Chapter 33: Gathering Momentum

The two of them realized that the triangular amulets Li Xuan had hung around their necks not long ago had shattered. With the destruction of these items, they felt an overwhelming exhaustion, their legs as heavy as lead, unable to move another inch.

Liu Zhuobin no longer had the strength to cry. He collapsed onto the ground, his arms trembling as he propped himself up, and whispered, "Didi, I... I suddenly have no strength left. You... you run first. Teacher Li should be able to help you..."

Seeing this usually effeminate boy with long hair show such loyalty, Di Zhiheng gritted his teeth and said, "Do you think so little of me?"

He, too, had been drained of all energy, but he tried to pull Liu Zhuobin to his feet. After struggling for a long time, he only succeeded in falling over beside him.

Just then, footsteps echoed nearby.

Di Zhiheng’s mind was a battlefield between conflicting impulses: run alone, or stay together? Running alone offered a chance at survival, but staying meant they would likely both die here.

Forget it. In eighteen years, I’ll be another hero!

If I’m dead, what’s there to fear from that so-called old director of guidance!

Ghosts fighting ghosts, ghosts strangling ghosts.

Can a ghost die a second time?

Screw it!

Di Zhiheng shakily stood up, picked up a half-brick, and stared intensely in the direction of the sound.

Suddenly, he felt his neck gripped from behind once more.

Despair flooded his heart.

But a second later, he felt a wave of relief.

It was Li Xuan’s voice coming from behind: "You two managed to hold on until here; that is worthy of praise."

However, Di Zhiheng dared not turn around. He kept in mind what Li Xuan had said on his phone: no matter what happens, absolutely do not turn around... He was terrified it might be some disgusting trick.

Li Xuan felt a sense of relief; rebellious students just needed proper guidance.

He walked to the front and, with a smile, flicked Di Zhiheng on the forehead as a reward, saying, "Alright, it’s me!"

"Zhuobin, how long are you going to lie there?"

"I have no strength left, Teacher Li."

Liu Zhuobin, looking pale and drained, leaned against the wall and forced himself to stand. "Teacher Li, we followed your instructions and tried to run out, but as soon as we left the school gate, I don't know what happened—we suddenly lost all our strength and collapsed here."

Li Xuan replied, "That is because you just overspent your body’s vital energy to save your lives."

He pointed to the strings hanging around their chests and explained, "The triangular amulets I gave you a few days ago were linked to paper dolls I hid outside the school. When you were about to suffer a fatal attack, the paper dolls blocked it for you! Of course, the price was the consumption of a vast amount of your vital energy. If you couldn't escape immediately, then everything would have been lost..."

Di Zhiheng and Liu Zhuobin suddenly realized the truth, stunned by how formidable Teacher Li was.

Li Xuan pressed his palms together, forming a hand seal of the "Formation" mantra, and leaned out from the edge of the Lanzhou Lamian shop to peer toward the gate of Nalan Mude Middle School.

A faint green light shimmered in his eyes.

Since cultivating his magic power, he could use many of the minor spells from the "Eastern Peak Earth Deity Method."

Spells were divided by scale; even the weakest practitioner could use them, but one’s Dantian could never be completely void of magic power... It followed the saying: "I may not need to use it, but you cannot fail to provide it."

At the school gate, Ruan Shiyin was pacing, occasionally stomping frantically on a patch of ground as if something there infuriated her.

Then, she attempted to walk out of the gate...

But as soon as she touched the boundary, it was like a network lag; she would reappear where she had been a few seconds prior, repeating the action endlessly.

Li Xuan felt a great sense of relief. So that was it. Although Ruan Shiyin was powerful, she was like a land-bound spirit, trapped within the school grounds and unable to escape.

Good, good, good—you are finished!

He turned back to look at the sickly Liu Zhuobin and Di Zhiheng; they were truly good students for helping him test the boundaries of Ruan Shiyin’s range.

Li Xuan sent the two students back to his rented apartment.

