Chapter 77

When Tan Wenbin entered the discount store, Runsheng and the others were still busy checking inventory.

He walked to the beverage shelf, intending to grab a drink, but then remembered he had no money in his pocket after changing into his athletic shorts. Sticking to his principle of not causing trouble for them, he went to the counter instead, picked up a tea mug, and gulped down several mouthfuls of water.

"Need any help?"

Yin Meng, holding a pen and a notebook, shook her head. "No, we're almost done counting. There's a lot of merchandise."

"Of course there is."

Yin Meng pointed to the shelf with daily necessities and said, "We still need to stock up on a batch of daily necessities before school starts."

Aunt Sun smiled and said, "It's like this every year."

Yin Meng explained, "We should package items like sleeping mats, mattresses, quilts, basins, cups, and towels as a complete set and then sell them with a discount tag."

Aunt Sun paused, momentarily wanting to show off her experience, but found herself speechless.

Tan Wenbin shrugged. "Not bad, it looks like you've really settled into the role."

Yin Meng lamented, "Logically, students who graduate usually leave behind a lot of used items. If we cleaned them up, we could sell them cheaply to new students for the new semester. Weren't any collected at the end of last semester?"

Aunt Sun shook her head. "We never did that before."

Yin Meng nodded. "Well, let's start doing it that way from now on. Most students come from ordinary families."

Tan Wenbin leaned against the counter and teased, "See, the coffin shop was holding you back."

"Since we're doing this, we should do it properly. I also plan to open a hot food section here. We could use hotpot soup bases and cook things like meatballs and tripe, selling them individually, like hotpot skewers."

"Good idea, but don't do the cooking yourself."

Yin Meng looked at Tan Wenbin, a little unconvinced.

Tan Wenbin reminded her seriously, "This is a school. Causing a mass food safety issue would be very serious."

Yin Meng didn't argue, simply shaking the pen in her hand. "Okay, I get it."

Runsheng put all the merchandise by his feet onto the shelves, clapped his hands, and looked at Tan Wenbin. "Were you just fishing?"

"Yes."

"Catch anything?"

"I encountered someone by the lake who called out to me from behind, but when I turned around, I couldn't see anyone."

Runsheng said with some surprise, "Really?"

Aunt Sun asked, "Was it the lake to the west? Many people like to run there, and couples also enjoy going there."

Tan Wenbin asked curiously, "Aunt Sun, you've been at this school for a long time. Do you know any campus ghost stories?"

"Ghost stories?"

"Yes, we're quite interested in that kind of thing."

"There are no ghost stories, just idle talk. If you're talking about deaths, many people have indeed died at the school. It happens every semester: people who jumped from buildings, drowned, overdosed, or even choked to death."

When a population reaches a certain size, a death is hardly uncommon.

But Tan Wenbin wasn't looking for those kinds of stories. He continued to ask:

"Isn't there anywhere particularly eerie?"

"Eerie places?" Aunt Sun chuckled, covering her mouth. "This is a school, where would there be eerie places? Though I did hear from a friend recently that things often happen at General's Mountain at night."

"General's Mountain?"

"Those are just rumors, nothing to take seriously."

"Alright, Runsheng, Yin Meng, you two keep busy. I'm heading back. Xiaoyuan is still alone in the dorm."

Tan Wenbin walked back to the dormitory building. As he passed the dorm supervisor's office window, he saw Auntie Ran writing something with a pen while eating a sponge cake.

"Auntie Ran."

"Oh, you brat, you startled me!" Tan Wenbin had helped her move some things earlier, before his night run, so they were acquainted.

Auntie Ran picked up a piece of sponge cake and offered it to him.

Tan Wenbin didn't reach for it, instead opening his mouth. "Ah..."

Auntie Ran could only smile and place the sponge cake into his mouth.

"What are you busy with?" Tan Wenbin asked while chewing.

"Writing a letter to my daughter."

"Can't you call her?"

"Phone calls are so expensive."

"Just use the public phone for private calls then."

"Hmm?" Auntie Ran paused, then understood what he meant and chuckled, scolding him playfully, "You brat, you know a lot! Seems like your family does that quite often."

