Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

Nephalem said, "I think he's either a lunatic or Nocturne."

"Although I don't know who Nocturne is, based on what you just said, I'm going to put this guy on my client blacklist... Anyway, has anyone ever asked you a similar strange question before?"

"No."

"But you still answered me as usual because you have the ability to think for yourself and know that normal people wouldn't answer this kind of question. But the thought pattern loaded by the Gu Heart Demon... has almost zero ability to think for yourself."

"In other words, when someone asks the Gu Heart Demon a question that is 'a type of question that the original body has never encountered before, that is completely incomprehensible, and that requires new thinking to answer,' the Gu Heart Demon's brain will freeze. At this point, it must choose to reload its original thinking system in order to answer the question using its own intelligence. However... if it chooses to abandon the original thinking system and reload its own thoughts, then a faint black mist will appear around its body... and that's pretty much the end of it."

Nephalem doesn't quite understand.

As she jogged, Shenxin wrote something on the blackboard—her hand was incredibly steady.

"That's all nonsense. Just ask him how well-done his poop is. Because of the overlap in the words, this will be assumed to be a 'type of question he's encountered before,' and his mindset will subconsciously follow the past, assuming that 'poop' is also a type of food, thus giving a 'normal' answer... unless someone has asked him this question before."

["In other words, he'll answer you with a straight face, 'I like it medium-rare, that's the best texture.'"]

"That's hard to say. What if someone actually asked? Wouldn't that be a complete waste of money..." Yu Xietian complained. "My way of asking questions is much more reliable. And why is it shit?"

"Then let's use night soil instead."

"It's exactly the same thing!"

Chapter Twenty-Three: Prediction Fails

Nephalem had the same problem as Jiu Yi. The two rushed to the Martial Arts Department's Academic Affairs Office. During this time, Mu Nandong explained the mental limitations of the Gu Heart Demon to Jiu Yi, just as Yu Xietian had explained to Nephalem.

Its biggest weakness is that it "cannot simultaneously carry two thinking modes": one is itself, which is not very intelligent but can still think, and the other is the devoured being, which is complete but has almost lost all thinking ability. When it uses its own brain to think, black mist will rise from its body. At this point, it is basically a useless account. It can only devour the body when it has time and then switch to another one.

"If that's the case... as long as the students who went out the night before last all came to the registrar's office properly, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Jiu Yi sighed, "But to be honest, even if the matter isn't resolved, I'd prefer that some students were a little selfish and kept the matter of the Gu Heart Demon a secret from being reported. That way, at least one less person would die..."

Mu Nandong said coldly:

"Your idea is good, but unfortunately, we are not entirely sure about the abilities of the Gu Heart Demon, so... there may still be changes."

-

"An unexpected turn of events?" Naifeitian turned to look at Yu Xietian as he jogged, and said, "What other unexpected turn of events could there be? If it's really as you guessed, as long as those people come and lock onto the person, wouldn't everything be resolved? Could the Gu Heart Demon possibly break through the Imperial Academy?"

Yu Xietian said, "Apart from the Northern Qin demons, everyone's understanding of the Gu Heart Demon is extremely limited. Have you noticed an 'uncertain' point about the Gu Heart Demon?"

"Just tell me already, damn it..." Even a Nephalem like him, who was honest and didn't care about asking questions, couldn't take it anymore after being kept in suspense for so long. The main thing was that they were running, which wasn't much for their physical fitness, but it was still not a pleasant experience.

Yu Xietian stopped keeping him in suspense and said, "For example... when the brain of the devoured being was being loaded, was the Gu Heart Demon's own brain actually thinking? If not, that would be perfect. But if its brain was actually thinking, but it couldn't coexist with the devoured being's thought patterns, and therefore couldn't affect the body, then there would be a big problem."

There are two possibilities. The first is that the Gu Heart Demon will only be forced to load its own thought patterns when the brain of the devoured person enters a state of shutdown. The other option is that the Gu Heart Demon is always watching and can replace the thought patterns at any time.

"If the Gu Heart Demon can think for itself..." Nephalem immediately realized, "then could it realize... that this broadcast was targeting him?!"

"That's right. If his intelligence reaches a certain level, he'll easily realize that this broadcast is targeting him, and in that case, he's very likely to take action..."

Yu Xietian narrowed his eyes and said, "If he realizes it, then he has two choices. The first is to completely devour the body, transform into mist, and find another master, but this possibility is very low. Because the students of the Imperial Academy already know about the Gu Heart Demon, and the Gu Heart Demon in mist form has limited mobility. If it didn't have intelligence, it might do that. But we previously assumed it had some intelligence, so it's clearly impossible for it to make that choice now..."

"Another option is to switch to his own thought process, control this body to find a way to escape the Royal Academy, and find a new host elsewhere before the news spreads. But that would leave him with a certain amount of black mist... It all depends on whether he has the ability to escape."

-

"who I am?!"

"The Lost Emperor!"

"Haha...it's not funny."

Ying Qin Guan stared with dead fish eyes, looking around. He felt he had a certain understanding of the Imperial Academy. He had wanted to take a shortcut through a teaching building, but once he entered the building and got lost inside, he knew he was lost again when he came out.

Oh, heavens, how cruel you are to me...

"Why build such a big building when there are so few students in the Martial Arts Department..."

There were a few students scattered around, but things were different now. Today's Yingqin Pass was not the same as the Yingqin Pass of the day before yesterday, and he was too embarrassed to ask for directions.

get lost?!

I'm not lost! I'm just exploring the entire Imperial Palace on foot!

but..

