"What is that?"
Within the blood mist, he could vaguely make out red silhouettes. Since they were the same color as the mist, Chen Ge couldn't make them out very clearly.
"Forget it. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."
Chen Ge pulled his gaze away, turned around, and pushed open the classroom door.
The students were having a self-study session. The moment they heard the door open, they all looked toward the entrance.
"Everyone, carry on. We're just here to find someone." Chen Ge walked up to the podium, his gaze sweeping over the students one by one. He didn't spot Ying Hong's figure.
"Where is she?"
Chen Ge walked over to an empty seat in the third row. "Is the student who sits here named Ying Hong?"
The surrounding students didn't seem to be familiar with the child who occupied this seat. Not a single one spoke up.
"Aren't you classmates?" Chen Ge opened the girl's textbook. Ying Hong's name was written inside. "That's right — this is the right classroom. Where did she go?"
Chen Ge turned to Ying Bai's deskmate, his expression rather frightening.
"An old man came by just a moment ago and took her away. He said he was Ying Hong's grandfather."
"Do you know where they went?"
"It seemed like they needed to have a talk, but they've been gone quite a while now. By my estimate, they should be back soon." Ying Hong's deskmate was a little afraid of Chen Ge — or more precisely, afraid of Xu Yin standing behind Chen Ge and Bai Qiulin carrying the mirror on his back. These people clearly weren't normal.
"The old principal took Ying Hong away. He moves fast, I'll give him that. But there's no way I'm letting him slip away today." Chen Ge gathered all of Ying Hong's belongings, stuffed them into her bag, and handed it to Xu Yin. Then he stood in front of Ying Hong's deskmate. "Which direction along the corridor did the old man take Ying Hong?"
"West…"
"Alright, I won't interrupt your class anymore. It's dangerous out there. If you stay in the classroom and keep studying, you should be able to make it through unscathed." Chen Ge led everyone out of the classroom. They stopped at the corner of the long corridor.
"Ying Bai, your grandfather is somewhere in the school right now." Chen Ge didn't know how to tell Ying Bai about Ying Hong. The girl looked innocent and kind-hearted. It seemed as though she had deliberately erased all memories of Ying Hong — perhaps because those memories were too painful, and her body had instinctively shut them out as a form of self-preservation.
"Grandpa is here? But why didn't he come to find me?"
"He loves you so much, he would have come to find you first thing. The fact that he hasn't can only mean he's probably run into some kind of trouble." Chen Ge had Xu Yin search Ying Hong's bag for any information related to her, while simultaneously taking out the comic book and saying to Ying Bai, "Your grandfather is the kindest person I've ever met. We can't let him face the danger alone. Everyone wants to be reunited with him — as long as he's there, that's what makes a complete family."
With just a few brief words, Chen Ge had already won Ying Bai over.
"I understand your grandfather's character. Even if he's in danger, he would never involve us. He'd want to shoulder it all on his own — which is why we have to go find him ourselves." Chen Ge clasped Ying Bai's icy hand. "Ying Bai, the only person who can help your grandfather right now is you."
After hearing Chen Ge's words, Ying Bai had fully grasped the gravity of the situation. She gently bit her thin lips and said in a low voice, "Grandpa once made a promise with me. If one day I'm terrified, completely helpless, and feel like I can't hold on any longer, I should go to the old campus on the west side of the school, to a building…"
"Hold on."
Chen Ge made a hushing gesture at Ying Bai, asked Bai Qiulin to carry the mirror and move further away, then held Ying Bai's hand and walked off to a distance with Xu Yin.