Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chapter 107 Evil

After registering everyone's information, Su Mei left, leaving Zhou Ya to teach them alone.

The old man placed the purple clay teapot on the table and began to get down to business, "I don't teach martial arts or body techniques."

"What I teach you is the habits, weaknesses, origins, and methods to deal with demons and ghosts."

He picked up the chalk and wrote a few words crookedly on the blackboard: demon, ghost, corpse, charm, evil.

"Remember these five words: all the dirty things in the world fall into these five categories."

"Each species has its own habits, and each species has its own weaknesses."

"If you don't know their habits, you won't even know how you died. If you don't know their weaknesses, it's a waste of your breath to fight them."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping across the audience, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"I served as an instructor in the Zhenyi Division for forty years, and the amount of information that came in from all over the country every day was far more than you can imagine."

"This is the first time our department has opened a left-hand traffic control class this year, which is a bold attempt and a rare opportunity for you as well."

Some people in the audience looked puzzled.

The old man picked up the purple clay teapot and took a sip.

"Don't understand? Those who came from unorthodox backgrounds either learned on their own or apprenticed under veterans; they never received systematic training."

"There are countless people who act like subservient grandchildren for years, only to end up learning absolutely nothing."

He put down the purple clay teapot and tapped his fingers on the podium. "So cherish this month. If it doesn't work out, you might be the last students in the unorthodox class."

"Enough with the small talk, let's explain those sinister things to you today."

He added a few lines of smaller text below the five characters "妖鬼尸魅邪" on the blackboard.

"These five types of filth are divided into four ranks within the Zhenyi Division according to their level of threat."

Write "C below", "C above", "B below", "B above", "A", etc. on the chalk dots below.

"Ordinary experts can only deal with things ranging from level C to level B."

"For the second-in-command, it would require intervention from someone at the deputy director level, and it also depends on the timing."

"As for Grade A..."

'

He paused for two seconds before speaking softly, "If you encounter them, run if you can. There's no shame in running away. If you can't escape, remember to leave a message for your family."

A young man in the audience raised his hand, "Instructor, what about grades A and above?"

The old man glanced at him sideways. "Above Grade A?"

He threw the chalk on the podium, dusted off his hands, picked up the purple clay teapot, and took another sip.

"Those above Grade A don't need to run anymore, just wait to die."

'

"Let me tell you how to tell the difference between different levels of things just by looking at them."

"Things under category C are the easiest to recognize."

"The newly formed changgui has a blurry face, as if covered by a layer of mist. This kind of thing has shallow cultivation and weak resentment, and can't even gather its own appearance."

"Your eyes are sharper than ordinary people's. You can scan around and feel that something is wrong. Nine times out of ten, it's C-level."

"But don't underestimate it just because it's not fully formed. When a drowned ghost's hand drags someone into the water, it's stronger than a strong man's."

"Cheng Shang has taken shape, but its head is hidden and its tail is showing."

The old man held up two fingers.

"There are two ways to identify it. First, it has a fixed appearance, but it doesn't dare to reveal its full form."

"For example, a nightmare demon. You see it in your dream, but when you wake up and think about it, its face is empty. Or a vengeful spirit attached to an object. You catch a glimpse of its shadow out of the corner of your eye, but when you look closely, it's gone."

"Secondly, it has movement and a range. Once you enter its territory, it's cold, inexplicably cold, the kind of cold that gives you goosebumps."

"Or it might have a smell, a fishy smell, a foul smell, or the smell of burning paper."

"The things on the Bing River have already begun to have their own ghost domain. Although it's only a small area, once you step into it, it will target you."

Someone in the audience asked, "What about B?"

"Bottom?"

The old man turned around, picked up the chalk, and drew a circle on the blackboard.

"B has its own territory, and it rules the rules within that territory."

He pointed to the circle.

"A deserted temple. It was fine before we went in, but once inside, we couldn't find the door."

"A dry well, if you walk around it, it will appear beside your bed at night."

"When you identify something from the bottom, you don't need to look at its appearance; just make sure it doesn't look right."

"There is sound where there should be no sound, silence where there should be no silence, and appearances where there should be no appearances."

