At the entrance of Blue Tyrant Academy, more and more people were gathering. The ones in the back were pressing against the ones in front, and the huge iron gate was already bent inward into a large arc.
Curses, shouts, and wails filled the air, making the entire place feel like a living hell.
The soul masters of Blue Tyrant Academy were blocking the entrance, their faces flushed and veins bulging as they used all their strength to hold the gate.
At the same time, they didn't dare to use excessive force, fearing they might hurt the people outside.
Because those who had come to stir up trouble were at least from well-off families.
It wasn't uncommon to see some minor nobles among them.
And on the Douluo Continent, the noble class still outranked the soul master class.
These soul masters, most of them from commoner backgrounds, didn't dare to offend the nobility.
Some outsiders even tried climbing over the walls, forcing soul masters to rush over to stop them.
The whole scene was descending into chaos.
People outside were cursing. People inside were also shouting!
All of their anger was directed at the Tianshui Girl Group and Shrek Academy — the two main culprits!
And of course, most of it was aimed at the product's "creator" — Yu Xiaogang!
At that moment—
Liu Erlong and Flender appeared in the sky above.
Flender was flapping his wings as he held onto Liu Erlong's arm. When he saw the chaotic crowd, his scalp tingled.
"They're going to kill us!!!"
Liu Erlong was stunned for a moment, muttering, "Flender, seriously… sigh. If this keeps going, we might even be wanted fugitives."
"…" Flender could only force a bitter smile.
It was too late for regrets now.
"Everyone!!!"
"Please calm down! I'm Liu Erlong, the head of Blue Tyrant Academy! Whatever your demands are, you can tell me! I'll help you negotiate a resolution!"
Liu Erlong shouted.
Her voice immediately suppressed the crowd's uproar.
Everyone fell momentarily silent and looked up at her.
Liu Erlong quickly continued, "We are deeply saddened by what's happened to you. If it's our responsibility, we will not shy away! But if this continues in chaos, we won't be able to resolve anything!"
The next second, the crowd erupted again with harsh curses toward her.
"What does Shrek Academy have to do with you? Who do you think you are? Why don't you come down and talk to us face to face?"
"It was Blue Tyrant Academy's leniency that let them produce this harmful product! You should all be punished! Get out of Heaven Dou City!"
"Damn it! Why didn't this woman use that face mask herself? She knew it was dangerous and still let us use it. Unforgivable!!!"
"…"
Hearing the crowd's insults, Flender's face changed. He glanced nervously at Liu Erlong.
Liu Erlong's face turned red, her eyes blazing with fury.
She let out a furious roar, releasing her Dragon Might.
The sound wave drowned out everyone else's voices.
At the same time, the overwhelming pressure from her dragon aura sobered everyone up.
Liu Erlong was a real-deal Soul Sage — if she lost her temper, no one could take her on!
"Can you hear me now?!"
Seven soul rings lit up around Liu Erlong as she shouted angrily.
"Shut up and behave! We're not denying compensation! If we made a mistake, we'll take responsibility! But it has to be handled step by step!"
While scolding the crowd, Liu Erlong descended.
Once she showed her temper, everyone immediately became as timid as quail and finally started listening.
Afternoon.
The Dan family was enjoying their meal.
Since Dan Heng and Gu Yuena had returned early, they found Zi Ji lounging in the couple's bed, skipping out on chores and leaving everything to Bi Ji.
Gu Yuena punished her by making her stand and reflect facing a blank wall. She wasn't allowed to eat until everyone else had finished.
Zi Ji was stuck facing the wall while delicious food filled the room behind her. From time to time, she would sneak a pitiful glance at the three women at the table.
Bi Ji got flustered from her looks and softly pleaded,"Sister… maybe we should forgive Zi Ji?"
Gu Yuena huffed, "This is her well-deserved punishment!"
Bi Ji trembled slightly and didn't dare to speak up for Zi Ji again.
Zi Ji also quieted down. Clearly, Gu Yuena was actually upset this time.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Zhu Zhuqing went to answer it, and in came Liu Erlong.
She looked anxious and awkward. After greeting everyone, she didn't say a word.
Dan Heng and Gu Yuena exchanged surprised glances.
Liu Erlong was usually a straightforward, bold person.
Since when did she become so hesitant?
"What's wrong? If there's nothing important, I'll kick you out," Gu Yuena said bluntly.
"No, wait…"
Liu Erlong put on a miserable face and explained, "It's that mask made by Yu Xiaogang… it really did have major problems, just like Mr. Dan Heng warned. But they still went ahead and mass produced it, and now…"
The more she talked, the guiltier she looked. Last time, she was full of confidence.
