The following morning, Zhou Zhi was unusually quiet.
Which, for him, meant something was deeply wrong—or deeply suspicious.
Shi Mu noticed it immediately. He hadn't cracked a single joke since breakfast, and he hadn't once tried to prank her with another "cursed dumpling" story.
Finally, she asked, "Are you sick?"
Zhou Zhi shook his head and pulled out a folded sheet of paper from his hoodie pocket.
"I found something."
Shi Mu took the paper and unfolded it.
It was a list.
Faded. Typed in an outdated format. But at the top was the school's official header, and below that—
[Dorm Transfer Records – West Wing Archive, Year 2003]
She scanned it quickly.
Fu Yunshen's name wasn't there.
Neither was hers.
But one stood out: Lu Feng. The name of the ghost girl who had been lingering in multiple rooms… and multiple regrets.
And beside her name, a red-inked note:
"Disappeared. No withdrawal file."
Shi Mu's fingers tightened around the paper.
"This explains why she's still here," she murmured.
Zhou Zhi nodded. "I think the administration tried to erase it. Maybe they were afraid of the rumors getting out. But her energy—what we've been seeing—it's not just a haunting. It's a cry for truth."
That afternoon, Fu Yunshen returned from his tutoring session to find both of them waiting.
He took one look at the paper and sighed. "So it's her again."
"She wasn't just forgotten," Shi Mu said. "She was buried."
"In record. Not physically," Fu Yunshen corrected. "That means something."
Zhou Zhi looked between them. "So… we dig?"
"Metaphorically," Shi Mu replied.
"For now," Fu Yunshen added.
They decided to investigate the archives.
That meant breaking into the old administrative wing—now sealed off "for renovation," which was code for too haunted to handle.
Perfect for them.
The wing smelled of mildew and forgotten paper.
Shi Mu's flashlight cast long shadows across stacks of untouched file cabinets and crooked portraits of former principals.
Fu Yunshen moved methodically, brushing cobwebs aside.
Zhou Zhi sneezed. Loudly.
"You're blowing our stealth cover," Shi Mu whispered.
"We're already trespassing in a ghost museum," Zhou Zhi muttered. "I think we passed stealth two hallways ago."
They found it in Cabinet 47C.
A small folder labeled "Special Cases – Dorm Irregularities."
Inside were faded documents—transfer slips, death reports, and finally—
A file labeled "Lu Feng – Disciplinary Closure."
The report was vague, even censored in parts.
But the words "unsanctioned spiritual ritual" and "student collapse" were legible.
Shi Mu exchanged a glance with Fu Yunshen.
"She was trying to summon someone," he said.
"Or banish something," Shi Mu added.
Zhou Zhi stared. "So she was one of us?"
"No," Shi Mu said quietly. "She was alone."
[System Notification]
Historical Event Traced – Spirit Anchor Identified
File Retrieved: Lu Feng's Final Incident
Brotherhood Value +65 (Shared Investigation + Archive Breach)
Current Total: 1,810 / 1,000,000
As they left the archives, the air grew still.
A chill swept past them—gentle, but deliberate.
And somewhere deep in the shadows…
A voice whispered:
"Thank you."