Chapter 112

Chapter 112

◎Cold-bloodedness is scarier than indifference◎

The news of He Zhanfei's breakdown has become a hot topic not only in Yulan High School but also in several other universities in Yulan City.

Even the seniors at Yulan High School were affected by this incident, as they were given an extra day off during the weekend to adjust their mindset and ensure they weren’t influenced by the event.

Each class set aside a period for emotional counseling.

This incident even made the news, drawing attention from the education bureau, leaving their principal overwhelmed, attending meeting after meeting. After city-wide meetings, he returned to school to hold smaller, more frantic gatherings.

Fortunately, nothing serious happened to He Zhanfei at their school. If he had actually jumped, it would have been far more complicated than just holding meetings.

This uproar has left all the teachers on edge, speaking gently to the students and conducting three daily checks on the school rooftop doors. They’re even considering putting up safety nets in the school hallways.

Many students think this is a bit over the top, but that doesn’t stop them from watching the drama unfold.

This incident has become the talk of the campus. That day, many classes saw He Zhanfei’s aggressive rampage, smashing things and barging into Class 7.

Many parents of Class 3 students directly approached the school, demanding that the school handle this matter properly. They didn’t want their kids in the same classroom as a madman, as it posed a serious safety risk.

As for Class 7, which was caught up in it too, they initially thought Ji Nanxing had been sick for a while—two weeks, to be precise. But after this, they thought Ji Nanxing was really lucky. If he’d been there, being targeted by He Zhanfei could’ve ended badly.

After all, their fragile academic god couldn’t take that kind of shock.

Ji Nanxing was already home recovering when he heard about it. At noon, Chen Shiyi and Zhang Yuan came over for lunch. Though Ji Nanxing was on a restricted diet, the other two didn’t hold back on the feast.

Talking about it, Chen Shiyi was still rattled: "That day was truly terrifying. He burst in out of nowhere. If you’d been there, it felt like he might’ve killed someone."

Ji Nanxing looked at Zhang Yuan: "Hasn’t he come looking for you yet?"

Zhang Yuan shrugged: "No, I’m wondering if he thinks he’s losing it too. But what’s that ghost after? Before, it wanted him dead, but now, with all this chaos, why? Or was he hallucinating, making him act so crazy?"

Chen Shiyi was puzzled: "What kind of hallucination would make him want to kill someone and charge into our class looking for Nanxing?"

Xiao Ye served them each a fish ball: "Just eat your food and stop talking so much."

He didn’t want Ji Nanxing to worry about anything. He had already lost so much weight from this illness, his face thinning out. He needed to focus on recovering, not on other matters.

Ji Nanxing said: "Although I haven’t seen He Zhanfei, it’s not hard to deduce what that ghost wants based on the direction of the entire incident."

Zhang Yuan and Chen Shiyi both turned to him: "Deduce?"

Ji Nanxing nodded and was about to speak when Zhang Yuan interrupted: "Wait, let me analyze it first."

Zhang Yuan frowned, thinking for a while, then said: "The first time, whether it was the push from the senior or the fall on the sports field, let’s assume it was the fall on the sports field. It wasn’t too serious, perhaps just a lesson or a warning. The second time was the attempted suicide, but he didn’t jump. At the last moment, He Zhanfei regained consciousness. This could be seen as He Zhanfei’s own will to live overcoming the ghost’s control, or perhaps the ghost didn’t intend to kill him in the first place."

"Looking at He Zhanfei’s subsequent actions, I’m more inclined to think that the ghost didn’t want to kill him. If it did, there would have been many opportunities during the days he was at home. Until he returned to school and went mad, why did the ghost want him to go mad?"

Zhang Yuan pondered carefully, but he couldn’t figure out a ghost’s reason for driving someone insane.

Ji Nanxing said: "Generally, ghosts don’t haunt someone without a reason. There must be a demand behind it. For example, I once encountered a situation where a son cut corners at his father’s funeral—no ceremony, no tombstone. After cremation, he simply placed the urn in an old, dilapidated house in his hometown and left. After that, the son frequently fell, and every time he fell, he would hit his head. The father’s demand was simply for his son to erect a tombstone and pay his respects."

Xiao Ye asked: "So, what is the demand behind He Zhanfei’s madness?"

Ji Nanxing reminded them: "What does He Zhanfei care about the most?"

Chen Shiyi exclaimed: "I know! He cares the most about his grades! Even in madness, he still wants to surpass you and take first place!"

Zhang Yuan's eyes lit up: "With the way things are now, the school definitely wouldn’t dare to let him come back to class. If something really happened, the school couldn’t bear the responsibility. His parents also think he’s stressed out, and they might make him take a leave of absence. Is the ghost trying to keep him out of school? But why? Isn’t this request a bit strange?"

