Chapter 020: Salvation
"You haven't finished your story yet." said Uncle Zhong.
The old man was a little embarrassed and coughed lightly: "Well, don't tell the principal what I said, he will expel me. This is our school's secret. I just said too much."
Li Daming said, don't worry, old man, we are all social people, don't we know this?
The old man said, "Almost all the students in that class had died, and something strange happened. I was able to work here because the old man on duty said he would not do it anymore. That night, he was on night watch at school and turned off all the electricity, but there was a class with lights on. He went to check. It would have been better if he hadn't looked. He was shocked when he saw it. The class with the lights on was the class where all the students had died in the reservoir. Everyone in the class was soaking wet, and the whole classroom was filled with fog. He was so scared that he almost had a heart attack and ran back to the message room. The next day, he told others about the news, and then he was fired by the principal. He was accused of spreading rumors and misleading the public and wanted to be held accountable. He said he just didn't want to do it anymore, and even if the principal offered him a million dollars a month, he would not do it. He wanted to live two more years..."
We looked at each other in bewilderment. We had never expected that this school held so many secrets and contained so many innocent souls.
The three of us came out of the message room, and it was the break time , and all the students in the school came out for some fresh air. We walked on the plastic track, and a pungent smell made us dizzy. In the sun, the plastic gave off a very bad smell. We could see that the children were all listless, and there were rarely any laughing or playing around. They looked like chickens that had been beaten.
They are at the most lively and active age, but in the severely polluted environment, the vitality of youth seems to have been drained away.
We entered the teaching building and after asking around, we arrived at the principal's office on the third floor. We knocked on the door and went in. The principal was watering the flowers in the office. The office was large, with a French window and many plants, making it look spacious, bright and beautiful . However, such a large office was very empty, with only a large desk in the middle and a few sofas placed against the wall.
Seeing us coming, the principal came over to shake hands. He was a middle-aged man, probably in his early fifties, with waxed hair that looked as if it had been licked by a dog. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and had some scholarly air about him, but more of a commoner air.
He looked us up and down, with a puzzled look in his eyes, but he was polite and asked us to sit on the sofa. He pulled a chair over and sat down. "Three of you, do you want to smoke?"
Uncle Zhong crossed his legs and stared at the principal with a stern look.
The principal didn't dare to look him in the eye and chuckled: "My last name is Cao, what are your names?"
Uncle Zhong said, "My last name is Zhong, and I'm the owner of Feng Shui Hall." He handed over his business card, and it seemed like he had no intention of introducing me and Li Daming at all.
"Hello, hello." The principal said respectfully: "What's the reason for coming here today?"
"There are big problems in your school." Uncle Zhong said, "Someone mentioned it to me, and that's why I came here from the city."
"Oh?" The principal blinked. "Who introduced you?"
"Don't ask who it is. Someone will come to recognize you in the future." Uncle Zhong said vaguely: "I am also here to fulfill my duty. Otherwise, I would not come from the city in such a hot day."
Although Principal Cao was very confused, he still chatted with us with an attitude of waiting and seeing. Uncle Zhong got straight to the point: "I have seen the Feng Shui situation of your school, it is not ideal, and I believe you have seen other Feng Shui masters before, but the results were not good."
Principal Cao sighed and said slowly, "It's not very good. I listened to their opinions and took many measures, but it felt worse and worse. The master surnamed Chen asked me to rebuild the playground and lay a plastic track, saying that plastic absorbs yang energy, and the playground is a place for students to play, cultivating yang energy can suppress those yin energy. I applied for funds from above with great difficulty and found a construction team to renovate the playground, but you have seen the results. The smell of plastic lingers for a long time. Not only do students complain, but teachers are also unhappy. They dare not open the windows in the summer because of the strong smell, which seriously affects the quality of teaching..."
At this point, he looked at us and asked tentatively, "Are you guys sent down from above?"
Uncle Zhong opened his bag and took out a compass, a talisman, some brushes, and bottles and jars. "I'm in this business. If he was an imposter, how could he have such complete preparations for his magical instruments?"
Principal Cao lit a cigarette and squinted at us: "What is your purpose, to make some money?"
"We come here for no monetary reward." Uncle Zhong said, "First, it's a friend's request, and second, a good friend of mine has a relative who is from your school. She had an accident, and I'm here to pray for her soul to be reborn."
Principal Cao's eyes lit up and he stopped being negligent.
