Light in the Darkness Chapter Twenty-Five: The Maze of Ghosts

In the silent room, a sudden noise startled the ghostly presence. The girl, seized by terror, scrambled to escape, but before she could get halfway out from under the desk, she saw a pair of legs standing right in front of her. At first, she thought it was someone else hiding as well, and she hurriedly crawled out, ready to stand up and confess her fears—she was just a girl, terrified and utterly shattered by the ordeal. But as she looked up, she realized the figure before her was not human. There was nothing but a pair of legs. She didn’t even have time to cry out before everything returned to silence, as if she had never been there at all, and even the legs she’d seen had vanished.

In another room, a young man was also hiding beneath a classroom desk. The spot was hardly well-concealed, but there was no better place to hide in this classroom. The room was oppressively quiet—aside from his own breathing, not a single sound could be heard.

In this dreadful silence, he suddenly heard someone softly calling his childhood nickname. After that, the stillness in the room was broken.

Thud—

A strange sound arose, and he felt an unprecedented terror grip him. What was that noise? And why had he just heard someone call his nickname?

He was supposed to be hiding, evading the search of that ghastly spirit whose face was too horrific to behold. He was caught in a game of life or death—hide and seek.

Everything he had experienced so far convinced him this was all too real. Like Jiang Li, he had managed to descend the stairs only after surviving the first round of Red Light, Green Light. In the stairwell, he too encountered a ghostly crowd that could only be passed with closed eyes. Unlike Jiang Li, though, he hadn't figured out the rule on his own but had only learned it through others’ hints, after witnessing countless classmates die before grasping the pattern himself. In the end, he was the only one left. He truly didn’t want to die—he was still so young, hadn't even entered his dream university, had never even held a girl’s hand, a loner who spent his days quietly studying. His awkwardness and lack of social skills meant he’d always been seen as an outsider by parents, classmates, and friends alike. Mockery and ridicule were constants, but at least his academic excellence gave him some solace in the ocean of knowledge.

His biggest wish was to attend Yunhai Academy, especially its renowned military program—he dreamed of it even in his sleep. Every graduate from Yunhai Academy became a top figure in society; it was no exaggeration to say that simply entering the academy meant half a foot into the upper class. The most famous student from Yunhai’s military program was Senior Li—he had not only won the heart of the academy’s renowned beauty, Yan, but later made a name for himself in the business world. Starting from scratch by investing in stocks, he eventually became a Forbes-listed billionaire. His story was legendary at Yunhai Academy—the classic tale of reaching the pinnacle of life and marrying the perfect woman. (This is the story of Yunhai, Li, and Yan; this Jiang Li is not the same as the earlier one.)

He absolutely could not die here. He didn’t even know if the girl he liked in the next class was alive or dead; he hadn’t been admitted to university yet, hadn’t confessed to that beautiful girl. Now was not the time to give up—he had to survive, to confess his feelings, to keep on living.

Thud—

The mysterious sound came again, and this time, his already taut nerves finally snapped. In the face of death, all else seemed unbearably fragile, and he could only pray silently, hoping to survive until the end. He swore never to hear the words "hide and seek" or "Red Light, Green Light" again.

Thud—

The sound echoed once more, drawing ever closer. Unease and terror flooded his heart; he curled up, trembling.

Thud—

A black sphere rolled to a stop in front of him. He stared in terror, only to realize it was a severed head, oozing blue-green blood. Panic-stricken, he scrambled out from beneath the desk and ran for his life. But it was too late—the head bounced after him like a basketball and finally sank its teeth into his neck. Agonizing pain wracked his body; he tried desperately to pry the head off, but he felt his blood being drained, his strength ebbing away. In the end, he collapsed in despair, his last sight that of the horrific head, lips still stained with his blood.

Fei Ling and Jiang Li were quietly hiding in another room when suddenly the voices of Song Zhi and Song Yu sounded outside. The door creaked open and the pair entered.

“Jiang Li?”
“Fei Ling?”
“Are you here? The spirit is heading this way…” Song Zhi’s anxious voice called. Jiang Li and Fei Ling stepped out from the darkness in the corner.

