Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 107 Dragon in West Lake
"Instructor Xu."

"Well, what are you doing?"

"As the rain subsided, Dean Shen told us to go find Zhu Erdan, since the literary gathering wasn't over yet."

Indeed, literary gatherings are, after all, proper gatherings of scholars, not street fights.

The results must be communicated to the world, otherwise all that manpower and resources would be wasted.

The effort and dedication invested over the past six months is not just about gaining fame in the last two weeks.

Even the emperor needs to use his second-place ranking to extract the last bit of value.

Unfortunately, Zhu's soul was obliterated by Lu Pan, and his body was burned to ashes by himself, drifting in the stratosphere and disappearing completely at this moment.

Xu Xuan was very confident in his work.

"Since that's the case, continue your search. Take a look around the lake as well. It's not impossible that someone might fall into the water while in a state of confusion."

Several students thought it made a lot of sense, so they went to the lake.

Subsequently, a large number of students received instructions from the professor to begin searching for the person.

Searching for someone by a lake without a paved road in the light rain is no easy task, and many people are resentful.

If it weren't for Zhu Erdan's impressive reputation and his second-place ranking in the literary gathering, even the professors at the Imperial Academy wouldn't have wanted to approach him.

Dean Su, acting as if he were an outsider, began to drink tea.

Meanwhile, Instructor Xu went to the Ji family's teahouse to find Madam Zhu, since her husband had passed away and she needed an explanation.

"What? Zhu Ke Shi ran away too?"

Sanqi felt somewhat ashamed and embarrassed.

Not long ago, the woman suddenly turned deathly pale, the silk ribbon around her neck turned blood red, and she shouted "Husband!" a few times before rushing into the wind and rain and disappearing.

The three of them rushed out but couldn't stop her. They didn't know why the woman, who was wearing a skirt suit and looked very frail, disappeared in the blink of an eye when she ran.

Having lost the person that Instructor Xu was supposed to take care of, Sanqi was so frightened that his face turned pale.

"It's alright, this isn't your fault. Go change into clean clothes, and I'll take you to the main venue."

The three hesitated, still feeling uneasy.

Instructor Xu could only fabricate some lies, and then used his spiritual power to enhance their persuasiveness before the three of them believed that nothing was wrong.

He sighed as he watched Ji Rui lead his friends upstairs.

Alas... A person cannot live without a heart, nor can a person live without a head.

Xu Xuan could accept this result, since Lu's spells after he left the underworld were all evil.

Lu gave Zhu his head; from his boot he took out a white blade like a dagger, pressed it against the lady's neck, and with a force as if cutting through rotten flesh, he easily removed her head, which fell to the pillow; he hurriedly took the beauty's head and placed it on her neck, carefully examining its shape, and then pressed it down.

It sounds like magic, not like a spell or surgery.

Using a silk scarf to shield oneself from a knife wound sounds bizarre.

It is estimated that Zhu Keshi sensed that the boundary between life and death was approaching and ran away. Who wouldn't be terrified?

Once the rain stops, let Xiaoqing and Butterfly go and search for it; at least it should be laid to rest.

While waiting for the three to change, Xu Xuan overheard some rumors in the teahouse that seemed to be related to him.

For example, there is a dragon in West Lake.

How is this said?

During the torrential rain, some people saw a dragon's shadow soaring into the sky above West Lake, after which the sky darkened.

The rain clouds had already obscured the sun, making it almost impossible to see people; people had to light candles during the day.

In less than an hour, several stories were fabricated about it.

The stories of "a trapped dragon ascends to heaven," "a sinful dragon swallows the sun," and "a dragon that has gone too far will regret it" are all told with great detail and conviction.

Xu Xuan thought about it and realized that it was probably because someone had seen a part of him when he was flying through the air on a snake.

Xiao Qing has no ability to fly yet, so she swims into the sky with the power of rain. Surrounded by water vapor, her figure is enlarged, and if you don't look closely, she does have the feel of a dragon.

