Chapter 167: The Protective Anomaly

“What? You left something on me?”

I asked in astonishment, completely unaware.

“When I was guiding your movements earlier, while you were practicing, I left it there. If any malevolent spirit tries to invade you, my True Qi will erupt to block it. It also allows me to sense your location; otherwise, I wouldn’t have felt at ease letting you investigate the anomaly, would I?” Yi Zhiqiu explained.

‘So it was infused into me by him earlier,’ I mused. I carefully sensed my body and indeed felt a faint, ethereal wisp of pure Qi quietly residing within me.

It was only then that I realized the difference between myself and the other members of the Department of Paranormal Investigations. Because the Qi Observation Technique was so effective, I still hadn’t learned to sense Qi directly.

Others, when unable to see Qi, relied on their intuition to perceive it. This oversight meant that when Yi Zhiqiu infused Qi into my body, I remained completely ignorant.

It was like a ticking time bomb buried within me. If Yi Zhiqiu harbored ill intentions towards me, he would only need to detonate this True Qi, and I would instantly explode.

Fortunately, he had no such thoughts.

After confirming that I was unharmed, Yi Zhiqiu looked around and said, “Hmm, so this is the urban legend of the deserted classroom. What exactly did you encounter?”

I then recounted the entire incident: how a female teacher had entered, closed the door, and demanded I take an exam. Of course, I omitted Mo Qingyan’s message.

Thankfully, all the draft papers had vanished. Otherwise, the notes Mo Qingyan and I had exchanged would have revealed too much information.

“Strange, this anomaly is truly peculiar.” Yi Zhiqiu listened intently before sitting down in the classroom, lost in thought.

“How is it peculiar? Being forced to study and take exams is torment enough for students, isn’t it?” I asked.

“That’s not what I mean. It’s that this anomaly doesn’t seem to be aggressive. It hasn’t caused any adverse effects on you, and no other students have reported encountering any danger. It’s as if this anomaly is completely harmless,” Yi Zhiqiu replied.

“Is there a problem with that? Must anomalies always be harmful?” I feigned ignorance, though I had read in books that most anomalies were incredibly perilous, even more deadly than ghosts.

“This anomaly feels like it was deliberately created by someone. If it’s man-made, there must be a purpose behind it. But the deserted classroom hasn’t shown any drawbacks so far. Could it be that this anomaly is actually doing good deeds?” Yi Zhiqiu mused, deep in thought.

“Even if this anomaly isn’t terribly malicious, you can’t say it’s doing good, can you? Trapping students in a classroom for a night or making them take an exam—isn’t that pure torture?” I countered.

This anomaly was connected to Mo Qingyan, and most likely, Senior Liang was behind it. Anything associated with Senior Liang always carried a hint of malevolence, or at least, ill intent.

Even if I hadn’t been harmed, it was probably because Mo Qingyan, who controlled the anomaly, discovered I was inside and thus didn’t activate any damaging aspects of it. To call it a good deed would be a stretch.

“You don’t understand. These man-made anomalies require sufficient negative energy, such as resentment or malevolent Qi, as their foundation. Creating an anomaly specifically to harm people is a common method for consuming malevolent Qi from yin-heavy locations, though it leans towards the nefarious path,” Yi Zhiqiu explained.

“Furthermore, if a person is already trapped within an anomaly, they won’t be threatened by other demons or ghosts, unless those entities break through the anomaly. Do you remember what one student said before? He missed the dismissal time and ended up trapped in the deserted classroom overnight,” Yi Zhiqiu added.

“I remember. A student did say that. But what does that imply?” I countered. Yi Zhiqiu replied, “If he had been able to leave, he would have been in danger. This school is filled with resentment and ghosts at night.”

“Ah!?” I had indeed stayed at Jianlong Middle School until night once, and it was a psychological trauma I couldn’t forget: the ghost-blocking wall, the jumping female ghost, the teaching building shrouded in shadows. If Xiao Qing hadn’t come to pick me up, I probably wouldn’t have seen the sun the next day.

“So, the deserted classroom trapping him inside until the next morning was a form of protection. Of course, this is just my guess, as I didn’t experience it firsthand. But since that student is still alive, it means he was at least safe that night,” Yi Zhiqiu elaborated.

“Like a safe house, then?” I asked again.

“Hmm, probably. It disappeared too quickly. I forcibly broke the anomaly’s seal and didn’t have time to fully understand its composition and rules. But thankfully, I do know its trigger conditions,” Yi Zhiqiu said.

“To construct an anomaly in this ghostly school, it must either be left by a previous safety consultant or by a staff member secretly practicing dark arts. By the way, what were the characteristics of that female teacher? Tell me, perhaps she can provide some clues.”

It seemed Yi Zhiqiu was completely off track. Of course, how could he imagine that this anomaly was created by a student? Suspecting a staff member was perfectly normal. So, I described the female teacher’s features to him.

The most prominent characteristics were her harsh gaze and the beauty mark at the corner of her eye.

“Hey, next, I need you to help me ask other students if any teachers enjoy telling ghost stories, or if any staff members behave unusually,” Yi Zhiqiu called out.

“Alright.” I readily agreed. Since it had nothing to do with the Department of Paranormal Investigations, I felt relieved to investigate. I hadn’t expected Yi Zhiqiu to place suspicion on the teachers; I doubted I would find anything.

“Oh, and as compensation for letting you test the anomaly today and consequently encountering danger, I’ll give you a Daoist talisman for protection,” Yi Zhiqiu said, handing over a talisman.

This was another authentic Daoist talisman, radiating a pure white spiritual glow. Although I felt I hadn’t made much of a contribution or faced any real danger, I gladly accepted the benefit.

“This is a Spirit-Expelling Talisman, specifically for evil spirits and malevolent entities. If you suspect you’re possessed or threatened by an evil spirit, just stick this talisman on yourself. Whether it’s a vengeful ghost or a malevolent spirit, it will be driven away,” Yi Zhiqiu explained.

This wasn’t actually the talisman I wanted. The Spirit-Expelling Talisman was only effective against ghosts and paranormal phenomena. I needed a method to deal with murderers, a way to confront living people.

However, Yi Zhiqiu had always been very cautious, never allowing me to access any methods that could harm people. There was nothing I could do. I could only hope Mo Qingyan and Bai Yue might offer some solutions.

“Thank you, Teacher Yi. I’ll be going now; I still have club activities to attend.” I accepted the Spirit-Expelling Talisman, bowed, and turned to head towards the Department of Paranormal Investigations.

****

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