Chapter Seven: Advanced Studies? It’s Not That Simple!
At noon, in the East District of Huacheng, near the Eight Days Express Hotel.
On the second floor of a McDonald’s restaurant.
A staff member finished clearing a table and walked towards the trash can with a tray full of packaging boxes. His gaze unintentionally swept across the corner and continued forward, but then his steps faltered, and his eyes quickly darted back to the couple in the corner, furrowing his brows.
What’s going on with those two?
They seem… unwell? he thought.
The couple exuded a strange aura of gloom and despondency.
Just by sitting there, they made that small area of the corner appear dim, as if an illusion had formed.
For various reasons, Huasang and Li Xuan, both exhausted from almost an entire night of torment, finally looked somewhat like siblings.
With pale faces, haggard expressions, and heavy dark circles under their eyes…
It was obvious they were from the demonic sect!
Li Xuan pushed three portions of creamy mashed potatoes and one strawberry sundae toward Huasang weakly, saying, “Eat!”
After saying that, he leaned back in his chair, seemingly subconsciously keeping his distance from her.
“…”
Huasang looked at Li Xuan, then at the unopened mashed potatoes on the table, remaining silent.
Through her messy, long hair hanging over her forehead, Li Xuan caught a glimpse of her resentful eyes. Suddenly, he realized something, and his mouth twitched as he rubbed his throbbing forehead.
Why the hell!?
Why do I have to suffer because of her, pay the hotel repair fees, and now I also have to help her open the mashed potato lid!?
Am I her slave?
Li Xuan grumbled to himself, silently opening the lid of the mashed potatoes, inserting a spoon, and then handing it back to Huasang.
“Thank you.”
Huasang said softly, then picked up the mashed potatoes and began to eat on her own.
She took small bites and swallowed slowly, like a chipmunk.
“I bought you a plane ticket for 4:30 PM. After landing, you can take a high-speed train and a taxi directly to the foot of the master’s mountain.”
“Here, follow the route on this card, don’t wander around, okay?”
As Li Xuan spoke, he took out a card with the route written on it and offered it to Huasang. The moment she reached out to take it, his hand recoiled as if electrocuted.
Huasang paused for a moment, then, as if not noticing Li Xuan’s unusual reaction, responded lightly, “Mm, got it.”
“The Night Corruption inside me hasn’t completely faded; I feel terrible, so I can’t take you. I’ll have a colleague take you to the airport later.”
“…” Huasang nodded, paused for two seconds, then added, “Actually, you don’t need to go to all this trouble.”
“What?” Li Xuan looked puzzled.
“You could just buy a large suitcase, put me inside, and send me back to the master’s place directly.” Huasang glanced at Li Xuan and said, “I used to do that when I traveled alone.”
There’s a delivery station at the mountain top; shipping directly would save a lot of distance and effort… Huasang thought to herself.
Li Xuan facepalmed, “…”
Do you think I look like some kind of dismemberment murderer?
That kind of “delivery” surely wouldn’t pass security checks, and besides…
If any violence occurred during shipping and you got hurt again, I’d be afraid it might take out several people at the delivery center, Li Xuan thought.
Although he had consulted his master early that morning about Huasang’s situation and knew that his experiences were merely a rare occurrence.
Thinking about Huasang’s astonishing level of Night Corruption made him uneasy.
It wasn’t that he despised her or harbored any discrimination—he was simply a bit scared.
Like a time bomb that’s almost impossible to explode, once others know it’s a bomb, most people will feel fear.
“…”
Seemingly sensing Li Xuan’s concerns, Huasang pondered for two seconds and said slowly, “Brother, if you’re worried about me losing control of spirit patterns on the way and causing harm to others, there’s really no need to worry.”
Li Xuan, “…”
“Although my Night Corruption level is high, I’ve always controlled it very well.”
It was truly an accident; I don’t know why, but for a moment there, the spirit patterns lost control badly. I initially wanted to ask that mysterious senior in the ruler, but sadly I didn’t have time.
Huasang thought for a moment, then added firmly, “Really.”
“…” Li Xuan hesitated, and an awkward smile appeared on his face, looking somewhat uneasy, as if he had been caught doing something guilty.
