Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 131 - 131 One hundred thirty-one

131: One hundred thirty-one.

Hardcore hot potato drumming 131: One hundred thirty-one.

Hardcore hot potato drumming “If you’re going to steal, just steal, why hit people…”

Ding Niu grumbled as he got up, regarding Lu Li as a slightly stronger ghost creature—after all, no human would dare to beat up a ghost like that, right?

“Are you human?” Lu Li put away the fake phone made of yin energy.

The thing seemed utterly useless, but Lu Li’s pockets were empty.

Whether it was useful or not, he’d take it first and ask questions later.

Ding Niu dusted off the dirt on his body, and if one ignored his overstretched neck and the strangling marks, he looked just like an ordinary person.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving…”

…

“Leaving?

Where do you think you’re going?”

The Water Ghost watched Wu Di flee the classroom recklessly, smiling viciously as it chased into the hallway.

Seconds later, a piercing, miserable scream came from deep within the corridor, accompanied by the sound of maniacal laughter.

The pitiful screams continued incessantly, unsettling the competitors in the classroom, with Wu Di’s agony echoing in their ears.

Guo Jing clenched his teeth and stood up, convinced that all of this was an illusion; the elders of his sect couldn’t possibly have left them here to fend for themselves.

And since it was an illusion, the better he performed, the more favorably he would be viewed…

All in!

“I’ll go check outside!

We’re here for training, not fighting, this is just too much!”

He declared righteously, leaving the classroom with heavy steps.

The players listened intently…

A second passed, two seconds passed, and after a dozen seconds, another scream added to the cacophony.

The successive duet of terror lasted several minutes before abruptly falling silent.

After a few seconds of quiet, faint gnawing sounds emerged from the dark hallway, followed by the noise of something heavy being dragged away.

The remaining competitors showed signs of post-fear, abandoning the courage that had just begun to surge in their hearts.

Even if this was all fake, part of an Illusion Array…

enduring such torment was unbearable.

Tap, tap, tap—

Minutes later, footsteps were heard on the wooden flooring of the corridor.

Players and ghost creatures alike turned their gazes towards the door in unison.

Tap, tap, tap—

The footsteps drew closer, stopping at the doorway.

In the stare of all present, a figure with black hair and black eyes appeared at the door.

Lu Li stood at the door, facing the gaze of the crowd, somewhat puzzled as he looked down at his clothes, and then asked, “Is there something wrong with me?”

“…”

The competitors exhaled in relief and averted their gazes, as did the ghost creatures.

Unaware of what had just happened, Lu Li felt a mass of yin energy approaching from behind and stepped aside.

The yin energy brushed past, enveloped in dampness; the Water Ghost left two wet footprints as it returned to its seat.

Previously scattered gazes once again focused on it, filled with fear, envy, and resentment.

It seemed that it was the key to what had just occurred…

Lu Li took all this in and silently surveyed the classroom once more.

Ding Niu was gone, and there were two fewer people than before.

He slightly lifted his head and sniffed.

A strong smell of blood wafted from both the hallway and the Water Ghost; two more competitors were dead, perhaps.

The Water Ghost returned to its seat, dripping not just water, but also blood.

Its simple-faced deskmate trembled with fright, muttering sutra verses in a low voice, as if he were about to cry.

“Guanyin Bodhisattva, while practicing the deep Prajnaparamita…”

“You’re as annoying as a mosquito!”

A roar from the Water Ghost terrified him into silence, shrinking into a ball.

Lu Li withdrew his gaze and returned to his seat to sit properly.

The quality of the rookies this time is not up to snuff…

or is it that the past trials were all similar to this?

…

“Whose bald-disciple is this, does anyone recognize him?”

In the open space before the main hall, an old Taoist with a grey beard stood up and yelled out loudly.

“Scared to such a state by just a little Water Ghost.”

