Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 209: Chapter 176: Settlement

Panting heavily, Yang Xiao finally stopped his assault. He couldn’t kill Xia Xiuyan; even more, he realized he had been impulsive just before. Xia Xiuyan was now injured, a fact that Sun Shengnan would certainly exploit, accusing Yang Xiao of extorting a confession through torture.

Yang Xiao yanked Xia Xiuyan up from the ground, his voice fierce and threatening, "I’m asking you, if anyone asks where you got your injuries, what will you say?"

"It was my own carelessness, it was dark and slippery, and I fell down the slope," Xia Xiuyan replied, a lot more sensible after Yang Xiao’s moral education.

Yang Xiao smirked ominously, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "Miss Xia, I remain skeptical about your character. You won’t retract your statement, will you?"

"I won’t, absolutely not. I am guilty, and I need to atone for my sins!" Yang Xiao didn’t believe that someone like Xia Xiuyan could truly reform; she was simply afraid of Teacher Wang who had become a ghost, that’s all.

However, for Yang Xiao, this no longer mattered. Xia Xiuyan was just a pawn; his real target was Sun Shengnan.

Suddenly, lightning tore through the night sky. Standing at the mouth of the cave, Yang Xiao caught something on the hillside out of the corner of his eye.

By the time he looked intently in that direction, darkness had enveloped it again. Yang Xiao stared for a long time, and then, with a shiver, he vaguely made out a figure standing there.

He hadn’t received any messages from Xu Yu, so it must have been Pei Qiuyu. Still, Yang Xiao took this chance to press Xia Xiuyan further.

"Look, what is that?" Yang Xiao pointed towards the silhouette for Xia Xiuyan to see. Just as the moonlight broke through the clouds, the figure became clearer—there was no mistake; it was someone in a white suit.

But Xia Xiuyan’s reaction was unexpected to Yang Xiao; trembling, she looked at him with a puzzled gaze, "You... what are you showing me?"

"There’s a figure there, don’t you see it?"

"No... there’s nothing. Stop scaring me; I know I was wrong. I’ll cooperate with you to expose Sun Shengnan’s crimes."

Seeing Xia Xiuyan on the verge of tears, Yang Xiao sensed something wrong. The moonlight was strong, making the figure even more distinct, "You really don’t see it?"

Xia Xiuyan shook her head in despair.

This rattled Yang Xiao, as he noticed a peculiar detail—the figure seemed to be getting closer. If it were Pei Qiuyu, there would be no reason for her to do so. After all, Yang Xiao was no fool; being too close would make it easy for her to be exposed.

Yang Xiao grabbed the video camera from the ground, the one belonging to Xia Xiuyan, "Take this, and film in that direction." He thrust the camera into Xia Xiuyan’s hands, leaving her no opportunity to refuse.

Upon seeing the footage from Xia Xiuyan’s camera, a chill shot straight to Yang Xiao’s crown. In her camera’s view, the location was empty.

This was truly a ghost.

Without hesitation, Yang Xiao took his own camera and, with the confused Xia Xiuyan in tow, hastened towards meeting point No. 5.

On the way, Yang Xiao’s mind raced. The more he thought, the more frightened he became, drenched in cold sweat. Being able to see a ghost was not good news; it meant the ghost was targeting him.

If the encounter in the changing room was an accident, this situation couldn’t be explained away as a mere coincidence. There had to be something about him that attracted the ghost’s attention.

Remembering the deceased stand-in, Yang Xiao suspected he was also being played.

At this moment, he couldn’t care less about guarding against Xia Xiuyan. He immediately made a call to Principal Wu, needing to confirm something very important.

"Huh? Their phone is off?"

Yang Xiao was flabbergasted. Principal Wu was a cautious person. At such a critical time, it was inconceivable for them to turn off their phone. This was not a good sign; something must have gone wrong!

Then, Yang Xiao’s phone began to vibrate with an incoming call. It was Xu Yu.

As he answered, before Yang Xiao could speak, he heard Xu Yu rapidly say, "I have sensed Teacher Wang’s presence. Be careful, he’s nearby!"

Yang Xiao continued moving, "I’ve already seen him."

"How are you all doing? Are you all okay?" Xu Yu couldn’t help but worry.

"Everything is fine for now, but it seems like I’ve been targeted. Something must have gone wrong. I suspect Sun Shengnan tampered with the equipment on me."

Yang Xiao’s suspicion had sufficient reason. After all, aside from him, Xia Xiuyan and Pei Qiuyu were also in the woods tonight. It didn’t make sense that only he would be chased by the ghost.

