"Lord Zhou," seeing this strange situation, Gu Xu smiled and explained, "These students of yours have indeed passed away eight years ago. It's just that because they are obsessed with the local test, they forget the fact that they are dead, and think that they are still alive. ”

Zhou Jiaoyu stood in place, stunned.

Eight years ago, these scholars were all students he personally taught-

Jiang Wenyuan was born in a scholarly family, talented and intelligent, and was known as a "prodigy" since he was a child.

However, Jiaodong Province is full of talents. Jiang Wenyuan, a "prodigy" in a small remote county, is not ranked at all in Qiuqiu, and he can't get into the eyes of the examiner.

So he failed the three exams.

The once high-spirited teenager, under the devastation of setbacks again and again, has become a decadent young man who uses wine to drown his sorrows.

……

Wei Ming is a stupid boy from a poor family, his brain is not very bright, but he is diligent and hardworking, thinking about Qiuqiu High School and giving his mother a long face on the hospital bed.

It's a pity that this imperial examination is comparable to thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge...... Some people are not only more talented than him, but their family background is better than him, and the key is to work harder than him.

Therefore, Wei Ming tried and failed.

After fifteen years of exams, he is still a poor talent.

……

He Xiaoliang is even more interesting.

He was originally a young master of a landlord's family, who drank spicy snacks from snacks, and also ordered a baby kiss with the daughter of the county order.

The privileged environment made him a pleasure-hungry second ancestor.

But then his father died, and the family fell into disarray.

Those acquaintances who used to be polite and smiling all had a cold attitude towards him, even sneering.

The daughter of the county magistrate also came to the door with a marriage contract and asked to divorce him.

He Xiaoliang was furious.

He shouted in front of the public, "Don't bully the poor youth", and at the same time made a vow to show his skills in the imperial examination, so that those who looked down on him would be impressed.

It backfired.

"Don't bully the poor youth" has become "Don't bully the poor youth", has become "Don't bully the middle-aged poor", and has become ......

It became an inconspicuous tomb on the top of the mountain.

…………

It's just that it all disappeared in the catastrophe eight years ago.

These students, along with their dreams, turned to dust.

No one will remember their hard work.

The names they left in the annals of history will only be the victims of the "Nine Infants' Scourge" -

The "Nine Infants" was the "fierce god" level basilisk that ate a lot of people back then. Every resident of Yishui County is eager to cut it with a thousand knives.

Since it is difficult to be completely killed, it is currently sealed underground by the Great Qi National Master with a charm.

Thinking of this, Zhou Jiaoyu's mood became more and more complicated.

"Gu Shaoxia, what should we do?" He turned his head to look at Gu Xu, his expression a little dazed.

"Let me surpass them," Gu Xu pondered for a moment and replied, "Lord Zhou, these figures you see now are no longer the students you taught back then, but the ghosts and ghosts that were nurtured by their remnants of the Yin Qi.

"Maybe they have no hostility towards you for the time being, but if you let them continue to absorb yin qi, their remaining reason will be swallowed up by evil thoughts, and they will eventually grow into fierce and terrifying ghosts, endangering the lives of the county students.

"Let them be reincarnated and reborn as human beings, which is the most appropriate choice."

Sectarian Zhou sighed and nodded solemnly.

However, it was at this time that a mutation occurred.

If Gu Xu didn't guess wrong, the remnant souls of these scholars should have suddenly smelled the breath of his [Soul Summoning Body].

Although there was still a remnant of their sanity, it was clearly not enough to resist this strong temptation.

The deference and confusion in their eyes were suddenly swept away, and they turned into greed and madness—like a jackal that had been hungry for several days and saw a prey that suddenly came to the door.

A black mist rises.

The yin energy around them poured into their bodies like a flood.

Their bodies quickly twisted and changed.

His face turned pale and black, and fangs sprouted from his mouth.

Then his eyes showed a fierce light, and he let out a low roar, and rushed towards Gu Xu and Zhou Jiaoyu.

Zhou Jiaoyu was so frightened that he couldn't stand on his feet anymore.

"Ahhh

He screamed, his legs limped, his ass falling to the ground, his mind blank.

"Gu Gu Gu ...... Gu Shaoxia, save the rescue...... Help me! ”

"Lord Zhou, don't panic," Gu Xu still looked calm, "I'm here." ”

At the same time, he reminded himself in his heart: next time he sees this screaming Zhou again, he must remember to wear earplugs.

At this moment, Gu Xu had roughly estimated the strength of these scholarly remnant souls-

It's a little stronger than the charm, but it's far inferior to the painted skin.

It is considered a relatively high-level "geist", but it has not yet reached the level of "wild ghost".

All in all, it belongs to the kind of ghost that Gu Xu can easily get rid of.

"Are you so rampant that you can't wait to sunbathe?"

The corners of Gu Xu's mouth turned up slightly, and then he took out a few "Taishang Arctic Town Demon Slaying Talismans" from his pocket, recited the incantation, and gently threw them forward.

The room is full of light.

It's like the dawn of the morning, and everything is salty.

The gloom was swept away in an instant.

The hideous and terrifying remnants of these scholars also dissipated without a trace, leaving no trace.

As if it never existed.

The light faded.

Zhou Jiaoyu sat motionless and slumped in place, his face was as white as a corpse, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

"Lord Zhou, are you okay?"

"I ...... I'm fine. ”

Gu Xu smiled faintly, and reached out to help the trance-looking Zhou Jiaoyu up from the ground.

I have to say that what happened tonight was still a little difficult for Sect Zhou to accept.

The student who had been dead for many years suddenly appeared in front of him, and then turned into a fierce ghost-

Such a scene is enough to leave a deep shadow in his heart.

Gu Xu sighed lightly.

Then close your eyes and silently recite the Mantra of Death:

"The edict of the Taishang, the ghosts of Chaoyou, the ghosts of everything, the four lives are ......"

O hard-working scholars, may you not have to suffer again and again in the next life.

…………

After a while, the two returned to the county school.

At this time, the night is hazy and the autumn wind is cold.

From time to time, moving clouds swallow the moon and spit it out.

Since the effective time of the spell had passed, the red lantern in Sect Zhou's hand turned back into a piece of waste paper and was casually thrown into the garbage heap by Gu Xu.

"Thanks to Mr. Gu's help this time," Zhou Jiaoyu finally reluctantly regained his composure, clasped his hands into fists, and bowed deeply to Gu Xu, "If it weren't for Mr. Gu's vast powers and superb skills, I'm afraid I would have died in those ...... In the hands of those ghosts. ”

Unconsciously, Zhou Jiaoyu's title to Gu Xu changed from "Shaoxia" to "Mr".

In the Great Qi Dynasty, "sir" was not a bad street title.

It is an honorific title for a teacher, a respected elder, or a person of learning and status.

Of course, it can also be used to refer to a practitioner with extraordinary skills.

It can be seen that Zhou Jiaoyu has forgotten Gu Xu's age before he is crowned, and has begun to talk to him as an equal.

…………

Exegesis:

(1) "The morning dawn is shining, and all things are salty." ——Southern and Northern Dynasties, Wang Shaozhi's "Song Four Chambers Music Song Twenty Songs, Its Eleventh, Food Lifting Song"

(2) "The edict of the Taishang, the lonely soul of Chaoyou, the ghost of everything, the four lives are entrusted." —Taoist mantra.