This was simple for Duan Chen. The dynamic vision of a spirit hunter was three to four times that of a normal person, not to mention Duan Chen was a pupil ability user.
"Yes." Duan Chen responded with ease.
Qin Ze sighed slightly. He looked at his hand and saw that the side with "Yes" was indeed facing up.
"This is my ability—[Coin of Truth and Falsehood]."
"I can ask a question in my mind, and the coin will give me an answer in the form of [Yes] or [No]. Sigh... I have no offensive abilities at all. Am I useless? Is there no point in cultivating?"
Duan Chen's eyes lit up. This child actually thought such a good ability was useless.
"Silly boy, this is a causality-based ability. It's so powerful, and you still think it's useless?"
Qin Ze was confused. "Causality? But I only ask things like, 'Does she like me?' or 'Am I eating steak today?'... What's the use of that?"
In fact, Qin Ze had asked himself countless times since he gained his ability, 'Will Michelle like me?' Unfortunately, the answer was always [No].
He was already a little hurt.
"Then ask some useful questions."
"Are you willing to teach me?" Qin Ze looked at Duan Chen somewhat shyly.
Duan Chen smiled slightly. "Little brother, you don't need to play dumb with me. I've already mastered all this. The coin wasn't tossed in vain just now, was it? You've already set a question in your heart, and it's given you an answer."
"This question is mostly related to me? No, it's necessary to see the person related to the question for the prerequisite of asking the question. Otherwise, your ability would be too overpowered."
"Am I willing to teach you? Am I willing to take you as a disciple? Questions like these?"
Qin Ze was completely unsettled. He looked at Duan Chen in astonishment, admiring him immensely.
This guy wasn't just strong in combat; he was also very intelligent!
He had completely figured out his ability within three sentences.
He was simply divine!
Duan Chen could tell from Qin Ze's expression that he had guessed it mostly correctly.
Causality-based abilities were indeed dangerous, capable of predicting the future and influencing the course of events. To prevent him from going astray, it wouldn't hurt to guide him a little.
Besides, Qin Ze and another girl had helped quite a bit when he broke through the void that day.
He patted Qin Ze's shoulder. "I can teach you, but..."
Qin Ze, having only heard the first half of the sentence, immediately his eyes lit up. He quickly fumbled in his pocket and, with the speed of lightning, slipped a card into Duan Chen's hospital gown pocket.
Duan Chen paused.
"Teacher Duan, this is my tuition fee in advance. There's only 100,000 yuan in the card. Let's start with one semester... No, no, no, let's start with one trial lesson. I'll add more if it's not enough."
Qin Ze became extremely respectful, even changing his address to Duan Chen to "Teacher" directly.
"..."
"Teacher Duan, please accept it. My father said he won't let me enter the house tonight if I can't give this money away. As a public servant of the state, you wouldn't want to see such a thing happen, would you?"
"..."
Seeing Duan Chen about to take it out, Qin Ze quickly pressed his hand down. The cold expression vanished, replaced by one of someone on the verge of tears.
"Teacher Duan, this isn't a bribe, absolutely not! This is for the lesson fee."
He's still just a child...
Duan Chen scratched his messy hair. "I can be your teacher, and we can discuss the lesson fees later. You can take the card back for now, but if you want to learn from me, you have to be prepared for hardship."
Qin Ze's eyes shone brightly, and he nodded vigorously.
"Teacher Duan, I will definitely study diligently and practice hard, and I will never disappoint your expectations!!"
Mi Xue'er, who was eavesdropping outside the door, pouted her mouth in anger and muttered to herself in a low voice.
"Hmph! Why are you teaching Qin Ze and not me? My family can pay much more than him! Is it because I'm a girl? Hmph! I don't believe it..."
Duan Chen, of course, heard Mi Xue'er outside the door.
He didn't reject Mi Xue'er because she was a girl. There were many excellent female spirit hunters. For example, Jia Yunlian was a powerful woman in her own right.
But Mi Xue'er was not an awakened one, and she didn't need to walk the path of a spirit hunter.
"By the way, why didn't I see that short-haired girl today?"
Qin Ze answered immediately, but a hint of disgust showed in his eyes. "You mean Sun Xiaoxiao? She caused the death of our class monitor, Kong Ning. Everyone has ostracized her, and no one wants to be friends with her anymore."
"True friends are those who can help you at critical moments, don't you think? Those who watch a friend die without helping, or even live on the corpse of their friend, cannot gain others' respect."
"Kong Ning's parents died early, and now she doesn't even have anyone to stand up for her. The classmates are planning to hold a memorial service for her..."
Duan Chen looked at the white clouds floating outside the window, and Qin Ze's voice gradually faded.
His words actually touched Duan Chen's subconscious, and some bizarre images flashed into his mind—
A door, that same entirely black, eerie door.
Creak!
The door made an ancient, heavy sound, opening a crack.
A young boy wearing a black hoodie, his face completely hidden by the large hood, appeared within the doorway.
The boy looked about eleven or twelve years old. His hands were in his pockets, and he stood quietly in the darkness.
He seemed to be covered in blood?
Light pierced through the crack of the extremely dark domain, casting an oval patch of light at the boy's feet. The dust motes floating in the air seemed like sprites that had slept for millennia, dancing once more.
One step forward, and there would be light!
One step forward, and there would be freedom!
"Who are you?"
Duan Chen tried desperately to get a clear look at the boy's face. If the boy took one more step, he would be able to see clearly.
It was as if the door of memory would also be completely opened.
But the boy's shoetips were faintly visible, and countless darkness-formed, eerie hands climbed up the boy's body from behind—his limbs, his abdomen, his head, his face...
Beneath the shadow of the disordered hood, a faint, serene, and eerie smile was revealed, along with a chilling cross-shaped scar near his eye.
This smile sent shivers down Duan Chen's spine, making him feel like he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Then, the boy stepped back into deeper darkness, merging with it.
The door closed again.
The entire world plunged into an extreme darkness.
"Teacher Duan, Teacher Duan? Are you alright?"
Qin Ze looked at Duan Chen worriedly, bringing him back to consciousness.
Duan Chen covered his temples. Strange, what were those things just now?
A hallucination?
Could it be the evil energy left behind by the Night Terrors in his mind?
"Teacher Duan, is it too stuffy? Let me take you out for some fresh air," Qin Ze suggested.
"Alright." Duan Chen looked at the bright sunshine outside the window and also wanted to go for a walk.
As a result, as soon as they opened the door, a man and a woman walked towards them.
Their eyes met, and the two on the opposite side froze.
"Duan Chen? What are you doing here?"
The arrivals were none other than Li Wei and Zhong Xingwen.
"I'm in the hospital, of course, to see a doctor. Do you think I came here to eat?" Duan Chen found it amusing.