Peerless Bodyguard of a Stunning Beauty

By the time Zhao Rong’s group and the Vice Dean arrived at the Ghost Hunting Academy, it was already daylight. The gatekeeper was flabbergasted to see Zhao Rong, his assistant, and the three beautiful women return safely.

Gatekeeper Xiao Hou was one of the spies Dean Zhao Bo had placed within the Ghost Hunting Academy. Therefore, he knew very well that none of the students sent by the Dean to capture Fierce Ghost East City and the female ghost Xiaomin had ever come back alive. But how could Zhao Rong, his assistant, and the three beauties in front of him have returned?

Just as Gatekeeper Xiao Hou was rubbing his eyes in astonishment, the assistant stepped forward and kicked the gate. ”Gatekeeper, open up! We’re back!”

Gatekeeper Xiao Hou did not open the gate. Instead, he stared at them in shock and asked, ”This is impossible. How did you... come back alive?”

Hearing this, the assistant immediately cursed, ”Damn it! My coming back is a good thing! Why does it sound like a bad thing coming from you?”

Lili also looked at the gatekeeper, speaking with incredulity. ”We came back alive. Aren’t you going to welcome us?”

Gatekeeper Xiao Hou shook his head, ducked into the guardhouse, and dialed the landline. ”Quick, inform the Dean! Zhao Rong and the others… they actually came back alive!”

Hearing the gatekeeper, Zhao Rong turned to look at him and said, ”Young man, you don’t need to inform the Dean. He’s already dead.”

At those words, the gatekeeper put down the phone, his voice filled with disbelief. ”Zhao Rong, what kind of joke is that? The Dean is the most formidable ghost hunter around here! Even if everyone else in the Ghost Hunting Academy died, the Dean couldn’t possibly die!”

With that, the gatekeeper ignored him and continued to dial the Dean’s secretary. The secretary told him over the phone, ”The Dean hasn’t returned yet. Why don’t you try calling the Four Great Ghost-Hunting Instructors first?”

The gatekeeper knew that within the Ghost Hunting Academy, aside from Dean Zhao Bo, the most influential people were the Four Great Ghost-Hunting Instructors. So, he immediately called one of them: the Laoshan Ghost-Hunting Instructor.

At that moment, the Laoshan Instructor was in bed with a woman. Jarred awake by the phone, he cursed angrily, ”Damn it, I just woke up feeling good, my male hormones were surging, and I was about to get busy… and now some damn phone call has to ruin my mood!”

The Laoshan Ghost-Hunting Instructor picked up the phone and snarled, ”Which son of a bitch is calling me so early? Are you out of your mind?”

Before the gatekeeper could even speak, he got an earful from the instructor. He said in an aggrieved tone, ”Laoshan Ghost-Hunting Instructor, I’m sorry to disturb you… I’m calling so early because I have some important information for you…”

Hearing the words ”important information,” the Laoshan Instructor sobered up instantly. He shoved the woman in his arms away and said, ”What important information? Spit it out!”

The gatekeeper glanced up at the people standing at the academy entrance, then lowered his voice to a whisper. ”Those new students who went out on the mission last night… they came back alive.”

Upon hearing this, the Laoshan Instructor was shocked wide awake. In disbelief, he asked, ”You mean Zhao Rong, his assistant, Lili, and the beauties Yu Lan and Xuelian… they all came back alive?”

The gatekeeper nodded and whispered, ”Not only did they come back alive, but they also look… completely unharmed.”

The Laoshan Ghost-Hunting Instructor knew perfectly well that Dean Zhao Bo was Fierce Ghost East City. The only reason the Dean had sent Zhao Rong’s group to capture Fierce Ghost East City was to absorb all of their Yang energy to help himself cultivate and level up. Under normal circumstances, any student from the Ghost Hunting Academy sent to capture Fierce Ghost East City was doomed to die, never to return. But how had Zhao Rong’s group come back safely? Could it be that they got scared and didn’t go ghost hunting last night? Or perhaps they never even found the Wang Family village’s collective graveyard?

The Laoshan Instructor immediately hung up on the gatekeeper and started calling Dean Zhao Bo. But no matter how many times he called, the phone went unanswered. In a panic, he quickly dressed and rushed straight to the Dean’s office. When he burst in, he found it completely empty.

Ordinarily, at this time every morning, Dean Zhao Bo would have returned from the collective graveyard in Wang Family village to his office to begin his day’s work. His life—human by day, ghost by night—had continued with extreme regularity for many years. But today, Dean Zhao Bo was nowhere to be seen. The Laoshan Instructor couldn’t help but feel a dark premonition.

He immediately contacted the other three: the Sanyi Instructor, the Quanzhen Instructor, and the Zhengyi Instructor. Once the three of them met up, they rushed together to the entrance of the Ghost Hunting Academy.

By this time, since the gatekeeper still refused to open the gate, the assistant had already jumped over the wall. He dragged Gatekeeper Xiao Hou out of the guardhouse and was beating him violently at the entrance. Meanwhile, Zhao Rong and the others stood outside, pretending not to notice and calling out with feigned concern. ”Is that screaming I hear? Who’s fighting? Where is the fight?”

