Chapter 125: Three Minus One Is Not Enough 18

Shi Xianyu returned to her room, brimming with frustration. She sat on the edge of her bed, but at the thought of the malevolent spirit that had crawled through the window earlier, she rose again to meticulously re-examine every window.

The mastermind behind this must have realized she was interfering, which was why they had deliberately lured those ghouls in. That person was trying to take her life!

Shi Xianyu grew even angrier. She had always been kind to others and had never been targeted like this before.

A dark shadow in the corner of the room drifted over slowly, covering the tops of her feet as if offering silent comfort. But Shi Xianyu was in such a foul mood that she reflexively kicked out, trying to push it away.

The sensation felt like kicking thin air.

"You should really just turn into a person," Shi Xianyu said irritably. "In your current state, I have no idea what you're trying to do."

The shadow lay quietly by her feet for a while before slowly rising, condensing into a dark humanoid shape, with Linyuan’s features appearing on its face.

Shi Xianyu found it much more pleasing to look at now.

Moreover, as its form became more specific and detailed, the room’s lighting grew brighter, no longer feeling as if it were shrouded in heavy, dark clouds. Perhaps the brighter indoor atmosphere helped her mood; Shi Xianyu let out a small sigh of relief, feeling less oppressed.

Just then, she caught a glimpse of something resembling a scrap of fabric leaking from within its body.

Shi Xianyu paused, and without overthinking it, she reached her hand into the shadow and rummaged around, pulling out a piece of red fabric.

It looked familiar. She recalled that the female ghost who had crawled in to kill her earlier had been wearing a red dress.

Just as she was feeling surprised, a tentacle-like shadow extended from the dark figure, wrapped around the red cloth in her hand, and dragged it back into its body. The small scrap of red fabric quickly dissolved into dark, yin energy, merging with the entity's form.

Shi Xianyu: "..."

How did it feel like... she had just fished out something he hadn't fully digested yet? It was like pulling a piece of chive from between someone's teeth, only for them to flick it away with their tongue and swallow it back down.

"Did you eat that ghost from earlier?" Shi Xianyu asked.

The shadow nodded, looking somewhat dim-witted. The original Linyuan had also been a bit slow at times, so seeing his face on this creature didn't feel entirely out of place.

"Do you... eat every ghost you find?" Shi Xianyu asked curiously.

The shadow seemed troubled. It only ate weak spirits; if it were a truly formidable, yin-heavy malevolent ghost, devouring it whole would likely be difficult. But in the end, it still nodded.

After all, it *could* eat them—whether it could actually digest them was another matter entirely.

Shi Xianyu crooked a finger at it. "Come here, follow me."

She walked to the window, pointed at the building diagonally across from them, and said to the shadow, "See that? That’s the girls' dormitory."

The shadow shuffled over to the window, standing right next to her.

Shi Xianyu asked, "Can you go to that dormitory and eat all the ghosts inside?"

The shadow: "..."

Shi Xianyu looked at it with expectation. "If you can't eat them, that's fine too. But could you come back and tell me how many ghosts are in there? And are they dangerous?"

The shadow watched the dormitory for a moment, then nodded. Its form began to dissolve, the "Linyuan" before her breaking apart into a hazy mist that drifted out through the gap in the window.

Shi Xianyu hadn't expected it to be so agreeable; she told it to go to the girls' dormitory, and it actually went.

She stood by the window, her heart swelling with excitement. If the girls' dormitory could be cleared out, things would become much easier! Investigating the case and finding clues would be far simpler.

...

She didn't know how long she had waited. Low snoring could be heard from the room next door, yet the shadow had not returned.

Shi Xianyu wasn't sure what the process of "eating ghosts" entailed. Judging by the time, it hadn't taken long to consume the red-clad ghost who had jumped from the building. Why was there still no word after so long?

Had it run into trouble?

Or perhaps... it hadn't understood her meaning at all and had simply left the school? That was possible, given how dim-witted it seemed.

The thought made Shi Xianyu feel discouraged, and exhaustion began to set in. Since arriving in this world, she hadn't had a proper rest. Having forced herself to stay awake in the room for so long, she couldn't help but feel weary.

This place was fraught with danger, and she didn't dare to sleep for long. She sat on the edge of the bed, resting her head against the metal support pillar of the bunk bed, closing her eyes for a brief respite.

Before she knew it, she had fallen into a deep sleep.

She had no idea when she had laid down on the bed, but as she drifted between sleep and wakefulness, she felt something tugging at her feet.

Shi Xianyu kicked out with her eyes still closed, but after a short while, the thing began tugging at her again.

She suddenly remembered where she was and bolted upright!

Opening her eyes, she saw "Linyuan" crouching right beside her.

Shi Xianyu gasped sharply!

The "Linyuan" before her was much more vivid than before! But only his upper body was clear; as for his lower half... it was like an overturned bottle of ink, spreading across the entire room!

"You... how did you get so big?" Shi Xianyu looked around, quite startled. "Is it because you ate those ghosts?"

"Linyuan" nodded gently.

Perhaps it hadn't fully digested them yet, for Shi Xianyu could see something struggling to crawl out from within its body, only to be strangled and dragged back in by those shadowy tentacles.

Shi Xianyu: "..."

If it got indigestion and threw up a whole—or half—a ghost right in front of her, what would she do?

She felt dazed, while the shadow beside her was incredibly clingy. It would tug at her feet, then pull at her hands, but since it couldn't speak, it left Shi Xianyu completely bewildered.

"What do you want?" Shi Xianyu asked.

"Linyuan" watched her silently.

The proximity was so close that it made Shi Xianyu recall her past with the real Linyuan; once, she and he had been just as intimate.

She reached out and gently stroked the shadow’s face. The touch was soft, cold, and yet entirely false. It was not the real Linyuan.

Shi Xianyu smiled faintly and asked, "I know, do you want a reward?"

The shadow nodded slowly.

"But what reward can I give you..." She looked at that familiar face and murmured to herself, "How about I give you a kiss?"

Expressions began to appear on the shadow’s face. It was no longer a rigid, fabricated mask of features, but seemed like a living being with genuine emotions.

Shi Xianyu clearly saw joy on its face.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, do you even know what a kiss is?"

The shadow listened, pondered for a moment, then moved its body downward until it reached the edge of the bed and, with a very solemn expression, kissed Shi Xianyu’s knee.

Shi Xianyu laughed. "I know what kind of ghost you are now. You're a lecherous ghost, aren't you?"

The shadow: "..."

"Get up, I'll teach you." She propped herself up with one hand, reached out to lift its chin, leaned in, and gently pressed her lips against its own.