She had even wanted to show off her "results" to Dan Heng and Gu Yuena.
And now...
She was back, humiliated, asking for help.
Liu Erlong wished she could bury herself.
So shameful!
Gu Yuena didn't hold back her mockery:"This is your so-called 'master's' masterpiece? Didn't listen to my husband before, and now you come crawling back?"
Liu Erlong gave her a pitiful look, practically begging Gu Yuena to stop rubbing salt in the wound. It was just too embarrassing.
Dan Heng calmly said, "The toxin — if not treated in time — will definitely leave discoloration marks."
"!!!" Liu Erlong's face went pale. She nearly passed out.
Permanent facial marks on women…
Those angry noblewomen would definitely tear Blue Tyrant Academy down!
"Mr. Dan Heng, you must help us! Otherwise, our academy is doomed!" Liu Erlong pleaded desperately.
"If we're talking treatment, I can formulate a medicine. But an easier solution is to use my face mask. After about three applications, the condition will mostly clear up. If you want to be safe, seven applications will completely restore their skin. But you have to act fast."
Dan Heng offered a clear solution.
Liu Erlong quickly calculated — over 2,000 affected women.
That would require more than a million gold soul coins!
Liu Erlong's face twitched. Neither Blue Tyrant nor Shrek Academy could afford that!
"This… this…"
Gu Yuena added coldly, "Just make the Tianshui Girl Group pay for it."
Liu Erlong frowned and explained, "That won't work either. Shrek Academy still needs to provide half. I'll cover it for them. Teacher Gu, how about I give you another ten percent share—just give me some of those face masks, please."
If it weren't for Gu Yuena pulling strings, they wouldn't have been able to buy the face masks at all!
Right now, Dan Yue's mud face masks were in such high demand that money couldn't even buy them!
Too many noblewomen were lining up for them. Otherwise, why would they have resorted to using Yu Xiaogang's alternative face masks?
Gu Yuena smiled slightly. "Alright…"
Hearing this, Dan Heng raised an eyebrow. With that, he and Gu Yuena had basically become the deans of Lanba Academy.
Liu Erlong didn't care in the slightest. She wasn't one to value material things. Having received the promise, she hurriedly left.
…
Thanks to Dan Heng's face masks as a fallback.
Along with a live demonstration—where noblewomen with facial burns used the Dan Yue mud face masks and saw immediate results—they were finally somewhat satisfied, though they still demanded compensation.
Since they were nobles, they scoffed at small sums of money. After calculations, they still needed to be compensated with seven million gold soul coins!
That was a massive sum. In the end, Shrek Academy, the Tianshui Girl Group, and Yuexuan split the amount three ways.
Liu Erlong didn't have the money on hand and had to go back to Gu Yuena to sell another twenty percent of Blue Tyrant Academy's shares.
So now, Liu Erlong only owned one-fifth of Lanba Academy.
Of course, she didn't tell Flender and the others about this.
Everyone gathered again in Yu Xiaogang's hospital room.
Flender's face was dark, his eyes flickering with pain. Every time he glanced at Liu Erlong, a trace of guilt would appear.
If he'd just stuck with a white-collar job, it would've been fine.
But now that they'd started a business, it directly caused Liu Erlong to lose more than two million gold soul coins!
Even selling Shrek Academy wouldn't be enough to make up for that!
"Sigh…"
Flender couldn't help sighing as he looked at Yu Xiaogang, lying in bed being fed fruit by Hu Liena. His chest was full of rage!
Everyone else was here worrying.
But the root of the problem, Yu Xiaogang, was acting all relaxed.
He even looked… happy.
He wasn't even trying to hide it anymore. The way he looked at Hu Liena was practically dripping with affection!
Chewing on fruit, Yu Xiaogang looked at the heavy atmosphere around him, sighed, and suddenly said:
"Why didn't you tell me? Why use that librarian's face masks? Clearly, this was just someone trying to profit off the crisis by hiking their prices. If it had been me, I could've come up with a solution."
"…"
Flender, Liu Erlong, and the others all stared at Yu Xiaogang.
The same thought crossed their minds—
They had never seen anyone so shameless!
Hu Liena chimed in, "It must've been some mistake made by the Tianshui Girl Group in production that caused all this mess!"
"When I used it, the results weren't nearly this bad!"
"The Grandmaster's talents are beyond question—how could he have made a mistake? It must've been some people making decisions without authorization…"
She huffed and spoke in Yu Xiaogang's defense.
