Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 158 - 58: A Thought Difference

Chapter 158: Chapter 58: A Thought Difference

"Alright, those who needed to escape have escaped, those who needed to be knocked down have been knocked down. Gu Fan and Lu Yi have dealt with all the hindrances and can finally work on rescuing their classmates.

Seeing twelve of their classmates unconscious, with their faces pale especially when they saw Zhou Yu and Xia Yue, Gu Fan let out a deep sigh. "Wait a bit, I’m about to get you all out of here," he said.

Lu Yi specifically went over to Qian Chuan and tried to shake him awake to no avail. It was unclear if they were under the control of some drug, or if they had lost their souls after being sacrificed. It was clear they had to do exactly as Du Jun had suggested: they had to rotate the compass on the stone wall.

The compass indicated twelve traditional Chinese time periods; Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai. Gu Fan wondered if it meant that, although these twelve classmates were all born on the same date and month, they were born in different time periods that spanned over a day.

Gu Fan had an inkling that something was off, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He decided not to worry about it too much and started to rotate the compass. As soon as he moved it to Chou, the blue light emanating from Li Xiaoyan’s direction disappeared and he began to show responses, though he was still unconscious.

Just turning the compass once made Gu Fan’s hand hurt. He had Lu Yi come to turn it the third time, while he searched the surroundings for anything he had missed.

With great effort from Lu Yi, the compass turned two more periods. At this point Lu Yi was exhausted. The pain in his hand became unbearable, and Gu Fan had to take over.

While rotating the compass, Gu Fan worried about the others. He wondered if Su Hui had managed to escape the horde of pursuers or if Lin Xi had found safety.

When the compass had been rotated six times to the period of Si, Gu Fan thought back to a time when they encountered an elderly man in the ancient town who always spoke loudly. Adding in the instances where they had run into him at the foot of the mountain, they had seen this man four times already.

Gu Fan knew that the elderly man was also a member of the ancient town and thus, he shouldn’t trust him blindly. Yet, whenever he remembered what the old man had said, Gu Fan couldn’t help but feel uneasy, as if he had overlooked something crucial.

The last time they had met, the elderly man had reminded Gu Fan that if he could remember what they had spoken about previously, he might have a chance of turning things around.

So Gu Fan tried to recall the first conversation with the old man. At the time, he and Lu Yi had been surprised to see the old man sweeping the ground in the middle of the night. Why on earth would anyone sweep the ground at that hour?

The old man had said that no matter how much you sweep, the ground would still be dirty the next day, implying that many efforts in life were fruitless.

Gu Fan also remembered something Du Jun had said: that no matter what he did or how hard he tried, he would end up a loser in the end.

The words of the old man and Du Jun were strikingly similar, making Gu Fan break out in a cold sweat. He felt like he had missed something important or that there was something he hadn’t understood yet.

"What is it, what could it be?" Gu Fan’s thoughts were in a whirl. If he couldn’t figure it out, he might indeed end up having struggled in vain.

At this point, Lu Yi had turned the compass twice more and was completely worn out. It seemed like the compass was becoming more difficult to turn each time.

There were still four periods left to turn. Lu Yi thought they should speed up, fearing that the enemy would strike again and their efforts so far would be in vain.

Gu Fan agreed and gritting his teeth, he rotated the compass another period. But for some reason, he felt his heart pounding. He sensed that he was heading down a wrong path. Yet, he didn’t know at which point he had made the wrong turn.

Just as Gu Fan was hesitating, he suddenly heard many footsteps outside. It seemed like people were rushing over. This made him extremely nervous, fearing that Lu Yi’s ominous prediction would come true again.

Lu Yi also urged him on, "Hurry up, the enemy is coming. Whether we can save our twelve classmates and get twelve more helpers depends on this critical moment."

"I know, you don’t need to remind me. I’m trying my best," said Gu Fan, straining every muscle to rotate another period. Then, without pausing, he started to frantically turn the last period.

There were still footsteps outside. Gu Fan was becoming impatient, but the last period was incredibly hard to turn. It felt like the compass was jammed, and he didn’t think he had enough time. He was certain that the enemy would storm in any moment now.

Lu Yi was already prepared. If the enemy charged in, he’d try to hold them off for as long as possible, buying Gu Fan some time.

"Oh my God, why is this so hard to turn?" Gu Fan strained with all his might. The compass only shifted slightly, but he refused to give up. For the twelve classmates, for the promise he made, he kept trying.

The footsteps still echoed, as if prompting Gu Fan. With Gu Fan’s relentless efforts, the compass was about to spin to its final point, marking the end.

