Chapter 112: The Girl in Red

“What should we do now?” Xiao Qingwan asked.

I replied, “First, we need to deal with the spirit writing incident. Let’s gather everyone involved here.”

Since Su Yi was conducting spirit writing with those people, they must be very familiar with each other. Their phone numbers should be in her contacts. We scrolled through her phone and called the names she mentioned.

Two people were already dead, and the others had sensed something wrong and were panicking. It didn’t take much to persuade them to come over. Those who couldn’t arrive immediately had to be here before nightfall.

Three more people arrived one after another. I explained the situation to them: whether they believed it or not, two people had died already, and maybe the next victim would be one of them.

Their conditions weren’t much better than Su Yi’s. Hearing that, none dared to voice any objection.

Ghosts only appear under the cover of night, and summoning or banishing spirits must be done after dark.

As dusk deepened, we had no news from Master Wei. Now that even Su Yi was in trouble and she said Gao Sheng was the last one, it was unlikely he would escape either. But even if Gao Sheng were in danger, he’d probably only share the same fate as the previous dozen or so. Still, Master Wei wasn’t experienced in this field, and given the past incident at the vine forest, she dared not let Su Yi go alone.

After some thought, I decided to go back and check: “I’ll leave this matter in your hands. Mouse and I will go see Master Wei.”

“I’ll go with you!” Xiao Qingwan said immediately.

“You can’t enter the boys’ dormitory. You’d better stay here,” I said. There was another reason for bringing Zhang Haozi along—Gao Sheng didn’t like us, but he got along well with Zhang Haozi.

According to Zhang Haozi, every week at this time, Gao Sheng worked part-time at a milk tea shop. We headed straight there.

The milk tea shop was by the city square downtown. The city was small, and this was the busiest spot.

The shop was pretty large, with two floors, all occupied by girls. Only Master Wei sat alone at one table, looking out of place.

“Why is it so lively today?” Zhang Haozi wondered.

Seeing the girls steal glances at Master Wei from time to time, I understood the reason for the commotion.

We sat by Master Wei’s table. Three untouched cups of milk tea sat before her. She clearly didn’t drink milk tea—why buy so many cups and just leave them there? She must have expected us.

Girls kept coming in to buy milk tea, frequently sneaking looks at Master Wei.

Gao Sheng stood behind the counter with a cold expression, making milk tea. I wondered what he was feeling inside.

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A female part-timer, busy as she was, came over to our table apologetically: “Hey, students, it’s pretty busy tonight. If you’re going to sit here, you’ll need to buy milk tea~”

Then she turned to Master Wei, hesitating: “Um… you’ve been sitting here for three and a half hours already…”

“Another cup,” Master Wei said indifferently.

The girl looked helpless.

I immediately understood the purpose of those three cups—just to reserve seats!

Zhang Haozi and I each ordered a cup of black tea, just to be polite.

As night deepened, business was unusually good. The owner extended the hours until late at night, and only near closing time did all the girls finally leave.

Gao Sheng, backpack slung over his shoulder, quickly left with a sullen face. We followed him out.

He was furious and couldn’t help but shout, “What do you want?! Stop following me!”

He glanced at Zhang Haozi angrily: “Why are you hanging out with them?”

Zhang Haozi stammered, “I… I…”

Knowing his nature well, Gao Sheng stopped questioning and hurried away. He reached the bus stop just in time for the last bus, and we followed.

Looking at Master Wei, so out of place on the bus, I thought she was really dedicated to protecting Gao Sheng. If he were just the son of an ordinary subordinate, she wouldn’t go this far.

Gao Sheng stared out the window, pretending we didn’t exist.

Because it was the last bus, there were few passengers. Along the way, everyone disembarked except us, heading for the remote campus. Few cars passed on the road; we were the lone bus.

I was half-asleep when the bus suddenly braked hard. My body lurched forward, and my head slammed painfully against the seat in front, instantly wiping away any drowsiness. I glared at the driver, cursing silently—how reckless to brake suddenly on an empty road!

The driver cursed out the window first: “Why are you standing in the middle of the road? Looking for death?”

A little girl approached the door, knocking to get on.

The driver reluctantly opened the front door, still angry: “Next time, wait at the bus stop! It’s dangerous standing in the middle of the road—did your parents never teach you? What if something happened?”

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The girl ignored the driver’s scolding, paid her fare, and got on.

She was about seven or eight, wearing a red winter dress, with pale skin and lips as red as vermilion—a delicate face.

Though many seats were empty, she walked straight to the seat next to Gao Sheng. Gao Sheng glanced at her but said nothing.

The driver muttered something local under his breath and resumed driving.

I turned my gaze from the girl to the window. Outside was the same monotonous scenery—straight road, dim street lamps, and silhouette-like trees.

This campus was really remote. If not for a few shops near the back gate, it would be completely isolated.

After the earlier incident, the driver was more cautious, slowing down to a steady pace on the straight road.

I stared out the window, noticing the road never curved. Strange—it was supposed to be winding here. Outside, the dim lamps and shadowy trees remained unchanged.

Unease grew in me. I leaned forward to look ahead. The road stretched straight, disappearing into the hazy lamp light, endless.

“Brother, what’s your name?” came a clear, innocent voice. I pulled back and looked at the little girl. She was speaking to Gao Sheng.

“I’m Gao Sheng. And you?” he replied, his tone softer.

“My name is Song’er,” the girl said. “Brother, my things are in your bag. Can you give them back to me?”

Gao Sheng was stunned. “How could your things be in my bag? You got on the bus after me.”

“They’re in your bag! You took them! Give them back! Give them back!”

Suddenly, she reached out to grab him. I sprang up and pressed a finger to her forehead with a spell!

The little girl screamed in pain and was flung backward!