It was confirmed they were the opposition, but his girlfriend was still over there, and for the moment, he couldn’t just get away.
Shen Ning couldn’t leave, nor could he get too close to the palace, so he could only try to discreetly retreat without drawing attention, quietly listening in on their conversation.
Fortunately, these things weren’t very vigilant. Whether it was because the White Mist World limited their vision or they were always a bit careless, no one noticed that the person they were discussing was right nearby.
“The White-haired Twilight Lord is very calm and quiet. She usually controls us through emotion, which is fine. But if you ever see her true self when she’s in a bad mood, she’ll grant you a cruel death. You’ll die right where you stand.”
“Yeah, I know someone. Last time, he just happened to pass by, and the White-haired Twilight Lord split him in two with a glance.”
So they were just taking turns denouncing me.
Shen Ning thought to herself, what do they mean by ‘happen to run into me’? Weren’t all those times you guys came looking for me yourselves, including the first time in that far corner?
But the way they spoke was so earnest and full of emotion, you’d think they really were just strolling along and suddenly got attacked by the terrifying Twilight Girl.
“That’s right. I know someone who was perfectly fine when they left, but when they returned, there was only half a head left. It took half a day to recover.”
“Listen, last time I was there, hiding behind someone else. That person didn’t even see what happened, just got swept up by a wild wind, and after that, had no idea what was going on.”
“How pitiful.”
“Forget it, A-Ba, what about you? How did the White-haired Twilight Lord treat you?”
The suddenly questioned Big Thunder Little Meng blinked and tilted her head cutely: “Me? She just carried me home.”
The whole group let out a collective gasp of surprise, apparently not expecting the White-haired Twilight Lord to actually have a soft spot for someone new.
“She really likes me, and it’s happened many, many times.”
“What a terrifying star lord.”
“Yeah, too evil.”
Shen Ning listened until her eyelids started to twitch.
“You see, what did I say?” Sexually Repressed Shadow suddenly popped up from the side, “That’s how it is. If you don’t provoke her, you’re not even worthy of her attention.”
“That’s not entirely fair,” Xu Chuyao, now deeply involved in politics, spoke up, “You could also say she does it to fit in with them.”
Shen Ning didn’t need to look to know who was speaking.
As for Milky Ning Reflection, for once it stood together with Sexually Repressed Shadow: “Yu Li said it, you’ve already taken a bite, so what are you waiting for!”
Shen Ning rolled her eyes, ignoring these shadows who’d finally found a rare chance to gossip. Just like she’d said before, there was no escape right now.
This place was seriously oppressive.
No one knew how much time had passed. After everyone had vented their anger through the white mist, Big Thunder Little Meng returned to her girlfriend’s side with a cheerful smile.
“Fen Ning, what did you say to them over there? Everyone’s full of complaints, and the topic of criticizing you went from start to finish.”
Xu Chuyao was truly amazed. These guys were usually like Tang Dynasty scholars, their words made no sense, but the moment the conversation turned to the White-haired Girl’s actions—goodness!—they all suddenly became articulate and logical, as if their cultural level had instantly risen.
Shen Ning kept her face straight and said nothing.
As for the issue of denouncing herself, Mei Jiang had already explained before—opposition types just weren’t all there in the head. They enjoyed doing this because it made them feel human, so they kept on and on.
The reasoning was clear enough, but, come on, even if you want group bonding, why always target me!
“Shen Ning, they said you’re really ruthless, and asked how you could treat me like that. So mean.”
“Wouldn’t you agree, Shang Kui?”
“You too!”
Shen Ning couldn’t help but wrap her girlfriend in a protective hug, making the nearby Sexually Repressed Shadow shriek in terror.
“Watching’s not enough, if you’re going to do it, just do it! The place is big enough, there’s no one else here, go for it!”
But in the end, she wasn’t that brazen.
After a while, Xu Chuliang realized a minor problem: “How are we supposed to get out of here?”
As someone who’d been here several times before, Shen Ning knew the answer to that: “Just wait until the door that connects to the outside world opens, then we walk right out, and as long as we get there before the others, it’s fine.”
Xu Chuli was skeptical: “That sounds too easy.”
Shen Ning hesitated, then said lightly, “Anyway, I always manage to find the way out.”
Sometimes, the people inside even came looking for her.
“But,” said the snow-ice-bonded Miss Xu Fenqiu, having found a flaw, “how long are we supposed to wait? Until the Clown launches another Soulstone attack?”
Shen Ning fell silent.
People coming and going in the human world.
On the Outer Map Highway of Chen Zhen County, several people were kneeling on the ground, wailing bitterly, while Yu Jing and the others watched with stony expressions.
“Spare me, Lord Wu. They threatened me, said if I didn’t do as they asked, they’d kill my whole family. I had no choice.”
The county Security Department chief, whose name no one knew, knelt on the ground, alternately wiping his nose and his tears.
No choice? Actually, he did have one—Xu Chuyao was able to make a call from the scene, so of course he could have reported things sooner, he just didn’t dare. On the other hand, if you really reach a life-and-death moment, who knows, maybe some big-hearted girl will risk her life to call for help, thinking if she has to die, she’ll at least take someone down with her, and spill everything.
“Take him away,” Principal Lü calmly instructed. “Call Shang Lin to bring him back.”
Xu Chuyao was not only a student of Shengling Academy but also a direct leader in the Security Department, so Wei Lin had every reason to vent for his boss.
“So,” Cheng Chen spoke up cautiously, “they’re really gone?”
