When Yan Chi was walking by the school lake and saw the living Li Xian, he was speechless with shock. Not far ahead of him, Li Xian was walking side by side with Qiu Yunshu.
When Yan Chi first saw that signature long silver hair, he thought he had encountered another fake Li Huai. But when Qiu Yunshu spoke, and Li Xian slightly turned his head, revealing that exquisite profile, Yan Chi froze on the spot, as if struck by lightning.
Yan Chi had only seen Li Xian once, and that was a fake persona created by Yan Qingyuan. But now, this Li Xian, even more fake than a fake persona, was standing before him.
He rubbed his eyes, but Li Xian by the river did not disappear.
Yan Chi tugged at Shen Mingsu's sleeve, "You...you saw it? That's Li Xian, right? Am I seeing things, or am I hallucinating?"
Shen Mingsu firmly grasped his hand, his tone calm, "You're not mistaken, it's him."
Shen Mingsu seemed completely unsurprised by Li Xian's resurrection and his blatant appearance on campus, as if everything was under his control, everything was proceeding according to his plan.
Yan Chi, however, wasn't as calm. The two followed behind Li Xian and Qiu Yunshu to avoid being discovered. He spoke in a low voice, "But...but wasn't Li Xian already dead? Could it be that Qiu Yunshu resurrected him? But wasn't he one of the Termites?"
Clearly, it was the Termites who killed Li Xian; they were the murderers.
But now, Qiu Yunshu was intimately embracing Li Xian's shoulder, calling him "brother" in a sweet voice, as if they were truly ordinary brothers.
Yan Chi couldn't understand it.
His mind was a mess. His first reaction was to suspect this was Qiu Yunshu's conspiracy; he was definitely planning something bad again, because he was a thoroughly evil person.
Shen Mingsu pulled him forward, telling Yan Chi, "Qiu Yunshu is one of the Termites. See the ring on his thumb?"
It was a dark green gemstone ring. Yan Chi paused, looking down. It was very similar to the one he wore on his wrist, except his was more translucent and had a better luster.
"What's this?"
"An artifact that allows him to escape time. It's one of the artifacts Xing Zhinan gave to Li Xian." Shen Mingsu rubbed his temples, a headache forming. "He obtained Li Xian's flesh and blood, infinitely extending his lifespan, and he wears the ring. In a sense, he's immortal and unkillable."
Yan Chi also felt the pressure. "What should we do?"
Shen Mingsu: "There's definitely a way, but Xiao Chi, it might be a little hard for you to accept. You need to be mentally prepared."
Yan Chi pressed, "What way?"
"I can't tell you now." Shen Mingsu smiled, keeping him in suspense, pointing to the dark green gemstone on Yan Chi's wrist, "Don't lose it, and trust me, I know everything you cherish."
These words were rather vague, leaving Yan Chi dizzy. Looking into Shen Mingsu's eyes, he nodded blankly, "Okay."
Shen Mingsu smiled, kissed Yan Chi's cheek, and Yan Chi's eyelashes trembled. He turned to look at Li Xian and Qiu Yunshu in front of him.
A few minutes later, Qiu Yunshu saw "Li Huai" and "Feng Wang" as he wished. His smile widened, and he turned to Li Xian, whose eyes were lowered. "Brother, can you help me bring them here?"
Receiving the instruction, Li Xian gave a soft "Mmm." He walked straight towards Li Huai and Feng Wang. Upon seeing Li Xian, the two children seemed to freeze in shock. Even the usually hot-tempered Feng Wang stammered, "Dad!"
Qiu Yunshu raised his hand, and four invisible walls enveloped Li Huai and Feng Wang, then instantly closed in. The two reacted, frantically pounding on the walls.
"Thank you, brother," Qiu Yunshu said sweetly as he reached Li Xian's side. Li Xian didn't react, but his gaze remained fixed on Li Huai's face.
Qiu Yunshu walked around Li Xian and Feng Wang, scrutinizing them from head to toe, like selecting his prey. He completely ignored Feng Wang's angry curses. “An immortal dragon…” Qiu Yunshu murmured softly, looking at Feng Wang, his excitement growing stronger. “Little friend, will you give me your body?”
