Upon hearing this, the dean, who had just moments before shown no fear of death, suddenly revealed a struggling expression and shouted:

"Kill me! Kill me!"

Seeing that we didn't react to his words, he looked at Li Huai again:

“Li Huai, I personally turned all your friends into dolls. When they died, they screamed so pitifully, and some of them kept calling your name.”

He hoped that Li Huai, in his rage, would stomp his head and crush it, but to his utter despair, Li Huai actually withdrew his foot from his head.

Li Huai revealed a cruel smile and slowly said:

"Dean, do I look like an idiot who would go berserk if provoked?"

The more you talk, the more determined I will be to send you to Building Fourteen as a scapegoat.

Standing to the side, Luo Tianhe stroked his chin and couldn't help but ask:

"Are the conditions for becoming a scapegoat so simple? Then why did you insist on making Li Huai the scapegoat in the first place?"

"I think your IQ is about on par with Li Huai's." I said, mocking both of them, and then explained to him:

“Originally, it wouldn’t work. That locust tree has too much yin energy. We should either offer up a family of three, or someone like Li Huai, whose yin energy is extremely strong and whose birth date and name are a perfect match.”

"But didn't we absorb a lot of its resentment last time? Its binding power isn't nearly as terrifying as it used to be!"

"So, perhaps only one or two souls are needed to replace all those people, and look at the Dean's appearance, he could easily replace that ordinary family of three."

After hearing my explanation, Luo Tianhe suddenly understood and stopped pursuing the matter of me calling him an idiot.

He lowered his head and smiled mockingly:

"You bastard, you're always scheming to harm this person and that person, never thought you'd end up like this yourself, huh?"

The dean ignored Luo Tianhe and continued to look at Li Huai, speaking in a stern voice:

“Li Huai, what I just said was just to provoke you. Actually, I consider you my son. Otherwise, why would I raise you alone until you are eighteen when there are so many people in the courtyard?”

"You can't treat me like this! This is outrageous!"

I glanced at the dean, somewhat speechless, and said to Li Huai:

"This guy's brain must be broken. Well, with so many brain cells leaking out, he probably can't think straight anymore."

Li Huai's lips twitched, his tone filled with resentment:

"Look at your ugly appearance! You'd be better off having some dignity, at least so I can accept you as a true villain in my heart, instead of you groveling here. It makes me realize how ridiculous I was to have been fooled by someone like you before!"

"Alright, let's ignore him and get out of here."

Seeing that Li Huai was about to lose control of his emotions, Luo Tianhe advised him.

“That’s right, let him stay here. Those vengeful spirits should have heard us and won’t kill him. Instead, they will slowly torture him until the intermediary arrives and fills him into Building Fourteen.”

I also offered my advice.

As soon as I finished speaking, the temperature around us suddenly dropped, and dozens of blurry children's figures suddenly appeared in the previously empty corridor.

They silently gathered around, each pair of eyes fixed on the dean on the ground with intense resentment.

The dean let out a desperate wail: "No, no!"

Li Huai glanced around, seemingly searching for a familiar figure. But he found nothing, and finally let out a long sigh.

"Let's go, let's leave here first, and I'll explain what happened to you."

They didn't encounter anything strange along the way; the orphanage seemed to be just an ordinary abandoned house.

But Li Huai kept hoping that something would appear to stop him.

I know he wanted to see his old friends again.

Li Huai did not get what he wanted until he left the orphanage.

I felt a pang of guilt, but Luo Tianhe didn't care. He grabbed Li Huai by the neck, a cruel smile spreading across his face.

"Tell me the truth, what exactly happened? Why weren't you asking me and Chen Yan to go together?!"

Li Huai gave a wry smile. He knew Luo Tianhe was doing it for his own good, and slowly began to speak to us:

“I hailed a taxi and said I wanted to go to Ping An Orphanage. The driver didn’t say anything. Then he asked me what I wanted to do, and I said I wanted to see the children inside.”

"The driver looked at me with some surprise, and then asked if I was crazy. He said that a fire had broken out at the Ping An Orphanage several years ago, killing all the children inside."

"When I heard what he said, my mind went completely blank."

Seeing the pained expression on Li Huai's face, Luo Tianhe and I exchanged a glance, both of us able to imagine the confusion and anguish he felt at that moment.

After all, a complete stranger wouldn't play such a cruel joke on him.

And if we met the Li Huai we knew before, he probably wouldn't believe it either.

Because he thought it was just a normal orphanage, how could such a bizarre thing happen?

But after meeting us, he learned so much and began to suspect that something was wrong with his orphanage.

And the headmaster and his colleagues always seemed to be forcing a smile.

After pausing for a moment, Li Huai continued:

"I simply didn't want to believe it at the time,"

"I screamed hysterically in the car, 'How is this possible! I was sending money to the orphanage every month before, how could it have been burned down several years ago?'"

He suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"When the driver saw me like this, he thought I was crazy. He dropped me off at my destination and didn't even dare to take the money. He just drove off in a flash."

What Li Huai said was a bit funny, but neither Luo Tianhe nor I could laugh. We could only reach out and pat him on the shoulder.

"When I saw the dilapidated orphanage, I felt like I was dead."

“You wouldn’t understand that feeling. There is no greater sorrow than a broken heart. I didn’t think too much at the time and just stepped into the orphanage.”

Luo Tianhe nodded without saying much. He could understand why Li Huai hadn't called the two of them before.

If it were him, his mind would probably go blank too.

At this point, Li Huai suddenly began to tremble.

"When I stepped into my ex's house, I smelled the burnt smell and saw Xiaolan."

Li Huai suddenly squatted down, ran her fingers through her hair, and burst into tears.

“She used to be a very lively girl who loved to pester me to play hide-and-seek with her. But, but she ended up like that. I don’t know how much pain she went through before she died. I just regret that I wasn’t at the orphanage at the time.”