Chapter 554: 554, from now on you are my goddess (first update)

Miao Xinran was completely baffled, and although she was somewhat unclear about Chu Jin’s true intentions, she complied with what Chu Jin had told her to do.

Because she knew that Chu Jin genuinely had such abilities.

"What’s next?" Miao Xinran continued to ask.

Chu Jin’s voice came again, "Next, follow me to the left and let’s find your other two classmates."

Miao Xinran nodded, "Okay, I understand."

As long as Chu Jin was there, she felt reassured.

After a few steps, Miao Xinran stopped, "Jin, there are thorns ahead, what should I do if I can’t get through?"

Chu Jin replied calmly, "These are all illusions, close your eyes and you will be able to pass through."

Upon hearing this, Miao Xinran closed her eyes and indeed managed to pass through the thorns, then immediately exclaimed with joy, "Jin, you’re amazing."

Chu Jin spoke in a light tone, "Move quickly, we can’t afford to delay here for too long."

Several hours later, Chu Jin and Miao Xinran successfully found the other two classmates and brought the three of them to meet with Mo Qingyi.

"Xinran, you’re finally back." Mo Qingyi hugged her excitedly upon seeing Miao Xinran.

Miao Xinran apologized proactively, "Qingyi, I’m sorry."

If it weren’t for her insistence on playing this game, none of this would have happened.

"It’s okay, it’s all right now that you’re back." Mo Qingyi broke into a smile through tears.

By then, all nine people had gathered.

However, Chen Li and Li Jiaqi were still isolated in another layer of space, invisible to the other seven people.

This made the two of them anxious since the other seven could see each other, but not them. They hastily asked, "Sage, why can’t everyone still see us two?"

Although the other seven couldn’t hear the two of them, Chu Jin could, and upon hearing their words, she frowned slightly, "You two wouldn’t have violated some taboo, would you?" Otherwise, this Yu Jia wouldn’t specifically target the two of them.

This sudden voice frightened the other seven people. Mo Qingyi swallowed hard and asked, "Jin, who are you talking to?"

Chu Jin told the truth.

Mo Qingyi was taken aback, "You can hear them talking? Can you see them too?"

Chu Jin shook her head slightly, "I can’t see them." Then she continued, "If they remain unseen, they might never be able to leave..."

Upon hearing this, the color drained from the faces of the other seven, with Chen Li and Li Jiaqi turning particularly pale.

"What should we do? I don’t want to stay here forever, I want to go home..." Li Jiaqi cried out in fear.

Chen Li collapsed to the ground, "Sage, sage, please save us..."

Being trapped forever in one place is a fate more dreadful than death.

It was pitch black all around.

You never know what might suddenly appear around you.

Chu Jin remained composed as she said indifferently, "If you want to live, tell me everything that happened to you here, without leaving out a single word."

"Yes, yes," Chen Li nodded frantically.

The two recounted everything that had led to their current situation in full detail to Chu Jin.

When Chu Jin heard about them hiding behind tombstones and scaring Miao Xinran by pretending to be ghosts, her expression changed; she knew the reason.

Yu Jia despised being isolated and ostracized in her life.

It was because she was ostracized and isolated by her classmates that she took her own life.

Seeing Li Jiaqi and Chen Li, she must have felt as if she were seeing the students who once bullied her, thus infuriating the Ghost Qi within her. This led to all of them being trapped here, unable to ever leave this vicious cycle.

Seeing that Chu Jin was silent, Chen Li hastily knelt down to the empty air, "Sage, I know I was wrong, I shouldn’t have done that, please save us..."

Chu Jin looked at her and slowly recounted Yu Jia’s story.

Jia was born in South Mountain Town; her mother was a mental illness patient, and her father was a sanitation worker, which could be said to be among the lowest in society.

Moreover, when her mother fell ill, she would often hit people randomly.

Because of this, no children were willing to befriend her throughout her childhood, and they ridiculed her as the daughter of a madwoman.

But the young Jia remained naive and optimistic, unaffected by others’ gazes, and without friends, she befriended her dolls, taking them to and from school each day and talking to them.

Over time, Jia’s personality became reclusive, and some of her actions were considered odd, which only led to even fewer people willing to engage with her, with everyone saying she was like her mother—mentally ill.

At the age of sixteen, she was in her second year of high school.

With outstanding grades, she was admitted to the best high school in South Mountain Town, which waived her miscellaneous fees and textbook costs.

Although Jia was reclusive, she was attractive and slender, making her quite popular among the boys at school, often receiving love letters and lollipops. This, however, incurred the displeasure of some of the girls in her class.

