Xu Bai: The Old Hag Wants My Body (8000)

The person lying on the ground was none other than Yun Zihai.

At this moment, Yun Zihai's face was as pale as paper, and he looked extremely dejected. Even his eyes were slightly cloudy. If it weren't for the fact that they still had some spirit, he wouldn't look like a young man, but rather like a very old man.

Noticing Xu Bai approaching, Yun Zihai's gaze shifted and naturally landed on Xu Bai's face, revealing a helpless smile.

"I never expected to meet Brother Xu under these circumstances. I have truly been impolite." Yun Zihai's tone conveyed not only helplessness but also joy at the long-awaited reunion.

Xu Bai's expression darkened slightly. "Weren't you granted the Enfeoffment as a King? Why are you injured like this? And who injured you?"

As part of the emperor's initial experimental project, Yun Zihai was also granted the title of a king of a different surname, and even a king with a fiefdom.

But at this moment, he was not on his own fiefdom, but was instead taken to the Azure Cloud Academy by the dean, and he looked to be in very bad condition.

Xu Bai believed that someone had hurt Yun Zihai, hence the question.

Yun Zihai gently shook his head. "If Brother Xu wants to avenge me, then forget it. I was not injured by someone else; it was all my own fault."

Xu Bai frowned; he sensed that Yun Zihai's words had a hidden meaning.

At this moment, before Yun Zihai could continue speaking, the dean spoke up.

"Your King Xu, this is not the place to talk. Please come to my room, and you will understand everything then."

His voice was as calm and gentle as ever, as if nothing in this world could stir any emotion in the old man. His eyes held the stars and the sea, deep and calming.

"Alright." Xu Bai nodded and cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Dean."

The dean didn't continue speaking. He waved to the two Academy Academy beside him, who reacted quickly, lifting Yun Zihai's single frame and following the dean away.

Xu Bai followed behind.

Liu Xu thought for a moment and was about to follow suit when the dean turned around and glanced at her.

"You and Wang Qingfeng should keep this matter confidential and not let it get out."

Upon receiving this order, Liu Xu had no choice but to stay put and not follow.

Even Liu Xu didn't follow, and the scholars around her naturally stayed behind as well. Next, Liu Xu, Wang Qingfeng, and other teachers began to work with the people around them to prevent the news from leaking out.

Xu Bai followed behind, and after walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, they arrived at a simple and elegant room.

The room was stylishly decorated. From the outside, the furniture inside was simple, but the arrangement of each piece was pleasing to the eye.

The dean waved his hand, signaling the two teachers carrying the stretcher to put Yun Zihai down.

After the two teachers put Yun Zihai down, they bowed slightly and left, closing the door behind them.

Xu Bai squatted down and carefully examined Yun Zihai, but found no external injuries.

Yun Zihai's face showed a trace of pain because of Xu Bai's rummaging. He said helplessly, "Brother Xu, there's no need to rummage anymore. I was really not harmed by someone else. It was just my own fault."

Xu Bai stroked his chin and said, "I just want to know why you would do something so foolish. Did you hurt your brain?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Zihai nearly fainted from anger. "Brother Xu, your mouth is still as sharp as ever, extremely unpleasant to the ear. I am a seriously injured person, aren't you worried at all?"

"Of course I'm not worried." Xu Bai stood up, shifting his gaze from Yun Zihai to the dean, and smiled, "Since the dean is here and brought you back, he can naturally protect your life. What do I have to worry about?"

The dean of the Azure Cloud Academy, who is he? He is one of the people who stand at the pinnacle of this world. Since Yun Zihai is not dead, he cannot die.

The dean stroked his beard and said, "I have long heard of King Xu's name, and meeting him today, I can say he is indeed a remarkable man."

Xu Bai shrugged and said, "Some things get distorted as they're passed down. Maybe I'm not as good as the legends say."

"No." The dean shook his head and said, "It's even more impressive than the legends say, at least that's how I see it. After all, you've gained the goodwill of Eunuch Wei, the attention of Rising Dusk King, and even His Majesty values you highly. You must be more impressive than the legends say."

