My Strange Tale Love Strategy Simulator

The tall old man put his pipe away, tapped it twice in his palm, and the black smoke was still swirling on the sword.

"Old turtle, are you serious?"

"When have I ever not been serious?" The short old man smiled and took back the yellow paper that had been blocking the blade, twirling it between his fingers.

"Hmph." The tall old man stared at Zhang Ying for two seconds, then turned back to look at the short man. "I don't care if you want to take on disciples. But this kid's background is unknown. If you mess things up, I won't cover for you! I'll report this to the chairman and let him judge your actions!"

The short old man waved his hand: "I know, I know. I know what I'm doing."

The tall old man put the pipe back in his mouth, and the black smoke, like a sharp sword, dissipated into a wisp of blue smoke in front of the pipe before being drawn back into it.

He took two steps back, leaned against the wall, a copper pipe dangling from his lips, the smoke obscuring half his face, leaving only his eyes still fixed on Zhang Ying.

The short old man walked up to Zhang Ying, lowered his head, and his pupil-less eyes curved into two arcs.

Zhang Ying's words had an effect, but the real test had not yet begun. He stood up straight with his hands clasped, blood still seeping from the wound on his back, trickling down his spine. The fabric of his school uniform clung to his skin, causing an itchy sensation.

"Senior, no matter what the experiment is, I will accept it completely!"

"Alright." The short old man picked up a piece of yellow paper from the stack in his hand, held it between his index and middle fingers, and waved it at Zhang Ying. "Just one test. Bear the weight of a piece of yellow paper. If you can, I'll take you as my apprentice. If you can't..." He flipped the paper over, the edges gleaming with dark golden runes under the emergency light. "You can get out of here now, don't wait for me to do anything more."

Zhang Ying stared at the thin, round piece of ghost money, his Adam's apple bobbing. Just moments ago, a single sheet of paper like this had pinned him to the floor, rendering him unable to lift a finger. But now was not the time to haggle. He clenched his fist and nodded forcefully.

The short old man loosened his grip.

The yellow paper floated gently from his fingers and fell to the ground the instant it touched the ground!

boom!

An invisible weight spread out from where the yellow paper fell, like an unseen foot pressing down on the back of Zhang Ying's neck, pushing him down.

Zhang Ying's back suddenly bent. He gritted his teeth, his calf muscles tensed like two stones, forcefully supporting his spine.

The pressure caused the wound on his back to reopen, and fresh blood seeped from the edges of the broken skin, trickling down his latissimus dorsi muscles. His shoulders were trembling, and the veins on his neck were bulging, but he showed no sign of collapsing.

The short, old man stood before him, hands behind his back, watching him bend from his knees and straighten up again. His saintly smile deepened slightly. "Hmm, not bad!"

Before Zhang Ying could even catch his breath, the short old man pulled out a second piece of yellow paper from his hand.

"However," he said, tucking the second sheet of paper between his fingers and tilting his head at Zhang Ying, "what we just discussed was the basic test. Now comes the real entrance exam."

With a flick of his finger, the second yellow paper fluttered down.

boom!

Stacking two pieces of paper together doubles the pressure!

Zhang Ying was shoved down, his knee hitting the ground with a dull thud as his kneecap struck the concrete. He braced himself with his palms, his arms and shoulders trembling, blood trickling down his back and onto his waistband.

A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, dripping down his chin and leaving a small dark dot on the floor.

He didn't make a sound, gritted his teeth, and pressed his other foot firmly to the ground. The muscles on the inside of his thigh felt like they were being torn apart, but he still pushed himself up little by little.

First, he placed one foot flat on the ground, then his knee lifted off the ground, and then his waist. He stood up from his half-kneeling position, bearing the pressure of two yellow paper money!

The short old man looked at the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, the purplish finger marks peeking out from his collar on his back, the whip marks that were still bleeding, and his knees that were shaking like a leaf.

He took his other hand out from behind his back and clapped twice at Zhang Ying.

Snap, snap.

