“Xu Xiaoshou?”
When Zhao Xidong arrived at the Spiritual Affairs Division, he was in complete shock.
The crowd was getting hysterical, and it was because of Xu Xiaoshou. How did he suddenly possess such charisma?
Nobody had even asked for Zhao Xidong’s autograph when he became the Head of the Inner Yard Thirty-three!
A sea of people kept flooding into the Spiritual Affairs Division. And soon, it became overcrowded, and people piling one on top of the other.
Of course, nobody had realized that the person at the center of all the attention had sneaked away a long time ago.
Xu Xiaoshou grabbed Zhao Xidong along with him and hid in a shady, discreet corner, away from prying eyes.
“Had I not possessed all these passive skills…”
He shuddered and looked worried.
“What is wrong with you? Why are you covered in blood?” Zhao Xidong asked. He looked at Xu Xiaoshou anxiously as he checked his body.
“There were no fights, and this is not my blood,” answered Xu Xiaoshou, shrugging his shoulders.
He did not want to hurt anyone, but it was one of his passive skills. He could not control it.
Undoubtedly, there were people with naughty hands who wanted to touch him. So naturally, they bled when they got pricked by his human-hedgehog form.
“If it is not yours, then it is theirs?” asked Zhao Xidong, his eyes showing signs of anger. “So you struck them?”
“No, no… Anyway, it is a long story. Why don’t we just drop it?”
Xu Xiaoshou placed his hand on Zhao Xidong’s shoulder and asked, “Have you recovered fully? I saved your life the other day.”
Zhao Xidong was speechless.
Damn it!
There was no way he could not find any way to win an argument with this kid!
: Cursed, passive point +1.
“What’s up. Do you have anything for me?” Xu Xiaoshou asked.
Zhao Xidong certainly did not come to the Spiritual Affairs Division for the commotion.
Even a commotion of such a scale would never reason enough for a prominent person of the Spiritual Law Division to come to the Spiritual Affairs Division. So, he would have come for some other urgent purpose.
“Yup, the Dean is looking for you,” Zhao Xidong replied and nodded.
“The Dean?”
Xu Xiaoshou looked a little puzzled. The only time he got to speak with Ye Xiaotian was because he had miffed Lei Shuangxing so badly one time.
If there was nothing important, why would Ye Xiaotian look for him?
“Tell me. Is the Dean asking to see me for a good reason or a bad one?”
“Follow me. Do not ask too many questions.”
Zhao Xidong did not even look back as he walked off.
There were only two things he feared. The first was physically seeing Xu Xiaoshou, and the second was chatting with Xu Xiaoshou.
If the dean had not given him a direct order, Zhao Xidong would never have volunteered for such an errand.
Xu Xiaoshou gathered his thoughts and decided not to follow Zhao Xidong. Quietly, he sneaked away.
His intuition warned him that if whatever it was could not be shared, then it couldn’t be good.
He touched the iron ball in his arm as Jie had learned how to communicate with him through Spiritual Sense.
Although every line spoken by the puppet child was still “Mama,” his spiritual presence had reduced significantly. There was no way anyone would discover his existence.
“What things had the Dean found out?” Xu Xiaoshou wondered aloud.
Xu Xiaoshou bit his lips and realized that even he could not recall every single thing he had done.
It did not seem right. Had Xu Xiaoshou done so much wrong that warranted the Dean to ask for him?
After walking for a few steps, Zhao Xidong realized that Xu Xiaoshou was no longer right behind him. He seemed to be sneaking off!
“Grr!”
Zhao Xidong shook with anger and couldn’t help thinking what an incorrigible fellow he was!
It was an order from the Dean, yet it seemed Xu Xiaoshou thought he could defy it or get away with making up a random excuse.
If things screwed up because of this, he would be punished together with Xu Xiaoshou as well!
“Xu Xiaoshou! Where do you think you are going?” He turned around and his voice was colder than ice.
“Spiritual Library Division,” Xu Xiaoshou said and pointed in that direction. “Elder Sang had told me…”
Zhao Xidong could feel a headache coming along, which even affected his teeth.
What? Elder Sang told him!
There he goes… Elder Sang told him again!
Did Xu Xiaoshou think he was Elder Sang’s disciple? Was he Mu Zixi? Could he find a better excuse?
Zhao Xidong smothered his urge to beat Xu Xiaoshou up. Besides, he was a law enforcer, and committing a crime while aware of its consequences would only mean facing a greater punishment.
“Is your excuse more important than obeying the Dean?”
“It is not an excuse. Really.”
Xu Xiaoshou felt wronged, as Elder Sang had distinctly told Xu Xiaoshou to look for him after their conversation that night. Elder Sang even told him to rest well first, then to proceed to the Spiritual Library Division and look for him.
Xu Xiaoshou could not defy Elder Sang’s order, too!
