Energetisch

Kapitel 9

How much longer can I hold on? A minute? Or fifty seconds?

Shen Fengxi asked himself, the howling sound was becoming unbearable, and the mutated Xiao Gu—no matter what she turned into—would be the biggest threat. Now, hiding under the bed, he couldn't even put on his most basic defensive "form". Once discovered, he would be at the mercy of others.

Just as it was about to reach the critical point, the whistling stopped abruptly. The dark red veins and bloodstains on the girl's legs receded like a receding tide, and her calves regained their former luster. The lights in the room, which had dimmed, were turned on again, and everything returned to normal.

Xiao Gu remained silent, still dragging his strange steps as he left through the door.

As soon as she left, Shen Fengxi scrambled out from under the bed. He wiped the cold sweat from his brow, somewhat annoyed. He'd seen all sorts of things before, experienced fear and danger many times, but this was the first time he'd felt so humiliated. Shen Fengxi's pride was deeply wounded, firstly because he, usually so arrogant and domineering, had been cornered under the bed like a turtle for nearly twenty minutes; secondly, because that person was Xiao Gu. The thought of this left him with a sour feeling, like water being poured into a glass of concentrated sulfuric acid.

He steadied himself, looked around, and found nothing unusual except for some five-colored rice on all four beds. He touched his chest, still shaken, utterly bewildered by what had just happened. This was a bizarre phenomenon never mentioned in any Taoist text—at least none he had ever read. All of this boiled down to one simple question: What exactly was she? What did she want?

"This is really troublesome... I'd better leave this kind of technical stuff to my senior brother."

Shen Fengxi brushed the cobwebs off his forehead, pushed open the door, and walked out of dormitory 416. He'd had enough tonight, and tomorrow he might turn into a walking powder keg—anyone who provoked him might jump up and use their fists and feet to demonstrate what a passionate youth truly is.

With the thought, "Why don't I find someone to fight?" in mind, he had just stepped into the corridor when he bumped into a group of female students returning to their dorms. Both sides froze for a moment, then the girls simultaneously screamed—

"Ah—there's a pervert!!"

Damn it!

Shen Fengxi immediately covered his face and hurriedly backed away. He was so distracted by Xiao Gu's matter that he forgot he was in the girls' dormitory and also forgot the end time of the astronomy extracurricular activity.

The girls retreated in terror, but those behind them, hearing the shouts, still surged towards them, and the two groups converged, instantly making the corridor completely jammed. This time, too many people were alerted, and Shen Fengxi couldn't use talismans to erase their memories one by one as he had before. Dormitory 416 was at the end of the corridor, with no other way out. Pressed against the concrete wall, he now resembled a rat in a cage. Tomorrow, the name "Shen Fengxi" would be forever shamefully linked with "the underwear thief of the girls' dormitory," hanging high on the bulletin board, repeatedly mentioned in every reprimand and meeting, becoming the talk of the campus…

"You damn senior brother, don't even think about getting me to pay back that three hundred yuan!"

Shen Fengxi roared inwardly, simultaneously gripping the pendant and emitting a fierce light. A gust of wind suddenly arose, instantly sweeping through the narrow corridor, blowing up clothes, basins, cardboard boxes, and toiletries hanging along the way. The girls screamed again at a high decibel level, closing their eyes and crouching down.

The wind howled for a long time. When they opened their eyes again, they found that the end of the corridor was deserted, leaving only a mess on the floor, as if it had been ransacked by the Forty Thieves...

"What?! You jumped straight down from the fourth-floor corridor?"

Ma Ming's mouth dropped open, and he even forgot to put down the fragrant kebab in his hand.

Which floor would you like?

Shen Fengxi coldly retorted, his expression growing increasingly calm. However, Ma Ming could clearly see from that face the expression that "I am currently filled with hatred and resentment towards humanity, and I really want to do something antisocial—like murder and arson."

"But how did you do that? I could only think of flying on a sword, but that kind of thing only happens in Hong Kong movies."

"I simply used a Gale Spell to block their vision, and then continuously released spiritual energy towards the ground to slow their fall. That's all."

"Tsk, tsk, you are truly remarkable." Ma Ming was full of admiration. "To be able to maintain such quick thinking in a critical moment, Junior Brother is truly exceptionally intelligent and possesses unparalleled spiritual power. You are truly the glory of our sect."

He emphasized the flattery very heavily... You should know that the boy opposite him was in a state where he could go berserk and turn into a murderer at any moment.

"Damn it! Stop fucking coming!"

