Chapter Sixteen: The Light of the Mind's Eye (Part Two)

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Seeing that Shi Jun had revealed himself, the little fellow stuck out his tongue at Shi Jun, rolled his eyes, and then, brimming with excitement, turned his gaze toward Hu Hai, who was sighing and groaning. He stretched out a small hand and grabbed at the air; in the blink of an eye, a medium-sized stone appeared in his hand. He muttered a few words and made a throwing gesture at Hu Hai.

It all happened in a flash—Shi Jun didn’t have time to warn anyone and instinctively leapt in front of Hu Hai to shield him. Immediately, a sharp pain shot through him—his abdomen had been struck.

Had it not been for seeing it with his own eyes, Shi Jun would have thought he’d suddenly come down with a stomachache. He clutched his belly and bent over in pain.

“What’s wrong?” Hu Hai, unaware that Shi Jun had taken the hit for him, hurried over when he saw Shi Jun squatting on the ground, holding his stomach, and asked anxiously.

“Hai,” Shi Jun forced a bitter smile as he looked up, “you’re haunted by a ghost!”

“Cut it out! Even now you’re making fun of me?” Hu Hai was slightly annoyed.

Shi Jun shook his head. “Forget it. I should never have told you. Anyway, that little ghost I mentioned before has his eyes on us now.”

“You’re such a busybody! You’re so annoying!” As he spoke, Su Su’s voice sounded in their ears. Shi Jun glanced over and saw Su Su pouting, face stern, reaching out with his little hand for another grab. Good heavens—this time, he conjured two bricks out of thin air and hurled them at the pair.

“Watch out!” Getting hit by a brick was no joke. Shi Jun dodged and cried out in alarm, fury surging inside him—Su Su was getting more and more out of hand! If those bricks landed, someone could be seriously hurt—or worse!

“Ah!” Hu Hai screamed and collapsed; one of the bricks struck him square on the right leg, and it looked to be a heavy blow.

Enraged beyond reason, Shi Jun straightened and shouted at Su Su, “Su Su, you’ve gone too far! How can you be so reckless? Do you realize someone could die from this?”

Su Su had always been a mischievous child, but his parents were too busy making ends meet to ever discipline him. After death, he had roamed the human world unchecked for years, doing as he pleased. No one had ever yelled at him like that. Now, hearing Shi Jun roar, he flew into a rage, leaping up without thinking: “I’ll do as I please! You can’t control me!” As he spoke, he angrily pointed a finger at Hu Hai and loudly chanted something.

Shi Jun knew trouble was brewing and shouted to Hu Hai, “Get out of the way!” But Hu Hai, still dazed from his fall, was sitting blankly on the ground, oblivious to what was happening.

Shi Jun, seeing Hu Hai unresponsive, reached to pull him aside, but a stone—larger than before—came whistling through the air, striking Hu Hai on the shoulder. Caught unawares, Hu Hai was knocked flat, his head hitting the ground and blood immediately beginning to flow.

Su Su, caught up in his mischief, paid no heed and, exultant, grabbed another stone, declaring to Shi Jun with a triumphant shout, “Now you see how powerful I am!”

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Blood streamed down Hu Hai’s brow, bright red droplets splattering the ground and turning the yellow-brown dust and gravel into patches of dark purple in an instant. The pain was so intense that Hu Hai couldn’t suppress a low moan, and the blood seeping between his fingers as he clutched the wound drained the color from his face, leaving him deathly pale.

The sight pushed Shi Jun beyond his limits. A near-madness overwhelmed him; his heart pounded like a drum, muscles trembling with tension, and a searing rage blazed in his eyes, enveloping the little ghost before him like a tangible force.

To Shi Jun, family and friends were sacred and inviolable. Out of sympathy for Su Su, he’d always tolerated and restrained himself from retaliating against the little ghost’s mischief. But what had just happened struck a nerve, unleashing a fury that shattered his internal restraints. With the resurgence of his innate abilities, Shi Jun underwent a transformation that seemed almost miraculous.

Su Su was completely stunned by what he saw. In his eyes, Shi Jun seemed to grow taller and more imposing, a strange and overwhelming pressure emanating from him, freezing Su Su in place. Suddenly, a multicolored golden light shot from Shi Jun’s left chest, striking Su Su with blinding speed. At once, Su Su felt his entire strength draining away, flowing along the beam into Shi Jun.

The real world seemed to collapse before Su Su’s eyes. He felt himself swallowed by the overwhelming force, drawn into a pitch-black void: no light, no shadow, no sound. Only the imposing figure of Shi Jun stood there like a grim reaper, though from the light at Shi Jun’s chest radiated a holy aura, a promise of blissful peace that irresistibly called to Su Su’s soul.

Su Su felt his form dissolving, his being disintegrating and fading, powerless even to struggle. Fear and helplessness swept over him, and he finally broke down, wailing in terror.

