Chapter 1172 The Returnee's Notes 246

As the ghost began to struggle again, Xie Ning made a hand seal, and then tightened the red rope even more.

The ghost's neck appeared unharmed, without a single wound, yet the burning sensation was present, causing it great pain.

Xie Ning turned and left the bathroom. With a tug, the ghost followed him out. The accumulated pain made it extremely agitated and it kept trying to attack Xie Ning.

The candles on the ground flickered, and Xie Ning led the ghost directly into the formation. Then he moved one of the candles and closed the door.

With a loosening of his grip, the red rope that had been binding the ghost's neck slipped back into Xie Ning's hand.

It realized it was locked up, turned around and stared intently at Xie Ning, whose face was devoid of features and looked quite eerie.

Xie Ning extinguished the incense that had just been lit, then took out a small lamp and placed it on the table. The ghost felt as if something was pressing down on it, and its aura weakened.

It was very ferocious, and since it had been lured into the formation, Xie Ning slightly abandoned the idea of ​​scattering it.

Because she wanted to know why the ghost appeared, and to know the inside story behind it.

Now that the ghost was under control, Xie Ning closed the doors and windows, then took out the musical instrument that Ouyang Xu had given her and began to play.

The mournful sound of the flute lingered in the room; the sound was inaudible to humans.

As her friendship with Ouyang Lin deepened, Ouyang Lin would teach her some musical pieces, all of which were meant to soothe ghosts.

Of course, one's core skills cannot be taught.

Xie Ning can play the flute now, but he hasn't mastered the essence of it yet. He can only try playing it a few more times.

The final result was quite good; the ghost was now sitting on the ground, as still as a statue.

Unlike before, it now has faint red markings that appear to have been painted on.

Therefore, it is understandable that her body should also be covered with such red patterns.

Xie Ning felt it was somewhat familiar, as if she had seen something similar in the notebook the old lady had given her.

After thinking for a moment, Xie Ning simply picked up a book.

The ghost still retained some consciousness, but it wasn't as manic anymore. It preferred this quiet, as if it hadn't felt this peaceful in a very long time.

It would be better if this could take longer.

Just as it was lost in thought, it suddenly noticed Xie Ning's gaze. The two of them were sitting about two meters apart, one on the ground and the other on a chair. Xie Ning said, "It must hurt a lot."

It couldn't quite understand the feeling; it just suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

Does it hurt?

Is this person sighing over it?

Perhaps it was in pain. It cried out just now, not only because Xie Ning hurt it, but also because something else was urging it on.

A hard-to-describe discomfort spread through my heart.

Xie Ning closed the book. The description inside wasn't actually that detailed; it just included a diagram of the patterns, its uses, and a warning not to use it to harm people.

The runes on the ghost are of the spirit-controlling type. The old ghost had something similar, but not as heavy as the one on this one.

The runes on its body serve two purposes: to suppress its ferocity and to control it, much like how nails are driven into every part of a puppet to make it obey commands.

It is quiet now, but Xie Ning knows this is only temporary.

They can roughly tell whether a person has committed murder after death and becomes a ghost.

The ghost before them bore a heavy burden of murder.

So its path is blocked.

Xie Ning glanced at the Soul Umbrella on the table and said to the ghost, "If you still have some consciousness, then go in. You can stay here for the time being."

After a pause, Xie Ning pointed to the runes on its body and continued, "Perhaps they can isolate this kind of control."

Even if it doesn't work here, she can try other methods.

After speaking, Xie Ning looked at the ghost, who was clearly somewhat dazed, and remained silent for a while. If she guessed correctly, this should also be a mirror spirit, but it was very different from the one she had encountered before.

This spirit seems to be more powerful; otherwise, even with prior arrangements, she wouldn't have been able to control it so quickly.

The other difference is about self-awareness. This mirror spirit has very low self-awareness and little comprehension.

Therefore, Xie Ning had no choice but to put it into the Soul Umbrella himself, hoping that it would not resist.

The cyan soul umbrella hovered above the mirror spirit, and it seemed about to enter under Xie Ning's spell, but unexpectedly, its hair suddenly spread out in all directions, and the candle flame that had been trapping it was suddenly extinguished.

Then all of its hair rushed towards Xie Ning, causing Xie Ning to take a step back, and the Soul Umbrella on it returned to her hand.

The moment the hair touched the umbrella, it seemed to ignite as if it had touched a flame.

Xie Ning looked at the Mirror Spirit opposite him through the Soul Umbrella.

It seemed to be struggling, one half of its consciousness contorted as it lunged at Xie Ning, while the other half cried out for it to stop.

Xie Ning, however, was somewhat confused. She was already preparing to forcibly take it into her Soul Umbrella, but soon, the Mirror Spirit pounced on her.

