The External Meal Thief was taken away and loaded into the car.
After sending the other colleagues off, Stonefield-sensei, still nursing his injuries, handed me over to a dark corner.
“Was it you who did it?”
“Huh?” I played dumb.
“You called me earlier to buy ice, and now that ice ended up in that guy’s delivery box… so, you bought the ice just to mess with him?”
No wonder he’s from the Major Crimes Division—at least his intelligence is normal.
“Well, who told him to steal our delivery…” I blinked tearfully, acting pitiful. “He stole the delivery but wouldn’t admit it, so I made a special delivery just for him to steal… it’s not like I forced him to take it.”
Stonefield-sensei pinched the bridge of his nose.
This kid really doesn’t know what’s coming.
“How old are you this year?”
I glanced at myself in the mirror and estimated, “Eleven? Maybe?”
“An eleven-year-old kid just casually refines a kilo of ice and stuffs it into a classmate’s delivery bag?”
“An eleven-year-old kid has even made so many scientific inventions…”
“You must have a few-thousand-year-old Immortal Spirit Emperor living inside you,” Stonefield-sensei said with a dry tone. “The Xian Emperor Reincarnation Bureau?”
What? Have I been found out? Damn it…
“Qilin really is ridiculous,” Stonefield-sensei sighed, “Whoever taught you turned you into this mess…”
“Huh? Ah, right, right.”
“Stealing a delivery isn’t a death sentence; just scare him a little,” Stonefield-sensei said. “This matter went too far.”
“Teacher, you don’t understand this feeling. Have you ever had your delivery stolen?”
“…” Stonefield-sensei fell silent, lost in thought.
He recalled the instant noodles that mysteriously disappeared only to appear in the toilet.
“You know how bad that feels? It’s like being locked in a cage your whole life, eating tears forever, and then suddenly one day you get a meat bone as a puppy. But before you can even take a bite, someone snatches it away… happiness just disappears! Do you understand?! It hurts just as much as being killed!”
“…I get it.” Stonefield-sensei pinched his forehead again. “I really get it. Then just scare him for a couple more days—until it’s enough.”
Having agreed on this, Stonefield-sensei and I stepped out of the alleyway’s shadows.
Unexpectedly, the process of taking the little thief away was not smooth.
“Major Crimes Division, Stonefield? And… Yun Luo Xian?”
The Azure Dragon Mentor blocked our path, folding his fan, expressionless as he stared at us.
“Mentor, we apologize for taking a student from your school, but there’s one kilogram of poison involved—the amount is too large. We must take him back for investigation,” Stonefield-sensei showed his badge firmly.
“I can help keep an eye on him. The school has a Lock-up Room,” the Azure Dragon Mentor said coldly. “The situation is clear. If he knew there was poison in the delivery, he definitely wouldn’t have loudly claimed it was his. Obviously, he didn’t know and was just bluffing… so he’s an External Meal Thief, just stole something he shouldn’t have.”
“No matter the truth, by procedure, since these things were found in his room, we have to take him in for questioning,” Stonefield-sensei decisively cited the rules.
The Azure Dragon Mentor didn’t argue, instead turning to me.
“Yun Luo Xian, come here. I have something to tell you.”
So I returned once more to the dark corner—this time with the Azure Dragon Mentor.
But he didn’t mention the delivery thief. Instead, he brought up the previous mission.
“The cicada blood sample you brought back yesterday has been identified—the original owner is a Lightning Spirit. Even if it’s not Legendary Class, it’s at least Quasi-Legendary.”
“What? What does that have to do with this?”
“This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. That cicada…”
The Azure Dragon Mentor still wasn’t at ease. He waved his hand and set up an Isolation Barrier, enclosing us.
“In fact, we already know who the real master behind those cicadas is. We just can’t find its true form.”
“Qiongqi?” I remembered that when we killed the cicada, a tiny Soul Fragment of Qiongqi jumped out.
“Yes. This kind of Resentful Ghost is born to cause destruction. It emboldens villains, kills the loyal and good, and aims to destroy all order and rules… It wants to turn Tianhai City into Gotham.”
“So what exactly does this have to do with it?”
“Good and ordinary people will never find Qiongqi. Only the utterly vicious—arrogant, thieving, cruel—can attract Qiongqi and bring it here…”
“Oh, so you want to use this person to find Qiongqi?”
The Azure Dragon Mentor nodded. “Not just that. Actually, Qinglong College secretly started a Qiongqi trapping plan months ago.”
I suddenly understood. “Your arrogance…”
“Tianlong People Academy, Ren Shang Ren Academy—such arrogance shouldn’t exist in Egg University,” the Azure Dragon Mentor said. “But it has persisted… its purpose is to lure Qiongqi here.”
“Have you succeeded?”
My question seemed to strike a sore spot.
His eye twitched slightly as he said, “A little too successful… We can no longer tell who truly has Qiongqi and who’s just pretending to be arrogant. The arrogance at Qinglong College has become uncontrollable.”
“…”
This academy really is full of characters.
“The school will definitely punish this External Meal Thief severely—expulsion and a School-wide Notice will follow. But before that, we hope you can cooperate with us… Once we deal with the Qiongqi threat, we’ll make sure this student pays.”
“Deal.”
Having the school’s cooperation was naturally the best outcome.
“On behalf of all of Tianhai City, I thank you for your help. The harm Qiongqi causes far surpasses even Kun… Removing Qiongqi is a top priority.”
“Make sure to give me plenty of Academy Credits then!”
“Rest assured, your Life Tail Plan will go smoothly.”
“Really?! Yay—!”
Seeing the girl before him instantly light up, the Azure Dragon Mentor silently rejoiced—what the teacher group said was true: tails are the ultimate weapon against little Luo Xian.
Hundred times tested, hundred times effective.
At last, this fellow wasn’t completely without weaknesses.
“Then it’s settled!” The Azure Dragon Mentor smiled brightly and extended his pinky, linking it with mine. “When dealing with Qiongqi, you have to help well. Qilin and Qiongqi are sworn enemies; their attributes counter each other.”
“Promise!”
“Next, we will install a Tracking Device on the External Meal Thief. The moment Qiongqi contacts him, we will learn the location of Qiongqi’s lair.”
“Watch your watch; you’ll be specially notified to join the mission.”
“Understood!”
This matter finally ended happily for everyone—it was not in vain that I fed the pig that bucket of fried chicken.
Back in the dorm, I told Cluru everything.
Miss Cluru just said, “Stay safe.”
But Little Qilin was extremely excited all night.
It jumped around the room like it couldn’t contain its boiling blood.
Qilin, a noble beast, but it had never beaten Qiongqi in its life.
How could a gentleman beat a villain?
How could those who follow rules ever defeat those who break them?
Besides, compared to self-restraint, resisting temptation, and holding firm to goals… the positive feedback from indulgence and crime is far more tempting.
It’s human nature, DNA that can’t be defeated.
But this time, it was different.
Its master was no saint.
Want to tempt the Qilins Master to fall into evil?
Let’s see who corrupts whom!
.
Late at night, my watch suddenly beeped.
Half-asleep, Little Qilin sprang up like lightning and nudged me hard with its little head to wake me.
“Ugh… what now… no way… so soon?”
[Beep beep, real-time, Emergency Mission! Eliminate the Legendary Fierce Spirit—Qiongqi!]
[Mission Level: S]
[Qiongqi’s whereabouts discovered. All Guild Master Level or higher experts in the city, assemble immediately!]