Wu Zhongyou and Jiang Tao exchanged a look; Gu Yi had told them to notify him immediately if anything unusual occurred before he left. Jiang Tao raised his phone, which he had been using for light, and gestured with his eyes to Wu Zhongyou, wondering if they should call.

Wu Zhongyou, older and having endured immense psychological pressure for years without breaking, surprisingly calmed down quickly upon hearing the strange noise.

He slowly approached the main door and peered out through the peephole. The hallway was pitch black, with faint light filtering in from the ventilation window. In the dim glow, Wu Zhongyou saw a gaunt, withered old man standing outside.

Wu Zhongyou gasped in shock and instinctively stumbled back two steps. Despite the drastic change in the person's appearance, he recognized the figure standing outside as Principal Hao.

Seeing Wu Zhongyou's strange behavior—wobbling as if about to fall—Jiang Tao quickly moved to support him, asking, "What is it, Uncle Wu?"

Wu Zhongyou's face was terribly pale. He waved his hand, shaking off Jiang Tao's arm, and said with a slight tremor in his voice, "Outside... it's Old Hao..."

Jiang Tao was stunned for a moment, then remembered what Gu Yi had said and quickly responded, "Then... be careful. Brother Yi mentioned he might be possessed by a ghost."

Wu Zhongyou's feelings were intensely mixed. On one hand, he had a deep friendship with Old Hao and couldn't bear to see him like this from the bottom of his heart. On the other hand, he knew from Gu Yi that Old Hao was no longer a normal person, and his appearance clearly meant harm to the three people inside.

Jiang Tao trusted Gu Yi completely. The protective formation he had set up inside should keep them safe. Of course, believing it was one thing; the dark room, the incessant knocking, and the bizarre atmosphere made even him, who had faced a ghost face-to-face before, feel waves of panic.

"I'll... make the call," Jiang Tao lowered his voice.

"Wait..." Wu Zhongyou suddenly grabbed Jiang Tao’s hand that held the phone, hesitating for a moment. "What if... Old Hao is here asking for help?"

As he spoke, a voice actually came from outside the door: "Old Wu, open up..."

Wu Zhongyou started and instinctively moved toward the door.

Jiang Tao quickly pulled him back, shouting, "No, don't! There's a talisman stuck on the door. If you open it, what if the formation breaks?"

Wu Zhongyou stopped, knowing in his mind that Jiang Tao was right, but said reluctantly, "But... that's Old Hao..."

Jiang Tao had no particular affection for Principal Hao and refused to let him open the door under any circumstances.

As the two wrestled, the voice called again from outside: "Open up... Old Wu..."

Wu Zhongyou ceased his tug-of-war with Jiang Tao and conceded, "Alright, alright, I won't open it. Let go of me."

Jiang Tao released his grip. "Let's hide inside to be safer. I'll call Brother Yi first."

With that, he dialed Gu Yi.

But at that very moment, Wu Zhongyou stepped toward the door and pushed open the security door...

When Bai Ru and Gu Yi returned to Wu Zhongyou's home, they were both startled. They first saw Wu Zhongyou lying next to the main door. Bai Ru checked him and thankfully found he had only fainted and was not in mortal danger.

Looking inside, the entire room was a mess. Tables, chairs, and stools were almost entirely out of place and tipped over.

They rushed into the bedroom and found the room equally disordered. Jiang Tao was sprawled on the floor not far from the bed, also unconscious. As for Li Jin, who had been placed on the bed, he was nowhere to be seen.

Bai Ru glanced at Gu Yi and noticed he wasn't overly anxious; in fact, his expression seemed slightly relieved. This made her somewhat puzzled, but the immediate priority was reviving the two men, so she didn't press the issue.

Since Wu Zhongyou was older, after reviving him, Gu Yi immediately moved him to the bed and let him fall asleep again. He habitually left the heavy lifting of solving problems to Jiang Tao. After rousing him quickly, Gu Yi dragged him to the sofa, patted his cheeks, and asked, "What happened?"

Jiang Tao clutched his throbbing head and groaned, "I'm not dead yet?"

Gu Yi's expression changed. "Of course not. If you were dead, at best I could only summon your soul back. Could you fart? You're fired up..." As he spoke, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Bai Ru pulled Gu Yi aside with a slight reprimand and gently asked Jiang Tao, "What happened to you guys? Everything seemed fine when you called, right? Did you open the door?"

Jiang Tao’s head finally cleared somewhat. He closed his eyes, furrowed his brow deeply, and pulled a long face. "It was that Old Man Wu. I don't know if he was bewitched, but I told him not to open it, and he just shoved the door open."

When Wu Zhongyou pushed the security door, in his haste, he forgot one thing: Principal Hao had been standing right in front of the door. The push slammed directly into him. With a dull thud, Principal Hao was knocked straight onto the ground, and the door was only opened a crack.

Just as Jiang Tao hung up the phone, he saw the scene and lunged forward, slamming the door shut and muttering his complaints at Wu Zhongyou: "I told you, Old Man Wu, you're too disobedient! Didn't we agree not to open the door..."

