Spirit Case Files

Chapter 4

"Goodbye, brother..." Xiao Zhi waved to the boy, then hugged her mother's arm tightly.

In a daze, Yuan Peilin seemed to see an image of herself as a child holding her mother's hand, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

The mother and child have disappeared...

The next day, in Class 2-B of Chengzhikong Academy, Qi Guangjian patted Yuan Peilin on the shoulder and said excitedly, "Hey, Peilin, have you read the newspaper?" "The president of Sifang Group has gone insane. It's said that he sees evil spirits whenever he closes his eyes!"

Yuan Peilin thought that some of the spirits he had let go must be holding a grudge, so he naturally said, "They must have done something wrong."

"Yes, there have also been unidentified tip-off calls accusing him of being involved in several business murders."

"...Turning against Ling really doesn't end well..."

"What?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

---janeadam

Reply [13]: Questions about Episode 4

Why is the sunset blood red?

Does it foreshadow destruction?

Why is the night so dark?

Has the light been abandoned?

When the flame of ideals is extinguished in one's heart...

Will we ever see the dawn again?

Compared to other times of day, the blue sky in the early morning is vibrant and full of life, always carrying a sense of hope and encouragement—a feeling only those who truly love life can appreciate. Whether the boy before me belongs to that category is debatable. However, he was indeed gazing at the sky outside the window, a slight smile playing on his lips.

In fact, Yuan Peilin had no romantic sense whatsoever. He had simply arrived at school too early today and, not understanding the importance of pre-class preparation, was simply passing the time by maintaining a certain posture and expression before the bell rang. Of course, this method of killing time was his own invention, and it was said that he could do it all day without feeling bored.

"Pei Lin, what are you doing?" Another idle man, Qi Guangjian, walked over as if possessed, glancing at the window where Pei Lin had been looking. "Are you spying on some beautiful woman?!"

The bewildered transfer student was about to deny it when he heard the other person sigh:

"So it was her, no wonder..."

"Her?" Yuan Peilin swallowed the words he wanted to say and looked out the window curiously.

Because the classroom was on the third floor, directly facing the school gate, the student could clearly see every student entering the school. At that moment, however, only one girl's figure could be seen within the field of vision—the "she" that Qi Guangjian was referring to.

Although the distance was still far, it didn't have much of an impact on Yuan Peilin, a psychic. The girl's first impression was one of absolute coldness. Every gesture exuded composure and calmness. Her dignified and beautiful face seemed incapable of displaying any other expression. Her long, black, glossy hair flowed in the wind like silk, while two strands of hair that reached past her shoulders added a touch of pure and lovely charm.

"Who is she...?" Yuan Peilin asked unconsciously.

"Qinglin Anxue, a first-year student, is also the most eye-catching beauty among this year's freshmen. She has countless suitors in just a few days since entering school. However, she herself is very aloof, leaving everyone empty-handed..." Qi Guangjian truly lives up to his title of "school beauty expert," as he has an amazing understanding of the freshmen's situation. He must be one of the countless suitors himself.

"Qinglin?" Of all the long introductions given by the experts, only the name caught Yuan Peilin's attention. He repeatedly searched his memory for this somewhat familiar surname, and then his expression relaxed, as if he had remembered it.

"No wonder she looks like an ice sculpture..."

The day's classes ended once again with the ringing of the bell. In order to avoid the crowded rush hour after school, Yuan accompanied Lin a little later before leisurely walking out of the classroom.

The campus was still quite lively, mostly filled with students participating in club activities, and the occasional shouts of practice slogans could be heard coming from the playground. As some great person once said, "A rich and colorful high school life begins after school." Unfortunately, the transfer student in front of me clearly had no interest in knowing the meaning of "rich and colorful."

Walking along the flat stone path to the school gate, I found many male students standing there—no, it should be said that a group of male students were surrounding a female student.

"Qinglin, please allow me to take you home!"

"Get out of my way! It's safer for me to do it!"

"What?! You're even worse! Everyone knows you're a notorious womanizer!"

"..."

Yuan Peilin recalled Qi Guangjian's words that morning about having "countless suitors," and now it seemed that it was no exaggeration at all. However, even amidst the entanglement of numerous boys, Qinglin Anxue remained expressionless and composed, a composure that was truly admirable.

She smiled and was about to leave when she felt a cold gaze fixed on her through the crowd. Yuan Peilin simply met the gaze of its owner. Indeed, it was Qing Lin Anxue. Her icy gaze could almost freeze the air, but it seemed to be without hostility. The male students quickly noticed their object of affection and turned their heads in unison.

"Hey! What do you want to do!" a seemingly domineering suitor said fiercely.

"It's nothing, you can continue..."

Yuan Peilin nodded to the cold-faced girl and turned to leave the school gate. However, he knew that Qing Lin Anxue's icy gaze had not left him.

---janeadam

Reply [14]: When it was far enough away, the crow flew out of the bracelet and landed on the boy's shoulder.

"Does that little girl know you're a psychic?"

"...They probably don't know, it's probably just a subtle feeling, hehe..."

Why do I feel that way...?

Qing Lin Anxue strolled alone on her way home. She had once again managed to shoo away a swarm of annoying flies with her cold attitude, but now she was lost in inexplicable thoughts. It was all because of that boy she couldn't see through at the school gate.

This was the first time such a thing had happened to this usually very confident girl. The other person's ambiguous, almost mocking gaze seemed to know everything about her, like being naked under the sun. She had to admit that while that eye contact wasn't exactly a battle of wills, she had clearly lost psychologically.

Thinking of this, an unprecedented sense of irritation welled up within her. As the heir of the Qinglin family, possessing the ability to wield the "power of ice and snow," and burdened with the responsibility of exorcising evil spirits since birth, how could she possibly lose to an ordinary boy?!