The assistant, while pummeling the gatekeeper, shouted, ”You don’t look like a good person, kid! Fess up, are you one of Dean Zhao Bo’s lapdogs? Let me tell you the truth: Dean Zhao Bo is actually Fierce Ghost East City, and our big brother Zhao Rong has already killed him! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll turn over a new leaf and start being a good gatekeeper. Otherwise, you’re in for a world of hurt!”

Just then, the Four Great Ghost-Hunting Instructors arrived. As soon as the assistant saw them, he opened the electric gate and said, ”Brother Zhao Rong, ladies, Vice Dean, come on in!”

When the Four Great Ghost-Hunting Instructors saw Zhao Rong and his group, truly unharmed and back in one piece, they stared at each other, utterly dumbfounded. The Laoshan Instructor looked at Zhao Rong, bit his lip, and said, ”This is impossible! Zhao Rong, who in the world did you get to help you return safely?”

Faced with the interrogation, Zhao Rong just smiled. ”None of your business. The four of you can drop the act. You’re no saints either.”

The Quanzhen Instructor looked Zhao Rong up and down, stammering in shock, ”Dean Zhao Bo… absorbing Yang energy… for so many years, he’s never failed… oh, no, wait. Fierce Ghost East City… absorbing Yang energy… has never failed for all these years. How could you possibly… escape from his clutches?”

Hearing the Quanzhen Instructor, Zhao Rong pointed a finger at his nose and cursed, ”You Four Great Ghost-Hunting Instructors are the four great cancers of this academy! You not only know the truth, but you’ve also been conspiring with Dean Zhao Bo—also known as Fierce Ghost East City—in corruption and murder, treating human lives like grass! Who knows how many new students, who came here with bright hopes of learning a skill, have died miserably at the hands of Dean Zhao Bo because of you!”

As Zhao Rong exposed them, the four instructors felt a surge of panic, but they struggled to maintain their composure. The Sanyi Instructor stepped forward and accused Zhao Rong, ”Zhao Rong, you’re spouting utter nonsense and maliciously slandering the reputation of our Ghost Hunting Academy’s esteemed Dean, Zhao Bo!”

Hearing the Sanyi Instructor play the victim, Zhao Rong waved over the Vice Dean, who was hiding nearby. ”Vice Dean, come on up and tell them the truth. Let’s not let these four keep deluding themselves into thinking they still have a powerful backer to rely on.”

At that, the Vice Dean executed a front flip from behind a decorative rock by the gate. He told the four of them, ”Let me tell you the truth. Dean Zhao Bo has been killed by Zhao Rong. If you four have any sense, you will turn over a new leaf right now, confess all of your crimes, and surrender to the law. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens next.”

At the sight of the Vice Dean, the Sanyi Instructor burst out laughing. ”Vice Dean, you think you alone can challenge the four of us?”

The Zhengyi Instructor also mocked him. ”Vice Dean, not only can you not catch ghosts, but you don’t even have the strength to truss a chicken. Even your voice is as weak as a woman’s. Someone like you dares to challenge us? Watch me beat you so hard you’ll be searching for your teeth on the ground!”

With that, the Zhengyi Instructor pulled a dagger from his pocket and lunged, stabbing toward the Vice Dean’s chest.

Faced with such viciousness, the Vice Dean sighed. ”I’ve reached my limit, and I’m done holding back. I’ve been pretending to be weak for many years. Today, I’m going to be my true self again. No more pretending.”

With those words, the Vice Dean leaped into the air, performing a 360-degree spinning kick that sent the dagger flying from the Zhengyi Instructor’s hand. Then, the Vice Dean did a donkey roll, sprang back to his feet, and executed a 720-degree spinning side kick, sending the impossibly arrogant Zhengyi Instructor flying.

Seeing the Vice Dean, who was usually as frail as a woman, suddenly reveal such incredible power, the remaining three instructors were completely stunned.

Zhao Rong looked at the Zhengyi Instructor, who had crashed heavily to the ground, and said to his assistant, ”Assistant, I know you enjoy bullying the weak, especially the wicked who have been weakened. That Zhengyi Instructor lying on the ground is all yours.”

Hearing this, the assistant immediately picked up a brick from the ground and grinned. ”Back in the day, at the Pursuit Company, I could beat up anyone I wanted. But ever since I got fired, it feels like anyone who wants to beat me up, does. I’ve been bullied for all these years! Today, I can finally unleash all my pent-up anger on you, you depraved beast!”

With that, the assistant charged at the Zhengyi Instructor, brick in hand.

After kicking the Zhengyi Instructor away, the Vice Dean turned his attention to the Sanyi Instructor, who was closest to him. When the Sanyi Instructor saw the Vice Dean’s cold, ferocious eyes, he couldn’t help but gasp and let out a small hiccup. ”Gentlemen use their words, not their fists! We can talk this out, why resort to violence…?”

However, before the Sanyi Instructor could finish his sentence, the Vice Dean shot out a powerful front kick.