《Quick Transmigration: The Villain Saving System》 -1 Discord and Patreon Discord: https://discord.gg/3Yj3gPH Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/littlemist 1 Prologue "You¡­ you want me to transmigrate to different worlds and complete missions?" Yin Mei said out loud, completely flabbergasted. She was currently in a pure white room, accompanied only by a floating orb of a light. "Why me?" Yin Mei couldn''t understand it. Reading those novels all about face slapping, transmigration, systems, cannon fodder, white lotuses, and everything else¡­ she always thought that she would never be able to accomplish what those main characters did! Scheming and being all OP like that, it was something totally impossible for her. For this development to actually happen to her¡­ not only was it completely shocking, but it was practically fear inducing! It can''t be that she''d have to brave through those same tribulations that other main characters had to face, right? She felt that her IQ and EQ weren''t high enough to accomplish this. System 097 calmly replied to its host, the cold gender neutral voice ringing out inside the white room, "The requirements to bind to this system were met by you." It was an answer that didn''t answer anything. Yin Mei covered her face with her hand, unable to even say anything. She sighed. "Can I refuse?" She asked. After all, she really didn''t want to experience the same thing like in the novels. She would much rather be sent to reincarnate and live a peaceful life without memories of this encounter! "Unless host wishes for their soul to be completely terminated, forever unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation again, then the host has no choice but to complete the missions set by the system." System 097 replied emotionlessly. But, as if being slightly conscientious, he then added on, "if host is able to complete enough missions, then host can be granted one wish before being sent off to reincarnate." Yin Mei raised her head to the skies, invisible tears streaming down her face. Alright, she should just accept her fate as it is! At least the gods weren''t too cruel, and there would be a reward at the end of all this. "Fine¡­ oh right, what sort of system are you?" She almost forgot to ask. Was it a cannon fodder system? Supporting character? World saving? Heroine system? What other system types were there? There were just way too many these days, Yin Mei really couldn''t keep track. "Villain Saving System No.097 is at your service." 097 replied. "Oh¡­ I see, villain saving¡­ eh, villain saving? Wait, what exactly-" Before Yin Mei could finish her question, she felt a strong nausea assault her as the world turned black. The last thing she heard before completely losing consciousness was, "Initiating transmigration, progress 2%... 5%... 11%..." 2 Snake and Rabbit 1 Immediately after awakening, a large amount of information and memories poured into Yin Mei''s mind. This was the Nine Realms, where people could cultivate into immortals. In other words, it was a typical xianxia world, with cultivators, demons, and all sorts of bloody battles. Yin Mei felt like crying with just this little piece of information. Mommy, I don''t wanna die! Oh, but I''ve already died once¡­ The main character of this world was a girl called Murong Xing. Originally she was the legitimate child of the prime minister of a small kingdom on the main continent, but too bad she was born as a waste. She was bullied by the illegitimate daughters until she died, only for a 21st century female assassin to transmigrate into her body. At the same time, this 21st century assassin, who had the same name as the original body, Murong Xing, brought along a mysterious treasure from the modern world, a refining stove called the Nine Dragons Stove. This was bound to Murong Xing, decisively transforming her physique and cleansing her meridians. She proceeded to conquer the world, making all those talented and handsome men fall under her feet, from princes, emperors, geniuses, to even the demon king¡­ As for the male lead, he was the ninth prince of the kingdom Murong Xing was born in, but of course, his real identity couldn''t be anything so ordinary. In fact, his mother was an immortal fairy from the higher realms that fled here with an extraordinary treasure. Although she didn''t survive, her young child did, still in possession of the treasure that caused the entire upper realm to go crazy with greed. He was adopted by the Li Kingdom''s royal family, and he hid his identity and abilities, slowly biding his time until he could take revenge on everyone who inflicted suffering on him and his mother. It was a very cliche female protagonist plus transmigration plus xianxia world plot. It was so cliche that Yin Mei wanted to spit on it. As for Yin Mei''s identity, of course, it couldn''t be anything good. Yin Mei was a poor cannon fodder villain known as Bai Yu. Bai Yu was a beautiful and innocent looking rabbit demon. She had a curious nature and liked interacting with humans. While she was living in the human world, she accidentally chanced upon Li Kingdom''s ninth prince and his true appearance, resulting in love at first sight. Of course, any person that fell in love with the female lead''s man could only have a bad ending. All her schemes against the female lead would backfire on her, and in the end, she was tortured and killed by the man she loved, the ninth prince. Momma, why are these people so scary? Yin Mei had the urge to curse the heavens right now, but was interrupted by the sound of the system before she was able to. "First mission: Seduce the Ninth Prince." Yin Mei directly fainted. Before she could hit the ground, her dark vision recovered and she stabilized herself with the edge of the nearby table. Yin Mei was currently inside Bai Yu''s small house in a valley protected with a strong illusion barrier. She had yet to leave the demon territory, let alone meet the male or female leads. If Yin Mei had her way, she would never meet those two scourges that resulted in the death of the original body, but of course, the white orb bobbing up and down in front of her had to directly shatter her hopes. "Can we change this mission into something easier??" Yin Mei asked, not able to suppress the slight bit of hope inside her. "No." But the system immediately shut it down. Yin Mei was silent. Seduce the ninth prince? That evil creature whose looks were so beautiful that they could potentially destroy the world? That cold hearted beast that had tortured Bai Yu until her last breath? Why was she so unlucky? "Wait, isn''t this called a ''villain saving'' system? How does this have to do with villain saving?" Yin Mei asked, confused. "This system has calculated and found the most efficient way to save the villain is to have him get together with this world''s female lead." System 097 replied. This world''s villain was the demon king. In the original story line, this demon king ended up becoming interested with the female lead, like any capable male that interacted with her. The female lead''s Mary Sue aura, wasn''t it a little to strong? She wasn''t quite sure what requirements needed to be met to "save the villain", but since the system said the best way was to matchmake him with the female lead, then she could only trust in the system''s advice, no matter how reluctant she was. But actually having to break up the main ship and then have the female lead get together with the villain, this was really too¡­ And to top it off, it seemed like the system decided the best way to do this was for her to actually get together with the male lead? Isn''t this basically courting death? It''s the exact same thing the original body did and look where she ended up! Yin Mei wanted to cry, but didn''t have the tears to do so. "Wait a second. Even if it is true that the villain needs to get together with the female lead, that doesn''t necessarily mean that I have to seduce the male lead right??" Yin Mei said. No matter what, this issue of seducing the male lead, Yin Mei absolutely must wash her hands of it! Yin Mei had still been a virgin in her previous world before dying. Never experiencing love, she hadn''t even ever held hands with a boy since preschool! Not only that, but this mission was seducing the male lead, who was a complete ice block and immune to everyone that was not the female lead. "The system has deemed this the most efficient way for the villain to end up with the female lead." "But that doesn''t mean it''s the only way, right? Seducing the male lead is too high of a hurdle, we should come up with a different way for the villain and female lead to get together!" Yin Mei started to think. The system was silent, as if considering her proposition. The reason that the female lead ended up with the male lead, rather than one of her other many talented and handsome suitors, was because the male lead was the strongest and most handsome of them all¡­ probably. After all, because he was so strong, he was able to constantly protect the female lead and pamper her without worries. And, because he was so handsome, he was able to move the heart of this 21st century assassin, who had already become immune to beauty traps. But, above all, it was because of opportunity. In terms of good looks and strength, actually, it can''t be said that the demon king was below the male lead by much. It was just that the demon king entered the game too late, and also had no good opportunities to cultivate feelings with the female lead. On the other hand, the male and female leads lived in the same city, and so the male lead had plenty of chances to curry favor. "Xiao Yu! Xiao Yu!" Yin Mei was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of a gentle and beautiful voice. The door to Bai Yu''s small hut was opened, revealing Bai Yu''s mother, Bai Lin. Bai Lin was 300 years old, which could be considered just about middle aged for their race. Possessing traces of the Jade Rabbit bloodline in her veins, she was extremely beautiful even among the already beautiful looking rabbit demons. Of course, Bai Yu, who was her daughter, also inherited this beauty. "Xiao Yu! How are you still not ready? There''s no way you can meet the demon king looking like this!" Bai Lin exclaimed, immediately steering her daughter into the bathroom for her to freshen up. Before Yin Mei could protest, she had already been stripped and thrown into the bathtub. Because it had been too long, the water had already gone cold, but Yin Mei was now Bai Yu, a rabbit demon with high cultivation, so she was not affected by it like she normally would have been. Yin Mei reflected back on Bai Yu''s memories and the information from the system. The time she transmigrated to was right before Bai Yu was supposed to meet with the demon king, and around when Bai Yu had run away from home. The rabbit clan, from as long as anyone could remember, had been the servants of the demon king. As the daughter of the rabbit clan''s chief, Bai Yu was expected to become the demon king''s personal attendant. But, Bai Yu, who had been free-spirited from a young age and used to running around and having fun in the human world, was unable to stand having to serve the demon king, who never left his castle all day long. As a result, she made the decision to run away to the human world, and the rest was history. But, this time, Yin Mei wouldn''t be foolish. Although she knew that with her goal, she wouldn''t be able to avoid meeting with the male and female lead in the end, she wasn''t foolish to give up on this big thigh known as the demon king. Anyways, to smoothly complete the mission, it was better to have a connection with the big boss. Yin Mei was thinking all of this as Bai Lin busied herself in cleaning Yin Mei up. Although as a cultivator, they could actually use a simple technique to clean their bodies, it was a little different from taking a bath. Not only that, but the bath that Yin Mei was in consisted of the essences of some precious magic herbs and flowers, giving off a faintly sweet smell. It was beneficial for cultivation and purifying the body and meridians. When Yin Mei was finally ready, dressed in the white and jade green uniform of the rabbit clan, it had already been almost an hour. Yin Mei admired her reflection in the water mirror. The only thing satisfying about this transmigration was the fact that her appearance had improved by leaps and bounds. In her previous life, Yin Mei was only average, but now, she truly deserved the name as the rabbit clan''s number one beauty. She had a pair of large and misty jade eyes, paired with pouty naturally red lips. Her thick cream ivory hair was naturally wavy, half of it pinned up into a bun with jade and pearl flower ornaments. Of course, as a servant, her attire and jewelry could not be too extravagant, but this much was just perfect for the innocent and pure looking Bai Yu. Bai Lin nodded in satisfaction at her handiwork before exhorting her daughter multiple times to act behaved in front of the demon king. Yin Mei nodded. Of course, she wasn''t the original owner of the body and even if she ate the gall bladders of a hundred bears she still wouldn''t have the courage to behave out of line in front of the story''s villain. The mother and daughter and pair soon met up with Bai Yu''s father, the chief of the rabbit clan. He was slightly older than Bai Lin, at about 350 to 400 years old, and looked like a handsome uncle, also possessing the good looks of the rabbit clan, with snow white hair and red eyes. Because he didn''t have the inherent bloodline of the Jade Rabbit, his eye color was slightly different to the light green color that Bai Lin and Bai Yu possessed. The majority of the rabbit clan had black or red eyes, and it was Bai Lin and Bai Yu who were the exception. Exiting the peaceful and sunny Jade Bamboo Valley and passing the misty illusion barrier, the outside world was completely different. Dark jagged mountains pierced the sky, and the world was wreathed in darkness. This area of the demon territory was always night, not once seeing the light of day. This was an area under the direct control of the demon king, separate from the rest of the world. Although the demon king also had a castle in the royal capital, he spent most of his time in the castle here instead, in closed seclusion. Yin Mei personally felt that this was all way too cliche, exactly the sort of place one would think a demon king would reside in, but she didn''t dare comment on the demon lord''s tastes. The palace was near the top of the mountain that the Jade Bamboo Valley bordered. Walking normally as a human, it''d take several hours to reach, not mentioning the numerous protective barriers in place. As for the rabbit clan, well known for their speed and agility, it would take at most thirty minutes even if they weren''t trying. While the family of three made their way up the mountain, Yin Mei pulled up the memories and information on the demon king. Their current demon king was a member of the snake clan, called She Ming, and had been reigning for thousands of years already. He was only half a step away from achieving divinity and leaping through the dragon gate. She wouldn''t say to his face that she was already labelling him as a pedophile. But, with these thousand year old cultivators, as long as they looked handsome, no one would protest it when they got together with the female lead. As for why the demon king had taken an interest in the female lead, it was initially because the female lead''s innate physique, the Pure Yin Physique, was really compatible for dual cultivation. Putting it not so nicely, she was the perfect furnace. If the demon king was able to obtain her, then he would be able to ascend in the next few decades without any worry. Initially the demon king didn''t think much of the strength of a little girl in a small kingdom, and only sent some minions to go after her, like all villains in these stories do. After being thwarted multiple times, his interest had been perked, and he decided to take a look for himself what this little girl was like. Of course, he fell in love at first sight and started a love rival relationship with the male lead. In the end, when the male and female leads ascended to the upper realms, the demon king pushed himself to ascend as well but failed and died. Yin Mei nodded. Such was the fate of a villainous love interest! But, she didn''t feel any real pity for the demon king. After all, Bai Yu''s fate was much more tragic. To top it off, the demon king didn''t help Bai Yu at all, even though she was a member of a clan that had served him loyally since he became king. But, Yin Mei didn''t hold a grudge over this. In the first place, she wasn''t actually Bai Yu and hadn''t experienced her death, and in the second place, she understood the thought process of this sort of character. Not only had Bai Yu run away from her responsibilities as a member of a rabbit clan, she even tried multiple times to kill the furnace that the demon king had been trying to obtain. The demon king wasn''t any sort of nice person. Not mentioning his identity as a thousand year old snake demon, he was also the ruler of the demon territory, that prized strength above all else. Cruel, cold-blooded, and heartless. The more Yin Mei thought about it, the less she wanted to meet the man. She could only comfort herself with the knowledge that he was truly good to the servants that faithfully followed him. Can''t betray him no matter what! Must be completely loyal! Only by thinking these things, was she able to completely suppress her urge to run away. Entering the palace, there weren''t very many guards, at least from what Yin Mei could see. This was probably because they were all hidden, and Yin Mei didn''t have the ability to detect them. Although Bai Yu was known as a very talented cultivator, she was, after all, still a member of the younger generation and only 16 years old, so it wasn''t weird if she wasn''t able to detect the presences of the demon king''s elite hidden guards. The three rabbit demons entered the demon king''s private bedroom. Actually, a cultivator of the demon king''s level actually didn''t need to eat or sleep, but that didn''t mean having a bedroom was totally useless. Yin Mei felt that even if the demon king didn''t sleep in here, it was enough just to satisfy the eyes. She looked around, feeling that the grand royal palace of the demons was really different. Everything her eyes fell on was a precious treasure, oozing luxury and mysteriousness! For a commoner from the modern day, she could only inwardly sigh in amazement while appreciating everything. 3 Snake and Rabbit 2 "So this is the Bai clan''s heir?" A seductive voice entered Yin Mei''s ears from beyond the curtains covering the bed, and Yin Mei quickly withdrew her gaze from her surroundings, kneeling down with her mother and father while making a sound of acknowledgement. This voice all by itself was enough to make one''s imagination go crazy! In the information, it described the demon king as having a devilish appearance that made men and women alike drool. Compared to the male lead, the demon king''s appearance was slightly more effeminate. Although the demon king couldn''t pass for a female, he could definitely pass for a bottom. Though, this was all in Yin Mei''s imagination. For Yin Mei, who had some fujoshi tendencies, she couldn''t help but think what a beautiful picture it would be if the demon king got together with the male lead, who was described as possessing an appearance that oozed male pheromones. Although she hadn''t seen the appearance of the demon king or the male lead yet, she couldn''t help but have such thoughts in her head. She inwardly shook her head in disappointment. It was too bad that both of them had been seduced by the female lead''s Mary Sue aura. A pale slender hand reached out from beyond the curtain, revealing the demon king as he stood up and approached the family of three. Yin Mei, hearing the rustling of fabric, couldn''t help but take a peek, only to be shocked silly. It really was a beauty that could destroy countries! Not only that, but he was wearing a loose crimson robe that revealed the pale and creamy skin of his chest... this fan service was too much! Yin Mei struggled to keep herself from loudly swallowing her saliva as she dragged her gaze away and focused her eyes on the ground. He was more beautiful than any person on the Earth she was on before. But, feeling those cold snake-like eyes on her, any thoughts she shouldn''t have flew far, far away. Yin Mei had never experienced the pressure that came from a person''s aura before, and experiencing the demon king''s aura now, she couldn''t help but break out into a cold sweat. It felt as if the room''s temperature had dropped by ten degrees, and it was all she could do to keep herself from shivering. "You may rise." The demon king''s beautiful voice once again entered Yin Mei''s ears. It took her a moment to react before she was able to follow the lead of Bai Yu''s parents in standing up. She kept her head and gaze lowered, not daring to take another peek at the demon king''s appearance, lest she be seduced by that beautiful face. The outside is so beautiful, but the inside is completely rotten. She couldn''t help but lament this world where all the beauties had some sort of personality problem. The demon king''s steps were silent, but Yin Mei could still hear the sound of his silk robe sliding across the floor as he walked around her, observing her, studying her. Her body was completely stiff, and a thousand grass mud horses were running across her heart at once. This was too much pressure for her little heart! But, right as Yin Mei was about to reach a breaking point, she could finally feel the demon king''s gaze leaving her body. She noticeably relaxed, but she stopped the sigh of relief that was about to exit her. After all, if the demon king heard her, it wouldn''t be too good, right? The beauty returned to his bed, allowing Yin Mei to finally dare to lift her head up. Only a hazy shadow of the demon king was left as he had retreated back behind his bed curtains. The curtains were red, just like his robes. Yin Mei felt that this sort of bright bloody red really suited the demon king. The contrast between the color and his skin was really... "You can retreat now," the demon king said, interrupting Yin Mei''s train of thought and bringing her back to attention. Bai Yu''s parents only let out a sound of agreement, bowing as they dragged her out of the room. "Eh? That''s it?" Yin Mei couldn''t help but ask. Her voice was unnaturally quiet though, as she was still afraid that the demon king could hear her. Considering his high cultivation, he probably could, but she really couldn''t help but ask this. "It''s not good to disturb His Majesty any longer. He had no complaints, so you will be able to start your servitude tomorrow." Bai Yu''s father, Bai Mu said. "Your mother will teach you all the ropes, so don''t worry about anything." Yin Mei could only nod as she followed the two back to the Jade Bamboo Valley. She wasn''t very keen on tomorrow, feeling that serving this demon king was way too stressful. She felt that by the end of the mission, she would have a head full of white hair! She paused, then thought that was slightly wrong. After all, her hair was already white... When she returned to her little hut, Yin Mei immediately dived into her bed to sleep. At her level, cultivators didn''t need to sleep at all, and many would instead spend the night meditating, but Yin Mei was still used to her human habits. Not only that, but she truly enjoyed sleeping. Feeling mentally tired, she quickly fell unconscious. In her dream land, she was once again in that white room, accompanied with 097. She couldn''t help but want to curse out loud. This thing didn''t even let her rest when she was asleep! "Host, this system has made adjustments to the first mission after taking in account the host''s abilities," 097 said. Yin Mei perked up, feeling her spirits lift a little. This was good! The system actually had taken into account her recommendations. Surely this mission would be easier now, right? "The first mission is now to kill the male lead." Yin Mei blacked out. She shot up on her bed, breathing heavily and her hair sticking to her forehead, as if she had awoken from a nightmare. "Phew, it was just a nightmare. Hahaha, there is no way that the system just asked me to kill a son of heaven, who possesses a powerful golden finger, not at all, it must have just been a horrible dream!" "Host, do not worry, it was not just a bad dream. Host''s new mission is to eliminate the male lead." The system doused her hopes, turning the girl completely silent as a gloomy aura descended upon the room. "Don''t worry my foot! Why is it that the mission has gotten harder! It''s the male lead, the male lead you know?" Yin Mei felt like she was going to go crazy. The male lead, not only was he the blessed son of heaven who had the protagonist''s halo, but he also had the golden finger and was the man of the female lead. Seducing him had been hard enough of a challenge, but then it suddenly jumped to killing him? Wasn''t that actually physically impossible? It practically went against the laws of the universe! To top it off, Yin Mei had lived in the peaceful modern world, where killing was far from her mind. She felt like the system hadn''t taken in account her abilities at all! "System, this took into account my abilities even less. Suddenly telling me to kill the male lead is too much. It''s destined to fail. Please change the mission again," Yin Mei said. "This mission has properly taken into account host''s abilities." The system replied coldly. "No, no, no, it definitely hasn''t. No matter how I think about it, it hasn''t?" Yin Mei answered. "It has." It seems that the system wouldn''t change its mind this time. Yin Mei swore that she would no longer try to change the mission again, or else who knew how many levels of difficulty it would increase by next time? "What will happen if I fail?" Yin Mei asked, already thinking that she should just forego this world''s mission and hope the next one would be easier. "If host fails, host will be sent to a penalty world with a higher difficulty." Yin Mei couldn''t imagine what a higher difficulty world would look like. She already felt that this world''s difficulty was too high for her! Didn''t other people get to have an easier world first, as a tutorial run? Why is it that only she got such a hard world and mission right off the bat? But, although she was still cursing the system in her mind, she could only start to think of a way to defeat the male lead. Even though imagining killing a person made her sick to her stomach, for her own sake, she could only toughen up. First of all, Yin Mei thought that she couldn''t kill the male lead herself. She didn''t have that sort of capability. The only one who could match up to the male lead was the demon king, but she wasn''t sure how she would be able to get the demon king to kill the male lead. She decided to put that off until later. The most important thing was to cripple the male lead''s golden finger first. The male lead''s golden finger was that treasure from the upper realm. It was a good thing that the treasure was described in depth in the information given by the system, or Yin Mei really wouldn''t be sure what to do. The treasure that the male lead possessed was... well, it was also very cliche, like the rest of the storyline, but Yin Mei had to admit that it was still very powerful, worth the entire upper realm going mad for it. The treasure was a plain black ring. Because a storage ring couldn''t contain it, the male lead could only wear it around his neck at all times. He didn''t wear it on his finger, as he wanted to keep it hidden. The ring itself did not have any real significant abilities. It was simply a very powerful storage ring, containing a mustard seed dimension created by a godly expert from the upper realm. It was what was inside that mustard seed dimension that was important. Not only was the legacy of that godly expert left behind, but so was a vast collection of knowledge that he had obtained over his long years of life. For the male lead, who possessed such knowledge at his fingertips, it was easy for him to appear like a god amongst humans. After all, he had obtained the greatest cultivation methods of the upper realm, the strongest martial skills... plus there were still the weapons and spiritual tools that the godly expert left. Yin Mei couldn''t deprive the male lead of what he had already learned, but it would still cripple him significantly if she took away the ring and the treasures in it. Not only that, but she would be able to use it for her own benefit. If the demon king could master just one of the martial skills documented inside the ring, Yin Mei believed that he would definitely be able to stand toe to toe with the male lead. She just needed to think of a way to steal the ring. The male lead himself was way too strong, so it would be impossible for her to take it away from him. Yin Mei also believed that it would be hard for the demon king to obtain the treasure, even if she was able to convince him to do so. The only person viable for this would be the female lead. Once the ring was in the hands of the female lead, it would be much easier for Yin Mei or the demon king to get it. The only problem was working out the details of this plan. For example, how to have the ring fall into the hands of the female lead? How to convince the demon king to help her steal the ring? She also had to do it in a way where the female and male leads didn''t figure out who had stolen the ring, else she face their wrath. Sigh, she thought that she really wasn''t cut out for this type of scheming and planning! Not only that, but this was just the stealing of the male lead''s golden finger. She still had to come up with how to have the demon king help her eliminate him afterwards! She swore that if the next world was just as hard as this one, then she would definitely sue the system for abuse! 4 Snake and Rabbit 3 By the time Yin Mei had roughly planned out what she was going to do, the sun had already risen. She was feeling just as mentally exhausted as she was before going to sleep, but there was nothing she could do. Bai Yu''s mother, Bai Lin, had already come to fetch her to start the day. Actually, as the demon king''s servant, the work wasn''t really that hard. Since they were cultivators, things like laundry and cleaning could be done with a simple wave of the hand. These magic arts were really useful. Yin Mei, as a free person of modern day Earth, was slightly uncomfortable with the identity of "servant", but thinking of it as just an ordinary job, she felt that it wasn''t too bad after all. The work was easy, the pay was good, and best of all, they had access to the demon king''s treasury! Of course, they had to keep records of whatever they took out, and this treasury didn''t keep the truly powerful and rare treasures, but it was still a pretty good perk. Once again, today, she was inside the treasury. It had been a week since she had started working, and her mother had already left most of the duties to her - after all, they were pretty easy and weren''t many, just cleaning, laundry, and doing a few errands like delivering food or messages. Since she had a lot of free time, she used it to either relax in the garden (the only place that wasn''t dark and gloomy), or to come here and clean out the treasury. She cleaned the treasury manually, just so that she had an excuse to touch and feel each treasure one by one. This wasn''t just because she was vain. Rather, she was figuring out what each treasure was. Who knew if she would find something useful in here that could help her out with going up against the male and female leads? For example, this appearance changing brooch would be a good choice. There was also a cape that could manipulate shadows and darkness when worn. Yin Mei felt like if she was going to steal something, these two items would be absolutely necessary. She felt that if she was stealing from the female lead, then with these two items, she wouldn''t even need the help of the demon king. That being said, she would still need to gauge the skill level of the hidden guard that the ninth prince had placed on her first before taking action... "System, let me check the situation of the female lead again," Yin Mei spoke up. The system didn''t say anything, but a holographic screen appeared in front of her. On it was the female lead. Yin Mei had been observing the situation of the female and male leads like this for the past week. When she had first seen the female lead, Yin Mei had actually been a little bit disappointed. Although she was pretty, she wasn''t the sort of country destroying beauty that she had expected her to be, instead being a step lower in good looks when compared to Bai Yu. Nowadays female leads seemed to prioritize strength and talent over good looks. Oh well. Even without the good looks, the female leads still had the Mary Sue aura to make up for it. Currently, the female lead and male lead were at a point where the male lead only felt the female lead was interesting, and the female lead thought that the male lead was suspicious. It was a good place, but Yin Mei was worried, since the two would get engaged in the next month. The female lead was still currently engaged to the crown prince, but soon, through the scheming of her illegitimate half-sister, that engagement would be broken and the emperor would engage her to the ninth prince after he requests it. Yin Mei knew that once they were engaged, it would be much harder to have the demon king get together with the female lead. She felt an invisible sense of pressure weighing down on her. As she was wavering back and forth on what to say to the demon king to convince him to accompany her to Li Kingdom, she heard a voice in her head, ''Xiao Yu, please come and fetch the snacks to deliver to His Majesty''s room.'' This was the voice of the chef uncle, whom she had gotten friendly with over the last few days. Of course, it wasn''t because she wanted to eat free sweets. Not at all. Although the kitchen was pretty far from the treasury, Yin Mei was able to reach it in less than a minute. She had figured out why the rabbit clan was a favorite to serve the demon kings... it''s because they were simply one of the fastest demon clans. Because of that, they made the best errand boys. The chef uncle was an older tiger demon that looked more like a warrior than a chef. Contrary to his appearance, his food and sweets were extremely delicate and beautiful. Yin Mei thought that this must be an inner reflection of his personality. The chef uncle wasn''t even able to say anything before Yin Mei had already grabbed the tray of snacks and left, though not before she stuffed her mouth with one of the leftover sweets. She could barely stop herself from pausing to appreciate the sheer deliciousness of it. As expected, the skills of the demon king''s personal chef really weren''t ordinary! Not only that, but the ingredients used definitely also played a part. The ingredients used in the food were all from spirit plants or magic beasts, and had a very pure spiritual qi inside them. Eating this sort of food not only tasted good, but also felt very refreshing and could improve one''s cultivation by a little. Yin Mei had finished eating the pastry by the time she reached the demon king''s room, her chewing speed as fast as her movement speed. Knocking politely, she entered without waiting for an answer. Bai Yu''s mother had said that they didn''t need to knock at all and could just enter without any worries, but Yin Mei felt that was too rude after all. Going inside, although the decorations still inspired awe and admiration in Yin Mei, since she had already gotten used to the luxury of the palace after this time, she only looked around a little before placing the tray of snacks down on the nearby table. She went ahead to grab the teapot in the room to brew some tea as well to accompany the snacks. Before this week, she had never brewed tea before in her life, but she was glad that Bai Yu had been very good at making tea. Relying on Bai Yu''s memories, she had used this week to familiarize herself with brewing tea and was now on a similar level as the past Bai Yu. While she was doing this, the demon king remained in bed. Don''t be deceived by appearances, it only looked like he was sleeping. In reality, he was cultivating. At least, that was what Bai Yu''s mother had said. Well, after all, the demon king needed to hurry up and ascend before he died, so she thought it was pretty believable. In all honesty, Yin Mei felt this demon king was pretty weird. Though he claimed he was in closed cultivation, he still had servants constantly coming over with snacks and tea. It was a little different from the image of closed cultivation portrayed in the novels. After all, weren''t closed cultivators meant to be completely isolated from others so that they could fully focus on just cultivating? A cultivator at the demon king''s level already didn''t need any food or water, so what was he doing asking for so many snacks and tea? Could it just be that he had a sweet tooth? Yin Mei shook her head, still unable to comprehend. Although he had the aura of an expert, the actions he took didn''t really fit that image he gave off. "What are you thinking of?" The demon king''s amused voice sounded from behind her, causing Yin Mei to jump in fright. She naturally turned around, to be faced with the half-dressed demon king. Although she had seen this scene now many times in the past week, it was still not enough to get used to this image of a bare chested beauty. F*ck, can''t you cover up a little? She never thought there would be a day that she would think about this of a man. Though she still hadn''t gotten used to seeing this dazzling sight, she did think that she was getting better at covering up her reactions. Seeing him now, her eye only twitched a little and her face stiffened up slightly, but aside from that, there was no other reaction. She felt by the end of her time in this world, perhaps she would have finally mastered the art of the poker face? "Your Majesty," she quickly bowed her head to the man, backing away a couple of steps. "I asked what you were thinking about," the demon king said again, sitting down on the chair by the small round table where the snacks were placed. Yin Mei quickly poured him a cup of the freshly brewed tea, while selecting a few of the snacks randomly to place on a plate in front of him. She wasn''t worried that she would choose something he didn''t like, as the chef wouldn''t make a snack like that in the first place. "I was just thinking that I was finally getting a little used to serving here," Yin Mei said, taking a peek at the demon king''s expression while she spoke. He was the true master of the poker face here, always having on a completely unreadable expression. Well, it wasn''t like Yin Mei was good at reading faces in the first place, but his cold eyes and wooden face really didn''t help. She Ming raised an eyebrow at this, but didn''t say anything more, merely taking a sip of the tea. Actually, the tea of the little rabbit''s was quite to his tastes, but he didn''t show it on his face. Elegantly taking small bites out of the tea snacks, there was silence between them as Yin Mei held the teapot and stood behind the demon king, ready to refill his cup at any moment. She actually really hated these moments, because she couldn''t tell what the demon king was thinking at all. She would always curse and wish that she had the ability to read minds, but too bad such an ability didn''t exist. Though she wondered if there might be a technique like that among the ones in the male lead''s ring. Yin Mei continued to sneakily glance at the demon king, fidgeting a little as she thought whether she should bring up the matter of the female lead yet. Although she initially wanted to wait until she had solidified her position as a trusted servant more, she felt that such matters couldn''t wait. After all, the engagement event was going to be approaching soon. And anyways, even she herself knew that she was just using that as an excuse to procrastinate on the matter. "Do you have anything you want to say?" The demon king said, as if he couldn''t stand Yin Mei''s fidgeting anymore. "That, no, well, yes, but, that is..." Yin Mei''s words tumbled out, as she tried to think of a good way to say things. But both her tongue and her nonexistent courage were failing her. She glanced again at the demon king''s cold face, which made her feel even more timid. But she knew it would just get worse the more she delayed, so she took a deep breath, cheering herself on before speaking out, "While in the human world I encountered a girl who has a Pure Yin constitution that I believe is very suitable for Your Majesty to dual cultivate with and could aid you in ascending to the upper realm so I think that Your Majesty should go and take a look." Everything came out all at once in a rush, but after she said all this, she felt relieved, as if a great burden had been taken off her shoulders. "Hmm... is that so?" The demon king replied. This reply made Yin Mei stiffen up again, and she could practically feel her stomach cramping from all this stress. "Y-y-yes!" "I heard a lot about you from your mother and father," the demon king suddenly said, and Yin Mei had a confused look on her face, not sure where this was going. "They said that you had a penchant for running away to play in the human world, and like to wander and run about, causing them endless worries." "Well, that is..." Yin Mei felt slightly embarrassed. Although the person who had run off to go play wasn''t her, but Bai Yu, she still felt the embarrassment like she had been caught red handed stealing cookies. What could she say, those cookies were real good. "It''s only been a week, and you already want to go out to the human world?" Yin Mei felt that she could hear a little bit of amusement in his voice. "Uh..." She felt like there was something wrong with this, but at the same time, she really did want to go out to the human world. It just wasn''t the reason that the demon king thought it was. But, maybe she could use this reason to her advantage? "The human world really is fun, but I''m telling the truth! There really is a girl with a Pure Yin physique in the small Li Kingdom. Your Majesty should definitely go check it out!" "Even so, there''s no reason for me to personally make a move, right?" The demon king said. That was true, but Yin Mei couldn''t possibly say that everyone he sent would get defeated and lead to him personally making a move anyways, right? Or that the fact that he sent minions to kidnap the female lead had led to him making a horrible first impression on her, and so led to the female lead despising him? The demon king looked in amusement as Yin Mei became flustered, her expression changing a thousand time a second. He seemed to have endless patience as he waited for the reply she would come up with. "Well, you see, this girl has a really powerful backer with her! He''s super powerful! That''s why you have to personally go, since he''ll be able to defeat anyone else you send." She could only reveal the existence of the male lead. "I see..." The demon king drawled. Yin Mei''s hopes rose up with the sound of the pondering in his voice. "But even so, I''m too lazy to go out." Yin Mei almost wanted to curse out the demon king, but reigned herself in at the last moment. She could only stomp her feet in anger. Weren''t you impatiently cultivating so that you can ascend before dying? Is being a shut-in more important than your life?? Upset that she couldn''t voice her anger, she sulked in place, thinking she was doing a good job of hiding her blaming glare, not knowing that all her little actions were clear to the eyes of the demon king. "Well, alright." He finally said, feeling that he had teased the little rabbit demon long enough. "Eh?" She looked at him dumbfounded, her big watery eyes opened up wide. "I said alright. We can go take a look at this girl you''re talking about." He said again, a sly smile on his face. But, Yin Mei was too excited to see it, cheering inwardly over the fact that the demon king had actually agreed. She Ming was actually rather curious about the Pure Yin furnace that Yin Mei had mentioned, but above all, he just thought that it would be amusing to play with this little rabbit for the moment. In the future, Yin Mei would definitely regret ever teaming up with this black-bellied big boss. Play? More like torture! ;A; 5 Snake and Rabbit 4 "Eh? His Majesty is heading out to the human world?" Bai Lin and Bai Mu were astounded. That shut-in demon king was actually heading out? In their entire lifetime, he had not taken one step outside of that castle, but now he was actually going to the human world! "Yep!" Yin Mei replied energetically. Finally she would be able to start this mission. She wanted to quickly finish in order to kiss this world goodbye, but she got the feeling that it would take a really long time to finish. These xianxia protagonists, with their cockroach-like vitality, really wouldn''t go down so easily. But she wouldn''t let those thoughts dampen her excitement. After all, those thoughts could be left for later. For now, she would finally be meeting that scourge of a male and female lead, along with their lovely treasures... Bai Lin and Bai Mu looked at each other, then looked at Yin Mei, who was still caught up in her happiness. They knew that it was definitely her who had put some sort of thoughts into the demon king''s head for him to head out to the human world, but they weren''t sure what she did in order to convince him to actually leave the house. In the end, the preparations to leave were finished in only a couple of hours. After all, anything that needed to be packed could just be sucked into a storage ring with the wave of a hand. As for travel, who needed to bother with that when they had on their side a high level immortal who could manipulate space? That''s right, the demon king actually practiced the space laws, as well as the laws of darkness. The only people that would be accompanying them where the demon king''s hidden guards and the chef uncle. Even though the demon king himself didn''t really need protection, they were useful in taking care of troublesome matters that the demon king couldn''t be bothered to raise a hand in. In other words, they were joined by Yin Mei under this title of errand boy. As for all other matters, of course, Yin Mei would be the one taking care of it. Bai Yu''s parents wouldn''t be coming along, and would be left behind to house sit. Yin Mei, the demon king, the chef uncle, and the handful of hidden guards were standing together in the palace courtyard. Yin Mei was wearing a thin white veil for going out, though it was probably unnecessary. The demon king was also wearing a veil, though his was black. In addition, he was actually properly dressed and his chest was covered up by a black and red robe. Even with the veil, he still looked like an evil beauty that could seduce others with a simple glance. When the demon king waved his pale and slender hand, the space before them seemed to fold and distort in on itself before it finally formed a dark portal that no doubt led the human world. Just looking at those actions and that portal, Yin Mei felt that she was being enlightened in the laws of space. Bai Yu, like most of the rabbit clan, focused her studies on the laws of nature and wind, as they were suitable for her constitution. Knowing that even if she studied the laws of space, she wouldn''t make many gains in it, Yin Mei shook her head and followed the demon king and his hidden guards into the portal. Emerging on the other side, they were in a place that looked like a manor garden. The place was neat and exuded a sense of peaceful, dignified luxury. But, for Yin Mei, who had already gotten used to the splendor of the demon king''s palace and the natural beauty of the Jade Bamboo Valley, she only glanced around a few times before thinking that the sight was slightly disappointing. She thought that they were probably in the Li Kingdom, and this was the best that the small kingdom could do. But Yin Mei predicted they would be staying here for a long time, so she would surely make sure to decorate it with all sorts of good things. The manor was already well furnished, but all the items were ordinary and in Yin Mei''s opinion, rather low quality. In Li Kingdom, these materials were actually considered fairly high quality, but they simply couldn''t be put in the eyes of this rich young miss whose eyes had already been corrupted by the riches she saw everyday at the demon king''s palace and her own home. The biggest issue, though, was probably the difference in the qi in the air. The qi inside the mustard seed dimension made by the demon king was thick and perfect for cultivating in, so suddenly stepping into an area with such thin qi immediately made Yin Mei a bit worried. After all, during this period of time, the demon king''s cultivating would surely slow down. Yin Mei then disagreed with herself after thinking for a bit. Actually, at the demon king''s level, this small amount wouldn''t make much of a difference. It would be better to quickly get their hands on the treasure or the female lead. Only then would it be possible for the demon king to quickly ascend. Renewing her determination, Yin Mei busied herself with replacing the furniture in the manor and redecorating with a vigor. She finished the demon king''s room first in the blink of an eye, to which he quickly buried himself in the bed without another word. Yin Mei once again felt that the demon king was strange and didn''t seem to match the image of cold, cruel, and ruthless that she thought a demon king would have. Rather, wasn''t he just a lazy shut-in? Yin Mei, while busy refurnishing the manor, also proceeded to check on the circumstances of the female lead. "Oh? Ohhhh? It''s this event!" She muttered to herself as she watched the events on the screen. Would it be a good time to drag the demon king out with her? Or should she go alone? No, she should still check with the demon king first. If he''s willing, that''ll be good, but if he isn''t, then there shouldn''t be much of a problem. Although he would be missing out on a chance to flaunt in front of the female lead, it wasn''t a super important event and there would be more chances in the future. Thinking this, Yin Mei quickly headed over to the demon king''s room, barging in without knocking this time, forgetting her manners in her excitement. Well, in the first place, knocking had never been necessary. It was only because she was afraid of the demon king that she had been so polite, but now that she was getting more used to his presence, she was gradually dropping formalities with him. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! I''m going out to play!" She said, opening up the curtain that covered the bed, immediately regretting such a decision. She was faced with the gorgeous view of a sleepy beauty, whose robe was messily worn, XXX and OOO parts showing to the world. Yin Mei immediately received a one hit K.O., unable to handle the sheer power of this scene. She even felt that if the female lead ever witnessed this scene, perhaps the male lead wouldn''t have ended up being the ninth prince, but the demon king instead. That was just how high of an attack power the demon king possessed in his current state. She quickly closed the curtain before her nose started bleeding, covering her blushing face with two hands. Unlike Yin Mei, who had received one million points of damage, the demon king didn''t seem bothered, opening up the curtain again and standing up. "What is it?" He asked in a sleepy voice, his lazy eyes exuding a unique sort of charm. "Please cover yourself up...!" Was what Yin Mei wanted to say, but in the end she didn''t, merely averting her eyes from him. "I''m going to the auction house to play." She said. "The auction house?" The demon king was confused. Why would she need to go to the auction house? Could it be that he had not provided her enough, to the point that she needed to run off and buy those low quality things? "Tsk, tsk, tsk," Yin Mei said, her HP and mental trauma seeming to have quickly recovered to normal. It was almost as if she could read the mind of the demon king (miraculously, considering her mind reading skills were negative ten), as she replied, "Don''t you know that the auction house is filled with all sorts of fun (face-slapping) events?" The demon king was confused. Why has it that he had never heard the auction house hosted such fun events before? Recalling in the old days when he still personally attended auctions, he didn''t remember them being that fun. It was just competing to buy things, was it really that amusing? Although he didn''t really understand, he decided that he would tag along with the little rabbit to see just what all the fuss was about. Maybe he really would see something interesting? He felt like it had been a long time since he had experienced this thing called "fun", so he was a little curious. Yin Mei was surprised that the demon king had actually agreed to come with her, but then thought that perhaps the fate between him and the female lead was stronger than she thought. Even though it was only one sided. With a wave of his hand, the demon king was properly dressed once again, wearing that same black and red robe from before, along with the thin black face veil. As for Yin Mei, she put on her white face veil, before calling for an expensive carriage. The demon king had actually wanted to teleport them with the portal, but Yin Mei thought that such a method would really be way too shocking for the citizens of Li Kingdom. Yin Mei recalled that many male leads in the romance xianxia stories that had female protagonists would be mysterious experts that hid their true powers. Such being the case, Yin Mei didn''t want the demon king to reveal his awesome OP-ness too soon. After all, those female leads all seemed to be really into mysterious bad boys right? All that was left was to meet the criteria of overbearing, black-bellied, and possessive, then everything would be good. The carriage that Yin Mei rented was the best in the city, and although it might not be able to compare to a custom-made carriage, she guessed that it could probably still be pretty good for the Li Kingdom''s standards. But, Yin Mei was really having trouble judging the value of these sorts of things, as everything in the Li Kingdom simply looked too trashy when she compared it to the things she owned or the stuff in the demon king''s palace. Even just casually picking something on the ground in her house and it would be higher ranked than anything here! But, she still had some expectations for the auction. After all, it was an auction that the main character participated in. The main character aura would surely cause many hidden treasures to show up that didn''t belong to such a lowly Li Kingdom, though regretfully, Yin Mei didn''t think it would be good to compete with the female lead for such things. Although she didn''t want to compete with the female lead, she also didn''t want her to grow more powerful, or stealing from her later would be much harder. It was such a troublesome dilemma. Boarding the carriage with the demon king, the two set off (along with the hidden guards who were... well, hidden) for the auction house. This auction house was known as the Seven Treasures Pavilion, and was a prestigious auction house with many branches across the main continent. They even had a few dealings with the demon world, and the demon king had been friends with the founder of the auction house. Although he had been a shut-in for a long time, he was still friendly with the current head of the founder''s family, which was still in charge of the auction house to this day. Because of this, the demon king possessed a VVVIP token for the Seven Treasures Pavilion. The reason Yin Mei knew this was because this token was actually in her possession. The demon king had had the captain of the hidden guards give her anything that might be useful in the human world before they had left. Yin Mei, being the diligent (greedy) person she was, had carefully gone through all the items and asked about the purpose of those items that weren''t recognizable at first glance. Arriving at the entrance of the auction house, Yin Mei got off first, before extending a hand out for the demon king. She wasn''t quite clear on the customs in these ancient times, as Bai Yu had been a carefree young miss that didn''t pay attention to those sorts of things, so Yin Mei wasn''t sure if the actions she was taking was correct or not, but she felt that it should be okay. The demon king took her hand as he came down, so Yin Mei took it as that she had performed the correct action. There were employees at the gate, that would lead the guests in when they arrived. Although the carriage they arrived in wasn''t the best, the moment the two stepped out, anyone could tell they were exceptional. Though they wore veils, their exceptional aura was still obvious, their beauty unable to be hidden. In addition, the clothes they wore were clearly unordinary. "Excuse me? There is an auction taking place soon, right?" Yin Mei asked the female attendant standing at the door. "Yes, would young miss like to join? A membership token is required for entrance," The girl replied politely. Unlike in some stories where the person at the entrance might make some troubles for the protagonist, such a thing didn''t happen here. After all, the people who served at the Seven Treasures Pavilion were professionals. Even if someone was dressed like a beggar they would still treat them politely. After all, who knew how many eccentric experts that were out there that enjoyed dressing up like beggars. "Here you go," Yin Mei said, taking out the VVVIP token from her storage ring. The token was about the size of a large coin. Imprinted on it was the image of a phoenix. The material was rare and unique, shimmering red and gold, like fire. The image corresponded to the clan emblem of the family that owned the Seven Treasures Pavilion, while the material corresponded to the level of membership. In this case, the fire gold was the material that corresponded to the highest level VIP. Any employee of the Seven Treasures Pavilion knew this, but the woman blinked a few times, the knowledge taking a while to sink in. After all, such a high level VIP never actually would visit this small Li Kingdom. The young woman immediately become several times more polite, gesturing them in to follow her. Like Yin Mei thought, those novels where those professional employees would disrespect the protagonist for the littlest things were all scams, totally not following reality. After all, such a high class establishment, there''s no way that they would do something so crass. 6 Snake and Rabbit 5 Entering the auction house, Yin Mei and She Ming were guided to the best private room in the auction house. She was relieved that the female lead wasn''t currently with the ninth prince, or else that would mean that they would be taking that private room from the protagonists! But, since she wasn''t with the ninth prince, even though she was selling some precious high quality medicines, she still didn''t qualify for the highest quality private room. That being said, Yin Mei knew that the female lead should either be in the room next door, or the room next to that. She was currently devising ways to look good in front of the female lead. Was buying the items that the female lead put for auction too crass? Yin Mei thought that those female leads might be too aloof to put to heart such methods of flaunting wealth. Then how about using this as an opportunity to gift her something good afterwards? Or was that too sudden? The only things that Yin Mei could come up with was using the demon king''s wealth to seduce the female lead, which Yin Mei thought wouldn''t really work. Sigh, such a mission really wasn''t suitable for her. Actually... Yin Mei felt that maybe killing the male lead really was truly the best way to complete the mission. After all, as long as the male lead was there, no methods seemed to be good? No, no, no, she couldn''t let herself be corrupted like that. But justifying herself like that made her heart feel a little bit better, though guilt still weighed heavily whenever she thought about what she had to do. No, it''s better not to think about it. She chased out those useless thoughts from her head, focusing on the matter at hand. It was fine if nothing really happened today, first was to at least make an impression! Then we''ll talk. Yin Mei silently conversed with the system in her head, bringing up the list of auction items and checking which items were the ones that the female lead would bet for. Of the list, most of the things sounded cool, but looking at the description, were too low quality. There were only a few notable items. The first couple were the pills that the female lead had put up for auction. Actually, the quality could be considered pretty good. Although the pill itself was an ordinary pill that could be found anywhere, the quality was significantly higher than the average market quality. This was the talent of the female lead. Not only was she a skilled assassin, but she could actually refine pills too. Truly a beloved daughter of heaven. That being said, any pill that Yin Mei could casually take out from her storage ring was much better, so these were useless. But Yin Mei decided she would still bet for a bottle to try and raise their favorability rating with the female lead. As for the other items of note, these were the items that the female lead would bet for. Most of them couldn''t enter Yin Mei''s eyes, it was only the very last item that could be considered good. This item had a mysterious origin and not even the Seven Treasures Pavilion was able to completely appraise it, resulting in not too many bids, though there were still people interested. Not even the female lead was quite sure of its true origin, only feeling that it would be beneficial to her cultivation, due to the strong ice aura that it had. After a while, the female lead would gradually unravel the mysteries of the item. It was a portion of million year old mountain rock that had been carved up by an expert with ice affinity and dropped down from the upper realm. Because of this, although it had once been an ordinary rock, it was now suffused with the strong ice aura. And, if one was talented, they might even be able to get some enlightenment over the sword techniques used on the rock. Yin Mei wasn''t really interested in the rock, but she was a little interested in what was inside of it. The system''s information was really quite detailed, even mentioning this sort of thing. Apparently, the ice energy of the upper realm expert had slowly condensed to form a magic crystal on the inside of the rock. This wasn''t really useful to Yin Mei, since she wasn''t compatible with the ice element, but the same couldn''t be said for the demon king. This was energy from the upper realm, not only that, but the sword techniques were also profound techniques originating in the upper realm. Yin Mei weighed the pros and cons of obtaining the rock. Although she didn''t really want to compete for items with the female lead, this item really would be useful for the demon king''s cultivation. And, the stronger the demon king was, the easier it would be for him to get rid of the male lead. Yin Mei pondered a bit. The female lead probably wouldn''t be able to tell their identities, right? That being the case, should she just risk it? No, perhaps she should just buy it now, in advance, before the auction even officially started. Yin Mei saw that there was still some time left before the start of the auction, so she felt that this was possible. After all, VIP members were granted some special benefits, and with such a high level of membership, it shouldn''t be a problem to buy a rock before the auction started. Yin Mei nodded, making her decision. It was perfect timing, as the attendant that had led them here entered the private room again with refreshments and snacks. Yin Mei stopped her, saying, "There''s no need. My Master has very picky tastes; we''ve already prepared our own refreshments in advance." She then continued on, "Can you hand us a list of the items prepared for the auction?" The attendant nodded politely, bowing as she exited with the refreshments. Yin Mei took out the snacks that the chef uncle had already prepared beforehand, along with a pot of a tea and cups. Feeding them such low quality stuff, who knew if they would get sick? Of course, with the constitution of a cultivator, there was no way they would get sick just from eating a bit of normal food, but that didn''t occur to Yin Mei, whose tongue had long been conquered by the chef uncle. The demon king sipped at the tea that Yin Mei had poured for him, seemingly possessing endless patience as he awaited the "fun events" that Yin Mei claimed they could see. "Your Majesty, can you see a young girl in one of the rooms next to us?" Yin Mei asked, leaning in to whisper at the demon king. It was unnecessary, as even if she whispered fifty feet away from him, he''d still be able to hear what she said. The demon king raised an eyebrow, but took a look with a magic technique anyways. Yin Mei''s senses were good enough to sense the people around her in about a fifty feet radius or so, but the technique the demon king used was fundamentally different and was similar to clairvoyance. "Is this the person you''re talking about?" The demon king said, waving his hand and summoning a water mirror that reflected the image of the female lead. She was currently dressed in a black cloak and was sitting in a private room while eating snacks, looking down on the auction floor. The room was similar to theirs, but smaller and of lower quality. "She''s two rooms away." Yin Mei saw that the female lead had employed some simple disguise techniques, her face much more plain than before. "This should be the furnace I told you about! How is it? What do you think about her?" Although she looked very plain right now, Yin Mei felt that this shouldn''t have an affect on her Mary Sue aura. Yin Mei was wondering if the demon king would have already fallen in love at first sight? The demon king looked indifferently at the image in the water mirror, not really feeling anything. He could sense that this girl was really someone with a Pure Yin physique. Though she had employed some cheap tricks to keep her physique and appearance hidden from others, it wasn''t enough to deceive his eyes. Even though he felt a bit of disdain toward her in terms of cultivation level and appearance, it was true that if he took her on as a cultivation partner, he would probably be able to ascend in a few years. "Hmm..." Seeing that the demon king had on a thoughtful expression, Yin Mei was a little excited. Could it be that this really was the legendary love at first sight? It didn''t make a very beautiful image considering that the female lead''s appearance right now wasn''t too great, but she was still the female lead ah. If the demon king was paying attention to Yin Mei, he would have been a little disappointed. Was his charm so low these days that all the girls wanted him to get together with someone else? But, sadly, Yin Mei wasn''t able to hear the demon king''s answer yet when they were interrupted by the returning attendant. Yin Mei received the list of items from her, taking a casual look over it and spotting the item at the end, mysterious ice aura rock. What a crude name they used... but that had nothing to do with her. She pointed at the item. "We''ll buy this. For ten purple gold." She said bluntly. Purple gold was the highest level of currency excluding spirit stones. But, according to the information, spirit stones were rare and almost never used as currency in the Li Kingdom. Also in the information it recorded how much the female lead had spent to acquire this rock, and it was not even one purple gold, so Yin Mei thought that ten purple gold should be more than enough. She might have even given more, but actually most of the currency she had was in spirit stones... "Th-this, I''ll have to inquire with the manager first," the attendant said, stammering for some reason. Yin Mei wondered whether she had proposed too much or too little - she couldn''t tell. In the end she just nodded, allowing the attendant to run off. Looking down on the auction stage, she could see that the hall was filled up and the auction was about to start. Although the ninth prince was usually like a leech, always stuck to the female lead, he wouldn''t appear at this auction to woo the female lead today due to personal matters. Yin Mei wasn''t sure what he was doing exactly, though she could probably find out through the system, but she did know it had something to do with planning the conquering of the main continent. "Ah, that''s right! Your Majesty, you never answered what you thought about that girl!" Yin Mei said, recalling what she was talking about with the demon king moments before. She once more leaned in, looking at him with sparkling eyes filled with anticipation. "So? Do you like her? Is she to your tastes?" She just barely restrained herself from asking if he wanted to take her home right now to XX and OO her, shutting her mouth just in time. "She''s just average." The demon king said. He thought that, like most girls, the little rabbit would be happy hearing he didn''t have much interest in another girl, but to his surprise, she looked like she was filled with disappointment, as if it was the end of the world. Yin Mei thought that she wouldn''t have to worry about the demon king''s side, since the female lead had the Mary Sue aura, but could it be that she would actually have to work hard to make him fall in love with the female lead as well? Making one side love the other was hard enough, but now she had to work on both sides?? No, no, no, it was just that the demon king hadn''t associated with the female lead long enough. Yin Mei was sure that the Mary Sue aura would gradually make the demon king fall in love with the female lead. He just needed to witness a little more of how OP she was. These thoughts were once more interrupted by the attendant, who had directly come with the mysterious rock to sell to the two, along with the branch manager. Yin Mei didn''t dally, trading ten purple gold for the ordinary looking rock and waving them off, having no interest in seeing them grovel and flatter her. She held the rock in her hand, tossing it a few times. It had a pretty good weight, and felt rather cold even for her, a cultivator. The demon king''s eyes were immediately drawn to the rock, probably already able to see through its secrets. This was something good, even in the eyes of the demon king, who had already seen all sorts of treasures and lived many years. Seeing the demon king''s gaze, Yin Mei couldn''t help but brag, "I told you there would be good stuff, right?" Well, actually she didn''t say that. She had said that there would be fun events, but to her, it was all the same. The demon king also didn''t notice, only nodding. After all, this rock alone was worth the trip to the human world. There was also the furnace, which would be very useful for him. The demon king gave Yin Mei a meaningful look, but it was too bad that Yin Mei was too dense and only thought that the demon king had a pair of really beautiful eyes as she handed him the rock. As the demon king felt the rock in his hands, glancing toward Yin Mei, they could hear the announcer calling for the start of the auction. Yin Mei eagerly turned her head to look past the curtains and the open balcony toward the auction stage. It was finally time for the auction to start! 7 Snake and Rabbit 6 "This first item up for auction is..." The announcer said, his voice echoing through the auction hall. Yin Mei had no interest in the items, only waiting in anticipation for the female lead to make her move. Yin Mei had already read all the information on the auction event in advance, and with her new and improved memory due to being a cultivator, she could recall every word. There weren''t any notable appearances from any of the female lead''s male suitors, but the crown prince and the female lead''s half sister were here, which Yin Mei was sure would be an amusing sight. Actually, Yin Mei and the demon king had snatched this room from the crown prince and the half sister, but who had the room to care about those useless cannon fodder? She didn''t even feel pity for them as a fellow cannon fodder, only feeling that if she had the time of day to pity them, it was better used to plan for her mission. Yin Mei knew that the crown prince and the female lead''s half sister were in the room between them and the female lead. The crown prince actually bringing the sister of his fiancee to the auction, it was really a slap in the face to the female lead. She even decided to excitedly tell the demon king this, seemingly very excited to see what would happen next. The demon king, on the other hand, felt a bit confused. The rabbit should be a noble and high up cultivator, why is it that she liked to spend her time on such meaningless gossip? Was it that he was no longer in touch with the younger generation, and could not understand their interests? He felt that if the rabbit wanted to improve her cultivation later, she would need to abandon such habits... Yin Mei didn''t realize that by talking about this, she had inadvertently dug herself a hole. She was as ignorant as ever, still happily gossiping about the Li Kingdom''s dirty secrets. At this moment, Yin Mei stopped talking, hearing the voice of the crown prince as he bet on a pretty hairpin. This hairpin wasn''t just nice in appearance, it was also had a defensive formation carved onto it. Yin Mei had something similar, though much better in quality. Immediately, she could also hear the voice of the female lead raising the price from 10,000 gold to 15,000 gold. The voice of the female lead was mysteriously very beautiful, giving off the image of an aloof white lotus on a snowy mountain top... Yin Mei even felt that she had gone crazy as she recalled all sorts of imagery used by novelists. If it was on voice alone, the female lead may even be compared to the heavenly voices possessed by the siren clan. The crown prince''s voice, which possessed a certain amount of arrogance and dignity, had a hint of annoyance in it as he raised the price by another 5,000 gold. In the Li Kingdom, there weren''t that many people who would dare go against him. Even those who had the power would still at least put on the appearance of being respectful - after all, he was still a member of the royal family, and the crown prince at that. But, of course, who was the female lead to care about the face of the royal family? She directly doubled the price. Her illegitimate half sister wanted that hairpin? If she was going to get it, she would definitely make sure that disloyal fianc¨¦ of hers paid the price for it. She wanted him to feel like he was bleeding. Of course, with just a hairpin, there was a limit to the amount the crown prince would be willing to spend, even if he felt his pride was wounded. After all, the crown prince still had to have the money left to buy a bottle of the rumored pills that would be on auction today. After a back and forth between the two, the crown prince ended up on top, but he had to pay far more than the true worth of the hairpin. After all, the female lead wouldn''t spend so much money on just a useless accessory when she had much better things. "Isn''t this just petty squabbling between humans?" The demon king couldn''t help but think. But, because the mysterious rock had satisfied him so much, he continued to sit there. Whatever, he could still at least cultivate. As for that furnace, well, he could wait for now and see what the rabbit wanted to do with her. He didn''t mind letting her play around a bit, as long as he got what he wanted in the end. On the other hand, Yin Mei was still watching the auction with faint interest. The auction event was a classic among xianxia novels, and she enjoyed reading about it. Now watching it, it had a different feel, with the sound of voices calling out numbers echoing through the ancient building. Yin Mei took out a plate of peaches, calmly skinning and cutting one into slices. She rudely ate one before skewering another piece with a silver toothpick and pushing the plate in front of the demon king. If she hadn''t been so distracted, she wouldn''t have done such a thing, but blame her wandering attention as she continued watching the show. "Oh? Oh, oh, it''s the bottle of pills." Yin Mei suddenly said, perking up to look down on the row of bottles that the announcer''s assistant was holding on a tray. "Look," she said, pointing at them. "?" The demon king did take a look, not quite sure why it was so interesting. When the assistant opened one of the bottles, a strong and refreshing medicinal fragrance wafted out that refreshed the body and mind. "Oh? It''s just a normal Body Cleansing Pill, but it''s actually been refined to this level... not bad." The demon king''s not bad could be considered very good praise. Actually, the acclaimed geniuses of the demon world would all be extremely happy if they only got these two words of praise "not bad". That being said, for the demon king, in his eyes, not bad was precisely not bad. If he got it, it was fine, but if he didn''t, it didn''t matter that much either. The level of talent was only just so. "The furnace refined them," Yin Mei said as the betting began for the first bottle of pills. The demon king raised an eyebrow. Yin Mei then added on, "She also possesses the Nine Dragons Stove." She actually wasn''t sure what the status of the Nine Dragons Stove was here in this world, as this was a treasure the female lead had brought over from the modern world. The information didn''t really mention anything either. The female lead never revealed its existence, and she never fully explored all the mysteries of it either. Yin Mei could only guess that she had only done so after she entered the upper realm, but too bad the story cut off at that point. "Nine Dragons Stove?" The demon king seemed to grow thoughtful. Yin Mei thought that maybe he might be able to recall something, so she supplied some more useful information. "It''s a stove with nine revolving dragons, bound by blood to the girl. The material is unknown, but black in color and very strong... it has the dragon gate engraved on it." "Nine revolving dragons and the dragon gate?" A possibility emerged in the head of the demon king, but he didn''t speak aloud. Not caring how Yin Mei was able to obtain this information, if what she said was true, then this refining stove was much more precious than anything else. There wasn''t any need for the furnace anymore, as long as he could get his hands on that stove... Yin Mei didn''t know that the demon king had already changed his decision and decided to kill the female lead, and also was too dense to feel the dark aura that was gradually gathering around him. She only felt that he was deep in thought and shouldn''t disturb him, instead calling out a price for one of the pill bottles. They were already on the seventh pill bottle, betting at about 100,000 gold coins, or 100 gold ingots, so she directly raised the price to a thousand gold ingots. There was silence, and the pill bottle naturally went to her. She would have used a purple gold, but she actually really didn''t have a lot of purple gold left... She resolved that she would go ask for (extort) some from some unimportant rich cannon fodder later. "Right, I should give a gift to the female lead while I''m at it!" Yin Mei said, thinking that her idea was great. She thought, and thought, wondering what would be good to give to the female lead. It needed to be beneficial enough that the female lead would appreciate it, but also not so beneficial that she would have a hard time later. "For now, how about this?" Yin Mei took out a pair of exquisite pearl earrings that shimmered with an iridescent light. These pearl earrings used pearls made by the sea king. They had the power to regenerate and heal wounds. Yin Mei called for the attendant, telling her to give these to the female lead. But, before she could hand them over, the demon king stopped her. With question marks written all over her face, she handed them over to him. He seemed to observe them for a moment, and she wasn''t sure what he was thinking. Maybe the gift wasn''t good enough? After a few short moments, the demon king handed them back without saying anything. Although Yin Mei wasn''t sure what that was about, she still had the attendant gift them to the female lead. Whatever! Since the demon king didn''t say anything in the end, that meant there were no issues right? The demon king hadn''t had any issues, partly because it didn''t make a difference to him if she possessed those earrings, and partly because he had used a few techniques to add some special add ons... Such as GPS tracking, hidden camera surveillance, and a special curse. If Yin Mei knew this, her image of the demon king would be totally destroyed. When the female lead received the present, she was surprised as she heard the attendant describe the use of the pearl earrings. Looking at the pearls in her hand, she was immediately suspicious. Such was her personality. She could tell they were out of the ordinary with one glance, she just didn''t know if there were some tricks involved... For now, she decided to keep them in her storage space until she could find a way to appraise them. Yin Mei had actually expected this, but the demon king was a little upset. This girl had actually not worn the gift and instead put it straight into her storage ring? Then wouldn''t the techniques he had gone out of the way to cast on them be pretty much useless? If it was the little rabbit, she''d be overjoyed and immediately start using them. His impression of the female lead immediately went down by ten points. Going back home, Yin Mei decided to start planning the next move, while the demon king was using his subordinates to check if the stove the female lead had really was the one he was thinking about. As for the matter of Yin Mei knowing about the stove, the demon king just pinned it on the special ability of the Jade Rabbit bloodline (how convenient). Checking the plot information again, Yin Mei decided that they should make the next move during the assassination event. The one being assassinated would be the ninth prince. He would almost die before being rescued by the female lead. Yin Mei decided to steal this event from the female lead and save him herself. The male lead would be in a perilous situation, just perfect for stealing the ring and killing him off all at once. Yin Mei had more confidence then before because they had just obtained the mysterious rock. The demon king had already made use of it, currently in the midst of refining the ice energy stone. She felt that this was the perfect plan, just hoping that the demon king would finish his closed cultivation before then. For now, she decided to go visit the academy. That''s right, it wouldn''t be a proper story if there wasn''t an academy arc! 8 Snake and Rabbit 7 The academy was very important only because of the treasure that was there. As for the rest of the fighting between the female lead and the students, Yin Mei had no interest. If she had time, it would be a little fun to watch from the side, but right now Yin Mei had to focus on getting the treasure before the female lead. Yin Mei thought that she might have gotten a little addicted to stealing the female lead''s treasures? Oh well. She couldn''t bring the demon king this time, since she didn''t want to interrupt his cultivation, so she could only alert the hidden guard captain before making her way to the academy. This treasure that she mentioned was one of the best treasures in the story, at least at first look. This is because this is one of the treasures that didn''t have as many secrets and wasn''t so mysterious, but still very powerful. It was a sword made from the bones of an ice dragon. Because of the female lead''s affinity, many of the treasures found here were treasures with an ice affinity. The reason why no one else realized the existence of this super unbelievably good treasure was because first it was in a mustard seed space that was under the care of the academy, secondly it was in a tricky place to get to even inside that dimension, and thirdly, because it was in a sealed space, no one had been able to sense its existence. There shouldn''t be anything too dangerous, just that the location of the sword was in a bit of a tricky place to get to. That being said, Yin Mei couldn''t be too underprepared. Even though she counted as having a pretty high cultivation, Yin Mei wasn''t actually Bai Yu. She remembered Bai Yu''s memories of fighting and the techniques she knew, but Yin Mei hadn''t had a chance to practice them. As a result, she felt that when it came to an actual fight, the most Yin Mei could do was flee? Perhaps she could only exert a tenth of Bai Yu''s true power at this time. Well, preparing didn''t take too long though, since she had already brought an unbelievable amount of life saving treasures with her from the demon world. She just took another glance before putting on an outfit that had all sorts of buffs and defensive formations embroidered on it. In addition, she wore a pair of pearl earrings similar to the ones she gifted to the female lead, as well as a few other defense and escape tools. Thinking she was all good, she headed out for the academy. "Ughhhhh, why do I have to go out and do this? If only this treasure wasn''t so important for the demon king..." Yin Mei mumbled to herself as she snuck through the school campus, wearing the appearance changing brooch and shadow manipulating cloak. The good thing was that the formations guarding the entrance to the mustard seed dimension were a joke in Yin Mei''s eyes. This was because Bai Yu''s specialty lay in formations and talisman making. Yin Mei thought it was an odd speciality, but in terms of this ability, even the demon king had praised her talent (at the age of five, apparently). Maybe it was because Yin Mei was in Bai Yu''s body, but she also found formations and talisman making very easy. Even if she didn''t, she still had the vast amount of knowledge on it in Bai Yu''s mind. She didn''t think such meticulous and detailed work suited the carefree Bai Yu, but she had to admit that when Bai Yu got serious, she was actually very talented. "Hey, did you hear? That waste actually came to school today!" A student passing by said to his friend, mocking clear in his face. Yin Mei hid in the shadows of a nearby building, eavesdropping on them after hearing the word "waste". "Really? I can''t believe the Prime Minister would actually let such a shameful person out of the estate. What was the emperor thinking, allowing a cultivation waste to attend the academy? It''ll only drag down our reputation," the friend replied, his face warped in disgust. They walked away, the sound of their chattering growing distant. "The female lead is already at the academy? I should hurry," Yin Mei thought to herself as she leapt from building roof to building roof. Actually, the female lead wasn''t scheduled to discover the sword for the next few weeks at least, but Yin Mei was uncomfortable being in the same place as the female lead for so long. After all, she didn''t have the big golden thigh known as the demon king with her at this time. She couldn''t only run slightly faster, soon arriving at the entrance to the other dimension, located inside a small tower. This dimension was an extremely simple dimension, slightly similar to a storage space. It contained various treasures to be rewarded to students that score high on certain exams. It was currently being watched over by two cultivators. From their appearance, they looked like twins, one with white hair and the other with black hair, very handsome. Since their cultivation was lower than Bai Yu''s, Yin Mei didn''t think of them as too big of a problem. After all, cultivators couldn''t sense the presence of those with higher cultivation, unless the person with higher cultivation specifically released their aura in a way that allowed them to be sensed. Currently, with Yin Mei using a special talisman, there was no way they would be able to sense her. She secretly took out an invisibility talisman, sticking it onto her body and activating it with a thin strand of energy. