My mind was blurry as the charred corpse on my back dragged me toward the 13th step. The souls trapped inside beat against the invisible barrier, and it seemed like there was an unseen door between the two worlds.
My heart beat slower and slower, my eyelids heavy, and an unprecedented drowsiness overwhelmed me.
"I'm tired." I just wanted to sleep, never to wake up again.
"Gao Jian!"
At the critical moment, that voice sounded again, but half of my body had already been pulled into the realm of the dead—cold and piercing, my throat dry, like being submerged in a dark lake, unable to say a word.
"Gao Jian!"
Someone was calling my name, not a hallucination, but I clearly heard it.
I flailed my arms like a drowning person, but my body continued to sink, just like the scene in a nightmare, falling endlessly into the abyss.
"Grab my hand! Gao Jian!" Dark lake water rippled, and a ball of blazing fire descended from the sky, filling my lifeless eyes and occupying my entire field of vision.
Instinctively, I shielded my eyes, but my hand touched the flame in front of me. There was no burning pain, only warmth, like holding a piece of fine jade—smooth and tight. It was a woman's hand!
"Grab it!"
The long-lost warmth spread throughout my body, and my heart surged with new life. I tightly gripped the flame, and all the darkness in front of me was burned away by the fire!
Breathing in deeply, I seemed to wake up from a dream and suddenly opened my eyes.
The corpse on my back was still there, but the 13th step leading to another world was gone. In its place was a piece of human skin carved with intricate patterns, torn from the chest.
The missing piece of skin from Guo Junjie's body was now on the path to the rooftop. He had used this cursed human skin to trap the souls of wronged students.
"Who saved me just now?"
I looked up to see two figures—one black and one red—fighting fiercely on the stairs. The black, grotesque demon was Yuan Chen's divine evil, while the woman in a bright red wedding dress, also filled with resentment, was none other than Xiao Feng!
"Red Phoenix of Heavenly Joy!" The voice of Daoist Wan Yidao in the live stream finally lost its calm. "The eight-character divine evil destiny meets the Red Phoenix; what kind of fate is this? Most people may never encounter even one divine evil in their lifetime, but this person has encountered two in just a few hours! Moreover, these conflicting destinies have turned misfortune into fortune!"
Red Phoenix of Heavenly Joy is also one of the eight-character divine evils. Although not as fierce as Yuan Chen, it governs bloodshed, and when the two fight, it won't fall into disadvantage in the short term.
I didn't know how Xiao Feng had come here, and there was no time to think about that now.
I stood up again, with Guo Junjie's corpse on my back. I stepped over the human skin and kicked open the wooden door leading to the rooftop.
A faint moonlight bathed my face, only visible from the top of the building.
"Under the moon's gentle light, I will make you, this evil ghost, turn to dust and have your soul scattered!" I walked toward the edge of the teaching building, stepping on the railing.
"Die!"
With all my strength, I threw the corpse from my back off the fourth floor!
"Roar!"
The sound of a furious roar echoed through the hallway. Thick black smoke billowed as countless grotesque faces of demons appeared from everywhere, their claws outstretched, howling in anguish.
"Boom!" The sound of the corpse hitting the ground came moments later, and at the same time, all the demons gathered on the rooftop vanished into thin air.
It was only then that Yuan Chen's divine evil finally broke free from Xiao Feng. He walked to the rooftop, but everything was already settled.
The evil spirits turned into wisps of smoke, and finally, a small, thin boy stood before me. He wore a thin school uniform, and his blurry face gradually became clear.
"Is it you?" I blurted out, but I couldn't remember where I had met him before.
"We will meet again." The boy turned to ash under the moonlight, but his last words stayed firmly in my heart.
"Is it over?" A faint light appeared in the sky as I limped back to the stairs. The human skin on the ground had disappeared, and both the Sakura Shoots and the ghosts had vanished. All that remained on the cold steps was Xiao Feng, sitting silently in her wedding dress.
"Girl, thank you." I reached out to pat Xiao Feng on the shoulder, but when she turned her head, I was terrified. The expression on her face was not human at all—full of hatred and pain.
After a moment's thought, I realized that at this moment, Xiao Feng's body was occupied by the malevolent spirit from Peaceful Inn. No wonder her expression was so full of resentment.
I didn't retract my hand, instead gently hugging her shoulder. "It's all right, Xiao Feng."
