Chapter 28: Inference

The air froze, heavy with the dry, choking dust left after the wall’s paint and cement peeled away.

Chen Dongyang’s flashlight trembled, its beam illuminating the human silhouette embedded in the brick wall.
The crouched, slender form radiated silent, sealed despair, even through the masonry.

“W-Wow…”

Yin Qingle let out a stifled cry, her body rigid, pupils dilated with terror as she stared at the twisted, huddled figure.
Unable to bear it, she turned and buried her face in Yin Xiran’s shoulder, trembling uncontrollably.

Chen Dongyang’s throat tightened, a chill racing from his feet to his scalp.
The curled-up posture spoke of immense pain and despair, far more suffocating than any ghost.
He glanced at Jiang Yuxin, seeking her calm strength.

“So that’s how it is,” Yin Xiran said, gently patting her sister’s back to soothe her.
Her voice stayed calm, but a subtle chill betrayed the truth’s weight.
“The story’s true. No, the real story is even more horrifying.”

Among them, only Jiang Yuxin remained utterly composed.

She met Yin Xiran’s gaze, signaling wordlessly.

Yin Xiran nodded, took a deep breath, and extended her right hand, fingers splaying toward the wall.

No noise, no smoke.

The bricks and cement lost their cohesion, floating out silently, one by one, then stacking neatly on the ground, guided by an invisible force.

The process held an eerie, surreal beauty.

Soon, a human-sized hole appeared, exposing the curled-up skeleton completely.

The bleached bones, dusted with dried mud and wall grime, lay in a fetal position within the narrow cavity.
The dull, yellow-brown bones were draped with decayed fabric scraps, unrecognizable.

Yin Qingle averted her eyes, unable to look.
Chen Dongyang’s stomach churned, but he forced himself to stay focused.

Jiang Yuxin seemed unfazed.
She stepped forward, crouched, and studied the skeleton under Chen Dongyang’s unsteady light.
Her gaze traced the small, damaged skull, the pelvis, and the unnaturally bent limbs.

“The skeleton’s slender, with a clearly female pelvic structure. Height between 155 and 160 cm,” she said, her voice as flat as if solving a math problem.
“Based on bone calcification and weathering on the surrounding masonry, death occurred at least ten years ago, likely longer.”

She paused, eyeing the skeleton’s strange posture.
“This position… it doesn’t look forced in after death. A killer would’ve dismembered or broken bones to save space. But the main bones are intact, only the joints twisted unnaturally. It’s more like…”

‘She was trapped alive, curling up in pain and fear, adapting to the space until she suffocated in despair.’

“Stop talking,” Chen Dongyang interrupted, his voice sharp.
He stepped in front of Yin Qingle, shielding her from the skeleton.
Her face was ashen, her trembling body on the brink of collapse.

Jiang Yuxin glanced at him calmly, unbothered by the interruption.
She stood, brushing off imaginary dust, and continued in a conclusive tone.
“The situation’s clear now. Two things are certain.”

“First, over a decade ago, a death occurred in this classroom. Not a suicide, as rumored, but a murder. The victim is the girl in the wall.”

“Second,” she glanced at the empty hole, then to where the music box had been, “this forgotten murder is likely the ‘source’ of the strange events we’re facing.”

“What now?” Yin Xiran asked, steadying her faltering sister.

If it was murder, there was a murderer.

Chen Dongyang thought of the unfamiliar footprints.
“Maybe the murderer was never caught and… could still be at this school. The man who left those prints might be him, and he took the music box. We have to find him!”

“But we don’t know who he is,” Yin Qingle said, her voice soft but steadier.
“Nanjiang City’s huge. How do we find someone from just footprints?”

“The scope might not be that wide,” Jiang Yuxin said, her cold voice delivering a chilling deduction.

“You’re missing a key point.” She looked at them, speaking deliberately.
“This body was sealed in the wall over a decade ago, when this building was still in use. Think about it. To tear down a wall, hide a body, rebuild, and repaint seamlessly during a semester or vacation, unnoticed…”

Her lips curved into a cold, knowing arc.
“Only one type of person could do that.”

“Someone who could enter and leave the school under the guise of ‘classroom renovation’ or ‘wall repairs,’ performing large-scale work without suspicion…”

“School staff.”