Shen Fengxi gritted his teeth. He pulled up his right trouser leg, revealing several clear, bleeding wounds on his leg—injuries inflicted by sharp stones on the ground when he landed. At that moment, Shen Fengxi hadn't bothered to treat the wounds, enduring the excruciating pain as he fled the scene, finally shedding the stigma of being a "underwear thief." When he arrived at Ma Ming's dormitory, he found the latter leisurely eating barbecue skewers. In those few seconds, his mind practically replayed all the books he'd read since childhood, such as "The Ten Cruelest Tortures of the Qing Dynasty," in his mind.

Since he transferred to Haidong Middle School, nothing good has ever happened to him: first, he was beaten to death by a corpse, then he was paralyzed in bed for several days, and in between, he was attacked by low-level yin energy. Now, he risked being accused of being an underwear thief by jumping from the fourth floor and injuring his leg. What's most hateful is that his senior brother is never there when it matters, and only comes over with a smile on his face to clean up the mess afterwards.

"What a human tragedy."

Ma Ming examined the wound, adjusted his glasses, and got up to take a bottle of alcohol, a pair of tweezers, and some gauze from the cabinet behind him. He had Shen Fengxi straighten his legs and place them on his knees, then bent down to use the tweezers to remove the sand around the wound and rinsed it with alcohol to disinfect it. Shen Fengxi grimaced from the alcohol and tried to kick away and run away several times, but Ma Ming held him firmly.

“Although I agree with sayings like ‘scars are medals,’ junior brother, if you really don’t treat this wound, you might go from being a ‘cool boy’ to a one-legged hopping boy,” Ma Ming said.

"Don't blame me for killing my brother if you keep making sarcastic remarks! Who caused this?! Who?!"

Shen Fengxi flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table with a loud bang. Ma Ming glanced at him, then poured the alcohol onto the wound with a "whoosh," causing Shen Fengxi to wince in pain. He gasped for breath while continuing his accusations:

"Why did you let those women come back so early? Even if you had delayed for five more minutes, I could have left calmly."

Ma Ming had finished cleaning all the wounds and began to bandage them with gauze, his technique skillful: "We agreed on an hour, and everyone is tired after a long day of teaching. Not going over time is my principle as a teacher."

"Is that so? Then, my principle is to avenge every wrong and not pay back any money."

The boy's smile was ferocious, and his tone was firm.

Ma Ming sighed, bent down to tie the last piece of gauze, and squinted his eyes.

"The problem is, I just noticed that besides the injury, there seems to be some strange smell on your leg."

Shen Fengxi hurriedly pulled his leg back, pulled down his trouser leg, and grabbed the remaining skewers of grilled meat from the table, chewing them voraciously. After he finished eating everything edible, he wiped his greasy mouth with a look of lingering satisfaction before Ma Ming asked:

"So, what was discovered?"

“You know what? When I got to your dorm just now, I was thinking that if you asked ‘What did you find?’ and then ‘Are you sure it’s okay if you jump off the building?’, I would just push you off the top of the teaching building and make sure you land face down.”

“Catching ghosts is just a job, but you borrowed money from me. Debt always takes precedence over employers,” Ma Ming asked comfortably, leaning back in his chair. “Hurry up and tell me, or your dorm deadline will be approaching.”

"The deadline probably won't be early today." Shen Fengxi looked out the window, where the distant campus was filled with the faint sounds of people talking, and the girls' dormitory still seemed to be far from quiet.

Then, he recounted in detail what he had seen and heard in dormitory 416 to Ma Ming, and placed the five-colored rice grains and the candle on the table. Ma Ming listened attentively, then held the five-colored rice grains and the candle in his hands and examined them repeatedly. His expression was neither surprised nor indignant; his face was ashen, and he remained silent, only gently stroking the nail of his left little finger with his right hand.

Shen Fengxi knew that whenever Ma Ming showed this expression, it meant his brain was working at lightning speed. Although his senior brother's character and integrity were unreliable, he was indeed skilled at data analysis, especially at unraveling complex events to uncover the truth. Since someone else was putting in the effort, he could take a break. It wasn't that he lacked the intelligence, but he was inherently lazy—very lazy, extremely lazy—and wouldn't bother thinking unless absolutely necessary.

So, Shen Fengxi didn't bother the mind slave. He dragged his aching right leg to the window and looked outside. When he thought of Xiao Gu, a sudden, inexplicable sense of loss overwhelmed him, and his mood plummeted like the receding tide.

"Don't be silly, the heart is only responsible for supplying blood, while the control of emotions is in the cerebral cortex."

