Striving for Science C26 pt2

As they walked out of the noodle shop, Gao Shujuan asked, "I came to work today and noticed that the leaves on the tree in the courtyard are falling more and more severely. Panpan said that the tree seems to be sick."

Hearing Aunt Juan mention this, Shen Chang'an felt a little guilty. How could he tell her that this old tree, which had been around for over a hundred years, was damaged by his slaps? Even if he did tell her, no one would believe him.

He touched his nose. "Maybe. Plus, it's autumn, and leaves naturally fall more easily, making it look worse. Maybe it will slowly recover after spring next year."

"You're right." Gao Shujuan lowered her eyelids. She had been observing this tree for half a year and discovered that it had profound cultivation and could even transform into a human form. Therefore, even though she found that the tree had taken a living person's soul, she dared not act rashly. Just when she finally figured out the tree yao's habits and was about to ask her colleagues for help to rescue the soul, she discovered that the living soul hidden in the tree's heart was gone.

She thought the soul had been devoured by the tree, but the next day, news spread that Sun Jia had regained his sanity. At that time, she suspected that Shen Chang'an had rescued the soul, after all, people with such deep merit are often not dared to be provoked by yaos and ghosts who follow the righteous path of cultivation.

However, she soon discovered that Shen Chang'an didn't believe in ghosts and gods, which meant he didn't know there was a yao under the office building, nor did he know how to subdue yaos and ghosts. If so, how could he bring Sun Jia's soul back from the tree yao?

So, who was the unparalleled expert who did good deeds without leaving a name?

If possible, could this expert do another good deed, such as eliminating the plague ghost?

After a day of riding the bus, Shen Chang'an felt dizzy and lightheaded as he hurried to meet Gao Shujuan at the square. He looked at the many businesses around the square, all holding Halloween promotions. He shook his head, "These businesses are so eager to celebrate, they practically want to have a festival every day of the year."

As long as the merchants are happy and the consumers are happy, that's all that matters." Gao Shujuan noticed Shen Chang'an's pale complexion. "Chang'an, if you're tired, let's find a place to sit for a while?"

"I'm fine, it's just that I've been sitting on the bus for so long, my head is a little dizzy." Shen Chang'an rubbed his temples. "I don't want to squeeze onto the bus for the next month."

In the square, some children were dressed up as little wizards by their parents, waving their wands and running around, like little moving gourds, quite cute.

Shen Chang'an had only taken a couple of steps when a little chubby boy suddenly extended his wand and pointed it at Shen Chang'an, "Turn into a pumpkin."

"Ah, I've turned into a pumpkin!" Shen Chang'an cooperated by squatting down, spreading his arms as if they were the pumpkin leaves. "Great wizard, when will you turn me back into a human?"

The little chubby boy laughed, hiding his hands behind his back and circling Shen Chang'an. "Alright, seeing as you're so pitiful, I'll let you turn back into a human."

"Thank you, great wizard." Shen Chang'an stood up. Seeing the little boy's parents coming over to thank him, he waved his hand, signaling them not to come over, and turned to walk towards the center of the square.

In the center of the square, it was unclear which merchant was holding a promotional event, but they had hired some folk artists to sing and dance on stage. The surrounding area was packed with people watching the spectacle. Among these spectators, some were dressed as animals, some as Nie Xiaoqian*, and some even as Zhu Bajie*, with many children touching their bellies.

TN: from fantasy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nie_Xiaoqian

TN: Zhu Bajie is Pigsy from Journey to the West

So, no matter what holiday was introduced to China, the Chinese people could always find their own unique way to celebrate it.

After finally finding Ding Yang and the others in the noisy crowd, Shen Chang'an saw that Ding Yang's face was pale and he looked severely battered. "What happened to you?" he asked.

"Motion sickness," Chen Panpan said helplessly. "He was the subject of everyone's concern on the bus this afternoon. There was even a seventy-year-old grandpa who gave him his seat."

"I'm not usually like this. I just suddenly felt a bit unwell this afternoon, maybe I have a cold." To prove that he was a weak chicken with a combat power of only five, Ding Yang quickly added, "I didn't get motion sickness when I rode in Chang'an's flying car, let alone on a bus."

"Flying car? What flying car?" Shen Chang'an looked at Ding Yang with an innocent expression. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ding Yang: "..."

Shen Chang'an, I never thought you were this kind of person.

***

Neon lights flickered, everyone was tired after a day of patrol, they sat in a row on the edge of the flower bed, watching the bustling crowd around them, they were all a little reluctant to move.

They just wanted to go home, take a shower, and then sleep soundly.

