Gu Xiaorou stopped and turned to look at him, her gaze like two still pools of water in an ancient well, unfathomable yet seemingly rippled with countless waves.
Ling Yun wanted to ask about her injuries, but as soon as he met Gu Xiaorou's gaze, he suddenly swallowed his words as if he had been electrocuted, and only said awkwardly, "Thank you."
"No need. I'm only helping you to repay a favor. I don't want to owe you anything." Gu Xiaorou lowered her eyes, lost in thought.
Ling Yun opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent. He then turned his gaze back to the three striking sheets of paper. When he looked up again, Gu Xiaorou was gone, leaving only a lingering, refreshing fragrance in the air.
By this time, the month-long university military training had ended. Ling Yun's training instructor had indeed broken his promise. After witnessing Ling Yun's astonishing push-up ability, he wisely refrained from mentioning his boast that the training would end as long as Ling Yun did 500 push-ups. Of course, Ling Yun didn't bring it up either. Despite the repeated encouragement from other students, military training was a major event arranged by the school, and even if the instructor had agreed, the school wouldn't have.
Ling Yun had been living a peaceful life during this time, spending his days in military training and his nights sleeping in his dorm. He was leading a standard university life, going back and forth between his home and school. Xia Zhen had tried to contact him a few times, but they were all about joining the Superpower Headquarters. Since he was busy with military training every day, he didn't have time and had to wait until after the training to go to the Superpower Headquarters.
Xia Zhen's short-term memory had indeed been altered by Gu Xiaorou, and she had even forgotten the matter of Yang Yuqi's ghost possession that Ling Yun had discussed with her. Ling Yun didn't bring it up again, otherwise it would implicate Gu Xiaorou. Having promised this mysterious woman to keep her secret, Ling Yun naturally had to keep his promise. Moreover, after a month of diligent training, Ling Yun had mastered many extraordinary techniques, and as his horizons broadened, his power was also increasing rapidly; he was confident that dispelling a ghost would be a piece of cake.
The ghost possessing Yang Yuqi seemed to have vanished into thin air. Afterwards, Ling Yun repeatedly asked Yang Yuqi out, but his examinations of her body yielded nothing, leaving him very puzzled. Yang Yuqi seemed to have grown increasingly fond of Ling Yun, readily agreeing to each of his invitations. Of course, their dates always coincided with Su Bingyan's café. Furthermore, Chen Jiaxuan and Lin Naimei became regulars at the café after that day, and the group frequently met. The four beauties seemed to have a telepathic connection, maintaining a very friendly relationship and often appearing together, like four close friends—a powerful alliance indeed.
During this time, Xia Tian called Ling Yun a few times, but he was busy abroad and only made casual calls to say hello. Zhang Yunfeng and Li Lingling were both undergoing military training on their respective university campuses, communicating only by phone and text message. When talking to Li Lingling on the phone, Ling Yun had a strange feeling that this girl was undergoing a huge change, but since he hadn't seen her in person, he couldn't quite put his finger on what the change was.
After carefully reviewing the materials Gu Xiaorou had given him, Ling Yun pondered for a moment before leaving the school archives. It was Tuesday, and the first-year students majoring in bioengineering only had one long class, ending before noon. Ling Yun usually had nothing to do; after class, he would borrow two ancient books from the library and then return to his dormitory to read until evening. Since following Yu Xiujie in cultivation, Ling Yun had fully inherited his teacher's methods. He believed that the great principles lay within the books, and for over half a year, he had persisted in reading without interruption, naturally understanding many principles in the process.
Before even reaching the dormitory building, a group of people could be seen standing at the entrance from afar. Many of them were dressed in brightly colored clothes and had all sorts of strangely dyed hair in various colors. Many of them were casually smoking cigarettes and looking around with arrogant eyes. They were clearly not students from the school, but rather delinquents from outside the school.
The two security guards in the dormitory building stood ready, their batons, which were of little use, pressed against their waists. They stared intently at the group through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the lobby, their expressions a mixture of panic and fear.
Ling Yun was slightly surprised. He recognized the leader as Ding Hao, the man Chen Jiaxuan had driven away that day. Today, Ding Hao wasn't wearing his elegant suit; instead, he was dressed casually in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, his hair short and seemingly barely growing back. It seemed the hurt Chen Jiaxuan had caused was still fresh in his mind.
