Month: December 2023 (Page 1 of 5)

       Dr. Xiang’s full name was Xiang Wenshi. He was one of the most handsome bachelors in the C University Affiliated Hospital, known as the golden bachelor. Of course, these were all things Song Jun heard from others later.

       However, Song Jun felt quite comfortable getting along with Xiang Wenshi. He was the youngest deputy chief physician of the Thoracic Surgery Department, but he didn’t put any airs at all when getting along with them. He has a friendly attitude, and his speech and behaviour were also very charming.

       Song Jun actually wanted to be a doctor, but he felt that he didn’t have the mental capacity to bear that kind of pressure. So when he saw Xiang Wenshi looking elegant in a white coat, he unconsciously felt a bit envious, but of course, Song Jun felt that no one could wear a white coat better than Xia Hongshen.

       Lunch was eaten in the hospital cafeteria. Xiang Wenshi ordered three one-pot stir-fries with his meal card. For Song Jun, it was indeed an improvement in his food.

       Although the three of them were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, they still attracted attention. Song Jun didn’t notice it at first, but later, he found that the nurses at several tables were looking at them, and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

       Xiang Wenshi had been chatting with them.

       Feng Junyuan still looked in a bad mood. He was originally a sensitive person and was not very good at dealing with interpersonal relationships. Even when Xiang Wenshi took the initiative to talk to him, he looked listless.

       However, Song Jun felt otherwise; at least, he thought it wasn’t very polite. As a result, most of the time, it was him and Xiang Wenshi who were talking.

       Xiang Wenshi talked about some hospital and academic matters, and Song Jun also listened with interest and felt very interested.

       After eating, Song Jun went back to the inpatient building with them, took a blood sample, and planned to leave.

       Before leaving, Feng Junyuan actually said ‘thank you’ to Song Jun.

       Song Jun was stunned for a moment and reflexively asked, “What?”

       Feng Junyuan immediately turned away, “It’s nothing.”

       Song Jun raised his hand and scratched his head, “Be careful yourself.”

       He thought of the little girl and her parents, who wouldn’t let go of Feng Junyuan.

       Feng Junyuan touched the gauze on his face and said softly, “Hmm”.

       Back in the lab, Song Jun collected the blood samples, looked at the experimental results, opened his mouth and yawned. After eating, he wanted to sleep. He stretched and decided to go back to the dormitory to take a nap before talking about it in the afternoon.

       At the door of the dormitory room, Song Jun was taking out the key to open the door when he suddenly heard the sound of breathing in his ears.

       Because the distance was so close, he was frightened to the point he dropped the key. He suddenly turned around and realised it was Xia Hongshen.

       Song Jun pressed his chest, “Senior Brother Xia, are you going to scare me to death?” What he said was not an exaggeration at all. Having seen strange things in the hospital in the morning, his mental endurance was a bit fragile now.

       Xia Hongshen didn’t react at all. He moved his head close to his neck, seeming to be inhaling and smelling his scent.

       “Huh?” Xia Hongshen said.

       Song Jun felt a little embarrassed and a little strange, “What’s wrong?”

       Xia Hongshen smelled it for a while, then suddenly raised his head and said, “What a strong and unpleasant smell.”

       Song Jun suddenly opened his eyes in disbelief and looked at Xia Hongshen with his face flushed. He didn’t understand what Xia Hongshen meant.

       After saying that, Xia Hongshen left his side and went back to her room.

       Song Jun stood at the door for a long time, then picked up the key and went back to the room. The first thing he did was to take off his clothes and smell them. His clothes had just been changed today, and they only smelled like soap.

       But he was so concerned about Xia Hongshen’s words that he couldn’t help but take a kettle and take a shower in the water room.

       After taking a shower, Song Jun suddenly felt a little chilly.

       Before he knew it, it was already the end of September, and it was already October, and the weather was getting colder and colder. A lot of things had happened this summer since he entered school. When he thought about it now, it felt like it was a lifetime ago.

       At noon that day, Song Jun sent text messages to several close classmates at the university one by one to ask how everyone was doing.

       After receiving the reply, Song Jun smiled, raised his arms and stretched his body, planning to spend these three years of graduate school life well.

       After getting up from a nap, Song Jun knocked on Xia Hongshen’s door on his way out. He was startled by him at noon and forgot to tell him about Feng Junyuan. Now that he remembered it, Song Jun decided to tell Xia Hongshen.

       After hearing this, Xia Hongshen said, “Hmm” calmly.

       Song Jun felt a little strange, “Aren’t you going to help him? Is he not your—” He couldn’t find the right words to describe the relationship between them.

       Xia Hongshen said, “It doesn’t matter, he will be fine.”

       After listening to this, Song Jun suddenly thought that Feng Junyuan was so powerful that it was indeed not easy for those ghosts and demons to harm him. Since Xia Hongshen believed in him so much, there was no need to worry too much, so he nodded, “Okay, I understand.”

       After a weekend like this, Song Jun didn’t hear any more news about Feng Junyuan from the hospital. He thought that the little girl’s parents probably just couldn’t figure it out for a while, and it might be fine after it passed.

       On Monday, Song Jun had classes all morning.

       He sat in the classroom all morning, and by the time he got out of class, it was almost time for lunch.

       Coming out of the classroom with books, Song Jun met Xiang Wenshi, who was coming out of the next classroom.

       “Teacher Xiang?” Song Jun greeted him proactively when he saw him.

       Xiang Wenshi held a water glass and a computer bag and smiled at Song Jun, “What a coincidence? Are you in class?”

       Song Jun nodded, “Teacher Xiang is here for class?”

       Xiang Wenshi said, “That’s right, to teach the clinical undergraduates.”

       Song Jun smiled and couldn’t think of anything to say, so he asked, “Teacher Xiang, are you going to eat?”

       He just asked casually, but he didn’t expect Xiang Wenshi to answer him, “Okay, let’s go eat together.”

       Initially, it was he who had invited first, so Song Jun found it difficult to refuse. In fact, he didn’t really want to go to dinner with Xiang Wenshi. It was not that he didn’t like Xiang Wenshi but that Song Jun had a timid personality. When dining with someone he didn’t know well, he couldn’t help but find a topic to talk about, and he would always feel uncomfortable.

       On the way to the cafeteria, Xiang Wenshi said that he forgot to bring his meal card. Song Jun quickly said, “It doesn’t matter, I’ll treat you today.”

       He was too embarrassed to treat others to a bad meal, so Song Jun asked Xiang Wenshi to find a seat while he queued up for a small stir-fry meal.

       There were a bit too many people at the small stir-fry side. Song Jun stood at the end of the queue and took out his phone to check it out while queuing.

       Suddenly, a hand was put on his shoulder, and Xia Hongshen asked in his ear, “Is the food good?”

