Chapter 4: Lost in Confusion

  One week after the bloody battle at Xifeng Mountain, Guo Jing received news from within the police department that there had been no progress in solving the case. The charred bodies made it extremely difficult to identify them, and the discarded weapons were also severely damaged by fire. The investigation of the case had not made any substantial progress, only a preliminary determination was made that it was a gang fight led by Eagle Brother.

  When Cao learned of this news, he let out a sigh of relief. If the police investigated in this direction, they wouldn't fall into their line of sight. Zhu Jianjun hadn't come to work at Dongda for a week, and although he had also reported to the police, the police didn't connect him with the bloody case on Xifeng Mountain.

  As for Liu Sanmazi, who sold the weapons, he was very well-informed and had already escaped to a place where no one would suspect him. With this lead cut off, the police wouldn't be able to find any connection between the weapons and Cao Sen's group. The two team members who were shot were sent to a private hospital in another province by Tengfei and his men that same night, without arousing the attention of the police.

  Cao Sen arranged everything after the bloody battle very properly, leaving almost no obvious clues, unless something unexpected happened, it would not be noticed by the police.

  But it still happened unexpectedly.

  That night, after dinner in the cafeteria, Cao Sen wanted to go back to his dormitory to rest. A familiar figure made him almost jump up, and what he saw was not someone else, but Zhu Jianjun who had already died on Xifeng Mountain!

  Zhu Jianjun's face was gaunt and haggard, but he walked calmly to Cao Sen's front and said, "Sen Ge, I want to talk to you."

  Cao Sen instinctively reached for his gun, but his Desert Eagle had been destroyed in the fire. However, Kolok's pistol was still holstered under his arm. He drew it out halfway before putting it back, as he observed Zhu Jianjun with his discerning energy threads to confirm that he was human and not a ghost. There were no other unusual individuals around, and he didn't sense any danger. Since Zhu Jianjun wasn't dead, Cao Sen had to know the reason and what had happened, as well as why Zhu wanted to talk to him.

  "Alright, go to my dormitory." Cao Sen knew that the female ghost Jing Zhe was in the dormitory. If Zhu Jianjun had any ill intentions, Jing Zhe would give an early warning.

  "Alright, go back to your dormitory." Zhu Jianjun agreed very readily.

  Two people walked silently towards the graduate student dormitory building, Cao Sen's mood was slightly tense, he didn't know what Zhu Jianjun wanted to do, a person who should have been dead was walking safely beside him, Cao Sen felt a bit strange in his heart, or rather, a bit afraid.

  Two people came to the dormitory, Jing Zhe hid in mid-air and stared at Zhu Jianjun with great surprise. She knew that this person was dead, how could he be alive and standing in front of her? And he was getting along with Cao Sen, weren't they sworn enemies?

  Cao Sen hinted at Jing Zhe to pay attention to the movements around him and said to Zhu Jianjun: "Please sit down."

  "Is there any smoke?" Zhu Jianjun casually found a chair to sit down, took the cigarette handed over by Cao Sen and took a deep breath, remaining silent for a long time before saying, "Cao Sen, I really want to kill you!"

  When he heard this, Cao Sen felt relieved instead. Zhu Jianjun's words were a normal person's normal reaction, and the pressure brought by his open and upright threat was far less than that of Zhu Jianjun's sudden resurrection. Cao Sen had never been afraid of others' threats.

  "Now you can take action." Cao Sen said directly to Zhu Jianjun.

  "I not only want to kill you, but also Sima De, Teng Fei, Guo Jing, Ding Haitao, including Wu Fang, Lan Er and Yang Xin. I want to kill all of them!" A string of names slowly came out of Zhu Jianjun's mouth one by one, obviously he was extremely resentful towards these people.

  Cao Sen didn't say anything, he somewhat understood the other party's intention now.

  "You've ruined everything for me, completely and utterly, leaving nothing behind." Zhu Jianjun ground out the last of his cigarette on the floor with a vicious stomp.

  He lit another cigarette and said, "Cao Sen, you are a real man, so I came to find you tonight. My purpose in finding you is to make peace, to apologize, and to ask you to spare me."

