That’s extra.
After finally finding the Anatomy Building, Tao Tao was already quite tired. She climbed a tree, wanting to find a quiet spot to take a nap and rest before getting to work. But just as she was about to fall asleep, the voices of those eight students woke her up.
The night wind was cool, blowing a few leaves onto her. Tao Tao brushed the fallen leaves off her clothes and accidentally dropped some melon seed shells she had cracked before sleeping onto Xue Rong’s head.
Of course, the first time was an accident; the second time was intentional.
The girl named Xue Rong cursed at her a few times, the words entering Tao Tao’s left ear but not immediately exiting her right ear. It wasn’t until she scattered those melon seed shells that her right ear finally cleared.
These students were at that bold, energetic age, full of youthful vigor, and they didn’t take her seriously at all. Hearing her words, they just chuckled dismissively and went about their business—prying open the door, pulling weeds, and heading inside once the door was open.
Just before stepping inside, the girl named Xue Rong glanced back.
She asked, “Why do you call it the Ghost Building?”
“Just felt like it.”
Xue Rong asked again, “Are there really ghosts inside?”
Tao Tao said, “I don’t know.”
“Then why did you tell us not to go in? That’s just weird.” She glared at Tao Tao and, without looking back, followed her companions into the Anatomy Building.
Tao Tao didn’t stop them, just watched coldly. She took out another handful of melon seeds, feeding them one by one between her teeth.
After the students entered the building, the ivy outside suddenly began to grow rapidly, sealing the entrance tightly within moments, as if no one had ever pushed it aside to enter. Such an unnatural scene was quite eerie, but Tao Tao remained calm, as if she were used to such strange occurrences.
Her sky-blue Little Genius smartwatch showed that it was already 1 a.m. Everything was quiet, the tree canopy casting heavy shadows in the moonlight, enveloping her completely. No sounds came from the building, as if it had been forgotten by the night.
By 2 a.m., there was still no movement around. Tao Tao was so sleepy her chin was practically dropping.
Just then, a plump, big-headed black cat leaped onto the tree, meowing and rubbing against her ankle.
“Scram, scram, scram.” Tao Tao kicked it aside. “Nothing for you to eat.”
The black cat continued to rub against her. Tao Tao spat a melon seed shell onto its forehead. “Here, want this?”
The black cat shook off the shell, jumped onto Tao Tao’s lap, and dug its claws into her thigh. Tao Tao yelped in pain. Then the cat went for her backpack, which was tied to a branch. Tao Tao shielded the backpack, but the cat bit the strap and refused to let go, its round eyes fixed on her. The two of them stared each other down.
After a long while, the kind-hearted Tao Tao gave in first.
She took out a sausage, looking at the drooling black cat. “One bite, no more.”
This was the last bit of filling food she had left, something she had been reluctant to eat. She had shamelessly asked the shopkeeper for it two days ago when buying instant noodles at a small supermarket.
She bit open the packaging but hadn’t even split it in half before the black cat let go of the backpack strap and pounced on the sausage like a starving tiger.
“Hey, let go!”
“Grr—” The black cat growled protectively over its food.
Tao Tao narrowed her eyes and reached behind her back to grip the Peachwood Sword. Sensing danger, the black cat swiftly snatched the entire sausage and leaped off the tree.
“You damn cat, better not let me catch you!” Tao Tao straightened up from the tree trunk, wanting to give chase, but the cat had already vanished. She irritably ruffled her hair, barely managing to suppress the urge to chase after it and fight the cat for its food.
At three in the morning, Tao Tao was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open, nearly turning her hair into a bird’s nest.
Tao Tao hadn’t lied to Xue Rong—she truly didn’t know what was inside the building, because Li Sanjiu’s Spirit Master’s Exorcism Ledger only indicated danger without specifying what exactly was dangerous. She didn’t dare enter recklessly and planned to scout around outside first. If luck was on her side, she might find something unusual, but so far, aside from the Ghost-Devouring Vines on the outer walls, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.