"Not at all! My dad is very principled. When I was little, I always wanted him to drive me to school in a police car, but he never did it once."

"Your dad is a good man, really."

"Of course, whose dad do you think he is?"

"Heh heh." Auntie Ran put down her pen and massaged her wrist. "Phew... it's done. Actually, even if I call, there's not much to say once I pick up the phone."

"Come on, let me see. I'll help you check for typos."

"Go on, get back to your dorm room."

"Good night, Auntie."

"Good night, you brat."

After Tan Wenbin left, Auntie Ran pulled out a matchbox, struck a match, and lit the envelope. When it was half-burned, she dropped it into a large tea mug at her feet.

Next to the tea mug was a shoebox, half-torn, revealing a black high-heeled shoe inside.

"Bang!"

Upon entering the room, Tan Wenbin turned on the light and found Li Zhuiyuan already in bed.

He immediately turned the light off again.

"Binbin, you're back."

"Did I wake you, Xiaoyuan?"

"I wasn't asleep."

"Oh, you went to bed really early today."

"It's not early. Look at the time."

"Alright, I'll try to come back earlier at night then." Tan Wenbin picked up a basin and a towel, intending to go to the outdoor washing area for a shower.

He and Xiaoyuan had washed up there after dinner.

There were bathrooms on campus, but they were quite far and currently closed. Tan Wenbin felt he'd be too lazy to go even if they reopened. For a guys' dorm, it was much more refreshing to just grab a basin, fill it with water from the tap, splash it over himself, and then casually walk back to the room.

Just as he was about to open the door, he noticed a talisman pasted on it.

"Xiaoyuan, what is this...?"

"It was here."

"Huh?"

Tan Wenbin immediately raised the basin with his left hand and gripped the towel with his right, entering a state of alert.

"It ran away."

"Oh." Tan Wenbin relaxed. "Bro, what was it?"

"It was too fast, I didn't see it."

"Bro, I'll try not to go out at night anymore. I'll protect you."

"I'm going to sleep."

"Okay." Tan Wenbin opened the dorm door, his large slippers making crisp 'pat-pat' sounds as he walked down the corridor. "What's the point of night jogging now? I might as well stay and guard Xiaoyuan. Tsk, Xiaoyuan is even eerier."

The next morning, Li Zhuiyuan woke up.

He habitually turned his head and saw Tan Wenbin still sound asleep.

The contrast was quite stark.

Li Zhuiyuan got out of bed, carried his basin to the sink, and as he was washing up, someone entered behind him, humming a tune.

"Hey, little brother, are you also here for college? Hahaha."

"Yes."

"Uh..." The other person hesitated before asking again, "Are you really here for college?"

"Yes."

"Wow, seriously?"

Li Zhuiyuan finished washing up, put his things back in the basin, turned, and walked out.

The other person leaned out while brushing his teeth and only pulled back after seeing Li Zhuiyuan enter the innermost dorm room.

The boy put down his basin. Just as he sat down at his desk, Tan Wenbin woke up. He bent down to pick up the quilt he'd kicked off the bed and mumbled:

"It's still better to sleep in a coffin; no need to worry about kicking off the covers."

After getting out of bed, Tan Wenbin stretched. "Xiaoyuan, I'll go get you breakfast once I'm done washing up."

"No need. Let's go find Runsheng and the others later. We're going out these next few days. Once school starts, they'll be busy running the store."

"That's true."

Tan Wenbin took his basin and went out. A while later, he opened the door and returned, saying with a smile:

"Just now, a sophomore kept asking me at the sink if you were a student. He's a nice guy, named Lu Yi, from Harbin. He even gave me a red sausage."

As he spoke, Tan Wenbin took a bite himself. "Mmm, the taste is very authentic."

"Have you had red sausage before?"

"No, but the first time I tasted it, that's what authentic tastes like to me."

"He didn't go home?"

"No, he's staying on campus to tutor part-time. He said his hometown is too far, and it's inconvenient to tutor back there."

Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin arrived at the discount store. The inventory had been counted last night, and business was slow, so they left Aunt Sun to mind the shop. The four of them walked out of the school gate and boarded a bus together.

Tan Wenbin noticed Runsheng carrying a large bag and asked, "Runsheng, are you bringing all this water?"

Bringing one's own water or buying it outside tourist attractions is a common practice among Chinese tourists.

Water inside scenic areas is expensive, and as for food... normal people wouldn't be willing to buy food there.

"Last night, when we were counting inventory, we found a lot of food that was nearing expiration or had just expired, so I brought it all. I eat a lot, and food and drinks outside are expensive, so it's a good way to use them up."

"Runsheng, you're a co-owner now, you should loosen up a bit and act the part."

Runsheng patted the large bag. "These are all good things. I hardly ever got to eat them when I was a kid. I never dreamed I'd one day be able to eat snacks freely."

After getting off the bus, the four of them first went into a duck blood vermicelli soup shop for breakfast.

Then, they visited several attractions throughout the day, with Li Zhuiyuan explaining everything. By dusk, Li Zhuiyuan felt his voice was a bit hoarse.

There was no other way; anyone could appreciate magnificent natural scenery with their own eyes. But for cultural attractions, without detailed explanations, visitors would just skim through quickly, then come out declaring them boring.

The four of them took the last bus back to school, then went to "Old Sichuan" for dinner. After entering the school gate, they split into two pairs.

Runsheng entered the store but didn't see Aunt Sun. He was still carrying a portion of brown sugar ciba he had specially packed for her.

"She's probably downstairs," Yin Meng said, tying her hair back with a hair tie, then picking up a broom to sweep the floor.

Runsheng walked towards the basement, went to Aunt Sun's room, and knocked on the door. There was no response, and the lights were off, so she likely wasn't there.

Runsheng had no choice but to return to his own room, where he discovered the dog cage was empty.

He looked around and finally found the black dog curled up under the bed.

The black dog, usually lazy, was now trembling all over, with watery eyes.

Runsheng quietly stood up, went to his luggage, and took out the Yellow River Shovel.

Yin Meng, who was sweeping, heard the sound of benches scraping upstairs. School was still far off, and there were no performances requiring rehearsal, so logically, no one should have been up there.

She walked to the stairwell and called upstairs, "Aunt Sun, are you up there, Aunt Sun?"

There was no response, but the sound of chairs scraping became clearer.

Yin Meng walked up the stairs to the second floor. She didn't turn on the light, but by the moonlight filtering through the window, she could vaguely see a figure dancing there.

The figure was dancing intensely, occasionally knocking over chairs placed nearby.

The light switch was right at the stairwell, so Yin Meng reached out her hand.

"Click!"

The light turned on, and the figure vanished.

The large wooden-floored dance studio appeared empty.

Footsteps sounded behind her. Yin Meng immediately turned around and, seeing it was Runsheng, breathed a sigh of relief.

Runsheng came upstairs, holding the Yellow River Shovel. As he passed Yin Meng, he said, "Little Black saw something that scared him."

Hearing this, Yin Meng was also startled.

Runsheng walked to the center of the dance studio, shovel in hand, and looked around.

Yin Meng followed him and said, "Just now, I heard chairs moving upstairs. When I came up, I saw a figure dancing here, but it disappeared when I turned on the light."

Runsheng asked, "Could it have been a living person?"

Yin Meng shook her head. "A living person couldn't vanish that quickly in front of my eyes."

Even putting aside their profession as body retrievers, both of them were skilled martial artists, with much stronger observation and reaction abilities than ordinary people.

"Let's go tell Xiaoyuan."

"Okay."

As the two of them came downstairs, they saw Aunt Sun entering, carrying an insulated container.

"Hey, what a coincidence! The dorm supervisor from Building Nine just called me over for tangyuan. I figured the store couldn't be left unattended for too long, so I brought some back. Come on, let's eat together."

Aunt Sun walked to the counter, placed the insulated container, and enthusiastically called them over.

Runsheng looked at Yin Meng, signaling her to go notify Xiaoyuan while he stayed.

