WILTHAUCS Chapter 8

Gao Shi sent his son home.

 

“Don’t go out for the next two days. Tomorrow, the old man will come over to see you.”

 

Gao Shi said, rubbing his temples; the bits and pieces of the party and the look at the door told him that Gao Gusheng had probably been targeted.

 

“Also, if you encounter anything these days, if you have to sign any contract, don’t, ask me or your grandpa first – forget it, their wedding anniversary is coming up, he is probably busy these days, ask me first, I’ll ask your grandpa if I have something to do.”

 

Gao Gusheng obediently nodded his head and swore, “Don’t worry, dad. From today onwards, I’m a hibernating polar bear. Unless global warming melts the icebergs, I’m definitely not coming out of the den!”

 

Gao Shi laughed and scolded, “Polar bears don’t eat this much during hibernation. Did you buy more stuff online again? It all got delivered to my office.”

 

Gao Gusheng feigned coyness, “Ah, it’s just for safety reasons, Dad. Can you bring it back for me?”

 

Gao Shi vigorously ruffled his son’s hair, “I think you’re just lazy—your dad is commandeering the lollipop.”

 

Gao Gusheng stood up properly and saluted, “Roger that, sir!”

……

 

After Gao Shi left the house, he pulled out his Nokia, intending to make another call to Kong Miao.

 

Unexpectedly, before he could make the call, a call from Kong Miao had already come in.

 

“Little Gao Shi?”

 

Gao Shi’s brows furrowed, “Old man, what happened?”

 

Why was Kong Miao’s voice so weak?

 

In the time for one sentence, Empty Mist coughed hard twice more, sounding as if he was going to cough his lungs out.

 

Empty Misty laughed bitterly twice on the other end of the phone, “It’s really …… fate.”

 

Gao Shi’s heart sank, “Where are you, I’ll take the doctor over.”

 

Kong Miao said, “No, this injury, (cough), general doctor can not cure …… Well, (cough), time is running out, listen to me.”

 

“I’ve had a bit of an accident here, got injured. Though it’s nothing serious, I can’t move at the moment. My apprentice will come to find you alone tomorrow.”

 

After a pause, Miao Miao added, “His …… situation is somewhat special.”

 

This was the first time Gao Shi had heard Kong Miao formally introduce his disciple.

 

“Human beings have three souls and seven spirits, and one of Xiao Ying’s souls and one of his spirits are incomplete; the soul lacks vitality (Shuang Ling), and the spirit lacks essence (Chou Lung).”

 

Vitality governs a person’s ability to communicate with the skies and the earth, representing one’s capabilities and wisdom.

 

Essence represents “desire” among the seven emotions of a person.

 

In plain terms, this means that Xiao Ying is someone without desires or demands, a simpleton.

 

Gao Shi took a deep breath, took out the lighter, and pressed it several times. Looking at the jumping flames, he slowly pressed down the worry and anxiety in his heart.

 

Gao Shi looked down and asked, “What abilities does he have? You couldn’t figure out what’s wrong with Lele, can he?”

 

Kong Miao treasures his disciple so much; he wouldn’t send Xiao Ying to his doom.

 

Kong Miao coughed twice, “His talent in Taoist studies far surpasses mine.”

 

“The techniques and methods come to him as naturally as breathing, instinctively.”

 

“If it weren’t for his missing a soul and a spirit, I’d fear he’d be exploited by others, and I wouldn’t let him leave the mountain. His current reputation outside could dominate the entire metaphysical world.”

 

The voice that came through the phone was hoarse. Kong Miao gasped for air, sounding like a bellows with a hole in it.

 

“This time, the plan was to have him look after Gao Gusheng. I’m merely a guide to prevent him from getting lost.”

 

He gave a muffled low laugh and coughed again.

 

“(Cough) …… If he can’t solve it, (cough) …… I’m afraid that no one in this world can solve it.”

 

Gao Shi responded, “In your disciple’s situation ……can he take a plane alone? How about I send someone to pick him up.”

 

Kong Miao gave a bitter laugh, “Do you think I don’t want to? But I’ve divined for him before. His divination was always unclear and indistinct until this time. It showed that if he doesn’t use public transportation to leave the mountain, it spells death for him.”

 

“I divined driving, boat, airplane …… and even walking, nothing works.”

 

” Little Gao Shi, please take the trouble to go to the airport tomorrow morning and pick him up.”

 

“Although his vitality is crippled, he can still understand daily conversations, and I’ve instructed everything that I should have instructed.”

 

Listening to the heavy sigh from Kong Miao’s side, Gao Shi bit the candy in his mouth, changed to a lighter tone, and teased, “In that case, you, a person with complete vitality, are still not as good at chess as a disciple with a crippled one?”

 

“You still don’t believe me when I say you’re a stinky chess player.”

 

“Hey! You little Gao brat!”

 

Gao shi “tsk tsk”ed twice, “Even in playing games, you need your disciple to lead you in order to take two heads, what can I say.”

 

Kong Miao’s side of the phone came in some angry, defensed sound, occasionally interspersed with two coughs.

