Dai Mubai gritted his teeth and struggled to sit up, but the moment he moved, he tugged at his injuries and sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.
"...Hiss."
Ma Hongjun was even more straightforward. The moment he saw Flender, it was as if he had suddenly found someone to rely on. He scrambled over and threw himself at Flender, wrapping his arms around Flender's leg.
"Teacher! You finally came!"
"You have to avenge me!"
"That bastard hit way too hard! Look at my face—it's practically ruined!"
As he spoke, Ma Hongjun deliberately raised his head, showing Flender his swollen, bruised face.
Flender glanced down, the corner of his mouth twitching hard. Somewhat speechless, he said,
"Enough!"
"Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?"
With that, he irritably kicked Ma Hongjun off his leg.
"Whatever it is, we'll talk after we get back to the academy. With so many people gathered here watching, how long do you two plan to keep lying there?"
Ma Hongjun opened his mouth, clearly unwilling to accept that.
"But, Teacher..."
Flender glared at him and snapped,
"Shut up. Go back first!"
Seeing that Flender was clearly angry, Ma Hongjun obediently closed his mouth. Oscar hurried forward.
"Bosses, have a sausage first."
As he spoke, two yellow Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet.
"I, your father, have a big sausage!"
A flash of Soul Power passed by, and soon, two Recovery Sausages appeared in Oscar's hands. He handed one to Dai Mubai and the other to Ma Hongjun.
At that moment, Ma Hongjun clearly had no time to complain about the incantation. He snatched it and stuffed it into his mouth. After swallowing a few bites, the pain in his body finally eased somewhat.
Dai Mubai also ate the Recovery Sausage. With Oscar supporting him, he slowly got to his feet. Before leaving, though, he could not help turning back to glance toward the other end of the street.
Clearly, this matter was far from over...
Half an hour later.
Shrek Academy, inside a dormitory.
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun lay on separate beds, with bandages wrapped around many parts of their bodies.
Ma Hongjun in particular had a strip of white cloth wrapped around his head, leaving only his eyes and mouth exposed. He looked rather comical.
Flender sat nearby, and Yu Xiaogang was there as well.
Besides them, Tang San and Oscar were also standing in the room.
At that moment,
Ma Hongjun had just recounted everything that had happened that night from beginning to end. When he got to the part where he had tried to lift Ye Lingling's veil, he became noticeably vague.
"That was more or less what happened."
"That woman was wearing a veil, and I just wanted to go over and see what she looked like. Then that kid in black suddenly grabbed my hand. I couldn't take it anymore after that, so I fought him."
"Boss Dai only came over to help after he saw me getting beaten."
At this point, Ma Hongjun wore an indignant expression.
"That kid was way too arrogant. Not only did he beat Boss Dai and me, he even insulted Shrek Academy, saying our teachers were crooked and the students they taught were no better! Teacher, can you stand that?"
Flender's brows furrowed slightly, but he did not speak immediately. He might be protective of his own, but after living so many years, he was no fool.
How could he not know what kind of personality Ma Hongjun had?
So, he turned to Oscar and asked in a low voice,
"Little Ao, is what Hongjun said true?"
Oscar's expression immediately became somewhat awkward.
"Well..."
Ma Hongjun instantly shot him a glare.
"Little Ao!"
Oscar shrank his neck, but in the end, he still said,
"More or less. It's just that Fatty said at the beginning... that he wanted to lift that girl's veil and have a look. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen."
Flender fell silent for a moment. Then he turned toward Ma Hongjun, who was lying on the bed. His expression had clearly darkened as he said in a low voice,
"Hongjun, you were indeed in the wrong first."
"However, Shrek Academy has always believed that those who do not dare to cause trouble are mediocre."
"Your fault is one matter, but them beating you two into this state is another. They hit far too hard. That was a little too much."
"At Shrek Academy, when the young ones get beaten, the old ones naturally step in!"
Hearing that,
Ma Hongjun seemed to find his confidence again and hurriedly said,
"Exactly! Teacher, you have no idea how arrogant that kid was! Not only did he beat Boss Dai and me like this, he insulted Shrek Academy in front of so many people!"
"He even said teachers like that produce students like this!"
"He clearly didn't take Shrek Academy seriously at all!"
At that moment, Tang San seemed to think of something. He raised his head and exchanged a glance with Yu Xiaogang beside him.
The next second, Yu Xiaogang frowned and asked,
"Wait. You said the person who injured you had a Bone Dragon Martial Soul? And he was only around twelve years old?"
Dai Mubai was slightly stunned. Although he did not know why Yu Xiaogang was suddenly asking this, he still nodded.
"That's right."
"He looked about the same age as us, twelve or thirteen at most."
Ma Hongjun hurriedly added from the side,
"His Martial Soul was definitely a Bone Dragon. After he used Martial Soul Possession, a huge white Bone Dragon Phantom appeared behind him. His arms were even covered in a layer of bone armor. There's no way we could be wrong."
Yu Xiaogang's expression became somewhat strange.
"Bone Dragon..."
"Around twelve years old..."
Tang San had clearly guessed something as well, and there was also a hint of surprise in his eyes. After Yu Xiaogang fell silent for a moment, he spoke with some surprise.
"Could it be him?"
Flender frowned upon hearing that and looked at Yu Xiaogang with confusion.
"What is it, Xiaogang?"
"Do you know that kid?"
Yu Xiaogang did not answer immediately. He frowned and thought for a while before slowly shaking his head. "I can't be sure yet, but..."
At that point,
he glanced at Tang San beside him.
"Back when Xiao San and I were still at Notting Academy, Xiao San had a classmate whose Martial Soul happened to be a Bone Dragon. His age also matches what you described."
Flender immediately became interested.
"Oh?"
"Could there really be such a coincidence?"
Yu Xiaogang's expression, however, clearly did not look very good. He had evidently remembered some unpleasant experiences from back then as he continued,
"That child was named Gu Ling."
"He was very talented, with Innate Soul Power at level ten."
"However, he had always been rather stubborn. Back at Notting Academy, he often talked back to me and questioned my Martial Soul theories."
"Several times, he even openly refuted my views in front of many teachers and students at the academy. There were also some conflicts between him and Xiao San, and they had fought before."
Flender's face immediately darkened upon hearing this.
"So... that kid had never gotten along with you and Xiao San?"
Yu Xiaogang nodded and did not deny it.
"However, I still can't be certain that the person Mu Bai and the others encountered tonight was him. Bone Dragon Martial Souls may be rare, but we can't draw a conclusion based only on a Martial Soul and his age."
Flender did not think that much about it. He looked at Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun lying in bed with their faces swollen and bruised. Then he thought of how Gu Ling had often talked back to Yu Xiaogang in the past, and the anger in his heart intensified.
"If it really was that kid named Gu Ling, then we need to find him even more."
"It would have been one thing if he had talked back to you before, but now that he's come to Suotuo City, he beat Mu Bai and Hongjun into this state and even dared to insult Shrek Academy in the street."
"Does he really think that having a bit of talent means he can look down on everyone?"
"Being too arrogant when you're young may not be a good thing. Letting him suffer a little and learn that there is always someone stronger might even be good for him."
After saying that,
Flender stood up from his chair and turned toward the dormitory door.
Before you continue