A dark shadow darted into Bai Ru's car, the sudden shock causing her to startle. Upon realizing the black shape was Kuang Feifan, she managed to swallow the scream rising to her lips. Bai Ru felt a mixture of exasperation and amusement, unable to stop herself from playfully hitting him a few times.

Kuang Feifan, still clad in his hospital gown, grinned at Bai Ru, letting her strike him several times before finally asking, "Give me a lift, will you? I'm going the same way."

Bai Ru glared at him fiercely, "Where are you going, running off instead of staying put in the hospital?"

Kuang Feifan maintained his carefree smile, "Wherever you go, I go."

Bai Ru paused, a slight frown creasing her brow, her pretty face instantly hardening, "No way."

Kuang Feifan dropped his grin, becoming serious, "I know you have something important to do. Let me accompany you."

His tone carried an unyielding resolve, which stirred something within Bai Ru, yet outwardly she shook her head with equal firmness, "Absolutely not. You don't know where I'm going, and you're not in a fit state to come along."

Without a second thought, Kuang Feifan blurted out, "Even if I don't know where you're going, I know what you're going to do."

Bai Ru raised an eyebrow, looking at him with confusion.

Kuang Feifan gave a slight smile, "You're going to take on a side job, right?"

Bai Ru recalled their earlier conversation and couldn't help but laugh.

Kuang Feifan reached out and took hold of one of her hands resting on the steering wheel, whispering softly, "So, you should definitely let me come along and see."

Bai Ru turned her head to look at him, watching him for a long moment before asking, "Why should I?"

Kuang Feifan leaned back into his seat, not answering her question directly. Instead, he continued, "Just now, seeing your expression after you finished that call, I knew something was up. After I got back to the room, I thought it over. Since you said you won't be back until tomorrow, you must be staying out tonight. Combined with what I now know you're capable of, I guessed that perhaps there's another one of those things somewhere that needs you to go catch it. And the more you insist I can't come, the clearer it is that you think I'd be no help, maybe even a hindrance. But there's one thing I have to tell you: I'm actually terrified. I'm deeply afraid of seeing another... ghost, especially when I'm alone. I think now I absolutely must conquer this fear. Let me face the ghost directly, but preferably... with you by my side..."

Kuang Feifan's voice was somewhat low. Bai Ru turned her hand and gripped his. She had to admit, Kuang Feifan had a point. Bai Ru knew he had always buried his fear deep down, unwilling to show it. In daily life and work, Kuang Feifan seemed like the type who was both bold and meticulous, but that didn't mean such a person wouldn't be frightened upon encountering a ghost. On the contrary, since he hadn't believed in ghosts before, the sudden impact of witnessing something that shattered his established perception could easily push him to the brink of a mental collapse, potentially causing permanent psychological damage if he wasn't careful.

Moreover, given the current situation, the malevolent spirit in the small building didn't seem inclined to let him off; it almost seemed intent on killing him. This worried Bai Ru greatly, making her eager to resolve the matter of the small building as quickly as possible, yet the task at hand was equally urgent.

After a rapid mental calculation, Bai Ru suddenly asked, "Did you sneak out?"

Kuang Feifan’s expression instantly became rather awkward. Bai Ru followed up, "What about that plainclothes officer?"

Kuang Feifan chuckled sheepishly, "I rolled up the bedding into a human shape and left it on the bed. From the doorway, they probably won't notice."

Bai Ru snapped, "Then what about when the nurse goes in?"

Kuang Feifan offered a sheepish grin, "So, the rest is up to you."

Bai Ru was momentarily choked with frustration and pulled her hand away from his in a huff, only for Kuang Feifan’s hand to shamelessly follow suit.

"Let go."

"No way."

"Let go, or how am I supposed to make a call?"

This time, Kuang Feifan obediently withdrew his hand, but his smile was smug.

Bai Ru made several calls with resignation. Fortunately, she usually maintained good relationships, and the nurses, who treated her almost like a 'sister,' along with the head nurse, agreed to play along, ensuring the plainclothes officer guarding Kuang Feifan's room wouldn't realize the patient had long since slipped out.

Bai Ru started the engine, preparing to pull out of the underground parking garage. Kuang Feifan casually asked, "So... where are we headed now?" Bai Ru sighed with helplessness, "To your place."

"Huh?" Kuang Feifan blinked, about to protest when he heard Bai Ru say unhurriedly, "Change those clothes first."

On the road, Bai Ru finally revealed the destination of their trip—a private high school in Qingshui County, about three li outside the city limits. Earlier that morning, a friend who mailed her medicine had told her about an incident: eight high school students had reportedly agreed to explore the school last night, and by this morning, one child was found dead on campus, and another was missing.

Hearing this, Kuang Feifan impatiently interjected, "There's something wrong with the school? Haunted?"

Bai Ru glanced askance at him, retorting, "Are you sure?"

Kuang Feifan shrugged, "Just guessing. The fact that you were called is why I thought that."

