Another person in the university had died.
Half a month ago, the college hunk Zhang Mingyu had suddenly been found dead in the garden behind the library. Next, a female finance student had been killed in her rented flat. Now, barely into the start of the school term, Zhang Ying had died.
Three successive deaths in this short period of time had never been seen before in the university. Rumours spread like wildfire between the students and the teachers; conspiracy theories about a murderous demon living in the campus were mentioned as well. The analysis behind these theories were substantiated, causing a lot of people to believe in it.
There was simply no other way to explain phenomena like this. Although Xu Wei had died in her flat, it could have been the doing of one of the university's students.
The deans and leaders of the university were under immense pressure.
When Li Xianyu knew of this, his first thought was that the baby spirit had killed someone.
"I thought baby spirits wouldn't attack their biological mothers? I thought they only knew how to pester them, causing their bodies to weaken?" Li Xianyu looked at his two companions and continued, "Now she's dead. How do you explain this?"
They walked into the campus. The 10:00 AM sun was enough to blind one's eyes.
Great-Grandma frowned. "A man's fate is as uncertain as the weather. Accidents can happen."
Li Xianyu looked at San Wu, who nodded. "Accident."
He had come to learn of the news through his friend circle. Lots of her classmates had held a vigil for her, expressing their regrets and wishing her well in the afterlife.
It was then that he knew that the cute girl he had seen yesterday had passed away.
Li Xianyu looked at the two of them, depressed. If he had been insistent on his way, which was to get rid of the baby spirit, Zhang Ying would not have died. After all, it was a human life at stake.
He still had to attend Professor Qin's class this morning. Because of what happened yesterday, Li Xianyu could no longer let them attend the class. He gave $50 to Great-Grandma and told her to bring San Wu to try some popsicles, tour the campus or go play games at the internet cafe near the school gates. Additionally, he instructed them to find him once his classes ended.
Great-Grandma held the $50 note in her hand, refusing to budge as she complained, "You can't even give me $100. I walked so far here, you can't even give me $100."
Her intonation and method of expression was strangely familiar. He had seemed to hear these lines somewhere before.
She must have watched some strange show again.
Two beauties were enough to get everyone's attention. When they heard her words, they had strange expressions on their faces.
Li Xianyu covered his face with one hand, using the other to hand a $100 note to her.
Great-Grandma received the $100 bill and put it in her bag, satisfied. She led San Wu the other side.
"San Wu, I'll bring you to eat ice cream."
"Okay, big-breasted Great-Grandma."
"Take the first two words away. Call me Great-Grandma, and you can be my great-granddaughter in law."
"I refuse."
"No ice-cream for you then."
"Great-Grandma with no backbone, I have my own money."
"Who has no backbone? I'm the outstanding, determined and upright Great-Grandma."
"How appetising."
"Where did you hear this from?"
"Your great-grandson."
"Unfilial grandson, let's see how I deal with him later."
Their chatter faded away into the distance as they walked away.
He entered the classroom shortly before the lesson started. Most of the students were already seated. Li Xianyu scanned the crowd, before moving towards where his roommate was sitting.
"Does anyone know how Zhang Ying died?" Li Xianyu asked.
"Suicide?" The Singleton, Yang Guangtai, answered in a fatigued manner. He had stayed up playing games all night, being dragged to class in the morning by his roommate. He had limited knowledge about the incident.
"Suicide," Huang Yicong cut into the conversation as he sighed. "She slit her wrists in the hostel's public toilet last night. When a girl went into the toilet in the morning, she was scared to death by the pool of blood on the floor. What do you think? Could she have been abandoned by a rich man? Couldn't take it, so she killed herself?"
"She's not so weak. But yes, it's a pity. She was pretty," Zhao Yi, another roommate, cut in. He was from Zhejiang; his parents ran a business. He had a very beautiful girlfriend and his own rental flat outside. He stayed there sometimes, and in the hostel sometimes, depending on his mood.
Slit her wrists?