The murderous look in her eyes gradually cleared, her expression softened, and her head tilted as she fainted.
"Sorry, I dragged you into this too." I picked up Xiao Feng and carried her back to the rooftop. The sky was still dark, and the Midnight Thriller Live Room task had not ended, so I couldn't leave.
I placed my phone and camera aside and sat on the edge of the building, staring at the dead silence of the campus.
"Is this the real world?" I had struggled on the edge of death multiple times tonight. If I had made even the slightest mistake or been a little less fortunate, I might have become a cold corpse, and my soul would have been forever trapped here.
"I finally understand why Xia Chi avoids the live broadcasts. This is not something a living person can handle." I took out a cigarette, lit it, and stared at the world below, waiting for the first light of dawn to touch me.
"Survive great calamity, and there will be future blessings. Two divine evils in one's fate, this is the first time I've seen it."
The live stream was still watching, and the audience had exceeded 400 people. It had been an exhilarating night, far more exciting than any horror movie.
"Daoist, aren't you going to rest? Aren't cultivators supposed to focus on self-cultivation?" I exhaled smoke, secretly grateful to the Daoist who had such an audacious way of speaking.
"You little rascal are really not kind. I just saved your life, and now you're trying to get rid of me?"
"I'm not ungrateful! How about this, give me an address, and I'll send you two boxes of local eggs sometime?"
"I've had enough exquisite food, it's nothing new. But your fate is rare. Maybe we'll meet again when the time is right?"
"I hope so. Don't laugh at me, though—I'm not sure how much longer I have. I hope you can give me some guidance when we meet again."
"Fate has not yet arrived, we will meet when the time is right."
"You cultivators really speak in riddles. The more I listen, the more unbelievable it sounds. Do you think I'll make it to the day when fate comes?"
"I'm not afraid of the possibility, I fear the possibility. The one I, Daoist Wan, favors, has a very strong destiny. Boy, I'll leave you with a poem, listen carefully."
"What poem?"
"Red Phoenix of Heavenly Joy enters the destiny palace, prosperity in wealth, everything successful. Watch the peach blossoms bloom in vibrant color, meeting noble people one after another."
"What does this mean?" I was about to ask, when Xiao Feng in my arms woke up slowly. She saw herself in the wedding dress, leaning on me, and instantly blushed.
"Last night was really dangerous." She buried her face in my chest, a little nervous, unsure of what to say.
Seeing her like this, I suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. I didn't say the words in my heart, nor did I inquire about the secrets she carried. I just gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I didn't expect you to look so beautiful in a wedding dress. Whoever marries you will be really lucky."
When the sun finally rose above the horizon, the golden light dispelled all the shadows, and the live stream from Xinhu High School came to an end.
"Ping!"
As the sunlight touched me, a new message appeared in the Midnight Thriller Live Room's inbox: "The live stream task was completed at Xinhu High School, and you survived until dawn. Scoring has begun..."
"One point for completing the live stream task; two points for exceeding a peak live viewership of 500 people; two points for receiving a total of over 1000 Hell Coins in gifts during the stream; one extra point for completing a commission from the underworld."
"Optional tasks: Play seven games on campus, with a progress of three completed. These include the Courage Test game, Four Corners game, and Hide and Seek game, with an additional three points awarded."
"Calculation complete. A total of nine points were earned in this live stream."
Nine points in total. Indeed, high risks come with high rewards. This time, the score was twice as much as the last Peaceful Inn stream.
Although I don't remember completing three games, since the Hell Show gave this evaluation, I was happy to accept it: "Perhaps if I don't expose Xiu Mu's identity and continue pretending, I can participate in more games. What a pity."
Thinking of how one point equals one gold bar, I couldn't help but feel a bit of regret.
"Streamer's total points: 9. Would you like to redeem items? The product catalog you can redeem has been updated."
"Thai Ghost Child (5 points), random small talismans (6 pieces, 5 points), Tongxian Wine (nourishes yin and replenishes yang, harmonizes the five organs, 5 points), Headless Ghost Tomb Altar (can control low-level ghost servants, 6 points), Introduction to Fate (6 points), Opening Qi Pill (randomly unlocks one spot on your body, 6 points), Flying Dragon Worm (blood binding, saves one person, kills one person, highly valuable poison worm with great growth potential, 9 points)..."