A few girls as a group bullied her, isolated her, and ostracized her.

The others laughed heartily and returned the doll to her.

She thought that this incident would pass, but to her surprise, a few days later, a video appeared on the school network.

It was the video of Jia being bullied by the girls and made to crawl between their legs.

Suddenly, Jia became the ’celebrity’ of the entire school.

Initially only ostracized in her class, she now faced exclusion by all the students in the school.

People are like that, everyone pushes a falling wall.

Blindly joining in.

Jia was overwhelmed with humiliation and could no longer bear the strange looks of others; finally, one night, she chose to slit her wrists in the dormitory and commit suicide.

Not long after her death, her father was struck and killed by a car while crossing the street, distraught with grief for his lost daughter.

And her mother drowned in a well because there was no one to care for her.

It began with tragedy and ended with tragedy.

Chu Jin told this story to everyone in a subdued tone, and after hearing it, their eyes were all red, unable to imagine how such things could happen in this world.

Yet, regrettably, that was the reality.

After hearing the story, everyone’s sense of fear lessened considerably, and instead, they felt sympathy for Jia.

Chu Jin continued, "Fortunately, you didn’t give up on each other and kept searching, which showed Jia the most genuine side of human nature, moved her; otherwise, you would have long been reporting to the underworld by now."

While Jia was alive, she never felt such warmth and never believed in it; unexpectedly, after she died, a group of students let her see such pure, genuine affection, which is why she never harmed any of them.

Li Jiaqi wiped her tears and said, "We have to thank Mo Qingyi; it’s because she never gave up searching for us."

The other three boys, after hearing Chu Jin’s words, lowered their heads in shame and apologized to Mo Qingyi of their own accord.

Mo Qingyi magnanimously forgave them.

In that situation, their choice to leave was only human; to know one’s errors and correct them is most commendable.

"Jin, what do we need to do to get out of here now?" Miao Xinran asked, as staying there indefinitely wasn’t an option.

Chu Jin’s brows furrowed slightly, "I haven’t thought of a way yet; for now, look around and see what’s nearby."

Hearing this, everyone began to survey their surroundings.

"There are trees..."

"There are thorns."

"There’re banana plants."

"And rocks..."

Everyone spoke over each other, but none hit the mark.

"Jin, there’s also a grave ahead of us," Mo Qingyi suddenly remembered, because no matter which way they walked, they always ended up circling back to that grave.

In this small grove, there seemed to be only one grave.

Chu Jin had a flash of inspiration, as if she thought of something, and hurriedly said, "Then you all hurry to the front of that grave now, and listen to my arrangements for what comes next."

Her tone was measured and her voice clear and melodious, without a trace of panic.

Everyone felt reassured by her presence.

The remaining seven were all very curious about what the owner of the voice looked like.

It was because of this grave that Li Jiaqi and Chen Li had fallen into the illusion. Clearly, this grave was the only real thing here and also the true exit.

The nine people quickly arrived in front of the grave, with the gravestone dimly visible under the cover of night, looking especially eerie.

"Jin, we’re here," they called out.

"Now, the seven of you form a circle and stand together, let Chen Li and Li Jiaqi stand in the middle of the circle to form a Tai Chi Diagram, and then close your eyes," Chu Jin said in an indifferent tone.

The nine people quickly formed a Tai Chi Diagram.

Unsure of what Chu Jin had done, everyone just felt a bright flash before their eyes and the chill around them lessened a lot, but they still didn’t dare open their eyes.

"All right, you can open your eyes now." It wasn’t until Chu Jin’s voice came again that everyone dared to open their eyes.

This time, the nine could finally see each other, and the previously pitch-black woods were now shrouded in a layer of white light. Standing in front of the light source was a girl with delicate and elegant features.

The crowd erupted in excited cheers.

"Jin," they called out.

"Jin," echoed another.

Miao Xinran and Mo Qingyi hugged Chu Jin, their eyes red.

If it hadn’t been for Chu Jin this time, they might never have been able to get out.

"It’s okay now," Chu Jin said, patting their backs.

The others hadn’t expected that the person who had been guiding them all this time was Chu Jin. Chen Li’s face flushed with embarrassment when she thought of the bad things she had said about Chu Jin previously.

Just when everyone had let out a sigh of relief, a fierce wind started up around them, and that creepy laughter came again.

Countless dolls began to emerge from the ground.

The scene was absolutely terrifying.

The group, scared stiff, clung to each other and cried out desperately.

No one had ever seen such a sight before.

Everyone instinctively hid behind Chu Jin.

Some were even so scared they wet their pants.