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out from the pillar she was hiding behind and walked up the stairs to the gate. The twin guards didn''t notice her at all. She entered the gate. There was only a faint ripple from her entrance, which merged with all the other ripples that flowed across the space of the gate. The first phase was over. It was easier than she thought it would be, but she also felt that it was expected. After all, even though this small Li Kingdom had a bunch of awesome treasures, they were still a small backwards kingdom without even a single Demigod practitioner (the highest level of cultivation one could reach in this lower realm). Entering the dimension, it was like a starry night sky, the stars all different treasures. Yin Mei didn''t glance at them, instead taking out a jade sword. The "slightly tricky place" that the dragon bone sword was in was in the border of this dimension and the void. It sounded complicated, but what she needed to do wasn''t too hard... Yin Mei took the slender and elegant jade sword, waving it slightly. The movement was rough, but somehow still exuded an elegance. It was slow, but also seemingly unable to be seen properly with the naked eye. A single slash, and the space rumbled as a black tear appeared where Yin Mei had cut with her sword. She jumped into the tear of space after taking a deep breath and gathering up her courage. Inside was just endless darkness. Although it didn''t look like much, it was actually very dangerous. After all, she was messing with space here. The demon king would have been very useful right about now, but since he wasn''t here, she could only haphazardly wave around her jade sword in order to cut through the different dimensions. She once again waved her sword, this time the tear filled with bright light instead of darkness. "Just one more and I should be through," she thought to herself, jumping through the tear again. Exiting and it was a world of pure light. She cut again, jumped again, and this time she was in what appeared to be a sword grave. "It''s good that nothing went wrong!" She thought, though she still had to find the sword and then exit without getting lost. This sword grave was only accessible with special methods, and was a place where swords went to die. Many swords pierced the ground, the majority broken or rusty. Only some appeared newer, but their light and shine were fading. Some special people would come here to "revive" a sword, but this was very rare. Excluding the female lead, it had been several centuries since someone visited this place. Who would know that this usually inaccessible place could actually be found by cutting a few tears into space through the Li Kingdom Academy''s mustard seed dimension? "Hmm, now to find the sword among all these swords," Yin Mei said, tilting her head from side to side in thought. The female lead had found it because she had a natural affinity toward the sword, but Yin Mei had rather low affinity toward the ice element. Too bad the information didn''t really mention where it was among the other swords, only that it appeared very ordinary and had a cold ice aura emanating from it. Yin Mei groaned. It can''t be that she would need to check every sword with ice aura, right? She was complaining, but trudged along to do so anyways. In terms of complaining, Yin Mei was without equal, but she still got things done in the end. She checked each sword with a little bit of cold aura. Those that still looked exceptional, she didn''t bother with. She only looked at those broken and rusty swords, or those swords that looked extremely ordinary. She grabbed every single sword like this. Even if the sword resisted, she would directly overpower it and bring it with her anyways. It was only through her Jade Rabbit bloodline that this was possible. For Jade Rabbits, not only could they naturally feel and discover treasures, they were also acknowledged as the king of treasures... Yin Mei wasn''t quite sure what that meant, but since she could acquire treasures like this even without them acknowledging her, she just thought it was very useful. She continued like this for what seemed like days, before she finally came across a sword that she couldn''t overpower. She knew that this had to be the sword she was looking for, as the sound of a dragon roaring came out of it, resisting her grasp. "I finally found it!" She shouted happily. It was only that, how would she be able to take it out? She had found it because it was the one sword that could resist her, but also because of that, she wasn''t sure how she could grab it and leave. She wanted to scream in frustration. "Why does everything have to be so hard!? Is it so hard for you to cooperate with me? If you come with me, then His Majesty will be happy, I''ll be happy, the system will be happy... everyone will be happy! You''ll practically be like a hero saving the world, spreading happiness and smiles, is it so hard of a thing to do?" She stomped her foot in anger. Who knew that talking like that would actually work, and the sword obediently flew over, hovering by her. She snorted. "It''s good that you know the right thing to do." Although she grumbled like that, she was still both happy and surprised. She didn''t think that venting out her anger like that would actually cause the sword to become so cooperative. She grabbed the sword, placing it in her storage bag with the other swords. As for leaving... Two weeks later. Yin Mei finally returned to the manor, looking extremely exhausted. She didn''t think that getting out of the sword grave and back here would actually be so hard. She didn''t know how long she had been gone, but she had spent a lot of time running around different dimensions, completely lost. She had accidentally entered some people''s storage spaces or mustard seed dimensions, and almost died along the way. Storage spaces weren''t even supposed to be able to contain living people dammit! Of course, she did use the opportunity to grab all sorts of treasures and riches. After all, she deserved a reward after all that hard work she did right? She could only be relieved that the assassination even hadn''t happened yet. If it did, she would definitely be way too depressed and want to vent her anger out on someone. "I''m finally home!" Yin Mei was almost moved to tears. The first thing she did was obviously... to go to the chef uncle and leech some cake off of him! After her stomach was satisfied, she went to the entrance of the demon king''s room, only to stop, unsure whether to interrupt him. If he accidentally got injured from being interrupted during cultivation, she wouldn''t have enough lives to pay him back! But, it couldn''t be that he planned on staying in closed cultivation for several years, right? Yin Mei immediately felt terrified, feeling this was very possible. No way, she still needed to rely on the demon king to kill off the male lead in a few days! She paced back and forth, an anxious expression on her face. The demon king: ... What in the world is she doing? 9 Snake and Rabbit 8 The demon king finally decided to go out and check on the little rabbit. She had always been a little odd, it couldn''t be that just a few moments of entering closed cultivation and she had already gone completely crazy right? Oh, right, wasn''t there that saying that rabbits will die of loneliness? It couldn''t be helped, the demon king thought, deciding to go check up on the rabbit just in case. As for Yin Mei, she wasn''t sure why the demon king had come out, but was happy nonetheless. Immediately, a smug expression crept onto her face. It seems that she was forgetting her manners more and more, or it was more accurate to say, her true colors were showing. She excitedly recounted her adventure, emphasizing how hard it was to get back here and how awesome she was and how much the demon king should appreciate her hard work. After doing so, she revealed the dragon bone sword. After she retrieved the sword from the sword grave, it had regained its true appearance. It was a sword that shined ice blue with various carvings on it, the hilt covered in fur and the characters Winter Moon engraved on the blade. The demon king had actually only been half listening, but seeing the shining blue sword, Yin Mei immediately got his full attention. "It''s a sword made from the bone of an ice dragon." Taking it out, the cold bit at Yin Mei''s fingers, and she quickly handed it over to the demon king. She really wasn''t compatible with the ice element! Her eyes were sparkling as she had an expression of "praise me! praise me!" written on her face. "You did good," the demon king said, not stingy with his praise like he usually was. For him, this treasure could even be considered to be better than the mysterious rock, solely from the fact that this was made out of dragon bone. After all, the end goal of the demon king was to pass through the dragon gate to transform himself into a true dragon. This sword would be very beneficial for him. "You can go ask Hu Shan to cook you whatever you want for dinner," he added on, and Yin Mei immediately ran off in excitement. Of course, the demon king would reward her with something else later, but for now, the sword was the most important. Yin Mei didn''t know, but actually this sword had almost completely cemented the demon king''s decision in killing off the female lead. With the sword added to the mix, a furnace like the female lead was made unnecessary. It was much more useful to just kill her off in order to obtain the Nine Dragons Stove. "Did you finish the check?" The demon king asked, and a voice appeared from thin air to answer him. This voice was deep and cold, it was the sound of the hidden guard captain. "Yes, Your Majesty. The furnace indeed possess a refining stove with the same description mentioned by Miss Bai." "Good, good! This Li Kingdom truly has many surprises." The demon king chuckled lightly, his red lips curving up into a delighted smile. "Ha... hahaha... hahahahaha! With this I''ll finally be able to pass through the dragon gate! How delightful." "Congratulations, Your Majesty." The hidden guard replied. "What are you congratulating me for when we haven''t even obtained the stove yet?" The demon king scoffed, scorning the hidden guard captain. "Please accept my apologies. Should we...?" The hidden guard trailed off, waiting for the demon king to reply. "No, not yet. So far, the little rabbit has been accurate. I want to see this hidden backing she mentioned, and if it''s really as powerful as she says it is. There''s no harm in being cautious. I''ve already been waiting for so long, being patient for a little more is no problem." The demon king answered, stroking the blade of the dragon sword. "Letting her out to play, and she comes back with so many good things. It''s only right to let her do as she pleases for now." Meanwhile, Yin Mei was feeling very happy these next few days. Even the thought that she would soon be an accessory for murder couldn''t get her feeling down. She was currently feeling that the mission might not be so impossible anymore. Yin Mei didn''t even think they would need to do that convoluted plan of having the female lead get the male lead''s golden finger first before stealing from the female lead either. After all, the male lead was about to get weakened from the assassination and the demon king had powered up with the mysterious rock and dragon sword! When it came time for the assassination event, it was three days after she had come back to the manor, currently about one at night. The demon king was, as always, dressed in a casual robe that revealed too much of his skin for Yin Mei to feel comfortable. He was currently lounging on a chair under the moonlight, a steaming cup of tea placed on the small table beside him. The dew shone on the petals of white hibiscus flowers, creating a picturesque scene. Yin Mei adjusted the cloak around her shoulders, looking like a night time assassin dressed in all black. "I''ll be right back!" She turned around and then with a jump, leapt over the manor wall. She had gotten more and more used to the difference in physical abilities. Originally, Yin Mei had been a shut in that couldn''t even run for half a minute before being out of breath, but now she was pretty much super human. She could create holes in the wall with a single punch, run thousands of miles without breaking a sweat, and even fly on a sword... even Yin Mei felt that she was scary awesome now. The reason that Yin Mei wasn''t going with the demon king was one part feeling that she could handle this without the demon king, one part feeling bad dragging him around all the time, and fifty parts unable to invite him after he had sat down and wished her luck. She jumped from house to house, following the handy dandy GPS feature of the system. After getting lost in the dimensional space for two weeks, she learned her lesson! Arriving at her destination, she landed in a hidden alleyway just in front of the male lead. This was the first time that she was seeing the male lead. Although it was dark, Yin Mei could see clearly. The ninth prince was sitting on the ground, his back leaned up against the wall. He had his hand pressed against his stomach, his black clothes stained an even darker black with blood. His eyes were narrowed, the moonlight reflecting in them. He was very handsome. If the demon king was beautiful in an androgynous manner, than the male lead was had a sense of strong masculinity. Yin Mei preferred the demon king, and felt that the male lead couldn''t be compared. No matter what, she thought that her master was the best. Though, the image of a handsome bleeding man had a different sort of appeal. "The ninth prince?" She said, although she knew the answer to this question. She could hear the sound of the assassins getting closer. "There''s no time. If you want to live, come with me." She felt pretty badass saying these words, but it was also very embarrassing. It''s a good thing that a black scarf hid her face, or he would be able to see the twitching smile that she was trying to force down. The ninth prince, was of course, filled with suspicion. After all, who would believe some random person that appeared right in front of him while he was injured? Yin Mei sighed, feeling nervous from the pressure. She took off her scarf and hood, revealing her beautiful appearance. She thought that she made the wrong decision. It would have been better if she dressed normally and arrived in a carriage, to make it appear as if she was just passing by. Though, the problem with that was that she wasn''t a very good actor and couldn''t handle pressure very well. "You don''t have anything to lose, right? They''re almost here, so make your decision quickly." She said, her voice filled with urgency. The ninth prince furrowed his brow, glaring at Yin Mei as he grit his teeth. He finally took her hand, and she lifted him up, tossing him over her shoulder like a rice bag before running away. The ninth prince immediately regretted his decision. Who the hell would treat an injured person so roughly? He thought so while throwing up blood onto the back of the girl. Meanwhile, Yin Mei had no thoughts about how roughly she was treating the male lead. In fact, if he died of blood loss before reaching the manor, that would be great. She still felt a little bit guilty, but wasn''t that better rather than having to kill him herself? It was for the sake of the mission. If he didn''t die, then she would have to suffer even more. She continued rationalizing her actions like this, until the little bit of guilt went away. Yin Mei finally arrived back at the manor, unceremoniously dumping the ninth prince onto the ground as she quickly used a magic technique to clean all the blood off her clothes. Feeling satisfied, she then put on a big smile and ran up to the demon king. "Your Majesty, I''m back!" She said. The demon king pat her head, surprising her. But this feeling was not too bad... "You bastard, actually throwing me onto the ground..." The ninth prince said, as he struggled to prop himself up, coughing up blood again. He had never seen someone this rude before, to actually treat him like this. Actually, no, there was one other person... "Wow! You''re still not dead," Yin Mei couldn''t help but feel a little disappointed, struggling not to show it on her face. She sighed. These protagonists really had the life force of a cockroach, how troublesome! These words really angered the ninth prince to death. To him, it was like she was cursing him to die. What happened to the promised saving of his life? As expected, people couldn''t be trusted! "Well, since you''re still not dead, I guess I''ll help you now..." Although Yin Mei was saying this, she clearly had a look of reluctance. She walked over, taking out a pill from her storage ring. It had a refreshing and cooling scent. Just smelling it made the ninth prince feel better, until Yin Mei roughly shoved it into his mouth, sending him into a coughing fit. "You goddamn..." Before he could finish speaking, he was already knocked cold. Yin Mei felt the male lead was kind of weak. It couldn''t be that putting him to sleep would really be that easy? But this really couldn''t be blamed on the male lead. Not only had he received a fatal injury, but he had been tossed around by Yin Mei so roughly on top of that. He already no longer had the energy to resist. Yin Mei shook her head, discarding her thoughts and proceeding to loot the corpse (the ninth prince). The ring around his neck was there, as expected. She couldn''t help but feel endless happiness. It was bound by blood to the male lead, though, so the ninth prince would have to die first before it could be used. "I can''t believe I didn''t think of that." Yin Mei groaned. Well, she planned on killing the ninth prince off anyways, it was just that she couldn''t believe this was it. There was no way it could be this easy right? After all, the male lead had the protagonist''s aura! The legendary plot armor! She cautiously looked around. Only the demon king could be seen, lounging around on his chair and looking at the male lead with a faint mixture of both interest and disdain. Yin Mei took out a sword. She cautiously poked the ninth prince with a sword, before looking around in fear again. Nothing. She poked him again, at the neck, drawing blood this time. She looked around again. Still nothing? She took a deep breath. Initially she had plans to have the demon king kill him, but looking at him now, she had lost the courage to push the responsibility onto him. But, she was also losing the courage to kill him herself. Just do it! Just do it! Just do it! She screamed inside her head, raising up her blade. She squeezed her eyes shut, and in one go, slashed down. 10 Snake and Rabbit 9 "Congratulations host, you have completed the first mission! Please wait while the system calculates the next mission." The cold voice of System 097 pierced through Yin Mei''s head, causing her to open her eyes. It really was that easy? She couldn''t help but look down, immediately regretting that decision. A wave of nausea immediately rushed up, the sword clattering on the ground as she dropped it, leaning to the side of vomit. For a while, the only sound in the silent night was that of Yin Mei''s retching. "You did a good job." Suddenly, the demon king''s dark and beautiful voice spoke out, and Yin Mei looked up. She didn''t know when, but the demon king had knelt before her, on the other side of the corpse. The blood was soaking his expensive and gorgeous robe, but he didn''t seem to care. The moonlight shined down on him, and he had on the most beautiful smile. Yin Mei was shocked silly, and only felt that her appearance was dirty and shameful in front of him. His eyes were curved into crescent moons, and his red lips perked up. "You did a good job." He said again, patting Yin Mei''s head. "A good job?" She murmured. He nodded, still smiling peacefully. "That''s right. I completed the mission. Doesn''t that mean I did a good job?" She thought absentmindedly. She then smiled. "That''s right! I did a good job." Even the demon king said it, so it had to be true. It had to be true. The next morning, when Yin Mei woke up, she found that she didn''t feel any different from usual. Walking out into the courtyard, it was spotlessly clean, as if there hadn''t been a bloody corpse lying on the ground just last night. Even Yin Mei was doubting herself, but she looked at the ring in her hand. It wasn''t a dream right? "I wonder what the next mission is?" She thought, closing her hand into a fist. "Killing the male lead was much easier than I thought." She had been so sure that something would happen that would allow him to survive, but it ended up being very anticlimactic. He died without even being able to do anything. Yin Mei seemed to stop in her tracks, spacing out. Only after a few moments did she start to move again, heading toward the demon king''s room. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty," Yin Mei said, this time remembering to knock before entering. The demon king was already up, sitting on a chair as he was looking at the dragon sword placed on the table in front of him. He looked slightly more dressed up than usual, his hair partially put up with a fancy gold and ruby hairpin. His red robe had an extravagant gold trim design, and the edges of his eyes were tinted with red eyeshadow. "Are you going out?" Yin Mei asked, tilting her head. She actually felt that this demon king was much more dazzling than when he was partially undressed, perhaps because it was rare to see him like this. Even so, he still exuded the same indolent and lazy beauty that he normally did, and if Yin Mei had to compare it to something, she felt that it was similar to rotting flowers. She Ming didn''t reply to Yin Mei, instead asking, "What''re you here for?" His hand passed over the dragon sword, and with a flash, it disappeared into his storage ring. Yin Mei didn''t pay much attention to the change in topic. "It''s this," she said, opening her hand to show him the ring inside. "I took it off of the Li Kingdom''s ninth prince yesterday." She stared at the ring, again looking absentminded. It wasn''t until she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder that she snapped out of it, looking up to see the demon king''s eyes right in front of her. The red eyeshadow made him look even more seductive, and up close, his skin looked especially smooth and free of imperfections. When did he stand up and walk over to her? She wondered, but then recalled what she had been talking about. "It seems like a very good treasure." The demon king took the ring from Yin Mei''s hand, observing it. No matter how one looked at it, it only appeared ordinary. There wasn''t really anything to indicate it being a special treasure. If one must say, then the black metal it was made out of looked pretty good, but that was it. "How about try dropping blood on it?" Yin Mei suggested. She had no interest in taking the ring for herself. She only wanted to give the treasures to the demon king to make him stronger. "But the male lead already isn''t here anymore, so what''s the point?" She suddenly thought. That''s right, giving treasures was initially to make him strong enough to take out the male lead. In the end, it had all been useless. No, it''s fine. The ring wasn''t useful to Yin Mei''s mission anyways. It was still better to give it to the demon king. Yin Mei watched as the demon king pricked his finger with a small needle, letting a drop of ruby-like blood fall onto the ring. The ring absorbed it, seeming to glimmer momentarily before turning to normal. The demon king seemed to think for a moment before putting the ring on his finger. He then took Yin Mei''s hand, and with a flash, they both disappeared from the room. The hidden guard captain: ... Your Majesty, why couldn''t you have brought me with you? Inside the ring, it was like another world. The flowing green meadows, dark forests, the bejeweled night sky with a colorful aurora made a breathtaking scene. Yin Mei''s eyes sparkled, and she felt relaxed. She really liked looking at beautiful things, as it made her body and mind relax, seemingly to forget everything else. Looking around, there was a small hut nearby. It looked very inviting and cozy, and when the two stepped through the door, the inside was much bigger than the outside. It had all the accommodations needed for a person to live there, but Yin Mei was more concerned about the library and the treasury. These two rooms were the ones that were the most important in this entire dimension. Yin Mei explored the hut with the demon king, both of them remaining silent. Kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom. It was only when they reached the very end did they find the doors to the library and treasury. They stood side by side, contrasting with one another. The library door was made out of a gleaming heavy wood, the dark brown warm and shining, carved into the images of animals and plants that almost seemed alive and moving. On the right side, the treasury door was made of something that resembled fire gold, but was much more vibrant in color. It was crimson blood red and a shining gold, carved into the images of a dragon king and an undying phoenix. "Let''s go through the wooden door," the demon king said, speaking the first words since they had entered. Yin Mei nodded, placing her hand on the smooth curves of the wooden door. It was warm to the touch, and Yin Mei felt that she could feel the life energy of all the plants and animals that were carved on it. She pushed it open, and they entered. Behind the door was a library in a sea of stars. The floor was the galaxy, the ceiling was the galaxy, and the walls was the galaxy. Aside from the books on the glass shelves, there were also books floating in little orbs around them. It was super fantastical, beyond imagination. Yin Mei''s eyes were practically sparkling. She couldn''t help but exclaim in wonder. She felt that maybe a xianxia world wasn''t so bad, seeing that she could see such magical sights like this one. The demon king grabbed a scroll from the nearest bookshelf, opening it up to scan over the contents. "This is..." Yin Mei couldn''t read his expression, only watching as he continued reading, before moving on and grabbing the next book and reading again. He was completely absorbed in it. "It''s a good thing that the time in this dimension is 30:1 in comparison to the outside world," Yin Mei thought. Or else by the time they left, maybe the female lead would have already ascended. Yin Mei then wondered, but, without the male lead protecting her, could she even safely ascend? It wouldn''t be that she would have died off when they leave, right? She could only thank the gods that the time in this dimension was slowed to this point, or she really would be worried that the female lead would be dead by the time the demon king finally decided he wanted to leave. Seeing as the demon king was absorbed in reading the books, Yin Mei also took down a book, grabbing a floating chair to sit on and read. It looked to be an alchemy technique. Bai Yu only had average talents in alchemy, so reading this book was like trying to understand quantum physics when she only had a high school physics education. She could only put the book down and look for another one. Every technique was extremely profound, but that didn''t mean they were impossible to understand or master. It was just whether or not you had the talent for it and if you were willing to work at it. Yin Mei looked around until she found a technique that was more suitable for her to learn. She finally settled on one that would allow her to communicate with animals and plants. Like this, the two of them continued reading for who knows how long, unable to tell the flow of time in this space. It was only after a long time that Yin Mei felt that they should go back out to check on matters. The problem was the demon king, who was currently diligently cultivating and pondering on the technique he was currently studying. Yin Mei didn''t want to disturb him, but she also knew that they couldn''t stay in here forever. Thinking that, she gathered up the courage to interrupt his cultivation. "Your Majesty, we can''t stay here forever. We should go out to check on the others." Although the demon king was initially upset for being disturbed, he agreed with what Yin Mei said. After all, he still needed the Nine Dragons Stove. With those thoughts, he grasped Yin Mei''s hand, and with a flash, they had returned to the same spot they disappeared from. It had already been six days since they had disappeared, meaning they had stayed in that space for almost half a year. The hidden guard captain was delighted. If the demon king disappeared just like that, the demon world would fall into chaos trying to choose a new king. Yin Mei went off to demand some snacks from the chef uncle, while the demon king directly ordered the hidden guards to kill off the female lead. "System, have you calculated the next mission yet?" Yin Mei asked as she slowed down her pace. The system had been with her in the space for half a year, yet hadn''t mentioned a word about the next mission. It couldn''t be that it had short-circuited and died right? "The system is still calculating, please wait." Yin Mei sighed in relief. At least 097 was still alive. As for the mission, she didn''t mind if it took a little longer to issue, as she could then spend her time relaxing. It was only a few days later that Yin Mei regret having such simple thoughts. "Due to the death of the female lead, the main mission has been recalculated. Current mission: ascend and help the demon king take the dragon throne." Yin Mei: ... Excuse me? 11 Snake and Rabbit 10 "Wait, wait, wait, wait. I''m sorry, could you repeat that again?" Yin Mei said, stopping in her tracks. She felt she must have misheard the system. "Due to the death of the female lead-" "Yeah, no, you can stop now." She didn''t mishear. That meant the female lead had died. Oh my god! What she feared came true! The female lead was dead by the time they had come out! "Goddamn jinxing myself...!!" Ignoring that, Yin Mei was very worried. This mission was probably actually even harder than killing off the male lead. First of all, there was the difference in cultivation between Yin Mei and the demon king. At this rate, the demon king would probably ascend in the next few years. On the other hand, Yin Mei was two large stages away from the Demigod stage, and it would probably take another several hundred years for her to ascend, even if she swallowed up all of the female lead''s remaining treasures. And then there was... "System, can I get the information on the plot of the upper realm?" Yin Mei asked. Yes, this was the second issue. The story plot had gotten cut off once the male and female leads had ascended, so Yin Mei had very little information on the upper realm. "Once ascending to the upper realm, the system will provide host with the new plot." System 097 obediently answered. The new plot? Yin Mei was confused. What was that supposed to mean? But no matter how much she pondered on it, she couldn''t figure it out. Whatever. Since the system would provide her with information, a good portion of her worries were alleviated. The only problem that needed to be solved now was ascending. Thinking of how those xianxia main characters ascended so quickly, it was always due to swallowing a bunch of treasures or having some fortuitous encounters. But, even then, it would take them a hundred years or more (most of it skipped in a single line). The only story that Yin Mei recalled was slightly different was one main character who would die and reincarnate into a body with higher cultivation. Yin Mei didn''t think that would be an option for her, but just in case, she checked with the system. "System, can I transfer my soul to someone in the upper realm when I die?" She wasn''t sure if her intentions got through. "Transferring souls is possible. Calculating probability of success: 40%." She was shocked. It was actually possible? She didn''t even know how that was supposed to work. But it wasn''t completely guaranteed, with a success probability of 40%. Yin Mei wasn''t sure how to feel. "What happens if the soul transfer fails?" She asked again. "Host will have failed the mission and will be transferred to the punishment world." The system replied. Yin Mei thought that this was a big gamble. The odds weren''t terrible, but they weren''t good either. If it succeeded, then okay, but she would still need to complete the mission to help the demon king obtain the dragon throne (become the king of dragons?). And if it failed, well, that was the end of it. She thought and thought, then finally decided it was better not to gamble and instead go the normal route. After all, Yin Mei could only claim to have mediocre luck, and if she really did end up failing just like that and end up in an even worse world... She would definitely cry tears of blood, but be unable to blame anyone except herself. "God! Isn''t there anything that''ll immediately let me ascend right now!?" Yin Mei shouted out as she fell onto her bed, face buried into the blanket. It seemed that god had heard her prayers, because several weeks later, after the group had returned to the demon world and the demon king went into true secluded cultivation, Yin Mei found something that would allow her to immediately ascend. It was Jade Rabbit blood, the mystical demon beast that Bai Yu was descended from. These beasts originated in the upper realm and were known as the messengers, or servants of god. They specifically served the Jade Emperor, who ruled the upper realm. By consuming the blood, Yin Mei could awaken the latent bloodline in Bai Yu''s body, and immediately ascend after going through the heavenly tribulation. The only problem with this was that the chance of this succeeding was even lower than the soul transfer, at a pitiful 5%. And that was just for awakening the bloodline, not mentioning whether or not she could succeed at passing the heavenly tribulation. The good thing was that it didn''t matter if she failed the bloodline awakening, as nothing would happen, but if she failed the heavenly tribulation, then she would die. The other good thing was that this small percentage could be increased with the proper methods and preparations. "Either way, it''s a gamble? Will I have to go the traditional route?" Yin Mei murmured. But she was worried. Who knows what could happen in the several hundred plus years that it would take for Yin Mei to ascend? What if the demon king died? Or was sealed away? Or fatally injured? Or maybe he would forget about her... Yin Mei was very stressed out. She didn''t want to fall into temptation, but right now, the option of soul transfer seemed very tempting. Not only that, if she could go to the upper realm in advance, she might be able to prepare various good things to help out the demon king. "I have to decide... Decide... This is too hard." Yin Mei murmured, her head hurting. She decided that for now... she''ll just gather the female lead''s treasures. As for the matter of transferring souls or consuming the Jade Rabbit blood, she''ll leave that for later. But, it wasn''t long after that Yin Mei had to make her decision. Ever since they returned from the human world, because the demon king had gone into seclusion, Yin Mei''s duties had decreased to only cleaning the palace. As for the chef uncle, he took vacation for the next several years, as the demon king wouldn''t be exiting any time soon. Perhaps not at all until his heavenly tribulation arrived and he ascended. Because she had a great amount of extra time nowadays, she spent most of it exploring outside, around and about the demon world and human world for treasures. "Hand over the Thousand Petal Lotus!" Several human practitioners yelled at Yin Mei, chasing her through the forest. Yin Mei was currently in the human world, inside the Forest of Beasts. She was currently stealing the Thousand Petal Lotus, a treasure that could immediately boost her up from Aurous Core Stage to Nascent Soul Stage, which was just one large stage below the Demigod Stage. Although Aurous Core Stage was considered a fairly high level of cultivation, and especially for someone as young as Bai Yu, but it wasn''t enough for Yin Mei to walk through the lands unhindered. Right now, she was currently struggling as there had been several Nascent Soul Stage elders vying for this plant as well, presumably for the sake of their apprentices or descendants. As for those Demigod Stage ancestors, most of them never left their homes, being shut-ins on par with the demon king. It seemed like a trend for all mysterious and powerful ancestors to be some sort of shut-in or another. But for Yin Mei, it had already been several years since the female lead died and she had started journeying around stealing treasures. She had even become famous in the human world as a treasure thief... Yin Mei felt exasperated. But she had gone through many tough situations and still ended up on top, long having made Bai Yu''s powers and abilities her own. Although she wasn''t on the level of protagonists being able to battle opponents several realms above them, she was still talented and possessed many treasures, so could easily take care of opponents in the same realm as hers, as well as a small realm above hers. Even if the opponent was a Nascent Soul Stage elder, if she concentrated on escaping, she''d be able to do so with her life still intact. "Get her!" Although the shouts continued, they had faded away. After all, Yin Mei''s speed couldn''t be underestimated. The rabbit clan were one of the fastest demon beast clans after all. But, she couldn''t outrun a Nascent Soul Stage elder that prioritized speed. "Gotta hide, gotta hide, gotta hide," Yin Mei thought to herself, darting through the trees. She was wearing the stealth cape, and skid down a small hill, hiding herself in a little hidden spot under some tree routes. She wrapped the shadows around her. As long as no cultivator specially cultivated the darkness element, she would be fine. There weren''t many cultivators that cultivated in the darkness element, unless they were demonic cultivators, which to Yin Mei''s knowledge, weren''t very common and tended to remain hidden and at the edges of the main continent. But, Yin Mei''s luck this time wasn''t very good. "There you are." A creepy voice whispered in her ear, almost causing her to piss her pants. Yin Mei hated horror the most, and this almost gave her a heart attack. She immediately leapt out from her hiding place to run, but was caught by the cultivator, who wrapped his arms around her body. "Pervert!" Yin Mei thought, barely keeping herself from shouting it out loud. Was this the end? No, she at least had to get the treasures she currently had on her to the demon king. They would be useful for him. Thinking this, she bit down on the slender man''s hand, drawing blood. She took the opportunity of when he released his grip to break free and pull out a talisman. It wasn''t an escape talisman, but rather, a messenger talisman that allowed items to be attached to it. Because of Yin Mei''s high achievements in talisman making and the high quality materials that went into the talisman, not even a Nascent Soul Stage elder could stop it once it was activated. One could say that Yin Mei had thoroughly prepared herself for a similar situation. She activated it, and it took the Thousand Petal Lotus with it, along with her storage ring. "What did you do?" The man in front of her looked evil and creepy, just like his voice. He was dressed in all black, his hair messy and covering his eyes. Yin Mei coughed up a mouthful of blood - the price for the talisman. "Too bad. The Thousand Petal Lotus is gone." She said, not knowing she possessed such courage. Maybe it was because she knew that there wasn''t anything he could do to her anymore. "System, prepare for soul transfer." She thought, as the man was outraged by her words, rushing toward her to kill her. By the time the man''s sword pierced through her body, her soul was already gone, traveling through space to reach its destination. In the demon world. The silhouette of the demon king, for the first time in seven years, moved. His eyes flickered open, and he slowly stood up as a talisman arrived before him, folded in the shape of a paper crane. It''s wings flapped one last time before it unfolded, revealing a storage ring, the two items floating down into his hand. This was the little rabbit''s storage ring. The demon king expanded his senses, his eyes on a certain room in the palace. Inside were many glowing jade tablets, but there was one, recently broken, the light in it extinguished. The next moment, a dark and heavy aura pressed down on the entire palace, forcing the guards out of hiding as they slammed onto the floor, coughing out blood. They could tell. His Majesty was angry, for the first time since they could remember. As if realizing that he had gone too far, the demon king restrained his aura pausing before speaking. His voice was chilly and sent shivers down the spine of the hidden guard captain. "Find out who killed the little rabbit. I want them brought to me." The hidden guard captain finally realized the source of his master''s anger. So Xiao Bai was dead? He knew that the demon king treated her a little differently. Not only that, but she had brought so many benefits to the demon king, who was one to repay his debts. Now that someone had killed Xiao Bai, he most likely wouldn''t stop until the culprit suffered hell ten times over. The hidden guard silently said a prayer. Not for the man, but for Xiao Bai. After all, that person had killed one of theirs. Who was he to deserve anything less than hell? 12 Dragon and Phoenix 1 "Soul transfer was a success. Downloading soul data. Please wait." The voice of the system echoed in the darkness, and before long Yin Mei opened her eyes. Thank god it was a success! She would seriously cry if she ended up failing and had to go to the punishment world after struggling for so long to complete the mission here. But, this was just the first step of things. She needed to thoroughly prepare to aid the demon king to the dragon throne, only then could she consider the mission done. Information poured into her head as she fully regained her consciousness. She could feel that she was on a high quality bed, and the decorations around her were even more luxurious than before, and it was a turn around from the dark gloomy toned demon king''s palace, instead decorated with beautiful golds and bright reds. Sitting up, Yin Mei only felt that words couldn''t describe how beautiful the room was. She felt that only the beauty of the demon king could match it. If he was placed inside this room, it would immediately become a hundred times more glamorous and beautiful of a scene. She took her mind off of that, moving on to review the information. This was the upper realm, ruled by the Jade Emperor. Under the Jade Emperor, there were still kings such as the dragon king, the demon king, the beast king, and etc. The mission was to have the demon king become the dragon king. But, the problem was, was that the dragon king was a title passed down through blood lineage. There was no way that it would go to a serpent that had become a dragon by passing through the dragon gate without some serious work. But, not only that... it seemed that Yin Mei discovered what the system met by "new" plot. She didn''t know the exact reason why, but this upper realm had its very own brand new male and female leads. Yin Mei felt murderous intentions rising, as she wanted to punch the system, if only he was a solid object and not a floating orb of light. That''s right, she would not only have to help the demon king obtain the dragon throne, she would also have to deal with the male and female leads. Especially since both of them were smack in the middle of the route to victory, blocking the way splendidly. The main obstacle was, once again, the male lead. The male lead was the prince of the dragon clan, Long Aotian, and was the general of the Jade Emperor''s army. He was the number one most desired man in the upper realm, but his heart was stolen by some insignificant member of the medicine king''s clan. This girl didn''t have outstanding medical talent, nor did she have country destroying beauty. Her talent in medicine could be said to be passable, and her looks could be said to be delicate and pretty, but she was by far not the most beautiful girl in the realm. At least she wasn''t another transmigrated something or another, or Yin Mei might have thrown a fit. Anyways, why had Long Aotian fallen for her? It was because after a long battle with the devils at the devil''s seal near the edges of the upper realm, Long Aotian had been fatally injured. The one to find him and nurse him back to health was the girl, Yao Ling. Don''t ask Yin Mei what she had been doing there in the first place, these sort of plot holes were always just lightly skimmed over. Anyways, Long Aotian had been moved by Yao Ling''s constant dedication and white lotus personality, falling in love with her and bringing her back home to declare that he would marry her. This brought not only the outrage of the dragon clan, but also that of the phoenix clan, whose little princess was in a marriage agreement with Long Aotian. As for that supposed little princess, that was in fact that body that Yin Mei was now inhabiting, Feng Hua. Feng Hua was the youngest daughter of the phoenix clan, and the only new child born in thousands of years. Because of this, she was especially spoiled and doted on. The phoenix was already a very vain and proud beast, so it resulted in Feng Hua becoming even more proud and vain. When she heard that her fianc¨¦, Long Aotian, had actually broken their engagement for some no name girl, she was immediately outraged and set out to sort them both out. Alas, Feng Hua didn''t have the protagonist''s aura, so she ended up defeated and humiliated at every turn, dying under the hands of the devil invasion after some underhanded tricks by Long Aotian (although phoenixes are immortal to an extent, they can be killed by devils). "The next dragon king is my fianc¨¦?" Yin Mei immediately made an expression of distaste. Not only that, but he was a bastard that would cheat on her before marriage, and still maintain that righteous position as if he wasn''t in the wrong. Yin Mei could only solemnly say... all cheaters deserved to die! It was too bad that the period in which Long Aotian was fatally injured and doing XX and OO with that Yao Ling was already over, so Yin Mei couldn''t take the opportunity to strike when the enemy was down. She didn''t realize just how vicious her thoughts had gotten after spending several years in this xianxia world, only taking killing the male lead as the natural course of action now. But, things probably wouldn''t go as easy as in the lower realm in this case. Everyone here had great power, and Long Aotian was the only son of the dragon clan. There was no way they would let things go if their heir was killed. Plus, if someone that high up died, the powerful Jade Emperor would personally take action against the criminal. Yin Mei could only abandon such thoughts. But, if the dragon clan didn''t perish, how else could the demon king ascend the dragon throne? "What do I do...?" Killing the male lead wasn''t an option, killing the entire dragon clan was even less of an option... there was no solution that Yin Mei could see. And, the mission this time was just the main mission. There was no first mission to help give Yin Mei clues on how to proceed. "Young miss," there was a knock on the door before it opened, and one of Feng Hua''s personal maidservants entered. The girl was rather pretty, and according to Feng Hua''s memories, was a human cultivator that was a member of the clan that served the phoenix clan. It was too bad that even though she was pretty, it couldn''t be compared to the natural beauty of the phoenixes. Especially Feng Hua, who was known as the number one beauty of the phoenix clan and the upper realm. "Young miss, your fianc¨¦ is coming back from his campaign against the devils today. Should I help you get dressed?" The servant, Mei Lan asked. Yin Mei waved her hand at Mei Lan, who proceeded to dress her in an extravagant fire red and gold dress, along with beautiful jewels. Staring at the reflection in the mirror, Yin Mei could only say... this girl was too gorgeous, it really dazzled the eyes! The riches on her body, it didn''t make her appearance gaudy at all, instead adding an extra layer of overwhelming dignity and elegance. She definitely could now see why the phoenix clan was known as the most beautiful, and why Feng Hua was the number one beauty of the upper realm. This beauty was on par with that of the demon king''s! "The appearance is really similar to the demon king''s," Yin Mei thought. But at the same time, the aura was a little different, causing others to not feel that they were the same the more they looked? Feng Hua''s appearance was beautiful and gorgeous, while also having an extremely prideful and harsh aura that made her feel unapproachable. On the other hand, although the demon king had a pride engrained deep in his bones, it was more subtle and restrained. His beauty also had a lazier and more rotten feeling. Yin Mei thought that if these two beauties were placed together, it would definitely be a feast for the eyes. She felt a little sad, thinking that she wouldn''t see the demon king for at least another few years until he ascended. But, there was no time to feel lonely. After all, she still had to deal with that cheater, and take the throne from him to give to the demon king. That cheater didn''t deserve to be king. The only one who did was her demon king. After Yin Mei was fully dressed, she exited her room with Mei Lan, the two of them walking out to the courtyard of the phoenix clan royal palace. The phoenix clan wasn''t too big, and the majority of them resided in the palace, though most lived in the outer palace, while the royal family lived in the inner palace. Feng Hua was a member of the royal family, so naturally she lived in the inner palace. "Lil'' Sis!" Yin Mei heard an excited voice shout as a man rushed over. He was beautiful, of course, possessing a sort of flashy appearance that Yin Mei felt really blinded her eyes. Not exactly in a good way, but she didn''t say anything. This person who had run over like a pet dog was the second prince of the phoenix clan, Feng Liu. "Where are you going right now?" "The young miss is going to go meet the young dragon prince, second young master." Mei Lan replied for Yin Mei before she could speak. "Who said that you could talk? You''re just a servant, as long as your master hasn''t spoken yet, do you think you''ll get a turn?" Feng Liu''s personality seemed to take a 180 as he looked at Mei Lan in disdain, his voice cold. After all, he was still a member of the prideful phoenix clan. Normal people in this world wouldn''t even see servants as equals, let alone them. But, most of all, it was actually because Feng Liu had heard some unsavory rumors these days, and didn''t want his precious little sister to go meet Long Aotian, lest she accidentally dirty her eyes with something. Feng Liu''s eyes narrowed. He really would need to discuss this with his parents and big brother. If those rumors really were true, they would need to immediately break this engagement! Yin Mei didn''t really know what was going on through Feng Liu''s mind, but found the way that he treated Mei Lan a little harsh. Because Yin Mei was an ordinary modern day person, she saw servants as people equal to her (plus, she had been working as a servant until recently), so she immediately spoke in favor for Mei Lan. "Second big brother, Mei Lan didn''t do anything wrong. She''s my servant, so only I can scold her." She spoke bluntly and in a slightly rude manner, but this was actually how Feng Hua naturally spoke, so Feng Liu didn''t notice anything weird. "Alright, alright. My little sister is always right. I won''t scold her anymore." Feng Liu said in a flattering manner, his eyes shining with a doting light. Yin Mei snorted, rolling her eyes at this idiot. On the other side, Mei Lan let out a sigh of relief, feeling a bit of appreciation toward her young miss. Although her young miss seemed spoiled and arrogant, Mei Lan knew she was actually rather pure and kind on the inside. After all, she treasured her people the most, not even letting her own brothers treat them badly. Feng Liu continued talking with Yin Mei, trying to entice her to stay with all sorts of playthings or fun activities, but she was stubborn, wanting to go see Long Aotian no matter what. Feng Liu felt really frustrated, but in the end could only let her go, running off to go grab their older brother, Feng Tian to accompany them for backup. Yin Mei didn''t know what Feng Liu was thinking, but also felt that it was better if she had the two big princes of the phoenix clan accompanying her to back her up, so decided to wait for Feng Tian and Feng Liu. For now, the phoenix clan was her biggest weapon and thigh. They might be arrogant, but they really did treat Feng Hua sincerely and loved her. If it wasn''t for that scum Long Aotian, Feng Hua would still have been living a good life as a pampered princess. The three of them journeyed to the north gate of the capital city, waiting there for the arrival of Long Aotian and his army. Seeing them in the far off distance, Yin Mei''s mouth couldn''t help but curl into a cruel smile. She couldn''t kill Long Aotian, fine. But she would definitely make sure this cheater would suffer. As for the two brothers, they were feeling very stressed. Look at that smile, their precious little sister was definitely feeling very excited to see Long Aotian! If the information they had was really correct, then wouldn''t her heart be broken? They had completely misunderstood Yin Mei''s expression. 13 Dragon and Phoenix 2 It didn''t take too long for Long Aotian and his army to arrive at where Yin Mei and Feng Hua''s two brothers were at. Yin Mei had long seen Long Aotian holding Yao Ling in his arms as he travelled on his warhorse. This was truly the coveted general returning home with a beauty in his arms scene. If Yin Mei could see this, of course the two phoenix clan princes could also see it. They were practically shaking with rage. Long Aotian, this bastard has such a beautiful fianc¨¦ waiting for his safe arrival at home, but he dared to frolic around with some who knows where she was from girl? Although there were some people who still had three wives and seven concubines in this world, as cultivators, it was more accepted to only have a relationship of one woman and one man until death. For the dragon king, the phoenix king, the Jade Emperor, they all only had one woman. For the cultivators who had such a thought process, it was natural that they despised cheating and looked down on it. It was different from the regular ancient times, where having another woman was normal and if the wife didn''t accept that, then they wouldn''t be virtuous anymore. Long Aotian, as well, had seen the three people from the phoenix clan. He inwardly felt slightly guilty at first, but quickly dispelled that feeling. After all, Yao Ling was his true love, and was different from the haughty princess of the phoenix clan. Long Aotian had the pride of the dragon clan''s heir, and so would definitely not bow down in front of the phoenix clan, that had the same ranking as the dragon clan. Arriving in front of the three, he nodded at the two princes and the princess, greeting them with a mere semblance of politeness. "Long Aotian, you bastard, actually bringing some random woman back from your campaign. What do you think that us phoenix clan members are, to take this lying down?" Feng Liu growled, practically shaking from rage. On the other hand, the more mature and dignified Feng Tian only had on a cold face and aura, his gaze looking down at Yao Ling and sending shivers down her spine. "Long Aotian, I hope you''ve properly thought this through." It was all he said, but it had a heavy weight that made Long Aotian frown. Yin Mei also curiously looked at Yao Ling. Like in the description, her beauty was delicate, but not really anything terribly impressive. Being next to Feng Hua only made her beauty diminish even more, looking especially dim when compared to the gorgeous and bright phoenix princess. Yin Mei couldn''t help but think that Long Aotian was an idiot. This engagement between the two god beast clans was never about love, but instead was an alliance marriage with all sorts of political implications. But this guy didn''t even give a thought to such an important alliance and immediately abandoned it for this little slip of a girl. As for this girl, Yin Mei definitely thought that she was one of those fake white lotuses. Either that, or she was also an idiot like Long Aotian. Either way, she wasn''t anything good. Seeing Yin Mei staring at Yao Ling, Long Aotian immediately put a protective arm around the girl. Yin Mei rolled her eyes. What a bastard! Look at his self-righteous expression, it really made her want to punch him! "Since it seems that the young dragon prince has found his true love, this princess won''t bother you two anymore! Although this marriage was initially for the benefit of our two clans, this princess doesn''t feel like ripping apart two destined lovers." Yin Mei said coldly, poking at Long Aotian''s sore spot. After all, as the prince of the dragon clan, it was true that he held certain responsibilities, and marrying for the benefit of the clan was one of them. But now that he had offended the princess, in front of her brothers no less, this engagement could be said to be ruined. But he comforted himself that they were the proud and powerful dragon clan. To solely rely on a marriage alliance with the phoenix clan was demeaning. He was a little surprised that the arrogant princess of the phoenix clan would back down so easily though. Feng Hua''s two brothers were also slightly surprised, the three men looking at her. Yin Mei''s eyes were cold and she looked at Long Aotian as if she was staring at a bug. This was not her acting, but her true feelings. Even Long Aotian felt a little uneasy when staring at those eyes, that small tiny bit of guilt rising up again. "Big brother, second big brother, let''s go," Yin Mei said, dragging her two brothers with her as they left. Feng Liu continued to shoot death glares at Long Aotian even while leaving, which Yin Mei didn''t mind. Make him uncomfortable, more uncomfortable, and even more uncomfortable! She wanted him to regret his decision and ruin the relationship between the male and female lead. She wasn''t sure how she would go about doing it, but she would somehow manage. That being said, she couldn''t spend too much time on it, as this wasn''t her main goal. Even though destroying this ship would be a lot of fun, it wasn''t the most important thing. When Yin Mei returned home, Feng Tian and Feng Liu immediately wanted to go find their parents in order to cancel the engagement, but Yin Mei stopped them. She smiled sweetly. "Big brother, second big brother, let''s first take a rest," The two were confused, feeling that their little sister was too calm, but obediently followed her the the small pavilion that overlooked the lotus flower lake in the palace. Their servants shooed away any unwanted visitors, and Mei Lan served the three tea and snacks. A long time passed, but Yin Mei didn''t say anything, making the two brothers nervous. Actually, she was just absorbed in how good the tea and snacks were. What the f*ck, she almost swallowed her own tongue there! She regained her composure, seeing the two men become increasingly impatient. "There''s no need to be angry." She said, setting down the teacup. "Lil'' Sis, how can you not be angry? That bastard actually came back with some unknown woman, even though he''s engaged to you!" Feng Liu said, enraged. He was angry just thinking about it, let alone his little sister who was the one being wronged? Yin Mei continued, not looking at Feng Liu, but Feng Tian. "There''s no need to be angry about it. The dragon clan doesn''t want this marriage alliance, then there''s no need to force it. The money, businesses, and everything else we gave them... they are the ones throwing it away?" Feng Liu and Feng Tian both realized what Yin Mei was thinking. It wasn''t that their little sister wasn''t angry, she was outraged! The marriage alliance was more of a front for a business alliance between the military focused dragon clan and the business focused phoenix clan. The phoenix clan had wanted a few hands in the military, while the dragon clan needed funding. Because of this, they formed the marriage alliance. The phoenix clan lent the dragon clan a not too small amount of money and businesses, while the phoenix clan now had heavy sway in the military. Actually, even without the marriage alliance, the business alliance still had hope in being saved, but Yin Mei was feeling vicious. Even though she knew that the dragon clan would be brought to their knees if the phoenix clan pulled out their funding and demanded their money back, she still wanted to go through with it. Yin Mei wanted the dragon clan crippled, so that when the demon king arrived, all he needed to do was poke it a little bit until it crumbled, and then he could rightly take his crown as dragon king. Feng Tian and Feng Liu didn''t think this move was wrong, instead finding in particularly genius, feeling that their little sister was very smart. After all, the phoenix was known to be the most petty of the god beast clans, and seeing as they were wronged this time, they would definitely be vicious in their revenge. "You see, there''s no need to be angry, right? After all, everything they owe us, we will make them spit it back out." Yin Mei''s smile was cruel, but on her face, with her beauty, it only ended up looking particularly gorgeous and dazzling. "Our little sister is always right. Since they don''t want this marriage alliance, then they don''t want it." Feng Tian nodded. Although by appearance and personality he was more mature and calm then Feng Liu, he was also definitely more two-faced and petty. The two then quickly bid their farewells to Yin Mei after a bit more pampering and giving her presents, before rushing off to discuss these matter with their parents. In the end, they would have to first receive permission from their father, the phoenix king, before proceeding. But, Yin Mei wasn''t too worried about this. After all, if played well, the phoenix clan would still be able to keep the position in the military that they wanted. In the end, this move was still beneficial for the phoenix clan. It ruined their relationship with the dragon clan, but the phoenix clan wouldn''t care about that once word got out that the dragon prince had brought back some lowly unknown girl when he returned from his campaign. In this matter, probably the entire phoenix clan would be united in the prospect of bringing retribution down onto the dragon clan. As for Yin Mei, all she had to do was sit there and look a little sad for the audience. She didn''t even have to make a sad expression, just rub her eyes a little so that they turned red, and everyone else would fill in the blanks. Not only the members of the phoenix clan, that treasured their youngest princess with all their might, but all those males of the upper realm would definitely feel their hearts ache and curse with all their might at that dragon prince who couldn''t tell pearls from mud. Yin Mei, at this time, decided to host a tea party and invite all those females of her generation. It was all the noble daughters, and would include the daughters of the beast king, the ghost king, the medicine king, and the demon king. Feng Hua didn''t get along very well with all of these girls, but they were relatively friendly and would get together for tea parties often. The daughter of the beast king, Hu Rong, was a six-winged tiger and especially fierce and fond of violence and combat among the five of them. The daughter of ghost king, Gui Neng, was rather gloomy and specialized in curses and necromancy (but Feng Hua had found her cute and liked to dote on her). The daughter of the medicine king, Yao Lan, was, by appearances, elegant and dignified, with a gentle aura, but the girls all knew that she had a narrow heart and hated being humiliated just as much as the average phoenix. And lastly, the daughter of the demon king, Mao Mao, was a member of the cat clan, and was clever and fond of pranks. The five of them gathered around a pavilion, the other guests mingling in the garden nearby, being served snacks and drinks while they admired the flowers, making polite conversation. "I heard that the girl that Long Aotian brought back is a member of your medicine king''s clan," Mao Mao said, her eyes narrowing in amusement at Yao Lan, clearly wanting to start a fight between her and Feng Hua. Mao Mao didn''t like Yao Lan''s two faced personality, but also thought it was amusing. Those two contradictory feelings led to her constantly teasing Yao Lan in order to make her lose her cool. Yao Lan had a naturally gentle and pretty appearance, looking mature and elegant. "She''s just a member of a branch clan, nothing to concern yourself with," She said, though on the inside she was dying to rip out Yao Ling''s guts. Yao Lan had a crush on Long Aotian, and so hadn''t gotten along very well with Feng Hua before, but now that Long Aotian had been stolen away by Yao Ling, the target of her hatred had also shifted. In fact, she even thought of Feng Hua as pitiful and somewhat of a comrade now, seeing as the person of their affection had been stolen away by some lowly woman. If Yin Mei knew what Yao Lan was thinking, she would definitely roll her eyes at that. Excuse me, what comrade? Please don''t lump me in with you, this lovestruck idiot. But of course, she couldn''t know what Yao Lan was thinking, only that she felt that Yao Lan was a little weird today, actually treating her in a sympathetic manner, much more sincere then the Yao Lan in Feng Hua''s memories. "Just a member of the branch clan, yet she was still able to steal away Long Aotian''s heart. I have to wonder just what sort of fox spirit she was descended from." Mao Mao mused, her cat''s tail swishing back and forth. "But to dare steal our Feng Hua''s man, she sure has guts." "Feng Hua, you should challenge her to a duel. You can righteously kill her without worry." Hu Rong suggested. As always, her solution was a violent one. "What do you mean without worry. Everyone would look down on Feng Hua if she challenged that no name girl." Gui Neng said, her eyes glaring at Hu Rong through her bangs. "Feng Hua, don''t worry. I''ll definitely curse that b*tch and make her never think about stealing other people''s men ever again." A dark aura rose up around Gui Neng as she laughed creepily. "In that case, I''ll definitely switch out all her food with fish bones," Mao Mao said, not to be defeated. "Eh? Th-then I''ll challenge her to a duel myself and defeat her in your stead," Hu Rong said, not wanting to be left out. "Feng Hua, don''t worry. I''ll ask father, as long as he doesn''t agree, there''s no way that the dragon clan can force a marriage." Of course, Yao Lan couldn''t not join in either in comforting Feng Hua. Yin Mei felt quite warm hearing this. Although the friendship between these girls was rather complicated, and also not quite pure and had in mind the relationship between their clans, Yin Mei felt that they were actually still good friends nonetheless. "Don''t worry, you don''t have to do anything. Because we''re friends, I''ll tell you, our phoenix clan already has plans to withdraw our business partnership with the dragon clan." Yin Mei said happily. Actually, Yin Mei was, in the end, the more vicious of the five. Hearing this, they immediately understood what was going on and that Yin Mei was warning them not to get involved. Some of their families also had business partnerships with the dragon clan, so she was doing them the favor of telling them to back off while they still had the chance. This move that Yin Mei took, it was making sure that the dragon clan didn''t get the chance to get back up off the ground. Of course, a royal family with so many years of history wouldn''t fall with just this, but if all these clans pulled out of their business deals with the dragon clan, then they would definitely feel the pain. "That''s good. But I can still curse that girl if you want." Gui Neng said, thinking that just targeting the dragon clan would be letting Yao Ling off too easily. 14 Dragon and Phoenix 3 "No, it''s really fine. I have my own plans for Yao Ling. All you guys have to do is not interfere. I''ll take care of her." Seeing the dazzling smile on Yin Mei''s face, the girls all agreed, feeling that that Yao Ling''s end wouldn''t be too pretty now that Feng Hua and the phoenix clan had set their eyes on her. The five continued chatting amicably and a few hours later they left one by one as the day grew later. Feng Hua promised to visit Gui Neng later as she saw her off. It was when Yao Lan was about to leave that she stopped her. "Yao Lan," Yin Mei said. Feng Hua''s voice was very beautiful, the type that would sound like an angel''s voice when she sang. It had a sort of magnetic pull, causing Yao Lan to even feel a little mesmerized as she came to a stop. "Yes?" She asked, turning around to look at Feng Hua, who had on a faint smile. For some reason, Yao Lan felt that this Feng Hua was a little different from usual, but she couldn''t pinpoint why. "Don''t bother helping out the dragon clan. I know that you like Long Aotian, but a person who cheats once will cheat again. It isn''t worth losing your head and heart over him. There are plenty better people out there in the world. As for Yao Ling, your clan shouldn''t interfere. Our phoenix clan definitely won''t let her go." Feng Hua said, her advice very sincere. She felt bad for Yao Lan, this girl that was constantly nursing this unrequited love of hers. Yao Lan seemed to blank, looking at Feng Hua as if she was looking at an alien. After all, this was completely out of character for Feng Hua. But, Yin Mei was never a good actor and she didn''t even plan on bothering to try and act at Feng Hua, instead just being herself. "I..." Yao Lan started, but didn''t finish before Yin Mei interrupted her. "A man who isn''t able to keep it in his pants is definitely not worth any effort." She almost choked at how vulgar Feng Hua was, but thinking of Long Aotian together with Yao Ling really did make her feel a little sick. Was he really worth it? But, things like feelings, they really couldn''t be controlled. Yin Mei didn''t push Yao Lan, just telling her to think on her words before bidding her farewell. She was just worried that the medicine king wouldn''t take kindly toward others disciplining his clan members, but if Yao Lan said something, she didn''t have to worry much. As to withdrawing their business deals, among the families, she knew that the ghost king and the demon king were likely to withdraw. This was because the ghost king doted on his daughter excessively, and their families had a very good relationship, with Feng Hua and Gui Neng being especially good friends. As for the demon king, he would withdraw firstly because it would be interesting, secondly because he was the type to hit others when they were down, and thirdly because they had a closer business relationship with the phoenix clan then the dragon clan. As for the beast king and medicine king, these two that were very concerned with honor and reputation, they probably wouldn''t make a move, and may even warn the dragon king. Yin Mei wasn''t sure what choice they would make, but she wasn''t too worried. After all, this time around Long Aotian was definitely in the wrong, so they would at least give the phoenix clan some face. But, like Yin Mei thought, just this was not enough to take care of the dragon clan. When the phoenix clan, ghost clan, demon king''s clan, and even the medicine king''s clan withdrew their business deals with the dragon clan all it once, it certainly caused the dragon king to be flustered. He flew in a rage against his useless son, who, with one move, caused such a disaster. Yin Mei was pleasantly surprised that the medicine king''s clan had actually withdrawn their support. It was clear that they did not like that a branch family member''s daughter had gone over their heads to get together with the dragon clan''s young prince. The medicine king was afraid that this would damage their relationship with the phoenix clan. Not only that, but with his daughter whispering in his ear, the result was that their family joined the other three clans in withdrawing from business with the dragon clan. As for the beast clan, after all, they were too honorable to also withdraw, and still gave the dragon clan their support. But, they made their disapproval over Long Aotian''s actions clear. "Seeing as it''s true love, their relationship shouldn''t collapse with just this, right?" Yin Mei murmured as Mei Lan skewered a piece of preserved mandarin orange for Yin Mei, feeding it to her. It had already been a week or two since the tea party, and Yin Mei was enjoying the spring breeze out in the garden. Aside from perhaps the Jade Emperor''s garden, the phoenix clan had the next best garden the upper realm. Phoenixes loved beauty, so they surrounded themselves with beautiful things. From their garden, to their clothes and jewelry, to their servants, it all had to be beautiful. Currently Yin Mei was alone, save for her personal maidservant, and was taking the time to think. She couldn''t leave things just like this, or the dragon clan would eventually recover in give or take a few years. She felt that it was no longer at the level of just throwing rocks at them while they were down, she would need to take a boulder and throw it. The solution that she came to was one that she seemed to always favor - steal treasures. It seemed that habits die hard, and she could only come back to her old trade, treasure stealing. But, it wasn''t just treasures that were up for stealing. For example, the campaign that allowed Long Aotian to regain his reputation. In the original storyline, Long Aotian''s reputation had taken a hit after he had broken the engagement with Feng Hua and insisted on marrying Yao Ling. Although it wasn''t as bad as it had been now, and the dragon clan didn''t suffer as much in the original storyline either, it was still by a decent amount. In the end, it was only after he had been assigned another campaign by the Jade Emperor and came back with a crushing victory that he regained his former glory. But Yin Mei felt that stealing this campaign from him was possible. If she blew his actions up out of proportion, it could make even the Jade Emperor doubt that Long Aotian had the personality qualities required of a capable general. After all, he couldn''t even handle his private life, who was to say he would do any better in his work life? The rumors were already much bigger then they were in the former storyline, so they probably only needed a little more work. There was even the perfect candidate waiting behind Long Aotian to receive this campaign, so what more could she ask for? She thought that this idea was pretty good, and applauded herself for coming up with it. Of course, there was no way she could do this by herself. She would need people who could spread rumors, whisper things into the ear of the emperor... of course, the first option would be Feng Hua''s older brother or father. They were also probably the best option. In the Jade Emperor''s court, Feng Hua''s father had a fairly good reputation, considering his personality... which wasn''t bad, but he liked taking revenge for small things, and he would do it in a vicious manner as well. But, even so, to have a good reputation despite that really said a lot about Feng Hua''s father''s skill. "Mei Lan, go call my brother here. I have something I have to ask him." Yin Mei said, leaning her head on the palm of her hand as she took the gold toothpick and skewered another piece of mandarin orange for herself. "Yes, young miss," Mei Lan replied, bowing before retreating and then running off. It wasn''t too long when Feng Tian arrived. He had already been at the residence, and with the movement speed of upper realm cultivators, moving to and fro from place to place only needed a moment. He did spend some time to send off the people he had been talking with, but it wasn''t much. Yin Mei had only finished her third slice of orange since Mei Lan left before he arrived. "Big Brother," Yin Mei said, pushing the plate of orange slices in front of Feng Tian as he sat down across from her. "What is it that you wanted?" Feng Tian asked, skewering a piece and placing it in his mouth. Actually, he wasn''t a big fan of oranges, but since his little sister was giving him some, he would gratefully eat them. Even if she fed him something poisonous, he would still eat it. After all, it wasn''t like he would die from a little poison. "Big brother, the reason I called you here was to ask you to recommend Hu Nan as general for the next campaign. Ask father for me too, will you?" Yin Mei said. "The beast king''s eldest son? That''s fine, but why?" Feng Tian replied. Feng Hua had never really involved herself in politics before, so he was a little confused why she wanted to now. "I don''t want Long Aotian to get the position." Yin Mei once more showed a cruel expression. These years, her heart had become more and more cold, and more and more vicious. It was as if, ever since she had killed the former male lead, something had changed in her. She had never been a nice person, but she also wasn''t the sort of person that would so willingly destroy the lives of others like this. "I want him to suffer. I want him to fall. I want him to be unable to climb up from this pit that I''ve dug, until he comes to me begging for mercy." Her smile never left her face as she spoke, as if she was already relishing the image she had described. Feng Tian didn''t find anything wrong with this. In his mind, Long Aotian deserved anything that came to him now, even death was too little for scum like him that hurt his little sister''s heart. Yin Mei''s heart definitely wasn''t hurt, but even if it wasn''t, Feng Tian''s opinion wouldn''t change. "Hu Nan is plenty capable, he is just outshined because Long Aotian is here. I''m sure that if he got the chance to battle against the devils, he would definitely be able to impress the Emperor." Feng Tian said, thinking that his sister was very smart. If it was Feng Tian, he would also choose Hu Nan as Long Aotian''s replacement. He nodded. This was doable. It wasn''t too good if he or father said anything, considering how involved they currently were with the matter, but it would be fine if he got someone else to speak up about it. "Alright, don''t worry and just wait. I''ll take care of this little matter." Yin Mei nodded, happily sending Feng Tian off. It was good to have such a capable family, she didn''t need to make any moves herself, only having to say a few words and everything would get done for her. Yin Mei took a look at the information. Well, she would probably have to personally make a move if she wanted to get that item though. The Amethyst Mountain Range, huh? At least, now that she was in the body of a famous person with heavy backing, she wouldn''t have to worry too much about being chased down by other people. She was still holding a little bit of a grudge over how she left the lower realm. At least her bad luck then had been countered by the good luck in succeeding in her soul transfer, or else she really would want to cry. She sighed. "When is His Majesty going to ascend?" She laid her head down on the table, closing her eyes. She was already tired from waiting. 