75. Conditions for Causing Harm Triggered

Chen Sheng realized he had been tricked by yet another "NPC," but he didn't mind—not in the least. He had already been deceived once before by an "NPC" in this healing game. Besides, he was only here because of a quest and out of gratitude toward this "NPC." His purpose was clear. Whether he was tricked or not was irrelevant to him. At worst, after everything was done, he’d simply twist off the head of this "NPC ghost boy."

So, Chen Sheng merely glanced calmly at the headless girl nearby, his expression unruffled as he softly asked, "Are you skilled in the craft of beheading?"

The headless girl was speechless.

Beheading—a craft? And did he perhaps misunderstand her?

Unable to help herself, the headless girl grumbled silently but shook her head, indicating she wasn’t.

Yet, she quickly realized that such an answer made her seem useless. Hastily, she scrambled for an excuse: "If you want to behead this ghost, you’ll need to destroy the funeral shroud he’s wearing. That’s a cursed relic, you see. It protects him from harm, and can even save his life once."

She might have been slow, but she wasn’t stupid.

Chen Sheng’s question about beheading was clearly related to the ghost boy.

Meanwhile, as the headless girl inwardly praised her own cleverness, she suddenly thought of something and looked at Chen Sheng with hope brimming in her eyes.

Her gaze was filled with hints and implications.

Unfortunately, Chen Sheng didn’t pick up on them—in fact, he didn’t even notice her expression. He merely asked, almost absentmindedly, "Cursed relic? What’s that?"

The headless girl was puzzled, but only inwardly. Out loud, she was about to answer his question when Chen Sheng spoke again: "Is it something related to the ghost’s previous life, a particularly special item?"

After all, the term "cursed relic" was fairly self-explanatory.

"You could say that…" the headless girl replied hesitantly, for his definition was only half true.

But Chen Sheng hadn’t really cared—he’d merely asked out of curiosity. To him, cursed relics were nothing more than ghostly equipment, no different than exclusive gear for pets.

So, he moved on: "Is there anything that can directly harm this ghost, something that ignores his defenses?"

"There is. Items tainted by malicious ghost energy, those strange artifacts, can do just that," the headless girl replied, once again giving Chen Sheng a meaningful look.

She was hoping to ask him for one of those peculiar items.

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After all, such items were terrifying, second only to execution tools, but ultimately, they were just byproducts of malicious spirits—like ambergris is to sperm whales.

Ambergris is, after all, whale excrement.

But really, what creature would consider its own waste precious? If there were any, let them hold it in forever.

What was strange, though, was that for some reason, peculiar items were not found in great numbers. Each one that appeared was notorious and well-known.

For example, that infamous painting from the Skull Temple near Upper Sanjiang City!

Once again, Chen Sheng ignored the headless girl’s hints. The first time, he simply hadn’t noticed; this time, he didn’t understand. So he asked, "Can you identify these peculiar items?"

This healing game never provided item descriptions, so Chen Sheng figured he’d need a "human radar" to help him find such things.

The headless girl found him stranger still.

But, although she wondered why he’d ask, she nodded at once and replied with a touch of confidence, "Of course I can!"

After all, these items were unmistakable! The aura of "loneliness" that could sabotage teammates was impossible to disguise. Whenever both living and ghostly beings were suddenly attacked and couldn’t trace the source, the odds were high that a peculiar item was nearby.

"Let me know if you find one," Chen Sheng said, treating these artifacts as advanced gear for ghosts.

With that, he walked into the school.

The headless girl opened her mouth as if to object—after all, if such a thing really did appear, she wouldn’t dare approach it. But remembering the true identity of the man before her, she pressed her lips together and hurried to follow.

She reasoned that, since he hadn’t responded to her hints, perhaps he was unsure which of his own items had become a peculiar artifact and wanted her help to identify it. Once she did, he’d suppress its corruption to give it to her as a gift!

After all, to a ghost, such items were incredibly valuable—some could even bring true death, like that notorious painting. But to a malignant spirit, they were little more than amusing trinkets.

Hardly worth their attention on an ordinary day.

The headless girl was utterly convinced that Chen Sheng was a malignant spirit in disguise!

Under the shroud of night, the ruined school before them took on a new air of desolation and eerie menace.

Yet, it was far from deserted.

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As Chen Sheng stepped inside, he was promptly greeted.

Not by a living soul, of course, but by an elderly male ghost who called himself the school’s principal. Bent with age, his face as pale as the ghost boy’s had been, his eye sockets dark and sunken like a skull’s. As he drew near, an icy chill washed over Chen Sheng.

After a brief, perfunctory introduction, the principal rasped, "Welcome to both of you. Since you’re here, follow me."

It could hardly be called a proper welcome, but Chen Sheng followed nonetheless.

The principal continued, "It took some effort to bring you here. I have my reasons. Surely you’ve noticed that in this town, there is one who seeks ascension—a spirit yearning to become a true fiend. The ritual is already underway."

Chen Sheng nearly replied that he hadn’t noticed at all, but thought better of it and held his tongue.

Even without his response, the principal pressed on: "My place may be shabby, almost a ruin, but as the town’s only ghost school, it caught his eye and became his testing ground."

Chen Sheng remained silent, but this time, the principal said nothing more. Chen Sheng couldn’t help but ask, "And then?"

"And then," the principal replied with a sudden smile that wrinkled his pale face, "I hope you’ll stay and become a teacher here!"

"If I agree, does that trigger your killing condition?" Chen Sheng asked abruptly.

"You’re clever, but you’re too late. You haven’t triggered my killing condition, but you’ve already triggered theirs…"

As the principal finished speaking, shadows emerged from the darkness of the school—dozens of figures, their eyes glowing a ghastly green, staring hungrily at Chen Sheng like beasts about to devour him.

Yet, oddly, these ghosts, whose killing condition had been triggered, did not attack immediately. It was as if they were waiting for something.

The principal said, "You’ve triggered their killing condition. Now you’re doomed. But if you agree to stay, I can suppress them. I’ll only hunt you for one hour each day… Do you want to know why?"

He grinned, his mouth stretching into a sinister, chilling smile.

"Is it because you’re too old to give chase for longer?" Chen Sheng asked thoughtfully.