Chapter Five: Wufeng Mountain

  The next day, after dawn, Cao Sen and Teng Fei went to the teaching building again to take a look. To their surprise, the fifth floor, where they had fought fiercely last night, had returned to its original state, with not a single steel ball visible on the ground. Although the ceiling and walls were covered with small holes from the steel ball shooting, no trace of the steel balls was found.

  Several people exchanged suspicious glances, who swept the teaching building, could it be that female ghost?

  "Cao Sen, come to my office for a moment."

  Cao Sen looked back and saw that it was Teacher Hu, their class's mold professional teacher, as well as the graduation design guidance teacher, who had always regarded Cao Sen as his own proud student.

  Cao Sen nodded at several brothers and came to Mr. Hu's office.

  "Sit," said Mr. Hu, pointing to a chair.

  Cao Sen sat down and offered his teacher a cigarette.

  "Want to know your thesis defense results?" Teacher Hu smiled at the student.

  "Excellent." Cao Sen replied in a casual tone.

  "Haha, you really made those teachers angry."

  Cao Sen knew that Mr. Hu was talking about his "trump card" invention, and he also burst out laughing, "It's just Guo Jing being unlucky, haha."

  In fact, among all the teachers responsible for defending, only Mr. Hu has rich practical processing experience, but he will not undermine his own students' platform.

  "I've seen your grades in all subjects, and with the excellent performance in the graduation thesis defense, you're also the class leader and a key member of the student union. With all these conditions combined, Cao Sen, it's highly likely that you'll be evaluated as this year's 'Outstanding Graduate'."

  Dongshan University's annual "Outstanding Graduate" selection has a great temptation for all graduating students. With this title, it is easy to find a good job in Nanquan City. For students under huge employment pressure, the importance of this is no less than whether they can get into university or not. However, there are only five places available, and after the school's expansion, there are at least 400-500 graduates every year, so the competition is fierce.

  Cao Sen, however, didn't care about this title. Even if he had absolute competitiveness, he didn't want to get involved in this muddy water. Firstly, he absolutely believed that his ability could find a satisfactory job. Secondly, he knew how he got his exam scores - apart from the professional courses which were genuine, almost all the other subjects were copied, so he didn't want to snatch opportunities away from those graduates who had real talent and learning.

  Cao Sen didn't react, so Teacher Hu continued: "Our mechanical department has already recommended you, Cao Sen. You also know the current social climate; the era of relying solely on ability to make a name for oneself is over." Pausing here, Teacher Hu leaned forward slightly, "Do you know who has the power to decide the quota?"

  Cao Sen understood what Mr. Hu meant by calling him over, which was to urge him to hurry up and get some activity going on "up there" in order to get the title of excellent graduate. This was a kind intention, and Cao Sen was grateful, but he didn't care about being excellent or not; in his opinion, actually showing off one's skills at the recruitment unit was more effective than any certificate in demonstrating one's abilities.

  "Teacher Hu," Cao Sen didn't want to disappoint his caring teacher. "Thank you for telling me these things, I understand, and I will definitely do what needs to be done."

  Mr. Hu smiled with satisfaction and lowered his voice: "Do you know Zhu Jianjun from the Social Sciences Department?"

  Zhu Jianjun? Cao Sen certainly knew this person, a legendary figure at Dongda, the white knight in the hearts of girls, and also graduated this year. Zhu Jianjun almost became a member of Cao Sen's special forces team, but didn't join due to various reasons, yet they had a good relationship.

  "As far as I know, Zhu Jianjun and you have similar conditions, the two of you are competing for one spot. Yesterday I happened to see him going to the principal's home, Cao Sen, you must hurry up."

  Giving gifts? Cao Sen has been dealing with some of his father's unsavory relationships since middle school, and while he may not be as skilled at wining and dining as a social climber, he is an old hand compared to his peers. However, in this matter, Cao Sen didn't want to put in too much effort or clarify things with Teacher Hu, so he vaguely said, "Teacher Hu, don't worry, you know my abilities."

  Mr. Hu nodded, "Don't be too careless, internal news says that this year's quota for staying in school to teach will be selected from excellent graduates, and the job positions in colleges are not available even with money."

  This sentence moved Cao Sen's heart, the benefits of staying at Dongda University don't need to be said, iron rice bowl aside, just two vacations a year made Cao Sen's heart flutter, let alone this teaching building is haunted?

  If it were someone else, they would have stayed far away from the haunted place, but Cao Sen was the opposite, he loved adventure. Last night, not being able to have a showdown with the female ghost was already very regrettable. If he could stay in school, then there would be enough time to flirt with the female ghost.

  Coming out of Mr. Hu's office, Cao Sen had the idea of staying in school lingering in his mind until it was interrupted by three good brothers.

