After Feng Xiaotian and the others left, Qi Ling handed everything over to Tang San, then returned to her house, locked herself in, and refused to see anyone.
At the same time, everyone who passed by Qi Ling's room seemed to see a kind of apocalyptic gloom appearing around it, and even birds flying high above would deliberately avoid it.
" Brother Qi, what happened to him?" Xiao Wu asked worriedly. "And Sister A Xue, I haven't seen her for the past two days either. What happened between them?"
"I don't know, but Big Brother's intuition is always accurate. Perhaps something has happened that we don't know about," Tang San said helplessly. "But right now, we have no clue what's going on, so we can only wait and see, and wait for things to take a turn for the better."
Tang San didn't expect things to take such a turn for the better so quickly. That very afternoon, an unexpected person arrived at the Shrek Academy —it was none other than Hu Liena, who had been missing for many days!
When Tang San saw Hu Liena, he was startled, followed by deep heartache, because she looked haggard and was covered in various scars, clearly having been through a great battle.
" Nana! What happened to you? Who hurt you like this!" Tang San hurriedly used his Mysterious Heaven Skill to temporarily help Hu Liena alleviate her injuries.
"I'm alright, Tang San." After recovering, Hu Liena said to Tang San with a sorrowful expression, " Tang San, there's something I must tell you! Then it's up to you to decide whether to tell Qi Ling!"
"What's wrong, Nana? Don't worry, let's get better first," Tang San said.
"No, Tang San, this is very important. You must know, all of you must know!" Hu Liena said, biting her lower lip, tears welling in her eyes, as if even speaking about this required immense courage.
"The teacher is dead!"
"Teacher? You mean, Pope Bibi Dong?" Tang San took a couple of seconds to process what Hu Liena was saying; this was simply too shocking!
"That's right, it's Teacher." Hu Liena nodded, tears finally streaming down her face. "I returned to the Spirit Hall this time to find out Teacher's whereabouts! But after all my hardships, this is the news I received!"
" Tang San, my teacher treated me like his own flesh and blood. When I heard the news, I even thought about risking everything to fight Qian Xunji and end it all!"
"But I know my strength is too weak, and doing this will be completely useless. That's why I escaped from the Divine Court. I know that if anyone can avenge my teacher, it must be Qi Ling!"
"But, Tang San!" Hu Liena continued, " Qi Ling and Teacher had a deep bond, as you all know. Teacher has never hidden anything from me, so if she learns of Teacher's death, I can't be sure how Qi Ling will react."
"You are the person who knows Qi Ling best, and you are also the person I trust most, so I can only tell you this first, and then it's up to you to decide whether or not to tell Qi Ling!"
Tang San understood Hu Liena's meaning. Qi Ling's unusual behavior these past two days was likely due to sensing the news of Bibi Dong's death, which caused her evil energy to run rampant and become uncontrollable.
If he were to find out about this now, Tang San couldn't imagine what would happen, how far Qi Ling would go, and whether Shrek Academy would be destroyed.
" Nana, you should rest first and recover from your injuries! I'll go discuss this with everyone first!" Tang San said.
"I'll go with you!" Hu Liena said. "How can I rest after something like this has happened?"
Tang San also knew that it was unrealistic to let Hu Liena rest now. It was as if he were in her shoes. If something happened to Grandmaster, it would be incredible if he could be as strong as her.
So Tang San, along with Hu Liena, gathered everyone together. After listening to Hu Liena's explanation, everyone fell silent, because they all understood what this matter truly meant.
"How could that be? Didn't they say that Qian Xunji wouldn't dare kill Bibi Dong? Why did he do it again?" Oscar asked, puzzled.
"Nothing is absolute in this world. When there are enough benefits, everything will change," Tang San said. "Therefore, we can only conclude that killing Bibi Dong is more beneficial than harmful to Qian Xunji."
"What to do, what to do, what to do!" Xiao Wu jumped up and down anxiously, almost crying. " Brother Qi is already like this, if he finds out the truth, I, I'm afraid he..."
" Boss Qi, he should be able to handle it, right?" Ma Hongjun said. "If Boss Qi goes berserk, I think we should consider our own safety first."
Finally, after some discussion, Tang San said, "We still need to tell Big Brother about this! Because this matter is too important; many things will change because of it! As our leader, Big Brother must know."
"Then, then let me go..." Xiao Wu said, but was interrupted by Tang San.
"No, I'll go," Tang San said. "I'll try my best to tell Big Brother tactfully and help him calmly accept this."
So, under everyone's watchful eyes, Tang San arrived at Qi Ling's door, took a deep breath, and knocked.
"Are you the Xiao San? The door's unlocked, come in." Qi Ling's hoarse voice came from inside the house.
Tang San calmed his breathing and went inside. Although he was mentally prepared, Qi Ling's haggard appearance still surprised him.
"Big brother, you..." Tang San said worriedly, "You need to take care of your health!"
Qi Ling casually waved her hand and then said, " Hu Liena is back, isn't she? I can feel her presence."
Tang San could only nod. Sure enough, Qi Ling could not hide this matter from him. Even though he was in his room the whole time, he knew everything that was happening outside.
"So she must have something to tell you when she comes back, right?" Qi Ling said. " Xiao San, do you think I should know about this?"
Tang San took a deep breath and said, "Actually, I didn't want you to know, brother, but you absolutely have to know!"
Qi Ling nodded and said, "In that case, go ahead and tell me."
Tang San realized with dismay that his attempts to put things more tactfully were completely useless; in front of his elder brother, there was no point in trying to hide anything.
" Pope Bibi Dong... is dead," Tang San said gravely.
For a moment, Qi Ling seemed to freeze in place, making no sound. But this calm before the storm made Tang San's heart leap into his throat.