"Yesterday afternoon, someone picked up a poker card again, so they played the bridge game after returning to the dormitory from evening self-study. But this time, it was Cheng Le who lost."
Ji Nan curled his lips and sneered, "It was never his turn before, but he was still so proud of himself and boasted to his classmates that Zhou Yuanxin would be afraid of him even if he died."
"This is a very fair game, no one can escape." Chen Ling murmured, then turned to look at the warehouse door.
Inside the playground, the physical education teacher had already blown the whistle to dismiss the class, and many students were bending over to drag their mats off the ground.
Chen Ling looked at Ji Nan, "Let's go. If we don't leave now, we will be discovered."
The three of them went around the wall and out the door, and escaped smoothly using the cover of the trees outside.
As soon as I arrived at the teaching building, the bell rang and students came out of the classroom.
Chen Ling was fine, but Wu Weiwei's social aura was too strong and too eye-catching. If the two of them stood in the middle of the corridor, they would soon be recognized as not being students of the school.
"We're leaving first. If nothing goes wrong, we'll see each other again soon."
Chen Ling pinched Ji Nan's shoulders, which were so thin that only bones remained, and leaned over slightly. Like a brother doting on his younger brother, he gently admonished, "If they abuse you again, you must resist and let them know that they are not scary to you. The more you give in, the more they will intensify their violence."
"I, I don't dare." Ji Nan shrank his shoulders. Whenever he thought of that slap, he felt his cheeks burning.
Chen Ling: "The reason they dare to act recklessly is because you are timid and afraid of trouble. Have you never told your family about these things?"
"No, my parents are very busy and I don't want them to worry."
Although Ji Nan is a little cowardly, he is a genuinely good kid, both to his family and to the deceased Zhou Yuanxin.
"You'll have an extra helper soon." Chen Ling assured him, "very soon."
Wu Weiwei looked at his brother Chen, then at Ji Nan, confused.
"Hey, Ji Nan, who is this?" A teasing voice came from the front.
A boy wearing a black T-shirt, a shaved head, and loose sweatpants came out of the classroom.
Ji Nan felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy. Every hair on his body stood on end, and he instinctively moved towards Chen Ling to avoid him.
Chen Ling held his shoulders and acted as a protector, "Have they ever bullied you?"
"He is Cheng Le's childhood friend." Ji Nan said in a low voice, took a deep breath, and mustered up the courage to say to Chen Ling, "You guys go first. It's break time now, they don't dare to do anything to me."
Chen Ling left him a phone number, "If you have anything, you can contact me."
"Thank you." Ji Nan put the phone with the exchanged numbers into his pocket and whispered goodbye.
Chen Ling looked at the young man's back as he turned around. His back was very straight, his head slightly raised, and his steps were so steady, as if he was full of infinite strength to fight against the evil forces.
"Brother Chen, let's go." Wu Weiwei reached out and grabbed the young man's arm.
Chen Ling stood still, his eyes roaming over Cheng Le's childhood friend.
Wu Weiwei realized something was wrong, and he looked in the direction his brother Chen was looking, his eyes suddenly widened.
The man's seemingly normal body seemed to be hanging by a rope, with his heels occasionally leaving the ground a little.
"He..." Wu Weiwei closed his mouth and lowered his voice to continue, "Is he haunted by a ghost?"
He looked at Chen Ling and asked, "Brother Chen, should we take care of it?"
"No matter." Chen Ling led his men to avoid the crowd and went downstairs from the stairwell with the least people. "I didn't find any trace of ghosts, but there was indeed a yin energy around him. I can't tell who it belongs to for now."
"What do you mean? It's not Zhou Yuanxin's?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Chen Ling asked back, "Do you still remember what Jiang Yu said?"
Wu Weiwei thought about it for a long time before he remembered that when he climbed over the wall that night, Jiang Yu said that the yin energy in this place was very faint, so faint that even his brother Chen could not detect it.