       Song Jun quickly turned around and asked, “Senior Brother Xia?!”

       Xia Hongshen looked expressionless and asked him, “Who are you inviting to dinner?”

       When he asked this, Song Jun knew that he probably saw him and Xiang Wenshi entering the cafeteria together and quickly said, “That is the clinical teacher. He didn’t bring a meal card, so I invited him to have a meal.”

       “Oh,” Xia Hongshen said.

       Song Jun suddenly felt that he was probably unhappy.

       Xia Hongshen put a hand on Song Jun’s shoulder and had no intention of leaving, but he didn’t say anything else.

       Song Jun asked, “Would you like to eat together?”

       Xia Hongshen said, “Oh.”

       Song Jun was getting a bit frustrated.

       Song Jun simply asked Xia Hongshen to help him wait in line for the stir-fries and went to order two more dishes. When he returned to the table, Xiang Wenshi stood up when he saw Xia Hongshen.

       “Huh?” Song Jun felt that Xiang Wenshi’s reaction was a little too much, “Teacher Xiang?”

       Xiang Wenshi smiled at him.

       Song Jun quickly introduced Xia Hongshen to Xiang Wenshi, “This is a senior fellow student from my college. He is a doctoral student in pathology; his name is Xia Hongshen. And this is Director Xiang from the Thoracic Surgery Department.”

       Xia Hongshen looked at Xiang Wenshi coldly.

       Song Jun noticed Xia Hongshen’s gaze, felt that he was a little impolite, and carefully pulled his sleeve.

       But he didn’t expect Xiang Wenshi to suddenly say, “Just received a call. There’s an emergency surgery that came up suddenly. I won’t be able to join you for this meal. Thank you, student xiao Song.”

       Song Jun was stunned, “So urgent?”

       Xiang Wenshi smiled and said, “I’ll treat you to dinner next time when I get the chance.” After saying that, he took his things, turned around and walked towards the cafeteria door.

       Song Jun still didn’t react, so he put the food on the table and said to Xia Hongshen, “Only the two of us can eat it.”

       Xia Hongshen sat down opposite him.

       Song Jun saw that Xia Hongshen didn’t seem very happy, so he reached out and put a chopstick of fish into his bowl. Song Jun decided to get this fish on the spur of the moment after seeing Xia Hongshen.

       He bit his chopsticks and suddenly asked, “Senior Brother, are you a cat?”

       Xia Hongshen raised his eyes to look at him.

       Song Jun suddenly remembered that the Night Patrol God had said before that Xia Hongshen was a monster. What kind of monster? Song Jun started thinking and said in surprise, “Senior Brother, are you a cat demon?”

       Xia Hongshen’s expression didn’t change at all, and he didn’t answer him at all.

       But Song Jun was used to it. He said, “There are often little wild cats that break into my dormitory. I’ll introduce you to them next time.”

       Xia Hongshen hit him on the head with his chopsticks.

       Song Jun smiled.

       “Be careful of that person,” Xia Hongshen said suddenly.

       “Huh?” Song Jun was confused, and then he reacted, “You mean Teacher Xiang?”

       Xia Hongshen picked up the bowl, picked up the fish, put it into his mouth and chewed it slowly.

       Song Jun was pained by the fact that he only spoke halfway and asked, “Why should I be careful about him? Are you saying I can’t have contact with him?”

       Xia Hongshen said, “You can decide it yourself.”

       Song Jun was stunned. He picked up the bowl to take two mouthfuls of rice and then said to Xia Hongshen, “That Teacher Xiang is the director of Feng Junyuan’s internship department.”

       Xia Hongshen picked up another piece of fish with chopsticks and ate it slowly and methodically. He just nodded slightly and didn’t say anything.

       At night, Song Jun opened the window and felt the cool breeze outside blowing on his face, so he took a deep breath, climbed up to the window and sat with his legs hanging outside the window sill.

       Song Jun felt that Xia Hongshen liked him, but sometimes, he felt that Xia Hongshen’s attitude was unclear, and he had no idea what the other person was thinking.

       “Ah—” Song Jun suddenly shouted.

       A little black cat on the square roof opposite who was about to jump over seemed startled. He paused as if he was about to jump over and then suddenly rushed over and jumped in from the eaves above the first-floor window into Song Jun’s arms.

       Song Jun was startled by it, and he breathed a sigh of relief after seeing clearly that it was the black cat.

       The little black cat changed its direction, sat down on his lap, and looked out the window with him.

       Song Jun touched its head and sighed secretly.

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Notes:
I received a pickup request for another JGQ’s novel. Tbh, both of the titles requested are in my to be translated list.
But I’m still hesitant because I need to see if I have enough time to give a proper update (seeing I actually have around 7-8 ongoing novels both here and on other sites, but I will make time to pick up one of the titles requested by the end of January the latest)
Happy new years eve btw~

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       On the morning of the second Friday, Song Jun had to go to the school’s affiliated hospital to take a blood sample.

       He had already contacted the clinical laboratory of the hospital in advance, and Song Jun only needed to go directly from the lab. That morning, he went to the lab first, prepared the system, added samples, put them in the PCR machine and let the machine run, then packed up and went to the hospital.

       Unexpectedly, as soon as Song Jun walked into the hospital door, he saw a lot of noise on the first floor of the surgical inpatient department, as if something was going on.

       He didn’t plan to butt in at first, but then he accidentally noticed a familiar figure in the crowd, and it turned out to be Feng Junyuan.

       Song Jun hadn’t seen Feng Junyuan for several days. The campus was so big, and the two of them major in different majors. If it were not intentional, it would be difficult to have the opportunity to meet.

       After hesitating, Song Jun walked towards the inpatient department, wanting to see what was going on. When he got closer, he realised that those noisy people were here because of Feng Junyuan.

       Feng Junyuan was doing his internship at the hospital, and as a graduate student, he had responsibilities similar to a resident doctor. Medical disputes were inevitable in the hospital. Although it wasn’t clear what the argument was about, Song Jun could probably tell that those people were likely relatives of patients.

       A woman was crying, and a man was holding Feng Junyuan’s arm to prevent him from leaving.

       Feng Junyuan looked a little disinterested but did not break away from the man’s hand.

       Suddenly, Song Jun saw the man raise his fist and hit Feng Junyuan in the face, cracking his right cheek.

       The security guard quickly came up to stop him, and Song Jun rushed over this time, pulling Feng Junyuan away from the angry couple.

       Feng Junyuan was slightly surprised when he saw Song Jun.

       Song Jun pulled him and said, “Let’s go first.”

       Feng Junyuan did not refuse, and Song Jun took him around to the cargo elevator behind the hospital building.