"Great, just great, we’ll definitely beat our enemies." As Gu Fan exulted, he suddenly sensed something odd. The footsteps were continuous, yet despite the compass spinning for so long, he hadn’t seen a single shadow of the enemy. Wasn’t this weird?

"Could it be..." Gu Fan sensed that the people outside were doing it deliberately, trying to prompt him to speed up spinning the compass. But why? Could it be that the key to rescuing the twelve classmates was not about the spinning of the compass?

But when Gu Fan looked at Zhao Rui and the others, although they hadn’t fully awakened, they were at least showing signs of life, as they were in a state of semi-consciousness.

"There must be a problem somewhere." Gu Fan stared at the compass in his hands. As long as it spun twice more, it would reach the final point. Just when he was about to spin it the penultimate time, he suddenly recalled what the deliberately profound old man had said.

While sweeping the floor, the old man had said that he hoped the ground would always be dirty so that he could constantly sweep and make money over and over.

What was the implication of that sentence? Gu Fan pondered and ultimately decided to not give the final spin of the compass, allowing it to just stay near the twelfth point.

Looking at the compass, Gu Fan muttered, "I hope I made the right gamble."

"What do you mean? Why didn’t you spin it for the last time? The enemy is almost here." Lu Yi was in a panic, but his attempt to give the final spin was stopped by Gu Fan.

With a puzzled look, Lu Yi turned towards Gu Fan and asked, "What’s your game, bro? Don’t you want to save our classmates? Haven’t you heard the footsteps?"

"Of course I heard the footsteps, but what does it matter? We’ve been hearing footstep noises for such a long time, have you seen anybody?" Gu Fan’s words left Lu Yi bewildered. When Lu Yi finally realized what was happening, he was terrified: "Wait, they deliberately made us hear footstep sounds and then kept us spinning the compass?"

"Exactly. But I’m sorry, Du Jun, I didn’t fall into your trap. I have disappointed you." Upon saying this, Gu Fan yanked the key from the stone wall, causing the blue glow from the twelfth coffin to become dim.

The blue glow in the room kept diminishing with the spinning of the compass, but they could still clearly see the reactions of the twelve classmates, thanks to the searchlights installed by Du Jun and his group.

The compass had not reached the final point, yet it seemed that Yang Xinran was gradually regaining his consciousness. The faces of the twelve classmates turned more lively, proving that what Gu Fan did was right.

However, Lu Yi was now even more puzzled. "What does this mean? Is it unnecessary to keep spinning the compass, we just had to remove the key? Why did we work so hard before then? Du Jun is such a devil."

"No, we do need to spin the compass, but not until the very end." The profound words of the old man resurfaced in Gu Fan’s conscience, he speculated that it meant things should not be done to the extreme.

Spinning the compass would be able to save the twelve classmates, but if the compass reached the last moment, it might not be a rescue anymore but bring about a different outcome. Gu Fan guessed that the complete spinning of the compass would signify the completion of the sacrifice, and consequently, the twelve classmates might all be lost. If the compass stopped at the last moment, then the sacrifice wouldn’t succeed, saving the twelve students.

Lu Yi also suggested: "If the compass is not spinning, does it mean the sacrifice is still going on, and it isn’t counted as a failure or success? So the twelve classmates aren’t completely lost but aren’t saved either."

"Most likely so? This is what I’m guessing," Gu Fan speculated. But he wasn’t bothered about whether he was right or not. One thing he was sure of, was that he had won. He had successfully prevented the sacrifice and saved the twelve classmates.

"Du Jun, Du Jun, you said no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, I’ll end up losing. But I’m sorry, I have won." Gu Fan boasted, his heart filled with exhilaration. He yearned to confront Du Jun right now with the twelve classmates.

However, for the time being, the twelve classmates were gradually regaining their breath and pulse. They would need time to wake up, which required Gu Fan and Lu Yi to stay put. In other words, they wouldn’t be able to assist Su Hui or Lin Xi.

Su Hui was skilled and knew how to improvise. Gu Fan believed there was nothing to worry about her. As for Lin Xi, there’s only Jie to protect and Professor Luo to look after her. This was indeed worrisome.

"I beg you, Sister Su, I beg you, Lin Xi, I beg you, Jie, I hope everyone is safe." Gu Fan was anxious. For some reason, his heart was beating faster, feeling more restless.

Noticing Gu Fan’s expression worsen and looking as if he was breaking out in cold sweat, Lu Yi immediately asked, "What’s wrong? Did you discover something bad?"

In response, Gu Fan shook his head. He just felt as if he had overlooked something crucial. There seemed to be an unreasonable part in Du Jun’s arrangement.