“Feng Wang” looked at him coldly. “What do you want to do?”
Qiu Yunshu sighed, squatting down in front of “Feng Wang,” resting his chin on his hand. “You know what? I envy you. You were born with strong bodies and long lives, but I have nothing. I can only strive for it myself.”
At this point, Qiu Yunshu glanced at Li Xian, then turned to look at Li Huai.
Meeting his gaze, Li Huai trembled with fear, hiding behind his brother. Feng Wang held him tightly behind him, watching Qiu Yunshu warily.
Not only were they uneasy, but Yan Chi’s heart was also pounding in his throat. Even knowing that Li Xian and Feng Wang were fake, the scene still made Yan Chi feel uneasy and afraid.
"What does he want to do to Feng Wang and the others..." Yan Chi's words trailed off, and he abruptly covered his mouth in horror.
Qiu Yunshu grabbed Feng Wang, strangling him by the neck. Several cracks appeared on his arm, from which streaks of red blood oozed, heading straight for Feng Wang's neck.
"The S-rank skill of [Parasite], Split Parasite," Shen Mingsu recognized it immediately, his eyes filled with disgust. "Tsk, disgusting."
Yan Chi's face darkened. "I've seen another termite member use this skill."
Yan Chi certainly wouldn't forget that disgusting scene, but he never expected Qiu Yunshu to know it either. Could individual skills be shared among termites?
Shen Mingsu pulled Yan Chi behind him, his brow furrowed. "No, Qiu Yunshu's skill is Devouring, so he can learn and use the abilities of others."
That's very troublesome.
Shen Mingsu looked at Yan Chi: "Don't leave my side."
If Yan Chi's abilities were usurped, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Yan Chi also realized the seriousness of the situation and tightly clung to Shen Mingsu's arm. "Okay, I'll hold on."
Shen Mingsu's composure crumbled instantly, and he couldn't help but laugh. Seeing him laugh at such a crucial moment, Yan Chi frowned and angrily punched his shoulder, telling him to be serious.
Shen Mingsu had no choice but to suppress his laughter.
A few seconds later, "Feng Wang's" false identity was exposed. Qiu Yunshu's smile faded. He snapped "Feng Wang's" neck, coldly watching the corpse dissipate into a black shadow in the sunlight.
At that moment, Li Xian's eyes flickered. He stared at the ground, then slowly looked up at Qiu Yunshu. "Why...kill him?"
Qiu Yunshu composed himself, feigning innocence. "Because they're fake, brother. We've been fooled."
Then he walked towards "Li Huai," grabbed his neck, and tested "Li Huai's" identity with a few thin strands of blood. Sure enough, it was another imposter.
At this point, if Qiu Yunshu still couldn't detect anything amiss, he'd truly be mentally deficient. He laughed angrily, ignoring "Li Huai's" whimpers and struggles, and forcefully snapped his neck.
"Li Huai's" body went limp and collapsed to the ground. In the last moment before disappearing, he looked in Li Xian's direction.
Li Xian instinctively stepped forward. Qiu Yunshu gently placed the hand that had just strangled "Li Huai" on his shoulder. "Brother, didn't I tell you? This is all fake. Why won't you listen?"
Li Xian's clear blue eyes met Qiu Yunshu's. Under his gaze, the light that had just ignited in his eyes dimmed little by little. He nodded listlessly. "Yeah, fake."
Qiu Yunshu smiled and hugged him.
At the same time, Qiu Yunshu observed his surroundings. The first things he noticed were Shen Mingsu and Yan Chi following closely behind him. Shen Mingsu, though discovered, didn't panic and even waved at him.
Qiu Yunshu's hands, hanging by his sides, clenched suddenly, but quickly, he sensed two other presences. A slight smile appeared on his lips.
"Ah!"
With a scream, Sethia was pulled out and thrown to the ground in a sorry state. His blond hair was covered in dust, and his face was filthy. Before he could even react, he was grabbed by the hair and dragged up.
