Chapter 16: Four Powers

After returning to the classroom, Zhang Xiaofan watched from the window as the same police officers and doctors he’d seen before came to remove the corpse. They worked with an eerie calm, showing no hint of unease, as though death was nothing more than an everyday occurrence.

“Xiaofan, how can those police and doctors be so heartless? So many people have died, and yet they act as if nothing happened,” sighed his deskmate, Hu Xiaotian.

“They’re dead themselves,” Zhang Xiaofan replied.

“What!” Hu Xiaotian was so startled he could barely speak.

“The night I went to the archives, I saw those police and doctors in an old photograph. They were students here long ago, and must have died a long time ago,” Zhang Xiaofan said, still shaken by the memory. Seeing those familiar faces in the photo had given him quite a fright.

“Xiaofan, here.” Zhou Jian walked over and handed him a book. “Didn’t you say you wanted to learn martial arts? This is the hard qigong I practice. If you train these moves every day, eventually you’ll feel a current of energy rising inside you, but it takes a long time. It took me over a year before I could sense it.”

“That long?” Zhang Xiaofan looked surprised.

“You think learning martial arts is easy? It took me more than a year, and my dad already called me a genius,” Zhou Jian said proudly.

“I wonder how long it’d take me to feel anything,” Zhang Xiaofan said skeptically.

Zhou Jian glanced at Zhang Xiaofan’s thin frame and sighed. “You’re too skinny. If you can feel anything after three years, that would already be pretty good.”

Zhang Xiaofan could only give a wry smile. At that moment, Su Qianqian’s voice came from afar.

“Song Feng, I told you already, I don’t want to go out to eat. Please stop bothering me!” Su Qianqian called out.

“Qianqian, I mean it sincerely! Chen Jing is coming too,” Song Feng said, signaling Chen Jing with his eyes.

Chen Jing smiled and coaxed, “Qianqian, Song Feng is taking us to a French restaurant. You can’t be that heartless, can you?”

Zhang Xiaofan hurried over, pulling Su Qianqian behind him and said coldly to Song Feng, “Sorry, Qianqian is having dinner with me tonight.”

“You? Hmph, what a loser,” Chen Jing sneered.

Song Feng’s voice was cold and venomous. “Zhang Xiaofan, just because Qianqian kissed you last time, don’t think she has feelings for you. Know your place. You’re just a nobody, understand? If you try to cross me, I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Zhang Xiaofan was about to retort, but Su Qianqian wrapped her arm around him and said sweetly, “Song Feng, don’t talk nonsense. If Zhang Xiaofan is a nobody, then you’re even worse.”

“Qianqian, you’re standing against me for Zhang Xiaofan?” Song Feng said.

As the words left his mouth, four or five of his lackeys stood up behind him, smirking coldly at Zhang Xiaofan.

“See that? With a single word, I could put you in the hospital, Zhang Xiaofan,” Song Feng threatened.

“Let it go, Zhang Xiaofan,” Su Qianqian whispered, tugging at his arm.

“Don’t worry,” Zhang Xiaofan replied softly. Then he turned to Song Feng, his eyes cold. “Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you have money. Be careful next time we play the game—I might just take you out.”

Song Feng’s face darkened. “Say that again, I dare you.”

“So what?” At that moment, Hu Xiaotian and Jiang Jiewei came over.

At the same time, Zhou Jian and Xu Xiaolong stood behind Zhang Xiaofan as well. Zhou Jian said coldly, “If you want to fight, we’re always ready.”

Zhang Xiaofan breathed a sigh of relief. The only reason he dared confront Song Feng so openly was because of Zhou Jian. During the tug-of-war game, Zhang Xiaofan had chosen to stand with Zhou Jian, hoping to draw closer to their group.

Now it seemed he had made the right bet.

Zhang Yanyan walked over to Su Qianqian and offered a few words of comfort. Seeing he was at a disadvantage, Song Feng sneered, “You’ve got guts, kid. Just wait—I’ll make you pay.”

With that, he and Chen Jing returned to their seats.

Zhang Xiaofan glanced around the classroom. At that moment, Wang Hu was watching the drama unfold, surrounded by his own clique of followers. When Zhang Xiaofan looked over, Wang Hu just sneered.

As for Murong Feng, he sat alone at his desk, reading a novel by the pen name Sword Without Clouds. Though he sensed Zhang Xiaofan’s gaze, he showed no reaction.

Zhang Xiaofan took a deep breath. The games ahead would only get harder, and the class would inevitably split into factions. Right now, the dominant force was Wang Hu.

Second was Song Feng.

But Murong Feng—though he had no lackeys by his side—was never bothered by Wang Hu or Song Feng. In fact, both treated him with an odd respect, even deference.

Even Wang Hu and Song Feng often traded barbs and insults, but neither would ever cross Murong Feng.

Clearly, Murong Feng was not as simple as he appeared. Zhang Xiaofan pondered this silently.

These three groups were the strongest in the class for now. With Zhou Jian joining him, Zhang Xiaofan’s side was beginning to form a minor faction of their own.

Later, Zhou Jian and the others told Zhang Xiaofan to come to them if he ever needed help. Zhang Xiaofan nodded gratefully, clutching the book Zhou Jian had given him. His own strength was still far too lacking. If he had Zhou Jian’s skills, Song Feng wouldn’t dare make trouble for him so openly.

“The next couple of days are the weekend. I should take this time to really study this manual. But I wonder, when the weekend comes, will the red envelope game continue?” Zhang Xiaofan murmured to himself.

That night, Wang Hu sent a message in the class WeChat group: “Tomorrow’s the weekend. I’ve asked my dad to invite a high-ranking monk to our class to perform a ritual. This time, we’re going to get rid of the ghost that’s been haunting us. If you want to see the ritual, come at noon.”

When Zhang Xiaofan saw the message, he leapt up from bed. Jiang Jiewei, his roommate, exclaimed excitedly, “We’re saved! We can finally escape this game.”

Gu Saling and Liu Saijian were equally thrilled.

Zhang Xiaofan immediately messaged Su Qianqian, who was just as excited. She even told him that after they exorcised the ghost, he had to treat her to a big meal.

Zhang Xiaofan happily agreed.

Afterward, he ran out to the sports field alone. He’d already memorized the moves from Zhou Jian’s martial arts manual, so now he put them into practice. After all, he knew he’d completely offended Song Feng, and to protect himself—and Su Qianqian—he had to become stronger.

The moves themselves were simple. After practicing just a few, Zhang Xiaofan felt a flush of heat rise in his body. At the same time, his right eye suddenly began to ache inexplicably.

“Damn it, what’s wrong with my eye?” he muttered under his breath.

Checking the time, he realized he’d been practicing for over two hours, yet he didn’t feel tired at all.

Just then, a girl’s voice rang out by the entrance to the field: “Huang Kaijian, let go of me, you bastard! I’m going to scream—sob sob sob…”