Chapter 28: Dragon Cry Middle School (Part 5) Part 1

Ye Xuechun’s expression turned ugly. “Ah, what is this? This isn’t intimidation!”

Yun Xueqing frowned and flipped to the later pages, but the content that followed was a complete blank, with clear traces of several pages having been torn out in the middle.

He shook his head. “As expected, it couldn’t be preserved.”

It had already been screened by the orphanage once, and Sun Li was no fool. There was no way that secret would remain inside.

She had deliberately left these two pages, probably hoping that anyone trying to probe into the orphanage’s secrets would back off.

If they kept digging, even they themselves might fall into danger.

But they were already inside a Weird Domain, so they weren’t afraid of any danger.

Yun Xueqing put the diary back and picked up the other item remaining in the paper box—a photo album.

There weren’t many photos in the album. They recorded some daily life at the orphanage, all in black and white tones. Rather than a record of life, it was more like a collection of posthumous portraits.

The children captured in the photos all had drooping faces, looking utterly listless.

The last photo in the album was a joint portrait of the Yin brothers. In the picture, Yin Yan’s bangs covered his forehead, his face openly sullen, the corners of his mouth drooping as he stared vacantly at the camera. Beside him, Yin Shixing flashed a big smile, making a V-sign toward the lens.

Ye Xuechun rubbed his exposed arms. “This photo is way too creepy. Yin Yan looks a bit like a ghost…”

No sooner had he spoken than the “Yin Yan” in the photo suddenly opened his vacant eyes. A malicious smile appeared on his face as he stared fixedly in Ye Xuechun’s direction.

Ye Xuechun jumped in fright. “Quick… quick, close the album!”

Yun Xueqing didn’t close the album. Instead, he carefully removed just this last photo and pulled out a fire lighter from his Storage Space, gently blowing it to ignite.

He slowly brought the photo close to the flame. The malicious expression on “Yin Yan” in the photo instantly turned to terror.

Seeing this, Yun Xueqing satisfactorily blew out the fire lighter and shoved the photo back into the album.

Ye Xuechun watched his actions in astonishment and gave him a thumbs-up. “That guy in the photo is Yin Yan, right? So now he’s in our hands?”

Yun Xueqing shook his head. “It might be some other minor Weird possessing the photo, just messing with us on purpose.”

Ye Xuechun tilted his head, reached out, and flicked the face of Yin Yan in the photo. “Hey, who are you? Are you Yin Yan?”

No response.

The “Yin Yan” in the photo went from vacant-eyed to fully closed eyes, completely ignoring him.

Now that Ye Xuechun knew this Weird feared fire, he grew bold. “If you don’t talk, I have a lighter too!”

The figure in the photo opened its eyes again, revealing a terrified expression, but did nothing else.

Yun Xueqing speculated, “Its Weird Power is probably too weak. Besides making expressions, it can’t do anything else.”

Disappointment showed on Ye Xuechun’s face. “In that case, the clue is broken again.”

Yun Xueqing, however, looked thoughtful. “It’s not meaningless. This photo might prove useful later.”

It was nearly 11 p.m., so they didn’t continue studying the items. Instead, they packed them away and began preparing to study.

That night was the same as the previous one—facing harassment from the Female Ghost while enduring the pressure to study. But Ye Xuechun didn’t get used to it like “first time shy, second time familiar.” Instead, his emotions collapsed even more. He nearly made a sound before midnight, which would have drawn the Flounder Dorm Supervisor. Fortunately, Yun Xueqing covered his mouth in time to stop him.

Once midnight passed, Yun Xueqing thought it was over and released Ye Xuechun. But the other seemed trapped in a nightmare, his eyes unfocused. “Studying is so painful, really so painful… I can’t absorb anything. If it’s always like this, how can I take the college entrance exam later? No, no, I’ll definitely fail…”

“I can’t finish it, I can’t finish. I can’t do it.”

“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die.”

His eyes lost focus as he clutched his head, murmuring nonstop.

Yun Xueqing realized something was wrong with Ye Xuechun. His mind was gradually being assimilated by the Weird Domain—his Pollution Value was rising!

Yun Xueqing gripped his shoulders. “Wake up! You’re an Oracle. You’re not a student here, and you don’t need to take the college entrance exam!”

Ye Xuechun looked up in confusion. “Xueqing?”

Yun Xueqing’s expression sharpened as he glanced at the mirror on the desk. Although it was past midnight, the Female Ghost hadn’t left this time. She lingered on the mirror’s surface like she was watching a show, her face twisted in a malicious, sinister smile.

The Female Ghost’s mouth moved slightly, as if saying something. Yun Xueqing could roughly make out from her lip movements: Join us, join us.

Affected by the space, Yun Xueqing’s emotions amplified several times over. Irritated, he pulled out his last two Sealing Talismans from the Storage Space and stuck them on the mirror. The annoying Female Ghost finally vanished.

With the Female Ghost gone, Ye Xuechun’s senses slowly returned. He gasped for breath and apologized hoarsely. “I think I just had a dream.”

A not-so-good dream.

In the dream, he was reading a book. As he read, he inexplicably returned to high school, frantically writing on an exam paper in the testing hall. But the paper was 10 meters long, impossible to finish in just two hours.

