Chapter 412: Xinhu High School

The atmosphere inside the car was heavy. Er Gou and Mr. Gu could tell something was off with me, so neither of them said a word, staying silent the entire way.

As the car drove out of Jiangcheng, I rolled down the window and lit a cigarette. "Er Gou, did you bring the Deer-Slaying Dao?"

After snatching the Deer-Slaying Dao back from Lu Jin, I had given it to Er Gou for self-defense.

"I brought it. It's right under the seat, wrapped in newspaper." Er Gou didn't ease off the gas. "Jian Ge, is something weighing on your mind? Is it because of that little boy from earlier?"

Er Gou had been with me for quite a while now. He was sharp and had vaguely pieced some of it together.

"Our enemies have already made their move." Resting one hand on the window frame, I watched my cigarette burn down fast. "Tonight, Xinhu High School is very likely a death trap. There's one thing I hope you'll promise me right now. It's crucial—if you can't do it, then don't get involved."

"What is it? Why make it sound so serious?"

"If we end up facing certain death tonight and I tell you to leave, you go immediately. Don't stay behind, and don't worry about me." My tone grew more serious than it had ever been. "Even though you've been strengthened some, you're still far behind those people. You live in two completely different worlds. There's no need to throw your lives away for someone who has nothing to do with you."

If saving one person meant dragging even more people into the abyss, I would rather not save him at all.

"We're not even there yet—why talk like that? Jian Ge, I haven't wasted a single second lately. I've been practicing with everything I've got, and I've made another breakthrough in the Crushing Fist. In a bit, I'm going to open your eyes wide. As the ancients said, after three days apart, you must look with new eyes—just wait and enjoy the show." Ever since I had lectured him, Er Gou loved stuffing idioms into his speech regardless of whether they actually fit, as if doing so made him sound cultured.

"The boy went missing right under my nose. If I don't settle this score, I'll never live down the shame." Mr. Gu said nothing more, his withered hand stroking the clay jar in his palm, which held his Natal Gu—the Human-Faced Moth.

"You still don't know what those people are capable of. Remember, don't try to play the hero. If you're outmatched, leave immediately. I still have a trump card up my sleeve, so don't hold me back." Having told that white lie, I didn't explain any further. I closed my eyes to regulate my breathing, stopped circulating the Profound Truth Mental Method, and pressed that wisp of Pre-Heaven True Qi down into my dantian.

Because the matter with the little boy had delayed us for a while, it was already ten at night by the time we reached Xinhu High School. Our two minivans pulled over on the highway beside the wasteland. Never mind passing traffic—there wasn't a single house in sight within a thousand meters.

"There's actually a place this desolate around Jiangcheng?"

"Those bloodsuckers on the Municipal Development Committee could actually bear to let this piece of land go to waste?"

"Jian Ge, aren't we supposed to be going to a school? What are we doing out here?"

I handed out the Hundred Pardons Talismans to Er Gou and his brothers, carried Bai Qi down from the other minivan, and checked my watch—10:07 p.m.

"The school is deep in the wasteland. The road is already overgrown with weeds—it didn't look like this five years ago." The time stated in Lu Jin's letter was eleven at night. I didn't know whether they were already lying in wait, so it never hurt to be careful. "Keep the talismans I gave you tucked close to your body and don't take them out lightly. If you run into danger, shout for help as loud as you can. Don't act on impulse. This place is more terrifying than any bloody brawl or gang fight you've ever been through—one slip-up could cost you your life."

Hearing my words, the men stopped joking around and slowly grew serious.

"Once we're inside, follow my orders. If something unexpected happens and I'm not around, listen to Mr. Gu. Understand?" I took a dagger from the minivan and hid it on me, then handed the Deer-Slaying Dao to Er Gou. "Grab your weapons. Let's head into the school!"

Er Gou's brothers exchanged glances, uncertainly sizing up Mr. Gu beneath his black robe. Only Er Gou himself nodded. "Mr. Gu is a Gu master from Miaojiang. Naturally, we'll follow his orders."

He took the Deer-Slaying Dao from my hand and swung it twice with all his might, whipping up a sharp rush of wind.

Armed to the teeth, machetes and daggers in hand, the group followed me deep into the wasteland.

