The small grove—its name alone evokes a sense of eeriness, let alone the fact that it is Feng Lan's place of death. As the elders often say, a vengeful ghost is most powerful at the location where it perished. That is its "nest." Anyone, human or ghost, who dares enter must pay the price.
"I thought you were supposed to be so powerful? Why don't you just go and take care of her yourself?" I sneered at Yan Xiaoning.
"Hah." Yan Xiaoning let out a lazy chuckle. "You think I wouldn't if I could? Unfortunately, this 'nest' is important to me. I spent so much effort weaving this cocoon around you under the Mid-Autumn moonlight, hiding perfectly within. If I leave now, not only will my nest be ruined, but other malicious spirits might notice me. If that happens, I'll be annihilated completely. Are you ready to collect my soul fragments?"
"Aren't you afraid we'll both get wiped out?" I retorted.
"Did you forget I altered your luck? Right now, fortune smiles on you, and your Yang energy is strong. Nothing's going to happen that easily," she replied confidently before pausing. "Relax. With me guiding you, there's an eighty percent chance we'll take down Feng Lan."
"Eighty percent?" I rolled my eyes. "So you're casually accepting a twenty percent chance of us being drained into human jerky?"
"Stop whining!" Yan Xiaoning snapped impatiently. "I'll recover some energy tonight. Don't bother me until then!" Her voice abruptly cut off as if she had severed the connection between us.
That morning, the death of Li Dezhi shocked the entire grade. Classes were suspended as the police investigated, and our whole class had to cooperate. Xiao Xiang remained distant toward me, acting like none of this concerned her, while Xiao Ying's attitude toward me had clearly changed. Every time our eyes met, she would flash a radiant smile. Her warmth made me take a proper look at her for the first time. I realized she was livelier and more approachable than Xiao Xiang.
During lunch, Xiao Ying carried her tray and sat directly across from me. I was wolfing down my food, completely unprepared for her bold move. Her action immediately drew everyone's attention, especially Xiao Xiang. Although she said nothing, her complex gaze sent shivers down my spine.
"Don't take Li Dezhi's death too hard," I said awkwardly, realizing how meaningless my words sounded.
Xiao Ying nodded gently, her voice calm. "We were all classmates, so of course, it's upsetting."
Her composure caught me off guard. I had assumed she and Li Dezhi were close, but her words carried no special emotion. While I was pondering this, Xiao Xiang stood up and left. Xiao Ying then leaned in and whispered, "After school, meet at Sanhe Restaurant on the east side of the gate. Xiao Xiang asked me to tell you."
"Sanhe Restaurant?" I asked, confused. "What for?"
"Her boyfriend hired an exorcist to deal with this." Xiao Ying said this and then left with her tray, leaving me frozen in place.
After school, I debated whether to go, but Liu Bin dragged me out enthusiastically. "Let's go, let's go! I want to see what kind of person this exorcist is."
When we arrived at the restaurant, everyone was already there. In the private room, aside from the familiar faces, there was also an unfamiliar man. He was dressed in a dark suit, his features sharp and well-defined, and his brows exuded a commanding air. Just standing there, he radiated an aura that made people instinctively respect him.
"This is Mr. Wu Long," Xiao Xiang introduced with a smile. "He's the exorcist my boyfriend invited."
"Wu Long?" I muttered to myself, as fragments of vague memories stirred in my mind. The name felt oddly familiar, like I'd heard it before, yet I couldn't recall where.
Wu Long smiled faintly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room before he began. "What you're dealing with is an extremely vengeful ghost. When she hanged herself a year ago, she was already four months pregnant. Her deep resentment kept her corpse from decaying. What's worse, the fetus in her womb has turned into a ghost child."
The room fell into a deathly silence. A chill ran down my spine as horrifying images of Feng Lan's hanging flashed through my mind: her body suspended in midair, her swollen belly writhing as if the ghost child inside was ready to emerge...
"Ghost child?" Liu Bin stammered, trembling. "What… what do we do now?"
Wu Long bowed his head in thought for a moment before replying, "Tonight, we must go to the site of her death—the small grove. Only there can we seal her resentment completely."
Hearing this, my heart sank. Go to the grove? That's suicide!
"Are you scared of dying?" Yan Xiaoning's voice echoed in my mind.
"Of course I am!" I shouted inwardly.
"Don't worry, I won't let you die," she chuckled softly. "But this Wu Long guy is interesting. He's strong, but if it comes down to confronting Feng Lan, it'll still depend on you."
"Me?!" I nearly shouted out loud. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"I'm not," Yan Xiaoning replied seriously. "Don't worry. I'll guide you tonight. Just watch me shine."
Wu Long's sharp eyes suddenly turned toward me, as if piercing straight into my thoughts. I forced a stiff smile, but alarms blared in my head: Did he figure something out?