Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Qiao Yu was so shocked he stumbled and nearly fell. Fortunately, Shang Yan caught him in time, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him after Luo Yunmeng.
The group rushed down the stairs, their frantic footsteps thudding and echoing through the empty stairwell.
Perhaps because they were too panicked, none of them noticed that the Ghost behind them had disappeared.
Of course, they soon realized something was wrong. After turning down half a flight of stairs, the exit from the next half-flight did not lead to the first-floor lobby of the teaching building. Instead, the floor number that should have read “1” had inexplicably become “4.”
Luo Yunmeng immediately turned and ran back up, but when she reached the top of the stairs, the number she saw was still “4.”
Because of her momentum, she charged several steps forward before barely managing to stop. Her face looked like the sky had fallen as she muttered, “Th-this… a ghost wall?”
“Oh, right. The School Rules did say not to run, laugh, or roughhouse on the stairs.” Qiao Yu slowly walked over as he spoke, even poking his own cheek with his index finger. “So this is how you run into a ghost wall… How fun~”
Luo Yunmeng: ??
This fated benefactor of hers seemed… a little mentally unwell?
Was this the kind of thought a normal person would have?!
At a time like this, he was still thinking about having fun!!!
“Let me think. The fourth floor… should be the teachers’ offices.” Qiao Yu took a few more steps forward, then said in confusion, “I’ve been to the fourth floor before. It didn’t look like this back then.”
The corridor before them was old and worn, as if it had been abandoned for a very long time.
No, it was not just the fourth floor that had changed. The entire teaching building seemed to have changed, as though it had suffered years of neglect and fallen into ruin.
During that time, Luo Yunmeng refused to believe it and ran up and down the stairs two more times. But whether she went up or down, she always saw Qiao Yu and Shang Yan at the end of the stairs.
After trying several times, she finally gave up completely.
She sat down on the steps, looking as devastated as if she were mourning her parents. “If I’d known, I would’ve properly learned how to catch ghosts from my master…”
The Ghost outside had clearly been so squishy. Why were the Ghost in the Live Stream Room so abnormal?!
It was just a Blue Name Instance, yet it was already this terrifying.
Wuwuwu, Master, if I’m lucky enough to escape this time, I swear I’ll study hard and never slack off again.
Staying here was not a solution. Luo Yunmeng stood, patted the dust off her pants, and suggested, “I think I heard someone from my sect say that when you run into a ghost wall, you can get out as long as you walk with your eyes closed. How about… we try it?”
Shang Yan did not even spare her a glance. He lowered his head, focused on toying with the very old hair tie around his wrist, looking as arrogant as if he owned the place.
Luo Yunmeng could only look awkwardly toward Qiao Yu.
But Qiao Yu shook his head. “No. That suggestion sounds boring the moment I hear it.”
Luo Yunmeng: ??
After saying that, Qiao Yu ignored the utterly baffled Luo Yunmeng and headed straight toward the teachers’ offices.
When he reached the office belonging to the Class A teachers, he reached out and pushed at the door.
Unexpectedly, the door did not open.
Next, Qiao Yu went to push the door to the Class B office. It still would not open.
Seeing the two people ahead walking farther and farther away, Luo Yunmeng stood in place and hesitated for a while.
She was torn between walking the stairs with her eyes closed and following her benefactor down this road to the bitter end.
Very soon, she made her decision.
She decided to follow this road to the bitter end!
After all, he had been the one to save her in the Detention Room, and she had also discovered that he seemed to have some unique way of subduing ghosts.
Thinking of this, Luo Yunmeng hurried after them with quick little taps of her feet. “Wait for me!”
Qiao Yu walked all the way to the end, then finally reached out toward the teachers’ office for Class F.
Creak-
The loose door was pushed open, and a layer of dust swept up by the wind rushed into their faces.
Qiao Yu took a step back and waved away the drifting dust in disgust. Only after the ash settled back to the floor did he lift his foot and walk inside.
It was very dark inside, but at least they could still see. The towering trees surrounding the building had lost every leaf and branch, leaving only bare, dead trunks. Outside, the sky was overcast, and only a little sunlight pierced through the layers of dark clouds and shone in through the window.