Seeing Ling Yun approach the dormitory, Ding Hao angrily threw the half-smoked cigarette butt on the ground, twirling it with his foot as he sneered, "Ling Yun, why are you only coming back now? I've been waiting for you for ages."
"Are you going to take revenge on me, Ding Hao?" Ling Yun stopped and asked indifferently.
"Yeah, I was really disappointed that I didn't manage to beat you up last time, so I specially called a lot of brothers over to help today. I guarantee you'll have a lot of fun." Ding Hao took a few steps forward with great momentum. "Didn't a beautiful woman block you out? Where's that Chen Jiaxuan this time? I want to see her again and have some fun with her."
"How did you know I was in this dormitory?" Ling Yun asked calmly.
A cold smile bloomed at the corner of Ding Hao's mouth: "Finding you isn't difficult. Do you think everyone else is a fool?" His expression turned ferocious, and the veins on his forehead bulged: "Ling Yun, you are just the first person I want to take revenge on. Chen Jiaxuan and the others will not get away with it. I will take back the humiliation they gave me, tenfold."
Ling Yun sighed: "So you chose to fight on campus? That would easily get noticed by the school, and fighting can lead to expulsion."
Ding Hao smiled nonchalantly: "That's only for ordinary students like you who have no background. I won't have that problem, and I won't lay a hand on you. It's someone else who hits you, it has nothing to do with me."
Ling Yun sighed again. Ding Hao was very similar to Zhou Ping, but far more foolish. At least Zhou Ping knew to lure Ling Yun out of the campus before daring to retaliate, while Ding Hao insisted on using force on campus. Even with his powerful connections, didn't he know this would cause significant trouble for his backers? Besides, if these thugs got into a fight and didn't know their own strength, it could escalate into an even bigger incident. Even with Ding Hao's powerful connections, could he really protect him?
"Ding Hao, can I make a phone call first? Just one minute," Ling Yun said after thinking for a moment.
"You're planning to bring a group of people over to fight me too?" Ding Hao said nonchalantly, waving his hand. "Do as you please, but let me warn you beforehand, we'll be going in a minute. I'm not stupid enough to wait for your people to arrive before we make our move."
Ling Yun took out his phone, pressed a few buttons, and then held it to his ear. The call connected, and Zhou Ping's deep, magnetic voice rang out: "Who is it?"
"Zhou Ping, I am Ling Yun," Ling Yun said calmly.
Chapter 42 Campus Police
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds. "Is something wrong?" Zhou Ping's voice lacked confidence; clearly, the weight of the 100 million yuan IOU was still considerable.
"I might get into a group fight on campus, and the school will probably find out. I hope you can pull some strings for me right away so it won't affect me," Ling Yun said casually.
"A gang fight?! On campus?" Zhou Ping's voice suddenly rose eight octaves. "Are you crazy? I'm not the principal, I'm just a student. How can I smooth things over for you?"
"Don't get agitated," Ling Yun patiently reassured him, as if Zhou Ping were the one about to take action, not him. "I know this is difficult, but I believe you will find a way. I am your creditor, aren't I?"
The word "creditor" seemed to possess a magical power, and Zhou Ping's voice immediately lowered. "Ling Yun, this all happened so suddenly. You need to give me some time. By the way, who is the person who wants to harm you? Do I know him?"
“It’s someone named Ding Hao, do you know him?” Ling Yun asked. Zhou Ping and Ding Hao are both from wealthy families, though Zhou Ping’s background is more influential; perhaps the two really do know each other.
"Of course I know him. His father is my father's subordinate. Quickly, let him answer the phone." Zhou Ping's voice became excited. He hadn't expected that the person who was harming Ling Yun was Ding Hao. If he could get Ding Hao to stop because of this, it would be much easier than smoothing things over after a brawl on campus.
Ling Yun was also somewhat surprised, not expecting that Zhou Ping and Ding Hao actually knew each other, and seemed quite familiar with each other. He took his phone and walked up to Ding Hao, "Ding Hao, Zhou Ping wants to talk to you."
"Zhou Ping? How do you know him?" Ding Hao looked at Ling Yun suspiciously, then took the phone from his hand. "Is it Zhou Ping?"