       Song Jun and Feng Junyuan went to the department floor where Feng Junyuan was interning. The nurses who were busy at the nursing station all looked at him. They must all know about the dispute just now.

       Song Jun asked the nurse for disinfectant and gauze and helped Feng Junyuan treat the wound on his face in the treatment room next to the nurse station.

       Feng Junyuan remained silent.

       “Who were those people just now?” Song Jun sprayed disinfectant near his wound and then wiped it dry with a cotton swab.

       Feng Junyuan did not answer his question.

       Then Song Jun put gauze on the wound and asked, “What happened on Ghost Festival?”

       Feng Junyuan glanced at him this time but still didn’t speak.

       Song Jun also felt that it was too difficult to communicate with this person, so he put gauze on him with a bandaid and then said, “You must be busy. I’ll leave first.”

       Feng Junyuan watched him leave in silence.

       When Song Jun walked to the elevator, he couldn’t help but look back at Feng Junyuan, remembering the way he turned into the beautiful golden weapon in Xia Hongshen’s hands that night. In fact, Song Jun found it somewhat puzzling—why did Xia Hongshen, who clearly knew Feng Junyuan’s identity, not bring him back? However, these questions, if asked to Xia Hongshen, would surely go unanswered. Seeing Feng Junyuan’s expression of disbelief at that moment, Song Jun realised that even Feng Junyuan himself might not have fully understood what had happened.

       He went to the laboratory to take a blood sample and carried it in a plastic bag. When Song Jun was riding in the elevator, he heard two nurses chatting about what happened on the first floor of the inpatient department.

       It turned out that a little girl in the Thoracic Surgery department had died on the operating table, and it just so happened that Feng Junyuan was the little girl’s attending doctor. In fact, it really had nothing to do with Feng Junyuan because the little girl’s surgery was inherently risky, and the family had been notified of the situation before the operation. Moreover, Feng Junyuan was not the chief surgeon; he was merely carrying out the tasks assigned to him. It seemed somewhat unfair to blame him for the girl’s death.

       But the family members obviously didn’t think so. He was the attending doctor, and he was the one who communicated with the family members. Now that something happened to the child, he was definitely the first one they sought out.

       The two nurses spoke, feeling a little sorry for Feng Junyuan but also a little worried, fearing that something might happen next.

       Song Jun listened silently. He originally planned to go back to the lab after taking the blood sample, but now he couldn’t help but want to look for Feng Junyuan again.

       He didn’t know why, but he seemed to have some natural affinity for Feng Junyuan.

       He returned to the Thoracic Surgery Department. Song Jun found the nurse and asked Feng where Junyuan was.

       The nurse pointed to the doctor’s office.

       Song Jun walked over and saw Feng Junyuan sitting alone in a chair, staring at the computer in a daze. He was obviously not in a very high mood. Although it didn’t show on his face, he looked completely out of spirits.

       Song Jun knocked on the door, and Feng Junyuan turned around to see him and said, “You haven’t left yet?”

       “Are you okay?” Song Jun asked.

       Feng Junyuan raised his hand and touched the gauze on his face, and said, “It’s fine.”

       Song Jun looked at him, hesitating whether to go back and tell Xia Hongshen about this.

       In the end, Feng Junyuan stood up at this time. He reached out and started to unbutton his white coat. After taking off his white coat, he went to the cabinet next to him to get a towel and shower gel. Then he said to Song Jun, “I’m going to take a shower. Do you want to join?”

       Song Jun knew that he was expelling guests, saw that his attitude was unfriendly, and did not want to shamelessly stay to comfort him, so he decided to leave.

       Feng Junyuan walked past him holding something and walked towards the shower room at the end of the corridor.

       Song Jun was about to leave, but he saw Feng Junyuan leaving his cell phone on the computer table. Seeing people coming and going here, Song Jun hesitated, went over to pick up the phone, and planned to give it to Feng Junyuan.

       The corridor past the doctor’s duty room had no wards or windows. There were rooms on both sides, including the director’s and attending’s offices, as well as the duty lounges for doctors and nurses. At the end were toilets and shower rooms.

       Feng Junyuan had already entered the shower room.

       Song Jun chased after him with his cell phone and knocked on the door outside.

       Feng Junyuan had probably turned on the shower inside and didn’t hear the knock on the door, so he didn’t respond.

       Song Jun turned the doorknob tentatively and found that it was unlocked. He opened the door a crack and discovered that there were two small cubicles with closed doors. Feng Junyuan was in the right cubicle, draining water, and the door had been closed.

       When Song Jun was about to call him, he was suddenly speechless because, in the blurry and steamy light of the shower room, Song Jun saw a little girl squatting outside the door of the small cubicle on the right.

       The little girl was pale and wearing a patient gown. She was squatting on the ground and reaching out a hand from under the cubicle door.

       Before Song Jun had time to scream, he only heard Feng Junyuan making a short and sharp sound inside the cubicle, and then he suddenly opened the door of the cubicle.

       The little girl was gone.

       Feng Junyuan was still naked, with water droplets sliding down his body. His face was a little pale, and he looked at Song Jun, who was standing at the door. Both of them saw fear in each other’s eyes, and for a while, neither could snap out of it.

       After a while, Feng Junyuan reached out to turn off the water, picked up a towel and wrapped it around his lower body. He asked Song Jun, “What did you see?”

       Song Jun knew that he had also seen it and that it was not his hallucination.

       Feng Junyuan raised his hand and wiped the water on his face. He wanted to walk out of the cubicle, but Song Jun suddenly said, “Wait a minute.”

       After saying that, Song Jun pointed to the floor and told him to look. Feng Junyuan lowered his head and discovered wet footprints on the dry floor outside the partition. They were children’s footprints, leading from the entrance of the shower cubicle where Feng Junyuan was bathing all the way to where Song Jun stood outside the shower room door, disappearing into the corridor.

       Song Jun’s scalp was numb, and when he saw Feng Junyuan’s face across from him, he didn’t look good either.

       Both of them were stunned for a while, and Song Jun said, “Do you want me to wait for you?”

       Feng Junyuan was silent for a moment and nodded.

       After getting dressed, Feng Junyuan and Song Jun came out of the shower room together.

       Song Jun asked him, “Who is that?”

       Feng Junyuan shook his head and said after a while, “I saw a hand reaching in, as if it wanted to grab my leg.”

       Song Jun said, “It’s a little girl, wearing a patient uniform.”

       At this point, Song Jun suddenly fell silent because he thought of the little girl he had heard from the nurse who died on the operating table. Song Jun turned to look at Feng Junyuan. Sure enough, Feng Junyuan looked a little stunned, obviously thinking of the little girl.

       Did that little girl, like her parents, want to seek revenge from Feng Junyuan?

