When the others heard the assistant's analysis, they all nodded in agreent. Zhao Rong looked at the assistant and said, "You're right. Dean Zhao Bo must want to capture all the good ghosts in Wang Family Village, leaving only the vicious and fierce ones."
Miss Lili said thoughtfully, "But why would the Dean want to capture all the good ghosts in Wang Family Village and leave only the vicious and fierce ones?"
Zhao Rong offered his analysis. "Perhaps those vicious and fierce ghosts are in cahoots with Dean Zhao Bo…"
Hearing this, the assistant had a sharp insight. "I bet Dean Zhao Bo is a fierce ghost himself! That's why he only captures good ghosts and not the bad ones. His goal is to capture all the good ghosts in Wang Family Village and then use the fierce ones to rule the entire village, maybe even the nights in all of Xijing City."
Zhao Rong nodded. "It's possible."
Just then, Xiaomin reminded the group, "At this ti of night, the communal cetery of Wang Family Village becos a haunt for vicious and fierce ghosts. Coming here with no weapons and no protection is just asking to die."
Hearing this, Miss Lili looked at the female ghost, Xiaomin, and asked, "Are you saying you followed us all this way just to warn us not to go to the communal cetery?"
The female ghost nodded. "Before you, I've tracked and warned many new students who offended the Dean and were sent to the Wang Family Village cetery to die. But not only did they ignore my advice, they even tried to capture …"
Listening to her story, Zhao Rong thanked her. "I know you're a good ghost, but our mission today is to go to the communal cetery and capture a vicious ghost. If we fail, we might be denied admission to the Ghost Hunting Academy."
Hearing this, Xiaomin replied, "It's better to retreat and live to fight another day than to risk your lives in the cetery for a chance to study at the Ghost Hunting Academy. Your lives are more important."
At the female ghost's words, the assistant was the first to have second thoughts. He looked at Zhao Rong and said, "Brother Zhao Rong, she's right. If we go to capture that vicious ghost in the cetery and die, it's not worth it at all."
Miss Lili thought for a mont before replying, "But if we don't go, our plan to study at the Ghost Hunting Academy will be for nothing."
Yu Lan, uncharacteristically, sided with the assistant. "But compared to studying ghost catching, I think our lives are more important."
Xuelian, however, stood with Miss Lili. "I think Miss Lili is right. Since we've already co to the Ghost Hunting Academy, we should give it our all. Besides, with Brother Zhao Rong here to protect us, we won't be that unlucky."
At this point, Zhao Rong's team was split. The assistant and Yu Lan felt they should give up, while Miss Lili and Xuelian believed they should press on and not give up so easily.
As the two sides remained deadlocked, Zhao Rong finally spoke. He looked at the assistant and Yu Lan, then at Miss Lili and Xuelian. When the assistant and the three won saw his unusually serious expression and determined gaze, they thought that Zhao Rong, as the most capable person on the team, would surely make the decision for everyone. However, to their surprise, Zhao Rong suddenly broke into a slight smile. He looked at the four of them and said, "How about this? Since you're divided, you can just play rock-paper-scissors. We'll listen to whoever wins."
When they heard this, they were all so shocked they nearly fainted. Seeing that their leader had no better idea, Miss Lili shook her head, looked at the assistant and Yu Lan, and said, "Alright then, let's play rock-paper-scissors. We'll do whatever the winner says."
When Miss Lili and Xuelian won, the assistant and Yu Lan were completely stunned. Tears welled up in the assistant's eyes as he said despairingly, "To be honest, I've followed Brother Zhao Rong for so long and haven't gotten a single thing out of it. And now, tonight, I have to follow him to my death… I really don't want to die…"
Yu Lan didn't want to go either. "The female ghost Xiaomin already said that the cetery is teeming with malevolent spirits and crawling with fierce ghosts. Many who went in never ca out. Since we already know the outco, why should we still take the risk?"
Zhao Rong consoled the two of them. "This is voluntary. Anyone who wants to follow to the Wang Family Village cetery, we'll set off together. If you don't want to go, you can choose to head back to the academy and wait."
Hearing this, the assistant's tears imdiately turned to a grin. "Since there's a choice, I choose to go back to the academy and wait safely."
Hearing his words, Yu Lan glanced at Zhao Rong and also said, "I choose to go back with the assistant."
Zhao Rong nodded at them. "No problem. You two can head back the way you ca. The rest of us—Miss Lili, Xuelian, the female ghost Xiaomin, and I—will go to the cetery."
