Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Perilous Tower (Part Two)

Turning around, I casually folded a small paper figurine, then reached out and infused the ghostly spirit I had been nurturing into it, pressing my finger gently to the center of the uncle’s brow.

At that moment, the paper figurine stirred to life. Instantly, I could almost clearly sense the messages it was conveying to me.

Scenes of the man’s deeds began flashing before my mind’s eye—some of his actions were truly intolerable. Even I couldn’t help but wish to destroy him on the spot.

“What is this…”

The uncle watched as the paper figurine I’d crafted began slowly floating before him. His expression changed dramatically, and I could see that any doubts he’d held about my age and abilities had completely vanished.

“This is called Paper Man Spirit Communication. Because of the inertia of a ghostly soul, it first invades a person’s Celestial Gate—the area just above the brow. If you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘the glabella turns dark,’ it’s an omen of impending misfortune.”

“What about me?”

I had no time to answer him; my mind was preoccupied with a troubling question. If this man truly was as vicious as he claimed, and had admitted to countless unspeakable acts, then by all logic, even a talisman for preserving life would be useless for him. So how had it come to pass that his wife was killed while he survived? Clearly, there was more to this than met the eye.

Through the paper figurine, I sensed that the man had also accumulated considerable virtue. Perhaps it was this force that had kept him alive until now. But where had this virtue come from?

Retracting the paper figurine, I drew the ghostly spirit back between my fingers—a simple soul-nourishing technique called "Within an Inch." Right now, I could only nurture one, while practitioners like Chen Chuyi and Zhao Shiwuyi could handle at least nine, as nine is the ultimate number; one cannot nurture more than nine such spirits.

I tossed the yellow paper figurine into the trash and looked at the man before me.

“Master, is there a problem?”

Seeing my pensive expression, he grew visibly tense.

“Uncle, let me ask you—have you been doing any good deeds?”

No matter how I turned it over in my mind, I couldn’t think of another explanation. I had seen waves of virtue gathering on him; for such a vortex of goodwill to form, his will must be truly strong. This, I realized, was why the spirit could kill his wife but not him.

At my question, the tension on his face eased considerably.

“You’re truly a remarkable master. In fact, it’s nothing much—just that for the past ten years, I’ve set aside several tens of thousands from my savings each year to sponsor poor students through college. That should count as a good deed, right?”

Hearing this, I was left speechless. So that was the reason—hard to imagine someone so corrupted could still possess such awareness.

“It certainly counts as a good deed. You’re fortunate you’ve persisted with it. Otherwise, it would have been you who died a year ago, not your wife.”

“All right. Come pick me up this afternoon. I’ll check out the dormitory building where the student jumped. As long as you follow my instructions, I guarantee nothing will happen to you tomorrow night.”

“Yes, yes, absolutely!”

The uncle hurriedly pulled out a stack of hundred-yuan bills from his bag, handed me a business card, and said, “Master Yang, I’ll come for you this afternoon, then.”

I nodded and paid him no further mind. He seemed to understand, leaving the money and card on the table as he departed.

Watching his retreating figure, I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. People are truly unpredictable. Never would I have imagined that a man like him could still harbor such kindness. Perhaps his heart was not beyond redemption after all.

I glanced at the stack of money—it must have been at least ten thousand yuan.

I looked at the business card: Li Hongbo, Vice Dean of XX College, phone number XXXXXXXX.

Just as I was about to count the cash, my phone rang.

“Xiaodong, has Dean Li arrived?”

I grunted in reply.

“What did you say to him? How much did he bring?”

I was at a loss for words, but recounted everything that had happened with Li Hongbo. Over the phone, Chen Chuyi praised me, then told me there was a problem with the dormitory building—it needed to be demolished quickly, or more people would die. He couldn’t deal with such a minor matter himself and left it entirely to me. He also mentioned that there were rumors of zombie trouble in Fengxi Village, so once I was done here, I should go check it out.

His instructions left me a bit frustrated. Still, on second thought, I had intended to practice some Yin-Yang arts this month, and these incidents could serve as experiments for the fruits of my cultivation.

I grunted my assent and hung up. Then, sitting at that old-fashioned table, I took out the Azure Dragon Secret Manual and began studying it. Though the script was archaic and complex, I found I could understand it.

Since Xiyue usually hid away in her room during the day, I didn’t disturb her. I stayed on the first floor, managing the shop and reading the cultivation methods from the manual. Whenever I came across something intriguing, I would try it out.

The Azure Dragon Secret Manual was truly profound. After more than an hour, I was completely absorbed, feeling as though I had entered a mystical world. Only when my back ached and my stomach growled—around three in the afternoon—did I finally stop. I packed my things, went upstairs, and informed Xiyue at her door that I had business to attend to that evening.

Chen Chuyi had said the dormitory building at the college must be demolished at once. Remembering what Li Hongbo had told me—that the first girl to die had a beautiful, unblemished face with no visible injuries—such an oddity was bound to attract attention. How could no one have noticed? To fall from the seventh floor and have not a scratch, yet be dead—only a fool would fail to see something was wrong. Clearly, Li Hongbo was still hiding something from me.

I gathered the necessary items, went out, had a bowl of noodles a few streets away, and returned home to rest.

After five in the afternoon, Li Hongbo picked me up and took me to a rather upscale Chinese restaurant. He treated me to a lavish meal, and I didn’t hold back—I ate my fill but refrained from drinking, since I had to visit the dormitory building that night. If I got drunk and fell from the building myself, it would hardly be worth it.

A little after nine, we arrived at the college. Under Li Hongbo’s guidance, I went straight to the dormitory building.

The moment I laid eyes on the building, my heart gave a violent jolt.

In the very spot I first looked, there stood a woman in a red dress. The most chilling part was that she was staring straight at us—at me and Li Hongbo. He, of course, could not see her, but I saw her clearly.

By the eerie greenish glow, that ghostly woman in red grinned at me.

A ghost smiling at a person—a most ominous sign!