Her voice grew quieter, and she glanced at Fan Hai lying on the floor.
"He was a classmate of mine at university. His name is Fan Hai. He's been pestering me lately. When I ignored him, he only got worse. That night, I don't know how he got in, but he sent the owner away and waited alone in the room. By the time I came in, he'd already locked the door."
Chen Siyao frowned.
"I turned around to leave, but he stopped me." Song Xinxue's voice grew softer and softer. "He said all sorts of things. That he had money now, that I didn't know what was good for me, that he'd never failed to get anything he wanted. I told him to get out of my way, but he wouldn't listen. He even... even tried to put his hands on me."
She tightened her grip on the Jade Plaque. "When he grabbed me, this Jade Plaque heated up. When he tried to pull me toward him, it was like he got an electric shock. His whole body bounced away. He froze for a moment, then went crazy.
He said, 'This is the protective charm that little internet celebrity gave you, isn't it? Last time, when I commanded those two Vengeful Ghosts, this was what caused the backlash, wasn't it?'"
Chen Hao's eyes narrowed slightly. Two Vengeful Ghosts. A backlash. So he had been behind what happened that night.
Song Xinxue continued, "While he was distracted, I ran into this room and locked the door. He pounded on it outside, but when he couldn't break it down, he took out a black banner."
"Then... then those things came. Out of the walls, out of the floor, out of the ceiling. They were everywhere. They gathered around the doorway and