Seeing him thinking for a while, Chen Ling said, "Zhou Yuanxin is a ghost who died not long ago. No matter how strong his yin energy is, it is impossible for it to cover the entire school. It will only be concentrated in the place where he died or appeared most often when he was alive."
Wu Weiwei suddenly realized: "You mean, that person just now might have been entangled by something else?"
Chen Ling said conservatively: "It's just a guess."
He dodged a student who was running wildly and continued, "Rather than being entangled, it's more like an early sign. The evil energy is vague and doesn't seem to be trying to kill anyone."
Wu Weiwei clapped his hands suddenly, "Brother Chen, do you think he will be one of the participants in the next round of the game?"
After hearing him say that, Chen Ling really thought it was possible, and quickly sent a message to Ji Nan, asking him to help keep an eye on the class to see if there were any students who would inexplicably do the tiptoeing action.
There were people coming and going in the school, and even if the two of them avoided the crowd, they were still noticed.
Especially Wu Weiwei.
He turned his head and glared at a student who was staring at him, "What are you looking at? If you look again, I'll beat you up."
The student sneered, looking completely fearless, and rolled his eyes.
When passing by the teachers' office building, Chen Ling stopped and looked up at the floor where the principal's office was located.
Jiang Yu's ability is unfathomable, and his yin energy is very strong. The yin energy that was passed from his fingertips should not dissipate so quickly. If nothing unexpected happened, Principal Jin should have encountered many ghosts that day.
But till now, he hasn't called.
Wu Weiwei also looked up, and suddenly opened his eyes wide, pointed at the window of the corridor on the top floor and said, "Brother Chen, there is someone on the windowsill!"
From Chen Ling's position, there was some reflection from the window and he couldn't see anyone at all.
He switched to where Wu Weiwei was and saw Principal Jin with one foot on the inner windowsill and one hand banging on the window.
Wu Weiwei: "Shall we go up?"
Chen Ling shook his head. "Let's go up now. If he asks us why we are here, how can we explain it? We can't involve Ji Nan."
He looked at the window meaningfully again. Principal Jin didn't know what he saw, but he had pressed his entire face against the glass. His mouth opened and closed exaggeratedly, as if he was shouting.
Wu Weiwei naturally believed whatever Brother Chen said, "Then just pretend you didn't see it."
The two people walked out of the campus slowly. The security guard at the gate was stunned for a moment and recognized that one of them was the parent he had taken to visit the campus.
"Oh, it's you." The security guard came out, smiled and stretched out his hand, wanting to have a friendly meeting with Wu Weiwei.
Wu Weiwei reached out his hand and shook it with him, pointing at Chen Ling, "I'll bring my brother to visit the school."
The security guard scratched his head in confusion: "Why didn't I see you go in?"
Security work is dull and boring. Few people can stick to their posts like stone sculptures. Wu Weiwei said: "You were sitting inside playing with your phone at the time."
The security guard laughed dryly and said nothing more.
After leaving the house, Chen Ling looked at Wu Weiwei with a half-smile: "Sure, you are quite good at fooling people."
Wu Weiwei laughed and said, "It's just so-so."
Chen Ling folded his arms and suddenly said, "Weiwei, what are your plans?"
"What plan?" Wu Weiwei didn't quite understand.
"Do you want to be my assistant for life?" Chen Ling frowned.
Wu Weiwei panicked immediately, "Brother Chen, what did I do wrong? Don't you want to keep me in Yuhe Mountain?"
"No." Chen Ling motioned him to get in the car first. After both of them fastened their seat belts, he said, "Yuhe Mountain is our home. I won't chase you away. But don't you have any other plans?"
Previously, he hoped that Wu Weiwei would pay attention to his own development in the later period and see if he could learn something. But after discussing with his master, he realized that it would be difficult for Wu Weiwei to make achievements in Taoism. After all, the most important thing in Taoism is talent.
Some people can only draw a weak talisman to ward off evil spirits throughout their entire life, while others can invite a god to possess them within three years.
