"Jing!"
Seeing the long iron ruler about to strike Jing Jian's head,
Lu Fei rushed into the classroom with a loud shout, picked up a chair, and swung it hard at the ruler.
Bang!
The ruler was knocked off course, narrowly missing Jing Jian's head and slamming down heavily beside him.
The tremendous boom left Jing Jian dazed and disoriented.
"Run!"
Lu Fei pushed down rows of cabinets, and as the teacher was distracted by the chaotic noise, he grabbed Jing Jian's arm and fled from the classroom for dear life.
The sound of footsteps immediately drew the teacher out.
"Bad kids!"
The roar, accompanied by a surge of dark energy, crashed towards them like a giant wave, slamming the two to the ground.
Lu Fei gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain, got up, and dragged the dazed Jing Jian to a corner, covering his mouth and nose while holding his own breath, making no sound at all.
The teacher suddenly lost their sense of direction and after a wild rampage in the corridor, was drawn away by some other noise to the other side.
Lu Fei let out a long sigh of relief and helped Jing Jian up.
"Brother Jing, the situation here at the kindergarten is far beyond what we expected. We need to go back and plan carefully."
"What about that child's soul?" Jing Jian rubbed his head.
"There's still a way!"
The two of them avoided the teacher and tiptoed out of the classroom and then out of the kindergarten.
The kindergarten returned to an eerie silence.
Only the sound of the ruler scraping against the floor faintly echoed through the dilapidated building.
The two of them returned to Jing Jian's home to rest and regroup.
Jing Jian focused his energy, clearing his mind.
Lu Fei stood on the balcony, still shaken as he gazed at the kindergarten shrouded in the night.
Those dolls were extremely cunning!
What they didn't expect was that there was also a terrifying ghost of a teacher lurking in the kindergarten.
However, tonight wasn't completely without gains.
At least he knew that the dolls were also afraid of the teacher and would lose their ability to teleport and dodge when they got too close to the teacher.
That was the best time for them to catch the dolls.
"Lu Fei, what do we do next? How can we save the child's soul?"
Jing Jian's voice came from behind.
After regulating his qi, he finally managed to get that damned ruler sound out of his head.
He cared more about human lives than evil entities.
"Fortunately, I kept the child's mother's number during the day." Lu Fei took out his phone, "We will contact her tomorrow and call back the child's spirit. The child was probably lured to the kindergarten by the red-clothed doll; if the soul is there, the body should be there as well."
"Mother and child are connected by blood. With her help, finding the child shouldn't be difficult."
"That's good." Jing Jian let out a long breath and only then realized his back was drenched in cold sweat, icy cold.
"I'm sorry, tonight turned out like this because I didn't clarify the situation beforehand."
Thinking of the thrilling events of the night, he sat down on the old sofa, somewhat drained.
"You're right, so we need to investigate the kindergarten further tomorrow, find out what really happened there, and where those dolls came from, so we can better deal with them."
Lu Fei nodded, yawning from fatigue.
"I won't go back tonight, I'll just stay here for the night."
Jing Jian rented a one-bedroom apartment, giving the bed to Lu Fei to sleep in while he slept on the sofa.
Lu Fei didn't stand on ceremony, and after a quick wash, he went to sleep with Xiao Hei.
The night passed without any dreams.
The next morning.
After a simple breakfast, the two prepared to first get a clear understanding of the situation at the kindergarten, then contact the little boy's mother.
Many of the older residents in this area had lived here for decades, watching the kindergarten open, go through troubles, and finally close down, knowing quite a bit about its history.
Jing Jian first learned the information from their mouths.
But when the two went downstairs, they found that the little boy's mother had appeared outside the kindergarten again.
Her hair was disheveled, her eyes red and swollen, and she was still wearing yesterday's clothes. She stood at the iron gate, looking helplessly inside.
"Sister."
The two exchanged a glance and walked over.
"It's you! I remember you, you saw my Tóngtóng in the kindergarten yesterday, right? Have you seen him since then?"
Upon seeing them, the woman anxiously inquired.
Her voice was hoarse, probably because she hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a long time.
"I've looked everywhere. Aunt Liang said if he's not in this kindergarten, then there's really no hope...I should be condemned! When I went upstairs to deliver food, I should have taken Tóngtóng with me. Why did I leave him in the car alone..."
Tears of self-blame welled up in the woman's eyes, and she even slapped herself.
"Sister, don't be like this! Losing the child is not your fault." Jing Jian quickly grabbed her cold hand.
"The Aunt Liang you just mentioned, who is she? How does she know that the child might be in the kindergarten?" Lu Fei asked curiously.
"Aunt Liang used to work at the kindergarten... She said there are ghosts in this kindergarten, specifically targeting children. Several kids were taken before..." A look of fear appeared on the woman's haggard face.
Lu Fei and Jing Jian exchanged a glance.
It seemed that Aunt Liang was an informant.
"Sister, we saw your child last night again." Lu Fei decided to tell the truth.
"Really?"
The woman's dim eyes widened, hope rekindled.
"Is he okay? Where is he in the kindergarten, where is he now..."
"Sister, don't rush, listen to me first, the situation with the child may be beyond your imagination." Lu Fei thought about his words and told the woman roughly what was happening at the kindergarten.
"To rescue the child from those ghost dolls, we need to understand the situation at the kindergarten, so please take us to Aunt Liang."
After Lu Fei finished speaking, the woman stared at them in shock, her eyes full of astonishment.
"Ma'am, please trust us. We..." Jing Jian hurriedly explained.
"I do believe! I do trust you!" The woman nodded anxiously; as long as she could find her child, she was willing to believe even the most absurd story, "I'll take you to Aunt Liang right now!"
With that, she led the two to an old residential building nearby.
On the way, Lu Fei and Jing Jian learned that she was Guo Yu, a single mother who made a living by delivering food.
"I rent the apartment right across from Aunt Liang's. She is a very kind person and often takes care of my son and me."
Guo Yu knocked on an old security door.
"Aunt Liang, are you home?"
Soon, an elderly woman around fifty years old came to open the door.
"It's Xiao Yu, how is it, have you found Tongtong?"
"Not yet, but these two gentlemen said they've seen Tongtong, at the kindergarten." Guo Yu struggled to explain the situation clearly, "They said Tongtong was taken away by a pair of ghost dolls in red clothes..."
"What? You've seen those dolls?"
Aunt Liang suddenly turned pale with shock, her eyes widening as she looked at Lu Fei and his companion.
"Yes, Aunt Liang." Lu Fei handed over his business card and explained his purpose, "I'm a merchant specializing in collecting evil objects, and I'm here for those dolls."
"Sinisterium Pawnshop..."
Aunt Liang put on her reading glasses and examined the business card.
"Aunt Liang, you used to work at the kindergarten; please tell them what you know about those ghost dolls," Guo Yu urged anxiously.
"Actually, the kindergarten used to be an orphanage, and those dolls are connected to the orphanage."
Aunt Liang took off her reading glasses, her expression very complex. She remained silent for a while before speaking.
"Do you believe that there are people who are inherently evil in this world?"