"When I tried to grab Xiaolan, she avoided me and kept urging me to leave."
Upon hearing this, Luo Tianhe and I exchanged a glance, both of us seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.
It turns out that Xiao Lan really did know Li Huai.
So when we were playing hide-and-seek, she didn't cause us any real harm.
And in the end, he told us the truth, but we misunderstood him.
"Xiao Lan told me that they had known all along that the director had ill intentions, that children were disappearing, and that he was secretly torturing some children."
"It's just that since we had already agreed to sell me off, the dean didn't do anything out of line to me. I naively thought he was a good person."
"With the help of those children who were tortured to death and became vengeful ghosts, Xiaolan and the others cut off the dean's head while he was still alive in the middle of the night."
"But unexpectedly, the dean, whose head had been cut off, did not die."
As Li Huai recounted the story, I could imagine how desperate Xiao Lan and the others must have felt at that time.
After finally killing him, they discovered that he was still alive even after his head was cut off.
"The fire that followed was the dean's doing. He cut off his head and became a creature that was neither human nor ghost."
"The mastermind, Xiao Lan, was even burned alive by him using some unknown means!"
Li Huai's voice choked with emotion, his eyes bloodshot.
"Xiao Lan, Xiao Lan is most afraid of pain."
Upon hearing this, both Luo Tianhe and I couldn't help but tremble.
To kill such a child who was afraid of pain in such a cruel way—that bastard headmaster deserved to die!
"So after she died that year, Xiaolan also turned into a vengeful ghost and lingered in this orphanage."
"However, even with her deep resentment and the help of many vengeful spirits, she was no match for the Dean."
"The most terrifying thing is that the director seems to be able to communicate with the outside world. He keeps killing deep inside the orphanage, and we don't know what he's doing. Children are brought in from time to time and then turn into vengeful spirits. Xiaolan and the others are still scared, but they are powerless to stop him."
"So you just rushed in and started yelling at the dean?"
Hearing this, I couldn't help but ask.
After all, the front yard is Xiaolan's territory. Even if there's no cell phone signal, he can go outside and call us again.
What's the point of just barging in? Are you trying to make the dean laugh?
Li Huai, who looked grief-stricken, also showed a hint of embarrassment.
“I was so angry at the time that I rushed in, and then this is what you see.”
I forced a smile, but for a moment I didn't know what to say.
Luo Tianhe also had a strange expression. In this sad atmosphere, neither mocking Li Huai nor beating him up seemed appropriate.
After a moment of silence, Luo Tianhe finally couldn't help but speak:
"You're really good for nothing and good for making things worse. If it weren't for the two of us covering for you, the dean would probably be overjoyed right now."
Li Huai lowered his head, his voice barely audible, like a mosquito's hum.
"After all, I was the person involved. At the time, I couldn't think too much. I just felt a fire in my chest. If I didn't let it out, I would be burned to death."
"Alright, alright, this won't happen again. If something like this happens again, be sure to call me and Chen Yan. The more people there are, the more strength we'll have."
Only after hearing him say that did Luo Tianhe agree to let the matter drop.
"You don't need to worry. Please, we're sorry, we've been through so many life-and-death situations together. Back then, you accompanied the two of us to Ma'ya Village and Gejia Village. We never said we were afraid of getting you killed."
After Luo Tianhe finished speaking, I couldn't help but mutter something in response.
But Li Huai gave a strange look.
I suddenly remembered that I seemed to have told them not to come with me. The atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment.
Just then, we heard the sound of tires screeching on the pavement ahead, along with the honking of a horn. A taxi stopped in front of us, leaning halfway out and looking at Li Huai.
"Holy crap, you're not dead? Pay me back for that day's fare!"
"Are you the driver from that day? Did you come here specifically to ask me for the fare?"
Li Huai was speechless for a moment. He said in disbelief.
The driver rolled his eyes and said irritably:
"How could I be so bored? I just happened to be passing by. Your back looked familiar, so I took a closer look and only dared to come up and strike up a conversation after I saw your shadows."
Luo Tianhe and I were overjoyed, as we were worried about how to get back, since this place was sparsely populated and taxis rarely passed through.
If we were to walk all the way back, it would probably take until dawn.
The driver lit a cigarette, took a puff, and looked at us with amazement:
"You're the ones Old Zhang was talking about, the ones who came here in the middle of the night looking for someone, right? I didn't expect you guys to actually have some ability and find him."
"Old Zhang, are you referring to the taxi driver who brought us here?"
I was a little surprised. Was it really such a coincidence?
"Well, all the drivers in our area know each other, and we usually talk about things on the walkie-talkie."
As he spoke, the driver picked up the walkie-talkie from the console, waved it, and continued:
"Old Zhang just embellished the story for us, saying there were shadowy figures loitering outside the orphanage and stuff. So, is there something ghostly going on inside?"
My expression immediately turned strange. The driver dropped us off on a side road and drove off. How could he have known about the main gate of the orphanage?
What ghostly figures did you see wandering around? Is this guy just bragging?
Luo Tianhe didn't think much of it and immediately opened his mouth:
"That old man was nowhere near the orphanage's main gate. He was terrified, like a little kid. He dropped us off on a side road and ran off. We ended up walking a bit more on our own."
At this point, Luo Tianhe became even angrier.
"We even gave him a few hundred dollars in tips, and he still did this kind of thing! Pah! And he still brags like that, he's shameless!"
Upon hearing Luo Tianhe's words, the driver's expression turned strange, and he gave a somewhat awkward smile.
"I always said that Old Zhang, who everyone knows is a coward, how could he dare to send you to the orphanage? And after seeing the ghost, he didn't go back to sleep, but dared to continue driving at night."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at us again.
"So? Are you coming or not?"
"Of course we'll walk. If we had to walk all the way there, we'd be walking until dawn."
I deftly opened the car door and climbed in.
"Hehe, don't forget to pay his fare when you get off the bus later."
Once we got in the car, the driver reminded us again, as if afraid we might skip out on the fare.
"It's not that I didn't give it to you then, you just ran away yourself."
Li Huai muttered something.
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