15 Dragon and Phoenix 4 "Young miss, Hu Nan is the general for this times campaign. I heard from the servants that several officials criticized Long Aotian, so the emperor appointed Hu Nan instead." Mei Lan said as she combed through Yin Mei''s long black hair. "Big brother really does a good job," Yin Mei said, before changing the subject. "Did you already send the letters out?" "Yes, young miss. Are you really going to go out to the Amethyst Mountain Range? You should at least let one of the young masters accompany you..." Mei Lan answered in a worried tone. "My brothers are busy, there''s no need. Anyways, the people I''ve invited are capable enough. Big brother and father have already given permission." Yin Mei said. Because she was a little cautious over the difficulty of obtaining this treasure, she decided to invite her friends and their brothers and enjoy the trip. Well, that treasure was well hidden among other treasures, so Yin Mei didn''t think anyone would fight with her for it. Now that Yin Mei thought about it though, she had never gone treasure hunting with the demon king. In fact, she hadn''t seen his face in over seven years, now. Had it really been that long? As a cultivator, she didn''t age, and her memory didn''t fade either, so her sense of time had become rather warped. She could still remember his appearance like yesterday. Mm, she preferred his appearance the most after all. Although now that they were in the upper realm, where beauties could be found left and right, heavenly appearances abound, she still liked the demon king''s looks the best. Not even the most handsome man in the upper realm, Long Aotian, could be compared. Or rather, comparing that scum man to the demon king would be rude. Several days later, Yin Mei set off on a journey with her friends while her family sent her off in tears. In the group were Gui Neng, her younger brother, Gui Heng, Mao Mao, Hu Rong, her third eldest brother Hu Xi, Yao Lan, and Yao Lan''s eldest brother, Yao Yan. Gui Heng was a young boy of not even a hundred years of age (for the long lived upper realm cultivators, he was still considered a child), and looked small and skinny, perhaps 14 or 15 years old at most in appearance. His messy hair was tied into a short ponytail, and his eyes were hidden by the bangs, just like Gui Neng. They both had the same ghostly aura around them that reeked of death, but that couldn''t be helped as they were both ghost cultivators. Hu Xi, on the other hand, seemed like the opposite of Gui Heng. He was tall, with an athletic build and short cut black hair. He was only wearing a vest over his bare chest, revealing his well defined muscles. Yin Mei felt that people in this xianxia world seemed to oddly like wearing very little... the demon king, too, preferred wearing only a loose robe that revealed quite a fair amount of skin. She thought that ancient people were all super conservative, but it seemed that this xianxia world technically didn''t abide by those ancient customs. As for Yao Yan, he was gentle and kind looking, similar to his sister, Yao Lan. He had a scholarly aura, and Yin Mei thought that he would look perfect surrounded by flowers and animals, such was the way he looked. Yin Mei immediately disliked him, for the sole reason that he made her uncomfortable. He felt different from Yao Lan, who was two-faced and had a jealous heart, and instead seemed innocent through and through. Maybe because he was in stark contrast to everyone else, who had hands stained with blood, that made Yin Mei feel uneasy. But, she didn''t pay much mind to it. The eight of them were traveling on a flying boat with several servants. Mei Lan was also here. It was more like going camping for vacation then treasure hunting, to be honest. The treasure that Yin Mei was aiming for this time was another ring. Yin Mei realized that just like in this plot and the previous plot, along with all the novels that she had read, rings were extremely, extremely common precious treasures. Rings, special spaces, old expert spirits, or some other miscellaneous treasure seemed all too common. Anyways, this ring possessed the spirit of a former medicine saint that was practically a legend from the golden ages, before this upper realm had fallen into a deadly war with the devils and much knowledge had been destroyed. Yao Ling found this, and as a result, her medical skills had improved by leaps and bounds, and in the end, she inherited the title of medicine king, becoming someone whose position could stand on par with that of the dragon king. There was no way that Yin Mei would let this happen. Let her remain mediocre for all her life. And, she personally believed that the person who should take over the family should be Yao Lan. Yao Lan''s only brother was too naive, and although Yao Lan herself had some personality issues, it was not too bad. She knew how to put on airs and restrain herself. To top it off, in Feng Hua''s memories, Feng Hua sincerely admired Yao Lan''s dedication and skills in medicine. So, Yin Mei made the decision to later give this ring to Yao Lan. And, aside from that ring, there were still some other good treasures to be found in the Amethyst Mountain Range. For example, the one that she planned on taking was the Water Crystal Crown. Like all the treasures that they would find in the mountain range, it was also from the upper realm''s golden age. It was a precious defensive tool that would save Yao Ling''s life multiple times in the plot. In addition, there was the Pearl of the Styx River, the Clockwork Staff, and the Seven Lotus Pill. This was the first time that Yin Mei saw a story where the main character actually looted so many good treasures from one place, but she didn''t question it. This was easier for her anyways, and wouldn''t require her running around here and there. That being said, there were still a couple of places she would need to go to later. Talkan''s Realm would be opening up in five years, and the male lead would be getting a lot of gains in there. She didn''t know if she would be able to destroy his chances of going into Talkan''s Realm (the amount of people who could enter were limited, so the Jade Emperor would give a certain number of chances to each clan to allow them to send people inside), but she would certainly take the opportunity to steal his treasures. It might even be a good opportunity to kill him? Yin Mei pondered. She wasn''t sure she had the ability to do so, but this place was definitely out of the jurisdiction of the Jade Emperor and the dragon clan. If she really did kill him in here, they would have a much harder time tracking her down. Yin Mei wouldn''t say it was impossible, but it certainly wouldn''t be as much trouble if she killed him out here instead. But, that was all for another time. She could make some preparations now, but there was still five years left. She didn''t have to rush things. The boat flew in the air for a few hours before they reached the Amethyst Mountain Ranges. Although the speed of the boat was very fast, several times the speed of a plane, the size of the upper realm was also several times that of the Earth. The Amethyst Mountain Range wasn''t extremely far from the capital city, but it also wasn''t close. The mountains, like their name, were like giant pieces of amethyst, the different colors of purple and lavender mist entwining together to create a mystical scene. It was a treasure trove just waiting to be opened. The boat didn''t need to find a safe place to land, as the eight people all just jumped off into the dark purple leaf trees waiting underneath them. The servants wouldn''t be coming and would watch over the boat while they were gone. In the upper realm, aside from devils, cultivators still had to fear the occasional demonic cultivator, that were widely acknowledged as "evil" due to the fact that their minds were corrupted by devils, as well as demonic beasts, who were also the same way, though they were beasts that hadn''t taken a human form yet. Although the word used in their names was "demon", they weren''t related to demons, but instead devils. (T/N: demon just sounds better imo) "Everyone, here, take this pill." Yao Yan said, handing out pills to everyone. The light purple mist that hung thickly around the group was poisonous, and what Yao Yan had gave out was the antidote. "This should last us the week," he said, as he ate one himself. For those who didn''t have this antidote and still dared to venture into the fog, they would find themselves experiencing hallucinations before ending up dead, like they had overdosed on drugs. Even in the upper realm, there were still some occasional idiots out there that would try venturing in here without the antidote, and such deaths would happen every few thousands of years or so. Yin Mei checked the information. The place that Yao Ling had found the treasure was near the Southern half of the mountain range, the entrance to a hidden city located in some valley or another. Yin Mei hoped that they wouldn''t have to search every valley in the south of the mountain range, or she would definitely go crazy. She wanted to expand her senses and use them to search, but the fog was limiting her abilities. She could only sigh, and go along with the group to search every place personally. "Let''s go to the southern half of the mountain range," she said. She didn''t explain why she wanted to, and the group didn''t ask, just agreeing. The reason they came here to treasure hunt was because of Yin Mei''s invitation anyways, so if she wanted to go south for whatever reason, they didn''t mind accompanying her. Yin Mei and the other travelled quickly through the purple trees and fog. Because the fog restricted their ability to expand their senses too far, they had to be careful not to get lost. Things like compass or tracking devices also lost their effectiveness out here, and they could only rely on themselves. This was probably the reason why the treasures lay untouched for so long. Although it wasn''t impossible to find that place, it was really hard due to the fact that too many people would lose their way here, wandering around for a long time before leaving without gaining anything of importance. A sound of beast footsteps caught their attention, and the slowed down, as a demon beast ran towards them from the distance. Yin Mei didn''t make a move before Hu Xi had already cut down the beast. For the elites of the upper realms noble families, this level of monster was definitely not enough to trouble them. Even Yao Lan and Yao Yan, who were the weakest in combat, would probably still be able to defeat the average demon beast here. After all, the upper realm''s elite just had a different measure of strength compared to others. "It''s so boring! This is the only demon beast we''ve encountered in the last twenty minutes." Mao Mao complained, her tail swishing back and forth as she stood over the black corpse of a large dog-like thing that Yin Mei couldn''t name. "That''s a good thing. You can''t expect us to fight demon beasts every five minutes, right?" Yao Lan answered as she stood by Yao Yan, who was extracting any useful materials from the demon beast''s corpse. Actually, any materials from this sort of low level demon beast wasn''t too useful for them, but the medicine king clan used these low level materials to make pills that would be donated out to the poor on occasion who couldn''t afford to see a doctor during normal times. Because of this, the medicine king''s clan had a high prestige among the people of the upper realm. "This fog is blocking off our senses. It''s a perfect place for training," Hu Rong said, though then added on. "But the demon beasts are a little bit too low level. It would be good if something stronger came along." "Don''t-" jinx us, was what Yin Mei was about to say, when a loud roar echoed through the forest, applying a heavy pressure on the group. "..." Yin Mei was silent, only looking at Hu Rong with judging eyes. On the other hand, the heroic looking girl had already drawn her sword in excitement. Why did I ever take along this goddamn battle maniac? 16 Dragon and Phoenix 5 "There''s no need to run! A little guy like that, I can kill in no time!" Hu Rong shouted stubbornly over the sound of loud rumbling and roars. "Then why are you running with us?" Mao Mao replied in a snarky manner. "That''s... that''s merely because you guys are running, so I naturally started running with you!" Hu Rong answered. The two continued bickering, even as the large tiger-like beast gained on them. Yin Mei felt that fighting this beast and killing it would make her feel bad, since Hu Rong and Hu Xi were both six-winged tiger beasts. In other words, this demon beast could very well have been a member of the tiger beast clan before it had been corrupted by demonic energy. But looking at the eager to fight Hu Rong, and the ever silent and stoic Hu Xi, Yin Mei felt that her worries weren''t at all necessary. Anyways, she also wanted to ask the question of why they were running. This beast was at least one large realm higher than the person with the highest cultivation in their group, Hu Xi. But, all of them here were elites who possessed numerous treasures on their bodies. If they teamed up and fought the demon beast, they would probably be able to defeat it. Though Yin Mei couldn''t say if they would come out unscathed, they certainly wouldn''t die. That being said, it certainly wouldn''t be optimal for their group to get injured at this moment in time. She couldn''t decide whether escaping or fighting would be the better choice. In the end, Hu Rong couldn''t restrain her desire to fight, and under Mao Mao''s goading, turning around to start battling the large demon beast. Of course, the others couldn''t leave her behind fighting alone, so they also stopped and helped her. Yin Mei waved her slender sword, a golden fire appearing on the blade. With a single slash, the fire shot out at the demon beast, causing it to scream in pain. Even though they were in a forest, Yin Mei didn''t worry much about things catching flame. Because she was inhabiting the body of a phoenix, she had absolute control over all fire (except that of other phoenixes), and could easily keep the fire from going out of control. On the other hand, Gui Neng and Gui Heng had cursed the beast so that it would suffer from hallucinations and illusory pain, while Hu Rong and Hu Xi were battling the demon beast up front. Their dazzling saber work was quite impressive to look out. Mao Mao, who was slacking off and standing next to Yao Lan and Yao Yan, who both had nothing to do, whistled and said, "The Hu siblings really have the best saber techniques." Yin Mei along with the Gui siblings no longer had anything to do and had already played their part, so also stood around with the other three. They soon ended up chatting, commenting on the battle. "Oh! So close. They just missed the demon beast''s weak point." Mao Mao said, shaking her head regretfully. "Even if they missed it, the demon beast has already been weakened considerably. It won''t take them long to defeat it." Yao Lan mused. "With Feng Hua''s flames constantly eating at its vitality, no matter what, it''ll lose in a match of stamina." "Why are you just mention Big Sister Hua''s flames? What about the curse? Our curse is the reason why those Hu siblings are having such an easy time!" Gui Heng said angrily, his pride slightly hurt. Gui Heng was at a delicate adolescent age of 107 years old, and was prone to the thing known as hormones. "Hey! What the hell are you guys all doing, chatting away in the middle of battle!?" Hu Rong angrily said, as she was blown back by a blow from the demon beast and landed near them. She was completely outraged. They were having fun like they were on an academy outing, while she and her brother were fighting! "Well, we wouldn''t want to interrupt your fight." Yin Mei said, as if it was for Hu Rong and Hu Xi''s sake that she wasn''t interfering. "That''s right. A battle between warriors shouldn''t need our help." Mao Mao chimed in. "You- you- you actually call yourselves my friends?" Hu Rong was practically shaking, speechless from anger. "Rong Rong! What are you doing!?" Hu Xi shouted at his sister, angered that she had joined up with the others in chatting and had left him to defend against the demon beast alone. "Wow, big brother Xi must be pretty angry. That''s the first I''ve heard him speak this entire trip." Mao Mao said, hand over her mouth as she widened her eyes. Hu Rong was very angry, but she charged back into the battle, using her anger as fuel as she slashed maniacally at the demon beast. "You shouldn''t tease Hu Rong too much. She takes it all very seriously." Yao Lan said. The sounds of fighting and roars continued on in the background. "Don''t worry, hehehe, with the fatal combo of our curses and Feng Hua''s phoenix fire, that big oaf won''t be able to stand against a berserk Hu Rong, hehehe." Gui Neng said, laughing creepily. "What about an equally berserk demon beast?" Yin Mei said, having been watching the fight between the Hu siblings and the demon beast this entire time while the others talked, her face now an expression of "Oh shit". She pointed at the demon beast, whose size had seemed to have doubled, an intense aura leaking from it as its red eyes shed tears of blood. "Ah..." They all said, just now noticing that the situation they were in may be a little bit dangerous... "You guys, stop standing around and help us already!" Hu Rong said, as she leapt up and slashed at the demon beast, but was knocked away by his claws, the sheer force of her body flying off destroying several trees and only stopping when she had travelled a mile or so. "Oh... it looks like a hallucination curse might have been a bad idea..." Gui Neng said as she looked up at the monster. "This was the fault of your curse!?" Yao Lan shouted, her carefully constructed expression falling apart. Well, since all of the ones here already knew about her two-faced personality, she was always less careful around them. "Mm, probably..." Gui Neng replied sheepishly. "Enough arguing, let''s just finish him off." Yin Mei said coldly. They all fell silent and started to make serious preparations for battle. Actually, they were expecting this. Leaving the demon beast, even when he hadn''t gone berserk and powered up, to just the Hu siblings was pushing it after all. That being said, of the group, only the Hu siblings and Mao Mao were frontline fighters, though Mao Mao was more of a stealth type. Yin Mei could certainly take a frontline position, having decent skill in the sword, but she was more skilled in ranged techniques, since Feng Hua didn''t like getting up close and personal in a fight. But she also thought that wielding a sword with elegance looked beautiful, so she had at least trained herself a bit in the sword. On the other hand, the Gui siblings were mage types through and through, while the Yao siblings had below average accomplishments in any fighting techniques, though they could handle poisons very well. The result of them getting serious was a win for their sides. Hu Rong had two broken ribs and a gash on her chest, but was mostly unaffected. Yin Mei, due to not being completely adapt at handling her new body yet, was also injured and had a cut at her waist. The rest were mostly uninjured, save for some scratches and bruises. Although these injuries may look serious, they were easily healed with a single pill. For flesh injuries like these, as long as the person was dead, it wasn''t too hard for them to be healed. It was only if the injuries had complications like energy corruption, did it require much more expensive pills. That being said, none of the people here lacked medicine like that. That being said, the fight had been fairly intense, so the group set up camp to take a short rest. Yin Mei put up a protection talisman while Yao Yan set up a fire and Hu Xi and Hu Rong went hunting for food. Actually, they had brought food, but all of these noble kids wanted to experience the true camping out and so the two Hu siblings went to search for demon beast meat to eat. "Aren''t they taking a while?" Yao Lan said, as they all gathered to sit around the fire. "I''m worried. I hope they don''t encounter a demon beast like the one earlier," Yao Yan had a worried look on his face as he kept on glancing back to outside the protective barrier. "Even if the opponent was a large stage higher, they''d still be able to escape," Yin Mei said. Actually, as long as the opponent wasn''t on the level of their parents, then they would be able to escape. And someone on the level of their parents would be as rare as unicorn horns and phoenix feathers. Though that was probably a bad comparison, considering that none of those things were very rare in the upper realm. The point is, such an existence was difficult to come by. "Let''s not talk about these boring things anymore," Mao Mao complained. "Boring? Then what do you want to talk about?" Yao Lan answered. "Hah, I bet she just wants to gossip." Gui Neng sneered. "Gossip? What gossip?" Gui Heng, compared to his sister, looked oddly interested. "Idiot, why are you interested in that stupid stuff?" Gui Neng replied, her eyes glaring at her younger brother from under her bangs. "No, the only gossip going around these days is about Long Aotian this and that," Mao Mao snuck a look toward Yin Mei, who shrugged, her face indifferent. "Cheer up, Feng Hua. I''m sure there are better people out there," Yao Yan tried comforting Yin Mei, but because they weren''t too close, it only made her feel awkward. "Even if you say that, there aren''t that many eligible men..." Yao Lan said. "Maybe Hu Rong''s family? She has six older brothers..." "They''re all fighting maniacs, though," Mao Mao complained. "Mao Mao, I didn''t know you were so in to love stories." Yin Mei couldn''t help but comment. Mao Mao didn''t seem like the type. Sure, she was interested in gossip, but only because she liked to use it to blackmail or tease others. That being said, Yin Mei did guess that maybe love stories were easy teasing material? "Feng Hua, do you have anyone you have your eye on, now that your engagement is broken?" Gui Neng asked, tugging on the sleeve of her friend. If she did have someone she like, she would definitely personally concoct her some love potions (*censored*) free of charge. Yin Mei was silent, seemingly thinking of something. She looked like she was in a bit of a daze, but finally answered with a no. "There isn''t anyone." "What! That''s a lie! Look at that long pause! Who were you thinking of?" Mao Mao immediately retorted. "Among our generation... maybe the Qilin clan''s eldest son?" Yao Lan hypothesized, her face serious. "The Qilin clan''s eldest son? No way, I hate that man!" Gui Neng immediately looked disgusted, quickly turning back to Yin Mei. "Feng Hua, it isn''t that guy right?" Yin Mei, who was healed by Gui Neng''s cuteness as she worried, reassured her. "It''s really not." The four girls continued chattering while the two guys were completely left out of the conversation, sitting on the sidelines while gazing at the scenery with nothing to do. After a while, the Hu siblings finally came back with several hunting prizes, setting them down inside the protection barrier. "What were you guys talking about so excitedly?" Hu Rong asked as Hu Xi set to work skinning and deboning the demon beast corpses. "Love!" Mao Mao and Yao Lan had glittering eyes, and Hu Rong immediately withdrew, pale faced. "Okay, I''ll just leave you to it-" But she couldn''t escape and was immediately caught by the two and tortured with love stories. Yin Mei laughed, watching all this. It was different from when she went treasure hunting all alone, with no one but her shadow for company. It was warm. 17 Dragon and Phoenix 6 In the lower realm, a certain man was holding two rings strung together by a necklace chain. His beautiful face had an unreadable expression as he gripped the two rings, before putting them back on around his neck. He closed his eyes, starting to cultivate again. A few more years, and he would be able to ascend. Perhaps by then, this unexplainable emotion in his heart would have already disappeared. Meanwhile, the group cleaned up camp and continued their treasure hunt. In the end, they really did search every valley of the mountain range''s southern half. They were only looking for something that stood out to them as out of place, or something that could potentially be used to hide treasures. Yin Mei only knew that the entrance to the hidden city that contained the treasures was a small passageway hidden by an illusion barrier. Yao Ling hadn''t been able to see through the illusions barrier, but only coincidentally flew in there when she had been hit by a demon beast. She was worried that not even they would be able to see through the illusion barrier, as it was a relic from the golden ages. Among their group members, Mao Mao and Gui Neng were the most skilled in illusions. Yin Mei could also be considered decently knowledgeable, since Feng Hua had been studying a little into illusion techniques, but she couldn''t be compared to Mao Mao or Gui Neng. Perhaps she should have brought someone from the Qilin clan along, since they excelled in seeing through illusions, but since the Qilin clan didn''t have any females of their generation, Yin Mei wasn''t close to anyone from their clan. To top it off, Gui Neng didn''t like that person from the Qilin clan (this relationship between the two of them was a bit complicated, but Feng Hua, who was oddly perceptive, thought that the eldest young master of the Qilin clan might like Gui Neng, but that was just her personal guess). "Phew, so there was nothing here either." Yin Mei said as they finished searching the nth valley. The mountain range was truly way too large, and the number of valleys to search seemed unending. "We probably can''t continue like this, or we''ll be here for months." Yao Lan said as they started moving toward the next valley. "But this fog is blocking most search techniques. Can it be dispelled?" Hu Rong looked around. She felt that by the time they exited, purple would become her least favorite color. Yao Lan shook her head, also not knowing of a way to dispel the fog. Mao Mao tried manipulating the wind to blow away the fog, but new fog would quickly fill in the places where she had blown away the old fog. "God, this fog is so persistent." Mao Mao said in frustration, her tail waving flicking back and forth in irritation. "Maybe we can find and destroy the source of the fog?" Yin Mei suddenly suggested after thinking. "A mysterious fog like this would probably have a source, right?" "You''re right. It could be a formation, or maybe a naturally formed treasure." Yao Yan said. "The problem would be finding the source." "No, that might be easier. Let''s try following the air flow." Mao Mao said, lifting her head up slightly as her ears twitched a little. "When I was manipulating the wind earlier, I could sense that the air flow was slightly odd. I didn''t think much of it until you mentioned a source though." The group followed Mao Mao for a long time, toward the center of the mountain range, seemingly retracing their former steps. Before long, they arrived at what looked to be a complex protection formation with thick fog swirling around it, hiding what was inside. "I''ve never seen a protection formation like this before," Yao Lan said, her eyes studying the formation. Yin Mei guessed that it must be from the golden age. That being said, knowing that wasn''t particularly helpful. "Should we brute force our way in?" Hu Rong said, already seeming to prepare to do so. Yin Mei thought that if this really was from the golden age, trying to brute force it would only waste their energy. She got closer, studying the formation. If she got too close, an invisible wall would stop her in her tracks. The closer she was, the thicker the fog. "It''s in seal script..." Yin Mei would be mildly frustrated, but she was grateful that Bai Yu had studied seal script to study talismans and formations. If not, then she wouldn''t be able to read this formation at all. "Wow, to actually achieve this sort of balance... the delicacy of this..." Yin Mei continued muttering her admiration as she studied the formation like a crazy person. "Feng Hua?" Hu Rong, who still had her saber half drawn, was feeling unsure whether she should continue or leave Yin Mei to study it. "Just let her study it." Yao Lan answered, but she was also studying it. She didn''t have too much knowledge in formations, but she had to admit that this formation was very well done, that it made even a layman like her sigh in admiration. As for the Gui siblings, who were fairly skilled in the art of talismans and formations, they were already absorbed in studying it like Yin Mei. Even if they couldn''t figure out the trick to turning it off, it was a good learning opportunity. Like this, several days passed. The others became so bored that they wandered around to randomly battle demon beasts as the Gui siblings and Yin Mei continued on their quest of solving this difficult problem. "I got it! I got it!" Yin Mei suddenly shouted excitedly, not knowing how much time had passed. "Huh? Where is everyone else?" She asked, realizing that it was only her and the Gui siblings here right now. "Let''s first deactivate the formation," Gui Neng said, showing no care toward their other friends. "Oh, right." Yin Mei nodded. She placed her hand on a certain location of the invisible wall, her hand slow and peaceful as she slowly pushed, until it actually slipped through, disappearing. She soon brought it back, holding a piece of rock with seals engraved all over it. "What an odd formation core." Yin Mei said, as the formation powered down and the invisible wall disappeared. She decided to keep it for now, placing it into her storage ring. Because the others weren''t here, the three decided to go in without them for now. Even without the others, they could still take care of themselves. "Gui Heng, you be careful. You don''t have a lot of fighting experience, so stay behind us," Yin Mei said in a sisterly tone. Gui Heng scowled, but didn''t say anything. If he retorted, his sister would definitely attach some vengeful ghost on him when they got home. "Is this the source of the fog?" Yin Mei said, barely able to see a few feet in front of her when she spotted a large amethyst placed on a pedestal, the light purple fog rushing out of it. "What an interesting item." There wasn''t any information about it in the system, so she was totally clueless about its origins. But it was definitely something out of the ordinary, no matter how one looked at it. "Let''s take it for now." She put it into her storage ring. Although the fog still remained, it slowly grew thinner. Now, if Mao Mao used her wind abilities, the fog should probably completely clear. Yin Mei didn''t really care if there wasn''t any fog, as long as they looted all of the treasures of the city first. Then even if people swarmed over here looking for something, they wouldn''t find anything of worth. "Mao Mao, try clearing away the fog now," Yin Mei communicated with Mao Mao using a voice transmission talisman. It was clear that she had gotten it, as moments later, the area around them became completely clear as a strong wind blew through, blowing away all the fog. Moments later, the rest of the group arrived. "You finally broke the formation?" Yao Lan said, looking around. "The source of the fog is in my storage ring. It was a large rock." Yin Mei said, knowing what she probably wanted to ask. Yao Lan nodded. "Now we can finally use our senses and search techniques!" Mao Mao was delighted. All that monotonous physical searching was way too boring. She wanted to quickly find some treasure already. Before long, they had located six odd places in the south of the mountain range. It was a little less than the number of entrances into the hidden city. Yin Mei guessed that some of the entrances were too well hidden that not even their group could find them. They arrived at the closest one, which was on a cliffside. It looked just like a cliff wall, but placing a hand on it, the hand went right through, like touching nothing. They entered one by one into the cave tunnel. Yin Mei generated a few balls of flame, which floated around them as they continued walking, down and down, until they reached the end. They exited on a ledge overlooking darkness, but when Yin Mei lit up the lamps that she could sense throughout the large cave, it revealed a city below them. The city appeared slightly old, with some places in ruin, but aside from that, looked like it was preserved in history, as if it wouldn''t be strange if people were still living in it to this day. Perhaps that made it even creepier that it was empty, the only people present being themselves. "The treasure would be... there, in the palace." Yin Mei said, pointing at the palace in the center of the city. "Let''s go." The group dropped down from the ledge, landing on the ground and walking toward the palace. "To think that there was such a large city hidden here," Hu Rong said. "It should be from the old age," Yao Yan said, as they looked around at the empty buildings. Arriving at the palace made of stone, Yin Mei couldn''t help but think that the style of the architecture was oddly more western than anything she had ever seen in this world. After all, this was an eastern fantasy world with cultivation and immortals. But, although it was a little western, it was also maybe slightly middle eastern? Yin Mei couldn''t place the exact place she had seen such similar architecture. "It looks like the formations are all still intact," Yin Mei commented as they entered the palace gates. From here, she just used the information to follow the route that Yao Ling took. Because Yao Ling was still weak at that point of time in the story, she didn''t meet many dangers (probably due to her protagonist''s aura). Their group, as well, went unimpeded through the city and palace. "This looks like it would be the treasure room." Mao Mao said, when they finally reached the end of their route, where a large stone gate was waiting. There was a pedestal that stood empty to the side, and only a stone wall behind it. "It should be a gate that requires some sort of key," Yao Lan looked around, and found a small broken jade statue of a lion. "Something like this?" She placed it on the pedestal, and with a loud rumbling, the gate came to life, a swirling portal appearing before them. "That was easy," Hu Rong said, and Yao Lan shrugged as they all entered. Inside was the treasure room, riches spreading as far as the eye could see. It was gold from the old age, that now had an exponential exchange rate. In addition, there were jewels, weaponry, and all sorts of other mysterious treasures. "Oh my god..." Even Yao Lan from the second richest clan of the upper realm couldn''t help but be astonished (the first richest being the phoenix clan). "This would probably be about twice the amount of all our clan riches," Yin Mei mused. The golden age was truly the golden age. The treasury of one city was enough to be twice the amount of the riches amassed by the richest clan in the upper realm. "It''s too dazzling," Mao Mao''s eyes were practically sparkling as she even looked to be drooling a little. "We''ll pick whatever we want from here, and then equally split the rest of the other stuff. Deal?" Yin Mei said, and they all nodded before splitting ways to go through the treasure. To be honest, it would probably take days, maybe even weeks, so before they did, Yin Mei set a 24-hour time limit and then rest would be up to luck. Of course, for Yin Mei, who knew where the treasures she wanted were, it wasn''t luck at all. She quickly grabbed all the things she wanted, and then continued to leisurely look through the other treasures with mild interest. She would pick up pretty accessories and gems that she liked, but left most of the rest alone for the others. "What''s this?" She saw a slightly out of place basin of water, placed on a pedestal. Granted, the basin and pedestal were fancy and probably worth a lot of money, but it still looked odd. Shockingly, when she looked into the water, it showed the demon king. "His Majesty??" Yin Mei exclaimed, startled. The demon king was peacefully cultivating with his eyes closed. Like usual, he wasn''t wearing a lot, but oddly enough, his robe was white. Yin Mei had never seen him wear white before. It was always red, or black. Maybe the occasional purple. But never white. "It can''t be... mourning clothes?" Yin Mei was speechless. Who died? Not the chef uncle? Or the hidden guard captain? It seemed that Yin Mei had completely forgot that she was the one who had died. But, she looked at the demon king fondly. She really missed this seductive appearance of his! Mm, her demon king was really the true number one beauty of the nine realms. She didn''t know what this water basin did exactly, but knowing that it could let her peek at the demon king, she decided to take it with her. She wasn''t a stalker, she swore. She just liked his appearance, okay? 18 Dragon and Phoenix 7 Since the 24-hour limit wasn''t over yet, Yin Mei continued to wander the giant treasure room, until she reached the end. She stood in front of what seemed like a giant piece of ice, inside of it was... a person. She stared up at the person, having no idea what this person was. There wasn''t any mention of it at all in the information. Yin Mei felt that the system''s information was becoming more and more useless as she kept on coming across things that were never mentioned. The person was a man who looked like he was sleeping, his skin dyed a pale blue by the color of the ice. "Is it a corpse? Sleeping? Sealed?" Yin Mei wasn''t sure. She wondered if it was okay to melt this ice? Like, she wouldn''t be releasing some sealed away legendary devil king, right? She studied him. No dark skin, so he shouldn''t be a devil? But, there was still a chance of being a demonic cultivator. But then she wondered why such a person would be sealed away inside a palace treasury. But she really didn''t know what sort of person could possibly be in here. He had to be from the golden age, that was for sure. After all, this place hadn''t been touched since those times. "Eiii, whatever!" Yin Mei didn''t like overthinking things, so she stuffed it all into the back of her mind, throwing her golden phoenix flame at the piece of ice angrily, as if she was venting out all her frustrations. "Ahahaha, burn, burnnnn!" She laughed weirdly as she watched the ice melt away in satisfaction. She guessed that the formations that formed the ice must have weakened over the thousands of years to allow it to burn away so easily, but it certainly was a pleasure to watch, so she wasn''t complaining. Feeling this pleasure, she thought that perhaps she had the makings of an arsonist. Oh well. It seemed that her morals had already significantly deteriorated from spending too long here. Although the flames were eating at the ice at a steady pace, seeing the size of the thing, Yin Mei guessed that it might take a couple hours before it was completely melted away, so she decided to sit down and relax a bit, taking out a tea table, chair, and tea and snacks. She then began to leisurely read a book while elegantly sipping her tea. "... What in the world are you doing?" Yao Lan asked with an odd expression, as she came across this scene that she really didn''t know how to describe. It was filled with elegance, but then on the other side was a lifeless man encased in ice that looked like he was being burned at the stake. "Hm? I''m waiting for that ice to melt. I wonder what sort of person is inside? Hope he''s still alive, at least, or my efforts would be wasted." Yin Mei answered. "Want to come sit with me?" "You already looked through everything, to be so relaxed?" Although Yao Lan said that, she also sat down to partake in some tea and snacks. Yao Lan was currently very satisfied with her haul, so didn''t mind taking some time off to chat with Yin Mei. Yin Mei seemed to take the time to think. With the unexpected discovery of these mysterious items outside of the system''s knowledge, she wondered what other treasures could be buried here that she didn''t know about. But she then inwardly shook her head. "Yep. Anything else at this point would just be superfluous. Anyways, bringing back a potential cultivator from the golden ages would be good enough of a treasure, right?" Yao Lan had to agree with that. She looked at the piece of ice. "Could he really be from the old age?" She asked. The legends of the golden age were told to children since they were young, and although the current age actually really wasn''t too much behind, they still had not yet achieved the peak of prosperity and knowledge like in those days. "Probably. Perhaps he even witnessed that war." Yin Mei said. That war was the fiercest one in the history of the upper realm, and even now the land had still yet to fully recover, even though the seal that locked away the devils into their own realm was already beginning to unravel itself. "Hey, if we bring such a person back, don''t you think that the Jade Emperor would reward us?" Yao Lan asked. "If that was the case, we''d probably have to give most of the rest of this away to the Jade Emperor, under the reason of donations to the state." Yin Mei said. "But, that might not be too bad either." For one, it would most definitely raise the level of their clans in the eyes of the emperor. In addition, it would probably mean that the Jade Emperor would personally reward them and favor them after that. Essentially, it was whether they wanted riches or glory. Or another way of saying it was if they wanted to be selfish or patriotic. But, being on the Jade Emperor''s good side did come with many more long-term benefits. "We can discuss it with the rest of the group, when we''re done." Yin Mei said. After all, this was something that couldn''t be decided alone, since this treasure had been found by all of them together. Yao Lan agreed. They chatted a little while longer, before Yao Lan was ready to go leave and meet up with her brother to continue searching for the remaining time, Yin Mei stopped her. "Here," she said, tossing a ring toward Yao Lan, who probed Yin Mei with a questioning gaze. "I found it, but I don''t need it, so I''m giving it to you." It didn''t answer Yao Lan''s questions, but she didn''t reject it, and put it away after politely thanking Yin Mei. After Yao Lan left, Yin Mei continued reading as she waited for the ice to melt. When it finally did, she quickly restrained her flames before they could start burning the man, and he fell down onto the ground. He was unconscious, and his life force was extremely weak. It didn''t look like he could live another moment, so Yin Mei forcefully shoved a healing elixir into his mouth while holding his nose closed until he swallowed it. His color showed signs of improvement, but Yin Mei guessed it would take a lot more for him to wake up. It had already been who knows how long since the end of the golden age, so supposedly, that was how long the man had been trapped in the ice. It would certainly take a toll on someone''s life force to be inside a block of ice for that long. Because a storage ring couldn''t carry living people inside them, she could only use a telekinesis like technique to bring him along floating behind her toward the entrance of the treasure room. The others also began appearing one after the other once some time had passed, expressions of satisfaction on each of their faces. When they had all arrived, Yin Mei explained what her and Yao Lan had talked about. All of the people here didn''t have bad personalities and it wasn''t like they were disloyal to the crown, so they had no issues with revealing the rest of this place to the emperor. The emperor, as well, was not a tyrant, so he certainly would allow their clans to keep a portion of the treasures here. They first sealed of the entrances and exits to the city before leaving. Returning to the capital, they went their separate ways to their clan palaces. All Yin Mei had to do was notify her father and brother of the treasures and the course of action that they had decided on. Her father and brother would then report it to the emperor, without Yin Mei needing to worry about anything. As for that half-dead person she had brought back, Yin Mei just threw him to the servants and had them take care of his matters, to give him some nourishment and healing pills and elixirs. Since she had a successful day, Yin Mei was very happy. She immediately went back to her room and took out the water basin and pedestal. She then looked into it, figuring out how it worked. It would allow her to see anywhere and anyone throughout the nine realms, as long as she personally knew the person or place that she was spying on. Actually, Feng Hua did not personally know the demon king, but the soul inside Feng Hua''s body, Yin Mei, did. So it seemed that she was still able to see the demon king because of that. Nothing had changed, really, from the first image. The demon king was still peacefully cultivating, wearing that white robe. For cultivators of the demon king''s level, this was normal. Most of them would shut themselves inside for years and years until they broke through. But, personally, seeing this demon king for Yin Mei was weird. First of all, the white robe turned his normally seductive and devilish aura into something more pure, which honestly, freaked Yin Mei out a little. And secondly, it was because her first experience with the demon king was him living life like a normal, lazy noble person. She remembered wondering why he wasn''t in secluded cultivation like normal people and had basically been sleeping and eating snacks all day. Even now she didn''t know the answer. "I wonder if he can tell I''m watching him?" Just as she said that, the demon king opened his eyes, his cold and piercing gaze seeming to stare right through Yin Mei, and she ended up on the other side of the room, up against the wall with a pale face and a cold sweat. "Holy sh*t that freaked me out!" She said, like she had seen a ghost. She slowly inched back, peeking at the water basin again. She heard the hidden guard captain''s voice ring out from the basin. "Your Majesty, that man has died." Oh, so the hidden guard captain hadn''t died. That was good. But who was that man that he was talking about? The demon king sneered. "He went too easily. Throw him into the forest and let the demon beasts eat him." Yin Mei was really curious now. What sort of person was it to have the demon king treat even his corpse with such cruelty? Yin Mei still seemed to be unable to remember that she hadn''t ascended through normal means, and that her former body from the lower realm had already died. It was only until the hidden guard captain spoke again that she realized. "Your Majesty, are you going to go visit Bai Yu''s grave today?" "Ah, that''s right." Yin Mei said. She was the one that had died. So the demon king''s mourning clothes were for her? The demon king didn''t say anything, and neither did the hidden guard captain. Only after a long time did the demon king finally reply, "No." And with that, their conversation was over. Yin Mei didn''t know how to feel. Slightly bitter that he wouldn''t visit her grave? Or slightly warm that he had bothered to wear mourning clothes? Or just plain odd, because she was still alive, while the corpse of her former body lay cold six feet under the ground? "Will he recognize me when he ascends?" Yin Mei asked herself. Would he? Should she reveal her identity? Would he believe her? How would she even explain herself? Or should she just help him without explaining anything? "Argh! I don''t know! Thinking about all this just makes my head hurt!" Yin Mei exclaimed, feeling somehow upset with herself. She didn''t know what this feeling was inside her chest, that was making her feel terrible. Her chest ached, her head hurt, and she felt nauseous. She didn''t know why. She just knew that the expression on the demon king''s face right now... it really made her upset. She wondered. Would this inexplicable feeling go away by the time he ascended? 19 Dragon and Phoenix 8 The next few days were chaotic as the Jade Emperor sent people to retrieve the treasure from the empty city and proceeded to reward the people involved in its discovery handsomely. Of course, he did split of equal portions of the discovered treasure for the clans, though the majority of the treasure was taken for the national treasury. No one mentioned the treasures that the group had already taken for themselves, which they kept without a word. Even if the Jade Emperor suspected anything, he would just take it as their reward for the discovery. As for the man inside the ice, he had also woken up. When he did so, he almost tore down the entire phoenix clan''s palace, but good thing that he realized something was wrong before doing so. He really was from the golden age, and had been the youngest son of the mayor of the city they found him in. Because he had a special illness, he had been sealed in the ice to prevent the illness from spreading throughout his body until they found the ingredients for the cure. Yin Mei guessed that the devil had invaded before then, so his family had placed him in the treasury, which was in a isolated dimension, to protect him. "Are you still sulking around?" Yin Mei said, as she entered the room of the man. His name was Yang. He didn''t mention a surname, or perhaps the name he gave was his surname. Yin Mei didn''t concern herself with it, just thinking it was a little strange way of naming. The man didn''t say anything, huddled in the corner of the bed. A giant man like that sulking like a baby really was a weird sight. He was really tall, but his back was constantly hunched over. He had a pair of beautiful green eyes, but his messy black hair was constantly blocking them from sight. Yin Mei thought that he reminded her of the Gui siblings, with his gloomy aura, but compared to the passionate Gui siblings who seemed like mad scientists, this guy was just plain depressing. "... t... a..." Yang mumbled something, but Yin Mei didn''t hear what he said. "What?" She said, as she was about to pour a cup of tea (for herself, of course). "You don''t understand," Yang repeated, louder. He had on an expression of anger and despair, as if the whole world had ended. "Waking up and everyone you knew before is gone... you wouldn''t understand! What''s the point of me even living anymore?" For such a big guy, who was definitely older than any one in the upper realm by thousands of years, he sure sounded even more immature than Gui Heng (granted he was asleep for who knows how long). But, that was the wrong thing to say to Yin Mei. "I don''t understand? I. don''t. understand?" This hit a string in her, and she immediately felt a burning rage. "Don''t you dare say that to me." She was in front of him in a second, her hand lashing out and gripping his neck, slamming him onto the wall as she leaned in. "You complain about your circumstances one more time, and I will..." She paused, thinking for a moment as she let him go and he landed on the bed with a small thud. Her expression returned to normal as she leaned back, standing straight up again. "I''m not sure what I''ll do, but I will make sure that you''ll feel enough pain to think that the despair you are feeling right now is a cake walk compared to it." She then smiled sweetly. "You aren''t the only one who has lost things, so don''t you dare act like you are. Now get your a** off the bed and have some tea with me." Yang looked at Yin Mei with a stunned expression, seemingly unable to keep up with her quick changes in mood and her sudden use of coarse language that didn''t match her beautiful appearance at all. He obediently walked over and sat down at the table with her, as if he had been scared into obedience. Actually, as long as he could heal his illness and regain his former strength, he would definitely have a strength on par with, if not more than, that of the Jade Emperor. It was just that he was too weak now to fight back, and he had been scared silly to the point that he forgot he would be stronger than Yin Mei if he had a few years. The reason why Yin Mei was so upset about Yang''s words was simply because it could be said that she was in a similar situation. One day, everything had been going fine and dandy. Then she was involved in a mass shooting, and died, like out of the blue, at the young age of 23. Then, as if that wasn''t enough, she was shoved into this world where the strong was the law, and killing was as common as picking up vegetables at your local grocery store. All her friends and family were left behind, and she had to brave this world on her own... No, she then remembered. That was right, because she had the trusty, beautiful, stunning, super rich and powerful big thigh known as the demon king, she could still get handle it. Mm, having a thigh to hang onto during hard times was important. After that day, for some reason, Yang would continue to follow Yin Mei around. He even followed her into the bath once, so she had to kick him out. Yin Mei was completely confused what he was doing. Was he a masochist? Or looking for a chance for revenge?? Not even Yang knew the answer to this question. He just thought that he would figure out something if he stuck by Yin Mei. What he would figure out, he was unsure. But anyways, he just decided to first follow her and then ask questions later. Of course, Yin Mei was exceedingly frustrated by this, but when she saw this giant boy with his hunched back looking at her with puppy dog eyes, she could only swallow all the grievances she had in her throat and reluctantly allow him to continue (as long as he didn''t follow her into the bath again). Because of their contributions to the emperor with their donations of the treasures that they had found, the impressions of Yin Mei and her family naturally rose in the head of the emperor. Because of that, he grew more dissatisfied with Long Aotian and they way that he had handled the engagement between the two and their clan. As a result, the amount of duties that he entrusted to Long Aotian increased. For Long Aotian, this was like thunder in a clear sky. He had been working hard to regain favor in these last two days, and everything had seemed to be going well. But now, all that effort was rendered useless with Yin Mei''s one move. Long Aotian even began to wonder, was everyone right and he was truly wrong in his decision? Although he still thought that he love Yao Ling, he couldn''t help but think that perhaps he should have thought things through when he decided to bring her back with him and break the engagement between him and Yin Mei. That''s right, Long Aotian was regretting. But, it was too bad, but there was no medicine for regret. In the blink of an eye, several years passed. As Yang cured his illness and healed himself, growing more and more powerful and contributing more and more in his efforts for the nation, the emperor proceeded to favor the Feng clan even more, along with the other clans of those involved in finding Yang, this elder from the golden age. Yin Mei carefully kept this situation balanced though. The emperor would not like it if they grew too much in power, and other clans grew too weak. He was always constantly trying to balance the power between the clans, but Yin Mei did not want him to do anything that was out of her plans, so she took it into his own hands so that their clan wouldn''t face anything bad later on. She kept the dragon clan weak, but not weak to the point where the emperor would begin to interfere. Long Aotian would constantly suffer from ups and downs in his career. Whenever he seemed to be doing well, something would happen, bringing up those old matters again and bringing his reputation and favor back down. He knew that it was definitely Yin Mei acting in the background, but he knew that he couldn''t make a move against her, or his reputation would just suffer even more. It was only a half year before the opening of Talkan''s Realm that the demon king finally ascended. "It''s happening! It''s finally happening!" Yin Mei was so happy that she almost fell over when she suddenly stood up from her seat at the table. "Xiao Hua? What is it?" Yang said worriedly, as he quickly came over to help her keep her balance. Even after a little more than four years, Yang still hadn''t ditched his habit of following Yin Mei, though he did restrain himself when necessary. He looked down at the basin, but he couldn''t see whatever it is that Yin Mei saw. He only knew that Yin Mei liked looking at this in her free time, and that the expression she had on during that time would always make him uneasy for some reason. Yin Mei, who had gotten used to Yang''s actions, didn''t seem to mind, saying a quick thank you before pushing him away to get a closer look at the basin. "I''m finally going to see him again." She continued to say, before breaking out into a happy laughter. "I didn''t wait in vain! My efforts are finally going to come to fruition." She then turned around, calling for Mei Lan, who quickly came in. "Fetch my coat, we''re going to wait at the dragon gate!" Yang, who had been abandoned, was a little stunned at first. He felt that he hadn''t seen such an excited Yin Mei before. He wanted to ponder the meaning of her words, but seeing that she was already done preparing and about to leave, he could only stuff his thoughts into the back of his mind and hurried after her. Yin Mei exclaimed, almost forgetting the basin of water and she quickly went back to grab it before they rushed out. She told Mei Lan to tell her brothers and parents that she was going out, not even waiting before taking out her sword and hoping onto it, flying away. Mei Lan could only extort Yang to properly protect their young miss before going to notify the family. Yang followed along, wondering what it is that got Yin Mei so excited and impatient. They soon arrived at their destination, a gate on a stone stage that stood several miles outside the capital city. There was only green grass surrounding them for miles, and it seemed like a lonely little place, slightly depilated, but its appearance still retaining its former glory. It was a red gate with faded golden dragons coiled around it. This was the dragon gate, which another must pass through in order to ascend and become a true dragon. Yang certainly recognized this place, which had been around since the old age. He couldn''t help but wonder why they were here. Yin Mei was clearly eagerly awaiting something. It couldn''t be that someone was about to pass through the dragon gate? But, Yang recalled that from the history he had read after waking up, that no one had passed through the dragon gate since the end of the war. So, he was shocked when thunder clouds began gathering and thunder resounded loudly, lightning bolts striking around them. My god! Someone is actually passing through the dragon gate! After what seemed like an eternity, the sound of dragons roaring continuously echoing around them, the person that Yin Mei had waited, waited, and waited for finally arrived. He was wearing the fresh blood red color that he looked so beautiful in, two rings hanging from his neck, his expression prideful and dignified. Seeing this man, who was so beautiful that it was almost sinful, Yang felt an extreme sense of danger as he had a sudden realization. Ah, this was the person that Yin Mei was waiting for. This was the person that would steal her away from him. (A/N cuz there isn''t enough room in the actual authors note: sorry 2nd male lead never stood a chance. I was gonna give him a bit more of a chance, but my heart was always set on the demon king and initially he wasn''t even supposed to exist :P that being said, I will keep him and he might appear in the next arcs too. I''ll try to give him more of a fighting chance in the next chapters. After all, he actually has been with YM more than the demon king, since demon king was in closed cultivation for most of the time that YM knew him and then she died. so yeah. btw please read the actual author''s note below, it''ll be helpful for me to see people''s opinions.) 20 Dragon and Phoenix 9 When Yin Mei saw the demon king in person for the first time in over ten years, a complex emotion washed over her. There was happiness, of course. But also something else, that she couldn''t put into words. Tears naturally began falling down her eyes. She had been working so hard, she didn''t even know how stressed she had gotten. Seeing the person whose sake she was doing it all for made her feel like it was all alright again. Now that her big thigh was back, she would certainly be able to pound those a**es into oblivion. Of course, she didn''t think about the fact that she was actually now stronger than the demon king, who had only just ascended and was thus currently one of the weakest people in the upper realm... Yin Mei couldn''t contain herself anymore, and her sobs became noticeable. Yang, who was next to her, was on the verge of a panic attack. It couldn''t be helped. This was the first time he had seen Yin Mei cry since he had met her, and he had no idea what to do. "Your Majesty!" Yin Mei finally called out, running up to hug the demon king, who looked at her with a slight change in his normal expression. "I-I-I missed you," she could barely speak because she was crying too hard. This really couldn''t be helped. In the years that she had been here, she had actually not cried once. She had kept it all in. Not even when she had first killed, or when she had been killed. None of it. But, a person could only handle so much before they reached their breaking point. For Yin Mei, she had already endured more than she could handle, but she continued going despite all that for the sake of her mission, to survive, to be able to obtain the reward of any wish. But, even Yin Mei herself didn''t know why seeing the demon king again had sent her straight over her tipping point. Was it because it was for the demon king''s sake that she was doing all this? Or maybe she had simply imprinted with the demon king like a baby chick would with their mother. Yin Mei really couldn''t say. She just knew that she couldn''t stop the tears, and she wanted to hear those words from him again. "... Little rabbit?" The demon king said, his face one of slight shock as he looked at the girl in front of him. He had prepared himself for what to expect when he ascended with the information that was in the ring he possessed. But, when he opened his eyes, he didn''t expect to see a crying girl wearing clothes the color of fire, seemingly oddly familiar, but at the same time, he was confident he had never seen her before. And the first words out of her mouth sounded so much like the way that the little rabbit would call him, that those words just slipped out of his mouth. Even he didn''t know why he thought that she was similar to the little rabbit, when she looked so different. Not only that, but the little rabbit was already dead. He had buried her himself. Although, there were certainly techniques that would allow cultivators to reincarnate... "H-h-how," Yin Mei was so shocked that even her tears stopped as she froze in place, looking at the demon king dumbfounded. What the f*ck, just one phrase of your majesty let him see through her identity? What was this godly perception? The two stared at each other, both shocked. One because the person he thought was dead was alive in another body, the other because her identity had been seen through so easily even after all her worrying these years. After a while, Yin Mei realized what a mess she must look like so she quickly wiped her face and cleaned herself up a little before clearing her throat and asking, "how did you know it was me?" She was really curious. "Instinct," the demon king replied curtly, but was also really surprised that the little rabbit was really this girl in front of him. "How are you still alive? And in the upper realm?" His voice grew slightly cold, for some reason, and Yin Mei couldn''t help straighten her spine up a little, feeling as if she was once again back in the lower realms in those days when she was still serving the demon king in the palace (that experience only lasted about week though...). "Um... something like a special technique? Because I was about to die, I used it to transfer my soul to a body in the upper realm." Yin Mei replied. She had technically told the truth, so the demon king couldn''t see through anything and just nodded. "Oh, Yang, you can''t tell this to anyone okay? My family doesn''t know that I reincarnated from the lower realm," Yin Mei said, remember the existence of the large boy behind her. Yang nodded, feeling sad that she had clearly forgotten about his existence until now. So she was from the lower realm and had been waiting this entire time for this man here? He gazed warily at the man. It really was an appearance that could seduce all manners of people. Actually, now that he had ascended and gone through another round of purification, the demon king was somehow even more beautiful than before, if that was even possible. It was like he transcended the bounds of mortal comprehension, his appearance so dazzling that if a human looked at him, they would definitely end up fainting. Because Yin Mei was so preoccupied, she had yet to notice though. "Your Majesty, here I''m a member of the phoenix clan! Although you''re now a dragon, you can still come to my clan as a guest elder. I can bring you to meet the Jade Emperor as well." Yin Mei said. She could sense that others were quickly coming from the capital city, and so quickly wanted to take the demon king back home so that he wouldn''t go following around or seducing some random people. It would be the absolute worst if he got kidnapped by some stranger! She especially couldn''t let that dragon clan get their hands on him. The demon king nodded, leaving everything to Yin Mei. After all, he was already used to this back in the lower realm, so he just naturally slipped back into his old habits. Although he was a little angry that he had mourned for nothing, but there was more relief that she wasn''t truly dead and here safe and sound... He was also glad. That mysterious feeling that plagued him, after seeing her, had also disappeared. Yin Mei hurriedly rushed the other two back into the capital city and to the phoenix clan''s palace. Of course, she brought the demon king to meet her parents and her brothers. The family stared at Yin Mei who was introducing the demon king. They stared at her, and her reddened eyes from freshly crying, flushing pink cheeks, and sly glances toward an unbelievably beautiful man. In unison, all four of them thought: What in the world happened while we were gone?? There eyes immediately turned to probe Yang, who they had gradually accepted as the man that Yin Mei was interested. But out pops a new man from nowhere, who was even more of a beauty than their own daughter (of course, they wouldn''t admit that). Yang was too busy glaring at the demon king to take notice of their gazes though. Seeing this situation, they exchanged glances between each other and realized how dangerous this situation was! The girl that their family doted on the most and treasured like the pearl of their eye... had fallen in love! Yin Mei suddenly sneezed, and wondered if she had caught a cold? Could immortal cultivators even catch colds?? After she finished introducing the demon king, her father nodded seriously, politely greeting him and having a servant guide him to the guest quarters. Yin Mei wanted to personally do it, but her father said in a very serious tone that he had something to talk about with her. Because she was still worried, they had Yang accompany him. Only then did she feel a little more relaxed and stayed behind, wondering what in the world made them so serious. "Xiao Hua, you must be tired. Take a seat," Feng Hua''s mother said, gesturing to a seat with a kind and gentle smile on her face. Even though she was middle aged already, she still looked very dignified and glamorous, and though her face already showed some wrinkles, it was clear that she had been a beauty in her youth and still was quite stunning now. Yin Mei was confused, but obediently sat down as her mother sat down next to her. "Xiao Hua, what do you think about that person just now?" Everyone in the family looked keenly toward her, waiting for her answer. "What I think about him??" Yin Mei was confused, but wasn''t really able to answer this. He was her employer and her big thigh, and...?? She didn''t really know how to put what she thought of him into words, aside from perhaps the fact that he was really beautiful. Thinking of that, Yin Mei then said very seriously, "He''s very beautiful." "Eh?" This wasn''t quite the answer the family was expecting. "He''s really, really beautiful." Yin Mei repeated, as if this fact just couldn''t be emphasized enough. And it really couldn''t. She felt that unless one saw him in person, they wouldn''t be able to fully understand just how deadly his beauty was. After saying that again, the family actually came to somewhat of an understanding. The thing is, phoenixes really liked beautiful things. They like beautiful people, beautiful scenery, beautiful everything. So, they clearly understood that Feng Hua had been enamored by the demon king''s beauty. But they also didn''t know how to feel about this. Would she just stay in love with his beautiful face, or perhaps it would end up something more? In the end, they could only let her go. In the next few days, the demon king was introduced by the phoenix clan to the Jade Emperor, who was very happy, as anyone who had the ability to ascend from the lower realm to the upper realm had very good talent and potential. Especially someone who could overcome this obstacle known as the dragon gate. Yin Mei met up with the dragon king in his guest room, and felt that it wasn''t good enough so had ordered some servants to bring in a bunch of treasures to decorate it and make it feel more lived in. She also took out those treasures that she had found from the ancient city (save her peeping tom water basin) and gave them to the demon king excitedly. The demon king calmly accepted them. For some reason, his little rabbit seemed to really enjoy finding treasures and then giving them to him. He could only think that this was her hobby, but it vaguely reminded him of a suitor trying to woo someone. It couldn''t be that the little rabbit thought of him in that way? The demon king didn''t think that was the case. After all, she had always been so eager to get him together with that furnace... He was glad that he had killed that person off. Now there wasn''t anyone for the little rabbit to try and matchmake him with. The thing that he had the most complaints about was that in the time the little rabbit wasn''t by his side, she had actually picked up a fly that constantly flew around her. Just seeing this fly made the demon king feel very irritated for some reason. It seemed he just couldn''t take his eyes off of her, or she would attract all sorts of unwanted attention. Yin Mei thus obtained another little follower, making her speechless. What the f*ck, Yang, can you not teach my demon king bad things please? (A/N: Zombie apocalypse was much more popular than I expected, so I''ll give it some serious consideration, tho I did want to break up the action with a slightly more relaxed world since I felt that if she goes into a zombie apocalypse right after this, YM really would have a hard time handling it. Also a couple people raised concerns over the 2nd male lead''s ending, and I see you. I actually didn''t initially plan on including a second male lead precisely because I didn''t want that drama and I would feel bad for him, so I will take that into consideration as well.) 21 Dragon and Phoenix 10 "It''s almost time for the entrance of Talkan''s Realm to open," Yin Mei said, as she was today, once again, visiting the demon king in his room. It was practically her own room now, as she had decorated it as she wished with treasures that she found pleasing to the eye. She, like in the past, poured the demon king a cup of her personally brewed tea and placed a platter of snacks made by their chef in front of him. It had been a while since the demon king had ascended, and with the full support of the phoenix clan behind him, along with the help of good items bestowed by the Jade Emperor, his cultivation was increasing by leaps and bounds. That being said, he still couldn''t compare to the weakest person from their generation yet, as the difference was really too big to be breached by only a couple of months. He would probably need several decades before he could catch up to Yin Mei or Long Aotian''s level of cultivation. Yin Mei wasn''t keen on waiting that long, but if the demon king rushed his cultivation anymore, then his foundation wouldn''t be strong enough to compete with Long Aotian anyways. So she could only try to find treasures that would be able to increase his cultivation without harming his foundation. "Talkan''s Realm, huh?" The demon king seemed thoughtful. Yin Mei had already explained what Talkan''s Realm was to the demon king. It was a mustard seed dimension created by a golden age expert, a so called small world, and had his legacy inside it. The most mysterious thing about Talkan''s Realm was that it never ran out of treasures. Yin Mei could understand the treasures such as plants and corpses of demon beasts, as it was a living world, but she couldn''t fathom how it didn''t run out of treasures that couldn''t be so easily refreshed like that. But, that was a mystery for another day. "Our phoenix clan this time has received 50 entry slots. It''s 20 slots more than last time," Yin Mei said, thinking that the Jade Emperor''s favor was really obvious. She would need to have the clan be more restrained in their actions, but considering that nature of the phoenix, they would be hard pressed to do so. Among the phoenix clan, the only people going would be the younger generation. This was because there was a limit in age that was allowed into Talkan''s Realm, with all people entering required to be younger than two thousand years old. For the people of the upper realm, who could live several times beyond that, below a thousand years was certainly only people of the younger generation. Feng Hua was already 300 years old, while Long Aotian was more than twice her age at 700 years. As for the demon king, Yin Mei guessed he was already nearing five digits. Probably even he couldn''t tell her his own age, as at that point, many people would have long stopped counting. Normally speaking, the demon king wouldn''t be able to enter Talkan''s realm. But what was different with the demon king was that he was not originally of the upper realm, and had ascended through the dragon gate. Ascending was a process of rebirth and rejuvenation... in other words, his true age could no longer be read from his bones. If one did so, it would result in a confusing reading of a mere two digit age. Yin Mei was happy that the demon king would be able to come with them inside the Talkan''s Realm, though she also rudely thought that it wouldn''t make a difference if he did. Aside from using his seductive appearance to charm others, currently his cultivation was still too low to compete with the elite younger generation of the noble clans. At the very least, his current repertoire of treasures would be able to keep him from getting killed, but could not guarantee much else. But, she wasn''t particularly worried. After all, the amount of life saving treasures she had given him was really enough to the point that one couldn''t kill him even if they tried. When the time came for Talkan''s Realm to open, Yin Mei met up with her friends once again. Mao Mao couldn''t help but tease her for having two flowers on each hand (Yang and She Ming), to which Yin Mei could only roll her eyes at. "It''s Long Aotian and Yao Ling," Mao Mao suddenly said, and they all turned their eyes to look. There was a slightly weariness in Long Aotian''s brows, and perhaps even a awkwardness to the air between the two lovers. Although it had already been many years since Long Aotian brought Yao Ling back from the border, they hadn''t ever gotten engaged due to the various situations that had happened and the vehement opposition from Long Aotian''s parents. On one hand was Long Aotian, who had continuously suffered from setbacks after getting together with Yao Ling, and on the other hand was Yao Ling, who was definitely not as pure and virtuous as Long Aotian had believed her to be. In the past, they had solidified their love by overcoming this obstacle known as Feng Hua, but currently, they were facing an obstacle that no matter what, they couldn''t seem to overcome. Most normal couples wouldn''t be able to withstand this sort of pressure, but Yin Mei didn''t know if the male and female leads would be any different. "A true love that can overcome any obstacles..." Yin Mei murmured, looking over at them before her lips curled up into a smile. "Hehehe," She couldn''t help but let slip out a soft laughter. She like reading about those sorts of true love in books, and though she was a realist, who didn''t wish for something so romantic at least once in her life? But, this was reality, and this so called true love that could overcome all obstacles? Such a fantastical thing should only stay in those dreams and stories. The people around her looked at her oddly. They were all cultivators so could hear her words loud and clear, but didn''t know what to make of them. Looking at her expression, her smile seemed extremely vicious and cruel, although at the same time so beautiful that it was hard to take their eyes off of her. "Feng Hua, just ignore them. They aren''t worth your time." Gui Neng said. She thought that Yin Mei had already gotten over it after all this time, but it was clear that she still was holding a grudge. Gui Neng decided that she would secretly place a bad luck curse on them once they entered Talkan''s Realm. See if they would be able to come out with their lives then, let alone gain anything of use. While she was at it, should she try that curse that she just recently learned? Or maybe she should- While Gui Neng was caught up in her scheming, the entrance to Talkan''s Realm had begun to open. The friends each returned to their respective clans after bidding farewell, waiting for their turn to enter. The bustling people one by one filtered into the realm through the portal. Walking through, it was another world on the inside filled with even thicker energy and beautiful scenery. They were currently standing on hilly green plains. To their right was a vast forest, and further north of the that were sharp mountain ranges. On the other hand, to the left the plains extended for some time before merging into a desert, where some ruins and a very tall tower could be spotted. Somewhere around here should also be an ocean, though that was rather far and on the other side of the forest. Yin Mei''s goal was the tower to the west. This tower was a mysterious existence in the Talkan''s Realm. Although the ruins could be entered and possessed many treasures, this tower was the only thing that couldn''t be entered. No matter how high one went, there wasn''t a single door or window. Many people theorized that the legacy of this realm''s creator was inside the tower, but in the end, no one could figure out a way to get inside. In this storyline, Long Aotian and Yao Ling would find an underwater palace while being chased by monsters inside the ocean. After wandering inside this palace while lost for a few days, they would chance upon a teleportation array that could would bring them inside the tower. And then they would spend years upon years working to pass the trials set by the tower, actually missing the closing of the realm entrance and having to leave when the entrance opened twenty years later. Although Yin Mei wasn''t sure about staying inside the tower for twenty years, the legacy was truly something good and even if they didn''t obtain it, the rewards for completing each floor of the tower was also worth it. She wanted the demon king to try his hand at this no matter what. The best thing was, was that one''s cultivation level wasn''t important in these trials, which tested talent and potential instead of cultivation. Yin Mei had also decided to bring her friends along. There wasn''t any competition in terms of competing for the legacy in the completion of the trials, and Yin Mei also didn''t mind sharing this boon with the others. She gathered up all those she had treasure hunted with last time, along with her two brothers, and of course Yang and the demon king, who both never left her side. "I discovered a way into the tower, but we might not be able to leave it for several years." Yin Mei bluntly said, and no one questioned her. These sorts of things people wouldn''t usually question others, as they knew that they would have their own means that they prefer to keep secret. "Several years? Do you mean that we''ll probably have to wait until the entrance reopens twenty years later?" Hu Xi asked the question that was on everyone''s mind. "Probably," Yin Mei said. Even the first trial had taken several months for the male and female lead, and the entrance to Talkan''s Realm was only open for one month. The group had to give pause for thought, but not for long. Actually, the only person who had responsibilities that could potentially keep him from going was Feng Hua''s eldest brother Feng Tian, but even for him a twenty year absence wasn''t a terribly big deal. Just treating it like going into closed seclusion for twenty years and there was no problem. Many members and heirs of the noble clans would constantly go into closed seclusion for decades at a time. They all left for the forest after giving voice recording orbs to their clansmen in case they didn''t come out in time to send to their parents and tell them not to worry. Knowing that they would probably miss the closing of the entrance anyways, none of them were in a hurry, leisurely walking through the forest and heading toward the ocean, picking up anything that looked good along the way and teaming up to kill any powerful monsters they encountered. Yin Mei knew that the male and female lead shouldn''t enter the underwater palace until near the end of the one month, so she didn''t feel particularly rushed either. "Is that a dragon bone sword? Pretty good workmanship," Hu Rong commented when she saw the demon king wielding the sword that Yin Mei had obtained for him so long ago. Yin Mei felt nostalgic, as that was the result of her first treasure stealing trip. "It''s from the lower realm," Yin Mei commented. "Such a good thing was actually in the lower realm?" Hu Xi said, and the others were also very surprised. This was still a very good sword even in the upper realm, so for it to be something that had been in the lower realm was a shock. After all, it was widely acknowledged that the lower realm was inferior to the upper realm in all ways, be it the density of qi, the quality of treasures and craftsmanship, and the techniques they possessed... so one could not be surprised that they were astonished. Feng Tian and Feng Liu were also surprised. They had initially thought that that sword was some treasure that their little sister had given the demon king, probably something she had found when she had gone to the ancient city. But who knew it was actually something from the lower realm? The demon king didn''t say anything, and the others didn''t mind either. Although the demon king followed around Yin Mei all they time so it could be said that the group wasn''t unfamiliar with him and vice versa, they couldn''t be said to be familiar with each other either. The group continued chit chatting and before long, they reached the ocean on the east side of the forest, the trees giving way to stones and then a sandy beach. The sand was actually a fairy like pink color, just like the beaches in the Caribbean in Yin Mei''s old world, while contrasting with the beautiful sea green ocean, it was a truly magical looking sight, deceiving to the eye as it hid all sorts of monsters underneath its calm surface. "Y- here," Yin Mei said, about to call our your majesty before she quickly changed her words and handed an underwater breathing pearl bracelet to the demon king. She wasn''t able to get rid of this habit of calling him your majesty even though she was no longer his servant, but if the others actually heard her say that she wouldn''t know how to explain it to them... what if they thought she had some weird fetish or something? The group all took out their own underwater breathing pearls, and wore them on their body. With this, even if they didn''t practice any special breathing techniques, they wouldn''t need to worry as this would form a bubble of breathable air around their bodies. "I''ll go first," Feng Tian said, walking forward. 