Chapter 35.1 Red Embroidered Shoes 02
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On the right side of the branch office, there were three ancestral tablets of the Three Pure Ones added to the wall. More altars were placed there too. On the altars, five offerings were neatly arranged, and the incense was burning. Chen Yang returned and saw Kou Xuanling offering incense to the ancestral tablets of the Three Pure Ones. So, he stood on the side and waited for him to finish before speaking.
After finishing offering incense to the ancestral tablets, Kou Xuanling turned back and asked Chen Yang, “Manager Chen, is there something you need?”
Chen Yang shook the phone in his hand and said, “New order. Three stars, twenty million.”
“Is it that high?” Kou Xuanling washed his hands, took a white cloth, and wiped it clean. “I hope the client isn’t hiding any issues.”
“It was posted on the APP and confirmed by the Daoist Association. It’s reliable.”
Kou Xuanling nodded and asked, “For the three-star order, should we both take it?”
“Yes, Xiaoli is a Fourth Grade Alliance Authority Celestial Master, so she couldn’t accept the three-star order. Lately, she had been running a small business at school, selling harmony talismans and fortune transfer talismans to earn some extra money. They’re selling well. Zhang Qiudao is busy with his studies, preparing to advance to Third Grade Five Thunders Celestial Master. I wanted him to focus on his studies. If he succeeded in his promotion, our branch would have two Five Thunders Celestial Masters and two Alliance Authority Celestial Masters. It would increase our success rate in taking orders. Maybe one day, we could even get a four-star order… Oh, by the way, have you ever received a four-star order?”
Kou Xuanling: “Yes, I have. However, I didn’t get a chance to act on it. We went to an ancient tomb that had been around for a thousand years. Inside the tomb, there were groups of starving ghosts, and any living creature entering the tomb would be drained of their blood and flesh. At that time, there were seven Three Caverns Celestial Masters and one Supreme Clarity Celestial Master who came along. Many people died and we almost lost two Three Caverns Celestial Masters. Being the youngest and least experienced among us, I could only guard the entrance of the tomb and couldn’t go inside.”
“That sounds terrifying.” Chen Yang recalled the incident when Zhang Qiudao returned from the deserted village in Nanyue. The Daoist Association had mistakenly classified a five-star order as a three-star one, resulting in the loss of a celestial master. They had only made it to the entrance of the village at that time. “So, we need more experience before we can take four-star orders. Anyway, get your things ready, we’ll leave tomorrow.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re heading to Mentougou Jinshui High School,” Chen Yang said, not turning his head. He was going to find Mao Xiaoli to draw spirit talismans, just in case. Since Chen Yang had discovered Mao Xiaoli’s innate talent for drawing talismans, everyone in the branch office loved to ask her for talismans. They practically treated her like a human talisman printer.
Mao Xiaoli was always willing to help. Drawing talismans was as easy for her as practicing calligraphy. Whenever someone in the office asked her to draw talismans, she would do it without hesitation. After hearing that Chen Yang had taken a new order, she congratulated him and then asked, “Currently, the best-selling items are the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady’s Union and Harmony Talisman and the Three Days of Auspicious Blessings Talisman. Unfortunately, their effects only last for about ten minutes. I’ve noticed a decline in sales for the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady’s Union and Harmony Talisman lately.”
Chen Yang: “Why not try putting the Dual Harmony Immortal Seal on top of the Harmony talisman? I remember you worship the Dual Harmony Immortal as ancestral master. During your initiation, they should have taught you the seal.”
Mao Xiaoli’s eyes brightened. “Oh, right. I’ll give it a try now. Thanks, Brother Chen. Goodbye, Brother Chen.”
In the evening, Mao Xiaoli handed a box of talismans to Chen Yang and happily announced to everyone that her harmony talismans could now last for half an hour. She also mentioned that she had gained inspiration from it, which even improved the effects of the Three Days of Auspicious Blessings Talisman by ten minutes.
Except for Chen Yang and Ma Shanfeng, who congratulated her, Zhang Qiudao and Kou Xuanling dismissed it. Mao Xiaoli huffed, “Just wait until you come begging at my doorstep.”
Zhang Qiudao: “Just imagine it in your dreams.”
Kou Xuanling: “Keep dreaming.”
Both of them spoke up in unison, causing Mao Xiaoli to grumble, “I hope you two never have to take exams.” With that, she turned around and went back to her room.
Kou Xuanling was confused. “What does that have to do with exams?”
Chen Yang opened the box, which contained not only Five Thunders talismans but also Three Days of Auspicious Blessings Talismans. With a cheerful smile, he put them away and replied to Kou Xuanling, “It’s because students are the ones who buy the Three Days of Auspicious Blessings Talismans. When they wear them during exams, they usually don’t fail.”
“Isn’t that cheating?”
“It’s not cheating,” Chen Yang explained, “It’s just having good luck. For example, they might get questions they’ve studied before or encounter easy questions they’ve seen prior to the exam. In short, it brings good luck. The Three Days of Auspicious Blessings Talisman is a very effective and useful talisman.”
Kou Xuanling and Zhang Qiudao, both academic achievers, remained unconvinced until later when Chen Yang wore the Three Days of Auspicious Blessings Talisman and miraculously survived at Mentougou Jinshui High School. It was only then that they realized how significant of an advantage good luck could be.
The next day, Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling set off for Mentougou Jinshui High School. Located deep in the mountains of Mentougou District, the school was known as an elite institution for wealthy students, renowned for its strict rules, intimidating surveillance, and talent cultivation.
Kou Xuanling: “I’ve heard of this school. It has quite a reputation in the Celestial Master Community. Not only for its lavish spending but also because they invite celestial masters every year to perform rituals at the school.”
