Volume One, Chapter 131: Joint Mission
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Chi Xingwan’s face fell at once.
Xu Hengyang sighed. “We have no way to refuse. At previous Spirit Master conferences, we completed missions alongside Spirit Masters from other countries, and this year we even cooperated with the Lan Kingdom.”
“If the Lan Kingdom can do it, why can’t the Mi Kingdom?” That left Xu Hengyang with no excuse to turn them down.
“We really have to take them along on this mission. Xingwan, if you’re unwilling, I’ll arrange for someone else.”
Chi Xingwan thought for a moment before saying, “I’ll go. Their target is me. If I avoid them this time, who knows what trouble they’ll cause next time? Better to settle everything in one stroke.”
Xu Hengyang nodded. “That was my thought as well. I’ll leave this matter to you.”
“Fine.”
Xu Hengyang had clearly made preparations in advance. He opened the assistance section of the Spiritling app, selected a mission he had already picked out, and handed it to Chi Xingwan.
“We’ve prepared several missions. You can choose one.”
Chi Xingwan opened the first post.
Title: There Seems to Be a Ghost in Our School’s Sports Equipment Room
The post had been published six years ago, and its author had graduated long since.
Chi Xingwan skimmed through the contents. In essence, a female student at the school had suddenly died of an acute illness in the sports equipment room. After that, rumors began circulating that the room was haunted.
Her attention was drawn to the school itself. It was Yanjing University Affiliated High School—and by an extraordinary coincidence, it was the very school attended by Xiao Yu and Xiao Ming. The siblings were in different divisions: one in high school, the other in junior high.
“Is it really haunted?” she asked.
“It is,” Xu Hengyang replied. “But the girl doesn’t harm anyone, so the matter wasn’t urgent. The mission sank to the bottom of the list and somehow remained there for six years.”
“Then I’ll take this one.” Chi Xingwan made her decision.
“Aren’t you going to look at the others?”
“No need. I happen to know people at this school.”
“All right, this will be the mission. I’ll have someone contact the school and make the arrangements. We should be able to leave tomorrow.”
After leaving the tower, Chi Xingwan did not continue wandering through Evernight Street. She went straight to the Xiao residence and waited for Xiao Yu and Xiao Ming to return from school.
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Xiao Yue had just finished dealing with some work. When he heard that Chi Xingwan had arrived, he immediately rose and left his study. The moment he saw her, his heart gave a frightened skip.
Chi Xingwan was sitting beside the window. Next to her was a small nest, and Dull-Dull lay inside it.
Xiao Yue was wide awake. Naturally, Dull-Dull was merely “asleep.”
“You rarely come at this hour. Is something wrong?” Xiao Yue asked as he approached, forcing himself to remain calm.
Chi Xingwan toyed with Dull-Dull’s wings. “I have something to discuss with Xiao Yu and Xiao Ming. By the way, why is Dull-Dull asleep at this hour?”
Hearing the first part, Xiao Yue had originally wanted to ask why she was looking for them. But when he heard her follow-up question, he immediately grew flustered.
“Perhaps it played too long this morning,” Xiao Yue said vaguely.
Chi Xingwan smiled. “Really? I wonder if it worked up a sweat.”
Xiao Yue felt there was a deeper meaning behind her smile, but he had no proof and could only play along. “I’ll wash it.”
Chi Xingwan’s smile widened. Just then, a servant arrived to report that Xiao Yu and Xiao Ming had returned home from school.
“I’ll leave Dull-Dull to you.” Chi Xingwan lifted Dull-Dull by the wings and handed it to Xiao Yue. “Make sure you wash it properly. This little thing likes crawling into my bed at night.”
Xiao Yue took Dull-Dull into his arms and stared blankly at Chi Xingwan as she walked away. A flush spread from his neck upward. Fortunately, she did not see it.
Chi Xingwan went to the main villa, where Xiao Yu and Xiao Ming were waiting for her in the hall.
“Sister, I heard you wanted to see us?” Xiao Yu asked.
Chi Xingwan said, “Is it true that there’s a haunted sports equipment room at your school?”
Xiao Ming looked stunned, while Xiao Yu wore an expression of sudden realization. “There is such a rumor. I always thought it was only a legend. Could it actually be true?”
Xiao Ming immediately asked, “What? How come I’ve never heard of it?”
“It happened in the high school division, so it’s not strange that you don’t know,” Xiao Yu explained. “Actually, many students in the high school division don’t know either. Everyone always assumed it was just a legend.”
The three of them went to Xiao Yu’s room to discuss the matter in detail.
Xiao Yu did not know much herself, so she posted a question in her class group chat. Her classmates immediately began talking over one another, filling her in with a great deal of information.
“I heard it happened six years ago to a girl in her final year of high school. She lived at school, and one night she went jogging on the track. It was almost lights-out, but she still hadn’t returned, so her roommate reported it to the dorm supervisor.”
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“The dorm supervisor searched for her with a security guard. They eventually found her in the sports equipment room, but by then there was nothing they could do. Apparently, she suffered sudden cardiac arrest after exercising, and there was no one else around.”
After recounting all this, Xiao Yu felt deeply saddened.
“No wonder the school fenced off the track and locks it at night,” Xiao Ming said. “The teachers even specifically warned us never to engage in strenuous exercise alone.”
Resting her chin in her hand, Chi Xingwan asked, “Did the girl have any unfulfilled wish?”
What she really wanted to ask was whether the girl had harbored any resentment. Judging from the story as a whole, if there were no hidden circumstances, the girl’s spirit should not have remained in the human world for six years.
Moreover, after six years, the ghost officials had still not discovered her. That meant she had never harmed anyone after becoming a ghost and had not turned into a vengeful spirit. She had remained in the human world solely because of her lingering fixation, so the ghost officials would be relatively lenient.
“Everyone only knows what they’ve heard,” Xiao Yu said. “We don’t know what the truth really is.”
The Spirit Master Association communicated smoothly with Yanjing University Affiliated High School, and they were able to set out the following day.
This time, Chi Xingwan brought Chu Fangfei along as well. Jin Feng was busy handling Seven Star Sect’s exchange affairs and could not spare the time.
As expected, Michelle was among the Spirit Masters from the Mi Kingdom. The loathsome Tim, Michelle’s fiancé, naturally came along too. There was also an aristocratic Spirit Master named Maria.
The five of them arrived at Yanjing University Affiliated High School, where the principal and the homeroom teacher of the girl who had died all those years ago were waiting at the entrance.
Though they tried their best to conceal it, Chi Xingwan could still sense the worry etched across both their faces.
“Please come to the office first,” the principal said.
Once they reached the principal’s office, Chi Xingwan got straight to the point. “Principal, Teacher Yuan, I looked into the situation before coming here. It seems the students all believe this is merely a legend?”
The principal’s hands trembled faintly, and a trace of fear appeared on his face. “Not long ago, we thought it was only a legend as well. But recently…”
He paused and even drew a deep breath, clearly recalling something terrifying. Beside him, Teacher Yuan bit her lip, looking as though she might burst into tears.
Chi Xingwan did not urge them. She simply waited for them to regain their composure.
Even after more than ten minutes, the principal and Teacher Yuan still had not managed to steady their emotions.
Tim said impatiently, “Consultant Chi, is the efficiency of handling matters in your Hua nation really this poor?”