Chapter 114: Acting as a Substitute for Another

“I don’t know. There are countless kinds of ghosts and spirits in this world, but I’m not sure if everyone who dies turns into a ghost,” I answered honestly.

Gao Sheng didn’t press further and continued walking ahead. I followed him.

“How long have you been in this line of work?” he suddenly asked.

“A few months.”

“Is Zhang Haozi in the same line of work?”

“That’s right. He’s very skilled, but too cowardly. He almost killed me before.”

Gao Sheng said nothing more and kept moving forward.

When we returned to the school, the dormitory was already locked. To get in, I had to register for a late return. Inside, Gao Sheng’s roommates were all still awake, deeply engrossed in a heated gaming session.

Fortunately, Tu E and Wei Er Ye weren’t around, so it was just me. I took off my shirt and stood before the mirror, seeing fresh and old bruises covering my body. No wonder it hurt so much. When would these injuries heal? I’d have to buy some medicine to apply tomorrow.

After a quick wash, I called Xiao Qingwan and the others—naturally, using Su Yi’s phone. It took a long time before someone finally answered.

I asked how things were on their end and whether the situation had been resolved.

Xiao Qingwan’s sleepy voice said it had long been settled. Tu E was incredible; it took less than a few minutes in total. Since Su Yi’s soul had left her body and she was weak, they stayed at a hotel to care for her.

After hanging up, there was a knock at the door. Opening it, Gao Sheng handed me a bottle of medicine. “For reducing swelling and pain.”

I thought to myself how his temperament increasingly resembled Wei Er Ye’s.

“Want to chat for a bit?” I gestured him inside.

He seemed to know what I wanted to discuss and stepped into the dormitory. I closed the door behind him.

“This is what I found in my backpack,” he said, producing a carefully wrapped object in a bag.

I took it from him and uncovered a delicate small embroidered ball, no larger than two fingers. It looked handmade, exquisitely crafted yet somewhat old, clearly aged. Was this the item that little female ghost was after?

“Where did you get this?” I asked.

“There was a voluntary labor event held by the student council. Each club had to send one or two people, mostly just for show. Ah Hua found this and left it in my bag. Later, I forgot about it,” he explained.

Ah Hua! Wasn’t that the student from the chemical engineering class who suddenly fell ill and fainted?

I quickly asked, “Who participated in that club activity? Was Su Yi among them?”

“Su Yi? I don’t know. Since it was just for show, no one really wanted to go, so everyone dragged along acquaintances. I was only brought by Qiao Jiang to make up numbers. I don’t know the others.”

“How many people were in your group?”

He thought for a moment. “Seventeen or eighteen.”

Seventeen or eighteen — matching the number of people whose souls were sealed! The reason behind their soul sealing must be connected to that voluntary labor.

I continued questioning, “What exactly did you do during that labor? Did you go anywhere specific?”

He shook his head. “No idea. I found it boring, took some photos, and left.”

So the incident must have happened after he left.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to head off,” he said, moving toward the door.

Suddenly, a chilling coldness filled the air. I shuddered and quickly stepped forward to stop him. “Wait!”

I didn’t open the door but peered through the window beside it. A red figure stood beneath a distant streetlamp, mostly obscured by trees, only vaguely visible. Then, suddenly, it vanished.

The coldness lingered, accompanied by faint, low sobbing that drifted around like silken threads, endless and haunting.

The little female ghost hadn’t left; she was fixated on Gao Sheng. I looked at the embroidered ball in my hand, wondering if returning it to her would make her depart.

“You should stay here tonight. That little ghost hasn’t gone.”

I stowed the embroidered ball away, still puzzled about it. Since it was found during the voluntary labor, could the little ghost and the soul sealing be related? Why was she so obsessed with this embroidered ball?

The next morning, I went to the Xian Guang Hotel and brought Gao Sheng along. He was adamantly against taking leave but I managed to persuade him after much effort.

Wei Er Ye and Zhang Haozi were also there, so finally, everyone was assembled.

Xiao Qingwan told me that Wei Er Ye had discovered all those with sealed souls had participated in the voluntary labor organized by the student council. I nodded, confirming I had already heard this from Gao Sheng.

We exchanged all the information we had.

I took out the embroidered ball and said, “That little ghost is after this. I don’t know if she’s connected to this incident, but now everyone who knows anything has had their souls sealed. To find out what happened during that labor, we have to ask those involved.”

Xiao Qingwan examined the embroidered ball, then looked at Su Yi and asked, “You want to unseal her soul?”

“Yes. If it’s just one person, it shouldn’t alert whoever cast the spell,” I replied. Even if it risks alarming them, there’s no other way; only the people involved know the truth.

“That can be done without the spellcaster noticing,” Tu E suddenly said.

I looked at him. “You have a way?”

We borrowed some white paper from the hotel owner, and Tu E found branches and glue. Using the branches as bones and the paper as skin, he quickly crafted a small paper doll on the spot, then drew its features. It looked lifelike and bore a resemblance to Su Yi.

“Are you planning to make a substitute for someone?” Zhang Haozi asked hesitantly.

“To use it as a stand-in for the sealed soul, to summon the soul back,” Tu E explained.

Zhang Haozi looked puzzled, and so did Xiao Qingwan. “This kind of substitution magic is usually used to trick ghosts or gods. Can it work against evil spells?”

I said, “Let him try.”

Xiao Qingwan and Zhang Haozi fell silent but still looked very skeptical.

At eight o’clock that night, the sky was pitch black—the perfect time for spirits to roam.

Tu E stood beside Su Yi’s bed holding the paper doll. We stayed outside the door, watching his every move. He murmured some incantations while holding the doll, then pressed it lightly on Su Yi’s forehead, chest, and abdomen. Then, with two fingers, he traced from head to toe.

He continued chanting as the paper doll suddenly caught fire. He stopped the incantation and placed the doll on the floor, letting it burn to ashes.

After a while, Zhang Haozi whispered, “Is that it?”

Tu E turned and made a shushing gesture, signaling us to be quiet.

He opened the window, and a white, ethereal figure emerged from where the doll had burned, drifting lightly out the window.