Sending one teacher to the hospital is sending; sending two is also sending!
Might as well go all out—let's send that English teacher, Mr. Smith, to the hospital too! A glimmer of determination… and a hint of menace flashed in Fay Yu's eyes!
"Scholar Song, is Mr. Smith a foreigner? What does he look like?" Fay Yu feigned curiosity as she asked.
"That guy? He's an old stickler, but he teaches really well," Scholar Song chuckled, casually clicking on the name 'Professor Smith' in the message.
Suddenly, a photo of a stern-looking British gentleman, with meticulously combed hair, popped up.
The university's campus network is an independent data system; as long as one has the right permissions, they can access all student and faculty information.
"He looks kind of serious. Does he live in the faculty dorms too?" Fay Yu asked nervously.
"Yeah, he does," Scholar Song nodded, not thinking much of it, and continued to enter Fay Yu's ID information to book tickets.
Fay Yu gave a shy smile and quietly moved to the balcony, reapplying her talisman: to see a thousand miles, one must ascend another floor.
Before long, she spotted her target.
Professor Smith was walking his pet dog by the river on campus.
"How strange, is there a chill in the air?" Suddenly, the stern British gentleman pulled up his collar, feeling an inexplicable coldness, puzzled.
"Sorry, sorry. Just like that Ren Shui teacher, I promise to compensate you once this is over," Fay Yu muttered for a long time, then began rubbing the golden talisman in her hands.
At the riverside…
The serious British gentleman sensed something was off today and decided to head back to his dorm: "Ham, let's go back. I need to prepare for tomorrow's class."
As he spoke, Professor Smith tugged at his dog's leash.
"Woof… woof!" At that moment, the once obedient pet suddenly let out a series of growls from deep in its throat, its eyes turning blood-red.
Professor Smith felt a powerful force on the leash; the normally compliant little dog, Ham, was now snarling fiercely.
Furrowing his brow, Professor Smith yanked on the leash with all his might.
"Woof!" The dog indeed returned, but it lunged at him with red eyes! With its gaping maw wide open, it aimed for the British gentleman's skinny calf and bit down hard.
"Oh, NO! Help! Help me!" Professor Smith's screams echoed along the riverbank.
…
…
Fifteen minutes later.
At Jiangnan University Affiliated Hospital, in a two-person ward.
Teacher Ren Shui lay on the bed, his feet elevated in a rather embarrassing position. His wife held their child, wearing an expression that was a mix of laughter and tears.
Just then, the door to the hospital room swung open, and a stern-looking British gentleman was wheeled in.
"Hey? Professor Smith? Aren't you supposed to cover my class tomorrow afternoon? What happened to you?" Teacher Ren Shui asked in surprise.
The British gentleman, speaking in clear Chinese, hissed angrily, "I got bitten… by Ham. Yes, the dog I raised. The doctor said it was a bad bite, injured my bone. I have to stay in the hospital. Once I'm discharged tomorrow, I'm going to stew him for soup! Hiss..."
This serious British gentleman was clearly heartbroken by the betrayal of his own pet, feeling like he had raised a treacherous wolf. That brutal bite nearly cost him his life. Stew, it had to be stew!
"…" Teacher Ren Shui thought, today is really getting a bit strange!
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Meanwhile, Scholar Song had already booked train tickets for Fay Yu.
At that moment, another new message popped up on the campus network account.
"Attention students of the Mechanical Engineering Department, Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Class 19-43: Due to Professor Smith also being hospitalized, tomorrow afternoon's university English class is canceled. Class 19-43 of the Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Department will have a half-day off tomorrow. Please inform each other and make the necessary preparations! Thank you."
This short message was repeated three times in a row.
Moreover, it was set to replay every half hour, overriding the previous message.
"…" Scholar Song stared at the message, feeling like a thousand racing horses were stampeding through his mind.
He turned to look at the beaming Fay Yu, and he thought, today is really getting a bit strange!
