"Are you all right?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm—wait, *what*!?" Ouyang Tao had reflexively answered before realizing something was off. He turned his head to see a ghostly figure standing beside his bed. "Waaah—!" he shrieked.

"What's going on?!" The hospital room door slammed open. Imperial Guard soldiers stationed outside rushed in, flipping on the lights.

Only then did Ouyang Tao recognize the spectral presence as Zhao Yuehan.

*How did she slip in without a sound? Didn’t the guards notice anything? This’ll cause a huge misunderstanding!*

He stammered to explain: "N-no—it’s a misunderstanding! Not what you think! She’s not the culprit—"

Panic scrambled his words, but Zhao Yuehan remained unnervingly calm.

"No matter. They cannot see or hear us."

"Huh?" Ouyang Tao blinked. The soldiers stared back at him with identical confusion.

"You okay?"

*They really don’t sense her at all?*

Better not stir trouble. Ouyang Tao forced a laugh. "S-sorry. Just... had a nightmare."

"Tch. Get some rest." The soldier shook his head, switching off the lights as he left. "Poor kid’s really shaken up..."

After the door clicked shut, Ouyang Tao exhaled shakily. *That was terrifying.*

*If others can’t see or hear her... she’s practically a ghost.*

A new question surfaced: *Why is Zhao Yuehan here? Visiting me? But she shouldn’t leave the Arcane Library... right? Or is there even such a rule?*

"Senior... did you come to check on me?"

"Yes."

*Seriously?* Previous visitors had at least some connection to him. With Zhao Yuehan? They barely knew each other.

Still, he owed her gratitude. "Thanks. As you can see, I’m fine."

"No." Her flat tone sent chills up his spine. "You are in grave danger."

Her warnings had always preceded disaster.

First warning: The second attack happened that same night.

Second warning: Nothing occurred.

Third warning: She’d added that the Arcane Library was safe—right before *he* was ambushed.

Now this wasn’t a caution. It was a direct threat. How could he not fear it?

Her uncanny foresight demanded answers. "Senior, do you know something? Just tell me!"

Zhao Yuehan didn’t reply. She seized his wrist and yanked him toward the door. "Leave. Now."

Beneath her monotone, Ouyang Tao sensed ironclad urgency.

"You mean... hide in the Arcane Library with you?"

"Yes."

"Can I at least change clothes—?"

"No time."

"Hey—!"

Before he knew it, Ouyang Tao was dragged out in his hospital gown, clutching only his metal glove. *This feels oddly familiar...*

"Won’t we be seen?" Zhao Yuehan strode openly past the guards without concealment.

*Am I a ghost too now?*

"They cannot see or hear us," she stated calmly.

*Thank goodness she’s not an enemy,* Ouyang Tao thought grimly. *Or I’d be dead before anyone noticed.*

Zhao Yuehan led him straight to the Arcane Library.

Walking hand-in-hand with a beautiful senior under moonlight should’ve sparked teenage flutters. But Ouyang Tao felt zero romance—Zhao Yuehan likely felt the same. He doubted she even possessed human emotions.

*Correction: My heart’s racing. But from fear. And cold.* An unnatural chill clung to her, like the touch of the dead.

*Monica did say Zhao Yuehan isn’t human. She’s a Death Envoy.*

*But why warn me? Why help me?* He’d demand answers at the library.

Two-thirds of the way there, campus alarms blared.

Patrol soldiers rushed past them—unseeing, yet clearly heading toward the hospital.

*If Zhao Yuehan hadn’t come... I’d be in grave danger right now.*

"Senior, what’s—?"

"Move faster. *It* comes."

"What’s com—?"

The words died in his throat. A familiar, suffocating pressure crashed over him—the exact same dread from his prior attacks.

Ahead, crimson light erupted.

From its glow, a masked figure in blood-red robes materialized before them once more.