"Heirs"

The voice was so quiet that no one but Han He heard it.

Neither of them could hide their strange behavior anymore. The classmates around them looked curiously at Shi Yu and Han He. No one dared speak to Han He, but several asked Shi Yu what was wrong and whether he was feeling ill.

"N-no... I'm fine... haha... My stomach suddenly hurts. Might need the bathroom."

Shi Yu suppressed what he was feeling, managed a reply to his classmates' concern, and began packing his things.

"Yang Desheng reeks of Evil Sin. Unlike Hu Zihao, he picked up that scent through frequent contact with Evil Sin. He might even be under its control. Is the Evil Sin here really this blatant?"

Han He spoke in a voice only he and Shi Yu could hear.

Shi Yu barely responded. He had felt it the moment Yang Desheng came in-that terrifying presence lingering around him. Even though he wanted nothing to do with it, it had scared him badly.

This was the closest he had ever come in his life to what Han He called "Evil Sin."

Shi Yu was truly frightened, but he had no choice. Trying to leave campus at a moment like this would be too conspicuous and might attract attention.

If he made an excuse to ask for leave, their homeroom teacher was absent, so he would end up having to see Yang Desheng anyway. Getting too close to Yang Desheng would definitely give him away. Then he would probably become a target, and he might be the next person the Evil Sin killed.

Besides, if that monster dared expose its presence so openly, it must have taken measures to keep people from leaving. Shi Yu didn't think an ordinary person could get past it.

Burn down the school? Jump off a building?

Ordinary people might not understand what it was, but Shi Yu did.

It was a monster that could brazenly crush someone to pieces in the city and slaughter a family without the neighbors noticing a thing.

Shi Yu's instincts told him that harboring naive ideas was no different from marching straight to his death.

Frowning, Han He looked at the frightened Shi Yu and at Hu Zihao, who wanted to approach from farther away. He grabbed Shi Yu by the wrist and headed outside, turning to signal for Hu Zihao to follow.

Shi Yu froze, but quickly understood.

The atmosphere at school was clearly growing strange. Rather than blunder around with his half-baked knowledge and get himself killed...

He might as well follow someone reliable like Han He and hear what he had to say. So he simply went along.

Hu Zihao hurried after them.

Out in the corridor, Hu Zihao looked at Shi Yu, still intending to keep his distance, but Shi Yu waved him over.

"It's fine. Come here. This place is getting creepier by the minute. Avoiding you won't help."

Hu Zihao slowly approached, though he still kept a little distance from Shi Yu.

Watching him, Shi Yu sighed inwardly.

He's such a kind person. How did he end up in something like this?

But then another thought struck him.

Even the head of our year is connected to Evil Sin. Maybe none of us can escape. I'd better feel sorry for myself first.

While Shi Yu was thinking, Hu Zihao asked what exactly had happened to the two of them.

Shi Yu told him what they had sensed.

"Han He and I both sensed Evil Sin on Yang Desheng. Unlike you, though, he felt more like an extension of it than a target. Yang Desheng even gave me the feeling..."

Shi Yu paused, then finished:

"He's no longer Yang Desheng. Whatever's inside his body can't be Yang Desheng anymore."

Han He picked up where he left off.

"That presence was dangerous. I definitely can't handle it. This probably isn't the first time the Evil Sin here has killed someone. Has anyone from the other classes gone missing?"

"The other classes?"

Hu Zihao froze. He really didn't know.

Han He sighed at their reactions. They probably didn't know anything more, but he still had a question.

He looked at Shi Yu, his tone much more serious this time.

"Are you an Heir? At a time like this, there's no point hiding it."

"What?"

Shi Yu had only just overcome the fear surrounding him when he heard Han He's question.

But he really didn't understand!

"I honestly wish I knew what you meant. If being one of these 'Heirs' means escaping all this terrifying stuff, then I'd love to be one. Could you explain yourself? Stop speaking in riddles! I really don't understand."

Shi Yu didn't seem to be acting. Han He thought for a moment, then, seeing that most of the students nearby had left and no one was paying attention to them, motioned for the two to walk as they talked.

They descended the stairs step by step. The pale, bright lights in the stairwell stretched the three boys' shadows.

"An 'Heir' is someone who has received the inheritance of a particular art. Heirs can learn the power belonging to their inheritance... power used to fight Evil Sin."

Han He rounded a corner and led the other two toward the dormitory building along a path that was neither crowded nor deserted. He continued:

"Because of my family, I received the Hunter inheritance. I'm currently at the ninth art, Wolf Fang."

