After all the outsiders had left, Liu Nanwei said with a smile, "Director Xu, look at the wistful expression in Miss Niu's eyes. If you just give her a little hint, wouldn't it be a case of keeping the flag at home standing while colorful ones flutter outside?"

Xu Lai shook his head. In the Immortal Domain, the number of women who wanted to marry him was in the hundreds of billions, if not trillions. If he flirted with every single one of them... even with the body of The Supreme Emperor, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Sometimes, being too outstanding and conspicuous was not a good thing. Xu Lai still remembered when he was young in the Southern Immortal Domain, there was a female demon lord at the Quasi-Emperor Realm who coveted his body and relentlessly pursued him for ten thousand years. It was only then, at the peak of the Immortal Venerable Realm, that Xu Lai felt the tremendous pressure of her pursuit and broke through to the Quasi-Emperor level, eventually becoming The Supreme Emperor. Afterwards, that woman, known as the number one enchantress of the Immortal Domain, was suppressed by The Supreme Emperor with a single counterattack and confined within a forbidden area, thus ending the farce.

"Well then, Director Xu, if you don't fancy Miss Niu, what do you think of me?" Liu Nanwei gave Xu Lai a coquettish look.

Zhou Feng silently exhaled. Ah, Li Mi… it's getting cold. You should take care of yourself and buy a hat to keep warm. Don't get any fancy colors, though. Green would be nice.

"Not much," Xu Lai said seriously.

"..."

Liu Nanwei looked aggrieved. "I was a campus belle back in the day, you know! I had just as many suitors as Ruan Lan."

"That's for sure. The gifts your admirers sent were either live frogs or human anatomical specimens. I heard all about it from Li Mi," Zhou Feng interjected.

Xu Lai chuckled. "Go on, I'd love to hear this."

At the mention of this, Liu Nanwei lost all interest in teasing Xu Lai and began to complain with a stern face, "Those idiots from the medical school drive me insane! Do you know what the worst part was? Some ridiculously straightforward guy sent me a thermal flask every day for a week. What was I supposed to do, collect all seven to go save my grandfather?"

"What a warm-hearted guy," Zhou Feng said with a grin.

"Warm-hearted my ass."

"HAHAHAHA."

Although the winter snow outside had yet to melt, the school's medical office was filled with cheerful laughter, and even Xu Lai was smiling. I should ask Ruan Tang later what bizarre gifts she's received. Hmm... on second thought, I'd better not. I might get jealous.

***

Not far from the medical office, two figures stood under a tree heavily laden with snow. They were Shang Er and his father, Shang Sikong. They gazed at a distant window. Through the glass, streaked with water from the melting frost, they could vaguely make out three people inside, talking and laughing.

"That woman is Liu Nanwei, Li Mi's wife!" Shang Er told his father.

However, as he watched, his gaze swept over Xu Lai, and his eyes filled with confusion. Who is this man? Why do I have this sense of familiarity, as if there's some special connection...?

"The plan is in motion. Why hasn't it worked yet?" Shang Sikong frowned, shifting his gaze from Liu Nanwei.

Shang Er's plan was simple but clever. Since he suspected the stray dogs by the dried-up artificial lake were connected to the mysterious powerhouse in the shadows, they had thrown some poisoned meat buns to the cats and dogs. The poison was designed so that only a powerhouse of the Human Race at or above the Divine Gate Realm could cure the animals with Spiritual Power. All they had to do was wait and see who would undo the poison, and they would have their culprit—the person who had knocked Shang Er out twice. Of course, this was only the first step of the plan.

Shang Er looked embarrassed. "Father, don't be anxious. Let's just wait."

Shang Sikong remained expressionless, knowing they couldn't rush things. Their wait stretched from day to night, and from night into the early hours of the morning. The dried artificial lake became littered with sickly cats and dogs. They waited through the night until the next morning.

Finally, a student who came to feed the animals discovered they were sick and ran to the school infirmary for help. Unlike other schools, Dongli University had two veterinarians, though the students never quite knew why. Now, it seemed their purpose was clear.

"Liu Nanwei is coming out!"

Having waited a full day and night, Shang Er and his father both raised their eyebrows, staring intently as Liu Nanwei walked toward the dried-up artificial lake. Xu Lai was with her. Staring at Xu Lai, Shang Er grew even more puzzled; he felt as if he had seen him somewhere before. He quickly shook his head, trying to cast the strange feeling from his mind.

***

By the artificial lake, Xu Lai, Liu Nanwei, and Zhou Feng had arrived, along with two veterinarians whose faces were alight with excitement. In the team studying Xu Lai's medical theories, we haven't had much opportunity to shine. Today is finally our chance to put on a real performance!

"Teacher, you have to save Xiao Hei, Xiao Bai, Xiao Hong, and Xiao Lu!" the female student who had sought them out pleaded, nearly in tears. After all, many students fed these strays. Some of the cats and dogs had been on campus longer than many of the professors; it was no exaggeration to call them the school's "old-timers."

"Don't worry," the two veterinarians assured her.

But as they investigated, their expressions grew increasingly solemn. They exchanged a look and shook their heads, continuing to examine the animals with even greater diligence.

"Who could be so vile as to poison them?" Liu Nanwei cursed, hands on her hips. "Don't let me find out who it is, or I'll strip them naked and throw them out the school gates!"

"...How do you know it's poison?" Xu Lai asked with a peculiar expression.

This poison is rather crude, but an ordinary person wouldn't be able to detect it.

"These cats and dogs were fine two days ago. Some students even hired a vet from off-campus to check on them. For them all to suddenly fall ill like this, someone must have poisoned them," Liu Nanwei said, looking around angrily. "What a beast!"

"Courting death!"

In the shadows, the expressions of Shang Er and his father turned ice-cold. They were the noble Moon Clan. How dare a mere Earth Zhu Lang insult them like that?

"Regardless of whether her husband, Li Mi, is the mysterious powerhouse who annihilated the Lower Crescent Moon Clan, she must be killed," Shang Sikong said with a cold smile. "Anyone who insults our clan must die!"

"Yes, Father," Shang Er nodded.

***

Xu Lai glanced toward where the two members of the Moon Clan were hiding and frowned with impatience. Testing me again and again... do they truly have a death wish?

"They say it hurts so much..." a soft, delicate voice said. A female student in white knelt on the ground, gently holding a small dog's paw. It was the little rabbit monster, Yun Xi. Her large, clear eyes were filled with pity as she looked at the sick cats and dogs.

Of course, with excitement brewing, Ruan Lan wouldn't miss it. The sister-in-law had arrived along with Yu Xiaoxiao and Li Li. The chorus of "Brother-in-law" from the girls was making Xu Lai's head spin.

"Brother-in-law, I know you can cure them," Ruan Lan said as she sidled up to Xu Lai, her eyes full of expectation. "Please save them."

"Director Xu, we can't determine the cause of the illness." Coincidentally, the two veterinarians looked over at Xu Lai, their foreheads beaded with sweat. Their eyes were filled with shame and dejection; helpless, their only option was to ask for his help.

Xu Lai, who hadn't intended to get involved, sighed with resignation. He waved his hand, and a pulse of Spiritual Energy spread out, instantly neutralizing the poison in the small animals' blood. A moment ago they were on the verge of death, and now they were leaping about, full of life.

"WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!"

The leader of the wild dogs barked toward a certain spot.

Yun Xi exclaimed in surprise, "Brother-in-law, it says the people who poisoned them are behind that tree."

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