At this moment, Teacher Wang's clothes were disheveled, and his pants, shoes, and fingernails were all
covered in black-gray soil, making him look rather haggard with his dusty face.
Did he spend the night finding a place to bury Li Xiaoxiao's body?
Jiang Xiuxiu speculated in her mind.
"Ah, it's you, Xiao Jiang."
After entering the office, Teacher Wang naturally noticed Jiang Xiuxiu.
His gaze didn't waver; instead, he stared directly at her with a stiff and strange smile. "What a
coincidence, I didn't expect to see anyone here."
Perhaps the act of murder had heightened his mental stress, or maybe he was influenced by the so-called
"demon" from the rumors. In just one night, Teacher Wang had become somewhat neurotic.
His dark circles were especially pronounced, his eyes were bloodshot, and his skin was pale without a hint
of color. Combined with his inexplicable excitement, he looked quite frightening.
Jiang Xiuxiu felt her scalp tingle under his stare.
She initially wanted to ask him some questions, but seeing his disturbed state, she forced a smile. "Ah,
haha, yes, what a coincidence, Teacher Wang."
Teacher Wang didn't respond and continued to look at her with that eerie gaze, making Jiang Xiuxiu so stiff
that she didn't dare move.
After two or three minutes, when Jiang Xiuxiu finally fidgeted a bit, he snapped out of it and averted his
gaze.
"My family had some issues," he said with a forced smile. "I came to write a leave note. Don't mind me."
Jiang Xiuxiu thought, "But who wouldn't mind you looking like this?"
She wanted to retort but was too scared of him.
She even considered leaving immediately, but Teacher Wang was blocking the office entrance with his desk. To
leave, she had to pass by him.
Ultimately, Jiang Xiuxiu could only nod obediently and take a few steps back.
Satisfied, Teacher Wang turned around and began writing his leave note.
While he was filling out the note, Jiang Xiuxiu, out of curiosity and boredom, quietly observed him.
She noticed that Teacher Wang wasn't wearing the standard teacher's uniform but rather clothes suited for
mobility. His right pocket was bulging with something, and his right hand was writing while his left hand
remained clenched, holding something.
What was he holding?
Squinting to get a better look, Jiang Xiuxiu saw that it seemed to be an irregularly shaped red stone,
looking from a distance like his palm was bleeding.
A deep red stone...
Could this be the blood jade mentioned in the news report?
Why was it in Teacher Wang's hand? Did he dig it up while burying Li Xiaoxiao's body?
Just like the child from that family ten years ago.
Jiang Xiuxiu realized that in the ten years following the massacre, she hadn't seen any similar incidents or
mentions of the "blood jade" in news reports.
It was as if it had never existed, completely disappearing from everyone's sight.
Now, after ten years, it had reappeared in a cruel way.
What did its reappearance signify?
As Jiang Xiuxiu pondered, a sense of foreboding settled over her.
She had a vague feeling that from the moment Li Xiaoxiao's incident was exposed, everything was like a
toppled row of dominoes, rapidly collapsing towards an inevitable outcome.
By now, Teacher Wang had finished his leave note and put it in his pocket.
His expression grew increasingly erratic, his eyes filled with a twisted and eerie excitement.
Ignoring Jiang Xiuxiu, he strode out of the office while pulling out his phone.
He dialed a number and made a call.
"Hello?" Teacher Wang's tone grew even more sinister, yet his voice was gentle. "Honey, are you home? How
about our daughter? Is she home too?"
He's going back home?
Almost instantly, Jiang Xiuxiu realized this.
She quickly tiptoed to the office door, pressed her ear against it, and listened intently.
Outside, Teacher Wang's voice gradually faded.
"What's wrong? Can't I just worry about you guys?"
"I've already taken leave, and there's nothing much going on at school."
His voice became increasingly faint, his words coming through the wooden door intermittently.
"Alright, alright, you’re home... I'll come back right now to see you."
Finally, he walked away.
Upon realizing this, Jiang Xiuxiu was ecstatic.
Without a second thought, she pushed open the door, ready to slip away.
After being discovered by Teacher Wang, she no longer wanted to stay in the office. Despite his efforts to
restrain himself, the malice in his eyes was too obvious, making Jiang Xiuxiu feel that staying any longer
would certainly lead to disaster.
He's a madman. He might kill his entire family just like the man in the August 13th massacre.
Without hesitation, the moment she confirmed Teacher Wang's voice was distant, Jiang Xiuxiu opened the door
and poked her head out.
The next second, she froze, her whole body stiffening.
Right above her, Teacher Wang was standing there, looking down at her with a sinister gaze.
He hadn't left.
He was deceiving her.
v
At this moment, Teacher Wang held a blood-stained axe in one hand and a phone in the other.
Seeing Jiang Xiuxiu fall for his trick, his expression became even more maniacal and eerie, though his voice
was so soft it was barely audible, "Once I take care of this little problem, I'll come back for you."
With that, he swung the axe down hard toward Jiang Xiuxiu's head.
In a flash, Jiang Xiuxiu dodged with a quick roll.
The next second, she slammed the door shut and locked it securely.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Realizing the door was shut, Teacher Wang began pounding on it with his axe.
Each blow was stronger than the last, the deafening sound almost keeping pace with Jiang Xiuxiu's racing
heart.
Before long, the wooden office door, under the intense pounding, started to crack and splinter, wood chips
flying everywhere.
With one final blow, a large hole was smashed in the middle of the door.
Seeing the hole, Jiang Xiuxiu trembled, taking a few steps back.
If it were someone like Li Xiaoxiao, she might have some idea of how to handle it.
But how could she deal with a madman like Teacher Wang?
Moreover, Teacher Wang's strength was immense; he could probably knock her out with one slap.
On the other side, after creating the hole, Teacher Wang's face twisted slightly, then broke into an
extremely crazed smile.
He dropped the axe, pressed his face against the hole, and his eyes, as cold and sticky as tentacles,
scanned the room rapidly.
Finally, his bloodshot eyes locked onto Jiang Xiuxiu inside.
"Found you."
To hell with this.
Startled by him, Jiang Xiuxiu couldn't help but curse.
By then, Teacher Wang had pulled his face back and resumed destroying the door with the axe.
Watching the hole in the door grow larger and looking at Teacher Wang's frenzied state, Jiang Xiuxiu took a
deep breath, trying to calm herself.
Forget it, making it this far was already her limit.
Although she wouldn't get the fifty million yuan prize, she had earned fifteen thousand, which was pretty
good—a worthwhile trip.
Think about it, this was a high-difficulty game with a fifty million yuan prize, and no one had cleared it
in three months.
Just as Jiang Xiuxiu resigned herself to her fate, a soft voice behind her asked:
"Even in such a predicament, you still refuse to ask for my help?"
It was the distinctive voice of a young man, clean and magnetic, like a gentle stream in a deep forest or a
ray of moonlight falling on a windowsill.
It was the boss.
Just like the previous two times, he appeared around Jiang Xiuxiu without warning, and with a few light
steps, he was beside her.
In the midst of the commotion, his voice was gentle and tender, with an inexplicable charm.
"Call my name, and I will sense your presence. Shouldn't you have known this by now?"
But as he spoke, his tone suddenly paused.
The next second, his pitch rose slightly, "Wait, what are you doing?"
Faced with the boss's incredulous question, Jiang Xiuxiu lay on the floor in a calm death pose, legs
together, arms crossed over her chest, "calmly facing death."