"Get ready, one two three four, five six seven eight!" The man's voice called out as the music became more exciting. "Two two three four, five six seven eight!"
In the dance room, it wasn't only the dancer who was stunned. Xie Zeqing uttered a cry from his soul. "What the f*k is this thing?"
The phone in Xiao Li's right hand was still playing music. He stepped away from the wall and entered the dance room, saying to the dancer inside, "Freestyle, improvisation. A good dancer should be able to dance to any music."
Luo Dian, "......"
What was this dishonest practice? Asking a ghost to dance? Then she thought about it. Since this dancer adjusted her mood and mentality according to the previous music, the broadcast gymnastics was probably okay...
The dancer in the room looked at Xiao Li's eyes. She seemed to be moved and tentatively began to dance along with the music. This was a song she had never challenged before. She accepted Xiao Li's words, let go and started to dance with her heart.
Xiao Li and the others looked surprised. The dancer was quite professional but it was like a spoof. Once the song ended, Xiao Li clapped. "Your jumps were great!"
The dancer retracted her final action and stood at attention, smiling at her only audience. She had a normal face with her hair tied tightly, coiled behind her back. However, her face was white and she had thick yin energy around her.
The dancer now looked very kind. It seemed that changing the music was the right way to escape, to the relief of the reincarnators.
Xiao Li asked her, "How long have you been practicing your dancing here?"
The dancer raised two hands to show a '10.' It had been 10 years since she died here. She seemed to be the ghost of the dance academy.
Xiao Li thought for a moment. "Do you know about the recent deaths?"
The dancer shook her head.
"Chen Meiyou, do you know this person?" Xiao Li asked the third question.
This time, the dancer nodded. She took a step back. In the empty dance room, she jumped out lightly like a flexible deer. She turned three laps, pressing down on her legs and taking a professional ballet position.
"What does she mean by that? Is she asking you to dance? Xie Zeqing and the others came to Xiao Li's side, Xie Zeqing hitting Xiao Li with his shoulder.
Xiao Li shook his head and speculated after a while, "Chen Meiyou used to practice in the dance room like this?"
The dancer leapt high in the air. She jumped halfway before suddenly making a turning motion, looking at the door. Her dance practice was interrupted as she ran over with open arms to embrace the air. The entire scene was like a pantomime.
"This ghost is really strong..." Xie Zeqing commented.
Xiao Li stated, "She is recreating the scene of Chen Meiyou."
"Chen Meiyou was practicing when someone arrived. It should be someone she is very close to. A boyfriend? In short, she hugged them." Luo Dian observed the dancer's every move.
The dancer loosened her embrace and then her expression showed some panic. Her entire body rose as if the other side suddenly held her up. She waved her hands, wanting the other side to let her down.
Then the other side seemed to really let go. The dancer touched the ground and couldn't stand up firmly. She fell back on the ground. She showed some pain and reached for her ankles, like she had twisted her ankle when she subconsciously stood on tiptoes.
In the silence, the opposite person seemed to be very anxious and concerned about her. The dancer raised her head and shook her head. The dancer tried to stand up but failed and fell again.
"What is wrong with Chen Meiyou's legs?" Luo Dian's expression changed. "Why does no one else know about this?"
Lin Xiangyi, Chen Meiyou's colleagues and even her boyfriend didn't know about this. The tearful dancer stood up on one foot and took two steps towards the door.
"Then she followed the person and left." Xiao Li summarized.
The dancer couldn't seem to leave the dance room. She stood at the door before turning back.
Xiao Li applauded her performance. He clapped and organized the clue. "Chen Meiyou was a very careful person. She danced very well and also attached great importance to her next dance competition. Her leg was injured but it shouldn't be a serious injury. It wasn't enough to affect her walking since the other students and teachers didn't find out. Then she received a call and experienced an accident at the school date."
"No one spoke about this matter. Someone must've lied or partially concealed the truth."
"Who found her at the door of the dance studio? A boyfriend..." Luo Dian was excited about finding a new clue. "Or a close female friend?"
Xie Zeqing asked, "She had close female friends?"
"Yes, but she is a teacher at another school." Han Jin replied for Luo Dian. "I was responsible for tracking this part. She and Chen Meiyou hadn't seen each other for a long time but they had a good relationship. They grew up together and had an appointment to meet for dinner occasionally."
Xie Zeqing opened his mouth. "I still think a boyfriend is more likely. What female can directly hold another person up?"
Xiao Li suggested, "Then go and see her boyfriend first."
He turned to the dancer in the room. "We have to go. We will come back and see you dance next time."
The dancer seemed reluctant to part with the only audience who would applaud her. She bent down towards Xiao Li and turned two more laps.