Xu Bai shrugged and said, "Actually, I admire the Dean more than I do, after all, I've heard a lot of legends about him."

The dean waved his hand and said, "It's all just empty fame. Friends in the martial arts world, please give me face. I'm just an honest scholar."

Yun Zihai, who was lying on the ground, struggled for a moment and said, "Gentlemen, could you please stop flattering each other later? I'm in a lot of pain right now."

The dean's expression froze instantly, and even the strong scholarly aura around him was momentarily disrupted. He then turned his head and glared at Yun Zihai: "Isn't this all your own fault? You insisted on breaking through to the first level of the Transcendent Realm. I told you before that it wouldn't work, but you wouldn't listen."

"Transcendent First Grade?" Xu Bai was slightly surprised. "The speed is quite fast. You reached this level so quickly. However, why did you turn out like this after advancing to Transcendent First Grade?"

Yun Zihai did not answer, because the dean had already said it.

"What else could it be? It's related to his congenital deficiency. Here's what happened, Your King Xu, let me tell you slowly..."

Next, the dean explained the whole story, and Xu Bai finally understood.

The dean's trip was solely to bring Yun Zihai along, for a simple reason: Yun Zihai had encountered a major problem after his breakthrough.

This so-called big problem refers to Yun Zihai's inherent deficiencies.

Xu Bai knew about this, after all, he and Yun Zihai first met in the pharmacy.

Yun Zihai was still buying medicine there at that time.

In general, Yun Zihai's health is poor, a condition he was born with, making him congenitally deficient and difficult to cure.

Before Yun Zihai left the Academy, the dean had said that Yun Zihai would have to stop when he reached the second rank at most.

If we continue to make breakthroughs, it will inevitably cause a lot of trouble, and now that trouble is starting.

Due to congenital deficiencies, Yun Zihai forcibly broke through to the first level of the Mortal Transformation Realm, causing his already very weak body to be rapidly destroyed.

Yun Zihai sensed it immediately and quickly wrote a letter, which went directly to the Academy. The dean then went there personally, stabilized Yun Zihai Yun Zihai's injuries, and brought him back.

Then came everything Xu Bai saw, including the listless Yun Zihai at this very moment.

"Wait a minute." Xu Bai realized the crucial point and pondered, "Could it be that the Dean asked me to come here to deal with this matter as well?"

He hadn't even arrived when he ran into the dean leaving, and now the dean was back. Before leaving, the dean had told him not to wander around. Could it be because of this? "No, it was just an accident." The dean shook his head, his old but still wise eyes staring straight at Xu Bai: "I suppose King Xu has been targeted by my junior sister."

Xu Bai raised an eyebrow and said, "That's true, but this matter is extremely confidential. How did the Dean know about it? Did someone tell you when you first came back?"

The dean shook his head and said, "Of course not, it's just my guess, that's why I called you over."

"Based on what are you guessing?" Xu Bai continued to ask.

They were able to guess that they would be targeted, and not through any special method of deduction, but simply through guesswork.

Since it's a guess, it must have some basis.

The dean slowly asked, "Has King Xu deciphered the Everlasting Righteousness?"

Xu Bai was taken aback, then realized what the dean meant, and pondered, "It should be considered a solution."

Actually, he didn't know whether he had cracked it or not, because the situation at the time was very special. He didn't even feel anything, but many people believed that he had cracked the Everlasting Righteousness.

"Hmm..." The dean put his hands behind his back and praised, "As expected of a top genius of the younger generation, being able to break through Prime Minister Wen's ' Everlasting Righteousness is enough to earn you this title."

"Although I am very incompatible with Prime Minister Wen, and have even fought with him several times, and the two sides were evenly matched, I must say that Prime Minister Wen's ' Everlasting Righteousness ' is indeed exquisite."

"However, it was because King Xu deciphered the Haoqi Changcun Chapter that he caught my junior sister's attention."

"I know you're curious, King Xu, about why the Everlasting Righteousness caught my junior sister's attention. Let me explain it to you in detail."

As he spoke, the dean picked up the hot tea on the table and poured a cup for Xu Bai.

