Cyber Ghosts

“Appearance?” Hao Ning, Zhou Yuan, and others were stunned. Doctor Xue did appear in front of them several times. However, his appearance varied from time to time. More precisely, the last time he appeared, he had changed his appearance several times. Hao Ning never thought it would be so difficult to describe what a person looked like. He had to ask Zhou Yuan helplessly, “Which one of Doctor Xue should we describe?”

“The tall one, or the short one, or the blue one?” Zhou Yuan also said to himself. After all, they had already seen three of Doctor Xue before. Zhou Yuan’s words confused Mr. Hu, Zhang Dalong and Jienan. Why did Hao Ning say which one of Doctor Xue should be described? Was Doctor Xue made of plasticine? So, he could be big or small at will?

“I want to describe his first appearance.” Hao Ning thought about it and made his decision. “But when I met him, Doctor Xue was wearing a mask. I did not see his face.”

“Hey, I saw his face.” Zhou Yuan said. He just wanted to say that he saw his face clearly when his head rolled to the front of him. Suddenly, he realized that if he said so, these three people behind him might think that he was a cold killer. So, he said after thinking for a while, “Please wait a moment!”

Closing his eyes, Zhou Yuan took out his phone after saying these words. He shook it until a buzz was heard. The phone buzzed. Zhou Yuan turned on his phone. A photo of Doctor Xue appeared on the screen. Hao Ning knew that Zhou Yuan made the picture based on his memory as soon as he saw it. Doctor Xue in the photo seemed to be at the same age as themselves. He looked to be 20 years old. He was so young, but he was so evil at the same time. He even could do so much witchcraft.

“Splat!” Seeing the photo on the phone, Mr. Hu dropped his chopsticks again to the ground. He asked Zhou Yuan in a trembling voice, “Young friend, I can’t see it clearly since I do not have a good eye. Can you take it closer to me? So, I can see it carefully.”

Zhou Yuan felt a little weird. But, he still handed over his phone to Mr. Hu.

In the public eye, Mr. Hu wiped both his eyes and the screen several times, holding the phone in his hand. He finally let out a long sigh and asked in a trembling voice, “Zhou Yuan, my young friend, is this photo true?”

“Um?” Zhou Yuan’s face turned red. This photo was really made by him in a make-believe way. He never expected that Mr. Hu would ask him this question. He bit the bullet to nod his head, feeling guilty.

“Alas, I am so old to ask such a stupid question.” Mr. Hu took the phone again. Pointing to a mole on Doctor Xue’s face in the photo, he asked Zhou Yuan again, “Is this mole real? No. This is a photo, and it must be real, real. What am I talking about?”

Saying this, Mr. Hu’s eyes turned wet suddenly. He gave back the phone to Zhou Yuan and shook his head. Then he just kept silent.

“Brother Hu!” Seeing Mr. Hu’s weird action, Zhang Dalong was very wondering. “Are you fine? Do you need my help for a rest?”

“No.” Mr. Hu waved his hand and shook his head. “Alike! Too alike! Even the mole is at the same place. Hao Ning, my young friend, when did Doctor Xue you just mentioned die?”

“Well…” Hao Ning pretended to calculate the date. He wanted to indicate that the death of Doctor Xue had nothing to do with him. “I remembered that it happened just a few days ago.”

It was a few days ago when Hao Ning killed him. Of course, strictly speaking, it was not Hao Ning who killed him. It was himself who triggered the cause and result of Heaven.

“That should not be him.” Mr. Hu nodded, and a smile appeared on his wrinkled face. “Yes, it is just a little alike. How should I think he is…, my poor Nephew Xue? I am really sorry that I did not take good care of you. Shame on me, and I feel sorry for my old comrade-in-arms…” When he said so, the smile on his face just disappear, and he suddenly frowned. Tears in his eyes could not help dropping down from his cheeks.

“Grandpa Hu, what is going on?” Xiao Hong knew that there must be some stories and asked hurriedly, “Please tell us. Maybe, we can do something for you.”

“Well, sorry to let you see this…” The old man wiped his face and lowered his head, waving his hand. Then he said with a smile, “Sorry to let you see this. It happened many years ago. Now I just see someone like him. This photo reminds me of the past days. Xue Muhua is a kid of one of my old comrades-in-arms. My old comrades-in-arms passed away long ago. Before he died, he begged me to take care of his kid. He said the kid was smart and eager to learn. Since then, the kid has been under my custody. He has learned many medical skills from me over the past years.”

“Xue Muhua?” Hao Ning screamed. What a coincidence! In Mr. Jin’s novel, Doctor Xue’s name was Xue Muhua. “Grandpa, about your nephew, is his name Xue Muhua? The same name as Doctor Xue in Mr. Jin’s novel?”