22 Dragon and Phoenix 11 They one by one entered the water, the world underneath illuminated by the shining sun. Walking on the ground, they went deeper and deeper until they had to light a few spells to see. Because there were quite a few strong monsters lurking underwater and none of them here were particularly specialized at underwater combat, Yin Mei put up several talismans for a protective barrier to hide them from sight, not wanting to catch the attention of any nasty monsters. Mao Mao used a search technique and pinpointed a vague location that she guessed could be where the palace was. The palace had a more complex formation that resembled the one Yin Mei was using on her talismans, in that it hid the existence of the palace from monsters. But, that didn''t make it impossible to find, though the male and female leads had only chanced upon it by coincidence. The place that Mao Mao had targeted was an area that no monsters approached even after a long amount of time had passed by. This was the most likely place that would be the underwater palace. The group of them had to walk for an unknown number of days before they reached this area. At first glance, it didn''t look like there was anything, but Feng Tian walked forward and with the noticeable ripple of a barrier, disappeared from sight. The rest of them followed, and before their eyes a large unlit palace appeared before them. They had reached their first goal. The second was to find the teleportation array. Yin Mei had no worries about finding this. Although Long Aotian and Yao Ling had relied on luck and had wandered through the palace for a long time before finding it, their group knew exactly what they were looking for. Mao Mao launched another search technique. Of their group, Mao Mao had the best senses. As expected of their party''s rogue class, she quickly found several places that had teleportation arrays. The only problem was that they wouldn''t know where they would lead unless they tried them out. It wasn''t a really big deal, just that it would be a giant pain. They walked into every single room with a teleportation array, setting up one time use return talismans each time before using them. The teleportation array to the tower happened to end up as the very last room they visited. Knowing that it was the last one, they could only pray that this was the correct array. Feng Tian, the oldest of the bunch, once more stepped forward with a brave heart and activated it, disappearing. Several minutes passed by. Usually by now, he would have used the talisman to return. "This one should probably be the array?" Yao Lan said, when Feng Tian still didn''t come back. "No matter if it is or isn''t, either way we should go through. If not just to make sure Feng Tian hasn''t died yet," Hu Rong said in return. "Hey, what if you jinx it?" Mao Mao said, though they all agreed that they should first go through and check on Feng Tian. "You guys go first. I''ll be there later," Yin Mei suddenly said. She already knew that this was the array to the tower the moment Feng Tian didn''t come back, and so wasn''t worried. "I have some business that I need to take care of." After all, if she left, she could stay here and make sure that the male and female lead were unable to enter the tower right? Of course, several people had objections to that. "I have some personal business." The way that Yin Mei said it left no rooms for objection. She had on a stubborn expression, one that wouldn''t take no for an answer. Feng Liu knew that his sister could no longer be persuaded and so could only leave. The others followed. Yang clearly wanted to stay, but a glare from Yin Mei caused him to retreat slightly. Yao Lan tugged on his sleeve, and in the end, while shooting glances back at the girl, he still left. The only ones who remained were Yin Mei and the demon king. "Your Majesty, you should also leave." Yin Mei said, but the demon king didn''t say anything, as if silently protesting against Yin Mei''s words. Yin Mei could only give up with an exasperated expression. She turned around, about to walk away when the demon king grabbed her wrist. "Where are you going?" He asked with a furrowed brow, looking like a stubborn child. "..." Yin Mei didn''t answer, staring at the demon king''s hand that was wrapped around her wrist. The demon king''s furrowed brow grew deeper when Yin Mei didn''t answer, so he tugged her close to him, enveloping her in his embrace as he sat down, still hugging her. At this point, Yin Mei''s brain had completely short circuited and she had turned bright red, unable to form any sort of coherent thought. The demon king wasn''t sure why he felt like this, but he had the feeling that if he let the little rabbit out of his sight, history would certainly repeat itself. It was because he wasn''t by her side last time that she had died. If he hadn''t been in secluded cultivation, then she never would have gone out to have fun in the human world without him, and thus would have never died. Although at first the demon king had followed Yin Mei around because he had been annoyed by that fly known as Yang, he also had this reason in mind when doing so. He very much believed that his negligence was the reason that the little rabbit had died. For some reason, when Yin Mei had turned around just now, he had flashbacks toward when he had realized that she died. He didn''t know why, but he felt that if he didn''t grab onto her now, she would suddenly disappear. If Yin Mei knew what the demon king was thinking, she would definitely shout at him to stop killing her off. She was still perfectly healthy and had no intentions of suicide, okay? But Yin Mei couldn''t read minds, and she was currently suffering the greatest problem she had ever faced in her life - being hugged by a beauty. More so than killing the former male lead in the lower realm or living on the run for seven years as a treasure hunter, this problem was much greater. It was a direct one-hit KO. After a while like this, Yin Mei was slowly able to grow slightly used to it and gather her thoughts. She was still extremely embarrassed, but was actually able to think now. She was trying to come up with all sorts of reasons as to why this was happening, but only confused herself in doing so. In the end, she could only stay as still as possible, the awkward silence between them slowly making her feel like she was going crazy, and that this was, in fact, all a hallucination. "I''m a corpse, I''m a corpse, I''m a corpse," she continuously thought to herself, even starting to chant the heart sutra in order to calm down. She thought this would never end, and it in fact lasted for another several weeks before the male and female lead finally arrived much to her relief. Curse those cultivators that could stay like this for years without eating or going to the bathroom! She never thought she would be thankful for the presence of the male and female lead, but this situation was really too bad for her heart. Long Aotian who walked in on this sight was practically blinded by these two flirting lovebirds. He completely misunderstood, but in this situation, there was no way someone wouldn''t. For some reason, he felt slightly irritated. Although he and Yin Mei had already broken their engagement several years ago, Long Aotian still felt oddly possessive toward her at this moment. For the arrogant Long Aotian, of course it would be unacceptable for someone who was once his woman to get over him and get together with someone else. If Yin Mei heard this, she would definitely drown Long Aotian in spit. You abandoned Feng Hua for another woman, but can''t stand it if she abandons you for another man? What a hypocrite! "Hmph, what are you two lovers doing here?" Yin Mei said with a scornful expression, though because she was sitting and being embraced by a beauty, the scene took on an entirely different feel. Not being able to stand being looked down upon, Yin Mei got up, though She Ming still stubbornly held onto her. "We''re looking for the exit. Does big sister Feng know where it is?" Yao Ling said, putting on an expression that seemed to demand pity. Yin Mei sneered. This woman steals Feng Hua''s man and still has the guts to actually refer to her as big sister? "I don''t! Go look somewhere else!" She said in a domineering manner. Yao Ling immediately made a look as if she was being bullied, her eyes darting to the teleportation array behind them. "But... that teleportation array..." She cautiously started. "I said go look someone else. Who are you to have the courage to talk back to me?" Yin Mei looked at Yao Ling with a chilling gaze, her voice dropping by a few degrees. "Feng Hua! That''s enough. Don''t bully Yao Ling, what did she ever do to you?" Long Aotian couldn''t continue watching his woman get bullied and so stepped in, putting himself between Yao Ling and Yin Mei. Yin Mei looked at him scornfully. "Just a little member of a branch family and she dares talk back to me? It seems that her parents didn''t teach her properly. As expected of the daughter of an illegitimate son, she only amounts to this much." Yin Mei didn''t like saying this, because she believed that people couldn''t choose their birth, but seeing Yao Ling''s ugly expression she was filled with an intense satisfaction. "Feng Hua!" Long Aotian''s tone grew harsher. Yin Mei snorted, but also didn''t continue. But, the demon king didn''t like the tone that Long Aotian was using with his little rabbit, and glared at the man with despise. Because Yin Mei was being hugged from the back by the demon king, she couldn''t see his expression, just seeing that Long Aotian was clearly upset. He didn''t like the way that the demon king was looking at him. Just a serpent that relied on luck to come through the dragon gate, who did he think he was? Long Aotian snorted, raising his hand and launching a technique, causing the demon king to let go of Yin Mei and kneel to the ground, clutching his chest in pain, his face going pale. "Long Aotian, you dare!" Yin Mei was immediately outraged when she saw this, throwing a blade of phoenix fire at him. For some reason, Long Aotian was unable to dodge it, taking the blade and grunting in pain. It was a fatal wound. Actually, Long Aotian and Yao Ling had been gravely injured when they had arrived her from being chased by the demonic beasts and he had just been able to barely heal himself, but was still in a weakened state. Because of this, he was unable to dodge Yin Mei''s attack. But Yin Mei had no time to think about this, hurriedly handing the demon king a pill. He already seemed much better, as Yin Mei''s attack caused Long Aotian to release the technique he had been using on She Ming. "Big brother Tian!" Yao Ling cried out pitifully, her tears like dew on a peach blossom, looking very beautiful. She then glared at Yin Mei. "How could you hurt big brother Tian? If it''s because of me, then you should take your anger out on me, not big brother Tian!" She said. Excuse me? Yin Mei felt like this female lead was an idiot. What did this have to do with you at all? Wasn''t she clearly taking revenge for her demon king? Who cared about you? "Who cares about someone like you? You''re just a little child of an illegitimate child. Don''t overestimate yourself." Yao Ling''s face grew pale as she wanted to spit blood at Yin Mei''s words. Illegitimate child this, illegitimate child that, it''s not like she chose to be born of the illegitimate branch okay? Of course Yin Mei knew this, but such a good way to anger the female lead, how could she give it up? Yin Mei looked down at the injured and kneeling Long Aotian, who was glaring at her. Wait, wasn''t this the perfect opportunity to get rid of the male lead? Once such a thought entered her head, it wouldn''t go away no matter what. Her lips curled up into a smile, making Long Aotian and Yao Ling feel uneasy. "This is just perfect. I''ve always been waiting for this moment." Yin Mei''s voice was sweet, but to Long Aotian and Yao Ling it felt like the claws of the devil reaching up from hell to drag them down, colder than ice. "This is self-defense okay? I had no choice." Yin Mei said, justifying herself as she took her sword out from her storage ring. "Just blame your own bad luck." 23 Dragon and Phoenix 12 With a wave of her sword, she brought it down on Long Aotian. Just before her sword was about to hit him, he pushed Yao Ling away, activating an escape technique and she disappeared. "Saving that girl even as you''re about to die? How sweet." Yin Mei said, but her sword didn''t pause and she cut through him, causing him to collapse onto the floor. He coughed up blood, glaring at Yin Mei. "Don''t think you''ll get away with this," He growled. Yin Mei shrugged, looking indifferent. "Now that you''re gone, there''s no need to." That''s right, even if she was imprisoned, at this point, it didn''t matter. Once the demon king obtained the legacy from the tower, with the support of the phoenix clan behind him, him changing his title from demon king to dragon king was inevitable. The biggest obstacle was already gone. Everything after this would be smooth sailing. As for Yao Ling, it was just her luck that the entrance to Talkan''s Realm had already closed. She would have to wait until it opened again in twenty years before she could do anything. Long Aotian, seeing Yin Mei''s uncaring attitude, was literally angered to death, coughing up one more mouthful of blood before passing. Yin Mei looked down coldly at his cooling body. She didn''t seem to feel anything when looking at him, and wondered if she had lost something fundamental for a human. She felt a slight fear, though quickly got over it after a couple of moments. But, thankfully the protagonists died much easier than she always thought they would. She was grateful that the life force of a cockroach characteristic seemed to be weak in Long Aotian and the ninth prince, or who knows how much extra effort she would have to expend to complete her mission. She wasn''t sure why this was the case, but she didn''t care too much as it was only beneficial to her. "Your Majesty, let''s go through the teleportation array now." Yin Mei said, turning to look toward the demon king, who had already completely recovered from whatever it is that Long Aotian had done to him. The demon king looked at her and nodded. This scene reminded him of the one from a long time ago... Although Yin Mei had already changed, the images overlapped and he couldn''t help but pat her head again. Yin Mei was startled, but the stress in her body that she didn''t even notice she had completely melted away. The two walked through the teleportation array after Yin Mei looted and burned Long Aotian''s corpse. In no time, twenty years passed. The members of the group all left the tower at different times, until only Yin Mei and the demon king remained inside. Soon, Yin Mei also left. She met up with the rest of the group, who had set up talismans around the tower to notify them when someone would appear after exiting. "It''s almost time for the entrance to open again," she said as they all nodded. None of them discussed what they had gained inside the tower, as that would be rude. Yin Mei looked to the tower. She never had any doubts that the demon king would obtain the legacy of the tower. She believed that he was even more suitable than Long Aotian. It took another week until the demon king also left. Walking out, he had actually advanced by two large realms and could now be barely on par with the weaker members of the noble families. It was clear that he made great gains while in the tower. The members of their group returned to meet up with their respective clan members, spending the rest of the time inside Talkan''s Realm as they pleased until it was time to leave. Exiting and returning home, the first thing that Yin Mei''s parents did was to dote on them and spoil them, having been going through withdrawal symptoms from not seeing their daughter for so long. As for their two sons, these grown men, who had the time to care for them? Feng Tian and Feng Liu: ... Well, we also are too busy doting on our sister to care. But that didn''t last long. A few days later, Yin Mei was called by the emperor. On the way to the palace, Yin Mei looked up at the sky. She guessed that she would probably be imprisoned, for a maximum of a thousand years maybe? "Big brother... promise me you''ll help She Ming ascend the dragon throne," she said, to her older brother who was accompanying her. Feng Tian was surprised, wondering what brought this on. He recalled that Long Aotian had never come back from Talkan''s Realm and thought of something. He looked directly at Yin Mei, who calmly gazed back. "... I promise," in the end, he could only say this. When they reached the emperor''s audience chamber, Yin Mei saw that Yao Ling was already kneeling there and nodded, as expected it was for this matter. Yin Mei and Feng Tian both kneeled down. Yin Mei recalled that this was her second time meeting the Jade Emperor, though in Feng Hua''s memories, she had already met him several times before. "There is a witness who says that you killed the heir to the dragon clan, Long Aotian. Is this true?" The Jade Emperor didn''t put on airs, getting directly to the point. His voice was calm and gentle, but had a dignity that belonged only to an emperor, commanding great respect from the listener. "Yes," Yin Mei also didn''t beat around the bush, honestly admitting to her crime. In the first place, the Jade Emperor had the ability to see through lies, so what was the point? "I see, describe what happened." The Jade Emperor said. He liked this girl, and although he would have to punish her for this crime, depending on the circumstances he could make that punishment lighter without being accused of favoring others. "I and my companion were at an underwater palace in Talkan''s Realm, when Long Aotian and Yao Ling appeared. They asked if we knew where the exit was, to which we replied that it wasn''t here and that they should look elsewhere. For some reason, Long Aotian launched an attack technique at my companion and in my rage, I attacked Long Aotian. Who knew that he had been weakened for some reason and didn''t dodge? In the end, he died. Your Majesty, as you can see, this could all be considered self-defense." Yin Mei said. The way she had worded it made none of it appear like a lie. She just never told the entire truth. The Jade Emperor may be able to see through lies, but in the end, his ability had constraints. Well, the Jade Emperor should know that best. But, if she said it this way, he would have an excuse for giving her a lighter punishment. "Your Majesty, that''s not what happened! She clearly killed Big Brother Tian because she had a grudge against him for breaking their engagement-" Yao Ling immediately leapt up to complain, but was immediately silenced by a voice from the Jade Emperor. "Insolence! Who gave you the right to speak?" He said, bringing the staff in his hand down loudly. "The youngest daughter of the phoenix clan told no lies. Initially the punishment of killing a noble clan''s heir would be death with no chance of reincarnation, but in light of the circumstances, I will only sentence the daughter of the phoenix clan to sealed imprisonment of five hundred years." Yin Mei had a pleasant surprise. It seemed the Jade Emperor favored her more than she thought he did, directly cutting her predicted imprisonment time in half. But, well, five hundred years was still a lot... she wondered if she would go crazy with boredom? Feng Tian was feeling extremely frustrated, glaring at Yao Ling with a vengeance. Yin Mei had already been prepared for all this, and there was nothing he could do. He could only resolve to take revenge on Yao Ling later. Yin Mei was thus chained up and sealed inside the capital''s prison tower, on the lowest level, strung up on the wall like some sort of voodoo doll. Although it was a little uncomfortable, something like this was no big deal. Well, even five hundred years was a bit long for a younger cultivator like her, but even that could be considered nothing much. Just about enough time for a long nap. And, to top it off, Yin Mei had the handy dandy system available to her, that would allow her to monitor the situation of the female lead. Oh wait! Yin Mei realized that she could have also used this to monitor the demon king instead of the water basin. Oh well, either one would have worked. And so, Yin Mei spent her time in imprisonment watching TV. She delightedly watched as the phoenix clan slowly tortured Yao Ling, and as step by step, the demon king ascended the throne four hundred years later. She even watched as that girl Yao Ling started to develop a crush on Yang, and as Mao Mao got together with Feng Tian. She was amazed, completely unable to predict these developments. Hell, even Gui Neng''s feelings for that suitor of hers from the Qilin family were slowly changing from hate to like! It was practically like watching a never ending soap drama. "Main mission has been completed, but due to unexpected changes in the villain''s mindset, the system will recalculate a new mission." These words from the system immediately changed her delight toward the demon king becoming the dragon king into rage. "What the f*ck! This is a rip off! System, come back here, I promise I won''t kill you!" But no matter how much she yelled at the system, it never replied. After a few years, she calmed down as she pondered the meaning of the system''s words. She wondered what was going on through the demon king''s - wait, now dragon king''s - mind. She was then angry at She Ming. Why wasn''t the dragon throne enough for you? What else do you want!? But she would never get an answer to that question. A few years before she was to be released, Yao Ling paid her a visit. She showed the true cockroach survivability of a protagonist, unlike the other three before her, still not dead despite what she had gone through under the hands of the phoenix clan and the reborn dragon clan. But, she still retained her pretty looks and had actually bribed and slept with one of the small time guards here to get inside and meet Yin Mei. Yin Mei looked down at Yao Ling, her face clearly showing an expression of amusement. "So why are you here, looking for this humble prisoner." She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You, we both know you intentionally killed big brother Tian because he dumped you for me! Why is it that not even the Jade Emperor will listen to me, even though I''m telling the truth? He even weakened your punishment by so much. In a few years time, you''ll leave the tower and be welcomed with open arms, while big brother Tian will never come back!" Yao Ling glared fiercely at Yin Mei, who looked at her as if she was crazy. "I killed him because he was an obstacle. With him in the way, She Ming wouldn''t have been able to become the dragon king so easily. Don''t flatter yourself, brat." Yin Mei really looked down on Yao Ling''s mindset that the world had to revolve around her. She sneered at the girl, clearly enjoying Yao Ling''s misfortune. Yao Ling was so angered that her eyes turned red with tears. She didn''t know why, but she just felt like things shouldn''t have ended up like this. The cause of all her misfortune was definitely the person in front of her. No matter what happened, this person still looked so beautiful and arrogant. Actually, after five hundred years, her hatred toward Yin Mei had transformed into a deep jealousy. She was no longer doing this because Yin Mei had killed Long Aotian, but because she herself was jealous of Yin Mei. Before she even realize it, a sword had appeared in her hands, going through Yin Mei''s stomach. Yin Mei was shocked, looking down at the blade that was piercing straight through her. "Holy f*ck it hurts!" She couldn''t help but think, as she coughed up a mouthful of blood. She also thought that the Jade Emperor should have definitely strengthened the security here. She would definitely hold a grudge against him for skimping out on her security in the afterlife. No, the most important thing was that she still had a mission to complete! That f*cking system never finished recalculating her main mission even after a hundred years! F*ck no, she had not spent five hundred years in a prison cell just for her mission to fail! But alas, for some reason, cultivators nowadays were so oddly weak as to die with a single slash of the blade or two. And so Yin Mei could only continue cursing as her consciousness faded, the last thing she heard was that accursed system saying, "The host has failed the mission. Please wait as the system transfers the host back into the rest space." F*cking hell! She wanted a refund! 24 Dragon and Phoenix Epilogue When Yin Mei was transferred back to the white room she was in after her first death, she needed a few moments to calm down the boiling rage in her heart. Only after kicking and punching the wall several times did she feel better. "Would host like to review what happens after host''s death?" The system said, only making Yin Mei even angrier. But no, she also wanted to know. Thinking this, she took several deep breaths to calm herself down before telling the system to play it. Watching, she saw the Jade Emperor sentence Yao Ling to eternal torture, her soul forever bathed in the flames of hell. As for that little guard she had seduced, his soul was destroyed with no chance of reincarnation. On the other hand, there was no place for the phoenix clan to vent their anger. Even after watching Yao Ling''s sentence, they still held a deep hatred with nowhere to vent. In the end, they teamed up with She Ming and eliminated the branch family Yao Ling had come from. Although the medicine king''s main family was a little outraged over their excessive actions, Feng Hua had also been friends with Yao Lan and Yao Yan, so they overlooked it in the end. But, such a thing was still not enough to curb the despair that came with the death of a dear family member. Several thousands of years passed. Feng Hua''s parents passed away without getting over Feng Hua''s death. On the other hand, Feng Tian married Mao Mao and took over the Feng clan, finally able to overcome the sadness that came with his sister''s death with her help. On the other hand, Feng Liu remained a playboy until the end, his habits getting even worse after Feng Hua died until he died trying to venture into death forest searching for a mythical flower that was said to be able to revive a person. As for Yin Mei''s other friends, they slowly got over her, time seeming to heal all wounds. Yang married Yao Lan, which surprised Yin Mei, but she was glad that he seemed happy. A loyal puppy was a good fit for Yao Lan, who was the type to sacrifice everything for love. Gui Neng married the heir to the Qilin family in the end, but she never seemed to give up trying to call back Feng Hua''s soul. But, who knew where the original Feng Hua''s soul had gone. As for Yin Mei''s soul, it was stuck here in this white space, so she was only destined to fail. And lastly was the demon king. In the end, he joined Feng Liu in never getting over Yin Mei''s death. He joined the phoenix clan in watching Yao Ling''s punishment and eradicating her family, but it never filled the hole he felt in his heart. He spent his years cultivating and visiting Feng Hua''s grave. But no matter how much he cultivated, that feeling he felt so many years ago had returned and this time, it wouldn''t go away no matter how long he waited. In the end, he gave birth to an inner demon and failed in advancing a realm, dying just like that. Til his death, he never figured out the name of the feeling that continued to bother him. He just thought that if there was a next life, he definitely wouldn''t let the little rabbit die again. Yin Mei only felt angrier when she watched all this. Okay, so some of her friends and her eldest brother were able to achieve happiness in the end, but what the hell was that ending for her parents and second eldest brother? And then the demon king, he actually ended up dying from an inner demon! What the actual- a;sjdfk;lewjleks@#%aler^A*##&!! She was so angry that she couldn''t even form coherent words. It once again took her a while to calm down. Only after she did did the system speak again. "Host may choose a skill to master in between every world no matter the results. Before the next world is chosen, please make you selection." The system said, as it showed a screen of skills to choose from. There were only a few: Cooking, Cleaning, and Etiquette. What the hell were these, did they want her to become a maid?? But, she was grateful that they let her choose a skill even though she had failed her mission. Only, would any of these even be useful in the next world? Her answer was definitely no! F*ck, just thinking of having to go to an even harder world was too depressing. She ended up choosing cooking, as she felt the ability to make good food was the best out of the three. "System will now transfer the host to the punishment world." System 097 said. Yin Mei could only pray that she would be able to complete her mission this time. Or else she might just go crazy if she got stuck in such high difficulty worlds all the time. 25 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 1 When Yin Mei opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the stench, and the second was the sounds. Yin Mei had always been sensitive to smell, so when she inhaled in that terrible smell of blood, rotting meat, and all things bad in this world, she immediately proceeded to vomit onto the ground. "Ew! God, vomit somewhere else!" A woman''s voice said, and Yin Mei was just barely able to grab ahold of what was going on around her. In her hands, she held a gun. She was behind some concrete slab, while the people around her occasionally looked beyond the cover to shoot at something. She had a bad feeling. "F*ck, I can''t be so unlucky right?" She muttered, wiping away the vomit at the edge of her mouth with her dirty shirt sleeve. A thousand grass mud horses trampled on her heart as she also took a peek at what lay beyond the concrete slab. Another sharp wave of nausea hit her. She was indeed just that unlucky. It was a zombie apocalypse. She could only grit her teeth and raise her gun up, firing several rounds into the skulls of the approaching zombie-things. Yin Mei was a decent shot, having a small amount of training in her original life, as her father had been in the military. But, she had also just finished living several centuries in an ancient xianxia world, so admittedly she was rusty. Only after she had wasted several bullets did she start getting back into the swing of things. If that xianxia world had taught her one thing, it was definitely patience. It took a while, but the zombies had finally all been killed off and the group took a break. Yin Mei sat down on a rock, disgusted with how dirty she felt. This was definitely worse than the xianxia world, if only because everything was so unclean. Going from a noble daughter of the upper realm to someone trudging along in the zombie apocalypse, it was literally like going from heaven to hell. She slowly began to review the information. As expected, this was a zombie apocalypse world. In addition, humans would awaken superpowers, so it was a zombie apocalypse plus superpower world. And to top it off, the male lead would also go back in time, so it was a classic zombie apocalypse + supernatural abilities + transmigrating back in time protagonist world. As for Yin Mei, she was actually this male lead''s ex-girlfriend. Frick, couldn''t she drop this title of the male lead''s ex-woman already? Anyways, to fully understand this world, it was required to explain a little further. In the original, original storyline, before the male lead went back in time, the male lead and Yin Mei''s current body, Lu Mei, had been lovers in the apocalypse. The male lead, whose name was Lei Han, had been a special forces soldier under the command of Lu Mei''s father. At the beginning of the apocalypse, Lu Mei''s father died saving Lei Han and he made a promise to his commander that he would definitely protect his daughter. After being together and weathering so many life and death situations, the two gradually fell in love before finally doing it and becoming official. But sadly, Lu Mei was only a cannon fodder so this happiness didn''t last forever. Ten years into the apocalypse, humanity had begun to carve out an existence in this wretched world, regaining some semblance of civilization as they established safe haven cities around the world. But, getting into one of these cities was really hard. In the end, Lu Mei betrayed Lei Han, selling him to a lab that experimented on humans (though for good reasons, their methods were less than ethical). She received quite a lot because Lei Han had a coveted lightning ability. In the lab, Lei Han was tortured day and night, his only solace a small apprentice researcher known as Ming Yu, the female lead, who secretly helped Lei Han because she had a crush on him. In the end, Lei Han died to the experiments, but he miraculously went back in time to ten years ago, when the apocalypse was just starting out! Of course, he got his revenge against Lu Mei and all those people at the lab and got together with his beloved light of his heart, Ming Yu. Lu Mei was speechless. He had actually heartlessly destroyed the only chance humanity had of creating a zombie cure, was he crazy? Not only that, but so cruelly torturing and killing his lover of 4 years and daughter of his life benefactor, even if she had betrayed him, wasn''t this a little too much? Like Yin Mei thought, she really couldn''t understand the thought process of these crazy people. Actually, Yin Mei might even be worse than those male and female leads, but she didn''t realize it. Currently, Yin Mei had just transmigrated into the period where Lei Han had also just transmigrated back a day or so ago. Lu Mei''s father had already died and she was traveling together with Lei Han. They had joined up with a small group of people and were trying to get to B City, which had a military base. This B City would also eventually become the safe haven in the future that house the lab that Lei Han had destroyed, but Lu Mei and Lei Han would have both left B City before that in order to find the rest of Lu Mei''s family. In this time around, Lei Han would definitely not leave B City for the sake of a hopeless goose chase, and instead firmly insist on staying in B City. In the end, Lu Mei had no one else to rely on so she could only also stay in B City. But, Lei Han would not support her at all and she would be left to fend for herself. Although she was the daughter of a military commander, she was a rich miss who had been spoiled for all her life, unable to do anything but sell her body in order to survive. Of course, she began harboring a grudge against Lei Han. It was only after awakening her ability, a water ability, was she able to live a little better as clean water was precious in the apocalypse. Now that Yin Mei had a general grasp of the situation, she shifted her attention to the villain and the main mission. The villain was actually... hahaha, the zombie emperor. Yin Mei wanted to kill herself. The villain was actually a zombie, wouldn''t she be eaten before she could help him? Why do all the other protagonists of the transmigrating systems seem to have such an easy time and it was only her who was suffering so much hardship?? She sighed, checking the main mission now. "Main mission: Help the zombie emperor escape from the lab." Yin Mei looked to the sky. Why is it only her? To explain the meaning of the mission, the zombie emperor''s overwhelming strength was the result of being experimented on during the early days of the apocalypse, at the same lab working on the cure for the zombie virus. Initially he could get out perfectly fine all on his own, so why is it that she had to act out the knight in shining armor and save him herself? She felt that if she saved him in advance, not only would the lab have less data and perhaps be unable to formulate the virus cure because of it, the zombie emperor would also be less powerful. Well, she guessed that there was one bonus in that it could potentially foster a sense of gratefulness in the zombie emperor toward her. That is, if the zombie emperor would be capable of coherent thought by the time she rescued him. If not, then she would just be his lunch ticket for the day. "Alright, if everyone is rested, then we''ll continue," the leader of the group said. He looked like an honest and leader-like sort of guy, though in the apocalypse, no one trusted anyone. After all, wasn''t it well known that the most dangerous thing in the apocalypse wasn''t zombies, but humans? But, this was also just the beginning of the apocalypse, so the people weren''t so jaded yet. Yin Mei hefted up her backpack that had been thrown nearby, taking a quick glance at this world''s male lead. Lei Han certainly appeared like the special agents soldier he was, looking very manly and handsome, with just the right amount of muscle to him. But, Yin Mei just had to say that he wasn''t her type. She thought that she preferred someone like She Ming... maybe she was traumatized because he was that sort of overly arrogant and chauvinistic type like Long Aotian. Or perhaps it was simply because he would be the one to kill her original body. She wasn''t quite sure and felt that both were perfectly legitimate concerns. Lei Han caught her looking, so she furrowed her brow and looked away, feeling slightly annoyed by his hostile gaze. She was only relieved that he wouldn''t make a move against her while they were on their way to B City, or she would tire herself out trying to guard against the male lead all the time. This body was already so weak, wouldn''t she just straight up die from exhaustion if she had to deal with the male lead on top of surviving? If her first complaint about this world was how filthy everything was and how she had to deal with rotting corpses scatter all over the grown, then her second complaint was how weak her current body was. She had lived so many years as a cultivator, that seemed to almost never grow tired or weak no matter what, that she was finding it difficult to adjust to being a weak mortal again. Especially in a world that required her to exert extra effort in order to survive. The only benefit of it was that Lu Mei''s ability could actually be considered very good. She had a water ability, and though it didn''t seem very strong at first, her water ability was actually a mutation that produced spirit water that could heal fatigue and minor wounds. Sadly, Lu Mei had yet to awaken her ability, so Yin Mei could only suffer until then. The group continued to trudge along, and Yin Mei knew that it would take them a couple of weeks until they could reach B City. Aside from a certain child that they would pick up along the way, there wasn''t anything really important. Yin Mei thought that if not for the constant hiding and killing zombies, it would be the perfect opportunity to plan out a course of action. She could only bear with things and think during the time that they were allowed to rest. The matter of Lei Han, for the moment, could be set aside. Lei Han didn''t do anything drastic until later on in the story, when he had gained enough power to take over B City and destroyed the lab. The important thing was stealing away Lei Han''s allies and rescuing the zombie emperor. In this zombie apocalypse world, the amount of treasures that could be found was infinitesimal, mostly existing in the form of energy cores that could be extracted from the head of a zombie. The true treasure here were the allies that Lei Han gathered up through the story, including but not limited to humanity''s elite from the former timeline. Since Yin Mei couldn''t steal treasures this time, then she would steal allies. She decided she would even steal the people that Lei Han didn''t make his allies, like the head researcher of the lab, whose brain was practically a national treasure. She disdained the fact that Lei Han had killed him instead of making use of him for the benefit of mankind. The first ally that she would steal would be the child that she had mentioned earlier. Ten years later, he would become one of humanity''s powerhouses. Wouldn''t it be hilarious if she grabbed him first and humanity''s powerhouse ended up on the side of the zombie emperor? She almost laughed out loud thinking of this. Although she was ultimately on the side of the humans, for the sake of the zombie emperor, she felt that she would have no choice but to switch sides to the zombies. As for whether or not zombies and humans could even work together, well, that was a question that she would have to save for later. 26 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 2 The child in question that Lei Han would pick up was currently only seven years old. Because of his young age, after his parents had died from zombies, no one was willing to help him as he would only be a burden. As a result, he had to fend for himself. In the original timeline, although he hated zombies and would constantly massacre them, he also had a distrust of humans and would never go out of his way to help them. But, in this current timeline, because Lei Han would rescue him from zombies and proceed to take care of him, he would treat the male lead like an elder brother and mentally depend on him. Yin Mei, of course, could not have this happening. Actually, only those in the future would know this, but children were this zombie world''s most precious resources. It may be because children were more susceptible to the evolution that humans received, as those under ten at the time of the apocalypse and those born during the apocalypse all had extremely strong and unique abilities. As for this child (whose name was Qin Shuang), he had the ability to manipulate blood. By hardening it, he was able to use it as any weapon that he could imagine, and in the future, he would often use it like strings, initially earning him the title of the Red Spider. In addition, his power actually mutated later on and let him actually heal his own wounds by drinking the blood of others. Even wounds from zombies that would normally become infected could be healed without any worry of the zombie virus later. But, this was also the reason that many people feared him in the former timeline, as they then started to call him the Vampire King. Yin Mei personally felt these names were a little too edgy for her, but his ability was definitely top class. One of them alone was enough to make people green with envy, but he actually possessed both of them? Wasn''t that a little bit cheating? But many kids in the apocalypse would have given birth to such fearsome powers, if only they had been able to survive the initial years. But the amount who could survive were really too little. Yin Mei even had half a mind to just gather around all the children she could find and form an apocalypse orphanage special forces team child version! Actually, that wasn''t too bad of an idea? Once this idea entered her head, it didn''t leave. After all, no matter what, as long as the child was younger than 10 years of age when the apocalypse started, it was guaranteed that they would have a very good ability. Plus, children tended to be very adaptable in comparison to adults. Yin Mei felt that it was a pretty good idea, aside from the fact that she would have to babysit a bunch of kids for several years in the apocalypse. Three days later, the group took camp in an abandoned parking lot. The leader started organizing a group to go refresh supplies, as well as another group to clear out the parking lot of zombies. "Eh? Hey, isn''t that a kid?" One of the three girls of the group (which included Yin Mei) said, looking down from the third level they were on to the street, where a young child was running from several zombies, occasionally turning around to shoot at them. "He''s here," Yin Mei mumbled. It was the perfect chance to save him before Lei Han even had the chance to realize his identity. "What?" The girl who had spoken turned around, but Yin Mei had already disappeared from her side, going through her backpack for bullets. "Wait, Lu Mei, you can''t be thinking of rescuing that kid right?" Her voice grew colder, drawing the attention of the others. "There''s no way we can afford to take care of a brat!" A man said, glaring at Yin Mei. But she didn''t pay attention to them, checking the bullets in her gun before standing up. "That''s fine, since I''ll take care of him. If he''s trouble, just cut him off later. I''ll even personally obtain the supplied to feed him." Yin Mei said, as she began to walk away. The girl, whose name was An Yu, furrowed her brow. "Why in the world would you bother to spend so much effort on a brat?" Lei Han also wanted to know the answer to this question. His eyes narrowed, looking at Yin Mei. He felt like she hadn''t done such a thing in the past, but since it had been ten years, he couldn''t be quite sure. But with Lu Mei''s personality, he felt this was very out of character for her. "Because the children are the future," Yin Mei said softly, a wicked grin on her face. Though she was dirty and covered in dust and blood, not having taken a shower in at least a week or two, she still looked pretty. Just, the gun that she hefted in her hand made any other guys think twice. It was still the start of the apocalypse, so most people still had some semblance of morals left. But Lei Han predicted it wouldn''t be long before someone tried raping one of their group''s female members. Aside from the pretty Lu Mei, An Yu was also a ravishing beauty, with a great body and foreign features, her blond hair and blue eyes making her look like a doll (just that her personality was so fierce that it deterred the other guys). Yin Mei continued, going down the levels one by one. They had taken care of all the zombies on the way up, so there wasn''t anything to shoot just yet. The group watched from the fourth floor, curious. They saw the kid hide behind some cover and continue shooting at the zombies, but it looked like the recoil was too strong for him and he was unable to properly hit their heads. It was at this time that Yin Mei rushed out, grabbing the kid in her arms while shooting at the zombies. Because she was in a hurry, she was also unable to obtain a proper head shot, and the zombies followed her into the parking lot. The group shook their heads. Inside the parking lot, Yin Mei was dragging Qin Shuang by his hand up the stairs, already feeling out of breath, her muscles burning. "F*ck, this goddamn weak *ss body," she cursed, feeling that she was actually very privileged in her first world, possessing the high quality body of a rich cultivator that practically never got tired. "Dammit, if that b*tch didn''t kill me, I wouldn''t have to suffer like this," Yin Mei continued pouring out all manners of curses as she continued forcing herself to move, though her words confused the young boy that she was dragging along. He wondered what she meant by having been killed? Wasn''t she still alive in front of her? Or was his understanding of being killed different from hers? They made it to the third floor before Yin Mei had to stop and rest. She couldn''t bring it to the fourth floor, where the group was, as they would definitely blame and ridicule her for being unable to take care of the zombies herself and instead dragging them over to them. She had to take care of them here. Yin Mei looked around and found a suitable hiding place, stuffing the brat into a small hole formed by a broken piece of concrete and a corner. Too bad he hadn''t awakened his ability yet. Well, even if he did, if he didn''t know how to use it, it still wouldn''t help. Yin Mei stood in the middle of the parking lot, raising her gun up at the stairwell. The zombies then rushed out and she began firing. Because of her silencer, the sound of her gun wasn''t too loud. People preferred using guns or sniper rifles with silencers because they wouldn''t attract extra zombies. She fired several times, bringing down one of the zombies, but the other one was too fast for her. Who the f*ck said zombies were slow? The way that zombies mutated depended on the person, and as a result, later on humans would call zombies mutants instead. They evolved just like humans had evolved, and many had the same or even greater speed than when they were human. Sadly, it was predicted that once zombies had evolved past a certain point, it would be hard pressed to cure them at all, especially since it was difficult to obtain the experimental data of such high leveled zombies. Anyways, that was something to think about at a later time. Currently, Yin Mei had been pinned down by the zombie onto the ground, the only thing between its disgusting rotting, virus filled mouth being her gun. Perhaps because this zombie had evolved to become faster, its strength wasn''t as great as a normal zombie and even Yin Mei with her weak young miss body was just barely able to fend it off. Yin Mei grit her teeth, looking around and spotting a nearby iron pipe that had broken off from somewhere, lying on the ground. "F*ck, you, son of a b*tch!" Yin Mei said, using all her strength to kick the zombie in the stomach and away from her. He flew back, and Yin Mei scrambled to turn around and grab the iron rod. "F*ck you, f*ck you, f*ck you!" She continued cursing, sounding nothing like the polite rich young miss that Lu Mei had been. She grabbed the iron rod, and just as the zombie was about to leap at her again, turned around and swung it with all her might, hitting him right in the skull. Because she didn''t have enough strength, it was only enough to temporarily incapacitate the zombie, who fell onto her. She freaked, quickly kicking him away as she got up, putting her gun into her holster and grabbing the iron rod with both hands. She then proceeded to use the iron rod like a bat, continuously swinging down, again and again, brain matter spluttering onto her clothes and thoroughly disgusting her. Only after she was sure he was dead did she stab the iron rod into its body, clutching onto it as she collapsed onto her knees, panting heavily while trying to catch her breath. Her body burned. It burned, every single muscle, like it was on fire. "B-big sister," a cautious voice came from beside her, and she looked toward it. The seven year old Qin Shuang had a very cute appearance, one that made others want to dote on him. Too bad that this was the apocalypse, and no one had the time to take care of others save themselves. He still had an expression of innocence, and Yin Mei guessed his parents definitely had only died recently. He had yet to experience being shunned excessively by other humans. Yin Mei''s breathing slowly calmed down and she got up, stepping on the zombie corpse and pulling out the iron rod. She wipe her sweat from her brow as Qin Shuang clutched at her shirt. She first checked herself and then him for any injuries. Clean from bite marks. Good. Though she knew that he couldn''t have injuries, it was better safe than sorry. As for herself, she also looked fairly clean. If she ended up becoming a zombie because she had been bit, she swore that she would die from anger first before anything else. Yin Mei placed her hand on the boy''s head, not saying anything. She wouldn''t reassure him with things like "it''ll be alright now" or bullsh*t like that. She wasn''t the type to make empty promises. His parents had died and the world had ended - who would believe in that sh*t now? She then, with a very disgusted expression, looked through the zombie brain splatter to find a tiny energy crystal. She went to the other zombie, and with another expression of absolute disgust, dissected his brain for his tiny energy crystal. She then finally turned his head into mush so Lei Han wouldn''t notice if he came down and looked at the zombie corpses. Looking at the two tiny energy crystals that weren''t even the size of her pinky fingernail in her hand, she wondered if she really had to eat this. F*ck, this was just too unhygienic. She seriously wondered how she would be able to survive this. She cleaned off the crystals as best as she could, and popped one into her mouth. Oddly enough, it tasted like a piece of a sugar candy. She felt a tiny wave of energy go through her body, which gave the illusion of her feeling her fatigue going away a little bit and strengthening her body slightly. She gave the other one to Qin Shuang. "Eat it." She said, and then added on, "don''t tell anyone about this. It''s our secret, okay?" Qin Shuang didn''t quite understand, but seeing that Yin Mei had eaten it and nothing had happened, he braced himself and also put it into his mouth, pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted. Seeing that he had eaten it, Yin Mei felt a little more relaxed. She grabbed Qin Shuang''s hands and the two trudged up the stairs to the fourth floor, where the group had been waiting. They had heard the silenced gun shots go off, and then nothing. They had even opened a bet on whether or not Yin Mei had died or not, though they were betting their snacks instead of money. Seeing Yin Mei walk up safe and sound with the kid, though obviously exhausted, some guys groaned, having lost the bet, while others grinned, holding their hands out to receive their prizes. Yin Mei rolled her eyes, walking over to her bag and ignoring them. Seeing that Yin Mei was unbothered, they all shrugged and went back to work, ignoring the new addition to their group. Since Yin Mei had said that she would take care of him, then they just wouldn''t bother with him as long as he didn''t do anything detrimental to their group. As for rations, of course, not a single ration would be going to him, since Yin Mei had already said that she would personally take care of that. On the other hand, Lei Han was staring at the young boy, finding him increasingly familiar. He felt confident that he had seen him before, but no matter, he just couldn''t tell where. "What''s your name?" Yin Mei asked, as she took out an energy bar from her bag and handing it to the kid. She had raised her voice slightly, just enough so that she was confident that Lei Han could hear her. "Qin Shuang," the boy said, taking the energy bar gratefully and ripping it open, devouring it like he had been starved for days. Which was probably true. Yin Mei glanced over to Lei Han''s face, which was one of shock and astonishment. She couldn''t help but gloat a little inside seeing that. She definitely wouldn''t let such a cute kid fall into this idiot''s hands. On the other hand, Lei Han actually felt a suspicious that Lu Mei had actually traveled back in time like he did. He recalled that she certainly had never rescued a boy during this time, and especially not the famed Vampire King! Could it be that she knew how powerful he would become in the future and so specially went out of her way to rescue him? Lei Han was caught up in his thoughts and suspicions, while on the other hand, Yin Mei had directly gone to sleep, using her backpack as a pillow and her jacket as a blanket. It couldn''t be helped, she was really just too exhausted from going up against that zombie. Qin Shuang also went to sleep, snuggling close up against the girl who had saved him. 27 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 3 Whenever Yin Mei had any time, she would secretly teach Qin Shuang useful knowledge for surviving and many things about zombies that had only been found out in the future. Because of secretly consuming energy cores from the dead zombie corpses, Yin Mei and Qin Shuang''s constitutions slowly but surely grew stronger, and due to the energy cores stimulating their unawakened abilities, they were even able to awaken the abilities earlier than in the original storyline. Because of this, Yin Mei would constantly take Qin Shuang to go hunting for supplies and zombies alone, much to the dissatisfaction of the group. That being said, because she was truly taking care of Qin Shuang without their help, they couldn''t complain. On the other hand, Qin Shuang practically started worshipping Yin Mei. He already admired her when he had saw her fight the zombie in order to save him, but she was also extremely wise and knowledgeable, seeming to know everything there was in this world. Of course, this was an exaggeration, but it was truly the case in the eyes of a young child like Qin Shuang. Whenever Lei Han saw the eyes of glittering admiration that Qin Shuang held for Yin Mei, he couldn''t help but feel green with envy while also cursing himself for not being the one to rescue Qin Shuang. With such a powerful ally, killing Yin Mei in the future would be much harder. He could only move his plans up and kill her as early as possible, before Qin Shuang was able to mature. He also had to do it in such a way that wouldn''t be found out by Qin Shuang, so that he could later pull the boy to his side. But, although Yin Mei didn''t predict this thought process of his, she did slowly brainwash Qin Shuang into hating Lei Han by telling him all sorts of things about how horrible he was. When they were alone, she would constantly tell him that Lei Han would in the future destroy the only hope humans had of a zombie cure, or that he would kill her in the future. Although logically Qin Shuang should think that Yin Mei should have no way of knowing this, he believed her unconditionally due to her vast knowledge that had all proven true so far. As a result, Qin Shuang would constantly look at Lei Han with a hostile expression, making him unsure exactly what Yin Mei was telling him for Qin Shuang to look at him like that. Because he had yet to do anything to Yin Mei in this world, Lei Han felt even more sure that she must have time traveled like him, only further raising his guard against her. But, Yin Mei had no time for Lei Han (or rather, she just was too busy to realize his change of mindset). She was trying to teach Qin Shuang how to handle his newly awakened powers. Because Yin Mei herself had awakened her own powers, their hunts grew even more efficient, which resulted in more energy cores, further powering them up. The one problem was that these small rank 1 energy cores could only enhance their constitution and abilities by so much. At one point in time they would need to battle rank 2 zombies (zombies that have evolved to a higher level) in order to continue evolving their own abilities. Yin Mei was worried whether they would be able to hold out against a rank 2 zombie. Although by physical prowess alone it may be possible now, but Yin Mei''s ability was solely support related. As for Qin Shuang, Yin Mei wanted to teach him how to manipulate his ability into threads like he had used in the original storyline, but such fine control was still too hard for the current him. In the end, they had reached their limitations in hunting alone. But it was just perfect as they finally arrived at B City at this time. They stayed outside the city for three days before being inspected and let in. Yin Mei cleanly made a cut with the group at this time to go on her own with Qin Shuang, but unexpectedly An Yu also came with them. Yin Mei didn''t recall being too close with this headstrong blonde-beauty, but she seemed to have taken a liking the the independent Yin Mei and cute doll-like Qin Shuang. Seeing as that An Yu would be sticking with them, Yin Mei thought that she would have her take an abilities test and see what ability she had later. The way to awaken abilities during the apocalypse were three - a near death experience, consuming enough energy cores, or time. Although at first appearances, not all humans would awaken an ability, this was completely untrue. For those who had yet to awaken an ability, it was because they hadn''t met one of the three requirements, or their ability was so rare and unique that they simply didn''t know how to use it and so by all appearances it was as if they didn''t have an ability. An Yu wasn''t an important character to the storyline, so Yin Mei didn''t know what her ability would be, but she also didn''t care that much. After interacting with the group for the past few days, Yin Mei could tell that An Yu could pull her own weight, at least in terms of her ability to handle weaponry and how athletic she was. Actually, as long as one had the experience, even without an ability they could still survive in the apocalypse. Many people would awaken abilities that would become useless with time as zombies continued to evolve, yet they were still able to survive due to their own skills and experience. The usual first courses of action, securing food and shelter, had mostly been handled as currently B City was still handing out both of these things for free. The three of them would be sharing an apartment room with two other people, both girls. Because of this, Yin Mei''s first goal was to scout out Lei Han''s allies in the original storyline, as well as B City''s experimental lab. Yin Mei, Qin Shuang, and An Yu were currently all in the small apartment room at this time. The two other girls were doting on Qin Shuang. The first girl was a cool and mature looking girl wearing glasses known as Mu Shan. The other girl was a gentle girl with big boobs called Ruo Bi. "An Yu, I''m going out," Yin Mei said to An Yu, relieved at seeing the reaction of the other two girls toward Qin Shuang. She felt that she could leave him here without too many worries until she got back. "Huh? Where are you going?" An Yu asked, looking toward Yin Mei. "Just around," Yin Mei replied vaguely, and An Yu raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Qin Shuang, your precious big sister is about to leave without you!" An Yu suddenly called out as Yin Mei was walking toward the door, causing her to turn around and glare at the beautiful woman, who shrugged at her with a grin. Qin Shuang, hearing this, immediately broke free from the other two girls and ran up to Yin Mei, clutching her shirt. Yin Mei sighed, but looking at those puppy dog eyes, could only bring him with her in the end. Oh well, he was cute so she forgave him. "We''ll be back by dinner time," Yin Mei said, waving as she left with Qin Shuang. Currently, Yin Mei felt that the most important contact she needed to make was the lab''s head researcher, Ming Wei was Ming Yu''s older brother, but the two were as different as night and day. Ming Yu was like a flower in a greenhouse, never exposed to the true horrors of living in the apocalypse, still remaining pure and compassionate even ten years into living during the end of the world. On the other hand, though it could be said that Ming Wei also never truly experienced the apocalypse, he was a cold genius type. After all, he was the one to ruthlessly experiment on zombies and humans alike in order to create the zombie cure. Ming Wei was definitely cold hearted and calculating, but he also was truly working for the benefit of humanity. Because of this, no matter how evil the deeds he performed were, she at least felt he was more trustworthy than Lei Han. The problem was getting into contact with him, especially without Yin Mei and Qin Shuang ending up as his lab rats. This was the one worry that Yin Mei had. Ming Wei was capable of anything for the sake of research. She didn''t believe that she could totally bring him over to her side, nor was she going to attempt to. But, she definitely needed to form a relationship with him to gather information about the lab. She didn''t mind feeding him some hints for important medicines and other inventions that were created in the later years of the apocalypse either, for the sake of humans. But in the end, she wasn''t working for the humans. She was working for the sake of the zombie emperor. She kept on having to remind herself of this, but also felt it was too weird. What human worked with the zombies during the zombie apocalypse? She honestly felt that this was too twisted. In the end, because she still couldn''t think of a good way to make contact with him, she could only put this issue aside for later. She first checked the missions board that posted all the jobs available at the entrance of their apartment building. There were missions for the expedition groups, and also missions volunteering as lab rats, along with general labor missions inside the city. Of course, the first two paid very well, while the third one was barely a living wage. It was proportional in how dangerous the job was. The common currency was still cash, though Yin Mei knew that it would slowly change to energy stones later on. Yin Mei knew that the lab had already researched the energy stones and they were already being used by B City''s special expedition forces and security, but this information just hadn''t been released yet. For now, Yin Mei took a flier for an expedition job scheduled a week from now for later. She didn''t want Qin Shuang to reveal his ability yet, lest he become an experiment, so she would be doing this alone. As for the lab rat job, she felt this could actually be a good chance to infiltrate the lab and potentially meet Ming Wei. But she was reluctant to take this job, due to the dangers that could arise from consuming the drugs that they would be giving them. In the end, she also took this flier as well, just in case. She took Qin Shuang and together their toured the inside of B City. Because B City had been quickly organized and taken over by the military, so far, it didn''t look so different from just a normal city in the usual days, save for the wall they were building, the refugees outside it, and the zombies further outside that. Yin Mei reviewed several important people that would make an appearance in B City. The first would probably be the Fire Emperor. He was an elite power user that had come to B City several years later searching for his family. He had actually traveled here all the way from another country across the ocean. Most people couldn''t even handle traveling from one city to the next, let alone from two different countries. It was too bad that his relatives had already died in the early days of the apocalypse. His sickly younger brother had been abandoned and eaten by zombies during an expedition, while his younger sister had been killed and raped. In the end, he had almost destroyed B City in his rage but was killed by B City''s resident power house, the Ice Emperor. Both of these people would be useful. Although the Fire Emperor was still probably in F Country, if Yin Mei protected his younger brother and sister, he would definitely be grateful to her later on. Although that guy was known for his hot headed personality and unscrupulous means, he was someone who placed his family above all else. As for the Ice Emperor, this person was truly too mysterious. He only briefly made a few appearances in the former timeline, but never even made one appearance in the current timeline. Yin Mei could only guess that he had died or something else had happened due to some sort of butterfly effect that Lei Han set up, but she couldn''t say for sure. "Alright, then let''s first find those two," Yin Mei murmured, and Qin Shuang didn''t say anything. He was already used to this big sister of his spacing out and saying things that he couldn''t quite understand. He only guessed that this must be the style of geniuses. Yin Mei didn''t know much about the Fire Emperor''s family, because it was only mentioned briefly in the information. After all, the Fire Emperor wasn''t a particularly major character (for some reason, aside from Qin Shuang, most of humanity''s former powerhouses seemed to take a back seat in the storyline), so it was to be expected that the information Yin Mei had of him wasn''t too detailed. But, there was one thing that Yin Mei did know, and it was the vague time that the Fire Emperor''s younger brother had died, along with the members of the expedition group he had been with. With such information, Yin Mei thought that it wouldn''t be too hard to save him and thus gain his gratitude, while also locating his younger sister to protect the both of them. In the end, Yin Mei grasped Qin Shuang''s hand and they went to the city''s East gate, where a schedule of the expeditions for the next week were posted. Although there was still a few months before the Fire Emperor''s brother would die, expedition groups tended to have a few set members, while they filled out the rest of the numbers with randoms. They didn''t post the names of the members, so Yin Mei guessed that she would have to join all the groups to check them out. For now, she signed up for an expedition group tomorrow before leading Qin Shuang back to their apartment. Qin Shuang was a little upset when he noticed that she didn''t sign him up as well, so she had to once more hammer into him the importance of keeping his ability secret. The fact that children had more powerful abilities wasn''t discovered until several years into the apocalypse, since children just became more and more scarce as time went by. Yin Mei couldn''t let this fact become discovered just yet, if she wanted to take use of the people''s ignorance to gather up the children for her own uses. In addition, the children wouldn''t be able to protect themselves from adults wishing to exploit them, so Yin Mei could only continuously tell Qin Shuang to not reveal his powers, patiently explaining to him all the consequences that could happen if he did. Although Qin Shuang still wanted to come along with Yin Mei, he understood that it would be bad if he did. So he could only reluctantly agree to stay at home. Yin Mei felt relieved that Qin Shuang was such an obedient and understanding child, but also knew that this was probably the result of the circumstances. The children in the apocalypse quickly realized that acting spoiled was not an option and any children who could survive did so due to their own wit and ability. Yin Mei felt a little pity, but during the end of the world, if one had time to pity others, it was better spent doing more useful things. 28 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 4 Yin Mei thus began her mission of going at least once with every expedition group put together by B City. Although she would be leaving Qin Shuang at home, she gave him homework to work on better controlling his ability. The quicker he could learn how to control it, the quicker he would be able to reach the level of manipulating threads like his past self (or future self?). Because Yin Mei had been consuming so many energy cores, her physique had improved by quite a bit, though she still wasn''t on par with the special forces that were used by B City. Even so, it meant that she could be considered somewhat elite of a member on the expedition forces. Because she was quite strong and was also a beautiful young girl, Yin Mei quickly became famous. It could be said that Yin Mei had quickly adapted to life in the zombie apocalypse, though she was still grossed out by zombie corpses and had to take a shower almost everyday, even though showers had become expensive in the apocalypse. But because of her newfound zombie destroyer skill, she made enough money to support such a luxury. It was after a few weeks of living like this that Yin Mei finally found the newly formed group that would become the culprits of the death of the Fire Emperor''s little brother. The veterans consisted of five people, four men and one woman. They clearly appeared like veterans, and were all soldiers from the same regiment. Because she had found the squad that she wanted, Yin Mei stopped jumping around and would instead join this squad everyday, much to the despair of the other squads, who were hoping for this pretty young miss to grace them with her presence. They could only curse the good luck of the squad that had been able to obtain her heart. The squad in question was rather confused over why Yin Mei would constantly join them, but had no complaints as Yin Mei''s skill actually was quite decent. Though she wasn''t a genius sharpshooter or anything, her physical abilities were unexpected from a delicate looking girl like her and she was quite agile and flexible. She appeared much more skilled in the use of the sword, though the amount of times she would actually use the sword that she had bought from the military were rather few. This was only because Yin Mei didn''t want to get up close and personal with the zombies, who were still at the level of being rotting and disgusting corpses. Only after they ranked up a few more times would they start resembling human beings more (though it also depended on their evolutionary branch). At that point, normal bullets would also begin to become useless anyways. But until then, Yin Mei would continue using her gun and save her sword for emergencies only. In the end, although Yin Mei was unused to the zombie world, she had been a high level cultivator for centuries in her previous world. She still remembered the martial arts from then and had been practicing it all this time, so her skill was definitely above average. Around this time, humans began slowly awakening their abilities and soon everyone in the city knew that people had evolved special powers. Because Yin Mei''s powers weren''t terribly special at first glance, she immediately revealed it to gain special privileges. Even though everyone had supernatural abilities, right now it only seemed like a select few humans had awakened them, and even then, there were still rankings between good and bad abilities. Yin Mei could make fresh water with her ability, so she was immediately recruited to work at the city''s greenhouses for a few hours each day. It was a good thing that it didn''t interfere with her missions as part of the expedition squad, and also granted several benefits, the main being direct access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Yin Mei felt like she could finally fully display her prowess as a master chef using the cooking skill she had gained in the white space. So, that very next day after she had been employed at the greenhouse, Yin Mei took the fresh groceries she had gained and used them to create a feast. The three girls who returned back home were greeted by a dazzling sight on their kitchen table. Because fresh groceries were rare and expensive, the majority of their meals had been frozen food and cup ramen. It had been a while since they had set their sights on a home cooked meal. Qin Shuang was already eating, stuffing his face to the point that one couldn''t help but worry that he would choke, looking like he simply couldn''t eat enough. It was so delicious that he had outright started sobbing. The three girls hurriedly sat down along with Yin Mei, as if afraid there wouldn''t be enough. They each took a bite. They now knew the reason why Qin Shuang was crying. Actually, they probably would cry even if the meal had tasted normal, since it had simply been too long since they had eaten anything home cooked, but this meal tasted like heaven in their mouths. The tears couldn''t help but stream down their faces. "What is this, it''s so good. Oh my god," An Yu said sobbing. "It''s like I''ve gone to heaven in back," Mu Shan added, tears silently falling from her eyes as she slowly relished each and every bite. "Lu Mei, you could apply to be a personal chef for one of the city''s higher ups with a skill like this." Ruo Bi said, and though she looked as elegant as ever, her chopsticks were flying at the speed of light as the food in front of her disappeared like magic. Yin Mei looked surprised, like she had an epiphany. What a good idea! Ming Wei was so well known as a picky eater that it was especially mentioned in the information. Perhaps she might be able to infiltrate the lab in this way? It would be much better than becoming a lab rat. But, she put this idea aside for now. First, she still had to deal with the matter of the Fire Emperor''s family. She didn''t have to wait for long, as the day she was waiting for quickly arrived. The squad was waiting at the front gate as usual as they counted up today''s new members. Yin Mei spotted someone who seemed to match the description of the Fire Emperor''s brother. He had flaming red hair and red eyes, looking young and delicate with a pale face and slender body. Yin Mei felt that this should be Ri En, the younger brother of the Fire Emperor, Ri Lu. Yin Mei immediately went up to greet him with a friendly smile. "Are you new?" She asked, already knowing the answer. "Ah, yes... you are?" Ri En looked at the girl who had approached him. Yin Mei''s original body, Lu Mei, had an appearance that was even more fragile looking than Ri En''s, looking like a fragile and sweet girl that needed to be protected. Of course, anyone who had teamed up with Yin Mei knew that she was definitely stronger and more vicious than her appearance let on. Just seeing her expression while she beat up zombies was enough to send shivers down a person''s spine. Actually, Yin Mei needed to explain, this was just from her trying not to show her disgust, okay? She couldn''t understand at all what was so scary about that. "I''m a regular member of this team. Don''t worry, if you have anything you need to ask, just say it." Yin Mei said cheerily. The other people who saw Yin Mei flirting (Yin Mei: ...) with this young boy immediately felt jealous. Such a weak pretty boy could actually gain the favor of this beauty? Why is the world so unfair? Dark thoughts began to surface in their minds when they looked at how happily Yin Mei was talking to Ri En. Actually, this was just Yin Mei treating Ri En like a younger brother. One must recall, Yin Mei was already over hundreds of years old. There was no way she could have an interest in a boy who was even younger than her in her original life. Wouldn''t that just make her a pedophile? She didn''t have that sort of special interest. Ri En had been fairly sensitive to others since a young age, and could naturally tell that Yin Mei didn''t have any special interest in him. He could sense that she was just treating him like a little brother. He felt that she probably had an ulterior motive beyond that in approaching him, but he soon decided that she meant him no harm. Ri En may have a weak body, but he had a good head on him and a rather cunning personality. It was just that having a weak body in the apocalypse was really too deadly of a weakness. In the end, because his older brother was overseas and probably dead, while he and his younger sister had no family, he could only join the expedition team and hope for the best. The other option was becoming a lab rat, but Ri En was very unwilling to do this. At least he could manage something with his smarts while outside, but being a lab rat would just be leaving everything up to others. The mission this time was a simple zombie clearing mission. Supply missions tended to last days or weeks, and Ri En was not willing to be away from his younger sister for that long so he had signed up for a mob killing mission instead. This squad was specifically specialized in zombie killing missions, and Yin Mei had known that was the case so had only joined squads doing zombie killing missions, so had yet to experience a supply mission. Well, after this, she would retire and try to obtain a post as Ming Wei''s personal chef. The group ventured out of the city, using a military transport vehicle. Missions like these were important so that the refugees outside the city wouldn''t get attacked. It would be a disaster if someone turned and as a result, the refugees would end up trying to swarm the city and get inside. Yin Mei recalled that one of the cities Lu Mei and Lei Han had visited in the former timeline had fallen due to that very reason. But, B City was very good in clearing out zombies, so a problem like that never arose in their case. The group got off several miles away from where the refugee camp ended, sweeping through the abandoned building and looking for any remnant zombies. Actually this job wasn''t too hard, since the missions were so constant that the amount of zombies here was always rather low. But, it was just that today wasn''t a good day, and a zombie horde would actually end up forming. The group would sacrifice the slowest and weakest, Ri En, to slow down the zombies before driving all the way back to the city to warn them and send out the special forces. Of course, now that Yin Mei was here, she wouldn''t let such a thing happened. A happy smile graced her face as she planned how she would sacrifice these people to the zombies. All of them weren''t useful to her, so she had no intentions of helping out a single one other than Ri En when the time came. "Oh, there''s a group." The leader of the squad said. The problem with a car was that it would attract any nearby zombies, even if the engine was fairly silent. Well, in this case, it was a good thing since they wanted to get rid of the zombies. "Alright everyone, split up," the leader said. He didn''t elaborate. Actually, most of the members that weren''t veterans were hear just to act as meat shields, and were mostly useless in combat anyways. Yin Mei was an exception, but people like her were few and far in between. Yin Mei took Ri En with her into a nearby building, smoothly clearing out any zombies that they encountered with a few shots of her gun. They reached the second floor and looked out from a broken window toward the seven zombies that the rest of the group was taking out one by one. Yin Mei laughed, her expression weirdly emotionless, but also filled with delight. It was an expression that made one clearly understand that she wasn''t normal. "In circumstances like this, it''s best to get to high ground, but I''m sure you understand that right?" She said to Ri En. Because of her hunting trips with Qin Shuang, she had gotten used to lecturing while hunting and so naturally started to give Ri En tips. She handed him one of the guns she had holstered to her side, watching as he weighed it in his hand. "Zombies all evolve differently, but at the current stage, it''s easy to see just based on appearances. You can tell the differences right?" Yin Mei asked, as Ri En looked down at the zombies. The zombies, like humans, were also getting stronger, and at an even faster pace than humans at that. The group had only killed off two zombies at this time, with five left. "The larger zombies will be slower but stronger, while the smaller ones are weak but also fast?" Ri En guessed. Well, this much was obvious at first glance. As the evolution chain of zombies got more and more complicated, it would be harder to guess just by looking. That being said, the lab would constantly release new research data on the different zombie evolutions, so anyone in the know would be able to name the main characteristics of the common zombie types. Ri En''s eyes followed the zombie''s movements, and he suddenly pulled the trigger of the gun, hitting it right in the head. Yin Mei was rather surprised. "Wow! You''re pretty good. I think you''d make a good sniper." She said, clapping her hands. On the other hand, Ri En was rubbing his arms, the recoil of the gun slightly too strong for him to handle. He laughed drily as he handed the gun back to Yin Mei, who calmly dispatched another zombie and shot the legs of another, buying enough time for a member of the group to kill it off. "Hmm, how long has it been now?" Yin Mei suddenly asked. She didn''t keep a watch on her, but Ri En did. "We''ve been here for about fifteen minutes." He said, wondering why Yin Mei was asking. "Oh, then it''s just about time. It''s a good opportunity for you to see something interesting." Yin Mei said, smiling happily. 