Ghost Stories - Chapter 12
A somber mood settled over everyone. The burly man named Liu Hai said, "Gu Feng, you must be a resident student here, right? If He Ye comes back in the future, give us a call, and we brothers can have a good get-together."
Gu Feng gave an awkward smile: "We'll see when the time comes."
"Then let's go back to training! Shixin, train him hard."
Shixin smiled and nodded, and the group gradually dispersed.
As Zhuang Yu walked, he said, "That kid He Ye is really lucky with women. I should go to the hospital to have a look around sometime."
Gu Feng watched them leave with a sense of loss, then turned to look at Shi Xin and asked in a low voice, "Tell me, was what I did right?"
Shixin comforted her, "Lies are certainly unacceptable, but I believe you are doing the right thing. I think He Ye would also approve of your well-intentioned lie."
()
Chapter Fifteen of Volume One: Bitter Training
Shi Xin looked at Gu Feng and said, "Alright, don't think too much, let's begin! Remember, we need to defeat our nemesis, we don't have much time left."
Gu Feng recalled that He Ye had mentioned in his "last will and testament" that his final regret was not being able to see him defeat his nemesis. With a renewed focus, he carefully accepted Shi Xin's strict coaching...
Over the next five days, Gu Feng dared not be distracted in the slightest. With his innate talent, he quickly mastered the combo techniques taught by Shi Xin.
Shi Xin praised, "You're really not bad! With your current skill level, you should be able to play a couple of rounds with me!"
Gu Feng asked doubtfully, "Is it still impossible for me to beat you?"
Shi Xin retorted with a slight pout, "Hmph, do you really want to defeat me that badly?"
Gu Feng quickly shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant."
Shi Xin said, "Don't worry, I'm not that petty. I'd be really proud if you could beat me. People would say, 'Oh, look, this is the student Shi Xin taught. He can beat a sixth-dan player in just a few days. Haha, look how impressive that is!'"
They scoffed at the idea of traditional Chinese style.
Shixin added, "Although you have mastered almost everything I taught you, these combination techniques are not static. In combat, you must use these techniques flexibly and variedly according to the specific situation on the field. It is best to make your opponent unable to figure out the pattern of your technical movements in order to achieve the goal of winning by surprise."
Gu Feng nodded. Shi Xin continued, "Of course, I believe in your ability to perform under pressure. The only thing you're lacking right now is..."
Gu Feng asked in a panic, "What?"
Shi Xin smiled and said, "Imposing presence! ~ I noticed that when you saw your nemesis, you seemed to want to run away, is that right?"
Gu Feng quickly replied, "Where? I don't have any. I'm too busy trying to defeat him."
Shi Xin said, "I know how you feel right now, but because you always lose to him, the fear of your nemesis is deeply buried in your heart. Even if you have great momentum, if this fear is stirred, you will surely be defeated like a mountain."
Gu Feng asked doubtfully, "Really?"
Shixin smiled and said, "Of course, it's just that you haven't noticed it yet."
Gu Feng frowned: "Then, what should I do?"
Shih-hsin: "Hit!"
...
Looking at Ah Mao and Xiao Bing wearing masks that resembled their nemesis, Gu Feng just wanted to laugh out loud. How could he be in the mood to treat them seriously as his nemesis?
Shixin suddenly shouted, "Stop laughing!"
Gu Feng was startled, his expression making a complete 860-degree turn, and he quickly tightened his face. He had witnessed Shi Xin's formidable nature before; ignoring him for an entire day was the least of his worries.
Gu Feng stared intently at the mask, just as he was beginning to feel something, his gaze shifted to Ah Mao's bloated body, and he couldn't help but laugh again. It took Gu Feng most of the day to gradually adjust.
This is really tough on Xiaobing and Amao. Not only do they have to endure Gu Feng's kicks, but they also get scolded by Shixin for every mistake they make. It's truly a tragedy!