Although the Evil Qi of the Ghost-Devouring Vines wasn’t particularly dense anymore, they could still barely maintain the power of the Seal. Whatever was inside the building wouldn’t be able to escape anytime soon, so she decided to observe a while longer. Once the Evil Qi of the Ghost-Devouring Vines had completely dissipated, it wouldn’t be too late to reinforce the Seal.
As for those students who had just entered, Tao Tao had completely forgotten about them.
Sitting in the tree had left her back sore and aching. She rotated her neck, preparing to leave, when suddenly, a piercing scream echoed from inside the building.
Even though there was no wind, the Ghost-Devouring Vines entwined around the small building suddenly began to sway. At the same time, Tao Tao heard the dull thud of something being smashed inside.
“You’re out there, aren’t you?! You must still be outside!” a girl screamed, her voice tearing through the air. “Save us! It’s coming in, ah—”
The swaying Ghost-Devouring Vines resembled dancing ghostly claws, emanating a chilling Evil Qi in the ink-black night, as if ready to devour any living thing that approached.
Tao Tao adjusted the sword on her back, jumped down from the tree trunk, and walked away without looking back.
The girl’s screams indicated that something abnormal had definitely happened inside. Only a fool would enter without knowing what exactly was in the Anatomy Building or how powerful it might be.
But the girl’s screams grew even more desperate, as if she were being chased by something terrifying: “Please, I really don’t want to die, I beg you—”
Tao Tao reached the courtyard gate and paused.
She sighed. “Even in death, you’re causing trouble. I must have owed you in my past life.”
It took only a moment for Tao Tao to make up her mind. She pulled a hair tie from her pocket, tied up her hair, turned around, took a deep breath, and charged toward the Anatomy Building.
As she approached the building, the Ghost-Devouring Vines sensed her presence, their tendrils writhing toward her. Tao Tao used the steps to pivot and leap, reaching behind her back with her right hand to draw her Peachwood Sword while extending her left hand toward the vines. The tendrils of the Ghost-Devouring Vines were incredibly tough, and a powerful force wrapped around Tao Tao, lifting her into the air.
The windows of the Anatomy Building were tightly sealed by the Ghost-Devouring Vines, making it impossible to determine where the screams were coming from.
Tao Tao pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds and scattered them like a celestial maiden scattering flowers. The moment the seeds left her hand, their black shells instantly emitted a golden glow. At the same time, a flash of golden light appeared in a room on the third floor—it was the seed shell she had deliberately thrown onto Xue Rong’s head earlier.
Having read Li Sanjiu’s Spirit Master’s Exorcism Ledger, Tao Tao knew that the windows of the Anatomy Building were sealed with crow’s-toe peachwood, which suppressed evil. After roughly calculating the thickness of the glass and the sealing wood, she decided she could break through. She leaped toward the source of the sound while swinging her Peachwood Sword to sever the vines wrapped around her wrist.
—Crack.
Her head slammed hard against the wooden board of the window, preventing her from landing inside the room with any semblance of grace.
“What… happened…”
The impact hadn’t even shattered the window, which left Tao Tao incredulous. Immediately afterward, dizziness washed over her, and her skull throbbed with a pain that felt alien.
In those fleeting moments, the ghost-devouring vines closed in from behind. Ignoring the pounding in her head, she gripped the window frame above, raised her knee, and kicked at the window.
Only after five or six solid kicks did the wood and glass finally crack and shatter.
Tao Tao leaped into the room, swiftly wedging her Peachwood Sword horizontally across the window frame.
The vines did not pursue further, instead intertwining and weaving together once more, sealing the window shut from the outside.
Tao Tao scanned the room. Eight students had entered earlier, but now only two girls remained, huddled in a corner and staring at her with terror-filled eyes.
“It’s you,” Tao Tao muttered, rubbing her forehead impatiently. “Why all the wailing? Trying to summon spirits?”
Seeing her, Xue Rong rushed over like a madwoman, clutching Tao Tao’s leg. “Save us! It—it’s right outside the door—”
…
Ten minutes later.
After shoving Xue Rong aside, Tao Tao inspected the room’s cabinets, tables, chairs, curtains, and the door Xue Rong feared so deeply. She then returned and crouched before the two girls.
