Peerless Bodyguard of a Stunning Beauty

At that moment, the assistant waved to everyone. ”I finally found you guys! I was scared to death on my way here...”

Seeing that it was the assistant, the three beauties immediately stepped out from behind Zhao Rong. Lili looked at his tattered clothes and asked, ”Assistant, what happened to you? How did your clothes get torn into this state?”

Hearing this, the assistant wept. ”Alas,” he said, helpless and distraught, ”I encountered a lecherous ghost on the way, and I was... assaulted...”

When she heard that the assistant had been assaulted by a ghost, Yu Lan’s interest was immediately piqued. Staring at his lower half, she asked, ”What’s it like to... do it with a ghost? Can you climax?”

Recalling the unbearable scene, the assistant said with heartache, ”The foreplay was too long, and the main event was too short. I just felt a shiver, and then the whole battle was over...”

Xuelian noticed the hickey on his neck and exclaimed, ”Assistant, you’re amazing! To think you actually did it with a ghost! You’re definitely the first person in the world to try that. You must have broken a Guinness World Record for... well, you know.”

The assistant sighed, looking exhausted. ”Does anyone have a drink in their luggage? Sprite or Red Bull would be great. I feel like I’m completely drained...”

Seeing his weak state, Zhao Rong immediately took out a can of Red Bull from his suitcase and tossed it to him. ”Drink this and perk up. Then follow us to the Ghost Hunting Academy to check in.”

After speaking, Zhao Rong took out a new set of clothes from his suitcase for the assistant. ”Take off your clothes and put these on. Otherwise, you’ll definitely be laughed at when we get to the academy.”

After drinking the Red Bull, the assistant took off his ragged clothes and changed into the new ones Zhao Rong had given him. As the assistant was changing, Zhao Rong was shocked to see a dark patch on his chest.

He immediately became concerned and called out to Wang Huazi. ”Huazi, are you there? I need your help.” As he spoke, Zhao Rong gently touched his Taoist robe three times.

Hearing the summons, Wang Huazi responded softly, ”I’m here, Master. What is it?”

Zhao Rong moved to the side and lowered his voice. ”The assistant was just assaulted by a female ghost, and now a dark patch has appeared on his chest. Is it serious? He isn’t poisoned and close to death, is he?”

Hearing that the assistant had been violated by a female ghost and was now sporting a dark patch on his chest, Wang Huazi had to suppress a laugh. Trying to sound serious, she replied, ”The assistant has been poisoned by corpse venom, but it’s not a major problem. He can be cured with the antidote, a Barrier-Breaking Pill.”

Hearing the words ”corpse venom,” Zhao Rong was reminded of the time the assistant had been poisoned by zombie venom. He asked Wang Huazi, ”How long before the corpse venom takes effect? He won’t turn into a malevolent ghost because of it, will he?”

Wang Huazi shook her head. ”A person only risks turning into a ghost if they are bitten by one. In this case, the assistant was merely assaulted, not bitten. So, he won’t become a ghost. He’ll only fall into a prolonged coma when the corpse venom flares up.”

Anxious about the possibility of the assistant falling into a coma, Zhao Rong hurriedly asked, ”Then how do you make the Barrier-Breaking Pill? What ingredients does it require?”

”The Barrier-Breaking Pill is quite easy to concoct,” Wang Huazi explained, ”but its ingredients are not so easy to find. You only need two things: the first is a Demon Crystal from a toad spirit, and the second is Corpse Oil.”

Zhao Rong was pleasantly surprised to hear ”toad spirit’s Demon Crystal.” He promptly took two Demon Crystals out of his Magic Ring. ”A while ago at Xijing University, I killed two toad spirits and got their Demon Crystals. I never thought they’d come in handy today! But where do I get Corpse Oil?”

Wang Huazi pointed toward the nearby Ghost Hunting Academy. ”Any place that teaches ghost catching is bound to have Corpse Oil. You should search their laboratory. You’ll probably find some there.”

Hearing this, Zhao Rong nodded. He thanked Wang Huazi and walked over to the assistant. ”Don’t be afraid, Assistant. Even though the female ghost assaulted you and infected you with corpse venom, I know how to make the Barrier-Breaking Pill to save you.”

At the mention of being infected with corpse venom, the assistant fell to the ground in fright. ”Last time, a zombie bit me, and I was infected with zombie venom! This time, a female ghost assaults me, and I get infected with corpse venom! Why am I, the assistant, so damned unlucky?”

Hearing he was infected, the three beauties immediately took a step back, keeping their distance. ”Assistant, why are you always the unlucky one?”

The assistant slapped himself across the mouth and said self-deprecatingly, ”It’s fate. It’s all fate. I, the assistant, was born under an ill-fated star...”

Seeing him giving up on himself, Zhao Rong stepped forward, helped him up, and gave him a hug to comfort him. ”Don’t be afraid, Assistant. Once we get to the Ghost Hunting Academy, I’ll go straight to the lab to ’borrow’ some Corpse Oil. Then I’ll combine it with my toad spirit Demon Crystals to make the Barrier-Breaking Pill for you. You’ll definitely recover.”

