After five bigwigs in Beijing's elite circle fell into their trap, I fled.

Chapter 216 Let's gossip about the new master and the old master.
As Jiang Shu disembarked from the plane, an extended double-decker bus appeared to have been waiting for a long time at the airport.

Upon seeing Jiang Shu, several people, also shrouded in black robes, excitedly disembarked from the bus and surrounded her.

Jiang Shu paused for a moment.

Behind her, a man in black robes removed the bandage from his mouth and spoke in a hoarse voice: "They are all students sent by the Holy Spirit Academy to welcome you."

Jiang Shu looked them over one by one: "The black robe, is that your clan's traditional clothing?"

Among the students welcoming Jiang Shu, someone shouted, "No, the black robe is our highest level of etiquette. Great—transfer student, please come with us to the academy! The dean has been waiting for you for a long time!"

Jiang Shu, carrying a backpack, slowly walked towards the bus.

Just as I was about to enter the car, I turned around as if I had a premonition and saw two men in black robes carrying two large wooden crates out of the cargo hold of the plane I had just seen.

She casually asked, "Do your planes also transport supplies?"

"It's a rare trip to China, so I'll bring back some local specialties," the man in black explained. Then, he and another person each carried a large box taller than themselves, and they disappeared in an instant.

Jiang Shu was stunned for a moment, then stopped paying attention and boarded the bus.

"This is your seat," a student said quietly. "We've heard that girls in China are particularly delicate, so we've specially prepared a velvet cushion and backrest for you. Do you like it?"

Jiang Shu glanced at the dilapidated bus chairs, then at the obviously meticulously modified luxury princess seats, and sat down with mixed feelings.

She thought this trip abroad would be a perilous adventure, but how did it turn into such an irresistible passion?
She looked at the students who were staring at her expectantly, holding their breath, and cleared her throat: "How long does it take to get from here to the Holy Spirit Academy?"

"It's a ten-minute walk. It's a thirty-minute bus ride." The students answered every question and were surprisingly friendly.

Jiang Shu: "...Walking is faster than taking a bus?"

“Our people are naturally faster than leopards, would you like to see that?” A girl asked eagerly. “I can show you right away. I’m the running champion of our school this year. I broke the record of 10 kilometers in one minute, and only took 40 seconds.”

10 kilometers in 40 seconds...

Did they strap rockets to their feet?
Jiang Shu calmly looked around at the dozen or so students again, and saw a unique sense of innocence in their pale, half-hidden faces.

She said "Oh," and waved her hand, "No need to show it, let's just get in the car. The journey is long, why don't we chat for a while?"

The other students stared at her expectantly, a hint of excitement flickering in their cold eyes: "It's such an honor to chat with you! What would you like to talk about?"

Jiang Shu thought for a moment: "How about we talk about your former master?"

“We’ve never met the Old Master, and we don’t know much about him,” one student said with some regret. “The Old Master has been gone for two or three hundred years. The elders told us that he gave us a lot of money every year.”

"Don't you know him very well?" Jiang Shu feigned curiosity. "Then... in that video about the Chronicles of a Beautiful City, why did you deliberately ignore Li Yubai and not criticize him?"

“The elder forbids us from cursing,” another student said earnestly. “Actually, I secretly cursed and got whipped by the elder. In my eyes, those ordinary mortals are all unworthy of you, the female lead!”

Jiang Shu was somewhat surprised: "You know the female lead... is me?"

"That's what the dean said." Another student revealed, "The dean also said, don't be too harsh on those male protagonists. Even though they don't even deserve a single hair of yours, they are all very rich and may become our clan's money bag in the future."

Jiang Shu: "..."

What the hell is this money bag?! Even she, as the sugar daddy, didn't dare to dream of such a thing, yet this tribe doesn't know how to be polite at all!

"Then tell me what you know," Jiang Shu changed the subject. "Anything about the new master, the old master, or those thugs from Misty Continent, anything. Whoever tells the most juicy gossip, I'll be their best friend at school." "Hiss—"

A series of gasps filled the air!

Then came one unverified revelation after another:
"I heard from the elders that the former master was playing role-playing games in China. Nineteen years ago, when the Grand Elder went to China to find him, he saw him holding a baby and acting as a babysitter..."

Jiang Shu froze for a moment!
She suddenly looked at the person who spoke: "Former master, a stay-at-home dad? Are you sure it's the former master, and not the former master's father?"

"Where did the former master get a father?" the man asked blankly. "The former master's father died in a great war more than a thousand years ago..."

"Died more than a thousand years ago?" Jiang Shu was even more bewildered. "Then how was your former master born when he was only thirty years old?"

“That’s not right. Our former master was also over a thousand years old. But I heard that his appearance hasn’t changed since he was eighteen, unlike other elders who are over a thousand years old and have wrinkles all over their faces.”

Jiang Shu: "..."

A thousand "Holy crap" thoughts raced through her mind, but she maintained a calm facade: "Continue, tell me everything you know about him."

Another person spoke up: "We don't know much about the old master. On the contrary, we know more about the gossip of the new master."

Jiang Shu gave a regretful "Oh," and said, "You can talk about the new master too."

“We’ve never met the new master either.” Everyone became embarrassed. “He disappeared twenty years ago. Before he disappeared, he often stayed alone in the main hall. Ordinary people were not qualified to have an audience with him.”

Jiang Shu gave her an encouraging look: "Hmm?"

"But there's a lot of gossip about him. I heard that the new master is also a very good-looking man, and extremely rich."

"I heard that the new master is in love with the old master's girlfriend. During that great war, in addition to seizing the old master's power, the new master also coveted the old master's woman..."

Jiang Shu: "...Who was the former owner's girlfriend?"

"I don't know." This time, they all shook their heads.

Jiang Shu suppressed the urge to text Li Yubai to verify the gossip and gestured for everyone to continue.

"I heard that the new master is raising nine giant pythons in China, using them to cultivate a spirit array, in preparation for imprisoning a woman..."

Jiang Shu asked listlessly, "Oh, the CEO's captive love game?"

Seeing that she wasn't interested, the crowd racked their brains even more:
"I heard the new owner has OCD; he even removes the seeds from strawberries before eating them..."

"I heard that nineteen years ago, the new master tried to take the child from the old master's nurse, but failed..."

"How could we not be able to snatch it? Didn't we hear that the former master lost all his power and became an ordinary person?"

"No matter how ordinary his former master was, don't forget he had the Puppet Master!"

"Hiss—that's right, we completely forgot about Master Puppet! With it by his side, the new master won't have a good time..."

Jiang Shu accidentally got herself involved in the melon again. Hearing a new term, she couldn't help but ask:
"Master Puppet? What's that?"

The students answered matter-of-factly, "Master Puppet, of course it's Master Puppet!"