Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 10

“Ying Feng! Ying Feng, wait up!”

Ying Feng stopped reluctantly. When had he started to find this guy so clingy?

Just a moment ago, when Ying Feng was walking ahead, Ling Xiao was chasing him persistently. Now that the two of them were face to face, Ling Xiao seemed lost for words.

“Do you need something?” Ying Feng asked directly, implying that if not, he should leave.

Ling Xiao clenched his teeth. “Have you registered with Zhu Yue?”

Ying Feng furrowed his brows. “Registered?”

“You know, like… at Dr. Yao’s. For the coming-of-age ceremony.”

He spoke vaguely, and Ying Feng was puzzled.

“I don’t know.”

“So you haven’t registered?” Ling Xiao’s mood improved considerably. “Then how come I saw both of you coming out of the medical building today?”

“You’ve been following me?”

“Can’t I just run into you coincidentally?”

“Can’t we just meet coincidentally?”

Ling Xiao murmured, “It might be a coincidence for you, but maybe not for him.”

Ying Feng either didn’t hear clearly or simply ignored him. “You chased me down just to ask this?”

“Can’t I even ask?” Ling Xiao, trying to hide his awkwardness, rubbed his nose. “Have you and Zhu Yue tried it?”

“Tried what?”

Ling Xiao made a motion of cutting his finger. “Like last time.”

Understanding dawned on Ying Feng. “No.”

Ling Xiao was elated. “Why haven’t you tried?”

“Do I have to try with everyone?”

“You need to find your past life’s partner, right? What if you tried with everyone and still couldn’t find them?” Ling Xiao said, taking a bit of pleasure in Ying Feng’s predicament.

“Are you done?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been beating around the bush, but you have just one intention.”

“What?”

“You’ve run out of money for food, haven’t you?”

“I…”

“You can just tell me if you need to borrow some. No need to go about it in a roundabout way.”

Ling Xiao was stunned. Just then, his stomach growled quite appropriately.

Wait, this is the internet. How could a digital entity be hungry? Ling Xiao wondered. Indeed, in reality, he hadn’t eaten all day. But how did Ying Feng know?

“I saw your card balance last time. If you’re broke, don’t overspend.”

“Who says?” Ling Xiao retorted. “I have many friends. I can always mooch off someone for a meal. I don’t need your concern.”

In fact, he had been eating at Ping Zong’s and Lan Sheng’s for days using various excuses and was starting to feel embarrassed.

“Alright,” Ying Feng said, appearing relieved. “If you’re okay, then stop following me.”

Frustrated, Ling Xiao watched as Ying Feng walked away and disappeared from view.

It’s just money, right? It’s not like he earned it… Ling Xiao muttered to himself. To save up his allowance, he must be eating those cheap Mogu brand energy bread. The bread was cheap and filling, so money could be saved. That must be how it was.

Imagining Ying Feng munching on the energy bread, Ling Xiao logged off and found the delivery light on his transporter lit up.

A lit light meant there was a delivery. Thanks to technology, any online purchase would be delivered through this transporter. Even the unlocking device Zhen He gave to Ying Feng last time was delivered this way.

When the light was on, it meant that there was something inside. Thanks to the advancements in internet technology, any product purchased online would be delivered through the teleportation device. The last time when Zhen He gave Ying Feng the unlocker, it was also transferred to reality using this machine.

However, Ling Xiao clearly didn’t bring anything with him and couldn’t possibly have made any purchases with his card, so why would the teleporter’s light be on? Could it be Ping Zong or Lan Sheng? The three of them sometimes bought items online and had them directly delivered to one another’s addresses, but what could it be this time?

With confusion, Ling Xiao opened the teleporter, and to his surprise, there was an entire box of Mogu brand energy bread.

Staring at this unexpected gift, Ling Xiao was stunned for a moment. Only two people knew that he didn’t have enough money on his card to buy food, and obviously, someone as money-loving as Zhen He wouldn’t do such a thing.

With mixed feelings, he pulled out one of the packs and was immediately taken aback.