Moreover, given Pei Qiuyu’s caution, she wouldn’t dare hide in the woods alone and pretend to be a ghost without sufficient confidence. The only explanation Yang Xiao could think of is that Pei Qiuyu had a reason not to be afraid of ghosts—she knew the ghost would target him. Tonight, he was her shield.

Of course, Pei Qiuyu herself didn’t have the capability to pull this off, everything must have been orchestrated by Sun Shengnan.

Not sure if it was just his imagination, Yang Xiao felt a chill continuously creeping up behind him. He began trying to discard his equipment: first the kitchen knife, then the flashlight, the overcoat, the wearable sports camera...he hesitated to throw away the camera since it contained Xia Xiuyan’s confession of guilt.

And just as Yang Xiao discarded these items, something astonishing happened—the bone-chilling coldness that had been tailing him like a maggot in the flesh suddenly dissipated.

"So it really was that!"

Yang Xiao grabbed his phone and realized that the call had somehow been disconnected. He called Xu Yu again, "Hey, it’s fine now. It was definitely something wrong with those pieces of equipment!" freeweɓnovel.cѳm

But Xu Yu on the other end seemed to be in trouble, her voice filled with panic, "Principal Wu and some teachers who stayed behind at the school have been taken away by the police. I just got a call from a colleague saying someone had reported our school for promoting superstition and spreading rumors. The police have also found my studio and seized the flyers."

Confronting Xia Xiuyan, Yang Xiao quickly got her to confess everything she knew, "It’s Sun Shengnan! I heard her talking about this stuff!"

No wonder Principal Wu had lost contact. He had been taken away by the police for questioning.

The next second, another call came in, showing Teacher Xiong on the display.

This phone belonged to Principal Wu as a backup, and the stored numbers in it were all people he knew well. "Who is Teacher Xiong?" Yang Xiao asked.

"You’ve seen him, he’s the male teacher who came to give us news during our talk today," Xu Yu spoke quickly. "Answer it fast, his brother works at the police station, it must be urgent."

Picking up the phone, the person on the other end was panting, "Hello, is this Chu Xi? Principal Wu told me to contact you right away. Several of us teachers who stayed at school have been taken by the police. Don’t worry though, it’s just a formality for cooperation. But we won’t be able to look after the school tonight."

"By the way, I just got word that the police found a clue on the body of the woman who died in place of Sun Shengnan. Inside her overcoat, sewn into the lining, was a piece of yellow paper with Ghost Talisman drawn on it. The police can’t make heads or tails of it, but it’s smeared with blood and seems to have birth data on it."

Immediately, Yang Xiao understood; that kind of thing must also be in his coat, "It’s Sun Shengnan’s doing! Why aren’t the police looking for her?"

"Oh boy, that woman sure is a piece of work. Now she’s turning the tables, accusing the town of intentionally harming her because of that past case. She’s claiming her personal safety is seriously threatened!"

"She’s even posted on her social media that she has received death threats, that her body double has been murdered, and implies that all of this has something to do with the locals..." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"That woman is just a shrew. She’s just waiting for the police to come for her. The moment she steps foot inside the police station, she’ll harm herself. Once she gets out, won’t she turn the world upside down with her words?"

"Damn it! So there’s no way to deal with her?" Yang Xiao felt disappointed, a stifled anger building up inside him.

"That’s not true. My brother secretly told me to just stay in the police station and keep low. They’ve found some key evidence already, linked to the previous case involving Teacher Wang. It’s in the final stages now, they’re just waiting to settle the score with her," Teacher Xiong said excitedly.

"I hope she lives long enough for that." Yang Xiao snorted coldly.

However, this remark seemed to have been misunderstood by Teacher Xiong, who anxiously advised, "Listen Chu Xi, little brother, you...you mustn’t do anything rash. You’re a good guy, but let’s not commit such a foolish act of murder. And think about it, Sun Shengnan is just scum of the earth; would it be worth it to exchange your life for hers?"

Teacher Xiong proved to be straightforward, his impression of Sun Shengnan and such people made him all the more charming and likable. Not wanting to worry him, Yang Xiao reassured, "Don’t worry, I’m not that impulsive. I’m still filming. Please inform me right away if anything happens at the police station."

"Alright, I’ll keep an eye on things here," Teacher Xiong promised immediately.

Having escaped the ghost’s pursuit, it was now time to deal with Pei Qiuyu. This despicable person had actually teamed up with Sun Shengnan.

Pocketing his phone, Yang Xiao’s smile slowly twisted, "Qiuyu, my dear sister, don’t disappoint me."