After entering the city, Tang San noticed that Yu Xiaogang got off the carriage in a sparsely populated area. Yu Xiaogang looked around cautiously, and after confirming that no one was paying attention to him, he removed the mask he had been wearing and blended into the crowd.
Tang San didn't follow too closely, as the tracking powder would last for a while. As long as the effect hadn't worn off, he wasn't worried about losing the trail.
He observed as Yu Xiaogang first bought a large number of daily necessities and, after some disguising, began asking questions at several well-known medical shops in the city.
This puzzled Tang San. He couldn't figure out what Yu Xiaogang was doing, as he neither entered the shops nor bought anything. He only asked a few questions before leaving and moving on to the next shop.
Finally, Tang San couldn't hold back any longer. After Yu Xiaogang left another shop, Tang San approached one of the shopkeepers.
"Excuse me, what was that person asking about? I saw him at another medical shop earlier," Tang San asked, feigning curiosity while pointing at Yu Xiaogang's still-visible back.
"Oh, that gentleman? He was asking our soul master about the cost of in-home medical treatment and whether they had experience with bone-setting. He's probably got an injured companion or family member who can't come to the shop," the shop attendant replied casually. He was used to all sorts of strange inquiries in his line of work.
This sort of thing wasn't uncommon in Heaven Dou City. Many nobles who couldn't afford to keep a soul master healer on retainer would pay for in-home treatment, so it wasn't anything unusual.
After explaining, the attendant looked at Tang San with a businesslike smile.
"Young man, it sounds like you've visited a lot of medical shops. Would you like to give ours a try? Our soul master is quite renowned in Heaven Dou City. He may only be a Soul Elder, but his healing skills are top-notch. One use of his soul ability, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied. How about it? Want to take a look?"
The attendant's pitch was rather blunt, but that was the shop's specialty. There wasn't much they could do about it, given that their soul master excelled in this particular area.
The attendant often heard the soul master lament that if his soul ability weren't so specialized, someone would have openly recruited him, and he wouldn't have had to open this shop to make some extra money while serving as a contact point.
After all, their customers were incredibly loyal.
"No, no thanks," Tang San replied, feeling a shiver of disgust. He instinctively took two steps back and quickly turned to leave.
"Hey, young man..."
The attendant was about to call after him but stopped, remembering the shop's rules. He sighed in disappointment. Two potential customers were lost, along with his high commission. He wondered if they might come back later.
After being delayed by the shop attendant, Tang San quickly caught up with Yu Xiaogang again.
He then watched as Yu Xiaogang made his way into the noble district. After several twists and turns, Yu Xiaogang arrived at the back gate of a mansion, took out a key, and entered.
Once Yu Xiaogang closed the door behind him, Tang San emerged from the shadows and looked at the insignia on the side of the mansion—it was the emblem of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Tang San pondered for a moment but didn't enter. Instead, he circled the mansion and arrived at the main entrance.
After identifying himself as a student of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, he pretended to be looking for someone but lost his way, asking the guards about the mansion.
From the patrolling guards, Tang San learned that this was indeed a property of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. As for the owner, the guards didn't know. However, it seemed that no one had been seen entering or leaving the place for many years. The property was only opened once a year for cleaning by the servants.
After gathering this information, Tang San thanked the guards and returned to the back gate. He was now certain that this mansion was likely a property of Yu Xiaogang, probably purchased for him by his family. It was usually unoccupied, so why had Yu Xiaogang suddenly left the academy to come here?
Tang San was puzzled, but since he had already discovered Yu Xiaogang's residence and noticed it was nearing noon, he decided to return to the academy first. He needed to gather more information and find out what had happened.
After confirming the location one more time, Tang San hailed a carriage and rushed back to the academy.
This time, as soon as he stepped into the training grounds, he noticed that all eyes were on him, with various expressions. Flender was also present.
"Brother."
Xiao Wu looked at him with concern, as if she wanted to say something, but Flender waved his hand.
"Tang San, come with me. I need to talk to you," Flender said.
Tang San nodded thoughtfully and followed Flender to the side.
"Dean," Tang San greeted as they reached a corner of the training grounds. Even after transferring to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, he still habitually referred to Flender as Dean.
Hearing Tang San's greeting and the way he addressed him, Flender saw the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges and couldn't help feeling a pang of nostalgia, as if time had taken him back to the past.
But he quickly snapped out of it and smiled wryly.
"From now on, just call me teacher. Shrek Academy no longer exists."
Tang San shook his head and replied seriously, "Once a dean, always a dean. Even if Shrek Academy is gone, you will always be my dean, and I will always be one of the Shrek Seven Devils."
Flender was taken aback for a moment but didn't say anything. He just smiled.
Although he was pleased with Tang San's words, after the incident with Yu Xiaogang, he no longer cared about what others said. What mattered was what they did, right?
"Suit yourself. It's just a title—it doesn't matter."
