"The parking garage."

Bai Ru immediately realized that they had asked Jiang Tao to park their car in the underground garage of a supermarket near the school, and then instructed him to stay inside the car, keeping watch over Li Jin, with a protective array set up inside the vehicle—by Gu Yi’s description, the car was currently as formidable as a pillbox.

"Principal Hao actually went down to the parking garage in broad daylight?" Bai Ru found it hard to believe.

Gu Yi’s voice sounded calm, as if he didn't think much of it, saying casually, "Jiang Tao called me, said he saw someone loitering around his car. Since I had already managed to ply that Dean of Discipline into a stupor, I went over for a look, and that's when I saw Principal Hao. But, it seems he saw me too; he vanished in the blink of an eye."

"Wait a moment..." Bai Ru lowered her head and carefully re-examined the extremely rudimentary sewer schematic, covering the phone mouthpiece to ask Wu Zhongyou, "Do you know of a supermarket near this school?"

Wu Zhongyou nodded slightly.

Bai Ru pointed to the diagram and inquired, "Could that stretch of sewer possibly lead to the supermarket?"

Wu Zhongyou furrowed his brow, took the diagram, glanced at it, then closed his eyes, mentally combining it with the direction of the supermarket, and said hesitantly, "Maybe... I suppose..."

Bai Ru smiled dismissively and told Gu Yi, "That's it. I think our journalism stint can come to an end."

"What? We haven't finished the interview yet..." Gu Yi sounded quite disappointed.

Bai Ru retorted, slightly annoyed, "I’ve looked up some information here, and we likely have quite a few things to take care of now."

The mention of serious business prompted Gu Yi to immediately adopt a proper demeanor. "Fine, should you come over to my side?"

Bai Ru hummed, "Give me a moment to tidy up."

After hanging up, she stood up, about to bid farewell to Wu Zhongyou, but hesitated again, suddenly saying, "Come on, we’ll drive you home now."

Wu Zhongyou froze: "Why... why?"

Bai Ru grew serious: "Just consider it me being overly cautious, looking out for your safety."

Wu Zhongyou couldn't help but offer a bitter smile: "Now that I’ve spilled everything, I don't have much to worry about anymore. Frankly, what is there left to cling to..."

Bai Ru raised an eyebrow and said lightly, "Don't you want to know the truth?"

Wu Zhongyou's expression shifted slightly. After a brief pause for thought, he nodded and stood up from his chair, saying, "I'll go with you."

How to address Vice Principal Song regarding the termination of the interview was indeed a problem, but thankfully, Bai Ru had already decided not to worry about it; she would leave that to Gu Yi to resolve later.

Soon, Bai Ru brought Wu Zhongyou to the supermarket's underground parking garage and located where Gu Yi had parked. She saw him sitting in the car, dozing off idly.

Bai Ru woke Gu Yi up and gave him Wu Zhongyou's home address, instructing him to drive straight to Wu Zhongyou's place.

The group, along with Jiang Tao and Li Jin, entered Wu Zhongyou’s house. After everyone was seated, Bai Ru first recounted the general details of Wu Zhongyou’s situation.

After listening, Gu Yi was speechless. He wasn't sure whether to admire Wu Zhongyou, or pity him, perhaps even feel sorry for him. However, despite his tendency to blurt things out, even he knew such thoughts shouldn't be voiced now.

Bai Ru had no intention of waiting for Gu Yi’s reaction. After introducing Wu Zhongyou, she started putting him to work, first by having Gu Yi call Vice Principal Song to settle the issue of discontinuing the interview.

Gu Yi was direct. He informed Vice Principal Song in one call that since Reporter Bai and her accompanying cameraman had both been quite thoroughly inebriated by the Dean of Discipline and were essentially incapacitated, the afternoon interview was canceled. However, on behalf of Reporter Bai, he promised Principal Song that a satisfactory draft of the interview would be ready for her review by the late afternoon, and it would only be submitted to the press after she approved it.

Vice Principal Song, after taking the call, felt both helpless and utterly bemused. For the time being, it seemed that was the only way forward; she couldn't force an objection.

"What's next?" Gu Yi asked Bai Ru after putting the phone down.

Bai Ru smiled, pulled out Wu Zhongyou's small notebook, flipped it open, read out the birth dates of a few deceased students, and then asked Gu Yi, "Can you find any commonality among these?"

Gu Yi frowned, thinking hard for a moment, then his body shook. First came realization, followed by confusion: "If you discard the years, they were all born on an Yin year, Yin month, and Yin day of the lunar calendar. But, is there a problem with that?"

Only then did Bai Ru recount the scene Wu Zhongyou had witnessed at the school construction site, followed by the fact that the child in the photograph was Principal Hao's grandson.

Gu Yi immediately fell into deep thought, murmuring softly to himself, "Corpses... virgin blood... specifically choosing pure Yin-bodied boys right after they enroll... coordinated with a full moon on a cloudy day... the dates of the killings increasing year by year... this is a ritual."

Bai Ru agreed: "That’s what I suspect, but I'm not clear on its specific purpose. Do you know?"

Gu Yi shook his head: "I have a feeling it might be related to black magic..."

Bai Ru didn't say anything, but Wu Zhongyou, standing nearby, gasped out in surprise, "Black... witchcraft? The kind used for raising spirits?"

Gu Yi smiled: "That's just one type. Black magic actually encompasses many kinds, but they share a common prerequisite: the use of a corpse as the medium, or perhaps the raw material, for the spell. Perhaps the most famous is the practice of 'raising a ghost' popular in Thailand. But precisely because of that, when people bring up black magic, that’s the first thing that comes to mind. Believe me, that's actually the simplest form of sorcery."

