### Chapter 45: What is Chasing Him?
There it was—a gangly little boy, looking like he had stepped straight out of a horror movie. His skin was so pale it could almost be classified as a ghostly shade, and he couldn’t be older than eleven or twelve. He wore a white school uniform that had seen better days; it was far from filthy but starting to take on that charmingly vintage yellow hue, like a relic from a long-forgotten era.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Zhao Mingyue observed little splatters of dark, crusted bl**d dotting his uniform. It was clear these stains were far from fresh, indicating that this little guy had been through a rather traumatic experience.
Zhao Mingyue connected the dots—she knew exactly who this child was. Every odd detail about him screamed “something’s not right,” and with skin that pale, it was hard to believe he was still alive.
The boy’s neck was twisted in a way that made her cringe—and as he stumbled into the convenience store, the first thing he did was scan the area like a deer caught in headlights. Then, as if seeing a particularly menacing shadow, his panic set in, and he ducked behind a row of shelves faster than you could say “boo.”
This kid was obviously terrified, as if something monstrous was close on his tail, and he had to hide from it—like a game of hide-and-seek gone horribly wrong.
Zhao Mingyue had a perfect view of his scrawny little back. She stayed quiet for a moment, observing him, then glanced at the wind chime hanging on the wall; it had been her earlier suspicion that it could detect ghostly presences. Now, it was confirmed: it wasn’t just honed in on Bai Yu; any ghost wandering into her store would set it off.
“Bai Yu, should we check it out? He’s definitely a ghost, right?”
“Yeah, let’s go have a chat.”
With her rabbit plush toy clutched in one hand like a fluffy shield, Zhao Mingyue stood up and stepped out from behind the counter.
The kid was indeed shaking, and the fear wasn’t fake; he trembled like a leaf, trying to use the counter as a makeshift fortress. You could see he wanted to peek outside, but terror had paralyzed him to the point where even a quick glance was too much.
“Uh, do you need any help?” Zhao Mingyue called out gently from behind him.
The boy nearly jumped out of his skin at her voice, which was a bit on the alarming side.
“Don’t be afraid! It’s safe in here. No scary monsters can pop in. If you need to talk about anything, I’m an employee here.”
Finally, with that reassurance, the boy managed a subtle glance back at her. That’s when Zhao Mingyue noticed a very clear black handprint on his neck. Coupled with his oddly contorted neck, she had a sinking feeling she understood how he met his untimely end.
“As you can see, I’m just a store employee,” she pointed to the ID tag clipped proudly to her uniform. “What are you so scared of?”
Mentioning his fears sent him right back into a panic spiral. He curled up tighter in the corner, hands wrapped around his knees.
After d*ath, about ninety-eight percent of ghosts lost their sense of self and rational thought, driven only by the lingering grudges of their past lives. So, communicating with this ghost boy was going to be tricky.
Thinking quickly, Zhao Mingyue decided to reframe her approach.
“I get it, you’re afraid of something that’s chasing you. But hiding isn’t helping you at all.”
“You don’t want to be caught by that thing someday, right? If you don’t want that day to come, maybe you could talk to me. I might be able to help you get rid of it.”
As the first ghost she encountered in her store, she was curious—plus, she had a rabbit plush in her corner ready to take on anything that dared to threaten her.
Sure enough, his head snapped back toward her with renewed focus, “He… he’s terrifying! He’s killed so many people…”
“Don’t worry, I’m not scared of him!” she proclaimed with an unnecessary dash of bravado.
“That’s not okay! He’ll k*ll you too!”
“Don’t sweat it! If you don’t start thinking of ways to deal with him, he’ll exist forever, preying on all your hopes.”
A little while later, after a bout of persuasive banter from Zhao Mingyue, the boy found himself standing timidly in front of the counter, wrestling with uncertainty, finally spilling his story.
“First off, why are you here?” Zhao Mingyue stood behind the counter, placing the rabbit plush upright so Bai Yu could see the boy too.
“I… I ran away from school. When I got out, it was pitch dark outside for some reason, and there wasn’t anyone around. I saw a light here, so I came in.” The boy spoke softly.
“You escaped from school? Which one?”
The emblem on his uniform was smeared with bl**d, making it impossible for Zhao Mingyue to read, though she could make out “Middle School” at the end.
“Dongcheng No. 13 Middle School.”
“Dongcheng No. 13!?” Zhao Mingyue’s eyes widened. That was her next mission site—the long-abandoned middle school that had decayed with time.
“Yeah!”
“So, are you saying something is hunting you from the school?”
“Yup! There’s a murderer in the school! He wants to k*ll the principal and all the students in that classroom! I was so scared I just ran!”
“A murderer? So you’re from the principal’s classroom? Did you tell anyone, like the principal or your classmates? Oh, by the way, what’s your name?” Zhao Mingyue asked casually, her frown deepening with worry.
As if triggering some alarm, the boy’s demeanor changed again. His eyes darted around in sheer panic, his body trembling, “I don’t know! I don’t know! I know nothing! Don’t go there! Don’t go! Please don’t!”
His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was laced with frantic urgency as he spun around and bolted out the door of the convenience store like a ghost on a mission, disappearing into the street without allowing Zhao Mingyue a chance to call him back.
Zhao Mingyue stood frozen behind the counter, mouth agape as she processed what just happened.
“Did… did I say something wrong…?”
The convenience store fell silent once more as she returned to her seat, replaying the boy’s frantic words in her mind, but she still couldn’t piece it together.
“Bai Yu, do you think he really escaped from Dongcheng No. 13? It feels like he hasn’t even realized he’s dead yet. And what did he mean about everything being dark after leaving the school, except here? Why is that?”
The rabbit plush toy tipped over, and suddenly, a figure stepped beside Zhao Mingyue.
“I can’t be sure, but there’s definitely something off about this convenience store. As for that ghost, he must have encountered some accident and left the school. Once outside, his mind probably became hazy, and he can only remember things related to the school.”
—
One hour later, and there’s still another chapter.