Yu Jing’s face was ashen; she didn’t reply.
The good news was that, after arresting these people and interrogating them, it was confirmed the two girls weren’t dead—they’d been spirited away. The fighting had ended abruptly, and someone had seen Supreme Society members hurrying away from Chen Zhen County.
Knowing this, Yu Jing’s face didn’t change, but everyone’s spirits eased a little.
“Teacher Yu, Teacher Cheng, let’s head back. Later, Shang Lin will stand guard here, and any news will be reported immediately.” Principal Lü made a suggestion. “Let’s go ask the students and staff if anyone knows where they might have gone.”
It was a good idea, and the two teachers immediately thought of someone.
“Former Crisis Response Team members!”
Very soon, several team members learned of it—the respected Team Leader Xu and her girlfriend had gone missing. The group chat immediately exploded in worry.
[The leader’s missing. Do any of you know where she might have gone?]
[No idea. The teachers said she was forced to disappear, to escape pressure.]
[Damn, if I’d known, I would’ve ignored this stupid internship. If only I were at Team Leader Xu’s side.]
[Calm down. Remember the last time at Shengling Academy? Our strength is only good enough to watch from the sidelines. Being close would just get in the leader’s way.]
[Enough, everyone. Stop panicking. The teachers want to know if Xu Chuyao and the others could have gone anywhere. Does anyone have any clues?]
Hu Yumeng was usually the calm one, but even she couldn’t get a clear answer—nobody knew.
She put away her phone and looked at Office Ten’s Director Wan.
Yu Jing poured herself a cup of water but didn’t even sip it before asking, “Is there anyone else at the school who might know?”
Hu Yumeng poked her head out, but just then her phone vibrated. There was a new message in the group chat.
[There is, in the City! Someone might know!]
[Team Leader Xu mentioned that our group did some canvassing, but nobody followed up on that.]
[You can try the Activity Room!]
Yes, the Crisis Response Team had become inactive, but Xu Chuyao still had an old team that was always around.
A few minutes later, Principal Lü and the two teachers met up and went together to find the so-called “Special Information Group.” When they walked into the Activity Room, Xiao Si Nuo was watering the plants by the window.
“Little Flower, see, this is how you water the daylily. There’s a ‘ji’ in its name, so you have to water it with your head held high. Maybe it doesn’t do anything special, but it might lift its mood a bit.”
He heard footsteps, thinking it was the girls he liked coming over, so he kept lecturing energetically until a familiar stern voice rang out.
“Xiao Si Nuo!”
Xiao Si Nuo shivered violently.
“Homeroom… no, Teacher Yu, what are you… what are you all doing here?”
The Special Group’s Activity Room was still quite spacious. Even after turning part of it into a bedroom for the flowers, there was still plenty of living room for everyone to sit down together. Xiao Si Nuo poured tea and water for the teachers and leaders, then nervously explained what he knew.
The Supreme Society had set a trap, luring his superior Xu out to kill her. At the critical moment, Xu and Shen Ning used some unknown method to vanish mysteriously, and now everyone wanted to bring them back—did he have any clues?
“Disappeared without a trace. Just suddenly gone.” Xiao Si Nuo muttered. “Can’t find them anywhere, not even in the real world.”
He recalled what Xu Chuyao had asked him to record a few days ago, written in the Special Group’s secure files, about why she’d brought the Soulstone into the academy.
At the time, her reasoning was: as long as it’s recorded in the Special Group’s confidential file, it counts as having reported it. If anyone ever caught her with dangerous items at school, she could pull it out and say it was official business, that she’d filed a report, and that’d be her excuse.
Yu Jing didn’t really understand what he meant by ‘official report,’ but there was no time to clarify: “Right, they’re missing. Do you know any clues?”
“I do have a guess, and it might be right, but I’ll have to go out and get something.”
Xiao Si Nuo put down his hot water cup, glanced at the three teachers and leaders sitting opposite him—first at the ever-serious Director Wan, then the unfamiliar upperclassman Teacher Cheng, and finally at Principal Lü, who always gave long speeches at the opening ceremony—and nervously said:
“But let’s make this clear first: you can’t blame me for this later, and don’t blame Team Leader Xu either.”
Xu Chuyao had finally found the door to reality. Shen Ning, not wanting to say too much, just said, “We just have to keep walking.”
“When a Soulstone event happens nearby, the door will open above our heads. We just have to walk along our intuition.”
That’s what she’d said.
So the two of them started wandering aimlessly.
The White Mist World was an endless white, with almost nothing else but the occasional shadow flickering by. Sometimes, they’d just stand in place; sometimes, they’d disappear with flowing lightning, like a mirage.
This was not reality. The sense of time here wasn’t the same as in the real world, so their pace didn’t match up. As they walked, there was a strange, gentle sense of leisure.
Walking together like this, it almost felt like they were on a date.
That thought came to Shen Ning, and subconsciously, she took her girlfriend’s small hand.
Xu Chuyao turned to look at her, eyes clear and a little surprised, silently asking a question.
“There’s fog everywhere, no directions, no landmarks,” the girl said as if it was obvious. “Better hold hands, in case we get separated.”
“Sounds like a marriage proposal.”
Xu Chuyao thought that made sense.
Then, worried her girlfriend would find the place boring, Shen Ning added, “Before, I went to a place kind of like Ji Dai’s ruins. Someone told me there are several special areas like yours in this world. If we keep walking, maybe we’ll run into one.”