Chapter Eighty-Two: The Haunted School

A ringtone broke the silence. Song Nianqiang glanced at his phone and saw that it was the Big Fatty calling. The timing could not have been better; he was just fretting over how to explain things to Jiang Ningzhi, when the call came in at once.

"Hello? Fatty, what is it?" he asked as he answered. On the other end came the Big Fatty's anxious voice. "Something terrible has happened. Come to Huaxia Vocational High School right away. I'm already on my way there. They say something bizarre has happened at the school—a girl was found dead in the restroom for no reason at all. The police can't find anything wrong, and the coroner says she was scared to death."

"Dead in the restroom?" Song Nianqiang repeated, then said, "I'm coming right away. Tell the police not to move the body yet. I'll take a look." With that, he hung up, gave Jiang Ningzhi an apologetic smile, and said, "Sorry, I have an urgent matter and must go first. You two enjoy yourselves." Then he darted off like the wind.

"Huh?"

The soft exclamation slipped from both girls at once. Song Nianqiang had not bothered to hide the call from them, so they had heard everything clearly. Jiang Ningzhi could not help but turn to Cao Jianjia in surprise. "Jianjia, what does a dead person there have to do with Song Nianqiang? Is he a policeman too?"

"I don't think so. It's already this late; it would be better if it were daytime." Beneath her disappointment, Cao Jianjia also felt a stirring of curiosity. "Maybe if we find out exactly what Song Nianqiang does, we'll know why he has turned you down twice in a row. From the look in his eyes, I can tell he definitely likes you. I dare swear to it!" Cao Jianjia took Jiang Ningzhi's hand and led her out of Song Nianqiang's classroom, the two of them whispering quietly as they walked.

Song Nianqiang ran all the way to the road, hailed a taxi, and reached Huaxia Vocational High School after half an hour. It was a privately run vocational school, with students of wildly mixed quality. Though it was only a high school, the nearby hotels were fully booked every night. The school had been founded less than ten years earlier. The grounds had once been a burial field, later flattened to make room for the campus. When those ownerless graves were demolished, several uncanny incidents had occurred, and they had been resolved by a highly skilled master of the time. Yet looking at it now, this vocational school seemed troubled once more.

The police chief had already sealed off the scene. Many officers were taking photographs and collecting evidence. When the Big Fatty saw Song Nianqiang arrive, he waved him over.

Crouching beside the female corpse, Song Nianqiang frowned at once. "When did she die?" By the look of her body, she had been dead for several days; the flesh had already begun to rot, and a pool of corpse fluid had gathered on the floor.

"Between eight o'clock and ten past eight this evening," the coroner said helplessly. He had practiced medicine for more than thirty years and had served as a coroner for over twenty. Never before had he heard of anything like this. It was now a quarter past nine, which meant the deceased had been dead for less than an hour, yet her body had already begun to decay.

Her trousers had slipped down around her ankles, and her shirt was in tatters. It seemed she had struggled desperately before death. Bloody scratches covered her body, but the police had determined that those marks seemed to have appeared out of thin air, with no human hand responsible. That was why the police chief had summoned Song Nianqiang.

"This is another ghostly killing. For now, though, I can't tell what kind of ghost it is." After speaking, Song Nianqiang lowered his head and circled the corpse twice. Then he looked up and asked the police chief, "Have you moved her body?"

The chief shook his head. "This matter has gone beyond our capabilities, so I didn't dare to move the body carelessly."

"Good." Song Nianqiang nodded. "Then have someone turn the body over. Make sure her face is upward."

As he spoke, he gave the Big Fatty a meaningful glance. The Big Fatty understood immediately, and casually drew a talisman from his trouser pocket to hold in his hand. Song Nianqiang also began forming hand seals. If any apparition appeared, the two of them would strike at once.

The police chief ordered the body turned over, but no ghost rose from beneath the corpse. Song Nianqiang glanced at the female ghost and saw that her face and body were smeared with excrement and urine. A stench billowed out as she was turned, and many people retched on the spot.

Yellow filth spilled from the dead girl's mouth, and among it were a few white maggots. Song Nianqiang could not help taking a step back. It was revolting beyond words.

"Fatty, do you see anything off?" Song Nianqiang pulled the Big Fatty aside and asked quietly. The Big Fatty nodded, his expression grave. "The yin energy in this school is far too strong. It's at least three times stronger than outside, maybe more. I'm afraid the ghosts that were once sealed away by the master are about to break free."

Song Nianqiang nodded slightly. "Even if the ghosts break their seals, they still won't be able to leave the school, but no one can be allowed to enter either. Tonight that girl was unlucky—she happened to run into a ghost that had briefly broken free of its restraint, and that ghost killed her. We have to tell the chief now and have him notify the school to clear everyone out immediately. Not a single person can remain on campus. We'll come back tomorrow. I don't think there will be anything else tonight. In any case, until those ghosts can break their restraints, there's nothing we can do."

With that, Song Nianqiang strode over to the chief, leaned close to his ear, and whispered a few words. The chief considered it for a moment before nodding. He took out his phone and called the county magistrate. After obtaining permission from the magistrate, he called over the school's dean of discipline.

"How many people are on campus right now?" the chief asked.

The dean was baffled by the question, but he answered honestly. "Including the staff and some cleaners, probably more than a thousand."

"More than a thousand?" The chief repeated the words, then looked toward Song Nianqiang. Song Nianqiang nodded to him, his face stern. The chief understood the severity of the matter and said to the dean, "You're the highest-ranking person in this school right now, am I correct?"

The dean nodded.

"Good. I'll assign you a task. It is now nine forty. Before midnight, you must clear everyone out of the school. Remember, everyone." The chief stressed the last words.

The dean was at a loss. Most of the students were still in the dormitories, and the staff lived in the dormitory building behind the school. To give him just over three hours to drive every last person out of the campus was indeed making things difficult. Besides, even if his rank was the highest at the moment, he did not have such authority.

Seeing the dean standing there motionless, the chief snorted in anger, his face darkening at once. "This school has already been shut down. From this day on, Huaxia Vocational High School will cease to exist in this county. All senior administrators will be investigated by the police. If you want to redeem yourself, go now!"

Teachers at private schools received more gifts the higher their rank, so the dean was anything but clean. Hearing the chief say this, he jumped in fright, nodded frantically, and ran off in a hurry.

"Teach him a lesson and he'll know not to provoke whom he shouldn't!" the chief said. What he had just said was half true and half false. It was certain this school would never be allowed to operate again. As for those officials, they could go wherever they pleased; the police could not be bothered to investigate them.

Very soon, the school loudspeaker crackled to life with the dean's voice. "Attention, all teachers and students. No matter who you are or what you are doing, report immediately to the main square. Anyone who has not arrived by ten o'clock will be expelled!"

The measure proved effective at once. Teachers were afraid of losing their livelihood, and students feared expulsion above all else, even if the school they attended was complete rubbish.

Gradually, people began making their way to the main square. Song Nianqiang told the police chief that the female corpse could now be moved away, since leaving it there served no purpose.