At 3 a.m., Chief Stone had the government send bulldozers and excavators to clear the road. We could finally leave. Lily Qian had fallen into a coma—according to the doctor, her condition was extremely dangerous.
Hugh Thompson personally drove, along with members of the Ghost Burial Squad, taking her to the nearest hospital as soon as the road was open. The rest of us had to hurry to the school, where Chief Stone was already waiting.
After entering the school, Rachel Lan supported me as we walked into a conference room. Inside sat the vice principal, a sturdy, gray-haired man said to be the principal—Chen Luohui—and three teachers, all sitting nervously. Two men and one woman; the teacher who barged into the dormitory during our search was named Wu Bin.
The other female teacher was named Chen Yan. The tallest of the three, a man with stubble, looking tired and yawning, was called Zhou Ming.
Chief Stone and several members of the Ghost Burial Squad seemed to have finished their questioning, but with these teachers present, it wasn’t convenient for us to discuss the details. Chief Stone then told them to wait in the principal’s office.
Rachel Lan recounted the events of tonight in detail to Chief Stone.
"This incident doesn’t seem to be a simple ghost case. I’m afraid there’s something even more terrifying than ghosts involved."
I let out a sound of surprise. More terrifying than ghosts? What could that be?
"Gods..." I had just spoken when Rachel Lan burst into laughter.
"Qingyuan, it’s people. Sometimes, people are even scarier than ghosts."
I responded with an "oh," and Detective Stone smiled. Several members of the Ghost Burial Squad also chuckled.
"Hey, Qingyuan, you seem pretty capable. Why would you think of gods?"
I gave an awkward smile.
"Twenty-five years ago, the records about Little Stone Hollow were tampered with. Today, I used special privileges to check them. At first, I was refused—no one wanted to let me see. Even the director of the Public Security Bureau intervened, trying to stop me. The documents about the incident from twenty-five years ago in Little Stone Hollow were altered. Some parts were scraped with a knife—very carefully. The original content was completely changed."
Suddenly, the conference room fell silent. Everyone looked puzzled—this case was just too bizarre.
"By the way, Detective Stone, about the missing students—" Rachel Lan didn’t finish before Chief Stone tossed over a file. I leaned in to look.
Suddenly, my eyes widened. It was that troublesome student—Hugh Thompson had bribed him to help the police, but now he was missing.
"The missing ones are four students from Class 23, Grade 11—the lowest-performing class in the grade. Most of the students there come from wealthy or influential families, but their academic performance is very poor. I just asked those three teachers, and all said they didn’t know anything."
"Has anyone investigated the relationships among the four?"
"We’ll have to wait until morning—only when the students are up will we know."
Afterward, both the principal and vice principal, along with the three teachers, were called back in.
"Officer, I hope you’ll conduct your investigation discreetly. The school will cooperate, but midterms are coming up—I don’t want the students’ studies disturbed." The vice principal still seemed only concerned with himself.
With a bang, Chief Stone slammed his fist on the table in anger.
"Nineteen students have already gone missing. The one we found tonight has been sent to the ICU. How much longer are you planning to hide the truth? Speak! Tell me everything you know."
My heart skipped a beat—Lily Qian was sent to the ICU?
"We have nothing to say. The students’ disappearance is due to our own management failures. The school will not shirk responsibility, and compensation has already been arranged—the families are satisfied. We’ve repeatedly spent students’ and teachers’ time cooperating with police investigations, but what’s the result? To this day, you haven’t explained how the students died. The case has dragged on for months and nothing has changed. Officer, don’t you think you’re being unreasonable?"
Principal Roy Chen spoke up. I saw Detective Stone looking speechless, like a mute forced to swallow bitter herbs—unable to voice his suffering.
It’s true—this was a ghost-related case. And Chief Stone’s Ghost Burial Squad was a secret organization, not one that could be made public.
"Then let me ask you, Principal, can you explain why the teachers here claim to know nothing? You said you’ve cooperated fully with the police, but I haven’t seen it. Whenever I ask, the teachers say they don’t know. If none of you know anything, the police are left to wander blindly. So..." Rachel Lan said, stepping up to Principal Roy Chen, smiling mysteriously.
"Please tell us, Principal, besides 'I don’t know,' what else can your teachers say?"
I saw Rachel Lan’s expression change—she stared coldly at Principal Roy Chen.
