For Chu Yi, the incident with Class One was just a minor scuffle. He had taught their homeroom teacher a lesson and his students had taught Class One's students a lesson. That was enough, even Qin Ran didn't come to lecture him this time.
"Intermediate Martial Artist..." Chu Yi finished the last bite of his fried dough stick and let out a burp. His internal energy became even stronger.
The aroma of egg pancakes wafted through the small alley in the early morning. People going to work passed by on bicycles, making ringing sounds.
Everything seemed so ordinary, but no one would have thought that someone was cultivating here.
Of course, this wasn't surprising for Chu Yi at all. In China, cultivation had been overly romanticized as something divine when in fact many people could break through while walking around in the immortal world.
"I need to reach peak level as soon as possible so I can enter Taiji Sect when it opens and then meet my Yan'er." Thinking about that girl made Chu Yi's heart melt.
But at this moment, a phone call woke him up from his daydreams.
"Wang Ling, what happened?" Chu Yi was surprised because his students rarely called him; not even their parents showed up for months because they were too busy with work or other things.
"Teacher Chu, I won't be coming to class today. Can I take leave...?" Wang Ling's voice trembled slightly.
Chu Yi frowned; there seemed to be chaos on her end - she must be on the street somewhere.
"What happened? Don't panic," he said after hearing her sobbing over the phone.
"Teacher...I got into an accident." Wang Ling sat by the side of road where she'd been sent back home yesterday by her father before being driven back to school early this morning by another driver.
Little did she know that a cement truck had overturned while turning and landed on her car. The driver died instantly, but Wang Ling felt a force blocking in front of her, which saved her life.
She suddenly remembered the jade pendant Chu Yi gave her; it was full of cracks when she touched it.
"As long as you're okay, stay where you are and contact your family. I'll talk to you and make sure you don't wander around on the road," Chu Yi comforted her with a hint of anger flashing in his eyes.
He had already figured out that someone was behind Wang Ling's accident. It must have been brewing for some time before erupting today into such a disaster - that's why he gave her the jade pendant.
"When I left Earth in my previous life, I was just an ordinary person who didn't know about the underground world here. Who would've thought it could be as sinister as the immortal world?"
"How dare they bully my student? Let me see who they really are!"
Chu Yi rarely got angry about himself but once his family, friends or students were involved then he wasn't just Teacher Chu anymore - he became Judge Chu!
After work that day, instead of going home, Chu Yi contacted Wang Ling and drove himself to Qingle City.
Qingle City is located by the sea and is under jurisdiction of Jiujiang City.
When he arrived at Wang Ling's villa gate there was already a middle-aged housekeeper waiting for him.
"Teacher Chu, thank you for coming." Zhou bowed slightly. "Mr.Wang and Missy are meeting some important guests so they can't come out to greet you."
Wang Ling's family still respected teachers very much.
"There may be something that might bother you later on Teacher Chu; please forgive us if we cause any inconvenience."
"What happened?" asked Chu Yi with furrowed brows.
Zhou butler explained with a smile, 'Chu teacher, as you know, the Wang family has not been doing well lately, especially after what happened to Miss Wang this morning.'
"So Mr. Wang invited three Taoist masters to perform rituals at home... I know you believe in science and may not be comfortable with this matter, so I wanted to tell you beforehand," said Zhou.
Chu Yi had an idea in his mind but didn't show it: "I understand, Uncle Zhou."
Soon Chu Yi arrived at the Wang family villa. Although it was located in Qingle City, it was worth millions of dollars.
The lobby was luxuriously decorated; they only needed to lay down gold bricks to complete the look.
The imported solid wood sofa was grand and majestic. Several people sat upright on it with their own dignity.
"Teacher, you're here?"
Wang Ling looked slightly haggard and pale-faced which made Chu Yi feel sorry for her.
