can you change into... only humans?”

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The shadow didn’t know.

It had originally been a cluster of yin energy gathered in the corner of the wall. Day after day, year after year, it developed an insatiable hunger. It began to devour nearby wandering spirits, growing larger and heavier in yin energy, gradually able to consume some weaker restless souls.

One day, a powerful divine consciousness infused it, granting it a clearer and more defined awareness—to find the murderer!

This thought left the shadow somewhat at a loss.

It didn’t know who the killer was or where to look, so it stayed in the corner.

Until it met Shi Xianyu. It felt a strange familiarity with her and couldn’t help but follow, silently guarding nearby.

When Shi Xianyu asked who it was, the shadow sifted through fragmented memories, revealing the faces of Lin Yuan and Lin Yuan. It thought perhaps it was him, or perhaps him... but it didn’t know. It still couldn’t process complex thoughts.

Watching its face shift between Lin Yuan and Lin Yuan, Shi Xianyu sighed and said, “Forget it. No matter what you are, just don’t harm people.”

The shadow nodded shyly.

It didn’t harm anyone; it only devoured weak spirits.

The fierce ghost that climbed earlier was too strong for it to consume, but now that the ghost was injured, maybe it could…

Thinking this, it felt a bit hungry.

Yet it was reluctant to stray too far from Shi Xianyu and only wished to stay by her side.

Seeing how obedient it was, Shi Xianyu gradually lowered her guard and advised, “You’d better stay in the corner, so you don’t scare anyone.”

The shadow nodded again.

Shi Xianyu’s feelings were complicated. She had been focused on finding the murderer, but suddenly seeing her ex-boyfriend’s face stirred painful memories.

At that moment, frightened screams came from outside the door!

“Ahhhh!!!—”

Shi Xianyu was startled awake by the screams. “Sounds like it’s coming from the restroom?!”

She worried deeply. Could something have happened to the girls who went to the restroom earlier?!