“Brother, you misunderstood me, I actually…”
“It’s okay, Brother.” Huasang interrupted him with a smile, “More importantly… could you buy me two more servings of pudding and two more mashed potatoes? If I fill up now, I won’t feel like eating on the way.”
When people who get along well learn that someone is suffering from a “serious illness,” they often become cold and distant, or handle them with the care due to fragile porcelain… Huasang had long since grown accustomed to this kind of situation.
She said a few more words out of consideration for Li Xuan’s care these past few days and the bond of being fellow students; otherwise, she wouldn’t bother explaining to anyone else.
After all, even if she explained clearly, even if she could control her Night Corruption level to ensure the spirit energy wouldn’t leak out, and even if not a drop of bl**d would spill half a meter away, no one would believe it.
People always tend to believe what they want to believe, and changing that is very difficult.
Huasang’s energy didn’t support her doing this.
Talking more was exhausting!
————
After saying goodbye to “Mr. Lu Xun” and leaving the main path of Gate Four, Luxianbei wandered around the small woods of the Sakura Avenue where the Decapitated Senior sometimes appeared, near the men’s bathhouse, yet still didn’t see her figure, unsure of where she had hidden.
“Tsk, not being able to use the ley line energy to detect is quite troublesome… Wait a minute!”
Luxianbei muttered to himself, and halfway through his sentence, his expression suddenly changed, and his mood grew serious.
He could be certain that before entering the special space, no external urban legends had invaded Huacheng, but he couldn’t guarantee that during his time in the special space, no external legends had slipped in.
If an urban legend, during that time, had infiltrated Huacheng and hidden well, now relying on the residual ley line energy for early warning would indeed fail to reveal its trace.
Though this scenario was merely a hypothesis, the consequences could be severe if it happened, and caution was necessary.
However…
He currently couldn’t find the Senior, and with the situation uncertain, he could only handle matters at hand first, and later, when he found the Senior, he would ask her what she was afraid of and then make plans.
With that thought, Luxianbei rubbed his hair, temporarily sorted out his thoughts, and quickened his pace toward the College of Arts and Literature office.
……
When Luxianbei arrived at the College of Arts and Literature office, Professor Ma, who had been waiting for a long time, already had a slight mood change.
Upon seeing Luxianbei, Professor Ma snorted coldly, leaned down, pulled out a stack of documents from his desk drawer, and tossed it onto the table. Then, with a sour expression, he sipped from his teacup.
“……”
Tsk, as one gets older, do their tempers become this peculiar?
I must not be like this when I grow old.
I want to be a kind and gentle elder… Luxianbei thought while flipping through the documents Professor Ma had given him.
After scanning through the content briefly, he paused, realizing he had misjudged Professor Ma’s intentions.
He actually didn’t want to mooch off me but wanted to give me something for free?!
That thick stack of documents was about two hundred pages, carefully bound.
Inside the contents were all the key knowledge for this semester’s professional courses, with detailed annotations in a smaller font next to certain obscure points to aid understanding.
“Professor, is this…” Luxianbei hesitated, casting a puzzled look at Professor Ma.
“What are you looking at?” Professor Ma replied irritably, “Didn’t I say I have good stuff for you? What, do you think I called you over to make you work?”
I didn’t expect the professor to be tsundere too? Luxianbei thought to himself, quickly denying, “No, absolutely not!”
“Hmph, little brat.” Professor Ma huffed lightly, “You tell me, how many days has it been since you last came to school?”
“Uh, about ten days?” Luxianbei replied weakly.
“You know that’s good.” Professor Ma said, his chest slightly heaving as if he calmed down a bit, and his expression softened.
“During this time, you’ve been dealing with some urban legend incidents, right?”
“Uh… sort of.”
Upon hearing this, Professor Ma straightened his back and said earnestly, “Luxianbei, I know that what you’ve been doing is beneficial for most people and, to a certain extent, is more commendable than true heroism.”
“Really, it’s nothing!” Luxianbei scratched his cheek, his eyes uncertain, “Hearing you say that makes me a bit embarrassed.”
Mainly because I basically had to take on certain responsibilities regarding those urban legend incidents… Luxianbei secretly added in his mind.
“Don’t be modest in front of me.” Professor Ma rolled his eyes, “As I understand it, the recent outbreak of a new type A flu in Huacheng is actually related to the Nightfall Syndrome, right?”
