The butterfly dreamed of Zhuang Zhou (II)

"Dad, Mom, I'm home."

Taking off his shoes, Yang Jian walked toward the living room.

Yang Xiao sat in front of the sofa reading a newspaper, while Zhang Fen stir-fried food in the kitchen. Today's news was playing on the television.

A large black dog sat in the corner of the living room. Seeing Yang Jian come in, it immediately bared its teeth and let out a series of low growls.

Yang Xiao's voice came from behind the newspaper.

"Sit. No barking."

The black dog whined twice, turned in two circles, then lowered its head and lay down on the floor.

Yang Xiao continued, "Go wash your hands. Dinner's almost ready."

Zhang Fen came out of the kitchen carrying a basin of crayfish.

"Son, look at what delicious food Mom made you today. And there's your favorite cola, too. The college entrance exam is almost here, so you need to build up your strength and get into a good university!"

After washing his hands, Yang Jian fetched bowls and chopsticks for all three of them and sat down at the dining table, waiting for dinner.

Zhang Fen took a bottle of cola out of the refrigerator.

"Go on, eat. Look how thin you are. Have plenty today."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom."

Zhang Fen was a good cook, and Yang Jian wolfed down three large bowls of rice.

Setting down his bowl and chopsticks, Yang Jian looked at his father.

Yang Xiao had been reading the newspaper the whole time, without putting it down even while eating. Yang Jian had not seen his father's face once since coming home.

Yang Jian looked at the newspaper. There were several news stories on it.

"A hurricane has swept through numerous coastal cities. No casualties have been reported so far. Residents are advised to keep their windows closed to prevent casualties and property damage."

"A major earthquake has struck Dahai City. The number of casualties is currently unknown, and rescue teams from across the country are rushing to provide assistance. In the event of an earthquake, we should immediately..."

Yang Jian stared blankly at the two news stories, seeming to remember something.

Yang Xiao's voice came from behind the newspaper, interrupting his train of thought.

"What are you looking at? I heard your class has a new teacher. With the college entrance exam so close, it won't affect your studies, will it?"

"Ah..." Yang Jian froze for a moment, then said:

"No. I take notes in class now, and I review every day."

As he spoke, he took the notebook Wang Shanshan had given him out of his schoolbag.

"Oh, my son is wonderful. Here, have some more." As she spoke, Zhang Fen picked up another chopstickful of food and put it in Yang Jian's bowl.

"Mom, I'm really full. I'm going back to my room to study."

With that, Yang Jian walked toward his bedroom.

At the corner, he happened to hear Zhang Fen speaking to Yang Xiao.

"You hold that newspaper all day long. I don't know what's so interesting about it. Stop reading and have a bite."

"All right."

As Zhang Fen spoke, she reached into the newspaper with the food.

His father was lazy to the extreme. He would not even put down the newspaper to eat and needed someone to feed him.

Yang Jian paid it no mind and walked into his bedroom, turning on the light.

The room was simply furnished: a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and several celebrity posters on the walls.

Sitting at the desk, Yang Jian opened the notebook Miao Xiaoshan had given him.

Miao Xiaoshan's name was on the first page, but it looked strange. It did not look as though it had been written with a pen, but rather as though blue-black dye had been stitched onto it with a needle.

He turned to the next page. The contents seemed to be diary entries.

"On the evening of March 22, Zhang Wei found a red cloth pouch outside his front door."

"On the evening of March 23, Zhang Wei went out and was chased by a dog..."

How does Miao Xiaoshan know so much about Zhang Wei...

Yang Jian did not dwell on it and continued flipping through the pages.

The rest contained what their new homeroom teacher, Zhang Xianguang, had taught in class that day.

Yang Jian's brows knitted tightly as he read the contents.

"When facing the supernatural, any abnormal situation may occur. Sometimes, you must not trust your own memories. Follow your instincts and investigate the source of the supernatural phenomenon."

What does that mean... Does this have anything to do with the college entrance exam...?

Yang Jian's brows remained tightly furrowed. He could not understand the contents at all.

Closing the notebook, Yang Jian lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream, Yang Jian felt someone pushing him over and over, seemingly trying to shake him awake. But Yang Jian was simply too tired. No matter how that person shook him, he kept his eyes tightly shut.

Half asleep and half awake, Yang Jian heard someone open the door and enter. They seemed to walk around the room before their footsteps stopped in front of him. They reached out and shook him, then withdrew when he showed no response.

The sound of curtains being drawn rang out.

"Son, get up. Time for school."

Zhang Fen pulled the curtains open, and soft morning sunlight spilled into the room.

"Oh... okay."

Yang Jian sat up, clutching his head. His head felt as though it would split open, and it seemed he had only slept a few minutes last night.

