A comic book, but a librarian

Uesugi Cheng looked at the fetus that seemed to be still lying in the womb. The terrifying aura made him feel a little afraid even if he recovered to his prime, although most of his knowledge and skills had been forgotten and needed to be relearned.

"Can you help me... I want to rescue my mother."

"Sure, I haven't seen anything like this before, so I can definitely help you. Oh, by the way, speaking of which, spirits can actually interfere with electronic devices."

Uesugi Cheng smiled.

Uesugi Sumiko's cell phone rang at the right time. His spirit snapped his fingers, the call was connected, and a woman's voice came from the other end.

"Uesugi Cheng! You! You don't even need to go through your homeroom teacher to ask for sick leave, right?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka did sound very angry, but Uesugi Sumiko's mouth did not move, and then the three people including Houyue Eiko saw this scene.

Although neither the body nor the spirit spoke, Uesugi Sumiko's voice rang out on the phone, comforting Hiratsuka Shizuka in an easy and familiar manner.

"It's amazing, right? So you should be careful in the future. If you encounter a spirit that knows about electronic devices, you must not trust the information on them."

Uesugi Sumiko clapped his hands, and under his persuasion, Hiratsuka Shizuka finally gave up the plan to come and visit him immediately, and instead asked two representatives to visit him.

143

Chapter 143: Hikigaya, Yukinoshita, and Sarumu come to visit.

"So, who's knocking?"

Hikigaya Hachiman stood at the door of the apartment with dark circles under his eyes. The apartment where Uesugi Sumira lived was not so well protected, so they came directly to the door of his house and were faced with a difficult choice.

"If you feel like a shade-loving plant that can't stand the sun, Hikigaya-kun, I can just knock on the door."

Yukinoshita Yukino said this and placed her hand on the door, ready to knock.

The heat brought by the setting sun still made Hikigaya and Yukinoshita feel stuffy, but strangely, when they stood at the door of Uesugi Sumire's house, the stuffy feeling seemed to disappear.

"Click."

Yukinoshita Yukino was stunned. She hadn't knocked on the door yet, but she heard the sound of a door lock turning from the other side of the door. Then a gust of cold wind came from behind the slightly opened gap. She subconsciously rubbed her arms, and for some reason the cold wind gave her goose bumps.

Hikigaya Hachiman smiled with relief, pointed inside the door, and made a 'please' gesture.

"Please go ahead. It looks like something interesting is going to happen today, Minister-sama, who is as unlucky as me."

The corners of his mouth curled up, as if he was mocking himself.

"..."

Yukinoshita Yukino rubbed her sore eyes and did not respond to Hikigaya's words. Of course, she also knew that the bad luck Hikigaya was talking about did not refer to being called over by Hiratsuka Shizuka to visit her today, or to finding out why Uesugi Sumire did not go to school for a day, but to another matter.

“Do I have to turn the air conditioner on so low when I’m alone at home?”

Yukinoshita Yukino's body trembled. The temperature here was really ridiculously low. Her first reaction was that she had walked into an ice storage, but the green plants placed at the door seemed to be completely unaffected and were still green.

"Wait, there wasn't anything like this here the last time I came here."

Hikigaya Hachiman touched the green plants. His spiritual body was refusing to extend its perception to the room inside. At this moment he already understood what was happening.

"Oh, that thing... my family gave it to me last time. Does it look good?"

The sudden sound startled Yukinoshita Yukino. She moved her eyes away from the green plants and saw the back of Uesugi Sumiya, who looked a little thin for some reason.

"That's great. It's more pleasing to the eye now with more colors than your original monotonous room."

Hikigaya Hachiman curled his lips. He could tell at a glance what was going on with Uesugi Sumire, but now Yukinoshita Yukino was still here, and he didn't want to expose it directly in front of people who didn't know the truth.

"Um, Uesugi-san, are you okay?"

"Ah, as you can see, a little weak, but generally fine."

Uesugi Sumiko touched his cheek, and a smile appeared on his pale face. Yukinoshita Yukino felt something was wrong, so she changed into Uesugi Sumiko's home slippers, then walked through the entrance and came to the living room.

She always felt that there was something wrong with Uesugi Sumika who was walking in front of her. It seemed that he was not just weak due to illness, but other than that she could not see anything and could only bury her doubts in her heart.

