Qiao Zhanyuan gave a wry smile as he spoke.
"When I arrived at their home and began to understand the situation, I followed the clues and discovered that the source of the problem might be the daughter of this family, who was studying at this very university where I am currently employed."
"And frankly, regarding the problem with that family's daughter, given what we now know has happened at the university, it's not hard to imagine that this issue is rather troublesome to resolve. The best solution would be to make her forget those experiences and then provide her with psychological counseling for her trauma."
"The lost vital energy can be replenished, and while life force is difficult to restore, that family had some wealth and could manage to compensate for some of it. However, what truly affected the girl was the ordeal she went through."
"Moreover, I realized that to completely resolve this matter, it had to be addressed from the root cause, otherwise, it would never stop."
Qiao Zhanyuan paused for a moment to rest after speaking for a while before continuing.
"That girl, because she remembered her dream experiences too clearly, continued to recall them even after waking up. Therefore, even though she believed she was dreaming, it was difficult for it not to affect her."
"And in the dream, perhaps due to the pressure of survival, she was forced to do some bad things. In reality, she was law-abiding, but suddenly dreaming of herself doing many bad things would certainly bring her psychological pressure, possibly making her believe she had some latent negative tendencies, and even causing her guilt."
"What's more troublesome is that without resolving the root problem, she would continue to have these dreams."
"It was for this reason that I came to this university to investigate, and only then did I discover that the hidden matters were far from simple. Later, in order to find out more, I took on the identity of a psychology teacher and infiltrated this university."
After listening to Qiao Zhanyuan's account of his experiences, Ye Tiancheng nodded.
He said to Qiao Zhanyuan, "You are quite responsible."
Qiao Zhanyuan scratched the back of his head and said somewhat guiltily, "As for responsibility, it's not entirely that. Firstly, the other party paid, they are the employer. Secondly, given the relationship between the employer and our sect, even if I wanted to ignore it, I couldn't. I would eventually have to get involved, so it was useless to abandon it."
"And that young girl was indeed suffering terribly, it was hard not to feel for her."
Ye Tiancheng smiled and said, "In ancient times, we judge by deeds, not intentions; if we judge by intentions, no one is perfect. Regardless of what you thought, you were doing a good deed, and there's no need to be overly modest. But how did you finally resolve this matter?"
"The situation at this university is known to be difficult to resolve, and it's still quite challenging now. What happened to that young girl in the end?"
Qiao Zhanyuan told Ye Tiancheng, "There wasn't much else I could do. Strictly speaking, it was a psychological issue, and there was no way to prevent her from having nightmares. The only thing I could do was to advise her to try not to remember what happened in her dreams, and to have her family hire a psychologist for counseling."
"After she no longer clearly remembered those events and received psychological guidance, her condition improved significantly. I also confirmed later that after the girl graduated, she no longer had these troubles. This means that as long as one is still associated with that university, no matter where they hide, they cannot escape the control from behind. The only way to break free from this control is to completely sever one's relationship with this university."
Hearing this, Ye Tiancheng let out a sigh of relief.
He said, "That's good, that's very good. If those students could never escape such a shadow just by attending this university, that would be the most terrifying thing."
Qiao Zhanyuan nodded in agreement.
Ye Tiancheng then asked Qiao Zhanyuan, "Speaking of which, have you finished telling us about the other information you found?"
What Qiao Zhanyuan had said earlier was more or less the cause, essentially telling Ye Tiancheng and the little fox why he came here and became a psychology teacher at this university. It was the backstory, but there were still many things that hadn't been mentioned.
Qiao Zhanyuan replied to Ye Tiancheng, "Yes, to explain things clearly, I will tell you everything from beginning to end, piece by piece, to avoid any omissions."
"After I arrived at this university and conducted some investigations, I became increasingly alarmed and simultaneously realized that this matter was beyond my ability to resolve. Therefore, I attempted to relay these matters to my master. Such things, let alone me, none of my peers could handle them. It would require a powerful senior to manage it."
Ye Tiancheng listened to Qiao Zhanyuan's account and paid attention to the wording he used.
Qiao Zhanyuan said "attempted."
The premise of this action undoubtedly implied something. That is, Qiao Zhanyuan was unable to transmit certain information normally. And what Qiao Zhanyuan said next indeed confirmed Ye Tiancheng's guess in this regard.
Qiao Zhanyuan said, "I thought it was good, I couldn't solve this matter with my own strength, so I would just hand it over to my elders. I wasn't strong enough, so there was no need to force myself."
"However, the facts later proved that things were not that simple at all."
