The next morning, at the front door of the Hu family house.
Tang Hao rang the doorbell.
The door was opened a while later. Mrs. Hu was surprised when she saw Tang Hao. “It’s you. Why are you here again?”
She had seen the student just the morning before.
Tang Hao felt sorry for her when he saw how pale and haggard she looked.
He opened his mouth but did not know what to tell her.
Instead, he took out his phone, handed it to Mrs. Hu, and played a video.
It was from last night. In the video, Lu Bin kneeled on the floor and confessed to his crimes.
Mrs. Hu trembled when she saw the video. She covered her mouth with a hand.
She was moved beyond words.
She knew who the person in the video was. She could identify him even if he turned into ashes.
Then, her tears started flowing and could not stop.
She leaned against the doorframe and sat down. She was unable to hold back her crying as she held onto the phone.
“Don’t worry, Auntie. That person will not harm any more women, and he will receive his due punishment,” Tang Hao said with some difficulty.
Mrs. Hu did not respond. She was still crying.
Tang Hao crouched next to her, then handed her a jade pendant.
“This… is what Teacher Hu left behind in the university. You should keep it, Auntie!” As he spoke, he placed the jade pendant into Mrs. Hu’s hand.
Mrs. Hu seemed to have sensed something when her hands touched the jade pendant. Her eyes were transfixed on it.
“This… This is…” She spoke with a tremble in her voice.
“You should take good care of yourself, Auntie. If Teacher Hu is still with us, I believe she would want to see you live happily.”
Then, Tang Hao stood up and went away.
He went to the base of the bridge and stood there for a while.
He lamented the injustice of the world. There was only so much that he could do and so many people that he could help.
Then, he turned around and departed toward Provincial City.
He parked his car near the police station and let Dean Fu out of the trunk, then watched him walk into the police station.
Things were settled as far as he was concerned. Anything that happened after that was not his business anymore.
Then, he went to Han Yutong’s house to fetch Teacher Jiang.
On the journey back, Teacher Jiang’s eyes stared at Tang Hao unblinkingly.
She felt that the entire incident was surreal.
Only a day and a night had passed since the incident, and Lu Bin was already brought to justice.
She watched the live-stream the night before. Since then, the incident was the only conversation topic on the Internet. She knew that Lu Bin would be getting into big trouble, and even his father too.
The individual who had brought calamity to the Lu family was her student.
She chatted with the beautiful Assistant Han and realized that there was a lot that she did not know about her student.
He was so young, yet so accomplished. He did not look like someone who was born in a poor mountain village at all.
Tang Hao stopped the car in front of Teacher Jiang’s apartment and said, “You’ve been staring at me the entire journey, Teacher Jiang. What’s there to look at?”
Teacher Jiang blushed in embarrassment.
“It’s… It’s nothing! I wasn’t looking at you. I was looking at the scenery outside of the car.”
“Oh!” Tang Hao nodded.
Jiang Wanying’s face blushed redder than ever.
“Oh, right! Were you involved in the other incident at the university?” Jiang Wanying asked as though she suddenly remembered something.
“Which incident?”
“That… Fang Qiming! Have you heard? Everyone in the university is talking about it.” Jiang Wanying took out her phone as she spoke and tapped it several times.
A collage of photos was displayed on the screen. It was Fang Qiming, butt-naked and running around the campus grounds with his arms spread wide.
The lower half of his body was blurred out.
Tang Hao instantly blushed.
“Why would I know what happened to him?” Tang Hao could not admit to it.
Jiang Wanying narrowed her eyes and carefully examined Tang Hao.
“Oh well! It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me. I don’t know how you did it, but you’d better be careful and not cause too much trouble in the future!” Jiang Wanying said.
“I know, I know!” Tang Hao replied urgently.
Jiang Wanying gave him another side-eye, then got out of the car.
After seeing her safely home, Tang Hao gave a call to Sis Xiangyi, Liu Yan, Secretary Qian, and the others.
Another two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Everyone eventually forgot about the incident, and Tang Hao never saw Fang Qiming and Tang Bowen anymore. He heard that they were afraid of him and avoided him as much as they could.
Meanwhile, Lu Bin’s incident continued to rage on the Internet.
According to Vice Governor He, Lu Bin was destined to rot in prison. Other than Hu Lingling’s incident, many more of his crimes were unearthed.
His father Lu Kun, the Secretary of Province Z, was also being investigated. It was not a matter of if but when Province Z would see a change in leadership.
After two days of classes, Tang Hao was beginning to consider whether he should return to Westridge District.
