Chapter 134: Returning Home

The celebration lasted all day, and it was only at the end that we learned Uncle Ma had paid for the lavish party out of his own pocket. He had been teaching at the university for decades.

Soon, he would be parting ways with the students who had grown under his wing. This separation might be for a lifetime, as Uncle Ma later told me he was old and wanted to live a quiet life. Even this upcoming research trip to Egypt was just his way of taking a trip on the university’s dime.

The next morning, the graduation exams arrived as scheduled. The moment every senior had been striving for over the past four years had finally come. In every examination hall, aside from the sound of pens scratching against paper, there was almost no other noise to be heard.

This was the moment that would decide their fates. Failure meant repeating the year, waiting for the next graduation exam, and only after proving one’s ability could one earn enough credits to receive the bachelor’s degree issued by the academy.

I was in the first examination hall among the five set up by the academy, where all the top students of the senior class were gathered. Of course, ever since I had acquired the abilities of a corpse demon, these top students had been left far behind. Any exam paper, to me now, could be filled out to get a perfect score with the greatest of ease. Even for English, a subject I knew nothing about, I could rely on the vocabulary in my mind to complete the test with ninety-nine percent accuracy.

After a few days of testing, everything was finally finished. Each student returned to their dormitory to pack. All twelve of us in our dorm passed and received our diplomas. As we parted, we hugged and wept, but in the end, after exchanging contact information, we all went our separate ways to share the good news with our families.

Naturally, I had bought a train ticket home for tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, I decided to drop by Uncle Mao’s place to deliver some gifts. After all, Te, Carter, and Bark were being kept there, so it was only right to show some appreciation.

I spent ten or twenty thousand at the mall on many fine things—using the money my uncle-in-law had given me—then hailed a taxi. Loaded down with bags, I headed straight for the cluster of single-story houses in the suburbs where Uncle Mao lived. It took less than twenty minutes to arrive.

With the graduation exams over, it was now summer vacation, and most of the migrant workers had already returned to their hometowns. In the area where Uncle Mao lived, it was hard to find more than a few workers left; those who remained were busy packing to leave.

"Creak..."

I pushed open the door to Uncle Mao’s house, and the scent of wine wafted through the crack. Walking inside, I realized Uncle Ma was there too. The whole family was gathered around, drinking.

Seeing me arrive with so many gifts, Uncle Mao urged Wang Sheng, who was gnawing on a chicken foot, to come over and help. Uncle Ma smiled at me and said, "Xiaodong, didn't you say you were heading home? Why are you still here?"

As he spoke, Uncle Ma pulled out a chair next to him, signaling for me to sit and join them for a drink. I told them my train tickets for the day were sold out and I wouldn't be able to leave until tomorrow, so I had come to Uncle Mao’s to crash for the night and bring some gifts for the old man.

We chatted and integrated into the conversation, talking about everything under the sun, filled with joy. Since becoming the disciple of the Ancestor Chen, my sense of taste had been restored; the food was delicious, and the wine was fragrant. We drank until everyone was slumped over the table, snoring. Everyone, that is, except for Tongxuan; if she had passed out too, who would have cleaned up the mess?

I slept until dawn. My constitution is different from a normal person's, so I woke up relatively early. Checking the time on my four-year-old gold-plated imitation Rolex, I saw that my departure time was approaching. I quickly left a note and hailed a taxi to the train station. I didn't even wake Tongxuan; she had been cleaning up until late last night and was likely still sleeping soundly.

I reached the station with just enough time to catch the train. I immediately grabbed my luggage and squeezed on board. Since many academies were graduating at the same time, the train was already packed. I had bought a soft-seat ticket, and the journey would take a full day; I would have been exhausted in a hard seat.

But my seat was far away, and after pushing through the crowd, I grew annoyed. I used a tiny bit of my supernatural power to forcefully shove the people blocking my path aside and plopped down into my seat.

"Phew, sitting down is so much more comfortable!"

I let out a long breath, stowed my light luggage in the overhead rack, and pulled out my phone to chat on QQ for half an hour. By then, the train had already traveled dozens of miles. The carriage was no longer as crowded as before; everyone had found their seats, and those without were relegated to the standing areas. Aside from the occasional patrol by the train police, very few people were moving about.

My seat was by the window, pressed against the side of the train, perfect for watching the scenery. Sitting next to me was a girl, the type who looked cute and bubbly. Across from us sat two middle-aged men with fierce expressions, making it clear they were not to be trifled with.

To avoid their gazes, I focused on chatting and playing games on my new Coolpad phone, though the games grew boring over the long hours. The cute girl beside me seemed bored as well, swaying back and forth in a way that was extremely alluring. She wore a simple, pure