Ji Nanxing said: "Once we figure out how he got mixed up with that ghost, we’ll know if this request is strange or not. I think you and Wu Yang can visit him again. This time, he’s unlikely to kick you out."

In the afternoon, they still had to go back to school for classes. After the two left, Xiao Ye gently poked Ji Nanxing’s cheek: "You’re supposed to be resting, but you’re still stressing over everything."

Ji Nanxing: "I’m not worrying, it’s just pointing out the obvious. They haven’t dealt with this kind of stuff before, so they can’t think of everything. I guess Wu Yang probably understands the situation too, which is why he’s temporarily letting it go."

Wu Yang is somewhat capable, though sometimes not very experienced. But as he’s been handling cases independently more and more over the past two years, he’s not as naive as before. He probably got it after just one visit—it’s not that complicated.

Xiao Ye made the bed for him and said: "Sleep more, heal faster."

At school, it always feels like there’s not enough sleep, but after sleeping for several days, even the most sleep-deprived would have caught up. So Ji Nanxing said: "I’m not sleepy, let’s unwind by doing some test papers."

A big question mark appeared on Xiao Ye’s head. Doing test papers, to relax? Isn’t this a bit too ‘academic god’ for relaxation?

Before Xiao Ye could respond, Ji Nanxing had already brought over the test papers: "You’ve missed a week of school—I’ll help you catch up."

Xiao Ye wanted to run, but as soon as he moved, Ji Nanxing grabbed his collar, and he had no choice but to slump over the coffee table and start on the test papers.

Xie Paner watched the tall guy being helplessly trapped by the Young Celestial Master and couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

Having the Young Celestial Master around is great. When he’s here, the place comes alive.

After listening to Ji Nanxing, Zhang Yuan immediately contacted Wu Yang, and the two arranged a time to knock on the He family’s door again.

This time, it was He Zhanfei’s mother who opened the door, looking puzzled: "Who are you here to see?"

This time, Zhang Yuan didn’t speak, Wu Yang stepped forward: "We’re here to see He Zhanfei."

He Zhanfei’s mother looked at the person behind Wu Yang, still wearing a high school uniform, and thought they were Zhanfei’s classmates, so she stepped aside: "Come in, I’ll call him."

He Zhanfei’s mother went inside and called for He Zhanfei, who came out with a grim expression. As soon as he saw Zhang Yuan, his face changed.

Zhang Yuan spoke first: "Think before you speak—this is your last chance."

He Zhanfei’s face changed several times.

He Zhanfei’s mother and father, who were nearby, couldn’t help but frown. They had been worn out by He Zhanfei’s recent issues, and they were on edge. Hearing this, they instinctively worried if He Zhanfei had caused trouble at school and now the affected party had come to their door.

He Zhanfei’s mother cautiously asked: "Why are you here to see Zhanfei?"

Wu Yang said: "Your son isn’t crazy, nor did he want to jump off a building. The previous falls, near car accident, the jumping incident, and even the commotion at school, it’s all because he’s haunted by a ghost. We came a week ago, but he didn’t believe us. Of course, you can choose not to believe us too. If you work with me, I can save him. If not, we’ll leave immediately and won’t meddle."

He Zhanfei’s parents also changed their expressions. His mother looked helplessly at her husband. Everyone, including themselves, thought their son’s mental issues were due to stress. But now someone was saying it wasn’t that, it was a ghost.

On one hand, they thought these two were frauds, but on the other hand, they hoped it was true. For their brilliant son, being haunted is still better than losing his mind.

He Zhanfei, who had been silent until now, looked at Zhang Yuan and Wu Yang: "Can you help me?"

Wu Yang said: "If you work with me, I can trace the connection between you and the ghost, proving that it didn’t target you for no reason. In other words, I can help you solve the problem, but the premise is that you must truly repent."

After saying this, Wu Yang looked at his face: "You’re clever—you’ve always been a top student, so you can’t accept your own failures. You don’t watch your words—they’re cutting. You’re proud and arrogant, with no sense of humility. Your parents are busy with work, and seeing your good grades, they rarely disciplined you, so you grew up selfish and rude, narrow-minded and intolerant."

He Zhanfei glared angrily: "You!"

Zhang Yuan directly interrupted him: "Deep down, you know if he’s right. If you still can’t seriously reflect on yourself, then your life probably can’t be saved!"

No parent wants to hear their child talked about like this. He Zhanfei’s father said with a grim face: "Sir..."

Wu Yang turned to He’s father: "The fault lies with the father who failed to teach his son, which has led to today’s disaster."

Zhang Yuan said: "Uncle He, I don’t know if you’re aware of what kind of person He Zhanfei is at school. His entire class has shunned him, and it’s not because of the previous incident where he jumped off a building. He’s always been bitter about the top student in his grade, who’s good at everything and gets a lot of attention from the girls. He often speaks disparagingly of others at school, looking down on those who perform worse than him and resenting those who perform better. That’s why we say he has no sense of decency. If he had even a little sense of propriety and shame, we wouldn’t be standing here today."

