Chapter 27: Dragoncry Middle School (4)

“The Painting of the Dead Person?” Yun Xueqing asked. “Who is the person in the painting?”

Fu Wuxuan shook his head with a smile. “I don’t know.”

The painting hanging on the office wall showed only a simple back view. From the clothing and style, it appeared to be some student’s back.

The painting brimmed with eerie energy, so he hadn’t dared to examine it closely. He had only glanced at it from afar a couple of times.

After hearing his clue, Yun Xueqing pondered for a moment. “The students in that class aren’t afraid of whatever’s in the office. They’re afraid of the student in the painting.”

Ye Xuechun clapped his hands. “So that student might be the owner of this Weird Domain!”

He finished speaking, then started to worry again. “But how do we find out who that student is?”

Ask the students in the class directly?

They all acted like frightened birds, none of whom seemed like they would talk.

Fu Wuxuan smiled. “Simple. Go look at the outstanding student commendations and the student roster.”

Ye Xuechun asked, “Looking at the student roster makes sense, but why check the bulletin board’s outstanding student awards?”

Fu Wuxuan pinched the bridge of his nose and patiently explained, “Two reasons. First, the kind of student the school would commission a portrait for is either a rich young master or a top outstanding student in every way.”

In this small town, forget rich young masters—per capita poverty was more likely.

“Second, in most school Weird Domains, nine out of ten involve outstanding students bullying others or being bullied, so outstanding students are key targets.”

Ye Xuechun nodded blankly. “I see.”

Fu Wuxuan fetched the student handbook from the materials room. Yun and Ye also went to the school bulletin board and snapped photos of the outstanding student representatives with their phones.

They found a pavilion and compared the faces and names one by one.

Yun Xueqing searched carefully. When he flipped to the Senior Year Class 2 roster, he suddenly pointed. “It has to be this person—Yin Shixing.”

Senior Year Class 2 was exactly the class they were in.

This was the only one who appeared in the outstanding student commendations column, was a senior, and was already dead.

The three of them checked the student records against the name in the roster.

[Yin Shixing: No parents. Excellent grades. Recommended to Magnificent Clarity University. Deceased due to unknown reasons.]

The roster included a photo of Yin Shixing.

He had handsome features, wore a white shirt, and grinned openly at the camera. He looked like the standard sunny and cheerful type of boy.

Yun Xueqing’s gaze shifted downward to the bottom half of the student handbook page. “This person should be connected to Yin Shixing.”

The person below in the handbook was named Yin Yan.

The same surname and nearly identical appearance drew Yun Xueqing’s attention.

[Yin Yan: No parents. Bad personality. Disciplined multiple times for fighting. Deceased due to unknown reasons.]

The Yin Yan in the photo had almost the same appearance as Yin Shixing, but the differences were obvious.

Yin Yan’s bangs nearly covered his eyes, giving him an extremely gloomy look.

He was slightly hunched over. His naturally tall frame seemed shrunken, and even through the photo, he exuded an uncomfortable aura.

Fu Wuxuan also took a look and said with interest, “They must be twins. Clearly brothers, yet so different. There must be a story there.”

The student handbook listed family addresses at the end. They were surprised to discover that most of Senior Year Class 2 came from the same place: Peaceful Joy Orphanage.

Yun Xueqing suddenly recalled the day the Mediterranean Class Teacher had picked them up from the hospital. It had said, “The orphanage teamed up with the school to pay for your surgeries.”

Whether it was the Yin brothers or their current identities, they had all come from this orphanage. What role had this orphanage played?

Fu Wuxuan saw his expression and knew what he was thinking. He sneered, “Want to check out the orphanage?”

Yun Xueqing looked up. “Can we?”

“Of course. Teachers always have plenty of privileges,” Fu Wuxuan laughed. “Evening self-study is mine anyway. Missing you two won’t be an issue.”

He added casually, “But only you two can go. I can’t join you—I still have to deal with those students and might pick up other clues.”

He turned to Yun Xueqing. “The orphanage might be dangerous. Take the Calamity God’s Knife with you.”

Yun Xueqing nodded and looked at Ye Xuechun. “Do you want to go? It might be dangerous. You should stay in the classroom…”

“I’m going,” Ye Xuechun said firmly. “I can’t let you risk it alone.”

That afternoon, he hadn’t dared to go to the office. Yun Xueqing had stepped up in his place.

The other guy was so righteous and treated him like a good friend—how could he back out now!

Fu Wuxuan was amused by his words. “You’re pretty hot-blooded. But hot blood doesn’t help in a Weird Domain. Dragging someone down could get them killed.”

Ye Xuechun nodded. “I know, but I’ll do my best to help Xueqing.”

Hearing the affectionate nickname for Yun Xueqing, Fu Wuxuan huffed. “Mutual trust is the best.”

