I regret it.
I deeply regret it.
Taking Cluru as my disciple is definitely one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
On the way out of the cave, faint sounds kept coming from the box.
“Master, master~ tomorrow is an auspicious day for weddings!”
“Master, master~ I remembered everything you taught me. The hallucinogenic powder has been ordered.”
“Master, master~”
The little one was acting all obedient now, calling me “master” with every other word.
But that “master” sent chills down my spine.
“Alright, Cluru, I have something serious to tell you.”
I suddenly grabbed the box, face full of sorrow.
“Our sect is disbanded.”
“…?”
“Yep. Starting today, our master-disciple relationship is over. Everything I taught you before— just pretend it was nonsense. All of it was misleading junk. You must, absolutely must, forget it!”
Two hours after taking on my first disciple, I officially gave up.
“Master, Cluru will never forget your teachings.”
“No! Forget them! Forget them right now!”
“And since we’re no longer master and disciple, does that mean I can call you…”
“Don’t even think about it!!”
……
“Whew— finally back in a safe city.”
After a long journey, we’d finally reached our first stop.
Shihe Town.
Sen Dalu, carrying his broken leg, rushed to the hospital.
Surgical techniques in the Fairy Realm were advanced— though they couldn’t cure some bug-tier poisons like Paraquat, reattaching a leg should still be doable.
“Don’t forget to write your self-reflection!” I shouted after Sen Dalu’s retreating figure, standing on tiptoe. “Forty thousand words!”
.
“I’m heading to the Fairy Association to report what happened and ask them to help find Teacher Ishida,” Xinyue said helplessly. “You guys go get settled at the inn first.”
“Got it.”
Teacher Ishida was still missing.
No idea where he’d gone.
“No need.” Ishida stepped out from behind a nearby wall.
“Eh?! Teacher Ishida!”
Where had this guy been? How does he just appear out of nowhere?
“Luo Xian successfully predicted the trap— plus seven points. Cluru and Xinyue made the right choices in a crisis— plus three points. Finally, Luo Xian single-handedly took down all the bandits— excellent performance, plus twenty points.”
“…Teacher, how do you know everything? Were you hiding nearby watching us get wrecked?” Xinyue asked, clearly annoyed.
“I told you from the start: you were to make your own decisions and face the consequences on this journey. Even if you’d all been wiped out, I wouldn’t have stepped in.”
Ishida’s expression was cold and firm.
“……”
He’d said that before, but none of the students had really believed him.
He’s a teacher— could he really stand by and watch his students die?
It wasn’t until they faced true life-and-death danger that they finally believed.
Ishida really was capable of coldly watching them die.
When Sen Dalu’s legs were cut off and he was screaming in agony, Ishida still didn’t make a move… He truly meant what he said.
“Sen Dalu lost his head to temptation, made poor decisions, and dragged the entire class into a trap… Losing just his legs was lucky.”
Ishida coldly broke down the situation.
“Hopefully the pain will make him remember this lesson for life. And the rest of you…”
“A bunch of headless chickens!!!”
“Did you all forget how I usually teach you? Always stay rational! Think independently! Always keep a degree of doubt about appearances… and what did you do?!”
“You are the worst class I’ve ever had. Except for Luo Xian, Xinyue, and Cluru.”
Ishida’s merciless tirade made the already dejected students feel even more ashamed.
They were finally tasting the cruelty of reality, seeing firsthand how a single misstep could ruin everything in the adult world.
And before they left, they’d thought this trip was just a spring outing…
“And finally, Luo Xian, for standing by and not helping at first—minus one point.”
“??? Didn’t I save them?!”
“You only saved them because Xinyue got captured. Ask yourself honestly— if she hadn’t been taken, would you have gone back?”
“Why would I go back?” I replied confidently. “They all treated me like crap. Why should I repay that with kindness? Just because we’re classmates and barely talked?”
“No. Because you are the Qilin’s chosen master.”
“……”
“If you were just an ordinary spirit master, there’d be nothing wrong with what you did today. But you’re the master of a legendary spirit— your power is immense, and in the future… your every action could affect the life and death of countless people.”
Ishida let out a soft sigh and tried to ruffle my hair like some kindly elder, but I angrily shoved his hand away.
“Alright, alright, I only docked you one point as a token gesture— so the higher-ups won’t say I didn’t educate you properly… don’t be mad.”
Ishida looked at my reaction, half-laughing, half-exasperated. “You can’t save someone who insists on dying, and even good advice is wasted on the already doomed. If it were me, I’d have made the same choice you did. But I still had to say something. You are the Qilin’s master, after all— there are people very concerned about how your worldview develops… using paraquat mixed with anesthetic as a form of execution is pretty brutal. It’d be hard to explain if I didn’t at least scold you a little.”
“Brutal? So what? So you think I was wrong too, Teacher Ishida?” I stared at him.
“No, I’ve always believed— if you’ve got a grudge, settle it. If you’ve got resentment, let it out. Only by venting everything can you maintain a truly healthy mindset. And whether it’s responsibility or compassion… they both need to come from a heart at peace,” Ishida said.
That answer surprised me a little.
Because it wasn’t the kind of response you’d find in a moral textbook.
It actually sounded more like something from the cultivation world— a belief in maintaining clarity of the heart, not some universal virtue.
“Besides, you did it to protect that girl, didn’t you?” Ishida smiled faintly. “That alone proves the Qilin made the right choice.”
“…Bullshit. I just couldn’t stand that stinking fart-lion, that’s all!”
“Haha, who knows. Alright, go enjoy some well-earned rest at the inn.”
……
Whew—
Ishida. I underestimated him.
I flopped backward onto the bed— only to land on my injury, jolting upright like a spring-loaded trap.
“Ahh! Ow ow ow ow ow…”
My legs, still wrapped in white stockings, trembled from the pain.
Now that the fight was over and the mental anesthesia had worn off, this body’s hypersensitivity was acting up again.
Kinda missed Cluru’s tentacle massage— honestly, it was a god-tier healing technique…
She’s just next door. Should I ask her?
No no no no, absolutely not. Cluru’s even more dangerous now than she was before.
Before, she was just crazy in the head— she never actually acted on her delusions.
But now, ever since I took her as a disciple… she really does act on them!
Knock knock knock—
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
Thank god— it wasn’t Cluru.
But the person standing outside was still completely unexpected.
“Xiaoyue Jushi?? What are you doing in Shihe Town?”
Standing at the door was the Qilin Temple’s psychologist— Xiaoyue Jushi.
She looked like she’d just survived a mugging— clothes tattered, face bruised, barely holding it together.
When she saw me, she collapsed like she’d finally reached safety.
“What happened?” I quickly grabbed her wrist to check her internal state.
Thankfully, her Qi and blood were flowing smoothly, and she was still a virgin— just looked like someone had beaten her up.
Her eyes were filled with fear as she trembled and whispered:
“…Help me! There’s a ghost…”