Xu Bai took the teacup, took a small sip, and his eyes lit up. "Excellent tea!"

Even someone who doesn't know much about tea can tell from this sip that its rich flavor is definitely not inferior.

"Give me a sip too." Yun Zihai's throat bobbed slightly, looking eager. "The Dean's tea is all top-notch."

"What are you drinking?" Xu Bai showed no respect and downed the tea in one gulp.

Yun Zihai's face immediately turned bitter.

The dean added, "Tea tasting requires specific methods and approaches. Hmm... Actually, besides this kind of tea tasting, you young people seem to prefer another kind of tea tasting."

Xu Bai: "..."

How could he not understand?

Enjoying tea...

Yes, it's tea tasting, a different kind of tea tasting.

Yun Zihai, who was lying on the ground, rolled his eyes and said, "Don't explain. The dean is someone who is trying his best not to be left behind by the times, so he is eager to keep up with the times and always wants to come into contact with some new things. But there are some things that the dean's understanding is different from ours. For example, the tea tasting just now, in the dean's mind, we were really tasting tea."

Upon hearing this, Xu Bai nearly spat out the tea in his mouth.

The dean looked puzzled. "Could it be that I've made a mistake again?"

"That's right, that's right." Xu Bai quickly replied, "Your understanding is correct; tea tasting is tea tasting."

Goodness, he's finally figured out the dean's personality.

It's like an old man who doesn't understand much about this era, but he doesn't want to be abandoned by it, so he tries his best to keep up with it.

But keeping up with the times is such a hassle, especially for an elderly person.

This has led to many misunderstandings, such as what just happened.

"So, even a scholar as outstanding as the dean has these eccentricities," Xu Bai thought to himself. "No, to be precise, they are all normal people."

In Xu Bai's mind, most of these truly top-notch masters were very strange people.

In other words, they are aloof and cold.

But the encounters that followed were quite different.

For example, the Chu Emperor was a very cunning old fox. First, he tricked his eighth son to death, then he tricked those treacherous officials hiding in the Great Chu Kingdom, and finally, when Xu Bai was in the Imperial Palace, he killed three birds with one stone.

Take Rising Dusk King for example. He is more like a reckless person who is rough but actually shrewd. Don't be fooled by his seemingly generous appearance. In fact, he has a lot of petty schemes in his heart.

Finally, there was Eunuch Wei. In Xu Bai's opinion, Eunuch Wei was actually the most amiable one.

As for the fool Liu Qingfeng and the Female Daoist Abbot, it's hard to comment, since one is foolish and the other is crazy.

The old woman, a Heavenly Sound Master... well, she's just a disciple-obsessed person.

Now, the dean in front of Xu Bai seems more like an old man trying to keep up with the times and not wanting to be abandoned by them.

"We've gone off on a tangent." The dean seemed to realize that he had strayed a bit, and quickly brought the topic back. "Actually, when it comes to my junior sister and me, I've always felt that my junior sister is a very cunning person, like a winding, labyrinthine corridor."

"Pfft!" Xu Bai couldn't hold it in this time and spat it out.

"Sigh." The dean asked in surprise, "Was my description incorrect? Don't you young people often mention the winding corridor?"

Nine-bend corridor...

Xu Bai thought to himself, "It's more than just a winding corridor."

To be precise, it is a unique landscape with two swallows flying in flocks, three pearls playing in the water, a jade vortex in all four seasons, five dragons playing with a pearl, ambushes from six sides, seven exquisite orifices, wind and rain from all directions, a winding corridor, and a heavenly palace.

Damn it! If the dean finds out what he's saying, he'll probably really kill him to silence him.

Yun Zihai gave Xu Bai a meaningful look, signaling him not to show it.

Xu Bai understood immediately and quickly said, "Dean, let's continue."

The dean couldn't get a clear answer from the questions, but he felt that now was not the time to ask, so he told them what happened next.

As the dean explained, Xu Bai finally understood what had happened.

Before the dean was dean, there was a junior sister who was related to the dean and the two grew up together.

What they had in common was their strong talent for studying, but what they lacked was their different aspirations.