Then he looked at Shi Yu.

"You can sense danger and fear, and pick up on certain things before I do. I once heard my grandfather mention an inheritance with similar abilities."

Han He's eyes gleamed like a wolf's in the shadows as he said:

"The Witch Sacrifice inheritance. Its tenth art, Daze."

Shi Yu shook his head and flatly denied it.

"From what you're saying, an inheritance, as the name suggests, must be a power you have to learn. I can tell you clearly that I've never had anything to do with anything like that.

"But if you insist on saying I have some special ability... maybe my luck's pretty good."

Shi Yu paused.

"Sometimes."

Han He nodded in understanding. Hu Zihao interjected from beside them:

"Then... if even an Heir like you can't deal with it, what am I supposed to do? Have you fought anything like this before?"

Han He waved away a moth fluttering in front of him and said:

"I fought Evil Sin with my grandfather before, but it didn't feel as dangerous as this one. My family have been hunters for generations, so my grandfather started teaching me hunting skills when I was little.

"There was no such thing as 'Heirs' back then. My grandfather wasn't one either. It wasn't until five years ago that I felt the power of the inheritance awaken inside me.

"My grandfather came into contact with some people from the government, but not much, so I don't know why things have developed this way. I'm not sure what changes have happened to the world today, either."

At this, Han He looked at Hu Zihao beside him.

"As for you, I can only do my best. Our greatest hope now is for someone to contact the outside world, or to hold out until next Friday.

"But honestly, I don't think we'll last that long. Even if we do, more students might mysteriously disappear in the meantime. If our homeroom teacher reported it today and Yang Desheng found out, he's very likely met with disaster too."

Listening to Han He, Shi Yu felt a sense of helplessness rise within him.

He had been going to school as usual, smug about his little bit of special "good luck," only to suddenly find himself surrounded by terrifying premonitions. At first, he had thought Liu Zunfu was an isolated case, but Hu Zihao's appearance had begun to shake his sense of security, until Yang Desheng appeared.

Shi Yu felt he could no longer stay out of this.

If Evil Sin really had special abilities, as Han He said, and was already very powerful, that meant it had killed more than one person. They simply hadn't noticed.

Things had reached this point. Whatever happened, Shi Yu had to start considering the possibilities.

He had a guess.

"Could it be... that this Evil Sin has already killed lots of people, but it can alter people's memories, so we haven't noticed? And Yang Desheng gained a similar power, which is why your roommates all said they didn't believe you after talking to him."

Shi Yu voiced his thoughts.

Hu Zihao disagreed.

"Then why do we all remember Liu Zunfu this time? And we could even tell our homeroom teacher, only for things to end up like this... Now we don't even know where he is."

Han He paused, then said:

"What you two said reminded me of something. My grandfather said Evil Sin can keep evolving. Could they be like animals-snakes shedding their skin, crabs molting-and become more vulnerable while evolving?

"And the reason Shi Yu sensed fear from Liu Zunfu was that the Evil Sin was about to evolve, so it couldn't conceal its power the way it normally did."

Shi Yu followed that train of thought:

"In that case, Yang Desheng also suddenly showed up today without concealing his presence...

"One: he and that Evil Sin might have observed everyone and decided no one could threaten them, so they're acting without restraint.

"Two: it might have noticed someone like Han He at school. Since it can't control its power during this period, it knows someone can detect it, so it's bluffing to keep the Heir from acting rashly. Once this period is over, it can hide again."

Shi Yu's mind worked quickly as he analyzed the possibilities based on the information they had.

They soon reached the dormitory building. However reluctant he was, Hu Zihao could only return. Otherwise, the school would soon be empty, which would put him in even more danger.

As they entered, Shi Yu and Hu Zihao both greeted the elderly dorm caretaker. Even Han He nodded to him.

The caretaker's surname was Huang. He was a good-tempered old man who said he had nothing to do after retiring, so he had come to spend his time at the school and earn a little money on the side. He didn't make things difficult for the students and often chatted and joked with those passing by, so they all liked him.

Hu Zihao suddenly remembered their homeroom teacher saying that morning that he would check the surveillance room. Didn't the dorm have cameras too? Might the old man have seen him?

Cursing his stupid brain for forgetting everything whenever he got scared, Hu Zihao asked:

"Huang Daye, I forgot to ask. Our homeroom teacher said he was coming to check the footage today. Did you see him?"

"What? Someone came to check the cameras today? I didn't know. What's wrong? Were you caught holding hands with a girl?"

