Translator: CinderTL
The casual remark struck Yuan Xiaoyi's most sensitive nerve, leaving her deeply unsettled.
"Xiaoyi," Jiang Cheng immediately reassured her, "you have something else to tell me, don't you?"
"Senior, you're truly amazing. I only heard about this later," Yuan Xiaoyi whispered, lowering her voice. "There's something wrong with the last footage from the corner surveillance camera."
"The video does show a drunken man returning from the direction of the school, but his posture is bizarre. He doesn't look like a normal person, or even like someone who's drunk. He's swaying erratically, almost floating, and... his eyes are closed!"
Yuan Xiaoyi's words were peculiar, but Jiang Cheng felt he understood their implications. He had already noticed something odd about the situation.
The man had returned from the school and collapsed drunk, not earlier, not later, but "conveniently" right under the surveillance camera.
Moreover, according to Yuan Xiaoyi's description, the late-night footage was remarkably clear.
One coincidence might be dismissed, but the accumulation of so many coincidences gave the impression that something was deliberately framing the man for this incident.
"The police also sensed something was amiss. They analyzed the video and compared it to the footage of the man leaving for school earlier. That's when they discovered the anomaly."
"At the same location, using the same streetlight as a reference point, the man's height appeared noticeably taller in the second video. The difference was striking."
Recalling the man's floating gait, his inability to climb the wall, the vanishing footprints, his bizarrely increased height, and his closed eyes...
A daring and terrifying hypothesis took shape in Jiang Cheng's mind.
No, it was more than a hypothesis—it was a certainty.
"Senior, you've realized it too, haven't you?" Yuan Xiaoyi said, her voice trembling. "This man... he wasn't walking on his own. He was being carried."
"There's an invisible hand behind him, lifting him and moving him around. That's how he covered such a distance so quickly, scaled the wall without effort, and left no footprints."
"Because he wasn't walking at all!" Yuan Xiaoyi cried, her voice cracking. "He was flying! Something was lifting him into the air!"
"And that thing manipulated him into committing the crime. He didn't want to do any of it."
"That thing killed Meng Yumian! It gouged out her eyes! It's all its fault! This man is a victim too!" Yuan Xiaoyi's voice grew increasingly agitated. Jiang Cheng steadied her by the shoulders before pulling her into a comforting embrace. "Xiaoyi," he murmured, holding her close and gently patting her back. "Don't be afraid. I'm here. I won't let anyone or anything harm you, not even over my dead body."
Jiang Cheng spoke with deadly sincerity. If anything happened to Yuan Xiaoyi, their mission would end immediately, leaving them no choice but to commit suicide.
But Yuan Xiaoyi clearly didn't see it that way. She was just an ordinary girl, even branded as a "madwoman" on campus, avoided by everyone.
"Senior," she sobbed, clinging tightly to Jiang Cheng, tears streaming down her face. "I'm scared. I don't want to die, and I don't want anything to happen to you... But I can't... I can't bear to see Xiaolin and the others..."
Gao Yan happened to witness the scene from the edge of the woods. "What's going on here?" he muttered. "Weren't we supposed to be getting information? How did this turn into this?"
The intensity between them was so palpable that if they were anywhere else, it would be straight into R-rated territory.
"Easy," Fatty sneered, rolling his eyes at Gao Yan with a look of utter contempt. "Standard procedure. Anyone who thinks they can do better is welcome to try pulling them apart. Just wait and see if Yuan Xiaoyi slaps you senseless." He clapped mockingly, daring Gao Yan to intervene.
Gao Yan seethed with frustration, but he didn't dare move. If Jiang Cheng later blamed him for disrupting his focus and losing a crucial clue, he'd have nowhere to hide his shame.
It was now obvious to everyone: whoever "conquered" Yuan Xiaoyi would gain firsthand access to critical information. Jiang Cheng was miles ahead of them in this game.
Watching Jiang Cheng and Yuan Xiaoyi's embracing figures disappear into the distance, Gao Yan couldn't shake the suspicion that Jiang Cheng might actually be a professional.
"Skills never go to waste," Huai Yi murmured from afar, watching the couple. "Brother Jiang has truly mastered this path."
Engrossed in his efforts, Jiang Cheng had neither the time nor the inclination to care what others thought. His sole focus was on uncovering the truth behind Xiaolin's Urban Legends and finding a way to survive them.
"Xiaoyi, are you feeling better now?" Jiang Cheng asked gently. "You're practically suffocating me."
At his words, Yuan Xiaoyi's arms around Jiang Cheng trembled slightly. Then, as if embarrassed, she slowly unwound her embrace.
"Tonight, I'm definitely going to rescue Xiaolin. Don't try to talk me out of it," Jiang Cheng declared with heroic resolve.
"I'll prove to the entire school that they're the ones with the problem, not you, Xiaoyi!"
"Senior, I know I can't change your mind. You're a good person, but please be careful," Yuan Xiaoyi said, gazing into Jiang Cheng's face. "The Red-Clad Woman mentioned in Xiaolin's Urban Legends... that's Meng Yumian."
"The legend says that Meng Yumian, consumed by resentment, transformed into a vengeful spirit dressed in red and now haunts the abandoned sports field at night."
Jiang Cheng had already considered this possibility, but he was now more curious about what had happened to the man who had been labeled as the culprit.
Hearing Jiang Cheng's question, Yuan Xiaoyi's expression turned peculiar. "Just as the police began to suspect foul play and were preparing to investigate further, news came from the police station: the man was dead."
"Dead?"
"Yes. He died in a tiny cell inside the police station. That night, he acted strangely, constantly banging on the door, screaming that he wasn't alone in the room—that someone else was there—and demanding the police kick the other person out!"
"But the room was so small, you could see right through it. Where could another person possibly have come from?"
"Still, out of caution, the duty officer had him moved to another cell and assigned a guard to watch him through the night."
"But just after midnight, he started acting up again, babbling incoherently and scaring everyone half to death."
"He even told the guard that there was another person in the room—that 'he' had returned, was staring at him, and getting closer and closer."
"When the guard asked where this person was, he pointed to the ceiling, his face twisted in terror, and cried, 'He's standing right there! How can't you see him?'"
"The duty officer was so unnerved by his antics in the middle of the night that he went to call for backup. He was gone for less than two minutes, but when he returned, the man was already dead."
"His neck was arched sharply backward, his eyes fixed on the ceiling—exactly where he'd claimed the figure had been. They say his pupils were wide open when he died, terrifying the officers who rushed to the scene."
Yuan Xiaoyi whispered, "Everyone's secretly saying he was scared to death."
(End of the Chapter)
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