Committed suicide?
There was something fishy. Zhang Ying was a girl of high value. She was emotionally healthy as well; she had also made a sum of money recently. The possibility of her committing suicide was almost zero.
How did she die then?
It was most likely that baby spirit's doing.
Li Xianyu was deep in thought for a while, before he asked, "You guys stay in the hostel. Aren't you all well informed? You can ask the girls. Did she behave unusually before she committed suicide? Did she suffer any setbacks?"
Huang Yicong chuckled. "We won't know so fast. The girls in her hostel were brought to the police station to record their statements. They're not back yet."
Li Xianyu thought of something. He felt that he could report this case to the organization, under the "Aggrieved Spirits" category. Once the case was verified, the organisation would send out a mission. By the rules, he would be the one to take it up as he lived the nearest. When he finished the mission, he would get some points. For reporting the case, he would get more points. The employees' manual had stated that there would be remuneration for that.
Most importantly, it was just a baby spirit. He could settle it by just taking out the badge that San Wu had given him. It was foolproof and risk-free.
It was time for him to show his prowess. Although Li Xianyu was just a new employee, he was pretty good at this. He thought confidently to himself.
Ring...ring...ring… As the bell rang, the "Vile Radish" stepped into the classroom with a book in his hand, wearing a suit.
Before he started his lesson, he gave everyone a five-minute speech lamenting death. He expressed his regrets regarding the unfortunate death, and said that the dead could not come back to life. Then, he proceeded to start his examination.
As he finished his words, Li Xianyu felt the sadness in the classroom intensify.
He lowered his head and sent a message to the Missions Department with incredible speed. He kept his phone and prepared himself for the examination.
As the scripts were passed from the front row to the back row, the classroom was quiet. Only the sounds of the scripts being passed down could be heard.
LI Xianyu wrote fast at some parts, and frowned at some parts as he struggled to solve the questions. Having not paid much attention to lessons recently, he was not very well-prepared for the test.
"Sob...sob…sob…"
As he struggled to solve one question, he suddenly heard soft cries, similar to that of a cat. It was by his ear, which caused him to panic.
The sound was familiar.
The next second, he realised that he had heard this crying sound in this classroom.
The baby spirit! It was here? How could it be here? Shit! It would pester me if I kept thinking about it!
Goosebumps appeared on Li Xianyu's body. He looked around the classroom to see where the sound came from.
"Sob...sob…sob…"
The cries were soft. He was the only one in the classroom who heard the sounds, while the rest of his classmates were fixated on completing the exam paper.
Li Xianyu did not manage to find the baby spirit. He focused once again and deduced that the crying sounds came from his locker.
In my locker...
In that instant, Li Xianyu felt his head become numb, as a chill travelled through his entire body.
His face turned pale. He bent over and looked down towards his locker.
A blood-red infant was curled up in the small space of his locker. When Li Xianyu saw it, it looked back at him. Its eyes resembled that of a newborn chick; a layer of skin covered up its eyeballs, but its eyes were not opened. Li Xianyu felt absolutely petrified upon meeting the gaze of the infant.
This thing reminded Li Xianyu of alien movies he had watched before. The aliens bore by human beings were of this form as well. Their eyeballs were black, while their umbilical cords remained intact.
He had looked at the aggrieved spirit again… It had killed Zhang Ying, which meant that it carried a significant attacking threat. So, this thing appeared to strike at one's most vulnerable moment, when one had no reinforcements or strong units?
My badge was in my bag, while my bag was hung behind the chair. I needed to turn around to take my bag, before taking out the badge...
Li Xianyu started to analyze before coming up with the conclusion: I'm dead! I should have put my bag in the locker!
The baby spirit cried out before throwing itself onto Li Xianyu's face. The umbilical cord seemed to come to life, as it wiggled into Li Xianyu's mouth.
His brain experienced acute bursts of pain as it seemed to split open. His memories became blur, as unfamiliar images flashed across his mind.
He saw… the girls' hostel.
…..