  "What's on your mind?" Teng Fei patted Cao Sen.

  "Stay after school."

  "What? What did you say? I didn't hear that wrong, did I?"

  "Do you want... to stay after school?"

  "Do you want to be a teacher?"

  Haha... The three sworn brothers burst out laughing.

  "Brother Sen, have you heard a sentence?" Ding Haitao asked seriously, putting away his smile.

  Cao Sen knew there were no ivory tusks in a dog's mouth and ignored him.

  "I'm not afraid of heaven, I'm not afraid of earth, but I'm afraid of a hooligan with culture," Ding Haitao continued to say to himself, "Heh heh, if this hooligan puts on the cloak of a teacher, Dongda will become the country's largest hooligan group."

  Teng Fei and Guo Jing burst out laughing again.

  Cao Sen was teased by his brothers, and he felt that his own ideas were indeed a bit absurd. Maybe he was more suited to being a professional soldier, or maybe in the future he would be a qualified mold designer, but absolutely not material for being a teacher. Moreover, if he really wanted to stay in school, reading for a master's degree was inevitable, but he was truly tired of the torture of reviewing, memorizing, and taking exams. Damn it, it was better to go out into society and make a name for himself, leaving behind a pure land at the university, giving his younger school brothers and sisters a good learning environment, and not harming this last sacred place.

  The four brothers laughed and turned around the stairs again, didn't find anything unusual, nor did they encounter any yin wind or something. Several people felt disappointed and decided to come again tonight to meet that female ghost.

  That night, Cao Sen and three others, fully equipped, sneaked into the teaching building again, but found nothing.

  The next night, all four brothers changed into big red clothes and carried guns for half the night, but got nothing.

  On the third day, Cao Sen spent money to hire a few hostesses and re-entered the teaching building, still with nothing to gain.

  This made them puzzled, according to the legend, female ghosts like red clothes and women with heavy yin energy. They used spells and medicine to lure the female ghost out, but all ended in failure. Could it be that the female ghost was just a passerby, coincidentally bumped into once, and then left?

  On the fourth night, Cao Sen and several others were tired from all the commotion and honestly slept in their dormitory. However, other brothers who had seen ghosts couldn't hold back and again sneaked into that teaching building at midnight. One of them was a professional photographer, carrying a full set of photography equipment, wanting to take pictures when the ghost appeared, which would definitely be shocking world news on the front page.

  But the result was equally disappointing.

  Cao Sen and his nineteen Special Forces brothers, minus Sima De who was on his honeymoon, took turns patrolling the teaching building to catch ghosts, persisting for seven days. During these seven nights, the teaching building was never quiet, and whenever it was late at night, there were always a few brothers wandering around inside, which led to rumors spreading.

  There is a rumor circulating in the campus of Dongda University that a ghost appears in the teaching building. Someone heard strange noises when they were dating, someone saw lights and a shadowy figure flickering inside when patrolling at night, etc., which alarmed the school leaders. They specially came out to dispel the rumors and assigned someone to patrol the teaching building at night to calm the students' emotions.

  Such a result was unexpected by Cao Sen, so he had no choice but to inform his brothers not to go to the teaching building in the near future, lest it cause panic and attention.

  College students are about to graduate and will soon face a complex society, and they always feel somewhat unadapted psychologically. The appearance of the female ghost happened to divert Cao Sen's attention, diluting the reluctance to bid farewell to school. After the female ghost flashed by, she disappeared without a trace, leaving Cao Sen with a sense of loss, and for a while, he was at a loss for what to do.

  Just when a few people were idle and bored, something happened.

  Wu Fang and Zheng Jingjing, after a night of horror, no longer dared to live in school. They were also graduates with plenty of free time, so they all hid back home. After being good girls at home for a week, their fear of ghosts had dissipated, and they didn't want to be cooped up at home anymore. The two girls discussed finding a famous mountain temple to ask for a peace talisman to ward off evil spirits. To go deep into the mountains and old forests to worship Buddha, the girls naturally wanted to find bodyguards and porters to follow them, so the two girls thought of Cao Sen and his friends.

  Two beauties extended an invitation to go on a trip, perhaps other boys would be overjoyed, but Cao Sen flatly refused. He absolutely could not bear the girls' coquettish behavior in the mountains and forests, constantly shrieking and making a fuss, which was simply torture for Cao Sen.

  However, this also allowed Cao Sen to find a way to kill time. He and Teng Fei discussed it for a while and decided to go to the Wufeng Temple in the west of Nanquan City. The temple had several high-ranking monks who were practicing Buddhism there. It was said that the Bodhisattva there was very efficacious, and whatever one asked for would be granted. Those high-ranking monks were also highly skilled in Buddhist teachings and were compassionate, so they were well-respected by good men and women. Cao Sen thought of finding a monk to ask about ghosts and spirits, perhaps he could gain some unexpected benefits.

