Mysterious Revival - Chapter 12 - I'm Not an Idiot

Outside the teaching building was the school playground.

The vast playground was shrouded in darkness, with the lights out, but it was still better than being inside the teaching building. The darkness inside was so thick it felt like it could swallow a person whole, whereas here, though dim, one could still make out the surroundings.

The fear that gripped everyone began to subside slightly once they reached the playground. Exhausted, they collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, barely able to stand. It wasn’t a lack of stamina but rather the sheer terror and frantic escape from the building that had drained them.

“That scared me to death. It was terrifying, seeing that baby on Wang Shanshan’s shoulder, staring at me… I have no idea when it crawled over,” a male classmate said, his voice still trembling.

“It must be a ghost. That baby is definitely a ghost. There are ghosts everywhere. We’re doomed, doomed…” a female classmate muttered, her face pale and her mind seemingly unhinged.

“Wait, Wang Shanshan was caught by that ghost, so why is Yang Jian missing too?” Miao Xiaoshan suddenly spoke up. She had known Yang Jian since middle school, so she paid more attention to him.

Zhang Wei glanced around and indeed did not see Yang Jian. He couldn’t help but touch the corner of his eye and said, “Yang Jian died a glorious death, sacrificing himself heroically to save us. He was a child of the people, and I won’t forget him. I’ll burn offerings for him during festivals, and if his family holds a funeral, I’ll donate more money to give him a grand send-off. After all, he was a decent person in life.”

“Miao Xiaoshan, don’t be sad. The dead can’t come back to life. You all rest here for a bit, and I’ll go back and check if Yang Jian is truly gone. If he is, we’ll figure out how to escape.”

With that, Zhang Wei gritted his teeth and prepared to head back to check the situation.

“Zhang Wei, with words like that, I can tell our friendship is as flimsy as plastic. Next time we encounter a ghost, I definitely won’t save you. I’ll just let you fend for yourself,” Yang Jian’s voice suddenly came from behind.

He was supporting Wang Shanshan as they approached.

“Yang Jian, you’re okay, that’s great,” Miao Xiaoshan said with some relief.

The others, seeing that both Wang Shanshan and Yang Jian were unharmed, also brightened up. It was the only good news they’d had all day. Too many classmates had died since this began.

“Just lucky, I guess,” Yang Jian nodded.

Zhang Wei, a bit emotional, said, “Yang Jian, I knew you’d be okay. I was just talking nonsense earlier. Don’t take it to heart. You can’t not save me in the future. My life depends on you.”

“I’m not interested in saving guys. I only save girls. At least they can offer something in return, like helping with homework. What’s the point of saving a guy?” Yang Jian replied.

Wang Shanshan, hearing this, blushed slightly, her eyes showing a hint of shyness.

“Don’t be so heartless. I’ve given you all my resources without holding back. As friends, we should look out for each other, especially since we’ve been through so much together,” Zhang Wei said. “Wait, something’s not right. How did you and Wang Shanshan escape from that situation?”

Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked at Yang Jian with suspicion.

“Of course, I punched that little kid away and pulled Wang Shanshan out. How else do you think we got out?” Yang Jian replied.

Zhang Wei said seriously, “The teaching building is haunted. I can believe someone fighting a tiger, but fighting a ghost? Come on, now I suspect you’re not Yang Jian at all. You might be a ghost trying to blend in and kill us all. That’s how it goes in horror movies.”

Hearing this, the already terrified group looked at Yang Jian with renewed fear, as if he really were a ghost.

“Not this again. Can’t you think normally? Always suspecting this person or that person is a ghost. If you really met a ghost, you’d be dead already, not standing here talking,” Yang Jian said.

“If that’s the case, then answer me this: what’s my English name? No, wait, I asked that in the building, and the ghost might have heard. Let me ask another question: what’s Zhao Lei’s English name?” Zhang Wei asked, looking proud of his caution.

“I don’t know,” Yang Jian replied.

“See, you are suspicious. Zhao Lei’s English name is Woshishabi. Everyone, stay away from him,” Zhang Wei said, quickly stepping back, ready to run.

Yang Jian asked, “Wait, what did you just say? I didn’t catch that. Can you repeat Zhao Lei’s English name?”

“Heh, you don’t know? Zhao Lei’s English name is Woshishabi,” Zhang Wei sneered.

“What am I?” Yang Jian asked.

“Woshishabi.”

Yang Jian nodded, “So you know you’re an idiot. At least you’re not beyond hope.”

“…” Zhang Wei.

Wang Shanshan, Miao Xiaoshan, and the others looked at him with eyes full of pity, as if he were a fool.

Just now, Zhang Wei had been fighting a battle of wits with the air, no different from a fool, while Yang Jian was clearly the one in control, the one who had led them to safety.

“Damn, I’m not an idiot,” Zhang Wei protested.

“He actually understood my look,” a classmate said, surprised.

“I…” Zhang Wei felt like crying.

But now wasn’t the time to rest.

Yang Jian said, “My phone’s dead. Does anyone know what time it is?”

“My watch seems broken. It says it’s four in the morning,” Miao Xiaoshan said, looking at her cartoon watch in surprise.

“Hey, my phone also says it’s five past four. I could have sworn it was just eight-thirty.”

“When did so much time pass?”

Everyone realized something was wrong with the time.

Yang Jian looked back at the darkened teaching building and said, “The time doesn’t matter. I’m just wondering why, with everything that’s happened here and so much time passing, there’s been no reaction from outside.”

“Yeah, I called the police earlier.”

“I called my mom.”

“It’s so quiet around here. Normally, at this time, you’d hear cars outside the school, but there’s not a single car light in sight.”

Yang Jian looked up at the sky. It was dark, as if covered by a layer of haze, with no moonlight or starlight visible. It wasn’t normal.

“Yang Jian, what’s going on?” Zhang Wei asked, fear creeping back into his voice.

“What else could it be… we’re still inside the ghost domain.”

Yang Jian’s expression hardened as he spoke, “And we’ve never left it. The ghost domain’s range isn’t just the teaching building; it includes the playground too. And this range might be even larger. The teaching building was probably the center before, and now we’re on the edge, or… the ghost is moving, and the domain’s range is changing with the Old Man’s position. But we haven’t seen the Old Man anywhere, so the impact isn’t too great.”

“But I think the ghost domain is a special closed space. Whether we’re in the center or on the edge, the difficulty of escaping is the same, and distance doesn’t seem to be the key to leaving the domain.”

“In other words, we’re trapped, like birds in a cage. The cage is moving, and the birds inside are forced to move with it, but we can’t detect this movement.”

“Then, what do we do now?” Wang Shanshan asked, her voice trembling as she clung to Yang Jian’s arm, her body leaning against him, as if he were her savior.

She never wanted to experience what happened at the staircase again.

The others also looked at Yang Jian with fear and hope, hoping he could come up with a way to get them out of this nightmare.

Yang Jian remained silent, touching the closed eyes on the back of his hand. To leave here, there might be only one way: to continue using the vengeful ghost’s power.

But Zhou Zheng had said that using the ghost’s power once would bring it closer to revival, bringing death closer. It was more lethal than poison.

“No wonder Zhou Zheng said becoming a Ghost Tamer isn’t just for others, but also for oneself. Sometimes, it’s not just about saving others; you have to save yourself from the vengeful ghost,” Yang Jian thought.

“But before that, there’s something I need to clear up, a score to settle. Otherwise, I won’t rest easy, even in death.”

Having made up his mind, Yang Jian said, “Does anyone have Fang Jing’s number on their phone? If I’m right, he’s still trapped here like us.”