Principal Hao’s single sentence nearly made Wu Zhongyou cry out. He quickly lowered his head, trying desperately to conceal the panic surfacing from having his deepest anxieties exposed.

Noticing his expression, Principal Hao merely smiled. “Don’t be afraid, I’m not blaming you. I believe you’ve heard some rumors. I can tell you, some of them are true—students have indeed died accidentally on campus. To this day, the police haven't reached a final conclusion. I must admit, there’s an element of dereliction of duty on my part. I hope you can believe me; I have devised countermeasures to prevent such incidents from recurring. Moreover, I have communicated with the police multiple times to increase patrols around the school…”

He spoke at length, but Wu Zhongyou only absorbed a fraction of it. He simply stared up at the principal, instinctively trusting this man and believing in his dedication to running this middle school well.

Wu Zhongyou found it deeply ironic. He had no idea that his own grandson had met his end in the school’s sewer system. He felt even more indebted to Principal Hao, perhaps feeling that because he was pretending to be mute, the principal spoke to him so frankly about his private griefs. Through this, Wu Zhongyou learned that it was the disappearance of Principal Hao’s grandson that had caused a massive upheaval in his family. Originally, his daughter-in-law had passed away during childbirth. Then, his grandson's bizarre disappearance severely traumatized his son, who soon after took his own life.

Now, the school he was managing was suffering one tragedy after another. How could this old man not be heartbroken? Wu Zhongyou felt Principal Hao was incredibly resilient; wave after wave of setbacks had failed to crush him, and instead, he was actively seeking solutions. This spontaneously bred a sense of deep admiration in Wu Zhongyou’s heart.

Yet, after opening his mouth numerous times, he couldn't voice the matters hidden deep in his heart to Principal Hao. In the end, he could only let out a long, heavy sigh.

Principal Hao had no idea what Wu Zhongyou was contemplating. Hearing the sigh, he assumed the man was worrying for him and couldn't help but say with a smile, “Don’t worry, nothing more will happen.”

It was worth noting that after Principal Hao took office, there was a period of nearly two years of calm following the first student death, with no further malignant incidents occurring on campus.

The peaceful days passed quickly. Just as the tension Wu Zhongyou had carried regarding these matters began to ease, the fourth student “accident” occurred.

Simultaneously, rumors of hauntings quietly began to circulate throughout the school.

The appearance of these rumors on campus was simple enough: Wu Zhongyou had scrawled the contents of the rumor onto a piece of paper and casually slipped it into a few books. Soon, the entire school was abuzz with it.

Wu Zhongyou didn't know if he had done the right thing. Initially, he only intended to use the rumor to warn students to be cautious around the Second Teaching Building, especially at night. As for using the full moon as the time of occurrence, that was the only common thread he had deduced after collecting data for so long.

But after the fifth student incident happened during Principal Hao’s tenure, even the principal himself dared not view the matter conventionally anymore. Thus, just as when Wu Zhongyou had first seen his young nephew turned into a ghost, he began seeking out experienced practitioners. Wu Zhongyou, meanwhile, felt like he was sitting on pins and needles every day, poring over the data he had collected but finding no further leads, terrified of when the next student might meet disaster on campus.

Until a few nights ago, when two students were involved—one dead and one missing—Wu Zhongyou could bear it no longer. He finally resolved to tell Principal Hao everything.

The result, however, was that Principal Hao met with trouble...

Bai Ru interrupted Wu Zhongyou’s narration with surprise, interjecting, “You arranged to meet Principal Hao?”

Wu Zhongyou nodded. “Yes, it was last night.”

Bai Ru quickly asked again, “Then... did you see him?”

Wu Zhongyou shook his head. “No. When I left work yesterday, I gave him a note with my home address, asking him to come over that evening without fail. I waited up all night, but he never showed.”

Bai Ru inwardly startled and asked directly, “Then how did you know about us?”

Wu Zhongyou realized why Bai Ru was suspicious and couldn't help but speak with embarrassment, “I… I copied Old Hao’s mobile number. When he didn’t come last night, I checked his call logs and texts and saw your introduction and photos.”

Bai Ru was momentarily speechless, never imagining her true identity could be exposed so easily.

However, she still asked out of curiosity, “Why did you decide to tell us these things?”

Wu Zhongyou managed a wry smile. “Firstly, I truly had no other way to keep these secrets. Secondly, I felt you were different from those other people before. I saw you go to the archives, and I knew you had logged into Old Hao’s password, which is why I decided to show you the photos first. But it seemed you didn’t know who was in the picture, so I had no choice but to reveal myself.”

Having said that, Wu Zhongyou let out a long breath, as if expelling everything that had been accumulating in his heart for years.

Bai Ru stood up, walked to the water dispenser in the corner, poured two cups of water, handed one to Wu Zhongyou, and slowly sipped hers while processing everything he had recounted.

Wu Zhongyou gulped down his water in one go, staring intently at Bai Ru. He asked, “Master Bai… can you completely resolve the ghosts in this school?”

Bai Ru pondered, then after a long pause suddenly asked, “Do you have a list and detailed files of the deceased students?”

Wu Zhongyou hesitated, then pulled out a small notebook from inside his coat. His tone was somewhat unnatural. “I only have notes I recorded myself. You must have known when you checked the archives that the archives were flooded and the computer was infected with a virus. Those original files are all gone.”

Bai Ru nodded and asked, “I know. Right, I want to ask, do you think those were accidents, or were they intentional?”

Wu Zhongyou’s eyes lit up. “You also think these weren't accidents? Exactly. I always felt someone was interfering, with the sole purpose of preventing outsiders from learning the full truth about what happened to the students here.”

Bai Ru extended a hand. “Let me see your records.”

When Bai Ru opened Wu Zhongyou’s notebook and looked closely, she couldn’t help but be quite surprised. Wu Zhongyou’s records were far more detailed than she had imagined. He hadn't just recorded the names, ages, and birthdates of the deceased students; he had even noted the basic circumstances of their families. Tucked among the pages was a drawing filled with many lines and squares.

Bai Ru pointed curiously at the line drawing. “What is this?”

Wu Zhongyou replied, “This is the layout map of the school's sewer system that I drew. You can’t quite make it out, can you?”

Bai Ru chuckled softly. “I truly can’t.”

Wu Zhongyou had no choice but to explain, specifically marking the section of the sewer where he had seen Principal Hao’s grandson. Looking at this sketch, a thought flashed through Bai Ru’s mind. She pointed to a rectangle extending further down the line and asked, “Is this the Second Teaching Building?”

Wu Zhongyou nodded repeatedly, suddenly becoming somewhat excited. “Exactly! So, doesn't this prove that the Second Teaching Building is connected to what’s happening in the sewer?”

Bai Ru considered it. “It’s possible, but to know the actual situation, we might really need to go down there and see for ourselves.”

Wu Zhongyou let out a sigh of relief. “I knew it; you people are different from the others before.”

Bai Ru smiled faintly, not taking up his comment, instead focusing on the students' files. After a while, she nodded lightly, deep in thought.

Just then, Bai Ru’s mobile phone rang. She quickly pulled it from her pocket, answered it, and held it to her ear. Gu Yi’s voice came through the line: “I’ve seen Principal Hao.”