Chapter Thirty-Eight: Your Filthy Souls

Everyone was stunned by Xiaoyin’s words. They all knew that Xiaoyin had been Xia Ye’s closest friend while she was alive—how could she possibly have been the one to kill her? No one spoke; everyone waited for Xiaoyin’s answer.

Suddenly, Xiaoyin’s sobs rang out, her regret and pain unmistakable to all who heard her.

“Teacher Fang, it was I who killed Xia Ye. However you wish to punish me, I will accept it.”

Before Fang could respond, the class monitor Douzi hurriedly interjected.

“Xiaoyin, you shouldn’t say things like that. The day Xia Ye took her own life, weren’t you with us at the karaoke bar? How could you have killed her?”

“That’s right, Xiaoyin. I remember everything from that day very clearly. You were the one who took Douzi home in the end.”

Suddenly, Xiaoyin shouted in anguish.

“No, it was I who killed Xia Ye. I am the murderer. If it hadn’t been for me… if it hadn’t been for me…”

At this point, she broke down completely, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Xia Ye was truly pitiable. Though she had gained such fame at a young age, none of you knew the agony she suffered from the relentless cruelty of the internet, the malicious slander and attacks—from you as well. She cried herself to sleep nearly every night, and each day was torture for her.”

“And I… I, who was her best friend, was afraid you’d turn on me the same way. I chose to distance myself, to stop speaking with her, and even shouted at her.”

As she spoke, Xiaoyin suddenly fell silent, her gaze empty and hollow.

“When all this happened, rumors spread that she’d been forced by her agency to entertain clients at that hotel. That wasn’t the truth. In fact, Xiaoyin had called me that day, saying there was a performance opportunity and she wanted me to go with her.”

“But I… I turned her down. And just like that… sob…”

She broke down again, weeping bitterly.

“It was I who killed Xia Ye. If only I had gone with her that day, she would still be alive.”

Xiaoyin could no longer withstand the torment of her conscience and finally confessed everything weighing on her heart.

However…

“Xiaoyin, what you’re saying is a stretch. Just as Teacher Fang said, did you ever actually see her with a client? I still don’t believe she wasn’t a tramp.”

“Yeah, Xiaoyin, you don’t need to feel guilty about Xia Ye’s death. It was her own doing. She was the one who fell, not you.”

“That’s right, Xia Ye was just someone everyone used, yet she pretended to be so righteous at school. What a joke.”

The classmates’ words grew ever more vicious, yet Xiaoyin only grew calmer. At that moment, the cage confining her suddenly swung open, and in front of her appeared a high-pressure water gun.

Suddenly, Xiaoyin’s eyes turned bloodshot. From some unknown source, her frail body found strength—she snatched up the water gun and sprayed it wildly at those classmates who continued to insult Xia Ye.

The icy, bone-chilling water struck them, sending up sprays of mist, knocking them to the ground in utter disarray.

“Xiaoyin… have you lost your mind?”

“Stop… stop it…”

“Sis Yin… I was wrong… I won’t say another word…”

…

Ten minutes later, the water gun finally sputtered to a stop, and Xiaoyin, now drenched to the bone, collapsed and sobbed. Some things truly cannot be let go so easily.

No one knew how much time had passed when suddenly, Fang Nian’s laughter echoed through the room. But for some reason, hearing his laughter, they all felt a pang of sorrow.

“Have you all awakened now? Do you see yourselves for who you really are? Compared to fists or blades, your malice is even more terrifying. Let me make this plain: every single one of you in this class is scum.”

“To indulge your tongues, you care nothing for the feelings of others? Where are your moral boundaries? Where is the family upbringing you claim? Frankly, your bodies are nothing but empty shells, utterly soulless.”

“Look at yourselves now. When your classmate stood up to confront her own mistakes, what did the rest of you do? You continued to slander, to heap abuse.”

“You have ceased to grow. You live in childish lies. And those who made you this way are none other than your former selves—and your filthy souls.”

“Do you think yourselves strong? Then tell me, what kind of strong person uses such filth as a blade against the weak? You say I’m unfit to be a teacher—then ask yourselves, are you even fit to be human?”

If Xiaoyin’s water gun had jolted them awake, then Fang Nian’s speech, laced with biting irony and profound sorrow, pierced their hearts like a dagger.

The students who had moments earlier been so righteous and indignant fell silent. Each pair of eyes flickered with conflicting emotions; some even began to weep, as though hoping tears might cleanse their souls.

But just then, deafening sirens shattered the silence. The students, lost in grief and remorse, suddenly brightened; it was as if hope had returned.

Yet no one noticed the strange, sly smile that curled the corner of Lin Jun’s mouth in room 28.

Fang Nian stood before the control room monitors, watching as a convoy of police cars and armored SWAT vehicles sped toward them. His brow furrowed slightly, but he showed no surprise.

Very soon, the solitary grey building standing on the outskirts was surrounded on all sides by the police. Leading them was none other than Lin Jun’s father, Lin Wei, chief of the X City Police Department. He clutched a tomato-shaped watch, the screen displaying the building’s location clearly.

Stepping onto the rubble-strewn remains of a demolished site, Lin Wei raised a loudspeaker and called out:

“Teacher Fang, this is Lin Wei, chief of the X City Police Department. If you have any demands, state them now—we will do our best to meet them. But you must release the students you’re holding, or else—”

Boom—

Before Lin Wei could finish, an explosion erupted from another pile of rubble barely twenty meters away. The blast sent bricks and debris flying, forcing Lin Wei to stumble back, tumbling to the ground in a humiliating sprawl.

As the dust settled, Fang Nian’s voice rang out from a loudspeaker atop the grey building.

“Officer Lin, let me advise you to avoid any pointless maneuvers. Withdraw the SWAT team circling behind the building immediately. Otherwise, I can no longer guarantee the safety of my hostages—especially Lin Jun.”

As the police chief, Lin Wei would not have been cowed by a criminal like Fang Nian under normal circumstances. But with his own child in the man’s hands, he dared not gamble with his son’s life. He called out to Fang Nian:

“Teacher Fang, may I know your purpose for today? Why have you kidnapped your own students?”

Fang Nian burst out laughing.

“It’s very simple. Since you cannot teach your children, allowing them to commit irreparable wrongs, then allow me, their teacher, to do it in your stead.”

“But, Fang—”

“That’s enough. Take your people now and fall back to the toll station five kilometers away. Otherwise, I begin executing hostages.”

Seeing that Fang Nian would give him no opening, that even his covertly stationed SWAT team was under surveillance, Lin Wei realized he had no better option. Though he could risk a direct assault, with his own child among the hostages, he dared not take that chance. After some thought, he agreed to Fang Nian’s demands, withdrawing his team to a derelict toll station five kilometers away to regroup.

Inside the halls of the grey building, the students listened to the receding wail of sirens. Many wept—hope seemed to be slipping ever farther from their grasp.

Fang Nian’s voice returned.

“Amazing, truly. It seems you’re not entirely brainless—still able to think of self-preservation in a crisis. I won’t bother chasing down whoever left the tracker during the bus explosion. But Xiaoyin’s answer tonight was not what I wanted. Your answer was wrong. And for that, you must accept punishment.”

As he finished, a blue haze once again filled the corridor. Everyone was plunged once more into endless darkness.