Class time quickly passed.
This time, there was no waiting for school to end; as soon as the first class was over, Hu Zihao turned to look at Shi Yu, but he remembered that Shi Yu was very afraid of his current state, so he didn't get too close.
He greeted Shi Yu from a distance.
Hu Zihao was truly helpless now.
From someone who wanted to find a missing friend and was unrelated to the incident, after talking to Shi Yu, he suddenly became the center of a strange event.
When he returned to his dorm at noon, he told others some of his conjectures about Liu Zunfu's disappearance, but he didn't mention what Shi Yu told him.
Instead, he changed the way he put it:
"Do you think Liu Zunfu might have already... Is there something unclean in our school?"
But what he got in return was, "You're too worried, how could that be? There's no such thing in the world."
Indeed, how could ordinary people believe such a strange thing?
Hu Zihao felt isolated and helpless.
In this situation, the homeroom teacher suddenly took leave.
How could a homeroom teacher take leave at noon after learning about a student's disappearance in the morning?!
This matter was strange in every way, and now the "inexplicable" Shi Yu had become the only person he could confide in.
The surrounding classmates didn't pay much attention to Hu Zihao and Shi Yu; they were all discussing the homeroom teacher's sudden leave.
As soon as Shi Yu saw Hu Zihao's worried expression, he knew he was extremely anxious, but to be honest, he also had no solution.
All he could do was give a warning and try to make Hu Zihao take the matter seriously.
Looking at Hu Zihao's performance now, his "ability" seemed to have worked; Hu Zihao had already believed what he said.
This also meant that everything he could do was done, and the rest could only be left to fate.
However, Hu Zihao's current state didn't look good, and he couldn't just stand by.
Just as Shi Yu was about to stand up and talk to Hu Zihao, a hand suddenly pressed on his shoulder.
Shi Yu tilted his head and saw the owner of that hand.
It was Han He again.
Han He's strange behavior today was more than all the times Shi Yu had seen him speak voluntarily in the past month combined.
Shi Yu looked at Han He in confusion.
Han He stood up, looked at Shi Yu, and said:
"I'll talk to him."
"....Huh?"
Before Shi Yu could finish his confusion, Han He had already left his seat and walked towards Hu Zihao.
When he reached him, Han He pointed to the doorway, signaling him to go outside to talk.
Hu Zihao was more shocked by Han He's behavior than Shi Yu, because in his impression, he had never communicated a single word with this cold-faced man.
However, Han He's imposing aura was as intimidating as ever.
Hu Zihao glanced at Shi Yu, and Shi Yu shook his head slightly at Hu Zihao, meaning he also didn't know what was going on.
There was nothing to be done; Hu Zihao was still a little afraid of Han He.
Although Han He was about the same height as him, Han He's aura was overwhelming.
Hu Zihao finally chose to go out with him; in any case, he had no other options or choices now.
Han He and Hu Zihao walked to an open space in the corridor near the teachers' office.
Seeing the scattered classmates around, Hu Zihao felt a little relieved and spoke first.
"Han... He, what's up? Do you need something from me?"
Han He still showed no expression.
His eyes were like some kind of wild animal, an eagle or a wolf, in short, they made Hu Zihao a little scared.
"What's wrong with these two deskmates... Han He is even stranger than Shi Yu."
Just as Hu Zihao was about to make another casual remark and slip away, Han He finally spoke.
"Shi Yu is right, you've been tainted with the smell of Evil."
It was another strange remark, but Hu Zihao wanted to hear this now.
He quickly asked his questions.
"What Evil? What is that? Is Liu Zunfu's disappearance related to that thing? Do you know what happened to him?"
Hu Zihao wasn't stupid; he clearly heard that the Han He in front of him obviously knew something, and unlike Shi Yu's guesses and ambiguities, Han He must have definite knowledge.
Han He chose not to remain silent; he directly answered Hu Zihao's questions.
"Liu Zunfu is already dead.
I took a round at noon, and all traces of his aura have disappeared.
You can understand Evil as a ghost; it has already targeted you now."
Han He's words were concise but also very clear.
Liu Zunfu had died within that ghost called Evil, and the next one was him.
"Why... Wait, how do you know all this? If what you say is true, then do you have any solution?"
Hu Zihao was really about to collapse.
He now wished so much that Han He in front of him could smile, and then Shi Yu would pull Liu Zunfu out, make a face at him, and say,
"Haha, actually, this was a prank we planned for a long time, pretty exciting, right!"
But that was impossible.
Now even the informed homeroom teacher had taken leave and disappeared.
Hu Zihao didn't know what to do.
He couldn't ignore these strange things.
He could only grasp at any straw that might save him.
Han He looked at the panicked Hu Zihao, thought for a moment, and pulled out a small pendant from his pocket.
It was a handmade amulet woven from feathers and twigs.
"I've seen similar things, so I have some understanding.
But what you've encountered this time might be more dangerous."
Han He handed the amulet to Hu Zihao.
"You wear this first; it might protect you.
I'll pay more attention to you in the next few days."
Hu Zihao looked at the small amulet in front of him, said thank you, took it with both hands, and carefully put it in his pocket.
"This, can it really protect me?"
Hu Zihao's voice trembled a little.
He looked at Han He in front of him, hoping the other person could give him some comfort.
"Perhaps.
In any case, Shi Yu is also right; you'd best not be alone anywhere."
After speaking, Han He surveyed the surroundings, glanced at Hu Zihao, and then left without another word.
Hu Zihao couldn't do anything about it.
Class time was almost here, so he quickly returned to the classroom.
The lively atmosphere in the class slightly dispelled his fear.
Thus, the afternoon passed.
Shi Yu and Han He never spoke to him again.