"We don’t know, we really don’t. That’s normal, Officer. If we knew anything, we’d definitely tell you."
The vice principal leaned in, seemingly trying to give Principal Roy Chen a way out.
"Didn’t you issue a gag order before? What exactly are you hiding?" I asked, and the vice principal immediately lowered his head.
"You three—there were four students this morning, right? Tell me, what happened in the meantime? I need your alibis. I suspect the three of you of serious involvement. Later, you’ll come with me to the station to assist the investigation."
Chief Stone spoke in a threatening tone.
"Officer, our legal team will be here soon. If you have any questions, our lawyers will..." Principal Roy Chen was saying when Detective Stone suddenly stood up and walked over.
"I know you have plenty of connections and a strong backing, but we’re different. No one here fears the rules of this world."
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"Old man, you’d better tell the truth, or you’ll get a beating before you finally talk." One of the Ghost Burial Squad members was visibly agitated and walked over.
With a slap, Chief Stone struck him on the head.
"Sorry, sorry, Principal, he’s just half-awake."
"Oh, you officers—we heard everything just now. If you use force, you’re breaking the law." The vice principal puffed out his chest.
"Well, that’s true, but remember—don’t say it to their faces. Once we take them back, you can beat them however you want."
Rachel Lan burst out laughing, and I covered my mouth, laughing along.
Then Chief Stone walked over to Principal Roy Chen, patted his shoulder, and suddenly dropped his smile, his eyes sharp and cold.
"Since you know so many officials, you must have heard the rumor—there’s a police organization with the authority to investigate beyond its jurisdiction, and they don’t need hard evidence. If you ever conspire with certain things to do something bad, they can arrest you immediately. You wouldn’t want that, would you, Principal?"
I saw Principal Roy Chen’s face change dramatically—he looked at us in shock.
"You… you’re… Ghost…"
"Sigh, Principal, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want."
After that, the principal became much more cooperative and ordered the three teachers to start talking.
Apparently, among the four students, three were close friends. The fourth was a regular target for bullying—his relationships with classmates and teachers were poor, his grades were bad, he rarely spoke, and he always seemed gloomy, with almost no friends.
The three went missing before lights out at 11 p.m., during a dorm inspection by the student council. All four from one dormitory vanished without a trace. Only then did the school realize something was wrong and notify the police—after so many previous cases of student disappearances.
Chief Stone stayed at the school to continue questioning details, while Rachel Lan and I headed to the hospital to get our injuries treated. Saying it didn’t hurt would have been a lie—things had gone far beyond our expectations, and I was deeply worried about Lily Qian.
At the hospital, Hugh Thompson was keeping watch alone. He looked exhausted, but his eyes were wide open, staring at Lily Qian in the ICU, his face pale.
"Qingyuan, Lily Qian’s parents have already been notified—they’re on their way."
"How is she?" I asked, handing him a drink I’d bought. He shook his head.
"Hard to say right now. Meningitis, severe malnutrition, lots of parasites in her esophagus, heart damage, abdominal swelling—the doctor said surviving is already a miracle."
Hugh Thompson spoke, lighting a cigarette, his tone tinged with sorrow. I found it odd—his obsession with the missing students seemed unusual.
It was the same today—once Lily Qian woke up, he immediately arranged for the construction crew to come. I heard he’d called them earlier, and when we reached the blocked road, most of it had already been cleared.
"Still, she’s alive!" Hugh Thompson said, showing a relieved smile. I’d never seen such warmth in his eyes before.
But I saw Hugh Thompson had already smoked more than ten cigarettes—he looked utterly exhausted.
"Thompson, go get some sleep. I’ll keep watch—I still have energy." But Hugh Thompson shook his head.
"Did you forget? The two of us went to that girl’s house together to investigate her parents. We promised to help your teacher find his daughter, and now we’ve done it—at least enough to report back. Only then can I sleep."
I nodded. Rachel Lan sighed.
"Why are men always so obsessed with things like this? You two keep watch—I’m going to sleep."
Then Mr. Qian and his wife arrived. Both were crying in anguish, constantly asking about Lily Qian, but I kept my head down and couldn’t say a word.
"It’s okay, sir, ma’am. Your daughter will pull through—she’ll wake up, believe me. For now, just quietly stay by her side."