Ling Yun stepped back a few paces. Zhou Ping was talking incessantly to Ding Hao on his phone. Ding Hao remained silent, patiently listening to Zhou Ping, but his expression grew increasingly grim, and he would occasionally glance at Ling Yun.
A dozen or so thugs stood behind Ding Hao, glaring menacingly at Ling Yun, ready to pounce like wolves at his command and give him a good beating. These men were hired by Ding Hao from the streets; they were paid to do what they were paid to do, and their opponent was a seemingly weak and frail young man, which naturally fueled their desire to abuse him.
Ling Yun looked up at the dormitory building. Almost every window on the side facing the main entrance had students peeking out, watching the impending fight. They seemed completely uninvolved, like spectators at a spectacle. However, Ling Yun noticed that only his own dormitory, 308, remained completely closed. There was no way the commotion outside was unknown to those inside. Either no one was there, or Qin Zhengwei and his two companions were pretending not to know to avoid the awkward situation of not helping each other if they encountered each other.
Ding Hao was still on the phone with Zhou Ping, but his face had become very hesitant, and he seemed to be whispering something. Clearly, Zhou Ping was trying his best to persuade him to give up the fight, but since Ding Hao had already gone to great lengths to hire someone to take revenge on Ling Yun, he was naturally unwilling to give up so easily.
Ling Yun waited patiently. Zhou Ping's skill level was superior to Ding Hao's, so he expected a satisfactory result. Of course, whether or not to take action didn't affect Ling Yun much. Just based on the background of the Sihai Group, Ling Yun wouldn't have any reservations. Moreover, as a superhuman, his mentality was far different from that of ordinary people like Ding Hao. What seemed like a very troublesome matter to ordinary people was insignificant to Ling Yun.
However, Ding Hao's appearance today was a bit strange. How did he know whether he was in the dormitory or not? Ling Yun had a question in his mind.
Ding Hao finally hung up the phone, his face ashen, and strode up to Ling Yun. Without a word, he handed the phone back to Ling Yun, then turned and roared at the group of thugs who were rubbing their fists together, "Let's go!"
The thugs were immediately stunned, as were the students watching from the dormitory and nearby. This young man had somehow managed to make them all leave with just a phone call; he certainly had some skill. Some were disappointed; they had been expecting a big fight, but it had all fallen through. What a mess!
Some of the thugs wanted to ask Ding Hao what was going on, but seeing the incomparable resentment and suppressed anger on Ding Hao's face, they wisely kept quiet. They'd already gotten the money, saved themselves the trouble of beating someone, and why bother provoking Ding Hao?
The group arrived with great fanfare but left in a dismal fashion. Ding Hao was the most frustrated; he couldn't understand why Zhou Ping had told him to stop. But Ding Hao wasn't stupid. He could hear the barely concealed hatred for Ling Yun in Zhou Ping's tone, but even more so, a sense of apprehension, as if Ling Yun held some leverage over him. He had originally wanted to deal with Ling Yun regardless of the consequences. However, he couldn't disregard Zhou Ping's feelings, because Zhou Ping's background was far deeper and his influence in the underworld far greater than his own. Compared to Zhou Ping, Ding Hao was just a small-time thug. In the end, reason prevailed over emotion; otherwise, beating Ling Yun wouldn't have been difficult, but offending Zhou Ping would have been irreparable.
The students in the dormitory building and those who had been watching the commotion dispersed once the situation had calmed down, and the dormitory security guards, who had been on high alert, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Excuse me, wait a moment, classmate." A shout came from afar, startling Ling Yun, who was about to enter the dormitory building.
Turning his head, he saw two campus police officers in dark blue short-sleeved uniforms walking quickly towards him. One of them was nodding to Ling Yun, signaling him to stop.
"The campus police arrived just in time," Ling Yun thought with a cold smile. In the blink of an eye, two campus police officers had already walked up to Ling Yun. One of the officers, a burly man, looked Ling Yun up and down, a professional smile on his face, and said in a friendly tone, "You must be Ling Yun. We just received a report that you got into a fight with some people from outside the school. Can you tell us what happened?"
Ling Yun shook his head and said, "I don't know. Someone tried to hit me just now, but they didn't succeed. They've already left, and I don't know them."