29 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 5 Yin Mei led Ri En back to the car, without the notice of the other group members. The car was parked a fairly good distance away from where the group was fighting, to the point where Ri En was already unable to see them very well. Yin Mei''s eyesight had been enhanced by energy cores, so she could still see them though. "What''s the interesting thing that you mentioned?" Ri En said curiously. He was feeling a little bad that they weren''t helping out, thinking that he might not get paid if the other members of the group reported this. "Oh, it''ll be here soon." Yin Mei narrowed her eyes. Beyond the group, she could see a dust cloud rising as the ground seemed to shake ever so slightly. It slowly grew more and more obvious as the sound of rumbling reached their ears. "Hear that? That''s the sound of what we call a zombie horde! Ha ha!" In only a few moments, even Ri En could see the vague form of the zombie horde. It was a mass of darkness enveloped in a dust cloud. "Oh my god-" He was shocked. How many zombies was that? But he didn''t have the time to panic as Yin Mei pushed him into the passenger seat of the military vehicle, while she herself got into the driver''s seat, turning on the engine and pressing the gas. She then drove back in the direction of the city. "Wait, are we just leaving the others behind?" Ri En said, glancing back. He could actually see the rest of the group running toward them, but they were too far for him to tell any details. In only a few minutes, they were overwhelmed by the zombie horde. "Why should we stick our necks out for them? They''re already dead anyways, aren''t they?" Yin Mei said, glancing through the mirror and also seeing them swarmed by the zombies. Then, as if nothing happened, she once again went into lecture mode. "The exact science and cause behind a zombie horde probably won''t even be discovered ten years later, though a few reasons can be theorized. The horde can consist of anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of zombies all migrating at once." Ri En clutched the passenger assist handle and the door handle as Yin Mei pressed on the pedal even more, her not-so skillful maneuvers practically heart attack inducing. Yin Mei wasn''t a bad driver on normal days, but being chased by a zombie horde really made one throw all conventions out of the window and the result was just pure recklessness. "I feel sick..." Ri En said, this rough driving hard for his body to handle. "Hm? Hang in there. When dealing with a zombie horde, you have to bring enough people with massively destructive abilities. The good thing about a zombie horde is that most of the zombies involved tend to be fairly low level, though there may be an occasional high ranked leader. The problem with a horde like that is that the leader will normally have a group of elite guard zombies. The difficulty in getting rid of the zombies in this case would explode exponentially. Oddly enough, zombie hordes seem to possess something of a hive mind-" Yin Mei continued on and on, but perhaps thankfully enough, Ri En was on the verge of fainting and already no longer paying attention. If he was, he would definitely be suspicious over how Yin Mei possessed so much knowledge. He was different from the young and naive Qin Shuang, who blindly worshipped Yin Mei. She saw that Ri En had already stopped responding so she also quieted down. She looked into the back mirror again, seeing that the zombie horde was already far away now. Killing humans... hm, it didn''t feel much different from killing a zombie, huh? She felt that she realized the reason killing humans was so common in the zombie apocalypse wasn''t because of the collapse of law in order, it was that people had become desensitized to murder. How scary! She shook her head, focusing her attention back on driving. It took them fifteen minutes to get back to the city, which directly halved their previous travel time. As a member of an expedition group, they did have a special pass that allowed them to jump the line and immediately be inspected for wounds before being able to enter the city. Yin Mei reached the inspection point, parking the car and dragging out a semi-conscious Ri En from his seat, half carrying him to where the guards were standing. "Eh? Isn''t this Lu Mei? What happened to the rest of your group?" The guard said. Since Yin Mei was pretty and a regular, most of the guards were already able to recognize her. "Probably dead," Yin Mei said blandly, constantly glancing over her back to check the distance of the zombie horde. "Wha- all of them? What in the world happened?" The guard was bewildered. Although a few deaths were common, he never expected for a close to full party wipe. After all, these zombie clearing missions weren''t terribly hard, as they were just cleaning up any straggler zombies. "Zombie horde." Yin Mei replied. "What?" The guard hadn''t heard the term before. No, he had, just only in books and movies. "Can you hurry and let me through? I have to quickly report this to the higher ups. Unless you want a swarm of thousands of zombies at your doorstep before you can even-" Yin Mei didn''t get to finish before the guard immediately let her through at the quickest speed possible, his eyes showing panic and fear. He didn''t doubt Yin Mei''s words. After all, what reason was there for her to lie? She sped through inspection, a messenger having been sent to the higher ups to grant her an audience. Before long, she was standing in front of the commander in charge of B City''s base, as well as Ming Wei. She didn''t expect to meet him at this point in time, but she only quickly glanced at him before she began her report. "A zombie horde of..." She recalled the information stored in the system. "Roughly a few thousand zombies is making their way toward the city about now. The rest of the team aside from myself and one other member have already perished. They should be here in approximately... give or take a couple of hours?" The commander whispered with his advisors, shocked. "A zombie horde... and here I thought that those would only happen in the novels, to think that we actually..." "Sir, I recommend we take immediate action. We should rally together anyone who has abilities. I believe that lightning, ice, and earth abilities would be especially useful in this case." Yin Mei said with an impatient expression. Even if she left B City alone, it would still survive this zombie attack, but seeing these old men continue discussing while the zombie horde was marching toward their door really annoyed her. "Yes, yes, that''s a good idea. We should quickly have the special forces immediately move out," the commander said, seemingly unbothered by Yin Mei''s biting tone. Ming Wei glanced at the young girl, who also looked at him with an interested gaze. Ming Wei was tall and had a cold expression and aura to him, his glasses framing his eyes, which were like deep pools of darkness. In terms of how handsome he was, Yin Mei would rate him a nine, with plus one point for glasses. She was weak toward glasses wearing beauties, what could she say. But, she quickly turned her gaze away as a soldier led her to the building''s planning room, where the group of special forces leaders were waiting for their orders. Once more, Yin Mei explained the zombie horde, in slightly more detail this time, pointing out their former location and predicted path on the map. "A few thousand? Could you give more specific numbers?" The special forces leader, a veteran with a scar running down his face, asked. Yin Mei stared at the man with an expression that looked like she was looking at an idiot. She then rolled her eyes, but complied. "I''d say maybe three thousand to five thousand. Is that good enough?" She looked like if he answered no, she would actually start a fight. But this was also good enough, so the special forces leader nodded. Yin Mei backed away to the side of the room as the group began discussing a plan of action in more detail. She had no interest in this, since she knew that at the very least B City wouldn''t be overrun. That meant that they at least had some skill, so wouldn''t need her interfering and drawing attention to herself. "Why did you think lightning, ice, and earth abilities would be the best in combating the zombie horde?" A cold voice asked, and she looked to her left. Before she had noticed, Ming Wei had been standing beside her. "Eh? Isn''t that obvious?" Yin Mei reflexively replied, really thinking so. But she continued speaking anyways. "Ice can freeze the enemies to slow them down or kill them, while earth can change the ground to quicksand. They can also bury them alive. As for lightning, well, that''s just because of the sheer destructive power it has." Ming Wei nodded. This is what he also thought. "Hey, you don''t look like a soldier." Yin Mei suddenly commented, then looked him up and down. "You don''t seem like some tactician either, or you''d be up there coming up with a plan like the rest of them." Yin Mei felt like she was getting better at acting, as she calmly spouted bullsh*t. "What I am is none of your business." Ming Wei replied coldly. "Cold! You could at least give me a hint." Yin Mei complained. Ming Wei snorted, ignoring the girl. She sneakily looked at him. She then took a gamble. "If you tell me, I''ll give you some good information that I found out." Ming Wei looked at her, narrowing his eyes as if calculating the possibility of how good the information she had would be. In the end, he turned away coldly. "Hey! My information is really good okay? You''ll regret it if you ignore me!" She complained, getting slightly worked up. Seriously, wasn''t this b*stard a little too mean? She had awesome future knowledge here! "Fine, what is it?" Ming Wei reluctantly replied with a stiff face. He couldn''t set down the feeling that she really might have some important information. Whatever, it''s not like he would lose something hearing it. Yin Mei''s lips curled up into a cruel smile. If one looked, it would definitely send shivers down their spine. "The key to curing the zombie virus is someone with a healing ability." Soft giggles left her mouth, and if felt like they were crawling up Ming Wei''s skin, turning his body cold. Ming Yu''s ability was precisely a healing ability. In the former timeline, Ming Wei had found another person with healing ability without ever finding out that Ming Yu had a healing ability, but Yin Mei would make sure that this time Ming Yu would end up in the depths of hell. This Ming family was pretty heartless. The little sister could still get together with the man that killed her brother, and the brother would have no qualms subjecting his sister to cruel experiments. Yin Mei thought that if the little sister ended up as an experiment, it would be hilarious. She never realized just how vicious her thoughts had become. Ming Wei looked at Yin Mei, wondering just exactly how she knew this. He also wasn''t quite sure what in the world she found funny, and why she was looking at him with such a gaze. Yin Mei saw that Ming Wei had on a probing expression, so proceeded to explain. "I saw someone with a healing ability heal a person with a zombie bite. In the end, the person with the zombie bite never turned into a zombie! Amazing, right? I then thought that that person would surely be the key to curing the virus." Well, this had actually happened with the female lead and Lei Han, just she had never personally seen it. Though, since it was true, there was no way that Ming Wei could find anything odd about her statement, right? Ming Wei paused. Actually, if this was true, then it would be amazing. The possibility of actually creating a cure would practically skyrocket. "This person with a healing ability... do you know who they are?" He asked, his voice low. "Nope, but I remember what they look like." Yin Mei started to laugh again, as she began to describe Ming Yu. "They seemed like quite a pretty girl, but it''s a pity that they had a scar going across their face." She pointed at her left eye. "Right here, down the eye. Such a pretty face ruined by a horrible scar like that, it really makes an impact, doesn''t it?" Ming Wei stiffened, looking at Yin Mei. "Huh? Now that I think about it, I think she looked kind of similar to you. Oh, but that would be such a coincidence, wouldn''t it?" Yin Mei tilted her head, sounding innocently surprised, though her expression was like one that found delight in another''s suffering. Ming Wei shook his head, knowing that he was thinking too much into things. There was no way that this girl knew who he was, let alone who his sister was. But, that description, it really did match his sister. Could it be that she really had a healing ability? He resolved that he would question her when he got back. "My information was really helpful right? You should tell me who you are now." Yin Mei said. Ming Wei wasn''t one to go back on his word, so he honestly came out with it. "I''m the head researcher of B City''s lab." Yin Mei was silent, staring at him. "What?" He bristled, glaring at her. "Oh, no, I didn''t think that you would actually be so honest..." Yin Mei said. "I feel a little bad now..." She added on under her breath, feeling like she might have really gone too far in her teasing, truly not realizing how far gone she already was. 30 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 6 The meeting was soon over as the plan was finalized, and the special forces began getting ready for battle. Yin Mei, of course, had nothing to do with this so she was dismissed. Yin Mei looked back to her side, but Ming Wei had already disappeared. "What the f*ck, he comes and goes like the wind! Practically magic," she said while shaking her head. She guessed that he was eager to find out if his sister really had healing abilities that could heal the zombie virus. Well, even if she said it could heal the zombie virus, actually this wasn''t exactly true... But, well, it would still be a key in curing the virus, so Yin Mei didn''t care about those meaningless details. Before Yin Mei left, she was stopped by the commander and awarded quite a bit, so she left in a good mood. Quickly exited the building, she spotted Ri En''s noticeable fire red hair near the entrance. It looked that he had been waiting for her. "Yo! You were waiting for me?" She said, popping out from behind him and startling him. He jumped a little, but then calmed down when he saw who she was. "Yeah, is everything going to be okay?" He asked, but seeing her calm expression, was a little reassured. He the recalled the indifference on her face when she abandoned the rest of the group to die... okay, maybe a little less reassured. He felt that even if the world ended, she would still have that expression of calm. Wait, maybe that wasn''t such a good phrase, since the world had technically already ended. "Yep. They''re sending out the special forces group," Yin Mei said, interrupting Ri En''s train of thought. "Oh, that''s a relief," he said, sighing. Yin Mei nodded. "No need to worry, everything will be fine." She said it with such conviction that Ri En couldn''t help but believe her, just a little. "How about coming over to my house for dinner? We have fresh vegetables. And I''m also a great cook." She said. The thing she was worried about was that she was unable to watch him and his sister 24/7. She felt that if her eyes left him even for a moment, some other horrible thing would happen, rendering him dead and her efforts useless. Because of that, she decided to first invite him to dinner and talk later. Ri En was a little tempted, but felt bad. This was fresh vegetables after all! They were quite expensive. Not only that, but he still had his younger sister waiting for him at home... "No, I still have my sister waiting for me." He said, declining the invitation. "Oh? You have a little sister? Then you should bring her too." Yin Mei looked at him with such an expression that Ri En found it hard to refuse. In the end, he relented and agreed. After all, the prospect of fresh cooked food was too difficult to ignore. Yin Mei told him her address and they parted ways as Ri En went to go get his sister and Yin Mei returned back home. "Welcome back!" An Yu said, her expression one of excitement as Yin Mei greeted the others, Qin Shuang running up, looking like he wanted to hug her, but in the end stopped himself and instead just tugged on her sleeve. So cute! Yin Mei felt this kid was just too adorable and hugged him, patting his head as she let go. "Guess what happened today?" An Yu said, as Yin Mei was intending to go take a shower. "Eh? What?" She studied An Yu, who was clearly extremely excited. "You awaken your ability or something?" An Yu''s expression immediately turned disappointed. "What, it''s no fun if you guess it that easily." She said, sighing. "What ability?" Yin Mei asked, walking over and leaning her arms on the sofa where An Yu was seated. The others were also gathered around the coffee table, and it looked like they had been playing a board game to kill the time. "Echolocation," An Yu said, with a blank face. "What? Echolocation?" Yin Mei stared at her. An Yu snorted. "Sorry for having such a weird ability. But better than nothing, right?" She said, clearly miffed by Yin Mei''s blatant staring. "No, no, it''s a pretty interesting ability. It''ll be useful for any night battles." Yin Mei replied. Echolocation, this really was a unique and interesting ability. Actually, depending on whether or not An Yu was able to evolve it properly, it could become rather useful. The most important thing was that it would be useful in battling specific types of zombies that liked dark places. An Yu shrugged. "You''re just comforting me aren''t you? Anyways, unlike with your ability, we can''t gain many benefits with mine." She complained slightly, and the other two girls began to comfort her as well. Yin Mei extracted herself from the group, moving away to take a quick shower. When she was done, she went into the kitchen and put on an apron, beginning to cook. They had quite a lot of ingredients as they had stocked up for the week. Not only that, but they were five people and though four of them were girls, they still ate quite a bit combined. Since two more were going to come over, in the end, Yin Mei cooked quite a lot. Ri En and his sister lived on the other side of town, so Yin Mei was already halfway through finishing her cooking when he arrived, knocking on the door. "Are we expecting someone?" Ruo Bi said, going to the door. "Yep! I invited two kids over," Yin Mei replied loudly from where she was. Opening the door, the girls saw a young boy and girl, who looked uncannily similar aside from gender. The girl, Ri Yi, was wearing a dress and had long hair, so it wasn''t hard to tell them apart, but their faces looked the same that if she cut her hair and wore male clothes, they would probably look identical. "Oh my, dragon and phoenix twins! How cute!" Ruo Bi exclaimed, drawing the attention of Mu Shan and An Yu, who also began to fangirl over them, much to the two''s embarrassment. Though, from the expressions, they looked like this was a common occurrence, at least before the apocalypse. Yin Mei continued cooking as the others entertained the two, and finally finished half an hour later, laying down the last dish onto the table, which was packed to the brim. She looked at it, thinking that the table was probably too small to fit seven people. In the end, she could only move things to the coffee table, which the others helped clean up. Though crowding around the coffee table was also hard, because there was a sofa and a recliner chair as well, it was easier than the dining table. Though the result was that they would have to hold their bowls in their hands while eating. When Yin Mei finally finished and took off her apron, Qin Shuang hugged her from behind, peeking around her to glare at Ri En and Ri Yi. Yin Mei didn''t have the sensitivity required to notice Qin Shuang''s feelings, so only pat his head as she scooped out rice into bowls for everyone, handing them out one by one. She actually cooked this rice with the water from her ability, so it was especially delicious and nourishing when compared to normal white rice. It practically glistened. That being said, since her cooking skills were still in the realm of humans, the rest of the food, though looking delicious, were also normal (there was no outrageous shining food like in anime or manga). Yin Mei felt it was a pity that her skill, though master level, could not overcome human limitations. Well, that was obvious though! Hahaha, after all, if she could cook shining, mystical, immortality granting food in a modern day world without magic, that would simply be too strange, right? Yin Mei guessed that her ability adjusted itself to what was considered master level in that world. But, she wouldn''t be sure without experimenting more. She was already astonished by the way recipes would just pop into her head, or how her body would move like it had been possessed by the god of cooking, so she could only say - "D*mn, anything is possible these days." When Ri En and Ri Yi tasted the food, they proceeded to cry, like all others who had tasted her food before them. The others comforted them, while Yin Mei sneakily took a look at the progress of the special forces in clearing on the zombie horde with the system. She suddenly stood up, surprising the rest of the group. She blinked, realizing her surroundings again. "You guys go ahead and keep eating, I have something that I need to take care of." Yin Mei quickly exited the apartment room, her face pale as she closed the door behind her. "F*******ckkk," she thought to herself, kneeling and clutching her head as she stared at the holographic screen. Currently displayed on it was an image of Lei Han as he crazily went on a crazy massacre, each move of his bringing down blue lightning and turning all the mobs into fried zombies. Admittedly, she might have totally forgotten about this existence known as the male lead until now. It couldn''t be helped, Lei Han''s existence was just too weak these past few months, and he hadn''t made an appearance at all. But that was right! Lei Han would use this opportunity to battle against the horde of zombies and quickly level himself up. Not only would it give him a pretty high standing in B City... Yin Mei stared depressingly as she watched the zombies die off, dropping like flies. All those energy stones! Godd*mmit! Was that even a rank 2 zombie she spotted there? It was indeed a rank 2 zombie! Ah, ah, it was no good. Yin Mei felt that she had to quickly get rid of this fly before he became a problem. Her eyes were dark as she exuded a murderous aura. "When is a good time to get rid of him?" She muttered, quickly going through the information. While Yin Mei was thinking, a couple of people came up the stairwell, staring and whispering at her. It was at this time that she noticed she was still sitting outside her apartment door. Slightly embarrassed, she stood up and went back inside, putting away her thoughts as she returned to the coffee table to chat with the others. Yin Mei had already begun to calm down. She had already started to take care of Ming Yu. As for Lei Han, although he would surely have a growth spurt with this, his growth was limited to proportion with the growth of zombies. Human evolution relied on a zombie''s energy cores. No matter what, Lei Han could not overcome the barrier blocking evolution without the help of the energy cores. As a result, there was a limit to just how strong he could get in the early days of the apocalypse, where currently rank 2 zombies were still rare, let alone rank 3 zombies. She just hoped that Lei Han was no different from the previous two male leads she had encountered, in that their survivability was on the lower side for being lead characters. First, no matter what, she would need to break the zombie emperor out. Three days later, Yin Mei once again stood in front of Ming Wei, a bright smile on his face in contrast to the latter, who appeared thoroughly unamused. "What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice clearly showing his annoyance. "I''m interviewing for the position of personal chef! What a relief when I heard from the commander that you were intending on finding someone for such a position, I was just thinking that I should retire from a dangerous job like zombie killing." Yin Mei said happily. Because she had been so prompt in reporting the zombie horde the other day, and also perhaps because the commander liked her appearance (in his words, she reminded him of his granddaughter), she had formed a connection with him and had been chatting him up the past couple of days. Ming Wei had his head in his hands, feeling a headache coming on. Honestly, he didn''t think he liked dealing with this person. Granted, she had given him what could potentially be very useful information, but thinking of the expression she had on while she was talking to him... He could tell, she was similar to that person... In the end, Ming Wei wasn''t the type of person to drive off someone because he didn''t like them. Although Ming Wei was certainly a cold-hearted b*stard that could torture a human in all sorts of ways for the sake of his experiment, he had a skewed sense of morals that he rigidly stuck too. Yin Mei cooked him a single meal, and he was immediately defeated. What could he say, his one weakness was his desire for good food. 31 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 7 Because Ming Wei practically lived in the lab, Yin Mei would be cooking in the lab kitchen every day. She signed a nondisclosure agreement and received a keycard that would allow her basic access into the laboratory. She was overjoyed that she was finally able to achieve her first step in completing the first mission. She knew that once she broke the zombie emperor out from the lab, she would definitely not be able to stay in B City. She might even be hunted down by all the rest of humanity. She had to plan for then, but for now was solving the issue of actually getting the zombie emperor out. Because of the importance of this lab, and the fact that they were experimenting on zombies and human ability users alike, the amount of security was quite high, with a special guard unit especially assigned to protecting the lab and Ming Wei. In addition, because B City had been fairly well off since the very beginning of the apocalypse, most of the security systems in the lab had been kept intact, including surveillance cameras, keycard authorization, and even fingerprint and retina scans for where the more important things in the lab were kept. Yin Mei had half a mind to cut off Ming Yu''s hand and scoop out her eyes to bypass the security system, but thinking about that kind of disgusted her so she put the idea off for now. Plus, first she needed to find a way to get rid of the guard who was accompanying her at all times, as well as do something about the surveillance cameras. The only place the guard didn''t follow her to was the bathroom, much to her relief (though it gave her a sense of deja vu, which she shook off in annoyance, not wanting to remind herself of those damned events in the previous world). Yin Mei finished cooking lunch and she walked out into the lab''s small dining room/lounge area, serving it to Ming Wei, who was dragged over here and from his research by the other researchers. It was at this moment that Yin Mei saw Ming Yu, and she put on an expression of shock. Okay, she was actually shocked though, that scar really was quite ugly, really contrasting up against her pretty face. In the future, Ming Yu would evolve her healing powers and be able to heal the scar, but for now, she was stuck with it. Yin Mei looked back and forth between Ming Yu and Ming Wei several times, making Ming Yu feel uncomfortable. She quickly bid her brother an awkward goodbye and returned back to her research. The others felt a little bad, glaring at Yin Mei as if warning her to put away her obvious shock. Of course, they all felt that Yin Mei was shocked because of Ming Yu''s scar, and she really was, but Ming Wei was the only one who thought differently. Much to Ming Wei''s annoyance, Yin Mei immediately walked a few steps closer to Ming Wei, speaking in a slightly loud whisper, "Oh my god, that girl was actually working at this research lab? No way, she looks a little like you, so could it be that you''re siblings??" Ming Wei narrowed his eyes. Actually, he had always heard that he and his sister didn''t look anything alike, but in this girl''s eyes they were suddenly so alike that she could pinpoint their relationship with one glance. He had to admit that her eyes were good, if nothing else. Oh, right, her cooking skills were also good. He took another bite of the pasta in front of him. He didn''t even like pasta that much, but it seemed that anything made by her was just unbearably delicious... he lamented that he might not ever be able to return to normal food after this. Yin Mei then looked at him with an exaggerated gaze of pity, making him almost want to spit in her face. What the f*ck was that look for? She continued whispering loudly, "If she''s your sister, then there''s no way you could experiment on her, right! What a pity, and here I thought that the zombie cure could finally be made. I guess you''ll have to find someone else with a healing ability. I just don''t know if there''s actually anyone else who has this ability, though - it seems like it would be one of those rarer abilities," Yin Mei prattled on and on. She wanted to make sure that her words slowly but surely pushed Ming Wei onto the path she wanted him to walk. Initially, Ming Wei already had very little qualms in experimenting on Ming Yu. For him, if it was for the sake of humanity, he could do anything. Like Yin Mei mentioned before, this family had a very twisted relationship and neither of the two cared for their blood ties except when it mattered. In addition, he really had already checked through the list of registered abilities, and there wasn''t a single healing ability in B City. But, the only thing was was that Ming Yu was stubbornly insisting that she didn''t have a healing ability, as if she instinctively knew that it would be bad if she admitted it. Yin Mei kneeled down, putting her arms and chin on the table as she looked up at Ming Wei a smile on her lips as she spoke, in a normal voice this time, "Well, but I''m sure the younger sister of the doctor would surely be grateful to sacrifice her wellbeing for the sake of the rest of humanity." What a joke. Lei Han thought that Ming Yu was so pure and good, but the reality was that she was definitely not so. In the first place, what pure and good person would do the man who killed her older brother? Maybe there were really people out there willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, but Yin Mei could confidently say that Ming Yu wasn''t one of them. But Ming Wei certainly was. It''s precisely because he was such a person that he could also sacrifice others, and Yin Mei''s words were constantly reminding him - by experimenting on his sister, he would be able to create a cure. Actually, just Ming Yu was not enough. There were a few other components needed before the cure could be completed, but Ming Yu was indeed a key ingredient (at least, her ability was). If not, then Ming Wei would have already have completed the cure in the past timeline, though it was a pity that the final ingredient had been out of his reach at that time. "Hey, Doctor, if you give me a tour of the lab, I''ll tell you something interesting again." Yin Mei said, once more dangling a piece of enticing prey in front of the research obsessed man. Ming Wei gave her a suspicious glance. Yin Mei shrugged, passing it off as no big deal. "Come on, I''m curious about what you''ve found out on the zombie virus!" She said in a slightly nonchalant tone. Ming Wei paused. Actually, although their research was important, it wasn''t that big of a deal if it was found out by others. In the end, the reason the research was kept secret was because B City wanted to keep an advantage over the others. And just perfect if they could find the cure and monopolize it for themselves. Ming Wei didn''t agree with this train of thought, but he would cooperate as long as they gave him the resources he needed. Anyways, Ming Wei had to admit he was actually really tempted to hear this "interesting" thing that Yin Mei talked about. Her last piece of information was so good, it was only to be expected that her next piece of information should at least be equal in quality, right? In the end, Ming Wei could not go against his pure desire for information. Ming Wei was, after all, the type to prioritize his research above silly political matters and stuff. Of course, the guard disagreed, but in this lab, what Ming Wei said was law. Ming Wei was the best brain that C Country, or maybe the entire world, could offer. In the apocalypse, his existence was like a light of hope for all people. Even though Ming Wei never created the zombie cure in the very end, he had still created many amazing medicines that helped humanity survive the apocalypse - things like water and ground purifiers, cures for newly evolved parasites, physical and mental enhancement medicines, and etc. etc., they all came from the hands of this man. Granted, Yin Mei also knew that the zombie virus was also his doing. Was his obsession with the cure because he felt guilty? Yin Mei couldn''t tell. Walking through the lab, Yin Mei showed an appropriate amount of interest as Ming Wei explained what the researchers were doing as briefly as possible. It was only until they came in front of a giant glass cylinder filled with some sort of golden liquid. Inside a zombie was floating, attached to all sorts of pipes and tubing. He looked almost human, well, a dead human though. Yin Mei stopped dead in her tracks, her face pale as she stared in shock at the zombie, her breathing quickening a little. She wasn''t surprised because she had so easily encountered the zombie emperor, no, it was because... he simply looked too similar to the demon king. His long hair floated in the liquid, and the golden glow gave him a mystical appearance. Perhaps the only difference was that he had two moles under his left eye, and his skin had a weird grey-yellow-blue-green tint to it that was the result of his corpse-like skin color mixing with the color of the mysterious liquid. He also looked shorter, but she couldn''t tell very well. "What''s wrong?" Ming Wei asked, noticing that Yin Mei had stopped dead in her tracks, looking at the cylinder. "Oh, him? There''s no need to worry, it''s perfectly safe. The cylinder walls are made from a special type of glass that-" Ming Wei continued explaining, but his voice faded in the background as Yin Mei''s eyes remained on the zombie emperor, who opened his eyes, his red irises gazing at her. "No. No, no, no." Yin Mei muttered, clutching her head as she tore her eyes away. "It''s impossible, it''s impossible. There''s no way!" Ming Wei noticed that Yin Mei was really acting weird, so he walked a few steps closer, narrowing his eyes. "Hey, what''s-" "He''s already dead, he can''t be here, that''s impossible, why-" Yin Mei continued blabbering, and Ming Wei was about to place his hand on her shoulder so that he could get her attention on him, only for her to slap his hand away, her face looking up. Her eyes were red with tears, and she was practically gasping for breath. "Ah!" She noticed that something was wrong, and hurriedly wiped at her eyes. "S-sorry, he just looks, like someone I know... But that''s impossible." She laughed nervously, and Ming Wei rubbed his hand, scoffing. "Well, whoever he used to be, he''s just a zombie now." Ming Wei said heartlessly. "No, the person I know, he... no, it''s impossible. He couldn''t be here." Yin Mei said, glancing back at the cylinder. The zombie''s cold red eyes continued gazing at her and she shivered, a cold sweat going down her forehead. "It''s not my fault. Why couldn''t you have just-" Yin Mei started to say again, but this time calmed herself down without Ming Wei interfering. She took a deep breath. "It''s not him." She firmly told herself. She knew that. But honestly, if she had to deal with the zombie emperor from now on, with that appearance of his, she felt that she would definitely go crazy with guilt. She couldn''t "save" the demon king before, and now she had to literally save the zombie emperor, who had his same appearance. Yin Mei really couldn''t name this complex feeling she had in her heart. Yin Mei breathed deeply in and out once. "Phew. Okay, I''m good. Sorry about that. It was like suddenly seeing a vengeful ghost from the past, nearly scared the sh*t outta me," Yin Mei said in a lighthearted tone, as if brushing off the severity of her former... episode. She refused to be reminded of what happened in the past. Of her failure. Of everything that happened because of her weakness. "That''s right, this time I just need to get rid of those damned cockroaches before they can do anything," Yin Mei said with a cold expression and she blinked again. "What''re we waiting for? The tour isn''t over yet, right?" Ming Wei really couldn''t read this girl, and he realized why. It was because her emotions were too unstable. One moment she appeared innocent and sweet, the next moment she was breaking down, and another moment she was exuding a murderous aura. A person like that was really too dangerous. But, could she be blamed? In this apocalypse, how many people could truly stay sane? He shook his head. Though Yin Mei was unstable, she was also still rather normal compared to other people. At the very least, she hadn''t completely gone off the deep end yet and was still "functional". Anyways, her food was really way too good. He could accept it even if she was a little insane. Though he did think that he should recommend a psychiatrist for her. All of the soldiers received counseling from B City''s resident psychiatrist, so when he had time, he would write up a recommendation letter. He nodded, satisfied with his decision. After the tour was over, they returned to the lounge room where Yin Mei went into the kitchen to whip up some small snacks real quick and handed part of it over to Ming Wei while eating the rest. "What''s the interesting thing that you wanted to tell me about?" Ming Wei said, his face cold even as he eagerly ate the seasoned cream cheese crackers from his plate. "Oh, right, right! You know, I actually know the person that your sister healed," Yin Mei said. Actually, she wasn''t selling Lei Han out. Because, she knew that this wouldn''t be a good thing. She was worried that he would be able to avoid any traps the lab would set for him and only get more powerful as a result. She couldn''t trust others, and felt that she had to take care of him herself, or else who knew what could happen. What she was aiming for was something different. "You know, your sister really looked like she was having a moment with that guy. I''m sure with a little incentive, she''d be happy to volunteer her services, right? His name was Lei Han. He used to be a special forces officer." Yin Mei said. Ming Wei guessed what Yin Mei was implying - she wanted to use Lei Han to threaten his sister. She put on this innocent front, but Ming Wei felt that she had some sort of personal grudge against his sister, with the way she spoke. As for Yin Mei, she wanted to see if this girl could sacrifice herself for true love, since the rest of humanity was no good. 32 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 8 "Now, try telling me what you sense in the room below us." Yin Mei said, as she sat across from Qin Shuang, teaching him how to control and use his ability. He had currently formed his blood into a thin, invisible string that extended from his fingertip to the floor. Like this, he could use the string to sense the vibrations in the ground and air, using it almost like An Yu''s echolocation ability. "The rooms are like our own... um, there''s two people inside. One is larger... I think they''re both guys?" Qin Shuang said, his eyes closed as he furrowed his brow. The information passed through by vibrations could only be so detailed, lacking the important sense known as sight, so many things had to be inferred. Such as the item in this person''s hand was shaped like this, so could it be x or y? No, he used it to do that, so it''s probably x and not y. There was a knock on the door, interrupting their training, and Yin Mei gestured for Qin Shuang to quickly expel his string, going to open the door. It was the three girls and the Ri twins. Because Yin Mei had to cook dinner for Ming Wei now, she would usually end up having to make the dishes in morning and the others would heat them up when it was time for them to eat. But today, because Ming Wei was doing some important experiment, Yin Mei had made him a boxed lunch (or rather, boxed dinner) and could finally spend dinner together with the others for the first time in several days. Because Yin Mei still couldn''t figure out how to protect the Ri twins efficiently, she resorted to simply having them over for dinner everyday and checking up on them that way. She could also use the system to check up on them when she was free, but it wasn''t like she could surveillance them 24/7. As for her roommates, they were very excited to have these adorable twins over every day. There wasn''t an issue with ingredients, as being Ming Wei''s personal chef paid a lot. In other words, Yin Mei could be considered wealthy in this apocalypse. The next day, Yin Mei was once more at the lab. At Yin Mei''s insistence, Ming Wei had gradually given her a little more freedom to explore, though even he didn''t know why he was so lenient with her. Probably because he had been seduced by her food and that resulted in his will weakening whenever he faced this girl... and also because she actually had quite a few unexpectedly useful tips when she commented on their research, for someone who clearly didn''t understand any of the scientific details that went into it. Today as well, Yin Mei was staring at the zombie emperor in his test tube-whatever thing that was-thing, as Ming Wei was looking at something through a microscope behind her. By a glance, Yin Mei guessed that the zombie emperor should already be rank 4, of which no yet zombie had been confirmed so on the outside. But, he would require another rank before he could be considered an intelligent zombie - he would also regain his memories of his former life at that point, though in no terms should he ever be considered the same person as he once was. At rank 5, a zombie like the zombie emperor would essentially be no different from a human, save that he would have no pulse and would require human flesh for his evolution instead of zombie energy cores. Though, a zombie''s evolutional route could take on many different appearances, some becoming nothing alike to humans - though only the truly powerful ones would retain their human appearance, which masked the true strength of their abilities underneath it. Yin Mei felt that she didn''t quite like seeing the zombie emperor everyday. But, she also felt like this feeling in her heart, that was like a knife slowly carving pieces of flesh out of it, would somehow go away if she did. She didn''t know if she felt better when she saw him. She only cursed that he was still as beautiful as ever, with no remorse for his actions - though, she knew they weren''t the same person. Even though she knew it, she couldn''t help but think otherwise. She turned her gaze away, looking to her right where there was what appeared was a white room blocked off from them by a glass wall. Inside, there was something like a white dentist''s chair that Ming Yu was sitting at the edge of while she got her blood drawn. In the end, after Ming Wei coerced her multiple times, probably using a good amount of threats, she ended up "volunteering" herself to the lab. Though, Yin Mei didn''t know for what reason it was that she ended up doing so. Yin Mei didn''t even know whether Ming Wei threatened to do something to Lei Han if the girl didn''t admit to her abilities, and when she asked, Ming Wei outright denied to answer. If one had to say something good about him, it was that he was straightforward. When Ming Yu was finished with drawing her blood, she came out of the experiment room (or whatever it was) with a slightly dark face, obviously not feeling so well about having to be experimented on. But Yin Mei was not satisfied. She wasn''t satisfied at all. Ming Yu, so far, had only needed to provide some blood, hair, and nail clippings. It was not the image that Yin Mei wanted to see. She wanted to see her screaming as they carved into her and operated on her without anesthesia. She wanted to see her suffering from all the things that Lei Han had suffered, and more. Even Yin Mei didn''t know what the source of these dark thoughts were, but when she glanced at that emotionless face in the glass cylinder again, this gloomy and dark feeling overwhelmed her, enveloped her like mud, sticking to her and refusing to let go. She blinked and smiled as Ming Yu approached her brother, and Yin Mei, as she was right next to Ming Wei. "And here comes our savior! I heard from the doctor that you actually volunteered yourself to allow experiments to be performed on you. Gosh, I could never do that. But, if the cure ever does get made, I bet you would definitely go down in the history books as a legend. Your choice will save millions of people in the future," Yin Mei said, and Ming Yu had on a very uncomfortable expression as she heard this. The girl forced a smile, laughing nervously. "No, it''s nothing much," she said in a soft voice. Of course, Yin Mei had said this with the purpose of making her uncomfortable. Ming Yu may not be a particularly good person at heart, but she certainly liked to act like one. If she said these words in front of everyone in the lab, would Ming Yu have the heart to refuse the experiments ever again? All she had to do was say this, and Ming Yu would be pressured to accept it. As for the fact about saving millions of people in the future, haha, Yin Mei felt that she would have to disappoint a lot of people. Once a zombie reach rank 5, there was no going back. In the future, Ming Wei had theorized that the cure would most likely only work on zombies rank 4 and lower, but also in the future, the majority of zombies had already ranked up, and rank 1-4 zombies probably only consisted of half of the population of zombies. And even then, if a zombie deviated too much from being "human", it was hard to predict the results that the cure would have. Let''s just say, that god was such a cruel being, wasn''t he? Yin Mei once again looked at the man floating in that container. He was really, really, really, really unbelievably cruel. Her lips curled into a smile and her eyes became crescent moon shaped as she turned her gaze back to Ming Yu. That why it was fine right? She already had long lost the heart to be nice to these people, who only stood in her way. For some reason, when Ming Yu saw this expression on Yin Mei''s face, like she was a puppet master watching in amusement as her puppets danced in the palm of her hand, she felt a shiver go down her spine. She shook her head, sure she was imagining things. Yin Mei, by all appearances, was a very nice and sweet girl who was amazingly skilled in cooking. She must have just imagined it. Yin Mei chatted in a friendly manner with Ming Yu, before the girl finally bid farewell to go back to her room. She glanced at Ming Wei, who was fully concentrated on his work, as if he hadn''t even noticed the two girls who had been talking beside him. "Hey, doctor." Yin Mei said, causing him to raise his head in annoyance. "You can''t let your sister run away, okay? You have to keep her well locked up in her little greenhouse garden, or she''ll end up destroying all that you''ve been working toward." She continued gazing at the zombie emperor. "I can''t let her ruin anything this time." She asserted with a cold gaze. Ming Wei didn''t say anything, turning his head back to his work. But he didn''t ignore Yin Mei''s words either, as they echoed in his mind. He didn''t need her to tell him. He knew his sister best. And better than anyone, he knew the consequences of him failing...! His face hardened as he clutched his hand into a fist. He wouldn''t let anything get in the way of his research. No matter what he had to sacrifice, he would make sure that he would complete what he needed to do. Yin Mei didn''t say anymore. She had already learned what type of person Ming Wei was from the information. He wasn''t someone that would just let Ming Yu slip away from him, not when he had finally grasped onto this straw of hope. Yin Mei was just about to leave for the day when a researcher rushed in to report that a special forces soldier was demanding to see Ming Yu. Yin Mei was a little curious, so she stalled her steps, walking back toward the doctor and peering from behind him at the young assistant. "What are you fretting for? He doesn''t have the proper credentials - just go ahead and kick him out," Ming Wei said, clearly annoyed at being bothered by such a significant issue. "Well, the thing is," The young man leaned in to whisper loudly, "he says that he''s big sis Ming Yu''s lover! Also, he is recently favored by the commander due to his exceptional performance during the zombie horde and has a rare lightning ability." Ming Wei didn''t care about these sorts of things and was about to order the young man to drive him out anyways, but Yin Mei stopped it with a fierce whisper. "Wait, wait, wait, doctor! Isn''t that the Lei Han I told you about!?" Yin Mei was genuinely surprised. She hadn''t seen Lei Han in so long, who knew that he would pop up here? Could he even contain his anger if he revisited this place? Yin Mei felt that he might even outright destroy the lab on a rampage right now, several years earlier than in the original storyline. Oh my god, he wouldn''t actually be that stupid right? Yin Mei thought that if he really was that stupid... then she would actually be rather grateful. She could take advantage of the confusion to slip out the zombie emperor - oh wait! Sh*t! She cursed in her head. The zombie emperor hadn''t reached level 5 yet! If she broke him out right now, wouldn''t he just end up eating her? She groaned inwardly. It was a pity that she just couldn''t have Lei Han rampaging around right now. If the zombie emperor was released at this moment, it would definitely destroy the entire city, with no one able to stand up to it. "Doctor, for now, how about we take a look? We can''t have him becoming an obstacle later on, you know what I mean?" Yin Mei inched a little closer as she lowered her voice, so that the assistant couldn''t hear. His eyes were bulging as he looked at the two and their "intimate" moment, completely misunderstanding. No wonder the doctor was so lenient to her! So they had that sort of relationship! Ming Wei paused at Yin Mei''s words. He personally didn''t think that the man would become a problem, because Ming Wei didn''t understand things like the "power of love". In addition, he had confidence in the lab''s security. But seeing that Yin Mei had said so, he trusted in her opinion. So far, trusting in it had only led to progress in his research, so he would give her the benefit of the doubt. He then nodded, gesturing at the small researcher to let in Lei Han. Yin Mei licked her lips slightly nervously. Although she had been in the lab all day these past weeks, she had demanded a payment of energy cores from Ming Wei once she had "found out" about their existence while he was researching them. But, the power difference between herself and Lei Han should be quite big, as she also shared these energy cores with Qin Shuang. In addition, he should be gathering quite a number of energy cores from hunting, as well as probably having consumed a good amount during the time he fought against the horde. Yin Mei didn''t think she would stand a chance against him if she fought him directly. In the end, she could only think that Lei Han would most likely not take action at the current point in time, as he was still too weak right now. If she was wrong, well, even if she had to face the consequences of her actions later, she guessed that she would just have to unleash the zombie emperor on him for now. A/N: Ming Wei is growing into more of a second male lead than Yang ever was! Oh my god, zombie emperor hurry up or Yin Mei might actually get stolen from you! Yin Mei: ... Zombie Emperor: ... *no expression or reaction* Ming Wei: ... *snorts and leaves* 33 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 9 The assistant ran ahead in front of them to notify the security guards, and when Yin Mei and Ming Wei arrived, Lei Han had already been guided to wait in the lounge area. Lei Han, seeing Ming Wei, immediately flashed an expression of extreme rage and disgust, which he quickly hid behind a thinly veiled mask of calm. Then, he saw Yin Mei and was shocked. This expression he didn''t hide, just staring at Yin Mei and then between Yin Mei and Ming Wei, as if wanting to know the relationship between the two of them. "Lei Han," Yin Mei said calmly. "I didn''t expect you to be the lover of the doctor''s sister!" She feigned surprise, though Lei Han didn''t seem to notice how fake her appearance was. "The doctor''s sister?" Lei Han appeared confused, and then his face warped as he thought of something. "Yes, Miss Ming Yu. Did she not tell you?" Now Yin Mei was actually surprised. It didn''t mention anything like this in the information, but Yin Mei had just assumed that Lei Han already knew. She then couldn''t help but be exceptionally amused. Haha! For him to fall in love with the sister of the person he hated most in the world without realizing, wasn''t that hilarious? And now, seeing that warped expression of his, it really made Yin Mei feel satisfied inside. Seeing Yin Mei''s expression, Lei Han didn''t know why, but the ugly emotion he felt inside of him seemed to intensify slightly. Ming Yu was actually the sister of the man who had put him through torture every single day? It took him a while to calm down as he seemed to struggle inwardly with himself, but he soon took a deep breath as he came to terms with it. No, it didn''t matter whether she was that man''s sister. After all, it didn''t change all the kindness that she had shown him while he was suffering. But, there wasn''t any way that Yin Mei planned on letting him go that easily. Although Yin Mei couldn''t be said to be good a reading expressions, and in fact she was actually rather dense, Lei Han''s emotions were so clearly displayed that even Yin Mei could notice them. She was upset that he had calmed down so quickly, and wanted to rile him up even more. "Miss Ming Yu is truly the doctor''s little sister, her research has always shown such great results. She is especially passionate, even when compared to the others." Yin Mei said, each word stabbing into Lei Han''s heart. Especially passionate? In that research that counted more as torture than anything else? His hands were clenched together so hard that his nails drew blood from his palms. With difficulty, he asked, "Where is Ming Yu? I''ve been trying to contact her, but she''s been refusing to meet me. You didn''t do anything, did you?" His eyes were blaming, as he looked at Yin Mei. He couldn''t understand her presence here. Could it be that she had been in cahoots with Ming Wei since even before, in the past, while they were still lovers? No, that shouldn''t be possible... But he had a nagging feeling. He still couldn''t truly prove that she had also come back in time, but to him, her actions were unexplainable otherwise. Unless, due to the fact that he had taken different actions compared to before, her actions were the result of some sort of butterfly effect? "What are you even doing here?" Lei Han asked suspiciously, and Ming Wei, who was next to her, snorted. This man, from the very beginning walking in, had been rude all around. But, since Yin Mei had been the one who had wanted to talk to him, Ming Wei decided to remain quiet in the end, though his cold face showed clear annoyance. Lei Han, hearing Ming Wei snort condescendingly toward him, immediately bristled, angered by how much the man looked down on him. But before he could say anything, Yin Mei began to speak, answering his question. "I work for the doctor, of course. Why else would I be here? Hearing that you were here, I asked the doctor to let you in, since you were a part of my father''s regiment after all." In her voice, there was a slightly blaming tone that stood out, as if Yin Mei was saying, "My father used his life for yours, but you didn''t even do anything to help me, his only daughter, after he asked you to." Lei Han flushed in embarrassment, as if he could hear those words coming out of Yin Mei''s mouth, even though she hadn''t actually said them. This was the one thing that bugged him even after all this time, was that Yin Mei''s father was his life savior. But then, thinking of all the things that he had done for the girl in the past and all that he had suffered after she had betrayed him, that little bit of guilt quickly faded. Lei Han seemed to ignore her answer, as he asked again, "Where''s Ming Yu?" "Miss Ming Yu already left. She''s been working hard these past few days, so I don''t think it''s strange that she wouldn''t want to see you. I mean, you two must not be too close if you didn''t even know that she was the doctor''s sister..." Yin Mei mumbled that last part in a quiet voice, but for Lei Han, whose hearing had been enhanced by the energy cores, he could still clearly hear her say that. He wanted to be mad, but he also started to doubt Ming Yu himself. Indeed, it was true that she never mentioned this, in the past life or this life. Was he really that untrustworthy...? Or was there something more to it? He shook his head, deciding he could think about all this later. He then spoke with suspicion, "You aren''t locking her away or something are you?" Yin Mei almost coughed on her own spit. "What in the world do you think the lab is?? Of course the doctor wouldn''t do that! In the first place, Ming Yu is the doctor''s own flesh and blood. Ming Yu is doing all this of her own violation." Yin Mei emphasized the part where she said "her own violation". That was right, Ming Yu was doing this of her own choice! As for being threatened and pressured into making that choice, well, Yin Mei didn''t know anything about that? Yin Mei didn''t really want the two of them to meet, in case Ming Yu ended up complaining to Lei Han. She just knew that Ming Yu would take that white lotus approach of not complaining but still placing hidden blame in her words and letting others feel outraged on her behalf. It was such a classic white lotus move! All the white lotus villains in the novels would do this. Hm? That seemed a little strange for some reason. Sadly, Yin Mei wasn''t able to use this move. The difficulty was too high for a shoddy actor like her, whose IQ was too low for those honey coated words that used seven turns and fourteen curves to send poison thorns to their opponents. Honestly, Yin Mei could barely understand what the hidden intentions behind the words of characters in those ancient court drama novels were even after they had been explained by the author, let alone talk in such a manner like that. So she could only disappointedly think that she would not be able to master this super useful skill that seemed exclusive toward fake white lotuses. For Yin Mei, who wasn''t a pro at hiding her expression, her face quickly went from looking happy, to like she had ate a fly, and then to disappointed. One would have a hard time trying to figure out her train of thought. She then sighed, still feeling disappointed when she thought of this OP skill. Whatever, who needed words when everything in the apocalypse could be solved with brute force? That''s right. In the apocalypse, strength was the ruling king. Hah, a weakling like Ming Yu could quickly be taken care of, as long as she was separated from this big thigh known as Lei Han. Yin Mei was just afraid that Ming Yu might possess the mysterious summoning ability of all female leads that seemed to call the male lead or second male leads or other men to their side in times of danger, saving them in the nick of time. Yin Mei shivered. Oh no, just thinking about it made her a little terrified, imaging number X Mary Sue female lead in front of her army of pok*mon, excuse me, she meant her army of male suitors. Just as Yin Mei was spacing out, Ming Wei frowned, placing a hand on her shoulder, saying in a firm voice, "Lu Mei," and snapping her back to attention. She blinked, looking at Ming Wei with an invisible question mark on her face, tilting her head in confusion. "Eh? What were we talking about again?" She asked, blinking as she looked back to Lei Han and Ming Wei took his hand off her shoulder. The doctor narrowed his eyes at her, resolving to quickly push up his plans to write that introduction letter - look, she was even experiencing loss of focus and concentration now. Lei Han took this all into his eyes, the "intimate" touch of Ming Wei''s hand on Yin Mei''s shoulder, his voice which was filled with "affection", and his gaze filled with concern, as well as Yin Mei''s obvious comfort with his touch, clearly used to this (no, she''s just a clueless person). His expression turned slightly ugly. Even though they were lovers, she so quickly got together with another man? To top it off, it was the person he hated most in this world. It seemed Lei Han kept on forgetting that in this time line, him and Lu Mei weren''t even close, and had of course, never gotten together. Seeing Lei Han''s expression suddenly darken, Yin Mei wondered what in the world upset him so much. She was a little frustrated. If she knew, then couldn''t she make it happen again and upset him more? "Anyways, if that''s all the business you have, you should probably go and talk with Miss Ming Yu instead. We can''t really help you here." Yin Mei said, feeling that she had enough disappointments of the day. "Oh, but you know what, it would be great if you could help out with the experiments. Someone with a great ability like yours would be absolutely perfect. You would be helping out all of humanity with your contribution-" "Shut up!" Lei Han growled in a loud voice, his eyes turning red from rage. She actually dared suggest such a thing? What helping humanity? They said they were working on a cure, but in actuality, they were just torturing people. Lei Han didn''t think that they were working on a cure, in fact, he felt that it was more likely that they were working on dangerous drugs or biochemicals similar to the zombie virus. Of course, this wasn''t totally off the mark, since this lab was not solely for the creation of the zombie cure. For example, Yin Mei had mentioned before, but Ming Wei had also created an ability enhancing drug. Although the main goal of the lab was the creation of a cure, they created many drugs that aided humanity while researching it. But, Lei Han didn''t know any of this. For one, the creator of these drugs had been kept under wraps and it had simply been distributed under the name of B City''s government. On the other hand, Lei Han was able to justify his own vengeance by thinking that there was no way the person he hated so much and thought was so evil could do anything to benefit humanity. Yin Mei had plans to have Ming Wei fully complete the zombie cure. Though, of course, she also wanted to keep it delayed until a significant number of zombies had gained intelligence. This was to gather allies up under the zombie emperor''s name. She didn''t know what mission would come after breaking the zombie emperor out from the lab, but if it was in line with the previous mission, then maybe something like world domination? Anyways, she needed to work with her goal to help the zombie emperor in mind at all times. But, she still wanted to see Lei Han''s face when the man he hated the most became humanity''s savior. Haha, she really would enjoy that day! She had to make him feel regret, doubt... shatter the confidence of always being right that seemed to belong to all those web novel protagonists. A/N since it doesn''t fit again lol: For now, I''m going to set a tentative schedule of 7 chapters a week. But I''ll release extra chapters on the weekend, if I have time (I probably will, but I want to stock up chapters so that my releases are more consistent, instead of like three on one day and then two days without a chapter). 34 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 10 In the end, Lei Han left the lab dissatisfied, while Yin Mei also went back home. The next day, Yin Mei lay on some sort of operating table, her hands folded in front of her stomach as she stared at the bright ceiling, the light casting shadows across her face. What she was doing was thinking. She lay there, thinking. Right now, she was really tempted to just smash open the zombie emperor''s glass container with a chair or something, but of course that wouldn''t work. Anyways, she knew that the zombie emperor was so close to achieving intelligence, so she needed a plan. Qin Shuang''s parents had been killed by zombies, so he naturally didn''t have any good feelings toward them. Yin Mei still needed him to be on their side, so she needed to do something about that. As for the Ri twins, she didn''t really know what they thought. They hadn''t seemed to have lost anyone to zombies yet, but of course, any human wouldn''t really be keen on joining up with zombies anyways. Yin Mei closed her eyes, a twisted expression of exaggerated deep thought and agony on her face. Everything was so complicated all the time. Ahhhh, she wished that everything could just be solved by brute force, then she wouldn''t have to think so hard! But she calmed herself down and continued to think. She didn''t know how the zombie emperor would feel with her help, but she could only think that the system wouldn''t screw her over that much... okay, she had no trust in the system''s decisions. But, she still needed to break him out, so she could only hope he felt grateful to her. After all, in the original storyline, the experimenting done on him in this lab seemed to be the zombie emperor''s source of hatred toward humans. Man, they must''ve done some messed up stuff to him in the lab. Though, Yin Mei had never seen it. Actually, all she had seen was him floating in that glass cylinder in the middle of the lab all day. She was really curious, what were they actually doing with him? Because by all appearances, he was just kept there inside that golden liquid. She thought that she should ask Ming Wei, but this wasn''t really important. For all she new, they were using some prototype ability enhancing liquid on him or something and monitoring his results. But such a tame experiment?? Actually, now that she thought about it, she had yet to see the "torture"-like experiments that Lei Han had gone through and described in the information. Hm? Wasn''t that a little weird? She wasn''t quite sure why such a thing was the case... Could it be that he didn''t resort to such means until later on in the apocalypse? Or perhaps he had a change of heart as a result of some butterfly effect or something? No, no, no, she couldn''t have that happening. Ming Wei needed to be the evil scientist! After all, she still needed him to inflict much suffering on Ming Yu for her. Though, that was another thought... This world was already different from the two timelines described in the original storyline. In her previous world, the changes in the timeline never really mattered. Her actions didn''t seem to have much of an effect. Okay, aside from killing off those important leads, it didn''t seem to have much of an effect, at least, not in any way that pertained to her. Well, okay, okay, except she ended up dying at the hands of the female lead. But, Feng Hua had been destined to die as cannon fodder against the male lead, it had just switched over to the female lead in the end. But really, Yin Mei didn''t think that the changes in storyline were so big as to particularly make her feel it was a concern. But this time, she was growing slightly concerned. Now that she thought about it, Ming Wei was never really described much in the second timeline of the information. It was all from the previous timeline. Maybe that was why he was "different"? But how different was he? How different was this timeline in general? Because of the changes that Lei Han had made, many formerly strong characters of the previous timeline had faded into obscurity, while other unimportant people who had probably never surprised ended up rising to power alongside Lei Han. The zombie emperor was, in the end, never actually properly defeated by Lei Han. In the previous timeline, he was the first zombie to gather up an army (different from a zombie horde) and create what was known as the traveling zombie empire. In the next timeline, he also did so, mostly unimpeded by Lei Han''s actions. Though, many of his former powerful aides did die by Lei Han''s hands, it was as if it had no effect on him, and he always had new and powerful zombies to replace them. Hell, wasn''t the zombie emperor a little bit too strong of a last boss? Wouldn''t the readers be angered if the big villain was never defeated in the end? And this time, a couple of researchers wheeled a zombie corpse into the operating room, nearly having a heart attack when they saw Yin Mei on the table, who looked like a still corpse for a minute there. "Miss Yin Mei, could you get off the operating table please? It isn''t for you to sleep on." A researcher said in a slightly complaining and exasperated tone, and Yin Mei lazily looked over to him. "I''m not sleeping, I''m thinking. Laying on an operating table really makes one focus you know." But Yin Mei didn''t make things difficult for the man, and got off, leaving for the day. She had actually already finished work, but since Ming Wei didn''t say she had to leave, then she would shamelessly use the operation room for her thinking, thanks very much. As she walked back home, she thought that she actually had a decent amount of free time these days, so she should use it to find one of Lei Han''s allies. It should be about time for him to come to B City now, right? Aside from him, there was still the mysterious Ice Emperor, who was thought to be a member of the special forces team of B City... The odd thing was that Yin Mei had checked a little while ago, and B City''s special forces actually didn''t have anyone with an ice ability yet. She thought that surely the Ice Emperor would already be a member of the special forces from the beginning, but was she mistaken? The information on him was just too little. Yin Mei shook her head, the priority was Lei Han''s ally that would be arriving soon. The ally''s name was Wen Jing. He was a clumsy professor-type of person. It could be assumed that he had died before being able to do anything in the previous timeline, but in this one, he had been taken under Lei Han''s wing and so was able to flourish. Wen Jing was a botanical professor, and so under Lei Han, he began researching how to evolve plants in all different ways, mostly for the benefit of humans so that they wouldn''t have such a shortage of fresh crops. He was a very useful person that would solve any of B City''s potential future food shortages. In the previous timeline, B City had somehow solved them using other more drastic measures, but with Wen Jing, they hadn''t need to take those measures and became even more flourishing than before. As Yin Mei served Ming Wei his dinner a week after, she brought the matter up as Wen Jing''s arrival was quickly approaching. "Doctor, can you help me see if anyone called Wen Jing enters the city in the next week or so?" She said, sitting in the seat across from him. Ming Wei didn''t like being interrupted during his meal, but he was unable to bring up a complaint toward the person who was in charge of his food. He put his spoon down with a clink, nodding in agreement. "Are there any other details about this person that I should know? I''ll talk to the guards in charge of the gate later." "He''s a professor who specializes in the genetic modification of plants. I think you should take him into the lab," Yin Mei recommended. Ming Wei gently tapped his spoon at the edge of his bowl in thought. He would have to look up any articles about this "Wen Jing" person, as he didn''t recall the name at first thought. But, someone who specialized in plant modification would certainly be useful - it was true that they didn''t have anyone like that currently in their lab. Ming Wei resolved to bring him in for now and do a skill check later. He nodded to placate Yin Mei and then returned to concentrate on his food. Yin Mei rolled her eyes at his indifference, but didn''t say anything. As long as he kept his stomach pleased, she knew that he would acquiesce to most of her requests, as long as what she asked wasn''t a big deal. After all, hmph, if he didn''t, she would definitely dump a mountain of his most hated chili pepper flakes onto all of her dishes from now on. In the end, a Wen Jing was useless to her, as zombies didn''t need to eat. Dammit, she couldn''t win over the zombie emperor with food like she did with Ming Wei. Curse those abominations that would only eat raw flesh, even after ranking up. Since she thought like that, she decided she might as well give this guy to Ming Wei so that he would only feel more impressed with her. When Yin Mei followed Ming Wei back into the lab, she shot a sharp blaming glare toward the zombie emperor, but to her shock, he seemed to have the faintest of cold smiles on his face as he blinked, looking at nothing. What? Did she just imagine that...? "Doctor," Yin Mei said in an empty voice, her body feeling cold, but excited at the same time, as if even it couldn''t decide what to think. Ming Wei turned paused his steps, turning his head around. He could see that Yin Mei was looking at the zombie emperor, like she often did. He sometimes wondered what relationship she had with the person that looked exactly like that zombie, that she would react so controversially when it came to that thing. But it wasn''t his business. "Yes?" He replied, going to sit down at his normal spot as he arranged his research notes, about to pull out his experiment tools. "What rank is this zombie currently at?" Yin Mei asked, her voice soft. Ming Wei looked up, and then raised an eyebrow. "He was still at rank 4, earlier, like he has been for the last few months." "But what about now?" Yin Mei asked, her voice still soft and patient. Ming Wei didn''t know what had gotten into the girl, but he still stood up and went to check the monitor and control screen at the glass cylinder, tapping something on it a few times. "Rank 5? So quickly? I had expected it to take another few years..." Ming Wei said in amazement. "Rank five? Really rank five? Haha..." Yin Mei closed her eyes, her body seeming to visibly relaxed. Yin Mei grabbed Ming Wei''s hand, turning him around and switching their positions so that she was now the one in front of the glass cylinder. "What are you-" "Sorry doctor," Yin Mei said, but her expression was one of satisfaction. "What are you talking about?" Ming Wei was immediately suspicious, narrowing his eyes at Yin Mei. Unease began to grow in his chest as he looked at her expression. "Recently, I was able to obtain a rank 3 zombie core. Because of the cores that you gave me, I was able to level up the ability of my companion so that he could steal a rank 3 core from one of Lei Han''s hunts. Haha, that guy''s expression at that time was great. But, we were successfully able to rank up as a result." Yin Mei took out a blood red glove, slipping it onto her right hand. With Qin Shuang''s ability, he could even change the fundamental characteristics of blood at this point in time, making something like this glove, that was flexible, but also hard, almost like thin chainmail. "My companion''s ability is really interesting. But with this rank up, his ability now has a radius that encompasses about half the city. So, he can reach this lab from anywhere in the city,"Yin Mei raised her hand with the glove on it as she called out, "Plan K2," and grabbed a handful of invisible something - string, that shined a red light when she slightly tugged on it. "This was sooner than I thought it would be, but I''m glad I started making my preparations early." "Did you know that the glass used for this guy''s container can only withstand up to a rank 3 zombie''s force?" She pulled hard, and the threads wrapped around the cylinder tightened, the glass breaking as the liquid flooded out, drenching Yin Mei in it. "Damn, that was not expected." She muttered, looking a bit like a drowned cat. She pushed her hair back. The only problem with Qin Shuang''s ability right now was that although his strings could reach here, he was still lacking a little in the department of fine control and so needed a bit of Yin Mei''s aid in moving the strings. Only through the two cooperating could the strings move with a finesse that was impossible for either one of them normally. But, well, this had taken so long to practice. It was like trying to master string puppets in a very short time. "What have you done," Ming Wei said, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets as he stared at Yin Mei. She had just released a rank 5 zombie in the lab. A rank 5 city! Even if they gathered all of their special forces, they still wouldn''t be able to stand up to it. "Sorry, doctor," Yin Mei apologized again, looking truly apologetic. "I truly wanted to stay around and see you create the cure, but it seems like I''ll have to stop here. As a bonus for your help so far, I''ll tell you the key ingredient that you could never obtain last time though - it''s the core of the zombie that will be known as the Dark Saint, once it has been upgraded to rank 10." Ming Wei couldn''t understand what she meant by "last time", and though he knew he couldn''t trust her, but he still committed these words to memory, like a bad habit. "Don''t worry, I won''t destroy the lab to badly." With those words, Yin Mei grabbed a wrapped in sticky threads of blood zombie emperor like a sandbag, and ran off to the entrance, the doors cut open by the threads as she went. The alarms had long been disabled, and nothing sounded as she ran out of the lab. It was already dark outside, and because electricity had to be saved, there were only a few lights that kept Yin Mei from becoming totally blind in the darkness. "Running at the speed of light, zoom~" Yin Mei said, laughing in the dimly lit darkness as she ran toward the gate. The stars were bright, and the moon was out. If there was one benefit of the apocalypse, it was that the natural starry sky could finally shine through, no longer blocked by bright city lights. "It''s a good night to commit a crime, isn''t it?" A/N: Don''t worry guys, I''ll try and release as many bonus chapters I can for Trending/Top 50 celebration. So for the days I''m in trending, I''ll write as much as I can, just don''t want to get burnt out though so it won''t be anything crazy. 