What if I don't want to ascend to immortality?

Chapter 44 Dark under the lamp

Having spent more than two years at the Second Hospital, Meng Qingtong, based on her observations of the distribution of commissions, always believed that once inside the Second Ring Road, where spiritual practitioners were concentrated, it was unlikely that many evil spirits would dare to cause trouble.

So much so that, due to this ingrained way of thinking, she forgot two very obvious facts.

Evil originates from the human heart.

Spiritual practitioners are human too.

After being reminded by Han Jie that something was wrong, Meng Qingtong immediately took out her phone, considered the possible candidates, and sent messages to several male classmates in Tao Yang's social circle, asking them to keep an eye out for any unusual behavior from Tao Yang recently.

If so, please report it to your superiors immediately.

"Report to the teacher?" Han Jie was quite surprised. "If it's related to demons, why don't you go and collect their real names while you're at it?"

“I’m not going.” After finishing her conversation, Meng Qingtong quickly turned her attention back to the various kitchen utensils around her. “What’s the full saying about ‘a melon field and a plum tree’ again? You made me memorize a bunch of things last week, and there’s… Oh right, ‘A wise man takes precautions against things that are not yet in danger, and does not place himself in a situation of suspicion. One should not adjust one’s shoes in a melon field or straighten one’s hat under a plum tree.’”

Han Jie smiled slightly and didn't spoil the mood by asking what "avoiding suspicion" meant.

Thanks to the lump of knowledge in his mind, he has a fairly good understanding of some aspects of relationships between men and women these days. Some parts that are not convenient to express directly were even more inadvertently learned too much, forcing him to cast a spell to block out some of his memories, lest he turn into a womanizer on the spot.

Therefore, he understood that, regardless of gender, being cautious and avoiding advances from suitors with whom one has no feelings is the true way to be gentle.

The guests at the dinner table included not only Qiao Mu and Lin Sisi, an ordinary couple, but also Xiao Tu. Meng Qingtong felt the timing was inappropriate, so she just helped Han Jie liven up the atmosphere by chatting about this and that.

Towards the end of the conversation, Mi Xiaojia couldn't help but joke that she was practically the lady of the house.

Han Jie, who had been silent and quietly enjoying the tranquil atmosphere, finally smiled and said, "I received this bonus through Qing Tong. I also relied on her for many of the negotiations with Dean Fang and Director Zhang. She should certainly be considered the owner."

Meng Qingtong's face flushed slightly, and she quickly changed the subject to talk about Mi Xiaojia's boyfriend, Liang Nian.

After dinner, Qiao Mu planned to take Lin Sisi to have her wedding photos retaken and also take a family photo with Xiao Tu.

Mi Xiaojia was deeply in love, and if Dean Fang hadn't also come to dinner, she would have wanted to bring Liang Nian along. After finishing the meal, she hurriedly said goodbye.

Once Fang Min was the only one left, Meng Qingtong suddenly felt as if all the guests had left and only her mother was still there. She comfortably sprawled out on the large sofa without any regard for her image, leaned against Fang Min, and began to mutter about her recent little worries.

Han Jie naturally wouldn't eavesdrop. He went to the balcony and leaned back in the comfortable recliner that Meng Qingtong had specially bought for him, listening to music while continuing to use his divine sense to familiarize himself with the world around him.

He dares not accept all the information provided by the lump in his mind now, so he can only deepen his understanding of the real world as an aid.

The world is vast and all-encompassing; upon closer observation, it is actually quite fascinating.

Moreover, this area is a community where outstanding faculty and staff of the Second Academy can purchase properties at a discount, and spiritualists account for nearly 20% of the residents, making it easier for him to understand the various ways spiritualists live in this world.

Not long after, Han Jie saw Min's departing figure downstairs.

After waiting a while, Meng Qingtong strolled to the balcony, flopped down in the oversized beanbag sofa she had prepared for herself, and squinted her eyes, "Ah... finally I can relax for a while."

When Han Jie bought it, he was puzzled as to why the usually stingy girl was suddenly willing to spend so much money. After she left, he secretly sank into it and found that the name "lazy sofa" was indeed well-deserved. It was like lying in a cloud of auspicious energy, without consuming any spiritual energy. It was so comfortable that he didn't want to move at all.

With centrally controlled temperature control and an enclosed balcony, even the summer sun feels warm and comfortable.

The two of them sat there in a daze for a while before Meng Qingtong finally spoke up: "I misunderstood something before."

"Ok?"

"I have never seen any commissions within the Second Ring Road, which means that this area is heavily guarded and even if evil spirits appear, they can't cause any trouble."

"What about in reality?"

"I asked Dean Fang, and actually, although the number of demons appearing closer to Dongding has decreased, they are still more difficult to deal with than those in the outer areas. The weaker ones are simply wiped out by the security department, while the more difficult ones, even if listed on the commission platform, are not something ordinary spiritualists can handle. Most of them are either handled by the special operations team of the Spirit Security Bureau or handed over to higher-rated agencies for targeted elimination."

