Chapter 113 - You Cannot Stay Here (1)
Li Fei\'er knew that she shouldn\'t be upset and could only respect Shen Minyao and Jiang Chen\'s decision to not get her and Lu Anqi involved in the case they had at the fourth district. However, she couldn\'t help but wonder if there was something else she could do to help anyone.
Her family had cast her aside and told her to focus on her studies instead. She needed not to worry about the missing nine-tailed fox they were looking for. Moreover, her friends—whether they treated her as one or not—were also not willing to ask for her help at all.
At sunset, as she made her way home once their classes ended, Li Fei\'er saw that the road leading to the train station was filled with students like her, as they raced to get home.
Since Shen Minyao was staying at the dormitory next to the school premises, Li Fei\'er would leave school with Lu Anqi until they parted ways at the train station where the latter alighted.
Today, however, Lu Anqi had to stay late with her classmates, in preparation for a class project they were doing. Li Fei\'er was left on her own. When she reached a residential area that she needed to cross before she reached the nearest train station near Spring Hill High, she spotted a dog barking loudly next to a pile of trash and a lamp post.
Upon a closer look, Li Fei\'er realized that it was barking at a ghost woman seated in the corner while hugging her knees to her chest. It was one of those wandering spirits she had seen during her stroll around the city before. The ghost didn\'t seem to care about the dog and continued muttering to herself.
"Ah, so you can see it, too?" Li Fei\'er turned her back and saw a young man in his early twenties, looking at the same pitiful ghost woman. He was dressed in a white shirt, dark-blue denim pants, and deep-red jacket. He looked youthful and handsome at the same time.
"Yes, it\'s a pity that she cannot let go of her grievances and cross to the spirit world," Li Fei\'er replied. She didn\'t find it too weird that there were some people other than her who could see ghosts like this one.
"It seems you have knowledge about ghosts like this. Are you a psychic, perhaps?" He asked back. "Ah, how rude of me. I haven\'t introduced myself, have I? I\'m Zhuang Yun. I\'m living in a nearby apartment building. Although I have to confess, I didn\'t expect it to be infested by ghosts."
By this time, he laughed awkwardly and scratched his cheek with his forefinger.
"I\'m Li Fei\'er. I\'m a third-year student at Spring Hill High," she said in return.
"I was hoping you could help me ward off those ghosts that disturb my apartment. It\'s already late, though. Perhaps some other time?" He suggested, but Li Fei\'er only stared at him blankly.
"No, it\'s fine. I suppose I can have a quick look to see if we can ward off the spirits," she said after a long silence between them. She couldn\'t possibly miss this chance to gain experience as a shaman.
If what Zhuang Yun said was true, then she would be able to send more spirits to the spiritual realm. The more she gained experience in being a shaman, the more she could assist Shen Minyao in the future… or so she thought.
"Ah? Are you sure? I don\'t want to impose, though. A young woman like you shouldn\'t come to a stranger\'s place. I was hoping you can bring someone to accompany you," Zhuang Yun said.
"No, it\'s okay," Li Fei\'er said. There was no need for her to be wary of Zhuang Yun because…
"Okay, if you say so. Then, let me accompany you, Miss Li. If you can spare an hour of your time, then I think I can accompany you back to the train station.
"Should we get going then?" Li Fei\'er suggested, "The faster I can check the place, the earlier I can leave."
Zhuang Yun then led her to the next block of the residential area where an old apartment building was located. Li Fei\'er looked up at the old building, and she could already sense a lot of spirits roaming around the place.
"I thought I just got a good deal when I rented an apartment nearby the technical college. You see, Miss Li, I\'m in my second year already, and I decided to move closer here. I would rather help my family save than have me commute every school day—which costs them a fortune."
"So you live on your own?" Li Fei\'er said as they entered the reception area of the apartment building.
"Yes, but my Mother stops by once in a while to make sure I\'m not missing my meals and I have been taking my meds on time," Zhuang Yun responded.
As soon as Li Fei\'er stepped inside the building, she immediately saw the ghost of the humans who had burned to death. Their flesh had already receded, shrunk, and clung to their bones like the melted wax of a used candle.
"You could see them, right? I heard from another tenant here that there was a massive fire that happened here a decade ago, but the building owner refused to demolish the place and chose to fix the damaged part of the building instead. I suppose those ghosts were the people who had died during that fire," Zhuang Yun informed her as he followed her gaze.
"They couldn\'t leave even if they wanted to," Li Fei\'er said, as they passed by, "Perhaps they didn\'t even know what to do and realized it too late, that they became spirits bound to this place."
"There\'s only one elevator that\'s working right now, and the management only allows elderly, the sick, and mothers with children to use it. We have to take the stairs if you don\'t mind."