  Cao Sen knew what he meant, no matter how Zhu Jianjun escaped, as long as the Cao brothers found out, they would continue to hunt him down. Zhu Jianjun had no confidence in evading the pursuit, so he directly came to find Cao Sen and ask for mercy. If Zhu Jianjun was sincere, Cao Sen could agree to his request, but what if? What if Zhu Jianjun was playing another trick, Cao Sen didn't want to bring danger to himself and his brothers by showing mercy.

  "Why didn't you call the police?"

  Zhu Jianjun smiled, "You're not unaware of what I've done. How can I report to the police? Reporting would be mutual destruction."

  Cao Sen was somewhat bewildered, what did you do and how am I supposed to know?

  "Brother Sen, if you continue to pretend to be ignorant, you won't look like a man anymore. Not long ago, in order to fight for a piece of land, Eagle Brother and I personally took action and killed two senior executives of a company. Didn't you and Teng Fei happen to witness it?"

  Cao Sen's head was a bit dizzy, what and what? "Wait, slow down, when did I see you kill someone?"

  Zhu Jianjun took a closer look at Cao Sen, understanding his nature and wisdom. There was no need to pretend to be confused with him at this moment. He also felt somewhat puzzled, "Wasn't it the four of you that night?"

  Cao Sen thought back to the recent events and somewhat understood what Zhu Jianjun meant, "In other words, when you and Eagle Brother killed someone, there was a witness. You thought it was me and Teng Fei's group, but then Sima De told you that we had evidence against you, so you sent four special forces soldiers to kill us, right?"

  Zhu Jianjun nodded, "That's right."

  Cao Sen bitterly smiled and said, "We've all been played!"

  "Wasn't it you guys that night?" Zhu Jianjun asked in surprise.

  "Where were you on the day of the murder?" Cao Sen asked.

  Zhu Jianjun asked one by one, Cao Sen thought for a moment and said: "The day you mentioned, I was in the dormitory practicing my superpower. As for what exactly Teng Fei and the other two did, I don't know, but I dare to guarantee that they didn't go to the place you said!"

  Zhu Jianjun stood up in surprise, "Sen Ge, don't lie to me."

  Cao Sen shook his head and glanced at Zhu Jianjun without saying a word.

  Zhu Jianjun understood Cao Sen's eyes: Now that you're like this, do I need to cheat you? He slumped into the chair and muttered: "Who set me up for this? Damn it, they're going to kill me!"

  If Zhu Jianjun hadn't mistakenly thought that Cao Sen saw him kill someone, he wouldn't have sent special forces to silence him, and Cao Sen wouldn't have gone on a rampage buying weapons for revenge. The whole incident at Xifeng Mountain might not have happened at all. Maybe Zhu Jianjun would be sitting comfortably at home counting his money right now. The more Zhu Jianjun thought about it, the more regretful he became. Who had carefully set up this trap? Was it aimed at him or Cao Sen?

  "Zhu Jianjun, did you see clearly that night, were we four brothers?"

  "I saw it clearly, I clearly saw you and Tengfei standing not far away from me with cold smiles, then walking into the dark night and disappearing. If I hadn't seen it clearly, would I have come to kill you just because of Sima De's few self-righteous words? But you say it wasn't you, where on earth can four people who look exactly like you be found? Am I saying that what I saw were ghosts?" Zhu Jianjun's face suddenly turned pale as he spoke.

  Cao Sen also felt a chill in his heart, thinking of the fierce ghost in the teaching building, transforming into old man Sun Derong to lock the door, and adding to the trap that sparked the conflict between him and Zhu Jianjun. He vaguely felt that there was a thread that could link all these things together, but he couldn't grasp this elusive "thread".

  "Brother Sen, do you think there are ghosts in this world?"

  "Why are you asking like this?"

  "The special forces I sent to kill you told me that on the night of the operation, just as they were about to succeed, they suddenly lost their way in the narrow corridor and were hit by a gust of eerie wind, like the legendary ghost crashing into the wall. I know the capabilities of those special forces, if something inexplicable hadn't happened, with or without intention, you would have definitely not escaped from their clutches."

