A group of people rushed to the teaching building. The other competitors, looking dejected and weary, glanced up at them before lowering their heads again in exhaustion.
Cyril, still confused about what was happening, asked while running, “Why are we running? What’s Jiang saying? Why do they all look so sad?”
Wenren Lian gave him a fond glance. “We’re bringing you to win first place.”
Cyril looked surprised for a moment, then grinned foolishly. “We’re going to win?”
Ge Zhu sighed, “Cyril, you’re really lucky.” He hadn’t done anything, yet somehow muddled through to the end.
When they reached the office, Liu Zhi had already been arrested by the police. Clearly unprepared for the sudden arrest, his meticulously combed hair was now disheveled, and he looked utterly embarrassed as he was escorted into the police car.
The other teachers started protesting in confusion: “Officer, why are you arresting Teacher Liu?” “Teacher Liu’s never done anything illegal!”
Jiang Luo stood at the edge of the crowd, watching the scene unfold.
It was obvious that the organizers had known a murder had occurred here — they were even aware of how it happened, who the murderer was, and who the victim was.
They had preemptively called the police. Whether or not any students solved the puzzle in time, the authorities would storm in and arrest the culprit at the end of the game.
To piece together the entire crime without alerting the killer or even conducting a search — only a few of the judges could pull that off. Jiang Luo was sure of it.
He absently touched the still-inactive Yin-Yang hoop. Coming to his senses, he and his teammates pushed through the crowd into the office.
But to their surprise, the team from Shanhai University was already about to break down the wall.
Liu Zhi’s office was by the window. Behind him wasn’t another desk, but an empty space, and then a white wall.
The outer wall was normally about 240mm thick. But Jiang Luo saw at a glance that this wall was 360mm — thick enough to hide a body, and then some.
Bai Yefeng was sitting casually on Liu Zhi’s desk.
He leisurely flipped through a newspaper, the fluorescent lights casting a harsh shadow down his face, splitting it with uneven lines of brightness and darkness.
If you dressed Bai Yefeng in a fresh suit and shiny leather shoes, he could pass for a typical teacher.
“You’re here,” Bai Yefeng smiled, putting the newspaper down as he looked at the out-of-breath students from Baihua University. “What’s the rush?”
Jiang Luo’s face was slightly flushed from running, fine beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. He asked with a half-smile, “Classmate Bai, what are you doing?”
Bai Yefeng replied with a casual “Hmm,” and said, “Looking for the answer.”
“What a coincidence,” Jiang Luo smiled radiantly. He stepped past the students from Shanhai University and gently placed his hand on the wall. “We’re looking for the answer too.”
Originally, Jiang Luo wasn’t that obsessed with being first.
But once he realized Bai Yefeng wanted to win — then winning became something Jiang Luo absolutely had to do.
Chi You manipulating Bai Yefeng to enter this competition could only mean one thing — the Yuan Tian Bead must be so valuable, even a ghost like Chi You would go to such lengths for it.
That alone proved the Bead’s worth. Jiang Luo thought back to the night of Chi You’s seventh-day ritual — the funeral parlor owner lost a Yuan Tian Bead that night.
Could it have been Chi You who took it? Did absorbing that Bead make him so powerful on that day?
If that were true, Jiang Luo would never let Chi You get his hands on another one.
He stroked the wall lightly and said, “Classmate Bai, two nights ago I received two phone calls from the first missing girl. She asked me to dig her out, to free her. I agreed. And now you’re making it a bit hard for me to keep that promise.”
The students from Shanhai University opened their mouths to retort, but good-looking people tend to have privileges — facing Jiang Luo’s pleasant smile, they grumbled but couldn’t utter a single word of protest. Instead, they all turned to look at Bai Yefeng.
Bai Yefeng stood up and walked slowly to Jiang Luo, chuckling quietly, “Classmate Jiang, everything should follow the rule of first come, first served.”
Jiang Luo looked back at him calmly. His beautiful eyes lifted slightly, and his lips curled into a slow smile. “Bai Yefeng, so you do know what first come, first served means.”
His gaze swept across the students from Shanhai University as he continued smiling, “You clearly heard me talking to the ghost last night, and from that, you figured out where the body was hidden. Then today you just rushed straight here and now you want to talk about first come, first served?”
“Don’t even try to say you didn’t hear it — I won’t believe that lie,” Jiang Luo turned to one of the male students. “Hey, how exactly did Bai Yefeng lead you guys here? Did he follow clues and work it out? Or did he just miraculously know the answer?”
“This…” Sweat dripped from the boy’s forehead. He couldn’t say anything else.
Because what Jiang Luo said was true — Bai Yefeng hadn’t explained anything, just led them straight to the office.
Even when they were preparing to break down the wall, they didn’t know why.
Stealing someone else’s answer and claiming it as your own — sure, winning can justify extreme tactics, but to this group of still-ungraduated students, such behavior was shameful.
Was this really something Bai Yefeng would do?
Xu Yan opened his mouth to speak on Bai Yefeng’s behalf, but Wenren Lian walked up beside him and gently patted his shoulder. “Classmate, honesty is important. Did you really find any clues leading to the body being hidden inside this wall?”