The dean wants to inherit Azure Cloud Academy and use it as a Azure Cloud Academy to cultivate more scholars.

The dean's junior sister, however, had a completely different idea. She believed that Azure Cloud Academy had nurtured them, and all they needed to do was to focus on improving their own abilities, which was the most important thing.

These two different ideas do not inherently conflict; in fact, they complement each other.

The problem is that the dean's junior sister went astray one day. To be precise, she didn't go astray, but rather created this wrong path.

Throughout history, scholars have been reading the classics, but the dean's junior sister felt that this was too slow. So, by chance, she suddenly came across an unconventional book.

It was from that time that scholars began to diverge, and the dean's junior sister led another group of scholars astray.

Originally, none of this was a big deal, but unexpectedly, this wrong path was able to change the minds of scholars, making them more evil and more irritable, and at the same time, their inner desires became more and more intense.

When a person becomes evil and irritable, and has more and more desires, that is when disaster strikes, and from that time onward, disasters occur frequently.

Finally, the dean arrested his junior sister, but to his surprise, she was even stronger than him.

The two fought for three days and three nights in a mountain range. In the end, the dean was slightly inferior and was seriously injured by his junior sister, but escaped at the critical moment.

The junior sister thought everything was fine, after all, even the dean hadn't killed her, but instead had been beaten and forced to flee. In the world of scholars, no one could stop her.

But what she never expected was that there was another exceptionally talented scholar in their generation.

—Wen Xun.

You might not be familiar with this name, but he also had another identity: the renowned Prime Minister of the Great Chu Kingdom.

Several months passed, and the junior sister continued to strengthen her lineage until one day, Prime Minister Wen and the Dean joined forces and killed her in a dangerous place.

"Dead?" Xu Bai stroked his chin, puzzled. "That can't be right."

The dean nodded. "She's dead, but not completely dead. After we killed her, we discovered that her soul was connected to this lineage. As long as this lineage continues, her soul will exist and will continue to circulate within it."

Xu Bai pondered and said, "This ability is quite powerful; it's equivalent to immortality."

Upon closer examination, this ability is truly remarkable, as it is absolutely impossible for it to completely disappear.

When something can be obtained through a shortcut, there will always be people who take that shortcut. As long as it exists, there will always be people.

If this lineage continues, this junior sister's soul will never die; at most, only her physical body will perish, but her soul can continue to circulate.

"You could say he's not dead, but it's no different from being dead," the dean continued. "Although he can keep turning things around, all his strength has vanished. He can only occupy other people's bodies, and whoever he occupies, he possesses their strength."

"However, I discovered that she doesn't seem to possess other people's bodies, but rather shares a body with them. To be precise, she doesn't devour the soul of the person she possesses."

"Later I wondered why she didn't just take it over. I consulted many ancient books and even discussed it with Prime Minister Wen before I came to a conclusion."

As he spoke, the dean's gaze lingered on Xu Bai.

Xu Bai looked left and right, and when he was sure the person was looking at him, he asked in surprise, "Me?"

He was certain that the dean had been looking at him just now. Could it be that the so-called junior sister had taken a liking to him?

No way.

Being targeted by an old witch of unknown age is simply unbearable.

Wait, what does she want with me? "She's after my body?" Xu Bai paced back and forth, saying, "They say powerful people have strange fetishes. Does the dean's junior sister have such a fetish, liking to eat young, tender grass like me?"

The dean was quite old and considered himself to have a good mindset, even keeping up with the times. However, after hearing Xu Bai's words, he almost lost his composure.

This young man is simply toxic.

Xu Bai took a step back and asked, "Really?"

"It's fake!" The dean took two deep breaths to calm himself down as quickly as possible and said, "After our research, we found that as long as she completely devours that person's soul, she will be completely imprisoned on her body. In other words, she only has one chance to be reborn."

"I see." Xu Bai instantly understood. "It seems that it's not entirely unsolvable."

Once the soul is completely devoured and the body is fully occupied, there will be no rebirth. So we can wait until the dean's junior sister has completely occupied a person's body before making a move.

At that point... wouldn't we be completely helpless, unable to call for help from heaven or earth?

