chapter 5

I thought I was going to faint.

But I didn’t.

Every cell in my brain was screaming at the top of its lungs. I clamped my hand over my mouth, refusing to let myself make a sound.

I lay there, stiff as a board, face to face with Meng Lier’s corpse, which no longer resembled anything human, listening to the constant patrolling Footsteps below.

“Ruanruan, where are you?”

My Mobile Phone was right by my side. Maybe the camera had just caught Meng Lier’s face, because at this moment, the Live Stream Room had already been shut down.

I couldn’t see Xiaoran’s Danmaku anymore.

A sense of unprecedented despair flooded my heart. I knew that right now, no one could save me.

But I couldn’t be found.

If I was found, I’d be killed just like Meng Lier.

“Ruanruan, where are you?

“Ruanruan, are you hiding from me…?”

The Footsteps kept circling in the cramped Dormitory. Finally, she stopped in front of Meng Lier’s Bed.

My heart nearly leapt into my throat.

I’d been discovered!

There was nothing I could do. In the darkness, my heartbeat was so loud it was terrifying, completely uncontrollable.

She must have heard it.

Sure enough, the next second, a faint, eerie laugh sounded.

“Found you, Ruanruan.”

I recognized the voice.

It was Wu Lan.

Tears burst uncontrollably from my eyes. I shut them tight, trembling all over as I waited for my death.

Was Wu Lan the Tomb Owner?

If she was, then Qin Xiao had probably already been killed by her in the Washroom.

I was next.

I kept shaking, waiting for the Bed Curtain to be pulled open.

But half a minute passed, then a full minute.

The Dormitory was silent.

After a moment, the Footsteps sounded again.

“Ruanruan, don’t be afraid, it’s Sister Lan.

“Why are you hiding from me? I told you, I’ll protect you.

“Ruanruan, where are you…”

The Footsteps were heading out.

Wu Lan left the Dormitory.

Cold sweat drenched my body. I couldn’t believe my ears.

She hadn’t actually found me just now. That “found you” was her trying to trick me!

At this moment, Wu Lan had already left the Dormitory. She thought I’d escaped, so she started searching for me in the Corridor.

I struggled to sit up, wrapping my sweat-soaked pajamas tightly around myself, trying not to look at the corpse on the Bed, its eyes still open in death.

Suddenly, the corpse emitted a buzzing vibration.

I was so scared I almost lost my soul again. Once I recovered, I realized it was my Mobile Phone vibrating.

An unfamiliar number with no note.

I hesitated, touched my ear-the Bluetooth Headphones I’d worn during the live stream were still in place, never having fallen out.

I tentatively pressed the answer button.

On the other end was a cool, clear voice. I could tell it was a young woman.

“Hello, this is Xiaoran.”

In that instant, I nearly burst into tears.

It was like seeing a savior descend in my darkest hour.

I didn’t know how she’d gotten my number, and Xiaoran didn’t give me a chance to ask. Her tone was calm, but her speech was rapid: “Don’t make a sound, don’t ask questions, just listen to me.

“I basically understand your situation. I went out earlier to find help, and now we’re on our way to rescue you.

“Don’t hang up. Add this number on WeChat and type out your situation for me.”

I hurried to do as Xiaoran said. After adding her on WeChat, I sent her my situation.

I made countless typos in my panic, but fortunately, Xiaoran seemed to understand.

On the call, she was silent for a moment, then spoke softly to someone beside her: “It looks pretty bad, Ji Zhao. How much longer until we reach A University?”

“At least twenty more minutes,” the guy beside her was probably driving. “Let me talk to her.”

Xiaoran brought the phone closer to Ji Zhao’s mouth, and I heard his voice much more clearly.

“Friend, I was called in to catch ghosts, but as you can see, we’re still on the road, so you’ll have to hold out a bit longer on your own.

“Based on what you just described, you’re probably the last living Sacrifice. If you’re killed too, the Ritual will be complete. After the Tomb Owner devours the Living Souls of all three Sacrifices, she’ll become an extremely powerful Corpse Fiend. By then, I’m afraid I won’t have absolute confidence in defeating her.

“So before we arrive, you must do whatever it takes to survive.”

That was obvious-I wanted to survive too!

The problem was how!

Ji Zhao seemed to guess my thoughts and quickly said:

“The reason I told you to climb onto your Roommate’s Bed just now was because we detected fresh Corpse Qi all around it.”

I nearly fainted.

They noticed but didn’t warn me? I’d almost had a heart attack from fright.

“Ghosts search for people differently than the living. Their sight and hearing are extremely poor; they rely on sniffing out the scent of the living. If you stay with the corpse, the Corpse Qi will mask your living scent, so she can’t find you for now.

“But this won’t last. The Corpse Qi around the Bed is spreading and getting thinner. Once it’s thin enough, it won’t cover your scent anymore.”

I typed quickly: [So I need to find something else to mask my scent?]

“Smart. Besides that, there’s one more way to save your life in a pinch-write the Tomb Owner’s birth date on red paper and keep it on you. It can block one fatal attack when she tries to kill you.

“Act now, while the Tomb Owner hasn’t returned. Hurry!”