  "So I didn't take any rash action later, but instead found a master from outside the world, that is, the person who controlled the wooden sword on Western Buddha Mountain. I wanted to ask him to see if you brothers had any ghostly help. Things coincided, when you broke into the mountain top, my man was bringing the master from outside the world up the mountain, preparing to discuss the next step in dealing with you four brothers. As a result, after a big battle, I thoroughly lost."

  Zhu Jianjun lit another cigarette, "Sen Ge, things have come to this point, you give me a real word, is there really a ghost in this world? Are there ghosts helping you by your side? Those who pretend to be you may not even be human, but the appearance of ghosts changing, stirring up our fire and trouble, what I said is correct, right?"

  Cao Sen also lit a cigarette and looked at Zhu Jianjun in the swirling smoke, "You just need to know that I have some abilities that ordinary people don't have."

  Zhu Jianjun knew that although the two people seemed to be having a heart-to-heart conversation, in reality Cao Sen would not let his guard down around him, and some questions he wouldn't get answers to from Cao Sen.

  "Well then, I won't waste any more of your time either, Sen Ge. We've already figured out that this is a misunderstanding. Let's just forget about what happened in the past and start fresh from now on. What do you think?"

  "Heh," Cao Sen said with a smile, "You think I'd believe you?"

  Two people are intelligent, some words don't need to be said clearly.

  "Alright, Brother Sen is a straightforward person, and I won't hide it either. From now on, if I want to recover the losses you've caused me, I, Zhu Jianjun, absolutely will not target your personal safety, nor use violence. This is my guarantee."

  "Alright, then," Cao Sen nodded, "my brothers and I won't directly attack you personally."

  "It's settled with one word." Having achieved his purpose in coming to find Cao Sen, Zhu Jianjun stood up and bid farewell.

  Cao Sen naturally wouldn't stop him, and sent Zhu Jianjun out of the dormitory. As soon as the door closed, Jing Zhe appeared, saying angrily: "You just let that scoundrel go like that? Didn't he force Lan Er into prostitution? You should beat him up good!"

  Cao Sen replied: "Zhu Jianjun is a clever man, he won't dare to come here without preparation. If something happens to him tonight, there will be evidence unfavorable to me at the police station tomorrow."

  Jing Zhe said discontentedly: "But he didn't say he had prepared evidence just now."

  Cao Sen wanted to tell Jing Zhe that some things didn't need to be said, but he suddenly had an epiphany - no, if Zhu Jianjun encountered any problems on his way home, even if it wasn't his doing, it would still be blamed on him. Damn it, he needed to escort him safely back home.

  Cao Sen hastily opened the window and shouted loudly: "Zhu Jianjun, wait!"

  Zhu Jianjun had just walked out of the dormitory building and stopped in his tracks when he heard a voice, looking up at Cao Sen on the floor above.

  "I'll send you home, the road is not easy to walk."

  Zhu Jianjun thought for a moment and understood Cao Sen's intention, smiling and saying: "Then trouble you, Brother Sen."

  Cao Sen grabbed a coat, "Jing Zhe, let's go together."

  Jing Zhe reluctantly puckered up his mouth and unwillingly followed Cao Sen downstairs.

  The next day at noon, Cao Sen gathered Teng Fei and Sima De to the East University canteen, in a quiet private room, he told them about Zhu Jianjun's situation.

  "Didn't die?" Sima De said in surprise. "That day we forgot to sweep the battlefield, everyone give him another shot."

  "You're really pig-headed," Ding Haitao said, "Zhu Jianjun is dead, how can we uncover the conspiracy behind this?"

  Teng Fei pondered, "Who would be setting us up? What's the benefit of doing this?"

  "Whoever it is, once discovered, will be annihilated!"

  "The winter vacation is approaching, I want to go out and take a walk," Cao Sen suddenly said.

  "Don't beat around the bush, what do you want to do?" Ding Haitao asked.