Wu Yang pulled out a chair and sat down: "Let me be straight with you, there’s a ghost following him—a man in his seventies, wearing a white Tang suit with frog buttons, his eyes full of resentment, staring right at your son."

He Zhanfei’s parents were shocked because the person Wu Yang described was someone they knew—the old man who had recently passed away next door.

He Zhanfei was also frightened, instinctively looking back, but he saw nothing, only turning pale and leaning against the wall: "That’s a lie! There’s no ghost! You’re just trying to freak me out!"

Wu Yang looked at He Zhanfei’s parents: "You’ve probably noticed some strange things happening in your house these past few days."

He’s mother suddenly remembered something, her face filled with horror as she looked at her husband, feeling completely lost.

Seeing her expression, He’s father knew she must have thought of something and quickly asked: "What is it? What did you think of?"

He’s mother looked terrified: "I’ve been so worried about Zhanfei that I’ve been getting up at night to listen in on his room. For the past two nights, I’ve heard singing coming from his room, and it sounds just like 'Lao Lai Nan,' which Old Zhang next door loved."

He Zhanfei looked at his mother: "What singing? I haven’t woken up at night, what singing?"

He’s father was now about eighty percent convinced. He walked up to Wu Yang: "Master, since you can see what’s wrong with my son, please help him. Whatever the cost, if we don’t have enough at home, I’ll go out and raise the money. Please, you must save him."

Wu Yang said: "This is something he has to fix himself. Let him tell us what he did to the old man who lived next door."

Seeing his parents both looking at him, He Zhanfei shook his head in panic: "I didn’t do anything! I never even talked to the guy next door!"

The old man always sat downstairs basking in the sun. Although He Zhanfei sometimes passed by, he always walked straight past without even a glance, never greeting him. How could he have done anything to someone he never even spoke to!

He Zhanfei: "It can’t be just because I never said hi to him that he’s after me, right?"

Wu Yang: "Of course not over something so trivial. If you didn’t do anything to him while he was alive, what about after he passed away? What did you do after he died?"

He Zhanfei’s panicked expression suddenly froze, his already pale face going completely white.

Seeing his reaction, He’s mother grew anxious, hitting him: "Speak up! What did you do? Don’t be scared, just tell us whatever it is. Your father and I will help you figure it out!"

Zhang Yuan said: "The only way to save your life is to come clean, or you’re really going to die."

He Zhanfei clenched his fists, gripping his pants, his breathing quickening. Looking at his parents who were anxiously staring at him, He Zhanfei closed his eyes and said: "I kicked their offering basin."

He’s parents looked shocked: "What offering basin? Why did you kick their offering basin?"

Wu Yang: "Three days after the funeral, on the day of the ascent, there’s supposed to be mourning music. After taking the deceased’s portrait to the crematorium, the family stays home to burn paper money. The offering basin you kicked—was it that one?"

He Zhanfei nodded.

He’s father was furious, slapping his son on the shoulder: "How could you do something like that! Why would you kick their offering basin! Don’t you know that’s disrespectful to the dead! Did they do anything to you? Why would you do something like that? You’re not a child anymore, surely you didn’t just kick it out of boredom!"

He’s father was so angry his chest heaved violently. He knew his son well; although intelligent, his character was not good. While he was somewhat restrained at home, he was certainly proud and arrogant. Although he wasn’t particularly rude to elders, he always seemed extremely impatient whenever relatives visited or when they went to visit relatives.

Apart from that, compared to the rebellious phases of other families that often caused chaos, his son was relatively well-behaved. So he usually just reminded him to be polite and greet people, without much other discipline.

He never expected his son to do something as disrespectful as kicking a deceased person’s offering basin.

Just now, he thought the Taoist’s criticism of his son was a bit excessive, but now he sees it truly is the father’s fault for not teaching his son properly.

He’s mother was crying in distress, looking at Wu Yang: "Master, my son is just young and doesn’t understand. Can we take him to the old man’s grave to kowtow and apologize? Whatever compensation the other side wants, we will try to make up for it."

Wu Yang, however, looked at He Zhanfei: "Why did you kick his offering basin?"

He Zhanfei pressed his lips together and after a long while said, "I was annoyed by the noise. That day, the funeral music started downstairs before 5 a.m. and woke me up. I figured I might as well get up and do a practice test, but the neighbors were constantly coming and going, and there were all sorts of wailing noises. It was very noisy. When there was no one next door, I saw the burning incense brazier at the stairway when I went to school, so I kicked it."

Zhang Yuan was utterly dumbfounded. He knew that He Zhanfei had some issues, but he didn't expect it to be this outrageous. So the deceased old man had been haunting him, but not taking his life, instead interrupting his studies as a form of revenge. It really wasn't strange at all.