Coming into the living room, the setting sun was shining into the living room through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Yukinoshita Yukino just took a quick glance and could no longer move away from the big Maine Coon lying lazily on the sofa. It seemed that the Maine Coon noticed the arrival of someone other than its owner. The cat shook its tail and changed its sleeping position from lying on its back to curling up into a ball. Even the 'meow' that sounded like a greeting seemed so lazy.

"Meow~"

Yukinoshita Yukino responded subconsciously, and three seconds later, facing Hikigaya Hachiman who turned his face away silently and looked at the ceiling as if testing the quality of the ceiling with his eyes, and Uesugi Sumika who did not turn around but walked silently to the sofa and picked up the Maine Coon cat, she wished she could go back three seconds ago and slap herself for staring at the cat, or immediately dig a big hole in the floor with her toes and crawl into it.

"Would you like a hug? Cows are pretty docile."

The Maine Coon named Cow looked back at its owner and finally seemed to have accepted its fate, meowing sweetly like a clamp. Hikigaya Hachiman was stunned for a moment. He suddenly felt that this cat might be some kind of superb creature that could have such superb acting skills. But what stunned him even more was that the usually very steady and cold Yukinoshita Yukino actually couldn't wait to nod her head repeatedly, as if she was charmed and took the Maine Coon cat that was obviously trying to please her from Uesugi Sumika's hand.

Then Hikigaya Hachiman felt that Yukinoshita Yukino's attention was basically attracted by the big Maine Coon cat in her arms. He really didn't expect that Uesugi Sumire would use this trick to directly get rid of Yukinoshita Yukino who was sent by Hiratsuka Shizuka to inquire about the situation.

"I'm sorry. I was a little sick over the weekend. I tried to go to school the day before yesterday, but I couldn't hold on yesterday. I had to go to the hospital for treatment. I didn't inform Jing. It was my negligence."

Under the soft pads of the Maine Coon cat, Yukinoshita Yukino chose to believe Uesugi Sumire without even thinking about it. After all, he did look like he had suffered a serious illness. As for what the illness was, that was Uesugi Sumire's own privacy, and she had no intention of finding out.

"By the way, Yukinoshita also encountered the same thing as me... that one."

Hikigaya Hachiman pondered for a while and finally decided to speak out.

Hearing this, Yukinoshita Yukino was obviously stunned. She looked at the Maine Coon cat in her arms, but the cat seemed a little tired and simply collapsed in her arms and let her tease her.

"Hikigaya-kun, I feel..."

"You're the one after me, aren't you? Or do you want to experience what they call 'the life of the living'?"

Hikigaya Hachiman quickly blocked what Yukinoshita wanted to refute.

The silence lasted for a few seconds and was then broken by Uesugi Cheng.

"Sarume? Not only did he lock onto you, he also locked onto... Yukinoshita-san. It looks like we really need to have a good chat."

Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly realized that the nightmare she had last night might not be just a nightmare. It might be like a big mouth leading to the abyss, slowly swallowing her.

"This incident... is the same as last time, right? It was the same as the disappearance case, it was caused by supernatural forces, right?"

After much hesitation, Yukinoshita Yukino finally asked.

144

Chapter 2: What is it like to be a ghost? ()

Uesugi Sumire and Hikigaya Hachiman looked at each other without saying anything. After a few seconds, Hikigaya Hachiman broke the silence.

"A bloody carriage, two little devils holding tools, body parts all over the floor, and passengers in the front..."

"I understand."

Yukinoshita Yukino nodded very straightforwardly. Hikigaya Hachiman almost completely recounted the circumstances in her dream. Excluding the almost impossible possibility of two people having the same dream at the same time, the remaining explanation was...

"You were targeted by Yuan Meng and dragged in at the same time. It seems you are really unlucky. By the way, how many people are left in front of you?"

Uesugi Sumire served tea to the two of them, but Yukinoshita Yukino didn't drink it. She felt that the temperature seemed to have risen a little, but she clearly didn't see Uesugi Sumire touch the air conditioner remote control.

"No, I'm the next one... I don't know when I will fall asleep and become a living person to be cut alive, please save me."

Hikigaya Hachiman's tone did not convey any fear of being killed, but rather a sense of teasing.