“Fine, it is not an excuse. So is the Dean’s order more important, or the Vice-Dean’s?” Zhao Xidong laughed mirthlessly.
Xu Xiaoshou was hesitant, but instead of answering the question, he asked Zhai Xidong, “What do you think?”
Zhao Xidong was about to respond when Xu Xiaoshou continued, “If each of them gave you an order, which would you choose to follow?”
Zhao Xidong was speechless.
Xu Xiaoshou had caught him off guard.
This kid has so many f*cking problems, yet he also has so many killer questions!
: Cursed, passive points, +1.
“Xu Xiaoshou, Xu Xiaoshou…”
Executive Zhao, aloof and taciturn by nature, chanted his name like someone had cast spells on him. It made Xu Xiaoshou shudder.
Xu Xiaoshou frowned when he was asked to choose earlier. Especially when he knew Zhao Xidong had already made up his mind.
And true enough, he saw Zhao Xidong leap into the air. He grabbed Xu Xiaoshou by his neck and lifted him off the ground.
Zhao Xidong caught him off guard, and Xu Xiaoshou had no time to react to the sudden move.
“What the hell! What are you doing? You are enforcing the law through violent action!”
“Hehe, we employ unusual methods when dealing with unusual people.”
“Why are you attacking me? Which part of me is unusual? Let go of me right now! Or, believe me, I’ll retaliate passively!”
“Haha, why do you not try it then?”
Zhao Xidong laughed mirthlessly. He thought Xu Xiaoshou was naïve to think nobody could teach him a lesson once he had attained the Innate Stage.
He was a Grand Mas…
BANG!
A tremendous force hit his chest, and it made Zhao Xidong’s mind go blank. Xu Xiaoshou made a sudden move that sent him propelling into the sky.
“Huh?”
It blew Zhao Xidong right out of the shady corner and he was immediately seen by the massive crowd in broad daylight.
Getting blasted into the sky was a rare occurrence in the Outer Yard, especially right after the Inner Yard’s wildly popular Senior Brother’s Martial Conference.
“Wow, look! There’s a flying man!”
“Wow, can that man fly? But why is his chest bleeding?”
“There’s a cost to flying. I heard that the Spiritual Library Division possesses a blood sacrificial spell that allows anyone who is Rank 3 of Spiritual Cultivation to fly after studying it.”
“Really?”
“I do not know. It is hearsay!”
“…”
Zhao Xidong almost vomited blood. That damn kid!
It’s clear they were not meant to be friends!
“Xu Xiaoshou, how dare you defy the Dean’s order!” Zhao Xidong yelled, reacting with surprise to the attack.
The fury in his voice shocked everyone there.
“Xu Xiaoshou?”
“Is he not in the building?”
Everyone looked over to the sea of people inside the Spiritual Law Division. The crowd inside had heard Zhao Xidong yelling as well. They stopped talking and looked in the direction of Zhao Xidong.
Cries were coming from the bottom of the heap of people cramped into the building.
“Please, get off me! I am bleeding. Who cut my fingers?”
“I have a fractured bone. Which of you used a spell to attack me? It was not so bad earlier, but now it is festering!”
“Help, I cannot breathe!”
“Please do not touch me. I am not Xu Xiaoshou… Ahhhh…”
“Eww!”
All heard the disgusting moan from the random buff guy, and there was a sudden deathly silence in the building…
Zhao Xidong heard the cries from the crowd, and it stirred a calling within this upright and prominent officer of the Spiritual Law Division to enforce the law. “Xu Xiaoshou, look at what you have done!” he bellowed.
Xu Xiaoshou gave him an innocent look. At that point, he felt lucky that he had escaped from the crowd, or he would probably be the one moaning.
“It is not my fault. Anyway, you were the one who used violence. I was trying to defend myself.”
“Huh!”
Zhao Xidong tried to calm himself by heaving out a deep sigh. He descended from the air and his voice returned to a composed tone.
“Tie yourself up. We are going to the Spiritual Law Division.”
“Why?”
“Why? Why do you not think so?”
Zhao Xidong pointed at the bloodstain on his chest with his shaky finger. He did not understand how a mere nudge with his back Xu Xiaoshou could injure him. It was as if he was cut open by a sword.
The kid! Was his astrological sign a hedgehog?
Xu Xiaoshou remained quiet for a moment, then said, “If I am not mistaken, you were the one who told me to try it.”
“I…”
Zhao Xidong realized he had once again committed a lethal mistake. He had unconsciously chatted with Xu Xiaoshou!
: Cursed, passive points, +1.
“I am sorry, but it does not matter anymore. The Dean is truly looking for you!”
Zhao Xidong buried the hatchet. He put on a genuinely warm expression and stared at Xu Xiaoshou.
“What do you think? Can you come with me?”
: Missed, passive points, +1.