Tang Rui’s senses were incredibly sharp; she could hear Teacher Tan’s heartbeat. The English teacher was very nervous at this moment, yet her face remained calm.
Just like years ago, when she praised Jiang Yaozu.
Jiang Yaozu said bitterly:
"Because people without value don’t deserve to live. I need value! I want money, I want expensive goods! Haha, I want to take everything they have!"
Teacher Tan shook her head:
"But Yao, you don’t need those things; you’re worth so much more than that."
Jiang Yaozu’s expression was strange. He wanted to roar in anger and mock her, but this sentence left him rigid.
After a while, Jiang Yaozu sneered with a dark face:
"You can’t fool me. You damned Heart Demon. I don’t have a fancy phone or watch; I don’t wear branded clothes! I don’t have a good job, or a salary that makes others envious! I can’t afford a luxury car! And you dare say I’m valuable! Teacher Tan, you don’t even exist; you’re just my Heart Demon!"
Suddenly, he grew angry again:
"I’m not wrong, teacher, I’m not wrong! You’re making me weak! Just because you used to acknowledge the worthless me! You think I still care about you? Not at all!"
"Today... I’m going to kill you. Haha, teacher, you’re an elite of society, right!"
Tang Rui felt the situation spiraling out of control. This Jiang Yaozu, a supernatural tale himself, had accepted certain theories to a madness-inducing level.
Even Wen Xishu thought they might have to forcibly kill Jiang Yaozu. Perhaps the teacher’s influence wasn’t strong enough.
But the next second, Teacher Tan, despite her inner fear, stepped forward a few strides:
"It’s not, Yao. These things are just external; they can never compare to you. You have your own value. To the teacher, you’re unique."
"Don’t come any closer!" Jiang Yaozu’s body began to mutate, trying to use his twisted appearance to frighten the teacher away.
Teacher Tan was indeed frightened.
But she forced herself to overcome her fear and took another step forward:
"Yao, you’re such an outstanding student. I can’t watch you make mistakes. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but even now, the teacher believes you’re a very excellent good student."
"Don’t do something that you’ll regret for the rest of your life!"
Jiang Yaozu’s hands started trembling, and he became hysterical:
"Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! People have no value! If they did, why am I never acknowledged!"
"Why do I always need to earn grades, wealth?"
"The whole world respects garments, not people! Is the whole world wrong too?"
Teacher Tan’s gaze was firm:
"If that’s the world you’ve experienced, then the teacher tells you, yes, the whole world is wrong. If this world denies your value, then the world you’ve experienced is wrong."
"I’m sorry, I couldn’t pull you out from that world, but please, Yao, don’t immerse yourself in it."
Jiang Yaozu opened his mouth wide but couldn’t speak a word.
He saw the tears in Teacher Tan’s eyes; he heard that even if she had to deny the whole world, she would still acknowledge him.
A tremendous fatigue surged. He suddenly wanted to collapse to the ground and cry.
Yet at this moment, a strange stab of pain came from within his body.
Jiang Yaozu clutched his head in agony, and black spikes began to protrude from his body.
"Teacher... run! Run!" Jiang Yaozu suddenly screamed, forcibly suppressing the pain of his body being twisted by some mysterious power.
The black spikes seemed to grow from his internal organs, a dozen black spikes extended, making him appear like a black spiked ball.
That spiked ball then started to swell at a visible speed.
He was going to explode.
In that instant, both Tang Rui and Wen Xishu realized it.
Jiang Yaozu himself also felt he was about to burst.
"Sorry, teacher! Sorry!"
In his life’s final moments, Jiang Yaozu began to repent.
"Rev—"
Boom!!!!
The deafening sound swept through, making the entire office building tremble, with all the windows shattering explosively. The terrifying atmospheric pressure shattered countless objects as if Qi Blades had detonated.
It took a while before the aftershock of the explosion gradually dissipated, the dust settled, and silence returned to everything.
Until Teacher Tan’s sobs shattered the quiet.
"Yao!!"
