Chapter 50: The Truth Behind Lin Kexin's Death

Even before touching the core of the [426 Hospital], a "Fierce Ghost-grade" spectral entity had already appeared. It was simply unimaginable what they might encounter if they truly ventured deep into its heart.

Ji Yun did not believe that the two new investigators from the Strange Affairs Bureau could guarantee a resolution.

Yet, those two were the strongest combat forces among their entire group. Once they failed to return, the remaining people would almost certainly face certain death.

Therefore, wanting to leave alive meant they had to rely on the power of those two.

Normally, there were only two ways to leave a Ruins Realm.

First, kill the ghost that served as the source of the lingering resentment.

Second, resolve that resentment.

Ji Yun’s method was the second one!

His idea was to go find "Lin Kexin".

......

Right now, it seemed that everyone else was completely clueless about this Ruins Realm.

But Ji Yun was different.

From the detective files, he knew that this T4 dormitory building had once been the site of a "series of suicides by jumping from the building."

Now, it appeared that a part of this Ruins Realm was the very crime scene of those successive falls.

All the victims who had fallen had transformed into vengeful spirits within this time-stacked Ruins Realm.

Ji Yun did not know who the other victims were.

He was certain, however, that among the female ghosts falling from a certain floor of this haunted building, one of them was Lin Kexin!

This was the breakthrough point.

According to practical cases shared by other transcendent individuals on online forums, this method of smuggling oneself out was viable. By resolving the ghosts tied to certain key grievances—even if they weren't the source—there was a probability of smuggling oneself out of the realm.

In other words, if he could resolve Lin Kexin’s death grievance, she might just send him out!

And the key to resolving that grievance lay in the other person within their team—Liao Feifei!

Ji Yun had been observing everyone's micro-expressions all along.

Especially Xia Li and Liao Feifei, the two who had led everyone in tonight.

It now appeared that Xia Li was truly completely unaware.

Yet Liao Feifei’s expression had shown a trace of unnaturalness several times whenever she saw the falling white-robed figure.

While the others were equally terrified upon seeing the falling white shadow, Liao Feifei’s expression alone carried a sense of guilty evasion.

Therefore, Ji Yun was certain that Liao Feifei must be inextricably linked to the death of Lin Kexin!

Take a gamble.

Win the bet, and there might be a chance to get out.

Lose the bet, and it wouldn't make the current situation any worse.

......

However, Liao Feifei could not know about this in advance!

Seeing Wu Feng cast an inquiring look his way, Ji Yun said, "This method can only be executed by the two of you. Therefore, I want to speak with you alone."

Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan exchanged glances and said nothing.

Ji Yun took the initiative to stand up and walked over to the corridor entrance.

Wu Feng and the other followed, stopping just across the wall before speaking. "You can say it now."

With no further reservations, Ji Yun briefly recounted the intelligence from the detective files. "Here is the thing. Through some special channels, I found out about certain matters..."

If he couldn't leave the Ruins Realm, he would croak anyway, so there was nothing he dared not say.

He omitted the channel through which he had obtained the information and only spoke of the serial falling incident itself.

Ji Yun even suspected now that the mastermind who had sent people to silence the Fox-Hunting Detective Agency might not have been trying to suppress the news to protect the school's reputation.

Rather, what they truly wanted to hide was the secret concealed within this haunted building!

Since Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan were personnel from the Strange Affairs Bureau, the moment they heard this, they immediately realized the situation was far more complex than anticipated.

The "426 Hospital" had been superimposed with a "series of building jumps," creating a complexity of the Ruins Realm that they had never even seen in the training center's archives.

Wu Feng thought for a moment and concluded that Ji Yun's line of reasoning was sound.

If they won the gamble, they might actually find a shortcut out.

The only problem, however, was how to determine on which floor's timeline Lin Kexin had jumped.

Wu Feng asked directly, "Then how can you be sure that heading upward will definitely lead you to the female student who jumped, the one you mentioned?"

Ji Yun replied honestly, "I can't be sure. I'm only guessing."