It was strawberry-flavored energy bread. The pink packaging emitted shyness from the inside out, and it was adorned with a picture of a young girl in a magic costume… This was clearly meant for girls to eat. Was Ying Feng teasing him on purpose?

Despite these thoughts, he hesitated for a moment, then opened the packaging, took a sniff, and bit into it.

Half an hour later, Ling Xiao lay contentedly on his bed, rubbing his full stomach, with an empty package beside him. The bag had a picture of a young girl in a pink dress, smiling radiantly.

Sure enough, when you’re hungry, anything tastes delicious… Ling Xiao thought to himself.

……

The next day, Ling Xiao woke up rejuvenated. The energy bread really sustained hunger well, as he didn’t feel any hungrier even after a whole night. From his estimation, one packet could replace a day’s consumption, and the amount Ying Feng bought for him was just right to last until the next stipend.

However, the thought of having to eat this for every upcoming day made Ling Xiao somewhat anxious.

On his way to the classroom, he encountered two twelfth grade seniors apparently bullying someone.

It was already wrong to outnumber and bully the weak, especially when Ling Xiao realized that the victim was his own classmate. He couldn’t just stand by.

“Hey,” the two senior students from Bikong Academy heard someone shouting from behind. Annoyed, they turned and laughed when they saw who it was.

“Look, isn’t this the one you fancied?” said the taller one, teasingly.

“It seems we’re meant to be,” replied the other. “Too bad he’s not ripe for the taking yet.”

The two snickered, and Ling Xiao, not understanding their conversation, leaped over, stepped on their shoulders, and landed beside his classmate.

“Hey, are you okay?” Although Ling Xiao came to help, he instinctively didn’t like the guy and wasn’t particularly friendly.

The last thing Zhu Xue wanted was a favor from Ling Xiao. He also harbored innate hostility towards him, so even though he was in danger, he still resented Ling Xiao’s interference.

“I’m fine,” he said, standing tall, not wanting to seem weak in front of Ling Xiao. The two seniors were clearly angered by Ling Xiao’s insolence.

“Hey junior, hasn’t anyone taught you to respect your seniors?”

Ignoring them, Ling Xiao turned to Zhu Xue. “What happened? Why are they bullying you?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” the taller senior snapped. “We didn’t provoke him. He suddenly came at us. How is this our fault?”

“Exactly,” the shorter one chimed in. “You should control your classmates.”

“How dare you!” Zhu Xue stepped forward indignantly. “Who was it that said they couldn’t find anyone of their own grade to their liking, and that the tenth graders are about to awaken, so they should take advantage and take their blood while they’re still ignorant?”

“So what if we said it?” The taller one smirked. “Did we mention you? With your skill level, even if you begged me, I wouldn’t care.”

“You may not have mentioned me, but targeting Ying Feng is off-limits!”

“Ying Feng?” Ling Xiao interjected, having pieced things together. “These guys dared to set their sights on Ying Feng?”

Zhu Xue kept silent, and Ling Xiao deduced even worse possibilities. “Am I involved in this too?”

The shorter one smirked. “I don’t want to fight you now. Wait till you awaken, and I promise I’ll ‘take care’ of you.”

Annoyed, Ling Xiao finally realized he was being coveted by such disgusting people. “We don’t have to wait. I’ll ‘take care’ of you right now.”

By the end of his sentence, the shorter one had already received two punches, and he didn’t even see how Ling Xiao made his move. The taller one joined the fray, but Ling Xiao, an expert in close combat among the tenth graders, held his own even against two seniors.

While Ling Xiao was powerful, fighting two opponents wasn’t easy. After dozens of rounds, neither side had the upper hand. The seniors were getting embarrassed; losing to a tenth grader would look bad. At Bikong Academy, fighting wasn’t against the rules or shameful, but losing was.

Considering this, they threw all pretense out the window, exchanged a look, and drew their daggers. Now Ling Xiao was at a disadvantage, as he didn’t carry a dagger out of laziness. He was now unarmed against two armed opponents, and he soon suffered some injuries.