35 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 11 If Qin Shuang was following the plan, then he should already be at the city gates. Yin Mei could feel power coursing through her veins. She was no longer as weak as before, and sprinting at full speed through half the city with a zombie emperor over her shoulder just made her lightly tired. Arriving at the gate, as expected, Qin Shuang was there, waiting with a slightly nervous expression. "Good kid," Yin Mei said as she slowed down next to him and pat his head. "The Ri twins?" She asked. She had asked Qin Shuang to call them out, but who knew if they would come. "We''re here," Ri En said as he and Ri Yi walked out of the darkness into Yin Mei''s line of sight. "What in the world is going on?" He asked, furrowing his brow. "Haha, no time to explain in detail," Yin Mei said, happy they had at least come. "I''m going off to conquer the world, and I''ll need your brother''s help. I can''t protect you guys while your here, so I want to ask you to come with me. But it''s your choice." She said, her voice rushed as she tapped her foot impatiently. A groan came from the body slung over her shoulder, and she almost shat herself in surprise. "Go back to sleep," she said, and surprisingly enough, he fell silent. Yin Mei really didn''t think this guy would be so obedient, but she didn''t say anything, as there was no time. Ri En looked at the man that Yin Mei was carrying, opening and closing his mouth as if wanting to say something but then didn''t. He felt like he had to think about this important decision, but it was obvious that Yin Mei was unwilling to wait. The girl had truly taken good care of them, though... he had always been suspicious about it, but now knowing it was because she wanted to draw their big brother to her side, he felt relief. In the apocalypse, kindness without a clear motive was the most suspicious type of kindness. But, this also meant that he wouldn''t feel as guilty if he rejected her. "I..." He was about to say, when Yin Mei could hear loud footsteps drawing closer. The city couldn''t use an alarm, to Yin Mei''s benefit, as it would draw too many zombies. "No time, choose now!" Yin Mei said to him in an urgent voice. "I... fine! We''ll go with you!" Ri En finally said. In the end, he couldn''t deny the fact that Yin Mei was strong, had mysterious knowledge, and also helped them out multiple times. Although B City seemed the obvious, safer choice, his gut feeling told him that going with this girl was the correct option here. "Big brother," Ri Yi said in a bit of a protest, feeling that this option wasn''t safe enough, the future prospects unknown. "Yi''er, just trust me," Ri En said, reassuring her, though he himself was unsure if he had made the correct choice. Yin Mei grinned. "Good choice," she said, as she nodded at Qin Shuang. "You might regret it though," she laughed heartily as she nodded at Qin Shuang, and before they could change their mind, the four people plus one zombie were wrapped by invisible threads and pulled up over the half finished wall surrounding the city. Dropping down to the ground, they went to the garage where the military vehicles were parked. There were a few patrolling guards and the thick metal doors were locked, but this was no issue to Qin Shuang. Yin Mei would also have no issues, if only she wasn''t preoccupied with this deadweight she was carrying. Okay, she felt a little guilty for thinking of the demon king''s look alike as a deadweight, but currently that was exactly what the zombie emperor was. She could only shake her head as Qin Shuang tied up the guards and gagged them without a sound, before slicing open the iron doors, keeping them from falling too loudly with the help of his strings. Yin Mei nodded. He was becoming more and more like his self from the past timeline every day, at least in terms of his ability control. Now, if he could gain a bit more fighting experience, it would be perfect. Yin Mei grabbed the nearest military vehicle, and the group all got in. There was no time to wait for the garage door to open, so Qin Shuang cut that open as well and Yin Mei slammed on the breaks, driving away into the distance. Aside from the people who were watching the garage, they didn''t see a glance of the city guards at all. Yin Mei could only wonder what in the world happened. But she shook her head. Whatever, since luck was on her side today, then she wouldn''t question it! The first ten minutes of the drive was silent, until finally Ri En couldn''t take it anymore and had to ask. "Who in the world is that?" He said, looking at the tied up man in the passenger seat, who seemed peacefully asleep, his face perfect as perfect could be. He looked almost like a doll, rather than a human. "This? He''s someone who looks like someone I used to know." Yin Mei said, glancing at the zombie emperor''s pale face. She even felt that the two moles under his eye, that didn''t exist with the demon king, made his already beautiful face take on an even sexier and effeminate appearance. His existence was practically a sin, really. She wanted to question him why things ended up that way... she shook her head. No, they weren''t the same person! This would be the perfect chance to confirm it, when he woke up. But if they were... Yin Mei stopped thinking, and continued talking to Ri En. "He''s our key in creating a more peaceful world." Actually, this wasn''t a lie. But Yin Mei''s idea of a more peaceful world was probably different from others. Ri En was still doubtful, but looking at this man gave him the shivers so he stopped talking about it and changed the topic, "Where are we going?" "To H City," Yin Mei said. , as they continued driving along the road. H City was a several hours drive from B City, but they could probably make it with the gas they had in the car. If not, Yin Mei wondered if they would still be able to steal some from a local gas station. Otherwise, they may have to walk the rest of the way... "H City? Isn''t that a very large city that was the center of trade for H Province?" Ri En said. Yin Mei nodded. Indeed, H City had been a large and flourishing trade city before the apocalypse. That''s why, when the apocalypse started, it quickly became prime meat for the zombies and was quickly overtaken and abandoned by humans. It was currently a hundred percent zombie territory. That was exactly why Yin Mei was going. This was the place that the zombie emperor had made his base in the previous timeline, and was a breeding ground for all sorts of powerful zombies that would become members of the zombie emperor''s elite troops. "You two shouldn''t worry so much about it. For now, get some sleep. I''ll wake you up when we get there," Yin Mei said. Though of course, they wouldn''t stop worrying about it just because she had said so. Even so, they were truly exhausted and so quickly fell asleep. Qin Shuang, as well, had used to much of his power and had long been softly snoring. Now all that was left to accompany her was silence. The headlights of the car illuminated the dark night, and a big and bright moon was hanging from the sky, seeming unbelievably big. "What do you mean when you say that I''m the key to a peaceful world?" A soft voice interrupted the quiet, and Yin Mei was shocked. Even the voice sounded so similar! She glanced at the zombie emperor, whose red eyes were looking calmly at her. "You''re awake? Haha," She forced a light laugh, and had a look like she was unsure of what expression she should have on right now. "I didn''t really mean anything about it." She shrugged. "Then why did you break me out of there? You''re not afraid I won''t eat you?" He bared his teeth, as if ready to bite her at this very moment. "Well, that would be a pity. It would mean that I would be unable to complete my goal once again. What a pity, what a pity..." She lamented, looking extremely sad. "Then what''s your goal?" The zombie emperor asked. He was truly confused by this human. Since the beginning, he had been observing humans from behind the glass in that giant test tube of his. He also possessed the memories of the former self of this body, a man called Ning An. As a zombie, he naturally already was incompatible with humans. Why should he bother to get along with food after all? But now with his experience and these memories, he only disdained humans anymore, developing a dislike. Only this girl didn''t conform to norms. Yin Mei also wondered what her goal was. She checked the system. She felt it was always in perpetual recalculation of the main mission, as sometimes it would take years before the next mission was issued. "Huh? When did the mission update?" Yin Mei thought as she saw that there was a new mission. Maybe it had sounded during the chaos of the breakout and she just hadn''t noticed? "New mission: Gain the zombie emperor''s trust." ??? Yin Mei was dumbfounded. How in the world was she supposed to complete this mission... Just look at the zombie emperor, he was so suspicious of her right now! She then remembered that he had asked her something and so had to choose how to reply. Gaining his trust as a goal... if she said that, he would definitely be more suspicious right? "Oh! I guess my goal is to save the villain, and then maybe the world while I''m at it. Also to get rid of flies in the meantime. Ah, right, and to have a happy ending." Yin Mei said, but it only confused the zombie emperor more. "A happy ending?" He asked. And saving the villain... who did she mean by that? "Yep, a happy ending." Yin Mei glanced again at the zombie emperor, and he thought that he could see a sadness and also maybe a bit of anger etched into her pretty features. "I won''t let it end like that ever again," she shook her head, mumbling, and the two of them fell silent. She wondered if the zombie emperor may be the demon king. They looked so similar after all. She had denied it all this time, in part because this was a different world, and also in part because she didn''t know if she could bear it if he was. She shook her head. It didn''t seem like he remembered her and the previous world. She guessed that he must not be after all. In the end, this was a different world. Everyone she had once knew were either dead or as good as dead. The night seemed to stretch on and on, before Yin Mei finally spoke again. "You can''t eat my comrades. They still have their uses." She said. A zombie emperor and his elite allies was not yet enough for her. They had been unable to overcome the obstacle known as Lei Han, or even the rest of humanity, in the original storyline. Yin Mei needed more, more, and more before she could be satisfied. Endless greed and desire filled her heart. She hated this feeling, as if no matter how much she ate, she would still remain hungry. But it was not enough. It was never, never enough. Just look at how the last world ended! Although the zombie emperor didn''t agree, he made a grunt in acknowledgement. In the end, he decided to observe this person. He didn''t know what she was thinking, and why she hadn''t killed him yet. He was a little curious. And, ever since he lay eyes on her, since even before, when he was still not yet rank 5, a mysterious feeling had sprouted in his heart. A nostalgic feeling that he could not name. He wondered what it was. 36 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 12 The next day, just before the sun rose, they arrived at a place a mile or two away from the outskirts of H City. Because H City was a zombie hotspot, they couldn''t get any closer or the car''s noise would attract all sorts of unwanted things. They first rested for several hours (and Yin Mei slept a little), before moving on. In the beginning, Yin Mei didn''t think there would be any more humans left in the area, but she was proven wrong, much to her surprise. With H City being infested with zombies, any humans that hadn''t died would surely have already long gone off to other cities? But there was a small group of humans that was camping out on the outskirts of H City, as if intent on entering. Seeing Yin Mei''s group, they were wary at first, until they saw that they appeared human. At least, save for the one with the aura of a dead man. But, no one had yet to encounter such a human like zombie yet, so they simply believed that he was on the pale and sickly side, and his extreme beauty only helped them believe he wasn''t a zombie. The group''s leader was actually a girl, who had a small but energetic and straight forward appearance. She directly cut to the chase, "are you guys trying to go to H City?" "Yeah," Yin Mei said, also not beating around the bush. "It''s impossible. That place is infested to the brim with zombies. Recently, they''ve even started to organize themselves, believe it or not," the girl said, shaking her head. Yin Mei put on a thoughtful expression. This should probably mean that a rank 3 zombie had appeared. Considering H City''s state, probably several had already ranked up to level 3. In the information, in the beginning years, H City had been split into different territories ruled by the stronger zombies. In those days, it had already been a formidable enough place, but then the zombie emperor appeared, killing or bringing under his wing all those strong zombies and uniting all of H City under one leader. "Well, then what are you guys doing here?" Yin Mei said, raising an eyebrow. When she looked at the group, there was at least over ten of them. And one of them was actually a family of three, one father, one mother, and one young looking girl who could be no older than three or four. A child! Yin Mei''s eyes immediately glinted. She had not forgotten her idea of forming an all child special forces unit, it was just that she hadn''t had the time to do so. But, sadly, this child had luckily been able to survive with the help of her parents, though she didn''t know how long that would last. But a family that was able to survive together really attested to their strength - it was very rare for this to happen. After all, surviving by yourself in the apocalypse was hard enough, let alone with the burden of having to protect extra people. Their leader seemed to laugh drily, shaking her head. "All of us have some sort of family in H City. We all know that they have probably long been eaten by zombies, but all of us here just refuse to give up..." Yin Mei nodded. There were people who gave up, and those who didn''t. Sometimes not giving up was a good thing, but most of the time, it got people killed. Well, that was their decision though. Yin Mei could tell that some of them had already resigned themselves to death, while others just simply didn''t want to believe in the reality of things. But, it had already been almost a year since the start of the apocalypse. At this point in time, there was no way that their family members had survived. If they had, then they would have already long left H City. "What are you five here for?" The brown-haired girl asked, feeling like the group was a little odd. The oldest seemed to be the beautiful man with pale skin, and even he appeared to be only in his early twenties, and the rest looked like no more than children. Lu Mei''s body was 17 years old, Qin Shuang was reaching eight years old, and the Ri twins were both fifteen, so the girl, who was in her late twenties, was not wrong in calling them a bunch of kids. "Oh, us? We''re here to hunt," Yin Mei said as she flashed them a fierce and toothy grin. "Hunt? Young ones, you shouldn''t throw away your lives so easily. Anywhere else is okay, but in H City, the zombies are practically never ending. You''ll end up dead before you know it." One older man said, from where he was sitting by the campfire. When the group heard that Yin Mei and them planned on going into the city to hunt, they all started to crowd around, saying things similar to the first man, telling them not to be rash or overconfident and etc. "Haha, don''t worry about it. You guys can wait here." Yin Mei said, and not acknowledging their words, walking with the other four into the city. Calling H City a zombie''s nest wasn''t wrong. One could find a zombie roaming around every ten feet, and rank 2 zombies were unbelievably common, even though outside of H City they still had a rarity of about one rank 2 zombie every hundred to five hundred rank 1 zombies. "Does your confidence stem from me being here?" The zombie emperor asked as he walked behind them. He was no longer bound by Qin Shuang''s threads, though the boy had been reluctant to unbind him. The Ri twins didn''t know his true identity, but Qin Shuang had been listening in at the lab the entire time so he knew - this man that looked almost no different from a human was, in reality, an extremely strong and highly evolved zombie. He didn''t know why his big sister would insist on keeping him with them, but when the time came, he would definitely protect his big sis. Although his big sister seemed extremely strong and all seeing, as time had passed, Qin Shuang had realized that Yin Mei had been sacrificing advancing her own strength in favor of advancing Qin Shuang''s. Because of that, Qin Shuang felt guilty and had taken it upon himself to further improve his skills in order to protect her. Though the boy was young, children could be surprisingly smart and perceptive. "Yeah, it does," Yin Mei said. In the previous life, the one who gave her confidence from being by her side was the demon king. Now it was switched out with a zombie emperor, but the feeling didn''t seem to change. It was probably because they were so similar in appearance that caused this, but in the end, Yin Mei didn''t know. Anyways, the reason why Yin Mei was confident was because lower rank zombies felt naturally suppressed by higher rank zombies. It was the case for humans as well. Those with weaker abilities would naturally feel suppressed by those with stronger ones. The world of the apocalypse was truly one that had evolved into a dog eat dog world where the strong ruled supreme. Because of the zombie emperor''s presence, the lower rank zombies all scampered away from them like headless chickens. The Ri twins both looked at each other, even more curious over the identity of the mysterious man. Was this his special ability or something? The only thing that was a pity was that the suppression weakened the closer in strength people were, so the rank 3 ruling zombies of the area could still somewhat put up a fight, though it depended on the zombie. Even the stupid low ranked zombies had their personality differences, after all, it wasn''t like they were completely incapable of thought. They were just more on the level of drooling mentally impaired toddlers, that was all. At the time that the zombie emperor goes to H City, it had already been four or so years since the apocalypse started, so Yin Mei couldn''t trust that all the rulers of H City at that time were the same as the current H City rulers. Because of this, Yin Mei felt she might have to go on a bit of a wild goose chase to find those zombies, since they were fairly important to the zombie emperor''s forces. "Can you sense the high rank zombies in the city?" Yin Mei asked, glancing at both Ning An and Qin Shuang as she said this. Of course, Qin Shuang could look with his ability, but the zombie emperor as well would be able to sense other zombies within a certain radius - research in the previous timeline showed that this was an innate skill that even lower level zombies had. "Big sis, this city has seven really strong zombies, all in different places." Qin Shuang said, as he extended his threads out as far as possible. "But, the place is too big, so I can''t sense the rest of the north side." Yin Mei nodded. This was already good enough. Seven rank 3 zombies! It was more than she could imagine. This was probably already more than half the number of rank 3 zombies that there were in all of C Country? She looked at the zombie emperor, who shrugged, not saying anything. Well, there was no problem if he didn''t help out. Though with just Qin Shuang and her, it would be a little difficult to defeat the rank 3 zombie. There was also the Ri twins, but one was a sickly boy and the other was a young girl with no fighting experience. "Oh, that''s right! I almost forgot to ask, what are your abilities?" Yin Mei said. Since she thought this might take a while, she first had them find a spot to rest at before asking the question again. Ri En and Ri Yi looked at each other before each shaking their heads. "We don''t have one," Ri En said in a slightly disappointed tone of voice. "Eh? One year already and you haven''t awakened one yet?" By now, Yin Mei knew that about less than half of humanity should have already awakened their abilities, though because there were many rare and unique abilities that were difficult to activate, it probably appeared less than that, at maybe thirty percent. Ri En and Ri Yi looked embarrassed, though at the same time thought that they couldn''t be blamed for this! They just didn''t have an ability okay, it''s not like they chose such a thing, right? "Hmm, well, how about we test it out first?" Yin Mei said. If they still showed no progress, then she would probably just have to throw them into a horde of zombies and then they would definitely awaken an ability then. The Ri twins shivered, as if able to sense Yin Mei''s thoughts. But they still nodded reluctantly. It wasn''t like they hadn''t tried something like this before, just that it didn''t have any results. "Ri En, you go first." Yin Mei looked around before scooping up a handful of dirt. "Try moving it. Just stare and think about moving it." She said, and Ri En stared for several seconds before sighing. "Is there any point in this? It''s not moving at all." He said, embarrassed. "Just keep going. For at least half a minute," she said. Half a minute passed and nothing happened. She nodded. "Okay, let''s try this next," she said as she kicked the grass dirt ground in front of her, gouging out a piece of it and creating a small hole. She raised her hand, an orb of water appearing above it which she casually tossed into the hole she created, making a small puddle. "Try doing the same to that puddle now," she said, pointing at it. For newly awakened powers, asking for them to summon water from the air was a bit too difficult of a task, so she could only prepare the water in advance. Again, nothing happened. Yin Mei continued her test, like telling them to try lighting a small twig on fire, or blow away the flower in her hand, or make the grass on the ground grow, and etc. She cycled through all the most common powers. Ri En had no success, but Ri Yi was a surprise. She had a nature ability and was able to make a flower grow and bloom with her thought. This was a pretty good ability, and it was strong for someone who had never consumed a single energy core. Ri En was a little embarrassed that his sister had surpassed him and gained a power before him, and began to try even harder. But, even then, it seemed to have no effect. He was beginning to feel extremely disappointed and about to give up, when Yin Mei spoke up. "Don''t worry about it. Actually, even if you fail this test, you could still have an awakened ability. It would just be rare and hard to discover how to activate. Because of that, a lot of people who appear like they don''t have an ability actually have very strong abilities." To top it off, you two are the siblings of the Fire Emperor. There''s no way that you wouldn''t have a strong ability. Those were the words she left unsaid. Though at first glance, abilities were unaffected by genes, it was later discovered that this was only partially true. The type of ability you had was unaffected by genes, and to this day, there was no solid theory over the reason for why people had a certain type of ability versus another, but that was besides the point. The type of ability was unaffected, but the strength of the ability and speed of evolution was partially based on one''s genes. In other words, if a member of one''s family possessed a strong ability, it was highly likely that the rest of their family would also have a fairly strong ability. Of course, this wasn''t always true, and in the apocalypse, many people had lost their family members so such an idea couldn''t be properly confirmed, but it was normally acknowledged as fact, as there were many examples that seemed to prove this idea. But the issue was that many of the strongest members of humanity were all people who no longer had any family. Many people thought that this was a part of the reason they were so strong, aside from their ability, of course, but it was also because each and every one of them had used the despair of losing their family to further strengthen themselves. Though, this was something that couldn''t really be confirmed. "Well, if anything out of the ordinary happens, tell me. It could be a hint to activating your ability." She looked him in the eye. "There is no one without an ability. It''s just a difference of awakening time and how difficult it is to activate it." Because Yin Mei spoke with such conviction and confidence, Ri En couldn''t help but believe her words. In the end, Yin Mei decided to spend the rest of the day picking off weak zombies for Ri En and Ri Yi to enhance their bodies and abilities with, acting like a drill instructor from hell as she forced them to battle agains the zombies. Qin Shuang was tasked with something else, and the zombie emperor sat and watched them afar, looking like a king in this desolate wasteland. Well, that just sounded cool, but in actuality, it was an abandoned and ruined city and not an actual desolate wasteland. Looking at Yin Mei as she said something to the Ri twins, the zombie emperor wondered why he found this girl so familiar. Racking his brain for answers, he didn''t come up with anything. She talked like she knew him, but there was no memories of this girl in the memories of his body. She seemed to turn to look at him for a moment, her eyes showing a complicated emotion. There, that sadness was back. And something else that he didn''t know how to describe. She reminded him of something... that''s right. She looked like... a little rabbit. A shadow of something seemed to flicker in the back of his mind, but before he could grasp onto it, it disappeared. In the end, he could only sit there in frustration, unable to recall anything. 37 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 13 After a while, Yin Mei allowed the twins to rest and they made their way back to where the zombie emperor was. Qin Shuang had also appeared there, saying something to Yin Mei in a soft voice, and the girl nodded. They moved inside a building and up several floors before stopping. "Looks like we were able to kill enough zombies to successfully attract the ruler of this area," Yin Mei said with a smile, though her eyes flitted toward the zombie emperor momentarily. Well, it might also be in part with the overwhelming aura of the someone sitting casually next to her, but either way, the means didn''t matter much. "Let''s see what you look like," The girl said, though her relaxed air did nothing to instill any confidence into the Ri twins, who were nervous knowing that they would be encountering an even stronger zombie than the ones that they had just fought. Yin Mei looked into the distance where Qin Shuang said the zombie was coming from. Yin Mei had no experience fighting a rank three zombie yet, though she had monitored the fight between Lei Han and a rank 3 zombie in order to have Qin Shuang steal himself the energy core. Lei Han had struggled, meeting many precarious situations before finally pulling through, like all the main characters in the novels. Lei Han was currently stronger than Yin Mei, but she couldn''t say if he could compare to Qin Shuang. Though, she had no doubts that if the two of them fought, Lei Han would win based purely on his plot armor and protagonist aura abilities. Yin Mei spotted the zombie from the distance. It looked like... mm, it looked like a meatball. Like a giant meatball. Round and rough. Yin Mei felt that if anyone tried eating that meatball though, they would definitely get indigestion. Since he was already meatball shaped, one could predict that he would continue down this evolution path and definitely not look human by the time he passed rank 5. He was moving exceptionally slowly as he meandered down the path, and Yin Mei couldn''t decide whether she felt exceptionally disgusted or wanted to laugh until she teared up. But, she could kill this guy without any worries. An opponent like this would have higher defense, high strength, and slow speed. If this zombie was rank 5, then they might have trouble, as he might have the intelligence to formulate plans to make up for his weakness, but currently, this type of zombie was the best hunting target for a long ranged fighter. The only problem was that Yin Mei''s strength probably wouldn''t be enough for her to hit him. But, Qin Shuang should have no problems dealing with this one alone. And since he bore zero resemblances to any important zombie under the zombie emperor, they could kill him and take his energy core without worries. "Hmm, for now, Qin Shuang, you should try tying him up, slicing him up, burning him up, smashing him up, tearing him up... um, what are any other methods of horrible death can you think of?" Yin Mei tilted her head, looking at the pale faced Ri twins, who shook their head. "Oh... well, I guess you can choose any option you want. But make sure he can''t get any closer and keep around this distance." Yin Mei glanced back at the very slow meatball. He was still pretty far. With a rank 3 zombie''s strength, even one that specialized in strength, he shouldn''t be able to hit him from here even if he performed AOE moves like body slam or earthquake. Though, Yin Mei thought that if he threw a slab of concrete over, it just might be able to hit them. "... and put up a net in front of us, just in case," she added on, thinking that the possibility of him throwing things and hitting them was a little too high for comfort. Qin Shuang nodded, and his hands moved, seeming to dance, albeit in a slightly clumsy manner. He didn''t need the glove that Yin Mei had worn before, since he could change the properties of his thread where he touched with almost zero lag time. A tight net was erected in front of them. The side of the building that overlooked the city had been partially destroyed, and so there was nothing between them and the outside, aside from this newly placed net. Qin Shuang had a face of concentration as he continued to move his threads. Yin Mei felt that with a few more rank 3 energy cores and practice, she would no longer have to worry about him. The only problem was that she still felt that he was lacking when comparing him to the Vampire King of back then. WAs it the difference in the situation? The former Qin Shuang had been refined from endless battles and blood, but the current Qin Shuang was more like a carefully cultivated flower. "Maybe I''ll have to throw both the Ri twins and Qin Shuang into a zombie horde later, to hone their skills." Yin Mei thought. Mm, what a good idea. She wouldn''t want Qin Shuang to turn, as it would be a waste of such a good ability, but she certainly felt that if she continued to protect him like this, he wouldn''t be able to grow as strong as he could have. With Yin Mei''s eyesight, although the Ri twins couldn''t see the zombie at all, she could see him clearly. But with this distance, she couldn''t see Qin Shuang''s strings, which were already hard to see normally. Qin Shuang was relying on vibrations as his eyes for the battle though, so even if he couldn''t see from this distance, he had no issues. Though his control was still not up to par in Yin Mei''s eyes, she had to admit that he had talent and could quickly form an image of the battlefield and react appropriately, at least from what she''d seen so far. For a few minutes, she watched the zombie stop in place and seem to struggle with something. The problem with zombies is that if you cut them, they don''t actually bleed. Only after bashing their heads in or something would you get blood. After all, their hearts aren''t beating. Qin Shuang, despite his ability to control blood, couldn''t actually control the blood in zombies, oddly enough. It only worked with human blood, and even then, the blood that he was most effective at controlling was his own. And he never ran out, because he could generate more for himself, like giving himself a transfusion of his own blood. Yin Mei wasn''t quite sure about the details, but she was sure that there was a reason why the former Qin Shuang had decided that using his blood as threads was the most effective method of combat for him. After a while, the Ri twins, who couldn''t see anything, got bored and so went to go find something to take up their time. They were able to grab a deck of cards, amazingly enough, and so started playing some poker, using a few pieces of whatever stuff they could find as chips. Yin Mei continued watching the battle a little while, but since she couldn''t see Qin Shuang''s threads, she also quickly became bored and went to join the twins. In the end, even the zombie emperor was dragged in, though his face had on the oddest expression as he played cards with these three humans. And poor Qin Shuang was by his lonesome, soloing the raid boss while his pig party members were chatting off to the side. Several hours passed and Qin Shuang was getting exhausted, while the four had already played Old Maid, Texas Hold''Em, Go Fish, Blackjack, and etc. They started to play other games as well, like Word Chain, Twenty Questions, Truth or Dare, Sorry I''m Late, and others. But, in the end, they ran out of games that they knew how to play, so Yin Mei took the Ri twins hunting again, bringing back some energy stones for Qin Shuang to consume and alleviate his fatigue. With his team members supporting him with an endless supply of mana pots, in the end, Qin Shuang was the victor. After all, with this sort of zombie, as long as you weren''t hit by their attacks and had the stamina to outlast them (or in this case, the right amount of energy cores to give you the stamina to outlast them), then they would be fairly easy to beat. It was just a matter of time. Qin Shuang retrieved the rank 3 zombie core with his ability, and Yin Mei urged him to consume it, though he wanted to give it to her, she immediately rejected him. This was the core that he had spent several hours getting himself, what sort of person would she look like if she was the one to consume it?? She nodded when she finally saw Qin Shuang eat the core, and was glad that their first rank 3 zombie was so suitable for him to practice his techniques on. But, Yin Mei decided to stop their zombie hunting here. After all, wouldn''t it be an utter disaster if they accidentally cleared out all the zombies or killed one of the zombie emperor''s future right hand men? So, instead, they paid visits to all the current H City leaders. If they weren''t useful, Yin Mei would work on formulating a plan to get rid of them. If they were, she would attempt to subdue them first before talking later. Because of the help of the two rank 3 cores that Qin Shuang had consumed, his abilities shot up by a notch, and he was finding it easier and easier to battle against the zombies. In the end, they were able to consume one core per each of them, save for the zombie emperor, who couldn''t absorb zombie cores. There were four other zombies that Yin Mei beat into submission (an extra one had been in the north district, that Qin Shuang had initially been unable to sense), much to everyone else''s shock. They really didn''t know that you could actually forcefully take control of zombies like that... Of those four, one of them was an important general of the zombie emperor''s army, a zombie that had a lizard''s tail and horns, looking like some kind of a dragon-mix. The other three, Yin Mei kept because they still looked human and she thought that they had some interesting abilities. One of them was an assassin-type class with high stealth. But, because Qin Shuang had set up threads and traps everywhere, he had immediately gotten caught. It was a bad match up. The third zombie was a small child zombie with mental abilities. Initially, Yin Mei was worried because it would be a bad match up, as no one here had experience with mental abilities and so it would be easy for them to lose, but it was a good thing that this zombie easily submitted when he saw the zombie emperor. As for the fourth zombie, it was a female zombie with blue hair and snake like scales growing on various places of her body. She was an interesting looking variant zombie, but they didn''t see her abilities as Yin Mei immediately beat her up with no remorse after she had tried to clumsily seduce the zombie emperor. What the f*ck, a zombie with the mind of a three year old, actually trying to seduce the zombie emperor? She was first shocked then outraged, and even Qin Shuang couldn''t help but pull back a little when they saw that side of her as she "disciplined" the female zombie. In the end, the Ri twins were shocked and surprised, but Yin Mei was actually really able to subdue H City, this zombie infested place that no man except idiots and crazies would dare to enter. Not only that, but it had only taken them a short week to do so. They even returned to the group outside the city, shocking them silly, as they had all already thought that those kids had died. "Do you want to go in with us? Actually, Ning An here has a special ability that deters zombies, which is the reason why we can casually hunt inside H City," Yin Mei decided to say. She didn''t care about the others, but she still wanted that little girl. She was even beginning to be cruel enough to consider killing the girl''s parents in order to obtain her, but she decided against it in the end. She had noticed in the end that that wouldn''t be too good, and if the girl found out later, that was just erecting a big death flag for herself. They went one by one to the places that everyone in the group wanted to go to. Some found notes, and others only found a messed up home that dashed their hopes to the ground. The family of three were one of the ones who found a note from their son''s dorm room, who said that he would be leaving for N City, which was a nearby city to the north. Yin Mei sneakily glanced at the information before shaking her head. It was a pity, but that city would be overrun by a zombie horde in the next few years. The other members of the group left, but it was only the family of three that Yin Mei extended an invitation for them to join her group. They initially denied, wanting to go to N City to find their son, but Yin Mei looked at them with an odd expression, before finally saying, "The journey to any city is really dangerous. It''s hard to say whether your son is even still alive, or if you three will survive the journey at all. I find it already quite amazing that you can survive with a child with you, but you''ll just be making it harder on yourselves to try and go the distance to N City. I recommend that you reconsider. It''s better to prioritize the lives of the living over that of someone whose life or death is unknown." Yin Mei''s words were perfectly logical, but no parent would want to abandon their child that they didn''t even know was alive or not. If they did, and he ended up alive in the end, how much regret would they feel then? Yin Mei then asked if they really were insistent, they should leave their daughter with her, so that at least their daughter would stay safe. Of course, at first, they wanted to say an absolute no to this. Leaving their daughter to strangers? Absolutely not. But, actually, it was true that leaving her to this group, who had someone that could deter zombies, would be much safer than bringing her along with them to N City. But in the end, they refused. Although these kids looked like they had good intentions, you just couldn''t trust anyone in the apocalypse. To top it off, if they left her here, they would have to journey back from N City to rejoin together with her. Yin Mei was disappointed, but understood that trusting strangers was just too hard. In normal times it was hard enough, but this was the apocalypse. No one was kind without possessing an ulterior motive. She could only regretfully see the family of three off, sighing in disappointment. "Why were you so stubborn in trying to take on that kid? Everyone else refuses to group up with children since they''re burdens, but you seem oh so eager to do so." Ri En pointed out, as the three people faded into the distance. "Do you think Qin Shuang''s ability is strong?" Yin Mei suddenly asked, confusing Ri En. "Of course," he replied, wondering what this had to do with anything. "Isn''t it? And what would you think if all children under the age of ten have an ability just as powerful as his?" She said, turning around and walking back into the city. Ri En followed along. Ri Yi,Qin Shuang, and the zombie emperor were not present, the former two holed up in their current base of operations practicing their abilities, and the zombie emperor there to keep any zombies at bay. Though Ri En felt that the zombie emperor was still untrustworthy, Yin Mei didn''t have those doubts at all, seeming to blindly believe in the man. "Wait, it couldn''t be..." Ri En said, looking at her in shock. Yin Mei continued, "I''m not quite sure of the true reason, but children who experienced the apocalypse before the age of 10, as well as those born during the apocalypse, all possess extremely powerful abilities. It''s a pity though, that because many kids were thought of as burdens, they were unable to survive. In addition, many children possess abilities that are difficult to discover, and thus they were further unable to survive. Because of this, it took several years before people were able to discover this crucial fact, and they could only lament, as the amount of children still left from that time were simply too low. Most of those that had survive did so due to luck and their own ability, and developed a distrust toward other humans." "Wait, you say that as if you know-" Ri En suddenly looked at her in shock. "Wait, no way. No way. That''s impossible. You can''t be-" "What? Why can''t I?" Yin Mei asked, raising an eyebrow, vaguely knowing what Ri En was thinking. After all, she had said that much, if he still couldn''t guess what she was implying, then she would doubt his supposed intelligence. "This is the apocalypse. People have supernatural abilities, and zombies run rampant. What else could be new? Nothing should surprise you at this point, right?" Ri En felt like she made a lot of sense... Eiii, no matter. Having someone that knew the future on their side was a good thing, right? There wasn''t any point in thinking too much into it. "Then wait, so the reason you know my brother...?" "He''s famous in the future as one of humanity''s elite. Too bad you two died before he could return to C Country, though." Yin Mei said. "We died... no way! That horde??" Ri En said, as the first thing that popped into his head was his first meeting with Yin Mei. How she immediately approached him and how she seemed to know when the horde would appear. Yin Mei nodded. "Yep, you initially would have died from the horde. Ri Yi would have no one to support her, and soon after she would be raped and killed by some bad people." Ri En shivered. Thank god Yin Mei knew the future! Thank god their older brother was so amazing in the future! Thinking if that wasn''t the case and that they would''ve already died a long time ago, Ri En once more thanked the gods several times. 38 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 14 Returning to their hideout, which was a five star hotel that was still mostly intact, Yin Mei immediately went to go take a shower and rest. She was glad that despite the fact that this city had practically been ravaged by monsters, the water and electric systems were still somewhat intact. It was just that Yin Mei predicted it would be hard to establish communications with the other cities that were still standing. Yin Mei knew that for cities that had been able to quickly drive out the zombies, they still had maintained communication lines with other cities and the rest of the world, thus being able to pass around communication. When reading novels, Yin Mei had always wondered why information seemed so widespread even during the apocalypse, and it seemed that this was because, although normal people had lost the ability to communicate with others, the higher echelons of major safe havens had not and would thus be able to gain information from faraway places before spreading it to the public. But, the fact that H City was disconnected from the rest of the world was good. They could take this time to gather up their strength, zombies, and maybe a few people too. More than two and a half years later. A small human was trudging along the side of the road, a big human slightly in front of them. The small human was a little boy with a gloomy appearance, wrapped up in rags. The big human was a gruff looking man with his hair tied back in a short ponytail, a rifle swung behind his back and a ragged scarf across his neck. Winter was now just starting, and the winter of the apocalypse seemed unbearably cold. So much colder than the previous years. "Hey, kid. I can see a city now." The man said, looking behind him at the kid. He didn''t know why he was traveling with this child. He didn''t think of himself as a good person, and nor was he interested in bringing along a burden on his journey. But he didn''t know. Maybe he wanted some sort of companion to stave off the loneliness that came from walking around by himself from city to city, trying to find a place that would take him in. So, when he encountered the boy, and the boy started to follow him, he didn''t do anything. Even started to talk with the boy occasionally, or save him from zombies when it became dangerous. During this time, the man had heard some interesting information from the refugees camped outside of B City. And that was something about H City, which had long been said to be overrun by zombies, since almost day one of the apocalypse. At first, he didn''t believe what he had heard. But he continued hearing the same thing several times, and could only think that there must be some truth to it. It was that the lab would pay anyone to bring children under the ages of twelve to thirteen to H City and bring back the information they would receive in return. The journey to H City would normally not be too dangerous with a car, but gas had become more and more scarce. Most people could only go there on foot. Even so, many people said that the journey from B to H City wasn''t very dangerous, and there were few zombies. But most importantly, the amount of energy stones it was said they would receive would apparently be enough to live luxuriously for at least several years, as long as inflation didn''t happen. The man felt confused at first. For example, why would the lab want to bring children to a zombie infested city? Why would they receive information from there in return? Could it be that something had happened in H City while he wasn''t aware? And to top it off, what in the world was with that information that it was so important to the lab? He could only gather more information, and he discovered something shocking. Apparently, a young group of kids had conquered H City more than two years ago, and several months earlier, they sent out transmissions to the nearby B City that they would trade children for information. They said they would even accept the family of the children into the city as well. Of course, any children with family would be highly unwilling to take the journey to H City, but there were desperate people who had randomly grabbed orphaned children to take with them on the journey. And... they had actually all came back! Although the trip took them a long time, there had barely been any dangers on the road there, as if the zombies infesting the area between B and H City had all been cleared out by someone. They said that there was a new wall around H City, like a fortress, and when they arrived, they were greeted by a young and pretty girl, who would hand them a red card, the information, in exchange for the child. They didn''t know what they were doing with the children, but the person who greeted them appeared harmless enough, and seemed much a child herself, probably still in her teens. When the man heard this, he had looked at the young boy who was still following him from a few feet away, and a horrible idea emerged in his brain. He couldn''t help it. It was human greed. He had already allowed the kid to follow him for so long, wasn''t it about time the kid gave him some benefits in return? He couldn''t help but think that. And in the end, he gave in to temptation, and embarked on the journey to H City. He didn''t know how long they had been on the road, but they had finally came upon H City. It was completely different from before, a large black wall enveloping the entirety of the city, with only the tips of a few skyscrapers pointing out above them. With the man''s eyesight, he could only see tiny shadowy figures patrolling the top of the wall, and not much else. When he came to what appeared as the gate into the city, there was no one there, just a pair of doors the same color as the rest of the wall, aside from the glowing red lines that outlined it. When he approached the large gates, it wasn''t them that opened, but an indiscrete small normal sized door beside it. Because there was nothing to indicate it''s existence, it was practically invisible until it opened, shocking the Jesus out of him. The person that came out, was like in the information he obtained, a young looking girl. She was pretty, with a sweet appearance, and looked exceptionally clean and well put together. She looked like a rich man''s daughter, that''s what it was. In the apocalypse, where everyone was dirty and covered in dust, she alone seemed to stand out, and it made the man feel slightly embarrassed. The girl had on a smile when she noticed the young boy behind the man, her eyes curving into crescent moon shapes and making her expression even sweeter. She did look like a nice person, the man thought. He felt that if he left the boy with her, then he wouldn''t feel too guilty. "You''re here for the exchange, right? Could you give a message to Ming Wei, for me?" She said, taking out a shining crimson red card, that appeared almost as if it was made of blood and handed it over to the man. "Ming Wei?" The man was confused as he spoke and looked at the card, flipping it a few times. There didn''t seem to be anything written on it, but he tucked it into his jacket anyways. "The head researcher of B City''s lab. Tell him that I''m sorry... but it looks like he won''t be able to obtain the Dark Saint this time either. I included something extra on the card, in exchange." She sighed, looking truly sad. "It''ll probably take him a few years to figure out a replacement ingredient." The man didn''t understand what the girl was saying, but he memorized her words anyways. He then nudged the young boy from behind him forward. "Hey kid. They''ll take care of you here. You don''t have to follow me around anymore," he said, and the kid looked back and forth between them, and he seemed to realize what was going on. "Don''t worry, we''ll take good care of you here," The girl said, reassuring the boy. "There are a lot of other kids your age to play with as well." The man couldn''t help but pause. "Why in the world are you gathering up kids like this? No one else wants ''em but you." He said. "Because these children are the future." The girl replied, and ended the conversation there. But as she was about to turn around and leave with the young boy, she seemed to think of something. "Hey, what''s your name?" She asked, glancing toward the man. "Me? I''m Andrei," he answered. "Andrei? A foreigner? That''s Russian, right? Your Chinese is quite good." The girl said, a mysterious look in her eyes as she gazed at him. Andrei nodded. "My mother is half-Chinese, so I''ve learnt it since I was a child." He said. "Hey, if you ever want to, we''ll welcome you if you come back. Our H City has better living conditions than B City, anyways," the girl said, and the man looked at the wall, that he couldn''t tell the material of. For some reason, he didn''t doubt it. But he didn''t give the girl a definitive answer, and waved goodbye as he left. "Are you sad that he''s leaving?" The girl asked the boy, and he shook no, like all the children before him had. The girl smiled. "Then let''s go in," she said, and the two turned to walk through the door as it closed behind them. The young boy didn''t know how long they had been walking through the darkness, with a little small light shining in front of them. The sound of their footsteps echoed around, and when they arrived at the light, everything turned pure white for a moment, before his sight adjusted. The city practically appeared as if it had never experienced the apocalypse, though it was weirdly extremely empty and because of that, felt quite creepy. He inched a little closer to the girl, his eyes wary as they darted too and fro. Although it looked like there was no one else here but them, he felt like he could sense a large number of gazes on him, making him feel exceedingly uncomfortable. "Are you worried?" The girl asked, her smile warm and nice. He was suspicious of such a warm and nice smile, but he honestly nodded his head. "There''s not really any need to be. Haha, don''t be too suspicious either. We won''t do anything weird to you. The reason we''re gathering children like this, is because like I said with that man earlier, is that you guys are the future of humanity." The girl continued walking, slowing down her pace for the child. "In the future, you will be the one to lead the humans to greater heights, and usher in a new era of prosperity." Personally, the girl felt a little like she was some sort of preacher, and was raising up a cult or something. Nah, that was probably over thinking it. After all, everything she said was the truth. "You''ve probably been told that you''re useless, right? A burden?" The girl suddenly asked, and the boy bristled a little, glaring at her. "Don''t glare at me like that," she said, laughing. "I''m just asking you." He cautiously nodded. Why was she asking him this? "I don''t think that." She said, stopping and turning to look seriously at him. "And we''ll prove them all wrong. You, will prove them all wrong." Her smile then returned, dispelling the serious air as she began walking again. Before long, they reached a building that looked like a luxurious five star hotel, appearing especially pristine, even in comparison to the other buildings. "Big Sis, you''re back!" A boy said, calling out to the girl from the entrance of the hotel. He couldn''t have been much older than the young boy beside the girl, maybe by a couple of years at best. He had eyes that were red like blood, and the young boy couldn''t help but think of the vampires in the stories. That''s what the boy reminded him of. "You were waiting here again? How many times have I told you that you need to be focusing on your training?" The girl said with a slight frown, though she ruffled the boy''s head affectionately. "Even if you say that, no one is a match for me anymore. Except maybe that b*stard Ning An, but you know that he''ll never spar with me!" The boy complained, his face a weird mixture of being upset at being treated like a child, but also pleased. "You brat, where did you learn that sort of language!" The girl punched him on the head, and he let out a little yelp of pain - actually, it didn''t really hurt, but if he didn''t show it did, then the girl would surely get serious and actually start beating him up under the guise of training. "What, we have another new kid?" The boy said, looking at the child half hidden behind the girl with a dark expression as he grumbled. "What kid? You''re a kid too," the girl said, smacking him on the head again. "You better treat him nicely. You''re the senior here." The girl turned to the young boy behind her. "This is Qin Shuang. He''s been here the longest, so you can ask him about anything you don''t know." The young boy nodded, though already had it in his mind to avoid the kid. It was obvious that he didn''t like him. For any orphan who has survived this long in the apocalypse, they were especially sensitive to the emotions of others. Although the girl held no animosity toward him that he could tell, which allowed him to trust her at least a little, this boy was clearly displaying his displeasure. But the girl didn''t seem to notice, leaving the younger boy to Qin Shuang. "Give him a tour of the place and show him his room, ''kay?" She said, as she walked away, Qin Shuang knowing that she was probably going to go find that person. His expression soured. Ever since that person arrived, all she was interested in was helping that man all the time. He was a zombie! What was so great about him? Other than his appearance, which was like that of a male prostitute, Qin Shuang couldn''t come up with anything. Because he couldn''t take his anger out on that guy without Yin Mei getting angry, or without him getting his butt handed to him, he could only take his anger out on the new guy. He glared at the kid, turning around in a huff as he walked into the building. The young boy stood in place, not knowing what to do until Qin Shuang shouted angrily at him, "what''re you waiting for? Get in here already!" He was startled, but soon quickly walked in, trying to keep up with Qin Shuang, who didn''t slow his pace for him. 39 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 15 "What''s your name?" Qin Shuang asked, but the kid remained silent, looking around in awe around him. "Hey! Your name!" Qin Shuang shouted, snapping the kid to attention. "Y-Yu Yan..." The boy said in an extremely quiet and rough voice, as if he had not spoken in a very long time. And he hadn''t. Even he couldn''t seem to remember when he last spoke. Maybe it was when his parents had died? "Speak louder!" Qin Shuang said, as he briskly continued to walk past the lobby to the elevators. "Y-Yu Yan!" Yu Yan said, louder this time, his voice trembling. "Whatever, I''ll take it. Yu Yan? You''re the twelfth kid to come here now. The others are probably all doing their own thing, so you won''t be able to meet them until dinner though." Qin Shuang said, as they waited for the elevator. He then recalled, "Oh right, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all down here in the lobby area. There''s a little restaurant next to it where we eat." He said. When the elevator arrived, they entered and he pressed the button for the 20th floor gym. "The top floor is where Big Sis lives, so you can''t go up there. Aside from that, everywhere else in the hotel is fair game. It''s better for you not to go outside the hotel though. We won''t stop you, but... well, whatever. Anyways, you can decide for yourself, I just wouldn''t recommend it. The 20th floor has a swimming pool, spa, and training room for everyone to exercise or practice their abilities." Qin Shuang, though he was clearly unwilling, still obeyed Yin Mei''s orders and faithfully guided Yu Yan around the place. Everything looked clean and luxurious, as if allowing one to forget that outside was the apocalypse. "I-I don''t have an ability..." Yu Yan quietly said with a nervous expression, fearing that he would be kicked out if he didn''t. "Everyone has an ability." Qin Shuang replied, as the elevator reached its destination. Opening up, they first visited the training area. It was the former gym, though it had been completely remodeled. The room was completely white, and the ceiling had been knocked down to include another floor, with an observation room overlooking the area. There were three kids inside the room, and one strange looking adult. One was a long haired androgynous kid who seemed maybe 13 years old, wearing a traditional styled emerald green chang pao with white pants. He was kicking a shuttlecock from one foot to another, seeming to just be playing around. The second kid was a small girl with wavy blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. She was playing with building bricks that were floating around her, talking to a strange looking adult dressed like a butler, a pair of red horns sprouting from his head and the whites of eyes pitch black, while his irises were a strange gold, and a thick lizard tail came out from his back. Yu Yan wondered if it was a result of an ability, though he wondered what sort of ability could give someone such a demon-like appearance. The last kid was a boy with fluffy brownish red hair that was lying on the ground hugging a large body pillow as he snored loudly, fast asleep. Qin Shuang immediately went up to the sleeping kid, kicking him awake."Wake up! If you want to sleep, don''t do it in the training room." He said, as the boy yelped, getting up and rubbing the spot where Qin Shuang had hit him. "I''m training, training. Can''t you see that?" He complained, grabbing around for the pair of large glasses next to him and putting them on. He had a face of freckles and bright green eyes, looking like a foreigner like the blonde haired girl. "I bet William was just sleeping," the blonde girl, Maria, said in a childish voice as she giggled. "I was not! I was practicing my ability, really." William said, feeling wronged. This is what he got for having an ability that only activated when he slept, no one ever believed him when he said he was practicing his ability, they all just thought he was slacking off! "You can practice just as well in your bed," Qin Shuang said in a cold voice. "But I like the training room," William complained, but taking a peek at the other boy''s unamused expression, he could only grumble as he grabbed his pillow to leave for his room. "Oh, wait, are you a new kid?" He said, looking at a young boy. Yu Yan was eight, but because of malnourishment, he looked more like he was five. But, many of the kids here were the same way when they arrived. For orphans, it was hard to survive day to day, let alone get enough food to grow. William was also on the smaller side, but was at ten years old, only a couple months younger than Qin Shuang. "Yeah, his name''s Yu Yan." Qin Shuang said. William nodded, before leaning in to whisper into Yu Yan''s ear, "don''t worry, Qin Shuang hates all of us because we take away his time with his beloved big sister," he said, before leaning back like nothing had happened, pushing up his glasses with an indifferent look. "I can hear you," Qin Shuang said stiffly, and William made an innocent expression. "William is just sour that he can''t beat Qin Shuang!" Maria called from over where she was. Everyone here all had enhanced physiques from training their abilities, and so they were able to easily hear what William had said. "Well, William''s ability is the only one that can''t be used in combat after all," Lee, the boy wearing the chang pao, said as he kicked his shuttlecock one more time before letting it fall to the ground as he walked over. William frowned, but didn''t say anything. Dammit, if only his ability didn''t require him to sleep to activate it! He huffed, but wasn''t brave enough to go up against Qin Shuang, who was the strongest out of all of them. He left the training room, stomping loudly as he went. "Ahhh, wait, Amon, you messed up my castle!" Maria suddenly said, as the demon-like man''s tail had accidentally hit the building blocks when he had turned around to glance at Yu Yan. Amon fretted as Maria started to tear up, trying to comfort her. "Ignore those two," Qin Shuang said, bringing Yu Yan to leave. Lee also wasn''t going to stay to listen to the young girl cry, and so also left. "I''m going to go to the lobby to grab a snack," he said, waving goodbye as he went to go take the stairs. Seeing that Yu Yan was staring with bulging eyes as Lee went through the door to the stairs, he explained, "We almost never take the elevator to save energy, but because for newbies, we''ll let them take the elevator at first before they start their training." Yu Yan blinked. Although he walked and battled for hours everyday, walking up and down 20 flights of stairs at once would still be exhausting for him. He wondered what sort of training he would have to go through that let them so casually be able to do such a thing. Qin Shuang introduced Yu Yan to some other facilities and his room, while in the meantime, Yin Mei returned to her own room on the top floor. The zombie emperor was lounging on the sofa, barely acknowledging her when she entered. Yin Mei also didn''t pay attention to him much, going into the bedroom and flopping down onto the bed. She groaned, flipping around and activating the system''s surveillance ability. She first checked on Andrei, who had already walked a mile or two away from H City. It might take him a couple of weeks to get back to B City, but Yin Mei wasn''t very worried. They had cleared the road from the two cities of zombies precisely to allow for safe delivery of the kids and information. The only zombies that would wander there were zombies that had wandered in from beyond their territory, which was rare as many zombies had already settled down in their own territories. Only if they were driven out by a strong zombie that didn''t like other zombies in his territory would they start wandering to find another place to hunt in. And not only that, but that card she had handed him was made from Qin Shuang''s blood, so that he would be able to tell if anything would happen to the messenger immediately, it could act as a shield. In addition, it was unable to be harmed by wind, water, or the other elements, while keeping the information secret to anyone except the intended receiver. Plus, he could make it disappear after it had been read. It was all around very useful, especially in training his ability. It took awhile before he was able to control it from so far away to disappear, but he had still been able to accomplish it. Yin Mei was very proud, feeling that Qin Shuang was really like her own little brother. The other kids as well, were all doing very well with their training. Because many of them were orphans, they ended up developing attachments to each other, herself, and the zombie babysitters (like Amon) that she had assigned some of the younger kids. Of the kids, all of them except Yu Yan had figured out that this was a "zombie city". The one who came before Yu Yan had already been here for several months, and in the end, none of the older ones could help themselves and would end up going outside at one point in time. Most immediately freaked out and would use their abilities, but would be quickly subdued by a rank 5 zombie that would go out after them and brought back to the hotel to calm down. After a while, the city would then be explained to them. Such as the existence of intelligent zombies, and how the mysterious man that would follow Yin Mei around was actually a zombie himself, and the ruler of all the zombies here. Zombies and humans couldn''t coexist. They knew this. Zombies needed raw flesh to advance, and humans needed zombie cores. It wasn''t possible. They would at first reject this knowledge, and some would hole up in their rooms. But, no matter what, they would be unable to give up the family, warmth, and delicious food they had obtained. Their hearts would be worn down. They had already lived with the human-like zombies, and had become attached to them. In the end, despite their doubts, they would still reluctantly accept the situation. And then, slowly, they would grow used to it and no longer think of it as something weird. As for obtaining zombie cores, they would always hunt outside their city''s territory. The city zombies as well, could not eat any of the humans inside the city or who were a member of the city. Yin Mei switched the screen to look at Ming Yu. As time progressed, and Ming Wei got more and more impatient, the experiments performed on her became more and more ruthless. To top it off, to save on anesthetics, Ming Wei would no longer give her any as he dissected her. He didn''t even need to worry that she would die, as she could heal herself back up until she was brand new. Not only that, but it even let her constantly improve her healing capabilities. Although she couldn''t regenerate lost limbs or organs, she could already heal most fatal wounds. Although Lei Han was frustrated, Ming Wei did not give him a single inch. He also wasn''t able to obtain anything from Ming Yu in the times he was able to meet with her - who knows what Ming Wei had told her, but she didn''t reveal anything, and assured Lei Han that her brother was treating her well, that she was doing this for the sake of humanity, that they would be able to create the cure soon, and etc. Lei Han didn''t really believe her, but he also couldn''t say to her that he didn''t. "Currently our city has fifty rank 5 zombies... it''s the majority of the rank 5 zombies in the country." Yin Mei muttered. But it still wasn''t enough. Right now, Lei Han could go up against a rank 4 zombie with a little bit of trouble, and could probably defeat a rank 5 zombie if he went all out. Depending on the match up, he may also end up with having to especially exert himself, but Yin Mei was unable to tell. "This mission still isn''t completed either... it says it''s at ninety-two percent completion, but it hasn''t increased at all in the last month," Yin Mei murmured, as she looked at the progress bar for her quest, something new that had been implemented when she had asked for it. Will she have to risk her life for him or something to fill in that last eight percent? They had finally obtained the Dark Saint, so Yin Mei was a little tempted to give this a try. After all, they now had a healer on their party. It was just that the way the Dark Saint cured injuries was a little disgusting, so Yin Mei had her reservations. "The Dark Saint is also researching into substitute ingredients for the cure... I wonder who will finish their research first," Yin Mei muttered, thinking of that guy, Ming Wei. She still felt guilty toward him, for half-trashing his lab, stealing his research materials, and now she would be unable to allow him to obtain one of his key ingredients, as they also needed the Dark Saint for themselves. After all, that guy would become one of the most powerful zombies under the zombie emperor later, and was their residential head doctor of surgery. Yin Mei rolled around back and forth on the bed, groaning in agony. She really hated having to use her brain like this, but it always seemed to be a requirement for these missions. "F*ck, I just wanna go kill someone right now." She muttered, grabbing the pillow and smushing it onto her face. She then thought it was such a good stress relieving idea! She decided that the next time, she would sneak out to go kill off the male lead. He was useless anyways, unlike Ming Yu. There wasn''t any point in keeping him around, right? Hum, though he was powerful and had such an attack oriented special ability, she could take the advantage of... Yin Mei continued to mutter to herself as she swiped through the system information, formulating a detailed plan to kill of the male lead. Sigh, after all, old habits die hard! In the end, the course of action that she always seemed to come back to was to kill the male lead. 40 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 16 "Pure water doesn''t conduct electricity." Yin Mei said, sitting next to the reading zombie emperor. All the zombie emperor really did these days was lounge around and read, or play games with the Ri twins when he was free. Yin Mei really wanted to ask him if he really was the zombie emperor or a godd*mn freeloader? "You''re right, it doesn''t. Why are you saying this?" The zombie emperor said, flipping a page in his book and not looking toward the girl. Somehow, these days he always felt irritated when he looked at her, because he always felt like he was on the verge of remembering something, but never could. That made him feel extremely annoyed all the time. In the end, he could only try to not pay attention to her, though there was something in him that demanded he follow her all the d*mn time... just thinking about it was making him feel angry again! "I found this out recently. When I asked the Dark Saint what abilities would work against a lightning user, to my surprise, he said water abilities were quite suitable, since they can create completely pure water." Yin Mei said. For most water users, they didn''t create water out of thin air, but rather gathered up water molecules from the air around them to create water. But, that didn''t mean they couldn''t create water at all, it was just more energy consuming. And, when they did create water, they could create completely pure water if they so desired. "Ha, haha, hahaha!" Yin Mei couldn''t help but laugh, clutching her stomach as she leaned forward, tears springing up in her eyes. Who would expect that this cannon fodder called Lu Mei had a power that was so powerful against Lei Han''s? She never would have realized it by herself! Her laughter soon died down, and she fell silent, her face cold. She leaned back, looking at the ceiling. The silence stretched between the two for a long time, before Yin Mei finally spoke again. "I''m going to be leaving. I don''t know how long I''ll be gone, but it shouldn''t take more than a few weeks. Take care of the kids for me." She stood up, grabbing a bag on the kitchen counter before leaving the room. The zombie emperor looked up only after she was gone, a complex expression on his face. But in the end, he did nothing about this feeling in his chest, and remained in the silent and empty room. Before leaving, Yin Mei also talked to Ri En and Ri Yi. It wasn''t that she didn''t trust the zombie emperor, it was just that she clearly understood his personality. He was like the demon king... he didn''t like to work! He was an emperor that couldn''t do anything without someone else doing it for him. Yin Mei nodded. Actually, this wasn''t exactly true. It was because she always did everything for him first that she never experienced him doing anything for himself, and thus misunderstood it as him being unable to do anything rather than him not having the opportunity to do anything. Ri En and Ri Yi were nervous knowing that Yin Mei would be leaving for such a long time, and even more nervous when they found out she hadn''t told Qin Shuang yet - f*ck, when he finds out, won''t he end up destroying half the city with his tantrum? They were really worried! But no matter how much they begged Yin Mei to reconsider, she light heartedly laughed as she left them to their own devices. Godd*mn, they didn''t know that she was always this type of irresponsible person! As for Yin Mei, after equipping herself with all manners of weapons and taking the military vehicle (since she was unwilling to walk), she began her journey to B City. Well, all she could do was hope that H City wouldn''t go to hell without her there. Only after thinking about it a bit did she realize just how much she was responsible for. She was the one who made all the decisions and commanded all the zombies. She even had to act as a teacher, chef, and mother for all the kids! Man, she should get a Nobel prize for all the sh*t she did for H City and their group. Driving in the military car, she drove on the empty road. Before, there had been cars abandoned here, but they had all been moved off by their zombies. Many people had also hijacked a few for themselves. The road wasn''t smooth, and had places where it looked like it had been partially destroyed due to various reasons. Even so, it was better than driving off road. It didn''t take long for Yin Mei to catch up with Andrei, maybe forty five minutes, who was walking at the edge of the road. Seeing his figure from far off, Yin Mei came to a stop next to him, and he looked at her in surprise. "Want a ride?" She asked with a smile. Andrei wouldn''t give up such a sweet opportunity, so he nodded and got into the passenger seat. "Where are you going?" He asked, curious. He felt that this girl was really mysterious. "I decided to go see someone I know in B City. Spur of the moment decision." Yin Mei answered. "I''ll come with you to go see the doctor," Yin Mei said. Would he kill her the moment he saw her?? Ahahaha, she was looking forward to it a little. Anyways, there was a little something she needed from his lab. She once more felt a little guilty. After stealing from him and running away, she would only be coming back to visit and steal from him again... Oh well, such was life! "... How is the kid doing?" Andrei asked after a long time. He didn''t know that he had gotten so attached to that kid after such a long time, but he couldn''t help but ask him. Even though he was the one who sold him off, he was still worried. He felt like a hypocrite, but in the end, he had to prioritize himself over a random child he picked off of the side of the road. "The kid? I don''t know," Yin Mei answered honestly. "Would you like me to check on him or something? He won''t be bullied by the other kids. They''ve all experienced the same things as he''s had, after all." Andrei shook his head. He guessed she wouldn''t know, after all, it had only been a little more than a day since he had been dropped off. "Don''t worry, kids that survive for this long will be tougher than you think. They''re smart, adaptable, and talented. Though it may take him some time to warm up to the others, he won''t experience any losses going up against them." Yin Mei said to comfort the man. At those words, they stopped talking for the rest of the ride. The reason why Yin Mei was so nice to Andrei was due to the fact that he would be pretty famous in the future. Well, maybe infamous was a better word. He was someone like the future Qin Shuang that hated humans. He did a lot of actions that jeopardized humanity, such as raiding cities and baiting zombie hordes over to human bases. He would often be called the "One-eyed Scourge". Looking at him now, he still had two eyes and didn''t seem too much like the type of guy who had it in for the rest of humanity. Clearly something had happened that caused him to seem hell bent on destroying all other humans... Well, Yin Mei wouldn''t mind bringing him over to their side. His ability was actually the highly coveted "copy" ability, and he had quite some capabilities to evade capture for so long and wreck havoc like that. Plus, for being so old, his ability was really rare and powerful, depending on how it was used. It was only that copy abilities like his tended to have a lot of activation restrictions. The drive was uneventful, and they soon arrived on the outskirts of B City. The refugee camp was practically like its own bustling city, as more and more people had gathered, while less and less people were being let in. In fact, at this point in time, barely anyone was allowed in unless they were already a citizen or had a special city pass. Yin Mei went to the back of the car to grab some things, and took out a knife sheathed to her thigh, sawing off her long and beautiful black hair so that it only reached just above her shoulders, the edges slightly rough and jagged. She wrapped a dirty scarf around her neck and put on a pair of goggles to hide her eyes, while slinging a sniper rifle across her back. She actually looked kind of similar to Andrei in the way she was dressed, matching up nicely in an apocalyptic war veteran kind of style. For good measure, she also smeared her face with some dust and dirt, and felt exceedingly uncomfortable. Well, she had to have some sort of disguise to get through the front gate, right? She threw the keys into the inside of the car, shutting the door without locking it. "You aren''t gonna put it into storage? They charge five rank 2 energy stones for it." Andrei said, worried that someone would steal the car by the time they came back. "Don''t worry. It''s almost outta gas anyways, so it''s useless." Yin Mei replied. The two of them walked up to the front gates. Because Andrei was delivering the red card, and Yin Mei was his companion, the two were let in after a brief injury check. "Wow, they let me in so easily." Yin Mei said, as pulled down the goggles so they hung around her neck. "Didn''t even tell me to take of the goggles." "Why wouldn''t they let you in?" Andrei asked, as the two of them walked toward the center of the city, where the lab was. "Well, I did some bad things in B City like two and a half years ago." She said, looking around at how much B City had changed. There was new construction going around seemingly everywhere, and perhaps it looked a little more crowded. But there didn''t seem to be too much difference from when she was last here. Or perhaps she just couldn''t remember anymore. "Some bad things?" Andrei tried thinking, but he didn''t seem to remember B City releasing any news like that. "Well, it must not be bad enough for them to put out a warrant." "Well, you have to do some real bad things to get a warrant these days. Real bad things. Mass terrorism level bad, yeah?" Yin Mei looked around, glancing in the direction of her former apartments. She couldn''t see it past the mass of high rise buildings blocking her sight. She shook her head, and they soon arrived at the lab. From what she could see, the security looked like it had increased since she was last there. Maybe it was because of her? They were at first only going to grab the red card, but Andrei glanced at Yin Mei for a moment before speaking, "I have a message from the girl I exchanged the information with. Said it was to a ''Ming Wei'' or something." Andrei said. "You can''t tell us here?" The security guard said in an annoyed tone of voice, and Andrei shook his head. "I think it''s better to deliver the message personally." He said. "... Fine, I''ll ask the head researcher." The man said reluctantly. He placed a couple guards on them first before sending a messenger. They did have communications devices, but those were for emergencies only. Unlike H City, which seemed like it didn''t lack any water or power, B City had to continuously conserve their resources to manage the large amount of people in the city. In the end, The two of them were let in and sent to a separate waiting room... which seemed more like an interrogation room. There was a surveillance camera, and two guards stood behind them at opposite sides. Yin Mei appeared pretty relaxed, though she was a little worried over the abilities of the two guards. Oh boy did she hope Ming Wei didn''t hold a grudge against her. "You said you had a message from Lu Mei?" Ming Wei immediately said as he entered, his face dark, clearly upset about something. Yin Mei slowly put on her goggles, turning her head away slightly. Oh sh*t, he''s reallyyyyyyy angry with me isn''t he? She thought he woulda forgiven her after two years, but doesn''t it look like he still hasn''t forgiven her at all? Andrei glanced discreetly at Yin Mei several times, but still faithfully relayed her message. He also handed over the red card, which Ming Wei read with an expression that grew darker with each word. He gripped the red card so hard that it cut into his hand, drawing blood before it disappeared, flowing down like blood and turning into red particles that scattered to the ground. "Did she say anything else?" Ming Wei said, his voice as cold as ice. Andrei didn''t dare look the man in the eye, his eyes more obviously darting back and forth between him and Yin Mei. "Uh..." Because it was so obvious, Ming Wei clearly noticed Andrei''s reaction and finally turned his attention to the other person in the room. They looked like a small girl with short and choppy bobbed hair, goggles covering her eyes, and a scarf partially covering the rest of her face. He couldn''t help but think who the hell let such a suspicious looking person in? Yin Mei cleared her throat, standing up a little. "Yes, she did have something else to say. She wanted to say that she was extremely, super duper, uber, amazingly sorry and that she kinda wants to borrow some ability enhancing medicines..." Yin Mei trailed off, her face twitching a little and sweating as Ming Wei looked closer until she had to put her hands up and glance away. "Aren''t you a little too close??" His eyes were cold and piercing, as he continued to stare right at her. "..." Cold sweat poured down Yin Mei''s back and forehead. Only until Ming Wei leaned back did she breath a small sigh of relief, thinking that she hadn''t been caught. But then, an iron grip grasped at her wrist, and she looked up to a pair of icy eyes behind slender silver-framed glasses. "You owe me exactly 2863 meals. And I will make sure that you repay me for each, and, every, one of them." He said, and Yin Mei gulped loudly. Momma, please save me! 41 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 17 "U-um, sir, is the food to your liking?" Yin Mei said nervously, fidgeting as she forced a smile, watching Ming Wei eat her food with relish. Andrei had already been sent back with his payment, though he was a little reluctant, the amount of energy stones he received immediately had him walking away without a second thought. Yin Mei had felt betrayed, but after all, the two had no relationship with each other so if it came between Yin Mei and the energy stones, of course Andrei would choose the latter. Ming Wei glared at her coldly, and she immediately shut her mouth as invisible tears streamed down from her eyes. Yin Mei had to repeatedly comfort herself that she owed this to Ming Wei, and only then was she able to calm down a little. It was only after Ming Wei finished his food and was contently wiping his mouth with a napkin that he spoke. "So, what are you doing back here again? I didn''t think you''d have the guts to come back after stealing my research sample." Yin Mei quickly replied, "Like I said before, I kinda need some ability enhancing drugs..." Yin Mei took a nervous glance at Ming Wei, who returned her gaze with a piercing glare. "Oho, so after stealing my research sample, you have the nerve to come back here and demand drugs...?" He said, his voice slow and icy, sending shivers down Yin Mei''s spine. "Waaahhhh, doctor, please, you gotta help me!" Yin Mei, with no concern for her face, shamelessly flung herself to her knees to shamelessly hug his leg. Though she was wailing, no tears were streaming down her face, so it only looked fake. Ming Wei flung Yin Mei off of his leg in disgust. "Doctorrrrr!! If you don''t then I''ll surely die..." Yin Mei sniffled and wailed, alternating between the two, practically a new type of annoying. The doctor snorted, unamused. But in the end, he still ended up saying, "I''ll consider it if you cook for me for the rest of your life." Yin Mei was stunned into silence. Holy sh*t did the doctor actually just propose to her? She took a look at his emotionless face. Nah, it was definitely cuz he just liked her food too much. Hmm... she could use this... "Doctor, I don''t mind cooking for you, but you''ll have to come back with me to H City then." Yin Mei said. "We have a lab as well that you can continue your research at." She added on when she saw Ming Wei''s brow furrow a bit. "Our head researcher is currently looking into substitute ingredients to use in the cure." "That''s right," Ming Wei suddenly said, her words making him recall the message that Andrei had relayed to him. "What exactly did you mean by that stupid message? And the information on the card too. The f*ck was that?" Huh? Doctor, why do I feel like your language is more vulgar than before? Your image is being destroyed! But Yin Mei still faithfully answered his question. "Exactly what I mean! The Dark Saint is too important for us to let him die... I felt bad, so I gave you some good information about what will happen soon." "Ignoring how you know about the future, you should just hand over the Dark Saint. What use do you have with all these zombies you''re gathering up anyways?" Ming Wei growled, grabbing her by the arm. "They clearly have a better use under my hands, being researched for the sake of humanity." "Noooooo, he''s out H City''s only healer, you can''t take him!" Yin Mei pushed his chest away as he leaned in, the two of them struggling in this position for a moment when suddenly the door opened and a research assistant walked in, holding a clipboard. "Doctor, can you check-" He looked up, immediately stopping in his tracks as his mouth dropped to the ground. "S-s-sorry for bothering you!" He yelped in a high pitched voice, turning on his heel as fast as humanly possible as he practically ran out, shutting the door behind him. "..." There was complete silence between the two. Ming Wei calmly released Yin Mei''s arm and the girl stood up, dusting off her clothes, both acting like nothing had happened. "What do you mean by your H City''s healer?" He said, the interruption not enough to make him forget Yin Mei''s spur of the moment words. "Well..." Yin Mei looked away with an odd expression. She coughed slightly before continuing, "You know the zombie that I took away from the lab..." "Research Experiment #7," Ming Wei supplied. "Uh... right, experiment number 7, he obtained intelligence after evolving to rank 5. So it wasn''t hard to have him help us, after I saved him. And because he was much more powerful than the other zombies at H City, we went to H City and basically subdued all the zombies there and established something like a zombie city...?" She glanced at Ming Wei, trying to gauge his reaction. She had always wanted to bring him over to their side, but she had also thought that with his personality, it would be impossible. But, she thought there was no harm in trying to check his reaction and see if it would be possible now, with this bait known as good food dangling in front of him. "A zombie city? You''re actually cooperating with zombies?" Ming Wei was shocked. He knew that rank 5 zombies were much more intelligent than their lower ranked counterparts, but he would never imagine that they could actually be so intelligent to be capable of working together with humans. In the first place, even if they were intelligent, it wouldn''t change the fact that the two were simply incompatible. Not mentioning the fact that they had to kill each other to evolve, but zombies would have also eaten an untold number of humans in order to get to rank 5. "Well, it wasn''t as hard as you would think," Yin Mei mused, though it was mostly because she had the zombie emperor backing her. It was good that he didn''t have an unreasonable personality, or Yin Mei really would have probably long ended up in his stomach. Actually, she wasn''t sure why he was so fine with going along with all her decisions and never ate her or the rest of their group... Yin Mei had always wondered this, but because she could never come up with an answer, she would always just leave the question to gather dust in the back of her mind. "Anyways, in the future, you theorize that the cure won''t be able to change back any zombie rank 5 or higher anyways, so it isn''t such a terrible thing that we''re getting along, right? Plus, after zombies pass rank 5, the chance of infection becomes practically miniscule."Yin Mei said. Ming Wei''s brows practically became a V-shape as he went deep into thought. "Even if you say that..." "There''s no way that humans and zombies would be able to get along anyways, as it would be impossible for humans to trust zombies, right?" Yin Mei interjected, finishing what he wanted to say for him. "You''re right. Most humans wouldn''t be able to. But the same can''t be said for children." Ming Wei widened his eyes ever so slightly. "So those children that you..." "Well, it was mostly because children tend to have rather powerful abilities and evolve quickly, but also yes... they''ve all adapted quite nicely. They don''t even think of them as much different from humans anymore, even knowing their special dietary needs doesn''t change their thoughts. For the children living in the apocalypse, as long as the ones being eaten aren''t them, they are quite unconcerned." Yin Mei said as she sat down. Ming Wei fell silent, as if considering what she had said. He then spoke, "It might work now, but there''s no guarantee that such a balance can continue long term. The moment one person breaks the status quo..." Yin Mei shrugged. "You''re right... but I don''t really care about what happens after I''m dead." Yin Mei''s voice was gloomy as she said this, her expression turning dark as she thought of... no, she wouldn''t let herself think of it. It was already done and over with, and there was nothing she could do about it. That''s right. She shouldn''t be concerned what had happened after she had died. It no longer had anything to do with her... She clenched her hand into a fist, trying to calm herself down. After a few moments, she quickly brightened up. "Anyways, it''s not like there''s much else that we can do, right? I mean, I guess exterminating all zombies could be an option... but..." Yin Mei trailed off. Perhaps it was possible, but it wasn''t like these were low rank zombies that could just be shot in the head and be done with it. They were all intelligent with powerful abilities. If Ming Wei did create the cure, it would certainly become much easier. For one, the cure could eliminate all low level zombies, which were the main source of the virus. In other words, the main way that zombies could increase their numbers. Though infection was not impossible after zombies reached rank 5, the rate was much lower, and only decreased the more they evolved. As for making zombie babies... Yin Mei didn''t know if it was impossible, but she certainly never read about such a thing in the information. So for now, she could only say that while humans would be able to increase their numbers, and the babies born would be even more powerful than each generation before them, the population of zombies would stagnate and only continue to decrease. But... Yin Mei couldn''t accept such an outcome, not when she was on the side of the zombies. She herself had grown attached to the zombies they lived with everyday. She liked Amon''s helplessness in dealing with Maria. She liked the Dark Saint''s mad scientist like personality. She enjoyed how diligent Alex was in learning how to cook for the kids, even though he couldn''t eat the food himself. "Is there no way that humans and zombies can live together...?" Yin Mei murmured, her face showing a bitter expression. "Well... it might be possible to create a ''substitute evolution material''." Ming Wei said carelessly, causing Yin Mei to look at him in surprise. "But, that''s just a possibility. There was no cause to research such a thing before, but I guess if we did there''s a chance that it could produce results." Yin Mei grabbed Ming Wei''s hand. "Doctor, after all, you must come to our H City and work with us!" Ming Wei clearly appeared uncomfortable, shaking off her hands as he put on a cold expression. "... I''ll consider it." In the end, he really wanted her food, okay? These past two years, seven months, one week, and four going on five days, he had been unable to eat a single good meal, always making him unbelievably irritated all the time. In the end, Ming Wei gave Yin Mei a few vials of the ability enhancing drug after she cooked some more for him, and afterwards, she asked to see Ming Yu. Ming Yu was, by appearances, in good health. But her expression was dull and when she saw her older brother, a flicker of fear passed through it. She didn''t even have the mental will to force a smile onto her face anymore. Yin Mei blinked her eyes at her. Hmm... this could be a bit bad... She didn''t want to leave Ming Yu alone, in case things ended up like in her last world. She still hadn''t figured out just why she had died so easily to that b*tch of a female lead - she couldn''t decide if it was because the Jade Emperor had sealed her way too thoroughly, or if there was something wrong with the female lead or her sword? Well, what was done was done, so now all she could do was plan in advance and get rid of any potential dangers first. "What is it?" Ming Yu asked, her voice slightly trembling as she looked away. Ming Wei didn''t answer, instead looking at Yin Mei. Yin Mei seemed to be in thought, tapping her chin with her finger for a moment before speaking. "Do you know where Lei Han is?" She asked, and Ming Yu shook her head. Well, Yin Mei guessed she didn''t, considering the two didn''t even meet that often thanks to Ming Wei''s interference. She glanced at Ming Wei, who also shrugged. He didn''t have the time to keep track of something insignificant like that. She nodded, then leaned in closer to Ming Yu... before leaning away again and furiously trying to rub clean her face and then leaning in again. She smiled like nothing had happened, her face now semi-clean and pretty again. "How would you feel if I told you that I can make all~ this go away?" She asked, her voice sweet. Ming Wei shot her a questioning glare, while Ming Yu was confused. "Don''t look at me like that, I have a reason for saying all this." Yin Mei said, putting her hands up in mock surrender. "I''ll talk about the details for the reasons why with the doctor later, but let''s just say that I have a way that will make it so that you don''t have to undergo any of this suffering anymore. How about it? If you cooperate with me, I don''t mind helping you out." Ming Yu seemed to struggle with herself, as if she wanted to have hope, but also didn''t dare to let herself to. In the end, she felt she had nothing to lose, so nodded her head. Yin Mei smiled. "That''s a good girl," she said in a low and almost seductive voice. She pat Ming Yu''s head happily, shocking the other girl, but before Ming Yu could say anything, Yin Mei had already stopped and left with Ming Wei to talk more about it. Since torture hadn''t worked in the last world, she was trying something new. Well, she was still planning on getting rid of Ming Yu. Just in a way that she would gratefully, or probably not so gratefully, die for her. "So, why did you say that? You aren''t planning on stealing another research subject of mine are you?" Ming Wei said with a chilly face, but Yin Mei shook her head. "No way~ You and I both know that in the first place, those excessive experiments of yours are pretty useless at this point, right? The key to the cure lies in a special antibody that she can produce, which is specifically able to combat the zombie virus and reverse any DNA alterations that it had made." Yin Mei then shrugged. She was actually reading straight from the information, though. "You''re right," Ming Wei easily admitted. But, he hadn''t wanted to leave any stone unturned, which was why he continued to persist with those inhumane experiments. "There''s nothing else to it, so you can already stop with those experiments. Once we get back to H City, it''ll be easy for us to replicate the antibodies and use those to create the cure... well, as soon as we have a substitute for the Dark Saint''s energy core. It''s a pity that zombies with healing abilities are even more rare than humans with healing abilities. Is there even another zombie who can heal aside from the Dark Saint?" Yin Mei inwardly groaned. If there was, she wouldn''t be having this much trouble. But, for zombies, who were practically semi-immortal and only died after being bashed in the head, healing really wasn''t something necessary. After all, they had two options of being dead or actually dead, with no in between, and healing didn''t work on the actually dead (more accurately, the ones that stopped moving?). Even the Dark Saint didn''t have a real healing ability, though it could be used as one. Anyways, this can all be put off for later. For now, she wanted to quickly go kill off the male lead. A/N: Oh f*ck, Ming Wei, why are you making things so hard on me. Don''t make me do this. Ming Wei: You''re the one writing me, what are you complaining about? Zombie Emperor, quickly get Yin Mei back before she gets together with another man! Zombie Emperor: *stares* Zombie Emperor will be back next chapter! Probably. 