Chapter 282: 278 Seeking Advice

Compared to twenty years later, Yanping City in the seventies had a more vibrant atmosphere; everything was waiting to be rebuilt, everyone felt their lives had hope, their eyes shone with light in whatever they did, and everything was in a state of flourishing prosperity.

It was much better than the social climate three or four decades later; at least those walking through narrow alleys and streets with haphazard sewage drainage were people pursuing a life, whereas under the neon lights and high-rise buildings of later generations were only walking corpses driven by desire and devoid of souls.

Even though in Fang Mu's Abnormal perspective, the people in this city were all rotting and mutable, he felt they were all more full of life than he was, which made him feel pleased and happy.

To understand the culture of a place, the further one goes toward the center of urban development, the "lower" the cultural level becomes, but in this era... it was the other way around.

After abandoning the car he had driven into the woods in the suburbs, Fang Mu walked into the city, traveled all the way to the city center, and rested for a night before setting off again.

"Sir, may I ask if you know where I can find Teacher Wang Zheng?" Fang Mu tidied himself up a bit, slicking his hair back until it was shiny and smooth; although his clothes weren't fancy and were even a bit tattered, he looked spirited overall. As he spoke, he puffed out his chest, held his head high, and used a resonant voice, deliberately adopting a tone similar to a news broadcaster as he shouted to the guard standing watch at the gate of Yanping University.

Fang Mu's performance had a lot of the flavor of this era, and coupled with the fact that his appearance didn't look particularly old, a little grooming made him look even more like an enthusiastic youth of this time.

The old man just took one look at Fang Mu and felt this person was very spirited and safe, but out of professional duty, he still asked, "What are you here for?"

"I have a few points I don't understand regarding Marxism, and having heard that Teacher Wang Zheng is extremely proficient in this area, I have come specifically to seek his guidance!" Fang Mu's eyes were bright and piercing.

The old man nodded; clearly, people like Fang Mu were quite common. He waved his hand and said, "Come over and register."

"Alright!" Fang Mu shouted loudly, following behind.

After the registration was finished, the old man glanced at the name Fang Mu had written and read it out: "Fang Sen..."

"Present!"

"... There's no need to be so loud, I'm not deaf." The old man finally grew tired of Fang Mu's performance, feeling a bit annoyed, and hurriedly dismissed him, saying, "You've come at just the right time. Today, Teacher Wang just returned from teaching the worker-peasant brothers outside; he should be in his office preparing lessons now. Just ask any student you find on the road, and you'll find him easily."

Only then did Fang Mu drop his clumsy acting and smile lightly: "Thank you." He then walked into the school.

After asking around on the way, Fang Mu didn't get a specific route, but he ran into a group of "like-minded" students and, feeling somewhat bewildered, was swept along by this group of enthusiastic students to go to Wang Zheng's office together.

Wang Zheng's office was indeed very conspicuous, located on the first floor, the very last room on the right, in the teaching building closest to the basketball court.

When they arrived, before Fang Mu and the others could even knock, the door opened from the inside, and a young woman in her early twenties with a kind and honest face appeared.

Fang Mu felt a bit dazed and stared at the person who had just come out of the office for a long moment. The girl probably hadn't expected a handsome-looking man to pay such attention to her, so she immediately ran off, blushing, not even managing to respond to the greetings of acquaintances.

"Little Wang is taking time out to bring food to your father again, heh."

"Little Wang, when you have time, go to the Secretary's office; she has something to find you for!"

Seeing the girl run off shyly and flustered, everyone chuckled and teased her.

Fang Mu, however, shook his head secretly, thinking with some amusement: To think that Wang Ma from over twenty years ago was actually this green and innocent; I really don't know how she ended up becoming that boisterous person later on.

The girl with the kind and honest face just now was the nanny Fang Mu had hired when he settled in Yanping City during his second life, only it was the young version, not yet fully grown into the middle-aged woman he was familiar with.

And the Wang Zheng he was looking for today was none other than Wang Ma's father, who worked at Yanping University and taught philosophy.

Being able to be her father's daughter was likely the thing that made Wang Ma feel most proud and fortunate in her life. When she chatted with An Qin in her spare time, she often talked about her father, always speaking with great animation, yet she always regretted that her father had died too early; otherwise, even if she hadn't amounted to much, her children could have excelled under her father's guidance.

Today, Fang Mu, having traveled through time, finally had the chance to see the father Wang Ma spoke of.

Wang Zheng was sitting in the corner of the office, dressed much like Fang Mu—poorly, but looking very spirited. He wore a pair of glasses, was thin in appearance, and looked scholarly; his temperament didn't match Wang Ma's at all, and there wasn't even a hint of similarity.

The students who came with Fang Mu scrambled to talk to and question Wang Zheng, thirsty for knowledge, pushing the helpless-looking Fang Mu to the wall.

Fang Mu was somewhat helpless but chose to stand silently against the wall until the class bell rang, and the students left the office with great reluctance.

Once all the students and the teachers preparing for class had left, the office happened to be left with only Fang Mu and Wang Zheng.

Wang Zheng finally noticed Fang Mu, and he looked somewhat surprised: "Eh, this..."

He seemed somewhat unsure of the other person's age.

"I am not a student." Fang Mu immediately stepped forward and introduced himself with a smile, "My name is Fang Sen. My father was once a glorious soldier who sacrificed his life. I am very curious about Marxism and have always had some points I didn't understand. Now that I have come to Yanping, I happened to hear others say you are very proficient, so I came specifically to seek your guidance."

Wang Zheng suddenly realized, and after hearing Fang Mu's background, his expression became increasingly gentle and kind. He said patiently, "I wouldn't dare claim to be proficient, but if there is anything you want to ask, just ask."

Fang Mu immediately began to seek advice, and Wang Zheng answered fluently.

Wang Zheng slowly noticed that the questions Fang Mu raised had some depth; many were not superficial questions that ordinary students would ask, but questions derived from further thinking. For many of them, he had to think carefully before he could give an answer. Looking at Fang Mu again, there was already a hint of wonder in his eyes.

However, Wang Zheng soon slowly discovered that Fang Mu's questions were becoming increasingly strange, even somewhat abnormal, gradually touching upon "minefields." Even he was startled, hurriedly making shushing gestures at Fang Mu, then looking left and right to confirm if there was anyone around.

Wang Zheng was no fool; he could see by now that this person, Fang Mu, not only had something on his mind but was also here to stir up trouble.

He lowered his voice and said in a deep tone, "Who exactly are you? What exactly do you want to ask me?"

"Actually, they are just a few simple questions." Fang Mu looked at Wang Zheng with a surprised expression; his eye's ability had once again spiraled out of control. He saw that Wang Zheng's cause of death was "Abnormal death."

This "Abnormal" was not in the general sense, but specifically referred to death by special Abnormal factors.

At this moment, the ill-tempered Wang Zheng did not yet know that he would soon die an unnatural death, covered in poisonous sores and pustules, his whole body bloated, his tongue lolling out long and hanging all the way to the ground, just like a toad that had been maliciously toyed to death by someone.