Seeing Atu's expression, Qin Nuo pondered for a moment, then nodded, "I understand, you can leave now."
Outside the restroom, Li Qianqian stood in place, her eyes somewhat vacant. Suddenly, she blinked and looked up towards a certain corner.
Staring into that darkness, Li Qianqian's expression shifted as she walked over.
Inside a chemistry room, Li Qianqian crouched down and stared at a corner under a table, speaking out, "Come out, I see you."
In the corner, a pair of eyes glowing with a greenish light opened, filled with hostility.
Li Qianqian wasn't afraid. She reached out her hand and softly said, "Don't be scared, I won't hurt you."
The green light flickered for a moment, and after a while, a tricolor tabby cat emerged, rubbing against Li Qianqian's hand, gradually letting down its guard.
Gently stroking the tabby cat's head, Li Qianqian smiled slightly, "So cute, let me take you home."
She picked up the tabby cat and gently soothed it. Just as she stepped out of the classroom, Qin Nuo and the others arrived.
"Qianqian, you made us look everywhere for you.""Hey, the tabby cat, is it the one we were looking for?" Xiao Liu's eyes lit up.
"It's Xiaohua, hiding here all along," Atu nodded.
"Let's go meet up with the Old Man and the others, then I'm done here!" Xiao Liu said eagerly.
They went downstairs and returned to where they had split up earlier.
Li Qianqian held the tabby cat, comforting it, while Atu took out the pouch again, gently wiping it.
Xiao Liu looked at the two of them and whispered, "This main storyline isn't as scary as I thought."
"I thought at night, this Black Crow Ghost School would be full of terrifying ghosts, like hell itself. But now, it seems not so much?"
Qin Nuo, with his hands in his pockets, glanced at the moonlit sky and said, "The real show hasn't started yet."
"Alright, stop scaring me. I've found the tabby cat, so my task is done. You can court death however you like," Xiao Liu said, annoyed.
Soon, the Old Man and the others returned with flashlights. Seeing the tabby cat, Tang Rou was overjoyed and wouldn't let go of Xiaohua.
The Old Man took a drag from his cigarette and said, "Since we've found it, let's all head back. Don't wander around the campus, or you'll just cause more trouble for us."
"We still have to rehearse," Agai scratched his head.
The Old Man shook his head, this time very firmly, "Everyone go home, or I'll report to your class tomorrow."
The kids had no choice but to nod, though their eyes clearly showed they wouldn't behave.
"Old Man, if there's nothing else, I'll head back first!"
Xiao Liu didn't care and headed towards the gate, but after just two steps, he stopped. A white mist had unknowingly risen in the distance, completely obscuring the path.
Soon, thick white mist surrounded them, enveloping the area in an instant.
"This..."
Seeing the white mist all around, Xiao Liu froze, then realized something and ran in a direction.
In an instant, he disappeared into the mist.
However, less than a minute later, Xiao Liu ran back from the mist, his expression stiff for a few seconds, looking utterly dejected.
"We're doomed, your crow's mouth is too cursed!" Xiao Liu walked over, speaking in a low voice.
"It's just some fog, don't panic, it's not something horrifying," Qin Nuo said calmly.
"Xiao Liu, what are you wandering around for?" The Old Man and the others seemed unable to see the mist, looking at Xiao Liu's confused behavior in puzzlement.
"I... I just have a cramp in my leg, running might help!" Xiao Liu stammered.
At this moment, footsteps suddenly echoed from the mist, very clearly.
Then, a figure appeared, faintly visible in the mist.
A hoarse voice came through, "Xiaorou, my dear granddaughter, what are you doing here so late at night instead of going home?"
The figure emerged—it was Liang Zisu's teacher, Mr. Liu.
He hunched over, beckoning to Tang Rou, "Good girl, let's go home. It's cold outside at night!"
"Grandpa, look, I found Xiaohua," Tang Rou said happily, running over.
"Good, good, let's take Xiaohua home too," Mr. Liu patted Tang Rou's forehead, showing a gratified smile.
It was a normal scene, but Xiao Liu suddenly grabbed Qin Nuo's hand.
Mr. Liu's smile turned eerie as his eyes became pitch black, and then a large amount of yellow mud water flowed from his eye sockets, his entire face melting like clay mixed with dissolving water.
Tang Rou looked at her grandfather's face, unafraid, and gently wiped the yellow mud water, saying, "Grandpa, there's so much stuff on your face."
"Good girl, Grandpa misses you so much, let's go home."
"Okay."
With just an "okay," Tang Rou's body was covered in red veins, like thorns, quickly piercing through her fair skin.
Mr. Liu's body was the same, like an empty shell, penetrated by red veins, the sound of shattering echoing continuously.
Xiaohua sensed the danger and tried to run, but was also entangled by the red veins, pierced through, and instantly swallowed.
The red veins multiplied, and in the end, the grandfather and granddaughter were engulfed. As the red veins contracted, only two paper cutouts remained.
They fell to the ground, writhing eerily, emitting a series of heart-wrenching shrieks!
The surrounding white mist continued to echo with bustling sounds.
Figures emerged from the mist—the bun shop boss, Grandpa Agai, their faces expressionless, calling out to Agai and Dafu.
Agai and Dafu saw them and ran over without any defense, followed by the same scene: dense red veins growing like roots, climbing over them.
This scene left Xiao Liu completely stunned, watching those torn bodies, no blood flowing, no gory scene, just like porcelain dolls being ruthlessly destroyed.
Even so, the scene was terrifying to the extreme!
Xiao Liu retreated behind Qin Nuo, his eyelids twitching, his scalp tingling.
Another girl emerged from the mist, her long black hair covering her face, dressed thinly, her small feet bare.
She looked at Atu and spoke softly, "Atu, it's time to go home."
"Sister..."
Atu looked at the girl, his expression becoming wooden, stepping forward.
About a minute later, the same result occurred, with the sound of bodies tearing, they too became two twisted paper cutouts.
"I... I take back what I said earlier, I shouldn't have come here to court death."
Xiao Liu spoke with a slight tremble, grabbing the Old Man beside him, "Old Man, I..."
He stopped mid-sentence, feeling a sticky sensation from the arm he was holding. Turning to look, the Old Man's body was melting bit by bit, the skin rotting, blood oozing out.
With that grab, his nails dug straight into the flesh!
"Xiao Liu..."
The Old Man, no longer human-like, spoke hoarsely, his mouth also rotting, teeth falling out, and in the blood-red gums, maggots wriggled.
Before Xiao Liu could react, a decayed hand, covered in corpse spots, grabbed his face...