“Yes. But his name is different in meaning… ‘Mu’ in his name means wood, not envy.” Mr. Hu nodded. He recalled the past days with a smile on his face. “In my days, Mr. Jin’s novels were very popular. This novel was Xiao Hua’s favorite. He had read it many times. Every time he read it, he said to me that he wanted to be Doctor Xue in the future. He was almost 15 years old at that time.”

“But later, he entered a college. His major was not medicine.” Mr. Hu continued to recall. Due to respect and curiousness, all of them heard the old man tell a story about a person who had nothing to do with them quietly. “He was admitted by Qingbei University. His major was physics. He even got a doctorate at last. By the way, his mentor is an old lady who is very famous. Her family name seems to be…”

Liu Shuai was about to have a bite of the dish. When hearing the words of the old man, he directly put it down and asked tentatively, “Is her family name Ren?”

“Yes, yes. Her family name is Ren.” Mr. Hu nodded and said, “Xiao Hua’s research topic in those days seems to be quantum. I am a doctor. I have no idea of physics. He, as far as I know, had some achievements in her field. His mentor, after Xiao Hua’s graduation, was still devoted to her research. She was reported in the newspaper a few days ago. A satellite of our nation was launched some time ago. Her work seems to be related to this.”

“Mozi Satellite?” Hao Ning, Liu Shuai, and Zhou Yuan said simultaneously this time. They thought in their hearts that it was really a coincidence. “His research orientation is quantum mechanics, right?”

“Yes, Mozi Satellite and quantum mechanics!” Mr. Hu nodded. And then he asked with doubt, “How do you know this?”

“This one is Liu Shuai. And he is…” Hao Ning pointed to Liu Shuai and said with a smile, “He is the boyfriend of Mrs. Ren’s granddaughter.”

“Ah? Dear me!” Mr. Hu exclaimed, looking at Liu Shuai. “What a small world!” He turned a little sad after saying this. “If Xiao Hua had not experienced those things, he would have a kid now.”

“What things?” Xiao Hong suddenly asked from nowhere. After asking this question, Xiao Hong saw Hao Ning and Zhou yuan staring at him. He suddenly realized that he did wrong. From what Mr. Hu said, Xue Muhua must have passed away already. Xiao Hong was an immortal. He might pay no attention to the life and death of an ordinary person. However, it was an old man in front of him. It was cruel to make an old man recall his relative’s death.

Thinking of this, Xiao Hong felt a little guilty. He said regrettably, “I am sorry. I did not mean to get your heart hurt.”

“It does not matter. It has been decades.” Mr. Hu waved his hand. He sighed, and there was a trace of complexity in his eyes. “I do feel a little heart-broken. But I feel angry more. Xiao Hua’s death is due to the big mess in those days. He killed himself.”

“Big mess? Kill himself?” Hao Ning got goose bumps all over his body after hearing these words as if he had got an electric shock. “Mr. Hu, is what you said real? You mean that Xiao Hua killed himself because of the big mess in those days, right?”

“In that period, there was a thing which was very popular. We called it Qi Gong.” He recalled while looking at Zhang Dalong. “Do you know this?”

“Of course, I know.” Zhang Dalong nodded. “At that time, I was also young. Many people in Celestial Empire practiced Qi Gong at that time. In the early days, everything was normal. Those advocators only told us that Qi Gong was good for our health. And later, they began bragging. They bragged that Qi Gong was good medicine that could heal any diseases. They even said it was a kind of supernatural power. The worst part was that they claimed a lot of Qi Gong was related to traditional medicine of Celestial Empire…”

“Yes. There was such a group of people. They sold their products in the name of the traditional medicine of Celestial Empire for their own interest. And they even added their private materials into it. Traditional medicine of Celestial Empire was used to cure people. But it became a bad thing due to their packaging.” Mr. Hu clapped the table heavily. Zhang Dalong comforted him hurriedly to calm him down. Mr. Hu took a sip of tea and let out a long breath. Then he said, “I didn’t have any aversion to those who sold their own products in the name of others. After all, everybody had something in the mind, which he wanted to say, right? However, they disregard the truth to get rich with those private materials that harmed others to benefit themselves. It harmed not only the young people at that time but also some cultures of Celestial Empire, such as traditional medicine. That is the reason why many young people constantly overstate the role of traditional medicine of Celestial Empire nowadays. They think that they are saving the traditional medicine of Celestial Empire. In fact, they will do harm to it in the process of the overstatement. How hateful it is!”

“And what does Xue Muhua have to do with this thing?” Hao Ning asked when seeing Mr. Hu was so angry. Mr. Hu even began to criticize current affairs. He really did not expect that Mr. Hu would become such an angry youth at such an old age. Hao Ning wanted to pull him back to his points. Otherwise, Mr. Hu might fall in a faint out of anger since he was so old. Then things would be worse.