Dark clouds shrouded the sky, blotting out the stars and moon. In the darkness, a cluster of buildings faintly emerged, like a mirage of several structures built atop a black vortex.

"Xinhu High School!"

The rusted iron fence stood like an aged soldier guarding the perimeter of Xinhu High School. Only after Er Gou and the others had climbed over did I walk up, pick the iron "No Trespassing" sign out of the dirt, and hang it back on the railing. "How many times does this make?"

In the dead of night, the school lay shrouded beneath gloomy clouds, as if the entire sky were pressing down on it—dark, icy cold, and heavy with a suffocating sense of oppression.

Climbing over the railing, I counted the talismans on me once more and brushed the back of my hand against the dagger at my lower back. The anxiety in my eyes gradually faded, leaving only calm.

Entering through the main gate of the school, I looked out over the weed-choked grounds, my gaze sweeping from one dilapidated building to the next. There was no sign of any living person.

"I didn't think there'd actually be a school deep in this wasteland. Brother Er Gou, hardly anyone comes out here—why don't we claim this place for ourselves? Whenever we have shady goods that can't see the light of day, we can stash them right here."

Hearing Knife's voice, Er Gou rolled his eyes at him. "If we actually moved our hideout to a place like this, you'd wind up dead without even knowing what killed you."

"I heard about this place a few years back, before all information about the school was locked down. Thinking about it now, the higher-ups must have been covering up something terrifying—something that would cause mass panic if it ever went public." Li Li really lived up to his role as Er Gou's strategist; he was the only one among them willing to use his head and analyze things.

"That's the same as saying nothing at all," Knife muttered under his breath, twirling the sharp blade in his hand.

"Quit arguing. From now on, stay on your guard. I'll tell you flat out: this is a haunted school. There were many reasons it was shut down back then, and one of the main ones was that a huge number of students committed suicide in waves within a very short span of time." I pointed toward the scorched classroom building. "Five years ago, students jumped off the roof of that building one after another, dropping like dumplings into a pot. And that small building at the very back of the school—it was filled with charred corpses..."

Once I finished speaking, Er Gou's brothers all shut their mouths one by one. Even the two military veterans, the brothers Peng Qiu and Peng Dong, didn't dare say another word.

"We still have some time before eleven. I'll take you around to get familiar with the layout." I gestured to Bai Qi, trying to ask if he could pick up Wang Yu's scent, but Bai Qi gave no response. It seemed the scrap of cloth he had sniffed earlier had been tampered with—smeared with a pungent irritant targeting canines, which had drastically dulled his sense of smell.

Without Bai Qi's help, I didn't dare lead the group straight into the enclosed buildings to search. Every time I came to this place, my heart was in my throat; I always had the feeling that something else lived here.

After we searched the perimeter of the buildings and came up empty, Er Gou suggested, "How about I take the boys and hide first? When that son of a bitch shows up, we'll charge right out, pincer him from front and back, and catch him completely off guard!"

"The minivans are still parked on the highway. Unless they're complete idiots, they'll figure out I brought backup. Don't do anything rash. Since those people didn't specify in the letter that I had to come alone, it means they don't care how many people I bring." I stood in front of the Laboratory Building, looking at the half-open window. That was where I had climbed in the first time, before clashing with Lu Jin.

"Then what do we do? Just stand around and wait?"

"We hold our ground and adapt to whatever they throw at us. Wang Yu is in their hands, and if they really forced that venomous insect soup down his throat, I'll be forced completely onto the defensive." There were far too many varieties of Gu insects; even Mr. Gu couldn't guarantee he could cure every kind of Gu poison.

The night was as still as water, and that bone-chilling sensation grew stronger and stronger. Before long, the appointed time arrived.

Bang! A classroom window on the third floor of the Laboratory Building blasted open to both sides. A burly man stood by the window, holding a frail boy up with one hand.

"Gao Jian, it's been a few days! Hope you've been well!" Dressed in only a thin shirt, Zhong Jiu wore a ferocious expression. The last time we met, I had given him a sound thrashing right in front of his master, making him lose all face. This time, he was clearly out to humiliate me in return.

"Well, if it isn't Brother Zhong Jiu. Have your wounds healed up already? No wonder they call your Profound Truth Dao a prestigious great sect—profound in Daoist arts and thick-skinned to boot. I'm truly envious!"