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In the end, Scholar Song accompanied Fay Yu to City J—because he had run out of reasons not to.
He never would have thought that two professors would be sent to the hospital one after the other. The odds of that happening were almost like winning the lottery. Yet, here he was, because of the tragic fate of two unfortunate professors, he now had a whole day off tomorrow. In Fay Yu's excited gaze, he booked train tickets to City J.
The ticket numbers were consecutive, so they would be sitting right next to each other.
"Hey, Fay Yu, is it just a coincidence that two professors ended up in the hospital?" Scholar Song stared intently at her, not blinking. This was his way of pressuring his opponent with an intense gaze. Under such scrutiny, if the person being looked at lied, they would feel uneasy.
The strange coincidences of the day were overwhelming. One professor got hospitalized, and the other took over a class, only to be hospitalized dramatically within three minutes—what a ridiculous plot twist!
Scholar Song believed he had long outgrown the age of fantasy; dreams of martial arts and immortals had faded from his life. But now, he really began to suspect if Fay Yu truly had some special ability to send two professors to the hospital!
He even let his imagination run wild in a darker direction—was she actually a terrifying heiress of some dark force, like in the movies, with a hidden group of people around her, ready to fulfill her every wish? And because she wanted him to accompany her to City J, those hidden subordinates ruthlessly delivered two professors to the hospital?
As Scholar Song's dark thoughts spiraled, Fay Yu remained calm under his intense gaze, "How could that be? We're not the kind of people who would do that! Scholar Song, you have to trust us!"
Her eyes were as pure and clear as the waters of an untainted holy lake, but… what was up with that 'us' she kept using?
Fortunately, Scholar Song didn't dwell on that topic; he had merely voiced a passing thought.
"We'll depart around three ten in the afternoon, and should reach Jiangnan University Town Station by three thirty. Since we still have some time, why don't you look up information about 'Ghost Lantern Temple' online? I'll grab us some lunch. Do you have any dietary restrictions?" Scholar Song asked.
"None, I can eat anything," Fay Yu replied. At this moment, to hide her anxiety, she would even swallow down her least favorite bell peppers without a second thought!
"Alright, you focus on finding Ghost Lantern Temple, and I'll be back soon. If my roommates happen to return, just tell them you're a friend of mine," Scholar Song waved his hand.
Once Scholar Song left, Fay Yu felt a little guilty, hunching over her computer to continue searching for all the temples in the Luo Xin district of City J, checking them one by one.
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June 2nd, three o'clock in the afternoon.
Scholar Song's three roommates had already received the notification from the campus network, so they didn't return to the dorm today.
"Fay Yu, we're off!" Scholar Song called out.
"I'm coming," Fay Yu stood up from her computer, looking dejected.
After searching for a long time, she still hadn't found any information about Ghost Lantern Temple. And the Hermit of North River had been offline all afternoon, so she had no way to reach out.
Scholar Song categorized the food he bought from the culinary paradise into the fridge and left a simple note for his roommates, indicating there was food in the fridge for them to help themselves.
This time out, he brought a backpack containing his phone, charger, and power bank. He didn't know how long they would be gone, and it would be troublesome if his phone died.
Fay Yu followed behind Scholar Song, dragging her large suitcase.
Seeing her downcast expression, he asked, "Did you not find any information on Ghost Lantern Temple?"
"Not a single clue. I have no idea if it was renamed or demolished. Now we'll just have to ask the locals when we get to City J," Fay Yu replied, feeling frustrated.
"Things will work themselves out; let's just go and see," Scholar Song reassured her.
As they spoke, they made their way to the elevator.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, more people started to gather in the dormitory building, as students from various departments began to trickle back.
"Ah Hang, where are you going to play?" A classmate of Scholar Song waved at him. Soon, their attention was drawn to Fay Yu, who was walking behind Scholar Song—a stunning tall beauty!