Xu Chuyao pushed open the door and saw her girlfriend from the Bai family still sprawled lazily on the bed, so she crossed her arms and gave her a small scolding.
“How are you still in bed, Yin Puyu? I’ve been up for ages. Didn’t Luo Tu keep you up all night yesterday?”
Chuyao, as the one who swapped with you, isn’t even this tired, so why are you still lying there?
Shen Ning stayed where she was, thought for a moment, and said: “I’m thinking about something.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“The spirit beasts in the stone, there’s almost thirty thousand of them, but only a small part are willing to support me,” the young girl said, “If I encounter others, what should I do? Should I just smash them up, or try to persuade them first?”
She handed this dilemma over to her girlfriend.
“Obviously, just leave them be and wait for me to fight them,” Xu Chuyao replied without hesitation, “You already fought enough before, let me enjoy it for once.”
A huge number of petrified monsters at only stage one mid-level strength—wasn’t this a perfect training ground? Even if you killed them, all you’d get was a pile of stones, no psychological burden, nothing to worry about.
Shen Ning grumbled, and even the shadows in the mirror paused for a moment.
“I thought you’d be gentler, like when you’re lying in bed…”
Just like you are now.
Xu Chuyao knew what she was getting at in the second half of that sentence and snorted, “You really have a sharp tongue about me. Enough talk, get up, we have to head back to Freiden Free City.”
She went on to explain that Freiden Academy was about to start again and was going to host a day to celebrate its revival. Several teachers had invited them over warmly.
Shen Ning got out of bed to put on her shoes and casually asked, “A teacher came?”
The teacher even came all the way here? Wouldn’t it have been easier to help out at their own academy? Did they have to get a permit for this or what?
Xu Chuyao shrugged, “It’s either someone teaching regular subjects, or maybe art. Nothing that actually requires any special permit.”
It might sound a bit cold, but that’s just how things are. Isn’t that right, Teacher Li Xueli?
Before leaving, the two went to Principal Lü’s office and picked up their passes.
“You two have worked hard these past few days,” Principal Lü said. “Have some fun on your trip.”
No matter how you looked at it, this trip was more of a vacation.
Kubaas City, outside the messy, ramshackle Heavenly Prison.
Swina had just been sent off on the way back to prison, almost exactly at this spot. The timing that day was unfortunate—the Warden was out dealing with other matters, the guards were in the middle of changing shifts, and both manpower and focus were severely lacking.
As a high-level leader of the Judicial Department, Monrose naturally could not evade responsibility. But when the specialist sent by the higher-ups came to question him, they found him reclining in his chair, eyes half open, half closed, his words trailing off.
“There was a breakout… Someone escaped… That’s my fault. I feel I… won’t be able to hold on much longer… In a while, I’ll take the initiative to… step down from all my duties in the Judicial Department…”
Since he put it that way, what could anyone do? Anyway, whatever happened, at least he promised to step down—so that was some kind of explanation.
The specialist took Monrose’s words back with him, leaving some dignity for this old warhorse.
History will judge.
The clock in the guard room chimed, reminding Monrose it was time for his daily medication.
“Furen.”
His female assistant brought the medicine over and placed it by his side, then began massaging his muscles for him.
Monrose took a sip, the wrinkles on his brow briefly relaxing.
“The water’s a bit cool, Nafu. What’s going on with you today…”
A soft, effeminate male voice sounded from behind. “Miss Bangyun isn’t here, she’s attending to Professor Kao.”
“I asked her to rest a bit longer in her own room—think of it as a day off.”
Monrose slowly turned his head and saw a slender man standing there, wearing a dark suit, half his face covered by a mask.
He recognized the mask’s design—one of the gods from traditional festivals in Ying Ba Si City. You could buy them in any souvenir shop here.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the one you’ve been looking for, old gentleman. I heard from some colleagues who just had a brush with death that you were anxious to see us, so I came over.”
Supreme Society.
Helping Swina escape and recommending himself to the Supreme Society—that was the secret agreement between the two.
That said, Monrose remained alert in front of this uninvited guest who dared sneak into his house wearing a mask.
“What did you do with her?” He first inquired about his secretary’s situation. “I can smell her scent on you…”
“Oh, yes. I found Bangyun’s usual perfume on her dresser. I must admit, she has excellent taste. I couldn’t resist and sprayed a bit on myself,” the man said in his effeminate tone, mocking, “Relax, I just borrowed it, that’s all.”
Monrose kept silent. Up to this moment, he still couldn’t tell whether this visitor was here out of goodwill or something else.
