At last, Zhu Xuan slowly opened his mouth and said, “Gu Yu, what I’m going to say may upset you. But for your safety, I must remind you; you must know that not everything Wen Jiubo told you is true.”

“Huh?” I felt puzzled. I did not know why Zhu Xuan suddenly said this. “Of course, I know, but at least he is..”

Zhu Xuan interrupted before I could finish, “Listen to me, I’m not sure about that, but there is something you must know. Even if Wen Jiubo didn’t lie to you, I don’t think he told you everything.”

I stared at Zhu Xuan, perplexed.

“Do you remember what I just said? About how the Jade Ruyi reappeared after the nine-tailed fox’s disappearance?”

“Yeah, I do. So, you’re saying that Lingxiao used the Jade Ruyi to seal Wen Jiubo, and he ——”

“No, you misunderstand,” Zhu Xuan said in a tough tone. “I said ‘after’. Do you understand now?”

I frowned.

“The Jade Ruyi reappeared after the nine-tailed fox was sealed, and during that time, even a well-informed person like me has never heard of any news about the Jade Ruyi sealing the nine-tailed fox. If such a thing really happened, then I believe that a rumor like this would’ve spread far and wide among the demons and monsters,” Zhu Xuan declared. “I just told you about the curse of the Jade Ruyi. If Lingxiao really sealed the nine-tailed fox using the Jade Ruyi, how did he manage to stay alive for hundreds of years and now come to trouble us?”

I pondered deeply over Zhu Xuan’s words. Nonetheless, I shook my head.

“What you said is reasonable.. But I still think Wen Jiubo must have his own reasons. Maybe that is the truth, and you just happen to be unaware of it. Or maybe Lingxiao used some evil spells to escape the curse. No one knows. I think Wen Jiubo may sometimes hide things from me, but he will never lie to me. I believe that he has his reasons.”

Zhu Xuan was silent for a while and then he nodded. “You might be right. I don’t have any verified evidence now; it’s just speculation. Since you trust Wen Jiubo so much, then I won’t say anything more.”

“Wait, you still haven’t told me why you’ve come to my school.” I grabbed his sleeve and refused to let him avoid the question.

“Fine, I know you were going to ask me about this.” Zhu Xuan sighed and pulled my hand from his sleeve. “I’m here for the Jade Ruyi. Actually, just the day before yesterday, an acquaintance told me that he found a clue about its location in the vicinity of Yan City University. But he had only found a faint remnant of its energy rather than a clue. However, it’s better than nothing. The Jade Ruyi is very dangerous, and I have to investigate every single possibility.”

“So you transferred to my university, and enrolled in my class?” I stared at him.

Zhu Xuan nodded seriously. “Of course, since I had to come here anyway, it’s better if I tag along with someone who’s familiar with the university.”

I literally felt my head start to ache. “This is definitely the most reckless plan I’ve ever heard.”

“Is that so?” Zhu Xuan tilted his head, slightly acting innocent and naive, paying no attention to my helplessness.

The situation now was getting even more complicated.

Wen Jiubo was not in the old residence; Su Xiaoyun and Shi Yitong were unaware of the situation, and I had intended to keep it that way. However, now Zhu Xuan had come to my school to find the Jade Ruyi.

I felt that I could no longer walk around worry-free in school. With Zhu Xuan by my side, I would always immediately think of the Jade Ruyi and the tangled mess that I was stuck in. I already was constantly worrying about whether my friends would get involved.

Meanwhile, Zhu Xuan was talking to my friends as if nothing happened.

“..I know! That movie is really good, right?” Shi Yitong said excitedly. “I told you!”

“Really, human technology is changing so quickly with each passing day. I’m too old to keep up with those changes.” Zhu Xuan laughed.

They talked cheerfully, but I worriedly knitted my eyebrows.

This was absolutely not the campus life I expected.

“..Oh, have you seen Liang Kaifeng?” Su Xiaoyun suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

“Liang Kaifeng?” Shi Yitong scratched his hair. “That arrogant rich kid? What’s up with him?”

“Nothing, it’s just..” Su Xiaoyun hesitated. She shook her head. “I met him on the way here. I wanted to say hello to him, but he totally ignored me and walked away through the corridor. His behavior seemed really weird, like something terrible had happened to him.”

“Bad things?” Shi Yitong shook his head like a rattle and said carelessly, “Don’t think too much. He’s Liang Kaifeng. That guy is ignorant and arrogant all the time. Just ignore him.”

Su Xiaoyun frowned, and she appeared to want to say something more. However, in the end, she nodded and stayed silent.

However, no one thought that this seemingly irrelevant conversation about Liang Kaifeng at lunchtime would become the beginning of all subsequent events.

That afternoon, just when we finished our classes and were collecting our stuff before heading back to the dormitory, Liang Kaifeng showed up out of nowhere and stood in front of us.

“Liang Kaifeng?” Shi Yitong became vigilant. “What are you doing? First off, we won’t give you our homework.”

Liang Kaifeng looked exhausted. His face was pale, with thick black circles under his eyes as if he had not slept for several days.

“No, I’m not..” Liang Kaifeng argued, but instead of the arrogant tone he used to have, he sounded like he was begging. “I have something important to tell you. Please, I know you’re the only ones who can help me!”

“Hah, we’re busy and we can’t help you——” Shi Yitong was too unconcerned to notice the atmosphere, so I stopped him before he said something excessive.

“Shi Yitong, he may have something important to say. Let’s hear him out.” I glanced at the nervous-looking Liang Kaifeng, and tried to speak as gently as I could. “What happened? How can we help you?”

Liang Kaifeng glanced at me with gratitude and swallowed a little. “Gu Yu, please. I know that you know a very powerful exorcist. My father told me about it after the ghost incident I went through. He said that when those strange things happened in the school the last time, he saved me as well as our classmates. Now he’s the only one who can help my family, can you find that powerful exorcist?”

Wen Jiubo? I became alert after listening up to here.

“Perhaps,” I vaguely answered. “Why do you want to find him?”