Ying Qin Guan walked inside the teaching building. Looking up, all he saw were unfamiliar buildings—in fact, he had seen some of them many times, but from a different angle, they still felt unfamiliar.

"What should I do..."

He sighed inwardly, but suddenly heard melodious piano music coming from all around him.

The spring water gurgles and tinkles, like the tinkling of jade pendants or pearls falling onto a jade plate, captivating all who behold it.

Ying Qin Guan seemed to see a white cloud avenue shimmering with pale gold appear before him. He climbed onto it, step by step ascending higher and higher, reaching straight into the sky, as if he were in a fairyland.

If Mu Nandong were here, he could take out a flute and play a duet with him.

If Yu Xietian were here, he could follow the melody of the zither, and though he could not reach the destination, his heart could be with it.

If it were Jiu Yi or Nephalem here, the two of them would shower him with super flattery, saying things like, "This music should only exist in heaven, how often can it be heard on earth?"

But this is Yingqin Pass.

he thinks.

"That sounds fucking good."

Thinking this, Ying Qin Guan followed the sound, took a step, went upstairs, turned left... and finally stopped outside a room.

He peered through the window and couldn't help but chuckle softly, "Just as I thought..."

Nocturne, indeed a nocturne.

Although he hadn't been at the Imperial Academy for very long, upon hearing the music in the Martial Arts Department, Ying Qin had already guessed what was going on... and indeed it was.

Although he thought that Mu Nandong might also have this ability, he was sure that Mu Nandong wouldn't have that much free time.

As the piece ended, Miss Nocturne stopped playing, looked at Ying Qin Pass outside, and asked with a smile, "How was the performance, lady?"

Although Ying Qin Guan wasn't very well-read, he couldn't very well just give a thumbs up and say "Awesome!" So he cleared his throat and said in a more refined tone, "With the goddess in front of me, I am no match for her."

"Heh..." Nocturne opened her folding fan with a whoosh and said, "Would Teacher Ying like to hear another song?"

Ying Qin Guan was the reincarnation of a platypus, his beak as hard as iron, and he couldn't utter a word of dissent. He nodded sincerely and said, "Of course."

“The woman seems a little tired.” Nocturne rested her chin on her hand and smiled. “If she could have some of the Hundred Flowers Tea from the Flower Shop, it might cheer her up… I’d be so grateful if Teacher Ying could make that trip.”

Ying Qin Guan suddenly became alert, but before he could speak, Ye Qu spoke again.

"By the way, Teacher Ying has only been at the Imperial Academy for a short time. The Flower Shop is hidden inside the teaching building, so Teacher Ying may not have been there yet. Well then, listen carefully."

Ying Qin Guan directly anticipated Nocturne's Riddler's actions and put on a mask of pain in advance.

but..

“Go down from here, through the door with your back to the staircase, turn right and walk 120 meters, through the bamboo forest with only one road, and you will see the flower shop.”

Without a trace of riddles, and as if an old woman were instructing her son who didn't know the way, Nocturne said with a smile, "Since the woman says so, there's no need to ask that Nephalem, is there?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: Roar! Instead of running away, it's actively walking towards me, the Gu Heart Demon?

Even the strongest platypus in the world has times when it can't keep its mouth shut.

Ying Qin Guan left the room in a daze, his mind filled with one thought.

Did she hear that?

Can she hear her own conversation with the Nephalem?

What kind of hearing is that?!

No, the problem isn't whether she can hear, but that she actually heard what she said.

What did I say at the time?

"Do you understand?"

"Really...?"

"If you don't understand, you don't understand. Just ask another question. Don't be stubborn. Be like me; a real man learns to admit his weaknesses."

Did they hear that?

I'd fucking die.

Ying Qin Guan almost burst into tears. If it were anyone else, he might have been able to force another fight, relying on sarcastic remarks to disrupt the situation and refusing to reason with them, such as saying, "No way, no way, no one really thinks I can't understand, right?" But it was Nocturne...

The end of the platypus.

He walked down the stairs in a daze, went out, turned right, and entered a dark bamboo forest.

Nocturne had been watching from upstairs until she saw Ying Qin Guan walk into the bamboo grove. Then, she opened her folding fan with a whoosh and smiled with satisfaction.

-

"We're doomed."

When that broadcast rang out above the Martial Arts Department, "he" knew he was doomed.

If he were to be captured, the Imperial Household Agency would soon be able to pinpoint his name.

He couldn't directly command the body to escape because it was still acting according to the original owner's logic. Unless... he chose to let his consciousness completely take over the body.

But then, the power of the 'father' will be unleashed.

At this moment, there was no choice. Although he didn't know why those people released him, as a higher being carrying all of 'Father's' wisdom and power, he could not die here no matter what.

"Escape the royal palace, seek a way to survive, wait for an opportunity to act, and resurrect 'Father'."

He turned around. It was already dusk. The martial arts area was vast and sparsely populated. He hid and walked along the path, trying to get closer to the royal palace fence.

He hid in the shadows, lowered his head, and strode quickly into a dark bamboo forest.

"Hmph... that Jiu Yi is short-sighted, and Mu Nandong is reckless; they're nothing but fame-seekers. If I were in charge of troop deployment, I would have left heavy troops in every dark corner of the martial arts department..."

As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction. He was immediately terrified and his soul nearly left his body. He was about to retreat, but he managed to steady himself. The place was dark and gloomy, and the black mist around them was not very noticeable. In this environment, even a martial arts student would probably have difficulty seeing anything for a while.

But if something is discovered, then perhaps all that can be done is...

Just as he was thinking about this, he saw the person who had come.