But Shi Yu and Han He did not stop communicating.
During the last class, Shi Yu finally couldn't hold it in.
Han He was like a wooden dummy; besides spacing out and being dazed, he didn't say an extra word.
Shi Yu was really curious what Han He said to Hu Zihao, and Han He's question, "What did you feel?" also bothered him.
Han He listened to the rustling sound of his deskmate writing beside him, knowing that the other person was a bit restless.
As expected, a note was quickly passed over.
Han He naturally and swiftly took the note that had just been extended, as if the two had planned it.
"? This guy?"
Shi Yu was stunned, not expecting the other party to react so quickly, but he still patiently waited for Han He's reply.
Soon, the note was passed back.
"What do you think about Liu Zunfu and Hu Zihao's situation?"
The handwriting was elegant; this was written by Shi Yu.
The handwriting below was somewhat formal and neat, stating:
"As you said, both of them have been targeted by some terrifying thing.
We call it Evil.
First Liu Zunfu, then Hu Zihao.
Liu Zunfu's scent in the school has disappeared; he is already dead.
Hu Zihao is very likely to die today."
Shi Yu looked at Han He's writing and fell into thought.
"Obviously, Han He understands that inexplicable horror better than I do.
Scent.....?
What does that mean?
He's not a dog...."
But thinking about himself, a "quack" who judges by feeling, "scent" seems a bit more reliable.
"Hu Zihao..... will also be in danger today."
Shi Yu wrote on the note:
"Do you have any solution?"
Han He's reply was quick.
"I gave him an amulet, and I'll keep an eye on him today.
You don't need to keep too much distance from Hu Zihao either; this shouldn't be a contagious curse, otherwise, after Liu Zunfu, it should have been his deskmate, not his roommate."
Shi Yu's doubts about Han He deepened.
What exactly was this taciturn deskmate capable of?
Shi Yu had thought he was already a freak, but he never expected Han He, sitting next to him, to be even more deeply hidden.
Shi Yu shook his head.
His attitude was clear: he would do what he had to do, and the rest could only be left to fate.
He didn't know what Han He was capable of, but Shi Yu's own capabilities stopped here.
Just as Shi Yu crumpled the note into a ball, intending to throw it away, a new note was handed to his desk.
"Didn't you accept the inheritance?"
Here it was again, another headless, tailless remark.
Shi Yu frowned, looking at this strange sentence, thought for a moment, and still wrote a reply.
"I don't understand what you mean.
What is inheritance?"
The note returned to Han He's hand; this time, it was his turn to be confused.
Han He tilted his head, then turned to look at Shi Yu, seemingly trying to see if he was lying.
But Shi Yu was also very confused.
You gave me a headless, tailless remark, and now you're confused?
After looking for a while, Han He turned his head back with a puzzled expression.
Shi Yu also stopped looking at him.
The two of them sat there in confusion until class ended.
During evening self-study, there was still no news of Liu Zunfu.
As autumn set in, the days in Northeast China became increasingly shorter.
The sun grew warm and gentle early, slowly sinking into the sea formed by the mountains.
The sky was dark and deep.
The lights on the playground were sparse.
Evening self-study was almost over, and the dorm lights hadn't come on yet.
Everyone was looking forward to class ending quickly so they could rush back to their dorms to rest.
Except for Hu Zihao.
He looked at the dark outside and the dorm building, growing more and more afraid.
Liu Zunfu had disappeared in the dorm building.
If it weren't for the fact that the teaching building would be empty soon, Hu Zihao wouldn't even want to return to the dorm.
Just when there were ten minutes left until class ended, the classroom door suddenly opened.
It was Yang Director.
Yang Desheng scanned the class, and the previously restless students all quieted down.
Yang Desheng looked at some of the knowledge points written on the blackboard, furrowed his brows, and said nothing.
He turned to look at the students, who were silent as cicadas.
Yang Desheng was very satisfied with the students' sensible behavior.
He slowly walked to the podium and slowly began to speak:
"Today, your homeroom teacher had an urgent matter at his hometown, so he couldn't come to class.
He might not return to school for some time."
Immediately, a few people in the class began to whisper, but under Yang Desheng's gaze, no one dared to speak again.
Only then did Yang Desheng continue:
"In addition, a very serious malicious incident has occurred in our class!
That is, student Liu Zunfu bypassed the surveillance cameras last night and secretly skipped school!
We have already contacted the police and parents.
Here, I also want to remind all students to restrain your behavior and prevent such incidents from happening again!"
After speaking, Yang Desheng once again scanned the class and then left the classroom.
At this point, the sounds in the classroom could no longer be suppressed; various voices rose and fell.
And the other roommates from 225 also cast their gazes towards Hu Zihao.
"See, I told you you were making a fuss."
Hu Zihao, however, recalled that at the end of lunch break, Yang Desheng had gone to their dorm and called out each of his roommates one by one.
When it was his turn, Yang Desheng just stared for a while, then waved his hand and said:
"Class is starting soon, you can just forget it."
Ever since then, the roommates who had originally been a bit suspicious about Liu Zunfu's disappearance no longer pressed for information about Liu Zunfu, and all of Hu Zihao's words were treated as if he was talking nonsense because he was worried and confused.
At this moment, Hu Zihao instinctively sought out the people he trusted most now—Shi Yu and Han He.
He turned his head and froze.
Shi Yu's face was pale, just like his expression when he had approached him that morning, while Han He was the opposite.
Even from a distance, Hu Zihao could feel that Han He's body was tense, and his usually indifferent eyes rarely showed emotion—the emotion of facing a formidable enemy.
Shi Yu trembled slightly.
He slowly uttered a sentence:
"Yang Desheng....? That's not Yang Desheng...."
And outside the window, night had fallen.