The dimness of the sky was the shadow cast by the cassock when Lu Pan went there.

Many folk myths originated in this way.

After changing his clothes, Sanqi recounted the story of the West Lake Dragon King. "The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. One should respect but keep a distance from matters of ghosts and spirits."

"Besides, it's just a shadow; you should trust Kogewu."

The Book of Songs, Minor Odes, "Dang" says: "The vast heavens belong to the Zhou dynasty. Now that I have seen the virtuous one, how can I not be happy?"

"This is a waterspout."

Xu Xuan gave his disciples a popular science lesson on natural phenomena, from history to principles and psychology, with various analyses.

Instead of focusing on their studies, these young people are resorting to superstitious and mystical methods to find answers to everything.

If you all think so much, how am I supposed to get along at the academy?
Not only Sanqi benefited from the lesson, but the other scholars, gentry, and wealthy merchants in the Ji family teahouse also felt that they had learned something.

"Hmph, a frog in a well!"

Someone nearby was unhappy.

Upon closer inspection, he was dressed in a dark Taoist robe, wearing a Shangqing crown, with unusually bright eyes, and holding a floating weight in his hand—a highly accomplished Taoist master.

do not know.

However, the aura was familiar; it belonged to that untrained retainer from the Ji family.

"I have cultivated for decades. Even if the scene of the West Lake in the rainstorm was not a trapped dragon ascending to heaven, it was the birth of an unparalleled master."

Even from miles away, the sight of it sent shivers down one's spine, and a sense of impending death lingered in one's heart.

"You scholar, don't waste your breath with words. If you anger that great cultivator, disaster will befall you."

Master Mao was truly terrified. Although his cultivation was not yet up to par, he could still sense the danger that could be so easily erased.

If I hadn't believed that my insignificant status wouldn't attract any attention, I probably would have run away long ago.

When I went downstairs and heard someone speaking so arrogantly, I naturally had to teach them a lesson and let them know what it means to have trouble coming from one's mouth.

After saying that, he felt that he shouldn't be so concerned about such things, given his status as an extraordinary cultivator.

He snorted coldly and went out.

Ji Rui's elderly father was left to apologize to Xu Xuan by bowing.

Ever since he saw the dragon's shadow, this worshipper has gone mad, especially when it gets dark and he trembles all over.

At this point, there's nothing that can be done if someone with mental health issues offends others.

But Ji's father believed some of what the offerings said, after all, he had heard some stories over the years of traveling around the country.

Xu Xuan also cupped his hands in greeting, indicating that it was no problem.

I wasn't angry. The Taoist priest spoke harshly, but his heart was good.

If I encounter any trouble in the future, I can lend a hand.

When the rain stopped, the West Lake area returned to its lively state.

Scholars and passersby returned to the literary gathering venue to see how the competition would go.

As night fell, the three academies also gave up on the search for Zhu Erdan.

As more and more people gathered below, the academy's higher-ups were also in a passive position.

They sat down together and held a second small meeting regarding Zhu Erdan's matter.

"This Zhu Erdan is so petty. He doesn't even bother to participate in the literary gathering after losing. It's unbelievable. I don't know what he's learned; he has no sense of reason."

A bunch of people were cursing her with words like "pig" and "dog," their mouths practically dripping with honey.

In other words, everyone here is a learned person, without people like Ma Guocheng, otherwise it would be even more lively.

The professors who had been confronted face up even worse. This bastard offended everyone when he was being arrogant, and now he's gone missing. He hasn't provided any value whatsoever.

"Otherwise, we should cancel Zhu Erdan's ranking. This official is of extremely poor character and should be dismissed."

The literary gathering never proceeded normally whenever this student was involved.

After discussion, the bigwigs decided it wouldn't work.

Since only one person was to participate in the final literary contest during the audience with the emperor, it would be truly shameful to be dismissed.

(End of this chapter)