Chapter 148: Seeing the Great Buddha

Without dwelling on it further, I put away the challenge and chatted with Bai Rushuang for a while while lying in bed.

The next day, Peng Li called Da Di, asking him to officially report to the Paranormal Investigation Unit for training. If he was willing, he hoped Da Di could apply for a temporary leave of absence from university.

I had anticipated this day would come. If Da Di was truly going to join the Paranormal Investigation Unit, he would certainly need to undergo preliminary training there before possessing absolute capabilities, which meant his studies would inevitably be delayed.

Therefore, I used a rational approach to ask for Da Di's own opinion. The Yin-Yang realm was inherently a path of no return, and once he made his decision today, there would be no turning back.

By this time, Da Di had shed his previous restlessness. Although he had already signed the onboarding documents for the Paranormal Investigation Unit yesterday, Peng Li had still given him a chance to reconsider. If he was unwilling to join, he could still withdraw now. However, once he joined today, leaving in the future would prove extremely troublesome.

Consequently, I urged Da Di to ponder it thoroughly, as this was certainly no child's play.

This time, Da Di deliberated deeply for a long while. In the end, he decided to join the Paranormal Investigation Unit and officially step into the Yin-Yang realm.

Since Da Di had made up his mind, I naturally said no more and asked if he needed to consult his family first.

Hearing this, Da Di let out a bitter laugh and said, "Brother, I've been brothers with you for so long, but I never told you—I'm actually an orphan."

Upon hearing this, I froze for a moment, unaware of this fact until now.

Only then did I truly learn about Da Di's background. He was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage. Later, when the orphanage sponsored him to attend junior high school, his academic performance was so abysmal that he should have dropped out midway. During that period, Da Di frequently roamed the streets with unruly crowds and almost embarked on a path of juvenile delinquency.

However, Da Di later fell in love with a girl named Wang Dan. Because of her, Da Di, who had nearly strayed onto a crooked path, resolutely decided to attend high school. The money for his tuition was actually earned through extortion and blackmail in society.

After entering high school, Da Di constantly pursued Wang Dan, though without success. Later, owing to his exceptional athletic achievements, he surprisingly managed to gain admission to the same university as Wang Dan. This explained why Da Di could never let go of matters concerning Wang Dan, and also why he remained influential and well-connected in this area even after entering college.

I handed Da Di a cigarette and remarked, "It seems your decision to join the Yin-Yang realm is still largely because of Wang Dan, after all."

Da Di nodded. "Although Wang Dan is already dead, I swore back then that I would never allow a tragedy like hers to happen around me ever again—not just me, but you guys too!"

With that, Da Di lit the cigarette and gazed into the distance with a complex expression, lost in his own thoughts.

That very afternoon, Da Di completed his leave of absence procedures for the duration of one semester. To see him off, we gathered several tables at a hot pot restaurant outside that evening, inviting all our close friends from school.

Naturally, aside from the members of our dorm, no one else knew that Da Di was actually joining the Paranormal Investigation Unit; we merely claimed that something had happened at home and he needed to return to handle it.

Consequently, many joked about whether Da Di was a hidden heir to a wealthy family returning to take over the family business. Faced with these jests, none of us offered any explanation. Who could have known that Da Di was, in truth, an orphan?

Early the next morning, Da Di reported to Peng Li to assume his post and officially began training under Zhang Wushang.

It was during the second week after Da Di entered the Paranormal Investigation Unit that he called me, loudly complaining that he could no longer endure Zhang Wushang's freakish training methods.

I asked what was wrong. Da Di wailed continuously on the other end of the line, claiming that in this single week he had not learned a single spell, but had instead encountered countless ghosts and demons, leaving his nerves somewhat frayed. He even suspected ordinary people on the street might be disguised fiends.

Only then did I realize that over the past week, Zhang Wushang had led Da Di and the other recruits of the Paranormal Investigation Unit to numerous places saturated with overwhelming Yin energy, such as hospital morgues, abandoned haunted mansions, and graveyards... dragging them wherever ghosts haunted. In just one week, this regimen completely revolutionized Da Di's worldview. He even began to believe that our world was one where demons and humans coexisted, perhaps with the population of fiends outnumbering that of humanity.

I chuckled and said, "You brat must hold your ground. Zhang Wushang is doing the right thing. To catch a ghost, you must first see a ghost, then learn not to fear it, and only then can you fight it!" I then asked Da Di if, after more than a week of contact with Zhang Wushang, he had figured out the extent of power possessed by both Zhang Wushang and his ghostly servant.

Da Di pondered for a moment on the other end and replied, "I've never seen Zhang Wushang make a move, so I don't know, but that ghostly servant is unfathomable!"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Da Di answered that just last night, in a grove on the outskirts, they encountered a cat spirit. Zhang Wushang did not strike; instead, the ghostly servant did, freezing the cat spirit solid with a single blow.

"Frozen solid?" I was startled. "What kind of method is that?"

Da Di said he didn't know either, but it was sheer freezing. That ghostly servant was also extremely mysterious, his entire body as cold as a block of ice. Once, when they were drinking together, a cup of hot beer turned into a solid block of ice in the ghostly servant's hand in less than three seconds.

Astonished, I remarked, "Such methods actually exist? Since that ghostly servant is so formidable, Zhang Wushang goes without saying." After exchanging a few more casual remarks, Da Di and I hung up the phone.

Shortly after hanging up, Peng Li called me. At first, I thought he was also going to vent his grievances, but as soon as the line connected, Peng Li announced that he was waiting for me at our school gate and needed my help with something.

By now, my relationship with Peng Li was exceptionally close. Since he asked for my help, I certainly wouldn't refuse, so I told him to wait a moment and I would come right out.

Upon arriving at the school gate, I spotted Peng Li's BYD parked by the roadside. To my surprise, upon getting into the car, I found not only Peng Li but also Peng Lei present.

I hurriedly greeted Director Peng respectfully. Peng Lei nodded with a smile and said, "Little brother Wu Dao, it's actually me who wanted to see you today. I need a favor, if you have the time!"

Since Peng Lei himself had spoken, how could I claim to have no time? I immediately replied, "Director Peng, what are you saying? I still haven't thanked you properly for your help with my previous matter. Please, tell me whatever you need."

Peng Lei nodded and said, "Since little brother Wu Dao still remembers that incident, I won't beat around the bush. The person who actually needs your help is the very same person who assisted you last time."

"That exalted Buddha?"

Startled, I stared in disbelief at Peng Lei beside me, my expression turning dead serious.

Noticing my tension, Peng Lei reassured me, "Don't be too nervous. Since we sought you out this time, we believe you are certainly capable of resolving this matter."

The more Peng Lei spoke in this manner, the more unsettled my heart felt.

Soon, Peng Li drove toward the Bashu Military Region, eventually entering a sprawling military compound not far from the military zone. Heavily armed soldiers stood guard at the compound gates. Even while seated inside the car, a deep sense of panic gripped my heart as we drove through.

Although I knew little about the military district, I was well aware that anyone residing in this particular compound was definitely a person of immense weight and influence.

In the end, unable to restrain my curiosity any longer, I asked the Peng Lei sitting beside me just who this high-ranking personage seeking my help might be.

This time, Peng Lei dropped the suspense and answered, "My teacher, the former supreme commanding general of the Bashu Military Region, General Huo!"