Chapter Fourteen: Horse Father

  When someone is immersed in the exploration of something, time always flies by quickly. Before he knew it, Cao Sen had already spent more than a month in graduate school. When the first autumn rain floated over Nanquan City, Cao Sen's three brothers came to find him.

  Four people sat in a private room at the school cafeteria, chatting about the strange things that happened in their respective units.

  "Brother Sen," said Ding Haitao, who had already become a formal reporter, "we have come this time to discuss something with you."

  "Say."

  "I met a superior man." Ding Haitao said mysteriously.

  "What's going on?" Cao Sen asked strangely.

  "Able to summon the wind and rain, able to know the past and future, able to subdue demons and eliminate evil..."

  "Alright, alright, no need to say more, I know who you're talking about," Cao Sen interrupted Ding Haitao's boasting.

  "Do you know?" This time it was Ding Haitao who was surprised.

  "Yes, I know. The one you're referring to, isn't it the Buddha himself?"

  Guo Jing and Teng Fei burst out laughing.

  "Haha, what I said just now was a bit exaggerated, but this person is absolutely brilliant, absolutely a master!"

  "Is what you want to discuss with me related to this gentleman?"

  "That's right, I'll invite him to the teaching building." Ding Haitao said word by word.

  "Please invite that expert to solve the puzzle we encountered?"

  "Absolutely right," Ding Haitao took a bite of the stir-fry, spat it out with a "ptui" sound and threw it on the ground, "Damn, is this school's crappy food for human consumption?"

  "This kid, since he became a journalist, has been swindling and cheating everywhere, eating and drinking for free. He even goes to five-star hotels for midnight snacks. How can he stand the food in our school? Dammit, Taotao is ruined." Guo Jing said.

  "Where are you going?" Ding Haitao retorted, "With that tiger skin draped over your body, wherever you go to spend money is free, and when you leave, you still want to take people's things. Even the bandits of the past were more righteous than you, nowadays it's just you police who are the darkest."

  Teng Fei smiled and didn't say anything.

  "Shut up," Cao Sen pointed at Ding Haitao and said, "Continue with what you were saying earlier."

  "Alright, let's talk about what happened earlier... where did we leave off?" Ding Haitao pretended to look at the three brothers with a serious expression.

  Three brothers ignored him, and Ding Haitao chuckled twice before continuing: "That night, who locked us in the teaching building? What about those two students in the classroom? And what about the sound of high heels later on? Please ask that expert to solve these mysteries."

  Moreover, Gao Ren said that whether it's a fierce ghost or a female ghost, an evil spirit or so-called benevolent spirit, as long as it's a ghost, it will eventually harm people. Ding Haitao continued to say, "Among the people who have seen the female ghost, we three and Wu Fang have all left Dongda University, only you are still here. Gao Ren said that the female ghost will eventually find you, use her beauty to seduce you into sleeping with her, suck out your vital energy, suck out your yang energy, and turn you into a dried-up corpse, so we must eliminate her."

  Cao Sen was slightly surprised and looked at the female ghost Jing Zhe, it's hard to imagine that she would do such things, so he asked Ding Haitao: "Is this what a superior person said, or is it what you thought of in your heart?"

  "Ah, of course it was said by a superior person!" Ding Haitao looked very wronged.

  "Does that immortal know about our encounter with the female ghost?" Cao Sen asked.

  "This... isn't necessary, is it?" Ding Haitao said hesitantly. "What can be hidden from his eyes? I just told him we encountered a female ghost and asked him to take a look. The master told me about the harm caused by the female ghost and that we need to resolve it as soon as possible, so the three of us rushed over to save you."

  "I think Tao said something reasonable, a ghost is just a ghost, you can't say that later on she looks pretty and then forget that she's a ghost. Sen Ge, think about it, her appearance without the upper half of her body doesn't seem like a good thing." Teng Fei said.

  "Hmph, don't mention the female ghost, even that old janitor, I don't like looking at him either. Living with a ghost, it's so mysterious and suspicious. Sooner or later, I'll find an excuse to lock him up." Guo Jing had become a policeman, and his aura of authority was even more pronounced.