Yu Xiaogang nodded repeatedly, feeling extremely comforted.
At least Hu Liena understood him. Flender and Liu Erlong had known him for over ten years, yet they still didn't trust him?
Flender's expression turned even darker. He walked out without a word.
He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he'd yank Yu Xiaogang right off the bed.
Opening the door to leave, he gave a cold snort and said:
"Yu Xiaogang, you should be thankful. If it weren't for Mr. Dan Heng's face masks, those noblewomen would've torn you apart!"
Yu Xiaogang's face changed. "Flender, what's that supposed to mean?"
Flender didn't argue with him. He slammed the door and left.
Yu Xiaogang turned red with rage, staring at the door.
"He… he actually thinks I'm not as good as a librarian?!"
Liu Erlong sneered, gave Yu Xiaogang a glance, and said indifferently, "You're truly not as good as Mr. Dan Heng. I must've been blind back then!"
Seeing how Yu Xiaogang's heart was now completely captivated by Hu Liena,
Liu Erlong had fully given up on him.
How could she have ever been madly in love with a man like this?
She left too, followed by everyone else.
The only ones left in the hospital room were Hu Liena and Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang's face flushed red with frustration. He muttered angrily, "They… they're being completely unreasonable! This was clearly the Tianshui Girl Group's fault—why are they blaming me?"
He sat up and shouted toward the door, "What right do you have to give me attitude?!"
Hu Liena gently patted his back and smiled:
"Grandmaster, don't stoop to the level of these mediocre people. They don't understand you, and they're trying to shift the blame onto you. It makes my heart ache just watching."
Yu Xiaogang looked even more wronged. "Only the truly talented are envied… Maybe I'm just too brilliant, and that's why they're targeting me…"
Hu Liena nodded quickly. "Exactly! That's why you mustn't let them affect you. I'll always be behind you, supporting you!"
Yu Xiaogang was extremely moved, his eyes even turning red. He nervously reached out to try to hug Hu Liena.
But Hu Liena subtly leaned back to avoid it. She glanced out the window and said, "Grandmaster, it's almost noon—I'll go make some porridge for you!"
"Don't let it get to you. Besides, didn't you say it yourself? You're even giving the Pope advice!"
"Stuff like beauty products and face masks are just side gigs. A real man, a true hero, is someone who can shake the world with a single scheme!"
She casually flattered him a bit, and Yu Xiaogang's face flushed with excitement.
He almost blurted out, "Nana, I want to share my glory with you! Only you are worthy of my devotion! I've sacrificed so much for you!"
"…!" Hu Liena forced a smile and nodded, then left.
With her back to Yu Xiaogang, she could still feel his fiery gaze.
She walked faster and faster, almost like she was running away.
Only when Hu Liena was completely out of sight did Yu Xiaogang smile and say, "Thank goodness for Nana… She's so deeply infatuated with me. That's right—I am the true Grandmaster!"
…
Spirit Hall.
Hu Liena came to complain.
"…Teacher, can I end this mission already? I really can't stand that crude, arrogant, greasy man anymore! He… he even asked me to marry him! So rude!"
Hu Liena clung to Bibi Dong's waist, whining like a child.
"!!!" Bibi Dong's face turned extremely ugly.
After all, Yu Xiaogang had never taken the initiative to promise her anything in the past.
Even their romantic relationship had been something she had to pursue.
But now Yu Xiaogang was actively going after Hu Liena?
"He… he's gotten arrogant? Is that… a bad thing?" Bibi Dong asked hoarsely.
Hu Liena immediately started listing Yu Xiaogang's many flaws.
Finally, she brought up the recent face mask fiasco.
"…Seriously, teacher, it's no wonder he's still single. He's got nothing going for him! Any woman who likes him must be missing a few brain cells! He clearly messed up, yet still acts self-righteous and blames others!"
Hu Liena pouted in deep contempt.
"…" Bibi Dong's face went pale.
From Hu Liena's words, she saw a version of Yu Xiaogang completely different from the one she remembered.
But maybe… this was the real Yu Xiaogang.
Bibi Dong took a deep breath, feeling tightness in her chest. She desperately wanted to release her emotions—it felt like a storm was raging inside.
A crashing sound echoed.
It was the sound of her heart breaking.
"Teacher, can I leave him now? Staying by his side is worse than being a simp for Dan Heng," Hu Liena muttered.
Bibi Dong whispered weakly, "Then do your best to make that Dan Heng… fall for you. Then you can leave Yu Xiaogang…"
(End of Chapter)