That noon, he received a call from Shabby Taoist Master.
“Hey, Fellow Cultivator Tang! You’re amazing!” Shabby Taoist Master immediately praised him when the call went through.
Tang Hao was immediately confused. ‘What’s going on?’
“What are you talking about, Taoist Master?” Tang Hao asked.
“That incident on the Internet! What a great video! It’s so awesome to see that bastard brought to his knees. I’ve shared it too, and many people have seen it!” Shabby Taoist Master said cheerfully.
Tang Hao rolled his eyes.
He nearly forgot that Shabby Taoist Master was a famous blogger on the Internet.
“Ahem! How did you recognize me?”
He had used sorcery to obscure his face in the live-stream. His face should have appeared as a blur on camera.
“Hah! You’re an accomplished young man, Fellow Cultivator. You carry a different aura no matter where you go. It’s so easy to recognize you,” Shabby Taoist Master said.
Tang Hao blushed.
“Well, what’s the matter today though?”
“Fellow Cultivator Tang, have you heard of the incident at Eight-Gate Village?” Shabby Taoist Master’s tone of voice took a serious turn.
“Eight-Gate Village?” Tang Hao was surprised.
He thought for a while and remembered that he saw the news that there was an infectious disease going on there. The entire village was quarantined as a result.
“I’ve seen it on the news. What’s going on?”
If Shabby Taoist Master mentioned it, then it must not be just a mere infectious disease.
Shabby Taoist Master’s tone of voice became more serious than ever.
“There’s a supernatural incident at Eight-Gate Village. The villagers are all stricken with a weird illness. They seem to have lost their sanity, and snake scales even appeared on some of them. I think there might be a giant serpent monster in the village.”
Tang Hao furrowed his brows. The giant serpent monster that Shabby Taoist Master mentioned must be a serpent that had turned into a monster from years of cultivation.
He was born in a mountain village and had heard of legends of serpent monsters before. He used to think that those were all made-up, but realized that they were all true after becoming a cultivator.
Such monsters were extremely rare. Even if they appeared, Taoist masters would have killed them all.
“This is a tricky situation, Fellow Cultivator Tang. I’m asking you for your help.”
Tang Hao thought about it and agreed to help.
He had nothing else to do anyway, so he might as well help Shabby Taoist master and satisfy his curiosity.
The next morning, at the front door of the Hu family house.
Tang Hao rang the doorbell.
The door was opened a while later. Mrs. Hu was surprised when she saw Tang Hao. “It’s you. Why are you here again?”
She had seen the student just the morning before.
Tang Hao felt sorry for her when he saw how pale and haggard she looked.
He opened his mouth but did not know what to tell her.
Instead, he took out his phone, handed it to Mrs. Hu, and played a video.
It was from last night. In the video, Lu Bin kneeled on the floor and confessed to his crimes.
Mrs. Hu trembled when she saw the video. She covered her mouth with a hand.
She was moved beyond words.
She knew who the person in the video was. She could identify him even if he turned into ashes.
Then, her tears started flowing and could not stop.
She leaned against the doorframe and sat down. She was unable to hold back her crying as she held onto the phone.
“Don’t worry, Auntie. That person will not harm any more women, and he will receive his due punishment,” Tang Hao said with some difficulty.
Mrs. Hu did not respond. She was still crying.
Tang Hao crouched next to her, then handed her a jade pendant.
“This… is what Teacher Hu left behind in the university. You should keep it, Auntie!” As he spoke, he placed the jade pendant into Mrs. Hu’s hand.
Mrs. Hu seemed to have sensed something when her hands touched the jade pendant. Her eyes were transfixed on it.
“This… This is…” She spoke with a tremble in her voice.
“You should take good care of yourself, Auntie. If Teacher Hu is still with us, I believe she would want to see you live happily.”
Then, Tang Hao stood up and went away.
He went to the base of the bridge and stood there for a while.
He lamented the injustice of the world. There was only so much that he could do and so many people that he could help.
Then, he turned around and departed toward Provincial City.
He parked his car near the police station and let Dean Fu out of the trunk, then watched him walk into the police station.
Things were settled as far as he was concerned. Anything that happened after that was not his business anymore.
Then, he went to Han Yutong’s house to fetch Teacher Jiang.
On the journey back, Teacher Jiang’s eyes stared at Tang Hao unblinkingly.
She felt that the entire incident was surreal.
Only a day and a night had passed since the incident, and Lu Bin was already brought to justice.
She watched the live-stream the night before. Since then, the incident was the only conversation topic on the Internet. She knew that Lu Bin would be getting into big trouble, and even his father too.