Yin Meng subtly shook her head. That was a male dorm; it would be inconvenient for her to go. Runsheng should go, and she would stay here.

Runsheng's gaze was firm, implying that it would be simple for her to enter the male dorm too.

Having practiced together for so long, their tacit understanding was strong, and signaling with their eyes was simple.

Yin Meng had no choice but to run out of the store.

Aunt Sun asked, puzzled, "Oh, where did she go?"

Runsheng replied, "She went to deliver something to our friend."

"Well, let's eat first. Tangyuan gets bloated and falls apart if left out too long."

"I packed some ciba for you. It's downstairs. I'll go get it."

"No need, this is fine. Eating too much at night can cause indigestion."

"Oh, okay."

Runsheng walked behind the counter and placed the shovel on a chair.

"Runsheng, why are you holding a shovel?"

"A piece of plaster peeled off the wall. I'm going to scrape it down and repaint it."

"This shovel looks quite intricate. Where did you buy it?"

"I brought it from home."

"Oh, no wonder. Here, you eat first." Aunt Sun twisted open the insulated container and handed Runsheng a spoon. "Come on, try our local tangyuan."

"What day is it today, that we're eating tangyuan?"

"It's the birthday of the dorm supervisor from Building Nine."

"Oh."

Runsheng nodded, took the spoon, but didn't rush to scoop the tangyuan. Instead, he pulled out a thick stick of incense from a metal box and lit it.

"Is that a cigar?"

"It's incense." Given they'd be running the store together in the future, Runsheng didn't bother hiding it from her.

"Incense?"

"It's a personal habit of mine when I eat. It's been like this since I was little; I can't change it."

"That's certainly a strange habit. But I've heard some children even pick and eat plaster from walls, so yours is cleaner."

Suddenly, there was a flash of white light—lightning.

Immediately after,

"Boom!"

Thunder roared, and rain began to fall outside, with wind blowing in from the doorway.

Aunt Sun said, "It's like this during this season, sudden thunderstorms. Hurry and eat, try it."

Runsheng didn't scoop the tangyuan. Instead, he watched the incense he had just lit.

The wind howled in from outside, rustling his hair and the pages on the counter, yet the incense smoke continued to waft straight upward.

Runsheng looked up.

Above,

were a pair of hovering feet.

"You worked hard today, Xiaoyuan. Want some soda?"

"You drink it, Binbin."

"Oh, right, I forgot you don't like sweet things. Then I'll make you some tea... Let me look; I remember my mom put two packs of my dad's treasured tea leaves in my luggage when I came. Hey, found them."

Tan Wenbin brewed a cup of tea and placed it on Xiaoyuan's desk.

"Xiaoyuan, try it."

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the teacup, took a sip, and nodded.

"How is it?"

"Your dad didn't take bribes."

"Uh, hahahaha!" Tan Wenbin couldn't help but burst into laughter, then wiped away tears from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand as he said, "Then I'll go buy you some good tea tomorrow."

"No need."

Counting the days, Grandma Liu should appear near the school in a few days.

There's no good or bad tea, only different tastes. The problem was, he was used to Liu Yumei's tea, and that particular taste was extremely expensive.

The kind of tea that old people in the family compound would organize a tea party to savor even a little bit of was just everyday fare for Liu Yumei.

"Rumble!"

"Oh no, it's going to rain."

Tan Wenbin walked over and closed the window, tidying up the clothes at the same time.

Just then, outside in the hallway, the sound of high heels echoed: "Click... clack... click... clack..."

Tan Wenbin heard it and immediately made an excited "shhh" gesture to Li Zhuiyuan, though the boy was sitting at his desk and hadn't moved at all.

Tan Wenbin quickly rolled across the floor, grabbed the Yellow River Shovel, and tiptoed to the dorm room door, just as the high heels approached the doorway again.

A scraping sound, as if the shoes were turning towards the dorm door.

"Binbin..."

"Shhh, shhh!" Tan Wenbin waved his hand repeatedly at Li Zhuiyuan, signaling him not to scare away "that thing."

Li Zhuiyuan opened his book and said, "It's a living person."