Amidst the chorus of agreement, a middle-aged monk in a kasaya brought his hands together in salute: “Amitabha, it is I, the poor monk—”

The grey-bearded old Taoist interrupted the monk with a sneer, “How can your Fire Spirit Temple, with its reputation in Lingling, have such low standards?

Are you here to catch ghosts or to add to their meals?”

“…Amitabha.” The middle-aged monk chanted the Buddhist invocation and then lowered his head, no longer Responding.

In this sort of situation, monks naturally come out worse.

Taoists preach about being naturally inactive and doing as one desires, while Buddhists preach about not lying and not getting angry.

A Taoist can say things like “Damn it” without it affecting his image, but if a monk were to say such things, it would be like cursing in the street.

In a quarrel, a single Taoist could take on all the monks present.

…

The ten-minute class break flew by in an instant.

What gave the contestants a sigh of relief was that, aside from the two killed by the Water Ghost, no other contestants had been harmed.

The class bell rang, and the sound of high heels punctually appeared in the corridor.

The homeroom teacher’s figure appeared at the door and walked up to the podium.

“Good morning, everyone.

For our second class, we’re going to play a game.

Has anyone heard of ‘Pass the Flower to the Beat of the Drum’?”

A sense of dread rose in the contestants’ hearts.

This second class didn’t sound too good…

It surely wouldn’t be a normal game.

Rather than playing a game where they might die, they’d prefer to relive their school lives all over again.

“Teacher, aren’t we going to have a normal class?”

Lu Li suddenly stood up and spoke.

A wave of surprised glances came from behind, and while the other contestants certainly wanted to avoid this eerie game, none dared to raise the issue.

Song Hongfang revealed a smile, which might have been called amiable if one could overlook her completely white pupils and dark green skin, “Today is the first day of school, so let’s get to know each other first.

We’ll start classes tomorrow.”

Lu Li answered with an opposing attitude, “I think studying would make us happier.”

Song Hongfang’s smile vanished in an instant, and she let out a ghostly, piercing scream, “Are you the teacher, or am I?

Sit down!”

Lu Li sat down and remained quiet.

“The rules of ‘Pass the Flower to the Beat of the Drum’ should be clear to everyone; the student who gets the flower needs to answer a question or perform a talent,” Song Hongfang resumed in a gentle voice, smiling at Lei Lei: “Lei Lei, could you offer your head for the students to play with?

As payment, I’ll let you beat the drum and allow the student who gets the flower to make a choice.”

“Yes!”

The decapitated Lei Lei excitedly replied, and with a “pop,” he plucked off his head and tossed it to the homeroom teacher, who then threw it to Lu Li.

“Lu Li, let’s start with you.

After beating the drum, pass it to your deskmate, and your deskmate will pass it on.”

The head traced an arc through the air and was caught by Lu Li with both hands.

“Just pass it on after I beat on the desk; be careful not to poke my nostrils,” Lei Lei instructed.

Lu Li held the talking head emotionlessly and nodded, “I will.”

Thump—thump—thump—

Lei Lei’s headless torso began knocking on the desk.

The game had begun.

This game felt strange and bizarre from the start.

Lu Li handed the head to Fen’er who accepted it and passed it back to the seat behind…

With a disturbing sense of nausea amidst the rhythmic knocking on desks echoing through the classroom, the head was passed back, time and again.

Not only did the contestants pass the head quickly with faces full of disgust, but most of the Ghost Creatures also did not want to keep the head in hand.

Thus, in just over a dozen seconds, it was passed down the row against the wall, and the head was thrown to the second row.

Thump—thump—thump—

Suddenly, the knocking on the desks came to an abrupt halt.

Martin remained in the position of passing it on to his deskmate with the head held in his hands.

The charred Ghost Creature didn’t move at all and didn’t take the head.

Martin felt as though he was being targeted with malice.

Otherwise, how could he explain why he got the head or why he, a man, appeared as a woman within the Illusion Array?