The individual who had brought calamity to the Lu family was her student.
She chatted with the beautiful Assistant Han and realized that there was a lot that she did not know about her student.
He was so young, yet so accomplished. He did not look like someone who was born in a poor mountain village at all.
Tang Hao stopped the car in front of Teacher Jiang’s apartment and said, “You’ve been staring at me the entire journey, Teacher Jiang. What’s there to look at?”
Teacher Jiang blushed in embarrassment.
“It’s… It’s nothing! I wasn’t looking at you. I was looking at the scenery outside of the car.”
“Oh!” Tang Hao nodded.
Jiang Wanying’s face blushed redder than ever.
“Oh, right! Were you involved in the other incident at the university?” Jiang Wanying asked as though she suddenly remembered something.
“Which incident?”
“That… Fang Qiming! Have you heard? Everyone in the university is talking about it.” Jiang Wanying took out her phone as she spoke and tapped it several times.
A collage of photos was displayed on the screen. It was Fang Qiming, butt-naked and running around the campus grounds with his arms spread wide.
The lower half of his body was blurred out.
Tang Hao instantly blushed.
“Why would I know what happened to him?” Tang Hao could not admit to it.
Jiang Wanying narrowed her eyes and carefully examined Tang Hao.
“Oh well! It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me. I don’t know how you did it, but you’d better be careful and not cause too much trouble in the future!” Jiang Wanying said.
“I know, I know!” Tang Hao replied urgently.
Jiang Wanying gave him another side-eye, then got out of the car.
After seeing her safely home, Tang Hao gave a call to Sis Xiangyi, Liu Yan, Secretary Qian, and the others.
Another two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Everyone eventually forgot about the incident, and Tang Hao never saw Fang Qiming and Tang Bowen anymore. He heard that they were afraid of him and avoided him as much as they could.
Meanwhile, Lu Bin’s incident continued to rage on the Internet.
According to Vice Governor He, Lu Bin was destined to rot in prison. Other than Hu Lingling’s incident, many more of his crimes were unearthed.
His father Lu Kun, the Secretary of Province Z, was also being investigated. It was not a matter of if but when Province Z would see a change in leadership.
After two days of classes, Tang Hao was beginning to consider whether he should return to Westridge District.
That noon, he received a call from Shabby Taoist Master.
“Hey, Fellow Cultivator Tang! You’re amazing!” Shabby Taoist Master immediately praised him when the call went through.
Tang Hao was immediately confused. ‘What’s going on?’
“What are you talking about, Taoist Master?” Tang Hao asked.
“That incident on the Internet! What a great video! It’s so awesome to see that bastard brought to his knees. I’ve shared it too, and many people have seen it!” Shabby Taoist Master said cheerfully.
Tang Hao rolled his eyes.
He nearly forgot that Shabby Taoist Master was a famous blogger on the Internet.
“Ahem! How did you recognize me?”
He had used sorcery to obscure his face in the live-stream. His face should have appeared as a blur on camera.
“Hah! You’re an accomplished young man, Fellow Cultivator. You carry a different aura no matter where you go. It’s so easy to recognize you,” Shabby Taoist Master said.
Tang Hao blushed.
“Well, what’s the matter today though?”
“Fellow Cultivator Tang, have you heard of the incident at Eight-Gate Village?” Shabby Taoist Master’s tone of voice took a serious turn.
“Eight-Gate Village?” Tang Hao was surprised.
He thought for a while and remembered that he saw the news that there was an infectious disease going on there. The entire village was quarantined as a result.
“I’ve seen it on the news. What’s going on?”
If Shabby Taoist Master mentioned it, then it must not be just a mere infectious disease.
Shabby Taoist Master’s tone of voice became more serious than ever.
“There’s a supernatural incident at Eight-Gate Village. The villagers are all stricken with a weird illness. They seem to have lost their sanity, and snake scales even appeared on some of them. I think there might be a giant serpent monster in the village.”
Tang Hao furrowed his brows. The giant serpent monster that Shabby Taoist Master mentioned must be a serpent that had turned into a monster from years of cultivation.
He was born in a mountain village and had heard of legends of serpent monsters before. He used to think that those were all made-up, but realized that they were all true after becoming a cultivator.
Such monsters were extremely rare. Even if they appeared, Taoist masters would have killed them all.
“This is a tricky situation, Fellow Cultivator Tang. I’m asking you for your help.”
Tang Hao thought about it and agreed to help.
He had nothing else to do anyway, so he might as well help Shabby Taoist master and satisfy his curiosity.