Zhao Rong’s encouragement helped the assistant regain some confidence. Wiping away his tears, he looked at Zhao Rong and said, ”Alright, Brother Zhao Rong, I’ll listen to you. From now on, I will strive to defy destiny and change my fate! I’ll turn from an unlucky oaf into a lucky star!”

With that, the assistant followed Zhao Rong and the three beauties toward the nearby Ghost Hunting Academy.

When the five of them arrived at the entrance, they saw that the so-called academy was just an ordinary house. The front door stood wide open, a single lantern hanging from the eaves, swinging back and forth in the wind and flickering in and out of sight.

Zhao Rong stared at the building and said in disbelief, ”Damn, I thought the Ghost Hunting Academy would be a big sect, like we imagined. Who would have thought it’d be a residential building that looks like a courtyard house?”

Lili also found it a bit eerie. ”Whoa, this Ghost Hunting Academy looks kind of like a haunted house.”

As they were marveling at the academy’s mysterious, simple, yet antiquated charm, several Taoists suddenly appeared at the entrance carrying lanterns. ”How delightful to have ghost catchers arriving from afar!” one of them greeted the group. ”Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome to you all!”

The sudden appearance of the Ghost Catching Taoist Priests gave Zhao Rong and his group quite a fright. Recovering, Zhao Rong addressed the welcoming party politely. ”Greetings, reverend sirs. We have come to the Ghost Hunting Academy to study and further our skills.” As he spoke, he handed them the letter of introduction handwritten by the Chairman.

After taking the letter, the Taoists looked at each other and smiled. ”There’s no need for such formalities. In fact, we’re new students here ourselves. We just arrived to study ghost catching, and we haven’t been here long. You don’t need to call us Taoist priests. Just call us classmates.”

Hearing the Ghost Catching Taoist Priests call themselves classmates, Zhao Rong instantly relaxed. He walked into the Ghost Hunting Academy with the three women and the assistant, politely greeting each classmate as he passed.

After stepping inside, Zhao Rong looked at the ring of humble, tile-roofed houses and couldn’t help but ask himself, You’ve got to be kidding me. This tiny little courtyard is the legendary, world-famous Ghost Hunting Academy of Xijing City?

The assistant scratched the back of his head, half-believing and half-doubting. ”Is this really the Ghost Hunting Academy? Did we come to the wrong place?”

Lili pulled out her phone, opened a map app, and confirmed their location. ”Nope, we’re in the right place. This is the Ghost Hunting Academy in Wang Family Village.”

Xuelian surveyed the surroundings, counting the simple buildings. ”A humble gate plus... one, two, three, four, five rooms? This is the so-called Ghost Hunting Academy? Doesn’t that fall a bit short of its reputation?”

Yu Lan was already searching for the academy on an online encyclopedia. Reading from her phone, she said, ”The encyclopedia entry says the Ghost Hunting Academy covers over a thousand acres, has tens of thousands of students and faculty, and was built with an investment of over a hundred million yuan. But I feel like this dilapidated courtyard could house a dozen students at most.”

While Zhao Rong’s group was still feeling puzzled and astonished, one of the lantern-carrying students led them toward one of the houses. ”Our Ghost Hunting Academy has five houses in total,” he explained. ”Each house is one grade level, and each grade has 5,000 students and one hundred ghost-catching teachers.”

Zhao Rong’s jaw nearly hit the floor. How could such a small house accommodate so many people? As he approached the dilapidated brick-and-tile building, he thought to himself, Shit, did I get tricked into a pyramid scheme? The more these classmates talk, the more it sounds like bull. Something about this place feels very wrong.

With these thoughts, Zhao Rong and his friends followed the students into the first building. They went down a staircase into the basement.

The moment they reached the bottom, their surroundings opened up into a breathtaking vista. The basement was not a basement at all, but an intricate, sprawling underground world, complete with its own mountains and rivers. It was an enchanting subterranean realm.

In an instant, Zhao Rong understood. The main campus of the Ghost Hunting Academy was located underground. The five shabby, tile-roofed houses on the surface were just a facade. It was truly a case of ”rotten on the outside, but gold and jade within.” The academy was a massive, systematic institution built beneath the earth, dedicated to its mission: to teach, to enlighten, and to guide everyone in the art of ghost catching.

Just as Zhao Rong was marveling at the sight, one of the students pointed at two Ghost Catching Taoist Priests approaching them. The two men walked with their heads held high and their noses in the air, exuding an aura of pure arrogance.

”Classmate,” the student whispered, ”those two are the most formidable Taoist priests in the first grade. When they get here, you have to be especially respectful. Bow and greet them, because they’re in charge of teaching all the first-grade students ghost-catching spells.”

He leaned in closer. ”Also, they’re both extremely petty. If you accidentally offend them... you see that old man over there sweeping the latrines? He made the mistake of offending them. They crippled his Martial Arts and condemned him to sweep toilets for the rest of his life.”

Hearing this, Zhao Rong sucked in a sharp breath. When those two get here, I’d better be on my best behavior. Otherwise, the consequences could be dire.

But before he could even finish the thought, he realized that the two Ghost Catching Taoist Priests walking toward him looked incredibly familiar.

His eyes widened in shock.

They were none other than the Three-One Ghost Catching Taoist Priest and the Quanzhen Ghost Catching Taoist Priest—the very same two he had thrashed on the sports field at Xijing University.