Bang! Han Fei’s body landed squarely on the external installation of the air-conditioning unit. His back was soaked in cold sweat. Even the most experienced stunt double would think twice before committing to something like this, furthermore, Han Fei was doing this without any safety measure. ‘How did I end up in this stage? I only wanted to be a comedy actor.’
Even through his pounding heart, Han Fei could still hear Ma Manjiang roaring about him. His calves weakened. The grey fog rolled in around him. The chill wind crawled into his shirt. Han Fei tried to move but the old air-conditioner creaked dangerously. It sounded like it could fall at any moment because it won’t be able to support Han Fei’s weight for long. Han Fei now had no other choice. Easing his way to the edge of the casing, Han Fei once again did another jump downwards. Somehow, this aspiring comedy actor had done things that most action actors would not dare to challenge.
When he first leaped out from the headmaster’s office, Han Fei’s heart was quivering; but for the second jump, he was prepared. However, it did mean that the fear was diminished; for the last jump which was from the second floor to the first floor, perhaps now that the ground was within his view, Han Fei did not feel that fearful anymore. Han Fei reached the first floor without problem. Ma Manjiang’s angered roar echoed around the 4th floor. ‘Hopefully Ma Manjiang will keep his focus on me, that way Jin Sheng’s class teacher will have time to go and check out the security room.’
Due to the fog, Han Fei could not see what was happening on the 4th floor. He could only rely on Ma Manjiang’s raging howls to determine his location. Taking a detour to the other side of the office building, while Han Fei kept his ears peeled to Ma Manjiang stomping down the stairs, Han Fei crawled into the mist and into the bushes. ‘The school is covered in this grey fog, lowering visibility. This is not good for me.’
Despite Ma Manjiang’s size, he could keep his movement silent if he wanted too. He would only cause tremendous trembling when he was running at full speed. Therefore, if the man had discovered Han Fei and decided to sneak up on him, Han Fei would have no way of telling. ‘I can’t just stay there and wait for him to come get me, I can’t linger at the same spot for too long either.’
Han Fei eventually found his way to the edge of the school campus. It was surrounded by a cement wall that was almost 3 metres tall. There was no way of escaping. ‘In Jin Sheng’s eyes, the school is probably like a prison, a prison that has lost all control and is dominated by its inmates.’
With grasses crunching under his feet, Han Fei kept his body lowered as he moved through the bush.
The manager mission required him to find Jin Sheng. Based on Han Fei’s prediction, Jin Sheng was most likely still hiding in his own bedroom. After all, Jin Sheng’s dead body was found inside the cupboard of his own hostel bedroom. Just as Han Fei confirmed his next location, he heard arguments coming from a spot about 10 metres in front of him. ‘Other than the other victims, the people in this world are all enemies, I better stay away.’
Han Fei had just escaped from Ma Manjiang’s pursuit, he did not want to expose his location so soon. But just as he was about to turn, the sound of dog barking came from the grey fog before him. ‘Why would there be a dog barking in Jin Sheng’s memory?’ This unusual sound caught Han Fei’s attention. He moved silently forward. At the end of the garden was the school backdoor. Several large adults were beating a wild dog with bats and sticks. The adults appeared like the parents of some students. They were all dressed differently but they were all large and powerful. They kept cursing.
To Han Fei’s surprise, the adults had no nose. Instead they had very large mouths and a giant eye that dominated ¼ of their faces. Booming, shrill insults and abuses tumbled out from their big mouths. The single eye reflected not the bleeding and wounded dog on the ground but instead the images of their own children. The sticks kept falling. The wild dog did not surrender that easily. Instead of avoiding the blows, it took them head on, while coming after the adults and the children in their eyes.
It would appear like the adults were merely protecting their own children from the rabid dog but Han Fei knew that in Jin Sheng’s world, things were never that simple. He took a few steps forward and realized the wounded dog had a human face!
‘Zhang Guanxing? How did he turn into a dog?!’ Han Fei would not have expected Zhang Guanxing to take on this appearance in Jin Sheng’s memory world. But once he gave it some thought, he could find the reasoning behind it. Before Zhang Guanxing met Han Fei, he was reckless, rebellious and self-abasing. No one had truly loved him, not even his own father. He was like a homeless rabid dog.
In the fight against the adult, the dog was definitely the victim. He had the chance to escape but he refused to, he insisted on staying to fight the figures of authority until the bitter end. The result was he was beaten until his bones broke and his skin tore open. The adults hated this unruly dog more and more. They only stopped when the dog’s spirit broke and he could not stand up from the ground anymore.
The adults dropped the sticks, wiped away the blood, and placated the children in their eyes. They congratulated each other and then wandered into the fog together as they headed towards the office building. After the adults left, Han Fei hurried out from the bushes. He picked up the dog from the ground and pulled him into the bushes. ‘Why didn’t you run?’
Han Fei had nothing on him that could stop the bleeding. But the dog appeared to have gotten used to the beating, the pain was nothing for him. Tearing out a piece of his clothing, Han Fei helped him with a simple bandage.
“When I met you in the cryptic world, I knew life was hard, but I have no idea how hard it really was until now.” Han Fei patted Zhang Guanxing’s head kindly. “The other students at least retain their human forms but you have been turned into this vulnerable state in Jin Sheng’s memory.” Han Fei tried to communicate with Zhang Guanxing but the latter only whimpered weakly. Despite having a human face, he could not be communicated with normally. “Did you fail to heed the advice that Jin Sheng gave you?”
Even though Zhang Guanxing had been turned into a dog, he could still differentiate between good and bad people. When Han Fei worked on his wounds, he did not resist and the vicious glow in his eyes disappeared. Probably because he was beaten often, the wounds on Zhang Guanxing healed quickly. Soon he was able to stand again.
‘Not counting Jin Sheng, there are only 3 people who can help me at Yi Ming Private Academy, and one of them has been turned into a stray hound.’ Just as Han Fei considered ways to communicate with Zhang Guanxing, the latter suddenly darted away as if smelling something in the air.
“Where are you going?” The fog was thick and Han Fei did not want to stray too far from Zhang Guanxing. He trailed behind the human-faced dog and eventually arrived at the school field.