Shen Fengxi rejected this ridiculous idea without hesitation, and punched the window glass, causing the window frame to tremble. His own reflection in the glass also swayed.

“You said…” Ma Ming, who was still deep in thought, suddenly frowned and asked, “How many kinds of magic arrays use candles?”

"I think I'll need them all," Shen Fengxi replied casually, while lightly scraping the glass with his fingernail, producing a sharp, unbearable scraping sound.

“As far as we know, there are 528 types.” Ma Ming stood up and counted them one by one on his fingers. “Among them, there are 203 types of magic arrays used for summoning or restraint. Considering the limitations of the space and other necessary magic tools, there are no more than 100 types that can be cast in a dormitory of that size. And of these 100 types, there are less than 40 types that do not require high-level Taoist techniques and complex incantations.”

Shen Fengxi snapped irritably, "Just give me the conclusion."

"Hmm, this candle was bought from a convenience store, and now it's burned down to only 20 centimeters. We can deduce that the entire magic circle lasted for about half an hour—only five types of magic circles can meet this condition."

"You suspect that these girls set up the magic array on their own?"

"It's very possible. As you know, the level of ignorance and curiosity among children these days regarding these supernatural things is astonishing. This candle could very well be one of the props they used. Although we have no way of knowing whether they were playing with a Ouija board, a spirit board, or some other unusual magic array, one thing I can confirm is that all five of these magic arrays are extremely dangerous."

"So they broke some taboo and caused a huge mess?"

"It's hard to say, it depends on how serious the taboo is. Besides..." Ma Ming paused intentionally, glancing at Shen Fengxi. The latter's expression tightened, and he said coldly, "Speak quickly if you have something to say!"

Ma Mingcai continued, "Judging from the results of your investigation today, that girl Gu Fuchen is probably the mastermind behind dormitory 416."

Shen Fengxi frowned slightly. He didn't really like the term "mastermind," especially when it was used to describe Gu Fuchen. However, the facts were undeniable: the five-colored rice she scattered on the bed was used to summon Yin Corpses, and he had witnessed her mutation firsthand.

“Gu Fuchen is very likely not human.” Ma Ming seized the opportunity to raise another finger.

"I'm a Taoist priest, after all, but I didn't sense anything unusual about her. Besides, if she's not human, why would she come to my dorm to peel fruit, and why would she know how to blush..."

Shen Fengxi murmured his defenses in his heart, but couldn't voice them. The undeniable facts and the incredibly vivid memories contradicted and cut each other off, ultimately splitting his feelings into two different worlds.

“Now there’s another problem: who was the corpse that attacked you that day? We can’t go to Gu Fuchen if we don’t know the truth,” Ma Ming continued.

There were four girls living in the dormitory. Apart from Jiang Ye, who had taken a leave of absence and returned home, the other three were still living as usual. The body must belong to someone else, but there hadn't been any student disappearances at Haidong High School.

As the two were discussing, suddenly, the wooden door made a loud banging sound; someone was knocking violently. Ma Ming quickly and carefully put away the five-colored rice and candles, then got up to open the door. Standing outside were the "Three Fools," their faces showing alarm, yet also a hint of excitement.

"Why aren't you all asleep so late?"

Wu Bing gestured excitedly with his hands: "It seems like something terrible has happened in the girls' dormitory! Even the police cars have arrived."

“We already know that, but good children should go to bed now,” Ma Ming replied.

Wu Bing's gaze passed over his shoulder and saw the mysterious transfer student, Shen Fengxi, staring blankly at the glass, completely ignoring them.

"No, no, that's not what we meant," Chu Yunnan quickly interjected. "We were originally planning to run out and see what was going on, but we accidentally saw Gu Fuchen heading to the administration building on the way."

"Administration building?!" Shen Fengxi and Ma Ming were both surprised.

For anyone else, entering the administration building wouldn't be news. But it was this particular sensitive person, at this sensitive time, who happened to enter that sensitive building. The two exchanged a glance.

"Junior brother, go and take a look."

"Senior brother, go and take a look."

"..."

"Alright, alright..." Ma Ming patted his head helplessly, pointed at the three restless brats, "Then you can take these three back with you on your way back to the dormitory to avoid causing trouble again."

Shen Fengxi rolled his eyes; he knew this senior brother wouldn't suffer a loss.

Ma Ming then deliberately approached Dong Hua in a very serious manner and said to the fat man in a solemn tone, "Yin ghosts love to suck people's life force, especially fat people's. You'd better not wander around." Dong Hua nodded repeatedly in fright.

The four parted ways in front of Ma Ming's dormitory. Shen Fengxi escorted the three overly curious guys back to the boys' dormitory.

