I couldn't help but pause, thinking, *These people really have some nerve!*

Everyone in the world of术道 (Shudao, the esoteric arts) knows: never touch a legend that hasn't ended.

If a legend has a conclusion, then it's just a legend.

But if it never ends, that means the ghost hasn't left and the evil spirit hasn't retreated.

If you take it and tell it as a story, you're summoning the spirits of the dead within it.

Who knows, before you finish your tale, that ghost might be standing behind you, chuckling coldly.

"You think I just play around?" Zhao Yuezhu said, "Bai Xin's stories have two key features: first, they really happened; the people and events in the stories can be traced to corresponding legends."

"The second is that every story has someone named Bai Xin. She might not be the main character, but she'll definitely play a crucial role."

I immediately became interested. "What about the stories Bai Xin wrote? Let me see them!"

Zhao Yuezhu spread her hands. "They're all gone."

"We had collected all of Bai Xin's stories and given them to Xiao Wei, an intern, to organize. But Xiao Wei disappeared along with the stories. I only managed to read a few of them."

Zhao Yuezhu suddenly said, "Want me to write the stories down for you? I still remember the content of some of them!"

"No need. Maybe some other time!" I definitely wouldn't let Zhao Yuezhu write the stories. She was already trying to avoid Bai Xin, and now she wants to write them?

I countered, "What do you mean 'disappeared'? Missing?"

"No!" Zhao Yuezhu said. "Soon after we arrived at the newspaper, that old lecher Dong Shan—the one you just beat to his knees—told us about Bai Xin's story."

"After listening, we all thought it was a great lead. If we could turn it into a serial, it would definitely be a hit! Someone suggested collecting Bai Xin's stories."

Hearing this, I interrupted, "Didn't Dong Shan stop you?"

"Him?" Zhao Yuezhu curled her lip. "He was hoping we'd be proactive! The more enthusiastic we were, the more he could take advantage. I heard he'd cheated a lot of interns before."

Zhao Yuezhu continued, "I could tell at a glance that this Dong guy wasn't a good person! But Xiao Wei thought he was nice. She was always following him around, asking this and that."

"After we collected Bai Xin's stories, we were going to put them all together, but Dong came again. We didn't want to pay him any attention, but Xiao Wei insisted on asking him for advice. Annoyed, we gave all the stories to Xiao Wei."

"That was about two or three days ago."

Zhao Yuezhu recalled, "That day, I was organizing some materials when Xiao Wei suddenly stood next to me, wanting to talk. I was too busy and didn't speak to her. I just got up to deliver the materials to the editor-in-chief."

"But when I left, I made a point of looking at her. At that moment, she didn't seem like Xiao Wei. How do I put it? It was still the same person, but her whole aura was different. It was like she'd been replaced."

"When I returned after delivering the materials, Xiao Wei was gone. Xia, another intern, was sitting at her desk, crying. When I asked, I found out that Xiao Wei had scared her. Xiao Wei walked up to her and said she was Bai Xin."

Zhao Yuezhu paused here. "That's when I really understood what it meant to not get involved in workplace matters. Everyone in the newspaper was watching Xia cry, but no one cared."

"I was furious and turned to find Xiao Wei. But her office was empty. Xiao Wei just vanished like that!"

Hearing this, I finally asked, "Interns have offices?"

Zhao Yuezhu replied, "Normally, no! But Xiao Wei's internship position was in data management. There was a desk in the records room specifically for organizing files, numbering, and archiving. The computer there had been in use for who knows how long—it was so slow. Dafeng Novel Website"

"Besides the door, the records room didn't even have a window. No one in the entire newspaper wanted to sit in the records room, so we unlucky interns got assigned there."

"Oh, right! It was Dong who arranged for Xiao Wei to go to the records room. I told that silly girl not to go to the records room, that Dong was definitely up to no good. But she didn't believe me. She insisted on going."

Zhao Yuezhu seemed to realize she was talking too much, so she brought the topic back around. "That day, everyone saw Xiao Wei enter the records room. But no one saw her come out."

"Later, we even checked the surveillance footage. Still, we didn't see anyone come out. Xiao Wei just disappeared inexplicably."

I countered, "Did the newspaper call the police?"

"They did!" Zhao Yuezhu said. "After the police arrived, they searched the entire records room but didn't find any useful clues."

"Oh, right!" Zhao Yuezhu suddenly said, "That day, I overheard the detectives talking to the editor-in-chief. It sounded like they were saying, 'Didn't we tell you a long time ago not to let anyone into the records room?'"

"Later, they saw me nearby and stopped talking. That's pretty much how it went."

I casually asked, "Has the newspaper moved locations before?"