I was so frightened that I reached out to check again, and this time I was truly certain that He Wei had no breath. I called his name twice, but he didn't respond at all. His face was bloodless, just like a corpse.
I finally understood why there were two He Weis. The one in the red bridal sedan wasn't He Wei at all—it was his soul.
He Wei's soul had been reaped to become the female ghost's groom. No wonder the ghost wedding procession had no visible ghost bridegroom earlier. If I had rushed out then, could I have saved him?
Sadly, I realized this too late—He Wei had already been taken away by the female ghost.
I woke up Zhao Yi and Li Wen, then called an ambulance and notified our teachers and He Wei's parents.
When He Wei's parents heard the news, they collapsed into tears and fainted immediately. After all, he was their only child. What puzzled them was that when the doctors examined He Wei's body, they couldn't find any fatal injuries or wounds. The doctor furrowed his brows, saying He Wei had died as if from natural causes, with his heart stopping peacefully. But He Wei was so young—how could he have "died of old age"? Later, his parents transferred his body to several other hospitals, but none could determine the cause of death. In the end, the matter was left unresolved.
Perhaps I'm the only one in the world who knows how He Wei died—his soul was reaped by a female ghost. But I dared not tell anyone, for no one would believe me, and they might even think I was crazy.
After this incident, whenever I pass by a graveyard or go up the mountain to sweep tombs, I never dare to show any disrespect. I'm afraid of offending some yin spirit by accident—if that happens, I might die without even knowing why. From then on, I studied Maoshan Ghost Taoism lore even more diligently. Only by mastering higher Taoist skills can I protect myself and others when encountering ghosts in the future.
After He Wei's death, Li Wen and Zhao Yi became neurotic, burning joss paper in the dorm every day and murmuring, "Don't come for me, don't come for me!"
I mocked them, asking if they had done many things to let down He Wei in the past.
They both gave me the middle finger at the same time. Zhao Yi said, "He Wei was the most stingy person ever—he cared too much about face and held grudges. His death was so bizarre. What if he becomes a fierce ghost and comes back for us? His death must be related to that night at the graveyard, and we were there too. Could it be that..."
As Zhao Yi spoke, both of their faces turned pale.
I furrowed my brows, feeling that these two guys were acting strangely. They weren't usually this timid—they had even forgotten everything I told them the next day after that night.
"Hey, did something happen to you two? Your expressions look off," I asked.
At first, they hesitated and mumbled evasively, but under my persistent questioning, they finally revealed the truth.
It turned out that after He Wei's death, Zhang Xiaoman had been encountering strange occurrences. She constantly felt someone following her, but whenever she spun around, there was nothing there. However, this illusion grew stronger, and she occasionally felt someone blowing in her ear.
At first, Zhang Xiaoman thought she was too tired from studying and might be having delusions. But last night, when she looked in the mirror, she saw He Wei.
He Wei stood behind her, staring at her with a sinister smile that made her scalp tingle and her body shiver.
With a scream, Zhang Xiaoman immediately turned around, but there was nothing behind her—no sign of He Wei.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. After thinking for a while, she convinced herself it must be a hallucination.
But at that moment, fear shattered her assumption. When she turned back to the mirror, He Wei was still standing there, wearing the same eerie smile.
This happened three times in a row, and Zhang Xiaoman finally fainted from excessive fright.
When she woke up, she had a persistent high fever that didn't subside despite seeing many doctors.
Later, Lin Xue told Zhao Yi and Li Wen about this, scaring the two into burning joss paper and praying to gods every day, fearing He Wei's ghost would haunt them.
After hearing their story, I understood why Zhang Xiaoman hadn't come to school for days—she had been running a high fever.
But from what they said, it seemed like Zhang Xiaoman was being haunted by He Wei's ghost.
He Wei had liked Zhang Xiaoman when he was alive but never won her over, which meant he'd carried unfulfilled feelings to his grave. For the living, the greatest fear is failure; for the dead, it's the exact opposite—holding onto unresolved emotions. The grudges he couldn't let go of in life had turned into resentful energy after death. Moreover, Zhang Xiaoman was half responsible for his death—if not for the bet with her, He Wei would never have gone to that graveyard. So it was highly likely that his ghost was fixated on haunting her.
Frowning, I calculated the days and felt a surge of unease. Today happened to be the seventh day after He Wei's death—the traditional "head seven" when the ghost returns to its former home. I had a premonition that He Wei might harm Zhang Xiaoman. If her high fever didn't subside, she might not survive the night, because tonight was his soul-returning night!
