At the end of September, Jiangcheng was still blazing hot.
The new students undergoing military training stood in neat formations to be reviewed.
This was the result of nearly a month of hard work, and after the review, they would bid farewell to their instructors and military training, welcoming the upcoming National Day holiday.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xianyu had already booked a hotel next to the Taiqing Temple in advance to prepare for the basic exam.
Xie Dingxin had originally invited him to stay in a guest room at Taiqing Temple, but he refused.
Even though Xie Dingxin didn’t even know what the exam questions would be, it was still better to avoid suspicion when necessary.
The basic exam lasted two days.
There were two sessions in total, each lasting four hours.
Because of the long duration, the exams started at ten in the morning and ended at two in the afternoon, leaving the mornings and afternoons for candidates to review and adjust their state.
The first day focused on theory.
Besides the scriptures and classics from various sects, there were also many essay questions, and even current affairs questions about how cultivators should adapt and conduct themselves in modern times.
The second day was a practical exam, mainly various rituals and ceremonies.
Candidates were grouped together to test their teamwork and were graded comprehensively. In the end, the final score was the average of the two days’ results.
Zhang Xianyu wasn’t worried about the rituals—he had learned them from Zhang Jianguo since childhood.
After all, it was his livelihood; even if he wasn’t an expert, he wouldn’t make any mistakes.
What worried him most were the theory questions.
Although he had been poring over notes and key points for the past half month, the Daoist scriptures were as vast as the sea.
Even with what his granduncle had left behind, it was just the tip of the iceberg.
If the exam questions went beyond the scope, he would have to try again next time.
Silently reciting the Qingxin Mantra, Zhang Xianyu calmed himself and continued to study.
On the morning of the exam, Zhang Xianyu got up early, planning to go downstairs to buy breakfast.
When he opened the door, he saw an unexpected person at the doorway.
When he came out, Lian Wushui smiled and raised the insulated lunch box in his hand.
“I brought you breakfast.”
Zhang Xianyu was stunned for a while before he reacted, stepping aside to let them in.
Lin Ming pushed the boss inside, his eyes secretly sizing up the boy he’d never seen before, curiosity eating at him.
Early this morning, he’d received a call from his boss, who told him to buy breakfast from three different places, then drive him to the hotel room door.
He wasn’t even allowed to knock, just had to wait quietly outside, as if afraid of disturbing the person inside.
He’d never seen his boss care so much about anyone before.
“There wasn’t much time, so I only managed to buy three things. Try them, and if you like them, I’ll bring more tomorrow.”
Lian Wushui glanced at the insulated lunch box, and Lin Ming, knowing what to do, opened it and laid out the food: one layer of chicken soup dumplings, one layer of large pork buns, and one layer of steaming soy milk.
All were specialties from famous breakfast shops in Jiangcheng.
Zhang Xianyu felt a warm glow inside.
Yesterday, Lian Wushui had said he wanted to come with him, but Zhang Xianyu had refused.
He hadn’t expected him to come anyway today.
Though it was a bit troublesome, being cared for like this felt nice.
Ever since Zhang Jianguo was gone, there were very few people who cared about him—he had to rely on himself for everything.
“Thank you.”
Zhang Xianyu’s lips curved in a smile, his pale eyes warming.
When he wasn’t smiling or talking, he always seemed distant and cold, but when he did smile, it was like a flower blooming in the midst of ice and snow—full of joy.
Lian Wushui was in a very good mood, the smile never leaving his face.
“I’ve booked lunch too. When you finish the exam, we’ll go out for a big meal.”
At 9:40 in the morning, Zhang Xianyu entered the exam room.
Lian Wushui, looking like a worried parent, waited outside.
Lin Ming tried to persuade him to wait in the car, but he refused and stayed under the shade of a tree outside Taiqing Temple, handling company affairs on his laptop and occasionally glancing at the exam venue.
There weren’t many Daoists these days, and unlike before, they couldn’t recruit disciples freely.
Only about twenty people took the basic exam every three months, so one exam room was enough.
“How are you here?”
Xie Dingxin, who had come over to check things out, raised an eyebrow and looked at him inquisitively.
This was the same person who wouldn’t even come to Taiqing Temple before, complaining that there were too many Daoists for his liking.
Whenever something came up, Xie Dingxin always had to visit in person.
He didn’t expect Lian Wushui to show up quietly like this.
“When did you get discharged?”
Lian Wushui glanced at him, continuing to look at the files on his laptop.
Xie Dingxin was at a loss for words and replied sarcastically,
“I’ve been out for three days already.”
This guy hadn’t even bothered to send a fruit basket or flowers to welcome him out of the hospital.
Lian Wushui didn’t respond at all, not even sparing him a look.
“You’re not waiting for Zhang Xianyu, are you?”
Xie Dingxin circled around him, his gaze drifting from the exam room and back, grumbling sourly,
“As expected, geniuses get special treatment. Even President Lian himself comes to accompany the exam.”
Lian Wushui looked up at him.
