Chapter 33: Bait and Switch

"Huh?" Na Lan Yan Ran folded her arms and glared at me. "Why should I help you with this nonsense? If you want to get yourself killed, then face the demonic cultivator yourself! Why should I help you?"

"You might be the next victim if this keeps up," I pointed out wearily. She snorted.

"With my skills, if the demonic cultivator is stupid enough to attack me, he will die horribly."

"Then why are you so reluctant to help me hunt him?"

"Because this has nothing to do with me."

I gritted my teeth. This bitch was so freaking self-centered. Then again, I had known this from the start. She was arrogant to begin with.

"What about the other girls? Don't you care if they fall victim to the demonic cultivator?"

"That's the Alliance's responsibility, not mine." Na Lan Yan Ran's eyes were cold. "They shouldn't be begging me for help when they failed in their duty. They want all their authority and to govern all the sects, yet they can't even deal with a single demonic cultivator? I have no obligation to clean up their mess for them."

"Hey, I was the one who saved your sister," I pointed out irritably. "Even though I have no obligation to do so. Imagine if I had the same attitude as you. What if I decided that it's not my duty and that I don't need to help her back then?"

"I compensated you for that, didn't I? A million yuan, even. Isn't that good enough?"

"That's not the point! Is it about compensation, then? How much do you want?"

"Are you kidding me?" Na Lan Yan Ran laughed. "I know your family background. You can't afford to hire me for anything. Neither can the Alliance. And I'm not in need of money, so I'm not going to bother with all this trouble. Also, I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work. Don't use the demonic cultivator as an excuse to get close to me. I told you, we're from two different worlds. You should give up on pursuing me."

With that, she stalked off arrogantly. I could only glare at her helplessly, feeling the rage build up inside me at her callousness. How could she be so coldhearted and self-centered when her schoolmates were falling victim all around her? Not only that, she was clearly deluded. Why did she think I was using the ghost as an excuse to pursue her?

Shaking my head, I decided to give up. I had no choice but to try and find the demonic cultivator without her help.

As it turned out, despite staking the school out for the night, I failed to find any sign of the demonic cultivator. The next morning came before I knew it and I dragged myself to school.

To my surprise, I found everyone crowding around a desk that had been empty for the last two days.

"Shi Xiao Nian! You're back!"

"Ah, yes." Shi Xiao Nian nodded. She still looked extremely pale, but she was forcing herself. Clearly she had yet to fully recover from her ordeal and I couldn't help but worry.

"Are you all right? Are you sure you should be back in school so soon?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Shi Xiao Nian forced a smile at my question. "I can't afford to miss school, not with Gao Kao so close. I don't want to fall behind on my studies."

"But this is great news!" Tong Xue exclaimed, joining me. "None of the other victims have recovered. I'm glad you're up so soon!"

"I got lucky," Shi Xiao Nian said with a pale smile. I doubted that. If she was lucky, she wouldn't have been attacked at all in the first place.

But Tong Xue had a point. This was the first time that a victim from one of those attacks had recovered. The other survivors were still in a coma. Ban Zhang was aware of that, and so he reprimanded her sternly.

"You really should take care of yourself more. Maybe you should go home and rest. Come back when you've recovered more fully."

"I'm okay, really," Shi Xiao Nian insisted stubbornly. "A bit light-headed, but I won't have any problems studying."

"Silly girl." Sobbing, Jin Bai He wrapped her in a hug. "Your health is more important than your studies! You should take better care of yourself!"

"I will." Shi Xiao Nian returned her best friend's hug. "But the Gao Kao is too important."

"Is this about your parents?" Jin Bai He bit her lip. "You want to impress them by doing well on your exams?"

Shi Xiao Nian said nothing. Jin Bai He tightened her embrace.

"Those people don't deserve to be your parents! They only care about your sister! All because you're only an adopted child, they…"

"Bai He," Shi Xiao Nian said gently. "I understand your emotions, but…they are still my parents."