Xu Yan hesitated, then closed his mouth.
Jiang Luo looked around and finally fixed his gaze on Bai Yefeng, his smile faint, “Classmate Bai, now who do you say was here first?”
Bai Yefeng stared back at him, his eyes dark as night, quietly engulfing Jiang Luo like a creeping shadow.
Suddenly, someone among the wall-breakers threw down his tools, his face flushed with stubborn pride. “I’m not doing it. The clue isn’t ours — I don’t want it, even if it means losing.”
Someone next to him tried to pull him back, but the boy shouted louder, “Why’re you pulling me? A loss is a loss. I’ve got a clear conscience!”
The others showed signs of wavering. They looked at the wall, then at the tools in their hands, torn with indecision.
At that critical moment, Jiang Luo suddenly sighed, “Fine. Let’s take a step back — we’ll call it a joint discovery.”
Everyone turned their gaze to him.
Jiang Luo gave a bitter smile and said, “I believe Classmate Bai had his reasons for doing this. He only wanted to bring you all to the next stage. Between our two schools, there are fewer than twenty people. Since we’re all here, why don’t we work together to move on?”
His words were magnanimous and generous, making the students of Shanhai University feel deeply ashamed. They had been hostile toward Jiang Luo earlier, even bad-mouthing him behind his back, and now here he was, not only letting the past go but also offering to share the answer with them.
They were both grateful and embarrassed. Their lips moved, but they couldn’t say a word.
Zhuo Zhongqiu flexed his wrists. “Then let’s do this together. Let’s dig out the corpse first.”
Seeing no objections, they were just about to act when the students of Shanhai University suddenly stepped forward to block them. These young people said in muffled voices, “We’ll do the digging. You just watch.”
With that, they all started smashing the wall.
Cracks soon appeared, and as soon as the first gap opened, maggots began pouring out of it. The students from Shanhai University cried out in shock and smashed even harder.
Jiang Luo stood calmly by, watching with ease. Though his victory had almost been stolen, he’d managed to manipulate the situation so that the others now willingly and shamefully did the work for him — and he showed not the slightest sign of guilt.
Someone quietly walked over to his side.
Bai Yefeng looked at the wall and murmured, “Your mouth really is something else.”
Jiang Luo turned and gave him a brilliant smile. His lips, always so full of mischief, were now soft and bright as he said, “Thanks for the compliment.”
The wall was soon broken open, revealing four corpses. Including Wang Xinhui, it matched exactly the number of girls who had gone missing since 2012.
The bodies were facing away from the crowd, their backs turned. Their hair and clothes were crawling with bugs, and the stench of rot instantly filled the office.
One of the corpses was positioned directly behind Liu Zhi’s desk.
The final mystery was solved. Jiang Luo took out his phone and sent a message. Then he turned to Bai Yefeng and asked gently, “Classmate Bai, I still have a few questions left unanswered. Would you come with me to look for clues?”
Bai Yefeng smiled. “Of course.”
After what had just happened, he seemed not the least bit angry — in fact, he looked even more intrigued.
But what sort of thoughts might be lurking in the mind of an evil spirit — who could possibly know?
The two of them left the office alone.
The sky was overcast today, black-blue clouds blanketing the horizon, wrapping around Evergreen High School like a closing trap.
“There’s a swimming pool in the old school building,” Jiang Luo said with a smile. “Jin Yuangao once said he used to go on dates with the ghost girl there when she was still alive. He also escaped into the underground tunnel through the pool’s drainage system. I’m really curious — why didn’t the ghost girl kill him after he went into the sewer? Classmate Bai, you’re well-read. Care to take a look with me?”
The pool was located at the back of the school, and it still had water in it. Inside the quiet building, blue ripples drifted gently across the surface.
But in the center of the pool, they saw what looked like a person.
That figure laid at the bottom of the pool, seemingly drowned.
As someone known for his kindness, Bai Yefeng furrowed his brow slightly, his eyes calm. Without hesitation, he dove into the water to save the person.
He moved swiftly and decisively, grabbing the figure and heading upward — only to discover he was holding nothing but an empty set of clothes.
Bai Yefeng froze. His face darkened instantly.
Just as he surfaced, a booted foot came down hard on his shoulder.
The boots were pristine, spotless — but the soles were covered in mud from the path they had taken. They left a distinct, dirty imprint on Bai Yefeng’s shoulder.
Expressionless, Bai Yefeng looked up, his gaze traveling past Jiang Luo’s utility pants and jacket, finally landing on his face.
Jiang Luo looked down at him from above, his long hair falling across his shoulders.
In his hand was a blade, its tip wrapped with a charm, pressed against the center of Bai Yefeng’s forehead.
The red mole on the back of the young man’s pale left hand looked like a drop of freshly fallen blood. One foot stepped down with power and precision, pinning Bai Yefeng beneath the icy pool water.
In his right hand, the blade had an added hoop that hooked securely around his wrist. The sharp bones of his wrist protruded slightly beneath it — if anyone wanted to steal this blade from him now, they’d have to cut off his entire hand.
“Well, well, our Mr. Evil Spirit,” Jiang Luo tilted his head, his striking features full of mockery. “Looks like you’ve fallen for it.”
