Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Qin Zhenye crouched on the wall like a cat, staring at the scene on the athletic field in disbelief.
That was the Wraith-Mother of the Vengeful Infant. She had died consumed by hatred, taking two lives in one body, so her resentment was overwhelming.
Then she had been buried at Five Dragons Mountain and nourished by the deathly aura of the Water God. She had been extraordinarily vicious from the beginning.
If she hadn’t been dug up early, she might even have grown into an S-class anomaly one day.
Qin Zhenye himself was an A-class anomaly wielder, yet even he needed special methods to control her.
And now a monster that vicious was sweeping the ground?
What the hell was going on?
Even someone as accustomed to anomalies as Qin Zhenye found the sight far too uncanny.
Were his eyes playing tricks on him?
He couldn’t understand what had happened to the Wraith-Mother.
In the end, he gritted his teeth and commanded in a low voice, “Come here!”
He tightened his grip on the green jade. A layer of red mist surfaced in his pupils and drifted outward.
Wherever it passed, a stray cat bounding across campus abruptly collapsed as if it had fallen asleep.
Even an elderly scavenger rummaging through a trash can outside the wall went rigid under its influence, then fell asleep standing up.
The red mist spread hundreds of meters before settling behind the Wraith-Mother as she swept.
Combined with the binding token taken from the corpse’s throat, Qin Zhenye was confident he could seize complete control of the Wraith-Mother and discover everything that had happened here.
Sure enough, the Wraith-Mother raised her head on the athletic field. She mechanically turned toward Qin Zhenye, and the broom fell from her hand.
Step by step, she walked to the base of the wall and looked up at him with hollow eyes. The Vengeful Infant in her arms seemed fast asleep.
Qin Zhenye released a small breath of relief.
Good. The binding jade and his bloodred eye could still control her.
“What happened? Where is Rain?” he demanded.
“She… sensed me… killed… the others,” the Wraith-Mother answered slowly.
“She is… sleeping… in the dormitory.”
“I… protect… her.”
Qin Zhenye roughly understood. It was more or less what he had expected.
The Wraith-Mother had become an anomaly after being buried at Five Dragons Mountain. Nearly every anomaly from the mountain naturally submitted to the Water God’s Authority, so there was nothing strange about Rain briefly taking control of her.
“Why has she gone dormant?” Qin Zhenye asked.
“Crimson… Netherworld.”
Again, only two words.
Qin Zhenye’s eyes widened.
Rain had actually obtained something like Crimson Netherworld?
Crimson Netherworld could enhance anomalies and anomalous entities. Its effect on an S-class anomaly like Rain would be limited, but even the slightest change might affect the Hall of Anomalies’ plans.
After a moment’s thought, he took out his phone and dialed a number.
“I’ve found the Wraith-Mother and pinpointed Rain’s location.”
“She obtained Crimson Netherworld and is absorbing it. She’s dormant right now.”
A cool female voice answered from the other end.
“Go take a look and confirm it’s her. Nothing more.”
“Don’t disturb her. You aren’t her match.”
“Frost and I will arrive tomorrow.”
The call ended.
Qin Zhenye lowered the phone and drew a deep breath. He ordered the Wraith-Mother to lead the way and headed toward the girls’ dormitory.
They soon reached the building. The red light in his eyes grew brighter, and crimson mist seeped beneath the dorm supervisor’s door. Before long, she rose like a sleepwalker and opened the entrance for him.
Qin Zhenye went straight to the third floor.
Room 404 was Lin Xiaoyu’s dorm room.
The light in Qin Zhenye’s eyes dimmed. His presence was too powerful and might wake the dormant Rain. He accepted the key from the dorm supervisor and gently opened the door to Room 404.
Only two girls lived there. The room had loft beds with desks underneath. Lin Xiaoyu’s roommate was fast asleep, while an inexplicable veil of moisture surrounded Lin herself.
Even the air nearby was damp.
“It’s her!”
Qin Zhenye recognized Rain almost instantly.
Then he saw an old-fashioned earthenware jar on Lin Xiaoyu’s desk. It contained half a jar of bloodred soil.
Crimson Netherworld!
Qin Zhenye’s breathing quickened.