  So on a Saturday morning, four brothers got into Cao Sen's Jeep 2500 and sped all the way to Wufeng Mountain.

  Wufeng Mountain is over a hundred miles away from Nanquan City, and it's the main peak of a mountain range that stretches for dozens of miles. The mountain isn't tall, but it's lush with trees and has many unknown crystal-clear springs. It's a great place to relax and unwind. Cao Sen and his friends have played special forces games here before, fighting in the jungle, so they're not unfamiliar with Wufeng Mountain.

  They stopped the car, and four people carried a large backpack into the forest, which was equipped with many survival tools in the mountains. This is their habit, they always like to bring some with them in case of emergency. Just like going out as usual, even if it's just going to class or shopping, they always carry a baton, handcuffs, and tactical flashlight on their body, as if they are not in a peaceful environment, but in a life-and-death battlefield where every step is a crisis. Cao Sen and his friends are a group of people who have a strong passion for special operations.

  The four brothers did not walk along the artificial stone road, but instead drilled into a mountain forest. As usual, wherever tickets were required, they would never take the main entrance, not because they couldn't afford the ticket price, but because they thought the ticket price and service provided were disproportionate.

  In the mountain forest, the grass and trees were lush, and many birds were playing among the branches. Ding Haitao's hand itched, he pulled out his pistol from his waist, loaded it, raised his hand and fired a shot. With a light "crack" sound, the 6mm steel ball flew rapidly through the air, making a "whooshing" sound, hitting the wing of a grey magpie. The other magpies were frightened, flapping their wings in panic and fleeing. The hit magpie also flew crookedly into the depths of the forest.

  Ding Haitao shouted and chased after him. Cao Sen and the other two had no choice but to follow Ding Haitao, running deep into the mountain forest.

  Perhaps it was the magpie's extraordinary vitality, or perhaps the gods of Wufeng Mountain used the magpie to punish Ding Haitao for his reckless slaughter. The four brothers followed the injured magpie over mountains and ridges, chasing it for more than half an hour until they reached a gorge in the back mountain. Exhausted, panting, and drenched in sweat, they finally lost sight of the magpie as it escaped.

  "Let's take a break, let's take a break, or I'll be exhausted." Guo Jing said with a gasp.

  "For a broken bird, ran tens of miles of mountain roads, really fucking sick." Tengfei sat on a rock, rubbing his feet, saw Ding Haitao still looking around for the injured magpie, and casually picked up a stone to throw over.

  Ding Haitao dodged the stone with a swift movement, laughing and scolding: "You guys are really out of practice. Look at our Sen brother, not even panting, that's what I call quality."

  "I'm dead, I'm not breathing?" Cao Sen looked around the environment and casually reminded Ding Haitao, "You won't use a telescope?"

  Ding Haitao slapped his forehead, pulled out a military 62-style eight-fold telescope, and slowly searched the surrounding trees and bushes. It seemed he wouldn't give up until he caught that magpie.

  "This kid is always causing trouble every time he comes out, just one bird, is it necessary?" Guo Jing took a military canteen and gulped down water in one breath, "Why is the weather so gloomy today, is it going to rain?"

  Teng Fei tossed a cigarette to Cao Sen and Guo Jing, each taking one. He lit his own and took a drag, "Let's go down, I heard that when it rains at Wufeng Mountain, the mountain flood is quite spectacular, just in time for us to enjoy the view."

  Cao Sen puffed on his cigarette, took out a military map and spread it on the ground, using a compass to determine their current location. With a practiced gesture, he said: "We're about three kilometers north of the main peak, but not far from Wufeng Temple."

  "Take a break, Sen Ge, in a while you'll have to follow Tao Tao and run around again." Teng Fei said.

  "There's a situation!" Ding Haitao said in a low voice, "Two o'clock direction, one hundred meters."

  "Spare it, let go of that cute little bird!" Guo Jing said disapprovingly.

  "It's not a bird, it's a person, two people. Hey, that guy is quite fierce... Hmm... It seems to be students from our school, what was their name again?" Ding Haitao said with excitement, his eyes tightly glued to the binoculars.

  "A man and a woman?"

  "Nonsense, two men like that are called comrades."

  Teng Fei quickly scrambled up and crawled over to Ding Haitao's side, also taking out his binoculars to look over.

  "Huh, you don't even know him? The legendary figure of Dongda, Zhu Jianjun, the prince in the eyes of girls."

  "What did you see?" Guo Jing asked in puzzlement, listening to the tone of the two people, it seemed that Zhu Jianjun was having an affair with some girl.

