Chapter 48: Shadows of Suspicion

In the dimly lit room, a few of us listened to Yenir’s calm tone, yet a chill of dread inexplicably filled the air.

“What the hell do you mean by that?!”

Glancing back at everyone, Yenir wiped the trace of a smile from his face and said:

“The task hint mentioned one clue at the school and warned us not to trust any ghost tales.”

“So here’s the twist – we’ve found the clue, but where’s the ghost story?”

“Did a ghost actually speak to us?”

Shaking his head, Yenir didn’t wait for an answer from the group before continuing:

“From start to finish, only a few of us were even talking.”

“The only person we encountered inside the instance was the Gatekeeper. And remember, Li Zhiping confirmed he wasn’t a ghost.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Liang Tengfei’s eyes widened in shock:

“Are you saying one of us is a ghost who snuck in?”

“A ghost posing as one of us, feeding us false info?!”

Raising an eyebrow, Yenir nodded ever so slightly.

“Exactly.”

“According to the instance’s requirements, if the hidden ghost is among us then something is clearly amiss.”

“And the most suspicious person is Li Zhiping. He claims he can see through disguises—if one of us were a ghost, why wouldn’t he notice?”

“The answer is simple – he himself is the ghost, and he’s provided the most information…”

Before Yenir could finish, Huang Xia angrily snapped:

“What kind of joke is this?!”

“Uncle Li is a ghost? Then what about that guy outside?! He’s a legitimate Awakener!”

“Yeah! I literally saw a female ghost with my own eyes! Don’t tell me Uncle Li is a ghost—he’s even fighting ghosts!”

Fang Yuan, who had been rescued by Li Zhiping just like Huang Xia, burst into a bitter laugh, his eyes filled with doubt as he looked at Yenir.

In his eyes, Yenir’s words were utter nonsense.

Seeing the group unwilling to accept his reasoning, Yenir calmly explained:

“First, none of us really know what power a ghost possesses. How can you be sure what you saw was the real ghost?”

“Second, a ghost is born only when someone dies. You heard about Wang Fang’s suicide, right? From the clues, all we got was that her family failed to claim compensation. Who said she actually died?”

Pointing at the burnt dormitory, Yenir wiped a smear of dust off the wall:

“Instead, the teacher’s death was confirmed – and she was an adult!”

“Third, Li Zhiping knows the instance too well. Remember how we followed him here? It was our first time inside the instance, yet he led us straight to this abandoned school without a single question.”

“Fourth, none of us really noticed the old man at the door – we only glanced at him instinctively. Don’t you think he was puzzled as to why a dead man suddenly appeared before him?”

“And beyond that, there are many more discrepancies.”

After his rapid explanation, a shocked silence fell over the group.

In the face of such a staggering turn of events, they found it hard to accept the reality.

“That’s just a theory! If Uncle Li is really a ghost, then what exactly is he up to?”

“He could easily have skipped bringing us here to fetch the talisman!”

Listening to Huang Xia’s challenge, Yenir gave the girl a compassionate look:

“Didn’t you see? He even made us kick the door open himself!”

“As a ghost, he naturally wouldn’t dare touch the talisman. To fix this danger, our only option is to activate the talisman ourselves!”

“Remember when the haunting began?”

“It started right after the teacher was burned to death!”

“Chances are, Li Zhiping was burned here in a family revenge attack. Consumed by resentment, he began a relentless vendetta.”

“And the townspeople, desperate to stop him, even brought in a Taoist priest to seal him in the very place where he was burned.”

No sooner had he finished than an urgent, angry shout erupted from outside:

“Everyone, get ready!”

“The female ghost is coming!”

Bang!

Accompanied by a pained groan, Li Zhiping outside seemed to slam against the wall. At the same time, an overwhelming chill raced toward us.

Behind the door, Fang Yuan, clutching the talisman, looked up in startled terror, unsure of what to do.

He instinctively glanced at Yenir and then at the door.

“Who do we trust?! Who should we believe?!”

Before he could decide, Yenir stepped right up to him, holding out his right hand:

“Hand over the talisman!”

“If the activation misses, we’re all doomed! That female ghost outside is surely a fake!”

Struggling and hesitating.

Fang Yuan gripped the talisman tighter as Li Zhiping’s pained groans from outside left him unsure whether to trust Yenir or not.

Every second felt like an eternity.

Only after recalling Yenir’s doubts did he begin to fear that his words might be true.

Under immense pressure and sweating profusely, he finally handed the talisman over to Yenir.

There was no other choice—Yenir’s words sounded too convincing!

If there was any merit in the ghost stories, then the only one capable of deceiving us all was none other than the so-called experienced Li Zhiping!

Bang!

With another resounding crash against the wall, Li Zhihua outside bellowed:

“I can’t hold on any longer! When I rush in, you all must make sure to hit the female ghost behind me!”

Inside, listening to Li Zhiping’s words, the group couldn’t help but start doubting their authenticity.

If it weren’t for Yenir exposing the flaws, they’d have never suspected Li Zhiping!

Standing in front of Fang Yuan, Yenir abruptly snatched the talisman away.

Under the intense gaze of the group, he suddenly broke into a sinister smile.

“I told you so.”

“There’s a ghost among us.”

“Then why trust me?”

With that, Yenir made a move as if he were about to tear the talisman apart.

In that instant, an overwhelming terror spread through the dim room.