  Cao Sen thought about it and felt that his brothers were also right, after all, the paths of humans and ghosts are different, yin and yang are mutually destructive. If one day her extreme emotions erupt again and she scares people with another lower body, who knows if someone will really lose their life, so it's better to eliminate her completely.

  Ding Haitao sighed with unparalleled regret, "Alas, what a pity for such a beautiful woman. I had hoped that after I become a ghost in a hundred years, I would come to Dongda to find a female ghost MM and write a touching tale of star-crossed ghostly lovers..."

  "What kind of people are you? Even female ghosts want to get involved? Ah, I say, what's wrong with the reporters at your newspaper?" Teng Fei looked at Ding Haitao with a scrutinizing expression.

  "You only know how to make money, what else do you understand?" Ding Haitao retorted, "I am someone who knows how to appreciate beauty, be moved by beauty, and dedicate myself to beauty."

  "Seriously," Cao Sen said, "I don't object to catching the female ghost, but does that expert you mentioned really have the ability?"

  Haha, Ding Haitao let out a loud laugh, lay back in his chair and stared at the ceiling without saying a word.

  "Haha, I believe in your ability to read people, don't put on this pose, it's like waiting for someone to ride you." Cao Sen said with a smile.

  "It's settled then, we'll make our move tonight!" Ding Haitao suddenly sat up straight, "For the success of tonight's operation, let's do it!"

  That night, in the hazy autumn rain, a black Buick business car drove to the front of the graduate student dormitory. Cao Sen got into the Buick and the car slowly drove to the front of the teaching building and stopped.

  On the carriage, apart from Guo Jing and the three others, there was a man over fifty years old, slender and refined. He wore a black traditional Chinese jacket with a straight frontal opening, black trousers with intricate designs of plum blossoms and five blessings, and a pair of black cloth shoes. His hair was combed back neatly without a single strand out of place, his eyes were half-closed, revealing a glimmer of sharpness, showing the elegance and refinement of an old-school gentleman.

  "This is Ma Ye," Ding Haitao introduced, "This is a graduate student at Dongda, my iron brother, Cao Sen."

  "Master Ma, what's this title?" Cao Sen thought in his heart, but still said: "Hello Master Ma."

  "Nice to meet you." Mr. Ma bowed warmly and shook Cao Sen's hand, then leaned back in his seat with half-closed eyes.

  When shaking hands, Cao Sen saw that Ma Ye's thumb was wearing a bright green jade ring, crystal clear and oily, very valuable.

  Ding Haitao gave a thumbs up to Cao Sen sitting in the back seat of the car, meaning "look at this guy's style!"

  Cao Sen smiled and felt that this horse was extraordinary, with a temperament that ordinary people did not possess, the kind of person who had a certain level of attainment in mysterious studies.

  Cao Sen leaned his mouth close to Ding Haitao's ear and whispered, "When he makes a move, should we follow behind him and protect him?"

  "It's not needed." Ma Ye said softly but firmly.

  The two brothers exchanged a look, and this horse's hearing is so sharp!

  Because of Ma Ye's mysterious silence, Cao Sen and the other three also didn't dare to say much, and the Buick was quiet for a moment.

  Students who had evening self-study in the teaching building left the building one after another, and the lights in the building were also turned off layer by layer. The surroundings gradually became quiet, except for the places where the streetlights could shine, the entire teaching building was plunged into a thick darkness.

  Soon, the old man Sun Derong who lived in the teaching building appeared in the doorway, hunching his back and stretching out his hand from the door gap to lock the big gate with a steel wire, then slowly walked into the darkness.

  Ma Ye sat motionless on the car seat, perhaps waiting for the best moment to make his move.

  Cao Sen gazed out the window, listlessly watching the dense autumn rain that was still falling silently. He focused his eyes and concentrated his mind, using the faint moonlight to see the lines representing gravity in the rainwater. If he could make the raindrops move at high speed, Cao Sen thought subconsciously, then when the speed reached a certain level, these countless raindrops would also become deadly weapons. But controlling countless raindrops to move simultaneously at high speed and direction, Cao Sen was very clear about how difficult that would be. Alas, there's no end to learning.