The black aura surrounding it gradually disappeared, and its pitch-black fingers gripped the Soul Umbrella tightly. The intense burning sensation, however, made it much more alert.

The Mirror Spirit, which originally had no face, began to show facial features. It was none other than the Mirror Spirit that Xie Ning and the others had been investigating at the school.

The two were now extremely close, and Xie Ning was quite surprised when he saw the Mirror Spirit reveal its facial features.

Immediately afterwards, the features on the Mirror Spirit's face changed to another one: the deceased female student Xiao Mei, then the senior student, and then some people Xie Ning didn't recognize.

Finally, its facial features stopped changing, revealing a pretty and resolute-looking girl.

Its eyes held confusion, followed by a sudden realization and sorrow. Its other hand trembled as it raised it in front of Xie Ning. "Kill me."

Unlike its previous voice, the Mirror Spirit's voice was now hoarse, as if sand was grinding against its throat, full of pain.

The mutation happened too fast, and Xie Ning was completely confused about the current situation.

She had previously thought that this mirror spirit had a very low level of self-awareness, but now it seemed that it was not at all; rather, it was as if its self-awareness was trapped.

Moreover, this spirit is related to the spirit she encountered at the university in Shanghai.

If she guessed correctly, this mirror spirit and the one in the university were both raised by someone. She just didn't know if the person who raised this mirror spirit was the real mastermind, or if, like Qi Leyou, it was just a medium.

I won't kill you.

If it falls apart, everything behind it may sink into the deep waters.

"But...it hurts so much...it's so painful."

As it spoke, its other hand uncontrollably attacked Xie Ning, and some strands of hair bypassed the Soul Umbrella and rushed straight towards Xie Ning, seemingly trying to wrap Xie Ning up like a cocoon.

Xie Ning drew the short sword from the handle of the Soul Umbrella and cut the hairs in half as they rushed towards him, while simultaneously dodging other attacks from the Mirror Spirits.

As the opponent lunged at him again, Xie Ning tiptoed and used the height of the bed to flip over from above, while the Soul Umbrella left above the Mirror Spirit continued to exert its power.

Even though the Mirror Spirit struggled, it was still sucked in in less than ten seconds.

Xie Ning's hands were trembling slightly. Some of the spells had consumed too much energy, and he could only barely manage to use them now.

With the Soul Umbrella back in his hand, Xie Ning was able to sense the emotions of the Mirror Spirit within it.

The Mirror Spirit's emotions were still very chaotic and agitated, so Xie Ning picked up the jade flute and continued playing.

The Mirror Spirit immediately quieted down as a result.

The trick that Ouyang Lin taught her is quite powerful.

As expected, when Xie Ning touched the Soul Umbrella again, he sensed that the other party had calmed down. He didn't know if it was the same dull calm as before, or if it had retained some rationality.

"Can you tell me who you are?"

Xie Ning asked the question while carrying the Soul Umbrella and walking towards the bathroom.

There is a large mirror there.

The Soul Umbrella trembled for a while, clearly a response from the Mirror Spirit inside, but it couldn't make a sound because it was trapped inside.

Xie Ning took out a box she always kept in her pocket. Inside was a small calligraphy brush and a small box of ink, which contained cinnabar.

Xie Ning pondered for a moment, then dipped his brush in ink and began to trace runes on the mirror.

She had just seen this in a book and didn't know if it would be effective.

As the final stroke was made, a thin golden light could be seen gliding across the vermilion runes. After Xie Ning tapped the Soul Umbrella, a black figure slowly emerged on the mirror's surface.

It was somewhat confused at first, but then it met Xie Ning's gaze.

It's not so dark now; at least Xie Ning can roughly see its facial features.

Actually, Xie Ning's thoughts were also somewhat chaotic.

At first, I just thought the candles on the opposite window were a bit strange, so I took some precautions.

She thought it was just an ordinary ghost, but it turned out to be a mirror spirit, and it was even connected to the mirror spirit case she had encountered at that university before.

The clues that had suddenly disappeared now had the potential to be reconnected, and Xie Ning certainly couldn't miss that opportunity.

"Who are you?"

The same question came again, leaving the Mirror Spirit somewhat confused. Who exactly was it?

"I...I am Shan Hongmei." The face of Xiaomei, Qi Leyou's deceased roommate, appeared.

It soon transformed into the face of the senior student Xie Ning had seen at the hospital, and after it finished speaking, it transformed into the face of the spirit of the university in Shanghai.

Then it changed its face again, finally settling on the first one, and looked at Xie Ning, saying, "I... am... Yi Mingzhu."

She was originally a bright pearl, but in the end she became like this.

Upon hearing this name, Xie Ning perked up. "What's your relationship with Yi Mingdu?"

After a pause, Xie Ning added, "How did you become a Mirror Spirit?"