But is he really an ordinary person...?

With the front door almost in sight, I quickly composed myself and stepped inside. It was a grand, garden-style mansion, a symbol of the Qinglin family's tradition passed down through generations. It was precisely because of this strict adherence to tradition that the interior design remained true to the ancient style, with even modern appliances rarely used.

Listening to the clear sound of the flowing water in the garden, Qing Lin Anxue's mind finally returned to tranquility. Passing through the antique-style door, she entered the room, which was filled with the faint scent of sandalwood. A man was sitting on the floor with his back to her, engrossed in painting at a short table.

"Father, Anxue is back."

"Oh." The man put down his paintbrush, smiled, and turned around. "Go and rest first."

This was a middle-aged man whose features resembled Qing Lin Anxue's, yet he possessed a dignified air about him, and his eyes held a brilliance that rivaled that of a young man. He was Qing Lin Anxue's father, the head of the Qing Lin family—Qing Lin Mufeng.

"Understood." Qing Lin Anxue nodded slightly and was about to move.

“By the way, Anxue…” Qinglin Mufeng called his daughter again, “There’s something I need to tell you.”

"What's up?"

Qing Lin Mufeng paused for a moment, as if carefully choosing his words: "I remember a while ago, there were frequent appearances of Soul-Eating Demons in the city, right?"

Qing Lin Anxue frowned slightly: "Have you found out the cause yet?"

“Yes.” Qing Lin Mufeng’s expression turned serious. “Those Soul-Eating Demons are murderers raised by the president of the Sifang Group.”

"Huh? Him?"

"The strange thing is that before our people went to seek punishment, those soul-eating demons had already been dealt with by the unknown individuals."

Since the person is unknown, it means their identity cannot be traced. The Qinglin family is a key force in exorcism in this city, maintaining close ties with virtually all exorcists, which is why this situation is so troublesome. Most importantly, they don't even know if the person is human, let alone their motives.

"Who could it be?" Qing Lin Anxue murmured to herself, but she still couldn't form a general idea.

At this moment, Qing Lin Mufeng stood up, walked to the window, looked at the beautiful garden, and said, "In short, we can't be sure yet that this exorcist is benevolent. So, An Xue..." He then turned to his daughter, "If you encounter any unidentified spiritualists, be extra careful."

"I understand, Father." The girl gave a formulaic reply, but the image of the boy standing in front of the school gate appeared in her cold eyes.

"A faceless female ghost who can play the violin?"

It was lunch break time again. Yuan Peilin and Qi Guangjian were severely punished by the teacher for "forgetting to do" their homework. They were required to move the clutter in the office to the storage room of the old school building.

The so-called old school building was a four-story wooden structure that had been abandoned for many years, and it reeked of rotting wood. Walking on the floor made a creaking sound, making one constantly worry that it might leak.

“Yes.” Qi Guangjian looked at the transfer student walking beside him as if it were a matter of course. “You just transferred here, so of course you wouldn’t know that this is a famous ghost story at Chengzhikong Academy.”

"Tell me about it then." Yuan Peilin's curiosity was piqued. Indeed, no matter which school it is, there will be more or less some strange tales and legends circulating.

“A long time ago… well, not that long ago, back when this school building was still in use…” Qi Guangjian’s voice turned somber, “One day, a female student who loved the violin very much passed by the music classroom, saw that the door was unlocked, went in, and saw a violin on the table…”

"I really want to own a violin like this..." the female student murmured, stroking the violin.

In a daze, she unconsciously placed the violin on her left shoulder, touched the strings with the bow, and music began to play. She quickly became immersed in the music, almost forgetting where she was, simply drawing the bow instinctively. She didn't even notice someone opening the door and coming in…

"What are you doing!?"

The shout drowned out the piano music and brought the female student back to reality. Looking up, she saw a teacher glaring at her.

"Who gave you permission to use the violin?"

The female student was terrified and quickly bowed, saying, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to try it out after seeing it..."

"Do you know that using school equipment without permission is against school rules?! What's your name?" As he spoke, the teacher took out a small notebook from his pocket, as if to write it down.

Fearing punishment, the female student refused to speak, only repeatedly apologizing: "Teacher, please forgive me, I promise I won't do it again next time."

However, the teacher remained unmoved, raised his hand, and slapped the female student hard across the face: "How dare you disobey your teacher! I've never seen such a bad student!"

Caught off guard, the female student stumbled and fell to the side, her head slamming heavily against the table with a loud thud. The teacher waited a long time, but the student didn't get up. Finally, she went to check and discovered…

She's stopped breathing...

---janeadam

Reply [15]: Qi Guangjian paused here, and continued with a strange expression: "From then on, every time a female student died, the sound of a violin would come from the music classroom. When the person who heard it went in, they found that the person playing the violin was a... faceless woman..."

"And then?" Yuan Peilin pressed.

"Then... no matter how far the person who saw it runs, they will keep hearing the violin music." Qi Guangjian swallowed hard. "...until they go insane..."

"Oh...that's quite serious..." Yuan Peilin suddenly remembered something, "By the way, what was the date that female student died?"

“Uh…it seems…” Qi Guangjian’s facial muscles twitched noticeably, “…it’s today…”

"Hehe, what a coincidence. Huh...?" Yuan Peilin turned his head and saw the sign above the room he was passing by, and stopped in his tracks.

Qi Guangjian's face was soaked, as if he'd been drenched in rain. Because the sign said…

Music Classroom

The next moment, without warning, a melodious and captivating piece of music began—the sound of a violin.

"Ah...ah...run...run!!!" Qi Guangjian looked as if he had been electrocuted, his face contorted to an unbelievable degree, and he scrambled and crawled out of the building.

"This aura..."