"so?"

"So Tao Yang might really have a problem. I've already spoken to Dean Fang and asked her to make other arrangements."

Han Jie closed his eyes, remained silent for a moment, then got up from the recliner, faced the window, lowered his hand, and said softly, "Come."

Meng Qingtong gave a soft "oh," stretched out her arm, and grasped that hand.

This is certainly not just some empty display of affection on the balcony.

This is a cooperative method they have been practicing recently. Through empathy and a series of complex spiritual techniques, Meng Qingtong can temporarily lend Han Jie the part of her power that originated from the Ten Thousand Demons Induction.

It appeared they were simply holding hands and closing their eyes. But in reality, the actions they were performing involved extremely complex secret techniques such as empathy, soul connection, spiritual resonance, and coordinated spiritual arts. Even with Meng Qingtong's top-tier talent, she was finding it quite difficult at this moment.

It's like two people using their own souls as a medium to simultaneously operate an extremely complex instrument, while also ensuring safety and continuously isolating and protecting the instrument.

The most difficult part is achieving a tacit understanding.

They cannot communicate in real time. Once they start, all their mental energy must be used to maintain precise operations. They can only rely on prior communication to determine the direction, and then rely entirely on telepathy to cooperate.

Meng Qingtong dared to say that even if someone with the same knowledge as him were to do this, they couldn't do it any better than her.

Therefore, Han Jie considered this as part of repaying a favor, and she reluctantly agreed.

Anyway, this messy account will probably never be resolved in my next life...

"The area towards the Second Academy includes student dormitories, faculty dormitories, and the administration building."

Upon receiving Han Jie's target sequence in her consciousness, Meng Qingtong focused her mind, activated empathy, and then slowly fell into a strange sense of fusion where their souls were open and connected.

Perhaps it was because Han Jie's soul was too powerful, but every time she reached this stage, she felt as if she were wrapped in a softer and lighter beanbag sofa, and she had a strange feeling of shame that was burning up everywhere.

Therefore, this is also the stage with the highest error rate for her. If she is even slightly distracted, not only will the number of failures increase by one, but Han Jie will also notice it clearly, which is practically a public execution.

After making this mistake a few times, Han Jie seriously analyzed the reasons for her failures and subtly reminded her that it might be because she hadn't outgrown puberty yet. She almost couldn't resist going online to seek help from a "quit pornography master".

Fortunately, she knew the importance of the task and understood that this was no longer a simple practice. Naturally, she focused intently, and the indecent CG images of Han Jie flashed through her mind, barely managing to get through. When her vision suddenly brightened, like an eagle swooping down towards the Second Hospital, she concentrated intently, guessing the location Han Jie might be trying to sense. She constantly adjusted her direction, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, keeping their divine senses and soul power overlapping as they swept over each other.

This is a true case of one plus one being greater than two.

No matter how subtle the change is, it can still be found by looking for clues.

After persisting for more than twenty minutes, Han Jie, unwilling to let Meng Qingtong exhaust too much of her spiritual power, took the initiative to stop.

He stood next to Meng Qingtong, gently rubbing her head with his hand, using his spiritual power to help her recover.

Meng Qingtong felt somewhat embarrassed, as she was always the one who couldn't hold on first.

However, the difference in their spiritual power was indeed quite large. If she was at the level of a 100-meter sprint academy champion, the other party was like a rally car, which could easily take off with a simple press of the accelerator.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, she breathed slightly and asked, "Did you find anything?"

Han Jie pondered for a moment and said, "If we lower the standards, there are too many clues. You could say that there are mental traces everywhere that can allow evil to take root. If we raise the standards, there are still quite a few. Based on my comparisons over the past few days, I think that spiritualists are more powerful than mortals, and the evil they can unleash might be even more powerful."

Meng Qingtong suddenly realized, "No wonder the demons within the Second Ring Road are harder to deal with. So, have you locked onto Tao Yang?"

"No. It's not that precise. You might not be able to do it even if you were there in person, so I certainly can't do it indirectly like this."

She thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "What if I honed this skill to an even higher level?"

"No way." Han Jie rejected it outright. "I told you before, you're not allowed to use the Ten Thousand Demon Spell without my supervision."

“Then you just watch.” She said frankly, “I’ve figured out a way to train, and you’ll be in charge. Anyway, it’ll be good for both of us, and even better for dealing with evil spirits. I’m not afraid of difficulties.”

A faint smile appeared in Han Jie's eyes. "What, you're no longer bothered by how pathetic I saw you?"

"I'm already your roommate, and I'm always walking around in front of you first thing in the morning without washing my face or brushing my teeth. Why am I so particular?" Meng Qingtong complained, half-jokingly. "Anyway, you only appreciate inner beauty. You don't care what clothes I wear or what hairstyle I have."