       The two people went out of the corridor and came to the front of the nurse’s station.

       As soon as the nurse saw Feng Junyuan, she said, “Dr. Feng, Dr. Xiang was looking for you just now.”

       Feng Junyuan gave an ‘En’.

       At this time, Song Jun saw a tall and handsome male doctor walking towards him. He was holding a medical record in his hand, wearing a surgical gown and a white coat, as if he had just gotten off the operating table.

       The young nurse who was talking to Feng Junyuan saw him from a distance and greeted him with a smile, “Dr. Xiang, Dr. Feng is here.”

       The handsome male doctor nodded and flashed a smile at Feng Junyuan when he saw him.

       Feng Junyuan was still as indifferent as ever.

       The doctor put the medical records on the table in front of the nurse’s station and said to Feng Junyuan, “Xiao Feng, get ready. You’ll be assisting me in surgery this afternoon.”

       Feng Junyuan nodded, “I understand.”

       Seeing that nothing happened, Song Jun said to Feng Junyuan, “Then I’ll leave first.”

       Before Feng Junyuan could say anything, Dr. Xiang took the initiative and said to Song Jun, “Are you also a student of our school?”

       Song Jun was stunned for a moment and nodded, “Hello, teacher.”

       Dr. Xiang smiled and said, “Hello, student. Which major? What’s your name?”

       Song Jun was not familiar with this Dr. Xiang and wondered if he was so kind to all the students. However, this person had a good attitude, and it was easy to get a good impression of him, so he said, “My name is Song Jun. I am not a clinical doctor. I am a graduate student in Forensic Medicine.”

       “Oh,” Dr. Xiang said with a smile, “Forensic Medicine is a good profession, unlike clinical medicine, which is tiring and stressful.”

       Song Jun smiled and said nothing.

       Then Dr. Xiang stood next to the nurse’s station and chatted with him a few more words while flipping through the medical records. He also took the time to talk to Feng Junyuan about the patient on his bed.

       Song Jun was embarrassed to leave.

       Later, Dr. Xiang closed the medical record, looked at the time, and said, “It’s almost time. Let’s go have a meal first. After dinner, we will prepare for the operation. Xiao Song will come along too.”

       “Huh?” Song Jun was stunned for a moment, “No, how can I be so shameless.”

       Dr. Xiang smiled and said, “What’s there to be shameful about? I’m treating you today. You students rarely eat well. Don’t hold back and come with me.”

       The other party was so polite that Song Jun couldn’t refuse. He left a bag of blood samples in the doctor’s office and followed Dr. Xiang and Feng Junyuan to the hospital cafeteria.

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Notes:
Hmmm… sus…

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       The school year officially started in September, and Song Jun could have applied for a postgraduate dormitory at the dormitory management centre by now if he wanted to. However, he hadn’t thought about it. Apart from being very close to the lab, he was very satisfied with all the conditions of this dormitory now, and it was cheaper than the school dormitory. He felt that there was really no need to move to the dormitory.

       And there was Senior Brother Xia across the hall. Of course, Senior Brother Bu was also very nice and took good care of him.

       Official enrollment meant that classes were about to begin. Most of his postgraduate courses were concentrated in the first year, with more challenging subjects such as molecular biology. It was said that the failure rate for that subject was quite high, so he had to buckle down and focus on attending classes and studying.

       The lab side had not relaxed at all. Zhou Yingchun was still waiting for his article to be published and his title to be evaluated. As Zhou Yingchun’s only disciple now, Song Jun was under a lot of pressure.

       The experiment ran into bottlenecks from time to time. Song Jun couldn’t laugh or cry when he heard a fellow doctoral student in the same lab claim that he was going to burn incense and pray to Bodhisattva to bless the results of the experiment.

       Fortunately, Song Jun had Xia Hongshen, who could help him.

       Song Jun heard from a fellow doctoral student in the lab that Xia Hongshen used to be very good at physical evidence¹In evidence law, physical evidence is any material object that plays some role in the matter that gave rise to the litigation, introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding to prove a fact in issue based on the object’s physical characteristics.. In three years, he published four SCI²Science Citation Index, a database and indexing service that covers a wide range of academic disciplines. papers, and the head of the graduate school approached him early on, urging him to go straight to the doctorate. However, Dr Xia Hongshen, refused to continue studying physical evidence doctorate, stating that he wanted to pursue pathology.

       As a result, in order to keep him, the college even agreed to recommend him to be exempted from the examination, and he went to study in the pathology programme of the same college.

       With Xia Hongshen’s help, Song Jun felt that the experiment went much more smoothly. Every time the data came out, Xia Hongshen would help him analyse it and even help him adjust the experimental conditions, which was more effective than Zhou Yingchun’s suggestions.

       One afternoon, Xia Hongshen helped Song Jun configure a system. Then someone from the pathology teaching and research office down below asked for him, so he put down his things and went down first.

       Song Jun sat in front of the experimental table and continued to pack the system reagents. Suddenly, he heard a girl in the same grade next to him say, “Senior Brother Xia is treating you really well; my boyfriend isn’t even that good to me.”

       Song Jun was stunned for a moment when he heard this. He actually knew that Xia Hongshen was very good to him, but he had never thought about being compared to a lover by a girl.

       In fact, if he thought about it carefully, did Senior Brother Xia more or less like him? Song Jun thought maybe it was not the ordinary kind of love but the kind of love between lovers.

       Strange, wasn’t it? Both of them were men. Song Jun had lived for more than 20 years and had never had anything to do with anyone of the same or opposite sex, but he vaguely felt that Xia Hongshen probably liked him. Just like him, he also liked Xia Hongshen.

       Just like he also liked Xia Hongshen?!

       At that instant, Song Jun’s ears turned red. Luckily, he was lying on his back in front of the lab bench, so no one could see him.

       He was a little at a loss, but he felt that there was nothing surprising. It was true that he liked Xia Hongshen. He could feel it himself, otherwise, why would he care so much about Xia Hongshen’s identity and Xia Hongshen’s attitude towards him.

       Song Jun felt a little complicated as if he was a little happy and a little uneasy at the same time.

       He paused momentarily while holding the pipette in his hand, and he began to think that maybe it was a good thing that he was an orphan—no one would care whether he liked a man or a woman or whether he would get married and have children. However, what about Senior Brother Xia? But then, Senior Brother Xia was not a human at all; he was a deity. He was here looking for something, and maybe once he found it, he would leave. But then again, who knows? He wouldn’t age or die, and he may have a long life. It was possible that even when he grew old or passed away, Senior Brother Xia still hadn’t found what he was looking for.

       But there was nothing to be happy about. At that time, he would already be an old man, and Senior Brother Xia would still be the same Senior Brother Xia.