I immediately shouted at Zhao Yi and Li Wen, "Where does Zhang Xiaoman live? Take me there now!"
My sudden demand to visit Zhang Xiaoman left them confused. Li Wen instinctively shook his head, saying he didn't know her address—only her best friend Lin Xue did.
"Then call Lin Xue out to lead the way right away! It'll be too late if we delay!" I urged. I couldn't save He Wei, but I couldn't let his ghost harm others.
Scratching his head, Zhao Yi eyed me suspiciously. "Since when did you care so much about classmates? You weren't this eager when I was sick."
Li Wen chimed in with a sneer, "Heh, can you compare to Zhang Xiaoman? She's not just the class beauty—she could pass for the school beauty. Her family's loaded too; her dad's in real estate. Hooking up with her would mean never worrying about money again, even if you broke a leg."
Zhang Xiaoman has a sweet appearance, and her development seems to be better than that of girls her age. The two peaks on her chest can overshadow others. Coupled with her good family background and ability to dress up, not to mention in the class, there should be few girls comparable to her in the entire school. Her family is also wealthy, so the men around her circle around her like bees. He Wei is just one of them, but she seems to look down on all of them, even appearing somewhat disgusted, including He Wei.
But this time, I'm not trying to please her, nor am I after her money. I just want to save her life!
"Cut the crap. Hurry up and ask Lin Xue out to take us to Zhang Xiaoman's house. If we're late, we won't be able to see her!" I said with a straight face.
Seeing me like this, Li Wen stopped dawdling, took out his phone, and called Lin Xue. After much persuasion, Lin Xue finally agreed to take us to Zhang Xiaoman's house.
After leaving the dormitory building, we quickly met up with Lin Xue. She was standing at the school gate, looking around, and when she saw us, she waved directly, motioning for us to come over.
Lin Xue and Zhang Xiaoman are not only best friends but also childhood playmates who grew up together. Their relationship is extremely close, and they are almost inseparable, sticking together every day. However, both their appearances and personalities are completely different, including their family backgrounds.
Although Lin Xue isn't as pretty as Zhang Xiaoman, she has an exceptional temperament. What's most alluring are her beautiful legs—slender and fair. Most people's legs, no matter how attractive, have minor flaws, but hers are flawless, can be called perfect. They make people unable to resist the urge to touch them, though of course, it's just a fantasy at best—otherwise, one would get expelled for indecent behavior.
Lin Xue's family background also differs from Zhang Xiaoman's. She comes from an artistic family: her father is a painter, and her mother is a ballet dancer, which might explain why Lin Xue has such an elegant demeanor.
Seeing Lin Xue wave to us, we hurried over to join her.
The moment Zhao Yi and Li Wen approached Lin Xue, their lecherous eyes fixated on her fair thighs. They didn't dare to stare openly, only stealing furtive glances, but their expressions were practically drooling.
Lin Xue seemed to notice, and to avoid their gazes, she wordlessly walked out of the school gate. Fortunately, it was Lin Xue—if it had been Zhang Xiaoman, they'd probably have gotten several dirty looks each.
I quickly shot them a warning glance, signaling not to be too brazen. It's already kind of her to agree to take us; they shouldn't push their luck. Though I'll admit I was looking too—heh, which young man isn't prone to romantic thoughts? Honestly, I prefer Lin Xue's temperament over Zhang Xiaoman's. So what if Zhang Xiaoman has a bigger chest? She has such a bad temper—marrying her would mean kneeling on caterpillars every day. Cough I'm getting ahead of myself.
We followed Lin Xue all the way, with Zhao Yi and Li Wen chattering nonstop beside her, bombarding her with questions. Lin Xue only replied occasionally, but luckily she didn't show any irritation. If she'd turned back halfway and refused to lead us, I'd have taught those two a lesson.
Arriving at Zhang Xiaoman's house, I finally understood what a mansion was. The courtyard was as large as a football field, and the iron gate was three times bigger than the school's.
Since Lin Xue visits frequently, we entered easily. Escorted by the butler, we soon reached Zhang Xiaoman's bedroom door, but he wouldn't let us in yet, saying a master was performing a ritual inside. Indeed, clinking sounds and the murmur of incantations emanated from within.
I furrowed my brows and peered under the door. Though the gap showed nothing, a chilling draft seeped out from the room, penetrating even the soles of my shoes.