Qiao Yu reached out and felt along the wall until he found the light switch and pressed it. The overhead light gave no response. Whether the bill hadn’t been paid or the wiring was broken, he had no idea.
He took out his phone, only to find that it had already shut down because he hadn’t had time to charge it.
Shang Yan and Luo Yunmeng could only shrug helplessly as well. The dorm only had power for two hours a day, and after factoring in time spent eating and commuting, their phones really couldn’t hold out.
Qiao Yu hadn’t been counting on them anyway. Fortunately, he hadn’t thrown away that old-man phone with the ultra-long standby time. See? It had come in handy again.
Qiao Yu turned on the flashlight and walked over to the office desk.
He picked up the nameplates on the desk:
Class F Head Teacher – Tong Hua.
Class F Ideology and Morality Teacher – Liu Yuxin.
The surname Liu?
Qiao Yu raised an eyebrow.
Was the Painted-Skin Ghost not interested in participating in the Instance, so Head Teacher Liu had been promoted to the official position?
The things on the desk were not exactly neat. There were a lot of expired cosmetics, along with many yellowed papers and exam sheets.
Of course, the most eye-catching thing was the small vanity mirror in the center of the desk.
It seemed the Painted-Skin Ghost had loved dressing herself up when she was alive. Even in death, she still couldn’t forget it.
With that thought, he curiously picked up the small mirror and turned it over in his hands. Pale purple patterns were printed along the edge of the mirror, and as he rotated it, light shimmered over its surface. It looked antique and exquisite.
Qiao Yu glanced at it a couple of times, then put the mirror back.
Then he discovered a white envelope covered in dust.
Written on it were the words “Resignation Letter.”
He unfolded the resignation letter. The handwriting was strong and elegant, each stroke cutting deep into the paper.
The Painted-Skin Ghost had excellent penmanship. As expected of someone who taught Chinese.
Dear School Leadership:
I regret to submit my request for resignation. It has now been almost one month since I began working at this school, but I truly cannot accept your school’s teaching policies. Perhaps this is my own problem, but I have no choice but to submit my resignation. I hope the school will grant its approval.
Resigning Employee: Current Class F Head Teacher, Tong Hua.
Date: September 30, 2022.
Had the Painted-Skin Ghost once tried to resign while she was teaching here? But why would the resignation letter be on the desk? Had it been returned, or was there some other reason?
Qiao Yu soon had his answer.
When he opened a drawer, he found the Painted-Skin Ghost’s credit card statement.
The itemized charges on the statement listed cosmetics and clothing from major brands. She really had spent money like water.
Qiao Yu: “…”
Painted-Skin Ghost, just how many sweet little sisters do you still have… Wait, no, how many little secrets?
“Tsk. How did she rack up this much debt?” Shang Yan pulled the long, detailed statement out of Qiao Yu’s hand and sighed. “One look and you can tell her character was no good. No wonder she tricked you into coming here. She clearly had bad intentions.”
-Pfft, the respectable ghost Painted Skin’s “character setting” just collapsed.
-I’m dying. All that fierce effort, only to end up eighty-five thousand in the hole.
-I can’t anymore, hahahahaha. I can’t bear to witness such human suffering~
-You’re all just bullying my bro because he doesn’t watch the livestream. Everyone, be careful or this might come back to bite you.
Qiao Yu ignored Shang Yan’s “confusing speech,” snatched the statement back, and put it into the drawer. Then he continued searching through the office.
After that, he pulled a Class F attendance sheet out from a gap in the desk.
Luo Yunmeng was stunned. “Why are you so practiced at doing this kind of thing??”
Shang Yan couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. A faint mist gathered in his shimmering eyes, softening the hostility between his brows. That smile was truly dazzling.
Of course, if Qiao Yu hadn’t been the one getting laughed at, he might have been in the mood to admire it a little longer.
“…Stop talking. Not a single word you say is something I want to hear.”
Luo Yunmeng: “…”
What did she even say??