"You're telling me this... Never mind. Go to your room later and take the thing wrapped in cloth away. Just put it next to you when you sleep."

Uesugi Sumire looked at Hikigaya Hachiman speechlessly. Of course, it would be no problem for Hikigaya Hachiman to escape from that kind of place by himself. But after learning so many night-wandering techniques, if he couldn't even break through the blockade of such a ghost story, it would be better for him to forget everything he had learned and turn back into a high school student.

So Hikigaya Hachiman's meaning is actually very clear. Yukinoshita Yukino needs this help. She is the one who is most likely to fall into danger. Moreover, the vicious supernatural incident of Sarumu who randomly selects people to kill really needs someone to solve it. Yotsuya Miko definitely does not have this ability, so Hikigaya Hachiman finally decided to put the blame back on Uesugi Sumire.

"No, it's like the mysterious man in a third-rate ghost story. Take this thing back and don't open it until the time comes, otherwise it will become ineffective. Then the protagonist opens it prematurely and ends up being killed by a ghost."

While complaining about what Uesugi Sumiya said, Hikigaya Hachiman walked into the room that Uesugi Sumiya pointed to. It was quieter and colder here. He even felt that the corners seemed to be freezing. However, he ignored these things. The drawing paper and various painting tools were neatly placed on the table next to him. There was something covered with cloth on the easel, which looked like a painting that had been stuffed into a frame.

"If you don't like it, you can try another method, for example..."

Uesugi Sumiko's voice came from outside the door. Hikigaya Hachiman sighed and immediately picked up the cloth-wrapped picture frame.

"Forget it. I think the method you proposed is pretty good. How do you use it?"

"Take it home and hang it on the wall of your room so you can see it when you lie on the bed. Remember to untie the cloth."

Uesugi Sumire stood up, shook his body and stretched. Hikigaya Hachiman felt that if they continued to stay, Yukinoshita Yukino might see something that would not be good for her heart, so he prepared to pull her away from Uesugi Sumire's house.

"Hey, wait... then what about me..."

Yukinoshita Yukino was stunned for a moment. After Hikigaya Hachiman, she would be the next one. Now that the danger of that dream has been revealed, she must also find a way out for her life.

"It's okay. The two of us will solve our problems together. You'll know what will happen then."

After all, since he has become a ghost, he must try a different approach. This is what Uesugi Cheng really thinks, but he certainly won't be stupid enough to say it out loud.

In the end, Yukinoshita Yukino could only nod. She knew that Uesugi Sumire was very reliable, otherwise he would not have been able to govern the executive committee at that time so well. However, she was still not used to the feeling of completely entrusting her life to the hands of others.

"It's getting late, so we'll leave first. By the way, are you going back to school tomorrow?"

Yukinoshita Yukino finally remembered the questions that Hiratsuka Shizuka asked her to ask. It was not just about seeing what Uesugi Sumiko did, but the most important thing was to find out what he was going to do next.

"I won't go back for the next few days. After all, I'm still too weak... It would be bad if I force myself to go back to class and my condition gets worse."

It was at this time that Uesugi Sumiya showed the weakness that only a seriously ill person would have.

After a few words of farewell, Yukinoshita Yukino and Hikigaya Hachiman left Uesugi Sumire's house, and the two soon fell into silence again.

"Come to think of it, the air conditioner in his house is turned on really high. Can a sick person really adapt to such a temperature?"

Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly felt confused, and when she looked at Hikigaya Hachiman, she saw that he seemed to be in a daze. She could only shake her head and sigh, as if she had never said that.

That night, when Yukinoshita Yukino finished taking a shower and was lying on the bed looking at the air conditioner, the remaining images in her memory suddenly emerged in her mind. She looked at the air conditioner and then at the remote control.

With his eyes empty, he lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling, thinking for a long time, and finally wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead.

“No…right?”

As she recalled, when she was playing with the cat, she glanced at the air conditioner. The air conditioner in Uesugi Sumika's house was not plugged in at all, it just seemed to be working. However, compared to this kind of thing, she now prefers to believe that she just saw it wrong.

"I still can't control it...I should have read more books in the past few months."

