Chapter 554 - Chapter 554: Chapter 551 has a problem

Chapter 554: Chapter 551 has a problem

“Alright, you can open your eyes now.”

Yang Jian’s voice rang in her ears, and when Miao Xiaoshan opened her eyes again, she found herself in the school’s basketball gym.

The lights in the gym were already on, and at this time, it was deserted except for the two of them.

Accustomed to the eerie changes of location, appearing in places she couldn’t possibly have reached in such a short time, Miao Xiaoshan felt odd but not panicked.

“Is it safe here?” Miao Xiaoshan asked.

Yang Jian rubbed his forehead and casually took a seat in the spectator stands, “I’m not sure. If that thing begins to kill, there won’t be a safe place in the entire city.”

…

“Is it the painting from my dorm room?” Miao Xiaoshan leaned against Yang Jian as she sat down, then started to fix her shoes that hadn’t been put on properly before.

Yang Jian said, “That’s just one of the paintings. This is a kind of weird and terrifying curse. As long as that thing appears somewhere, people will be killed by a ghost. We haven’t determined the source yet, and many people have been troubled by this issue recently.”

“Is it very dangerous? How does it compare to the ghost at No. 7 Middle School?” Miao Xiaoshan asked after a moment of silence.

“To ordinary people, there is no big difference. But for me, the difference is significant. At No. 7 Middle School, I could save a few, but if targeted by this thing, I might die too.”

Yang Jian said, “Do you remember what Zhou Zheng said during the lecture that time?”

Miao Xiaoshan nodded.

“The pattern in which a ghost kills is very important. If we can figure that out, we can at least ensure we survive when facing a ghost. But the problem is, you can only understand the pattern after interacting with the ghost.” As he said this, Yang Jian slightly raised his head to look at Miao Xiaoshan’s tense but cute face.

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“The process requires risking our lives. Some who guess wrong die without understanding, others who guess right are lucky to survive. For most ordinary people, there’s only one chance to make a mistake.”

“Nobody is that lucky to find the ghost’s killing pattern on the first try, so the best option is to stay away from these events. You’ve been through the situation at No. 7 Middle School; you should understand it’s not the time to be thinking about others. It’s about saving every single person you can. If they don’t appreciate it, you shouldn’t bother,”

“Otherwise, you’ll die too.”

Miao Xiaoshan lowered her head and said softly, “But they are my roommates; I can’t just stand by and watch them die. Didn’t you save us back at No. 7 Middle School?”

“You can’t save everyone.”

Yang Jian said in a low voice, “These incidents are increasing, and more and more people are becoming victims. If you try to save everyone, you’ll end up saving no one because you’ll die faster than they will. Zhou Zheng is the perfect example. I don’t want to become the next Zhou Zheng. If I have to choose, why wouldn’t I ensure the safety of my friends and family first?”

“Yang Jian, you’ve changed from how you used to be,” Miao Xiaoshan muttered.

“It’s because you’re too kind. If I thought like you, I probably would have died a long time ago,” Yang Jian replied.

Miao Xiaoshan said, “Let’s not argue, okay? Since that painting is so dangerous, can you find a way to evacuate everyone from the dormitory building? I don’t want them to go through those horrible things. After all, supernatural events are too cruel for them… consider this me begging you.”

Seeing Yang Jian’s indifferent demeanor, she pulled his arm, looking plaintive.

“You don’t need to beg me; just tell me you need my help.”

Without saying much more, Yang Jian picked up his satellite phone, “Evacuating a dormitory building is something we can’t accomplish, even if we talk ourselves hoarse. We might even be taken for lunatics and get arrested,”

“Only headquarters has the power to do that.”

Soon, the call on the satellite phone connected.

“Liu Xiaoyu, it’s me,” Yang Jian began.

“I heard. What’s the matter?” Liu Xiaoyu responded eagerly.

Yang Jian said, “I’m at the college basketball court. There’s a ghost painting in one of the women’s dormitory buildings here. You might want to notify the school to evacuate everyone from the building.”

“How far has the situation progressed? Are there any casualties?” Liu Xiaoyu’s speech suddenly quickened, sounding urgent.

“No one’s dead yet, but since a ghost painting has appeared in a dormitory building, it’s only a matter of time,” Yang Jian said.

Liu Xiaoyu immediately replied, “I understand. You can handle the situation there, right? We’ll send a team to assist you. We don’t have anyone else to spare; all the leaders are occupied with tasks. Could you do me a favor this time?”

“Then you owe me a favor,” Yang Jian said.

“Thank you,” Liu Xiaoyu sighed with relief.

“We’ll leave it at that. Have them come find me at the basketball court when they arrive.” Yang Jian finished and cut off the communication.

Miao Xiaoshan noticed Yang Jian’s phone, identical to the one Zhou Zheng used to have. Now she realized what Yang Jian had been doing for the past six months and why he had changed so much.

