Everyone has their own value of existence. Perhaps at this very moment, someone feeling lost and about to fall might actually be the antidote for someone else.
Jiang Yaozu’s expression grew increasingly angry, but this anger quickly froze.
He felt Tang Rui’s terrifying oppressive presence. When Tang Rui sensed Wen Xishu was in danger, she immediately released her aura.
Jiang Yaozu wanted to escape, but just as he was about to flee, a voice suddenly called out:
"Yao."
The voice seemed to break through space and time, instantly bringing Jiang Yaozu back to his student days.
Coupled with Wen Xishu’s earlier words, Jiang Yaozu thought he was experiencing auditory hallucinations.
Yet in the next moment, a mixture of emotions flooded Jiang Yaozu’s mind.
Tang Rui’s terrifying Spiritual Power poured in; Jiang Yaozu, at his level, could not resist at all.
In just a moment, Jiang Yaozu was controlled.
Then, he saw an already somewhat aged woman appear in the office building.
"Yao."
The woman gently called again.
Jiang Yaozu suddenly recalled the origin of this nickname.
It was a conversation he had with his English teacher many years ago.
"Jiang Yaozu, you did very well, improved by thirty points since last time. That’s no small progress. I see your effort; keep it up, you’re excellent."
For the first time in his life, Jiang Yaozu heard someone say he was excellent.
"No... no, I haven’t done well enough. Teacher, I haven’t done enough!" Having been accustomed to suppression, Jiang Yaozu instinctively wanted to negate himself.
"Yao, you are excellent. Don’t self-denigrate; not all students can improve so much in a short time."
"Teacher... why do you call me Yao?"
"Because it’s very endearing, and although Yaozu is a good name, it feels a bit weighty. I’ll call you Yao instead; you always keep your head down, but you’re actually very capable. You need to talk more; speaking is essential for language learning."
The English teacher always wore a gentle, encouraging smile.
This was also why Jiang Yaozu later became hopelessly infatuated with his English teacher.
In his life, he felt the need to earn his parents’ pride, to be valuable, to achieve good grades, to be better than other children. Only by accomplishing these could he earn his parents’ love.
But just in that brief moment, the English teacher’s calm and casual conversation made him suddenly realize he didn’t have to worry about "bringing honor to his ancestors." He understood what it felt like to be praised.
However, thereafter, he dared not communicate much with his English teacher.
Because at the parent-teacher meeting, his parents did not agree with the teacher’s praise of Jiang Yaozu, believing the child was undeserving of praise, thinking he was far from being the best in the year.
Afterwards, Jiang Yaozu’s life entered a twisted state where everything in the world had value, but people themselves did not.
Unable to find his own value, he began using external items to demonstrate his worth, like so many others.
He needed to have external possessions, money, and various valuable items to gain attention; otherwise, he lost the meaning of existence.
At this moment, Jiang Yaozu saw the English teacher who once brought him a ray of light appear. Though ten-odd years had passed, the teacher had aged, but in his eyes, she still radiated light.
He said in disbelief:
"Teacher Tan, Teacher Tan!"
"Yao, what are you doing? Are you hurting others?" Teacher Tan looked at Jiang Yaozu with a worried expression.
Tang Rui was also a bit tense at this time.
She really hadn’t tried not to kill these mysterious tales but to attempt redemption.
To avoid any mishap, Tang Rui considered complete Spiritual Invasion to directly control this teacher. After all, explaining to the teacher that her student had turned into a monster and required saving sounded far-fetched.
Moreover, a teacher teaches many students every year, so how could the teacher possibly remember?
But when Tang Rui mentioned Jiang Yaozu, Teacher Tan immediately recalled him:
"Has something happened to Yao?"
This sentence shocked Tang Rui. This teacher truly remembered a student like Jiang Yaozu.
Then, through mixed emotions, Tang Rui felt Teacher Tan’s inner sense of guilt.
If she had persisted in praising Jiang Yaozu and cared more about him many years ago, perhaps the child wouldn’t have underperformed in his college entrance exams, perhaps his English grades would have reached new heights instead of just seeing improvement before rapidly declining.
Tang Rui was greatly surprised.
There actually are people like this in the world, who truly remember thousands of students and truly feel sorrow for their rise and fall.
This made her feel that this operation seemed to have some meaning for her as well. She thought perhaps Wen Xishu was the only good person in the world.
But now, she realized it was not so.
Jiang Yaozu shook his head and said:
"Teacher Tan... hallucinations, how could I see you here, and I really don’t want to see you, don’t want you to see me like this now! I’m killing people! You shouldn’t have come!"
Jiang Yaozu’s expression was grim. Facing his former teacher, he was initially incredulous, but soon felt a desperate resolve.
Yet his steps retreated backward.
Teacher Tan said:
"Why kill? Yao, did they provoke you?"