Worse, a ferocious ghost stood beside him, speaking in a strange language: he had to finish it on the spot, or It would eat him.

First the arms, then the thighs, finally the organs—slowly devouring him completely, leaving nothing behind.

Its language was so strange, like unclear murmurs in a dream, but he understood perfectly. So he could only cry and keep writing, even as his hand ached and his head throbbed, not daring to stop.

Yun Xueqing was silent for a moment before telling him, “You fell into a nightmare. It was probably caused by a Weird.”

This dorm room was perhaps a mini Weird Domain. Nothing happened during the day, but staying here at night risked being corrupted by Weird Power.

Especially for ordinary people with weak Spirit Energy and fragile wills—they were most easily assimilated by the Weird Domain.

Ye Xuechun instantly wailed pitifully. “What do we do now?”

Yun Xueqing was silent for a moment, then removed the Sealing Talisman from the mirror and stuck it on Ye Xuechun’s arm instead. “This can hold it off for a while. It should be fine tomorrow night.”

The other’s eyes lit up, the dullness instantly gaining sparkle. A flood of gratitude turned into one sentence: “Thank you. You’re such a good person!”

Suddenly hit with a “nice guy” card, Yun Xueqing: “…”

Ye Xuechun eyed the other Sealing Talisman on the mirror eagerly. “Can I stick the other one on my arm too? Double the effect and symmetrical!”

Yun Xueqing: “…Sure.”

Hearing this, Ye Xuechun issued another “nice guy” card, happily pasted the talisman paper on himself, and went to sleep.

Perhaps because of the two talismans, Ye Xuechun relaxed mentally and slept soundly until dawn. Yun Xueqing, who rarely dreamed, unusually had one this time.

In the dream, he was bound hand and foot just like that night, unable to move.

The Weird that looked just like him was digging into his brain again. But once the brain was dug out, It started tearing open his chest cavity, pulling out the organs inside.

It tore and dug nonstop, all night long.

Because of the dream, Yun Xueqing was completely sleepless. When he woke, he had dark circles under his eyes. Ye Xuechun jumped in fright. “Xueqing, are you okay?”

Yun Xueqing’s complexion was poor, but his expression remained indifferent. “To the classroom.”

His mental state was so off that he nearly walked into a lamppost. Yet his face showed no abnormality, making it impossible to tell he was dazed. Ye Xuechun watched him in alarm, constantly vigilant lest he step on a manhole cover and fall into a ditch.

As the two walked down the corridor and were about to enter the classroom, a voice called from behind. “It’s you!”

Ye Xuechun turned and saw an unfamiliar girl—Jiang Yiyue. Yun Xueqing recognized her at a glance as the female student from the previous Weird Domain.

Meeting acquaintances in such a dangerous place thrilled the girl. She jogged over to greet them. “Hello, do you remember me?”

Yun Xueqing nodded politely.

The girl smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “We didn’t introduce ourselves in the last Weird Domain. I’m Jiang Yiyue.”

Yun Xueqing and Ye Xuechun politely exchanged names.

Jiang Yiyue didn’t mind their cool attitudes and proactively said, “You entered this Weird for the Ghost Artifact, right?”

“Ghost Artifact?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Yiyue was surprised by their reaction. “You didn’t come for that?”

The two shook their heads in unison.

Jiang Yiyue covered her mouth, astonished, but didn’t hide anything just because they were rivals competing for the Ghost Artifact. She said openly, “You know a lot of Oracles came to Anle Town this time. They’re all here to seize the S-Rank Weird Artifact—the Mountains and Rivers Brush.”

She emphasized the words “Mountains and Rivers Brush.”

Ye Xuechun’s eyes widened. “An S-Rank Weird Artifact!”

S-Rank Weird Artifacts were peerless divine items. Only a few known ones existed, most held by S-Rank Weirds or controlled by the authorities. News of an S-Rank Ghost Artifact loose in the wild was unheard of.

Jiang Yiyue said mysteriously, “The intel came from the Divine Temple, so it’s fairly reliable. They said the S-Rank Ghost Artifact, Mountains and Rivers Brush, would appear in this Weird Domain, so many Oracles came.”

The Divine Temple was the organization handling prophecies and divinations, cooperating with the authorities and holding high prestige among the public. People trusted their words.

Ye Xuechun’s eyes flickered. “What’s the Mountains and Rivers Brush?”

Jiang Yiyue patiently shared the Divine Temple’s information on the Mountains and Rivers Brush.

Legend had it that in ancient times, there was a man obsessed with painting, immersing himself heart and soul in the art, mad for it like a demon.

His painting skills improved daily, earning him fame throughout the world. He was called the Painting Immortal.

Hearing of him, an immortal fond of poetry and painting bestowed upon the Painting Immortal a brush from the heavens called the Mountains and Rivers Brush. Paintings made with this brush could turn fiction into reality.

The Painting Immortal was already a Painting Mad Demon. With the brush, his madness worsened. After creating 101 landscape paintings, he succumbed to overwork and illness.

But after death, the Painting Immortal couldn’t part with the Mountains and Rivers Brush and refused reincarnation. His soul resided within the brush.

Originally a gift from an immortal, it was tainted by the dead soul and ultimately degenerated into a Ghost Artifact. Legend said every subsequent owner of the Mountains and Rivers Brush went mad from using it and died.