The homeroom teacher rushed over too, pointing at me and scolding, “Vệ Vũ! I know you and Tô Tích Thủy don’t get along, but that doesn’t mean you can do something so cruel! I’m calling your parents right now!”
I gave a scornful laugh.
“What could I possibly do, ma’am? Why don’t you ask what she did to deserve this retribution?”
I didn’t want to waste my breath arguing. I just shrugged and watched as they carried Tô Tích Thủy to the ambulance. Before I left, I picked up the broken piece of the bracelet from the ground. It still carried Thắng Nam’s aura.
“Was it worth doing this?”
…
Tô Tích Thủy was taken to the hospital, screaming in pain the whole way. I went to see her, too.
“It’s not too late yet. Admit you were wrong, and you may still have a chance to live. Otherwise, this is only the beginning.”
By then, the pus-filled sores on Tô Tích Thủy’s face had grown larger and turned a deep black. Wisps of dark, gloomy energy curled around them, and they reeked like a rotting corpse.
“Shut up, you filthy fraud!”
Tô Tích Thủy hissed at me in hatred, snatched a cup from the table, and hurled it at me. I dodged, and it shattered on the floor.
“Don’t think I don’t know! You’re jealous of me, so you cursed me! If anything happens to me, my parents will never forgive you!”
I merely looked at her coolly.
“You can’t reason with someone bent on dying. I don’t have time to save you. I only help people who deserve to be saved.”
With that, I turned and left.
…
The next day, I got a phone call.
“Hello? Is this Vệ Vũ? I’m Tô Tích Thủy’s father.”
Mr. Tô tried to stay calm on the phone, but he couldn’t hide his overwhelming worry.
He said Tô Tích Thủy’s condition had gotten worse. They’d brought in the best medical specialists, but none of them could figure out what was causing it.
Her face was becoming more and more disfigured. The pus-filled sores were spreading, and they seemed to be forming… another face.
The face of a girl.
As time went on, the features of that “face” became clearer.
There was no doubt about it: this was a sign that something unclean had latched on to her.
I tightened my grip on the phone, my expression darkening.
Thắng Nam… You still won’t stop?
“There’s a girl who keeps following Tô Tích Thủy, demanding her life.”
It scared her father so badly that he hired guards to stay with her around the clock.
Since it wasn’t convenient to talk over the phone, we arranged to meet outside the school gates.
As soon as he saw me, Tô Tích Thủy’s father hurried over and shook my hand deferentially. “You’re Master Vệ Vũ, aren’t you? Please, save my daughter!”
I gave a cold little laugh, my eyes sweeping over him with scorn. “How many times did I warn her? She was so vain she treated my words like they were nothing. Now she’s in trouble and finally knows what pain is? And besides, doesn’t she have a master backing her? The one who can change people’s fate and switch their scores? Now that she’s facing retribution, why isn’t he stepping in to save her?”
Tô Tích Thủy’s father looked a little embarrassed. After a moment, he sighed and said helplessly, “Master Vệ Vũ, you don’t know what happened. When Tích Thủy was ten, she fell into the water and stayed unconscious, never waking up. A master from Nanyang came by then, and I paid him a great deal to change her fate. But don’t worry. We negotiated with the father of the boy whose fate was changed and paid him five million.”
He paused, then continued, “As for the score-changing, I didn’t know about it at first. You know how business is—we care most about karma. Whatever the cost, I hope you’ll step in and save my daughter.”
I raised an eyebrow and gave a cold smile. “Why don’t you ask that master from Nanyang to save her?”
Tô Tích Thủy’s father let out a heavy sigh. “He only knew how to harm people. He didn’t know how to save them. Besides, I heard it took too much out of him, and he ended up dying.”
Do enough evil, and anyone will face retribution. I folded my arms and said coolly, “Don’t waste time talking. Saving her is what matters.”
Tô Tích Thủy’s mother spoke anxiously. “Master Vệ Vũ, how much do you want? We’ll pay whatever it takes.”
I held up one finger.
“One million! Fine. Just save my daughter, and I’ll transfer it right away!”
The rich really did know how to spend. I hadn’t even gotten the chance to say I only wanted a good meal.
But this time, money couldn’t solve Tô Tích Thủy’s problem. She was being haunted by the vengeful spirit of Chấp Nhiệm Sát. If she wanted to live, she had to do three things: sincerely apologize, return the exam score to the deceased girl, and help the spirit fulfill her unfinished wish.
Tô Tích Thủy’s father frowned. “Master Vệ Vũ, what is Chấp Nhiệm Sát?”
