As he regained his conscious state, he was brought back to the classroom. Li Xianyu sat up violently, causing the creaking sounds of the chair to reverberate around the classroom, attracting the stares of the professor and the other students.
“Anything’s the matter?” Professor Qin frowned and exclaimed loudly.
Li Xianyu ignored him and placed his hands on the table, panting heavily. He felt a chill down his back. He put his hand there and realised that he was sweating profusely. He looked around, but there were no signs of the baby spirit.
“Prof, I’m feeling unwell. I’d like to be excused.” He took his bag and walked out of the classroom to the stares of his other classmates, his face pale.
Professor Qin echoed behind him, “The rest of you, continue to do the paper.”
Universities were like that these days: learning was entirely self-directed. It was no longer like middle school days, where teachers would stop students from leaving the classroom.
Li Xianyu took big strides out of the classroom, walking towards the toilet to wash his face. He stopped at the entrance of the toilet, as images of the female spirit’s face, covered by hair, flashed across his mind. For a long while, he did not dare to step in.
He knew that this mental scar was going to persist for a long time. He had other mental scars as well; for example, indecent advertisements on the internet caused him to think of Great-Grandma. Then, his waist area would ache…
His ancestors would surely have had these mental episodes as well? They would slowly turn into anti-lust demons, losing interest in women.
We have no interest in women. We only want to continue our family lines…
From the baby spirit’s point of view, he saw the woman staring at him (or Zhang Ying, in reality), as well as the baby spirit.
He merely felt from the perspective of the baby spirit, yet he had already experienced such eerie chills to the point of myocardial infarction.
Li Xianyu suddenly thought of the rules of the Bunshinsaba. When you felt another person’s presence in the room, that meant that the Bunshinsaba was here.
Yes, the pen drawing a circle on the paper wasn’t the only sign.
There were no rules that stated the Bunshinsaba would always listen to you. When you thought the summoning had failed, you probably wouldn’t have known that it was already by your side. A fallen face, covered by hair would be looking at you, with only the white parts of the eye visible.
Li Xianyu was a person who had always followed his heart. He hesitated in front of the toilet entrance, before turning around to leave.
It wasn’t the baby spirit who had killed someone!
It was the Bunshinsaba.
Li Xianyu stopped in his tracks and whipped out his phone to open the “Ancient Demon” software. There, he tried to recall the message that he had sent to the Missions Department.
It was all too late.
He was able to handle baby spirits with ease. Not really, to be exact. However, if the other party was an aggrieved old spirit, he would be in grave danger.
He made his way downstairs and called Great-Grandma. She told him that they were at the library, hence he made his way there.
Trash No.1 and Trash No.2 were seated at the most noticeable tables near the entrance. They were eating their own ice cream cones. San Wu was reading her books seriously, while Great-Grandma put her mobile phone on her book as she stared at it intently.
Hearing the footsteps behind her, Great-Grandma flipped the book to the next page, covering up her mobile phone and remarking in a satisfied manner, “After reading for a while, I feel like I’ve attained a state of nirvana. There are three good things in life: a good book, a good glass of wine, and good poetry.”
“Don’t pretend anymore, spare the men,” Li Xianyu said. “You think you are Li Bai?”
Great-Grandma retorted, “Li Xianyu, why is my phone smaller than the others.”
Li Xianyu: “You’re small and smart.”
Great-Grandma: “Liar.”
Li Xianyu: “You have big boobs, hence you should have a small phone. It’s called ‘balancing out’.”
As Great-Grandma was about to cut in, Li Xianyu waved his hand and said, “I have something important to tell you guys. I know how Zhang Ying died.”
“It’s another aggrieved spirit case,” Li Xianyu whispered. “They played the Bunshinsaba game yesterday night. I saw it personally; after they left, a woman appeared in the toilet…”
He proceeded to recite his story to the two of them.
Great-Grandma frowned for a long time as she pinched her little chin. “For divination, the nearby spirits would be attracted. The time that the spirit has been in existence is related to the level of resentment it possesses. The longer the time, the more intense. I suggest you should investigate its background first.”
Li Xianyu was lost and asked, “What’s that?”
Great-Grandma said, “An ancient method of witchcraft. The Bunshinsaba is a watered-down version of this method. This is one of the methods used by Taoists to summon spirits.”
Ding!
The phone in Li Xianyu’s bag rang. He took it out, seeing a message from the Missions Department. “Aggrieved spirits case in the third floor of the girls’ hostel in Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Please look into this matter within 24 hours, and finish off the spirit.”
“Reward: 15 points.”
The message came with a file attachment.
I’m dead, the mission came after all. They were really fucking efficient after all.
Li Xianyu’s mood sank as he opened the word document, which contained the statements of Zhang Ying’s three roommates. After such a big matter, their statements had been recorded.
The police officers did not notice any discrepancies in their statements. Her three roommates were totally unaware of how she died. They had only discovered her cold corpse in the toilet the next day.