Han Jie paused, thought for a moment, and said seriously, "A ponytail looks good, but it could be a bit longer. As for clothes..."

"Stop, stop, stop, I was just giving an example." She brushed her hair, which wasn't actually that long, and secretly canceled her recent haircut plans. A woman dresses up for the man she loves, there's nothing shameful about it. "Then, when we go to the academy this afternoon, should we go see Tao Yang again? I think you seem quite concerned about his situation."

“I do care.” Han Jie frowned and looked towards the academy. “I have never deliberately hidden my strength during class. If Tao Yang does indeed harbor the seed of evil, and he has already been affected by that evil… why does he still dare to provoke me?”

I'm also curious what kind of demon is so audacious. Is it the champion of the demon world's most outrageous death contest? Meng Qingtong smiled and shook her head. "I think it's more likely that it's underdeveloped. It only affected the host's emotions and didn't develop its own consciousness. As a result, Tao Yang's jealousy flared up and it came knocking on the door. Maybe that demon is regretting it right now."

Han Jie was still puzzled, "It's gotten to the point where it can affect a spirit mage's emotions, so why couldn't we find any clues earlier..."

"What if Tao Yang wasn't in the Second Hospital just now? Although he's not a day student, he's in the same year as us. By the third year, quite a few boys are renting apartments outside."

Meng Qingtong got up from the beanbag sofa, stood next to him, and said softly, "I know that what you saw after using the power of the Ten Thousand Demons Summoning Technique must have made you anxious. I felt the same way at first, feeling so hopeless, with possibilities sprouting everywhere. But those are just possibilities."

“Everyone’s heart has the potential to give birth to evil, only the degree differs. When you can skillfully eliminate all the tiny possibilities and capture the facts that have already come to pass, just like I have, then you can be considered to have graduated from this course.” She became smug as she spoke, pouting her nose. “Take your time learning, Teacher Han.”

"You grew up with this kind of feeling, didn't you?" Han Jie turned his head, his eyes filled with heartache.

"What's wrong with you? Don't look at me like I'm so glad I didn't grow up to be a gloomy, weirdo. I'm not going to use this for no reason." She bent down, put her arms on the windowsill, rested her chin on it, and said softly, "I'm the kind of person who has to clean up any mess I see. Even if I can never clean up all this trash, it will eventually decrease."

She didn't want to continue the topic and changed the subject, saying, "By the way, I only have one class this afternoon, and I'm thinking of going to the orphanage afterward. I need to go at least once a month, and if nothing unexpected happens, I'll probably eat there. It's quite a distance, and I don't think I'll have time to cook dinner for you. Do you want to order takeout? Or wait for me to come back?"

“No need,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’ll go with you.”

"Huh?" Meng Qingtong quickly explained, "There are a lot of kids over there, it's annoying. I don't think you'll like it there."

“I know.” Han Jie looked at her and smiled. “I just want to see the place where you grew up.”

She tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't help laughing in the end. "Okay, my old room is still there. I'll take you to see it. But the conditions are much better now than before. When I lived there, young girls who hadn't started their period were treated like boys; they weren't even allowed to use hot water when taking a shower."

"Something's up?"

"It's my period." She wasn't shy about this topic and explained frankly, "The headmistress said that when girls have their periods, it means they're growing up, and that washing with cold water is bad for their health, so she used the stove for cooking to boil water for the older girls."

"You often mention Dean Fang, but you rarely mention this Dean's mother."

She pursed her lips and remained silent for a while, then whispered, "She... is a very strict person. I used to be naughty, so I was quite afraid of her. But I know in my heart that she does it all for our own good. She doesn't have any children of her own, but she treats all the orphans there as her own children. So... I call her 'Mom' in private."

"It's a pity she doesn't like us calling her that. She always says it's unfair to our real mother. The old lady is so stubborn, humph." She pouted. "Believe it or not, when she sees you tonight, she'll definitely lecture me, hands on her hips, poking my forehead, nagging me about what's wrong with dating at such a young age, and telling me to focus on my studies!"

"Just explain it to her."

"She won't believe it." Meng Qingtong turned her eyes away, silently adding to herself, "I don't want to explain, let her misunderstand."

Otherwise, if my dream comes true in the future, wouldn't I be contradicting myself...?

The afternoon classes, as usual, went overtime by nearly twenty minutes.

However, there was no next class, and Meng Qingtong had no more classes by four o'clock, so she could set off.

Han Jie felt that he should bring some gifts when visiting the orphanage for the first time, but Meng Qingtong flatly rejected the idea: "It's most practical to just give money. There's no need to prepare anything else. There are many children there, and any gifts will easily cause trouble."

He smiled and said, "I'm preparing this for your mother, the headmistress."

"Come on. She'll immediately misunderstand and think you're going to propose marriage. No, no, don't buy anything."

Meng Qingtong was waving her hand when a bell rang in her pocket.

After the call connected, her expression quickly became serious.

"Tao Yang...is gone?"

(End of this chapter)