       Song Jun suddenly became sad and began to envy Feng Junyuan. Wasn’t Feng Junyuan Senior Brother Xia’s weapon? He would never grow old or die. He had been with Senior Brother Xia for a long time. The two of them would be together all the time…

       Just like that, an afternoon passed, and the results of Song Jun’s experiment came out.

       When Xia Hongshen came, she saw Song Jun sitting in front of the experimental table in a daze and asked, “What’s wrong?”

       Song Jun was immediately in a hurry and started to pack his things, “Nothing.”

       Xia Hongshen looked at the computer screen and said, “It will take another two hours for the results to come out.”

       Song Jun was a little embarrassed. It was all because he wasted time in the afternoon thinking about it. As a result, the experimental data was too late and still couldn’t be released. “Let’s go eat first,” he said.

       Xia Hongshen said, “Wait, let’s eat here.”

       Song Jun was stunned.

       Xia Hongshen had done this kind of thing before when he was studying for a master’s degree in the Physical Evidence Teaching and Research Office.  In the cabinet, he still keeps the small pot he used to cook dumplings back then. He heated it on the lab’s induction cooker, bought frozen dumplings, and used disposable bowls and chopsticks.

       The two of them were cooking dumplings in the lab.

       Song Jun found it very interesting. It was the first time for him to do such a thing.

       In fact, the frozen dumplings were not very delicious, and there was no vinegar or other seasonings to dip them in, but the fact that they were cooked and eaten in the lab seems to add a layer of deliciousness to the food. Moreover, he was eating with Xia Hongshen.

       Xia Hongshen was wearing a white lab coat, with one hand in his pocket and a chopstick in the other hand, gently stirring the pot.

       Song Jun leaned over and asked, “Is it ready?”

       “It’s almost ready,” Xia Hongshen said as he turned down the heat of the induction cooker.

       When the dumplings were cooked, he first gave them to Song Jun to eat, “Be careful, it’s hot.”

       Song Jun ate one, and it was indeed a little hot. He gasped for several breaths before he could swallow the dumpling.

       “Is it done?” Xia Hongshen asked him.

       Song Jun nodded, “It is, it’s delicious.”

       Xia Hongshen then used the same pair of chopsticks to pick one up and put it into his mouth, then nodded, “Okay.”

       Song Jun noticed his movements and couldn’t help but smile. This feeling made him feel very satisfied.

       That night, the two of them finished a bag of frozen dumplings in the lab. As a result, Song Jun was a little full after eating. He felt sick to his stomach while lying in bed at night. He tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep.

       Before falling asleep, Song Jun was still thinking about how nice Senior Brother Xia was and that he liked him so much.

       On the last day of September, Song Jun had no classes that afternoon and took a nap before going directly to the lab. Downstairs at Forensic Medicine, he met the young detective Long Xing again.

       Probably because of a recent case, two police cars were parked below the Forensic Medicine building.

       Long Xing, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, was squatting on the roadside playing with his mobile phone. He looked a bit like a high school student.

       When Song Jun passed by, he took the initiative to greet Long Xing.

       Long Xing raised his head and squinted his eyes slightly under the noon sun. Then he recognised Song Jun, stood up with a smile and said, “Teacher Song.”

       These police officers often couldn’t tell whether they were teachers or students here, so they addressed them as ‘Teacher’ in general.

       But Song Jun felt a little embarrassed. He said to Long Xing, “Stop calling me Teacher, Officer Long. Call me Song Jun.”

       Long Xing immediately changed his words, “Song Jun. Then you can also call me Long Xing.”

       Knowing that Long Xing was younger than himself, Song Jun didn’t think there was anything wrong with calling him by his name. He asked, “You got another case?”

       Long Xing nodded, “I’m going to trouble Teacher Xia again.”

       “Senior Brother Xia?” Song Jun turned to look at the people coming in and out of the Forensic Medicine building door and asked, “Is he here?”

       Long Xing shook his head, “It seems that he hasn’t arrived yet. The body was brought here early in the morning. Now, in the autopsy room, two students seem to be there. They said they are waiting for Teacher Xia to come.”

       Song Jun said, “Okay. Then I’ll go up first.”

       Long Xing waved to him, “Bye.”

       Song Jun walked forward, and Long Xing squatted down to play his mobile game again.

       Suddenly, Song Jun heard Long Xing shout “Oh!”. He turned around and saw Xia Hongshen coming over. Xia Hongshen was holding a book in his hand. When he passed by Long Xing, he knocked on Long Xing’s head with the book.

       Long Xing was very happy to see Xia Hongshen and stood up immediately, “Teacher Xia, you are finally here.”

       The expression on Xia Hongshen’s face remained unchanged, and he glanced at the screen of his mobile phone, “You haven’t passed the level yet?”

       Long Xing looked a little distressed, “I haven’t beaten this level for a week, and if I can’t beat it, there’s no way to beat the next level.”

       Xia Hongshen stretched out her hand and said, “Give it to me.”

       Long Xing quickly handed him the phone, then took his book and got closer to watch Xia Hongshen play games.

       Xia Hongshen lowered his head and pressed his fingers on the screen of Long Xing’s mobile phone, but Long Xing had a nervous expression on his face.

       After a while, Song Jun saw Long Xing laughing happily and shouted, “Passed!”

       Xia Hongshen returned the phone to him.

       Long Xing stared at the screen of his mobile phone with a smile on his face, “Why can’t I do it? Teacher Xia is indeed better!”

       Xia Hongshen didn’t say anything, took his book back and walked towards the building.

       Song Jun turned around and left when he saw Xia Hongshen returning the phone to Long Xing. When Xia Hongshen came in, Song Jun had already entered the elevator.

       Long Xing was left alone outside, still immersed in the excitement of passing the game.

       After a while, Long Xing’s colleague came over and kicked him, “I asked you to explain the situation to the victim’s family. Did you do it?”

       Long Xing held the phone firmly and said, “They were crying very emotionally, and no one listened to me…”

       “Just because nobody listens to you, does that mean you don’t have to speak? Does that mean you won’t take your salary for this month as well?”

       Long Xing averted his gaze and pursed his lips.

       “Don’t go in yet! The autopsy has already begun!”

       Long Xing nodded, “I’m in.”

---

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       The guard led Xia Hongshen and Song Jun into the temple. Instead of entering the main hall, they went directly to the side hall on the right.

       Song Jun walked and looked at the City God’s Temple, feeling that it was not much different from the Taoist temples in the mortal realm. It was just that he had never tried to go to a temple late at night, so he had never seen this dark and empty temple scene.

       Next to him, Xia Hongshen did not glance sideways.

