Corpse Retriever

“There’s a ghost.”

In that instant, a chill shot up from Tan Wenbin’s tailbone straight to the crown of his head. He stood up reflexively from his chair.

Then, without hesitation, he half-turned on the spot and slapped the thick professional book in his hand—bam—right onto Lin Shuyou’s face.

Vertical pupil opened. Evil detected.

Tan Wenbin knew perfectly well what Lin Shuyou was. The guy’s eyes were like a radar.

But the issue was—look at yourself, man. Even if you can’t see what you look like right now, at least take a look at me, the one keeping you company. Do I look like someone safe to be around?

But Lin Shuyou wasn’t conscious. After treatment and IV fluids, he seemed trapped in a peculiar coma.

His body began to twitch, as if trying to get up, but his injuries and weakness rendered him incapable of rising.

His lips trembled, murmuring like he was talking in his sleep.

“Malevolent spirit… malevolent spirit… destroy… destroy…”“Yeah, yeah, okay. Destroy, destroy, destroy. Be good now.”

“Malevolent spirit… malevolent spirit…”

“Calm down. I’ll take care of it. A little evil spirit like that’s no more than a head on a pike in front of me.”

As if soothed, Lin Shuyou finally quieted down.

More likely, his condition was simply too dire—once his vertical pupil activated, it quickly dimmed, and he sank deeper into unconsciousness.

Tan Wenbin let out a deep breath. Thank goodness he quieted down. He had genuinely been terrified just now that the commotion would draw that thing in—the malevolent spirit that should’ve just passed by.

Binbin remembered what Little Yuan had taught him: if you encounter a malevolent spirit and know you’re no match or can’t handle the situation, the best response is… pretend you didn’t see it.

Was it those two senior girls from earlier?

What a shame. So young, already stained with filth.

Tan Wenbin walked to the hospital room door. The two senior girls had gone west down the hallway, so he went east without a second thought.

A malevolent spirit appearing in the school clinic was no joke, and leaving Lin Shuyou there unconscious was risky. But Tan Wenbin had something even more urgent to do:

Go get Little Yuan, fast.

Taking the east staircase down, Tan Wenbin picked up his pace as naturally as he could. He scratched his head now and then, muttering curses like, “Damn it, so much trouble…”

He didn’t know if the malevolent spirit would take note of him, but even if it wasn’t recording, he had to show some professional decorum.

But as they say—what you fear most always comes true.

Just as he reached the south gate leading out of the clinic, he spotted those two senior girls again—this time appearing from the west side. One from the east, one from the west, they both descended the stairs and met at the front gate.

“Ugh, this is such a pain. I’m never taking care of you again,” he muttered, keeping up the act.

After exiting the clinic, he waited to cross the road while several trucks passed by.

The two senior girls didn’t cross. Instead, they turned east.

He didn’t look directly, but his peripheral vision caught them—one girl on each side, holding hands with a little girl, maybe four or five, bouncing along in her hospital gown.

The little girl giggled in a sweet, childish voice.

“Is there really something fun ahead?” “Are you really going to buy me toys?” “You two are so nice to me.”

Tan Wenbin kept a calm face, still waiting for the trucks to pass so he could cross. But his heart was pounding. A wave of guilt and moral anxiety began to rise.

If those had been two spirits dragging along an old man or woman, or some adult, or even a child who was being noisy or stubborn… he could’ve brushed it off.

But this victim? Too perfect. Too triggering. It stabbed right into the heart of anyone’s sense of justice and desire to protect.

And the two girls were now leading the child off the road, turning right again, heading toward a patch of low shrubs. Beyond that was a man-made river.

What were they planning?

Tan Wenbin swallowed hard, then bit down on the tip of his tongue. The pain snapped him awake.

If this were a normal child abduction or human crime, he’d rush in to help without hesitation—that was his principle.

But Lin Shuyou had activated his vertical pupil earlier. If even he was on edge, and Tan knew he didn’t have the strength to deal with this… then he had to make the cold, rational choice.

He wasn’t Runsheng. Little Yuan might not give him a second chance.

The truck finally passed. Tan Wenbin crossed the road and headed straight back to the school.

…

By the river.

The little girl stopped.

So did the two girls holding her hands.

The innocent look on the girl’s face vanished. Her eyes turned milky white.