With that, he stated his hypothesis: "During my previous observations of the three falls, I noticed that although the corpses were all wearing white nightgowns, there were chronological differences in the fabric patterns and tailoring styles. If I'm not mistaken, the further up we go in the building, the closer the timeline is to real-time. Lin Kexin should have been the last one to fall, so her ghost is likely on the top floor."

The detective files recorded that the intervals between each incident in the serial falling cases were roughly three to five years.

Across such a large time span, the materials and styles of the clothing were distinct.

With careful observation, it wasn't difficult to tell them apart.

Hearing this, Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan inwardly marveled at his powers of observation.

This was a detail they had both overlooked.

Continuing, Ji Yun offered a method to minimize misjudgment: "Let's keep going up until we reach the previous 'fourth floor.' Then let's verify the attire. If it matches what I observed, then there's basically no mistake."

Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan exchanged glances as they listened, agreeing that this method was reliable.

At the same time, however, the way they looked at Ji Yun changed.

A mixture of surprise and suspicion.

The surprise was that a detail missed by professionals like them had actually been noticed by a college student.

The suspicion was that this was not the sort of confidential information an ordinary student could access.

Furthermore, when Ji Yun had previously spoken the Nine-Character Mantra, both of them had already realized he understood far more than others.

Ji Yun was well aware that he would be suspected.

Yet he offered no explanation.

Ever since he integrated the [Ghost Gate Coffin], he had noticed his memory becoming increasingly exceptional.

Details witnessed by his eyes remained exceptionally clear when recalling the scenes, even without deliberate memorization.

Tonight's events were far too bizarre, so Wu Feng dared not be careless and asked directly, "Have you been in contact with transcendent beings?"

If he hadn't sensed a lack of spiritual pressure, he would have suspected the other party was a peer.

Sidestepping the crux of the matter, Ji Yun replied, "Hua Ling from the X Foundation is my elder sister."

That was the truth.

There was nothing inappropriate about mentioning Sister Hua Ling's identity within the Strange Affairs Bureau.

Hearing this, Wu Feng had a sudden epiphany. "Captain Hua Ling is your older sister? No wonder."

The Jianghua City Strange Affairs Bureau and the X Foundation were currently in a cooperative relationship.

Aware that a batch of X Foundation agents had arrived in Hong Kong, he happened to remember the leader of those agents from the roster.

The two departments each had their own protocols to observe, so it wasn't appropriate to press certain questions further.

Glancing at Zhang Xiaonan, he made an instant decision. "Alright, as you say. We head up."

They had lacked a precise strategy for breaking the deadlock anyway.

Whether heading up or down, it was a gamble with fate.

Now that they had a targeted clue, it was naturally for the better.

......

After Ji Yun and the two conferred, Wu Feng came inside and called everyone together to prepare to ascend the stairs.

Although Xia Li and the others didn't understand why they had been told to wait earlier yet were now moving together, under the present circumstances, they had no choice but to follow.

The group ascended the stairs.

Sure enough, it was another third floor, and climbing one more floor brought them to the fourth floor of yet another timeline.

This time, everyone was familiar with the script.

The moment they stepped up, everyone's gaze locked dead onto that window.

Without fail, the moment the light and shadow flickered before their eyes, a white shadow appeared on the windowsill once more, plunging downward in a single leap.

Having seen this script play out multiple times, the group wasn't as terrified anymore.

Ji Yun had seen the photo of "Lin Kexin"—though it was only her back, he was certain that wasn't Lin Kexin.

Moreover, the style of the dress was more modern than the previous ones, which clearly proved his guess was correct!

Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan had also intentionally observed the dress and similarly confirmed this.

Yet the next moment, an unexpected development occurred.

Without any warning, a black claw reached out from the darkness!

Wu Feng reacted the fastest; his sword-like brows knit sternly as he threw a punch forward.

This time, however, with a loud "thud," it sounded as though he had struck solid rock, nearly shattering the ghost fire on his fists.

The rebound force caused him to spit a mouthful of blood, his expression changing drastically. "Not good, run!"

