Upon hearing about the second task, Zhao Rong looked at the secretary and asked, "I heard that new students at the Ghost Hunting Academy only need to complete one mission. Why are you assigning us two?"
The secretary sneered. "It's what you get for offending the Dean. I'll have you know, assigning you two tasks is letting you off easy. So who offended the Dean were assigned ten tasks. In the end, they were worked to death, plain and simple."
Zhao Rong shook his head. This Dean is a truly contemptible man.
The secretary continued with the second task. "For this second mission, you need to go to the graveyard of the Wang Family Village Hospital to capture a fierce ghost."
The assistant misheard "fierce ghost" as "female ghost." He grinned, drool dripping from his mouth, and said, "Why another female ghost? One is enough for . If there are two, I won't be able to handle them all…"
Hearing this, the secretary scoffed, "At night, the Wang Family Village Hospital's morgue is where demons run rampant. You'll find out when you get there. You'll have your hands full."
With that, the secretary walked away, laughing heartily.
Watching him leave, the three young won looked at Zhao Rong. "Zhao Rong," one said, "since this mission is so terrifying, should we go through with it, or should we just drop out now?"
Hearing them talk about backing out, Zhao Rong stated firmly, "Not only are we going, we are going to complete the mission with flying colors."
The assistant chid in, "Zhao Rong is right! Since we've already enrolled in the Ghost Hunting Academy, we have to see it through to the end. We can't give up halfway."
It was a dark and windy night as Zhao Rong's group set out from the gates of the Ghost Hunting Academy, equipped with flashlights, a searchlight, and torches. The students seeing them off all sighed.
A student who often saw off new arrivals watched their departing figures and said wistfully, "The public cetery in Wang Family Village... that place is a land of the dead. I can't even count how many tis I've seen new students head there. I've sent many off, but not a single one has ever co back." A female student beside him added sorrowfully, "That's right. Wang Family Village is truly a place of no return. I'm afraid that after these five go there tonight, they'll never be seen again."
Elsewhere, Dean Zhao Bo's lackeys watched Zhao Rong's group depart and snickered amongst themselves. "Those five are just marching to their deaths," one said. "Even if they get lucky and escape the Wang Family Village cetery, they'll never escape the hospital morgue."
"Exactly," another agreed. "I think the Dean's calculations are spot on. Tonight, he's sending them to their doom."
"If those five die, couldn't we use them for our own ghost-hunting practice?"
At this, the group burst into laughter.
After leaving the Ghost Hunting Academy, Zhao Rong led his assistant, Lili, Yu Lan, and Xuelian toward the public cetery of Wang Family Village. Zhao Rong took the lead, holding a torch, while the assistant, wearing a head-mounted searchlight, brought up the rear. Between them walked Lili, Yu Lan, and Xuelian, each with a flashlight. The journey was incredibly eerie. There was no moon, nor a single star in the sky, and the path was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. If not for their torches and flashlights, they would have been unable to take a single step. To make matters worse, the clear sky suddenly gave way to a strong wind, and the gale soon extinguished the torch in Zhao Rong's hand.
The assistant rubbed his eyes and cursed, "The weather was perfectly fine! Why the sudden wind? This is an inauspicious start…"
Suddenly, Lili stared ahead and scread, "Oh no, there are ghosts up ahead!"
Hearing this, Zhao Rong imdiately pulled a lighter from his pocket, relit the torch, and charged forward. As he did, a large plastic bag, swept up by the wind, wrapped itself around his head. He swiftly tore it off and looked around. "Where's the ghost? Where is it?"
At that mont, Lili burst out laughing. Seeing Zhao Rong's flustered state clutching the plastic bag, she said, "Sorry to scare everyone! It was just a plastic bag. I thought it was a white specter…"
Realizing it was a false alarm, everyone relaxed slightly. The assistant, bringing up the rear with his headlamp, chided her, "Lili, it's the middle of the night! You need to look carefully before you shout. Scaring us half to death for nothing isn't funny."
Xuelian, who was walking ahead, heard the peal of laughter and cautioned her, "Lili, it's dark and windy, and deathly quiet out here. You really shouldn't laugh like that… Your laughter cutting through the night is absolutely bone-chilling."
Hearing this, Lili grew alard. "I smiled," she said, surprised, "but I didn't laugh out loud!"
Everyone froze.
Zhao Rong walked back to her. "Are you sure you didn't laugh out loud?"