  Huh? What's that... Cao Sen saw a long-haired woman shape composed of many discontinuous light green silk threads floating in the air, flying out from the teaching building. Although the lines were not continuous, Cao Sen still recognized it as Female Ghost Jing Zhe.

  Why do ghosts also have silk threads on their bodies? Cao Sen temporarily forgot the purpose of this trip and focused his mind on studying the silk threads. Humans need various chemical energies to produce heat and strength to sustain life, so what kind of energy is needed for ghosts to survive? What kind of energy does this light green silk thread represent?

  Just as Cao Sen was lost in thought, the car door of Beike rang, and Cao Sen came back to his senses, only to find that Ma Ye had already gotten out of the car and was walking towards the teaching building.

  Ma Ye didn't see Jing Zhe in the air, Cao Sen looked up at the sky with his usual gaze, and apart from the rain, he couldn't see anything else. However, when he concentrated his spirit into his eyes, the shallow green silk thread that made up the female ghost Jing Zhe clearly appeared before him. Cao Sen's heart was filled with joy, and he discovered a new use for his special ability - being able to see hidden ghosts, this ability was a bit like the legendary Yin Yang Eyes.

  But how could Ma Ye, who claimed to be a high-ranking person, not discover the female ghost? Cao Sen thought.

  Jing Zhe, floating in mid-air, was also looking at Ma Ye, her beautiful eyes revealing a curious gaze. It seemed that Ma Ye's retro outfit had piqued her curiosity. Jing Zhe floated to Ma Ye's side like a playful mermaid, circling around him and occasionally poking her head into his face, carefully examining the human's facial features.

  As Master Ma was about to walk through the teaching building's gate, Jing Zhe suddenly flew up and floated above the side of the gate, with his hands on his hips and legs slightly apart, standing majestically. Seeing Master Ma was about to pass under him, he awkwardly closed his legs together, only leaving his toes pointing outward. Thus, the calm and collected Master Ma unknowingly suffered a **humiliation.

  At this point, Cao Sen burst out laughing, and this female ghost was indeed quite mischievous.

  "What's so funny?" Ding Haitao asked discontentedly.

  "Don't get me wrong, it's not that Mr. Ma you invited." Cao Sen said while watching how Mr. Ma would deal with the steel wire lock.

  But then he saw Master Ma standing in front of the door, his hands naturally hanging down, and there was no sign of him taking any action. A moment later, the door opened, and Master Ma calmly walked into the dark teaching building. Jing Zhe floated behind him, looking quite happy. Cao Sen wondered in his heart, how did he open the lock?

  "What are you laughing at?" Guo Jing sat in the driver's seat and handed out cigarettes to his brothers.

  "I'm laughing at myself, is that enough?"

  "Nerves." Ding Haitao said.

  "Tao Tao, how did you manage to invite this esteemed guest?" Cao Sen asked.

  As soon as he asked, Ding Haitao became spirited. "This horse is really amazing, I'll tell you, this horse is a great hidden talent in our city. The first time I went with my colleagues, I didn't believe he had such great abilities. He just looked at me and told me everything about my family situation, even which room my bed was in and which direction I slept in. At the time, I was stunned. Then I asked him how many good brothers I had, and he replied: 'Peach Garden Oath meets White Dragon.' Sen brother, don't you think that Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Zhao are exactly four people?"

  "What he said is even more accurate, isn't it just like a fortune teller?" Cao Sen asked.

  "Only by being clever and resourceful can we solve the mystery, besides, there's something else, listen to me. Ding Haitao took a sip of mineral water and said with flying eyebrows: "We're lucky to have encountered a female ghost, what I've seen is even more rare."

  "Later, I followed Master Ma to catch a ghost in an abandoned factory. That ghost was much more ferocious than the female ghost we encountered before. Not only could it fly, but it could also control objects remotely. A milling machine is very heavy, right? The ghost just lifted its hand and the bed flew over. Luckily, Master Ma was quick-witted and stuck a talisman on it, turning the ghost into smoke. At that moment, I was shocked and thrilled, even more thrilling than a Hollywood blockbuster!"

  "Maybe you're just watching a movie." Cao Sen said thoughtfully.