"Good! Good lad!" His lips curved into a smile that reached his ears, and undisguised joy appeared on his pupil-less face. "After so many years, we've finally found someone who can stand up while carrying two sheets of paper money! Old Xu, you see, I told you this kid has some talent!"

The tall old man leaned against the wall without moving, puffing out a plume of ash from his pipe. "Suit yourself." But the scrutinizing edge in his sharp eyes had lessened somewhat.

The short old man took back the two pieces of yellow paper money, and the pressure on Zhang Ying suddenly eased.

Zhang Ying hadn't even wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth when he knelt down, clasped his hands in a fist, and performed a standard apprenticeship ceremony to the short old man.

"Master, please accept my bow."

The short, thin old man reached out his withered hand and patted Zhang Ying on the shoulder. On the first pat, Zhang Ying's shoulder slumped half an inch, but he immediately straightened up. The short, thin old man withdrew his hand and nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, get up. From today onwards, you are the successor of my Money Method." He turned to look at the green lantern phantom behind him, then at Zhang Ying.

"Since you've become my disciple, stay and keep an eye on things. Let you broaden your horizons too." Zhang Ying lowered his head and replied, "Yes."

He stayed.

Outside the teaching building, all was quiet, but inside the vocal music room, it was filled with green light. The two-meter-tall lantern's shadow stood in the center of the floor, turning the four walls into a dark, underwater green.

Li Ziqing stopped punching, not because he gave up, but because he ran out of strength.

The puppet's knuckles were covered with fine cracks, each extending outward from the joint like a dried-up riverbed. She lay on the inner wall of the illusory image, her forehead pressed against the green light, her shoulders rising and falling slightly.

Zhang Ying saw all of this. He stood half a step behind the short old man, his hands hanging down at his sides, his nails digging into his palms, but his face remained expressionless.

He suppressed his breathing, turned to the short old man, and asked in a puzzled tone, "Master, may I ask what you are doing here?"

The short old man was counting the stack of yellow papers in his hand when he heard this. He looked up and nodded towards the lantern's shadowy image.

"This? The thing trapped inside this lantern is a fierce monster that our Spirit Exchange Association's president personally sealed and raised. We originally planned to take it back when the time was right, but who knew that this thing would suddenly go crazy and try to break free from the seal even when it was on the verge of death. There was no other way, so the president sent me and Old Xu here to take her in ahead of time."

Zhang Ying felt his heart skip a beat. He was determined to break free from the seal, even if it meant facing death. He stood behind the short old man, his eyes still fixed on the lantern, but his pupils involuntarily contracted.

It wasn't a coincidence. Li Ziqing desperately tried to break the seal after their meeting. He was the one who pushed her to this point.

If it weren't for seeing him, she wouldn't have been so desperate as to risk her life to break the seal.

Zhang Ying clenched his teeth so tightly that his jawbone ached.

Now is not the time for bitterness and resentment; we need to figure out first how these two old men intend to take her in.

Zhang Yingsong grinned, "The Spirit-Mortal Exchange Meeting is that powerful? It can even subdue a living, breathing evil spirit. That must have taken a lot of effort, right?"

The short old man flattened the yellow paper in his palm and puffed out his chest. "That's all thanks to our guild leader's ability. If it weren't for this lantern, Old Xu and I wouldn't have wanted to face a living, breathing monster, let alone one that was half a Calamity."

He glanced at Zhang Ying with his pupil-less eyes. "If we wait another half an hour, this evil spirit can be completely contained within the lantern. Then, we can hand it over to the guild leader, and after a few months of training, our Spiritual Exchange Association will have another high-end combatant capable of plunging an entire neighborhood into disaster in an instant!"

He spoke with increasing excitement, the smile curving his lips all the way to his ears. He looked at Li Ziqing, who was still struggling inside the lantern, and let out a cold snort. With a flick of his finger, a piece of yellow paper money floated down from his fingertip, and an invisible force pressed down on Li Ziqing's puppet body.

boom!

Li Ziqing's body sank down, and several new cracks appeared on the wooden surface, with fine wood chips falling down from the edges of the cracks.

Zhang Ying stood behind the short old man, his heart skipped a beat.