Chapter 11.2: Room 415 and Lingering Spirits

That evening, Shi Mu signed up for campus cleaning duty—a task Fu Yunshen also happened to be on.

Zhou Zhi, another student assigned to the shift, met her at the equipment storage room after dinner.

"Hey, where's Fu Yunshen?" Shi Mu asked as they unlocked the door.

"No idea. Probably late. You know how he is," Zhou Zhi replied, shrugging.

The equipment room was dark and stale. Rows of unused sports gear, mops, broken desks, and rusting lockers filled the space. Dust clung to every surface, and a damp, musty smell hung in the air.

Shi Mu flicked on the lights.

A fluorescent bulb flickered above them before sputtering to life.

Then… silence.

Zhou Zhi wrinkled his nose. "It stinks in here."

Shi Mu agreed. But more than that—something felt wrong.

There was a heaviness to the air. A chill.

A presence.

She stepped inside slowly, scanning the corners of the room. Her Gu worm stirred inside her body, reacting to the unnatural energy in the air.

Just then, the door creaked again.

Fu Yunshen entered, expression unreadable.

He glanced at the room, then at Shi Mu, but said nothing.

"Let's finish this fast," he muttered.

The three began cleaning in silence.

Shi Mu was sweeping near the back when her broom clinked against something hard.

She crouched down and found a dusty, broken mirror beneath a pile of cloth. As she brushed it off, her hand froze.

In the mirror's cracked surface—there was a face.

Not hers.

It was pale, twisted, with long dark hair covering hollow eyes.

She dropped the mirror with a gasp. It shattered on the floor.

Zhou Zhi turned. "What was that?"

"Broken glass," Shi Mu muttered.

But her eyes remained fixed on the shadows behind the shelves.

The Gu worm inside her squirmed.

Something was watching them.

As they worked deeper into the room, the lights began to flicker again.

Zhou Zhi shivered. "Is it just me, or is it freezing in here?"

Shi Mu didn't reply. She was already reaching into her pocket, fingers wrapping around a talisman.

Fu Yunshen straightened and spoke softly, "It's here."

Zhou Zhi whipped around. "What's here?"

Before anyone could answer, the temperature dropped sharply.

Breath turned visible.

And then, from the shadows behind the lockers, it emerged.

A girl in a red skirt and long hair, face twisted in pain and hatred, crawled toward them with jerking, unnatural movements.

Zhou Zhi screamed.

Shi Mu stood frozen as the Gu insect inside her went wild.

[Ghost presence detected.]

[Danger Level: Medium.]

Fu Yunshen stepped in front of them both, his expression calm despite the dread curling in the air.

He pulled something from his jacket—a pendant made of dark jade—and held it in front of him.

The ghost shrieked.

Shi Mu felt an electric surge of hatred pulse through the room.

Then the lights cut out completely.

Darkness.

Only the ghost's soft sobbing echoed around them.

Shi Mu forced herself to move. She took out a charm and whispered a Miao incantation under her breath. A faint golden light glowed from her palm.

The ghost turned toward her, as if drawn to the energy.

It lunged.

Shi Mu held her ground and pressed the charm forward.

The spirit hissed and recoiled—but not far.

Her body trembled.

Inside her, the Gu worm whispered seductively.

"Feed me. Let me devour it. It's weak."

"One taste. Just one."

Shi Mu gritted her teeth. "No."

She couldn't lose control—not here.

Fu Yunshen moved beside her.

Their shoulders brushed.

He looked at her. "You're one of them too, huh?"

Shi Mu blinked. "One of what?"

"Someone who sees."

Before she could answer, he raised his jade pendant again and whispered something in a language she didn't recognize.

The ghost shrieked louder—and then vanished.

The lights flickered back on.

The room was empty.

Zhou Zhi sat on the floor, pale and shaking.

Shi Mu dropped to one knee, panting. Her body trembled, not from fear—but from resisting the Gu's urge to consume.

Fu Yunshen watched her for a long moment.

"You almost lost control," he said quietly.

"I didn't."

He nodded, almost approvingly.

Then he walked away.

Back in her dorm, Shi Mu collapsed onto her bed, drenched in sweat.

She checked her Brotherhood Panel.

Brotherhood Value: 83 / 1,000,000

Small progress.

But what mattered more was this:

Fu Yunshen knew now.

She wasn't normal.

And neither was he.