"Then you really were lucky. I almost died." I frowned. Even now, my back still burned with pain.
"Escaping from Han Qianqian was a matter of luck to begin with. The slightest carelessness would have gotten us killed." Li Tongtian looked at me and said indifferently, "But as long as we bear these scars, no matter how many times we escape, we'll eventually be sent back."
"Yeah. It's almost like a curse." I sat to one side, my face full of bitter laughter.
"But as far as I know, Han Qianqian disappeared without a trace five years ago, yet she's appeared again now. Something must have happened during that time, right?" Li Tongtian asked.
"She must have been sealed away during those five years." I frowned and told him about the coffin I had seen.
"So that's what happened." Li Tongtian nodded in realization. He looked at me and said, "If that's the case, then the school must have invited an expert back then—someone capable of sealing Han Qianqian away."
"Whoever it was, Han Qianqian has returned now. We have to find a way to deal with her. Otherwise, none of us will escape death." Li Tongtian looked at me.
"Easier said than done." I shook my head, then suddenly thought of something and asked, "Apart from us, are there other people in the school like us?"
Li Tongtian was silent for a moment before answering, "A lot. Most of those students who suddenly became rich overnight are like us. They entered the Abandoned School. And many of them went in even earlier than we did."
At that, he gazed at the sports field and murmured emotionally, "I really don't know how many more people will be dragged into this nightmare."
A chill ran through me. Li Tongtian's words made me realize that, before us, even more people had died in the Abandoned School building.
"How did you enter the Abandoned School?" Li Tongtian asked as he looked at me.
I hesitated for a moment before telling him why I had entered back then.
Li Tongtian nodded without surprise. "I entered for the same reason you did. One of my classmates suddenly became rich, and I wanted to observe him out of curiosity. In the end, I entered too."
"What happened to that classmate afterward?" I asked.
"He died. He had already escaped five hunts, but in the end, he still couldn't escape death." Li Tongtian shook his head and sighed. "Escaping once or twice doesn't mean anything. The farther you go, the more dangerous it becomes. Han Qianqian will prioritize hunting down the veterans."
"I once saw Han Qianqian abandon someone who was right beside her and charge toward someone hundreds of meters away instead. That means Han Qianqian has realized that the people who truly threaten her are these veterans."
I shuddered. Only then did I understand why Han Qianqian had not killed me back then but had killed Li Yuming. So that was the reason.
"Therefore, the farther you go, the worse your situation becomes. So far, I've escaped four times." Li Tongtian spoke.
"I've escaped four times too," I said.
He gave me a deep look and said seriously, "Then you need to be careful. The fifth time is when things truly become terrifying. They say very few people can survive the fifth hunt."
"That really is a headache." I shook my head and said seriously, "The school has kept a very tight lid on everything concerning Han Qianqian. Even now, I don't know who caused her death back then and forced her to commit suicide."
Li Tongtian nodded and looked at me. "I'll investigate this matter. The school's reaction has been very strange lately. They might be planning something. You need to be careful."
"At worst, they'll expel me." I spoke indifferently.
I continued chatting with Li Tongtian for a while before he finally rose to leave. Just before going, he turned and looked at me. "If you obtain any information in the future, we can share it. After all, our goal is the same: escaping Han Qianqian's hunts."
"Of course." I looked at him and smiled faintly.
That evening, I invited Wu Yong to dinner. We ordered seven or eight dishes, and I ended up thoroughly drunk.
Wu Yong looked at me and stammered, "Boss, you've been spending so lavishly lately. Where did you get the money?"
"Don't worry about me. Just eat properly with me." I waved my hand dismissively.
After finishing our drinks, I staggered along the street. When I passed through a small lane, the street was pitch-black. I swayed as I walked and looked ahead.
At that moment, a figure slowly appeared. It was someone wearing a bamboo hat and a black monk's robe. He held a khakkhara in his left hand and a lantern in his right as he walked slowly onward.
I glanced at him and said with a mocking smile, "Where are you going to retrieve the scriptures?"
The man did not answer and simply walked past slowly.
But when I walked by him, I froze. He was a pale-faced monk with milky-white eyes. He was blind.
"If you're blind, why are you carrying a lantern?" I asked curiously as I looked at him.
"I cannot see, but all living beings can." The monk looked at me.
"That makes sense." I nodded and was about to leave.
But the monk suddenly grabbed my hand, his expression turning extremely solemn. "Where did you get this bracelet?"
I was about to argue, but when I saw the man's face, I blurted out for some reason, "I found it in a coffin."
"So that's how it is?" The monk released my arm and muttered to himself, "Who would have thought that after five years, she would still emerge."
Because I was drunk and my mind was hazy, I completely ignored his words and merely said, "This bracelet is pretty powerful. It's a magical artifact."
"It's useless. This bracelet alone isn't enough for you to deal with her." The monk shook his head.
"Then what can deal with her?" I asked curiously.
"I don't know either. That depends on what level she has reached now." After saying this, the monk gently shook his head, lifted his lantern, and slowly walked away. His steps were unsteady, yet he never fell.
"Crazy." I muttered under my breath before returning home and quickly falling asleep in bed.
The next day, I suddenly woke up. As I rubbed my head, I suddenly remembered what had happened the day before and said with a strange expression, "Who exactly was that monk? How did he know about Han Qianqian?"
As soon as I thought of this, I became fully alert and began recalling everything about the monk.
That monk was simply too strange. For starters, his monk's robe was actually black.
I had seen quite a few monks, but not one of them wore a robe of that color. Moreover, there was not the slightest trace of a monk's compassion about him. All he had was endless coldness and silence, enough to make anyone feel chilled just from looking at him.
Who exactly was that monk?
Before you continue