“I have an old friend who works in a hospital, and he told me that the symptoms are not common illnesses at all.”
“So, that ten days of yours was spent dealing with this, right?”
“This…” Luxianbei paused for a moment and said seriously, “You’ve really misunderstood, it’s not really my concern.”
While I indeed have a bit of a connection, I want to appear like a hero in this too.
But controlling the outbreak mainly relied on the life exchanged by Silver Horn; I really couldn’t take that credit for myself.
Yep, that’s right, that’s what I wrote in my investigative report, more or less; if the people above believed it, at least they’d have to give Silver Horn a small banner of merit… Luxianbei thought.
Not really my concern means it has some connection, right? Professor Ma secretly scoffed, choosing not to expose it and instead shifting the topic, “But even if there’s a valid reason, you can’t neglect your studies, can you?”
Dealing with urban legends doesn’t conflict with studying; I remember the boy who used to adventure with us managed to study ancient pictographic manuscripts while exploring the tomb!
That spirit of learning influenced me deeply and is still useful to this day.
Thinking this, Professor Ma turned his gaze to the documents in Luxianbei’s hands, raising an eyebrow, “Take those back, study them carefully, and learn earnestly!”
“Although I usually don’t agree with studying only to pass exams, and I hate the notion of key knowledge; knowledge is knowledge, and there’s no such thing as key knowledge.”
“But given your situation, you can only study the parts that are more practical.”
Truly my tsundere professor, even highlights it in such a clear, refined manner! Luxianbei thought, putting the documents away and saying to Professor Ma, “Thank you, Professor, I’ll study hard!”
As he spoke, his face remained impassive, unsure whether he was sincere or just putting on an act.
“Hmph!” Professor Ma snorted and waved his hand, “Get lost, just looking at you makes me angry!”
With the “guest expulsion order” issued by Professor Ma, Luxianbei no longer lingered, turning to walk out of the office.
Then.
Just as he reached the office door and pushed it open, a tall, thin student with wild hair, holding a stack of documents, suddenly darted out from the corridor and collided into him.
At the moment of impact, he vaguely caught a very special, faint fragrance that piqued his interest.
Before he could distinguish what the scent was, the student lost balance and fell backward.
“Ouch!”
The student cried out softly as he sat on the floor, causing the documents to scatter all around.
Jin Yecheng? A new face? Luxianbei glanced at the student’s name tag, quietly remembering his appearance and name, then crouched down to help him pick up the fallen documents, naturally assisting him up.
“Are you okay?”
The student glanced at Luxianbei, and upon seeing his expressionless face, paused for a moment, hurriedly lowered his head, accepted the handed documents, and responded softly, “I’m fine.”
“That’s good, sorry about earlier.”
Seeing that both of them were fine, Professor Ma loosened his brow, put down his teacup, and introduced them, “Luxianbei, this is your senior, a research student who just started this semester.”
“Yecheng, this is the talented junior I mentioned to you, Luxianbei.”
“Senior Jin?” Luxianbei extended his right hand to Jin Yecheng, expressionless, “I look forward to your guidance in the future.”
“Ah, oh…” Jin Yecheng came to his senses, shook Luxianbei’s hand, and whispered, “Mutual learning, mutual learning.”
While speaking, he kept hunching his back and avoiding eye contact, seemingly not good at interacting with others.
Seeing his two students standing at the door, Professor Ma rubbed his forehead, having a throbbing headache.
One has a thick skin and a deadpan face, the other has social anxiety; it’s hopeless!
……
As Luxianbei left Professor Ma’s office, he caught a glimpse of Jin Yecheng who was still conversing with Professor Ma and frowned slightly.
What was that scent on him?
It felt somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.
Weird, why am I paying attention to the fragrance on a man? Time is running out, I should report to Miaomiao Sauce now, Luxianbei thought.
————
2:30 PM.
At the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau, in the “V” office.
Luxianbei sat at a square desk, propping his chin on his hands, staring slightly dazedly at Jiang Li, who was attentively reading the investigation report on the opposite side.
The feeling was like a boy in love, peeking at his crush’s profile while she focused on class, his gaze filled with admiration and a hint of shyness.