       When they arrived at a side hall on the right, there was still a furnace with burning incense and candles on the square in front of the hall. The palace behind the square was majestic. Although it was not as impressive as the main hall, it still looked quite impressive. There was a plaque hanging on the door of the palace, with big characters of ‘Yin and Yang Division’ flying in the air.

       There was a person standing in the square. Because his back was to them, Song Jun could only see that the person had long hair hanging down his waist. He was wearing a dark coloured Zhiduo¹a long straight robe usually seen in ancient settings, and was holding a lit incense stick in his hand. He was inserting his hand into the cauldron beside him.

       As if he knew someone was coming in, the man turned back and looked at Song Jun and the others.

       When Song Jun saw his face, he was startled and stopped for a moment.

       That man was not actually ugly. Not only was he not ugly, but he had delicate features and a handsome appearance. However, the person’s face was divided right down the middle, and the left and right sides were actually different colours. One side was pale, and the other side extremely dark, giving them a somewhat terrifying appearance.

       The guide, who was a general, bowed to the person and said, “Lord Magistrate, the guests have already been invited inside.”

       The man nodded, and the general took his leave first.

       Later, when Song Jun saw the man, he bowed politely and said, “The Lord Immortal Zhen²Zhenniao, often simply zhen, is a name given in many Chinese myths, annals, and poetry to poisonous birds that are said to have existed in what is now southern Chinahas graced us with his presence. I apologize for welcoming you from afar.”

       Xia Hongshen said, “Where did the term Lord Immortal come from? Don’t you mean a demon beast Zhen meeting Lord Magistrate of Yin and Yang Department?”

       His words sounded sarcastic, but his tone was calm.

       That man was the Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division, the first division under the City God. Hearing this, he bowed again and said, “The Lord Immortal must be joking. The Night Patrol God is a rude and reckless person when he is angry. So, Lord Immortal, please don’t take it to heart.”

       Xia Hongshen did not respond.

       Song Jun was embarrassed to respond coldly when others were being polite to him, and he suddenly felt that the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

       The Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division didn’t seem to care about Xia Hongshen’s attitude and said, “Is Lord Immortal here today for what happened on Ghost Festival?”

       Xia Hongshen said, “On that day, Fengliu disturbed the order of the Hundred Ghost Parade and harmed innocent spirits. I am here to compensate on his behalf.”

       “Oh?” The Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division slowly walked towards their direction.

       Xia Hongshen closed his fingers, and in his hand appeared a small porcelain bottle. He threw the porcelain vase to the Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division and said, “For stabilising the soul.”

       The Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division took it in his hand and sighed, “It’s a treasure from the Immortal realm. I’d like to thank Lord Immortal on behalf of that ghost.”

       After saying that, the Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division looked at Song Jun, and after a moment, he said strangely, “This gentleman is not a Gilded Phoenix Wing.”

       Song Jun felt a bit uneasy under his gaze and instinctively moved a bit closer in the direction of Xia Hongshen.

       Xia Hongshen said, “He is not.”

       The Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division sized at Song Jun for a moment, seemingly a little confused, and then said to Xia Hongshen, “Since Lord Immortal has already arrived, please wait for a moment. The Night Patrol God should offer you an apology for what happened that day.”

       Xia Hongshen did not respond but did not refuse.

       Soon, the Night Patrol God came to the side hall carrying his long blade. It was obvious that he had learned his lesson before. Although he had a dark face at this time, he still respectfully bowed to Xia Hongshen and said, “Lord Immortal, there were many misunderstandings before, and I have offended you.”

       Xia Hongshen originally didn’t care about the Night Patrol God’s attitude toward him. The reason why he came to the City God’s Temple was not only because Feng Junyuan got into trouble that day but also because he wanted to continue to stay in this place.

       He hadn’t found all his things yet, and he couldn’t leave the city yet. In the past, the more friction he had with the City God’s men, the more inconvenient it would be. Since the people here now show their intention of backing down, he, of course, took the opportunity to make his intentions known.

       Xia Hongshen said to Night Patrol God, “Now that the misunderstanding from before has been clarified let bygones be bygones. In the future, our actions need not concern each other.”

       The Night Patrol God was about to get angry when he heard this but was restrained by the Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division’s hand on his arm.

       Xia Hongshen continued, “I came to the mortal realm in search of the immortal treasure, the Thousand-Year Lamp, as per the decree of the Jade Emperor. While in the mortal realm, I will conduct myself with restraint and will not disrupt the order of the mortal world. Lord City God can rest assured.”

       The Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division smiled slightly and said, “Since the Immortal said this, I naturally believe that as long as we do not disrupt the order of the Yin and Yang realms, we will never interfere with the Immortal’s actions.”

       Xia Hongshen nodded, “Farewell.”

       The Yin and Yang Division said, “Lord Immortal, please take care on your journey.”

       Xia Hongshen took Song Jun away. From beginning to end, Song Jun didn’t say a word. He just listened to their conversation silently, but he was not as shocked as he was at first.

       Now, he could be sure that Xia Hongshen was indeed not a human being. According to the Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division, Xia Hongshen was a heavenly immortal. Song Jun glanced at Xia Hongshen secretly and felt that this was probably true. How could a mortal in the world be like this?

       When they left, no one escorted them out. However, since it was a place filled with immortals and supernatural beings, Song Jun thought that there must be someone secretly observing them. Therefore, he didn’t dare to move around recklessly.

       When walking out of the side hall, Song Jun suddenly heard the sound of a bell ringing in the temple. He raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound and found that behind the back hall, there was a pagoda towering into the clouds.

       Song Jun stopped unconsciously.

       Xia Hongshen beside him also stopped, followed his gaze towards the pagoda, and suddenly said, “That is the Soul Suppressing Pagoda of the City God’s Temple.”

       “Soul Suppressing Pagoda?” Song Jun muttered and repeated.

       Xia Hongshen said, “The Soul Suppressing Pagoda can suppress all kinds of ghosts. Once thrown into the tower, they cannot come out. Heibai Wuchang³Heibai Wuchang: two deities, one dressed in black and the other in white, responsible for escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld retrieve souls from the mortal realm. Those meant for reincarnation go to the underworld, and those destined for hell are taken to the eighteen layers of hell. The remaining ones are confined in this tower, never to see the light of day.”

       Song Jun was stunned and asked, “They can’t transcend?”

       Xia Hongshen shook his head, “Saving the souls of the dead has always been the responsibility of humans, not the underworld.”

       When Song Jun heard this, he felt a little emotional for a moment.

