The Cooing

It really was her.

Gu Mian felt a little headache coming on.

He'd always thought the celebrities' behavior on-screen was just an act. Who would've guessed that seeing her in person would prove him completely wrong?

This girl really was naturally scatterbrained.

In the darkness, Gu Mian lowered his voice. "Why aren't you running?"

Xiao Qiao thought it over seriously for a good while before answering, "I saw that you weren't running, so I didn't run either."

Gu Mian: "..."

Then she asked, "Why aren't you running?"

Gu Mian made up an excuse. "I'm scared. My legs are weak. I can't move."

The person in front of him fell silent.

Gu Mian figured she probably felt unsafe staying with someone so cowardly. Maybe she was planning to turn around and leave.

Unexpectedly, a few seconds later, her firm voice suddenly rang out in the darkness—

"Don't be afraid. I'll protect you."

Gu Mian's brain crashed on the spot. Where had this sudden bodyguard come from?

But it didn't stay crashed for long. Gu Mian's brain rebooted, and he remembered that he'd originally been looking for a source of light.

Now he had a bodyguard, but that didn't get in the way.

Making use of what he had, he asked the person beside him, "Have you seen anything in here that could give us light? A flashlight, lighter, candle, that sort of thing."

Being unable to see a thing was really unpleasant. Gu Mian kept feeling as though he'd gone blind.

Xiao Qiao could be a little dazed at times, but she was quick to act now.

She reached out, apparently holding something cylindrical. "I put a flashlight in my inventory earlier. Didn't you bring any light source?"

How could I tell her I don't have an inventory?

Gu Mian sighed, took the object from her hand, and pressed the button.

A beam of white light illuminated the entire Mourning Hall.

He wasn't pointing the flashlight at a good angle. The beam shone straight onto the big face in the Obituary Photo. The face was already pale, and the light made it look even paler. Gu Mian almost wanted to put blush on her.

It was quiet outside. He had no idea where the players who'd scattered earlier had gone.

Gu Mian couldn't worry about everyone else right now. He pointed the flashlight at the coffin in front of him.

They had already shoved the coffin open far enough to fit a head through the gap. Up close, they could see inside.

The two of them leaned over the edge of the coffin to peer into the wide opening.

The flashlight illuminated the inside. There was no ghost Gu Mian had been eagerly hoping to find, only two sheets of paper about the size of A4 pages at the bottom. They seemed to have some writing on them.

Though the coffin was high, Gu Mian managed to fish out the papers without much effort.

He shone the flashlight on them. The first page began with the words "Wanted Notice."

"September 23, 2003: A violent murder took place in Xuzhou City."

"A man was found dead in his car, apparently killed by repeated blows to the back of the head with a blunt object. His wallet and other belongings were taken."

"After investigation, Ma Gang (male, 31, a local resident of Xuzhou, approximately 172 cm tall, slender build, wearing an orange top when he fled, crew cut, scar on his forehead) is strongly suspected of committing the crime."

"The Xuzhou Public Security Bureau is seeking information from the public regarding the suspect. A reward of 30,000 yuan will be given for information that helps apprehend the suspect, and 60,000 yuan for anyone who captures him directly. The identity of anyone who provides information will be kept confidential."

"—Xuzhou Public Security Department, 2003.9.23"

There was also a large photo of Ma Gang below.

His face was long and thin, and he looked much older than his age. His high, prominent cheekbones were clearly visible. He had sanpaku eyes and upturned outer corners. When he looked at someone, he seemed like a hungry wolf.

He had a hooked nose and thin lips. Overall, he looked like a sinister old man.

"Ma Gang." Gu Mian remembered one of the questions on his test. "So this is the Ma-surnamed Fierce Ghost?"

The first multiple-choice question had asked for the surname of the Ma-surnamed Fierce Ghost. Now he had the answer.

He turned to the next page.

It seemed to be a letter of thanks.

"Ms. Yang Shuang, we have received the information you reported. After verification, Ma Gang was indeed hiding at Longchang Hotel. We have taken action, but have yet to apprehend him. The suspect is still at large. Please take care of your personal safety."

"Thank you for providing this information. The Xuzhou Public Security Department once again thanks you for your report. 2003.10.1."

By now, he'd found clues about two of the Fierce Ghosts.

The Yang-surnamed Fierce Ghost was named Yang Shuang, a woman who had reported Ma Gang's hiding place to the Xuzhou Public Security Department. But Gu Mian had no idea how she'd found out where the suspect was hiding.

The Ma-surnamed Fierce Ghost was named Ma Gang, a man who'd killed someone in Xuzhou and fled. But he hadn't gotten far before Yang Shuang reported him.

It looked like Ma Gang hadn't spared the person who reported him. The Mourning Hall made that clear enough.

The Public Security Department had even sent a funeral banner. Evidently, they'd failed to catch Ma Gang, allowing him to come back and kill Yang Shuang.

Gu Mian's final question was a written-response question asking for the time of death of all three ghosts.

Going by this, Yang Shuang must have died before Ma Gang. He calculated silently.

There was another multiple-choice question asking how many people the only male Fierce Ghost had killed while alive.

Ma Gang was the only male Fierce Ghost. It was clear now that he'd killed at least two people: the man who died in his car and Yang Shuang. But Gu Mian had no idea whether he'd killed anyone else.

To figure out the timeline, he had to piece together the complete stories of all three ghosts. But he still had no leads at all on the Zhao-surnamed Fierce Ghost.

Gu Mian held the flashlight and turned to Xiao Qiao. "We can't waste any more time. Let's keep looking on the second floor."

Xiao Qiao nodded in agreement.

As they left the Mourning Hall, Gu Mian made a point of looking back at the coffin.

The test had said there was one Fierce Ghost on each floor. In theory, the ghost on this floor should have been in the coffin, but there was nothing inside except the two sheets of paper.

Had the ghost followed someone?

At that moment, the Fatty was pulling one person along with each hand. Panting, he ducked into a room and shut the door.

It was so dark around them that he nearly fell several times. Fortunately, Chu Changge had kept tugging him along.

"That really scared the hell out of me," the Fatty said, catching his breath in the darkness. "But you two were pretty brave. Neither of you made a sound."

At last, Chu Changge spoke up. "Something doesn't feel right."

The Fatty paused. "What doesn't feel right?"

"You've got Gu Mian by the hand on your side?"

"Yeah, it's the doctor..." As he spoke, the Fatty turned toward where Gu Mian should have been. But it was pitch-black in there. He couldn't see a thing; at best, he could just make out the outline of a person.

"Doctor?" the Fatty whispered. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Chu Changge was silent for a moment. "Get ready."

For what? The Fatty couldn't quite follow.

But he immediately understood what Chu Changge meant.

A beam of white light suddenly appeared in the Mourning Hall. Chu Changge had taken out a flashlight.

The beam pointed straight at where Gu Mian was standing. The Fatty had already been staring in that direction, so when the flashlight came on, he could see exactly what was there—

A face was staring right at him.

It was almost touching his own.

It clearly wasn't Gu Mian's face.