Chapter 27: Heading to School

It was two in the morning when Liu Jun and Fatty drove back to the shop. Mo Li was still at the counter reading an ancient text. Seeing them enter, she looked up and asked, "How did it go? Was there any danger?"

Liu Jun replied that there was no danger and recounted the events. Mo Li didn't say anything after listening; she simply went back to her book. He didn't speak either, continuing his practice of drawing talismans.

It’s frustrating, really. His talent shouldn't be that low, yet in novels, the protagonists master dozens of talismans in one night, beat fierce ghosts in three days, and squash Yin envoys in five. Why was he such a failure? He’d been trying to draw a Five-Thunder Talisman for half a month and still hadn't succeeded once.

As for Fatty, he was even worse. To this day, he only knew the "Ksitigarbha Sutra for Delivering Souls." While Liu Jun at least tried to practice talismans, that guy had already fallen asleep.

Near dawn, Mo Li told him that the old man was currently in the Miao region. Apparently, a powerful evil entity was wreaking havoc there—it was unclear whether it was a corpse demon or a zombie. She had to go help track it down. Because the Miao region was vast with complex terrain, she might be gone for a long time.

The difference between a zombie and a corpse demon is that zombies are generally mutated human corpses, while corpse demons aren't necessarily so; most arise from the mutations of animal carcasses.

"Sister Mo, is the zombie you're going to deal with one of those 'Hanba' from the movies that can fly, burrow underground, and drink human blood?" Fatty asked.

"No. The kind of zombie you're talking about is a descendant of Jiang Chen. According to ancient records, a Hanba is not a zombie. On the contrary, the Hanba was originally called Nüba. She once used her power as a celestial maiden to help the Yellow Emperor defeat Chi You. Nüba lost her divine power in that battle, and wherever she went, drought and famine followed, which is why she was called Hanba. Most zombies, however, absorb the earth's spiritual energy, which causes the land to dry up. That is why modern people mistake them for Hanba," Mo Li explained.

"Whoa, I learned something new today," Fatty said, looking surprised.

To be honest, if Mo Li hadn't said anything, Liu Jun would have also assumed zombies were Hanba. Wind and rain are controlled by the energies of Heaven and Earth. They say that when a Hanba appears, the land burns for a thousand miles without rain for years; perhaps Nüba had such power. But if all zombies were truly Hanba with such abilities, there would be no point in fighting—they might as well just go home and sleep.

"I'm leaving this afternoon. Under the counter, I've prepared some talismans for you. There are also some dharma artifacts from Master Li, though I'm not very familiar with them. If you run into something you don't understand or can't handle, you can ask Mo Yu. It’s more powerful than you think," Mo Li said before heading upstairs.

This "Mo Yu" was the big black dog in the shop. Honestly, Liu Jun’s only knowledge of "Brother Dog" was that it could speak human language. Aside from having a bad temper and a sharp tongue, he really couldn't see what was so impressive about it.

When dawn broke, Liu Jun tidied the shop and woke Fatty up to go home.

After washing up, he slept until the afternoon. Liu Jun thought about calling Fatty to get something to eat, but he saw Fatty scrolling through his phone on the bed.

"Fatty, what are you doing? Get up and wash up, let’s go get some food."

"Brother Liu, do you think people who play with the 'Disc Immortal' are really encountering ghosts, or are they just scaring themselves?"

"Well, most of the time they are just scaring themselves, but it doesn't rule out the possibility of having really bad luck and actually summoning a ghost. Usually, the ghosts summoned that way aren't exactly low-level."

"Look at this. Someone died. Do you think they ran into a real ghost?" Fatty said, handing over his phone. Liu Jun took the phone and looked at a WeChat Moment post. It generally warned people not to play with Disc Immortals or Pen Immortals randomly, as it might summon real ghosts, and someone had already died.

"I don't know if it's true. Do you know this person? Ask them," Liu Jun said, handing the phone back to Fatty.

"I know him; this is my cousin," Fatty said, taking the phone and calling his cousin. He asked a few questions and hung up.