“They invite celestial masters every year? Why?” Chen Yang asked. “Do people die there every year?”
“Yes, people do die there every year. Jinshui High School is famous for its intense academic pressure, leading some students to succumb to the stress and commit ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ. However, due to the school’s influential backing and remote location, the media has limited access to any incidents. Additionally, the school tightly controls student expression, so even if there are ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ cases each year, it doesn’t cause significant waves. Nevertheless, many parents still enroll their children, hoping to cultivate exceptional talents.”
Chen Yang: “Doesn’t the school provide psychological counseling for students?”
Kou Xuanling: “They say they’ve hired renowned foreign psychologists, but even those psychologists themselves almost ended up falling ill from the circumstances.”
Chen Yang turned his head to look out the car window. They were already driving into the deep mountains, surrounded by lush greenery. Perhaps due to his own experience living in fear and the threat of death for over a decade, he couldn’t quite comprehend how students could resort to ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ under immense pressure.
After all, for Chen Yang, life was precious, and being able to survive was a stroke of great fortune.
“But why are there three-star assignments?” Chen Yang asked.
Kou Xuanling: “Doesn’t the APP provide any details?”
Chen Yang: “It simply mentions unexpected student deaths and other students witnessing paranormal events. They want us to go there and resolve the situation.”
“It doesn’t sound as dangerous as three-star assignments.”
“Perhaps it’s because of the higher price. I managed to snatch the three-star assignment from the blue section of the APP.”
After taking on a few more assignments, Chen Yang discovered that the Dafu APP divided the assignments into two sections: blue and green. Both sections had one to five-star difficulty levels, but assignments in the blue section were generally easier than those in the green section. This was because the star rating in the blue section was primarily determined by the price rather than the actual difficulty of the assignment.
As a result, assignments in the blue section were often in high demand and difficult to secure. Chen Yang was only able to snatch the assignment for Jinshui High School by using Mao Xiaoli’s Three Days of Auspicious Blessings Talisman.
While they were conversing, they noticed a car ahead of them blocking their path. Kou Xuanling glanced at the navigation system and realized they were close to Jinshui High School. Judging by the direction the car in front was heading, it seemed they were both heading to the same destination.
As expected, when they reached the school gate of Jinshui High School, they saw that the car that had previously blocked them had been allowed entry. Chen Yang remarked, “It seems Jinshui High School has had multiple orders before.”
The security guard stopped them, but Kou Xuanling presented the employee ID sent by Jinshui High School. Once they wore it, they would be granted access to the school. As soon as the security guard saw the ID, he let them through. Just as the car window closed, Chen Yang overheard the security guard muttering, “Why are so many people coming here to meet their doom?”
As Chen Yang turned to glance back at the security guard in the guardhouse, a sudden chorus of crows filled the air, fluttering and crowing above the dense forest on either side. They created a dark, ominous spectacle that blocked out the gloomy sky, instilling an unsettling sense of foreboding.
Checking the time, Chen Yang noticed it was already past four o’clock, almost five. “The day darkens quickly,” he said. In June, it would usually stay light until around seven o’clock. However, at this moment, before five o’clock, the sky had already grown dim, casting an unsettling shadow over the entire school as if it were enveloped by deep mountains.
“Doesn’t seem like it’s going to rain,” Kou Xuanling said, parking the car in the parking shed and locking it. Stepping out of the vehicle, he surveyed the surroundings. “It’s so quiet here. Is summer vacation already in progress?”
Chen Yang: “It’s only mid-June. Due to supernatural incidents, the school decided to send the first-year students home and have the second-year students, who will be entering their final year, attend makeup classes. So there are still teachers and students at the school, probably in class.”
Stepping into the school, they immediately noticed the eerie silence that permeated the entire campus. It was as if there wasn’t a single soul present, devoid of any laughter, chatter, or the sound of studying. The campus was quite large. As they passed through the entrance gate, a prominent six-story administrative building stood directly ahead. Surrounding it were trees and slopes, with a pond in front of the building. On either side of the pond were roads leading in opposite directions. The left road had several school buses parked alongside it, while the right road had a parking shed.
Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling had parked their car in the shed and continued walking down the road adjacent to it. Following this path would lead them to the playground, cafeteria, and old dormitory buildings. If they continued down the road on the left, it would take them to the academic buildings, the laboratory, and the library. The buildings had an aged appearance, especially the dormitories, which were covered in green vines crawling up their rooftops. The campus was dotted with slopes, and their peaks were all densely covered with lush vegetation.
The trees were so tall that they almost blocked out the sunlight, creating shaded areas throughout the school. Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling could have walked straight through the administration building and out onto another forest path that connected the academic building and the dormitory buildings. However, instead of crossing through the administration building, they decided to take the elevator up to the third floor.
Chen Yang: “Administrative Office 301. We need to report there first. They will provide us with information about the situation and arrange our dormitory.”
Upon reaching Office 301 and knocking on the door, they were surprised to find a young couple inside, both carrying backpacks. Each backpack had a small Eight Trigrams pendant hanging from it, indicating that they were the people who had overtaken them earlier.
“Are you the other pair who took the order?”
Chen Yang looked over and saw a middle-aged man with a stern expression standing up from behind the office desk. Chen Yang nodded, and the middle-aged man softened his tone as he said, “I am Mr. Jin, the Director of General Affairs at Jinshui High School. I’m also the one who posted the order. Whoever can solve the supernatural incidents at Jinshui High School and ensure the students can study normally will receive a reward of twenty million.”
Before Chen Yang could speak, the man among the young pair lazily interjected, “Don’t worry, Director Jin. You’ve invited the right people by inviting us, the Qiu siblings…” He glanced deliberately at Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling, implying something. “…we’re not some fraudulent charlatans.”
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