Meanwhile, Ma Ming went alone to the administration building again—the source of Yin energy that had lost its guiding influence. Just in case, he brought two stacks of talismans, a portable peach wood sword, a miniature jade chime ruler, and several small magic seals, and also carried a test tube of cinnabar in his pocket. He was different from Shen Fengxi, who was naturally fierce and mainly relied on his innate Qi and incantations to fight. In his master's words, "This little devil was born with a lot of malevolent energy and is a reckless person." Ma Ming, on the other hand, had an average physique and could only focus on the precise application of external tools such as magic weapons and talismans. It could be said that they were following different paths.

The corpses that night had already caused the brothers and disciples a lot of trouble. If Gu Fuchen was the mastermind, his strength would probably double. Without proper preparation, they would likely face a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.

It was already past nine o'clock. The girls' dormitory in one corner of the campus was still bustling with activity, while the administration building inside the main gate had long since fallen into silence. Through Ma Ming's eyes, it resembled an ancient underwater castle immersed in a sea of yin energy. Its enormous form looked particularly ferocious under the thin clouds of the night, and wisps of yin energy occasionally lingered from the dark window openings, as if endowing the building with a terrifying vitality.

"Hopefully this isn't the last chapter of this series."

Ma Ming muttered to himself, took out a handful of concealment ash and sprinkled it around his nostrils and mouth, and also stuck an assimilation talisman on his navel. The ash smeared on his mouth and nose could cover the yang energy he exhaled, and the assimilation talisman could, to some extent, make his body conform to the surrounding environment. In this way, regardless of whether Gu Fuchen was a demon or a human, Ma Ming could conceal his whereabouts.

After completing these preparations, Ma Ming formed a hand seal and stepped into the administration building. The door was unlocked and showed no signs of forced entry, which surprised him; it at least proved that there were definitely people still inside.

The administration building was eerily silent, pitch black, with only empty corridors and staircases forming a monotonous maze leading to endless darkness. Even the photos of "Advanced Workers" and "Three Good Students" on the walls looked strangely eerie, staring expressionlessly at Ma Ming as he passed by. Ma Ming had a persistent feeling that their eyes followed him—or perhaps it wasn't just a feeling.

Finding a little girl in such a large and dark building is no easy task. The eerie atmosphere has turned the entire building into a giant aquarium, and people walking inside move with a light, unsteady gait, like divers strolling through water.

Ma Ming started searching from the first floor, being careful not to reveal his whereabouts. It took him a full ten minutes to check all the rooms on the first floor, and no one was there. He did the same on the second floor. Ma Ming was a little out of breath and felt that this was not a sustainable solution and was too much of a waste of time. So he took out a small device that looked like a thermometer and waved it in the air a few times.

This is his own invention, combining science and Taoist techniques, called the Yin-Yang Measuring Instrument, specifically used to measure the density of Yin energy. Yin energy is viscous and does not easily disperse once it gathers in one place. If someone walks through Yin energy, it will inevitably push the Yin energy to both sides, changing its density, just like leaving footprints on damp mud.

He shook the densitometer back and forth, the instrument constantly displaying the current density of yin energy. He quickly discovered a small area with a density different from the rest. Ma Ming quickly calculated the density difference between this area and the surrounding area, concluding that someone about 1.6 meters tall must have passed by here—which matched Xiao Gu perfectly.

His spirits lifted, and he immediately followed the trail, discovering that this low-density area of yin energy led upwards along the stairs. He followed step by step, holding the measuring instrument, and gradually reached the sixth floor. The red marks on the sixth-floor stairs were still clearly visible, though their shape was different from what he had seen before—but most people would have no idea that these red marks had once come alive, transforming into a terrifying sea of blood.

Halfway there, Ma Ming suddenly bent down and didn't dare to breathe.

On the sixth floor, directly below the small door leading to the roof, Xiao Gu stood alone, head bowed and silent, seemingly waiting for something. The sight of a girl in white standing silently in the dark stairwell was incredibly eerie.

Should I go out and confront her directly, or wait and see?

After much deliberation, Ma Ming chose the latter. As it turned out, Ma Ming's choice wasn't exactly wise, but it was certainly quite dramatic. Just three minutes later, another person appeared, someone who completely surprised Ma Ming—

Director Wu.

Director Wu was still dressed in his usual cadre attire, but his lips trembled constantly, and he would occasionally twist his thick neck to look around with difficulty, while he kept wiping non-existent sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Director Wu, you've arrived."

Gu Fuchen said calmly.