Chapter Thirty: Burning the Catechism

I glanced at the two people standing beside me; it seemed neither intended to knock on the door. Steeling myself, I raised my hand to knock. But before my hand could reach the door, it creaked open from within.

"Who are you looking for?" came the query.

I looked up—wasn't that Wang Baoquan, the very person I was searching for? He was holding a teapot. Today, he wore a tracksuit; though age had caught up with him, he still dressed smartly, the clothes concealing his corpulence. His face beamed with a cheerful smile.

"We're here for you, to collect the warehouse key," Chen Chen, standing beside me, spoke up first.

"Alright, your teacher wants to change chairs, right? Here you go—off you go," he replied.

I was momentarily stunned; I hadn’t expected the director to be so straightforward—no fuss at all.

It was only when Li Zijian patted me on the shoulder that I snapped back to my senses. I took the key, bowed respectfully, and said politely, "Thank you, thank you. I’ll bring it back to you shortly."

"It's nothing, just go... Such polite students..." he murmured.

I turned toward the main entrance of the teaching building, my heart warmed by the director’s kindness. At the same time, I couldn’t help but think: so many students in our two classes have died already, yet the school authorities seem oblivious. The Ghost King’s power is truly boundless—he can suppress even matters of such gravity...

As my mind drifted, pondering the true nature of the Ghost King, a message popped up in our group chat.

"Congratulations to Li Zijian for obtaining the warehouse key."

"Next task: Go to the warehouse, find a teaching plan from ten years ago, and burn it. Time limit: 20 minutes."

"A teaching plan from ten years ago?" Chen Chen muttered, more to himself, but I heard him too.

Ten years ago? Why burn it?

"Don’t overthink it. Let’s just get this damn task done," Li Zijian said as he glanced at his phone, looking utterly indifferent.

Before we knew it, we had reached the sports field. I gazed at the warehouse on the far side, a sense of dread hanging over the place—a feeling, perhaps, born of my own imagination.

We jogged across the field until we arrived at the warehouse door. Only then did I realize how different I’d become since gaining spiritual energy. The run left me only slightly sweaty, while the other two were in far worse shape, disheveled and drenched in sweat.

I looked at the warehouse—a place I’d heard had been here for many years. It was originally a gym, but after the school built new buildings, it became a storage space.

I took out the key and inserted it into the rusted lock.

Though the lock’s exterior was corroded, its mechanism was smooth. With a gentle twist, it opened easily. I pushed open the warehouse door. The first thing I saw was a chaotic pile of desks and chairs, along with discarded sports equipment.

I couldn’t help but think, "Shouldn't teaching plans be stored in the archives? Why would one be in this dusty, derelict warehouse?" But, regardless, we couldn’t disobey the Ghost King’s orders.

"Let’s split up and search," I commanded, and the three of us began scouring different corners.

The warehouse wasn’t large, but a thick blanket of dust covered everything. We searched through the haze, quickly stirring up clouds that made me cough incessantly.

By chance, I stumbled upon a box that seemed to contain teaching plans. A smile crept onto my lips—found it at last.

I picked up one at random. The contents were all about teaching work. Flipping to the last page, I checked the date—my smile froze instantly.

This... this was from last year.

Unwilling to give up, I searched further, only to find the entire box contained plans from either last year or this year.

I sighed deeply and kept looking.

Just as I was growing desperate, Li Zijian’s voice called out behind me.

"Guys, come over here and take a look at this."

I turned to see Li Zijian crouched on the ground, fiddling with something.

Chen Chen and I hurried over. We found him staring at a tattered, timeworn teaching plan.

"What’s that?" I knelt down beside him.

"I found this in that pile of scrap paper," Li Zijian replied, pointing at a heap of discarded documents nearly as tall as a person. "It says it's from ten years ago..."

I flipped through the plan. The first few pages were much like the others, but toward the end, things became different. The initial sheets were yellowed with age, but the later pages looked as if they'd been added on, the handwriting growing increasingly erratic.

Though I couldn’t make out much, I could vaguely discern repeated phrases like "Save them... don’t... I’m begging you..."

That was all I could understand.

"Yao, only a minute left. Hurry," Li Zijian reminded me, glancing at his phone.

Clutching the teaching plan, I pulled out my lighter and headed outside.

The other two seemed to understand my intentions and followed me to a secluded spot. Shielding the lighter from the wind, I hesitated only a moment, then resolutely set the teaching plan alight.

I had a hunch that this plan contained the Ghost King’s secret, but compared to Li Zijian’s life, I would never endanger my friends.

As the charred fragments of the teaching plan scattered on the wind, perhaps the world’s last clue to the Ghost King’s secret vanished as well. From now on, I’d have to uncover the truth myself.

"Congratulations to Li Zijian for completing the task. Today’s game is over. Report to school at 8 a.m. sharp tomorrow," the Ghost King’s message came through. I let out a long, relieved breath.

"Don’t think about it. Let’s go home," Chen Chen said, patting my shoulder like a world-weary middle-aged man.

I looked up at the blue sky, thinking, "When will a true master come to save us...?"

...

With Li Zijian and Chen Chen, I strolled toward the school gate. By now, classmates were trickling out, but no longer in groups—everyone walked alone, wary of those nearby.

Yet one person stood out—Jiang Yuan.

He and I had never gotten along; before the Ghost King appeared, we’d even come to blows, and things had always been tense. But since we were in the same class, I’d endured it.

Lately, relying on his father’s mining fortune, he’d gathered a clique around him. Several times during these twisted games, he’d taken the lead in provoking me.

"Well, if it isn’t our classmate Lin Yao. What’s the matter? Playing lapdog for someone else again?"

His lackeys snickered alongside him, while he flashed his yellowed teeth.

Chen Chen, incensed by the taunt, had already drawn a dagger from his waistband.

Jiang Yuan’s crew all put on hostile expressions, pulling out an assortment of weapons.

I pressed down on Chen Chen’s hand and said to Jiang Yuan and his gang, "Every single one of you, take my advice—don’t mess with me. If you do, I’ll take you down, one by one."

I’d hoped that my warning would intimidate them, but I’d underestimated this band of desperadoes.

"Did you hear that? He says he’ll take us all on! Ha ha ha..."

"Come on, let’s see you try—right now..."

"Chicken, come on... Ha ha ha..."