Ji Xun took off after him. Though the skeleton was nothing but bones, he ran surprisingly fast.
"Doctor Zhai!" Ji Xun shouted.
The skeleton faltered, then kept running desperately toward the School Infirmary.
Standing outside the closed infirmary door, Ji Xun said pleasantly, "Why are you running? So what if you're not wearing clothes?"
After a while, Doctor Zhai opened the door, looking distinctly unhappy. "Then why did you chase me?"
Ji Xun helpfully reminded him, "You forgot your eyeballs."
There were two black holes where the eyes should have been on Doctor Zhai's handsome face, yet he still wore his glasses, which only made the absence more conspicuous.
Doctor Zhai touched the eyes beneath his glasses and shot Ji Xun a vicious glare.
"Well? Did you catch him?" Deng Wen caught up, panting.
"Doctor Zhai? Why is it you?" Jiang Yao exclaimed.
At the sight of Deng Wen and Jiang Yao, Doctor Zhai feigned surprise. "Oh! Aren't you the youngsters from Class Twelve? What are you doing here?"
Ji Xun said flatly, "Why are you pretending? Didn't you already know they'd come out when we were in the Principal's Office?"
Doctor Zhai rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Just a joke to lighten the mood."
He turned back to find a pair of eyeballs soaking in liquid in a container on the shelf, then slipped them effortlessly into his sockets.
Jiang Yao said, "Doctor Zhai... you're not human either?"
Doctor Zhai wagged a finger, looking aggrieved. "I'm neither human nor ghost. I'm just a poor little skeleton with no skin."
"The anatomical model that runs around the School Infirmary?" Ji Xun asked.
Doctor Zhai spread his hands. "You can't blame me. There are far too many strange things in this school building at night, and I don't want to clash with them."
He gestured for Ji Xun to look out the window.
Puzzled, Ji Xun walked over and looked outside, only to be startled.
At least a hundred people now stood on the previously empty sports field, with the Administrator at their head.
They all faced the school building in unison, as though a single order from the Administrator would send them charging inside to begin a bloody hunt.
"Who are they?" Deng Wen looked at Doctor Zhai. "I've never seen these people before."
Doctor Zhai scoffed. "That fat pig has a factory off campus that manufactures drugs. These are probably the people he killed."
Deng Wen was baffled. "Why would people the Principal killed turn around and help-"
He cut himself off, remembering the classmate who had betrayed them.
Not everyone had the courage to face the darkness. To avoid being bullied, some chose to stain themselves black and join the ranks of the abusers.
Doctor Zhai smiled. "There are hardly any people left in the school building who are still resisting the darkness."
"After all that, you still haven't explained why you were streaking through the school building." Ji Xun, utterly impervious to sentiment, remained unmoved by his reflections.
For once, Doctor Zhai was left speechless. He said coldly, "This skin is a burden to me. With so many Proxy Ghosts outside, I can only fight them in my true form. And I wasn't streaking."
Ji Xun clicked his tongue twice. Doctor Zhai actually wasn't a Ghost Story monster.
"I know what you're thinking, but it won't work," Doctor Zhai said gravely. "The bodies of the other Class Twelve students were crushed and scattered throughout the school building. You couldn't even piece together one complete person. Restoring their sanity would be virtually impossible."
Ji Xun refused to believe it. "Those six managed it, and Peng Di is on the stairs too. Why would it be impossible for the others?"
Doctor Zhai shook his head. "Deng Wen and the others were different. At first, the Principal didn't intend to use the Cement Mixer to destroy the bodies. He wanted to take advantage of the renovations to mix the bodies into the cement and seal them inside the walls. But within just a few days, human silhouettes appeared on the walls."
Deng Wen listened numbly to the account of how the Principal had disposed of his body.
Ji Xun asked, "Was Peng Di the same?"
Doctor Zhai nodded. "Yes. Later, that fat pig heard somewhere that a mirror could block the baleful energy of vengeful spirits, so he installed that 'Straighten Your Clothes' mirror. As for Peng Di, with so many people trampling her underfoot every day, she'd long since lost the strength to struggle. All she could do was create illusions to lure in a couple of people who were alone."
Jiang Yao and Deng Wen both fell silent.
Their old friend had been reduced to such a state, but they themselves weren't much better off.
"The Principal thought disposing of the bodies that way would cause trouble sooner or later, so he came up with the Cement Mixer for the remaining bodies?"
Doctor Zhai spread his hands. "That's why I said it's impossible. How are you going to find all that crushed human tissue in a school building this big?"
"That's none of your business." Ji Xun's gaze grew colder as he pushed Deng Wen and Jiang Yao toward Doctor Zhai. "I'm leaving these two with you."
Doctor Zhai raised an eyebrow. "I never agreed to that."
Ji Xun said, "Then I won't take you out of here."
Doctor Zhai finally stopped smiling. "I give you the evidence, and you take me out. Are you going back on your word now?"
Ji Xun was perfectly unabashed. "Yes. If you don't like it, feel free to report me."
Doctor Zhai laughed in anger. "Are you seriously pulling this on me?"
Ji Xun smiled, his eyes curving, then pushed open the infirmary window and leaped down from the third floor.
Deng Wen leaned anxiously over the windowsill to look down. Only when he saw Ji Xun land safely did he relax.
"Stop worrying. He's no ordinary person." Doctor Zhai was delighted. "Pack up the clothes. We're moving!"
The "clothes" he meant were the human skins neatly arranged in the wardrobe.
Jiang Yao muttered, "And you said you weren't streaking."
The Proxy Ghosts had begun their hunt, and piercing screams rang out from the dormitory building.
The Administrator stood on the sports field like a general commanding his soldiers in battle, watching Ji Xun with perfect composure.
His hideous burns made him look like a demon that had crawled out of hell.
"Thank you for helping me kill the Principal," the Administrator said with a sinister grin.
Ji Xun remained expressionless. "You'd better thank the person behind you."
The Administrator's smile froze. He hurriedly raised the stun baton in his hand to shield himself, but the sudden impact still left his arm numb.
Yuan Ci looked at Ji Xun helplessly. "You really hold a grudge."
Su Rang asked, "Ji Xun, have you finished your task?"
Ji Xun nodded. Seeing only the two of them, he asked, "Where are the others?"
"They went with Wei Lin to kill the Proxy Ghosts," Su Rang explained.
There were plenty of Proxy Ghosts in the school building too. Yuan Ci had intended to go inside to meet Ji Xun, only to see him jump straight down from the third floor.
It was no exaggeration to say that Yuan Ci's heart had almost stopped.
The Administrator was completely unafraid. "You can't win," he said smugly.
"Is that so?"
Yuan Ci swung his sword at the Administrator, severing the arm holding the stun baton!
Strangely, fresh buds of flesh rapidly sprouted from the stump. In just five seconds, they grew into a complete new arm!
"That's disgusting." Su Rang looked sick.
Ji Xun sneered. "With a talent like that, why are you still eating corpses? Just have the cook carve the ingredients off you. However much gets eaten, you can grow it right back. Feeding the entire campus single-handedly-how impressive!"
The Administrator: ...
Before you continue