Huh? Wait a minute!

Something seems off.

Xu Bai pointed at himself and said, "Could it be me?"

He desperately wanted a negative answer, but the dean nodded firmly.

The dean smiled wryly and said, "To be honest, you are outstanding enough. Not only have you achieved such strength at such a young age, but you have also been able to pass the Everlasting Righteousness. For her, you have three advantages."

"First, you are strong; second, you are young enough; and third, you have passed the Everlasting Righteousness. Especially in the third point, she is also a scholar, so of course she cares more about a body with knowledge."

"Wait!" Xu Bai raised his hand to interrupt, "Excuse me for asking, Dean, is your junior sister a woman?"

The dean nodded, quite certain it was a woman.

Xu Bai pointed to himself. "But I'm a man, doesn't she mind that I'm a man?"

After a moment of contemplation, the dean said with certainty, "At her age, she probably wouldn't mind."

Xu Bai: "(Д)"

This is not only Old Hag, but also an Old Hag with a bizarre personality.

"That's why I called you here. It would be more dangerous for you to stay outside unless you stay in the Imperial Palace the whole time," the dean said. "But if you stay in the Imperial Palace the whole time, no one will help you. Prime Minister Wen will definitely not help you. He probably doesn't even want to see you. Only I can help you."

Xu Bai snapped out of his shock and asked, "Is there a good solution now?"

The dean replied decisively, "No, but if I can find where she is, perhaps there's a way. When I was young, I once traveled through an abandoned ancient site where there was a special method for testing the soul."

However, it's so incomplete that I can't comprehend anything useful. I came back this time intending to go into seclusion and seize the time to comprehend it. Once I have this method, I can detect other people's souls, and whoever has more soul energy hidden within them will definitely be her.

Methods for detecting the soul?

Dilapidated?

Can't figure it out?

Upon hearing this, Xu Bai's eyes lit up instantly.

"How about... I take a look?"

Just because others can't figure it out doesn't mean he can't. If he could trigger the progress bar, wouldn't that be perfect?

Once he has this skill, will the dean still need to test him?

He came to get tested, and after the test was done, he told the dean, and then called the dean over so they could beat up the dean's junior sister together.

Isn't that wonderful?

The dean asked in surprise, "Didn't I already give it to you?"

"Given to me?" Xu Bai was even more puzzled than the dean.

He gave it to him, but when did he give it to him? It was only the first time they had met.

The dean said, "That travelogue only contains a small part of my travels around the world, focusing on that ancient Ruins. I've already given it to you, hoping you could see if you could figure anything out. After all, Liu Xu said you have many abilities."

"To be blunt, I've been guessing what your line of work is, and finally, I've got an idea."

"You must be a disciple of the Female Daoist Abbot. It is said that when you rescued Rising Dusk King, you were taken away by the Female Daoist Abbot, but nothing happened."

"Alas, the Female Daoist Abbot was a genius back then, capable of embracing and learning from all walks of life. You must have learned without any aftereffects, since you haven't gotten into any trouble yet."

As he spoke, the dean nodded vigorously, as if he were very certain of his guess.

After all, anyone would make the same guess, because Xu Bai and the Female Daoist Abbot are so similar, both possessing a wide variety of abilities.

Hearing this, what could Xu Bai say? He could only continue, "As expected of the dean, you truly have insightful views."

He didn't say the rest, because the Female Daoist Abbot was still looking for him, and her purpose was to cure his madness.

He had thought he had been exposed, but now it seemed he hadn't been guessed at all. Thinking about it, that made sense; how could something like a progress bar be so easily guessed?

Because of his similarities with the Female Daoist Abbot, Female Daoist Abbot is now taking the blame for him, which has given him the idea that he can blame everything on Female Daoist Abbot if there are any problems in the future.

Taking the blame once is still taking the blame, and taking the blame countless times is still taking the blame; there is no such thing as taking the blame the most times.

The Female Daoist Abbot was unaware of this idea; if Female Daoist Abbot had known, she would have definitely jumped out to protest her innocence.

