No matter what kind of small creature, it ultimately needs a nest.
A place to hide from predators and recuperate.
Maybe it’s a splendid palace gleaming with gold and jade, a luxurious and bright mansion, a warm and homely apartment filled with the smell of everyday life, or… a cold and lonely basement.
After a moment, a gentle fragrant breeze dispelled the dampness in the basement.
The Foundation Establishment was back on track—this was the girl’s body scent, gradually awakened by the activation of her spiritual platform and the condensation of spiritual energy.
The familiar environment steadied Cluru’s mind.
Usually, Cluru sought security through the cardboard box. But I never realized… that was actually a substitute for the basement.
Only in this dark and chilly basement did she not feel afraid.
Here, she didn’t have to face strange looks or endure the cold words of her relatives.
Only here could she be herself without pressure.
Damn the Ming’en Church, damn the Mu Family— look at the sins you’ve brought upon yourselves!
“Mm…”
With a soft hum, the girl before me opened her eyes.
Already striking in appearance, after completing Foundation Establishment, her skin and aura had become even more outstanding, forcing this Qi Cultivator to fervently recite the Qiuxin Formula.
My goodness, if Cluru were to transmigrate into the cultivation world and open a Hehuan Sect, even the Celestial Realm immortals would be lining up to replace her.
“Can you… call an ambulance?” I forced a bitter smile as I felt the sharp pain in my ankle.
Besides the previously twisted and dislocated little foot, my body was covered in bruises and marks.
Foundation Establishment Cluru “senpai” had accidentally lost control of her strength; unlucky Qi Cultivation me took the hit.
If I really wanted to block it, it wouldn’t be impossible… but Cluru was at a critical moment of Foundation Establishment, and I didn’t want to disturb her.
“Sorry, I…” Cluru reverted to her usual timid expression, her face full of gloom and guilt, as if hurting me was an unforgivable crime in her eyes.
“It’s okay, Foundation Establishment is normal,” I shrugged it off. “Just put me down first.”
“I’ll help you heal.”
“Uh… no! I… eh? Mm~”
Damn it! I can’t hold back anymore!
With a soft crack, the dislocated ankle snapped back into place.
Cluru knew my body better than the most skilled bone-setting master.
Every inch of this petite body, every joint, she had carefully examined before; she knew every detail and datum about this body.
“Does it hurt?”
After the bones realigned, Cluru asked gently.
In the dim basement, I bit my lip shyly, tears welling up in my eyes but said,
“It’s just a minor injury…”
Her gentle fingers massaged the sore spot.
Cluru cupped my little foot.
Her jade-like foot played with mine, while the soft yet slightly resilient massage tendrils with their countless suction cups kissed the injured skin, bringing a tingling sensation that was almost delightful.
The lingering swelling pain quickly faded under the combined effect of the massage and spiritual energy.
My whole body trembled as I carefully suppressed my breathing to avoid making any embarrassing noises.
Those sounds were like spells awakening demons. If this demon beside me truly woke up, I’d only be able to feed the demon with my own body.
My advantage was speed and agility— I was a fragile assassin, most afraid of control.
And this demon’s specialty was control— varied and relentless, able to subdue me until I lost consciousness.
Damn it! Why even bother raising disciples?
It’s just asking for trouble!
Right now, I regretted everything.
Deeply regretted.
After leaving the basement, we locked the iron door securely and returned to school.
“Are you guys okay?!”
Teacher Xiao Yuan and Shi Tian were so anxious they had called the police. They had tried calling me and Cluru over ten times with no answer.
They thought we had been kidnapped by bad guys.
Shi Tian remembered that half a month ago, he heard from Mu Ling at the Sian Office that a gang of Kai Fleet Qilin kidnappers had long been hiding in Kangcheng, ready to abduct Xiao Luo Xian at any time.
Because we had left Kangcheng before, it was hard to find them in the Taishan Old Forest, so they never had a chance to make a move.
Now that we had returned to Kangcheng, I was constantly under threat.
“Don’t worry, we just had a fight.” I casually lied.
“A fight?? You almost tore down the girls’ dormitory!”
“Don’t worry, we’ll pay for it.” I waved my hand magnanimously.
By now, the pharmacy under my name covered expenses—I wasn’t a poor little ghost anymore!
Bang! Bang!
Unexpectedly, Cluru and I each took two shots to the head immediately.
What the hell! We’re not refusing to pay!
Just as I was about to complain, my body tensed.
Teacher Xiao Yuan suddenly lunged forward and hugged both me and Cluru, her throat catching in a choked sob.
“One building is nothing! You… you’re just fine, that’s what matters.”
For a moment, Cluru and I were both speechless.
We suddenly realized: maybe at first, Teacher Xiao Yuan only took us into her room out of duty, but after living under the same roof, our relationship was no longer that of strangers.
Every day, there was a nutritious breakfast she made herself on the table, with notes insisting we finish the milk, forbidding us from secretly feeding the Qilin or the little octopus.
In return, Cluru and I often mumbled in our sleep, making her restless at night and grumpy in class the next day.
Time slipped by amid Teacher Xiao Yuan and Shi Tian’s earnest guidance.