Tang San was somewhat surprised as he looked up at the dean, who seemed different from how he remembered him. He nodded but didn't continue speaking, waiting instead for what would come next.
Flender didn't keep him waiting for long. After briefly adjusting his emotions, he looked at Tang San again.
"Tang San, I assume you already know about this?"
"Know about what?"
Tang San looked at Flender, completely confused, not understanding what he was hinting at.
"Hmm? Weren't you just with Yu Xiaogang? Didn't he tell you that he's been dismissed from the academy?"
Flender asked in surprise.
"Dismissed?"
Tang San exclaimed in shock, noticing that Flender was now using Yu Xiaogang's full name instead of addressing him as Grandmaster.
"What about the matter he mentioned to me earlier?"
Tang San couldn't help but think of the task Yu Xiaogang had set out to accomplish.
Flender's eyes flickered slightly. As expected, his disciple didn't disappoint him. Upon hearing the news of his teacher's dismissal, Tang San's first question wasn't about Yu Xiaogang's situation but whether the task had been completed. This was a true master-disciple relationship.
Flender controlled his expression, not showing any obvious emotions, and continued, "I thought he would have told you by now. Yu Xiaogang was dismissed because of that very matter."
"Before he went, I also approached Qin Ming about it. However, to my surprise, one of the academy's board elders, Zhi Ling, was present and overheard our conversation. He stayed hidden until Yu Xiaogang brought Yu Tianheng to see him."
"The key issue was that the control-type soul master in Team One is Zhi Ling's nephew. He believed we were engaging in unfair competition."
"Moreover, during the process, Yu Xiaogang said some rather inappropriate things. I won't go into details, but I think you can guess the outcome."
At this point, Flender couldn't help but shake his head. They had run into a brick wall. He had hoped this matter would succeed.
"This..."
Tang San clenched his fists. This was incredibly unlucky. Moreover, didn't Yu Xiaogang do any background checks before proposing his plan?
He had raised Tang San's hopes, only to dash them at the last moment. This was more painful than having no hope at all.
Flender calmly observed Tang San's reaction. In his mind, he judged Tang San harshly. His resolve to distance himself from someone he now saw as cold-hearted grew even stronger.
Tang San took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the anger rising within him. Realizing his reaction wasn't appropriate, he quickly looked toward Flender.
"Thank you, Dean. Although the plan failed, I will never forget your kindness. Also, what about my teacher? Is he alright?"
A well-timed expression of concern appeared on his face, along with a hint of attachment to Yu Xiaogang.
Ha, Flender sneered inwardly. His acting skills were truly inherited from his teacher. If you like acting, I'll play along.
"Weren't you just with him?"
Flender asked again, bringing up the question Tang San had yet to answer.
"No, but I did see him earlier. After he returned, he asked me for some money, saying he needed it to smooth things over, then he hurried off."
"After he left, I worried that the money might not be enough, so I went after him but couldn't find him. Thinking it was nearly noon, I came back, hoping he might return here."
Instinctively, Tang San kept Yu Xiaogang's whereabouts a secret. His intuition told him that it was best not to let Flender know about them.
"Hmm?"
This time, it was Flender's turn to be stunned. He looked at Tang San with a hint of pity.
From Flender's perspective, knowing Yu Xiaogang as he did, that guy had probably run away again. And before leaving, he had thoroughly deceived his one and only disciple.
Even if they were similar types of people, it seemed Tang San was still far behind Yu Xiaogang in terms of cunning. But why did he find this somewhat amusing? No, he had to hold it in—after all, Tang San was still his student.
"Did he say anything to you before leaving?"
Flender asked, preparing to help Tang Hao track down Yu Xiaogang. He hadn't forgotten the look Yu Xiaogang gave him before leaving.
There was nothing he could do to Yu Xiaogang, but Tang Hao was different. Moreover, how could the main culprit be allowed to escape? He had fulfilled his promise, but given Tang Hao's unpredictable behavior, who knew if he might take out his anger on him?
"Before he left, my teacher told me to trust him no matter what happens," Tang San replied honestly.
"Alright."
Flender gave up on further questioning. It seemed Yu Xiaogang had done some work before leaving, and it would be difficult to get any useful information from Tang San.
"Forget it. Just focus on your training," Flender said, preparing to let Tang San go. Then, as if remembering something, he added, "Tang San, there's something I probably shouldn't say, but as your former dean and now your teacher, I have to give you a word of advice: Don't trust Yu Xiaogang too much."
"Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you—I've cut ties with him. From now on, we're strangers."
Flender saw that Tang San was about to argue and patted him on the shoulder before leaving the training grounds.
He still needed to find that guy. Even if it was just to deal with Tang Hao, he had to make an effort.
As for Tang San, he had already given his warning. Besides, this kid wasn't easy to deal with, and he had strong backing. Whatever happened next wasn't his concern. If things escalated, so be it—just as long as he didn't get caught in the crossfire.
However, Flender didn't see the ever-changing expression on Tang San's face after he left.