"S…sorry." Jin Bai He sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I didn't mean…"

"I know," Shi Xiao Nian raised a hand and stretched upward to try and pat the taller girl on the head, stroking her hair. She smiled, despite looking drained. "I would appreciate it if you come to my house again and help me with studying tonight."

"N…not tonight." Jin Bai He looked pained. "I'm sorry, but tonight…"

"It's okay. Then tomorrow then?"

"I…I will see what I can do."

Jin Bai He's face was still streaked with tears. For some reason, her expression was filled with pain and anguish. Shi Xiao Nian must have noticed it, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she continued stroking her best friend's hair.

"As long as you're all right," one of the other female classmates said timidly.

"It's my fault," Jin Bai He whispered. "It's all my fault."

"Don't be silly," Shi Xiao Nian told her, pulling her face down to let her cry on her shoulder. "No one is blaming you."

I lowered my head and turned away, giving the girls some privacy.

To my surprise, after class, I found Na Lan Yan Ran waiting outside for me, her arms crossed. I was about to walk past her, but she called out to me.

"Wait," she said. "I'll do it. I'll help you lure the demonic cultivator out tonight."

"What?" I did a double take. Was I hearing things? Or was I perhaps so mentally exhausted by the emotional scene in class that I was beginning to hallucinate? "You will? What brought about this sudden change of heart?"

"My sister," Na Lan Yan Ran replied. She looked away. "I don't know when the perverted monster will switch demographics and eventually target girls like my sister. It's like you said…if you behaved like I did and didn't bother to intervene to save my sister that day, she would have become a victim. I don't want that."

"Nobody does," I agreed. Well, whatever her reason, I was glad that she was onboard. God willing, we should be able to deal with the culprit by tonight. "Let's settle this once and for all."

As it turned out, we decided to meet in school in the middle of the night. Na Lan Yan Ran was already waiting for me, along with an entourage of her staff, all in suits and sunglasses. Why the hell were they wearing sunglasses at night, when it was so dark? Was it supposed to be some sort of impractical fashion statement or something?

"You're finally here," she said, flicking the long strands of her black hair. "What would you have done if the demonic cultivator attacked me before you arrived?"

"Weren't you the one who said that the demonic cultivator will die horribly if he tried to attack you?" I asked dryly. I glanced at the amount of bodyguards she had brought along. "And it seems like you've brought your own protection?"

"They are not cultivators, so I don't know how much help they will be," Na Lan Yan Ran admitted. "And they'll have to stand down. I don't think the perverted demonic cultivator will attack me if he sees me surrounded by so many people."

She then turned to the guards and with a quick word, ordered them to withdraw. Within a few minutes, I found myself alone with her.

"So how do we do this?" Na Lan Yan Ran asked me.

"I should hide too," I said with a sigh. "The demonic cultivator appears to attack girls who are alone. Don't worry, I'll still be around, so if he comes, I'll spring the trap."

"Don't take too long or I'll kill the pervert," Na Lan Yan Ran said. I shrugged.

"You're more welcome to kill him if you can."

"Aren't you afraid that I will steal all of the credit?" Na Lan Yan Ran sneered condescendingly. I shook my head.

"I don't care who slays the demonic cultivator as long as he's no longer around to threaten the safety of others. So feel free to claim the kill."

"Hmph. How unambitious." Na Lan Yan Ran harrumphed and turned away with her arms folded. "You should get going then."

I nodded and vanished into the shadows. Na Lan Yan Ran shook her head and began her lonely journey along the dark, empty corridors of the school.

Perhaps she was feeling lonely or maybe she was plain bored, but she began humming a tune to herself as she strode across the corridor. Suppressing her anxiety, she had the discipline to refrain from looking around like a deer searching for headlights and a car and kept her eyes ahead. She proceeded toward her classroom and pushed the door open.

