"It was just a small favor, no one would stand by and watch you suffer like this. The colleagues at the bureau will take you home. You still have three days, go back and see your family."
Although Lin Yan said it lightly, Feng Yaxuan couldn't dismiss such kindness. What would make her different from those ungrateful villagers?
"I can give you a few 'manifestation talismans' to make it easier for you to communicate with your family."
"No, I think my parents have already accepted the news of my death. I'll just sneak back to see them. If they saw me, they would have an even harder time letting go. Besides, I only have three days off, and they would experience the pain of my departure all over again. I can't bear it."
The sorrow in Teacher Feng's voice was almost overflowing. However, she quickly composed herself. "I still need to see the Mountain God, to thank Him for saving me."
She desperately wanted to ask Lin Yan to help the Mountain God, but she had no standing to do so. Lin Yan had already helped her immensely; she couldn't be so greedy.
"You don't need to worry about the Mountain God. I won't let Him be harmed." Lin Yan could sense Teacher Feng's unspoken request. This mountain needed a Mountain God, and even more so, a benevolent one. Therefore, Lin Yan intended to protect Him.
"Thank you, Celestial Master Lin, thank you, Celestial Master Lin." Teacher Feng knelt down and thanked Lin Yan.
Lin Yan quickly helped her up. "There's no need for this. As I said, Teacher Feng, everything is in the past. You will have a good afterlife, free from illness and disaster. The wicked have been punished, and the good will be rewarded. The Mountain God is a good deity, and He will be well."
"Thank you very much, Celestial Master Lin." Tears rolled down Teacher Feng's cheeks. Ghosts should not weep, but this single tear was condensed from all her lingering attachment and resentment. After this tear fell, Teacher Feng's soul became pure and spotless, radiating a white halo. Seeing her transformation, Lin Yan was also happy for her. She could now directly reincarnate.
After a busy night, Lin Yan returned to school for classes the next day. Although she didn't feel tired at all, Wei Wanru kept urging her to rest. However, Lin Yan couldn't always take leave, especially as she was in her final year. Having cultivated spiritual energy, Lin Yan felt no fatigue after staying up all night. Still, she diligently drank the nourishing soup that Aunt Zhou had prepared for her.
The days of senior year were very fulfilling. By the time Lin Yan remembered to inquire about Teacher Feng again, Teacher Feng's leave had ended, and she had returned to the underworld. The checkpoints at the village entrance had been removed. The souls who had been taken to the underworld for judgment had passed away one after another in these few days.
The villagers now felt a lingering fear whenever they recalled the events of that night, especially seeing how those people had died. They were terrified. A vengeful ghost seeking retribution. Although Teacher Feng had not held it against them or harmed them, what if? One had to know that some vengeful ghosts could lose their sanity, and if they had directly killed them, there would have been nowhere for them to seek redress.
After casually burying the deceased, and seeing that the checkpoint at the village entrance had been removed, they fled as if escaping. Nothing was more important than life. They only packed some valuables and left their homes. Money could be earned again, but once life was gone, there was no turning back. Little did they know, they would never earn any more money in their lives.
However, the events in their village were reported by the news. The addresses on their IDs became their labels, and the burden they would carry for a lifetime. Although the main culprit was dead, there were too many accomplices to punish individually. Only a few who had directly participated were detained for a few days, as the saying goes, "The law does not punish the masses."
While the law could not punish them, they could be punished by the weapon of morality. Teacher Feng's parents also saw the news, but the information they saw had been pixelated. Teacher Feng did not want her parents to know what she had experienced, so she let them believe that their daughter had fallen off a cliff while visiting a student and had attained the status of a martyr. This would cause them less pain. The Special Events Handling Bureau had also complied with Teacher Feng's request, assuring them that the elderly couple would not be told the truth.
Upon learning of this, Lin Yan pondered for a moment, then called her parents and grandmother. Hearing their robust voices, she was relieved.
On Monday, Zeng Xuanming joined Lin Yan's class with his books, his seat right beside Lin Yan's. Zeng Xuanming's arrival caused a stir in the class for a while, but it soon calmed down. They still had many practice problems to get through in their final year and didn't have much time to care about others. Zeng Xuanming thus joined the class. He wasn't entirely accustomed to such a busy life in the first week, but his adaptability was strong. Nothing happened that his mother or Zeng Jingjing had feared. His personality remained the same; he didn't care about other things and was immersed in the ocean of books. Apart from books, everything else followed Lin Yan.
Sometimes, when Lin Yan recited ancient texts, he would curiously come over to watch. After looking at the content, he would lose interest and turn away.
"Do you want to try learning it too?" Lin Yan asked.
"Learning what?" Zeng Xuanming was curious.
"Learning some unscientific things," Lin Yan said with a smile.
"Unscientific?" He knew Lin Yan had helped his sister resolve the issue of a ghost bothering her, but he just thought it was his sister's hallucination. Although his parents had also believed it, he hadn't. The reason he didn't expose it was simply that his sister hadn't been cheated out of anything.
"Yes, like this." Lin Yan took out her talisman brush and drew a small talisman. A tiny spark appeared in mid-air and quickly vanished.
"Is it magic?" he frowned. Although he couldn't find any flaws, some magic props could achieve this.
Lin Yan noticed that no one was paying attention to them, so she continued to explain to him. "No, it's the power of talismans." Lin Yan handed him the talisman brush. Their seats were towards the back, and it was during a break. Some students were sleeping, some were doing problems, and some had gone out. There were very few people idle enough to notice them.
Zeng Xuanming took the small talisman brush. Its body was made of white jade, and the tip of the brush was made of some animal's hair. It was a very exquisite writing brush.
"Can it do other things?" Zeng Xuanming showed some interest.
"We'll talk about it when we get back. It's not convenient in the classroom. I can't possibly spread feudal superstition in a sacred classroom," Lin Yan said with a very serious tone.
So you're spreading feudal superstition to me? Zeng Xuanming wanted to ask, but his reason told him he couldn't voice that question.