“There’s nothing here.”
“No—” Xue Rong pointed at the door. “It’s there! It almost came in just now. Ask Ding Jie if you don’t believe me—she saw it too. Say something!”
The girl named Ding Jie remained silent. Seeing her paralyzed with fear, Tao Tao reached out and slapped her across the face.
Ding Jie snapped back to her senses. “Who… who hit me?”
Realizing what had happened, she turned and clung to Xue Rong, both of them sobbing.
After crying for a while, Xue Rong tugged at Tao Tao’s sleeve. “Can you get us out of here?”
Tao Tao: “Yes.”
Before Xue Rong could overflow with gratitude, Tao Tao rubbed her fingers together. “How much?”
Xue Rong: “My father is a businessman. If you save us, he’ll definitely repay you.”
Tao Tao rummaged through her bag and pulled out paper and a pen. “Alright, write an IOU first.”
Xue Rong: “…”
Not daring to argue, she took the paper and pen. “Is five thousand enough?”
Tao Tao offered no objection. Xue Rong breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself that while the girl seemed formidable, at least she wasn’t demanding an exorbitant price—her asking rate was quite reasonable.
Tao Tao walked to the window to examine the opening now shrouded by ghost-devouring vines, pondering how to escort them out.
Xue Rong said, “We can’t leave yet. We still have to save Wu Liang. He’s been gone for a long time, and with that thing out there, I’m afraid they might already be in grave danger.”
Tao Tao glanced at the door. “If they’re in grave danger, why bother saving them?”
“What if they’re still alive?”
Tao Tao thought for a few seconds. “Saving them is possible, but that’ll be a separate fee.”
“Name your price. As long as we can save them, money isn’t an issue.”
Tao Tao: “The thing in this building is dangerous. I might not make it out unscathed. This time, I won’t accept mortal currency.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want half of the spirit energy from your body.”
Xue Rong looked bewildered. “Spirit energy?”
“All things possess spirit energy. For humans, it holds little use, but for Spirit Masters and evil spirits, it can enhance cultivation,” Tao Tao explained. “Giving me half won’t affect your lifespan or health. You’ll just have worse luck from now on, occasionally running into minor misfortunes.”
Xue Rong hesitated. “I can pay more—any amount. Could we…”
Tao Tao said, “Going out to save people involves risks for me. If I suffer any loss, mortal money would be useless to me. If you’re unwilling, forget it. I’ll take you two out anyway—consider it an act of virtue.”
“Wait,” Xue Rong quickly interjected. “I’m willing. I’ll do anything to save Wu Liang. How do I give you my spirit?”
Tao Tao pulled a blue bead from her bag. “Place your hand on it. You must do so willingly, or it won’t be able to draw out your spirit.”
Xue Rong touched the bead with her fingertip. It looked like glass but felt soft and fluffy, like a snowball, and turned icy cold the moment her skin made contact.
She stared intently at the bead, sensing a force stirring within her body, coalescing and being drawn toward it. Xue Rong shuddered violently, feeling as if a part of her had been hollowed out. But the unsettling sense of emptiness lasted only a few seconds before she returned to normal.
“Is it done?Looking at her now docile state, it was hard to imagine how furious she had been earlier outside. It seemed even the most hot-tempered people couldn’t help but turn meek when faced with inexplicable supernatural events.
Tao Tao nodded.
Ding Jie asked, “Rong Rong has given you half of her spirit. What if you fail to save Wu Liang?”
Tao Tao replied, “Since I’ve accepted the payment, I’ll do my utmost to succeed. If I can’t save him, I’ll return it to her exactly as it was.”
She leaned against the wall to rest. “Now, tell me everything that happened—from the moment you entered until just now. Don’t leave anything out.”
Just as Xue Rong was about to speak, Tao Tao pulled out a small bag of sunflower seeds and tossed it to Ding Jie.
Ding Jie: “…”
“Don’t just stand there. Use this time to shell the seeds for me,” Tao Tao said, narrowing her eyes. “Be careful. If you dare get any saliva on them, I’ll charge extra.”
Ding Jie: “…”
Xue Rong: “…”