She looked back—no one was following.

Then she turned around again. The two girls followed suit.

A smile returned to the little girl’s face. The two girls smiled too.

Hand in hand, the trio left the riverbank, chattering and laughing, returned across the road, reentered the clinic, and went upstairs.

When they passed the same hospital room, the little girl paused and stayed outside.

The two girls entered. It was a shared room with beds separated by curtains. They moved naturally from bed to bed, like they were looking for someone they knew.

They passed Lin Shuyou’s bed.

His face was still covered by the thick book.

One of the girls stepped forward, lifted the book, and saw Lin Shuyou in deeper unconsciousness.

Forget opening his vertical pupil—he probably wouldn’t even wake up if slapped.

She placed the book back over his face, found nothing amiss.

After checking all the beds, the two girls exited and stood behind the little girl.

She gripped the balcony railing and peered through the bars, gazing in the direction Tan Wenbin had gone.

Her eyes held a trace of betrayed resentment.

Then she closed them.

Thud… thud…

The two girls suddenly collapsed, limp, unconscious.

Nearby nurses and doctors noticed and rushed over.

The little girl slipped silently through the commotion and returned to her room at the end of the corridor.

She climbed into bed.

Beside her, a haggard-looking woman was slumped over, asleep.

The girl reached out and stroked the woman’s head.

The woman woke with a jolt, saw the girl’s open eyes, and beamed with joy.

“Jingjing’s awake? Thank goodness. You scared Auntie half to death.”

“Auntie, I want to go home.”

“Alright. Auntie will take you home.”

…

After leaving Liu Yumei’s place, Li Zhuiyuan—as usual—headed to the budget store for lunch.

With upperclassmen slowly returning, the shop now had four student workers doing part-time shifts.

This meant Runsheng and Yin Meng had more free time and no longer needed to be tied to the store all day.

After lunch, Li Zhuiyuan returned to the dorm and began copying The Liu Clan’s Art of Observing Qi and The Qin Family’s Guide to Viewing Flood Dragons in sloppy handwriting.

He couldn’t give her the original stolen book—that thing was too dated and obvious. He had to rewrite it himself… or rather, recall it from memory.

He’d read it, hadn’t he? Every word was seared into his mind—or else what was the point?

Since Liu Yumei was picking up the pace, he might as well do the same.

Once everything was copied, he could hand it to her in one go and let her take her time translating. Otherwise, he’d be stuck visiting her study every morning, cutting into his time with Ah Li.

Halfway through writing, the dorm door burst open.

Tan Wenbin had sprinted all the way back from the school gate and was panting hard.

“Little Yuan, there’s a malevolent spirit in the clinic.”

Li Zhuiyuan placed his brush back on the rack. He didn’t leap to his feet in a panic. He just waited calmly for Tan Wenbin to catch his breath and explain.

Since Wenbin had made it back, that meant he was safe. As for what else was going on in the clinic—Zhuiyuan wasn’t too worried.

When Tan Wenbin finished recounting the events, he looked at Zhuiyuan, saying nothing more.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. “Let’s go take a look.”

On the way, they called Runsheng and Yin Meng. The four of them went to the clinic together.

First stop: Lin Shuyou’s room.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted the book from his face, checked him, and confirmed he was just unconscious. Then he placed the book back and told Tan Wenbin:

“Later, get some tape and seal his eyelids shut.”

Then he stepped out and led the group through the rest of the hospital, checking every room.

They didn’t find the little girl Wenbin had mentioned—but they did find the two senior girls.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered them. Yesterday on the sports field, they were sketching on the hillside. One of them had invited him to be their model, which he declined.

He recalled their names from their conversation—Xu Bailu and Wu Xue.

Now both were lying on recliners, receiving glucose drips. They looked dazed and sluggish. The doctor claimed it was hypoglycemia from malnutrition.

But from their faces, Li Zhuiyuan could tell they were plagued by “external evil”—which could mean lingering illness or, more likely in this case, spiritual contamination. Both fainting at once confirmed the latter.

“Good thing you didn’t lose your head and try to save that kid,” Runsheng muttered. “What if she’s the real malevolent spirit?”

“Damn it, I wrestled with that decision so hard,” Wenbin said. “My tongue still hurts.”

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