With Fu Wuxuan covering for them at school, Yun Xueqing and Ye Xuechun followed the address in the handbook to the orphanage that housed numerous orphans.

“Peaceful Joy Street 404? That street number is a bit creepy,” Ye Xuechun held the orphanage address, checking and double-checking it. “This should be it.”

The caregiver outside, thinking they were wealthy people coming to adopt, enthusiastically led them inside.

Contrary to expectations, the orphanage that housed many children wasn’t large—just over two hundred square meters. But as they walked in, they saw at least several dozen kids.

They crowded into the cramped building and played obliviously with sand in the open space.

In this ordinary-looking orphanage, they encountered an unexpected person.

“Shen Qing?”

Shen Qing, who had been sweeping up the trash made by the kids, straightened up at the sound and looked at them.

He craned his neck, as if trying to see if anyone followed them. Seeing no one he wanted to see, Shen Qing frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Ye Xuechun said bluntly, “Looking for clues! So that’s why we couldn’t find you during the day—you’re working as a caregiver here!”

Shen Qing’s expression grew darker, his brows furrowing like they could squash a fly. “It wasn’t voluntary.”

“Not voluntary?” Ye Xuechun’s round almond eyes widened in curiosity. “You’re not here for clues? Then what are you doing?”

Shen Qing got annoyed by the questions and brushed him off. “Shut up.”

Yun Xueqing glanced at him and suddenly asked, “You came from the orphanage too. Did the director make you come back…?”

Before he finished, a voice called from afar, “Little Yun, Little Ye, you’re home!”

A young woman with a ponytail, dressed in a crisp white casual suit and high heels, walked over neatly.

Shen Qing mechanically greeted her politely. “Good afternoon, Teacher Sun Li.”

“It’s almost evening, not afternoon,” Sun Li checked her watch and asked, “I get Little Shen coming back to help—he’s already recommended. But what about you two?”

Yun Xueqing didn’t know Sun Li’s relation to the orphanage, so he answered cautiously. “Our Chinese teacher is sick and didn’t come to class. He gave us the evening off.”

Sun Li scrutinized their expressions, as if judging the truth. After a moment, she looked away. “If that’s the case, you’re back at the orphanage to help?”

Yun Xueqing met her eyes steadily. “No. We’re here to get Yin Shixing and Yin Yan’s things.”

Sun Li paused. Her previously mild expression turned cold, revealing a sullen look, her tone tinged with disgust. “You’re here to help that traitor?”

Yun Xueqing: “Traitor?”

“We at Peaceful Joy Orphanage raised these orphans, fed them, sent them to school, gave them a chance to leave the mountains. Everything they had came from us.”

“But that ungrateful wolf Yin Shixing got his university recommendation and forgot the orphanage that raised him.” Sun Li’s expression grew fierce.

“Forget contributing to the orphanage—he even spread rumors slandering us outside!”

Yun Xueqing’s eyes flickered. He asked, “I wasn’t close to Yin Shixing, so I didn’t know he was like that. He slandered the orphanage that raised him?”

He tried to guide her to reveal more about the rumors, but she suddenly sighed, her expression turning dejected. “He used to be such an obedient child. He must have been led astray by Yin Yan.”

She dropped the topic and asked instead, “Who told you to come get Yin Shixing’s things?”

Yun Xueqing kept a straight face. “A teacher at our school. He admired Yin Shixing greatly and grieves his passing. He wants some of his things to remember him by and to motivate the class to match his grades.”

The excuse sounded flimsy, but Sun Li didn’t suspect. She sneered mockingly, “Those score-obsessed fossils at Dragoncry Middle School must be hit hard. A genius like Yin Shixing dies, and the million they had coming vanishes.”

“A million?”

“The higher-ups support our town to cultivate talent. Get into Magnificent Clarity University, and the school and student split a million reward. Even hitting undergrad lines gets proportional rewards if enrollment rates rise.”

Her smile grew more sarcastic. Her delicate face looked harsh with disgust. “It’s all for the money that schools push students so hard.”

Yun Xueqing sorted through the clues she provided when she suddenly said, “You want to take Yin Shixing’s things?”

“Yeah.”

Sun Li: “You’re orphanage kids too, but you’re adults now. You know about quid pro quo. Can’t take things for free. You have to do something for me, like Shen Qing.”

Shen Qing silently swept nearby, staying quiet as background.

Yun Xueqing knew this was a hassle but had to play along to get the items. “What do we need to do?”

Sun Li tapped her chin. “We have a new kid named Xiao Yong. It’s disobedient—no caregiver can handle it. Go calm it down and stop the noise.”

Ye Xuechun had been tense to the max, but hearing it was just minding a kid, he relaxed instantly and got excited. “Babysitting? Easy! I’m super approachable!”