Looking at his students, who were as limp as mud, he said, "Rest well. I will prepare some traditional medicine to replenish your energy tomorrow, and you will recover in seven days."

His three-bedroom apartment had shrines for the Northern Yin Emperor of Fengdu, the Northern Pole Ziwei Emperor, and the Great Marshal Tianpeng in the north, and a shrine for the Eastern Peak Great Emperor in the east. By offering incense and candles every morning according to the lunar calendar, the basic worship was complete.

With the shrines of three Great Emperors and one Great Marshal, it provided some measure of protection.

As he offered incense to the four deities, he thought: Principal Song Fen called during the day, saying the Education Bureau had retrieved the files of the deceased Ruan Shiyin from the sealed archives. The process would be completed in a few days, and her position would be revoked and her records destroyed.

The time for Ruan Shiyin’s reckoning was drawing near...

The next day, Li Xuan went to school as if nothing had happened.

As soon as he entered the classroom, he asked with feigned surprise, "Why are there only two of you? Where are Liu Zhuobin and Di Zhiheng?"

Gao Hanqiang, the most handsome of the four boys, raised his hand and said, "Teacher, they didn't return to the dormitory last night. We tried calling them, but no one answered. We called again this morning, and their phones were off. We were just planning to tell Teacher Fang later."

Li Xuan gave an "oh" and said, "I will pass that information along. You all focus on your duties as students and do not violate school rules."

In the world of *School Grave Department*, ghosts didn't fear night or day; they could appear at any time. It was possible Ruan Shiyin was monitoring the school's movements in real time.

He wouldn't directly reveal that he had hidden Di Zhiheng and Liu Zhuobin in his apartment for breaking school rules.

Only by keeping Ruan Shiyin in the dark could he defeat her in one fell swoop!

Li Xuan suddenly added, "School rules are strict and cannot be ignored. If you don't understand the gravity of this, the only one who will regret it is yourself."

At this, Charlie said, "Teacher, how could we dare to disobey? Now we don't even dare to talk to the girls; people think we're crazy..."

Gao Hanqiang also said with a troubled expression, "That's right. Last night, some girls invited us to a social gathering in the woods behind the mountain. We didn't dare go, but Zhuobin and Didi couldn't resist the temptation and went. They said they would be back before eleven! Didi might be a slacker, but he always keeps his word. Since they haven't returned, I suspect..."

He trailed off.

Li Xuan raised a hand to stop him. "Keep the rest to yourself, Gao Hanqiang. You don't need to say it."

Gao Hanqiang shuddered. He saw the answer in Teacher Li’s eyes, which clearly said, [That’s right, it is exactly as you think.]

He felt a chill run down his spine and his scalp prickled.

This empty classroom, which only held three people, felt as if it were suddenly crowded with invisible, vicious ghosts, lurking and ready to claim their lives at any moment.

This damn school—it wasn't worth staying in.

He even wanted to pack his bags and bolt after school, never to return, but he was terrified of violating the rule about being back in the dorm by 11:00 PM, leaving him in a state of extreme conflict.

After school, at the Lanzhou Lamian shop, Li Xuan met with Teacher Fang Xiaoyi. He got straight to the point: he needed a drop of blood from her aunt (the wife of the former principal).

He knew that Fang Xiaoyi had also been a student at this school.

She had witnessed the bizarre occurrences in the school administration office firsthand and was determined to investigate and resolve the curse so that no one else would be harmed.

Li Xuan explained his identity and purpose directly.

At first, Fang Xiaoyi was skeptical, as there had been no shortage of Taoist priests and monks coming to perform rituals at the school, yet none had been effective...

Li Xuan took her to his apartment to see the two students, who were hovering between life and death.

When Fang Xiaoyi learned that they had violated the "must be in the dormitory by 11:00 PM" rule last night and were still alive, she was utterly shocked!

In her experience, violating school rules brought immediate punishment, and no student had ever escaped unscathed.