He Zhanfei's mother was so dizzy she could hardly stand. She never expected her seemingly excellent son to have such a character. Just because he was annoyed by the noise, he kicked the deceased's incense brazier.

She looked at her son with a sad face, "Are your grades really that important to you? Even if you didn't interact much with Grandpa Zhang, he is still someone you know. Just because you were annoyed by the noise, you kicked the incense burner after his death? How could you have turned out like this, how could you..."

She couldn't go on, covering her face and crying. She was proud to have a son who didn't need their constant worry and had good academic performance, but if her son turned into a cold-hearted grade-obsessed machine, that wasn't what they wanted.

At this moment, a sudden wave of fear washed over her. She wasn't afraid of old man Zhang haunting her son, but she was afraid of her own son. She would rather have a less intelligent child, but one with strong moral values, kindness, and politeness.

But her son seemed to have gone off the rails, and she wasn't sure if he could be set straight now.

He Zhanfei's father was silent for a while, then looked at the Taoist, "Since you can see Uncle Zhang's spirit, could you help us communicate with him to resolve this issue? It's our child who wronged him."

Wu Yang, who was already using the Heaven's Eye Charm, looked at the old man Zhang standing in the corner of the living room staring at the He family, "Sir, how do you think we should resolve this matter?"

The He family watched him speak directly to the empty corner and instinctively backed away in fear.

Old man Zhang wasn't a harsh man. He had watched He Zhanfei grow up from elementary to high school. At that time, he felt that the child was not very kind-hearted, but his parents were too busy, and in the eyes of many people, good grades meant everything was good.

Old man Zhang didn't think it was appropriate to say much, after all, it wasn't his own child.

He never expected the boy to kick the incense brazier after someone's death.

He truly didn't want He Zhanfei's life, he just wanted to teach him a lesson, and also teach him how to be a person, hoping this incident would instill in him a sense of reverence for life and death, and would no longer be so selfish and reckless in the future.

Finally, after Wu Yang and old man Zhang discussed it, it was decided that He Zhanfei would go to his grave to kowtow and apologize. His second seven-day period had passed, and until the seventh seven-day period, he would kneel and burn paper money for him, and the ashes of the paper money would be sent to his grave for worship, and the matter would be over.

Wu Yang thought the resolution was far too lenient, and he only hoped that He Zhanfei could learn a lesson from it.

The Zhang family next door only then discovered what the He family's son had done. When the brazier fell down the stairs that day, they thought it was because they had placed it at the stairway and it was in someone's way. Although they felt a little uncomfortable, the emergency staircase was a public place, and they had indeed taken up some space, so they didn't talk about it.

Now, seeing the He couple bring their son to apologize, the Zhang family's focus was on another matter, "Master, is my father truly here?"

Wu Yang looked at the old man still standing in the corner, but with a loving look, and nodded.

The Zhang family's eyes almost instantly turned red, and the eldest son of the Zhang family said, "Master, can you ask my father if he has any unfulfilled wishes?"

Wu Yang turned to look at old man Zhang, but old man Zhang shook his head at him. He had said what he needed to say before he died, and although he was reluctant to part with his children, it was better not to get involved with each other since humans and ghosts are different.

Wu Yang conveyed old man Zhang's meaning, and the eldest son of the Zhang family cried in the direction he had just looked, "Dad, you go well, don't worry about the family, the family is fine, we will live a good life in the future, and I will take care of my younger brothers and sisters. In the future, we will bring your favorite wine to see you on Qingming, and if you lack anything below, just give me a dream."

Even though they couldn't see old man Zhang's soul, the Zhang family still cried bitterly to say goodbye.

Compared to the He family's fear of old man Zhang, the Zhang family wished they could see their father a few more times. They knew that once their father left completely, they would really have no father.

Walking out of the building, Zhang Yuan looked up and exhaled, then looked at the expressionless Wu Yang, "I thought you would at least let them see each other."

Wu Yang shook his head, "The living and the dead are separated, why make the deceased reluctant to leave and the living sad? Moreover,"

Zhang Yuan, "Moreover?"

Wu Yang, "The charm is expensive." Buying charms requires capital.

Zhang Yuan couldn't help but laugh, and then said, "As a Taoist, do you become more indifferent after seeing too many of these scenes? When the Zhang family was crying, you hardly had any emotional fluctuations."

Wu Yang, "Don't you want to be a forensic doctor? When you have handled more corpses, you will know this feeling."

Zhang Yuan also laughed when he heard this, "Then I hope I can always have a sense of awe."

In this way, he would not become a heartless process because of numb emotions. He hoped he could speak the right words for everyone he handled.

Wu Yang looked at the young man full of ambition, smiled and patted his shoulder, "Then you work hard, don't forget your original intention."