When the plague ghost descended upon the human world, it was always accompanied by the pleas and terror of humans. Of course, this was the treatment of those plague ghosts in the past. This time, the newly born plague ghost followed the raging wind for nearly a thousand kilometers, and after landing in a city, it discovered that the lights were flashing everywhere, and there were people everywhere.

He had the memory inheritance of generations of plague ghosts in his mind, the night in the human world, it seemed, was not like this?

He touched the horns on his head, the plague ghost revealed the terrible red pustules on his body, ready to enjoy the screams and cries of the people around him.

However, to his surprise, the passersby around him seemed not to see him, they rushed past him. Some even took out their phones to take pictures of him, muttering something like "no public morals."

The plague ghost was a little confused, did he really come to the human world, or hell?

"Hey, buddy, even though it's Halloween Eve, there are still a lot of old people and children around, you're dressed like this, isn't it a bit disgusting?" A young man wearing bull horns walked over, "There's a special Halloween night club over there, you'd be more suitable there, this square is a public leisure area, dressing too scary might not be appropriate."

"But you're pretty tough on yourself." The young man looked at the man in front of him, wearing dirty and ugly horns on his head, his skin painted dark blue, and his body covered with very realistic pus pimples, "Who are you playing?"

"I am the Plague God, you mortals, hurry up and pay tribute and kneel down!" The plague ghost grinned ferociously, "Anyone who comes within a hundred meters of me will die of the plague within seven days, only those who sincerely worship me can be spared."

"You're really getting into the role." The young man pointed to the horns on his head, "I'm the Bull Demon King, you know who my brother is, the Monkey King, Sun Wukong."

TN: all references from Journey to the West

The plague ghost was bewildered, who were the Bull Demon King and the Monkey King, and why weren't these humans afraid of him?

This person had been talking to him for so long, why hadn't he been infected by the plague he had released?

He doubted again, was this really the human world?

"Wow!" A child's cry suddenly came from a distance, the sound so loud it almost pierced the plague ghost's eardrums.

"Woof woof woof!" A large golden dog, tail tucked between its legs, barked at him from afar.

"What kind of person is this? Do they have any sense of public decency, dressing up like this in the square?"

"Right? Everything's about being trendy, no regard for the occasion. Do they eat dog poop while it's still hot?"

"Shut up!" The plague ghost roared, enraged that these lowly mortals dared to criticize him. "If you dare say another word, I'll make you all perish in this city, leaving not a single chicken or dog alive."

"Oh my god, oh my god." An old woman with a shrill voice clutched her chest, looking like she was about to faint. "He's threatening us! He wants to kill us! My heart condition is acting up! Call the police!"

The plague ghost was infuriated by these humans. He reached out and scattered a handful of plague, green smoke spreading through the air. Soon, a five-meter radius was enveloped in the green mist.

"Call the police! There's a lunatic endangering public safety!"

"Stop him! He's running around scattering things!"

"What's going on up ahead? Why is it so noisy?" Shen Chang'an noticed the commotion coming from a corner of the square. He said to his three colleagues, "You guys sit here for a bit, I'll go take a look."

Walking towards the commotion, he saw several children crying, one of them being the child who had "turned him into a pumpkin" earlier.

The chubby little gourd, who had been so cheerful just moments ago, was now sobbing uncontrollably in his parents' arms, clearly terrified.

Not far from them, a young man dressed in a truly disgusting manner was scattering green powder outwards. The smell in the air was rather nauseating.

This person was surprisingly agile, making it impossible for anyone to get close to him.

No one knew what he was scattering, and the crowd was dense. Without hesitation, Shen Chang'an charged towards the troublemaker.

"Chang'an, don't go near him, that's..." Gao Shujuan, who had followed him, saw this and her face turned pale with fear. She wanted to stop Shen Chang'an.

Shen Chang'an ran quickly. He grabbed the man's arm and slammed his fist into it. The man let out a painful scream, and the green powder in his hand vanished.

He didn't know what kind of makeup the man was using, but the substance on his arm felt sticky and disgusting. Shen Chang'an, disgusted, released his grip and kicked the man in the chest. The man landed with a thud, his head making a sickening crunch as it met the floor.

Shen Chang'an turned around and smiled gently at the children who were crying with red faces. "Don't be afraid, brave little wizards. The demon has been defeated by the Pumpkin Knight! Do you want to take out your wands and turn this demon into a pumpkin, then let the police uncle take him away?"

Seeing this, Gao Shujuan swallowed the rest of her words.

She thought she must have been overworking lately and her eyesight was failing. The person Shen Chang'an had kicked to the ground couldn't possibly be the plague ghost.

This is impossible! This can't be real!