Sethia had never suffered such humiliation. Enraged, he transformed back into his jelly-like form, causing Qiu Yunshu to miss. The jelly suddenly grew hundreds of times larger, opening its mouth full of sharp teeth, and lunged menacingly at Qiu Yunshu.
Qiu Yunshu tried to dodge, but his feet were stuck to a dark shadow. Seeing that he was about to be swallowed whole, Qiu Yunshu decisively pulled Li Xian in front of him to shield him.
Sethia paused for a few seconds when facing Li Xian. Qiu Yunshu seized this opportunity, and the air wall compressed rapidly again, trapping Sethia in the middle. The pressure from the wall was excruciating, forcing him to shrink his body.
Tan Mo was also pulled out and locked up with Sethia.
"Now it should be real, right?" Qiu Yunshu glanced at the panic on Yan Chi's face and deliberately said to him, "Teacher Chi, are these your students? Please help me identify them, okay?"
Yan Chi trembled all over. Of course, he knew that Sethia and Tan Mo were real. "You..."
He had only taken one step when Shen Mingsu grabbed his hand and shook it. "Xiao Chi."
Yan Chi took a deep breath. "But... those are Sethia and Tan Mo."
Qiu Yunshu was actually bullying his students in front of him, their teacher. Yan Chi couldn't tolerate it anymore.
Sethia was trapped, and the little jelly boy was extremely agitated, repeatedly banging his head against the wall and even trying to bite a hole in it, but each bite only made his teeth ache, and the wall remained intact.
Sethia became even more agitated, "Let me go! Let me go now! Teacher Xiaochi, waaaaaah—"
The little jelly boy sat on the ground, wailing loudly, a small, dark green stone still hanging from his short hand. Tan Mo bent down, picked him up, and wiped the tears from his face.
"No, let me go." Yan Chi's heart was breaking. He looked at Shen Mingsu, trying to pry his hands off, "I have to go save them."
Shen Mingsu just looked at him, not letting go, "Xiao Chi, you promised me you would listen to me."
Yan Chi struggled to look at Sethia, reason and emotion clashing violently. He knew Shen Mingsu had his plans, but he couldn't abandon Sethia and Tan Mo's lives.
And now, Sethia was crying so bitterly. Sethia had never cried like this before. Yan Chi worried that he might be injured somewhere, or that Qiu Yunshu had done something to him.
Hearing Sethia's cries, Yan Chi was extremely anxious. He clenched his fists tightly to try and stay calm.
Shen Mingsu reached out and gently touched the corners of his reddened eyes. Suddenly, he felt an extremely strong gaze fixed on him. Turning his head, he saw Yan Qingyuan not far away, looking at him coldly.
Shen Mingsu's hand trembled.
He thought of what Yan Qingyuan had said before:
—"I will always be watching you."
After a struggle with his conscience, Yan Chi chose to believe Shen Mingsu. He looked up at Shen Mingsu and said firmly, "Fine, I'll trust you this once, but Sethia and Tan Mo absolutely cannot be harmed. If you won't go to save them, then I will."
Shen Mingsu's expression stiffened. He swallowed hard. "Absolutely not."
Seeing their lack of reaction, Qiu Yunshu smiled and said to Sethia and Tan Mo, "Kids, it seems your teacher doesn't want you anymore. But it's alright, you'll play your greatest role here."
Although Sethia and Tan Mo didn't possess Feng Wang's innately strong physique, they were still incredibly precious offspring of a super S-class boss, and Qiu Yunshu was never picky.
When his hand touched Tan Mo, Qiu Yunshu suddenly felt an extremely strong killing intent approaching. He immediately withdrew his hand and led Li Xian away from the area.
Flames instantly enveloped them, consciously avoiding Sethia and Tan Mo.
Seeing this, Yan Chi immediately released Shen Mingsu's hand and ran to Sethia and the others, comforting them, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
However, Qiu Yunshu's invisible barrier was exceptionally strong. Yan Chi exerted a great deal of effort to negate its existence and rescue Sethia and Tan Mo from within.