42 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 18 While Yin Mei left Ming Wei to consider her offer, she looked up Lei Han''s location with the system surveillance. She had to say, despite how glitchy the system was in calculating missions, it at least had its uses. Lei Han currently appeared to be resting at home. Wow, and here she thought he would be outside hunting 24/7. But for her that was lucky, she wouldn''t have to wait for him to get back. "Now where is he?" Yin Mei had the system zoom out, and checked the room number and apartment building. "It''s a little hard to tell..." She zoomed out more, but to her, everything looked the same. Plus, this city was pretty big... "Damn, should''ve asked for a map or something." In the end, she could only check the street names and go ask someone else for directions. Half an hour later, after fifteen minutes of meandering around lost, she arrived in front of Lei Han''s apartment door. Lei Han was on the eighteenth floor, which Yin Mei was not sure why, because such an apartment, though cheaper, would require the resident to walk up all eighteen flights of stairs. Though Yin Mei had no problem, because she lived on the twenty-fifth floor of their building, she thought that Lei Han, being in the special forces, would be granted privileges that would include living on lower level floors, especially since it would allow the soldiers to respond more quickly in an emergency. Well, maybe he did it as some sort of training? She knocked on his door, waiting for a moment. There wasn''t a reply. She checked the system''s screen, and she could see that he was glancing toward the door with an indescribable expression. What the hell? Is he ignoring her? She knocked again, louder this time. At this moment, he finally got up and came over to the door, opening it. His face alternated between surprise and disgust before he finally got his expressions under control and put on a mask of cool, asking, "What in the world are you doing here?" "What''s up with the tone of voice?" Yin Mei said, raising an eyebrow at him. Shouldn''t she be the one who wanted to be disgusted? "I just came to visit an old member of my father''s regiment." Lei Han snorted. Who would believe that? "What do you want?" She appeared again in this city for the first time in over two years and visits him, he was really curious what she wanted. He still hadn''t forgot his suspicions over her time traveling like himself... and her relationship with that b*stard Ming Wei... though she had also ended up stealing some research samples from him or something, if he recalled, so he had no idea what relationship the two of them had in the end. "I haven''t seen you in more than two years and you''re so cold? I wonder what my father would say." Yin Mei ruthlessly said, poking at Lei Han''s sore spot. Too bad these male lead''s specialized in being shameless, so he quickly dismissed the small amount of guilt he felt without even a blink of his eyes. "Lu Mei, even now you''re still bringing up your father, don''t you have any shame?" Lei Han said, frowning. "Shame?? Shameee???" Yin Mei was flabbergasted. She was so angry that she was practically shaking. She may not be Lu Mei, but anyone would be angry if they heard Lei Han''s words. "You dare talk to me about shame? If not for you, my father would still be alive right now, yet you have no remorse or respect for the dead, you dare actually talk to me about shame?" At these words, even Lei Han had to pause. So... Lu Mei actually thought like this? Could it be in the past life as well... He shook his head. Even if she did, he still couldn''t forgive her. Yin Mei snorted, seeing that he was still unrepentant. F*ck, Lu Mei, don''t worry, I''ll definitely get revenge for you against this shameless motherf*cker. "Let''s go hunting for zombies." She then added on before Lei Han could reject her, "you owe me for my father. And don''t say you don''t, because you definitely do." She sneered at him, and in the end, he nodded. Would she take this chance to try and kill him? Lei Han thought. But, he had confidence in himself. If she did attack him, he could kill her in self defense. And... he would go along with her for this one last time, as a last favor to her father. Lei Han closed the door, opening it five minutes later dressed in a black military vest and a backpack slung over the shoulder. The two of them walked in silence to outside the city, going in a direction opposite of H City, since everyone knew that the zombies between H and B City had almost been completely cleaned out. They walked, as taking a car would require a large number of energy stones (which Lei Han was unwilling to spend, and Yin Mei didn''t have). They walked several miles away from B City before settling down on a spot that had some zombies. Most of the areas in the vicinity of B City were constantly being cleared, so they needed to walk quite some time before they actually encountered any. Yin Mei unsheathed her sword, hacking away at the zombies mindlessly as she considered what would be a good time to kill off Lei Han. She glanced at him, and he was fighting with a knife and pistol. These were only rank 2 zombies, and still susceptible to bullets. "Lei Han, I''ve always wanted to ask you, but why do you seem to have a grudge against the doctor?" Yin Mei suddenly said, startling Lei Han and causing him to fumble, though he quickly corrected himself and killed off the zombie he was fighting. "... why are you asking something like that?" Lei Han said, his face dark. He didn''t like thinking of Ming Wei, because it would remind him of everything he had gone through in his past life. "No, well, I was just thinking, why would anyone hate the doctor? In C Country, no, in perhaps the entire world, he is the only one who even has a chance of creating the cure." Yin Mei said, absentmindedly slashing down another zombie as she spoke. The thing that she always disdained Lei Han for the most was killing off the doctor, the person who came closest to creating the cure in the past timeline. So she really wanted him to regret it, before he even got a chance to do so this time. "That man? The cure? Don''t joke around. A mass murderer like him has no right to be talking about saving humanity." Lei Han said with a sneer, dispatching the last of the group of zombies they were fighting. "Are you talking about the people he experiments on? A little sacrifice for the greater good is necessary, I don''t see why you''re so worked up about it. He''s simply sacrificing one man for a hundred, ten for a thousand, a hundred for ten thousand. In the end, they all die for the sake of the rest of humanity. Unless... you can''t accept that for some reason?" Yin Mei glanced at him, who was glaring at her with dark eyes. If looks could kill, then she would already be dead. Too bad they couldn''t! Lei Han sneered, but didn''t reply. What, still stubbornly believing that he isn''t creating a cure even though you can''t even retort? Yin Mei mocked him in her head, but also didn''t say anything. This sort of person wouldn''t listen to reason. After all, the correct decision was to quickly get rid of him before he becomes a problem. "Sorry, Lei Han, but I can''t let you kill the doctor. He''s our hope for a better world," Yin Mei said, turning around to face the man. "So what, you''re going to kill me?" Lei Han raised an eyebrow, clearly not taking her seriously. Yin Mei calmly nodded. "Did you know that the doctor only needed done last ingredient to complete the cure when you killed him last time? You doomed all of humanity with your selfishness." Yin Mei said, taking out a vial of the ability enhancing drug and downing it before throwing it onto the ground, the sound of the glass shattering sending doubts into Lei Han''s mind. "What''re you talking about?" Lei Han was confused. He thought that Yin Mei might have come from the same timeline as he had, but he had never killed Ming Wei in his past life? "You come from some past timeline, yeah? Well so do I. But I come from this timeline''s future... in other words, a future where you had already time traveled." Yin Mei explained. She didn''t really need to explain, and though she had always wondered before why villains or other characters always liked explaining themselves before trying to kill someone, she now realized why. Because their expressions were too good! "And in that future, you kill the doctor right before he can complete the cure. Tell me, wouldn''t that make you the enemy of humanity?" Yin Mei asked, tilting her head as Lei Han''s expression grew ugly. She launched herself forward, bringing her sword down as Lei Han quickly blocked her blade with his gun and knife. "I don''t believe you. That monster creating the cure? Come up with a better lie!" Lei Han growled, using his strength to push Yin Mei back, and she flew threw the air, landing lightly a few feet a way. "I don''t get why you insist that the doctor isn''t working toward the creation of the cure. That''s been his goal all along. Or, could it be, that your guilt prevents you from thinking that way? Because if it''s true, then you can''t achieve your revenge?" Yin Mei launched herself again, her sword clashing against Lei Han''s knife again and again, her speed so fast that the sword turned into a silver blur. At the edge of her vision, she saw Lei Han holster his gun, a crackling ball of purple lightning appearing in the palm of his hand. Yin Mei leapt away, summoning a thin shield of pure water in front of her. The lightning hit it, dispersing away harmlessly, barely even making a ripple in the water. "Wha- how?" Lei Han was truly confused, unable to comprehend how Yin Mei was able to take his attack without even a single blink of the eye. Yin Mei laughed heartily. "You didn''t expect that?" She shot forward again, stabbing her sword at him, but he slipped his hand in and grabbed her arm as he twisted his waist, the blade just missing his side. He swung his knife down at the girl, who blocked it with her hand, hissing in pain as it went clean through her palm, blood spurting out. "You never would have expected me to have an ability that combats yours right? How hilarious is that? And after you killed me oh so happily in the last life!" She forced a grin as she snarled at him through the sharp pain in her hand. It didn''t hurt as much as she had hurt in her previous world! It couldn''t compare to the pain she felt when she watched her second older brother die, or the demon king fall from inner demons! "Weak, weak, weak!" Yin Mei muttered, twisting her hand with the knife still in it, causing Lei Han to lose his grip on it. He let it and her arm go, and Yin Mei retreated back again. She used her teeth to bite down on the hilt, pulling the knife out with one sharp jerking motion. She let the knife drop onto the ground with a clatter as blood spilled out from her hand, and she grabbed a handful of energy cores from the pouch hanging on her waist, stuffing it into her mouth. As the energy cores melted on her tongue, the injury on her hand began to stop bleeding and slowly heal itself. It wasn''t as good as someone with a healing ability, but was better than nothing, and would guarantee that she didn''t end up bleeding to death. She pointed her sword at Lei Han as she pulled her scarf off, letting it flutter to the ground. "You''re too weak! You won''t even acknowledge the possibility that the doctor would create the cure, lest it interfere with your desire for revenge! You stubbornly insist that you''re right, even when you''re wrong! And most of all, even after my father sacrificed himself for you, you still had the guts to repay his kindness with spite!" She didn''t know where all this pent up anger came from. Though she felt disgusted by Lei Han, after all, she wasn''t really Lu Mei. But it was if at this moment, Lu Mei''s emotions came flooding in, rage filling her body. She felt rage, rage that he had killed her. She felt rage, rage that he took her father''s life. Lei Han glared at her, and she glared back. There was silence between them, until both threw themselves at each other, Lei Han unsheathing the other knife attached to his waist, the two clashing and then retreating like some rhythmic dance. Occasionally, Lei Han would call down strikes of lightning or throw a few bolts at her, which Yin Mei would always skillfully block with a perfectly timed shield of water. But, the problem was that Yin Mei simply didn''t have Lei Han''s stamina. Though their experience and skill could be considered roughly matched, Yin Mei''s physical capabilities were a notch lower than Lei Han''s. In the end, he had her pinned on the ground, sitting on top of her with a knife pointed at her neck. D*mmit, d*mmit, d*mmit! Yin Mei admitted that after so easily killing the male leads in her former world, she had gotten cocky. But she still wasn''t resigned! Why is it that in every world, it''s only b*stards like these that get everything? They had the woman, the power, the luck to achieve everything they desired? She refused to accept it! She refused to allow it! Just as Lei Han was about to swing his knife down, he was suddenly blown away by an unknown force, tumbling a few times before regaining his footing. He immediately put his knife up in a defensive stance as he looked at who had attacked him. From a distance walked a figure with long hair and pale white skin. His normally leisurely expression was replaced with a murderous air, his blood red eyes looking down at Lei Han like one would a bug. "Y-your Majesty???" Yin Mei was so shocked that she let slip the term she used to call the demon king. The man paused, a blank expression replacing his former dark one. From his memories, something seemed to surface, though it was just there, as if covered by a thin mist. He could almost remember... A voice like hers, calling out those same words. A red robe and luxurious palace. White hair and jade eyes. Who was she? But, just as he was about to recall, a bolt of lightning interrupted his thoughts, hitting the arm he raised up to block it. Arcs of purple lightning jumped around his pale skin, and his eyes moved toward the man who had caused him to lose the memory that he had been trying so hard to recall all this time. The expression he wore was enough to make children wet their pants. "What are you doing here?" But he was interrupted by Yin Mei''s voice, as she struggled to get up, but failed, unable to gather enough energy into her body. "Picking you up," The zombie emperor replied in that seductive voice of his, walking over and lifting Yin Mei up easily into a princess carry. !!??!!!??!? Yin Mei''s brain short circuited. Please wait one moment as the computer restarts. The zombie emperor sent a disdainful glance toward Lei Han, whose body shivered. That was the zombie emperor! What in the world was Yin Mei doing together with him!? Before he could do anything though, a heavy pressure flattened him onto the ground, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Only when the zombie emperor left satisfied was he finally able to get up again. "Lu Mei is actually together with the zombie emperor... like I thought, I can''t believe a word she says." Lei Han muttered to himself, wincing as he clutched his stomach. He had probably broken a rib or two. He also had a number of wounds from battling with Yin Mei, who had been much stronger than he had expected. Meanwhile, in B City... Ming Wei: ... I never should have expected her to come back! Yin Mei: QwQ It''s not my fault thoughhhhh!! A/N: Ugh, sh*tty fight scenes being sh*tty... I gotta come up with some fancy moves or something to use in fight scenes so it''s not just all like them jumping toward and away each other. 43 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 19 When Yin Mei finally regained her bearings, it was when the zombie emperor had dumped her on the sofa of her room in H City. She was extremely confused. How in the word had she gotten here? She took a moment to recall what had been happening before. She had been battling Lei Han. She had been defeated by Lei Han. The zombie emperor had appeared. She had been princess carried by the zombie emperor?? Yin Mei paused. There seemed to be something wrong with her memory. Let''s try again. She had been battling Lei Han. She had been defeated by Lei Han. The zombie emperor had appeared. She had been princess carried by the zombie emperor?? Nope, no good, it seemed that her memory was really too faulty. Something like being princess carried by the zombie emperor was too delusional, right? Mm, she must have been hallucinating. That''s right. "What are you thinking about?" A voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts, and she blinked, to find that the zombie emperor''s face was suddenly mere inches away from hers before she had realized. He was griping the head of the sofa and leaning in toward Yin Mei, who had been lying on the sofa before she had realized. "Uh, aren''t you a little too close?" Yin Mei asked, placing her hands in front of her. Huh? Why did she get this weird sense of deja vu? But, before she had time to recall, the zombie emperor grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands away from her. Uhh, wasn''t this position a little...? Yin Mei was blushing furiously, not knowing what was going on. But before the zombie emperor could say anything, the door slammed open, Qin Shuang running in. He stopped in place, seeing only the zombie emperor from his point of view. But his little face contorted, and he ran over to the other side of the sofa. "Ahhhh!" He shouted, pointing at the two of them. "Let go of my big sister!" He flushed red in anger, unleashing an army of red threads onto the zombie emperor, who effortlessly dodged them. The two began fighting in the spacious suite room, the zombie emperor''s expressionless face and smooth movements in sharp contrast to the onslaught of red threads that the completely outraged Qin Shuang was sending his way. "Hmm? There''s something really familiar about this situation for some reason?" Yin Mei went into deep thought, trying to recall, but the noise of battle around her was too loud for her to concentrate. "Ahhhh, shut up!" She finally said, and Qin Shuang immediately froze in place, his face stiff as he struggled with himself. Although he really wanted to kill that b*stard Ning An, he also didn''t want to go against his big sisters orders. In the end, he finally obediently withdrew his threads, glaring in the zombie emperor''s direction. "That''s better." Yin Mei said, but she had already forgotten what she was trying to remember. In the end, Qin Shuang interrupted her thoughts again with another shout, pointing at her hand as his mouth opened and closed. Yin Mei, with a question mark on her face, looked at her hand only to see the wound in it from being stabbed by Lei Han''s knife. "Ahhh!" "Ahhh!" Qin Shuang shouted in response. "Ahhhh!" Yin Mei shouted in shock and pain. The two of them both shouted together until the Ri twins walked in on this mysterious scene, not knowing how to feel. "What the f*ck is going on?" Only when Ri En said this did the shouting stop and Yin Mei calm down, though her eyes were tearing up from the pain of the wound on her hand and the rest of her body. "Ri Ennnnnn, listen to this, your big sis got bullied by a horrible, horrible person!!" Yin Mei cried, sobbing as she was about to go to Ri En for a comforting hug, but was immediately shot down by his cold expression. "You''re not my big sister. Don''t think of me like those other kids you''ve picked up." He said with a scoff. Yin Mei had on a hurt expression, immediately turning toward Ri En''s younger sister, Ri Yi for comfort. "Ri Yiiiiii, listen to this, your big brother is bullying me, even though I''m hurtttttt!!" She wailed, and Ri Yi obediently let her hug her, patting her back comfortingly as she shot Ri En a scolding glare. "There, there, what in the world happened?" She asked, looking at Qin Shuang and the zombie emperor for answers. Qin Shuang naturally had none. He had only sensed that the zombie emperor had come back with Yin Mei, and so didn''t know anything else. On the other hand, the zombie emperor turned his head, not saying anything. Ri Yi didn''t expect anything, as aside from Yin Mei, this guy had actually never talked to a single one of them once before, in the entire two years he had been here. Yin Mei let go of Ri Yi, blowing on her hand wound as she answered for him. "I went to go kill someone and got my butt handed to me. That guy was such a bully, even though my father saved his life he still wants to ruthlessly kill me. Don''t you agree he''s a horrible person?" The Ri twins nodded their head, though secretly they were thinking she got what was coming for her, considering she had tried to kill him first... even if her father had saved that man''s life, that didn''t mean he should wash his neck to wait for her right? "Ahh, I know what you''re thinking, that I got what I deserved, right? It''s not my fault, that guy wanted to kill me first okay?" Yin Mei said, as she went to the kitchen to look for the first aid kit. Though she could always go to the Dark Saint, she always had an aversion toward his way of healing and these injuries weren''t too serious, so she decided just to disinfect them and bandage them up for now. Hearing what Yin Mei said, now they looked down on the person that Yin Mei had gone to kill. Though in the apocalypse, being betrayed and backstabbed was common, it still said something about a person''s personality when they tried to kill the daughter of their life''s benefactor. Well, considering it was Yin Mei, they understood. Yin Mei saw that they were nodding with an understanding gaze on their faces and immediately felt disgust. "What the hell, after all I do here and you guys treat me like this. I wanna run away from home." She sniffled, and immediately Qin Shuang ran over to comfort her, also obediently grabbing the disinfectant away and treating her injuries for her. "What, you haven''t gotten tired after running away for a day already?" Ri En said, raising an eyebrow. "I only ran away for a day, that was clearly not enough time for you to appreciate my existence and all I do for you brats. Just see if you can stand a week without my food!" Yin Mei said, sneering at Ri En, who flinched. Okay, her food card was effective against all humans. He immediately apologized profusely while using all sorts of carrot and stick methods to get her to cook dinner for them today. In the end, she got so annoyed that she drove them all out, a sulking Qin Shuang included. Only the zombie emperor remained with her. Well, they did share the room after all, so Yin Mei couldn''t exactly drive him out. In the first place, she didn''t have the guts to. There was an awkward silence between the two, and Yin Mei''s ears were pink, still feeling embarrassed when she recalled what just happened. What did the zombie emperor want to say just then? Suddenly, the man sat down next to her, and took her injured hand in his, taking the bandage that Yin Mei was in the middle of wrapping and finishing it neatly. Yin Mei''s mouth was in a giant "O" shape, as she couldn''t believe her eyes. "Who was that person?" The zombie emperor asked with a gloomy voice and expression, his eyes practically oozing killing intent. "Uh..." Yin Mei actually wasn''t sure how to reply. He''s the protagonist of this world and will kill me in the future because I betrayed him in a past life?? "Who was he." The zombie emperor said, more firmly this time, his tone of voice not even asking a question anymore, simply demanding the answer from her. "He was a member of my father''s special forces regiment and apparently I betray him in the future so he kills me in this future so I came back from this future to create a different future where I kill him first?" She said, but not even she could understand what she said, so she didn''t expect the zombie emperor would. But the zombie emperor nodded sagely, as if finally understanding everything this world had to offer, his expression profound and all knowing. ... At least it was good that he understood. Thinking this, she withdrew her hand, but for some reason, the zombie emperor grabbed her wrist, looking into her eyes. His eyes were blood red, the lashes were long, and the two moles at the edge of his left eye exceptionally seductive looking. Yin Mei was weak when the demon king looked at her like that. No, but he wasn''t the demon king. He was the zombie emperor... "Stop it!" She suddenly shouted, her head lowered as she didn''t want to look at him anymore. "Just stop. You and your stupidly beautiful face... Why do you look so much like him... is this just the system tormenting me...?" The zombie emperor was confused, not understanding what she meant. Was she complimenting him or insulting him? "Little rabbit, don''t be sad." He said, the term "little rabbit" just naturally slipping out of his mouth. Yin Mei froze. "What... did you just call me?" She looked up, her eyes wide. Actually, the demon king had never called Yin Mei little rabbit to her face, but Yin Mei had been a rabbit demon in her past life. So hearing this, the first thing she associated it with was her former body Bai Yu. The zombie emperor seemed to pause for a moment, but repeated it for her. "Little rabbit," he said. He felt that this term was exceptionally suited toward her for some reason, though he wasn''t quite sure why. Was it because she had a small and sweet appearance like that of a rabbit? An image flashed through his head. No, that was wrong. The appearance she had back then was different from this...? The zombie emperor had a moment of confusion, not knowing what was what anymore. "You... why would you call me that?" Yin Mei''s voice was shaky. No, calm down, she gripped her arm hard. He wasn''t the demon king. Even if he looked like it, there''s no way he could be the demon king. The demon king was dead. This wasn''t even the same world. Godd*mmit! That f*cking beautiful face of his! It was what was misleading her! "Because... you remind me... of a rabbit?" The zombie emperor tilted his head, as if even he was unsure of this. He looked at her. He felt that her appearance was all wrong. She should be wearing a beautiful red robe, with long splendid black hair and a cold and mature aura. No, that was wrong too. She should have white hair and eyes the color of jade. At this point, he finally noticed that her pretty black hair had been sawed off and he gently touched it, feeling a little sad. He remembered that back then, he had really liked her black hair. No, or was it her white hair? Her white hair had been soft and fluffy, reminding him of the rabbit she was descended from. "I... who..." The zombie emperor muttered, clutching his head as a headache came on, and he was unable to tell where he was. Or when he was? What was this? It hurt. It really hurt. He groaned, trying to stand and stumble into the kitchen for a glass of cold water. Yin Mei was shocked and worried, having never seen the zombie emperor in such a state before. She felt extremely worried and grabbed him, sitting him back down on the sofa. "What do you want? I''ll get it for you," she said, her voice a little rushed and shaky, as if she was worried he would drop dead right then and there. Oh, wait, that was wrong. He was already dead... "Water." The demon king answered, his face even paler than before, looking deader than how dead it had already been. Yin Mei rushed into the kitchen to grab a glass, and summoned some cool refreshing water into it with her powers before helping the zombie emperor drink it. He wasn''t sure if he felt better afterwards. In the end, he fell unconscious, his clothes clinging to his body in cold sweat, and Yin Mei dried him off by dispersing the sweat particles on him with her ability. She wasn''t thick faced enough to take off his clothes and dry him with a towel. She covered him with a blanket, though it was unnecessary, and returned to her own room feeling conflicted. What was that? First, he called her little rabbit, and then he collapsed from a headache? Yin Mei truly had no idea what was going on. She shook her head, and decided to rest first. She had just gotten out of a battle with Lei Han, and was feeling extremely exhausted. Meanwhile, Ming Wei who had been left behind in B City: Lu Mei, don''t think I''ll forget this! 44 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 20 Two days later, Yin Mei had finally recalled the existence known as Ming Wei. Yin Mei: !!! She buried her head in her hands, able to imagine the expression that Ming Wei would give her when she would go to pick him up. "Ugh, I don''t want to go," She said, slumped over the head of the couch, looking at what the zombie emperor was reading. He was reading... some ancient china court drama novel? Yin Mei couldn''t help but feel confused. So that was where the zombie emperor''s tastes lie? Just as she was going to call out and bug the zombie emperor to go with her, he asked, "Where don''t you want to go?" In a calm voice. She felt he was a little more responsive to her these days, before he would outright ignore her for some reason. But, she liked the zombie emperor a little better like this. "To B City. I have to go fetch a researcher that I recruited!" She said happily. Actually, Ming Wei had never agreed to come to H City yet, but whatever. She would force him if she had to! The zombie emperor narrowed his eyes. B City, wasn''t that close to where she had gotten beaten up by that thing? He then decided that he needed to go with her. He left her alone just for a little last time, and look how she ended up. So, with Yin Mei happily surprised, the two of them journeyed together back to B City. Qin Shaung who was left behind again could only sulk, though it wasn''t as bad since he knew this time that they would be back soon. Although the zombie emperor could travel faster than a car, because they might end up with more people and perhaps supplies to on the way back this time, Yin Mei grabbed an off-road jeep for the travel this time, putting some containers of gas in the back so that they could refill the gas tank when they ran out. She also brought along money, just for the sake of purchasing a temporary space in B City''s public garages. Yin Mei was currently thinking of whether she should leave the zombie emperor outside to fend for himself or smuggle him into the city. The problem was that he wouldn''t pass the check up that they did, as those check ups included checking a person''s vitals... of which he had none. Could he sneak in up over the wall? It didn''t seem too difficult, only doing so in broad daylight was probably a going to be hard, and Yin Mei didn''t want to wait until night to enter the city... Oh, wait, that was right! Would they even let her into the city this time? Last time she entered so easily because of Andrei and the information exchange, this time she wouldn''t have to end up waiting for half a month outside the city gates right? She rustled around the car, seeming to look for something as she kept one hand on the wheel, moving back and forth dangerously before she found her desired item. "So it was here-" she was saying, when she looked up to see someone right in front of- She slammed on the breaks and spun her wheel around, the jeep coming to a stop with a loud screeching noise as the person seemed to finally notice the careening vehicle coming their way, jumping inside in shock as it moved past them before finally stopping. "Oh my god, that was close!" Yin Mei said, looking at the person that she had just been about to run over. "Hey, are you-" she paused, staring at him. Fire red eyes. Fire red hair. Huh? Wasn''t this the Fire Emperor??? Yin Mei blinked. He looked pretty similar to the Ri twins. Yin Mei blinked again. He matched the Fire Emperor''s description. And then she blinked again. But... he wasn''t supposed to be here for at least another five years? When was traveling continents that easy? She didn''t even notice the man angrily yelling at her, she felt so confused. Huh, was the butterfly effect made by her and Lei Han really that strong? What in the world happened that caused the Fire Emperor to actually be able to come back to C Country so quickly? "Hey, you b*tch, answer me! What the hell was that? You could''ve killed me, can''t you watch the road a little?" Ri Lu said, his fiery tone finally reaching Yin Mei''s ears. She looked at him. "Hey, you Ri En and Ri Yi''s older brother?" She asked, and he immediately looked astonished before taking on a guarded tone and stance. "What''s it to you?" He asked. In the apocalypse, no one had truly good intentions, so when a random stranger suddenly mentioned his siblings, of course he would be guarded about it. "We''re practically family. You looked so similar that I naturally just had to ask." Yin Mei replied with a shrug, but Ri Lu was still cautious. Family? This random girl who almost ran him over with a car and his beloved, adorable, amazing, unparalleled little siblings? He looked her up and down. She appeared clean, though her hair was cut in a rough manner, and the man next to her was so beautiful it was practically unreal. "You?" He said, his face naturally expressing his doubt. Yin Mei shrugged. "Well get in. We''re going on an errand first, but we''ll probably go back soon," she said, gesturing toward the back seats. Mm, they''ll have to cram together with Ming Wei and Ming Yu later. But that was fine, since the one who would feel uncomfortable wasn''t her after all. Although Ri Lu was cautious, he also wouldn''t let go of this chance for information about his siblings. He had finally managed to get over here from across the sea and was on his way to their home city, B City, when Yin Mei had showed up. He didn''t even know if his siblings were alive or dead. Because of this, even if he was suspicious, he still had to get in for the sake of his siblings. "We''ve been together with the Ri twins for almost three years now? Since a few months after the apocalypse started. We currently live in H City, but I and this guy here are going to pick up a friend of ours in B City. We''ll be going back to H City right after that." Yin Mei explained, though she did fudge it a bit and leave out some details. "Oh, that''s right!" She suddenly exclaimed, as she recalled what she had been doing that was almost the cause of an accident. "Oh no, where''d it go?" She started to glance around recklessly again, her eyes leaving the road, causing Ri Lu to wonder why in the world he had decided to get on a car with this crazy person. No, no, he had to remember it was for the sake of finally meeting his precious siblings again... "Oh, oh, found it, it dropped to the floor," Yin Mei said, picking up what looked like a red jewel. This was a communication device that Qin Shuang had created. Yin Mei had recalled that they had just thrown them around in random locations since she never really left H City anyways, but she recalled that because they had used this jeep to go out hunting once before, there should have been one in here. She didn''t know how in the world they worked - maybe it was like the cup and string style communicator? Although there was neither a cup nor a string... Anyways, it worked, and that was all that mattered. "Ahh, ah, test, test, Qin Shuang, are you there?" Yin Mei asked, holding up the gem to her mouth as she not so skillfully steered the car with one hand. Even after several years of driving about in the apocalypse, her skill at driving was still barely passable at best. It couldn''t be helped. Apocalypse style driving had one characteristic, and that was reckless, reckless, and more reckless! After all, there was no need to avoid zombies or other cars anymore. "Big sis?" An excited young voice came from the gem, it was Qin Shuang, who had just been feeling gloomy when he had been contacted by Yin Mei. "Qin Shuang, can you make me an information card? I''ll need it to get through the security in B City." Yin Mei said. That was right, they were the ones who created the information cards, so why couldn''t she just use one as a pseudo city pass to enter the city? Yin Mei thought she was so smart. "Alright," Qin Shuang said. It took a few minutes, but Qin Shuang finally extended his threads far enough to catch up with the jeep, that Yin Mei had conscientiously slowed down to a stop. He used the thread to create a red card, before retracting them. He could continue sensing the presence of Yin Mei and the zombie emperor through the communication gem and the red card, so to further exert himself with the threads was unnecessary. Huh? "Hey, who''s the new person in the back of the car?" Qin Shuang asked, his voice a little upset. His big sister wasn''t going around picking up random strangers to bring home again, was she? "He''s Ri En and Ri Yi''s older brother," Yin Mei replied, as she started up the car again after tucking the red card safely into her vest pocket. "What, the big brother of those guys?" Qin Shuang grimaced. He felt that the older brother of those twins would be just as annoying. Ri En always acted as a know it all just because he was a little smarter and older than him, while Ri Yi insisted on gifting him the weirdest mutated plants that she created, one of them having grown to the size of a tree and eating his bed when he had looked away for barely even ten minutes. He immediately disliked the person. But, Yin Mei wasn''t bothered over whether or not Qin Shuang disliked Ri Lu or not (poor Qin Shuang!), as Ri Lu was too strong for them to just let go. She had invested three years into the Ri siblings just to obtain this card, after all. Though granted, the Ri siblings themselves were also worth investing into. Not mentioning Ri Yi''s useful nature ability, they had discovered that Ri En''s ability was ice, which Yin Mei found rather surprising. It completely didn''t match his fiery hair and fiery eyed appearance at all, while in sharp contrast to his older brother''s fire ability, that did completely suit the appearance of the Ri family. But, ice was a rare and powerful ability. Honestly, Yin Mei was surprised that B City actually could have had two powerhouse ability users with the ice ability, if only Ri En hadn''t died so early on. She thought that her idea to rescue the Ri twins was simply too smart and felt inwardly proud of herself again. Though she quickly calmed down, remembering not to get too arrogant, or she might slip up again, like what had happened earlier with her battle with Lei Han. D*mmit! She still felt angry. Why was it that he just hadn''t died? Yin Mei fumed on the inside, resolving that she would definitely kill him the next time. And she would take along the zombie emperor as her backup. Hmph, she just wanted to see if he could go up against both a zombie emperor and herself! The two of them plus an extra Fire Emperor thus made their way to B City, where Yin Mei paid five rank 2 energy stones with a sad expression, reluctant to part with her evolution materials. She always thought it was a bad idea to use evolution materials as money, but whatever. Whatever! She let them go, no matter how reluctantly. D*mmit, she would definitely have her vengeance against Lei Han for this! Well, technically it was the zombie emperor''s fault that they had to come back and pay for parking, but she ignored that little fact. When the time came for them to go to the gate, Yin Mei looked at the zombie emperor, who seemed intent on following her. She imagined what would happen. Hmm, screams, gun shots, special forces soldiers, blood, chaos... a lot of bad things. Let''s stop imagining. Yin Mei looked at the zombie emperor serious. "You can''t follow us in, or you''ll set off all sorts of alarms." She said, and the zombie emperor looked at her with an expression that was clearly rejecting her proposal. It wasn''t a proposal though, but a demand! Too bad Yin Mei wasn''t able to order around someone with the appearance of the demon king. The Fire Emperor on the side was confused, wondering what in the world this pretty boy had done that he would set off alarms in B City? Could he be standing with a mass murderer or terrorist right now? He considered all sorts of possibilities. For his precious siblings to be associated with a criminal, this was no good! He quickly had to meet up with them again and lecture them about how they shouldn''t associate with bad people. In the end, Yin Mei could only tell the zombie emperor to sneak in by himself and meet up with her at the lab. Whatever happens next, it was his responsibility! She wouldn''t care! Half an hour later, standing at the entrance to the lab while lights flashed (no sound, so not to attract zombies), Yin Mei had her hands in her face as soldiers ran to and fro, preparing for battle. Forget it, she should''ve known that the zombie emperor didn''t know what "discreet" or "stealth" meant... 45 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 21 "F******ckkkkk," Yin Mei said, clutching her head in her hands as the soldiers were being called to arms all around her, heading for the wall. She just knew it was because something had happened with the zombie emperor. Her gut sense told her. The Fire Emperor looked from the wall to her, like he wasn''t sure to do. Well, should he just pretend he wasn''t related to these people? But he had to use them to meet up with his siblings later... Sigh, why did his siblings have to go and group up with such questionable people? Ri Lu didn''t know what to do, while Yin Mei was also agonizing over her decisions. Obviously, she could not just leave the zombie emperor there. Although he was probably strong enough to slaughter the entire special forces, she was still a little worried. After all, B City still had the protagonist, that had unreasonable amounts of plot armor and a golden finger aiding him. Although Yin Mei didn''t remember that the zombie emperor had injured Lei Han, it didn''t matter much, as he had gone to be healed by Ming Yu. Though Ming Wei had been reluctant to let the two meet, since Lei Han was a core member of the special forces division, in the end, he allowed him to be healed by Ming Yu. Yin Mei, in the end, decided to go head there and escape with the zombie emperor. First, she grabbed Ri Lu and handed him the pass to the garage, telling him, "Go see Doctor Ming Wei of the lab and tell him that Lu Mei sent you to pick him and Ming Yu up, okay. No matter what, you have to bring him back to H City." She also handed him the red communication gem. "If you get lost, you can use this to contact Qin Shuang with this." Before Ri Lu could ask her who Qin Shuang is, she had already run off in the direction of the wall surrounding the city. In the end, he could only try to enter the lab, telling the security that someone called Lu Mei had sent him to talk to a person called Ming Wei. On the other hand, Yin Mei ran toward the wall, where flashes of light from abilities entered her vision, as they were shooting at a figure floating in the air. The rank 6 zombie emperor could fly. Yin Mei stared up, and glanced around. It seemed that there was a nearby staircase and ladder that was crowded by the soldiers. She backed up several steps before taking a running start and jumping up elegantly onto the top of the wall, shocking the soldiers. As Yin Mei had expected, the protagonist was also here, throwing lightning at the zombie emperor. Yin Mei furrowed her brows. Although the villain didn''t appear to be struggling, Yin Mei was still worried. This was the protagonist, after all. In the stories, the villains would appear to be the stronger one, but in the end, the one who one was the protagonist. Either through some sort of cunning plan or through teamwork and the power of friendship. Yin Mei already stole (most) of his allies (friends), so what was left was the partial power of friendship and a cunning plan? But, because she didn''t know nor have the time to figure out any potential cunning plan that Lei Han might have, she could only run toward the zombie emperor, leaping up into the air in his direction. "Wha-" Shouts of shock at her "suicidal" action ran through the crowd of people, except for Lei Han, who had been expecting Yin Mei all along, the moment he had seen the zombie emperor. And so, he immediately shot forth an arc of lightning. But, Yin Mei had also been expecting Lei Han to make a move. She twisted her body, ready to throw up a water shield, when the zombie emperor shockingly grabbed her in his arms and let the lightning hit his hand. "Ahh..." Yin Mei let out a voice of surprise. And then she was worried. She remembered that he had also let the lightning hit him just a couple of days ago. Lightning was especially effective against zombies, perhaps because it was useful in "purifying" the dead, but Yin Mei felt that even the zombie emperor wouldn''t be unscarred if he got hit twice in the same place within a few days of each other. "Let''s go back to H City! We have to quickly get the Dark Saint to look at you!" Yin Mei said in a flustered manner, too worried to realize just how close the zombie emperor was to her, as he hugged her tightly. "Mm," the man replied, leaning in so that his soft lips were right next to Yin Mei''s ear, his voice almost seeming to reverberate through her body. Yin Mei stiffened, as she finally noticed. The zombie emperor was hugging her in her arms, and she could feel the coldness of his body wrapped around hers. Her body seemed to heat up enough for the both of them as her face flushed red and her heart pounded loudly in her chest. But, the zombie emperor didn''t seem to notice, as he took her and flew away back in the direction of H City, completely ignoring the shouts of the soldiers as they sent their various abilities his way. Lei Han glared at the two of them, wanting to send another arc of lightning, but knowing that it would just be a waste of energy until he could figure out a way to overcome that water shield of hers. She preached about him being an enemy of humanity, but actually teamed up with the zombie emperor - who was the real enemy of humans here? But, he couldn''t ignore her words of coming from this timeline''s future. Which did mean the knowledge they had... was probably different. While he knew who humanity''s former powerhouses were, she knew who humanity''s powerhouses would be, now that he had already started to change the future. It was a bit confusing, how convoluted the timeline was getting, but Lei Han knew that meant she probably knew what he would do in the future, and how he would go about doing it. Revealing her future knowledge was a bad idea, as just by doing so it would change the way he acted. The Yin Mei who enjoyed revealing everything in classic villain-style: Your expression was totally worth it though. The zombie emperor quickly flew back to H City, the two of them rushing (well, one person rushing and the other person being dragged along) into the basement that the Dark Saint occupied in the five star hotel they all lived in. It was a former storage place that had completely been renovated into something of a small hospital and lab space. The Dark Saint was currently in the middle of an operation, three stitched and stapled together arms working in concert as they stitched together the large incision in the middle of the body of whoever he was working on. His eyes and mouth were sewn shut by thick black thread, and his long white hair was tied back into a ponytail. "Saint, Saint, Saint!" Yin Mei barged in at this moment, before immediately turning 180-degrees and out the other way. She didn''t like watching the Dark Saint work, as she found it too creepy. It was a good thing that he wasn''t working on a human, or Yin Mei would have been bringing all sorts of dirty contaminants into the room that could have risked the life of the patient. But currently the Dark Saint was operating on a zombie, so that didn''t really matter. While Yin Mei impatiently paced back and forth outside the room, the Dark Saint was leisurely finishing up his operation. But, the Dark Saint was quick at working and ten minutes later, the patient walked out, dressed neatly in a butler''s outfit as he bowed to Yin Mei and the calmly sitting zombie emperor. Yin Mei recalled that this was the zombie who she had assigned to one of their younger kids, a young girl with a summoning ability. She nodded back, but didn''t say anything, too impatient for the Dark Saint to quickly treat the zombie emperor. Plus, he couldn''t leave that girl alone for too long, or they might end up with a dragon ravaging their city. "Saint," Yin Mei said, her expression slightly panicked as she saw the three armed stitched up Frankenstein-like doctor walk out while wiping his hands with a clean towel. "What is it that you had to bother me during my operation?" A sarcastic and slightly high pitched voice that didn''t match his appearance came out, not from his sewn up mouth, but a mouth moving on one of his six hands, which he raised up. An eye appeared on the side, the bright blue pupil blinking at her. Ugh, this was why she didn''t like dealing with the Dark Saint! She felt a little faint seeing this, but the zombie emperor had priority. "His Majesty got hit twice on his right hand with a lightning attack. I want you to check if he''s alright." Yin Mei answered, and the Dark Saint nodded. He walked over toward the zombie emperor, taking his hand in two of his own. Another mouth appeared, this time talking in a deeper, calmer, and different voice in comparison to the previous one. "It''s here?" It asked, as several eyes also seemed to surface on his other hands and arms, all trained on the hand that the Dark Saint was holding. "N-n-," Yin Mei just barely contained herself from screaming. F*ck, the Dark Saint''s ability was really just too creepy. The ability the Dark Saint had that was not quite a healing ability but could be used to heal anyways was a replication ability. In other words, he could heal by replicating cells. He could also use it to create new blood, organs, and even an entirely new body if needed. And of course, he could use it to create all these weird eyes and mouths on his own body, as well as those extra arms of his. He discussed with the zombie emperor for a few moments, several different voices speaking all at once, as if each with a mind of their own, before letting go of his hand and going to Yin Mei. "The lightning didn''t seem to do much outer damage to him, but for some reason, he''s suffered from some strong inner injuries. It''ll be a little hard to heal it all at once, so I suggest he not go out to fight or anything for the next month or so." One voice of the Dark Saint said in a calm and collected manner. "What the f*ck did you guys do to get His Majesty so injured?" A vulgar voice spoke out from a different arm. "He got hit by a lightning attack, you should bring the lightning user to me. It''ll sure be nice to dissect someone with a lightning ability for the first time." Another voice mused. Yin Mei''s face darkened. She would love to bring the lightning ability user for the Dark Saint to dissect as he pleased, but her defeat was still fresh in her mind. And now the zombie emperor was actually out of commission for a full month! She was filled with extreme anger. That d*mmable Lei Han! She wanted to rip him to shreds at the moment, but couldn''t. There was no where for her to vent, and so she could only endure this stuffy feeling in her heart that seemed to want to suffocate her. In the end, she could only gloomily return back by herself. The zombie emperor had been kept behind by the Dark Saint, who wanted to start treatment immediately. She launched herself into her bed, all sorts of dark thoughts swirling around inside her mind. She hated these dark feelings. All they did was make her feel horrible, and disgusting, but they would never go away. When was it that she started? She didn''t even remember anymore. It had been a long time since she had begun completing these missions. Though, maybe it was because she wasn''t good at this whole transmigrating thing that even though it had been such a long time, she hadn''t succeeded even once and was only on her second world. But, it had already been so long that she felt her old world was hard to remember. In her old world, she had been ordinary in ever way. Ordinary home, ordinary family, ordinary college... she never got an ordinary job though, as she had died first. From a very ordinary car accident too. And now... she rolled around so that she was facing the ceiling, a blank expression on her face. And what now? She sat up. That''s right. The only way these dark feelings would alleviate a little would be to torture the male lead, torture the female lead, kill the male lead, kill the female lead. Only once she did that, would she feel happy again. And the demon king would show her that beautiful smile, and pat her on the head. Yes, she would complete the mission beautifully. And do a "good job". "For now, killing Lei Han is unnecessary, but we''ll need to at least weaken him. His weakness... is probably Ming Yu?" Yin Mei muttered, and then recalled that she had left the Fire Emperor behind to fetch Ming Wei and Ming Yu. "How is that going?" She asked herself, bringing up the system screen to take a look. It seemed he had been successful, as the man was already on the way back with the two. Though Yin Mei was a little curious how he had been able to do so, considering the chaos that the zombie emperor had caused in B City at that time. Well, whatever. The means didn''t matter to her, as long as the result was satisfactory enough. She wasn''t sure how she should use Ming Yu against him, though. Should she brainwash and manipulate her? Yin Mei pondered. She probably should have paid more attention to Villain 101 back in college, d*mmit! Either that, or perhaps she could find a zombie with mind control abilities? Among the many rank 5 zombies they had, not a single one had mental abilities. Among the kids, there weren''t any with mental manipulation type psychic powers either. Yin Mei felt that though it might be a little dangerous to have someone in their group with this type of ability, if they could make use of them, it would be extremely useful. But, they couldn''t have a kid with a mind control ability. It would have to be a zombie. After all, zombies were much easier to control with the zombie emperor on their side, versus kids, who could be unstable and unpredictable. "The only notable zombie that I can think of with this sort of ability is probably... actually none?" The problem was that mind control zombies were way too uncommon, and surprisingly easy to kill as long as one had someone with a strong mind to combat them. Because of this, there actually weren''t any notable mind control type zombies in the information! "D*mn, I guess that isn''t an option then," Yin Mei felt frustrated. Brainwashing through normal means was probably impossible, because Yin Mei didn''t know how to do it, and brainwashing through psychic means was also impossible, because she didn''t know anyone with the ability. Then she guessed she would just have to coerce Ming Yu through force?? Sigh, should she just wing it and see how it goes then? If she obtained Lei Han for the demon king, then maybe the Dark Saint would be able to get him healed faster, too. Yin Mei paused. No, it was the zombie emperor. She needed to stop overlapping the two... A beautiful red robe flashed through her head. She clutched her chest. It felt painful. Didn''t people say that the pain would get better after time passed? So why is it that no matter how many years had passed, it still hurt so much? 46 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 22 "How are you?" Yin Mei asked, when the zombie emperor finally returned from the Dark Saint''s hands into hers. The zombie emperor quietly looked at her, first placing his hands on her shoulders, then looking up down, left right, and all over. Only after that did he feel satisfied and left Yin Mei standing their dumbfounded as he went to go grab a book. "Wait, wait, I asked you a question!" Yin Mei said, jogging after him. He was the one who got hurt, so why did it seem that he was worrying about her instead... She pursued her lips, a little upset as he ignored her in preference of a reincarnation novel. D*mn, couldn''t he stop reading those trashy books and actually do something else for once? Yin Mei boldly took the book away from his hands, not knowing where she got such courage as she asked again, looking him in the eye, "How are you?" The zombie emperor looked at her calmly, answering with a short, "I''m fine," as he took the book back. Yin Mei felt a little upset, but she didn''t know why. He was fine, so wasn''t that good? It wasn''t until the zombie emperor had sat down on the couch that he spoke again. "What you said before..." He spoke, suddenly, as he had opened the book and seemed to be staring blankly at the first page. "What is it?" Yin Mei asked, excitedly turning around, trotting over like a little puppy and sitting next to him. "You called me ''your majesty'' earlier. And that time at B City too..." The zombie emperor said. For some reason, whenever she called him that, he felt like he could just remember something. But in the end, it was as if something was blocking this memory off, and he just couldn''t entirely recall what it is that he wanted to. He felt that he needed some sort of key, to unlock the door that these memories were shut away behind... "Ah..." Yin Mei felt a little embarrassed. This was what she had called the demon king in her past life... She had just naturally called the zombie emperor this, the term slipping out of her mouth. But what could she say? Would he think that she had a weird fetish or something if she said that she had called the man who looked like him that? "Say it again." The zombie emperor demanded, and Yin Mei gaped at him. So the one with the weird fetish was the zombie emperor!? "Y-your Majesty?" Yin Mei cautiously tried out, seeing the zombie emperor blank out as if he was thinking of something. "Why do you call me that?" He finally asked as he resurfaced from his thoughts, his eyes narrowing and staring deeply into hers. "I-I-I used to call someone who looked like you that... it just slipped out." Yin Mei felt that she couldn''t lie when those red eyes stared at her. She was reminded again of the demon king. "Someone who looked like me?" The zombie emperor furrowed his brow. Someone like that existed? He recalled the weird expressions that Yin Mei would give him all the time and realized that the person who looked like him must be the cause of those looks. That person must really look like him for her to be unable to look at him without being reminded of that person... For some reason, that made him feel extremely uncomfortable inside. The zombie emperor suddenly wanted to tell her that he wasn''t that person, so she should stop looking at him that way. With that gaze filled with sadness, hurt, and blame - he didn''t know if she was blaming him or herself. But, for some reason, the words got stuck in his throat and wouldn''t come out. Why was that? Was it because somewhere deep inside, he felt that the person she was talking about... wasn''t another person after all? But why? He didn''t know her at all. He was certain of it. In this place, in this time, he had never met her before. But, what about further before that? What about those memories, of an ancient palace and beautiful sceneries that couldn''t be found anywhere in this world? Where those all just an illusion that his brain had come up with...? He suddenly spoke again, "Do you believe in past lives?" He asked, and Yin Mei stared wide eyed at him. Wait, was this the reason why he had been reading all those weird books all the time? She didn''t think the zombie emperor was actually the type to believe something so unscientific. She then paused. Oh wait, everything about this was unscientific though. She herself was a transmigrator with a system, she shouldn''t be talking, huh... Maybe even her life as Bai Yu and Feng Hua could be considered past lives. She paused. Wait a moment? Hmmm??? "Why... would you ask that?" Yin Mei looked at him suspiciously, squinting her eyes at him as if doing so would cause the answer to her doubts to magically appear. The zombie emperor paused. In the end, he vaguely said, "I''m not sure, but when you say that term ''your majesty'', I feel like I''m about to remember something I forgot a long time ago..." Yin Mei abruptly stood up, her face extremely pale. What was that? What was that supposed to mean? It can''t be what she thought? No, but... but... He was already dead. This wasn''t even the same world. He wasn''t like her, someone with a system who could transmigrate to different worlds, right? And from the looks of it, he didn''t remember anything...? She shivered. She didn''t know how to feel. It was a mixture of fear, self-blame, anger - all sorts of negative feelings sprouted in her heart. But, there was also a small sliver of hope. Would she be able to finally see the demon king again? Her demon king? She looked down at the zombie emperor. But wasn''t she already seeing him in front of her? No, she wasn''t. She felt confused. The zombie emperor was different from the demon king. Although there were points where they could be said to be similar, aside from their appearance, they also had points of difference. So she didn''t know. Were the demon king and zombie emperor the same person after all? And if, and she was just saying if, he was really the demon king and recalled all his memories of the past world what would happen to the zombie emperor then? This matter of potential past lives and amnesia confused Yin Mei. Even though she had struggled to come to terms that the zombie emperor wasn''t the demon king, he had to pull this on her, and give her hope! Hope, and uneasiness. "What, what do you remember- no, that''s right. You said you can''t remember..." Yin Mei bit her lip, and finally sat back down. The zombie emperor paused, feeling that the way Yin Mei was acting was odd. From his memories of humans, usually they would not believe him, right? Or maybe it was because the world had already ended and gone to hell, that nothing was new anymore? Since he was a zombie, it wouldn''t be so odd if he had a past life? He suddenly recalled that Yin Mei had often claimed to be from the future. Time travel was possible, so did it mean past lives were possible as well? Yin Mei and the zombie emperor looked at each other. "Do you remember? This... past life," the zombie emperor said. "I-I-" Yin Mei stammered out before falling silent, not knowing what to say. She... "Lan Wu has illusion abilities. We can use him to show me your memories. Perhaps then I''ll be able to... remember something," the zombie emperor said. Huh? Wait a minute... Illusion abilities? Wait, wasn''t that a mental ability? Although it wasn''t mind control, couldn''t she use this? Lan Wu? Who was that?? Several minute later, a young kid in a black school uniform and hat walked in, his expression gloomy as he clung to a doll in his arms. Hmm? Why did Yin Mei feel he looked real familiar- ahhhhh! AHHHHH! He was one of the first zombies that they had ever recruited when they came to H City! Yin Mei had totally forgotten about him! Or rather, she had completely forgotten all the zombies that they had first recruited. There were too many zombies now after all, who had the time to remember those guys? (A/N: Me too, until a comment mentioned it... :P) Although the illusion ability was not exactly a mind control ability, it could still be classified under mental abilities along with other ones like telepathy and mind reading and was useful in indirectly manipulating a person''s state of mind. Yin Mei was still feeling uneasy, but they had already come this far. She wasn''t quite sure how his ability worked, but apparently by linking hands, he could show what one person was remembering to the other as an illusion. It was his special mutated version of the ability, just like how Qin Shuang''s ability would mutate in the future to allow him to heal with other''s blood. She closed her eyes. Although at first, she didn''t want to remember, in the end, the memories flowed, like water rushing in after a dam breaking. She remembered the moment she had first met him. That appearance, like a blood red rose, a scent almost rotten, a luxurious palace, and a seductive voice... Ahh, ahhhh, ahhhhhhhh... She couldn''t take it. Tears naturally began to flow down her cheeks as she recalled the memories she had tried so desperately to keep away. A smile that seemed to dazzle the eyes, long black hair that was like an ink waterfall, pale skin in sharp contrast to that bright red robe. She didn''t want to recall. It was only full of painful memories. Under the moonlight, him saying "good job" to her while patting her head... She didn''t want to recall. Because, her heart, it couldn''t take it. It felt like it was breaking into pieces, being ripped apart, burned, trampled on, destroyed, shredded, and all manners of pain stabbed into her. It was her fault. It wasn''t her fault. Why...? Why did he die... even after she had done all she could, so that he could be happy. In the end, it still wasn''t enough... Before she knew it, she had collapsed onto the ground, her shoulders shaking. She was sobbing so hard that she could barely breath, not a sound coming from her mouth aside from short gasps, as she clutched at her chest. Why was she still even trying? The person she had tried so hard for was already gone anyways. "Little rabbit," a voice suddenly spoke, and she looked up. An all too familiar voice entered her gaze. "It''s my fault. I''m sorry," he was apologizing for some reason. Why was he apologizing? "I could''t protect you, even though I promised myself I would..." He muttered, and then pat her head, for some reason. She felt like she remembered this happening, a long time ago. That''s right, and at that time, he had said... "You did a good job, up until now." And something inside Yin Mei seemed to break, as all the frustrations and pain she had suffered until now seemed to pour out of her like a stream, and she cried. And cried. Loudly, and obnoxiously. She continued crying, until the tears dried up and she fell unconscious. The next day, Yin Mei woke up in her bed, trying to recall what in the world had happened yesterday. When she did, she turned bright red. She had actually broken down and sobbed like a baby in the arms of the zombie emperor of all things! Oh my god! How embarrassing!! When she finally calmed down, she went through her daily morning routine and changed her clothes before slapping her cheeks a couple of times. "I''m okay. I''m okay now." She said to herself, looking straight at her in the mirror. ... She looked like a total mess. Puffy and red eyes, red nose, red cheeks, and dark bags. She looked horrific. ... ..... ....... Well, whatever. After ignoring what she had just seen in the mirror and banishing it into the back of her mind, as if it had never happened, Yin Mei walked out into the living room, where the zombie emperor was leisurely drinking a cup of tea while flipping through the pages of a book. It was so peaceful and normal of a scene that Yin Mei almost felt like yesterday had never happened and this wasn''t the apocalypse. But of course, no matter how Yin Mei wished for that to be true, it wasn''t. "Little rabbit," the zombie emperor, or perhaps the demon king, spoke in a peaceful manner as he acknowledged Yin Mei''s entrance. Yin Mei''s face turned stiff. Not only did she look like a mess, she had shown him such an embarrassing sight... She wanted to die, right now, at this moment, instantly. But god did not grant her wish, and she didn''t have the courage of suicide. Plus, even if she did die, she''d just end up having to go to another punishment world! Just imagining it was scary enough for her to immediately take back those feelings. "Y-your Majesty," Yin Mei began to speak cautiously, but before she could get out what she wanted to say, the sound of a giant explosion interrupted her words. "Wha-?" The whole city seemed to shake a little. Could abilities actually be so strong at this time? Qin Shuang barged into the room, along with all three Ri siblings. "Eh? Since when did the Fire Emperor get here?" Yin Mei said, blinking her eyes at the man with short cut red hair. "Fire Emperor? What sort of embarrassing title is that?" He said back. "That''s not the time for that! We''re being attacked by an army from B City." Ri En interrupted in an urgent tone of voice. "B City? Since when did they have the time of day to come attack us?" Yin Mei replied, feeling very confused. "Since you kidnapped their head researcher and brought that guy to assault their city, that''s when!" Ri En answered, and Yin Mei almost coughed up blood in reaction to that. "I bet it was all that b*stard Lei Han''s fault!" She immediately shoved all the blame onto the male lead. "I bet it was cause that stupid Ning An did something, right?" Qin Shuang muttered under his breath, glaring daggers at a certain expressionless zombie emperor. "Lei Han! I''ll definitely get my revenge for this!" Yin Mei said, clenching her hand into a fist as she overflowed with fighting spirit, completely not paying attention to the others. Ah! But then she recalled that the zombie emperor was still out of commission. "D*mmit Lei Han, targeting us while we''re weak!!" She now was overflowing in frustration, but still didn''t forget to pin all of the blame on Lei Han. Oh well, she would have to make do with the cards in her hands. They had Qin Shuang and the Fire Emperor now, as well as the Ri twins and some good portion of the zombie emperor''s army. The kids as well, could do some good damage if they put their minds to it. She just wasn''t sure how they would fare battling humans... She shook her head. For the sake of their city, and more importantly, for the sake of getting rid of the pest known as Lei Han, she had to do this! 47 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All 23 Yin Mei didn''t forget to ask a zombie to bring Ming Yu with them, as she was Lei Han''s weakness after all. She felt a tad bit worried that Lei Han might do some weird power up that was a unique ability to the protagonist if she tried using Ming Yu against him, but thinking about it now, such a thing hadn''t happened with the male lead''s before him. She was a little curious why that was. She thought that maybe all male leads were just weaker than she had thought they were, but that was what had gotten her almost killed by Lei Han. So she had to scrap that idea. Well, for now, she would first bring Ming Yu with them and then see how the situation would develop from there. B City''s ability users were currently assaulting the wall, but with no notable results. This was a special wall created by one of the powers of a rank 5 zombie and Qin Shuang''s ability. It had special regenerative properties and wasn''t so easily taken down. But, seeing that their assault was ineffective, they had those people with flying abilities bring up some of the stronger ability users to try and enter that way. "Miss, what do you want us to do with them?" A zombie approached her to ask, his body covered in scales as a large number of snakes slithered around him and his body. Yin Mei was always afraid she would step on one when he walked around like that... "Do you even need to ask? Kill them all and don''t leave a single one behind." Yin Mei said with an icy expression. "Wait, Lu Mei, if you do that, then you''ll be setting a target onto all our backs. The other bases in C Country will end up ganging up and trying to go after us then." Ri En said, quickly trying to stop this crazy woman from doing anything too detrimental toward them. Yin Mei clicked her tongue loudly, obviously feeling unsatisfied. "Fine, fine. Anyone who retreats or runs away you can leave alone. Kill the rest." Ri En still felt there was something wrong with this, but they didn''t have the luxury of going easy on their opponents so he left it alone. The only one that Yin Mei was worried about was Lei Han. With such a large gathering of rank 5 zombies on their side, they would definitely overwhelm the other soldiers from B City. Because zombies wouldn''t die unless their heads were bashed in, and nor would they tire, they had the advantage over a human army. "Slaughter them," Yin Mei said with endless satisfaction in her heart. Okay, she had wanted to say it just this once in her life. It made her feel very cool and badass inside, though she quickly calmed down and joined the zombies in making their way up the wall to meet the intruders. There were only oh so many that could make it up the wall, and this city was their home base at well, so they had a very obvious advantage. B City were idiots to raid without any concrete plan or knowledge of the city. But, Yin Mei also knew that they had Lei Han, so she didn''t let her guard down. "Where is he?" She muttered, as she emotionlessly slashed down at another soldier. She glanced around, trying to find the telltale purple flashes of his ability. "Kids, don''t overwork yourselves! If you get tired, you can go back!" Yin Mei called out, her voice reaching the grouped together kids who were throwing their abilities left, right, and center. They acknowledge Yin Mei''s words, but none of them left, stubbornly staying behind. The kids already had no issues killing other humans when they had arrived here, let alone now, when they were protecting their home and city. The apocalypse was a really cruel place, where kids would now kill others without batting an eye at it. At this moment, she caught a purple light flashing at the corner of her eye and whipped her head around, spotting Lei Han immediately. She bared her teeth at him. "Ming Yu!" She called out, and a pale skinned zombie that had short cut black hair protected her as they both came over. "L-Lu Mei, what''s going on? Do I have to be here...?" She asked with a nervous expression, her eyes darting around as she saw humans being slaughtered by the kids and zombies around her. "You have a rare healing ability. If the kids get hurt, then you''ll have to quickly heal them." Yin Mei answered. "You want a peaceful life right? If we can protect this city, then you''ll be able to stay here. You won''t have to worry about food or shelter. You can play with the kids. We even have cats and dogs that you can take as a pet." Yin Mei spoke, and though her voice was low, it seemed to ring clearly through the cacophony, having some sort of seductive pull and power to it. Ming Yu could almost imagine it oh so clearly. A world where she didn''t have to worry about anything... "All you have to do is break Lei Han''s heart." Yin Mei said, her voice piercing straight through Ming Yu''s own heart and she blinked at her, her mouth opening and closing. "Wh-why?" Ming Yu asked. In her times of torture, only Lei Han had been her solace, his visits the only time she could find comfort. "He''s here with the others to tear apart your future peaceful days. Don''t believe anything that he''ll say, Ming Yu. Outside of our city, others are filled with dirty things. They can''t freely do anything, always having to ration their power and water between hundreds of thousands of humans. If even one infected person gets in, the city is practically doomed. The only place that you can find peace is here." Yin Mei said, her voice soothing. She had said that she didn''t know how to brainwash a person, but it seemed that she was naturally good at coercing them despite that. Ming Yu was clearly starting to waver. "But, but I can just try and convince him to leave with the other forces. I don''t have to do something so cruel, right...?" Ming Yu said, and Yin Mei shook her head. "If you don''t, then he''ll think there''s hope and come back with the army again and again. You have to mercilessly, cruelly, crush his heart until he won''t ever come back again." Yin Mei''s words were cold, but Ming Yu pursed her lips, seeming to seriously consider them. A peaceful life, for Ming Yu, was the most important. Above all, what she desired was a life where she could live carefree without having to worry about anything. In the original storyline, she had relied on her brother, and then Lei Han for that. This time, it would be Yin Mei. Ming Yu finally nodded, and Yin Mei''s lips curved into a delighted smile. "Ming Yu, you''re doing the right thing." She placed her hand on her shoulder, her mouth leaning in to say, "it''s all for the sake of a more peaceful life. There''s nothing so wrong about that, is there?" Ming Yu nodded, her eyes seemed to be filled with the peaceful life she was imagining here. Her expression then hardened, as she had made her decision. "Alright, then go ahead," Yin Mei said, watching from behind and occasionally slashing some people down as she watched Ming Yu walk up to the fighting Lei Han, her zombie bodyguard closely following her. "Lei Han!" She called out, her clear voice not very loud, but Lei Han could still hear it clearly. He quickly dispatched the last low ranked zombie he had been engaged with, turning around to see the clean and pretty Ming Yu. "Watch out!" Lei Han said, shooting an arc of lightning at the zombie bodyguard behind her. "Stop!!" She shouted, about to move to block the lightning - this was the bodyguard who was protecting her from all the abilities flying around the top of the wall, if he died then what would happen to her? But the bodyguard quickly moved to block her first, reaching his hand out to allow it to be hit by the attack. It turned black from being burnt, but the zombie didn''t even blink an eye. "Wha- why did you try and block it?" Lei Han asked. "You could have gotten hurt!" He appeared worried, and also glared at the large man with dull eyes and a now completely burnt hand. "Don''t be deceived Ming Yu, that thing is a zombie! Hurry up and come over here so I can protect you." "He''s protecting me," Ming Yu said, glaring at Lei Han who had almost killed the one thing standing between her and death. Lei Han felt hurt. He had just been trying to protect her, so why was she looking at him like that? "Lei Han, you should take your army and leave." She said, speaking as coldly as possible. Lei Han shook his head. "You know I can''t do that. I don''t have the authority." "Then leave yourself. You shouldn''t even be here. All you''re doing is bothering us." Ming Yu said. Yin Mei, standing nearby: ... Ming Yu, please increase your cruelty level by another ten times. "You..." At this moment, Lei Han saw Yin Mei, who was observing with a cold face from nearby. When her eyes met with Lei Han''s, she couldn''t stop from twisting her mouth into a sneer. There was a groan from the man collapsed by her feet, and without glancing, she stabbed down at him with her sword, completely ending his life this time. "It''s Lu Mei isn''t it? Did Lu Mei set you up to do this? Is she threatening you?" Seeing Yin Mei, he couldn''t help but pin the blame on her as he looked back to Ming Yu. Actually, the two of them, Yin Mei and Lei Han, weren''t all that different in the end. "Don''t talk about her like that! Lu Mei is my benefactor," Ming Yu said in a venomous voice. Yin Mei blinked. She didn''t expect that. But for Ming Yu, in her heart, Yin Mei had been the one to save her from hell. Even Lei Han had been unable to do anything, but with a few words, she had convinced her brother to stop the experiments and had brought her here - sure, there were zombies, but aside from that, it was a peaceful place with cute kids and nothing to worry about. Even though she had only stayed here for a night, it was already enough for her to not want to let it go. Lei Han appeared shocked, looking back and forth between the two. Then he recalled that Yin Mei was from the future. She must have known about his relationship with Ming Yu, and thus had taken the initiative to make Ming Yu feel indebted to her and use her against him. "Ming Yu, she''s only using you so that she can get to me! You can''t trust her!" Although Lei Han tried to explain, Ming Yu wasn''t hearing it. She had decided on a side, and it wasn''t Lei Han''s. Lei Han, seeing that he couldn''t convince Ming Yu, decided that the first thing he needed to was show her Yin Mei''s true colors. Only then would she realize that she had been tricked and it was better to come with him. He glared at Yin Mei, shouting, "Lu Mei, you coward! You couldn''t kill me, so you decided to use Ming Yu against me?" Yin Mei raised an eye. In the end, Ming Yu''s personality was perhaps not so suitable for the job of crushing Lei Han''s feelings under her foot. In the end, she could only shake her head and directed the zombie to bring Ming Yu back, and stepped up. She was a little tempted to high five her like they were changing players in a game, but she resisted. She slashed her sword down, flinging the blood off so that it splattered onto the ground as she tilted her head. She was thinking what she should do. If they just fought normally, she would only be repeating the fight from before, and the result would be the same. "You preach about ''for the sake of humanity'', but you side with the zombies, that are the enemies of humanity?" Lei Has said as she did so. "Yes, our goal is for the coexistence of zombies and humans. After all, the doctor theorized that there is a limit to how much the cure can actually fix. zombies that have evolved too much are incapable of becoming human again." Yin Mei answered. Lei Han narrowed his eyes. He knew this was true. Although this information hadn''t been publicized in his previous life, as it would be detrimental to the morale of the people then, he had personally heard it being discussed by some of the researchers who he had been experimented on. "Even so, zombies and humans cannot coexist." "Well, the doctor agreed to help us research substitute evolution materials, so that we can continue evolving without the need to kill each other," Yin Mei continued. Even so, Lei Han disagreed with Yin Mei. "It''s impossible. Zombies and humans are too different." Yin Mei shrugged. "Isn''t that racial discrimination?" She asked, with a bark of laughter before throwing her sword at him. "Qin Shuang, plan A9!" She said, and the sword seemed to gain a mind of its own as it engaged together with Lei Han. Lei Han grit his teeth. Although Qin Shuang was only ten right now, he was already extremely skilled in battle. One really couldn''t underestimate the potential of a former member of humanity''s top ability users. Yin Mei knelt down, grabbing a gun from one of the corpses. She checked the amount of ammo she had, putting up a shield that blocked Lei Han''s lightning attack. She raised it to shoot a few times, but each time he dodged just by a hair''s breath. Yin Mei clicked her tongue. So he had evolved his physique enough to dodge bullets? What a pain. She was feeling extremely annoyed, and shot another few times until the ammo in the gun ran out. Lei Han had surrounded his body with something that looked like a lightning armor, preventing Qin Shuang from using his threads on him, as they would burn up the moment they got close. Yin Mei stomped her foot. She wasn''t good at battles that required her to think hard. She was just about to grab another gun, when a hand stopped her. She looked up. "Y-y-your majesty?" She was shocked. No, the zombie emperor shouldn''t be here. The Dark Saint had explicitly said that he shouldn''t fight in the next month, or it would aggravate his internal injuries. Even though the zombie emperor was a zombie that couldn''t die from something like internal injuries, it could potentially cripple his strength. The zombie emperor glared at Lei Han. This pest had been trying to kill Yin Mei earlier too. Thinking that, he raised his hand, and a pressure seemed to push Lei Han off the wall. "..." Yin Mei gaped at this. "Ah! We gotta follow him and make sure he''s dead." Saying this, Yin Mei jumped after him without a second thought, and the zombie emperor felt a little distressed, but he also jumped after her. Falling from the sky, Yin Mei couldn''t help but feel that this was an interesting experience. Her expression was weirdly calm. At this moment, Ning An grabbed a hold of her, and they gently alighted onto the ground, where Lei Han was kneeling. He had used his lightning attack to forcefully slow his fall, but it was hard on his body. He had probably broken something. He grit his teeth. Every time he encountered the demon king, he would always end up eating a loss like this. He raised up his hand, shooting a bolt of lightning at the two of them. The zombie emperor hugged Yin Mei in his arms, blocking the attack with his body. A soft grunt escaped his lips and Yin Mei''s eyes almost turned red in rage toward Lei Han as pain pierced her heart. "Your Majesty!" She called out, and the zombie emperor loosened his grip on her. A smile was on his face as he took her own in his hands. "This time I protected you." "Main mission has been completed. Would host like to stay in this world until the body''s natural lifespan has ended or proceed to the next world?" Yin Mei blanked out when she head the voice of System 097 for the first time in a while, not knowing what to think. What? She completed the mission? She hadn''t even done anything. At that moment, she felt a soft brush of something on her lips, and she snapped to attention, not knowing what had happened. A sweet taste seemed to linger, and she looked at the zombie emperor, who was licking his lips mischievously. "Wha- wha- wha-" Yin Mei stammered out. It was a battlefield where abilities were flying all around, and it wasn''t good to space out. But Yin Mei was completely unable to focus. Did he just... kiss her? The taste of that brief kiss was oh so sweet. But before her thoughts had the time to gather themselves, purple lightning shot out from Lei Han''s hands and destroyed the zombie emperor''s head, right in front of her. Blood splattered onto her face, and her hand reached out to touch it, bringing it into sight of her eyes. She couldn''t comprehend. His body fell to the ground. She couldn''t understand. Darkness fell on her, as her vision slowly narrowed and her breathing grew sharp and panicked. Why? Someone was screaming. She was the one screaming. Someone was crying. She was the one crying. And when she came too, she was sitting in a bloody battlefield littered with corpses, covered in dirt and blood, holding the hilt of a sword that she had stabbed into the ground. She blankly stared at the red that seemed to be everywhere, soaking into the dirt, covering her skin and clothes. Red, red, red, and even more red. It was the same color as the demon king''s clothes. It was her most beloved red color. She struggled to stand up, gazing into the distant horizon as the sun slowly rose. It was the most beautiful sunrise that she had ever seen. And with a smile, she stabbed herself in the stomach, falling to the ground ever so quietly. Ever so quietly, she took her last breath, her expression stilling, lips still curved in a faint smile as a tear glinted in the corner of her eye. 48 Zombie Queen has the Biggest Thigh of All Epilogue When Qin Shuang found Yin Mei''s body, he refused to come out of his room for months. Only when they held her funeral did he come out for the first time to attend. All the kids were sad, some sobbing, some not. But they all got over it in the end. Death was all too common in the apocalypse, and all of them here had experienced the loss of their loved ones before. The world moved on. After many years, Ming Wei completed both the cure and the replacement evolution materials. The name of zombies were changed to "mutants", and the world began to repair itself and coexist with the mutants. Ming Wei was lauded in history books as the humanity''s savior, along with the Dark Saint and Ming Yu, who had both made contributions toward completing the cure. He died at the ripe age of 170 years old, lamented by everyone in the entire world. But till the end, he had never taken a wife and had died without leaving behind any descendants. As for Lu Mei, her position in history was highly debated. In classrooms, she was a major historical figure, but what people thought of her was extremely controversial and she was the topic of many essays and tests. They called her the "Zombie Queen". She had contributed to the development of the cure, she was the first to attempt coexistence with mutants, and she had gathered young orphaned children in a world where children had been abandoned as "burdens". Those children had gone on to form the world''s strongest special forces unit, the Black Cross Brigade. But, she had also invaded one of humanity''s strongest bases, massacred B City''s army almost single handedly, and had cooperated with mutants to kill other humans. In the end, many people said that what she contributed toward humanity was more than the harm that she had caused to humans. After all, during the apocalypse, things like killing others had become perfectly normal. There was no one who was completely innocent of crimes during that time. Many movies were made, telling her story. It was often theorized that the Zombie Queen''s partner, who controlled the zombies, the so called "zombie emperor", had formerly been lovers with Lu Mei when he was still human. Because of this, Lu Mei, after encountering him again, had made the decision to attempt to unite the world and cooperate with zombies. In the end, the zombie emperor was thought to have died during the battle between H City and B City, which was the cause of Lu Mei''s massacre of the B City army. This love story drew many hot tears and emotions around the world and they sympathized with Lu Mei. Her lover had become a zombie, but after she had finally got together with him again, he had actually been killed by the B City army! But, this was all merely speculation based on records of the original founding members of the Black Cross Brigade and prominent Ri family, and it was unknown whether it was true or not. In the white space, Yin Mei was lying on the ground with a blank expression. "Host, please choose a skill. Since host has succeeded in the mission, you may choose between three random worlds to enter." System 097 spoke. When it showed her the skill options, there was only Cleaning and Etiquette. It seemed that she had been unable to unlock any new skills yet. In the end, she decided on cleaning. After experiencing such a dirty apocalypse, she wanted the ability to clean anyplace, anywhere. Then it showed her the three options for her next world. It was only a title with the briefest of summaries. Campus Romance: A romance story between kids attending a school for the rich and talented. Vampire Fantasy: An epic romance between a vampire and a vampire hunter spanning over a thousand years. Death Game: People wake up in a death game, required to kill and compete with each other and survive until the end to obtain their prize. Yin Mei glanced at them, and immediately chose campus romance. She was already so, so tired. At least in a campus romance, she would be able to rest a little, right? 