“Some things, even if unavoidable, should not be agreed to too readily, or people will take it for granted,” Yang Jian said, putting down his phone. “From the moment I arrived here, I knew these problems would fall on me. Frankly, I don’t want to deal with this stuff.”

“I’m afraid of dying, after all. Who would want to deal with ghostly things if they had the choice? If you encounter a powerful ghost, not even Jesus would stand a chance. Who could withstand that?”

He shook his head slightly.

Yet from the day he became a ghost handler, he had no control over his fate, unable to stop moving; otherwise, the evil ghost within him would consume him until nothing was left.

“Yang Jian, I’m sorry…”

At this moment.

In the dorm room where Miao Xiaoshan had been staying.

With Zhang Xia’s disappearance, and the departures of Miao Xiaoshan and Yang Jian, as well as Liu Zi who had also chased after them, there were now only two roommates left in the dorm.

One was named Sun Yujia, who slept in the bunk above Miao Xiaoshan, and the other was named Wang Yue, who slept in the opposite bunk.

Although it was getting late, neither of them felt sleepy.

The events that had transpired within that short ten-minute span still preoccupied their minds.

“That high school classmate of Miao Xiaoshan’s, Yang Jian, is such a bad guy. You can tell he’s no good just by looking at him. Taking Miao Xiaoshan out so late at night definitely means no good. We must never let this kind of person freely come and go in our dorm again. If he tries to force his way in again, I’ll report him,” Wang Yue fumed, still replaying Yang Jian’s glare in her mind.

She had never seen such a look in anyone’s eyes before.

It was as if it touched the soul, leaving her still with a lingering sense of dread.

It seemed like something out of a novel, the look in his eyes carrying a murderous intent.

“Wang Yue, don’t you think something is strange?”

“What’s strange?” Wang Yue said.

Sun Yujia peeked out from the bedding, “Obviously, it’s that Yang Jian.”

“Isn’t he just a pretty boy? He’s not even that handsome, just putting on airs all day. People like him, with neither money nor a diploma, will suffer sooner or later,” Wang Yue said.

“The weird thing I’m talking about isn’t that. How did Yang Jian get to the school? And how did he appear outside our dorm? When Miao Xiaoshan made the phone call just now, Yang Jian wasn’t supposed to be in school, but from hanging up the call to Yang Jian’s appearance, doesn’t that seem too quick?”

Upon closer thought, she realized that there were just too many things about this Yang Jian that defied logic.

In fact, her reaction was quite delayed. Liu Zi had already noticed this, which is why she chose to believe Yang Jian’s words and hurriedly chased after him, leaving the dorm.

“What are you trying to say?” Wang Yue was still angry and didn’t think much about it.

Sun Yujia whispered, “I’m just feeling more and more that something isn’t right. And also, Liu Zi was acting really odd just now, rushing off in such a hurry and not returning. Do you think those stories about our dorm being haunted could be true?”

“We’re about to go to sleep, can’t you stop with the ghost stories?” Wang Yue said. “I don’t want to hear it. I’m really tired now and just want to sleep; let them do whatever they want.”

Sun Yujia didn’t respond, and the dorm fell quiet once again.

However, a shadow had been cast in both of their hearts, as no one had mentioned turning off the lights up to this point.

The dorm room remained brightly lit.

Yet as the two lay in their bunks, they couldn’t fall asleep, becoming increasingly alert instead.

Their minds kept going over the recent events, pondering over Miao Xiaoshan’s earlier words, and thinking about the numerous illogical things concerning Yang Jian.

About fifteen minutes later, Sun Yujia couldn’t help but say, “When Miao Xiaoshan was talking to Yang Jian on the phone, I heard him say that there was a problem with the painting in our dorm and told Miao Xiaoshan to stay away from it. He must have meant the oil painting that Zhang Xia brought back from the art gallery, right?”

As she thought more about it, she grew increasingly unsettled.

If what Yang Jian said was true, then the problematic oil painting was near her bunk, less than four meters away.

After hesitating for a while, Sun Yujia mustered up the courage and sneakily lifted a corner of her quilt, peeking towards Zhang Xia’s bunk to see if the painting really was problematic.

But when her gaze landed on the lower bunk opposite, she discovered that the oil painting that was supposed to be there was gone.

“Hmm? It’s gone.”

Sun Yujia paused for a second, then started to search in a slightly panicked manner.

She clearly remembered that the painting was just there, and Yang Jian and Miao Xiaoshan had not taken it with them when they left, so how could it have disappeared in such a short time.

The strange and abnormal occurrences only heightened her unease.

Soon.

Sun Yujia found the old oil painting.

It was still in the dorm, but it wasn’t in its previous spot. Instead, it had eerily appeared right next to Wang Yue’s bedside.

“Wang Yue…” she called out reflexively, her voice tinged with horror.

Her inner alarm had completely broken. Sun Yujia now believed that the oil painting in their dorm was indeed problematic.

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