He got dressed and left his bedroom, seeing Yang Xiao preparing to take the dog out for a walk. He was still holding that newspaper, which concealed his face.

Yang Jian hurriedly picked up the two eggs on the table and followed him out.

Opening the front door, he felt a hint of chill in the morning air, but Yang Xiao was already nowhere to be seen outside.

He's that fast?

Yang Jian found it a little strange. He had clearly followed his father out the moment he left.

"Yang Jian! Hurry up and get on!"

An elderly voice came from the street.

"Coming!"

Yang Jian jogged over and hopped onto the bus.

"Thank you, Elder Qin."

"You youngsters have no sense of time at all."

The bus slowly pulled away, heading toward the school.

Yang Jian sat in a window seat in the back row, looking outside, still thinking about the contents of the notebook.

The supernatural? Ghosts?

Just then, grayish clumps began drifting down from the sky. Yang Jian reached out and caught one. It was icy to the touch.

Snow...?

How could it possibly snow in this weather...

At that moment, Yang Jian suddenly remembered the words Zhang Xianguang had written on the blackboard.

Abnormalities... when facing the supernatural, anything could happen... trust your instincts...

"Little Yang! Your stop!"

Elder Qin's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Yang Jian stood up and looked coldly at Elder Qin.

Although his head still felt muddled and in complete disarray.

Every time he felt he was about to grasp something crucial, something around him would suddenly interrupt his thoughts. This stirred an inexplicable restlessness within Yang Jian.

Ignoring Yang Jian's icy attitude, Elder Qin smiled at him and said, "Little Yang, don't miss the bus like you did yesterday."

Yang Jian said nothing. He got off the bus with a cold expression and walked toward the school gates.

The school entrance was crowded with street vendors. Even from a distance, Yang Jian saw Zhang Wei drooling in front of a grilled sausage stall.

"Zhang Wei," Yang Jian called.

Zhang Wei immediately ran toward Yang Jian as though he had seen his savior.

"Yang Jian! Quick, quick, quick, lend me fifty cents. I'll pay you back tomorrow."

"Didn't you say you could easily help me pay back a few million? Why do you need to borrow even fifty cents?"

As he spoke, Yang Jian handed Zhang Wei a crumpled banknote.

"Ah, my dad said he won't give me any pocket money if I don't get into university. Here, you can have the first bite."

Zhang Wei held the grilled sausage to Yang Jian's mouth, but Yang Jian ignored him and stared at the giant Buddha in the center of the school instead.

Just now, he had clearly seen the giant Buddha look at him for an instant, its mouth open as though it wanted to say something.

But when he looked closely, the giant Buddha had returned to its imposing appearance.

Was it an illusion...

Yang Jian took a bite of the grilled sausage and entered the school with Zhang Wei.

The bell rang for class, and the students filed into the classroom.

Knock, knock, knock...

Just as he had yesterday, Zhang Xianguang knocked three times before entering the classroom.

"Everyone, take out the test papers I handed out yesterday. Today, we'll continue where we left off."

Yang Jian was about to take the test paper out of his desk when he suddenly realized he did not even know which subject Zhang Xianguang taught.

"Zhang Wei, which test paper are we taking out?"

"Holy shit, you're even more impressive than me. You don't even know what he teaches."

"Cut the useless crap. Which one is it?"

"I didn't bring mine either."

Yang Jian punched Zhang Wei. With no other choice, he pulled a random test paper out of the drawer.

A newly handed-out test paper should have been brand-new, but the one in Yang Jian's hand was a dull yellow, covered in creases. It looked... like a sheet of human skin.

Unfolding the test paper, Yang Jian froze.

There was nothing on it. It was completely blank.

At that moment, Zhang Xianguang looked at Yang Jian.

"Yang Jian, stand up and tell us what you understood from the material I told you to review yesterday."

Yang Jian looked at the blank test paper, trying hard to recall the words Zhang Xianguang had written on the blackboard yesterday.

As though born with this talent, Yang Jian instinctively blurted out:

"When facing a supernatural incident, probing may not be necessary, but it has its merits."

Zhang Xianguang nodded. "Mm, not bad. Go on."

"But some unusual supernatural phenomena won't give people any time to probe at all. When you find yourself within one, you must carefully observe every detail, follow the rules of the supernatural, and discover its weaknesses."

"Very good. Then what are the rules of the supernatural?"

Yang Jian suddenly froze. Why was he saying these things? Yet they seemed to have been engraved in his mind. Even without thinking about them, they would surface instinctively.

Yang Jian stared at the blank test paper. He had no idea what the rules of the supernatural were.

Something was wrong... very wrong...

Suddenly, Yang Jian discovered that three lines of twisted writing had actually appeared on the test paper.

"Ghosts cannot be killed."

"Only ghosts can counter ghosts."

"Discern the rules of ghosts."