"I hope my stuff are still there," she murmured out loud. Loud enough for anyone who was sneaking around to overhear if they were paying attention, but not too loud that it would be unnatural.

Damn, but Na Lan Yan Ran was quite the amazing actress. If she kept this up, she might actually win an academy award in the near future!

However, I couldn't applaud her impressive performance, for fear that it would arouse the suspicions of the ghost. Arouse. Heh. Speaking of which, I wondered what manner of demonic cultivator would prey on innocent young high school girls…

Both Ye Wu Tian and Na Lan Yan Ran were probably right. The culprit must be a perverted pedophile with a fetish for high school girls. How utterly disgusting.

I thought of Xiao Shi Nian's frail form and rage filled me once more. This time, I must find the bastard and finish him off once and for all. No longer was this about my own survival. It was also to prevent my friends – particularly my female classmates – from becoming his victims.

Na Lan Yan Ran made a show of rummaging through her desk. When she was done, she slipped a book into her bag and sighed loudly.

"I can't believe I have to go through the trouble of returning to school this late at night, just for a stupid textbook."

Shaking her head, she then proceeded toward the exit, only to stop when she caught sight of a figure at the door.

"Who's there?"

It wasn't me. I had also sensed the person and tensed up, recognizing this qi as identical to the traces of qi I found in the other areas of attack before the school lockdown. I was already moving from my position in the shadows to flank the demonic cultivator, confident that I had the right target this time.

Na Lan Yan Ran didn't seem as certain. She swallowed and stared at the figure at the door. From behind, I could only see long black hair, tied into a ponytail, and a black leather jacket that was matched with tight denim jeans that hugged femininely curved hips.

What the hell?! I totally did not expect that. Ye Wu Tian, Na Lan Yan Ran and I all believed that the culprit was a perverted guy, but it turned out that we were wrong. We might have been too hasty in our judgment, but I guess it made sense that perverted girls existed as well.

"Aren't you…?" Na Lan Yan Ran asked with a frown, but trailed off when she couldn't put a name to the person. From her confused expression, it appeared that she recognized the girl – or at least found her familiar, but not to the extent that she knew the girl personally.

I felt a chill run down my spine. So there was a reason why the victims had exclusively been from our high school. The culprit was also from our school. Most likely Na Lan Yan Ran had seen her in school frequently, passing by her on her way to class or in such similar scenarios. Not a classmate or friend, but someone she encountered often in the corridors.

Suddenly, I had a bad feeling about this. Not that I cared. I was already charging at the demonic cultivator, readying a Soul Crushing Strike. If I landed this squarely, I could end this in a second before Na Lan Yan Ran would be in any danger.

But the girl suddenly turned around, as if sensing my presence. When I caught sight of her face, which was hidden mostly in the shadows, I faltered for a moment.

That hesitation almost cost me my life. The girl whirled around with a roundhouse kick that I just barely managed to parry. The incredible force – reinforced by demonic qi – sent me crashing against the opposite wall.

"Smart," the girl sneered. "Calling a helper to lure me out? I shouldn't have fallen for such cheap tricks…but thankfully, I'm no ordinary girl."

"You…!" Na Lan Yan Ran prepared for combat, but the girl was too fast. Before she could react, the possessed girl grabbed Na Lan Yan Ran's throat, choking her. The number one beauty in school kicked and flailed about, but was unable to loosen the grip on her throat.

"Oh, you're a cultivator?" the possessed girl licked her lips. "That's even better. The yin qi essence that I'll absorb from you will definitely help me make a breakthrough, which will allow me to progress to the Earth realm!"

"Ugh!" Na Lan Yan Ran gasped, her struggles growing weaker as her assailant began to suck her qi dry.

"Stop it!" I shouted, jumping back to my feet. Remembering what I saw earlier, I swallowed. "Stop, it, Jin Bai He!"

There was a moment of silence…then my classmate slowly turned around to give me a sad stare.