Master of Strange Dao

The black cat clung to Yu Ziqing's arm and wouldn't let go.

Yu Ziqing found it both funny and annoying, but still patted the black cat's head and gave it a few Emperor's Liquids.

This guy just took a punch, all for the sake of scamming some Emperor's Liquid, was it really necessary?

He generously gave a few more, and the black cat squinted its eyes, its whiskers trembling slightly, it was almost laughing.

Seeing the black cat, Yu Ziqing knew that Xia Shuang must have come too.

He had forgotten something very important.

He had previously asked Xia Shuang to act in a play, and also wanted to ask her to have a look at Ba.

After all, if anyone could be more professional about Ba's situation than the Xi Family, he wasn't sure who it could be.

After all, even though there were differences between them, they were all alternative living beings transformed after the extinguishment of the Vitality Fire.

It was considered a field of expertise.

As for Ba's situation, even Yang, the self-proclaimed reader of all the Langya Bookstore's collections, had no idea what to do.

Yang's exact words were that he studied the living.

Those dead folk, who could still jump around and transform into special living beings,

As for those low-tier zombies, forget it, they're a completely different species from the Xi Family's people and Ba.

If you wanted research, where would you get the conditions to do it?

Those types of beings that show up and are undoubtedly masters, some of whom even surpass living powerhouses in strength, should Langya Institute put their reputation on the line to study them?

Like Heavenly Monarch Luoge, let's not even talk about who would be brain-damaged enough to try, who actually has the ability to capture him for research?

Yu Ziqing, stroking the cat, made his way to the locust forest.

At the edge of the locust forest, a small courtyard had been built at some unknown time.

The village chief was sitting there with Xia Shuang, with a Go game board placed between them.

The village chief was immensely Concentrating, with kind eyes and a benevolent brow, casually placing the Go pieces. Sitting opposite him, Xia Shuang furrowed her brows with a somewhat unstable breath.

She picked up a Go piece only to crush it inadvertently.

As she thought to reach for another one, she heard the village chief's slow voice.

"According to the rules, you've already made your move."

"What kind of rule is that! I've skipped seven or eight moves!" Xia Shuang's breath grew more unstable, she bit down on her silver teeth and was about to reach out again.

Then she saw the village chief opposite her flick a finger, a bit of power striking Xia Shuang's elbow.

Though it wasn't a very strong force, it made Xia Shuang's arm tremble slightly, and her hand involuntarily retracted.

"Calm your mind and Concentrate. With your mind unsettled and agitated, how can you practice Cultivation? Didn't you want me to give you guidance? Then you should listen."

Yu Ziqing glanced at the Go board while holding back a laugh.

It wasn't that she skipped seven or eight moves; it was at least seventeen or eighteen.

Having skipped so many, it's no wonder Xia Shuang could barely stand a chance of winning.

No wonder her blood pressure was skyrocketing.

"When did you guys get here?" Yu Ziqing stroked the cat, asking the black cat.

"We've been here for quite a few days."

"Oh, did Xia Shuang get beaten up?"

"Yeah, I told her to wait and not to approach this place casually, but she wouldn't listen. She felt that she hadn't had enough fighting in Dali's Capital City, and was holding in her strength.

There happened to be a master around here, so she came to seek advice and, by the way, wait for your return."

"And then what?"

"Well, if I hadn't told her that you had sent Lou Huai to send a message asking us to come, she would have been beaten to death."

"Didn't I tell you guys to clarify things first when you arrive and not to miss out on key details?"

"I remembered it, but she didn't make it clear."

"What exactly did she say?"

"She said Qing Ziyu invited her over."

Yu Ziqing couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He had learned that trick from the Xi Family.

Previously, Xi Yang had said that when visiting his house, don't say you're a friend of Xi Yang; you'd get beaten up. You should say you're a friend of Xia Yixing instead.

Upon hearing this, Yu Ziqing quickly picked up the lesson.

Unexpectedly, Xia Shuang from the Xi Family almost got tricked to death by her own family's tactic.

Yu Ziqing had specifically instructed Lou Huai to be very clear, to make sure the message was complete.

Yu Ziqing had great respect for Xia Shuang.

She must have done it on purpose, looking for someone to spar with.

And the village chief certainly wouldn't actually kill her; Yang was at home, and while others might not recognize her, Yang definitely would.

It must have been that the village chief was itching for a fight, and Xia Shuang was equally eager to get beaten. It was a mutual desire.

And so, Xia Shuang got beaten up miserably.

Looking at her current state of skyrocketing blood pressure yet only able to be furiously impotent and not daring to speak, one could tell.

When the village chief was in the strongest fighting condition, it was actually when he was engaged in close combat with a body cultivator.

Being kited by other powerhouses would actually make for a very uncomfortable fight.

In front of Xia Shuang, Yu Ziqing and the black cat ganged up, revealing each other's shortcomings. Xia Shuang, with a darkened face, kept silent and didn't dare stand up to retort.

The last time she couldn't restrain herself during the game and flipped the Go board, she got beaten up so miserably.

If it hadn't been for a kind-hearted hungry ghost telling her that the village chief had some issues controlling his strength recently, she wouldn't have known—controlling strength to such an absurd extent and still having problems? Or was he just holding back his punches?

She feared that a full-force blow might not be retractable, possibly killing her.

So ever since then, Xia Shuang, even when her blood pressure was so high it could burst her head, still stubbornly refrained from standing up, making sure she finished a game of Go first.

After all, she brought all this upon herself.

Her face was thicker than city wall corners, and faced with such a breathtakingly strong body cultivator, how could she pass up the opportunity for guidance?

It's just that this guidance was not quite what she had envisioned.

Yet it was such inexplicable guidance, coupled with the beatings she took, that allowed her to clearly feel that she was, indeed, getting stronger.

Because very directly, the time she could hold out while being beaten had increased.

And Yu Ziqing just stood there holding the cat, watching.

Xia Shuang's expressions were richer than those of a performer in a play, merely picking up a particularly fragile Go piece without crushing it could make her beam with joy.