Chen Ling said: "I have talked to the master. You can go to his study and take a look. There are many Taoist and other magic things in it. Lu Ban book, Maoshan magic, Gu magic, black magic..."
Wu Weiwei's face turned pale as he listened. "No, no, no, forget it. I think this is good enough now."
Chen Ling's eyes rolled and he knew why he reacted so strongly.
"You reject witchcraft and black magic?"
"… Really." Wu Weiwei even suspected that Brother Chen was giving him a small test to see if he was an honest person. "Brother Chen, don't worry. I don't do any witchcraft or black magic."
"Why are you promising me this?" Chen Ling said, "Master said that as long as you have justice and the Way in your heart, anything can become a weapon for you to uphold justice and slay demons and monsters."
"Brother Chen, I really think it's good like this now, and I can learn a lot." Wu Weiwei said sincerely.
He used to only be able to memorize physiognomy books by heart, but now, after several actual combat experiences, he has learned a lot, but he has not yet been able to integrate them into his practice.
"Next time, I'll show you some of my skills." He chuckled a few times, his eyes curved to hide his slightly moist eyes.
Chen Ling thought for a moment, took out a tissue and handed it over, then reached out to hug the man: "Why would a grown man drop gold beans? I won't feel sorry for you."
Wu Weiwei was originally just moved by Chen Ling's concern, but now, receiving a warm hug from him, a sour warmth rose from the bottom of his heart, his nose felt sore and swollen, and he really cried.
Chen Ling whispered in his ear: "You can tell me any plans you have. If you want to go to school, you can. Brother Chen is rich now. We have found a golden thigh. We don't have to be as stingy as before."
"I know, thank you Brother Chen." Wu Weiwei sniffed the snot that was already flowing out of his nose and spoke in a muffled voice.
Chen Ling patted him on the back a few times and wanted to say a few more words to him as a brother, when he heard Wu Weiwei's cell phone, which was in his trouser pocket, suddenly ring.
As soon as the phone was connected, Principal Jin's wailing voice was heard.
The man in his forties was crying so hard that he couldn't catch his breath. "Mr. Wu, is your master here? I beg you, please come quickly!"
Chen Ling asked Wu Weiwei to turn on the speakerphone and said to the phone, "Principal Jin, what's wrong with you?"
Principal Jin has now shrunk under his desk.
He heard rustling sounds of crawling things on the ceiling and the floor. Just as he was about to speak, the crawling sounds suddenly came above his head.
Swish... Swish... The heavy object rubbed against the desk, as if it was deliberately trying to scare him and put him in mental panic. The other party's movements were extremely slow.
Principal Jin simply felt that the other party was deliberately torturing him and wanted to scare him to death!
“Chen Da… Da… Da…” Halfway through asking for help, his tongue suddenly got tied.
An upside-down face appeared before him.
There was no intact skin on the face, and the eye sockets were dark and without eyeballs, so it was impossible to tell whether it was a man or a woman. When it grinned, Principal Jin could clearly see its bloody teeth marks and bloody teeth.
Principal Jin had difficulty breathing and his chest heaved rapidly.
He clutched the phone tightly, as if it was a life-saving straw, "Master... Master Chen, help me!"
As the shout died down, the thing fell off the desk with a loud bang, and crawled forward on the ground like a maggot.
The scattered footsteps in the corridor seemed to be isolated in another space. No matter how Principal Jin shouted, the owners of those footsteps did not respond at all.
With a loud bang, the office door that could not be opened was suddenly pushed open by someone.
Principal Jin saw that the creature, which was lying on the ground, had raised its upper body and opened its mouth to bite something on him... but suddenly it disappeared.
He hugged himself tightly, his breathing had not yet calmed down, and his heartbeat was pounding hard against the inner wall of his chest.
He had no doubt at all.
If the person who broke into the office had arrived a little later, he would have been scared to death.