After finishing the investigation report, Jiang Li turned to look at Luxianbei, and upon noticing his gaze, her cheeks flushed slightly, looking around flusteredly, and cleared her throat, “Ahem!”
This is a public space; please restrain your behavior!
Once Luxianbei returned his attention, she said, “I’ve finished, it’s well written.”
Luxianbei was taken aback, surprised, “Really? This is enough?”
Just this? I thought it would need at least several revisions!
“Of course it’s enough.” Jiang Li nodded calmly, “However, the premise is that you must genuinely admire Secretary Silver Horn and Miss Huasang, just as you wrote in your investigation report.”
Otherwise, the Disaster-Class Spiritual Energy Manipulator in charge of the review will surely scrutinize those contents.
After all, you’ve exaggerated it a little; if the two parties see it, they might feel so embarrassed that they’d want to punch you. Jiang Li thought.
“Could there be any doubt?” Luxianbei patted his chest, guaranteeing, “I really admire Silver Horn! Dachunyang Palace has also always been a place I long for.”
Whether it was the audacious act of Silver Horn swallowing extracts from the Inheritance Beast organization or Huasang lying still all day without moving, both are true iron-blooded men in my heart!
The admiration flows like the endless river, Luxianbei secretly thought.
“Hmm…” Jiang Li pondered, tilting her head, “I didn’t expect you to long for Dachunyang Palace that much?”
“Yeah!” Luxianbei nodded firmly.
Lately, I’ve been pondering how to sneak in without anyone noticing!
Hearing this, Jiang Li smiled faintly, displaying an expression of “Baby, you’ve finally grown up.” “In that case, as a Siye Society operative, you can try applying for the spring advanced studies, and see if you can secure a spot.”
If I could attend advanced studies at Dachunyang Palace, it would provide additional confidence for Luxianbei when he cleans up his reputation in the future.
The key is, I may also need to complete spirit pattern advancements lately; if he could go for advanced studies, someone could help supervise him to avoid any fuss.
As the saying goes, ‘near vermilion, one turns red; near ink, one turns black.’ Jiang Li thought, at once neglecting the possibility that Luxianbei, as “ink,” would ruin the advanced studies class.
“Eh? Is the advanced study location at Dachunyang Palace?” Luxianbei asked in surprise.
Is someone sending me a pillow just as I was about to sleep?
Am I about to hit a stroke of luck?
But if I go directly to Dachunyang Palace, wouldn’t I expose myself and get caught? Luxianbei thought.
Jiang Li gently shook her head and explained, “Not exactly; it’s just that the advanced study base is near Dachunyang Palace. When conducting advanced studies, elders from Dachunyang Palace will also come to teach.”
With your background, if you really step into the Zhenwu Mountain gate, you will be discovered immediately, Jiang Li scoffed inwardly.
Upon hearing this, Luxianbei nodded thoughtfully.
Dachunyang Palace, as one of the “talent reservoirs” for the Siye Society, and also possessing numerous high-level spell formulas, talisman-making methods, and secret arts similar to visualization maps, having the Siye Society’s advanced study base nearby seems quite reasonable.
I could seize this opportunity to make plans after getting closer to the area.
Observing up close is certainly better than speculating on my own over a distance of a hundred thousand miles in Huacheng.
“Let’s take a look, this is it.”
As Luxianbei pondered, Jiang Li quietly logged into the Siye Society internal network, searched for the announcement regarding operative spring advanced studies, and turned the computer screen toward Luxianbei.
After briefly scanning the announcement, Luxianbei furrowed his brows and pointed at the lower right corner where it read [Remaining Quota 19/20], saying, “Why is there only one spot left?”
Jiang Li shot Luxianbei an exasperated look and pointed at the deadline on the announcement, saying faintly, “Look at the deadline.”
Luxianbei followed Jiang Li’s finger and froze for a moment, “Is today the last day?”
“Mm-hmm, so if you want to apply, hurry up. Based on your performance in Tangcheng last time, you should be able to secure it easily.”
As soon as Jiang Li finished speaking, Luxianbei, who had been staring at the screen, watched as [Remaining Quota 19/20] turned into [Fully Booked].
d*mn! I knew it wouldn’t be that simple!
“Leader, can you take another look?”
Jiang Li glanced at the screen and fell into silence, “……”