However, in their statements, they described the exact things they did when they played the Bunshinsaba game last night. It was precisely this section of the statement that was detected by Baoze Group’s systems, causing this case to be classified as an Aggrieved Spirits case. The message was then sent to Li Xianyu, for him to look in to the matter.
He felt like burying himself in a hole.
“Alright. Great-Grandma, San Wu, we have things to do,” Li Xianyu sighed.
“You do your things and earn that money, good grandson,” Great-Grandma replied as she licked her ice-cream.
Li Xianyu stared her in the eye. Luckily, he had San Wu. If he were to rely on this useless Great-Grandma, he would have been long dead before even being awakened.
Knowing thyself and the enemy was key to eternal victory. On Great-Grandma’s suggestion, Li Xianyu used his looks and charisma to chat up random girls nearby, engaging in gossip with them.
“Hey, are you from the third floor of the girls’ hostel?” Li Xianyu asked. “I heard Zhang Ying from Finance has died.”
“I’m not from the third floor, but Zhang Ying committed suicide by slitting her wrists,” the girl closed her books and whispered, “She died in the toilet. There were supernatural occurrences there before.”
Li Xianyu asked, “How do you put it?”
The girl replied, “In 2008, a senior committed suicide by slitting her wrists in the toilet. The reason behind her suicide was unknown. After all, it happened a long time ago. Regardless, after that, it was said that people often heard crying sounds coming from that toilet in the middle of the night. Some even saw a long-haired woman walking across the corridor. Zhang Ying killed herself in that same toilet as well. Talk about coincidences…”
A long-haired woman…
Li Xianyu probed, “Was she wearing a dress?”
The girl replied, “I don’t know. Oh yes, I heard something else. When you went to the toilet after midnight, a hand would stick out from the bottom of the adjacent cubicle and ask you: Do you have toilet paper? Do you have toilet paper?”
The girl continued, “This story is more well-known than the previous two. This was the most common occurrence for most people.”
Li Xianyu asked, “Who in our school has seen this before?”
The girl shook her head. “No one. I also heard this story from other people, as well as the campus tabloids.”
Li Xianyu: “Okay, thanks. Oh yes, what happens if I don’t give her paper?”
The girl’s face turned pale as she said, “She will eat you up.”
Seeing that her words did not scare Li Xianyu, she started to chuckle to herself.
As he got up to leave, the girl shouted after him, “Hey, what’s your WeChat ID? Do you have time tonight?”
See for yourself! I’m the Little Prince of the university, always admired and wanted by girls. My eight-packs could rival the buff guys’ arms.
He looked at the girl, but did not feel any hormonal instincts kicking in. He waved his hand and walked away.
He had gotten more information about the female spirit. It was back in 2008… it had been 12 years.
My god, a 12-year-old spirit.
Li Xianyu started to panic.
Zhang Ying had died from playing that game. According to the rules, who was the next person to die?
Li Xianyu and the two of them left the library in search of a quiet place to discuss their game plan. “I think her three roommates are in danger. They might become the next victims. We need to handle this as soon as possible. We can’t let it roam free like this. I have an idea.”
Great-Grandma asked, “What idea?”
San Wu looked at them, intrigued.
Li Xianyu told them about what he had gotten from the girl. “I have a question. Since it’s a 12-year-old spirit, why did no one die prior to this?”
Great-Grandma replied, “Remember what I told you? Aggrieved spirits are born because of their stubborn beliefs. In normal circumstances, they would not kill the innocent, because their beliefs do not involve killing other people. Zhang Ying probably died because someone summoned that spirit. It’s easy to summon, but not to dispel. It could be connected to the spirit’s belief as well. Whatever it is, the three of them are in danger. The toilet has become a dangerous place too. If we don’t solve this, more lives will be lost.”
Li Xianyu nodded. “My idea goes like this. Let’s infiltrate that toilet. At night time, let’s be in the toilet, pretending to do our business. If the rumours are true, it will appear and ask you for paper. I think this idea is good.”
After a while, he continued frankly, “By right, I should assume full responsibility for this case. However, I can’t enter the girls’ hostel. Despite my intentions, I’m unable to handle this. Great-Grandma and San Wu, which of you are going then?”
A weakling like him would never be able to face up to an aggrieved spirit. Shirking the responsibility to the two of them was the perfect solution.
A war spirit that was immortal and indestructible, versus an explosive demon descendant. If there was danger, both of you would handle it, while I sit back and earn the points.
An okay situation, Li Xianyu felt.
San Wu shook her head. “My aura is too murderous. She will never show herself.”
Great-Grandma looked at her great-grandson in disdain. “I can go. However, when I run into danger, I will need your essence. Your kidney is weak now. If I extract the essence another time, it will turn into kidney overdraft. You choose.”
Li Xianyu was speechless.
His kidney or his life?
This choice was more difficult to make then asking a man about whether he would save his wife or mother first, if both were drowning.
He felt like he had dug a trap for himself, then buried himself in it.
“So, you want me to be the bait?” he remarked as his face turned pale.
San Wu said, “I think it’s very okay.”
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