"I found that I couldn't get the message out no matter what. If I wrote things down, the words would disappear. If I tried to communicate with my sect, when I wanted to talk about this matter, I couldn't make a sound, unless I changed the subject."
"Once you get involved in this matter, you can never escape."
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox both showed expressions of extreme disbelief.
The little fox couldn't help but speak.
He asked Qiao Zhanyuan, "You can't get any message out? How is that possible?"
Qiao Zhanyuan gave a helpless wry smile and said, "I am the one who most wants the message to get out, how could I joke about this? But... judging by your words, can you transmit it?"
For Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, transmitting messages was certainly not a problem.
The little fox said, "If we can't transmit messages, how can we report this matter and call for reinforcements? Are we going to drag everyone down with us? That's definitely not practical."
Qiao Zhanyuan pondered and realized that it was indeed the case. Not only that, but his face also showed a complex expression containing suspicion, unwillingness, doubt, shock, and many other emotions. The degree of shock was probably similar to when Qiao Zhanyuan learned about the existence of special operations teams in the government. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was questioning his own life.
Qiao Zhanyuan said with great indignation, "But for so many years, I've tried countless times, and not a single word could be revealed. If there were any way, I wouldn't have been fighting alone until now."
"If you don't believe me, you can find me paper and pen, and I can write it down for you on the spot to show you."
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox weren't really suspicious, but they were very curious and wanted to know why Qiao Zhanyuan encountered such strange things and why he couldn't transmit messages. Therefore, the two agreed, wanting Qiao Zhanyuan to try.
Paper and pens were easy to find; the little fox had plenty of them. Normal pens, abnormal pens, normal paper, abnormal paper, the little fox had them all. They took out several sets and placed them in front of Qiao Zhanyuan, asking him to try. This would also allow them to observe how all of this was formed and happening.
Qiao Zhanyuan immediately picked up a pen and began to write a few lines about the events at the university on the paper. As he wrote, the words began to disappear, and they disappeared at an astonishing speed. For every word Qiao Zhanyuan wrote, even before he finished writing it, there were signs of it disappearing. By the time he finished writing a word, it had already truly begun to vanish, quickly leaving no trace, as if it had never appeared, not even leaving an imprint of the handwriting.
After that, Qiao Zhanyuan also switched to different paper and pens, writing normally. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox could also see that Qiao Zhanyuan wasn't deliberately doing anything tricky; the handwriting was disappearing on its own.
It was only after the little fox concentrated for a long time, seemingly seeing some clues, that he hesitated, looked at Qiao Zhanyuan's hand, and then met Qiao Zhanyuan's gaze before hesitantly saying, "I have a slight idea, but Teacher Qiao, do you mind if I examine you?"
Perhaps because Qiao Zhanyuan mistakenly believed that Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were from the government, he trusted them to a certain extent and actually agreed. Even when the little fox placed his hand on his pulse, Qiao Zhanyuan did not mind and patiently waited for the little fox's examination results.
The little fox examined him silently for a long time. When he withdrew his hand, Ye Tiancheng leaned forward with concern and asked the little fox, "Little... Li, how is it? Did you find anything?"
Ye Tiancheng almost habitually called out "Little Fox" but quickly noticed Qiao Zhanyuan present out of the corner of his eye. He paused and forcibly swallowed the word "Fox."
The little fox also paused for a moment, then reacted and replied, "I'm not sure, but I feel like this is... a curse?"
Ye Tiancheng, not understanding, asked, "A curse?"
The little fox then elaborated to Ye Tiancheng, "I mean a curse technique?"
"A curse technique?" Qiao Zhanyuan was momentarily stunned by this answer, but in the next instant, he felt a sense of relief. "So that's how it is, that makes sense... I don't know if you've found out, but it's not just students who are randomly tested; the teachers at this university also have rotating assessment periods. After I became a psychology teacher, I was naturally included in that."
"In this situation, it's perhaps natural that I am under their control."
Ye Tiancheng pondered, but new questions arose in his mind.
He asked Qiao Zhanyuan with some suspicion, "But if you can't tell others what happened at this university, can't transmit it through writing, and can't convey it through speech, then how can you tell us these things?"
Qiao Zhanyuan understood Ye Tiancheng's doubt and explained, "If it were someone else, I might not have been able to say it. However, I can see that Mr. Ye, you and others have likely participated in the 'assessment' as well. This is not within the scope of control, because I have tried."
"To be honest, it is precisely because I have made numerous attempts that I was so surprised to hear that you could transmit messages."
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox exchanged glances, unsure whether to believe Qiao Zhanyuan's statement. They could not fully verify this for the time being and could only listen to what Qiao Zhanyuan said and make their own deductions.