"Chu teacher, thank you for coming to see Ling'er." Wang Dongliang stood up. He was middle-aged and somewhat overweight but maintained a good mental state despite being anxious inside. He wasn't like some nouveau riche who were flamboyant without manners.
"Her mother fainted when she heard the news and is still resting upstairs unable to come out and meet you. Besides that there are some things I need to handle..."
"It's okay Mr.Wang; please go ahead while I sit here." Chu Yi smiled as he sat next to Wang Ling.
In addition to Chu Yi there were four other people in the reception room - three elderly men who appeared slightly older than middle age plus one young man in his early twenties dressed head-to-toe in designer clothes with a smiling face nodding towards him upon entering.
Although he seemed friendly enough on the surface Chu Yi could sense contempt beneath his demeanor.
Wang Ling pulled Chu Yi's sleeve and whispered, "Chu teacher, these three elders are all Taoist masters. Especially the one in the middle - Master Gu Tianshan is the most famous here. My father spent a lot of money and favors to invite him."
"But Master Gu has high prestige; he is kind-hearted and often helps poor people but only charges fees for us rich folks."
Chu Yi took a glance at Gu Tianshan who was dressed plainly like a wandering Taoist with his hair tied up high revealing some gray beard while his eyes were warm.
"Hmm? Surprisingly strong with internal energy of advanced martial artists." Chu Yi was surprised that he would encounter someone like this here.
"The other two aren't as good though; they haven't developed their internal energy yet but since they can become Taoist masters, they should have opened their heavenly eyes."
At this moment, Gu Tianshan spoke up: "Mr. Wang, I observed your residence earlier and found that your bad luck is caused by this painting."
He pointed to a painting of a fierce tiger descending from the mountain in the center of the hall.
"This...this was given to me by one of my clients," Wang Dongliang's face looked strange.
"Mr. Wang, what Gu Tianshi said is not wrong. It really is a problem with this painting," Fan Deyun spoke up. He was also one of the Taoist masters but appeared younger and had a gloomy expression unlike Gu Tianshan's amicable demeanor.
He continued: "This painting appears to be full of masculine energy but actually contains yin qi and evil qi."
"The fierce tiger descending from the mountain has its eyes fixed on nearby villages; it intends to choose someone for food which is not good news."
"Tearing it down or moving it away won't work because this evil aura has already entangled itself around your family members. This must have been done by an expert; unfortunately, I'm powerless against it but perhaps Gu Tianshi might have a solution." Fan Deyun shook his head helplessly.
The other Taoist master also expressed their inability to do anything about it.
"Gu Tianshi, you must have a solution," Wang Dongliang sounded mournful while his whole body shuddered in fear.
Gu Tianhe calmly replied with dignified composure: "The fierce tiger descending from the mountain will bring great disaster if left unresolved; there are two ways to avoid calamity - either you stop engaging in aquatic business or marry your daughter off to Xu Qibai."
Xu Qibai was the young man who smiled at Chu Yi just now.
"What? Is there any other way?" Wang Dongliang became anxious as he couldn't bear leaving his industry but marrying his daughter to a competitor's son was even more impossible.
"Teacher..." Wang Ling nervously grabbed Chu Yi's arm.
Chu Yi saw everything and then patted Wang Ling's arm before standing up directly.
"This Taoist master..." Chu Yi squinted, "what you said is nonsense."
Gu Tianshan was still smiling respectfully but his expression froze upon hearing this.
"What are you? How dare you criticize Gu Tianshi?" Xu Qibai became furious and lost the calmness he had earlier.
Gu Tianshan waved his hand and smiled calmly: "The young friend is a teacher so naturally doesn't believe in the intricacies of this matter. However, some things still require reverence."
"Well then, I'd like to see what means you have to make me believe," Chu Yi figured out that the culprit was here all along.
Gu Tianshan looked displeased as he spoke: "Since it's come to this, I'll show off my skills. Young friend can judge for yourself."
"Please begin your performance," Chu Yi grinned.