The county school is located due west of Yishui County.

Adjacent to the West City Gate, facing Xuanwu Mound; white walls and gray tiles, solemn and pure.

On the lintel of this school, there is a plaque with four shining, powerful and golden characters written on it: "Qi family governs the country".

If the record in the book is correct, these words were inscribed by the Grand Master of Qi himself during the post-disaster reconstruction of Yishui County seven years ago - they can be regarded as the most valuable thing in this institution.

Gu Xu met the tutor Zhou Siqi outside the gate of the county school - a middle-aged man with a slightly stout figure and a dazed and restless expression.

Jiaoyu is the instructor of the county school, with an official rank of ninth rank. There is one person in each county, who is in charge of worship in the Confucian temple and instructs all students. No one can hold the position unless he is an official.

It can be understood as the principal of the county school.

Gu Xu was an official, and Zhou Siqi was an official. According to the rules of the Qi Dynasty, under normal circumstances, subordinate officials were required to kneel down and salute when they saw officials.

But this set of rules only applies to mortals.

Practitioners in Da Qi have a transcendent status and can stand and speak even when meeting the emperor; while ordinary officials have to behave politely in front of practitioners.

"Master Zhou, I am Gu Xu from the Exorcism Department, responsible for solving this case." Gu Xu stepped forward and nodded slightly, "You should have an impression of me."

"Of course," Zhou Jiaoyu's round face was filled with a complimenting smile, "I have seen Gu Shaoxia's name on the merit list of the Exorcism Department more than once. Today I finally have the honor to meet him. He is indeed a handsome and dignified man.

An extraordinary young hero."

As he spoke, Zhou Jiaoyu's legs were still trembling involuntarily.

The fear in his heart obviously hadn't dissipated yet.

He knew that Gu Xu in front of him was his only life-saving straw.

Although this young man looks frail, he represents the Daqi Exorcist Department after all.

If you want to get rid of the ghosts in the county school and prevent yourself and the students from falling prey to the ghosts, you must rely on this young man.

"Take me to a haunted place!" Gu Xu said in a calm tone, "I want to see what kind of ghost dares to cause trouble in our Daqi Official School."

Zhou Jiaoyu hesitated.

He stood in front of the threshold, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally gritted his teeth and walked in.

Gu Xu followed him expressionlessly.

But as soon as they entered the door, a black shadow made a "swish" sound and passed quickly in front of the two of them like lightning.

"Ah ah ah ghost——" Zhou Jiaoyu screamed in fright.

He staggered back a few steps, almost tripping over the threshold.

"Calm down, Mr. Zhou," Gu Xu narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly, "That's just a cat."

"Yes...I'm the one who made the fuss." Zhou Jiaoyu forced a smile on his pale face.

At this moment, Zhou Jiaoyu wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl in immediately.

A dignified Qi official was so frightened by a cat that he screamed... If this kind of thing were told, he would become a laughing stock in the eyes of everyone.

…………

Pass through the hanging flower gate and walk along the verandah.

There was silence in the school.

Only the slight sound of wind and the breathing of the two people could be heard.

In this dead atmosphere, Zhou Jiaoyu felt increasingly flustered, and the silk shirt on his body was already soaked with cold sweat.

He even wanted to turn around and run away immediately, away from this gloomy place.

However, thinking of his responsibilities as an instructor and the safety of the students, he still bit the bullet and continued to lead Gu Xu, hoping to provide some help within his ability.

At this moment, the sound of reading suddenly sounded in the empty county school, and gradually became clearer from far away.

"Gu...Gu Shaoxia, that's...that's the voice!" Zhou Jiaoyu pointed forward and said stumblingly, his teeth chattering in his mouth.

But Gu Xu didn't change his expression.

He stood there, listened carefully for a few seconds, and then commented: "Master Zhou, listen carefully, these ghosts are reciting the "Annotations to the Four Books"... Well, they even recited two wrong words."

Zhou Jiaoyu glanced at him with the eyes of a monster, and silently sighed in his heart: As expected of a monk from the Exorcism Department, when encountering such a weird scene, his focus is different from ordinary people.

…………

The source of the sound of reading is a lecture hall in the northwest corner.

Gu Xu opened the door and walked straight in.

The room was dark.

The pale moonlight slanted into the room through the carved window lattice, barely able to outline the outlines of tables and chairs.

"Let me go to the concierge to get a lantern..." Zhou Jiaoyu suggested in a low voice.

"No need to bother." Gu Xu responded calmly.

As he spoke, he took out the pamphlet from his pocket, tore off a page, and then quickly drew several complex runes on the paper with charcoal.

If you don't know how to draw the talisman, you will make the ghosts and gods laugh; if you know how to draw the talisman, you will make the ghosts and gods scream in surprise.

Zhou Jiaoyu stood aside and watched him draw the talisman, and in a trance he heard a vague exclamation coming from the distant horizon; but if he looked carefully, he felt that the sound was like his own hallucination, and he could not find it at all.

Shadow trace.

In the blink of an eye, the seal was completed.

Gu Xu put away the charcoal pen and folded the talisman paper in his hand twice. The talisman paper instantly turned into a red lantern, exuding a blood-red halo.

Zhou Jiaoyu was stunned.

As a senior official, he had seen other practitioners eliminate ghosts before.

But this was the first time he witnessed such a strange and mysterious spell.

"Gu Shaoxia is indeed no ordinary monk!" Zhou Jiaoyu couldn't help but murmured with emotion, "Such methods are really extraordinary!"

"Basic operation is not worth boasting about." Gu Xu smiled slightly and said modestly.

…………

Under the light of the lantern, several figures sitting in the corner of the lecture hall caught their eyes.

They were several men dressed as scholars.

They were dressed in sweatshirts and Confucian scarves, with haggard faces and haggard expressions. They held the "Collected Commentary on the Four Books" in their hands, shaking their heads and reading non-stop.

At first glance, one might have thought that he was a scholar who had forgotten all about food and sleep and stayed up all night to study hard for the imperial examination.

But after seeing the faces of these scholars clearly, Zhou Jiaoyu was so frightened that he screamed "Ah——" again.

His legs also became limp and weak, and he could only barely stand firm by holding on to the wall beside him.

"Master seems to like to scream a lot this week!" Gu Xu glanced at him and silently labeled him in his heart.

At the same time, these scholars also heard Zhou Jiaoyu's voice.

They put down the books in their hands, walked up to Zhou Jiaoyu one by one, and bowed to him as disciples.

"I've met Mr. Zhou."

"Mr. Zhou, you have worked so hard. Even in the middle of the night, you are still worried about our studies."

"Mr. Zhou, the student is stupid and failed the exam again this year. I really can't thank you for your teachings."

"Master Zhou, please believe me. I will definitely pass the exam in three years and make you famous!"

"..."

Looking at the familiar faces, Zhou Jiaoyu took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said:

"Wei Ming, Jiang Wenyuan, He Xiaoliang, Chu Chunhua... didn't you guys die eight years ago? I was the one who built your tombs and monuments myself."
Chapter completed!