"It imposes its rules on you, and you have to break its rules to survive."

He patted the chalk dust off his hands.

"As for B, you don't need to explain."

"If it wants you to see it, just look up and it'll be there."

"If it doesn't want you to see it, you won't even know how you died."

"Things from Yi Shang have become influential and renowned, and their stories are told for miles around. If you encounter such a thing, don't think twice, just run, and then report back once you're out of there."

The classroom fell silent.

Someone swallowed hard.

The old man glanced at it and suddenly smiled.

"Scared? Don't worry, there's also Grade A."

No one responded.

"There's only one way to identify a top-grade item: the place where it appears is completely wrong."

"The sky is not the same sky, the earth is not the same earth, and the people are not the same people."

"You walk down the street, a street you've walked for decades, but it still feels unfamiliar."

"You go home, and everyone is sitting, but you don't recognize them. You look in the mirror, but the person in the mirror doesn't move."

"A top-tier item, without even having to kill anyone, can make you kill yourself."

"However, there are only a handful of top-tier demons in the entire world. Whether you will encounter one in your lifetime depends on your fate."

He stepped down from the podium, put his hands behind his back, and walked around the classroom.

"Now that we've discussed the ranks, let's talk about the classifications. Demons, ghosts, corpses, spirits, and evil spirits—today we'll start with the most sinister ones."

He picked up the chalk and dotted the character for "evil".

"Remember this word. The other four, no matter how powerful, all have origins, weaknesses, and ways to deal with them."

"Demons can be killed, ghosts can be surpassed, corpses can be burned, and allure can be broken."

"This evil is the only one that cannot be killed or destroyed."

"Evil is not something that is transformed from the dead, nor is it something that is cultivated by living beings; it is born out of thin air."

"In a place where many people die, resentment accumulates, and an evil spirit is born."

"A single thought can cause millions to fear and hate. When hatred reaches its extreme, it gives rise to evil."

"An object, if worshipped for hundreds of years, can develop a spiritual quality. But if worshipped incorrectly, it can become evil."

"Evil has no form; it can be a gust of wind, a shadow, or a thought."

Someone in the audience couldn't help but ask, "So how do we deal with it?"

The old man glanced at him. Was this unfortunate kid really that honest? Most people would be thinking about how to escape, but he was thinking about how to deal with it—

"Deal with it?"

"We can't handle it."

"The Bureau of Suppressing Evil has a history of several hundred years, and there are a total of seventeen records of its battles with evil."

Of the seventeen cases, not one was destroyed.

"Sometimes you can seal it off. Find the place where it was generated, and seal it off with an array to prevent it from coming out."

"Some places are isolated; they lead the animal to a secluded spot, enclose it with a wall, and never let anyone in."

"Some people hide it, destroy everything related to it, make everyone forget about it, and when no one remembers it, it will gradually fade away."

"There is another kind, which is respect."

His voice suddenly lowered.

"Some evil spirits only become more aggressive the more you try to deal with them. Just like those evil gods worshipped in the village, if you offer incense on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month to give them face, they won't cause trouble. But if you demolish their temples or smash their statues, they will make your whole family miserable."

"Therefore, when encountering evil, the first rule of the Bureau of Suppressing Evil is to acknowledge it first, and not to take action."

"Recognize what kind of evil it is, where it came from, and what it wants, and then determine the method. Most of the time, the method is to do nothing."

The old man turned around, picked up the purple clay teapot, but didn't drink from it; he just held it in his hand.

"Whether it's a demon or a ghost, no matter how powerful they are, they still have something to fear."

"Only this evil..."

1

He shook his head.

"Evil is irrational."

He placed the purple clay teapot on the table.

"So remember this: if the dossier says 'evil' on it during a mission, don't try to be a hero."

"If you encounter one, run if you can. If you can't, wait for help. If there isn't even time for help, find a corner to sit in, don't make a sound, don't open your eyes, don't think about anything, and wait for it to leave on its own."

The classroom was deathly silent.

After a long while, someone whispered, "What if it—what if it doesn't leave on its own?"

The old man glanced at him and said, "If it doesn't leave, then you're the one who will."