Teacher, You Wouldn't Want the Principal to Find Out, Would You?

"He's… he's out?"

Teacher Yao's sallow, withered face turned deathly pale, as if he'd been dead for three days. His teeth chattered uncontrollably.

Only one thought echoed in his mind.

It was over.

As far as he knew, the last homeroom teacher who let something out of the Little Black Room had met a grisly end. After the principal took him to the Art Building, his bloodcurdling screams had echoed across the campus for three full days and nights.

When that teacher finally returned, he was barely human. His mind was gone, like one of the walking dead, and he couldn't even care for himself. He was a complete invalid, let alone capable of teaching.

In this school, however, a worthless homeroom teacher was no different from a failing student who couldn't improve.

In the end, he met the same fate. Suicide by jumping off a building.

Is this my end?

"You look awful. Your face is dark with misfortune," Wu Wang said, smiling at the nearly stupefied Teacher Yao. "Want me to read your fortune? Just fifty bucks. I take WeChat transfers."

The man's expression grew even uglier.

"This is all your fault!" he said viciously.

Then he began to mutter to himself.

"Right… I didn't let it out… It was this kid! It was all his fault!"

As long as I can drag him to the dean's office, he can take the fall for everything!

I'll still be the homeroom teacher of Class One, and nothing will change!

As he schemed, his body began to transform.

His once-scrawny frame started to swell. His fingers elongated, sharpening into deadly points like needles. His listless eyes transformed into blood-red orbs, their human shape fading away.

Swish!

But before he could make a move, a sharp dagger stabbed into the patch of grass between his legs.

It was a hair's breadth from his privates.

The grotesquely transformed Teacher Yao looked up and met Wu Wang's brilliant smile.

"Teacher Yao, this is all thanks to your excellent guidance," Wu Wang said. "You're the one who taught us that classmates should help each other. That's why I went to rescue the trapped Li Yang, right? I was just following your teachings, sir!"

Wu Wang had naturally thought of the same thing Baili Dao had.

If a homeroom teacher's job was to manage students, then the principal's job was to manage the homeroom teachers.

This old codger was so terrified of the corpse from the Little Black Room being released because he was afraid his superiors would discover his dereliction of duty.

He knew a mere dagger couldn't truly threaten a being like a homeroom teacher, but he had to make his position clear.

Either you kill me on the spot and see who takes the blame, or you turn me in and see who I drag down with me. Or…

The moment he spoke, Teacher Yao's face turned so dark it looked like it could drip ink.

How could he not understand?

This kid was threatening him!

If he dragged Wu Wang to the dean's office now and let him spout nonsense, some of his rival homeroom teachers would surely seize the opportunity to cause trouble and report him.

In the worst-case scenario, the principal would rather kill a thousand innocents than let one guilty party escape. He would dispose of Teacher Yao as well.

"What the hell do you want!" Teacher Yao said through gritted teeth.

Swish!

Wu Wang pulled the dagger from the ground. He crouched and prodded Li Yang's corpse, which had collapsed and gone still the moment it left the Little Black Room.

"I have two knives," he said, as if to himself.

"One is named Xiaochuan. It specializes in dirty work."

"The other is Tangniu. It doesn't get its hands dirty."

The dagger danced in his hand, as nimble as an elf, before he finally slid it back into his combat boot.

He looked at Teacher Yao and smiled. "Tangniu is with me. Do you know where Xiaochuan has gone?"

"…"

Teacher Yao didn't answer, but the violent heaving of his chest revealed the depths of his rage.

Of course, he understood the implication.

This kid wanted him to be the knife in his hand, the one that did the dirty work.

Never in the history of Gao Shan High School had a student threatened a homeroom teacher. This was an unthinkable rebellion!

But after a few seconds of helpless fury… he compromised.

His grotesque form gradually faded away. He didn't want the status he had fought his entire life for to be snatched away by his rivals.

