"Don't come any closer! I have nyctophobia; I'm afraid of the dark."

Holding a chair, Shen Wei retreated backward as Old Zhang Tou, enraged, advanced menacingly with a sharp axe in hand!

"Why did you stop me? Why? My son is suffering in hell! I want to save him; I have to save him! It's all your fault; you ruined everything! I'll kill you, kill you…"

Old Zhang Tou, his face contorted in fury, swung the axe and charged at Shen Wei.

Shen Wei hurled the chair, but Old Zhang Tou cleaved it apart with a single chop.

Shen Wei tried to use the brief respite to escape, but Old Zhang Tou, who was usually slow-footed, now moved with surprising speed.

He quickly caught up to Shen Wei and swung the axe again, aiming to decapitate him with a horizontal sweep.

Shen Wei dodged with a forward roll, but before he could stand, Old Zhang Tou kicked him four or five meters, sending him crashing against the back door of the classroom.

In his child form, Shen Wei's resilience was greatly diminished. The kick sent a sharp pain through his chest, leaving him temporarily incapacitated.

Shen Wei struggled to crawl toward the classroom door, while Old Zhang Tou, axe in hand, followed closely behind. Before Shen Wei could get far, Old Zhang Tou pinned him down by stepping on his back.

"Die! Go and keep my son company…"

A look of sorrowful determination appeared on Old Zhang Tou's face as he slowly raised the axe.

"Don't kill him! I'm here!"

Zhang Ziliang and Yang Chen suddenly appeared at the end of the corridor!

Seeing Zhang Ziliang, Old Zhang Tou's eyes blazed with renewed intensity. He abandoned Shen Wei and charged toward Zhang Ziliang at full speed.

Watching Old Zhang Tou approach with his menacing face and raised axe, Zhang Ziliang felt cold sweat trickle down his forehead, and his body trembled. But he knew he had to do this to save Shen Wei.

Just as Old Zhang Tou was about to reach Zhang Ziliang, Yang Chen pulled him away, and they disappeared around the corner of the staircase.

Old Zhang Tou was about to give chase when four or five riot forks emerged from the stairwell, pinning him against the corridor wall. Despite his struggles, Old Zhang Tou couldn't break free; after all, he was just an old man weakened by age.

It turned out that the school's other security guards had arrived. They had received a call for help from Teacher Li Qing and rushed over with their equipment.

Seeing the crazed Old Zhang Tou subdued, some of the younger male teachers mustered their courage and stepped forward, wresting the axe from his grasp. Together with the security guards, they tied Old Zhang Tou up and took him away.

Seeing the brutal Old Zhang Tou subdued, Yang Chen and Zhang Ziliang breathed a sigh of relief. They rushed to Shen Wei's side and helped him up.

"Are you okay, Shen-ge?" Zhang Ziliang asked with concern.

"Small case. Who do you think Shen-ge is? I'm just tired; I'll take a nap on the ground…" Shen Wei said nonchalantly, rubbing his chest.

"I have to say, your mouth is really tough, kid. You've been beaten to a pulp, and you're still bragging…" the Evil God Right Hand chimed in, ruthlessly pointing out Shen Wei's pain.

"Yang Chen, I overheard Old Zhang Tou saying that Zhang Ziliang is the key to the blood sacrifice. The school might have been invaded by those parasitic threads after his death. He seems to possess the ability to connect two worlds. We must protect him…" Shen Wei whispered into Yang Chen's ear. Yang Chen nodded silently in response.

"Shen-ge, thank you for saving me. You're so brave. I wish I could be like you…" Zhang Ziliang said with admiration.

"You saved me just now too, didn't you? Aren't you brave enough?" Shen Wei looked at Zhang Ziliang with a teasing smile.

Zhang Ziliang scratched his head sheepishly. "Yang Chen pulled me out. Actually, I was scared to death; my legs were wobbly. If it wasn't for Yang Chen, I might not have had the courage to come out and save you…"

"But you still persevered, didn't you? Your courage didn't come from Yang Chen; it came from within you. You are a true warrior, a warrior who dares to face death. I really wasn't as good as you when I was your age…"

"Shen Wei is right. If you didn't have the courage to face death, you would have shaken me off and run away long ago…" Yang Chen added, patting Zhang Ziliang on the shoulder.

Zhang Ziliang looked hopeful. "Really?"

"More real than pearls!" Shen Wei replied confidently.

Hearing Shen Wei's words, a spark of light ignited in Zhang Ziliang's melancholic eyes.

Zhang Ziliang was about to say something more, but the other students in the class had already surrounded Shen Wei and Yang Chen, pushing him aside.

"Shen Wei, you were so brave just now! I didn't expect you to be so daring…"

"Thank you, Shen Wei. If you hadn't stalled that guy, we might have been killed by that madman. Come to my house and play sometime…"

"Shen Wei, will you take me as your follower? If you say go east, I'll never go west. If you tell me to catch dogs, I'll never chase chickens…"

"Yang Chen is also very impressive. I didn't expect you to be so organized. If you hadn't opened the door right away, we would have been injured…"

At first, it was just the crazy admiration of fans. In the end, even Teacher Li Qing came over and praised them to the heavens, urging all the students to learn from them.

Shen Wei, being older, wasn't interested in these empty praises. He just kept dealing with everyone insincerely!

Yang Chen, on the other hand, was still a child and almost lost himself in the flattery and adoration of his fans.

Watching Shen Wei and Yang Chen surrounded by attention, a hint of envy appeared in Zhang Ziliang's eyes.

"I wish I could be as radiant as them…"

Just as Zhang Ziliang was gazing at Yang Chen and Shen Wei with envy, the fat trio hiding nearby walked up to Zhang Ziliang with sly grins, covered his mouth, and dragged him into the bathroom.

"What are you doing? I didn't provoke you…" Zhang Ziliang asked weakly.

"You jinx! That Old Zhang Tou was clearly after you. He didn't attack anyone else; he just kept chasing you. It's a pity he didn't kill you…" Yu Dazhuang, one of Qian Duoduo's lackeys, pushed Zhang Ziliang to the ground.

"It's all your fault, you jinx! You made Qian-ge look bad in front of the classmates! Beat him to death…" He Wendong, Qian Duoduo's other lackey, kicked Zhang Ziliang hard in the stomach.

Zhang Ziliang cried out in pain and curled up into a ball.

With a cold expression, Qian Duoduo strode up to Zhang Ziliang, grabbed his hair, and slapped his face repeatedly, swelling his cheeks.

"Did you think you could ignore us just because you have those two weaklings, Shen Wei and Yang Chen, protecting you? I'm giving you a choice now: are you going to follow them or follow us?" Qian Duoduo asked with a menacing look.

Zhang Ziliang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at them with stubborn eyes, not answering their question.

"Keep hitting him until he speaks!"