  At this time, Ding Haitao muttered: "Damn it, still prince, I see a whole horse, unfortunately didn't bring a digital camera, otherwise I would take a picture and post it on the Dongda forum for him, damn it, brother I hate this kind of thing."

  Guo Jing couldn't help but join the two, and the three of them huddled together, each holding a telescope to gaze at the same spot, occasionally making comments and sharing their thoughts.

  Cao Sen looked at the three brothers with a smile in his heart, and it wasn't like he hadn't been with women before. Nightclubs and hair salons were full of girls, and he could easily find one to have some fun with. The girls there were not only beautiful but also professional, and the environment was comfortable, no less enjoyable than being in the mountains.

  Zhu Jianjun? Cao Sen thought of this name again, didn't Teacher Hu say that he might be competing with himself for the excellent graduate quota? Hey, if he really wanted to compete with him for that quota, it's a good opportunity now. The question is, does he want to do so? Cao Sen asked himself, and he sneered at himself, he definitely wouldn't stoop to such despicable means. Even if he won, it would be based on relationships and actual ability.

  "Shall we go, three of you? Have you seen enough?" Cao Sen didn't want to stay any longer, he still wanted to go to Wufeng Temple to ask about the female ghost.

  "Shut up, this is live broadcast, do you understand?"

  "Brother Sen, you are noble and I don't care, but I'm lowly and you shouldn't interfere either."

  "Look at him, so noble? He's noble every time he goes to a nightclub with many ladies called by him."

  Three brothers with eyes and mouths that never stop.

  "Hey, another girl, want to play Double Flying Swallow?" Ding Haitao's tone was full of envy, "This kid is something!"

  "No, that girl is frowning, damn it, this is catching adultery in the act, damn it, a fight has broken out." Guo Jing also followed up and said.

  "My god!" The three of them exclaimed in unison.

  Cao Sen was finally piqued by their on-site commentary and walked over to take out his binoculars for a clearer look.

  In the field of view of the telescope, Cao Sen saw Zhu Jianjun pinning down a beautiful girl with his lower body, using force to push and shove her. The girl was crying and shouting, seemingly scolding Zhu Jianjun's philandering ways. Suddenly, Zhu Jianjun raised his hand and slapped the girl hard on the face. The girl stumbled backward several steps, covering her face and continuing to cry out in complaint.

  "Hot hands shattered flowers, this is the second slap." Ding Haitao said with a heartache.

  "He's brought it on himself." Cao Sen concluded.

  Ding Haitao looked at Cao Sen with dissatisfaction, "Sen Ge, when will you learn to cherish and appreciate the beauty of women? If you continue like this, you'll regret it sooner or later."

  "Let's go, everyone." Cao Sen didn't want to watch anymore and didn't sympathize with the girl who was being beaten. In his opinion, this was purely the girl's own fault for not choosing her boyfriend carefully, crying and making a fuss when she discovered problems, and still refusing to leave after being beaten - what else could be considered foolish?

  "Why don't we go teach that kid a lesson? We're idle anyway." Xian Guang's chivalrous heart, which respected the strong and protected the weak, was stirred up.

  "You go deal with that Zhu thing, I'll comfort the girls," Ding Haitao was indeed good at finding things to do for himself.

  "Let's go, guys, it doesn't make sense." Cao Sen put away the mirror, identified the direction, and led the way towards Wufeng Temple.

  Three brothers followed behind Cao Sen, still discussing the vivid scene just now.

  A deafening thunderclap exploded above, the tremendous sound shaking the valley's grass and trees to tremble violently. Immediately afterwards, the dark clouds in the sky hung low, the originally gloomy air becoming even more oppressive, making it almost impossible for people to breathe.

  "This damn weather, I'll screw his father." Ding Haitao cursed. Before he finished speaking, his foot was tangled by a grass vine and he fell into the grass nest with a thud.

  "Don't talk nonsense, this is Wufeng Mountain, the spiritual energy is overwhelming, and karma comes quickly." Teng Fei said seriously.

  "No, unclean things must not be spoken of indiscriminately." Guo Jing added.

  "Can't even think about it." Cao Sen also came to educate ignorant young people.

  Ding Haitao lay in the grass nest, looking up at the three serious people with a wronged expression, muttering: "It's all right, brothers, don't even ask to pull one or comfort each other. I just scolded, what's the matter? I just scolded God, damn it," he suddenly opened his throat and shouted loudly, "Damn your second grandfather!"

  Rumble! Following Ding Haitao's curses, a majestic thunderbolt exploded in the sky above the canyon, scaring Ding Haitao to shrink his neck and hastily get up to follow the three brothers.

  Three brothers burst out laughing.

  Ding Haitao thought to himself, this Wufeng Mountain is indeed a bit evil.