“It’s hard to explain in a few words. For now, I just need you two to look into a student named Thắng Nam. I’ve been searching for seven days, but I haven’t found anything useful.”
As soon as I mentioned that name, I noticed a change in Tô Tích Thủy’s parents’ expressions. For an instant, a flicker of surprise crossed their faces.
I narrowed my eyes and looked straight at them. “Do you know her?”
When they remained silent, I gave a cold laugh. “If you won’t tell me the truth, I won’t be able to save your daughter.”
Tô Tích Thủy’s father suddenly turned pale and asked in a low voice, “Could it be… Thắng Nam whose score was changed? But… didn’t she die five years ago?”
At that, I narrowed my eyes. So they didn’t just know Thắng Nam—they knew she had been dead for a long time.
As it turned out, Thắng Nam was someone they knew very well. I never would have guessed she’d been Tô Tịch Thủy’s middle-school tutor.
They said Thắng Nam was born into a single-mother family. Her mother was a strong woman who always expected her daughter to succeed. She even named her “Thư Thắng Nam,” hoping she could overcome every challenge.
Thắng Nam was indeed ambitious. She always excelled in her studies, so the Tô family hired her to tutor Tô Tịch Thủy.
Later, as the college entrance exam drew near, Thắng Nam suddenly disappeared for about a week. They assumed she’d gotten into a prestigious school and started a new life.
They didn’t learn that Thắng Nam had died until her mother came to settle her wages.
She died on the very first day of the college entrance exam. They said she’d jumped into the river to kill herself.
No one knew the real reason behind her death.
“People in business are very wary of things like this, so I didn’t feel comfortable asking any more.”
“So that ghost is the one who hurt our daughter!” Tô Tịch Thủy’s mother shouted angrily.
I rolled my eyes and replied coldly, “If your daughter hadn’t stolen what belonged to someone else, do you think she’d be getting revenge?”
“Enough! You shallow woman!” Tô Tịch Thủy’s father cut in.
“The important thing now is to save our daughter!”
Truly, “birds of a feather flock together.” Tô Tịch Thủy was so despicable; she must have been influenced by her parents quite a bit.
I curled my lip and said slowly, “You have plenty of connections at the school. I need every bit of information about Thắng Nam. And when is Tô Tịch Thủy going to apologize and give back the score she stole?”
“Master Vệ Vũ, but Thắng Nam has already gone to the underworld. Who are we supposed to apologize to? Who can we return the score to?”
“How about this?” Tô Tịch Thủy’s father suggested. “We’ll hold a grand ceremony to help her pass on peacefully. As for the score… instead of returning it, why not just let Tô Tịch Thủy keep it? We won’t let Thắng Nam suffer any loss, of course. We’ll send her mother some money!”
Hearing that, I truly wanted to turn around and leave. Did they think throwing money at the problem could make it all go away?
Thắng Nam had died unjustly, and her soul couldn’t find peace. Meanwhile, the person who had stolen what she valued most was living a perfectly happy life?
No way.
Tô Tịch Thủy had to suffer the vengeance of “Chấp Nhiệm Sát.”
I stood firm and declared sternly, “First, she has to apologize.”
“The score has to be returned! Otherwise, you’d better start preparing for your own funerals.”
My voice was resolute, without a hint of hesitation.
Tô Tịch Thủy’s mother froze, her panic plain to see. She hurriedly promised she wouldn’t entertain any other ideas and would do exactly as I said.
We went together to the hospital to see Tô Tịch Thủy.
She was extremely agitated and reportedly hadn’t dared to sleep for days. The sores on her face had grown even larger, and black qi shrouded her.
When she saw me, her usual arrogance vanished. She grabbed my hand in a panic and begged me to save her.
I said coldly, “The person I want to save is Thắng Nam. You’re just collateral.”
During this time, I went back to my hometown once.
My grandfather said that to resolve Chấp Nhiệm Sát, the apology had to come from the heart. A halfhearted apology made just for show wouldn’t do any good.
I decided to make Tô Tịch Thủy apologize publicly in the school courtyard, then burn the report card in front of Thắng Nam’s grave.
To stay alive, they had no choice but to compromise.
When Tô Tịch Thủy followed the plan, she ended up trending online, with netizens berating her nonstop. The authorities also opened an investigation.
At the same time, however, the sores on her face gradually disappeared.
I thought it was all over. But a month later, Tô Tịch Thủy sabotaged me again.
As expected, she never failed to disappoint me.