Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Captured Female Ghost

"Young people with too much fire in them are no good."

Smiling, he walked over to Song Nianqiang without the slightest trace of airs and even crouched down beside him. Pinching up a little dust from the ground, he said with nostalgia, "This place was the foundation of everything I built. I have a deep attachment to this school. Even though it has been losing money all these years, I have held on to it. I only beg you to save this school and not let it close."

Seeing the school director of Horizon Technical School wearing such a pleading expression, Song Nianqiang frowned slightly. An old hand like him had acting skills no worse than those award-winning movie kings, so Song Nianqiang did not rush to answer. Instead, he deliberately pretended to think it over.

"How about this: I’ll put in one hundred thousand. As long as you can keep this school running, I’ll give you one hundred thousand. What do you say?" The school director seemed genuinely anxious, but Song Nianqiang still kept his brows knitted, saying nothing. He wanted to see where his bottom line was.

After waiting a while and receiving no reply, the school director gritted his teeth and raised the offer by another two hundred thousand. "Three hundred thousand. Three hundred thousand! As long as you can save this school, I’ll give you three hundred thousand!"

Even though the man was wealthy, producing three hundred thousand at once was clearly a strain.

But Song Nianqiang still did not answer him. Instead, he calmly focused on his own task. Seeing that he remained unmoved, the director slapped his thigh hard, his earlier composure vanishing without a trace.

"Damn it, I’m going all in. As long as you can keep this school for me, I’ll give you five hundred thousand. If you agree, we shake hands. If not, I’ll turn around and leave right now!"

With that, he extended his right hand.

Having seen the limit, Song Nianqiang slowly stood up and said with a grin, "Why are you so determined to keep this school? Is there some secret here that can’t be spoken of? Heh."

Hearing this, the director laughed. "What are you talking about? Under the Colonel's nose, who would dare do anything improper? Are they trying to die?"

His words were quite tactful. The colonel commanded an elite force armed with live ammunition. His duties were not merely training soldiers; he also indirectly bore responsibility for the town's order and security. Of course, on the surface these were the police's jobs, but anyone with any standing in the town likely knew that the real power here belonged to the colonel.

Although the colonel was a military man, he had come here on a secret mission and had already stayed seven or eight years. Yet that mission had never been completed. As for what it was, perhaps only the Prime Minister knew.

"Then why are you so determined to keep this school?" Song Nianqiang asked in confusion.

This time the director truly became anxious. "Brother, dear brother, haven’t I told you? I got my start because of this place. I don’t want to forget where I came from!"

Hearing that, Song Nianqiang looked at him with a strange expression, as though weighing how much of this answer he ought to believe.

"By your nature, you would never spend five hundred thousand just for this school. If the state took it over, the compensation you’d receive would definitely be generous. If you won’t tell the truth, then our conversation ends here."

Song Nianqiang struck hard, though in truth he was not at all sure of himself. He simply wanted to use these words to probe the director.

The expression on the director's face shifted uncertainly, as if he were debating whether to tell this young man the truth. In fact, his purpose was simple enough, but it concerned his future fortune. Should he say it or not? He was torn inside.

At last, grinding his teeth, he made a crucial decision.

"Fine, I’ll tell you! But you must promise me this: even if you die, you can never tell this secret to anyone else!"

He seemed to have resolved himself to the point of death. Song Nianqiang was curious indeed. What secret could make a man so determined?

"When I was in my twenties, I once had my fortune told. The man said that if I bought up this mass grave and built a school here, then I would surely rise to great success later on."

The director spoke with great seriousness.

"What?"

Song Nianqiang nearly dropped to his knees on the spot. "And you believe that? Put your head over here and let me take a look!"

He clapped his hands as he spoke. The director looked utterly baffled.

"What do you mean, let you look at my head?"

As he said this, he even took a step back.

"I want to see whether water got into your brain! I’m saying you’re nothing but a complete idiot. You even believe the words of a street charlatan! Honestly, there’s no cure for you."

With that, Song Nianqiang shook his head in an exaggerated manner. But the director only grew more hostile toward him.

"Believe it or not, that’s your business. Don’t question my loyalty. So, are you doing this or not?"

"Only an idiot wouldn’t do it. Don’t worry. By tonight, I’ll give you back a perfectly intact Horizon Technical School!"

Since he was being handed half a million for nothing, only a fool would refuse. Song Nianqiang would certainly not let this fat sheep slip away.

"Very well, I’ll leave now. I’ll wait for your good news tomorrow."

It was already six in the evening, and the sun’s yang force was gradually fading. The school director was no ghost-catcher; since he believed in the words of itinerant fortune-tellers, it was only natural that he also believed in ghosts.

"Qiangzi, do you think that guy has a screw loose?" After the director left, the burly man finally stood up and asked Song Nianqiang with a smile.

"Haha, looks that way. Otherwise, why would he give us half a million for no reason?" Song Nianqiang had just finished drawing the last formation when the burly man also completed his work.

"Let’s go back first, eat something, and ask that pretty female ghost about what’s going on here. Then we’ll come again tonight."

With that, Song Nianqiang got up, packed away their things, and strode toward the school gate, with the burly man following behind him.

The two of them chatted and laughed as they left through the gate. By then, the school had completely become a dead zone. The police had sealed off the entire campus, and anyone who was not courting death would stay away. What had happened here was already known to outsiders: everyone knew the technical school was haunted.

They went to the usual street stall and ordered a few side dishes, though they did not drink beer. Tonight they needed to keep their minds clear, so the two of them tacitly abstained from alcohol.

After eating a little, Song Nianqiang and the burly man returned to where they lived. As soon as they got home, the two of them slipped into the inner room. The burly man took out the talisman paper, placed it into the treated teacup, and set it alight. A wisp of blue smoke slowly rose, and then a naked female ghost appeared before them.

A pair of proud peaks, a delicate face, very slender legs, and especially those eyes gazing at them with infinite tenderness—but Song Nianqiang and the burly man were not moved in the slightest. Song Nianqiang's soul power could already be divided into two, so his strength needed no explanation. As for the burly man, his pure-yang body had a natural resistance to the seductive arts of ghosts.

"Put away that beat-me-up look. Just seeing it makes me want to roast you alive."

Song Nianqiang pulled over a stool and sat down with a plop. The burly man walked up to the female ghost. The ghost thought one of them had been unable to resist her allure and come to her on his own, but very soon she let out a shriek of misery.

"Trying tricks on the Fat Lord? You little ghost, let me tell you, you’re still far too green. Now listen carefully: I ask, you answer. If you hesitate, I’ll make you feel what you just felt again."

At the mention of that sensation, the female ghost visibly trembled. It seemed the burly man's methods had grown even more formidable.

"Why were you hiding there instead of being with the other ghosts? Were you sent out as a spy?" the burly man asked sternly.

At his words, the female ghost shook her head so violently it swayed like a ripple on water, insisting over and over that she was not.

"Then explain why you were there, and why I could sense your aura," Song Nianqiang cut in.

But the female ghost did not answer. Instead, she began to sob softly, as if she had suffered a great and grievous wrong.