Gu Feng indeed found that once he got into the zone, looking at his "nemesis" in front of him would inexplicably make him feel uneasy, and he would constantly flash back to those "glorious" scenes of himself being knocked to the ground by his nemesis. The frequency and power of his kicks would decrease irrationally. After training like this for about two days, watching himself knock his nemesis to the ground, the frequency of that feeling gradually decreased, and what he kept thinking about was the image of himself kicking his nemesis down.
Although the two "human punching bags" were covered with protective gear, and Gu Feng had promised not to use excessive force, once he got into the "scene" and started to enjoy the fight, he would inevitably experience pain whether lying on his side or lying on his back when he slept at night.
On the third day of training using this method.
Early in the morning, just as the ancient style was in full swing, a loud commotion suddenly came from the construction site outside. Even though it was far away, the noise still disturbed them.
Looking out through the transparent glass wall, the group saw some cultural bureau workers in white uniforms on the construction site in the distance, arguing loudly with the workers.
Gu Feng glanced at Shi Xin, and seeing her nod in agreement, he led the three curious people out together.
Upon closer inspection, Gu Feng was astonished to see some workers adding yellow soil into the large pit, intending to bury it. Although the few staff members from the Cultural Bureau were eager to stop them, the tall and burly workers blocked their way, leaving them with no way to break through.
One of them, who had clearly met Gu Feng in the lab that day, shouted as they approached, "Gu Feng, stop them!"
Gu Feng frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
"They want to fill in the pit, but we haven't excavated underneath yet."
Shixin asked one of the workers, "Who ordered you to do this?"
A man who looked like a foreman stepped forward: "Me!"
The foreman was covered in dust and dirt, but his sharply defined features clearly depicted the image of a man of courage and integrity.
Gu Feng asked doubtfully, "Does the club president know?"
The foreman shook his head and said, "We will explain this to the company president later."
Why fill the hole?
“There are unclean things in here. We don’t want them to come out and harm people again, so we have to fill it in.”
"Ridiculous, absurd!" said the worker in white. "Where is there anything dirty? It's just an excuse you're making up to avoid delaying the project!"
The foreman was clearly showing signs of anger: "Kid, I'm doing this for your own good. You saw what happened to Xiao Li that day. He's in a terrible state now. Do you want to end up like him?"
"What a joke, he just has a weak mentality and went insane, what does this hole have to do with it?"
The foreman said fiercely, "Fine, since you insist, I won't be a good guy anymore. Go ahead and get down! Hey, you guys stop!"
The workers shoveling soil immediately stopped when asked, and the people who were blocking them also stepped aside.
Gu Feng moved slightly closer to the edge of the cave. The once bottomless cave now revealed a mound of yellow earth about six or seven meters deep, reflecting a faint light. The surrounding area of the cave stretched out to an unknown distance.
A dry, unpleasant smell wafted out of the cave, along with some of the same kind of ash-like substance as last time.
The staff member frowned as he looked at the deep cave, thinking that such a massive ruin was beyond the capabilities of the two of them to explore today.
Looking at another colleague, he said, "There's still a lot of space inside; it will be difficult for the two of us to complete the task."
The man said, "The bureau doesn't have any large-scale professional tools, so I'm afraid we'll have to report to the province for approval to send someone down."
The man in front of me frowned and glanced at the large pit a few more times: "That's the only way. You should go back and ask the director for instructions."
The man asked, "Zhang Cheng, what about you?"
"I'm staying to protect the scene," Zhang Cheng said to the foreman, "to prevent some clueless people from causing trouble again."
The foreman glared angrily: "Don't worry, if you're not afraid of dying, I won't bother you."
He then waved his hand, instructing everyone to continue working.
Gu Feng looked at the dark hole and felt a strong urge to explore its secrets, but Shi Xin pulled him back at that moment.
"We should go back to training."
Gu Feng nodded, greeted the man named Zhang Cheng, and the group continued their journey back the way they came.
A thought suddenly struck Gu Feng: "Why not take advantage of tonight to find out what's going on?"