Sethia tearfully stretched out his hand, "Teacher, my hand hurts."
"Let me see." Yan Chi held him in his palm, carefully examining the little golden jelly hand. Several red threads, like leeches, crawled on his hand, straining to burrow into the flesh, leaving only a few tails sticking out.
Yan Chi's hand trembled. He tried his best to steady his breathing, grabbing the tails of the red threads, but not daring to use too much force, afraid the threads would break. He took out a small knife while comforting Sethia, "It's okay, I'll pull them out for you, it won't hurt."
Sethia's head was spinning. He watched Yan Chi intently treating his wound, his gaze slowly falling on his neck, and he swallowed hard. ...He really wanted to take a bite, to taste the teacher's blood.
A strange thought gripped Sethia's mind. As the red threads burrowed deeper, Sethia found it increasingly difficult to control his actions.
Tan Mo gripped his jelly-like body tightly, shouting, "Sethia!"
Sethia suddenly snapped back to reality. Tears welled in his eyes, and he turned to see Shen Mingsu watching him warily, as if he were about to kill him.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Xiao Chi, I... I've become so strange." Sethia choked back tears, trying to distance himself from Yan Chi, but Yan Chi held his arm tightly, intently picking the red threads from his flesh.
Yan Chi's palms were sweaty. He gently cut Sethia's arm, took out tweezers, pinched the tail of a red thread, and gave Sethia a forced smile, trying to put him at ease.
"It's alright, Sethia, the teacher's here, everything'll be fine. It's just a leech, pick it out and it'll be fine."
That's right, it was a leech, just a very small red one. Yan Chi desperately tried to convince himself of this, his mind foggy and his body exhausted.
But the shape of the red threads changed along with his thoughts.
On the other side, Qiu Yunshu, a few strands of hair singed, sensed the change in the red threads with surprise. He turned to look at Yan Chi, his eyes full of interest.
What an amazing ability.
But now, Qiu Yunshu couldn't get close to Yan Chi, because a colossal dragon, blotting out the sky, hovered in the heavens, its golden vertical pupils coldly fixed on him.
—It was Feng Yun.
The dragon transformed into a tall man and walked towards Qiu Yunshu and Li Xian. Feng Yun's gaze first fell on Li Xian, his voice low and deep, "Li Xian."
Li Xian heard someone calling his name and slowly raised his eyes to look at him. Not recognizing the person, he tilted his head in confusion.
Facing Feng Yun, Qiu Yunshu dared not underestimate him. He temporarily shifted his gaze from Yan Chi, pulled Li Xian behind him, and smiled at Feng Yun, "Long time no see."
Feng Yun looked away from Li Xian and stared at Qiu Yunshu. His face instantly turned terrifying, and he gritted his teeth, "It's you."
"It's rare that you still remember me."
"Shang Xu." Feng Yun shouted these two words fiercely, his eyes bloodshot, his emotions almost spiraling out of control. "Back when you were being chased and your life was hanging by a thread, it was Li Xian who saved you. How dare you?"
Shang Xu showed no remorse. "That's why I knew he could save people's flesh and blood. I'm very grateful to him, so I... made the most of him."
A long blade, wreathed in flames, slashed across Shang Xu's neck. Shang Xu couldn't dodge in time, and half his body was nearly severed. Seeing Shang Xu injured, Li Xian stepped in front of him.
"You think I really can't tell Li Xian apart?!"
Feng Yun gripped the hilt of his knife and plunged it into Li Xian's chest. A sharp, tearing sound followed, and blood gushed out instantly.
Li Xian didn't react. He stared blankly at Feng Yun, suddenly feeling an urge to cry. Tears streamed down his face, his bloodless eyes throbbing. "Who...who are you..."
Why does seeing him cause so much pain?
Veins bulged on the back of Feng Yun's hand. He covered Li Xian's eyes, slit his throat, and ended his suffering.
With another bargaining chip gone, Shang Xu didn't react much, shaking his head and saying, "Truly ruthless."
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