Volume 1, Chapter 140: May You Suffer Eternally

"But you were the one who said that a man named Pan Jun had already..."

Before Dong's father could finish his sentence, a bone-chilling coldness emerged from thin air, rapidly spreading throughout the office. A black whirlwind began to howl within the small space, and at its center, a pitch-black stone gate gradually materialized.

"What is this!" Dong's mother screamed in terror, and the others were no better off. Even though the principal and Teacher Yuan had been warned in advance, they were still shaken to the core. They huddled together, stumbling in their haste to scramble toward Chi Xingwan and her two companions.

The stone gate emitted a heavy, grinding sound as a fissure appeared on its surface; the gate was opening. A bronze soul-lantern floated out first, followed immediately by a ghost messenger in black robes, dragging a soul along.

Chu Fangfei and Michelle tensed instantly. This was their first time seeing a ghost messenger, and as the rumors suggested, the pressure radiating from the entity was overwhelming. Even with their spiritual energy protecting them, they felt a sense of suffocation. They turned to look at Chi Xingwan in unison, and seeing her expression remain unchanged, they marveled at her status as a Super-Grade A spiritual master. Michelle, in particular, became acutely aware of the vast gap between herself and Chi Xingwan.

The principal and the others, shielded by Chi Xingwan, felt uncomfortable but fared better than Chu Fangfei and Michelle.

"What is happening here?" Dong's father asked.

Chi Xingwan replied, "I told you I would reveal the truth today. This person is the murderer who harmed Dong Xuezhi." She pointed to the soul being held by the ghost messenger.

The soul was indeed Pan Jun. He wore prison garb, a heavy chain locked around his neck. His frame was emaciated, his cheeks sunken, and his body was covered in scars—evidence that he had been subjected to constant torture since entering the underworld.

The ghost messenger’s face was obscured by a shroud of black mist, making it impossible to tell if he even had features, yet he located Chi Xingwan with ease. He turned his head and said, "Half an hour."

"Thank you, that is enough."

Chi Xingwan stepped in front of Pan Jun. "Pan Jun, tell us everything you did in this school, word for word."

Pan Jun seemed disoriented. He looked around blankly and asked, "Where is this? Does this mean I don't have to suffer anymore?"

The ghost messenger spoke, "This is the High School Affiliated to Yanjing University in Yanjing City. You committed crimes here and escaped legal justice, which is why you must suffer and atone for your sins after death."

Pan Jun gasped for air, his breathing ragged. "I was wrong. I truly know I was wrong. If you give me another chance, I will never have such evil thoughts again. Please, let me go—it’s too painful, it’s just too painful!"

He clutched his head, howling in agony, clearly broken by the torment. If this continued, he wouldn't be able to utter a single coherent sentence before the half-hour was up.

Chi Xingwan had no choice but to intervene. "If you confess your crimes properly now, there might be a chance for a reduced sentence."

Pan Jun clung to her words like a life raft, nodding repeatedly. "I’ll talk. I’ll say everything. I confess."

"Six years ago, what did you do here?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Pan Jun said, "I raped a girl."

Dong's mother's heart seized. She gripped her husband's arm, staring fixedly at Pan Jun, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What was the name of that girl?"

Pan Jun shook his head. "How would I know? I saw her alone on the playground. It was late at night—what a perfect opportunity. I was young and hot-blooded back then; I couldn't control myself. I drugged her and dragged her into that small room..."

"You beast!" Dong's father’s emotions erupted. He pushed his wife's hand away, winding up to strike Pan Jun, but a transparent wall stood before him, preventing him from getting closer.

"He is a soul, and you are a living person. If you touch him, you will be the one who gets hurt."

Dong's father pulled back, his fists clenched, his body trembling, his breathing becoming increasingly rapid.

Chi Xingwan asked Pan Jun, "Be more specific. Where did you get the drugs?"

"I had them ready long before," Pan Jun said. "From the first day I arrived at the school, I went to the playground every night looking for a target. But there weren't many people running at night, and most of them were boys. That girl was the exception; she loved running and came every night."

Dong's mother sobbed into her hands. "That's right... our Xuezhi wasn't very healthy as a child, so she developed the habit of exercising from a young age."

"I waited for several days. There was usually a boy running with her, but he didn't show up that night, and I knew my chance had come."

Xu Fangliang stood there, stunned. He had accompanied Xuezhi on her runs almost every night, but he hadn't gone that evening. He had snuck over the wall to leave school; he just wanted to buy her a gift...

"So it was me... I didn't protect her," Xu Fangliang said, squatting down and covering his face. "If I had been there that day, this wouldn't have happened to Xuezhi!"

Chu Fangfei’s eyes filled with hot tears as she glared viciously at Pan Jun. "You are truly rotten to the core. You deserve the torture you're getting in the underworld. A piece of trash like you shouldn't have lived in this world, and even in death, you don't deserve release."

Pan Jun shivered and hurriedly tried to defend himself. "But I didn't mean to kill her! I thought she would wake up once the drugs wore off. I didn't even know she was dead until the next day."

Chu Fangfei mocked him, "What? Are you feeling aggrieved now?"

"I... I didn't kill anyone," Pan Jun insisted.

Chi Xingwan said, "Even if you didn't intend to kill her, you harmed that girl. Even if she had lived, her life would have been ruined by you."

Pan Jun shook his head frantically. "No, that's not true. If she had lived, the matter would have been covered up. Outsiders wouldn't have known about her ordeal, and I wouldn't have been caught."

As he spoke, a crazed look appeared on his face, showing that the few days of torture had not led to true repentance.

"I know how those girls think. Most of them are terrified when such things happen to them. They feel ashamed and are afraid to let anyone else know. I wouldn't even have to do anything; they would choose to suffer in silence themselves."

"Even if they did speak up, their parents would have demanded they cover it up. They claim it's for their daughter's sake, but it's really for their own reputation. That girl was so young; she would have listened to her parents, and then I would have been fine. It's a shame she died. Why was she so fragile..."

"Shut up!" Chi Xingwan cut him off and said to the ghost messenger, "The truth has been revealed. Take him back."

Without a word, the ghost messenger yanked the chain. Pan Jun’s neck snapped back, his expression contorted in extreme pain.

"You promised! You said you would reduce my sentence! I... I don't want to go back to that hellhole! I want to be reincarnated, I..."

Chi Xingwan sneered, "Sorry, I said that, but I don't represent the underworld. You can just pretend you never heard it."

The gates of hell appeared once more. The ghost messenger pulled Pan Jun without mercy, dragging him inside. As the gates shut, Chi Xingwan stared directly at Pan Jun, her thin lips parting to deliver the final, cruel words.

"Pan Jun, you will suffer forever."