Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Innocent

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by another sigh, deeper this time, carrying an unspoken warning.

“I won’t stop you,” Principal Troy finally said. “But I hope you understand the risks you’re taking.”

’I understand them better than you think,’ Lana thought, though she didn’t voice it.

“Do as you please,” he added after a pause, resignation evident in his tone. The call ended shortly after.

Lana slipped the phone back into her pocket, the fabric brushing against her fingers, and walked inside.

The moment she crossed the threshold, whispers brushed against her ears like cold drafts.

“Jimmy and the others were truly stupid…”

“Why did they even told the truth…”

“Our last hope is gone…”

Someone scoffed softly.

“That woman is heartless. How can she just leave like this?”

Others said nothing, their silence heavier than the gossip. But the instant Lana’s footsteps echoed across the floor and everyone noticed her presence, the murmurs died abruptly.

Dozens of eyes turned toward her, wide and stunned.

Lana smiled, warm and composed, as if the despair in the air did not exist.

“My name is Lana,” she announced. “I heard that someone here is in desperate need of help. I’m willing to take on this matter, for two hundred million dollars.”

Confusion rippled through the crowd. Faces stiffened, brows furrowed.

But Jimmy and his group froze for a heartbeat before realization dawned. Their eyes lit up, almost painfully bright.

“Yes!” Jimmy blurted out, his voice shaking. “We’re desperate. As long as you agree, the two hundred million is yours.”

Lana nodded slightly, her smile softening.

“Then I’ll accept this mission.”

It took a few seconds for everyone else to fully understand what had just happened.

She hadn’t spoken on behalf of Shadow Ridge University. She hadn’t mentioned any institution at all. This was her decision… hers alone.

Hope crashed down on them like a sudden storm. One by one, people began to cry openly.

Jimmy’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

The suffocating despair that had weighed on them moments ago seemed to dissolve into thin air.

They reacted so strongly because a yellow-rank mystic cultivator was exactly what they had begged for from the beginning.

Such cultivators were notoriously rare, nearly impossible to hire. And yet, Lana had stepped forward without hesitation.

There was a real chance now, a genuine chance, that whatever ghost was possessing Blake could be dealt with.

Without wasting time, Lana walked into Blake’s room.

The door slammed shut behind her on its own, the sound echoing sharply. The air inside was cold, thick with a faint metallic stench.

“Hello?” she called softly, her gaze sweeping the room.

Blake was tied up, his body slumped against the wall. His eyes were closed, his breathing shallow, and his head tilted to one side.

At a glance, he looked like nothing more than a pitiful captive.

But Lana could see it clearly. Dense black energy clung to him like smoke, coiling and writhing. There was also red mist clinging to him.

’Such hatred… why toward him?’

Before she could dwell on it, a vision slammed into her mind.

This time, it wasn’t the future. It was the past.

She saw the Rivers family and the truth behind their polished reputation. They were far from innocent.

Whenever someone betrayed them, they ensured the punishment was merciless, a fate worse than death.

One such betrayer had died, leaving behind a daughter who was only seventy years old.

When she learned the truth of her father’s death, hatred took root in her heart. The Rivers family became her sworn enemy.

Step by step, the girl fell in with evil cult groups. Lana’s breath hitched when she realized she was seeing this through the girl’s own memories.

The girl became a GA member in an exclusive area hidden deep within underground tunnels beneath Xila City. Lana was shocked; she had always believed such forces operated far outside the city.

She watched as the girl slowly lost her humanity, transforming into a ghost. Cultivation followed, and with time, she became powerful, a full twenty-year-old ghost.

She tried to haunt the Rivers family, but celestial masters and priests surrounded them, both at their estate and throughout the city.

Blocked at every turn, the girl was forced to linger near the cult’s hideout, waiting.

Opportunity eventually arrived. Someone contacted the cult, requesting that Blake and several other students heading to suburban villas be possessed and ruined completely.

The moment the girl learned that the Rivers family heir was among them, she seized the chance and followed the plan.

But there was a problem. The villa was protected by a formation. Unless she was willingly invited, she could never enter.

That was when one of the group, one of the traitors, suggested drawing a diagram.

It wasn’t a game. It was a gateway. A ritual that allowed possession of the person whose name was written. And everyone there had written Blake’s name.

It was an invitation no formation could reject.

And so, she entered Blake’s body.

The vision shattered.

Lana inhaled deeply, steadying herself, and looked at Blake again.

His face was pale, his consciousness faint. Black energy surrounded him, but beneath it lay a vast expanse of white.

’Completely innocent,’ she realized.

Neither the ghost nor the others knew the truth. Blake had done nothing wrong.

In fact, Blake was one of the people the Rivers family despised. They would not even bat an eye if he died.

It could be said that although they claimed to care for him, Blake was nothing more than a pawn in their eyes.

As long as his death occurred under the guise of a scheme, they would not bother seeking revenge or justice.

’So even if he dies, nothing changes for them,’ Lana thought, her gaze darkening.

That meant Blake had been dragged into this mess for no reason at all, and even his death would bring no benefit to the ghost possessing him. Yet resentment blinded reason.

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