Lin Yan, after finally managing to pacify her grandmother, finally embarked on her journey to school.
Lin Yan was assigned to Class 2 of the first year, a key class comprising students who had ranked within the top 100 in the city.
Since many students in the class were from the city, and some were even her former classmates from middle school, they were quite familiar with each other.
Lin Yan, however, felt like an outsider joining this collective. Nevertheless, in a key class, family background was secondary; academic achievement was what truly mattered.
She quickly integrated into the group, experiencing high school life once again. This kind of high school life made Lin Yan feel a sense of weariness, as she had already gone through high school several times in her numerous worlds.
The first or second time might have held some novelty, but after attending too many times, it inevitably led to boredom.
This was perhaps a consequence of living too long; she wondered if she would ever feel curious about other matters. However, these novel worlds had different settings, and seeing different scenery might be enough to keep her going.
After only a month, Lin Yan began to consider skipping a grade.
But just as Lin Yan was preparing to jump ahead, something happened at school.
On Friday morning, as Lin Yan entered the school, she immediately sensed an unusual atmosphere. Upon reaching her classroom, she noticed that the students who boarded at the school had dark circles under their eyes, as if they hadn't slept at all the previous night.
They were whispering to each other. As Lin Yan settled into her seat, the student in front of her turned around and quietly asked, "Lin Yan, did you hear about what happened last night?"
The classroom had single desks arranged in rows, so Lin Yan had no deskmate. Her closest classmates were those in front and behind her.
"What happened? I didn't hear anything." Lin Yan didn't pay much attention to school matters, so she was unaware of anything that had transpired. Moreover, it had happened the night before, and since she was a day student, she had no source of information.
"Someone jumped from the girls' dormitory building last night!" The girl's voice was very low, but Lin Yan heard her clearly.
"Jumped?" This was a serious matter, and Lin Yan immediately wanted to know what had happened. "Do you know which room it was from?"
"I heard it was a third-year student. Thankfully, the third-years are housed on the lower floors. If it had been on a higher floor..." she sighed.
"Don't the third-years all live on the first and second floors?" Lin Yan questioned. "At that height, a person trying to commit suicide wouldn't usually choose such a low spot, would they?"
"Yes, it was from the second floor. I heard it was a girl from room 204 who jumped from the balcony. I really don't know what she was thinking. The ambulance and police came last night, and it kept us awake all night."
"Jumping from the second floor shouldn't cause any serious harm, so you shouldn't worry too much."
"But there was a lot of blood. When I woke up this morning, there was a pool of blood there. I lost my appetite for breakfast." She sighed, leaning dejectedly onto Lin Yan's desk.
"I have some cookies here, would you like to have some?" Lin Yan prepared to take out the cookies she had stored in her desk drawer.
"No, thank you. I don't have an appetite yet. I'll ask you for them when I feel like eating."
"Okay, then let me know if you get hungry later," Lin Yan said softly. Then, she saw a figure flash past the door. "The teacher is coming."
Lin Yan immediately alerted the girl, who then quickly turned around, took out her book, and began to read.
Jumping from a second-floor balcony, generally speaking, a person intending suicide wouldn't choose such a height. Such a height would unlikely be fatal. Therefore, jumping from the second floor was either a joke or not a deliberate choice.
The impact from jumping from the second floor shouldn't cause severe injuries. Hearing about so much blood didn't seem entirely normal.
As Lin Yan pondered this, she looked towards Wei Wanru. Wei Wanru, receiving Lin Yan's signal, nodded at her and then floated out of the classroom.
This news was only discussed a bit more during the break, and soon everyone was engrossed in their demanding studies.
Wei Wanru returned at noon. Seeing her, Lin Yan avoided the crowd and walked into the small grove of trees on campus.
"Sister Wei, how was it? Did you find anything?"
"Yan Yan, this matter is likely not simple," Wei Wanru's tone was serious.
"What is it?"
"I detected the aura of a fierce ghost in that dormitory room. The student's fall from the building is likely not straightforward."
"A fierce ghost, you say? Then how is the student now?"
"She has two broken ribs and a comminuted fracture in her left leg. Fortunately, her life is not in danger. There's a faint aura of Yin energy in the hospital room as well, though it's quite weak."
"Why would a student provoke a fierce ghost? Shall we go to the hospital after school? It's Friday today, and there's no evening study session."
"Yes, I've already collected the aura of that fierce ghost."
"Sister Wei is very thoughtful. I'll report this later and earn some points."
After school, Lin Yan called Sister Zhou to inform her, and then took a taxi to the hospital.
Since Wei Wanru had already visited the hospital, Lin Yan followed her directly to the patient's room.
As Lin Yan approached the room, she felt a strong Yin energy emanating from within. Her expression changed, and she took out a stack of talismans from her backpack. Then, she pushed open the door.
Upon opening the door, Lin Yan saw an old man in burial clothes floating by the hospital bed. A girl, bandaged and lying on the bed, was visible.
The girl seemed to be able to see the old man as well. She said in terror, "Don't come closer! Don't come closer!"
Lin Yan did not intervene, but instead looked at Wei Wanru. Wei Wanru simply floated over and began to fight with the old ghost.
The old ghost, who had been ferociously preparing to pounce on the girl on the bed, only put up a weak resistance upon seeing Wei Wanru approach. He immediately fled.
The moment he saw Wei Wanru, he knew she was a ghost he couldn't possibly defeat. Thus, he ran away immediately, especially since he had already left his ghost mark on the student.
No matter where she ran, he would find her. Since she had already signed a contract with him, she would come down to accompany him.
After watching the ghost in burial clothes leave, the girl on the bed did not feel relieved, as there was still a female ghost in a long dress present.
When this female ghost appeared, the old ghost left. She was surely more powerful than the old ghost. She really didn't know what was happening to her, why she was attracting so many ghosts.
"Don't be afraid. This is Sister Wei, she's with me. We're here to help you. Would you mind telling me what happened?"
Lin Yan walked to the bedside, while Wei Wanru stood behind Lin Yan, not looking at the girl on the bed.