Without a moment of hesitation, Ji Yun yanked the hem of the fat guy's clothes beside him and turned to sprint up the stairs.

Frightened by the explosive shout, Xia Li and the others fled in a panic up the staircase.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the dark shadow appearing in the gloom was indeed a semi-transparent "ghost-faced spectral entity" covered entirely in scriptures.

Yet this one was a full tier stronger than the previous Fierce Ghost-grade entity!

That wave of spiritual pressure made everyone's bladders tighten in fright.

Since it could injure Wu Feng in a single exchange, the others had zero capability to stop it.

Even Zhang Xiaonan showed no intention of lingering for a fight, turning tail and running.

Fortunately, the ghost-faced entity seemed incapable of ascending the stairs.

Not long after Ji Yun's group rushed up to the third floor, Wu Feng followed closely behind, while the ghostly entity had vanished without a trace.

Daring not to linger, the group pressed upward once more.

Arriving at the fourth floor of yet another time node, everyone once again laid eyes on the white-robed figure on the windowsill.

The others still didn't realize that the falling ghosts they saw each time were not the same person.

Nor did they understand why they had to climb floor by floor.

Yet Ji Yun distinguished the differences at a glance.

Zhang Xiaonan and her companion cast a glance at him.

Because he was the only one who knew "Lin Kexin."

This time, as Ji Yun looked at the figure on the windowsill, his gaze suddenly stalled.

Even from just the back, he recognized that the white-robed figure standing on the windowsill was none other than Lin Kexin!

Noticing him stop, Zhang Xiaonan beside him instantly understood.

Before that white-robed figure could leap, she suddenly turned her face, her eyes blazing with fierce anger as she let out a sharp shout at Liao Feifei beside her: "Speak! Why did you murder Lin Kexin!"

This interrogation was backed by a crushing wave of spiritual pressure.

An ordinary person had no leeway to lie.

The rest of the group turned their heads in astonishment, failing to understand why Zhang Xiaonan’s expression had suddenly twisted with fury.

Liao Feifei had already suffered far too much terror tonight, and under the compulsion of this spiritual pressure, she babbled out a panicked, instinctive defense: "I... I didn't! She... she jumped by herself, it has nothing to do with me!"

Sure enough, she had a direct connection to Lin Kexin's fall!

Hearing this, Ji Yun's gaze hardened.

Zhang Xiaonan’s anger flared even higher, and with a furious tone, she exposed a fact: "She was raped!"

This was the information from the detective files that Ji Yun had mentioned earlier.

Its purpose was to break the other person's psychological defenses.

The effect unfolded exactly as anticipated!

Liao Feifei's psyche was driven to the brink of collapse, and with a tearful, frantic voice, she babbled like a madwoman in self-defense: "It wasn't me! It wasn't me... I just accepted Senior Lu's invitation to take her out for drinks, poured her a few glasses... As for the rest, it has nothing to do with me, it really has nothing to do with me..."

Upon hearing these words, Ji Yun connected the cause and effect from the files and instantly pieced everything together.

Earlier, he had felt that the record of "dream visitations" in those files sounded somewhat mystical.

Now, it seemed they truly were visits from a wronged spirit in dreams.

In other words, Lin Kexin really had been raped before jumping from the building.

Senior Lu!

This was likely the true perpetrator of the rape.

Even if Liao Feifei wasn't the mastermind, she was a crucial accomplice.

......

A deathly stillness blanketed the surroundings.

Although Zhao Kai and the others didn't quite understand what had happened, they had heard what Liao Feifei said.

One by one, their jaws dropped in shock.

Everyone was a student; how could any of them have imagined that a girl of this age could have a heart so evil that she would lure her own classmate out to be raped?

Noticing the dead silence surrounding her, Liao Feifei finally snapped back to her senses.

Meeting the gazes of disgust and avoidance all around her, she finally realized that she seemed to have blurted out the ugly secret she had hidden deep in her heart.

And right as she finished speaking, the white-robed figure standing on the windowsill did not plunge downward like the previous ones; instead, she slowly turned her head around.