Chapter 10: Journey to Highland Academy

“Knock! Knock! Knock!”

Dawn was breaking, the sun rising in the east.

Along with the knocking came a voice heavy with fatigue: “I’m coming in. You’ve got ten seconds to hide that little yellow book. Don’t let me catch you looking at things you shouldn’t.”

Click—

Before the words had even finished, the bedroom door was pushed open.

That ten seconds was nothing but a ruse.

Xiao You Wu strode in with an air of confidence, her eyes quickly scanning beneath the bed, the trash bin, and the tissues on the nightstand.

If Wu Wang’s appearance was of a delicate and pleasing nature, like a neatly shaped lump of clay gifted by the goddess Nüwa herself,

then her features were a masterpiece meticulously crafted by God.

Her smooth, oval face paired with her rabbit-themed pajamas exuded an exceptional sweetness. Her tousled, pale golden waves fell loosely, lending her a lazy kind of charm.

Alas, such a refined face was marred by one flaw—a mouth.

“Tsk, you hid it so fast? Can’t you give me the embarrassment of catching you red-handed and forcing you to do all the chores as blackmail?” Xiao You sighed in mock regret.

Wu Wang remained seated, eyes fixed on his computer screen, retorting without turning his head: “First, in this internet age, who even uses physical books to look at that stuff? Second, old ladies shouldn’t wear such pink clothes trying to look young, okay? And finally, I’m already doing all the chores anyway!”

With that, he nonchalantly slid the fruit knife he had been using to attempt suicide into the drawer.

But unexpectedly, Xiao You stepped forward swiftly.

She reached out and grabbed Wu Wang’s left hand, which was fiddling with the knife.

Snatching the fruit knife away, her tone turned serious.

“You tried to kill yourself again? Didn’t you promise to sleep well tonight? Are you lying to me?”

Seeing her eyes begin to redden, tears glistening and welling up,

Wu Wang stubbornly defended himself: “No! I’m just cutting fruit!”

He then promptly pulled out two leftover fruit pits from the drawer.

These were from last night’s several cat tantrums, when the cats found something to bang on the door with.

Seeing the pits, Xiao You finally sighed in relief.

She carefully placed the knife on the desk.

Two delicate, pale arms slid around Wu Wang’s shoulders from behind. She bent down and whispered gently, “Brother, your second sister will definitely find a better psychologist to help you control those urges. Please don’t hurt yourself anymore, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

Wu Wang’s usual bratty demeanor softened.

He knew she was only worried.

Xiao You understood the strange, unfathomable desire for death that lay deep in his heart without reason.

She believed it was a psychological illness and had spent years contacting renowned psychologists in the country to help ease and guide him.

Every morning, she would think of excuses to rush into his room, afraid that one day she might find him dead inside.

***

His second sister was the only person in the world who would unconditionally care for him. Though not related by blood, they cared for each other more than most families bound by kinship.

This was also why Xiao You knew he possessed the ability of immortality.

Between them, there were no secrets.

Of course, now there was one.

Wu Wang had no intention of telling her about the Spirit Disaster game.

He also worried about her safety.

“Alright, pinky swear to never change for a hundred years!” Xiao You returned to her cheerful self.

After linking pinkies, she left the room with a beaming smile.

Her voice carried from outside—

“Hurry up and come eat breakfast! I made you a hearty braised beef stew!”

Wu Wang’s mouth twitched.

Standing up, he said helplessly, “You forgot the ‘noodles’ part, didn’t you? Next time, get the pickled pepper beef flavor. I prefer that.”

Nineteen hours remained before the mission deadline.

He would not let his second sister get hurt!

***

The day passed in a flash.

Night fell as scheduled.

After his second sister left for work, Wu Wang spent the entire day preparing the magical tools he might need that night.

Only when about two hours remained before the deadline did he set out for a rather secluded abandoned school in the suburbs.

The “Bloodstained School Uniform” requirement specified any campus environment.

Since it didn’t say the school had to be operational, an abandoned school would do.

It only needed to be a “campus setting.”

“Buddy, are you going to a costume party?” The taxi driver asked after a moment of silence.

Wu Wang glanced at his attire and replied seriously, “I’m going to exorcise ghosts and protect the public.”

“Heh, are there really ghosts? I’ve never seen any,” the driver joked.

“Isn’t that proof I’m doing a good job protecting? How about you Venmo me 50 yuan as a protection fee to show your sincerity?”

“…”

The driver fell silent.

He suddenly felt this guy was a little unhinged and worried: what if he got angry and stabbed him?

Meanwhile, Wu Wang sat in the back adjusting the position of the peach wood sword he wore.

It was a bit uncomfortable.

***

He was dressed in a bulletproof vest, wore a specially made steel helmet, and tactical gloves, looking every bit a military enthusiast.

Yet at his waist hung a peach wood sword, garlic, a silver cross, and even a black donkey’s hoof—traditional talismans for warding off evil.

On his back was a backpack taller than himself.

The whole ensemble was as bizarre as it was eccentric.

No wonder the taxi driver had to ask.

Anyone would be curious about this lunatic taking a taxi late at night to an abandoned school.

Upon arrival and after paying the fare, the driver floored the accelerator, launching away like a Formula One car.

He turned and disappeared from Wu Wang’s sight as if fleeing from something unclean.

“This driver’s not stable in the head. I’m afraid he’ll crash and kill someone driving like that,” Wu Wang muttered.

He then turned to examine the school before him.

It was a private high school called Hope High, which had closed down five years ago for unknown reasons.

Today, it had become a common abandoned building in the city, with weeds growing wildly, almost swallowing the gate.

None of the windows in the guard room were intact, and the ground was littered with cheap food wrappers, showing it was often a temporary shelter for homeless people.

The once pristine tiled exterior of the teaching building was now covered in wild green moss and climbing ivy, completely unchecked.

A desolate and ruinous atmosphere wafted through the air.

“Tch, haven’t been to school in a while. I really miss the days when the principal and female homeroom teacher fought in the office, and I’d sneak off with their discarded clothes to call the TV station claiming big education news was coming, causing reporters to surround the office—that was the good old days,” Wu Wang mused with a hint of nostalgia.

Indeed, this was his former high school!

It had closed the year he graduated.

Even if he thought it had nothing to do with him, the whole faculty and student body guessed why it shut down.

He was the culprit!

Because he was the only one who would do something like that!

Crack—

Abrupt footsteps echoed from a distance.

Wu Wang’s relaxed expression faltered as he frowned, looking toward the teaching building of the abandoned school.

There, four figures stood pacing slowly.

They all wore tattered school uniforms.

The faint lettering on their backs read—

“Gaoshan High School!”