  "Come on, don't you believe me? Wait till Master Ma eliminates the female ghost in the teaching building, and see what you have to say! Sen Ge, I'm telling you, didn't reading too many books make you stupid?"

  Teng Fei laughed and patted Ding Haitao's head, "Sen Ge has always been very accurate in judging things, maybe that Ma Ye is indeed a swindler."

  "Hey," Ding Haitao said, getting a bit anxious, "when you came, didn't you also show respect to Master Ma? Now that Sen Ge has spoken, you're doubting him. Don't you have your own judgment?"

  Kuo Ching pulled out a shotgun from under the car seat, "No need to waste words, let's go take a look. We'll see for ourselves whether it's true or false."

  "Old Ma won't let us in," said Ding Haitao, twisting his neck.

  Cao Sen opened the car door, "Ma Ye is worried that we will be hurt by ghosts. Can that female ghost really hurt us?"

  "Come on, someone is watching but it won't affect Master Ma's magic, you've seen it once before?" Teng Fei said as he pulled Ding Haitao out of the car.

  Ding Haitao had no choice but to follow the minority obeying the majority.

  Four people, although not fully armed like the first time they came to the teaching building, were all wearing combat boots and combat uniforms, just without carrying long guns. Except for Guo Jing bringing a police shotgun, the other three were all carrying short guns. They installed wolf eye tactical flashlights on their weapons, tested their earpieces and throat microphones, with Guo Jing leading, Cao Sen following behind, and they quietly entered the teaching building.

  The teaching building was still pitch black and quiet, and there was no sound or sign of Master Ma anywhere. The four people fumbled their way up to the second floor in the dark, and then Guo Jing turned on his tactical flashlight, instantly illuminating a pale blue column of light inside the building.

  Cao Sen tapped the throat microphone, attracting the attention of the three. He made a gesture to let Guo Jing turn off the lights and let Teng Fei use a matchstick-sized flashlight to illuminate.

  Two people followed suit, and four people leaned against the faint light, slowly walking up to the top of the stairs, but unexpectedly did not find Master Ma. Where had he gone?

  Ding Haitao was a bit worried, could it be that the female ghost Jing Zhe was a deeply hidden fierce ghost who had eaten up Ma Ye?

  Cao Sen basically understood what kind of person this Ma Ye was at this time. He spoke softly into the dark corridor: "Miss Jing Zhe, where are you? Please come out and talk to us."

  Ding Haitao's eyes widened anxiously as he stared at Cao Sen, "What do you mean?"

  "Hello, I...I'm here." The female ghost Jing Zhe emerged from the darkness not far away, still as beautiful and moving as ever, with her head slightly lowered, slowly floating over.

  "Miss Jingzhe, do you know where the middle-aged man who just came in went?" Cao Sen asked softly, while he observed the silk threads on Jingzhe's body. What surprised Cao Sen was that when the female ghost appeared in a visible form to the naked eye, he couldn't see those energy threads.

  Jing Zhe's face turned red, his head almost drooping to his chest, and his hands twisted together in a hesitant gesture.

  "Stop pretending, tell me what you did to him?" Ding Haitao pointed his gun at Jing Zhe's forehead.

  "I...I didn't do anything to him!" Jing Zhe looked up at Ding Haitao in surprise, "Why are you saying this?"

  Cao Sen gradually figured out Jing Zhe's personality, and if you take away her extreme side, the female ghost in front of him should be a standard lady who doesn't go out of the main gate or enter through the back door. Cao Sen already knew how to deal with her.

  He took a step forward, standing between Jing Zhe and Ding Haitao, and said gently: "It's okay, Miss Jing Zhe, he was just joking with you. Can you tell me where that middle-aged man went?"

  "He... after he entered the building, he went to... the women's restroom on the first floor." Jing Zhe lowered his head again.

  What? This answer is too unexpected, does "high person" want to make a spell in the women's toilet to exorcise evil spirits?

  Cao Sen smiled, he believed that the female ghost Jing Zhe would not lie, and also confirmed his own judgment. The so-called high-ranking person was a swindler, not only a swindler but also a pervert who liked to peek at women's toilets.