Bai Ru laughed lightly, "You don't think I only catch ghosts now, do you? Don't forget, I'm also a psychologist." However, when she saw Kuang Feifan staring at her with a peculiar expression, she immediately realized he hadn't forgotten; he was thinking that the police, not a psychologist, should be called about the missing students. Since he was calling her, it certainly wasn't because of her medical credentials.

Bai Ru looked at Kuang Feifan and suddenly burst out laughing happily.

"What are you laughing at? You seem very pleased," Kuang Feifan asked, bewildered by her amusement.

Bai Ru shook her head. Kuang Feifan persisted in questioning her until finally, Bai Ru shot back, "Laughing because you're still as dense as you always were."

Bai Ru wasn't entirely clear on the specifics of the school situation; the details over the phone hadn't been very precise. However, Bai Ru’s friend was quite close with the school's principal, which was why she had been asked to investigate.

They arrived in Qingshui County shortly after five in the evening. Bai Ru called the school principal, who was already aware someone would be coming. Upon receiving the call, he eagerly insisted on meeting Bai Ru immediately and arranged to treat them to dinner at the county's best restaurant.

Although it was a county town, it was nestled between mountains and water, boasting beautiful scenery. Relying on its nearly pristine natural environment, it had become a tourist destination, leading to a significantly higher standard of living in the town compared to the city.

In a quiet private room at the Qingshui Restaurant, Bai Ru and Kuang Feifan met Hao Ren, the principal of the high school—a rather thin elderly man in his sixties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, presenting the dignified air of a scholar, though his expression was laced with underlying anxiety, his gaze occasionally drifting into melancholy.

Although the meal ordered was quite lavish, none of the three at the table had the appetite to truly savor it. After picking at their food briefly, Principal Hao began to recount the sequence of events.

Qingshui County had only one private middle school, which had since evolved into a private K-12 institution, housing about three thousand students and over two hundred staff members.

The school had been established twenty years prior, funded by a wealthy Hong Kong businessman whose stated purpose was to commemorate his deceased father. He named the school Fuxing Middle School and erected a bronze bust of his father at the main entrance as a memorial.

When the school first opened, everything was standard. Slowly, it grew from small to large, with total investment reaching nearly fifty million yuan. Recently, they planned to add high school classes, aiming to become a fully private educational institution.

Just as Principal Hao was about to elaborate on the school's physical facilities, Kuang Feifan couldn't hold back and interjected, "Principal Hao, could you please start by telling us about what happened yesterday?"

Bai Ru covertly pursed her lips in a small smile on the side. She also wasn't particularly keen on hearing Principal Hao's introductory summary of the school, but politeness had prevented her from saying anything.

Principal Hao managed an awkward laugh, but as soon as the subject shifted to yesterday's events, his face grew noticeably paler.

At some point, a chilling ghost story began circulating at Fuxing Middle School. It claimed that unclean entities roamed the campus. Every time the moon was full on the fifteenth night, the pupils in the eyes of the bust at the school gate would disappear, the Second Teaching Building would experience an automatic power outage, the stairs inside would inexplicably change from thirteen steps to fourteen, and the water from every faucet would turn a blood-red hue. The most terrifying part was that anyone who entered the restroom at the end of the third-floor laboratory would never emerge.

Having only recounted the legend, Principal Hao stopped speaking, his face chalk-white, reaching for his water cup and taking several large gulps. Kuang Feifan and Bai Ru exchanged a look. If they hadn't encountered ghosts before, Kuang Feifan surely would have burst out laughing, but now, his expression was very grave. Still, this sort of legend seemed common in many schools.

Kuang Feifan leaned close to Bai Ru and whispered into her ear, "This legend isn't as scary as the one about the moving corpse that circulated when I was in college."

Bai Ru shot him a look and stealthily pinched his arm.

Principal Hao composed himself and continued his narrative.

He had also heard the rumor, but a legend was just a legend. On several full moon nights—the fifteenth—he had personally gone to the school to investigate, finding no power failure and the faucet water running normally. He even checked that restroom, and nothing had happened. Therefore, he had dismissed it as students scaring each other with pranks.

But this morning, six students and their parents approached him, reporting that those six students, along with two others, had gathered yesterday evening and resolved to explore the school to test the veracity of the terrifying legend.

According to the six students, they had toured the school yesterday, and everything seemed perfectly normal; nothing scary had occurred. All eight students left together when they finished and were nearly caught by the school gate guard. However, early this morning, some received calls from the parents of Song Rui and Li Jin, stating that the boys had not returned home all night. This made the students feel something was wrong. They confessed their nighttime adventure to their parents, and along with Song Rui's and Li Jin's parents, they came to the principal's office at school.

Principal Hao’s first instinct upon hearing this was to call the police immediately. However, the police initially informed him that since it was just a missing person report, they could only officially file a case after 24 hours had passed, unless kidnapping was confirmed. They did, however, promise to send someone to investigate.

Since the police couldn't arrive right away, Principal Hao decided to investigate the situation himself first. Unexpectedly, this inquiry unearthed a terrifying problem.