"Shall I continue watching?" Xu Bai asked. "What about Yun Zihai?"

At this moment, Yun Zihai was still lying there with a pale face, looking like someone who was about to die.

"Recuperation." The dean said simply, "I have revised the Body-Strengthening Technique this time, which will allow him to learn it. He will be able to barely cope with the Transcendent Realm. As for higher levels, it will be very difficult. Let's take it one step at a time."

"Oh?" Xu Bai rubbed his hands together and said, "Dean, would you like me to take a look?"

Is it the Body Body-Strengthening Technique Body-Strengthening Technique, or the revised version, that can be used up to the Transcendent Realm?

He'd feel like he'd lost out if he didn't get his hands on it.

"Why are you looking at that thing? Even though you're Female Daoist Abbot, you can't do too much of that. That's why the Female Daoist Abbot went crazy back then," the dean asked curiously.

Before Xu Bai could answer, he handed him a book.

"Your line of work definitely requires eclecticism. Take a look."

Xu Bai looked at the book in front of him, especially the golden progress bar at the top, and excitedly took it.

The progress bar on this book is also very slow, it seems to be a progress bar for the Transcendent Realm.

This trip seemed fruitless, but unexpectedly, I gained two progress bars, and the progress bars were incredibly slow.

"Are you sure Yun Zihai is alright?" Xu Bai asked.

His relationship with Yun Zihai was extraordinary; the two had been through life and death together, so he was also worried about Yun Zihai's condition.

The dean said confidently, "Don't worry, I brought him back this time to solve his problem, and for the time being, there are no problems at all."

Hearing this, Xu Bai squatted down with relief and patted Yun Zihai on the shoulder. "Brother Yun, you must be more restrained in the future. A man needs to have healthy kidneys; otherwise, it's hard to get by."

Yun Zihai's eyes widened. "You're slandering me out of the blue. My kidneys have always been in good condition."

Even if a man has kidney deficiency, he will never admit it; it's a matter of face.

The dean chimed in, "Speaking of which, his congenital deficiency does indeed easily lead to kidney deficiency. Zihai, you're now a king of a different surname. Why don't you have children sooner rather than later? It might be harder to conceive when you get older."

Yun Zihai was already physically weak, and after being repeatedly attacked, his eyes rolled back and he passed out quickly.

Before he passed out, he was still muttering to himself.

"I don't have kidney deficiency... The girls at the Spring Rain Pavilion all say I'm great... They say I'm a real man!"

"Indeed, it is indeed kidney deficiency." The dean added, "I have also heard of the Spring Rain Pavilion. The girls there are very good at saying nice things. Even if you are very weak, they can praise you as strong as an ox."

Xu Bai: "..."

Good heavens, Brother Yun has been visiting Spring Rain Pavilion several times while I was away.

Sure enough, Brother Yun looks like a respectable person, but he's actually quite a closet pervert.

He really wanted to wake Yun Zihai up and ask him for details, so that he could explain it to him in detail.

But now is not the time to talk about these things.

Xu Bai stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Dean, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now. I need to figure out what's in this book as soon as possible so I can see if I can find your junior sister."

With the progress bar in hand, he certainly didn't want to waste any more time; the progress bar was the most important thing.

Moreover, this progress bar is closely related to finding the mastermind behind the murder.

The dean nodded and said, "Don't worry, as long as you don't leave the Academy, you will be absolutely safe. Because I will be staying in the Academy for the rest of the time, and with me here, she won't dare to make a move."

Xu Bai responded and then turned to leave.

After leaving the dean's room, he didn't stop along the way and went straight back to his own room.

The news of the dean's return continued to spread within the Academy. The scholars were initially uneasy because of the cracked statue a few days ago, but everything calmed down with the dean's return.

Time passed by, and another day went by in the blink of an eye.

For the past few days, Xu Bai has stayed indoors, never leaving the house, relentlessly working on the progress bar.

He didn't look at the improved version of the Body-Strengthening Technique, but instead focused on working through the travelogue. After all, there are priorities, and this travelogue could solve his problem.

After a day of non-stop work, the travelogue book is finally full.

Tremble, Old Hag!