Xiao Li asked her, "Where is the door?"
The dancer covered her mouth, held up her skirt and poetically leaned down to the right. Xiao Li and the others looked in the direction she indicated. On the right side of the dance room, there was an additional revolving staircase leading to the bottom. Led by Luo Dian, she and Han Jin ran over to this passage like a hungry tiger pouncing on prey.
Xiao Li wasn't in a hurry and turned back to say goodbye to the dancer.
The dim light of the dance room reflected his shadow on the wall. The shadow on the way moved the moment that Xiao Li turned. The shadow reached out and touched Xiao Li's head lightly.
Xiao Li only felt his hair seem to move. However, the weight was fleeting and he couldn't say if it was the wind or something else. He looked back and everything was in place. The dancer had bowed her head and assumed the starting position, waiting for the next song like there was nothing abnormal.
Xiao Li rubbed his hands over his black hair and looked up at the roof, wondering if there was a leak or something. He shook his head and then followed the reincarnators in front of him.
*********
Based on the path the dancer gave, they found this dance floor had been in the depths of the dance academy. They came down from the second floor and directly returned to the school.
Luo Dian once again checked her arm and found that it had become 63, making her become gradually anxious. "There is no time. Shall we split into two to find Chen Meiyou's female friend and her boyfriend?"
Han Jin had no opinion. He and Luo Dian were old teammates and were used to the division of labour. This was why their completion rate was so high every time.
Xie Zeqing directly pointed at Xiao Li. "I'll be with him."
Luo Dian, "......"
Xiao Li had no opinion on this. "It's fine if you want to separate. I will go and see her boyfriend."
They might be old teammates but if Luo Dian and Han Jin were in a team, she wasn't sure if they could leave or would be safe together. After all, this was an instance where she had to ask the outside world for help.
Luo Dian bit her lips. "Can't you split up? One of you going with me will save time."
She looked at Xie Zeqing and Xie Zeqing also looked at Xiao Li. Xiao Li was silent for a while before suddenly stating, "Beasts are always alone, cattle and sheep are-"
"Ok, I'm with Han Jin! You wait for my good news!" Xie Zeqing immediately interrupted the replay of his words and reluctantly compromised. Following Xiao Li might be absolutely safe but Xie Zeqing had his own pride as a strong man. He might've been relying on Xiao Li these days but he would show Xiao Li his strength!
After walking around the campus for a while, they saw the school gate in the distance as well as the administration building they had first entered. On the ground, two lines of bloody footprints were very clear.
Xie Zeqing made a large circle and stayed far away from thebloody footprints.
Han Jin muttered, "The blood ghost?"
Xie Zeqing denied it. "No, I saw it. It was a girl in red clothes, not the blood ghost."
Han Jin got a chill from this description. He didn't dare look at the bloody footprints and sped up the pace at which he walked to the school gate. In one window of the administrative building, a shadow was hidden. Dressed in red and with a row of eye-catching bloody footprints behind her, she looked through the window at the back of the reincarnators.
At the school fate, the group split into two. Han Jin's team headed in the direction of Chen Meiyou's female friend while Xiao Li and Luo Dian headed in the other direction. It was a small town so the roads at night weren't noisy like a big city. There were few pedestrians and the bright moon hung high above their heads, overlooking everything. It would be a comfortable night if it wasn't for the existence of ghosts.
Luo Dian wasn't in the mood to enjoy the view and she walked quickly. "Her boyfriend's house isn't far from here. It is 10 minutes away. To be precise, it is a house that Chen Meiyou bought due to the proximity and convenience of going to work. It might be expensive but it is a perfect house."
Xiao Li wondered, "Is there a barbecue stand downstairs?"
Luo Dian, "...No!"
"Then how can it be perfect?"
Luo Dian, "......"
"Moriarty, don't think about eating. Solve our countdown and I will treat you to dinner!" Luo Dian pulled Xiao Li and ran.
They soon arrived at the door of a community. It was a new community. The greenery inside was lush and the security was also dutiful. All that was required to go out was a swipe of the card. The security guard knew Luo Dian and once he saw her, he questioned, "Why are you here again?"
Luo Dian smiled and stuff a 100 yuan note into the security guard's hand. Then she used a temporary access card to enter with Xiao Li. Chen Meiyou's place was the third building after entering. There was a lush eucalyptus tree at the door. Luo Dian and Xiao Li stopped on the fifth floor and knocked on the door.
There was no one inside. It wasn't until she knocked the third time that there was movement from inside and a man opened the door. "Who is it?"
The author has something to say:
Dancer: This is a new type of dance. It is a combination of strength and beauty, but also contains a bit of strength and vitality.
Translator: Rainbow Reads