I was observing from the side and I could see that Uncle Zhong spoke and acted in a very stylish manner. He looked like a senior in the martial arts world and his aura was so charismatic that even Principal Cao couldn't even flatter him. He just said these words from the bottom of his heart and they touched Principal Cao's heart.
The principal sighed and put out his cigarette. "Master, you are an expert. To be honest, the teaching building behind us has been abandoned for nearly ten years. Because of that incident, the school has never been peaceful. The school wanted to demolish the teaching building , but as soon as they started, no matter whether it was day or night, supernatural phenomena would definitely appear. One time, a strong wind suddenly came out for no reason and blew away the surrounding iron walls. Then the wind stopped. Tell me, isn't it weird? If the current school didn't have a good enrollment rate, it would have been empty long ago, and I would have become a principal without a teacher."
He smiled bitterly: "Since I came here to be the principal, my career has not been smooth, and my family has not made me feel at ease. It is the bad feng shui here that has made me so unlucky."
I couldn't help but ask, "What on earth was that incident you were talking about? Did that class's bus fall into the reservoir?"
Principal Cao looked unhappy. "Those are all rumors. What bus? It was just a small van with four or five students on it. They went out to play and had an accident. It's not that weird. These are all rumors made up by those fools. I'm not talking about this incident. Before this accident, a big thing happened in the school. From that day on, nothing went well."
Uncle Zhong asked what was going on.
Principal Cao said: "Many years ago, there was a female student who couldn't stand the teacher's criticism and education, so she jumped off the building in a red skirt and committed suicide."
We looked at each other, and I couldn't control my excitement and asked, "Is her name Chen Lun?"
Principal Cao looked unhappy. He slowly took out a cigarette and held it in his mouth for a long time without lighting it. He said, "Hmm," "It should be called this name. Do you all know it?"
Uncle Zhong said, "I am here today to liberate her soul. As long as she is liberated, she can leave this school. Once she leaves, you can demolish the old teaching building, the Feng Shui eye will be opened, the negative energy will be released, and all the problems will be solved. As for the plastic track, it is even simpler. You don't need any magic, just use some environmentally friendly materials to renovate it. All the problems in your school are linked together, and the most fundamental and source problem is the liberation ritual for the girl named Chen Lun."
Principal Cao looked at Uncle Zhong, and Uncle Zhong looked at him. No one spoke for a while, and the office was filled with deathly silence and depression.
After about two or three minutes, Principal Cao nodded and said, "You can perform the ritual of salvation, but it must be done in secret. It would not be good if it gets out."
"No problem." Uncle Zhong said, "Can you take us to the scene first?"
Principal Cao put out his cigarette and said, "I won't go over there. I'll let the office director take you there."
He walked to his desk to make a phone call. During this time, Li Daming whispered, "Uncle Zhong, Principal Cao seems to be worried."
"There's something fishy going on here." Uncle Zhong said, "No one can escape the cycle of cause and effect."
"Uncle Zhong, when did you become the boss of Feng Shui Tang?" I asked.
Uncle Zhong smiled and said, "Opening an online store for my daughter is just my superficial job. I am indeed a consultant teacher of the Feng Shui branch of the Yijing Research Association in the city. This identity is not false, you can ask around."
Li Daming and I looked at each other in bewilderment. Li Daming asked, "Is there such an association in Jiangbei City? One that specializes in studying the Book of Changes?"
"There are many things you two don't know." Uncle Zhong said calmly, "Youngsters, you still need to broaden your horizons."
At this time, someone knocked on the office door and the principal called out to come in. A middle-aged man in a white shirt and blue pants walked in with a smile on his face. When he saw the principal, he smiled and said, "Principal, I'm here."
Principal Cao pointed at us and said, "Xiao Jin, take these three masters to the old teaching building. They are honored guests, so just do whatever they tell you to do. Keep them for lunch. Report anything in time." After giving us instructions, he came over to apologize, "I have a meeting in town later. I'll excuse you."
Uncle Zhong stood up and shook hands with him, staring at him closely: "Principal, solving the girl's problem is actually solving your problem. I hope you can cooperate and resolve this obstacle."
Principal Cao didn't quite understand what he said, so he forced a smile, said he would contact him by phone, and left with his briefcase.
The director, surnamed Jin, was born with a smile that was meant to please the leaders. He didn't smile or talk, and he was still cute at such an old age. He smiled and said, "Three of you, please follow me. I'll take you to see the old teaching building."