The office in front of Chen Ling was in a mess. Stools were overturned on the ground, books in the bookcase were scattered all over the floor, and vases were smashed to pieces. If you didn't know, you would think there had just been a burglary.
"Principal Jin, are you there?" He called out in fake concern and winked at Wu Weiwei, indicating that he should also pretend to be concerned and look around.
Principal Jin was so frightened that even though his heartbeat had calmed down, his limbs were still too weak to stand up.
He raised his hand weakly, and knocked on the desk with all his strength, shouting in a weak voice: "Master Chen... I... I am here..."
Chen Ling walked over, squatted down, and showed a puzzled expression: "Principal Jin, why did you get under the desk?"
Wu Weiwei also echoed: "We have been looking for you for a long time."
When Principal Jin saw two living people, he felt completely relieved and sat down on the ground.
"Master Chen... you are amazing! As soon as you arrived, the thing disappeared!" He was now full of admiration for Chen Ling, and even changed the way he addressed him. He wished he could hold the young man's hand and touch it, to get a taste of the master's aura.
Chen Ling wrinkled his nose and sniffed a few times, "There is a yin energy in your room. What did you encounter just now?"
"A faceless monster!" Principal Jin got goose bumps when he thought of that horrible bloody face. "It even wanted to bite me!"
Chen Ling raised his eyebrows coldly, "Come out, the thing is gone."
Wu Weiwei began to brag about Brother Chen: "Our Brother Chen is born to be able to ward off evil spirits. As long as he is around, no demons or ghosts dare to get close to him."
Principal Jin felt this deeply and used his hands and feet to crawl out from under the desk.
He wiped his dusty face with a piece of paper, not even bothering to say hello, and pleaded bitterly, "Master Chen, I can tell you anything you want to know, I just ask you to get rid of this thing in the school. If you keep going on like this, I'm afraid I'll have a heart attack."
"Okay then." Chen Ling said, "Do you know the game of poker bridge?"
The principal immediately shut his mouth and his face turned pale and blue.
Of course he knew about the game a long time ago, and even the fact that someone lost the game yesterday did not escape his attention.
In fact, after the game ended last night, he thought about notifying Chen Ling, but when he thought of the two recent accidental injuries of students, in which no bleeding or death occurred, he gave up the idea.
Those things must be suppressed and no more people must know about it.
But today, he encountered evil again.
Unlike the previous shock, this time, the scary-looking thing actually wanted to bite him to death!
Compared to the reputation of the school, your own life is naturally more important! Anyone who doesn't call for help at this time is a fool!
Principal Jin's shock passed, but the bad intentions in his heart revived. "Master Chen, if you want to know, I will not hide anything from you, but you must promise me one thing. Anything you and Mr. Wu hear cannot be passed on to another person."
To show his sincerity, he smiled weakly and tried to regain some of his principal's aura: "Of course, out of sincerity, I can increase the price we agreed on before."
Chen Ling: "No need to increase the price, the previous price is just right."
On the first day that Principal Jin sent a message to Wu Weiwei, he took the initiative to mention the amount of compensation.
Chen Ling was not greedy. The price agreed upon before was already very considerable, and he was very satisfied. As for the matter of keeping silent... If he didn't agree, the principal might not let them join in. But there were many ways for the news to leak out. As long as he and Wu Weiwei didn't say it themselves, it wouldn't be considered a breach of trust.
"What about the things at school..." Principal Jin couldn't feel at ease without any guarantees.
He also holds a small share in this private middle school. Although not as much as other shareholders, the annual dividend is very considerable. He does not want this incident to get out and affect the source of students and his future income.
Chen Ling smiled slightly, "Don't worry, Principal Jin, I won't tell anyone."
Hearing the young man's assurance, the principal smiled with satisfaction.
He picked up the kettle on the table and poured a glass of water for each of the three people. "Master Chen, let's use tea instead of wine. Let's drink a glass and have a happy cooperation."
Wu Weiwei turned his face away and secretly made a vomiting expression. When Chen Ling picked up the teacup, he followed suit, picked up the cup, and gently clinked it with Principal Jin's.