Bit by bit, they helped us fill in the seventeen years of stolen time— the common knowledge, information, and rules we should have learned.
Even the missed girlhood puberty lessons, the physiological knowledge for girls, were all taught by Teacher Xiao Yuan.
She watched us, slowly transforming from clueless little idiots into increasingly reliable students with good grades.
Unconsciously, she already regarded us as younger sisters or even… daughters.
Cluru and I exchanged a glance, both feeling a little guilty.
“By the way, why did you two fight?”
“Because Mid-Autumn Festival is coming. I said chive-filled mooncakes are tasty, and she said abalone-filled ones are better,” I answered sheepishly.
“…And then you two unleashed enough power to almost collapse the entire dormitory??”
Cluru and I dodged and weaved, unable to reveal our cultivation secret, so we awkwardly nodded.
Teacher Xiao Yuan’s gentleness vanished.
Her terrifying aura of anger twisted the very air around her.
“Go write self-reflection essays!!!”
Nooo, Teacher Xiao Yuan is too cruel!
Even with the college entrance exam approaching, she forced Cluru and me to write two-thousand-word reflections.
Two thousand words!
And she supervised us closely! No internet copy-pasting allowed; it had to be sincere, no filler nonsense.
We wrote for an entire day.
A whole day! Our little hands ached!
Who invented the punishment of writing self-reflections? And two thousand words, no less!
Devil! A devil!
“Finished? Let me see. Let’s start with Xiao Luo Xian’s. Hmm, first sentence: chive-filled mooncakes are the best in the world.”
Just reading that one sentence, Teacher Xiao Yuan’s blood pressure spiked.
Thankfully, the rest was normal.
With my extensive experience reading reflections, I just copied a few sentences from the archives.
“These reflections are sincere, but the wording is a bit harsh, isn’t it? No need to degrade yourself like that. Calling yourself stupid, an idiot, a damned fool who won’t listen…
Oh, looks like I accidentally copied too much there. Oops.
Hopefully, Teacher Xiao Yuan won’t run these through a plagiarism check.”
“Overall, not bad. Now, let me see Cluru’s.”
She held up Cluru’s essay.
“I shouldn’t have bullied Xiao Luo Xian… I shouldn’t have bullied Xiao Luo Xian… I shouldn’t have bullied Xiao Luo Xian…”
Teacher Xiao Yuan’s slightly stabilized blood pressure exploded again.
A whole page, three hundred characters, all the same sentence.
Turning to the next page,
The handwriting seemed to become messy:
“I shouldn’t have bullied Xiao Luo Xian? Should I have bullied Xiao Luo Xian? Hmm, should I or shouldn’t I?”
“???” What on earth had this kid gone through mentally?
Page three.
“Should I bully Xiao Luo Xian? Xiao Luo Xian, hehehe~🩷”
By now, the handwriting was completely illegible, resembling wild cursive.
Further pages had all the strokes running together, barely legible as: “Xiao Luo Xian~🩷 Xiao Luo Xian~🩷🩷~~”
Teacher Xiao Yuan closed the essay in shock.
She seemed to have heard the whisper of an ancient god.
Someone deep in the ocean was summoning.
She stood frozen for a long while, her voice hoarse as she said,
“I see it now—you’re all gifted with extraordinary skills.”
“Overpraised, overpraised.”
“Uwaaahhh—”
Teacher Xiao Yuan collapsed onto the desk in despair, as if she had lost all light, her gaze blank and motionless.
What’s wrong?
Has Cluru corrupted her?
“You guys…” Teacher Xiao Yuan ruffled her red hair in frustration, “How can you possibly let people rest easy like this?!…”
Cluru and I both shivered.
“What’s… wrong?” I asked softly.
“You’re about to enter university. Actually, given your age and experience, you’re not really at the college entrance exam stage yet. If I could, I’d have you stay two more years to properly experience high school life. But…”
“But?”
“But you probably already noticed, our school only has one senior class, no freshmen or sophomores.” Teacher Xiao Yuan bit her hair bitterly. “Because… we simply can’t recruit new students. We’re about to shut down…”
“Why?”
“There are reasons related to our performance, but mostly… never mind. You’re kids. Why should I tell you all this.”
Teacher Xiao Yuan sighed and stood up.
She regretted bringing up the topic— she didn’t want two kids to experience the cruel and ruthless adult world so soon.
Unlike Shi Tian, who liked to expose students early to the bloody realities of life, letting them see the world’s true nature,
she believed that too early an awakening would kill the buds of ideals and strip life of hope.
I looked at Teacher Xiao Yuan’s frustrated and dejected figure.
In the faint evening light, even her passionate red hair seemed a little dim.
In modern society, a beautiful girl like her, if she desired wealth and fame, it would be easily within her reach.
But she didn’t chase after those.
I didn’t know why, but she chose to come to Kangcheng No. 2 High School, this small place with no hope, bearing pressures she shouldn’t have to bear.
I thought, since this was her choice, there could only be one answer.
“We will prove our strength.”
Looking seriously into Teacher Xiao Yuan’s eyes, I squeezed Cluru’s hand.
Like every overlooked nobody, I solemnly vowed,
“Including Teacher Xiao Yuan’s hopes!”