Due to the recent surge in student numbers at the school, the midterm and final exams are usually held in the same classroom for both the high school and junior high school students. This mix of different grade levels not only saves classroom resources but also helps prevent cheating among students of the same year. It’s a thoughtful arrangement. Back when I took exams, if I ever cheated, it was always by my own efforts.
The invigilating teachers are typically one from the high school and one from the junior high. If any teacher is caught not monitoring the exam strictly by the patrol leader, that teacher might lose their bonus for the entire semester.
On November 10th, the tense midterm exams finally began. In the exam room I was assigned to, I only knew two people, Cao Kui and Zhang Yu. This time, I was unusually serious about not preparing any cheat sheets, and my mindset was completely different from the usual exam mentality.
The three-day exam marathon caused all the students to forget about the rumors of the missing mummified corpse, and during the evening study sessions, the number of students increased again.
Since I had decided to go all out and give my best performance on this exam, I took it seriously. It was the first time in my life that I had actually worked diligently through the test papers. As a cultivator, I was supposed to remain low-key, but it seemed that study and cultivation were two completely different realms. At least for now, I was still a student. As long as my results weren't too outstanding, I thought, it wouldn't interfere with my cultivation.
So, for this exam, I filled out most of the entire paper, whereas in the past, I would only complete part of it. How embarrassing! Even so, I finished every exam first, as I always did, causing my high school teachers to roll their eyes at me.
When the three-day exams ended, everyone relaxed. The morning after the last exam, when I arrived at the classroom, I saw that Cao Kui’s mouth was swollen, and he was limping. Cheng Fan, who was normally quite slender, also had his arms swollen and looking green and scary.
Both of them looked very pale. In surprise, I walked over and patted Cao Kui’s shoulder, asking, “Hey! What happened to you two? Did the skinny monkey’s arms and your mouth get into a fight or something? Haha!”
Their faces looked awkward, and I smelled a familiar odor coming from Cheng Fan’s hands. I couldn’t help but laugh, “Did you two sneak over to the school playground and steal some walnuts last night?”
“Mm!” Cao Kui grinned widely, giving a bitter smile and nodded.
Cheng Fan, the skinny monkey, also smiled shyly, but something about his smile made me feel that there was more to it than he was letting on.
Speaking of walnuts, every autumn, the decades-old walnut trees along the water ditch at the school playground bear abundant fruit. Before the walnuts mature, they have a green outer skin, which must be peeled off to reveal the true walnut. If you’re not careful and get some of the juice from the skin on your hands, it will definitely cause swelling. Since there are many walnut trees in my hometown as well, I immediately understood the cause when I saw them.
What really puzzled me was Cao Kui’s leg. I asked, “What happened to your leg? Did you pull a muscle during your morning workout?”
“No, I saw a ghost this morning, damn it.” Cao Kui’s face turned strange as he whispered to me, “You know, at our sports school, we usually start training before dawn. Today, I was the first one to arrive at the playground, but my classmates weren’t there yet, so I secretly climbed a walnut tree to pick some walnuts. But when I was about to climb down from the tree, guess what I saw?”
As Cao Kui was telling this, I could sense a shiver in his voice. What did he see?
A ghost? Why would there be ghosts? Cao Kui usually had a lot of guts, so whatever he saw must have really shaken him. I curiously asked, “Come on, stop messing around and tell me what you saw.”
Cao Kui, looking all mysterious, whispered, “I didn’t expect it, but halfway down the tree, when I looked back, there was someone standing under the tree.” He swallowed hard, but couldn’t continue.
This guy, it seemed, was truly terrified. It was just a person standing under the tree, yet he looked like he was about to cry while telling the story. This didn’t seem like the usual fearless Cao Kui.
I looked at Cheng Fan and asked softly, “Who did Cao Kui see?”
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“It’s the mummified corpse,” Cheng Fan whispered, “Cao Kui told me that he was sure it was the mummified corpse he saw.”
“Yeah, definitely.” Cao Kui, who had calmed down a little, took a deep breath and interrupted, “Although it changed clothes and cut its hair and nails, I’m absolutely certain it was the mummified corpse. Those eyes, those eyes…” As he spoke, Cao Kui’s body started to tremble again.
It was the mummified corpse? How could it come back to life? If what Cao Kui saw was really the mummified corpse, then it must have been a huge shock for him to see it suddenly appear in front of him. No wonder he was so scared.
I took out a calming talisman from my pocket and handed it to Cao Kui, saying, “What are you afraid of? You’re a grown man.”
After he put the talisman inside his clothes pocket, Cao Kui’s face gradually returned to normal. I asked, “What happened next? Where did the mummified corpse go?”