Just as Xie Dingxin thought he was about to say something, he only heard him complain,
“Annoying.”
Xie Dingxin: …
Damn, if I could beat you, I’d definitely fight you right now!
Having suffered a setback, Xie Dingxin walked away, still feeling sour.
Lian Wushui waited until two in the afternoon.
When he saw Zhang Xianyu come out of the exam room, he immediately waved.
“Waited long?”
Zhang Xianyu walked over quickly, glanced at the sun in the sky, a little embarrassed.
“You didn’t have to wait for me.”
“I just got here, didn’t wait long.”
Lian Wushui smiled.
“Let’s eat?”
Zhang Xianyu nodded, and the three of them went to eat together.
Lian Wushui didn’t ask how the exam went, and Zhang Xianyu didn’t say.
After the last day’s exam, they happily enjoyed another big meal, and Zhang Xianyu began planning how to spend the National Day holiday.
The National Day break lasted seven days, and the exam results wouldn’t be out for half a month.
Zhang Xianyu thought about it and sent a message to Xie Dingxin, asking if there was any work during the holiday and if he could tag along.
He hadn’t gotten his Daoist Certificate yet, so he could only rely on Xie Dingxin for now.
He was just asking casually, but unexpectedly, Xie Dingxin replied that there really was something.
Zhang Xianyu was delighted.
After telling Lian Wushui, he took the bus to Taiqing Temple.
In the Taiqing Temple’s guest lounge, a middle-aged man, well-dressed but unshaven, sat on the sofa.
He gripped his hands tightly, the whites of his eyes bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept well for a long time.
“Daoist Xie, President Zhang sent me here. He said the masters at Taiqing Temple are the real deal. Please, you must save my child! I’ll donate as much incense money as you want.”
Xie Dingxin rubbed his brow.
His martial uncle, the Guanzhu of Taiqing Temple, had taken people to Baiyun Temple in Beiping City to exchange Daoist teachings, leaving only him to look after things.
But his injuries weren’t healed, and he was powerless.
He had wanted to persuade the man to seek help at another temple, but the man was stubborn, clinging to Taiqing Temple.
“Tell me the situation first.”
Unable to refuse after so much pestering, Xie Dingxin let him explain.
The middle-aged man was named Sun Zheli.
Hearing this, he wiped his face and slowly recalled what had happened at home.
“This all started last year…My son’s name is Sun Han, he was in Jiangcheng University Affiliated High School. He was in his second year then and started dating a girl behind our backs.”
He seemed to have a strong opinion about the girl.
“Sun Han had gone straight from the middle school division to the main campus with top grades, always doing well. The teachers all said that with a bit more effort, he could get into Qingbei. But after he started dating, his grades became unstable…”
“That girl’s family wasn’t good, her grades were average, and I heard she was introverted and quiet…”
The man painfully rubbed his face.
“Sun Han was influenced by her and became more withdrawn…”
At this point, he seemed unable to go on.
After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he continued,
“His mother and I noticed something was wrong and tried to talk sense into him. He was clearly getting better…But near the end of the second semester, he actually made a suicide pact with that girl—they took sleeping pills together…”
“Luckily, their classmates found them in time and called for help. Sun Han’s health pulled him through, but the girl was too weak and didn’t survive…”
“And it was from that moment on…”
The man’s facial muscles twitched nervously,
“Sun Han started talking to the air. At first, we thought he was traumatized and had mental problems, but then he started trying to kill himself whenever we weren’t watching. The first time he slit his wrists, the second time he tried to hang himself from the bedpost…”
His eyes were bloodshot, and he swallowed hard to keep calm.
“If his mother and I hadn’t found him in time, he’d already be…”
“Wait!”
Xie Dingxin raised his hand, puzzled.
“How do you know it’s the vengeful spirit of that girl haunting Sun Han? In cases like your son’s, it could just be guilt causing repeated suicide attempts.”
After all, they’d made a suicide pact, but only one died while the other survived.
The guilt of surviving was unimaginable, and if he couldn’t bear the pain, he might try to end his life again.
The man was silent for a moment and then said in a low voice,
“We’ve seen it.”
“It was after Sun Han failed to hang himself. I rode with the ambulance to the hospital, while his mother went home to pack his things. In…in the mirror of Sun Han’s wardrobe, she saw…”
“What did she see?”
“She saw the girl who killed herself.”
The man clenched his jaw, veins bulging on his forehead as if enduring great fear.
“Her hair was disheveled, and she wore a red dress, looking exactly like the girl who died.”
At first, he hadn’t believed his wife.
Both of them were under a lot of stress at the time, and he instinctively thought she was hallucinating.
But just two nights ago, when he was closing the hospital room window, he saw a reflection in the glass.
Her face was deathly pale, hair loose, dressed in red—exactly as his wife had described.
They’d seen the dead girl once, and except for the even more sinister expression in the reflection, it looked just like her.
The shadow in the glass disappeared in a flash, but it frightened him badly.
After asking several friends, he finally found a way to seek help at Taiqing Temple.
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