"Yeah! Let me think… yes, it should be eighteen years ago."
Teacher Zhou, whose silver hair was not more than five years younger than the headmistress granny, had persisted all these years because of this passion.
"Back then, I was only eighteen, living in the welfare home. I still remember how you looked then," Teacher Zhou recalled, "You even wet your pants when you were five!"
"Ahem, Teacher Zhou, don't go off-topic!"
Chen Xuan coughed dryly and quickly brought the conversation back.
"So, the security patrol sound—was that told by the headmistress granny?"
"Yes!"
Teacher Zhou nodded, "I remember that day she gathered us all for a meeting and stressed several times that from nine at night until five the next morning, no one was allowed to go out or run around the corridors. If you saw a security guard patrolling, you had to hurry back to your room."
"Did she say why?"
Chen Xuan asked.
"I asked her!"
Teacher Zhou recalled, "But she never gave a clear reason, only said it was a rule, always had been. Strange though, the day before there was no such rule—I even saw the headmistress walking around freely. She must have forgotten."
"The day before? Forgotten?"
Chen Xuan fell silent, sinking into thought.
Although old, Teacher Zhou's continuous life in the welfare home gave her a clear memory of its affairs.
So, the information she gave was likely true. But this raised a problem.
If the day before there was no such rule, how come the next day there was a meeting imposing a security patrol?
Besides, Chen Xuan remembered he did have such a rule when he was young—never leaving the room during that time period.
He had just left the welfare home too long ago to notice.
What puzzled Chen Xuan most was that the patrol sounds appeared exactly eighteen years ago—
Which was also the day he and his sister were admitted to the welfare home.
The missing figure—likely his biological father—
From that day on, the headmistress granny had an extremely strict rule ingrained in her mind that remained unchanged for eighteen years.
Under what circumstances could such a rule be enforced so strictly?
"Wait! Could it be?"
Chen Xuan's pupils contracted as he suddenly thought of a possibility—
Rooted Memory.
Yes. When information is implanted deeply in someone's mind and repeatedly confirmed as important, that person will obey it.
Such an anti-scientific theory shouldn't exist, but under the revival of the Malevolent Ghost, it might be possible.
"If that's true, the one who altered granny's memory is probably my father?"
Chen Xuan felt like he caught a clue.
"He modified the headmistress's memory and made the welfare home have a ghostly security guard who only patrols at night.
And this ghost guard isn't here to kill.
Rather, it seems to protect someone."
Protect who?
Chen Xuan suddenly thought of himself and his sister.
It was very likely to protect them both.
But why?
Chen Xuan's intuition told him the key information probably relates to the note inside the ghost guard's pocket.
For some unknown reason, after Chen Xuan stopped the ghost guard once, it completely disappeared.
Now the corridor was full of patrolling people, but no ghost guard appeared.
As he hesitated, a knock came at the door.
"Who is it?"
Chen Xuan stopped his thoughts and asked.
"Hello, Mr. Chen, a captain wants to ask you a few questions."
Captain Feng's voice came from outside.
"Come in."
Chen Xuan hesitated but nodded.
The door opened and a tall woman with an exaggerated cigar stepped in.
"Hello, Mr. Chen. My name is Pang Ling. May I ask about what you saw just now?"
Pang Ling went straight to the point.
"I already told you!"
Chen Xuan glanced at her, suddenly sensing a strong Malevolent Ghost aura from her—much stronger than the Zhong Qing he had met before.
Yet he showed no surprise.
"Yes,"
Pang Ling smiled slightly, "But I need to confirm again, especially about room 304."
"Shadow of the wooden comb?"
After a moment, Chen Xuan shook his head slightly at Pang Ling's question, "I only saw a mirror there, no separate wooden comb shadow."
He chuckled lightly, "Officer Pang, your question is strange. How could a shadow exist alone?"
Pang Ling looked deeply at Chen Xuan and smiled faintly.
"Sorry to bother you, the situation is complicated. Please don't move around casually, Mr. Chen."
"Okay, thanks!"
After leaving the room, Captain Feng quietly asked,
"Captain Pang, could it be him?"
"No!"
Pang Ling shook her head, "I don't sense any Ghost Tamer aura on him. This case is simply a Paranormal Incident."
"What do we do now?"
Captain Feng asked.
"Take all the kids away. Since that Malevolent Ghost won't appear on its own, we'll have to lure it out."
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]