"Brother Liu, it's true. My cousin goes to our local Business College. Someone there really died from playing with the Disc Immortal, and they say the state of the body was terrifying." This was likely true. Kids these days were indeed bold, daring to play with anything.

"We aren't going to the shop tonight. We're going to your cousin's college," Liu Jun said to Fatty.

"Brother, nobody is paying us. Are we really going?" Fatty asked doubtfully.

"Let’s go. Consider it the 'old flowers of the motherland' saving the 'new flowers of the motherland'," Liu Jun said, starting to pack his things. He gathered some talismans; he hadn't picked up the ones Mo Li prepared for him yet, so this trip was primarily to scout the situation.

After preparing with Fatty, Liu Jun picked up the little fox. Although it didn't look very powerful, it was a spirit fox, so it should be able to help. If things went south, he could just have it act cute; maybe the entity would be in a good mood and let them go.

They drove to the Business College. By the time they arrived, it was already afternoon. As they got out of the car, Liu Jun and Fatty applied ox tears to their eyes, just in case they could see something. Fatty’s cousin was already waiting for them at the gate.

Fatty’s cousin was named Liu Ping, a six-foot-three guy, quite thin, looking like a telephone pole.

"Brother, do you guys really know Taoist arts? This isn't a joke; someone really died," Liu Ping said, looking at his cousin with concern, afraid that he didn't know anything and was just here to throw his life away.

"Enough, why are you nagging? Just take us in," Fatty said impatiently.

"Fine, follow me." Liu Ping turned and led them inside. You have to say, a university is different from a high school; the security guard didn't even glance at them and let them straight in.

After walking for about ten minutes, they reached a dormitory building. This school was quite large, and they almost got lost wandering around.

"Brother, this is the building where the incident happened. It happened in room 502 on the fifth floor. Since the death happened on Friday night and today is Saturday, there aren't many people around, and the whole building has been sealed off. No one is allowed in." He spoke as if it were normal for men to be allowed in the girls' dormitory.

"What was the name of the deceased? Where are her roommates? Is there any way to get into the building?" Liu Jun asked.

Liu Ping looked at Liu Jun and told him the deceased was named Gao Yan. One of her roommates had gone insane and was in the hospital, and the others had been moved to the faculty dorms. To get into the building, they would need permission from the school administration.

"Take us to see your leadership," Liu Jun said. He hadn't been in a rush before, but the ghostly energy on the fifth floor was so thick it was seeping out. If they didn't deal with this quickly, it probably wouldn't just be one or two deaths.

"What are you hesitating for? Move," Fatty said, giving his cousin a kick after seeing him hesitate. Liu Ping didn't dare to protest and led the way to the office building. It was clear this kid had been disciplined by Fatty quite a bit growing up.

They arrived at the office building and went to the second floor, stopping at a door marked "Dean of Student Affairs." Liu Ping knocked. "Come in," a listless, middle-aged male voice called out.

They pushed the door open to find a bald, middle-aged man with dull eyes and deep, dark circles. It wasn't hot out, yet there was cold sweat on his forehead. This had to be the Dean.

"What are you here for?" the Dean asked.

"We know some Taoist arts. We saw that an evil entity is wreaking havoc here, so we're here to help."

"What nonsense! There are no evil entities here. You're con artists! Get out now, or I'm calling the police!" the Dean shouted angrily.

Liu Jun didn't waste words. He took out a Thunder Talisman and threw it directly at the desk. With a loud bang, the desk was split in two. He had wanted to talk reasonably, but unfortunately, the guy wouldn't cooperate.

Sweat poured down the Dean's face, and his legs were trembling. He was just trying to talk, why did he have to summon lightning? He looked at the desk, then at Liu Jun and the others, pausing for a long time.

"M-Master, I had eyes but failed to recognize a true expert. Please don't hold it against me. Some strange things have indeed been happening lately, leaving us completely overwhelmed. It’s wonderful that you’re here to help," the man said, lowering his head.

"We can't get into that building. Take us to see it," Liu Jun replied.

"Master, please, this way," the man said, leading the way. A crowd that had gathered to hear the noise scattered as soon as the Dean emerged.