Chapter 8: Despair
"Run, don't come over..." Yu Fengmei fell into Chu Jiang's arms, waving to the people behind, telling Zhang Haoran and the others to keep going and not look back.
Chu Jiang gritted his teeth and carried Teacher Yu, turning around to escape. The people around him were also running with him.
Seeing this, Zhang Haoran didn't approach anymore, but hurried back to the front of the group to maintain order.
Chu Jiang left without looking back. Even though the blood in the diary had an effect, they couldn't enter the library anymore.
Because Chu Jiang had already seen that the ghosts in the library had come out, and it seemed to be a different kind of ghost!
Yes, this ghost was different from Slender Man and the minions created by Slender Man. It was a different kind of monster, and it was someone Chu Jiang was familiar with.
Although it was just a quick glance, the despair in Chu Jiang's heart grew stronger.
That was Chen Tianrang, the library administrator. To be precise, countless black branches and roots grew out of Xiao Cheng's body, but there were no leaves.
Chen Tianrang seemed to have become the trunk of that ghost tree. What was even more terrifying was that endless twisted branches gushed out from his body, sealing off the entire library.
Even without direct evidence, it seemed that the power of this ghost tree was not from the same source as the power of the ghost shadow, which meant it was likely another ghost.
If Chu Jiang held onto this diary and tried to fight the other person, it would definitely be suicidal.
The space on the cover of the diary was limited, so Chu Jiang could only attack using close combat or splatter the overflowing blood on it.
However, this method was very inefficient and Chu Jiang might get pierced by numerous tree branches before even reaching the ghost's true form.
Unable to go to the secret room in the library, Chu Jiang could only follow the majority and run forward. It seemed like Zhang Haoran wanted to lead everyone to hide in the gymnasium storage.
But at this moment, Teacher Yu's condition was getting worse and worse. Her chest had been pierced by a tree branch, and she was losing a large amount of blood continuously.
Chu Jiang could hear the quiet sobbing of his classmates around him. He lowered his head and looked at the teacher whose face had turned completely pale.
"Ple-please, please throw me away, everyone... plea-" Yu Fengmei doesn't even get to finish her last sentence and completely loses her breath.
Her eyes were wide open, as if still filled with hope for life and longing for the future...
Chu Jiang's eyes turned red, and memories relating to his English teacher appeared in his mind.
However, the ghost tree behind them didn't give up and was chasing them more closely. Chu Jiang and his friends could even hear the sound of branches rustling and rubbing against the ground.
Therefore, after running for a while, Chu Jiang had no choice but to throw Teacher Yu's body into the green belt, without even having time to bury it.
None of the students blamed Chu Jiang. It wasn't the time to be emotional. Carrying a dead body while trying to escape would most likely only result in more deaths.
At this moment, Chu Jiang's face looked very twisted. He hated his own weakness and helplessness.
He said that he couldn't control the life and death of others, but when he witnessed the kind and caring teacher dying in front of him, Chu Jiang felt extremely upset.
She might not even leave behind a complete body...
As they were running, suddenly chaos surrounded them again. Crying and shouting could be heard, as if they had encountered another ghost up ahead.
This was simply the worst outcome. With the ghost tree chasing them from behind and the suspicion of ghosts and dead bodies up ahead.
Leading the way, Zhang Haoran had to change direction, while from behind, the ghost tree caught up with them!
A girl classmate, who was weak and running at the back, was instantly hit by a ghost tree branch, dying a gruesome death.
The people around screamed in horror and ran forward with all their might.
Chu Jiang clenched his teeth and turned around, shouting, "This way!"
Chu Jiang took the lead in changing the route, immediately followed by a group of people running with him. After all, he had previously warned everyone about the haunting in the school, so they all had confidence in him.
Not to mention the classmates who were closer, they had seen him use his diary to snap off a piece of the ghost tree branch earlier.
However, as a result, Zhang Haoran ran to the right, while Chu Jiang ran to the left, splitting the group of less than twenty people into two.
Chu Jiang knew this would be the outcome, but he still went ahead with it.
The reason was simple: the ghost chasing them from behind was terrifying.
There was no way to fight these ghosts, everyone kept running together, it was a dead end.
Instead of that, it was better to split into two groups. This way, the ghost tree might chase and kill one group of people, while the other group could escape.
Of course, whether they would be chased or spared depended on fate.
Based on probability, there was a slightly higher chance that Chu Jiang and his group would be targeted because they were closer to the ghost tree.
However, it was hard to say for sure. Previously, Zhang Haoran managed to protect everyone in the library and miraculously escaped without any obvious injuries, even though he was covered in other people's blood.
In that case, the ghost tree might see Zhang Haoran as a bigger threat and prioritize chasing him.
The worst outcome would be if the ghost tree chased both groups at the same time!
It was not impossible, since there seemed to be an endless supply of branches and roots coming out of Xiao Cheng, splitting the forces didn't appear to burden him much.
......
Next, it seemed like the heavens were watching over Chu Jiang and his group, as the ghost tree unexpectedly gave up on them and started chasing Zhang Haoran instead.
However, Chu Jiang and his group didn't dare to stop immediately, even when they couldn't hear the rustling sound. They continued running for another five or six minutes before finally stopping to catch their breath.
The nine of them were exhausted like dead dogs, each grasping their knees and gasping for air, but none of them dared to sit or lie down.
After running around aimlessly, they couldn't tell where they were in the school anymore, surrounded by terrifying darkness.
Chu Jiang breathed a sigh of relief while using his flashlight to illuminate their surroundings.
Soon, he realized that they seemed to be behind the boys' dormitory, which was quite secluded and, to be honest, not far from the school's perimeter fence.
However, Chu Jiang didn't dare to lead the group in that direction at all. Firstly, it was highly possible that there would be a ghost wall ahead. Secondly, he had encountered Slender Man's accomplices twice already, both times in close proximity to the school's exit.
"It... it seems like no ghosts are following us at the moment," Li Yan gasped, glancing at Chu Jiang.
"Why don't we just stay here? It's secluded, and the boys' dormitory is quiet. I reckon that everyone has left, so it's better for us to hide inside."
"Don't go into the dormitory yet, come here." Chu Jiang stuck to the dormitory wall and waved his hand.
Everyone immediately gathered closely around him, now Chu Jiang was their only hope.
"Turn off the flashlight first, only use the night mode on your phone, as long as you can see each other's faces clearly."
Similarly, everyone followed suit, doing this to avoid attracting the attention of ghosts.
"Can any of you tell me what Zhang Haoran did before? It seems like the ghost went towards their direction."
