They All Say I've Met a Ghost

32

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"Wh-what relationship?" Sect Leader Ning turned on me. "Didn't we just meet last night?"

"The relationship of helping you hide the truth from Xiao Ning," I said. "Your health is poor, and you don't want to make trouble for your juniors. That’s part of the psychology of most elders. I understand. And anyway, a herniated disc isn't a fatal disease. You'll be more careful after you finish physical therapy and not always insist on sitting on a hard seat. So I'm willing to help you hide that from Xiao Ning. But it's wrong to say that there are ghosts. That's of a different nature."

He stared at me as though at some rare marvel. "You clearly stole Tiance's assignment, transcended so many fierce ghosts, and yet you still don't know that you’ve encountered ghosts?"

"I stole Xiao Ning's assignment? What happened?" I was bewildered.

"Ah," Sect Leader Ning sighed at length, "at this point I can't conceal it anymore. The bedroom is not suitable for talking about important matters. Let's go to the living room. Call Tiance, too. I'll tell you both."

Ning Tiance and I sat in a chair together, while Sect Leader Ning sat cross-legged on the mahogany sofa looking like an ascended immortal. I thought he must be suffering something awful. That kind of sofa is very expensive, but fiendishly hard to sit on. A cloth sofa was more comfortable.

So I stuck a cushion behind Sect Leader Ning's back to give him some support and relieve the pain.

Xiao Ning looked at me speechlessly and quietly said, "Shifu has always advocated a plain life. He doesn't like these frivolous things."

"Then the sect leader is welcome to yank it out and throw it aside himself," I said.

Sect Leader Ning laughed faintly. "How could this poor cleric waste Mr. Shen's kind intentions? Thank you very much."

I knew he wasn't going to pull it out.

"Tiance, I called you and Mr. Shen here together today because I have something to tell you," said Sect Leader Ning. "Transcending the twenty-six students at Benevolence Middle School was an assignment commissioned from the Maoshan Sect by a person called Principal Zhang."

Benevolence Middle School and Principal Zhang were both familiar to me. Wasn't that my school? But there were only 24 students in my class, two less than what he'd said.

Ning Tiance had always been concerned about this matter, and immediately asked, "Then why did it become Teacher Shen's job?"

"At this time I'm not sure about the main points. I'll tell you in detail what I understand," said Sect Leader Ning. "Two months ago, this master's phone received a message commissioning the Maoshan Sect to transcend a class of students. The commissioner was Principal Zhang. She claimed that she was steeped in sin and unworthy of being a teacher. All she could do was gather all the fierce ghosts who had been harmed because of her into a class, compile a roster, and use this force to bind them and keep them from harming others. But she couldn't hold out much longer, so she hoped that our Maoshan Sect could transcend them."

"It's easy to scatter a fierce ghost's soul, but to make them release their obsession and transcend really is a little..." Having said this much, Ning Tiance looked at me and changed what he was saying. “When I think about it, it's also pretty simple."

What was he looking at me like that for? His gaze was like like a hook, making my heart jump wildly.

"I also replied to Principal Zhang that way," said Sec Leader Ning. "Expelling ghosts is simple, transcending is hard. Principal Zhang said that each of these ghosts was ferocious. She didn't want Maoshan's disciples to sacrifice themselves to transcend them, she only asked that we try our best. These students were all pitiable people in life.