       He used to think that there were no ghosts in this world, that when people died, their souls were destroyed, and everything returned to nothingness. But now his state of mind had undergone earth-shaking changes. Setting aside the harm caused by malevolent spirits, after meeting his grandma, Song Jun discovered the souls of the departed were still there. This realisation holds significant meaning for the living. He knew that his grandma was still there. She had been doing good things throughout her life, but she died. At this time, she was probably preparing to be reincarnated in the underworld. Song Jun hoped that in the next life, she would be born into a wealthy and happy family, experiencing a life of prosperity. Such thoughts allowed him to cope with the grief of his grandma’s passing. He felt that he might be able to see his reincarnated grandma again one day. Even if they didn’t recognise each other, knowing that she was happy would be enough.

       Song Jun was a kind-hearted person by nature. People always said that society was complicated and people were indifferent. He believed that there was nothing wrong with protecting oneself wisely. While others might choose not to do good, he urged them not to mock those who still had a compassionate heart. Otherwise, in the future, there might truly be nothing left but indifference.

       Xia Hongshen put his arm around Song Jun’s shoulders and said, “Let’s go.”

       Song Jun nodded and was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart. The reaction was so strong that he even fell to his knees in an instant.

       Xia Hongshen grabbed him.

       Song Jun stretched out his hand to hold his chest. He almost thought he was having a heart attack, and his heart was beating faster and faster.

       Xia Hongshen asked, “What?”

       He shook his head and looked at the Soul-Suppressing Pagoda again. He always felt as if something was holding him back. He felt empty and uneasy in his heart.

       Xia Hongshen asked again, “Is everything alright?”

       Song Jun slowed down his heart palpitations, and Xia Hongshen helped him stand up. “It’s okay,” he said, “Let’s go.”

       Xia Hongshen held his hand and took a look at the Soul Suppressing Pagoda. He didn’t notice anything strange, so he said, “Let’s go.”

       After leaving the City God Temple, they boarded the awning boat by the river.

       While the boatman was rowing, Song Jun and Xia Hongshen stood on the side of the boat, looking at the reflections of street lights on both sides of the river.

       Song Jun originally had a question he wanted to ask, but upon seeing the boatman behind them, he hesitated and chose not to voice it. He waited until the two of them landed on the shore, and suddenly, the lively scene around them reverted to the bustling atmosphere they had initially encountered. Song Jun turned around to look, only to find no trace of the City God Temple on the opposite bank of the river. Instead, all he could see were tall and imposing modern buildings.

       The two of them walked towards the school, and Song Jun finally asked, “Are you a heavenly deity coming to earth to find something?”

       This was the only thing Song Jun heard from the content of their conversation.

       Xia Hongshen answered seemingly indifferently, saying, “Yeah.”

       Song Jun asked quickly, “What kind of deity are you?”

       Xia Hongshen glanced at him and said casually, “The Jade Emperor.”

       Song Jun was stunned and soon realised that Xia Hongshen was just talking nonsense, and suddenly felt a little sullen. He originally had many questions to ask, but when he realised that Xia Hongshen probably wouldn’t answer him directly, he lost interest for a while.

       But after a while, Song Jun couldn’t help but ask, “Have you found your stuff? Is it Feng Junyuan?”

       Xia Hongshen said to him this time, “Not entirely.”

       “Thousand-Years Lamp?” Song Jun asked again tentatively. This was what he had heard the man in the City God Temple say before, even though he had no idea what the Thousand-Years Lamp was.

       Xia Hongshen stopped and looked at him, “You’ll know eventually.”

       Song Jun didn’t understand why he would know or whether it was because the time hadn’t come yet and Xia Hongshen would tell him one day. But looking at Xia Hongshen’s current attitude, he felt that it was unnecessary for him to ask further.

       However, he wasn’t entirely happy, and he said, “Then what did you mean when you took me there tonight?”

       Xia Hongshen said to him, “Take you for a walk.”

       Song Jun fell silent for a moment. He had taken him for a walk, and it unexpectedly led them to the underworld.

       Xia Hongshen reached out and touched the top of his head, “Don’t be upset.”

       Song Jun looked up and saw Xia Hongshen saying such comforting words in his usual indifferent voice without expression, and suddenly felt that he had no reason to continue to be upset.

       Forget it, he smiled and said, “Senior brother, let’s go back.”

       Xia Hongshen nodded, “Want to eat something?”

       Song Jun said quickly, “No dried small fish!”

       “…oh.”

---

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       Song Jun had been in a bad mood all night until just before he went to bed when the little black cat suddenly barged in.

       Song Jun had never seen this little black cat since he saw the cat at his grandma’s place at that time. He almost thought that this black cat wandered outside and got lost and never could come back to campus, but he didn’t expect that tonight he would actually see the cat again.

       The cat food Song Jun bought for it was still in the room. Now he put it in a small bowl and put it in front of the little black cat.

       The black cat lowered its head and licked the cat food. It seemed to like this taste of cat food much more than ham sausage or the like.

       Song Jun was not in a good mood. After watching the cat finish the cat food, he thought it was almost time for him to leave.

       But he didn’t know what happened today. After the little black cat finished eating the cat food, he lay down and licked his paws but had no intention of leaving.

       It was already Song Jun’s usual time to go to bed. He thought that the window was open anyway, and the little cat could leave whenever it wanted, so he pointed the fan at the small bed and planned to go to bed.

       However, he didn’t expect that the little black cat would move very quickly and suddenly wanted to run towards his bed.

       Song Jun quickly reached out and grabbed it, lifted it up, and said in shock, “You can’t go up.”

       After all, this little cat was a stray cat. Although it looked clean and had smooth fur, Song Jun didn’t dare to let it jump on his bed. What if the cat got fleas?

       The little black cat was held by the back of his neck, turned its head, and ‘meowed’ in his face.

       Song Jun suddenly felt a little soft-hearted. He put the little black cat on the ground. Before he could say no, the cat ran towards his bed again.

       The cat was caught again, and Song Jun was forced and couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t bear to throw it out of the window. After hesitating, Song Jun decided to give it a bath.

       Having made up his mind, Song Jun carried the black cat in one hand and the kettle in the other and headed towards the water room.

       Even though it was summer, Song Jun still thoughtfully turned the water into warm water before throwing the little black cat into the basin.

       The little black cat was thrown into the water basin and immediately wanted to climb out. Song Jun grabbed it and pushed it down.

       The black cat, whose fur was soaked by water, looked smaller. Its eyes were round and bright, making it look a little pitiful. But Song Jun couldn’t help but laugh. He poured water on the little black cat’s head and watched it shake its head vigorously to shake the water. He found it very interesting. The bad mood of the night finally became a little better.

       Song Jun gave the little black cat a bath with his own shampoo, and Song Jun used a towel to dry it.

       The weather was hot in summer. After wiping the cat with a towel, the fur of the little black cat was half dry. Song Jun thought of the mat on his bed, so when he saw it jumping on the bed again, he ignored it.

       When he was sleeping, the little black cat came close to Song Jun.

