On the third morning, Shu Xin came out of her room and was surprised to find that Jiang Xiuxiu was still
alive.
Even though Jiang Xiuxiu had some injuries, the fact that she was still alive on the third day was beyond
Shu Xin's expectations.
Although the game's time limit was seven days, most players typically didn't survive past the third or
fourth day.
For instance, last night, three more players were eliminated, leaving only five players remaining.
Among these five, most were experienced players, and it was rare to see a complete newcomer like Jiang
Xiuxiu.
Nevertheless, danger was never far from Jiang Xiuxiu.
Shu Xin remembered clearly that she had only given Jiang Xiuxiu basic information.
She had never warned Jiang Xiuxiu about how to avoid ghost attacks if she encountered danger.
So, how had Jiang Xiuxiu survived until now? Was it luck or skill?
And what about the boss, Xu Bai? If he had spared the same person twice, would he spare her a third time?
At this moment, when Jiang Xiuxiu saw Shu Xin, she smiled at her.
"Shu Xin," she asked, "do you know anything about demons or devils?"
"Are you talking about the demons that the crazy teachers talk about?"
Shu Xin immediately understood what Jiang Xiuxiu meant.
Seeing Jiang Xiuxiu lost in thought, Shu Xin chuckled and shook her head, dismissing the idea. "Don't mind
what they say. The moment they got entangled with ghosts, they went mad. What they say is just nonsense."
Jiang Xiuxiu nodded at her words, but the doubt in her heart never dissipated.
Is it really like this?
Last night, the words "demon" murmured by Li Xiaoxiao before she died, and her final smile, were like a
thorn in Jiang Xiuxiu's throat, impossible to ignore.
Even after returning to her room and being visited by ghosts again, she was still thinking about it.
The slight improvement was that Jiang Xiuxiu had gained some experience in dealing with ghosts after the
first night.
She slowed her breathing, pretended to sleep, and endured the ghosts' attempts to scare her without making a
sound, holding out for several hours and finally surviving the night.
The next morning, Jiang Xiuxiu eagerly got out of bed, wanting to tell Shu Xin about Li Xiaoxiao.
But seeing Shu Xin's faintly impatient expression, she didn't know how to start.
"Enough, stop thinking about it. Those failures aren't worth your attention."
Noticing Jiang Xiuxiu's low spirits, Shu Xin's face softened into a comforting smile, and she quickly
transferred the promised ten thousand yuan to Jiang Xiuxiu.
Shu Xin hadn't expected Jiang Xiuxiu to survive when she promised her the ten thousand yuan last night.
The money was meant to pacify Jiang Xiuxiu and prevent her from developing any unnecessary emotions.
But it didn't matter. From the information Shu Xin had already obtained from Jiang Xiuxiu, its value far
exceeded fifteen thousand yuan.
"From the third day onwards, for every day you survive, I'll transfer you ten thousand yuan," Shu Xin
continued, "but remember our agreement. Take my money and you must listen to me. Prioritize investigating
Cihe Academy and use any means necessary to get information from the boss or elsewhere and report it to me
immediately."
"As for irrelevant matters unrelated to the academy, don't bother me with them. Understand?"
Shu Xin's tone became stern, her gaze sharp as she looked at Jiang Xiuxiu.
Jiang Xiuxiu nodded, understanding that Shu Xin referred to her earlier question about demons.
After that, Shu Xin returned to her usual gentle demeanor. They had a meal together in the cafeteria before
going their separate ways.
After parting with Shu Xin, Jiang Xiuxiu first went to the big locust tree and found it broken, but Li
Xiaoxiao's body was gone.
She figured the real Teacher Wang had disposed of the body overnight.
Jiang Xiuxiu's curiosity was strong, especially since her intuition told her this matter wasn't over.
As a murderer, Teacher Wang might exhibit some strange behavior in the coming days.
But Shu Xin's earlier demeanor and words dissuaded Jiang Xiuxiu from investigating Teacher Wang.
Never mind. She's just here to do a job. She should focus on the tasks Shu Xin assigned and not meddle in
other matters.
With that in mind, Jiang Xiuxiu went to the archive room and the principal's office, managing to get some
information about the early days of the school.
She also gathered a bunch of newspapers from before 1985 and carefully studied them.
After systematic research and analysis, Jiang Xiuxiu discovered an intriguing piece of information.
Cihe Academy was once a site of great evil.
According to some documents and newspaper reports, during the China-Japanese War, the site was used by the
Japanese as a "slaughterhouse" for killing civilians and prisoners. After the war, when the country was
established, there were occasional ghost stories in the area.
To promote science and suppress superstitions, the government rebuilt the area and encouraged people to live
there. For four or five years, the place became quite bustling.
This continued until August 13, 1984, when a shocking family massacre occurred near Cihe Academy. The most
eerie part was that the murderer was the family's father.
He went mad, killed his wife and two children, then his elderly mother, and finally jumped off the roof to
his death.
August 13th—wasn't that Xu Bai's birthday?
Jiang Xiuxiu was momentarily stunned by the date.
After that, the place where the family lived became deserted, and rumors spread that couldn't be suppressed.
Eventually, a philanthropist offered to build a school there to accumulate good deeds and suppress evil
spirits.
He even hired a famous feng shui master, explaining the strange architecture and talismans on the pillars.
But undeniably, from the moment Cihe Academy was completed in 1985, no more ghost stories emerged from the
area.
After sorting out the origins of Cihe Academy, Jiang Xiuxiu specifically searched the newspapers for reports
related to the family massacre.
She discovered that most people at the time were torn between believing the incident was due to "drugs" or a
"cult."
However, shortly after the incident, a brave reporter interviewed the residents living near the family.
Several residents mentioned that the family used to be very harmonious, appearing no different from any
normal family.
The only unusual thing was that the family's child had dug up a strangely shaped red jade stone the night
before the incident, which had made the neighbors envious.
On the day of the incident, the father was seen holding this blood jade, acting bizarrely and ranting about
"demons."
This report, due to its sensational nature and conflict with normal thinking, was not published in
mainstream newspapers but appeared in a tabloid that specialized in strange news.
After reading the report, Jiang Xiuxiu felt a surge of excitement.
Demons again.
Jiang Xiuxiu could no longer ignore the word "demon."
After much contemplation, she made a firm decision.
She needed to find the player who had to teach a class today.
With so many players eliminated, only one male player was scheduled to teach today.
Shu Xin's class was tomorrow, and the other two players were scheduled for the day after.
Jiang Xiuxiu thought that as a novice player, she might not survive for long. Instead of remaining curious,
she decided to take action now.
If today's male player was possessed by a ghost, she could seize the opportunity to ask him what he saw and
heard before he completely lost consciousness.
Although Shu Xin didn't want her to inquire about "demons," dismissing it as the ravings of madmen, Jiang
Xiuxiu believed she could find useful information.
With this in mind, Jiang Xiuxiu set off without hesitation.
By this time, it was already afternoon, and the male player's class was also in the afternoon.
She knew that teachers typically put their textbooks and teaching tools back in the office after class, so
she went to the classroom office to wait for him.
To her surprise, she didn't encounter the male player, but someone else instead.
It was Teacher Wang, who had disappeared yesterday.