Lili nodded earnestly. "I'm sure. It was just a smirk. I didn't make a sound."
A shiver ran down Zhao Rong's spine as he scanned the darkness. "Then who let out that piercing laugh?" The assistant looked at Yu Lan. "That laugh… it wasn't you, was it?" Yu Lan shook her head fearfully. "On a night this terrifying, all I want to do is cry. How could I possibly laugh?"
Zhao Rong realized that although they hadn't yet reached the cetery, they had already entered a haunted area. He warned the others, "Everyone, listen up. From now on, we hold hands. No one falls behind. We have entered the hunting grounds of malevolent ghosts."
Hearing his words, the assistant and the three won imdiately clasped hands tightly, none daring to let go. The group then continued toward the cetery, now not far off.
They were just 500 ters from their destination when the assistant, at the back of the line, felt sothing strange. He looked at Xuelian in front of him. "Xuelian, are you underdressed? Your hand is freezing. It's colder than a corpse's hand."
Startled, Xuelian turned around. "Zhao Rong told us to hold hands," she said, "but I saw you use the restroom earlier and you didn't wash your hands. I thought they were dirty, so I never took your hand at all…"
The assistant's blood ran cold. He looked down at his own hand. "If you didn't take my hand… then whose hand have I been holding this whole ti?"
His gaze fell upon his right hand, which was gripping the slender, delicate hand of a woman in white. But when they'd set out, Lili was wearing red, Yu Lan was in black, and Xuelian was in blue. No one was wearing white.
The assistant let out a piercing scream and flung away the delicate hand he had been clutching. He jumped in place, utterly terrified. "A ghost! There's a ghost! A female ghost!"
Hearing that the assistant had truly encountered a ghost, Zhao Rong imdiately drew the Peach Wood Sword from his waist. He perford a backflip, landing in front of the assistant, and shouted, "Male ghosts or female, fierce or famished, depraved or strange! An honest man doesn't mince words, and the dead shouldn't fear the living! Since you're already here, show yourselves!"
Before Zhao Rong could finish, a female ghost in a white dress appeared at their side. When the assistant and the three won saw that it was a real ghost, they scread and huddled together behind Zhao Rong.
Facing the spirit, Zhao Rong remained perfectly calm. He stared at her intently and asked, "Are you a good ghost or a bad ghost? What is your na?"
When the assistant and the three won behind him heard Zhao Rong ask such a simple, almost childish question to a fierce ghost, they were so shocked they collapsed to the ground. But to their astonishnt, the ghost actually answered.
Her face was veiled by her long hair, her fingernails grew past her knees, and her dress concealed her ankles. "My na is Xiao Min," the ghost said faintly. "I suppose I'm a good ghost."
Hearing the na Xiao Min, Zhao Rong was taken aback. "You're the ghost Xiao Min? Aren't you supposed to be in the morgue at the Wang Family Village Hospital?"
Xiao Min chuckled softly. "It gets boring in the morgue after a while. I wanted to co out for so fresh air and maybe et a few handso n…"
In a place like Wang Family Village, every ghost had its own designated territory and wasn't supposed to wander.
When the assistant heard how friendly and gentle the ghost sounded, he scrambled back to his feet. "In my mind, ghosts are supposed to be terrifying things that scare you to death. How co the ghosts in Wang Family Village, especially a female ghost like you, aren't scary at all?"
Xiao Min continued to speak gently. "You must be new students from the Ghost Hunting Academy. You should know that in Wang Family Village, the man-eating ghosts are all extrely vicious and terrifying. The ones like us, who don't eat people and can coexist peacefully with humans, are quite gentle."
Realization dawned on Zhao Rong. He looked at Xiao Min. "I see. Zhao Bo, the Dean of the Ghost Hunting Academy, only has people capture ghosts like you—gentle, kind spirits who can live peacefully with humans. He never has anyone go after the man-eating evil ones."
At the sa ti, the assistant seed to understand sothing as well. He looked at Zhao Rong and said, "I think Dean Zhao Bo has a reason for only capturing the good ghosts in Wang Family Village and leaving the fierce ones alone. He must be part of a shocking conspiracy."
Hearing this, Lili grew curious. "Assistant, can you tell us? What is Dean Zhao Bo's shocking conspiracy?"
Yu Lan also looked at him, desperate to know. "Yes, Assistant, tell us! What is it?"
The assistant clasped his hands behind his back and paced thoughtfully. "I'll tell you. Dean Zhao Bo's shocking conspiracy is…"
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