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Chapter Sixteen of Volume One: Ancient Caves
The day's training passed quickly. Ah Mao and the other two couldn't wait to ask Gu Feng to treat them to a meal before going back to sleep. Although Gu Feng found this training method strenuous, they were the ones who suffered the most. If it weren't for the fact that Gu Feng promised to let them choose the dishes and pay for them, even their best friends of many years wouldn't have to endure this hardship.
These past few days, apart from secretly going back to He Ye's arranged cremation, Gu Feng has been sleeping in the dormitory nearby. After sending Ah Mao and the other two back, Gu Feng made an excuse and ran away alone again.
The time isn't right yet. Although the workers have long since left, there are still people training at the judo hall in front of the construction site. The lights are shining on the site, and it wouldn't be good to accidentally become a thief.
Gu Feng walked around the nearby sheds, which were only used for resting and were not guarded at night. Several tens of minutes later, it was almost time to turn off the lights.
"Ka"
All was silent; the construction site was shrouded in boundless darkness.
Although he understands and believes in the existence of "ghosts" in this world, his inherently bold and fearless nature remains unchanged.
Gu Feng arrived at the cave entrance, and the strange aura made him feel nauseous again.
What's inside? Why is there such a big hole at the bottom of the coffin? Why did that worker go crazy after going down there? Could it really be something "dirty" inside, as the foreman said?
With a string of questions in mind, Gu Feng found a thick rope that he had noticed at noon. One end was tied to a cement block, and the other end was slowly lowered into the hole.
The thick rope was quite long, with a large section still sticking out after reaching the bottom.
Gu Feng looked around to make sure no one was watching, turned on the small flashlight he always carried, grabbed the rope with one hand, and slowly slid down.
With limited flashlight light, Gu Feng only focused on the spot where he was about to stand, and had no energy left to pay attention to the surrounding structures.
Upon arriving, Gu Feng's feet touched the yellow soil that the workers had filled in that morning. Only after stepping firmly did he notice the unusual arrangement of the surroundings.
Although the flashlight wasn't very bright, the faint light made it possible to vaguely see that the wall in the distance was made of some kind of stone, with a bright yellow color. But that wasn't the problem. What surprised Gu Feng even more was that it was covered with strange symbols, somewhat similar to the so-called ghost-suppressing talismans that charlatans in the martial arts world claimed to use.
Looking at the ancient style from all sides, it was found that the same thing was densely packed together. On the due north side, there were three fierce and evil figures, holding divine whips and Bagua symbols. I wonder which kind of ghost-catching immortals were so ugly!
The three statues had glowing eyes, and judging from Gu Feng's appearance, they were probably inlaid with something like luminescent stone. However, they were undeniably terrifying and disgusting; even he felt a chill run down his spine.
Beneath the statue was an altar with an incense burner, and next to it was a beautifully carved black wooden box, the contents of which were unknown.
Gu Feng was curious and wanted to go and open it to see what was going on, but when he shone his flashlight on the road ahead, he was troubled because it was covered with "grass ash".
After hesitating for a while, Gu Feng estimated the length and concluded that the loess under his feet should be enough to pave a path.
The loose loess soil was easily covered with the disgusting "grass ash" by the ancient people's hands and feet, and then moved closer to the incense table.
Upon closer inspection, Gu Feng used a small flashlight to examine the wooden box carefully. He couldn't tell what kind of wood it was made of, but it showed no signs of decay whatsoever. After dusting it off, it remained as bright and new as ever.
The box is carved with beautiful antique patterns, suggesting it's a valuable artifact. A gold lock in the shape of a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) is fastened to the black wooden box; the old man gently tugged on it twice, finding it quite sturdy.
However, since the lock was small and the person was large, even with a strong pull, the lock still broke apart.
Before Gu Feng could even take a good look at what was inside the box, a sudden gust of cold wind howled and swirled through the cave, making him feel unsteady.
After a while, the gale finally subsided.
Gu Feng looked at the wooden box still in his hand and asked in confusion, "Where did this strong wind come from?"
Looking up at the cave entrance, he immediately dismissed the hypothesis that the wind was coming in from there. He shone his small flashlight around again, thinking that there should be another hidden door here.