Striving for Science C68

Seeing that Shen Chang'an finally noticed him, Ting Zheng weakly slumped back to the ground: "My phone's broken, can you help me out?"

When the female ghost turned into a malevolent spirit, the magnetic field around her was disrupted. Not only did his phone break, but he suspected that all electronic devices within a 50-meter radius would be affected.

Thinking about this, he looked at Shen Chang'an and the others in despair. It's over, their phones won't be able to make calls either, right?

He wondered if this talented passerby, who seemed like a random extra in a movie, would be willing to run outside the school, find a place with a working phone, and call an ambulance for him?

Seeing Ting Zheng lying on the ground, looking weak and close to death, Shen Chang'an walked over to him and took a few glances: "Are you here to capture ghosts again?"

"As a cultivator, capturing ghosts is our duty," Ting Zheng said. "You have the ability to pacify malevolent spirits, though I'm not as skilled as you, I can't just stand by and let these evil spirits linger in the human world, harming people."

"Ghosts are also transformed from humans, and humans have both good and bad, the same goes for ghosts." Shen Chang'an frowned slightly. "Have you ever considered that some of the ghosts you capture are innocent?"

"Humans and ghosts are different paths, after death, humans will naturally go to the underworld. Ghosts that remain in the human world disrupt the order of heaven and earth, so they naturally can't be considered good ghosts." Ting Zheng said. "If we don't capture them, sooner or later, they will eventually become malevolent spirits that harm others."

"Are there no exceptions?"

"I'm human, I don't want to consider whether there are exceptions for ghosts." Ting Zheng tried to get up from the ground, but the place where he was scratched by the malevolent spirit hurt so much that he couldn't straighten his back. He ended up lying back down. "Before I die, as long as I'm still human, the only thing I need to prioritize is the interests of humans, not ghosts."

Shen Chang'an remained silent for a moment: "Although I don't fully agree with your views, everyone has different thoughts, and I can't change your mind." He then pulled out his phone.

Ting Zheng wanted to say, don't bother with your phone, it's more useful to run outside and find a public phone booth.

But soon he was slapped in the face. Not only did Shen Chang'an dial the emergency number, but the other side answered quickly. What kind of world is this? The magnetic field disruption caused by the malevolent spirit, even that is discriminatory?

"External injuries, excessive blood loss... car accident?" Shen Chang'an glanced at Ting Zheng, who was lying on the ground with a pale face. "It's not a car accident, it happened inside the school. I don't know why he's injured, I just happened to pass by."

Ting Zheng: "..."

You don't know? Doesn't your conscience hurt when you lie?

"Yes, it's this school." Shen Chang'an said. "Okay, I won't leave until you arrive."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Chang'an said to Ting Zheng: "Alright, I've called an ambulance for you, is there anything else you want to say?"

"It sounds like you're asking me if I have any last words..." Ting Zheng mumbled. "I don't have anything to say, that... thank you."

"No need, even if it was a cat or a dog lying here today, I would still choose to save them." Seeing that Ting Zheng's Taoist robe was soaked in blood, Shen Chang'an sighed, took off his jacket, and covered him with it.

"Chang'an." Dao Nian noticed his actions and waved to him. When Shen Chang'an walked over, he took a scarf from beside his wheelchair and draped it around Shen Chang'an's neck.

"Dao Nian, is this chair a Doraemon's magical pocket? How come you have everything?" He wrapped the scarf around his neck a few more times, then suddenly remembered something and went back to take the jacket he had covered Ting Zheng with.

Ting Zheng: "..."

He already covered me, why take it back?

Could it be that this guy is remembering how rude I was to him in Wuming City? Can a young man be so vengeful?

Shen Chang'an pulled the letter Lin Cui had left him out of his jacket pocket, then covered it back up: "This letter can't get dirty."

Ting Zheng watched Shen Chang'an's careful movements and suddenly understood: "Was that the female ghost who left it for you?"

"She was my classmate, she died before she turned seventeen." Shen Chang'an carefully put the letter away, his voice a little low, "She died by suicide."

Ting Zheng remained silent.

"She suffered a lot of injustice and disgusting things in her life, but she didn't know who to turn to, and in the end, she chose to end her life in despair." Shen Chang'an sighed, "Some people are born evil, and they are evil ghosts even after death. But some people, they have no choice in life, and what they seek after death is also very small."

Seeing Shen Chang'an stand up and prepare to leave, Ting Zheng suddenly said: "Thirteen years ago, when I first came out of the Taoist temple, I also met a ghost like this."

"I sympathized with her plight, and even wanted to seek help from other practitioners, so that she could be reincarnated in hell. But on a full moon night, she suddenly lost her mind, not only killing the man who had wronged her, but also killing several innocent people, including a three-year-old child." 

Ting Zheng's expression was emotionless, "I tried my best but couldn't save that child. If I hadn't been soft-hearted, if I hadn't had a ridiculous pity for the vengeful ghost, that child and those innocent people wouldn't have died."

Perhaps because the jacket he was wearing was warm, Ting Zheng brought up that past he almost didn't want to remember.

"That child was very cute, with big eyes, a sweet mouth, and cute little braids..." Ting Zheng's throat tightened, and he could barely speak.

