After Chen Hao chased two classmates back to the outside of the classroom, class monitor Ma Biao and several boys from the class immediately blocked Chen Hao's path.
"Chen Hao, stop right now!" Ma Biao exclaimed as he tightly embraced Chen Hao and shouted.
"Monitor, get out of my way," Chen Hao glared fiercely at Ma Biao, his anger still raging within him. "I have put up with them for too long; today they must be dealt with!"
Ma Biao was tall and sturdy, and even Chen Hao, who was one meter eighty-one, seemed smaller in front of him. Yet, it was strange today; the muscular Ma Biao somehow couldn't hold back Chen Hao. If it had been before, one Ma Biao could have stopped two Chen Haos without any problem.
"Monitor, Xie Xiaofeng and Chen Peng were knocked out by Chen Hao in the restroom!" At that moment, Chong Gao, who was separated from the rest by several boys, said with a mournful face.
"Chen Hao!" Ma Biao showed a look of surprise. This Chen Hao who was usually bullied by others had actually fought back, and even managed to prevail despite being outnumbered. He pushed against the somewhat uncontrollable Chen Hao and then gave him a once over. He noticed that since the car accident, Chen Hao's demeanor had changed; the ruffian-like and lackluster expressions were gone, replaced by a sense of dominance and confidence.
Chen Hao let out a roar and, like a wild bull, broke through the human wall formed by Ma Biao and four boys. He landed a punch on Chong Gao, who was hiding behind the wall, and was then quickly grabbed and pulled away by Ma Biao.
Having taken a punch from Chen Hao, Chong Gao saw stars and staggered to the back row, sitting down on a chair dizzily.
"Quick, come help hold him down!" Ma Biao finally turned to other boys for help. They hesitated for a moment before stepping up to help restrain Chen Hao, astonished that the tall and strong Ma Biao couldn't manage to stop him.
"Chen Hao, stop it!" Just then, Ye Yuqiao, who had recently become Chen Hao's new girlfriend, slowly approached from behind Chen Hao to mediate.
Strangely enough, with just one glance at Ye Yuqiao, the uncontrollable wildness in Chen Hao's body dissipated, and he was immediately engulfed by a sense of pain and fatigue.
"Monitor, I'm fine now, I swear I won't hit them anymore!" gasped Chen Hao, who felt like he couldn't breathe due to Ma Biao's tight grip.
Feeling the force of Chen Hao's struggles lessen, Ma Biao hesitated for a few seconds before cautiously releasing his grip. After confirming Chen Hao showed no signs of aggression, Ma Biao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Having calmed down, Chen Hao suddenly felt worried. He had knocked out Xie Xiaofeng, one of the four tyrants, in the restroom, and he knew they would definitely seek revenge. Despite resolving not to get into conflicts anymore, just one day later, he had gotten into another fight. He felt extremely remorseful.
Everything happened just as Chen Hao had anticipated. Before he could even sit down at his desk, the remaining three of the four tyrants—Niu Dawei, Lin Yifei, and Zhang Sheng—arrived at their classroom with a menacing crowd. Among them, Chen Hao saw Xie Xiaofeng, who had been knocked out by him, being propped up by two people, still appearing dizzy.
"Come out here!" Niu Dawei, with a stern face, pointed at Chen Hao. As the leader of the four tyrants, besides having a very wealthy father, he was also a member of a certain social organization outside of school.
Chen Hao shivered inside. Niu Dawei's fierce gaze was like he wanted to skin him alive. He turned back and looked at Ma Biao with a plea for help in his eyes.
Ma Biao turned his head to look behind him, deliberately avoiding Chen Hao's gaze; he dared not provoke the four tyrants.
At this moment, Ye Yuqiao walked up to Chen Hao with a smile, her hand resting intimately on his shoulder as she said, "Go out there and tell them that if they dare touch you, you will call the police and accuse them of causing your car accident last time."
Chen Hao's eyes sparkled, wondering how Ye Yuqiao knew about this incident. Blinking rapidly, he asked her in a low, hurried voice, "Will that really work?"
"Let's find out!" Ye Yuqiao's quirky smile showed no sign of worry or sympathy, despite being Chen Hao's girlfriend.
Seeing Ye Yuqiao's smile, Chen Hao felt indignant, thinking what kind of girlfriend she was.
"Are you coming out or not!" Niu Dawei yelled at Chen Hao from the window.
Chen Hao lowered his head and stepped out of the classroom with a nervous heart. As soon as he took a step outside the door, Lin Yifei, who had just beaten him up the day before, couldn't help but lunge forward and kicked him, saying, "Chen Hao, Xie Xiaofeng was even mediating for you yesterday! If I had known, I would have finished you off then!"
"Hmph!" Ye Yuqiao stood about a meter behind Chen Hao, letting out a disdainful snort.
Hearing the mocking laughter, Chen Hao's heart ignited with a fierce karmic fire. Thinking that he was dead either way, he might as well go out in a blaze of glory. Seizing the moment Lin Yifei was off guard, he suddenly kicked Lin Yifei in the stomach.
"Uh!" Unprepared, Lin Yifei let out a shriek. Having beaten Chen Hao countless times, he had never expected Chen Hao would dare to fight back.
"Go ahead, kill me today!" Chen Hao bellowed at Lin Yifei, his face red and ears steaming, "I'm telling you, if you don't kill me today, I will go to the police and say you caused my car accident. It was premeditated murder!"
"You!" Lin Yifei stared in anger. "You're not keeping your word! Don't forget what you promised us yesterday!"
Seeing Niu Dawei and Zhang Sheng about to charge at Chen Hao from behind, Lin Yifei quickly turned to stop them, urgently saying, "Don't hit him, don't hit him. This isn't a joke."