Principal Jin was very curious about Chen Ling's next plan and asked, "Mr. Chen, what are you going to do next? Do you need any help from me?"
"Of course I need it." Chen Ling lowered his eyes and put down the cup. "Don't worry about helping me. Principal Jin, let's talk about the haunted school first."
Principal Jin swallowed and beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.
Perhaps because he was afraid or nervous, he poured himself another glass of water and drank it with his head tilted back.
"Mr. Chen was right before. The ghost I met in the stairwell leading to the rooftop was indeed a student of our school. His name is Zhou Yuanxin, and he is a student in Class 9 of Senior 1."
Chen Ling: "I know everything about Zhou Yuanxin. Please skip it and tell me how he was bullied."
The principal was stunned for a moment, "How do you know..."
"I have my own channels." Chen Ling didn't want to waste time nagging him, so he turned the topic back to the issue of school violence. "Principal Jin, I advise you not to hide it. Only by knowing what Zhou Yuanxin had experienced can I guess who the next victim will be."
After hearing this, what else did Principal Jin not understand
"It seems that you already know the rules of the game of Poker Bridge." He took a deep breath and said, "Actually, I don't know much about what happened between students. I only know that once they locked Zhou Yuanxin in a cubicle in the men's bathroom, threw rocks and poured cold water inside. Another time, they blocked someone outside the school and beat him up."
"Since you knew, why didn't you care?!" Chen Ling suppressed his anger, but his tone was still a little aggressive.
Principal Jin said hesitantly, "His father was invited to the school by the head teacher of Class 9. I also met him in person. His father said not to worry about it. He said Zhou Yuanxin has had bad behavior since he was a child. He should be taught a lesson and learn his lesson."
"His father is Tao Zhiyong, right?" Chen Ling looked over, the smile on his face could not hide the coldness in his eyes.
Principal Jin suddenly became anxious and said, "Yes, it was Tao Zhiyong. He said that. What else can I do? I can only call those students over and give them a few words of advice."
The parents are unwilling to pursue the matter, and the teachers and principals of the school will not let it go.
This phenomenon not only occurs in this private middle school, but may also occur in other schools and other cities.
Wu Weiwei curled his lips and said, "Principal Jin, have you really criticized those students?"
"Of course!" The sweat on Principal Jin's forehead had condensed into beads of sweat, rolling down his temples.
Chen Ling suddenly sneered, which scared him.
Principal Jin: "Master Chen, what's wrong?"
Chen Ling said it was nothing, and stopped dwelling on the topic, asking something else: "Who were the people who bullied Zhou Yuanxin in the past?"
"This..." Principal Jin was suddenly stuck and unable to give a specific number.
Wu Weiwei couldn't hold back his emotions and stood up immediately: "Why are you silent? Is it because there are too many to count, or do you want to protect those people?!"
"One of them is the son of the school director, right?" Chen Ling's voice was extremely cold and harsh, making Principal Jin feel uneasy. He wanted to deny it, but he couldn't say it out loud.
Because what the young people say is true.
Among them were not only the sons of school directors, but also several little emperors from wealthy families.
Principal Jin simply kept his mouth shut. This way, no matter what Chen Ling guessed, it wouldn't count as what he said.
Chen Ling was annoyed by his shell-shell look and stood up immediately. "Principal Jin, there is something else I need you to arrange."
Principal Jin also stood up and said eagerly, "You go ahead."
"Put me in Class Nine." Chen Ling said word by word, "As a transfer student."
Wu Weiwei looked over silently. Brother Chen's appearance did not match his age. He had a young face and a clean temperament. His clothes were casual, which was popular among people of all ages.
Thrown into a crowd of students, she wouldn't look out of place at all.
He pointed at himself and said, "Brother Chen, what about me?"
Chen Ling looked the man up and down, frowned and thought for a while, then assigned him a suitable role: "Security Department?"