Uesugi Cheng was scratching his head in pain, his body was lying quietly on the bed, while he was standing on the top floor of the apartment. Now, as long as he appeared in the form of a spirit, the light around him would definitely be disordered to a certain extent. What was more troublesome was that the temperature around him would drop involuntarily. This situation was not even caused by him, but was an environmental effect when he used his ability as an 'evil spirit'.

The reason for this situation is very simple, that is, he cannot fully control his power as an immortal now. Even though his memories are not much left after being washed away by the sea water of Branquage, the power possessed by an Immortal of the Lamp who has survived for such a long time is not something he can fully control in a short time.

"Forget it... Just let me have some fun first. After all, I don't have many days left to be a ghost."

Uesugi Cheng laughed heartily, and then the light around him distorted and his figure began to blur.

"Then tonight... let me have a good dream too, Ape Dream..."

145

Chapter 145: What it feels like to become a terrifying evil spirit.

The night came as expected, and Hikigaya Hachiman unwrapped the cloth that wrapped the picture frame. To be honest, when he took this thing home, his sister asked him curiously what it was. He could only say that it was a painting he found and hung in the room for eye-pleasing purposes.

"Hey, brother, can you appreciate those things too? That's really not like a brother."

Komachi's words made Hachiman want to hit her on the head, but in the end he just sighed, thinking that he must hit Komachi's head hard after tonight, otherwise he really couldn't help it.

"This landscape painting is even more amazing... It's really scary how fast it's improving."

Just by taking a look at it, you feel as if you are in a warm forest, and you can even hear the sound of breeze and birds singing. Of course, these are not the focus of the painting.

The point is, in the center of the painting, there stands a door abruptly, which looks like an ordinary wooden door of a room. Whether in terms of details or style, it looks no different from the door in Uesugi Sumika's house.

"What is this... "Gate in the Forest"? Rather than something to ward off evil spirits, it looks more like a tool to attract ghosts. Is Uesugi really playing around?"

Of course, Hikigaya Hachiman knew that Uesugi Sumire was fully capable of easily solving the problems he encountered, but this premise was that Uesugi Sumire could meet 'Sarume'. However, based on the results of the visit this afternoon, let alone meeting Sarume, Sarume did not avoid him, which could only mean that Sarume was a fool. Unfortunately, Sarume, who killed so many people in his dreams, did not look that stupid.

"Next is skinning! Skinning!"

Hikigaya Hachiman once again returned to the disgusting carriage. He took a look and saw that Yukinoshita Yukino, who was sitting behind him, seemed to have not woken up yet. Maybe he went to bed too early? Or maybe those guys wanted to use her as a hostage to threaten them?

The two short clown evil spirits had malicious smiles on their faces, and the saws in their hands had turned into skinning knives. They were excited, and the blood on their bodies made them look so scary. At least Hikigaya Hachiman heard it. Behind Yukinoshita Yukino, there seemed to be another girl who woke up and was wailing and crying in a low voice.

However, very abruptly, he watched his body stand up uncontrollably, as if it were a manipulated puppet, and walked step by step between the two evil spirits. He seemed to have fallen into the skinning hell and became a prey waiting to be slaughtered, if it weren't for that abrupt landscape painting.

Yes, the landscape painting that Uesugi Sumika had given him suddenly appeared in the carriage. What was even more abrupt was that the two evil spirits turned a blind eye to the painting depicting the forest scenery that he was holding in his hands.

"Delicious meat, special meat, don't resist! It must be whole!"

The voices coming from the radio became distorted due to excitement. Yukinoshita Yukino behind him looked extremely nervous, but Hikigaya Hachiman was not panicked at all.

He looked at himself standing between the two clown evil spirits. That was his 'other self'. After learning the art of nightwalking, he did not choose to completely piece together the part of his spirit that was separated in the underground station. Instead, he sharpened it like a knife. Although this action caused him some trouble in his daily life, but now...

"No!!! I will skin you alive!! Let you be boiled in the oil pan for a hundred years!!"

The clown evil spirits looked very angry. In the obviously confused eyes of Yukinoshita Yukino, a gust of wind blew in from the door of the carriage, blowing the evil spirits all over the place. But what surprised her was not this, but the fact that Hikigaya Hachiman, who was standing in the center, remained motionless, and even his hand holding the painting did not shake.