He was A-plus-class. If he absorbed all that Crimson Netherworld, could he advance to S-class?
Qin Zhenye glanced at Lin Xiaoyu. She was dormant. As long as he didn’t disturb her, she shouldn’t wake.
This kind of hibernation usually lasted several days.
Reinforcements from the Hall of Anomalies would arrive tomorrow.
He could easily take the Crimson Netherworld and absorb it without alerting her.
Qin Zhenye crept into the dorm room, took the earthenware jar from Lin Xiaoyu’s desk, and closed the door behind him.
“Stay here and guard her.”
He left the Wraith-Mother behind, then departed alone.
The dorm supervisor returned to bed, completely unaware of everything that had happened.
Not long afterward, Qin Zhenye left Mingjiang No. 7 Special School and immediately called the Hall of Anomalies.
“I’ve confirmed it. She is Rain. She’s dormant, and I didn’t disturb her.”
He ended the call without mentioning the Crimson Netherworld at all.
Then he hurried back to a well-hidden residence, took out the earthenware jar, grabbed a handful of its contents, and began devouring them in enormous bites.
“What an incredible windfall! Hahaha! This Crimson Netherworld will give me S-class power!”
Feverish greed filled Qin Zhenye’s eyes. He wolfed it down with tremendous relish.
…
Outside the wall of Mingjiang No. 7 Special School…
An elderly scavenger stood beside a trash can, looking slightly dazed.
“Was I asleep just now? Have I been working too hard lately?”
As the old man muttered to himself, he suddenly heard a noise. Puzzled, he walked toward it.
He often came here to collect recyclables, so he knew the surroundings well. This was the school’s restroom.
It was a dry latrine. Half of its cesspit extended beyond the wall beneath a set of concrete slabs.
The sound was coming from under one of them.
“Did something fall in?”
Curious, the old man laboriously shifted one of the slabs aside and shone his flashlight into the opening.
A middle-aged man was inside the cesspit, gorging himself with wild enthusiasm.
“Huh?!”
The old man stared in utter shock. What kind of lunatic was this?
Was he really that hungry?
He even seemed to be enjoying it!
The old man panicked. After a moment’s thought, he hurriedly shoved the concrete slab back into place.
“I didn’t see anything.”
Muttering to himself, he turned and fled.
He wanted no trouble.
…
Meanwhile, inside Mingjiang No. 7 Special School…
On the athletic field, the Wraith-Mother held the Vengeful Infant in one arm. She had swept the entire field spotless.
She had never left it at all.
…
Inside Room 203 of the boys’ dormitory…
“You’re so childish.”
Nian Youyu was eating from a huge bag of potato chips. He shook his head.
“Night Ghosts may not taste good, but throwing him into a cesspit is still a waste of food.”
Across from him, Meng Mo sat on his bed and laughed like a mischievous child.
“Don’t you think it’s fun? Hahaha!”
“I haven’t made anyone dream in ages. He likes putting other people to sleep so much, so I decided to give him one enormous, wonderful dream!”
Nian Youyu shook his head. “Sir will be angry if he finds out.”
“No, he won’t,” Meng Mo replied. “Sir dotes on Lin Xiaoyu. These people wanted to hurt her, so… Sir is probably already angry.”
“Even if I kill every one of them, he won’t interfere.”
Nian Youyu thought about it. “True. If Sir believed what you did was wrong, you wouldn’t be able to make people dream.”
After a pause, he asked, “You aren’t tormenting him only to help Lin Xiaoyu, are you?”
“The Night Ghost’s power is similar to yours. Is someone looking for you?”
Meng Mo abruptly grew angry and glared at him. “What’s it to you?”
Nian Youyu continued eating his chips.
“I only wanted to tell you that with Sir here, you don’t need to be afraid.”
Nian Youyu was usually rather slow and cared about nothing but food.
Yet that very simplicity seemed to give him a strange ability to see straight into another person’s heart.
Meng Mo’s reaction to Qin Zhenye wasn’t merely a playful prank or an attempt to defend Lin Xiaoyu. It looked more like a trauma response.
Meng Mo fell silent. Then he abruptly lay down.
“This is so annoying! I still haven’t memorized a single poem Sir assigned me. He’s going to smack my palm again tomorrow!”
…