Chu Jin nonchalantly took up the Oil-paper Umbrella, snapped it open with a "pop," and instantly, a blaze of golden light shone forth, red plum blossoms blooming across the umbrella’s surface. She tossed the Oil-paper Umbrella into the air, drawing a circle on the ground and instructing everyone to stand inside it.

The dolls burned up as soon as they approached the circle.

Only then did the crowd breathe a sigh of relief.

Chu Jin stood outside the circle, her red lips parting slightly, "You Jia, stop this and turn back while you can." Although her tone was light, every word was tinged with a sharp frostiness that cut through the moving air and reached You Jia’s ears.

You Jia was stunned for a moment, perhaps not expecting someone to know her name.

Tears of blood trailed down from her eyes, and without speaking, she just looked at Chu Jin with a sorrowful expression.

Chu Jin intended to help her find peace and gently pursed her lips before continuing, "You Jia, these students are innocent. Don’t let a moment of confusion lead you down a path of no return. The people who bullied you in the past have already received their due punishment..."

At those words, You Jia’s face twisted into a hideous snarl in an instant, clearly not believing what Chu Jin said.

Innocent? Who in this world is innocent?

Especially those students! Selfish and heartless! They all deserved to die! If it hadn’t been for those students, how could she have become a lonely ghost?

"Get out of my way! Don’t meddle in my affairs!" She opened her gaping, bloodied maw and let out a roar, her voice hoarse and sinister, chilling to the bone and utterly terrifying.

The crowd clung tightly together, whimpering softly.

Surrounding them were doll-like figures reminiscent of zombies, resembling scenes from catastrophe films, even more terrifying than the apocalypse itself.

Chu Jin gently raised her hand, and the Pendulum hanging from a branch instantly returned to the palm of her hand.

She used the Pendulum to make a decision.

The Crystal Ball emitted a ray of colorful light, and then a transparent barrier appeared in the air.

The scene it displayed left Jin perplexed.

Every person shown on the screen was someone she was very familiar with.

They were the very six who had bullied her back then.

The screen revealed that after her death, the entire floor had been sealed off.

The principal and the homeroom teacher were suspended for investigation.

The six suspects involved in her death were also taken into detention.

As juvenile offenders, they were held in re-education through labor for five years.

But upon their release, they had missed the prime of their lives, missed the college entrance exam, and during those five years of isolation, their faces grew increasingly somber, filled with regret for their past actions more than once.

Plagued by nightmares every day, they eventually developed severe depression, and they did not live to see thirty before they passed away.

Watching these events unfold, Jin’s ghost Qi gradually dissipated until she was restored to her appearance before death, dressed in a school uniform, pure and innocent.

The surrounding dolls also scattered into nothingness.

She had thought that after her death, those people were still living comfortably, which is why she had a heavy grudge within her heart, missing the best time to be reborn, yet she had not considered that, in the end, good and evil are rewarded accordingly.

As the last of her resentment vanished, only her soul dispersing awaited her.

Her body instantly turned into a pile of fragments, scattering into the air.

Seeing this, Chu Jin muttered an incantation that others couldn’t understand. The incantation transformed directly into golden symbols in the air, gathering Jin’s shattered body together again. It was only then that Chu Jin spoke softly, "Go, in the next life you will have a happy family."

Jin’s body disappeared into the air.

The air returned to its original calmness.

A beam of sunlight poured through the mottled tree leaves, and the clear sound of bird songs reached everyone’s ears.

The grove was instantly enveloped in sunlight.

Light had finally triumphed over darkness, and it was another beautiful morning.

Aside from Chu Jin, everyone else seemed somewhat disheveled.

Stuck in this grove for a full two days, they hadn’t felt much while trapped, but now that they saw the sunlight, they felt tired, hungry, thirsty, and utterly exhausted.

Chu Jin pulled out the mineral water and biscuits she had prepared in advance from her backpack and distributed them to everyone.

The backpack didn’t look very big, but it was like a treasure chest, from which she could take out various things. It was quite clearly beyond the capacity of a normal bag.

Though the others found it strange, they didn’t ask any questions.

"Thank you," Chen Li said, struggling to spit out two words as she took the items Chu Jin passed her, and then she added, "I’m sorry."

Previously, she should not have judged Chu Jin’s integrity with a villain’s mindset.

From now on, Chu Jin would be her life’s compass.

Chu Jin did not say anything, but only patted her shoulder and curved her lips slightly into a smile.

Chen Li felt that it was the most wonderful smile she had ever seen in her life.

So radiant, full of hope.

Chen Li revealed a smile too, looking at Chu Jin and said with steady intonation, "From now on, you are my goddess!"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read