"These children truly are a constant source of worry. I shall impose stringent oversight on the teachers, striving to ensure the utmost diligence."
"Hmm."
As darkness fell, a gentle rain began to drizzle.
The night was bleak and desolate; the university campus lay utterly deserted.
Gu Lili sensed something amiss.
Logically, the university in A City was established upon an ancient burial ground, and one would expect numerous restless spirits and wandering souls. Yet, the lively presence of students should have quelled such malevolent forces.
She had intended to seize a minor spirit at dusk to inquire about the situation, but after walking a considerable distance, she found not a single one in sight.
This was highly unusual.
Foregoing the lakeside, she proceeded directly to the courtyard of the male dormitory building.
No sooner had she entered than a male student wearing a mask emerged. She called out, "Hey, what are you doing out so late?"
The student ignored her. Undeterred, she grasped his arm—there was none of the supernatural heaviness Director Ma Shijie had described.
She stood on tiptoe and swiftly removed the mask from his face.
"What are you doing?!" The young man's expression darkened as he snatched the mask back fiercely.
Gu Lili paused, taken aback by his visage.
He was a strikingly handsome foreigner, yet spoke fluent English with ease.
"Are you unaware that there have been fatal incidents among students these past days? And you still dare to roam about?"
The young man glanced her up and down, sneering, "I'm not afraid to die, alright?"
Such insolence!
Just as Gu Lili reached for her phone to call Ma Shijie, a swift white shadow surged toward them from afar.
There was no time to warn the young man.
The apparition moved with alarming speed.
Seeing the youth attempt to flee, she quickly seized his arm again and, adopting a gruff tone, shouted, "If you don't repay me, don't think about leaving!"
The young man shot her a disdainful glance with his striking eyes. "When have I ever owed you money?"
"Feigning amnesia over debts?" she retorted, swiftly producing a talisman and murmuring an incantation. The paper seemed to spring to life, darting rapidly after the white shadow.
At that critical moment, the young man's impatience boiled over. He shoved her aside, snarling, "Get lost!"
Staggering back, she had no time to argue. Pulling out her phone, she dialed Ma Shijie. "There's a man at the entrance of the male dormitory refusing to stay inside."
Mistaking her for alerting campus security, the young man lunged to strike her.
Annoyed, Gu Lili quickly subdued him, pinning him to the ground and lowering her voice in warning, "Why are you so disobedient? How many lives has your mother given you? You'd better behave and stay in your dorm."
"Let me go, you cursed woman! Do you know who I am? I'll have someone cripple you."
Gu Lili involuntarily rolled her eyes. Two policemen arrived then, took over custody of the youth, and she immediately ascended the stairs.
Breathless, she reached the third floor, precisely where the talisman had tracked the apparition.
She knocked firmly on the dorm room door.
"Who is it?" came a male voice from within.
"Open the door."
"Coming."
The lights flicked on and the door was promptly opened.
"Who are you looking for?"
Gu Lili entered without answering.
Her gaze immediately fell upon the white shadow clinging to a sleeping student in a dim corner, beyond the reach of the room's light.
She whispered an incantation, and instantly a piercing scream shattered the dormitory's silence.
The boy who had opened the door trembled in fright, while the two other sleeping students jolted awake.
"What's going on?"
"Look over there," Gu Lili pointed toward the spot where her talisman had landed.