Huang Daye's answer was straightforward: he hadn't seen their homeroom teacher, Liu Zhipeng.

There was little else Hu Zihao could say. He said goodbye to the old man, then turned and left with Shi Yu and Han He.

After the three left, Huang Daye gave an almost imperceptible sigh. With a very slight movement, he discreetly glanced around, then strolled away humming a tune as though nothing had happened.

Hu Zihao decided to stay with Shi Yu and Han He until bedtime. They were in different rooms. Shi Yu's was diagonally opposite Hu Zihao's, making them the closest, while Han He's was on the same side as Hu Zihao's, near the middle.

Shi Yu's roommates were all the sociable type who never returned before lights-out, so the three chose to stay in his room for now.

Before they entered the dormitory building, Han He had specifically warned them that Evil Sin didn't appear out of thin air. Places where it appeared often had something like a door. Within that area, Evil Sin could obtain a great deal of information, so they shouldn't speak carelessly after entering, lest they cause trouble.

Now the three sat in the room staring at one another, with absolutely nothing to talk about.

Han He was taciturn, Shi Yu wasn't outgoing by nature either, and Hu Zihao had spent very little time with either of them. They picked at their fingers and flipped through novels, and time soon slipped away in awkward silence.

"No! Absolutely not! The school's cracking down lately! Don't make things difficult for an old man!"

Huang Daye's voice suddenly rang out, sounding rather agitated.

"Huang Daye, please. I promise I won't use it again. Please give it back."

A pleading voice followed. Closest to the door, Shi Yu pushed it open and saw Huang Daye holding a phone, with a boy from the neighboring class standing beside him.

"He got caught using his phone? That's strange. Huang Daye usually turns a blind eye to this stuff. Why's he so strict today?"

Hu Zihao spoke quietly beside Shi Yu.

"No. I'll use your phone to call your homeroom teacher and have her deal with you properly!"

Abandoning his usual kindly manner, Huang Daye began dialing on the boy's phone.

By now, almost every door in the corridor was open, and students were poking their heads out to watch. The boys whispered about Huang Daye's unusual behavior and the boy's bad luck, their voices rising and falling in a confused babble.

Huang Daye soon placed the call, and it was quickly answered.

"Hello? Teacher Li? I know it's late, but this is a very serious matter. The principal held a meeting just the day before yesterday, telling us Yishi No. 12 Middle School is cracking down on discipline. Cracking down on discipline! Yet a student in your class still has no respect for the rules! Still breaking them in secret! At this rate, the school's reputation will be ruined! If the higher-ups hold us responsible, I'm too old to suffer that disgrace!"

Huang Daye spoke rapidly, firing off his words like a machine gun without giving the other person any room to breathe.

Then he suddenly stopped for two seconds. His expression changed before he spoke again.

"Oh dear, sorry, sorry. My apologies, sir. Oh, I'm getting old, and this is a student's phone. I didn't remember the number. Sorry to trouble you so late, haha, I'm terribly sorry. Oh, if you were nearby, I'd go over and apologize right this minute. Oh dear, what a mess."

The boys' chatter grew louder. Anyone with half a brain could tell Huang Daye had called the wrong number. Laughter rippled down the corridor like a stream lapping against its banks.

"What are you laughing at?!"

Huang Daye turned and glared, and the noise immediately subsided. Then he dialed again. This time, the neighboring class's homeroom teacher answered.

He wasn't as agitated as before. Perhaps the embarrassment had calmed him down a little. This time, Huang Daye spoke steadily, without making too many accusations against the boy.

"All right, all right. Thanks for your trouble tomorrow, Teacher Li. Yes, it's fine, it's fine. I'll keep this boy's phone for now. Young kids, you know. It's normal for them to get up to mischief... Yes, don't worry, don't worry. I'll make sure it's safe. Yes, yes, get some rest. Mm, mm-hmm, all right."

The call ended.

Huang Daye tapped the phone screen, pocketed it, dispersed the spectators, and went downstairs one step at a time.

"Huang Daye really means business today."

Hu Zihao drew his neck in. The school expressly forbade phones and enforced the rule strictly. At the very least, phones were absolutely prohibited in classrooms, and the dorm rooms were occasionally searched while the students were out, so very few students actually brought them.

Shi Yu was a little curious, but he suppressed his curiosity.

Yet listening to that call had stirred a few vague suspicions in him.

His ability and his thoughts were both stirring.

His head felt swollen.

"It's almost lights-out."