Chapter Thirty-Eight The Perilous Tower (Part Two)

I tried my best not to look at the woman in red again, for a strange feeling had already begun to creep into my heart. According to Li Hongbo, the ghostly woman was supposed to haunt the rooftop of the seventh floor, yet when I looked up there, there wasn’t the faintest trace of a spirit to be seen.

“Master, this is the place!” Li Hongbo pointed at the dormitory building before us. By now, the building was long devoid of students. It seemed that ever since the incident, no one had dared live there. Though the school had tried to suppress the news, in this age of rapid communication, the story had already spread among the new students. The school was forced to build new dorms elsewhere, leaving this one abandoned and slated for demolition in the near future.

I stood before the building, the oppressive chill in the air making me shiver all over, while Li Hongbo, standing at my side, trembled even more violently.

“Do you have any information on the girl who jumped?” I asked.

Li Hongbo nodded hastily, urging us to move along as he led the way. “Let’s talk in the office,” he said, clearly reluctant to linger here any longer. I glanced once more at the rooftop—still no sign of any ghostly figure. Yet, on the fifth floor, the woman in red remained, standing silently at the window.

It wasn’t until we were seated in the office that Li Hongbo seemed to regain some composure. He drained a glass of water in one gulp.

“Master, did you see anything just now?” he asked anxiously.

I shook my head.

A strange thought crossed my mind. Had Li Hongbo also seen the woman in red smile at him? If so, he might not survive even tonight, let alone tomorrow.

“Master, you must save me!” Seeing my silence, he suddenly dropped to his knees before me, leaving me momentarily stunned.

“Director Li, what’s gotten into you? Tell me what you saw—”

“No! I can’t. If I speak of it, I won’t live through the night!”

A chill ran through me. Clearly, Li Hongbo had seen something terrifying. No wonder he was in such a hurry to get away just now.

“Very well, you needn’t say more. I understand.”

“Master, you really know? You’ve divined it?”

I gave a wry smile. I was no fortune-teller like Chen Chu Yi, but I nodded and said softly, “Bring up the files on the two girls who died. Let me take a look.”

There were no paper files in the director’s office, but the electronic records would do. I just wanted to see what the girls looked like.

Li Hongbo nodded eagerly, logged into his computer, and quickly pulled up their information.

When I saw the dates of birth, my heart skipped a beat.

Born in a yin year, on a yin month, at a yin hour.

Comparing their birth dates, I discovered they were born on the same day.

One was named Nie Xiaoke, the other Zhang Qianqian.

A wave of doubt swept through me. What could this mean? These two girls were certainly of the most extreme yin and evil fate. No wonder I’d felt that shiver when I saw the woman in red—she was none other than Nie Xiaoke. According to Li Hongbo, she had died dressed in white, but the overwhelming resentment had stained her spirit crimson.

But the other girl, Zhang Qianqian, had never appeared.

“Master, what’s wrong?” Li Hongbo asked.

I snapped out of my thoughts and forced a smile. “I was just calculating their fates. You should head home for now. I’ll go inspect the dormitory myself later.”

“You’re really going, Master? That building is especially haunted at night!”

I laughed it off. “Well, you know what I do for a living. If it weren’t haunted, I wouldn’t bother going.”

“Yes, yes, of course! My life is in your hands. If you succeed, this is your reward.” Li Hongbo held up five fingers.

I grinned, pressing four of them down, and was about to say something when Li Hongbo’s brows knitted. “Alright, a million it is. Not a penny less once you’re done!”

My heart skipped a beat—this line of work was far more lucrative than I expected. I’d thought he meant fifty thousand, and I’d only intended to keep ten for myself, donating the rest to students in need. But he’d offered a million.

“Good. And keep up your support for the students. In fact, expand it—do more, help more people. This is how you accumulate virtue. If you hadn’t been doing good deeds, you might have died a year ago.”

Li Hongbo nodded fervently.

“Alright, you go on ahead. I’ll handle the dormitory myself.”

He thanked me repeatedly, hurriedly packed his things, and left the office.

I went downstairs with him, watched him walk away, then took out my phone.

“Hello, Grandpa Chen...”

“Ah—hmm—just a minute, you rascal!”

I hung up, frustrated. I’d once peeked at Grandpa Chen’s diary back at the agency, only to find it full of his shameless adventures and experiences.

I’d wanted to ask about the meaning of being born in a yin year, month, and day, but now I’d lost interest. Instead, I decided to go investigate the dorm myself.

At times like this, the best method was to find the ghost and negotiate. Ask what they want, fulfill their wishes, and they’d stop harming people. After all, ghosts had once been human too—even the most vengeful spirits had their pasts. No one wanted to become such a creature; once you did, reincarnation became nearly impossible—a complete abandonment of the cycle.

Sure enough, when I arrived at the dormitory, the woman in red was still standing at the window of a room on the fifth floor.

I took one look at the pitch-black building, gritted my teeth, and went inside.

The moment I stepped in, regret washed over me. It was too dark. Worse, I knew there was a ghost inside. The wind howled outside as I began to climb the stairs.

I’d been afraid of the dark since I was a child—a habit I’d likely never break. Turning on my phone for a bit of light, I could barely make out the way forward.

As I ascended, I kept feeling as though something was following me. I knew it was probably just my imagination, but I couldn’t help glancing up and down the stairwell at every turn. I worried the woman in red might suddenly appear before me—if not scare me to death, then at least frighten my soul out of my body.

As I reached the landing on the fourth floor, I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. Instantly, a cold sweat broke out on my brow...