With that, the two groups went their separate ways.
On the road back to the academy, the assistant chuckled to himself. My choice today was absolutely perfect. Not only did I avoid death, but I also got the chance to walk back with Yu Lan, the goddess I have a crush on.
In contrast to the assistant's smugness, Yu Lan was filled with regret. Was I being too selfish today? A little too afraid of dying? It really wasn't right of to leave the group like this.
Suddenly, just as Yu Lan was wrestling with her regrets, she saw the assistant beside her giving her a lecherous smirk. A shiver ran down her spine. She imdiately warned him, "Assistant, even though tonight is dark and windy—perfect for making mistakes—I'm warning you, don't you dare get any ideas. I can't stand you. I detest you. Even if you were the last man on Earth, I wouldn't be interested."
Hearing the words of his crush, the assistant was devastated before he had even made a move. He said, heartbroken, "Yu Lan, you think so little of ? Yes, I have a crush on you. And yes, I can be a lecher by nature, sotis recklessly so… But we're a team! We've known each other for a long ti. No matter how strong my urges are tonight, I would never have any improper thoughts about you."
Listening to his words, Yu Lan suddenly wondered if she had misjudged him, thinking of him as so kind of beast. The assistant continued to reassure her, "Yu Lan, don't worry. Tonight, I am your bodyguard."
I've laid it on so thick, she surely won't have any more worries or fears now, the assistant thought. Maybe she'll even get excited and give a hug, or even blow a kiss!
But before he could finish his thought, Yu Lan suddenly spun around and slapped him hard across the face, shouting, "You pervert!"
Stunned, the assistant clutched his cheek, utterly baffled. "Yu Lan, why did you hit ? I didn't even touch you!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Yu Lan slapped him soundly on the other cheek. "Damn it, we're the only two people out here! If you didn't touch my butt, who did? A ghost?"
Hearing her words, the assistant was completely dumbfounded. He scratched his head frantically and said, "Yu Lan, I swear to God! If I touched your butt, may my whole body rot away, and may I have a son born without a backside!"
As he spoke, he raised his hands high in the air to prove his innocence.
Seeing his hands held high and the pitiful, innocent look on his face, Yu Lan's heart suddenly lurched. She glanced around nervously, her expression turning to one of terror. "Assistant… you don't think a ghost really did co and touch my butt just now, do you?"
The assistant continued to swear, "I really didn't touch your butt. If it got touched, then it must have been a ghost…"
Suddenly, before he could finish, Yu Lan let out a sharp scream and jumped. "Assistant, there really is a ghost! It touched my butt again!"
Hearing that a ghost was really nearby, the assistant was terrified, his face turning ashen and his heart pounding in his chest. But even though he was scared, he wanted to look brave in front of his crush. He summoned his courage, leaped in front of Yu Lan to shield her, and shouted into the pitch-black night, "Damn it! Which perverted ghost touched my goddess's butt? Got the guts to show yourself?"
After shouting, he felt it wasn't enough. To bolster his own courage, he added, "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. Do you vile ghosts even know who you're dealing with?"
Before he could finish, a voice suddenly drifted out from nearby. "Aren't you just an ordinary student from the Ghost Hunting Academy?"
The assistant chuckled. "Who says I'm just an ordinary student? To tell you the truth, I'm a badass Maoshan ghost catcher…"
After he spoke, he suddenly realized sothing. He imdiately scrambled behind Yu Lan, trembling from head to toe. "Which brave hero was just talking to ? We may be strangers from different worlds, one human and one ghost, but we can still be friends, right? Let's talk this out. Gentlen use their words, not their fists…"
Yu Lan was also scared out of her wits. She whispered in terror to the assistant behind her, "This is bad, Assistant! We've run into a ghost!"
Clinging to a sliver of hope, the assistant said, "It's fine. The most vicious ghost around here is Dong Cheng. Zhao Rong, Xuelian, and Miss Lili are headed in his direction, so they might run into him. But we're going back to the academy. We definitely won't run into Dong Cheng. As long as it's not a vicious ghost, I can handle any regular little ghost or gentle spirit."
But before he could finish speaking, another blood-curdling voice cut through the air. "I, Dong Cheng, never would have dread that soone would actually recognize tonight."
Hearing this, the assistant burst into tears. He sobbed, "The whole reason I chose to go back to the academy instead of the cetery was to avoid the vicious ghost Dong Cheng! How, after all that, did I still run right into him?"
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