028
Xiaotian and Xiaolan are good friends and often play together.
Friendships between children are very simple. Xiao Lan is always bullied by a boy in her class named Da Pang. Xiao Tian is strong and always stands up for his good friend.
Jiang Huali didn't see Qi Man and the others. The beginning of her memory was very ordinary, so ordinary that it didn't seem like a scene from a horror movie.
Until one day, Xiaotian and Xiaolan had a fight.
After school at noon, Xiaotian ran away angrily and went to the cafeteria to eat by herself.
Xiao Lan sat alone in her seat, looking sullen.
All the other students in the classroom had gone to the cafeteria for lunch, so Jiang Huali stood behind Xiao Lan, watching her scribble haphazardly on her notebook.
At that moment, a middle-aged man suddenly appeared in the corridor outside the classroom.
Sometimes school leaders would come to the teaching building to check if any students were lingering in the classroom after school or if any students were causing trouble.
Xiao Lan was not surprised by this.
She packed up her homework and stuffed it all into her schoolbag.
Jiang Huali looked out into the corridor and saw the man's face approaching from afar; it was the vice principal.
Just as Xiao Lan was about to leave the classroom, the vice principal suddenly entered and called her to his office in a serious tone.
Xiao Lan retorted indignantly, "I was just tidying up homework in the classroom."
Jiang Huali stayed by Xiao Lan's side the whole time, and what happened next unfolded before her eyes in a blur.
The vice principal sexually assaulted Xiao Lan under the guise of a conversation in his office.
Xiao Lan, who was originally lively, became silent after that, stopped talking to people, and often hid away by herself.
Xiaotian and Xiaolan had been giving each other the cold shoulder for several days. When Xiaotian couldn't bear it any longer and wanted to make up with Xiaolan, she found that her good friend had become someone she didn't recognize.
Why?
Oda didn't know.
She confided her troubles to Teacher Xiaoyu.
At first, Teacher Xiaoyu just comforted her and said she would have a heart-to-heart talk with Xiaolan. They both thought it was just a normal, awkward situation.
Oda didn't know.
I don't know why Xiao Lan stopped playing with her, and I don't know why Teacher Xiao Yu secretly cried behind her back, choking out "I'm sorry".
Has anyone done something wrong?
One night, Xiao Tian got up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet, but ran into Teacher Qian, who was checking the boys' dormitory.
Mr. Qian was drunk, with a fierce look in his eyes, and disgusting.
Qian Tong dragged her into the toilet. Xiao Tian was the strongest among her peers, but no matter what, she was still a child.
During the struggle, her head hit the threshold of the toilet.
The flowing blood spread, and Qian Tong's alcohol-numbed brain temporarily cleared up for a while.
He fled in panic, and darkness followed behind him.
When a fatal incident occurred at the school, Xiaotian's parents arrived in their muddy shoes, only to find their child's cold body and a paltry sum of compensation.
In a dilapidated rural primary school with no surveillance cameras and a lack of attention from the school authorities, a life was carelessly buried under layers of foul-smelling mud.
Zhao Yu went to see Director Luo, but only received the words, "Don't meddle in things that aren't your business. Just focus on being a teacher."
Letters were dropped into mailboxes and even delivered to the principal's office desk, only to end up in a pile of filthy garbage and sent to a waste disposal plant.
The recollection ends abruptly here.
Jiang Huali snapped out of her reverie, and the others around her also seemed to be just coming back to their senses. Yin Mengshu slammed the book in her hand onto the table with a loud thud.
"A bunch of scoundrels!"
Silence spread through the space.
After a while, Qi Man said, "Let's go to the principal's office tonight."
After the nighttime dormitory check was over, Jiang Huali and Qi Man left the dormitory and went to the office building.
Jiang Huali had already told Zhao Yu in advance that she would be staying in Qi Man's dormitory that night and wouldn't be coming back, so she didn't need to worry about whether others would notice that she wasn't in the dormitory.
The main gate of the office building is the same as the main gate of the dormitory building; it is an iron gate.
Without a key, the group prepared to climb up to the second floor.
Suddenly another group of people arrived: Xin Mingqing and his team.
The two groups exchanged glances, but neither said anything.
Xin Mingqing was quick and agile, and was the first to flip up.
His teammates followed closely behind.
"Damn it!" Qi Feng cursed, "Don't they know who came first and who came last?!"
Qi Man patted Qi Feng on the shoulder, "Go up first."
Jiang Huali was the last one to climb up. Qi Feng leaned against the second-floor railing and mocked her, "Are you sure you can do it? Do you want me to give you a hand?"
Jiang Huali glanced at him, then nimbly flipped herself up.
Qi Feng lost face, snorted, and turned away.
Jiang Huali hadn't climbed buildings much before, so her movements weren't as nimble. She glanced at the hand on her waist and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Can I let go now?"
Mo Ci pursed his lips and reluctantly withdrew his hand.
Jiang Huali caught up with her teammates, and Mo Ci silently followed beside her.
He appeared at some unknown time, and no one else could see him except her.
As Jiang Huali was walking, she suddenly felt someone tug at her sleeve.
The force was very light.
Jiang Huali turned her head to look at Mo Ci, without saying a word, but only gesturing with her eyes—
What are you doing?
