Chapter Thirty-One: The Strange Woman in White

"Nonsense! Both of you are highly suspicious now. Come back to the police station with us!" They had finally revealed their true intentions.

Knowing that no explanation would suffice and having already prepared myself to spend the day at the station, I wasn't surprised by their demand. Just as I was about to agree to go with them, I suddenly sensed something amiss.

The yin energy in this area had suddenly intensified. After spending so much time with Huang Ying, I had become particularly sensitive to it. Normally, if you suddenly feel cold or shiver without reason, it is almost always because something heavy with yin energy has appeared nearby.

"Wait!" I tensed up immediately upon feeling this presence. She had left earlier, but now she had appeared on her own!

"What are you doing?" the police officer asked.

"Don't you feel a sudden chill?" If I had simply said there was a ghost nearby, they would have dismissed it as a lie, but pointing out what they were already experiencing was different. As soon as I said it, they all noticed the cold air around us.

"The woman in white we mentioned is here!" I said, my eyes scanning the surroundings.

As I spoke, they all instinctively huddled together. These people were all bluster—usually so imposing, but the moment a real crisis hit, their cowardice was laid bare.

"Didn't you say I was talking nonsense? Why are you all acting like this now?" I said with a sneer. I felt an immense sense of pride for daring to speak to the police and the principal in such a way.

"Chen Yuming, come with me!" I called out to him and ran toward the trash dump. As I left, the others all followed behind me. I smiled; they were truly pathetic, though I supposed it was expected—I had reacted the same way the first time I saw it.

The dump had everything. Sometimes, if you were lucky, you could even find mobile phones or cash. No wonder people said trash was just a resource in the wrong place; whoever coined that phrase must have found plenty of benefits in the garbage.

Within minutes, I had fashioned another sky lantern. I looked it over; it was basically satisfactory, though quite ugly. I took the lantern and walked up to the principal. "Lend me a light!" He obediently pulled a lighter from his pocket. It felt truly satisfying.

"Hold this for me!" I had the principal hold the lantern while I walked over to the tree to shake down the previous one. I retrieved the phone case from it, then realized that this old lantern could still be used.

I placed the phone case inside the new lantern and lit the paper beneath it. The lantern rose slowly into the air. We all held our breath, watching it drift toward the green belt. It lingered there for only a few seconds before suddenly changing direction and drifting toward us.

Chen Yuming and I stood at the front, while the armed police, the security guard, and the principal had all instinctively retreated behind us. The lantern finally hovered directly over our heads. The men behind me were jittery, ready to bolt at the slightest movement.

"You've got guts, daring to appear right next to me!" I reached into my pocket for a string of copper coins, but just then, the lantern shifted again.

I scanned the area but couldn't see the woman in white. Could ghosts turn invisible? I hadn't noticed this with Huang Ying—was it unique to this spirit?

No matter. I ran in the direction of the lantern. She had caused our roommate's death; I had to make her soul scatter into nothingness! The lantern stopped periodically, as if intentionally waiting for me.

Finally, it came to a rest beneath the dormitory, exactly where Chen Yuming and I had seen the scene of her fatal fall. It hung there, motionless. Ten meters away, I saw a disheveled, ghastly female figure standing silently where she had fallen. She didn't move an inch.

I approached her slowly with the copper coins. She still hadn't attacked, as if she were deliberately leading me here. My proximity clearly made her uncomfortable, yet she took no action. I even wondered if she had lost her mind. But when I was about four meters away, she suddenly moved—she recoiled violently.

"Don't come any closer!" she spoke.

"Huh?" I turned, but there was no one behind me.

"Don't come over!" she repeated, her voice laced with sorrow and pleading.

I was confused. By all logic, she should have been frantically trying to consume my soul, not behaving like this.

"Why did you kill our roommate?" Even though I was baffled, our roommate had indeed died by her hands, and I couldn't let that debt go unpaid.

She fell silent, offering no explanation. Silence was as good as an admission. I didn't know why she was acting this way, but it didn't concern me.

I pricked my finger, dabbed a few drops of blood onto my forehead, and marched toward her with the copper coins. From the moment I first saw her, she had kept her face covered with her hair; I had yet to see her true appearance.

I decided to stop wasting words. What was the point of talking to a murderous ghost? I took two copper coins, smeared them with my blood, and moved quickly toward her. This method required direct contact to cause damage.

As I approached, she retreated. I couldn't match her speed, so I changed tactics. I pulled a red string from my pocket, tied a few coins to one end, and whipped it toward her back. Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed the flying string. Her hand emitted white smoke and began to turn translucent; her soul was dissipating. I watched, stunned. What was she playing at—a ruse to garner pity?

"You are no match for me. I don't want to fight you." With that, she ripped the red string away, threw it aside, and retreated rapidly.

Past that point was the teaching block, where the police would be able to see her. I chased after her. This ghost was far too abnormal today: first fleeing as soon as she saw me in the dorm, then appearing while the police were arresting me, speaking in riddles, and now running away entirely.

The police were still waiting. When they saw the white-clad figure drifting toward them, they were terrified. They stood trembling, unable to move, some with mouths agape and drool running down their chins.

The ghost moved toward them, and I gave chase. When she was about ten meters away, they all collapsed to the ground clutching their heads, with only Chen Yuming left standing. I realized she was eroding their souls.

"Stop!" If their souls were eroded too much, they could die. Even if I despised them, I didn't want them dead.

Hearing my voice, the ghost paused, looked back at me, and then vanished. Her speed was far beyond my reach. As she turned, I suddenly thought of someone: Li Yun. I had overlooked her entirely. Her build and height were very similar, not to mention the "Li" character our roommate had written on the blackboard, and her overall demeanor.

But these were just guesses; I couldn't be certain. After she left, the sky lantern fell to the ground.

I walked over to the police and said, "Do you believe me now?"

Their souls hadn't been eroded much—it was no worse than a blood draw, just leaving them with a headache. They slumped on the ground, speechless. Chen Yuming, too, remained frozen, terrified by what he had witnessed.

Looking at the scene, I didn't know what to do. Besides myself, only Chen Yuming was barely capable of movement. Was I supposed to escort these police officers back to the station?

I waited for over an hour until dawn began to break. The officers eventually recovered. They didn't mention arresting me anymore; they simply set up a perimeter and drove back to the station.