He kept up the eager energy until he saw the 1.8-meter Xiao Yong.

Ye Xuechun’s smile froze. “This is a kid?”

It was tall and burly—one punch could take ten of him.

Xiao Yong stood 1.8 meters tall but was built like a bull. Clearly male, yet it wore a girl’s pink dress, had little pigtails, and clutched a round object wrapped in cloth—like a ball.

Ye Xuechun forced some spirit. “Little friend, what are you playing with?”

Xiao Yong glanced at him, then giggled and hurled the “ball” at his face.

Ye Xuechun wasn’t prepared. It hit square on. Something slid down his nose bridge. He wiped it—red blood. Alarmed, he said, “Did it break my nose?!”

The hit wasn’t hard—no pain. He looked down instinctively. The cloth had unraveled. On the ground wasn’t a ball, but a fresh human head!

The head looked about thirty, with some wrinkles. Looking closer, Ye Xuechun realized it was the caregiver who had greeted them earlier!

Ye Xuechun’s face turned ghost-white. He frantically wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve.

Xiao Yong, not far away, saw him scared and giggled nonstop, picking up the head and walking over.

Ye Xuechun thought it was coming for him and grabbed Yun Xueqing’s sleeve in terror, ready to run. Then Xiao Yong extended a hand. “Play game.”

Ye Xuechun had no interest in playing with this killer monster, but Yun Xueqing stayed calm. “What game?”

Xiao Yong kept giggling. “Hide and seek.”

Yun Xueqing didn’t refuse or suggest another game. He agreed directly. “Okay.”

Xiao Yong: “I seek. You hide.”

Yun Xueqing shook his head. “You catch, he hides.”

He pointed at Ye Xuechun.

Ye Xuechun’s eyes widened in an instant. “Bro, I’m the one playing? You’re sure it’s me?”

In a game of hide-and-seek like this, the hider was the most terrified. Playing hide-and-seek with a Weird tested one’s mental fortitude the most.

However, Yun Xueqing affirmed, “It’s you. It has to be you.”

Ye Xuechun hesitated for a moment but chose to trust him. “Okay.”

There weren’t many places to hide in the orphanage. He searched east and west before finally deciding to hide under a child’s bed.

The room still had other kids playing games. He figured Xiao Yong probably wouldn’t come in.

With others around, listening to the nearby kids humming a nursery rhyme, Ye Xuechun felt a bit more at ease.

“A mud doll,”

“There’s a nose too,”

“There’s a mouth too,”

“But the mouth doesn’t speak.”

“It’s a fake doll,”

“Not a real doll.”

“It has no dear mommy,”

“No daddy either.” [One]

As a professional end-times singer, Ye Xuechun idly critiqued the nursery rhyme and concluded that the little brother singing had real talent.

But at some point, the sound of the nursery rhyme vanished, leaving only silence.

Ye Xuechun wondered suspiciously, Did that kid go out?

Lost in random thoughts, a chill crept up behind him.

He suddenly recalled a horror story he’d read before—someone hiding under a bed during hide-and-seek, and in the pitch-black darkness beneath, an indescribable ghost lurked right beside them.

The chill from behind might just be the ghost breathing.

The more he thought about it, the more scared he got. He clutched his head, trying desperately to shake out the untimely horror thoughts.

“Mud doll, mud doll,”

“A mud doll.”

“I’ll be its mommy,”

“I’ll be its daddy,”

“Love it forever.” [Two]

In the quiet room, the nursery rhyme suddenly started up again. Ye Xuechun’s suspended heart settled once more.

But he belatedly sensed something off: the singing voice seemed to have changed.

“Mud doll, mud doll,”

“A mud doll.”

The voice drew closer and closer, as if approaching from the door—or emanating from under the bed itself, right by his ear.

Beyond the nursery rhyme came a faint rattling sound, like wheels rolling.

Ye Xuechun held his breath, not daring to move, eyes squeezed shut in fear.

The rattling grew louder, the nursery rhyme faded, until the rattling completely drowned it out.

The massive rattling stopped abruptly.

Ye Xuechun opened his eyes—and came face-to-face with a head!

It was the caregiver’s head, its eyes glaring deathly at him!

The earlier rattling had been Xiao Yong rolling the caregiver’s head over bit by bit!

Beside the head stood a pair of feet—Xiao Yong was right at the bedside!

Ye Xuechun’s spine chilled; he was too terrified to speak, his mind blank.

He didn’t dare imagine how gruesomely he’d die if discovered!

He could only silently pray for it to leave.

But it was as if it had known all along and was deliberately toying with him—neither leaving nor bending down to grab him, just standing there by the bed.

Ye Xuechun felt like he couldn’t breathe, his vision going black.

It was like a cleaver hanging over his neck, suspended by a thread as thin as a hair—pure torment.