After a moment of looking at each other, Niu Dawei and Zhang Sheng eventually backed down.
Chen Hao sighed with relief, realizing that the method taught by Ye Yuqiao was effective. He snorted and retorted Lin Yifei, "Who is the one not keeping promises? Can you tell me whom I provoked? Who came to beat me up for no good reason today?"
Lin Yifei turned to look at Xie Xiaofeng.
Xie Xiaofeng slowly raised his head, pushed away the two male students propping him up, and hazily walked over to Lin Yifei's side. Resting his hand on Lin Yifei's shoulder, he hushed, "Today I'm in the wrong, but remember this, it's far from over!"
Afterwards, Lin Yifei told everyone to disperse. Chen Hao couldn't believe his luck; he had escaped trouble so easily. As for whether the Four School Tyrants would seek revenge later, that was something to worry about when the time came. Living in the moment had always been his life's motto.
Back at his seat, recalling how Ye Yuqiao seemed so excited earlier, Chen Hao spoke with displeasure, "Ye Yuqiao, your boyfriend just got beaten up, and you don't seem worried at all?"
"What have I got to worry about?" Ye Yuqiao's lips curled slightly upward. "It seems you're still unaware of something."
"What's that?"
"There's a mysterious power sealed in your left eye, which gets activated when it's bloodshot. Think about it, can you only see ghosts at certain times?" Ye Yuqiao explained, looking at Chen Hao.
Chen Hao was startled inside; Ye Yuqiao was absolutely right. Just last night, his grandfather had told him that shortly after his birth, his Yin-Yang Eye was sealed by a person who claimed to be the Supreme Elder Lord using a talismanic spell. Only after eighteen years, and waking up from a car accident two days prior, was he able to see Yin Souls again. It seems the accident had weakened the seal, enabling him under certain conditions to see ghosts.
As to whether the power was activated in bloodshot state as Ye Yuqiao had mentioned, Chen Hao reflected on his experiences of seeing ghosts after waking up from the car accident:
He saw that old lady in the hospital just after regaining consciousness when his left eye was stimulated by light; he came home last evening and his eyes were irritated by incense ashes before seeing those dozen ghost children; he saw that talisman-transformed yellow-haired dog in Ye Yuqiao's house out of excitement; and just earlier in the restroom, it was after Xiao Feng punched him in the left eye that he felt a sudden surge of energy within.
"You're right!" Chen Hao looked at Ye Yuqiao's eyes excitedly, "Why do you know all these things so clearly?"
"I've told you I'm an Onmyoji too!" Ye Yuqiao's expression suddenly became solemn, "It was because I saw a mysterious force in your left eye that I wanted to recruit you as my assistant!"
Chen Hao was astounded, silently sighing to himself in realization.
"So is that why you agreed to be my girlfriend? Do you think it's worth it?" Chen Hao couldn't help asking.
Ye Yuqiao scoffed coldly, "Sooner or later you'll understand! Just remember to keep your promise!"
Chen Hao laughed heartily, thinking to himself that it wasn't a bad deal at all—for both making money to help his family and having such an attractive girlfriend.
"Don't worry, I'll gladly be both your boyfriend and assistant!"
·······
That afternoon, after school.
As they walked hand in hand out of the school gate, Ye Yuqiao suddenly said to Chen Hao, "Come with me to the suburbs now."
"The suburbs? What for?"
"A job! A real estate company called me saying there's been ghostly disturbances at their construction site lately and they want me to clean it up. The fee is ten thousand, and when it's done, two thousand for me, eight thousand for you!"
"Eight thousand for me! That's a lot!" Chen Hao gaped in amazement. Normally, his weekly allowance was only a hundred yuan, so eight thousand was more than his expenses for over a year.
Ye Yuqiao laughed disdainfully and said, "Look at you being so short-sighted! You think eight thousand is a lot? If it weren't to test you, I wouldn't bother with such low-paying jobs."
"Testing me?" Chen Hao suddenly felt uneasy and blinked blankly. "You mean to let me try it alone?"
"Exactly! If you can't even deal with these resentful ghosts on your own, you don't deserve to be my assistant, let alone my boyfriend!" Ye Yuqiao said with narrowed eyes, her tone both firm and stern.
Chen Hao let out a sigh, feeling dejected, "I don't know how to deal with ghosts, so what should I do?"
"Find a way to activate your left eye. If that doesn't work, just jab yourself in the left eye!" Ye Yuqiao glared at him angrily. Chen Hao's lack of fighting spirit was irritating her.
A few meters ahead, the two got into a car sent by Xingcheng Real Estate, the employer for the job. During the ride, the driver told them that two days before the construction was to start, a family refused to move because they found the demolition compensation too low. Employees from Y City's demolition office then abducted the mother and daughter, bulldozed their house afterward. That night, after being released, the mother and daughter, dressed in red, committed suicide on the ruins of their home. Seven days after their death, two nights ago, ghostly happenings started occurring on the construction site, scaring many of the workers.
There are two kinds of death in this world, one is natural death, which means dying on the predetermined date written in the book of life and death; the other is unnatural death, mainly referring to suicide and murder.
Usually, only the Yin Souls of those who die naturally are collected by soul guides who lead them to the Netherworld, awaiting reincarnation. The souls of those who die unnaturally only have soul guides to collect them when they reach the end of their predestined lifespan. However, some souls who commit suicide with strong resentment are unable to enter the Netherworld and become evil spirits in the mortal world, seeking revenge on the living, especially targeting those with weak Yang Energy. Their ultimate fate is usually being shattered by an Onmyoji or being led by a Heavenly Master to the Eighteen Levels of Hell to suffer punishment for eons.
This mother and daughter, who deliberately dressed in red to commit suicide, clearly were prepared to exact revenge on the world after their death.