“Don’t panic, tell us slowly. What happened?” Jiang Li and Fei Ling, seeing how tense the newcomers were, hurried to comfort them.

“Did you hear anything strange?” The room was dim, making it hard to see Song Zhi’s face, but Jiang Li sensed something off. Thinking back, aside from some screams, there hadn’t been any unusual noises.

Fei Ling instinctively glanced toward the door, recalling Song Zhi’s question. Her gaze shifted back to Song Zhi and Song Yu, noting how pale and gloomy they looked. Sensing something amiss, she did not alert Jiang Li, but instead, feigned contemplation while edging toward the doorway’s faint light.

“No, I didn’t hear anything at all. Jiang Li, did you hear anything?” Fei Ling asked, her tone casual.

Jiang Li, hearing her, noted that the retreating footsteps were deliberately pulling away. Whom was Fei Ling wary of?

“Uh? No, I didn’t hear anything. Did you, Fei Ling?” Jiang Li replied, moving closer to her. Realizing Fei Ling was distancing herself on purpose, he concluded she wasn’t wary of him—meaning, among the four, if not himself, it must be Song Zhi and Song Yu.

“One…two…three…” Fei Ling whispered to Jiang Li so only the two of them could hear. “Run!”

Bang!

“Hurry, lock the door!”

The two dashed out; the door slammed shut behind them. As Fei Ling urgently instructed, Jiang Li quickly locked the door, noticing a key still in the handle.

Hiding under the stairs, Song Zhi heard Fei Ling’s shout and peeked out.

“Stop, don’t come any closer!” Jiang Li yelled as Song Zhi and Song Yu emerged from under the stairs and started toward them.

“What’s wrong?” Song Zhi asked, bewildered, but stopped moving.

“Looks like it’s really you this time. It’s all right.” Fei Ling, after carefully scrutinizing the pair, breathed a sigh of relief.

“What happened to you?” Song Zhi asked, still confused.

“Someone just impersonated you two. Luckily, Fei Ling saw through it. We ran out and locked the imposters inside.”

“Let’s not talk here—it’s too dangerous. We should leave,” Fei Ling interrupted, urging them to move. Clearly, the ones pretending to be Song Zhi and Song Yu weren’t human, but spirits in disguise. A door would not hold them for long; now was not the time for explanations.

The four headed to the end of the corridor. There should have been left and right turns, but now there was only a straight path ahead. With the vengeful ghosts close behind, they had no choice but to press on.

Cautiously, they advanced, the corridor stretching endlessly before them. After what felt like ages, Jiang Li realized they had returned to their original hiding place. Was this some kind of supernatural maze?

Unwilling to give up, they kept walking straight. Jiang Li and Fei Ling took the lead, Song Zhi and Song Yu at the rear. Suddenly, Fei Ling noticed the footsteps behind them had vanished. Jiang Li also sensed something was wrong and turned—Song Zhi and Song Yu, who had been right behind them, were gone.

A mist rose in the corridor, thickening until they could barely see the way. Jiang Li and Fei Ling walked side by side, determined not to be separated again.

Together, they wandered the endless hallway, their footsteps the only sound echoing back. Over and over, they returned to the same room. Once, twice, ten times, fifty times—they always ended up at the start.

By now, Fei Ling was exhausted—after pacing the corridor for so long, she had no strength left. Jiang Li still held up, thanks to his training, but they were trapped in a ghostly maze, unable to escape.

He checked the time—three hours remained until the task’s distance restriction ended. The mission was only in its middle stages, but they’d had no food or water for so long that their lips were cracked from thirst.

With no way out, their strength failing, Fei Ling’s consciousness began to blur, her eyelids heavy as lead. Overcome by fatigue, she finally fainted.

Jiang Li could only carry her forward. It might be hopeless, but to sit and wait for death was not in his nature. As he looked down at the unconscious Fei Ling—her snow-pale skin, tempting red lips, and the faint, indescribable scent that clung to her—he felt an involuntary reaction and was immediately embarrassed. How could he think such things, when their lives were still in peril? He silently cursed himself.

Jiang Li stopped, waiting quietly for his body to calm down.