“I don’t know.” Cao Kui shook his head with a bitter smile, “I was so scared that I fell out of the tree. When I got up, everything around me was empty. I don’t know where that guy went.”
Cao Kui’s words lingered in my mind the entire morning. For the whole morning, I couldn’t calm down. I kept thinking about why the mummified corpse came back to life. Looking at my desk mate, Xiao Man, quietly doing her homework beside me, I thought to myself, if she had encountered the mummified corpse again, she’d probably be scared half to death. We had been desk mates for such a long time, and I was wondering if she still had that talisman I gave her. I asked, “Hey, do you still have the talisman I gave you last time?”
Xiao Man blinked her beautiful big eyes and curiously asked, “Why do you want to know? It’s in my possession. You’re not asking to take it back or for money, right?”
Ugh! Seriously? I couldn’t be bothered to reply, but I thought to myself, if the mummified corpse appeared again, it would definitely cause a huge uproar at school.
At lunch, I overheard some classmates talking about how the principal had entered his office with a few people dressed as Daoist priests. It seemed that the situation was just as Cao Kui had said—something was wrong.
A few Daoist priests? Could it be that Tian Huazi from Haixin Mountain, whom I met a while ago, was among them?
Just ten minutes before class started in the afternoon, our homeroom teacher, Mr. Xin Tianfan, appeared at the door. His walk no longer had a limp, but his face didn’t look too good.
Without a word of small talk, Mr. Xin went straight to the point. “Students, the school has decided to give everyone an extra three-day holiday since the exams are over. You can head home now. All boarding students must leave the school by 3 PM today.”
“Wow!”
A holiday? The entire class was in an uproar. It was unheard of to have a holiday after an exam, and such a sudden announcement left everyone momentarily stunned. But then, the realization hit: a holiday! Everyone, without exception, was thrilled.
Without saying anything, Cao Kui, Cheng Fan, and I exchanged looks. From each other's eyes, we knew that whatever was going on was definitely related to the corpse.
Once the homeroom teacher left the classroom, the students immediately began discussing among themselves, hurriedly packing their things. The boarding students from other counties loudly protested, asking why they had to leave the school if there was a holiday. However, judging by the teacher’s tone, leaving the school was definitely a requirement.
By the time everyone had packed up and was leaving, Cao Kui and Cheng Fan walked up to me.
Cao Kui asked, “Are you going back to your hometown?”
I replied, “No, there’s no point. I just got back from a long journey. It’s only a three-day holiday; nothing to do back home.”
Cheng Fan mischievously whispered to me, “Well, since you’re not going back, let’s come back to school and have some fun these few days!”
I laughed helplessly and said, “You two are nuts. Cao Kui, you’ve been scared out of your wits. Coming back to school for what? To catch the corpse? Aren’t you scared enough already?”
“Heh! Just say yes or no, do you want to come or not?” Cheng Fan asked.
“Fine! When should we meet?” Actually, I was just as curious. It would be impossible to not join in on the excitement.
“How about we go back and sleep this afternoon, then meet at 7 PM by the supermarket behind the school?”
Having set the time, I packed my stuff and walked out of the classroom. I strolled down the street near the school. Not far from the school, I spotted Taoist Master Tianhuazi again, accompanied by a young Taoist who was holding what looked like a compass. They were hurriedly walking and talking about something.
Out of curiosity, I quietly followed behind them, focusing intently to hear what they were saying.
“Master, where do you think our ancestor has gone?” the young Taoist asked.
So, they were looking for their master and their clan? I hadn’t noticed any old Taoists around.
Tianhuazi frowned and sighed. “He should be somewhere nearby. Hurry up and look for him.”
“Master, do you think the school will blame us for stealing the corpse?” the young Taoist continued. “Is there something wrong with our Soul-Transferring Formation? Why did the soul transfer work, but he’s not acting like he used to?”
A corpse? They had stolen it? And the Soul-Transferring Formation the young Taoist mentioned—what was that all about? Doubts started swirling in my mind, and I listened even more closely to what they were saying.
Tianhuazi explained, “Sigh, maybe the formation wasn’t perfect. Plus, none of us have true essence, so we couldn’t fully activate the Soul-Transferring Formation. I’m worried the soul that was transferred to the corpse might be incomplete. Your ancestor had always been disappointed with his lack of progress in cultivation. Seeing that his body was failing, he had no choice but to go all in and try it.”
Oh my! What was going on? From what Tianhuazi said, his master had transferred his soul into the corpse. I was stunned! This was no longer just some strange occurrence—I had just heard the secret of the century!