After thinking carefully, he probed, “I know you have people in the Valhalla Research Institute. I never carried out a strict investigation from the start, even stopped others…”
Not long ago, Center City had submitted an internal investigation request, and Monrose had dragged it out until all the project-related personnel had been brought together before he let it go through.
“Of course, and for that, we owe you a little thanks—just a little, not too much,” the masked man said with a smile. “But we really can cooperate. What you want and what we’re doing aren’t in conflict.”
Hearing this, Monrose’s frown relaxed a bit.
“So what do you want?”
“We don’t want anything, old man. We’ll help you get what you want, and occasionally ask for just a little cooperation.”
This effeminate man seemed to really enjoy saying “just a little.”
Monrose didn’t believe that “just a little” meant exactly that, but at this point, he had no choice left.
“I’ll be going now. Next time I’ll contact you a different way. Anything else you want to know?”
“Swina has already left.”
The effeminate man smiled under his mask.
“The rescue mission is complete. At first, our reckless actions did waste some of the Society’s resources, but later, since we recommended Professor Kao, we’ve made up for it. Out of humanitarian concern, we’re willing to help him realize his long-cherished wish… or, let’s say, do it even better than last time.”
Shengling Academy, afternoon. Xu Chuyao and Shen Ning boarded a plane to Freiden Free City.
After a conversation, Teacher Jiang Xian from Freiden Academy confirmed she really did teach art—music and painting both. There was always a set class in the school, and students could drop in if interested.
“In the old days, this would be called an elective,” Xu Chuyao said.
There were no credits, just a grade point.
Teacher Lian Ji smiled and replied, “Xu, you really are an expert on old culture. Teacher Li wasn’t wrong.”
They spent half a day at Shengling Academy. The other teachers were busy with their own affairs, so only Li Xueli, who had no class, showed them around and chatted about her favorite top students.
“Well, that really is something to know more about.”
After all, both Xu Chuyao and Yao Yao were from another era.
Once on the plane, the two girls immediately flopped onto the sofa. This private jet had no other entertainment, but plenty of room—and with a couch to lounge on, why bother sitting up straight?
“News of Swina’s escape has shaken the school these past days. The students, especially those who survived last time’s teaching building incident, are all nervous. The principal said our celebration might help boost everyone’s spirits.”
Xu Chuyao nodded. “Back in the age of ritual spirit rites, this was called a ‘ceremony.’”
“Xu, you really know everything. You two rest here. I’ll check on things in the kitchen. By the way, that suitcase over there is mine. It’s got some of my collected artwork inside—take a look if you like.”
The art teacher prepared thoroughly, wanting to leave a good first impression and even bringing along some of her teaching materials.
Once she left, the two girls both collapsed onto the bed. Xu Chuyao glanced around, Shen Ning looked at the ceiling—their gazes crossed in midair, and for a moment both felt a little awkward.
“Aren’t you supposed to be energetic? Why are you still lying down?” Xu Chuyao struck first. “What’s your excuse?”
“I… I’m just feeling the texture of this couch. It’s pretty good,” Shen Ning replied calmly. “What about you? Didn’t you say you got up early this morning?”
Normally it wouldn’t matter if they slacked off, but after yesterday’s big battle, who said a hero couldn’t laze around a bit?
So, the two lay there together.
“Swina escaped. That Mon—what’s-his-name—Monrose, he’s got to be responsible for this, right?” Shen Ning asked. “If the higher-ups blame him, will the crystal project he runs get cancelled?”
Xu Chuyao wasn’t sure if her girlfriend was just changing the subject or really wanted to know, but she answered seriously.
“No, because the crystal project isn’t his alone. Many people haven’t come forward, but they’re pulling strings from behind, wanting to see if it really can prolong life.”
Shen Ning let out a sigh.
It would be great if a competitor like Monrose got out of the game on his own.
“There’s no use worrying about that now. Better to enjoy this break,” Xu Chuyao got up from the couch and walked over to the suitcase Teacher Jiang mentioned. “Let’s appreciate some art.”
Inside were some very impressive artworks, and even some short sculptures. Clearly, this foreign teacher was quite talented.
“This is ‘Bright Moon Sunflower.’ This one’s called ‘Shout.’ That’s ‘Infantry and the Goddess of Love’… There are more, too.”
After they finished looking at the art, Xu Chuyao lifted the suitcase and found a hidden compartment inside. Displayed there was something that wasn’t exactly soft, but not really hard either.
“Let me see what kind of instrument this is. Hey… what’s this?”
A mysterious purple object was held in her hand, its slender neck showing an expressionless face.
“Shen Ning, come look—what is this?”
At first the girl didn’t react, but when she turned and saw her girlfriend’s posture—and what she was holding—she immediately stood up, a little unsure of herself.
[Villain Value M100]