  "You've noticed, haven't you, that almost everything is related to ghosts? I was thinking of going deep into the mountains to visit a master and learn some knowledge about this aspect, then come back to investigate the cause of things." Cao Sen said.

  Teng Fei let out a sigh, "Alas, another young man poisoned by chivalric romance. What 'high-ranking monks' and 'famous mountain temples'? Those are just empty words. In reality, the only thing you'll find in those deep mountains and famous temples are fake monks and Taoist priests who swindle people out of their money."

  "That's not right, I've been hearing my mom nagging me recently, saying that the Taifeng Mountain Bodhisattva in Linqi City is very efficacious, and many talented people gather there, with spiritual energy soaring to the sky. My mom almost wants me to drive her there to worship Buddha every day, it's so annoying." Ding Haitao said.

  "What Buddha to worship? Our Sen Ge is the Buddha, didn't you see that hand he showed on Western Buddha Mountain? That's called formidable!" Sima De said with deep emotion. "When did you secretly practice it? Someday teach me too, once I learn it, I won't have to go to work and suffer that kind of torment. Let's see whose wallet has more cash, directly transfer it to my own wallet, and become a millionaire within a year."

  "That's right, we've never asked you carefully, where did your special ability come from?" Guo Jing also asked with interest.

  "Heh heh, want to know?" Cao Sen said with a smile, "Let me tell you, remember when we were struck by lightning in Wufeng Mountain back then?"

  Teng Fei and Guo Jing, Ding Haitao nodded one after another. Sima De had heard Wu Fang mention this matter before, so he also leaned his head close to Cao Sen.

  "My power was brought out by a lightning strike, if you want to have special abilities too, just grab a lightning rod during the next thunderstorm and when it's over, you'll become even more powerful than me."

  Damn it! Teng Fei and the other two cursed in disappointment. If Cao Sen's ability was related to lightning, they had been struck by lightning no less than Cao Sen on Mount Wufeng, so why hadn't they seen any special abilities appear?

  Simazhe De took Cao Sen's words seriously and carefully considered the feasibility of this matter, "This...Cao Sen, if we do as you say, won't we be struck to death by lightning? I've heard that lightning has a voltage of several hundred million volts."

  "Great, how can it be? If you die, you can ascend to immortality." Teng Fei thought to himself: "Can't Sima De's brain be a bit more clever? He actually believes in such a simple joke."

  "Let's get down to business," Cao Sen brought the topic back, "I've also heard that there are some Taoist temples there, so I thought of going to Taifeng Mountain to take a look. You guys have work and no time, I'll just go by myself."

  "Who said they'd go with you?" Teng Fei asked in feigned surprise.

  The brothers all laughed and reminded Cao Sen to pay attention to safety, especially to guard against the hidden black hands in the dark.

  Simen Deyi said to Cao Sen with a serious face: "Brother, you know that Wu Fang is now living in my house, sleeping with my wife every day, making me a cuckold. When you return from Taifeng Mountain, let's get married and become relatives, and we'll be even closer."

  Caosen's face turned stern, not responding to Sima De's topic. "Be careful, the guy who calculated us is not easy to deal with. Commander, you have to take care of your wife and little sister-in-law, don't let them get into trouble again."

  Simu De made a troubled and helpless expression.

  "What about that money?" Tengfei said, "We didn't spend much on the wounded person's medical treatment, there's still a lot left, how should we deal with it?"

  "Nonsense, do you need to ask?" Guo Jing said, "Of course all brothers share equally, this is called robbing the rich and helping the poor. Damn it, I've given all my money to Liu Sanmazi, and recently I'm really struggling."

  Cao Sen nodded, "That's it, Teng Fei, you calculate how much each of the nineteen brothers will get. The two injured ones will get double shares. Find an opportunity to gather and distribute them."

  "Wait a minute, didn't my wife and little sister also contribute? How come we don't show some appreciation?" Sima De said matter-of-factly.

  Damn! The brothers scolded him together.

  "How much can each person get?" Ding Haitao asked with interest.

  "Hmm... about this many," Teng Fei stretched out his hand and made a five-handed gesture.

  Fifty thousand, I've become rich!