CH 317

317: Relying on Oneself

None left alive? Margaret was shocked; it felt like she was involved in something terrible.

“Grandpa, please tell it to me clearly. Can Xiao Wu be saved? I don’t understand everything you’re saying.” She just wanted to know if there was a way to help Xiao Wu and the others, but the grandpa kept talking about so many things she didn’t understand. Margaret was at her wits end.

Sheldon saw her eagerness to save her friends. “There is not. They must rely on themselves for their own salvation.”

“Say Grandpa, can you not speak so esoterically. I haven’t read a book since I was really little and I’ve never passed a cultural course. . . ”

Grandpa Sheldon:. . .

He coughed lightly. He was getting a headache dealing with this girl. Why was she so lousy?

“To put it plainly, their souls are trapped on the island. They must rely on themselves if they want to leave it. Outsiders can not interfere.” Sheldon spoke bluntly.

Finally. Margaret understood. She knew her cultural knowledge was lousy. She got drowsy every time she had a class on it. But it was her teacher’s fault. The old woman was so longwinded and opinionated when she talked. Maybe it was because she didn’t have a boyfriend, maybe because she’d lived a hermit life for so long, but her mentality was really skewed!

“So our only option is to wait? Is there really nothing we can do?” Margaret was unwilling.

Sheldon shook his head. “There is no other way. The one on the island will not allow the souls to leave so easily.” He seemed to be gazing at something from the past.

“What ‘one on the island’?” Margaret knew intuitively that the guy the old gramps mentioned had to be the same guy responsible for keeping everyone asleep.

“He is a pitiful person, a memory from long ago. Let us not speak of him anymore. Your body is still healing, so you should rest. Do not overexert yourself child.” Sheldon broke out of his reverie and waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal.

Though Margaret was concerned about the safety of her friends, she knew to exercise moderation. It wasn’t the right time to pressure the old gramps. He definitely knew something. She just had to wait for the right time to ask more questions.

Back at the room, Margaret looked at Feng Wu’s sleeping figure. She tried to wake her friend up again, but it was no use. “Xiao Wu, you have to wake up soon. . . ,” sighed a despondent Margaret.

...

A male student disappeared the day after Feng Wu’s incident. His body was found in a flower bed with the jaw arteries scraped open.

The days that followed were horrible. Every day someone was found dead in some novel, horrific way. The murders continued with no signs of stopping. The students, the servants, everyone felt demoralized. From time to time someone would start wailing and crying.

The two teachers organized a search party and looked all over the island; however they couldn’t find the murder or anyone suspicious. They were the only ones on the island, so therefore the murderer had to be one of them.

Whoever it was, hid very well and acted without leaving a single clue.

Feng Wu’s wounds had healed after several days of rest. She could now get up and walk around.

Ming Xi and the others had been studying the way the murderer operated. Their methods weren’t great, but they did come up with some insights.

While Ming Xi and the others were doing that, the teachers organized everyone into patrol parties. Each party consisted of five people who had to always stay together. No one was allowed to act independently. This way the perpetrator wouldn’t be able to make a move without someone witnessing something.

It worked really well. No one was killed for two days afterwards.

The teachers and Yanaimo called a meeting. Everyone, except for a small patrol party, joined.

“Everyone, let’s talk about this. What do you think of the murderer? Has anyone discovered anything new?” Teacher Del Leo asked the assembled group of survivors. Not counting the patrol party outside, there were about twenty of them.

There had been a hundred of them originally, so the dwindled number was shocking.

“I have something to say.” The boy who spoke was named Airon. The ladies were positively inclined towards him because he was handsome and carried himself with confidence.

Airon was something of a teacher’s pet. Teacher Del Leo really like Airon because the boy worked hard, wasn’t arrogant or impetuous. He was an easy student to have in class.

He was the guy Yanaimo had a crush on. In order to suppress the girls around him, she had done a lot of unsavory things, including a few things to Zhēn.

Talking ceased the moment Airon stood up. He was really popular in school, so with the exception of a few students, most were willing to listen to him.

“Just speak what’s on your mind Airon.” Del Leo nodded toward the boy.

Airon watched everyone calmly without a trace of stage fright, despite having all eyes on him.