"Huh? Oh... right, I know."

Tan Wenbin stood up, ran his left hand through his hair, and scratched his thigh with his right, trying to relieve the awkwardness with more awkwardness.

"Tap tap..."

"Binbin, are you there?"

It was the dorm supervisor, Auntie Ran's voice.

Tan Wenbin opened the door. Auntie Ran stood at the doorway, holding a ceramic bowl.

A pair of chopsticks rested across the top of the bowl, which contained tangyuan. The outside of the bowl was inscribed with red characters: "Labor Model."

"Auntie Ran."

"Auntie made some tangyuan and brought you some. Remember to return the bowl and chopsticks to Auntie tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie."

Auntie Ran peeked into the room and smiled at Li Zhuiyuan, who was sitting at his desk. "Our top scholar should have some too."

Li Zhuiyuan turned sideways and offered a shy smile in return.

Tan Wenbin asked, "Auntie, you're all dressed up tonight, and wearing high heels too."

"It's my birthday today."

"Oh, why didn't you tell me yesterday? If I'd known, I would've prepared a cake for you."

"You brat, always with the sweet talk."

"Happy birthday, Auntie."

"Alright, alright, remember to return the bowl and chopsticks."

Auntie Ran walked away in her high heels.

Tan Wenbin closed the door.

"Xiaoyuan, I didn't talk to Auntie about you. She's the dorm supervisor; she knows that students living in this room are usually extraordinary. She must have already found out who you are, and she was even wondering why the newspaper didn't publish the top scorer's photo this year."

Li Zhuiyuan hadn't cooperated with publicity, and Wu Xinhan hadn't forced him, as it was enough that the provincial top scorer came from their high school.

"It's fine if she did. Once you're in college, your Gaokao score doesn't matter anymore."

"Xiaoyuan, want one?"

"I've already brushed my teeth, so no."

"Then I'll eat." Tan Wenbin picked up his chopsticks and had just grabbed a tangyuan when he suddenly heard the window open. Immediately, a woman's face abruptly peered in, scaring him so much that he dropped the bowl in his hand and yelled, "My goodness!"

Yin Meng climbed in through the window.

Tan Wenbin complained, "No, why didn't you use the door?"

"I'm a girl."

Tan Wenbin raised two fingers and made a walking gesture. "There's only one dorm supervisor. You could just bend down and go under her window."

"Climbing over the wall is still more convenient."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Yin Meng and asked, "Did something happen with Runsheng?"

"In the dance studio above the shop, I saw the disappearing shadow."

Tan Wenbin bent down, preparing to clean up the tangyuan spilled on the floor. "What's the big deal? Just like Xiaoyuan said, when we're all together, 'dirty things' tend to come to us."

Yin Meng continued, "Runsheng said Little Black got scared."

"Holy cow!" Tan Wenbin immediately straightened up.

The black dog had been raised on tonics since it was a puppy, and it was also the purest "five-black dog." Usually, such dogs would become fiercer and more excited when encountering malevolent spirits.

Therefore, whatever had scared it must be something extraordinary, definitely not an ordinary malevolent spirit.

After leaving Nantong, the four of them had been eager to "retrieve corpses" for the thrill of it, but that only referred to ordinary situations, not formidable entities like this one.

Li Zhuiyuan opened a drawer and picked up a whip. "Is Runsheng in trouble?"

"No, he stayed at the store and told me to come notify you."

"Why did you separate?"

"Because Aunt Sun came back halfway, Runsheng stayed at the store with her."

The next moment, Yin Meng saw a flicker of indifference in Li Zhuiyuan's eyes.

Just that one glance sent a sudden chill down Yin Meng's spine.

It wasn't disgust or anger, but an emotion more profound than either.

The boy was instinctively repulsed by such a foolish choice.

But soon, the boy closed and reopened his eyes, his gaze returning to normal, and he faintly responded, "Understood."

The three quickly ran out of the dorm building. On the way, they passed the dorm supervisor's office; the windows were closed, and the lights were off.

They braved the rain to reach the store entrance. Li Zhuiyuan stopped and raised his hand.

Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng also stopped immediately.

The rain continued to fall, and water dripped incessantly from the store's doorframe.

But the problem was, the door was inside the building, with a balcony above it. It was impossible for rainwater to hit the balcony and then create a "water curtain cave" effect.

Li Zhuiyuan specifically looked up and saw no water stream.

Unless the internal walls of this activity building had cracked, allowing rainwater to seep in and then conveniently flow out along the crack above the doorframe. But how could such a coincidence happen in this world?

Therefore, the water dripping from the door was not from the external rain.

Li Zhuiyuan stated, "It's inside."

Seeing that Xiaoyuan had no intention of rushing in, Tan Wenbin didn't act rashly either. Instead, he shouted loudly into the store:

"Runsheng! Runsheng!"

Li Zhuiyuan said, "There's miasma. They can't hear you inside."

"Oh..." Tan Wenbin instinctively pulled back his neck.

With miasma, forcing entry would mean falling into its trap, either getting lost or falling unconscious. In any case, it would waste a lot of time.

Li Zhuiyuan's eyes narrowed. He held the whip in his right hand and snapped his fingers with his left:

"Snap!"

In his "yin-traveling" state, the water dripping from the doorframe turned into a thick black liquid, which flowed downwards, then continuously spread to the sides and upwards, like a living entity.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his whip and struck at the dynamic black line on the ground!

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

With three consecutive strikes, the process was interrupted.

From Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng's perspective in reality, Xiaoyuan simply lashed the ground a few times, and the water curtain on the doorframe stopped by itself.

Li Zhuiyuan called out, "Yin Meng, go in."

Without hesitation, Yin Meng was the first to rush in, Li Zhuiyuan was second, and Tan Wenbin was third.

Although they had never practiced coordinating their actions in daily life, when faced with danger, they all knew who to prioritize and protect.

Originally, Runsheng was best suited to lead the charge, but he was currently inside.

Everything in the store seemed normal, except the lighting was dim.

By the counter, Aunt Sun lay sprawled, unconscious.

Li Zhuiyuan cast a deep glance at Aunt Sun's back.

Runsheng was not on the first floor. Upstairs, "Thud! Thud! Thud!" three heavy thuds echoed consecutively.

"Upstairs!"

Following their entry order, the three quickly ran upstairs. Just as they reached the stairwell corner, the surrounding walls and the stairs beneath their feet began to undulate, as if turning liquid, and the swaying intensified.

Yin Meng had to bend down, barely maintaining her balance.

Tan Wenbin, meanwhile, fell onto his backside, disoriented and completely losing his balance.

Li Zhuiyuan looked up the stairs; it was preventing them from entering.

This meant Runsheng was still fighting it.

"Follow me!"

Li Zhuiyuan raised the whip in his hand and lashed at an empty spot in front of him. As the whip cracked, he closed his eyes, his ears twitching slightly.

Then, from Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin's perspective, Xiaoyuan was walking in the direction of the downstairs.

They immediately lowered their gaze, looking at where Xiaoyuan's feet had landed.

Yin Meng then jumped, while Tan Wenbin crawled on all fours. Either way, they had to follow the "memory footsteps."

Finally, Tan Wenbin crawled out, and the spatial disorientation returned to normal. He stood up and saw Runsheng pinned to the wall by a steel bar.

Yin Meng had seen it earlier than Tan Wenbin. Her eyes were red, but she didn't move, remaining standing in front of Xiaoyuan.

Tan Wenbin immediately raised his shovel and moved behind Xiaoyuan, constantly looking around and above them.

"Over there!"

Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin simultaneously spotted a section of the ceiling where black liquid was dripping, accompanied by a strong, foul odor.

Looking further up, a black shadow seemed to be clinging to the ceiling. It must have been severely wounded in its struggle with Runsheng.

"Buzz!"

The black shadow began to writhe, its form disappearing from its original position, but the dripping liquid remained, only changing direction. It was actively approaching the three of them.

"Buzz!" "Buzz!" "Buzz!"

Disappearing and reappearing several times in quick succession, the trails of black blood on the ground drew closer and closer.

Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin immediately raised their tools, facing that direction.

Li Zhuiyuan, meanwhile, had his eyes closed.

The black blood appeared right in front of them.

Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin each raised their Yellow River Shovels.

Li Zhuiyuan called out, "Opposite direction!"

The two immediately turned around and slammed their shovels down in the opposite direction.

"Thud!" "Thud!"

Two muffled thuds sounded consecutively.

Tan Wenbin felt his arms go numb from the recoil, almost cramping.

Yin Meng, after one swing of her shovel, sprang into the air and repeatedly kicked the spot with both feet—a standard technique for kicking "corpses."

"Thump thump thump!"

A mass of sludge appeared where nothing had been visible before. Sludge splattered, revealing a body within it. From its waist, black blood, distinct from the sludge, was gushing out.

Yin Meng raised her shovel again, lunging forward and forcefully slashing diagonally at the opponent's wound.

The scattered sludge suddenly recoiled at that moment, hitting Yin Meng.

"Thud!"

Yin Meng lost her balance and was forced to fall towards the sludge.

But just before contact, Yin Meng braced herself with one hand on the ground, straightened her waist, and, using her arm as an axis, flung herself upward, kicking the sludge hard with both feet again.

The sludge scattered once more, revealing the face of the body within. More accurately, it had a head but no face; where the face should have been, it was hollowed out and completely sunken.

It was identifiable as female only because of its long, straight black hair.

It flew out of the sludge and lunged at Yin Meng.

Yin Meng was preparing to pick up her shovel to defend herself.

Just then, Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes, staring directly at it.

A silent, chilling shriek instantly echoed throughout the entire dance studio. Both Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin felt a tearing pain in their eardrums.

The faceless entity immediately changed direction and lunged at Li Zhuiyuan.

It sensed an immense threat; this young man was attempting to control it!

Tan Wenbin, who had stayed by Xiaoyuan's side instead of joining the fight, now actively rushed forward, protecting Li Zhuiyuan. He struck the approaching faceless entity with a powerful swing of his shovel.

"Thud!"

The shovel struck the faceless entity squarely on the head, but Tan Wenbin was sent flying backward, taking Li Zhuiyuan down with him.

Oh no, I knocked Xiaoyuan over!

Tan Wenbin, whose nose and mouth were bleeding from the impact, gritted his teeth and tried to get up to retrieve the fallen Yellow River Shovel. However, a hand from behind grabbed his arm, using it to push himself up.

Li Zhuiyuan glared at it.

In such close-quarters combat, every moment could be life or death. No amount of tools would make a difference; this was a direct confrontation, not a planned ambush or hunt.

Therefore, Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin could only manage to fight with their Yellow River Shovels from beginning to end. Li Zhuiyuan, on the other hand, immediately used the method of controlling "corpses" from Wei Zhengdao's black book.

The young man's open palm suddenly clenched tight.

"Buzz!"

The faceless entity halted its movement.

Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin both breathed a sigh of relief. Success!

However, the joy of success lasted only a few brief seconds. From the depths of the faceless entity's dark, sunken countenance, two red eyes appeared.

Li Zhuiyuan's face showed shock. *Damn it, it was already being controlled!*

Blood began to seep from the corners of the young man's eyes, yet he kept them wide open, ignoring the frantic push and pull on his consciousness in the "yin-traveling" state.

The faceless entity's body began to convulse violently, black blood mist constantly erupting, as if its body was about to fall apart.

Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin exchanged glances. One pulled out a Homecoming Net, and the other extended a Seven-Star Hook. But just then, sensing it might be completely trapped, the faceless entity's body suddenly expanded.

"Boom!"

Black mist overflowed, obscuring their vision.

The faceless entity began to rapidly retreat, shattering the second-floor glass, and vanished.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head and slowly squatted down, pressing both hands over his eyes.

*It hurts so much...*

Li Zhuiyuan was filled with horror.

Back in Shigang Town, he had encountered the Tai Sui "corpse" that could control *chang-gui* (tiger ghosts). But at that time, Runsheng alone could easily take down those two *chang