Hu Hai, just regaining his senses, was also stunned by the transformation. His gaze was drawn to the light from Shi Jun’s chest, and he suddenly saw a terrified little boy before him—crumpled on the ground, shaking, dressed exactly as Shi Jun had once described Su Su. Now, though, the child’s body was visibly shrinking, quickly fading to a translucent form.

Hu Hai’s eyes widened. He could hardly believe that everything Shi Jun had ever told him was actually true! Mouth agape in disbelief, he looked from Shi Jun to the transparent little ghost, not knowing what to do.

Shi Jun remained motionless, but from his chest the golden light radiated like a powerful force field, pinning Su Su in place. Soon the beam coalesced into a white shaft of light, pulling at Su Su with the force of a black hole, extracting wisps of milky vapor from his body as it slowly dragged him forward, despite his desperate struggles.

The situation had spiraled out of control. In a daze, Shi Jun was oblivious to what he was doing, and Hu Hai, still sitting on the ground, was so shocked by the appearance of the translucent child and Shi Jun’s transformation that he didn’t know what to do. He tried calling Shi Jun’s name, but Shi Jun didn’t respond. The transparent boy was enveloped in white light, bawling uncontrollably… Hu Hai looked around nervously—fortunately, the area was deserted, or else…

Through the haze, Shi Jun felt as if a stream of water was flowing into his heart, spreading a cool but warm sensation throughout his body. Gradually, faint sounds of activity drew him back from a distant dream. His head was still swimming, but as his mind cleared, he finally heard Su Su’s desperate cries.

* * * * * * * *

In the next moment, Shi Jun was fully awake, and as his consciousness returned, the light from his chest vanished. He saw Su Su sitting in front of him on the ground, sobbing and begging, “Please forgive me! I won’t do it again!” Still bewildered, Shi Jun glanced over to see Hu Hai sitting up, mouth agape, staring at him.

“What happened?” Shi Jun hurriedly pulled Hu Hai up and checked his head wound. “We need to get you to the hospital!”

Hu Hai, recognizing the familiar Shi Jun, patted his chest in relief. “You scared me! What happened to you just now? How come your chest was glowing?”

“What light?” Shi Jun was dumbfounded. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

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“And what’s with that kid?” Hu Hai ignored Shi Jun’s question, overwhelmed by a flood of bewildering, unprecedented events. He was about to point at Su Su when he realized the boy had vanished. “Hey? Where’d he go? He was just here crying!”

Shi Jun looked around, puzzled, glancing at both Su Su and Hu Hai. “He’s still here.” Then, suddenly realizing something, his face lit up with excitement as he jumped up. “Wait—you could see him?”

“Yes,” Hu Hai replied, hesitating, then shook his head. “Well, I could a moment ago, but now… Maybe I was seeing things? But no, I clearly heard him crying just now!”

Neither Shi Jun nor Hu Hai realized that Hu Hai’s ability to see Su Su was tied to the light that had emanated from Shi Jun. Now that it had faded, Hu Hai, lacking any supernatural talent, could no longer see or hear Su Su.

“He’s still crying! Still crying!” Shi Jun was beaming, overjoyed. “Strange, how could you see him? Did that little rascal hit you so hard you gained a power? If so, that was a great hit!”

“What’s so great about being hit? Who hit me? And you call that a good thing?” Hu Hai was utterly bewildered.

The two went back and forth, finally piecing together what had happened. Hu Hai was left marveling in disbelief, exclaiming, “Incredible!” Shi Jun, after much contemplation, still had no answer, so he turned to Su Su, who was still huddled in a corner, afraid to move. “Can you tell us what happened?”

Su Su, having heard their exchange, had already stopped crying. Though the white light was gone, his body was limp and powerless. Hearing Shi Jun’s question, he dared not speak carelessly. After what had just happened, he saw Shi Jun as nothing less than the reaper incarnate. Besides, he was just as confused, so he could only stammer, “Please let me go. I really don’t know anything. I’ll behave from now on, I promise.”

Getting nothing useful from him, Shi Jun was still at a loss. Seeing Su Su’s tear-streaked, pitiful face, he thought the little one must have suffered some real fright to be so suddenly docile. So he softened his expression and said, “Su Su, you can’t go on like this. How about this: you should go back to the Underworld.”

Su Su’s face filled with terror at the mention of returning to the Underworld, so Shi Jun quickly added, “Don’t worry, I’ve made sure you won’t be punished. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“I’ll behave, I’ll behave!” Su Su promised repeatedly. “Whatever you tell me to do, I’ll do. Whoever you want me to prank, I’ll prank. I’ll listen to you!”

Still thinking of causing trouble! What a mischievous ghost! Shi Jun shook his head with a wry smile, not quite sure what to do next or how to send the little fellow back to the Underworld. After a moment’s thought, he said, “How about this: let’s meet here again at noon tomorrow, and I’ll find a way to send you off.”

With that, he helped Hu Hai up, and the two battered companions made their way to the school infirmary.