The kid before him was clearly a death-seeking madman. There was no reason to go down with him.

"Tell me, what do you want me to do?" Teacher Yao's tone softened slightly, but he still added, "But let's be clear. I won't do anything that violates the school rules."

Wu Wang smiled.

Just as he'd thought. This Instance had rational characters like homeroom teachers, which meant that even as ghosts, they could be reasoned with… or threatened.

In Teacher Yao's mind, a student could only want two things. The first was special privileges. The second was a foolish thirst for knowledge.

He never imagined Wu Wang would open with such a heavyweight question.

"First, tell me… where is the Art Building?"

Wu Wang had noticed the problem back in the Teaching Building. The Art Building wasn't on any of the directional signs.

Clearly, the ghost school didn't want students to know about or go to that place.

"!"

The question made the old codger leap up and clamp a hand over Wu Wang's mouth.

"Are you crazy?!" he hissed, terror in his eyes. "Mentioning that building on school grounds will let him hear you!"

After speaking, Teacher Yao glanced around like a paranoid thief, making sure they were safe. A moment later, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. He doesn't usually pay this area much mind. You almost got me killed!"

Wu Wang narrowed his eyes, contemplating the teacher's reaction.

The ‘he' Teacher Yao spoke of had to be the principal. One person monitoring the entire school.

It seemed that man's power in this ghost school was unbelievably immense.

Damn this Calamity of Spirits game!

He had to escape from a monster like that while trying to take other students with him? And on top of that, four other players were here to cause trouble.

Thanks a lot!

"How about this," Teacher Yao said exasperatedly. "Write down what you want to know on a piece of paper and bring it to my office. I'll give you the answers there. Just don't say it out loud, understand?!"

Wu Wang nodded. "Fine. Then first, write me a leave of absence slip from class. As for the duration… let's say five days."

He didn't want to waste time on boring things like attending class. After all, he only had five days.

"I can't," Teacher Yao answered immediately.

"Huh? I'll fucking end you! I'm going to the Art—"

Wu Wang started cursing, but before he could finish, Teacher Yao clapped a hand over his mouth again. The old codger was so scared he was about to faint.

"Don't shout! Don't shout!" he explained quickly. "I can only approve a leave of absence if the ‘doctor' issues a certificate stating you're unfit for class! Otherwise, it's a violation of school rules! Would you just let me finish?! You really are a madman!"

Prying the hand away, Wu Wang cracked his neck. "So the school doctor is another ghost like you? What about the security guards and janitors? Does the principal manage them all himself?"

Hearing himself compared to the school doctor and security guard, a look of disdain instantly appeared on Teacher Yao's face.

"In this school, only we homeroom teachers and he are normal people," he said coldly. "The school doctor and security guards are just trash that can only follow orders and act according to set standards."

Then, as if remembering something, he reminded Wu Wang, "Although the school doctor is trash, I suggest you don't try faking an illness. That's also a violation of school rules."

"If you get caught, don't drag me down with you!"

The old codger's explanation gave Wu Wang a clearer understanding of this ghost school's structure.

Ironically, the teacher had actually labeled himself and the principal as "normal people."

Could it be that in his eyes, his actions were truly for the sake of educating students? How utterly ridiculous.

"Alright, understood," Wu Wang said. "I'll take care of the body, and I have my ways of getting a certificate from the school doctor. You just go back to your office and wait for me to handle the paperwork."

With that, he hoisted Li Yang's corpse onto his shoulder and started walking away.

If the school doctor was really as Teacher Yao described… then he was certain he could get a certificate for being unable to attend class.

Halfway there, Wu Wang suddenly thought of something. He turned back to the old codger, who was still standing there catching his breath.

"Oh, right. Help me get a copy of the school rules. As a model student, I feel it's my duty to properly abide by the student code of conduct."

Teacher Yao was speechless.

Him? A model student?

What kind of model student carries a knife and knows how to dispose of a body?