Wu Zhongyou turned back, about to argue, but his eyes widened suddenly as he stared in terror behind Jiang Tao. This startled Jiang Tao, who quickly asked, "What is it?"

"You... behind you... there's... someone..." Wu Zhongyou’s facial features seemed squeezed together, and his voice trembled as he spoke.

Jiang Tao’s eyes immediately widened too, but before he could speak, he felt waves of chill emanating from behind him, mixed with a faint scent of decay.

He slowly turned around and saw a vague, hazy white mist that had materialized behind him at some point. As his gaze fixed on it, the mist instantly solidified into a human shape, opening its arms and lunging towards him.

Jiang Tao cried out and instinctively jumped aside, but Wu Zhongyou was not as lucky; the white figure's hands directly clamped onto his neck.

Unexpectedly, a burst of yellow light suddenly erupted from Wu Zhongyou's chest, instantly repelling the figure's hands and sending its form shooting far backward.

Wu Zhongyou then realized that he must have been saved by the protective jade pendant Gu Yi had given him, which he wore around his neck; it seemed to have saved his life.

However, before he could catch his breath, a chair placed in the center of the living room suddenly flew up and smashed into Wu Zhongyou with a whoosh. He was horrified and instinctively raised his arms to shield himself.

The incoming chair slammed into him. Wu Zhongyou cried out in pain, staggered back a few steps, lost his footing, and fell backward. His head hit the railing of the main door, and between the pain and the fright, he immediately passed out.

Jiang Tao cried out and was about to check on Wu Zhongyou when he noticed the white figure seemed to turn its head in his direction. Immediately after, the floor lamp in the corner of the living room flew towards him.

Jiang Tao quickly ducked down. Fortunately, he was farther away, and being younger and more agile, the lamp only grazed his body before smashing into the wall behind him. Taking advantage of the moment, he scrambled on all fours, moving along the edge, and fled into the bedroom.

Rushing inside, he instinctively shut the bedroom door before climbing up from the floor. He remembered Gu Yi had also placed a formation here; at least it should offer some protection.

Indeed, aside from the continuous sound of objects being thrown against the bedroom door, the white figure seemed unable to enter. Jiang Tao let out a sigh of relief, glanced at Li Jin on the bed, and simply plopped down on the floor by the bedside.

After a while, the noise outside suddenly subsided; nothing more was being thrown against the door. Jiang Tao stood up, walked to the door, and listened. It was completely quiet outside. Had the thing left?

He suddenly began to worry about Wu Zhongyou and hesitated about whether to open the door to check, but he quickly dismissed the thought, figuring he should call Gu Yi again immediately. But then he realized his cell phone was still in the living room outside.

Jiang Tao stomped his foot in annoyance, unsure what to do, when suddenly a dull thump-thump came from outside the bedroom door, making him jump.

A voice sounded from outside the door: "Open up... It's Old Wu..."

Jiang Tao paused. The voice didn't sound quite right, and he couldn't help but ask, "Is that you, Uncle Wu?"

"It's me, open the door..." the voice replied.

Jiang Tao reluctantly asked again, "Where is that figure?"

"It left, hurry and open the door..." The voice was interspersed with the persistent knocking, making it hard to hear clearly.

Jiang Tao hesitated, his hand involuntarily gripping the doorknob of the bedroom door, and slowly pulled it open a crack.

As soon as a small gap appeared, a hand, almost frighteningly white and blue, suddenly shot through and grasped the door frame. Immediately following this, a tremendous force slammed against the door from outside, actually causing Jiang Tao to stumble back several steps, and the door was instantly pushed open.

Outside stood Principal Hao, looking barely recognizable, his dead-fish eyes staring intensely ahead.

Jiang Tao cried out in terror, backing away with his hands braced against the floor until he was cornered. He then raised the jade pendant hanging on his chest with one hand and shouted, "Don't come closer, I have this..."

Principal Hao, with an expressionless face, didn't even glance at Jiang Tao. He stiffly raised a leg and walked step by step into the bedroom, stopping only when he was parallel to the bed. He mechanically turned ninety degrees and walked to the bedside.

Jiang Tao immediately realized he was after Li Jin. He slowly stood up along the wall, looked around, snatched a folding chair, and swung it directly into Principal Hao's back.

With a loud bang, the sound was like hitting a piece of wood. Principal Hao’s body only swayed slightly without any visible reaction.

Jiang Tao gritted his teeth and swung the chair again and again. After hitting him countless times, Principal Hao's head suddenly turned toward Jiang Tao, and his lips, nearly black, slowly parted to utter two icy words: "Seeking death."

As the words left his mouth, a whirlwind immediately whipped through the room. Jiang Tao horrifyingly watched a white, misty head emerge from behind Principal Hao. Simultaneously, all small items in the room were swept up by the wind and hurled towards Jiang Tao almost all at once.

It was unclear which heavy object struck his head, but Jiang Tao’s vision went black, and he collapsed unconscious before the bed. When he next woke up, he saw Gu Yi and Bai Ru.

Bai Ru frowned and asked, "How was the formation protecting Li Jin broken?"

Jiang Tao trembled, remained silent for a moment, and then whispered, his voice wavering slightly, "I did it."

"What?"