I bought some offerings at a small shop near the village entrance, then followed Liu Peng as we headed toward Li Na's home.
Just as I had suspected, her family wasn't well-off. Their house was an old clay-tiled dwelling, clearly aged and weathered by time.
Liu Peng knocked on the courtyard gate, and before long, it creaked open. A middle-aged woman appeared—disheveled, hollow-eyed, her face still streaked with the remnants of tears. She bore a resemblance to Li Na and was likely her mother.
Despite her haggard appearance, the woman forced a weak smile when she saw Liu Peng. "Xiao Peng, you came."
"Auntie, this is a classmate of ours. He heard what happened to Li Na and wanted to come pay respects," Liu Peng explained.
"Hello, Auntie. I was also Li Na's classmate. My condolences." I said as I handed her the offerings I had brought.
"The house is a mess, don't mind it. Come on in." She stepped aside and let us in.
The moment I stepped through the gate, I felt something off. The courtyard was thick with yin energy. With my celestial eye opened, I could even see a faint stream of black mist rising from one of the rooms.
Li Na's mother had a pale complexion, and her forehead was clouded—a clear sign of lingering evil energy, though not yet severe.
I kept my expression neutral and followed her into the house. Despite their modest means, the place was clean and tidy.
Inside the main room, I spotted a black-and-white photo of Li Na. It was from her school ID—taken not long ago. I had just seen her alive only days earlier, and now she was gone forever. My chest tightened with mixed emotions.
I couldn't help but recall how she used to blush when delivering breakfast to me back in school—how she had quietly pursued me.
"Li Na, I'm here," I thought silently, gazing at her photo. "If there's any injustice surrounding your death, just tell me. As your classmate, I'll make sure you didn't die in vain."
I walked up to her portrait, took three incense sticks from nearby, lit them, and inserted them into the burner as a simple gesture of mourning.
To my surprise, within moments, two of the incense sticks snapped clean in half, leaving only the middle one still burning.
Not only did that startle me, but even Uncle Hu, standing beside me, sucked in a sharp breath.
"Three long, two short"—the omen of death and misfortune. An extremely inauspicious sign.
Then something even more terrifying happened.
Li Na's black-and-white portrait—just moments ago wearing a faint smile—suddenly changed. Her expression twisted into sorrow, and from her eyes, two trails of blood tears began to flow, streaking down her cheeks.
Her gaze locked onto mine, filled with pain and grief. It was so lifelike, so vivid, that a chill ran down my spine.
Even I felt rattled.
Liu Peng and Li Na's mother saw it too. Both of them let out horrified gasps and stumbled back a few steps.
Li Na's mother clutched her mouth, tears falling again in silence, her eyes wide with terror.
Liu Peng, on the other hand, latched onto my arm like an octopus, his whole body trembling. "Wu Jie... what the hell is going on?!"
I didn't respond. My eyes stayed fixed on Li Na's portrait.
This phenomenon was called "crying grievance." It only appeared when someone had died with extreme injustice or resentment.
Clearly, Li Na believed I was the only one who could uncover the truth and bring her peace.
As the room fell into a tense silence, a sudden, blood-curdling scream rang out from the room next door.
Liu Peng nearly jumped out of his skin and clung to me even tighter, shouting, "Wu Jie, it's haunted! Let's get out of here!"
Uncle Hu rushed toward the room where the scream came from and tried the door. It was locked. He looked back at me, waiting.
I turned to Li Na's mother. "Auntie, who's locked in that room?"
"My younger daughter, Li Juan," she said with clear fear in her voice. "Ever since her sister passed, she's... changed. Violent. Unrecognizable. We had no choice but to keep her locked in."
I peeled Liu Peng off my arm. "Can you get off me now? You're really this scared?"
"No shit I'm scared! I'm about to pee my pants! Let's just leave!" Liu Peng's voice cracked with fear.
"You forgot what I do for a living?" I asked calmly.
That seemed to ground him a little. He finally let go, though he still stayed glued to my side.
Back in school, I was reclusive and had few friends. Liu Peng was one of the few I could talk to—probably because he wasn't doing well in school either.
In a prestigious high school like ours, poor grades were enough to get you ostracized.
"Auntie, may I take a look inside?" I asked Li Na's mother.
"Wu Jie is very skilled," Liu Peng added. "His master is a famous feng shui master. He might really be able to help."
Li Na's mother nodded and handed me a ring of keys. As she walked toward the locked room, she warned us, "Be careful. Juan doesn't recognize anyone anymore. She lashes out."
I gave a short nod.
As soon as she unlocked the door, a blast of cold air rushed out from the room. Goosebumps rose all over my arms as the icy yin energy washed over me.
The room was pitch black. The curtains were drawn tight, not a single ray of light breaking through.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Then I saw her—in the far corner, a girl sat trembling rhythmically, hair covering her face, her figure looking around fifteen or sixteen.
I stared for a while, uncertain. Was Li Juan truly possessed? Or worse—could she have had something to do with Li Na's death?
This situation was far stranger than anything I'd encountered.
I took a cautious step forward.
Li Na's mother and Liu Peng stayed frozen at the door, too terrified to come in.
"Be careful, young master," Uncle Hu said quietly from behind me.
I waved him off, signaling everyone to stay quiet. I had already formed a ghost-slaying hand seal—just in case.
A few more steps, and I was only a couple of feet from the girl. I crouched down to her level.
As if sensing my presence, the girl slowly lifted her head…