“Just since Xiao Hua used to learn the traditional medicine of Celestial Empire, at that time, he could not tell right from wrong in such a circumstance. Nobody noticed when he began to practice Qi Gong.” Mr. Hu continued to say, “But after all, he did not learn the medicine for a long time. And his major in university was physics. He had no complete medical knowledge. Besides, he was over-indulged in the mysterious part of traditional medicine of Celestial Empire. That was the reason why he began to practice Qi Gong. Finally, before he could finish the graduation of doctor, he became disordered and killed himself for no reason.”

Hao Ning took a glance at Zhang Dalong. Zhang Dalong shook his head and sighed. “Those people just wanted to get money in the name of others. Nobody knew that they would cause such a tragedy. Didn’t the man who first made tomb figures die without an heir? Those initiators of evil would suffer from their evil deeds ”

“Qi Gong, in nature, is good and reasonable.” Mr. Hu said, shaking his head as well. “But they overstated the function of Qi Gong. It was ivory-towered completely. They even related it to supernatural powers. It harmed so many people. This was no longer Qi Gong, but witchcraft.”

“Yes. Qi Gong was a normal thing originally. Yet it was overstated by desire to a height that did not belong to it.” Zhang Dalong continued to say, “I still remember that, later, many people would put a pot on their heads when practicing Qi Gong. Some of them even claimed that Qi Gong could intercept an atomic bomb or put out the fire in Daxinganling. Is this Qi Gong? It is simply a magic power. Outsiders may consider that this is a power which Avalokitesvara has.”

“His power is much stronger than Qi Gong…” Xiao Hong murmured. After saying this, he saw that Hao Ning and others were staring at him again. He quickly lowered his head and kept silent.

“Yes.” Mr. Hu continued to say, “After his death, I recalled a painful experience. I decided to give up those bad things. I must get to the root and should do something to stop the mystification of traditional medicine of Celestial Empire from being remained. We should embrace the science that is developed in our times and object to these superstitious things. By doing so, the traditional medicine of Celestial Empire will keep pace with our times. Or our great civilization will be stained by those bad things.”

“Good point!” Zhang Dalong said, clapping the table heavily. “Brother Hu, I admire you for this. Although you are in your seventies, you still have an open mind and always accept all the good changes. You are never complacent as well as conservative and keep pace with the times. I toast you with tea instead of wine.”

What Zhang Dalong said might be a little pretentious. Yet, facing a leading authority in traditional medicine of Celestial Empire, Mr. Hu was worthy of his words. Hao Ning and others picked up their cups and drank off.

“I have said too much.” Mr. Hu wiped his face and said, looking at Zhou Yuan’s phone. “When Xiao Hua passed away, he was the same as he is in the photo now. And there is a mole on his face at the same place. That is why just now I was in a daze. I just thought the man in the photo was him, but how could it be possible? Ho-ho! It is not impossible that there is someone like him in the world.”

Hao Ning turned back and looked at Zhou Yuan. Liu Shuai and Xiao Hong also looked at Zhou Yuan at the same time. They looked at each other and did not talk about this thing anymore.

“In this way…” Zhang Dalong shook his head. He did not expect that his original intention to tell them some strange things would result in such a sad story. “About King of Glory, it seems that there is no solution.”

“If we get in touch with Wang Jun…” Jienan speculated for a while and then said, “Will we get any clues?”

“You’d better not do that.” Hao Ning blurted out. He did not worry about Wang Jun, but that young man. He was just about to do harm to Jienan. If Jienan went there alone, he might be in trouble.

“I advise you not to contact them, especially that young man.” Mr. Hu said with a very serious look on his face at this time. “They do not have a good reputation in our circle.”

“In your circle?” Jienan said with doubt, “Grandpa Hu, you mean the young man is also a doctor, right?”

“A medical student, not a doctor.” Mr. Hu shook his head. “Everyone has his own ambition, and we can’t force them to do what they don’t want. His name is Yi Pingzhi. He is a genius of Yi Family. He has become one of the most talented young men in his family at such a young age. Yet, he uses his medical skills not to save people, but to do some bad things for the rich. I have no idea of what he has done concretely. These things are all rumors. But I still suggest that you try not to contact them.”

“Oh, I see.” Jienan thought for a while and then said, “What a pity! We lost another clue.”

Hearing the words of Jienan, Zhang Dalong and others all kept silent. It was no wonder. After Zhang Dalong met Hao Ning and others, he thought that they might have experienced some weird things and would have some solutions. However, they also had no idea in the end. So, he kept silent for a moment.

“Well…” There was also some guilt in the heart of Hao Ning. He did not know whether it was because he did not have any idea to help Zhang Dalong or because he killed a monster which looked exactly like the little nephew of Mr. Hu. Then he said with an obvious intention to make up, “Maybe not. We have a good relationship with another Mister of Wang Family. We may get some clues from him.”

“Another Mister? I seem to have never heard of it…” Zhang Dalong was about to say something. But he gave up after thinking for a second. “In this case, I should say thank you to my little brother, Hao Ning, in advance.”