For several years after that incident, he was trapped in deep self-blame. If he had been more capable, if he hadn't sympathized with that vengeful ghost...

Later, he met that master, not only learning many methods to subdue evil ghosts, but also knowing where evil ghosts would appear.

As he became more and more famous in the Feng Shui circle, the more he didn't want to recall that incident, the more he hated those vengeful and fierce ghosts who lingered in the human world and refused to leave.

He didn't know if he was feeling guilty for not being able to save those innocent people back then, or if he simply didn't want to face the incompetent self he was back then.

After listening to Ting Zheng's words, Shen Chang'an remained silent for a long time: "Have you ever thought that the little girl you didn't save also became the kind of ghost you dislike?"

Ting Zheng's lips moved slightly, wanting to say something but unable to speak.

The sound of an ambulance roared past, waking up the quiet campus.

The lights in the faculty dormitory building came on, and some teachers who were responsible for security specially came downstairs to take a look. Seeing Ting Zheng lying on the ground covered in blood, they were all startled.

Seeing v stammering and unable to explain the reason for his injury, the teachers' expressions became a little subtle. Could this be a fake Taoist who was discovered and beaten up?

The nurses and doctors carried Ting Zheng onto a stretcher. Ting Zheng groaned in pain, but he dared not offend these white-coated angels who held his life in their hands.

As he was about to be carried onto the ambulance, he shouted: "Hey, you, your jacket..."

This coat is quite expensive, it costs tens of thousands.

"Just wash it clean and send it back to the Wuming City Civil Service Department." Shen Chang'an didn't want to carry a blood-stained coat.

The ambulance door closed. Ting Zheng heard the emergency doctor treating his wounds while asking: "Sir, was the person who injured you a martial arts master who practiced the Nine Yin White Bone Claw?"

Ting Zheng: "..."

No, it was a female ghost. If I told you, you'd be scared to death.

Seeing him remain silent, the doctor didn't care and continued, "Oh, this wound is quite interesting. Xiaohua, call the interns in the department and tell them to come observe this wound. It's rare to encounter such a patient."

Ting Zheng: "..."

Doesn't he care about his reputation?

He knew that as long as it was remotely related to Wuming City, his luck wouldn't be very good.

***

Watching the police car "woo-woo" away with Ting Zheng, Shen Chang'an sat in the car, staring at the letter for a long time. He had planned to go to the police station tomorrow morning, but with each glance at the letter, his anger grew.

Some parents are not worthy of being called human.

He looked up at Dao Nian, "Dao Nian, you and Shen Tu go back to rest first. I want to go to the police station."

"I'll go with you." Dao Nian knew what Shen Chang'an was going to do. Although the girl's original fate was to die by suicide and become a vengeful spirit, no one had sought justice for her.

But a variable appeared in her life: Shen Chang'an.

"But it's too late now." Shen Chang'an looked at Dao Nian's slightly pale face. "I don't know how late it will be when I finish this."

"It's okay." Dao Nian asked Shen Tu to drive, the orange light illuminating his face, lending a touch of gentleness to his expression. "I'm not at ease with you going alone."

Shen Chang'an was stunned. He had long been accustomed to handling things himself, and it had been a long time since anyone had said to him, "I'm not at ease with you going alone."

It felt like Dao Nian had slipped a tangerine-flavored candy into his heart, sweet with a hint of fragrance, and a subtle tang.

"It's just going to the police station to report a case, it's not like going through fire and water, what's there to be worried about?" Shen Chang'an touched his earlobe, feeling strangely hot. Could his ears be frostbitten?

"Anyway, I won't let you do this alone." Dao Nian looked at Shen Chang'an, his eyes serious. "Didn't we agree to rely on each other for life?"

He did indeed have plans to grow old with Dao Nian, but was there something off about the phrase "rely on each other for life"?

"So don't be sad." Dao Nian reached out and placed his hand on Shen Chang'an's shoulder. "No matter what happens, I can face it with you."

"Chang'an, trust me."

The smile on Shen Chang'an's face faltered. He touched his cheek: "Was it that obvious?"

Dao Nian looked at him without speaking, but his eyes said it all.

"I... I really feel terrible." Shen Chang'an covered his face with his hand. "If she hadn't met that beastly stepfather, maybe she'd still be alive and well now, found a decent job, worrying about whether to work overtime on weekends, and how many new clothes to buy for the new season."

"I just... I'm sad about her death."

Dao Nian gently patted his shoulder. "It's okay, it's not your fault. Chang'an, it's not your fault."

Shen Chang'an lowered his hand and forced a smile at Dao Nian. "Dao Nian, did you already feel something was wrong this afternoon?"

Perhaps from Dao Nian's perspective, Shen Chang'an was inexplicably talking to thin air that afternoon. But Dao Nian was considerate and didn't ask anything, didn't say anything.

He didn't believe in ghosts or gods, but he respected everything they did.

He must have saved the galaxy in his past life to be able to meet a friend like Dao Nian in this life.

"Shen Tu, did you see her last night too?" Shen Chang'an suddenly looked up, "That's why you said she was just a little girl being shy?"

Screech!

The car screeched to a halt on the road.