 

A moment later, they hung up the phone.

 

Gao Shi looked at the cell phone screen with his eyes downcast. The smile hanging on his face disappeared. He put the cell phone away and smoothly threw the lollipop stick into the trash can.

 

Trouble.

 

*******

 

Gao Shi returned to The Anomaly Management Bureau( AMB) only to find the team members looking very serious. As soon as they saw him, calls of “Captain” rose one after another.

 

“Boss, take a look at this case.”

 

Ran Qiu twisted the computer screen. On the screen was a seemingly ordinary theft case.

 

Wu-someone was originally a three good citizen, a kind person, teaching at an elementary school, but today he was caught for theft.

 

People who are not what they seem are quite common, and this in itself is not unusual. However, when the police arrested him as part of a routine case, they didn’t expect to uncover anything shocking—until they conducted a search. At his home, they found it filled with stolen goods.

 

From small items like students’ erasers to large ones like the external units of air conditioners, the most outrageous find was a bag of cow dung he had somehow stolen and brought home. His entire home was filled with an aroma reminiscent of the cycles of grain in the fields.

The police who went to search his house were taken aback. The dog he had stolen had torn open the bag of cow dung he had brought home, scattering dung all over the house. Everyone who entered left with a bit of “local soil” on their shoes.

 

Gao Shi had encountered many thieves, but never one so indiscriminate in what he stole. “Kleptomania?” he asked.

 

Ran Qiu shook his head, “No, what’s strange about this case is that all evidence indicates he only started this spree of thefts about a week ago.”

 

The residential building where Wu lived was in an old neighborhood. Many of the elderly residents had watched Wu grow up and found it implausible that he had been stealing for years only to be discovered recently. Plus, the neighborhood was so close-knit that any unusual activity would be known throughout the area within a day, which was one of the reasons Wu was caught.

 

He was reported by vigilant community members.

 

Wu’s method of theft was incredibly sophisticated, not at all like someone committing their first crime. However, the police were more skilled and caught him in the act during another attempted theft.

 

Experienced officers commented that Wu’s techniques were so refined they seemed to be the work of someone with at least twenty years of experience.

 

This was puzzling.

 

Now, Wu was detained, and all necessary legal judgments had been passed on him.

 

The total value of the items he stole exceeded a million yuan, with the most expensive being a new variety of strawberries cultivated by the Agricultural Science Institute. Not only did he eat the strawberries, but he also uprooted the plants, causing losses of over 300,000 yuan.

 

Moreover, he consumed various fruits, vegetables, and even some students’ dissertations.

 

Students have taken to the internet to thank Wu sarcastically, saying, “Listen to me, thank you, because of you, the seasons were warmed.”

 

Chang Yang, reviewing the mess Wu had made, couldn’t help but be torn between laughter and tears, “This is just too wicked. He knew the value of what he was stealing. He’s not getting out in less than ten years, and it’s possible he’ll receive a life sentence.”

 

Gao Shi crossed his arms and fingers, lightly tapping his forearm, and wondered, “This person is a bit unusual. Has he been transferred to the Spirit Management Office yet?”

 

Ran Qiu nodded, “Sister Zhuang and Old Huang have escorted him there.”

 

“When he was caught, he kept shouting that he was innocent, and his expression seemed genuine. But Old Huang just sent a message saying that on the way, this guy tried to pick locks with his clothing zipper, paper clips, and even the stems of leaves multiple times. They had to change his clothes to something more secure to stop him.”

 

“The difference in his behavior before and after is too great.”

 

Chang Yang suddenly said, “Yo, do you think it sounds like he’s possessed, like in the legends?”

 

As he said this, he himself felt it was unlikely, laughing a bit sheepishly, “Ah, that’s not right. Ghosts only retain the instinct to consume life energy. They wouldn’t commit crimes so meticulously. If it really were a ghost, this person probably wouldn’t have survived more than two days.”

 

Gao Shi suddenly said, “Not necessarily.”

 

Ran Qiu and Chang Yang looked at him sharply.

 

Gao Shi calmly said, “Do you remember what we discussed before, about the incidents in A City ?”

 

“It seems we’re encountering more and more ghosts with their own consciousness lately.”

 

As he spoke, a sharp pain suddenly surged in his temple.

 

This pain came fiercely, even causing him to feel dizzy. Gao Shi leaned on the table to support himself, his left hand trembling as he grabbed a lollipop from his pocket and pressed its hard stick against his forearm.

 

But darkness still enveloped him.

 

Lele…

 

He was dragged into a dark dream.

 

______________________________________

The author’s note:

Wu: I am…ugh…innocent…ugh…(vomit）

1: “Listen to me, thank you, because of you, the seasons were warmed.” It is a kinda played-out meme that was born in the years of COVID-19 on Douyin; it started with a video showing a volunteer, after a long, hard day of working and saving people, was called by the teacher to hear a bunch of children sing this song. And they sang it many, many times, just letting the volunteers stand there for about 10 minutes without sitting.

So the BGM is played in situations of doing things that damage other people’s profit, messed up unconsciously/on purpose. XD