When Mo Ci saw her looking over, he gave a slight smile and said, "I just helped you out again, shouldn't you thank me?"
Jiang Huali rolled her eyes slightly. What she was saying was that she was just not good at climbing the stairs, not that she couldn't climb them. It was just that he suddenly put his arm around her waist without saying a word.
Mo Ci urged her, "You don't want to?"
After a moment, Jiang Huali finally nodded.
Mo Ci was satisfied then, but he added, "I haven't decided what kind of thank-you gift I want yet. I'll tell you next time."
The lights in the hallway were off.
It was dark all around, with only a little moonlight streaming in from the windows of the stairwell.
Mo Ci seemed to remember something, so he reached out his little finger and hooked it with Jiang Huali's little finger, saying, "It's a deal."
Jiang Huali hooked her finger back, finding it rather amusing.
She didn't know what kind of wish Mo Ci would grant, and if it was for her soul, she would immediately change her mind.
Jiang Huali never intended to fulfill the deal she made earlier.
Jiang Huali went up to the fourth floor, where the principal's office was also located. The door was locked, but Qi Man used a prop to open it.
Although the equipment wasn't exactly scarce, they still needed to use it sparingly, which is why they chose to climb up just now.
The layout of the principal's office is similar to that of the vice-principal's office, only it is larger.
After exchanging glances, the group dispersed to search in various directions.
Jiang Huali stood by the bookshelf. The reason they came to the principal's office was because of the letter Zhao Yu wrote to the principal that appeared in the flashback scene.
The principal's office was ajar. Jiang Huali walked to the vicinity of the door, where there was another money tree, but the leaves seemed to be scorched.
Jiang Huali frowned, bent down, and was about to take a closer look with a flashlight in her hand when she suddenly heard Qi Man's voice: "Found it."
Jiang Huali straightened up and walked towards Qi Man's direction.
Qi Man held a letter in her hand. She opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.
The characters above are delicate and elegant, but some messiness can be seen in the handwriting.
The letter was short; it was written by an ordinary teacher who had just started working and wanted to fight for what her students deserved.
The principal clearly didn't care about the letter. The principal's office looked ordinary, but it was actually quite sophisticated.
The vases casually placed are all rare and precious items.
This wouldn't happen in a rural primary school.
Qi Man carefully put the letter away.
Just then, a very light footstep sound came from the doorway.
Jiang Huali focused her attention and moved to a corner with her companion.
Mo Ci was still standing next to Jiang Huali when he leaned down and whispered something in her ear.
"careful."
The footsteps grew closer.
"Creak—"
The door was opened.
The man who entered was dressed in a suit and looked very respectable.
His face was so pale and bluish that he looked more like a living corpse than a living person.
His eyes were almost entirely devoid of white, and he revealed a chilling smile. "I wonder who this distinguished guest is, visiting in the middle of the night?"
The office was empty, and no one answered him.
Jiang Huali and the others had already used concealment items when they heard footsteps.
The group slowed their pace and moved towards the door.
Just as he was about to touch the doorknob, the principal suddenly looked over and said, "Since you're here, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
In an instant, the surrounding temperature plummeted, and a murderous aura swept over them.
Just then, a sharp dagger flew out, making a whistling sound, and struck the principal's eye.
"ah--"
The principal covered his bleeding eyes, his expression contorted in rage.
Qi Man manipulated the dagger to fly back into her hand, a flash of blood appearing at the hilt.
"Walk!"
The group rushed out the door and down the stairs.
The principal chased after them, his bloodshot eyes faintly visible.
The figure drew closer, and Qi Man frowned, shouting to Jiang Huali, who was closest to the principal, "Binding tools!"
Upon hearing her words, Jiang Huali wanted to take out the prop to use, but was instantly controlled by a force.
Despite the urgency of the situation, she stood rooted to the spot, motionless.
Instead, she reached out and pushed Qi Feng beside her, even using a prop.
Jiang Huali's strength was unexpected. Qi Feng frowned, turned around and took out a bow and arrow. The arrow was shot out, drawing a blue flame between them and the principal.
The flames blazed fiercely, temporarily obscuring the principal's figure.
Qi Feng clutched his bleeding shoulder and glared fiercely at Jiang Huali.
Qi Man stepped forward to separate them and used props to tie Jiang Huali's hands. "Let's go first, we'll talk outside."
Qi Feng protested, "Sister—"
He stepped forward, intending to retaliate in kind, but suddenly felt a chill creep up from the soles of his feet and spread down his spine.
Qi Feng stopped in his tracks. "Then let's go outside and settle the score properly!"
Jiang Huali was tied up, and Qi Man pulled her downstairs.
She was still not fully conscious at that point.
Mo Ci remained by her side, withdrawing his gaze from Qi Feng.
He had smelled it the moment Jiang Huali made that unusual move.
I smelled that familiar scent, laced with malice, emanating a putrid odor.
Mo Ci raised his hand and placed it on the back of Jiang Huali's neck.
Wisps of black energy flowed along a line towards his palm.
Jiang Huali gradually broke free from control and regained consciousness.
She had just come to her senses when she felt a cold hand on the back of her neck. She looked up and gazed at the Mo Temple.
The other person smiled and spoke softly.
"Okay, now you owe me two gifts."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com