Bai Rujing sat quietly in the stalled car. She had tried starting it twice; it had only coughed dryly both times, refusing to turn over. Temporarily abandoning the attempt, she slowly gazed out into the surrounding blackness.

The car seemed to be parked right in the middle of a dirt road. Looking left and right, it appeared to be a new construction zone. Although the lampposts were installed, the lights remained unlit, casting everything into deep, silent darkness. Yet, she could vaguely make out a wide, open patch of ground beside them, overgrown with grass nearly as tall as a person. An occasional gust of night wind swept through, causing the grass to writhe and dance wildly.

Bai Ru turned her head toward that empty lot. Suddenly, a rustling sound emerged from within the grass. Her eyes, having gradually adjusted to the gloom, could now perceive the agitated movement among the tall blades, suggesting something was threading its way through, heading toward the roadside ahead of the vehicle.

Bai Ru locked the doors, gripping her Demon-Subduing Rod, and stared through the window at the swaying grass. Soon, after the movement subsided for a moment, a shadowy, human silhouette crawled out from within.

Bai Ru peered intently, confirming it. That figure had indeed emerged using all fours.

It was Principal Hao.

She checked again, certain. The one now prone on the ground before the car was Principal Hao, positioned in a grotesque posture: arms stretched straight, hands bracing the ground, legs bent in a half-kneeling stance, his head bowed toward his chest, face turned sideways in her direction.

But Principal Hao was utterly transformed. His face was drained of all color, startlingly white as if slathered with thick theatrical makeup. His cheeks were deeply sunken, making his cheekbones protrude alarmingly. His lips were drawn back into a cyanotic grimace, and his eyes were cloudy and vacant, yet Bai Ru felt as though he was staring directly into her soul.

Bai Ru let out a soft sigh. She knew the spirit possessing Principal Hao had not departed. On the contrary, it was still utilizing his body, preparing to engage her further. And it looked as if the possessing entity was nearly ready to take complete control of his form.

Bai Ru quickly swept her gaze around. There had to be another specter concealed nearby. It seemed they were determined not to give up on the student, Li Jin.

She hadn't expected Li Jin to be their target. Bai Ru trusted that their ambush here wasn't primarily aimed at her; even ghosts weren't fools. They understood one thing: in a direct confrontation, they were no match for her.

Bai Ru wasn't overly concerned about the immediate situation. She believed that Principal Hao and the hidden ghost couldn't actually harm her right now, and Li Jin should be safe inside the car. The only complication, however, was Principal Hao himself.

This possessed body was proving far more troublesome than she had anticipated. While she could seal the ghost within him, getting close to the host seemed difficult at the moment.

Even though Principal Hao was sprawled before the car, Bai Ru knew that the moment she stepped out, he certainly wouldn't remain docilely at her mercy.

Outside the window, the sky was oppressively overcast, like the air before a summer deluge. She could faintly see the distant glow of the streetlights, but around her car, it was overwhelmingly dim. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Bai Ru could clearly see Principal Hao’s sinister and bizarre face.

Bai Ru's hand slowly moved toward the door handle. She didn't want to wait any longer. Li Jin had a talisman protecting him from external evil ingress, which should fend off spiritual attacks. Her plan was simple: get out, subdue Principal Hao, and then turn her attention to the spirit lurking in the shadows.

However, at that very moment, a chilling, piercing shriek suddenly echoed through the air all around the car.

In an instant, countless dark shapes flashed into existence abruptly from both sides of the road. In the faint light, they appeared to writhe and twist unnaturally in the air. As they contorted, they slowly began to drift upward from the ground. Once suspended in mid-air, they successively morphed into innumerable ferocious phantom figures, circling, roaring, and screeching around the front, back, left, and right of Bai Ru’s car, their terrifying cries assaulting her ears.

Not only that, but the previously dark exterior suddenly burst with countless balls of dark green light, bathing the interior of the car in a ghastly emerald hue. The piercing screams morphed into soul-shattering wails and lamentations. The formless shadows in the air continuously transformed into tangled heaps of severed limbs or the ghastly remains of souls—broken bodies with brains spilled and guts strewn—waving bloody hands before her eyes.

Bai Ru recognized this as an illusion cast by the hidden ghost. However, such a massive illusion required the power of an evil spirit that had lingered for at least a century. She couldn't help but feel a flicker of surprise.

Simultaneously, she distinctly heard a metallic scraping sound from directly above her. Principal Hao, who had been crouching in front of the car, was gone.

Though she couldn't see what was crawling on the roof, it was obvious that whatever was moving above her car couldn't be anything else.

Scrrraape… Scrrraape…

The sound quickly reached the very front edge of the roof, then abruptly ceased.

But after only a moment, a shock of hair, dry and brittle like dead weeds, appeared across the front windshield first. Immediately following, an inverted head slowly drooped down.

Principal Hao's entire face was pressed tightly against the glass, his features obviously flattened. His eyes stared fixedly inside, and though his pupils were clouded, Bai Ru couldn't help but feel a chill crawl up her spine.

As his head appeared in front, two aged, withered hands also pressed against the glass. The skin, a pallid, bluish-white, showed protruding knuckles, slack flesh, winding veins, and those detestable age spots. It was profoundly grotesque.

Smack… Smack… Smack…

Principal Hao began rhythmically hitting the glass—once, twice, three times…

Bai Ru understood perfectly: she absolutely could not wait for him to smash the windshield. Instead of pulling the door handle, she slowly rolled down the window beside the driver’s seat just a crack.

Suddenly, a gust of cold, foul air surged into the car. (Uploading this much for now; please look forward to the next installment.)