He closed his eyes, frantically recalling the Oracle techniques he’d learned before, hoping to comprehend even one move to counter it.

As his mind raced, a bang suddenly echoed from the room!

Ye Xuechun’s eyes snapped open, and he heard Yun Xueqing’s voice: “You can come out now.”

That voice was like heavenly music at the moment. With tears in his eyes, Ye Xuechun crawled out from under the bed and saw that the originally ferocious Xiao Yong was now only its lower half—its upper body had been sliced clean at the waist!

Ye Xuechun’s eyes widened as he stared at the blood still dripping from the Calamity Blade in Yun Xueqing’s hand, utterly shocked. “Bro, you’re this badass?!”

He’d thought Yun Xueqing would find a way to tie Xiao Yong up and save him. He hadn’t expected him to just kill it outright!

As Ye Xuechun voiced his astonishment, Yun Xueqing frowned. “I originally planned to tie it up, but it killed the boy in the room.”

Ye Xuechun followed his gaze and realized there was actually another boy in the room. He lay quietly against the wall with his eyes closed. If not for his head being removed and placed beside his body, it might have been a somewhat peaceful scene.

A wave of revulsion hit Ye Xuechun. “Too horrifying. Even kids can be evil!”

Yun Xueqing shook his head, shook the blood off his blade with a flick, and stored the knife back in his space. “Alright, let’s go see Sun Li.”

Ye Xuechun followed behind, sighing a bit. “I didn’t expect you to be this strong, Xueqing. Looks like I really didn’t help you at all this time.”

“No, you played a very important role.” Yun Xueqing shook his head as he said it.

Ye Xuechun asked expectantly, “What role?”

“Bait.”

Without Ye Xuechun acting as bait, there wouldn’t have been a chance for a sneak attack on Xiao Yong.

Ye Xuechun: “……”

Yun Xueqing carried Xiao Yong’s head to turn in the task, while Ye Xuechun still felt uneasy.

After all, the request had been to soothe Xiao Yong, but they’d gone and chopped it up. If Sun Li blamed them, it’d be trouble.

However, upon seeing Xiao Yong’s head, not only was she not dissatisfied—she readily agreed to hand over all of Yin Shixing’s belongings.

The items belonging solely to Yin Shixing weren’t many. The orphanage kids didn’t have individual rooms; typically, three beds per room slept ten children.

After Yin Shixing died, the room he’d occupied was taken by new arrivals, and the orphanage had cleared out most of his useless belongings.

Sun Li ordered Shen Qing to fetch the box labeled with Yin Shixing’s name from the storage room.

The box wasn’t large. Sun Li told the two, “Everything’s inside. Take it and go quickly if you want it.”

Even trying to hide it, her tone betrayed disgust and loathing, as if the box held something utterly repulsive that she couldn’t wait to be rid of.

Yun Xueqing and Ye Xuechun took the box and then asked Shen Qing, “Are you heading back to the dorm?”

“He can’t go back!” The first to speak was Sun Li. “He still has work to do for me.”

With that, she clicked away in her high heels.

The two didn’t understand why Shen Qing stayed at the orphanage. Ye Xuechun asked, but he wouldn’t say. They could only interject, “Who was that woman just now?”

Shen Qing’s expression turned odd. “You still don’t know who she is? Your info’s really blocked off.”

Ye Xuechun wasn’t offended by the scolding and chuckled. “We don’t know, but you’re well-informed. You must have lots of clues—spill it for us.”

Shen Qing hadn’t planned to entertain him, but pestered enough, he finally relented. “She’s the director of the orphanage.”

Ye Xuechun’s eyes filled with surprise. “Her? She’s so young!”

“Weirds turn into whatever they want. Who knows, maybe she’s a thousand-year-old hag.”

His tone dripped with sarcasm, full of the resentment of a wage slave.

Yun Xueqing asked him, “What were the rumors Yin Shixing mentioned, specifically? What’s the secret of this orphanage?”

Shen Qing sneered. “If you want to know, have Fu Wuxuan come see me.”

Seeing him still so stubborn, Yun Xueqing ignored him and left with Ye Xuechun, returning to the dorm before 10 p.m.

Once back and confirming no one else was around, they eagerly opened the box.

There wasn’t much inside—just a photo album and a diary.

Ye Xuechun murmured, “People still keep proper diaries these days.”

Yun Xueqing shot him a light glance and opened the notebook.

The first thing that met his eyes was Yin Shixing’s neat regular script:

“Someone wants to kill me. Maybe because I discovered that secret… I might not live past this month. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die!”

Ye Xuechun urged impatiently, “What secret? Could it be related to the orphanage? Flip ahead, quick!”

Yun Xueqing turned to the second page, where it switched to red ink:

“Whoever opens this diary will die too.”