49 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 1 When Yin Mei opened her eyes, it looked like she was inside some sort of room that she couldn''t exactly name. The afternoon sun streamed in through the windows, illuminating the place, which almost seemed to sparkle. It looked like a clubroom lounge for the rich and powerful, exceedingly elegant and noble like. She was sitting on a plush arm chair, in her hands a delicate tea cup that was filled with the most beautiful amber colored tea that she had ever seen, the aroma rich and pleasant. It was both peaceful and luxurious. There were a few people dressed in a white blazer school uniform with gold trim designs, either enjoying tea and snacks with others and chatting softly, or perhaps reading alone as they relaxed. The memories of this body flowed through Yin Mei, and she checked the information as well. This was a high school for the rich, wealthy, and talented, called Blue Cross Academy. And this room was the student council''s private lounge room, where snacks were made by a Michelin star chef and butlers on call to serve the kids. Yin Mei blinked with a blank face. She couldn''t understand these filthy rich kids... The body that Yin Mei was in, He Lanying, was the secretary of the student council and the daughter of an old noble family that had their hands in all sorts of businesses, though they primarily dabbled in politics and jewels. She came from very old money, and was highly respected among the students. But it seemed that none of the bodies Yin Mei inhabited had a good fate, as He Lanying was another cannon fodder. Yin Mei absentmindedly wondered if she would ever get a body that had something other than a horrible bad ending waiting for it. He Lanying had a crush on the male lead, Rong Sheng, and so when he got together with the female lead, Wen Hua, it immediately became a classic rich, arrogant young miss bullying the white lotus hard-working girl. "How stupid," Yin Mei couldn''t help but mutter under her breath, but she had to admit little kids bullying each other and fighting over a man was much better than anything else she had experienced before. Although, that also wasn''t exactly true, as the methods that He Lanying had employed were way beyond the means of any average person - after all, she was the daughter of one of the richest families in the world. Hiring a few bodyguards or assassins to try and take care of a little girl was no big deal, especially since He Lanying''s family wasn''t exactly "clean". It was just a pity that Wen Hua had the female lead halo, that would always bring either Rong Sheng or some other side male lead to her side in her times of peril. In the end, He Lanying''s family''s corruption and dealings on the other side of the law were revealed by the Rong family, and she ended up on the streets with a mother and little brother to care for, while her father ended up in jail. But how could a formerly rich and pampered young girl handle suddenly handle having to single handedly take care of the family? She ended up committing suicide only a few short months later. She set down her now empty cup of tea, and a butler standing to the side immediately came up to refill it. She held her hand up to stop him. "Just take it away," she said in a cool voice. The butler bowed slightly and picked up the teacup, whisking it away. Even though it was just butlers for some high school kids at a lounge room that wasn''t even used during class times, the mannerisms and quality of these staff were all extremely high. Yin Mei stood up, and immediately the few soft chatters of the other student council members fell silent. "Will you be heading back to the student council room now?" A pleasant voice sounded out, and a mature and beautiful girl approached Yin Mei. This was the student council treasurer, Liang Xiu. She was always gentle, kind, and polite, and exceptionally popular among the students, even though her family couldn''t be considered particularly standout in this school of rich kids. It was slightly different from He Lanying, who was mostly only popular due to her family, though there were some people that were into her whole "ice queen" personality. She was an ice queen, but lost all logic and bearings when it came to the male lead. Yin Mei actually felt that these storylines were a little too stupid, right? "Yes, I am," Yin Mei replied, her voice cool. He Lanying was almost exactly opposite of the kind and warm Liang Xiu, and had a strict and dignified bearing. She had been schooled in mannerisms from a young age, and each movement of hers was as if it was calculated, both precise yet filled with an inborn elegance. It was almost contradictory, but in He Lanying, it came together to form an odd harmony. "Then how about we walk together?" Liang Xiu suggested, with a practiced smile on her face. If He Lanying''s actions could all be considered calculated, then so could Liang Xiu''s. In reality, Liang Xiu wasn''t actually a very nice person. At this school, it would be hard to find someone who was actually nice without a goal, almost like those in the apocalypse, as they all came from rich families and had received special schooling from young. The kids here were already establishing connections - not making friends. Liang Xiu''s family couldn''t be considered particularly impressive among all the other family''s that gathered here, and so she could only rely on a gentle and pretty appearance and personality to garner favor. She was especially interested in making friends with this supposed ice queen, the eldest child of the prestigious He family. If she was on good terms with her, then she would only benefit from that relationship. Yin Mei nodded, much to Liang Xiu''s surprise. Though she had been trying to make a good impression on He Lanying for a while now, she had never really reacted much and never agreed to any of her invitations. Although it was just walking together to the nearby student council room, it was enough to make Liang Xiu feel extremely happy and excited. Perhaps her hard work was finally revealing its results. Yin Mei didn''t really care about that stuff, and didn''t know what sort of complicated thoughts were going through the minds of these kids. In this world, she simply had no desire to think, and just wanted to relax while she could. The two of them walked quietly through the hall, not a word between them. Liang Xiu would occasionally warmly greet the students who passed by, while Yin Mei remained stiff and cold faced throughout the whole ordeal. Liang Xiu wasn''t too concerned though, as this stoic and emotionless expression was He Lanying''s normal expression. The student council room was a clean and elegant meeting room with a large desk at the end, and other desks at the sides, making a U-shape that opened up at the door. Already inside was a beautiful looking man that had a familiar appearance. He had a gentle appearance, with drooping eyes the pale blue color of the sky, a small mole underneath his left eye, and soft, light brown hair that almost seemed to be asking to be touched. Yin Mei blinked. She felt that he looked a little similar to the demon king and zombie emperor. For some reason, recalling this made her heart hurt, but she didn''t know why. She soon regained her bearings. Although he may look a little like those two, his aura was completely different. It didn''t have the overbearing and lazy look that the other two had, but instead was like the warm and gentle spring sun. This was the vice-president of the student council, Yao Heyan. Among the students, his popularity lost only to the student council president''s. Perhaps it was because young girls like the bad boy emperor type more than the nice guy type. Yin Mei personally had an immediate aversion toward Rong Sheng, so she personally preferred Yao Heyan. It wasn''t because he looked kinda like the demon king and zombie emperor. Well, Yao Heyan''s personality wasn''t really anything good either. After all, he was this story''s villain! In other words, that gentle appearance, those soft words and warm voice... they were all fake as hell. He was secretly a sadistic yandere that had done all sorts of XX and OO things to the female lead all in the name of love. Yin Mei expressionlessly greeted the vice-president in a polite and distant tone of voice, to which he responded warmly. "You two are already here? You''re both always so diligent," he said with a smile. Liang Xiu also replied kindly, and the two began chatting away in a very friendly manner as Yin Mei sat down at He Lanying''s desk, taking out the work that she had to do. Yin Mei herself didn''t really like paperwork, and nor was she particularly skilled at it, but she had gained an ungodly amount of patience after experiencing 500 years of imprisonment, and also had all the knowledge that she needed in He Lanying''s head. So she efficiently went through and completed all the paperwork that she needed to very diligently, completely ignoring the existence of the other two in the room, who had finished talking to each other and were also now each attending to their respective duties. Yin Mei had transmigrated in at the time when the female lead had just entered the student council under the invitation of the president. It was only a few months after the beginning of the new year, and she was a first year student, while both the president, vice-president, and He Lanying were in their second years. Thankfully, He Lanying had yet to do anything to Wen Hua, though she had displayed some obvious dissatisfaction toward her on some occasions, resulting in her currently being bullied by a few kids who wanted to get He Lanying''s favor. Yin Mei didn''t really have any interest in this scholarship student that was so stupid despite ranking top in all the tests and had a man saving her all the time. She was only concerned with her own free time. Of course, she planned on completing whatever mission the system gave her, but to her, this world was her vacation - her holiday break. She was going to do this as leisurely as possible. As the three of them worked quietly, several more of the student council members began to filter in. Wen Hua was the first one to come in after them. She had an appearance reminiscent of that of a small animal, looking very cute with her small face and big eyes. It was an appearance that made one desire to protect her, but Yin Mei didn''t have such feelings. People should be able to protect themselves. She didn''t need anyone''s protection. Not anymore. She wouldn''t let anyone protect her, this time. She paused, wondering why she had thought "this time", blanking out a little, though her hands continued to move robotically to complete her work. It was only when the male lead walked in that Yin Mei''s attention refocused. Rong Sheng had a handsome face with raven black hair and the typical domineering aura that came from being a protagonist and heir to a major corporation. He was the very last one into the student council room, as he always was. Yin Mei didn''t even know what he came here for, when he didn''t even do anything. Whenever He Lanying had gone over to discuss something with him or hand him papers for him to approve, he had always been looking at other things on his computer, like the state of the stock market, or emails from the employees of his family''s company. In other words, he had been taking care of personal business. Well, after thinking about it, it didn''t matter that much to Yin Mei anyways. The true boss of the student council had always been the vice-president, who took care of almost everything. The president was only there to approve proposals or something along those lines. Yin Mei, from her position close to the president, could see that Wen Hua had been shooting the man looks since the moment he entered. She didn''t think that there was any real thing going on between them yet, with the president only interested in her talent right now. She briefly checked the mission, so that she could know if she would need to interfere in their little love story to complete it. She was in no hurry, but she also couldn''t fail the mission. "Main mission: Marry Yao Heyan." "..." She felt that the system was getting more and more glitchy these days. She coldly set down her pen, opening up the student council QQ group on her desk computer. They also had a WeChat group, but their WeChat group was mostly used for socializing, while the QQ group was for business and discussing their work and student council duties. (A/N: QQ and WeChat are both extremely popular and well known Chinese messaging/social media, QQ is for computer only, while WeChat was designed for the phone) She sent a few files pertaining to the upcoming culture festival, and then browsed the internet for a little bit, doing some research and calculations. Though Yin Mei herself was tempted to play around and relax, she felt like she was affected a little by He Lanying''s dutiful personality that refused to slack off. Just as she was about to close her window and power down the computer to finish for the day, she received an instant message alert for Yao Heyan. She opened it up and saw that he was asking a few questions about the files that she had sent earlier. "Why don''t you just ask in person?" She typed out, feeling a little odd. They were only a few feet away, but he insisted on sending her a chat message instead? She looked up and saw him glance toward her as well. He turned back to his own computer screen and typed something, another alert appearing on her chat message window "I didn''t want to bother anyone, since they all seemed so busy and diligent." Yao Heyan said, and Yin Mei glanced around briefly. Everyone was hard at work, and there was little chatting going on. The culture festival was coming up soon, so the student council was extremely busy. None of them needed to ask questions either, as they had all been together since middle school and some of them since elementary school as well. Blue Cross Academy was an escalator school, and most of the time, those who were student council members in elementary would remain student council members up until high school, unless extreme circumstances prevented them from doing so. That''s why they could all quietly work together like this for long periods of time, almost like a well oiled machine. The only one that stood out was... Wen Hua. She was like a wrench that had suddenly been thrown into their well oiled machine, completely destroying the harmony that the student council previously had. In the storyline, because of Wen Hua, several members in the student council had quit and the rest had begun taking different sides. She had almost completely split apart the student council with her arrival. But, it had yet to get to that point. Currently, there were only a few people showing dissatisfaction toward her. The main reason was the fact that the members of the student council were all very elitist and the organization itself tended to be quite exclusive. To have a clumsy outsider that understood nothing of the school rules and traditions barge in upon them was offensive in their eyes. He Lanying was included among those that thought that way. The current Yin Mei didn''t care, as long as she didn''t do anything drastic. Yin Mei turned her attention back to her computer screen, and proceeded to answer any questions that Yao Heyan had, her answers succinct and to the point. After that, she noticed that the other members were all preparing to leave, as the day was almost over. Many of them began saying goodbye to each other politely, to which Yin Mei only briefly nodded at a few that she noticed. Since she herself still had some work left over, she stayed to continue working, and before she knew it, only her and Yao Heyan were left in the room. The setting sun washed the room in a thin veil of golden-orange, as the two quietly sat, only the sound of typing or the scratching of a pen on paper could be heard. For the first time in a long time, Yin Mei felt truly relaxed. She felt comforted that that person was by her side, despite the current distance between them. (A/N: Because I really want to write something peaceful and not too overly filled with death, blood, and tension, that''s what this world will be. Of there''s going to be some drama, but not on the level of me killing everyone. Let''s teach pronunciation! The He in He Lanying and Yao Heyan''s names are not pronounced with a long e sound, but instead a short e sound. For Yao Heyan''s name, it''s the character for lotus, and for He Lanying, it''s the character for river. The two novels I used for reference: Dominion''s End and Quickly Wear the Face of a Devil. I recommend both. But the second one is BL/yaoi/danmei, to anyone who isn''t comfortable with that genre.) 50 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 2 When Yin Mei finally finished all the work she had left, it was already dark outside. She would also have to complete her homework, but because He Lanying managed her time very well, there shouldn''t be that much that was due tomorrow. Just as she got up, a quiet voice interrupted her, "He Lanying, wait for me to finish this and I''ll walk back with you." It was the vice-president who spoke, his gentle tone pleasant to the ears. "There''s no need," Yin Mei replied coolly. "The dorms are just nearby," she said. "But, it''s no good for a girl to walk alone all at night. We''re in the same dorm anyways, so just let me walk you back, okay?" The vice-president''s smile was warm, but had an unknown force behind it that seemed to make Yin Mei want to listen to him. In the end, she sat down to patiently wait for the vice-president to finish. The silence between them felt slightly uncomfortable now that Yin Mei had nothing to do, and she shot a glance at him. His eyes were lowered, thick eye lashes casting a shadow on his face. He had skin smoother and softer looking than any girl, and his hands seemed especially beautiful, with long and slender fingers gripping his pen as he signed off on one last document. His face was as beautiful as ever. She liked this beautiful face of his. She didn''t want to see it in that way ever again... Yin Mei paused. She couldn''t recall in what way she didn''t want to see it. She tried to concentrate why she thought this way, but was only pulling a blank. In the end, her thoughts were interrupted by Yao Heyan''s warm voice, as he said, "I''m finished. Let''s go." She looked up, and saw that Yao Heyan had already cleaned up and was holding his outer jacket on his arm. Yin Mei also stood, grabbing her own jacket. Exiting the building, the night sky was clear, and a chilly autumn wind blew past, the sound of tree leaves rustling reaching their ears. "You always are so diligent aren''t you? Staying up so late is bad for your health." Yao Heyan said, as they walked across the school courtyard. The student council had a special dorm that was a little bit outside the school campus, about a short five to ten minute walk away inside the forest surrounding the school. "You say that, but you also stay up just as late, don''t you?" Yin Mei answered in a cold tone of voice. But Yao Heyan didn''t seem to mind, simply smiling. In He Lanying''s memories, her interactions with Yao Heyan were always like this. They were technically childhood friends, and it could be said that they got along rather decently. He Lanying understood Yao Heyan''s bad personality, while Yao Heyan knew about He Lanying''s crush on Rong Sheng. "You shouldn''t bully the new girl too much. I know she was invited by the president, but it''s only because she''s the only person to ever rank higher than him on the tests. You know that right?" Yao Heyan said. For some reason, an ugly feeling arose in Yin Mei''s heart. Was this him protecting her? Her face was expressionless, but inside, she felt gloomy. She knew that Yao Heyan liked acting like a peacemaker to have everyone get along, but for some reason, she felt unsatisfied. She didn''t want him to be kind to that stupid girl. "I''m not bullying her." Yin Mei said with a short reply. "And I don''t like Rong Sheng anymore." She added on, feeling it was important for the vice-president to know this, although she wasn''t quite sure why. The vice-president blinked, feeling this was rather unexpected. He had always been good at observing other people, so he had quickly found out about He Lanying''s crush, even with that stoic face of hers that she always put on from a young age. It had already been many years since she started liking Rong Sheng? But to suddenly say that she didn''t like him anymore... The vice-president glanced at Yin Mei, whose brows were furrowed just the slightest in an expression of dissatisfaction - like she disliked even the idea of liking Rong Sheng. What in the world had happened? He tried to recall if the president had done anything to make He Lanying''s emotions change so quickly, and could only think of him inviting the scholarship student into the student council. But normally wouldn''t she feel jealous, and not hate for the subject of her crush? Before, he had felt that He Lanying was a straightforward person and easy to understand, as long as one looked a little closer at her actions and expressions, but now he sighed inwardly, feeling that he was having a hard time understanding the change in her. Well, it was to be expected, as the person inside was no longer the same. They soon reached the dorm, and bid farewell as Yao Heyan entered the elevator. The first three floors were for girls, while the upper three were for boys. He Lanying''s room was on the first floor. Each floor only had a few number of rooms, each room very large suite rooms that seemed like they belonged in a five star hotel rather than a school dorm. They could be remodeled as the student pleased, as long as the student payed for it themselves. But, He Lanying''s room didn''t have anything overly fancy in it. Of course, it was an extremely luxurious and beautiful room, but she hadn''t remodeled it in any way, keeping it as it was when she had gotten it. At most, she had switched out the displayed paintings for ones that were more to her taste. Yin Mei completed the homework that she needed to for tomorrow before finally going to bed. Even though this body was that of a rich young miss that shouldn''t need to worry about anything, why did she feel like she was doing so much more paper work than ever before? At least she didn''t also have to handle any company matters, like Rong Sheng did. She felt it was good that Yao Heyan didn''t either, seeing as he was the second son of his family and not the heir. Or else he would definitely end up overworked, right? Yin Mei opened up the mission screen again, and it still said the same thing it had this afternoon. "Main Mission: Marry Yao Heyan." The more she looked at it, the more she felt it was odd. In the first world, it had first wanted the villain to get together with the female lead - this she could understand. Although she inwardly felt a little dissatisfied now thinking back on it, but the demon king was supposed to have been in love with the female lead. After that, it became more along the lines of establishing the demon king in a position of higher power. The dragon throne. She could also sort of understand this. After all, she thought that many villains would have dreams of conquering the world, or something along those lines. And then the next world after that... How did she complete the mission then? She couldn''t recall... She remembered that the last mission was to get the zombie emperor to trust her, but she didn''t really know why that had anything to do with "saving" him. And she was even more unsure how she had ended up completing the mission and leaving the world. Thinking about it tired her out. And she instinctively felt that she didn''t want to remember. In the end, she slowly dozed off, falling asleep on the bed. She woke up early the next day. Yin Mei herself wasn''t really a morning person, but it seemed that He Lanying woke up at 6:00am to start her morning. Her body just naturally woke up, so she just followed He Lanying''s normal morning routine. Before she didn''t really care about following her former host''s previous habits or personality, but maybe because this world was so peaceful and devoid of fighting and monsters or zombies that she decided to do so. Especially since any personality changes would be much more obvious to others now that they had the time to pay attention to them, unlike in the first world, where she barely interacted with the body''s parents, or the second world, where her personality changes were chalked up to being dumped by Long Aotian, and then the third world, where no one cared if someone''s personality had changed - it was the apocalypse after all. She put on her uniform, tying the red ribbon at her neck and buttoning up the white blazer. Checking herself in the mirror, she nodded in satisfaction. He Lanying was a really beautiful girl, though because she had sharp eyes and an expressionless face, it gave her a really hard to approach aura. "Today the student council is meeting again... it''s really busy." Yin Mei said, as she checked the calendar. There were a lot of things to do to prepare for the cultural festival. It was a culture festival, but it was on an entirely different scale from any normal school''s culture festival. Many people even received sponsors or would negotiate contracts... the amount of spending was on a whole other level. She exited the building, and a few students greeted her as they all headed to class. School wasn''t particularly interesting, though she must say that it was more difficult than what she vaguely recalled of what her former high school was like. But, she didn''t worry too much. Maybe because she was in a different body, the content of the classes seemed easy to understand for her. When time came for the student council to meet again, she sat down and started working again. She felt her life was very peaceful like this. That is, if there wasn''t a Wen Hua to worry about. Especially since the person that the other student council members would come to complain to was exactly Yin Mei, pulling her out into the hallway to do so. They didn''t dare to complain to Rong Sheng, as he was the one who invited her into the student council, and they wouldn''t complain to Yao Heyan either, as Yao Heyan would most certainly not take a side and prioritize working together peacefully. So they would go to Yin Mei, who had the third highest position in the student council. In addition, with her personality, they knew that she would easily side with them. They would complain about things like how Wen Hua would constantly slow them down because she didn''t know about the school rules, or how she was incapable, or how she had messed up, or how she had messed up again... Yin Mei felt like she had a headache coming on, wanting to punch someone in the face. Seeing that Yin Mei''s face was slowly growing darker and darker, the three people who came to complain together shut their mouths, knowing that they had put her in a very bad mood. "There''s no need to say anything more. You all should go and focus on your own work. I''ll take care of this." Yin Mei said with a heavy voice. They immediately brightened up and obediently went back to work. Weren''t they just pushing all the responsibilities onto her? They were afraid to scold Wen Hua themselves in case they received Rong Sheng''s ire, so they wanted her to do it instead. What a joke. But it was true that Wen Hua was making a few mistakes as the result of not properly understanding the school rules, so she would really have to go and tell her about this to get her to correct the proposals that had been submitted. It was a pain every time the new year came when new students arrived who didn''t understand the school rules and traditions. Because of this, they had to always carefully look over the proposals to make sure that nothing wrong went through. Yin Mei entered the student council room, and saw Wen Hua sitting at the desk right next to the door, going through some papers. She walked up to her. "Come with me into the hallway." She said coldly, and the sounds of work seemed to pause at the moment as everyone glanced at her. "E-eh, d-d-did I do something wrong?" Wen Hua stammered out, looking like some sort of frightened squirrel. Yin Mei sighed loudly. She honestly hated this type of person the most. "Do you want me to talk about it here, or in the hallway?" She said, and Wen Hua''s eyes darted around frantically. The others all looked down, pretending to be occupied with their work. Rong Sheng wasn''t here today and had instead gone to attend a board meeting for his father''s company, and Yao Heyan looked like he wanted to interfere, but in the end, didn''t make a move. "Th-then, in the hallway..." Wen Hua said, feeling that if she was going to be scolded, it was better if it wasn''t in front of the rest of the student council members. The two stood out in the hallway. There were some students passing by, but they weren''t many. All of them greeted Yin Mei respectfully. Even the clueless Wen Hua knew that this girl was from a really great family and that she was also childhood friends with the vice-president and president. "The proposals that you submitted need to be revised again," Yin Mei said, getting straight to the point. She didn''t really want to deal with her for too long, or else who knew who she would go crying to about being bullied. "E-eh? Wh-what w-was wrong with them..." Wen Hua said. Even though Yin Mei wasn''t even doing anything, it already looked like she was being bullied by her. See? This was why she didn''t like dealing with this type of person. "They don''t comply to the school rules. Did you not read the student handbook when you first entered our school?" Yin Mei said, and Wen Hua seemed to shrink into herself as Yin Mei looked down on her. "N-no..." Wen Hua said, slightly embarrassed. She was already so busy with studying, who had the time to read the student handbook? In the first place, not many people would read that anyways. Aside from maybe He Lanying, that is. So Yin Mei had all the school rules clearly remembered. For most of the members of the student council, though they might not have the handbook memorized, they had been at this school since kindergarten and had a good grasp of the rules as well, even if they hadn''t read the handbook at all. "Then you should quickly read and memorize it so you don''t make this mistake again." Yin Mei once more sighed. "We''re so busy, yet you made such a basic mistake... It''s clear that you lack the basic understanding of the school necessary for a member of the student council, yet that idiot had to go an invite you..." "Who are you calling an idiot?" A deep and annoyed voice echoed, and Wen Hua jumped like a scared rabbit while Yin Mei coldly turned around without a change in expression. Rong Sheng was standing behind her with his chin slightly raised, a man in a black suit and sunglasses behind him whispering in his ear before bowing and taking his leave. "Aside from you, who else is there?" He Lanying replied haughtily. "You invited this girl, so how about you take responsibility for her mistakes and resign already? Yao Heyan does more than you ever do anyways. I''m sure even if you''re gone, no one will miss you." Yin Mei''s words were sharp and biting, but also completely true. Rong Sheng was constantly absent from the student council room and duties due to handling matters at his father''s company, yet since when had the student council ever been inconvenienced because of that? The answer was never. "You''ve got nerve, saying something like that to me." Rong Sheng said, but the two both knew that he wouldn''t take any action against her for it, except maybe something petty, like ordering all of her favorite sweets at the lounge for himself. But, their families got along well, and they were childhood friends after all. He Lanying had understood Rong Sheng''s personality, and Rong Sheng had understood He Lanying''s personality... well, at least, as much as could be expected from someone like him. Plus, because He Lanying was a complete tsundere, she always talked to him in this manner. He was basically used to it already. "What? You know it''s true." Yin Mei answered curtly. This guy was mostly only in it because this position was the highest in the school, and he had to always be number one. "If she doesn''t know then she can learn. She ranked higher than me and Yao Heyan in the midterm exams, so she isn''t incapable." Rong Sheng said, but Yin Mei looked at Wen Hua with a disdainful gaze. She was just book smart, but one also needed more than that to be able to succeed in life. Plus, all of Wen Hua''s actions just made her doubt what level her IQ was really at. Aside from being good a studying and tests, she was an idiot at everything else. She really wanted to yell at whoever wrote such a stupid character. Yin Mei finally looked away, seeming to let it go. "As long as she doesn''t slow us down, then that''s fine. But if she does, then no matter what you say, your eyes are clearly the incapable ones." Rong Sheng raised in eyebrow. Why is it that Wen Hua''s incapability would suddenly become his own? If this wasn''t He Lanying but someone else instead, he definitely would have already destroyed their social life. But, he knew that He Lanying was someone whose words were sharper than her actions, though what he didn''t know was that was only toward himself... And what he further didn''t know was that He Lanying was now different, and those words had been spoken in complete seriousness. 51 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 3 In the end, Rong Sheng walked into the student council room without replying, and Yin Mei glanced at Wen Hua before scoffing and walking back in as well. Wen Hua felt terrified. So there was someone that could actually talk like that to the president without dying? He Lanying''s position in her heart became even higher than that of the president''s as she vowed never to go against her. If Yin Mei heard those thoughts, she would want to ask Wen Hua what exactly she thought the president was. Then again, in the end, He Lanying really did die! Man, kids these days were terrifying. Hormone filled teenagers plus massive amount of wealth and power were never a good combo. No matter how grown up they acted, in the end, they were still just kids in puberty after all. It was only a little while after that that Wen Hua walked in. Her face was slightly pale, much to the satisfaction of those who disliked her. "You really aren''t bullying her?" A message from Yao Heyan popped up on Yin Mei''s computer screen and she frowned. For some reason, whenever Yao Heyan talked about that idiot Wen Hua, she would feel uncomfortable all over. Her eyes darkened, and she felt that if she looked over at that girl at this moment, she wouldn''t be able to stop her desire to kill her. No good, no good. She was in a modern world now and was the eldest daughter to a powerful family. She couldn''t just kill others without a thought like before. She replied to him with, "I just told her to recheck the proposals she submitted, how is that bullying? You and Rong Sheng''s expectations toward her are too high. She doesn''t even have the sense to read the student handbook." "Haha, He Lanying, you''re probably the only one among us dutiful enough to read that." Yao Heyan replied, chuckling softly when he saw the message from He Lanying. Yin Mei looked up, able to hear that faint laughter from where she was at. Her ears turned slightly red. "What are you laughing at?" She felt this was slightly unfair. It wasn''t like she had wanted to memorize that stupid thing, it was all because He Lanying was too serious of a student. This sort of textbook honor student was really rare. "Nothing, nothing." Yao Heyan said, quickly changing the topic. "Has your class already submitted their proposal?" "Of course they have. We''re doing a traditional tea shop. What about your class?" Yin Mei answered, though she already knew. Yao Heyan''s class also had Rong Sheng. Even though Rong Sheng normally didn''t pay much attention to the affairs of the student council, the culture festival was something else. For the students of Blue Cross Academy, the culture festival was a good place to practice for before they would be taking over their family''s businesses and was a competition of sorts between the classes. The winning class would receive a reward to eat a night at a world famous buffet. Though, for the majority of the students, such a reward wasn''t important. What was important was the prestige and experience that came from the culture festival. "We''re doing a sweets shop. We''ll be providing limited edition sweets from Sadaharu Aoki." Yao Heyan said. "!!!" Yin Mei immediately felt excitement. It didn''t matter if she abandoned the tea shop in the middle of the culture festival, she would get her hands on those limited edition sweets. She felt impressed that they were able to get some front that famous Japanese sweets store, and she was more amazed that the class with Rong Sheng in it was doing something like a sweets shop in the first place, but none of that mattered as much as those sweets, in her stomach, at this very moment. It was a good idea. She would go to Japan over the weekend and buy some. The purchasing power of these rich kids was really no joke. That being said, the sweets that they would be selling at their class tea shop could only be said to lose to Sadaharu Aoki''s sweets by a small margin. Yao Heyan, as if reading Yin Mei''s mind, sent another message afterwards saying, "I''ll save some for you." She nodded sagely, feeling that even if this Yao Heyan was secretly a sadistic yandere on the inside, he was still a good guy! "I''ll save some of our tea shop sweets for you too!" She said. She felt it was a good thing that she came to this world. Aside from a slightly stupid Wen Hua and a blind Rong Sheng, it was pretty good. She already felt much more relaxed. And, the most important thing was that she could enjoy sweets! Her expression was still frozen though, as if her face had forgotten how to express itself. Yao Heyan chuckled again. Actually, he didn''t really like sweet things. At least the tea shop sweets should be on the more bitter side. And imagining He Lanying''s sparkling eyes as she tried to maintain a serious expression made him feel warm inside. He would share sweets with her if he could see that. He didn''t know why he felt this way. Then he recalled that He Lanying like Rong Sheng, and a slightly dark feeling seemed to well up in his heart. Even though she said she didn''t like Rong Sheng anymore, how could he trust that? The three of them had known each other since kindergarten. Yao Heyan had realized that He Lanying had liked Rong Sheng since as early as elementary school, though like back then had been a more innocent feeling. Having a crush for such a long period of time, could those feelings so easily go away? His eyes slightly darkened. He hadn''t had much thoughts about her liking Rong Sheng before, so why was he feeling so anxious about it now? It couldn''t be that he started to like He Lanying... could it? He shook his head, burying the feeling in his heart. Even if he did, it would never work out. On the other side, Yin Mei wondered if Yao Heyan would eat the sweets from their tea shop. Even without reading the information, He Lanying''s memories had already shown that Yao Heyan didn''t really like sweet things. She thought that the tea shop sweets shouldn''t be too sweet in order to pair well with the tea, so it should be okay... In the end, she couldn''t help but message him again. "If you don''t want to eat them, that''s okay." She felt anxious in her heart for some reason. It wasn''t like these sweets were ones she had made, so why did she feel so worried? In the end, Yao Heyan replied with an, "Of course I''ll eat them," and she let out a sigh of relief in her heart. For the rest of the time in the student council room, she cheerfully completed the rest of her work. This was... the happiest that she had felt in a long time, she thought. She didn''t know how long it had been. Perhaps it hadn''t been all that long after all, and had only felt like a long time. She didn''t know. She felt that she was missing some parts of her memories, and that her sense of time had slowly gotten warped, so she was constantly feeling confused about things. "Hmm?" Yin Mei tilted her head as she got a message notification from He Lanying''s younger brother, He Cheng. He Cheng was in his last year of elementary school and should currently be at school. He was the president of the Blue Cross Acadmey''s elementary school section student council. If there was anything important going on, he wouldn''t have texted He Lanying but instead come over to meet her. She opened up the chat box, and read the message. "Big Sis, I wanted to ask you for advice." He said. "What is it?" She replied, wondering what exactly it was that would have this precocious little brother of He Lanying''s messaging her. When He Lanying was younger, she had learned a lot of things to help with managing the family business, but once He Cheng had been born, she no longer had any of those responsibilities as they had all been transferred to this little hope of the family, He Cheng. As a result, although he was a smart and capable kid, he was just as much of a brat, having been spoiled greatly by their parents. That being said, He Lanying was also a doting older sister, so they got along pretty well. He would occasionally come to He Lanying for advice about the family business, which He Lanying would always give serious replies too. He Lanying also expected him to ask something similar this time, though he would normally only ask her when he knew that she wasn''t busy. "Um, there''s this girl in class that I''m a little interested in. But for some reason, unlike the other girls in class, she''s not interested at all in me no matter what I do. Big Sis, you''re older than me and a girl, so do you know any way that I can get her to like me back?" After a long while, such a message was sent. Yin Mei almost coughed up blood on the inside. This, this little brat was just in elementary school but already trying to cultivate feelings with some girl? And not only that, but he had the guts to brag about how popular he was...! But, she still decided to seriously answer his question. Yin Mei tried thinking. She didn''t really have any experience with romance herself... But she did indeed know what most girls liked when it came to romantic things. "You first have to find out what the girl likes." She first sent this, and then felt like it was a slightly bad idea. Knowing He Cheng, he wouldn''t go have someone hack her information right? She shook her head. Whatever. It wasn''t like that girl would find out. She then addressed what she thought would be the next problem. Because He Cheng was a brat, he would surely talk to her in an tsundere manner. This was definitely no good. So she wrote, "do nice things for her. You don''t want to say anything bad, or mean. Be very careful with your choice of words. You have to make it so that she knows that you would be really happy if she ate lunch with you, and that you appreciate and like her." It should be something like that, right? She also added on. "And don''t forget to occasionally show your bad boy side. But not too much." She then deleted that. No good, if she wrote something like that, then her cute little brother would definitely be corrupted, right? After all, bad boys were no good! She shot a glare at Yao Heyan, who sneezed delicately. Was someone thinking about him right now? After the student council disbanded for the day, Yin Mei still felt a little worried about He Cheng, and after contacting his bodyguard, went to the elementary school campus to check on him. It wasn''t too far from the high school campus, but because of the size of the campus, she had to take the campus bus so that she wouldn''t be walking for half an hour. Standing outside the elementary school, she felt a little worried and wondered if she should go in. "Eh? Lanying, what are you doing here just standing around for?" A voice asked and Yin Mei swirled her head around to shockingly find Yao Heyan. He had left the student council room slightly earlier than her to go do some errands, but unexpectedly he had gone to the elementary school? She was wondering why, as Blue Cross Academy''s elementary, middle, and high schools didn''t interact all that much when Yao Heyan spoke again. "Ah, are you here to visit your little brother?" Yin Mei nodded stiffly, and Yao Heyan felt that there was something a little odd about the way she was acting. "Well then, why don''t we go in together?" He suggested. Actually, he had already finished up with his business here and was about to head back, but he didn''t mind accompanying the girl for a little while longer. Yin Mei didn''t refuse it, and the two went in together. According to the bodyguard, He Cheng should still be at the elementary school''s student council room. Yin Mei recalled He Lanying''s memories and walked in that direction along with Yao Heyan. At this time, there weren''t many kids still left, but those that were cutely greeted them politely. Yin Mei really liked kids, so her brows naturally relaxed and her face softened by just the slightest. When they arrived at the student council room, Yin Mei first peeked in through the window. Like she had suspected, He Cheng didn''t dally when making his move! He was together with a little girl about the same age as him, her appearance like that of a fluffy small animal. Usually, a little girl like this she would absolutely adore, but for some reason, the pair of an arrogant little He Cheng and a scared animal like girl immediately made her recall the pair of Rong Sheng and Wen Hua. "Heh? Could it be that Xiao Cheng likes that girl? She looks rather cute." Yao Heyan said, peeking above Yin Mei''s head through the window into the student council room. As expected of Yao Heyan''s high level perception, he easily saw through He Cheng''s feelings. Cute? Yin Mei, who had already associated this couple with Rong Sheng and Wen Hua, automatically translated it to - Wen Hua looks rather cute. Ha. Ha. Ha. She had been okay with Wen Hua before as long as she didn''t do anything too drastic, but why is it now that her desire to kill was growing greater and greater? This was no good, she couldn''t just kill Wen Hua. Bullying her might result in the same thing as what had happened in the original timeline as well... Yin Mei felt annoyed. She felt really annoyed. In the end, she walked into the student council room, and the little hardworking He Cheng behind his desk blinked, startled. Normally, his older sister wouldn''t come over to the elementary school section, as she was usually too busy to spare the time. "Big Sis?" He questioned, and saw that her usual expressionless face looked a little darker than usual. Was she upset about something? The only thing that he could recall doing was the message that he sent earlier... but she had seemed to be fine then and had also given him some good advice that he could use. Yin Mei shot a glance at the only other person in the room - the sweet, small animal like little girl who immediately looked nervous being stared down by a cold faced Yin Mei. "Cheng''er, come here. I have something to talk with you about." She said. What a pity! If this girl didn''t remind her of Wen Hua at first glance, she would have definitely liked such a cute child. At the very least, this girl couldn''t be from a poor family, as scholarship students were only accepted in the middle school and high school sections. And so, Yao Heyan watched as Yin Mei brought He Cheng back outside and began lecturing him about how he couldn''t court just any girl from any family willy nilly, how even though she looked sweet on the outside, on the inside she could potentially be a cunning fox whose only goal was to lead him along and then marry into money, and etc. etc. He Cheng listened to this all with a shocked face. But, like the good little brother he was, he naively believed his big sister''s words, as his big sister was always right. Sadly, this would result in him having an extreme aversion toward all other girls in the future. It would be a while until he could achieve an encounter with a girl like in those classic CEO romance stories. Only when Yin Mei saw that He Cheng understood did she let him go in satisfaction. Yao Heyan coughed softly, looking at her with an odd gaze as she finally realized he had been here the entire time. "That... was there something wrong with that girl that you didn''t want Xiao Cheng to get together with him so vehemently?" Yao Heyan had to ask. With everything that Yin Mei had said, he thought that the two must''ve had some sort of grudge in a past life or something! Yin Mei snorted, not replying. After all, Yao Heyan liked that sort of animal-like girl that needed to be protected, didn''t he? She walked away, bristling slightly in anger. Yao Heyan who didn''t know what he had done to anger her: O_O 52 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 4 "Lanying, can you come with me to pick some stuff up from the culture committee?" Yao Heyan asked the next day. He had been trying to figure out ways to make up with He Lanying, but he still had no idea why she had gotten angry at him. Yin Mei reluctantly nodded, standing up and going with Yao Heyan to the culture committee. The silence between them almost felt heavy, as it weighed down on the two who were occupied with their own thoughts. Yin Mei was trying to figure out a way to ruin the relationship between Yao Heyan and Wen Hua (although they didn''t even have one in the first place), while Yao Heyan was still trying to figure out why He Lanying seemed so upset at him right now. It had started when they went to visit He Cheng in the elementary section''s student council room. He recalled what he had said that could''ve upset her? Hadn''t he just commented on the relationship between that little girl and He Cheng? Hm? Now that he thought about it, didn''t she go and lecture He Cheng about how he shouldn''t trust girls right after he said that? But why would that be the case? He then quickly made the association with Wen Hua. After all, there were many similarities in that He Cheng was also the president of the student council (though he was much more dutiful than Rong Sheng about it), and how Wen Hua had a similar type of appearance to that little girl. He felt slightly upset inside. So she didn''t like the girl because she was similar to Wen Hua? Then doesn''t that mean she was jealous about it after all, still possessing feelings for Rong Sheng? The air between them grew even gloomier, but they soon arrived at the temporary headquarters for the culture committee. Yao Heyan was talking to the head of the committee about something, but Yin Mei wasn''t really paying attention. If it was important, he would mention it in the group chat later. In the end, the two walked back with large stacks of papers each, all needing to be approved. Yin Mei was feeling a little bit of hate toward the festival at this point. No matter how busy they got, or how much spending they used, or all those contracts and funding they received, wasn''t this amount of paper work a little bit too much? When Yin Mei and Yao Heyan walked into the room, the only two people there were Wen Hua and Rong Sheng. Rong Sheng didn''t even look up, typing something on his computer, while Wen Hua would occasionally shoot the man glances while blushing. Yin Mei watched this pink flowery scene with dead fish eyes. What the f*ck did you guys do while we were gone? She wanted to ask. She even further wanted to ask - playing around while the rest of us are so busy, can you please just kill yourselves already? But of course, no one could read her mind, so she just set the pile of papers onto the president''s desk. "What in the world is this?" He asked, finally looking up. Yin Mei looked at him with a cold face. "How about our beloved president actually do some work for once and help us in completing this mountain of paperwork, hm?" The president speechlessly glanced at the mountain of papers. He then looked toward Yao Heyan, who helplessly shrugged. They could both tell that Yin Mei was very angry right now. "If you have time to flirt with girls, then you better not tell me you don''t have time to complete the required student council work." "I wasn''t flirting with girls." Rong Sheng said coldly. "..." Yin Mei stared at him. And stared. And stared some more. She clearly wasn''t buying any of it. In the end, Yin Mei scoffed when the president pushed off the work onto others, but she also wasn''t able to really tell Rong Sheng what to do. Because their families had about equal amounts of wealth and power, he wouldn''t be pressured when face with her. Although Yin Mei was looking at him with a judging glare, he completely ignored her and shamelessly gave the paperwork over to Yao Heyan, who helplessly received it with a wry smile. In the end, Yao Heyan didn''t reject Rong Sheng and completed the paperwork for him, though Yin Mei''s glare was a little bit painful to bear. Only after cursing for Rong Sheng''s love to never bear fruit and for Wen Hua to die from either late stage cancer, a car accident, or late stage cancer or a car accident multiple times did she feel a little better. When the day was over and Yin Mei was back in her dorm room, she decided that she should at least work a little to making some more progress in completing her mission. The problem with this was that her parents had always hoped for He Lanying to marry Rong Sheng. As for this person Yao Heyan, although his family was good enough, he was the second son and not the heir. This would immediately disqualify him as a candidate for marriage. And if they did get engaged, then the heir to the Yao family may feel potentially threatened by that. But, she felt she should at least bring this up to her mother later, when she visited home later. As for Wen Hua, though she disliked her, she should do the good thing and act as a matchmaker between the girl and Rong Sheng. In this way, she would be able to clearly show her parents that it would be impossible between her and Rong Sheng. Although she knew that a single girl without any backing wouldn''t be able to discourage her parents, it would add more persuasive power to her words later on. Sigh, she disliked that she would be helping that blind idiot and that clumsy idiot in achieving their happy ending, but it couldn''t be helped. This was the only thing she could think of that was viable - all her other plans were a bit too violent and bloody to be using in a world like this. Plus if she did use those plans, she would just be following in the footsteps of the original body, which she didn''t want. Just as she was thinking this, she got a call from her mother. "Mother?" "Ying''er, come back home this weekend." A dignified and elegant voice said, and He Lanying blinked. "Is there something going on? The student council has an important meeting on Saturday..." Yin Mei replied. Of course she knew it must be important if her mother went through the trouble to call her, but Yin Mei didn''t want to go. It was probably just one of those high class parties for mingling and making connections right? "Come back home. We''re meeting with the Rong family this weekend to discuss your engagement." He Lanying''s mother said, not allowing her room to decline. Yin Mei immediately wanted to facepalm. Just as she was thinking about how her parents wanted her to get engaged to Rong Sheng, they just had to call her about it. "Mother, isn''t it a little bit too soon to be talking about this? We''re still in high school." Yin Mei answered. "What do you mean still in high school. All of the other girls already have engagements. You''ll be graduating in a year or two as well. Sheng''er is so popular, if you don''t get together with him now then we''ll miss our chance." Her mother answered, and Yin Mei could sense that she was about to be lectured. "Mother!" She forcefully interrupted her, her voice stressed. "Can we talk about this later? I''m busy with my student council duties right now." She wanted to bring up Yao Heyan, but after wavering a bit, she ended up not saying anything. She knew her parents wouldn''t agree to it, so what was the point? She would have to figure out another way to complete the mission. She needed some method to convince them... But her parents were so concerned with status. She didn''t know what could get them to agree to allow her to marry a second son. And in the first place, she would have to discuss this with Yao Heyan too... Yin Mei immediately felt a suffocating pressure on her, and her heart beat furiously. Talk to Yao Heyan about it... But, he didn''t even like her after all. Suddenly, an image flashed through her mind. He didn''t like her...? Why did she feel that something had happened a long time ago that... she tried to recall but couldn''t. Wincing, she ended up giving up. She felt that it was something painful - and there was no need to recall something that would only bring her pain... In the end, she still went back home for that weekend, much to her dissatisfaction. But, her mother just wouldn''t let up. Her brother wasn''t here either, and she was simply in a foul mood the whole time. She didn''t even have the time to go to Japan and eat delicious sweets, as she would have to return to school as quickly as possible in order to catch up on the meeting she would be missing. He Lanying''s mother was like He Lanying in appearance, looking extremely dignified and strict. Though she was already in her forties, she looked at least a decade younger and barely had any wrinkles or aging. "Ying''er," He Lanying''s mother hugged her daughter that she hadn''t seen in a month now. "Mother," Yin Mei stiffly said. She didn''t really like He Lanying''s parents, and in the first place, they weren''t her parents anyways. After experiencing life with Feng Hua''s parents, the two were definitely a sharp difference. For He Lanying''s mother and father, their daughter was a tool for business. She would marry into a good family, so that they could establish a connection with them and profit from it. She looked down on such behavior. Even though this was modern times, these practices still ran rampant throughout the upper class. Yin Mei dodged He Lanying''s mother''s invitation to eating out with the excuse that she was busy and ran to her room. Even though she was taking a break from school and wasn''t going to the student council meeting, if she slacked off just a little bit while she was gone, her paper work would exponentially grow. She could just imagine the mountain of work that would be waiting for her when she returned. In the end, being at home was no different from being at school - she was still swamped in papers! What the f*ck! She wanted to ask if student council members really all had this much work all the time? At this timely junction, a message alert came from Yao Heyan on WeChat. She glanced at the message, not at all procrastinating. "You aren''t at school today? Are you going to the meeting?" She wasn''t sure how she should reply to this... "What about you? Are you attending?" She asked back. "My family called me back home for some business." She blinked. What a coincidence. They were both called back home, huh? "Wait, then what would happen to the student council meeting?" Yin Mei typed out. If neither she nor Yao Heyan were there, it couldn''t be that Rong Sheng would oversee the meeting?? There was no way. "Liang Xiu will be taking care of it." Yao Heyan replied, and Yin Mei let out a sigh of relief in her head. "Rong Sheng will also be absent, after all. Apparently his parents also called him back." Yin Mei''s relief was immediately destroyed and she stiffened in her seat in front of the computer. No way, would she actually have to meet him for the engagement discussion tomorrow? "Haha, the three most important members of the student council were all called back home at once." Yao Heyan commented, and Yin Mei''s face stiffened even more as she went a little pale. Why is it that she felt like she had been caught cheating? It wasn''t like he would even care... "It''s probably because-" Yin Mei began typing out, but she stopped in the middle, hesitating. For some reason, she felt anxious. Why was she having such a hard time telling him? But why did she want to tell him in the first place? "It''s probably because my family and the Rong family are getting together to discuss an engagement between me and Rong Sheng." In the end, she typed out that entire sentence, and hit send. She didn''t want to look at the reply, but she couldn''t tear her eyes away either. She waited, and waited, but Yao Heyan didn''t reply, and her heart grew increasingly anxious. Only after a while, did an answer come back from behind the screen. "Didn''t you always want to marry Rong Sheng? You should be more happy about it." Reading this, she felt extremely upset. "I don''t want to marry Rong Sheng. I''d rather marry you then him!" She typed angrily, hitting send before she realized what she had just done. ... Yin Mei immediately shut down the computer and didn''t look back. She saw nothing, heard nothing, did nothing. On the other side, Yao Heyan was staring at his phone while sitting in a fancy hotel room suite. His eyes darkened, as he tapped the smartphone to his chin. "Why oh why do you have to tempt me like this," he murmured. But, the dark feelings that came from hearing about her engagement meeting had magically been blown away. All that was left was the intense desire that he thought he had buried in his heart. "It''s your fault you know," he said softly, his eyes curving into crescent moons as he smiled. "Such a cute little rabbit, wouldn''t it be a pity if I didn''t eat you all up?" At this moment, a man in black walked in, reporting, "Second young master, the man still refuses to talk." An expression of annoyance flashed across Yao Heyan''s face, and he took the gun on the table he was sitting next too, shooting the man in the leg without blinking. The man fell to the ground with a muffled grunt, quickly applying pressure on the wound. "What have I said about disturbing me?" He said gloomily, elegantly setting the gun back down. "A-apologies, second young master." The man managed out with gritted teeth as he fought against the pain. "Do it again and it won''t just be your leg I''m shooting." Yao Heyan answered coldly. "As for that man, if he won''t talk then he''s useless. Go ahead and get rid of him and his family." Yao Heyan then gestured to the bodyguards standing at the room entrance, and they came to help up the injured man, taking him away. "And someone clean up this mess," Yao Heyan said in disgust, standing up and walking away into the next room. He stood by the window, overlooking the night cityscape. He glanced back down at the chat history on his phone, his facial expressions noticeably softening again. "Since you said so, then you can''t take those words back anymore." He smiled happily, the warm expression completely contrary to the cold eyes he had just moments before. 53 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 5 Yin Mei was dressed up in a stunning red dress, holding a clutch purse as she and her parents were guided to a table in a fancy restaurant. This would be where she would be meeting Rong Sheng and his parents, though she still didn''t know if Rong Sheng had even come. Yin Mei''s face at this moment was extremely gloomy. Although she had gone to sleep the other day trying to ignore the message she had sent, in the end, it was too difficult not to think about it. She was constantly checking her phone, but there had been no reply from Yao Heyan, causing Yin Mei too feel frantic and worried. "Stop checking your phone already. It''ll be rude to the Rong family." He Lanying''s father said, narrowing his eyes. He was a handsome middle-aged man with an extremely stern appearance, his hair slicked back and his face seemingly in an eternal state of disapproval. Yin Mei pursued her lips together but in the end put her phone back into her clutch, sighing as they sat down at the table they had reserved. The Rong family would be arriving a little later, so Yin Mei first excused herself to go to the bathroom. Just as she was walking, she spotted someone that she would never expect to be here... and immediately proceeded to hide behind a corner to peek at him. "What in the world is Heyan doing here?" She muttered. It looked like he was also with his family. She couldn''t quite tell. This body was completely useless and the physical specs were really too low compared to before (though He Lanying was actually surprisingly fairly athletic for what one would expect of a rich young miss). She wanted to call out to him, but at the same time, she was too embarrassed to. She braved herself and texted out, "Are you at China Grill right now?" After waiting a while and still seeing no reply, she could only guess that he was too busy to check his phone and sighed, going to the bathroom before returning back to their family''s table. At this time, the Rong family had already arrived. Aside from Rong Sheng and his parents, there was also his younger sister, who in he Lanying''s memories was a spoiled girl with a gigantic brother complex. She had a cute appearance and was wearing a black Versace dress with cute gold buttons and had a golden clutch bag in her hand. Such a sweet appearance, but she wasn''t wearing light or youthful colors like pink or pastel and instead such a mature black and gold combo, the result was as if she was trying to appear older than she really was. As for Rong Sheng, he was dressed in a steel gray Armani suit with a navy blue handkerchief and necktie. He looked sharp and handsome, and not at all like he was still in high school. "There''s our lovely Ying''er," Rong Sheng''s mother said happily, standing up to give Yin Mei a hug as she kissed her on both cheeks. Yin Mei felt uncomfortable, but her expression didn''t change as she returned the greeting before sitting down. Rong Sheng''s little sister, Rong Ju, glared at her with clear hostility in her eyes. This girl had started out as a fellow cannon fodder as she tried to get rid of Wen Hua, but in the end, there was no way that Rong Sheng would abandon his blood younger sister so the result was that she was successfully converted into Wen Hua''s faithful best friend and follower. Yin Mei inwardly shook her head, wondering just what exactly went through the mind of this little 14-year old. The dinner was slightly awkward as neither Rong Sheng nor He Lanying were cooperating at all, both sporting a stiff face. Rong Sheng outright spoke in a cold tone of voice, and while He Lanying sounded distant and detached, she still maintained a semi-polite facade, not completely spitting in the face of her parents who had set this dinner up. As for Rong Ju, this girl was just sulking through the entire thing, complaining multiple times and having to be scolded by her parents until she just remained silent throughout the rest of the dinner. But, because of the friendly discussion between the parents, aside from the unwillingness of the children, everything else appeared to go rather smoothly. Yin Mei''s face slowly grew uglier and uglier, until she had to excuse herself to the bathroom to take a breather. What the hell, at this rate, won''t I really end up engaged that this guy? She couldn''t help but thing, her expression dark as she tapped her foot impatiently by the entrance of the bathroom. She didn''t go in, as it had just been an excuse to get out of there. "You''re not going in?" Rong Sheng''s voice echoed out, and Yin Mei looked up, to see the man walking over and stopping in front of her. She raised her brow. "I just wanted to get out of there. I''m surprised you''re actually going along with this farce. I''d expected you to refuse." Yin Mei said, and Rong Sheng leaned on the wall next to her. "Farce?" Rong Sheng said, putting his hands into his pockets. Yin Mei shrugged. "I''d rather not be married with a narcissist." She said, folding her arms together. "Really? I thought it was because you liked Heyan." Rong Sheng said, and Yin Mei immediately stiffened. "Wha-wha-wha-" She barely stammered out, staring wide eyed at him as the tips of her ears flushed red. Rong Sheng raised an eyebrow as he confirmed his hunch. "You two were getting along so well these days that I guessed it." He also didn''t say that Yao Heyan, that b*stard was so jealous that after Yin Mei had left he had immediately forced him to complete the paperwork that they had initially pushed around to each other... He almost didn''t know what in the world had gotten into him that day, but looking at it now, it was because of this, right? It was good that they had mutual feelings, but it didn''t seem that they had realized it? "Who, who likes that guy? No one would be into a two-faced yandere like him-" Yin Mei said, for the first time showing a flustered appearance. "Who is a two-faced yandere?" A soft voice spoke from behind her, and Yin Mei let our a small and quiet shriek as she turned around to see Yao Heyan, who had on a slightly sad look. "So you actually thought of me like that..." It was almost as if she could see a pair of puppy ears and tail drooping down as he looked disappointed. "N-no, that''s not it, I just said in the spur of the moment, I don''t actually think that, it''s because Rong Sheng said something so weird!" Yin Mei lost her cool, anxiously trying to comfort the puppy-like Yao Heyan. "Pfft-" There was a snort of laughter behind her, and her head whipped around to see Rong Sheng turning his head and covering his mouth, his shoulders shaking as he tried desperately to suppress his laughter. "Hehe," but someone else didn''t suppress theirs, and a soft laugh came from the mouth of Yao Heyan. It couldn''t be helped. For the both of them, this was the first time they had seen He Lanying lose her cool. It was also the first time that Yin Mei''s outer expression had changed so drastically since arriving in this world. Yin Mei stomped her foot in anger. These two b*stards were making fun of her!! She humphed coldly, turning around to leave. "Wait, wait, Lanying, don''t go yet. The three of us haven''t gathered like this in so long, it''ll be a good chance to go out and relax a little." Yao Heyan said, quickly grabbing Yin Mei''s wrist before she could walk away. He smiled gently as he said, "okay?" and Yin Mei couldn''t resist that appearance of his. "I''m surprised our ever busy president could spare the time to accompany us normal peasants." Yin Mei said. Of course, although He Lanying and Yao Heyan were nowhere near normal, they also weren''t as busy with company matters like an heir like Rong Sheng. One of them was a girl, while the other was the second son. So although they were busier in terms of student council duties, they also had no family company matters to take care of, unlike Rong Sheng, who spent all his time managing his father''s company. Rong Sheng frowned at this. "You always talk like this. You know I wouldn''t treat you two differently just because you aren''t inheriting your family''s businesses." Yin Mei''s gaze grew deep as she looked at him, but quickly turned her head away. He prioritized a new and fresh love over ten years of friendship. Actually, it wasn''t like Rong Sheng was a particularly terrible male lead, he was simply a blind one. But all those male leads, they certainly seemed to lose all capability to think and IQ when they fell in love with the female lead. Yao Heyan and Yin Mei notified their families as the three of them went together to an amusement park. "Why an amusement park?" Yin Mei was thoroughly confused, feeling they completely stood out. She was in a red satin party dress, and the two beside her were in brand name suits. ??? She could only look at them with question marks. Rong Sheng shrugged. "Don''t ask me. I''m the third wheel here." He said, looking slightly annoyed. But, he could bear with it to play matchmaker for his friends, even though he wasn''t the type. In the end, Yao Heyan was his only friend from birth, so he was willing to sacrifice a bit of face for his sake. "I just felt like it," Yao Heyan replied, with a smile. Girls liked this sort of thing right? He thought in his head, studying Yin Mei''s expression. Yin Mei personally would rather kill people for stress relief, but she thought an amusement park was pretty good too. It was just something that she would never expect to see wealthy and rich kids like themselves going to. They went to the gift shop, Yin Mei trying on a cat headband. For some reason, Yao Heyan preferred the rabbit headband, but Yin Mei had always been a cat person and bought the cat headband instead. Yao Heyan could only sigh. Although the image he had of He Lanying right now was a little rabbit, a mischievous cat would also be quite good... Of course, if Yin Mei was going to wear a cat headband, she was not going to let Yao Heyan and Rong Sheng escape from the grasp of the animal headbands either. In the end, she joyfully took a picture of a tired looking Rong Sheng who had been unable to resist and a brightly smiling Yao Heyan, who had both successfully been converted into cat headband wearers. Yin Mei dragged them around, grabbing ice cream, going on rides, going into the haunted house... By the time it was all over, