The King of Curses

Chapter 38: The Fierce Tiger
"Caixin Middle School..."

At about nine o'clock, with the sun shining brightly overhead, Cen Dongsheng rode his bicycle all the way to the destination.

Although he had a car given by his sister, it was a large off-road vehicle and he didn't usually drive it out. In an international metropolis like Tianhai City with huge traffic and urban traffic congestion, public transportation and bicycles were more convenient.

"Right there."

He saw the appearance of the high school from a distance: white bricks and red walls behind the fence, towering teaching buildings and a wide green playground.

Cen Dongsheng did not get closer, but turned the faucet and headed towards the alley next to him, heading deeper into the nearby neighborhood.

……

Caixin Middle School is located in the old city area in the central ring of the city. While riding along the way, you can see many old houses that have not yet been demolished, as well as low shops on both sides of the road.

The black asphalt road, which was not very wide to begin with, became even more cramped due to the crowds of vendors hawking their fresh vegetables and fruits and the tricycles coming and going.

People came out to fetch water and take out the trash, yawning and sleepy. The sounds of children running, adults shouting, and pots and pans colliding filled the air with the breath of life.

When Cen Dongsheng looked up from his bike, he could see black pipes crisscrossing into a network. At the end were roadside electric poles, and below them were rows of clothes hanging out to dry, swaying in the wind.

Following the large group of people riding bicycles and electric bikes gathering at the intersection, waiting for the green light before slowly crossing the road, he saw a row of shops in front of him that were converted from street-side houses, including several breakfast shops selling soy milk, fried dough sticks and sesame cakes.

"…I just had to leave in a hurry and haven't had breakfast yet. Let's stay here."

Cen Dongsheng was not in a hurry to go into the school directly. Instead, according to his usual habit, he decided to wander around the area for a few times to see if he could get some valuable information.

The current situation is a bit delicate. According to Sister Zhizhen's speculation, it is very likely that Caixin Middle School has experienced a "haunted house phenomenon" and several people have indeed disappeared as a result.

A teacher and three students have been missing from the school for more than 24 hours. It was on Sunday when the teachers and students were in a small after-school cram school.

But in fact, only a small number of curse masters who have similar experiences would think that this is probably a supernatural event closely related to the "haunted house" -

In various online communities other than Youshan Ghost Stories, this matter also caused quite a stir, and some people mentioned ghost stories. However, ordinary people did not understand what a "haunted house" was. They just thought that it was very strange that some people disappeared in broad daylight, so there were many different opinions and outrageous news flew everywhere.

Before the disappearances, some incredible things had happened at Caixin Middle School, starting from ten years ago - around the turn of the millennium, and continuing into the last two or three years.

I heard that there were even tragic deaths of students and principals. After careful collection by interested netizens, they were almost able to compile a collection of short supernatural novels.

After the four teachers and students disappeared, the police were unable to find their whereabouts and had to temporarily close the school.

As for the reasons behind it, some said they were killed by ghosts, some said they were abducted by foreigners, some said their kidneys were cut off by criminals, and some thought that the four teachers and students were not in school at all, and they met with an accident after leaving school...

No one would think that they actually disappeared in the so-called "haunted house" - another supernatural space adjacent to the real world.

The reason is that this school seems to be normal at the moment.

Cen Dongsheng had just walked around the school gate and found that only simple blockade measures had been taken. People living nearby were not evacuated, and judging from the situation, their daily lives were probably not affected much.

This is not surprising.

In fact, the locations of most haunted houses usually look no different from the real world. They are triggered only under certain conditions and may not affect everyone.

Just like the "Xiaokang Building Becoming a Haunted House" incident created by Sister Zhizhen, only a part of the residents were involved from beginning to end.

"Will it be more random this time, or will I need to find some kind of pattern to enter..."

Once someone is unlucky enough to step into it and encounters a regular time, place or "person", the surrounding environment will turn into a ghost town on earth in the blink of an eye. This is the most common situation.

He walked into the breakfast shop while thinking.

"Want something to eat?"

The boss said hello.

"Give me a bowl of tofu pudding, a large pancake with fried dough sticks, and some more chili."

"Okay, you sit inside."

"it is good."

Cen Dongsheng looked around. The shop was not big, the air conditioner was turned on very high, and the hot and fragrant smell was strong.

He randomly picked a table and sat down. The seat was not full, and there were several other guests besides him.

Cen Dongsheng's temperament was conspicuous, and naturally attracted people's attention at this moment. He was used to being stared at, but this time...

Cen Dongsheng looked at the two people sitting innermost.

A man who looked to be in his forties, with a goatee and a thin body, wearing a large blue Tang suit with a stand-up collar and buttons and embroidered with the Bagua pattern, drank soy milk slowly, shaking his head as if he was tasting tea, and was a bit pretentious;

A man of similar age, medium build, wearing a windbreaker, with a smiling expression on his face.

Cen Dongsheng was looking at them, and the two were observing him.

Seeing this, he nodded slightly. The man in the jacket also nodded, but the man in the Tang suit didn't react.

No one spoke.

After the boss brought everything he ordered, Cen Dongsheng took the bowl in one hand and the pancake in the other and started to eat and swallow.

Just then, several young voices were heard from outside the door.

"I told you there's no such thing! It's all nonsense from outside. Do you really want to go...?"

"If you want to back out, you don't have to come with me. Wenwen is still there, and I can't just leave her alone."

The people having the conversation were a man and a woman. The man was wearing expensive, colorful casual clothes, the brand was Versace, and his hairstyle was carefully groomed. The woman was no less stylish, wearing a white dress and Swarovski jewelry. The smell of her perfume had already penetrated the nose of Cen Dongsheng, who was eating a pancake, causing him to frown slightly.

Both of them are very young, only about high school age, but they are already wearing luxury goods. In addition, they both have good looks, and you can tell at first glance that they were "celebrity" on campus during their student days, the kind that would host various school parties.

The woman sighed, and casually brushed the ends of her dyed hair that fell to her ears. She had delicate makeup on her face, and with her youthful look at her age, she was considered a little beauty. If she took a photo and posted it online, she could become a little internet celebrity.

Of course, compared to a beauty as gorgeous as An Zhizhen, the gap is obvious——

Cen Dongsheng, whose eyesight was a little spoiled, just glanced at it and turned his eyes away, concentrating on his own pancake.

"Du Changlong, I didn't know you were so timid. You're a man after all." said the girl.

"Who, who is a coward!" The man frowned, "I don't think this is necessary...why not just hand it over to the police?"

"You said you're not a coward." The woman curled her lips. She looked at her other companion, her lips slightly raised, "Look, Wang Wei came here without saying a word, and he didn't say as much as you."

Following behind these two, there was a sturdy boy who seemed to be their classmate. When he was praised by the girls, his face turned a little red and he smiled silly.

"whispering sound."

Du Changlong clicked his tongue a little unhappily.

"Okay, we have an appointment, let's go together."

"That's more like it. The police haven't found the person, and the teachers can't help either. Doesn't it still depend on us? At least Wenwen and I are more familiar with her."

"Then, shall we go?"

"Eat something first, I'm hungry."

The three of them stood outside for so long, not caring whether they were blocking other guests or not, and finally pushed aside the curtain and came in.

"What do you want to eat? I'll buy it..."

Wang Wei took out his wallet on his own initiative, and even seemed impatient. It was obvious that he wanted to show off in front of his companions.

"Do we really want to eat here?" Du Changlong looked around and couldn't help frowning. "But the environment here..."

He wiped the table and said with disgust, "The table is covered with grease. Who would be willing to sit here and eat?"

Naturally, these words aroused dissatisfaction among the diners who were eating there, and even the boss showed an unhappy expression.

Although this boy is attentive to girls, his appearance shows that he is a young master from a rich family. He is obviously the type with a long nose and long eyes. He probably speaks to people in this unscrupulous way on weekdays, and he still has an indifferent attitude when facing the gaze of everyone.

until--

"Be quiet."

Cen Dongsheng said.

When his voice sounded, the high school students noticed the young man sitting in the corner.

He has a buzz cut, is tall and strong, and has an indifferent expression.

There was no anger in Cen Dongsheng's tone, but rather calmness.

However, his temperament was so strange that when he sat there, he looked like a ferocious beast with its body coiled up, and even the way he ate looked like he was tearing his prey apart.

If someone said that this man was a gangster or a professional killer who made a living by killing people, no one would doubt it.

“Wait…! Excuse me…”

The girl's face turned a little pale, and she quickly poked her companion with her arm and spoke in a low voice hurriedly.

"You should apologize to them!"

The young master's face was a mixture of slight fear and unwillingness to admit defeat. He gritted his teeth and said nothing.

"No, sorry...brother, sorry to bother you."

Seeing this, the atmosphere became a bit tense, and the girl quickly pulled Du Changlong to sit down.

"I, I just want... one cup of soy milk."

"I want……"

Du Changlong was about to speak when he suddenly felt the light in front of him dim.

The young man sitting in the corner suddenly stood up.

"—!"

This man was scary enough when he was sitting, but when he stood up, he realized what oppression was.

Very strange.

He had bodyguards at home, and he had seen some good fighters, or people who were tall and strong, but none of them could be like the man in front of him. Just by walking towards him without saying a word, he made people want to curl up in fear.

This was not an illusion. The momentum was as real as if it was real, and it made Du Changlong feel a slight stinging pain on his face, as if he was facing a tiger that had stood up straight - the biological instinct rooted in the human body was sounding alarm bells, making his whole body stiff.

The man's movements were not fast, and he walked to their table at a moderate pace. The three high school students all held their breath, not even daring to look up.

The young man's hand rested seemingly casually on their table.

Du Changlong looked at the hand. The knuckles were thick and strong, with bulging veins. He had no doubt that the other party could break his neck with one hand.

From the corner of his eye, he could see the girl next to him looking pale, trembling, and distracted. This should have been the time for him to show his fearless heroism and comfort his girl, but he...

Couldn't move at all.

Du Changlong's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and the clothes on his back were soaked with sweat, but he dared not move. He only heard the young man say to the boss:

"Another basket of buns."

"well!"

The boss was also a little stunned. After hearing his words, he came to his senses and hurried to get the buns.

……

From beginning to end, Cen Dongsheng did not say any extra words or make any extra movements. He returned to his seat, tore the fried dough sticks into small pieces and put them into his mouth.

His attitude was casual, but everyone else in the shop was watching him secretly. Two customers finished their food in a hurry and immediately left as if they were escaping.

Obviously, the aura he just released affected not only those high school students, but also other people present.

"Is this an external manifestation of the power of the tiger demon? It is most likely related to my second ability that has not yet awakened."

Cen Dongsheng seemed to be thinking about something.

Of course at this time he had already realized that the intimidating majesty in him was extraordinary. It was not only brought by his physique and temperament, but also by the potential effect of the curse. This was somewhat similar to Sister Zhizhen's situation.

In front of him, ordinary people would feel an instinctive fear, just like facing a predator at the top of the food chain.

The current situation is a bit uncontrollable, so I may have to wait for my superpowers to awaken...which is troublesome.

"Well, the buns taste good."

Cen Dongsheng stuffed the whole bun directly into his mouth. The hot meat filling and the dough soaked in soup were very fragrant.

Since he got the power of the tiger demon, his appetite has increased a lot. It's not a bad thing, he now enjoys everything he eats.

……

After a few minutes, when Cen Dongsheng was about to finish his breakfast, he heard a low conversation behind him.

"Are you guys students of Caixin Middle School? Are you planning to go inside the school?"

"Uh, yeah, who are you?"

"Haha, actually we want to go in too. But, that place might be dangerous, and I see you guys are still students..."

"What danger?"

Cen Dongsheng drank the last bit of soy milk in the bowl, looked back, and found that the man in the windbreaker was talking to several high school students.

Faced with the young man's question, he answered with a smile.

"Haven't you heard about it before you came here? That school is haunted."

Several students looked at each other.

"Uncle, you are old, but you still believe this?"

"Where in the world do ghosts come from?"

"Hey~ Some things are better to believe than not to believe." The man smiled indifferently.

"If there really is a ghost, why did you go there?"

"That's why we're going there because there's something fishy going on. This is something the police can't solve, so we need to let the real 'professionals' come."

"So, uncle, you are a ghost catcher?"

"It's not me. It's Mr. Liu behind me."

The students all looked curiously at the man in a Tang suit sitting at the back. Teacher Liu was holding a pair of walnuts in his hands, looking very calm.

Cen Dongsheng, who was watching from the side, raised the corners of his mouth and showed a very amused smile.

(End of this chapter)