Teacher Tan’s cry of grief pierced the silence.
But Jiang Yaozu could no longer respond to her.
In the face of the explosion just now, Tang Rui had used formidable Telekinesis as a shield to forcibly protect Wen Xishu and Teacher Tan.
Jiang Yaozu’s self-destruction was something no one had anticipated.
However, at that level of supernatural stories, even a self-destruct couldn’t harm Tang Rui.
But the complex emotions allowed Tang Rui to feel the immense remorse from Jiang Yaozu at the end.
This teacher, though with only a few words, was capable of awakening Jiang Yaozu’s conscience.
She was somewhat angry.
They were just a step away from changing Jiang Yaozu’s heart. Why would he explode?
Was it really a self-destruct? Was it self-destruction driven by extreme remorse?
Of course not, because even Jiang Yaozu couldn’t control that power. At that moment, he worriedly shouted for the teacher to leave. It shows Jiang Yaozu’s explosion was influenced by external forces.
Someone saw Jiang Yaozu was about to be redeemed, and thus extinguished him.
Amid the ongoing storm, Tang Rui heard Teacher Tan’s crying, slowly reaching to touch Teacher Tan’s head.
In the next moment, Teacher Tan fainted.
"Let’s take her back. She’s a good teacher; she’ll just treat it all as a dream." Tang Rui said somewhat wearily.
Wen Xishu could hear the suppressed anger within Tang Rui.
He felt regret:
"I’m sorry, Tang Rui, I... I didn’t expect things to turn out this way."
Tang Rui shook her head:
"It’s not your fault. You just did what I wanted to do. Now I’m sure there’s a huge Barrier in Jiangcheng, and someone here can see our every move."
"All those villains we created... this person can decide their life and death."
"I need to find this person. I want to kill her."
Because those twisted by a lack of love are actually the easiest to save—by loving them.
Tang Rui understands that feeling. She knows that such an excellent teacher as Teacher Tan could definitely make Jiang Yaozu ’healthy.’
She also knows that in the moment of remorse, Jiang Yaozu longed to live.
Only those who’ve been rained on know the sense of salvation when an umbrella appears.
But all of this turned into nothingness as Jiang Yaozu exploded.
Wen Xishu said:
"Jiang Yaozu shouted one last word, ’Rev.’ It seemed he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t speak before he exploded."
Tang Rui, carrying Teacher Tan, appeared somewhat puzzled:
"I don’t know... maybe it’s... parents? Sacrifice?"
But from the pronunciation of just "fu," nothing could naturally be deduced.
Wen Xishu found himself at an impasse for a moment.
Ignore them, and supernatural tales grow stronger.
Kill the tale, and the cycle goes on.
Trap the tale, and the cycle remains.
Even when redeeming a tale, it seems the cycle isn’t broken.
Next time they enter the dreamscape, Wen Xishu guessed perhaps another villain might be created.
"The direction is wrong. The right answer isn’t redemption either."
Can’t ignore, can’t kill, can’t trap, can’t redeem...
So what else can be done?
Wen Xishu fell into contemplation.
In his mind, the word "fu" replayed over and over.
At the same time, he recalled his various experiences with Tang Rui.
Given this task was Tang Rui’s exclusive mission, naturally, it’s related to Tang Rui.
The person hidden behind, controlling the lives and deaths of the villains... must certainly have a connection with Tang Rui.
Wen Xishu thought silently.
The rain continued, quickly accompanied by thunder and lightning.
In between the thunder and lightning, the meaning of the word "fu" started to become clearer.
"Girl..."
From the other end of the electronic screen, the voice was a girl’s.
And when Tang Rui created female villains, that voice seemed to have some anticipation.
Swiftly moving through the heavy rain, Wen Xishu suddenly stopped, excitedly saying:
"Tang Rui! I think I understand!"
Tang Rui was puzzled:
"What do you understand?"
Wen Xishu said:
"Revenge."
Tang Rui was even more confused:
"What revenge?"
Wen Xishu said:
"We need to conduct an experiment, to go for another round."