Chapter 007: All Things Arise from Cause and Effect

The thing I regret most tonight is letting Li Xuan wake up Principal Liu.

When Principal Liu slowly came to, he found himself face-to-face with a genuinely lifeless face.

He convulsed all over, pointed at Li Xuan with a trembling hand, his head drooped, eyes closed, and he fainted again.

There was no other way—I had to tell Li Xuan to hide, and wake Principal Liu myself.

He opened his eyes, recognized me, and sucked in a cold breath.

In a flash, he sat bolt upright, gripping my shoulders tightly. “Jiang Huai! Jiang Huai! I saw Li Xuan! She, she, she…”

I pried his hands off and tried my best to calm him. “Alright, alright, I know. Don’t worry, it’s okay now.”

I didn’t mock Principal Liu for his reaction. It was only human.

Compared to me, Principal Liu was actually rather brave—at least he hadn’t wet himself the first time he saw a ghost, as I had.

Once he calmed down, I was just about to question him when he suddenly realized he wasn’t where he thought he should be. “Aren’t we at home? How…how did we end up in the school restroom?”

Now was definitely not the time to explain.

I winked at Principal Liu and, not minding the filth, sat down next to him. “Principal Liu, just be honest—are you the father of that dead child?”

“Jiang Huai! What are you saying! I, I… I’m your principal! Regardless of anything, how could I possibly do such a disgraceful thing to a student?”

Principal Liu was flushed with anger at my accusation. “You’re utterly… utterly speaking nonsense!”

I spread my hands and pursed my lips. “Everything happens for a reason. If you’re not the dead child’s father, why is it so obsessed with taking your life?”

My eyes flicked, and I added, “When I say you’re the dead child’s father, I don’t mean the child is yours with Li Xuan. Li Xuan is just an unfortunate bystander—maybe, by some twist of fate, the dead child chose her.”

“Is it possible the child was yours with someone else, but you couldn’t let it see the light of day, so you denied it a chance at life?”

As I finished, I fixed my gaze on Principal Liu’s face.

After hearing me out, his expression grew complicated. Soon, it seemed as if something dawned on him.

He opened his mouth slightly and let out a long breath, then looked at me. “Do you really believe I’m that despicable? As principal—do you think I’d really do something so shameful to my own student?”

I said nothing, just watched him quietly. I knew he wasn’t finished.

Principal Liu looked at me, brows tightly knit. After a deep sigh, he let go of his concern for how I saw him and instead asked me a question.

“Jiang Huai, how long…can a ghost linger in this world?”

“A very long time.”

I wasn’t lying—there’s no standard answer to that question.

After hearing me, he turned to look outside at the rain, then suddenly got up and ran out of the restroom.

I quickly stood up to see what he was doing, only to watch as he rushed to the spot where Li Xuan, possessed, had buried her own head in the soil. He dug furiously with his bare hands!

I stared in shock. That was also where the dead child had burrowed.

Though the child had taken the brunt of my Five Thunders Talisman and wouldn’t survive the night, let alone harm anyone again, I still worried something unexpected might happen. I could only stand in the rain beside Principal Liu and watch.

“Jiang Huai! Help me! Help me dig!”

Principal Liu was like a madman. His ten fingers were already bloody, but he didn’t stop.

I ran to the janitor’s closet behind the restroom for two shovels. As for how I knew where they were—

It’s because, back when I first arrived at the school, I’d fought with some upperclassmen, and the shovels had been my weapon of choice.

Clang!

Principal Liu and I dug for five minutes, shovels striking the earth, when suddenly I hit something hard.

At the sound, Principal Liu dropped his shovel, got down, and pulled out a pitch-black iron box with his hands.

He glanced at me, then carried the box back into the restroom.

Was this Principal Liu’s hidden treasure at the restroom door?

Certainly not treasure. But I already had a guess as to what it was.

He opened the box. Inside, wrapped in a plastic preservation bag, was the deformed corpse of an infant.

Though most of it had decomposed, you could still make out its rough features.

Bluish face, blackened limbs—the spitting image of the dead child!

Principal Liu sat on the ground, eyes rimmed red, looking at me.

I said nothing, just squinted at him.

“Jiang Huai, was Li Xuan…was she killed by…by it?” Principal Liu’s lips trembled as he pointed at the child’s corpse, asking me with a hint of doubt.

I nodded. “Yes.”

Hearing this, Principal Liu slumped to the ground, sighing and shaking his head in abject despair.

From his demeanor, I was certain he was hiding something—something about the dead child, about Li Xuan, and perhaps about himself.

I stood by the sink washing the mud from my hands and spoke softly, “Now that it’s all been dug up, aren’t you going to tell me the whole story?”

Principal Liu looked at me, tried to speak several times but didn’t know where to begin. At last, he slapped his thigh in frustration and blurted out something that seemed completely unrelated: “Li Xuan has an older sister named Li Ran—ten years ago, she was my student.”

Ten years ago, Principal Liu was still a homeroom teacher. Li Ran was his student—outstanding grades, sweet looks, and many admirers.

Though both Principal Liu and her parents constantly reminded her to focus on her studies, she still fell hopelessly for a boy who was only temporarily enrolled.

She willingly did many things for him, even gave herself to him.

The result was predictable—the boy, unable to take responsibility, left the city as soon as his temporary enrollment ended.

At the time, Li Ran was still filled with dreams of a bright future, never expecting such a cruel blow.

She dared not tell her parents, so she turned to her most trusted teacher—Principal Liu.

He helped her deal with the aftermath and kept her secret forever. He couldn’t bear to see such a promising student ruined.

That secret, Principal Liu sealed in the iron box and buried outside the restroom.

Time passed, but the trauma lingered. Li Ran never overcame the shadow. She left a letter and ended her own life.

“No! My sister isn’t dead! She’s been studying abroad all this time!”

“Principal Liu! Tell me! Tell me none of this is true!”

Li Xuan heard every word. She couldn’t believe it. In her heart, her sister was flawless—her lifelong role model.

Just as she’d regained her senses, Li Xuan began to slip once more into the grip of malevolent transformation.

Watching this unfold, my heart pounded with terror.

If she fully transformed, not even a kiss from me could bring her back.