Wu Zhongyou was startled: "The... simplest?"

Gu Yi leaned back against the chair, looking rather languid: "Yes. Speaking of which, the practice of raising a spirit is simple to cast, and its effects are fast. Most importantly, in the current environment, finding the necessary raw materials for that kind of magic is relatively easy, which is why it's so widespread."

Hearing this, Wu Zhongyou’s face turned rather pale. He stammered out, "Then... you mean, someone is raising a spirit in the sewer?"

He thought of Principal Hao's grandson.

Gu Yi glanced at Bai Ru, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Do you mean we should go check tonight?"

Bai Ru took a deep breath and nodded: "That's what I'm thinking."

Gu Yi shrugged, feigning indifference: "Alright, if we're going to look, we’ll look. I actually wanted another chance to witness black magic."

Bai Ru’s brow remained tightly furrowed: "There are still many unanswered questions here. For instance, why would black magic be performed beneath this school? What exactly happened to Principal Hao? And why must the ghost target this student, Li Jin?"

Gu Yi touched his chin, still maintaining his nonchalant tone: "Thinking about these things now won't help much. We might know the answers once we've gone to look."

Bai Ru suddenly asked Wu Zhongyou, "Is there no information about Li Jin in your notebook?"

Wu Zhongyou offered a wry smile: "I didn't have time. Ever since I learned another student had gone missing, my mind has been consumed with whether or not I should reveal these secrets, and then..."

Bai Ru uttered an "Oh" and didn't press further.

Gu Yi stood up: "Right then, looks like I need to prepare the items for tonight's use."

Bai Ru smiled: "You go ahead. I'll wait here for you."

Gu Yi clenched his fist and walked out of Wu Zhongyou's house.

Although he spoke of raising spirits as being simple, dealing with them in reality was far from easy. For one thing, black magic cannot be performed without corpses, especially those that died violently or met an untimely end, because these carry an abundance of resentment. Even in the case of raising a spirit, if it involves a vengeful spirit of a brutally murdered child, it can be extremely difficult to handle.

Bai Ru did not go with him. She stayed at Wu Zhongyou's house, first to ensure the safety of Wu Zhongyou and Li Jin, and secondly because her knowledge of the dark arts was less extensive than Gu Yi's; after all, such evil practices are more prevalent in Southeast Asia, and rarely seen domestically.

The main reason they suspected the school haunting was connected to black magic stemmed from what Wu Zhongyou had told them: there was a mysterious school benefactor involved in the whole affair, whose identity was a Hong Kong businessman. Black magic is not uncommon in Hong Kong, and rumors abound that many entertainers privately practice raising spirits.

By the time the two were ready to leave Wu Zhongyou's house, the sky had already darkened. Before departing, Gu Yi placed a protective formation in Wu Zhongyou's home, instructing Wu Zhongyou and Jiang Tao to call them immediately if anything unusual occurred. Originally, Gu Yi had planned to scout the sewers alone that night, but Bai Ru insisted otherwise, firmly refusing out of concern.

On the road, Gu Yi said to Bai Ru, "We should go during the day. Why does it feel like we always have to deal with ghosts at night? It’s more dangerous."

Bai Ru, driving, retorted impatiently, "Do you think I want to? Does the timing permit? If you’re not worried about Principal Hao’s safety, I am."

Gu Yi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly turned serious: "There is something I'm not sure if I should say. I suspect Principal Hao is already dead. Look..."

Bai Ru's expression immediately dimmed. It wasn't that she hadn't suspected it—in fact, she had already realized this possibility—but she had subconsciously refused to believe it.

After a long pause, she whispered, "If that is the case, I certainly don't want something using his body to harm others."

Gu Yi sighed softly and leaned back against the passenger seat, appearing to close his eyes to rest.

Unexpectedly, before the car even reached the school, the phone in Gu Yi’s hand rang.

He answered it, and after listening for just a few sentences, his expression shifted in a rare display of alarm. He turned to Bai Ru and said, "Wu Zhongyou's place is in trouble."

Bai Ru was startled: "They actually managed to track them down? That’s a bit too aggressive, isn't it?"

Gu Yi raised a hand to adjust his sunglasses, a faint, bitter smile touching his lips: "We might have underestimated them a little."

Bai Ru stopped talking and yanked the steering wheel, making the car execute a sharp 180-degree U-turn, speeding back in the direction they came from.

Meanwhile, at Wu Zhongyou's house, Jiang Tao held up a jade pendant Gu Yi had given him, which was supposedly capable of preventing demonic possession, while simultaneously lowering the phone he had just been holding.

Wu Zhongyou wasn't idle either. He was also nervously fiddling with his mobile phone, and soon, peaceful, serene Buddhist music began to play from the speakerphone.

To be honest, these measures were merely temporary fixes; their main reliance was the magical array Gu Yi had set up.

Not long ago, the two had been having tea and watching television. This was the first day in a long time that Wu Zhongyou felt he could truly relax his mind and live like a normal person. At one point, he felt utterly lighthearted.

However, that moment of ease proved tragically short-lived. Not long after Gu Yi left, anomalies erupted in the house. First, the ceiling light flickered twice, blazed brilliantly for a moment, then instantly went out, along with the television. The room was plunged into darkness.

Both men started in alarm. Just then, a loud thud-thud echoed from outside the front door. They both instinctively turned to look at the entryway.