       At first, Song Jun was sleeping on his side, so the cat put its head on Song Jun’s arm. Later, when Song Jun turned over and lay flat, he simply lay on Song Jun’s chest.

       Song Jun felt that he couldn’t breathe easily under the weight of the cat, so he stretched out his hand to lift it from his chest.

       After that, Song Jun felt it circling around him as if trying to find a comfortable position. The little black cat’s tail brushed against Song Jun’s belly from time to time. Song Jun was so disturbed that he couldn’t sleep, so he stretched out his arms to hug the cat to his side.

       The little black cat seemed to finally feel comfortable, resting his chin on Song Jun’s arm and stopped moving.

       Song Jun fell asleep without realising it.

       However, the little cat lying next to him never closed its eyes, staring at his sleeping face in the darkness.

       He slept until dawn, and when Song Jun woke up, the little black cat was gone. He was used to the kitten coming and going freely, so he didn’t pay much attention to it.

       But when he opened the door in the morning and saw Xia Hongshen’s closed door opposite, he still felt a little uncomfortable.

       Regardless of whether Xia Hongshen was a human or a demon, Song Jun dared to say that he was not afraid. What he cared about was probably Xia Hongshen’s attitude. He couldn’t say what was wrong with him, but he was very troubled. He felt very troubled when he thought about Xia Hongshen.

       So, for several days, Song Jun deliberately avoided Xia Hongshen.

       When he went out, he would open the door a crack and check to make sure the door on the other side was closed before going out. As long as he was in the dormitory, he would try to reduce the number of times he went out to avoid meeting Xia Hongshen.

       After almost a week, one night, when Song Jun went out, Xia Hongshen’s door was still closed, but as soon as he walked out, Xia Hongshen opened the door and stood at the door looking at him.

       “Senior Brother Xia,” Song Jun couldn’t help but feel nervous when he saw Xia Hongsheng, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong.

       Xia Hongshen asked him, “Where are you going?”

       Song Jun said in a low voice, “I’m going to go to the lab to surf the net for a while.” The lab had air conditioning and was cooler than the dormitory.

       Xia Hongshen said, “Don’t go.”

       His words were so plain and direct, and Song Jun suddenly felt an unknown fire in his heart. Just when he was about to yell, “Why?” he heard Xia Hongshen say again, “Follow me to a place.”

       “Huh?” Song Jun’s anger suddenly flew to the sky, “Where to?”

       Xia Hongshen said, “Come with me.”

       Song Jun followed Xia Hongshen out of the dormitory and walked into the school. Song Jun suddenly had an idea that they were like dating.

       In the hot summer, on the noisy campus, he walked slowly with Xia Hongshen. Although they didn’t talk, his mood gradually became better.

       Xia Hongshen never told Song Jun where they were going until they all walked out of the school gate and walked towards the river outside the north gate of the school.

       Song Jun thought that Xia Hongshen probably just wanted to take a walk with him.

       The riverside that night didn’t seem to be any different from that day in the Ghost Festival. In fact, every day in summer, there were many people walking by the riverside in the evening, especially the elderly and children.

       It was already dark when they arrived, but the number of people walking had not decreased.

       Xia Hongshen walked neither fast nor slowly. When he reached the river, he took Song Jun into the path along the river. The path was covered with willow trees, and Song Jun had to reach out from time to time to brush away the weeping willows blocking the road ahead.

       After walking for a while, there were steps next to the path that led down to the river.

       At this moment, Song Jun noticed an awning boat parked on the river bank.

       He was stunned for a moment. This river ran through the entire city, and it was located in the city centre. Except for the occasional engineering boat for salvage operations, there were no other boats, and there were no boats for sightseeing.

       This awning boat was small and looked very old. It didn’t look like a boat that should appear here.

       Song Jun subconsciously looked back and saw many people walking along the riverside path, but no one seemed to notice that there was an extra boat there.

       At this time, Xia Hongshen had already walked to the river. He leaned down slightly and knocked on the roof of the boat.

       Then, he saw a head peeking out from under the canopy of the boat. The man raised his wrinkled face and looked at them. Then he raised his hand and motioned for them to get on the boat.

       Xia Hongshen got on the boat first and extended a hand to Song Jun.

       Song Jun hesitated for a moment, then took Xia Hongshen’s hand and jumped on the boat.

       The boatman got out of the canopy, sat behind the boat and started paddling.

       Song Jun grabbed Xia Hongshen’s arm, and Xia Hongshen supported him and said, “Be careful.”

       Song Jun hummed and didn’t let go of Xia Hongshen’s hand.

       The boat went downstream, not too fast.

       Song Jun asked Xia Hongshen where they were going, but Xia Hongshen only said that he would know when they arrived.

       After a while, Song Jun saw a thick layer of mist on the river in front of him. The boat paddled into the mist, and the surrounding scenery suddenly became blurred. Only the lights on the distant shore were still bright.

       However, not long after, the boat rowed out of the fog, and as Song Jun’s vision cleared, he looked up and saw, to his surprise, a majestic and magnificent temple standing on the right bank in the distance, resplendent in gold and jade.

       If Song Jun remembered correctly, that place should have been the main square in the city centre.

       Song Jun looked confused. He just thought that this temple probably did not exist in the world or that it had always been standing there, but no one could see it.

       The boat swayed close to the right side of the river and docked.

       After Xia Hongshen got off the boat, he pulled Song Jun off the boat and then walked in front along a path onto the river embankment. In front of the river embankment was the square in front of the big temple, with an incense burner in the middle. The cauldron had incense candles burning inside.

       Song Jun heard the long bells ringing from the temple, and the surroundings were filled with the smell of burning incense. He raised his head and saw a plaque hanging on the temple door with the words ‘City God Temple’ written on it.

       He turned around in shock and saw the large temple next to the river. The entire square was empty, with no one in it.

       Also, how could there be anyone here? Song Jun had been living in this city since he entered university, and for several years, he had never known that there was such a well-preserved City God Temple in this place. This temple probably truly existed in another realm.

       The temple door opened, with a fierce statue of a deity on each side.

       When they walked to the temple gate, Song Jun saw the two statues suddenly turned into human forms, holding a spear in the hand and blocking them at the door, shouting, “Who are you?”

       Song Jun stopped and looked at Xia Hongshen. Xia Hongshen raised his hand, took out a piece of paper from somewhere and handed it to the guard.

       Song Jun didn’t know what was written on the paper, but after reading it, the gatekeeper’s expression obviously softened. He said to Xia Hongshen, “The City God is not currently in the temple; in charge is the official of the Yin and Yang Division.”

       Xia Hongshen said, “May I please see the one in charge?”

       The two guards looked at each other, and one of them said, “Please follow me.”

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