Watching anxiously from the sidelines, Zhu Xue, despite his disdain for Ling Xiao, couldn’t just watch him lose. He drew his own dagger and lunged at the taller one.

But he was too slow and weak. The taller one easily dodged and only had his clothes slightly cut.

“You weakling, dare to challenge me?” Enraged by Zhu Xue’s audacity, the senior feinted at Ling Xiao and lunged at Zhu Xue with his dagger raised high.

Zhu Yue let out a startled cry, fearfully closing his eyes. However, after waiting for a long time, the anticipated pain didn’t come.

He cautiously opened his eyes a crack. In front of him, a hand tightly gripped a knife’s blade. Blood dripped down from the dagger, falling to the ground. Beneath his feet, there was a patch of dark red.

“You really drag me down.” Ling Xiao spat out through clenched teeth. Suddenly, he exploded with power, as if transformed, defeating the two attackers with ease. Zhu Yue was stunned. Was this Ling Xiao’s true strength?

The tall one had already been knocked down. Seeing the turn of events, the shorter one turned to run. Without a word, Ling Xiao chased after him, and both disappeared in an instant.

Zhu Yue was still in a daze when the fallen foe shakily got up. Seeing only Zhu Yue left, the man charged at him in rage. He had been thoroughly beaten by Ling Xiao earlier, and now, with his anger boiling over, he seemed determined to tear Zhu Yue apart. Startled by this aggressive onslaught, Zhu Yue could only swing his dagger wildly, trying to fend off his attacker.

“Enough,” a deep voice suddenly interrupted. Zhu Yue trembled, as if hearing something incredible.

When he looked up, it was Ying Feng standing in front of him, and the aggressive senior had vanished.

“Where did he go?” Zhu Yue cautiously asked.

“I drove him away.”

“But I…” Zhu Yue cried out in alarm, realizing he had accidentally cut Ying Feng’s arm in his blind flailing.

“It’s just a small wound. Don’t overreact,” Ying Feng chided.

“But,” Zhu Yue said uneasily, pointing to the bleeding cut, “It’s bleeding.”

Ying Feng dismissed the minor injury and turned his attention to Zhu Yue. “Your fighting skills are pitifully weak. You’re a disgrace.”

Feeling ashamed, especially after being criticized by someone he admired, Zhu Yue lowered his head. His gaze fell upon the wound he had caused. A trickle of blood ran down Ying Feng’s arm, over the back of his hand, and lingered at the fingertip for a moment before dropping to the ground, close to the spot where Ling Xiao’s blood had fallen.

“Ah!” Zhu Yue screamed again, dropping the dagger in his hand with a clang.

“What are you screaming about?” Yin Feng asked impatiently.

Zhu Yue covered his mouth, pointing at the ground, looking as if he had witnessed the most horrifying scene in the world.

Following his gesture, Ying Feng looked down. Beside the blood that had already seeped into the ground, a new bloodstain was slowly spreading, merging with the old one, creating an alarming red trail on the ground.

Had Ying Feng not previously read Tai Yin’s research diary, he would have thought something supernatural was occurring. In contrast, the uninformed Zhu Yue was far from calm; his face was pale and his expression horrified, as if he had seen a ghost.

The mingling of the blood finally ceased, indistinguishable from each other, just as described in Tai Yin’s diary.

Suddenly, Zhu Yue felt a sharp pain in his shoulders as Yin Feng tightly grasped them.

“Whose is it?”

“What…what?” Zhu Yue was confused.

“The blood on the ground,” an unusually tense Ying Feng questioned. All the composure he had maintained over the past ten years seemed to evaporate in that moment.

“Why don’t you first tell me why this happened?” Zhu Yue inquired.

The pain in Zhu Yue’s shoulder intensified, a result of Yin Feng’s increasing grip, making him cry out in pain.

Ignoring Zhu Yue’s question, Yin Feng demanded, “Tell me, whose blood is on the ground?”

Zhu Yue bit his lower lip and responded, “It’s my blood.”

---

The author has something to say:

Tip: Due to its racial specificity, the school doesn’t prohibit fighting, but the use of weapons is strictly prohibited.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>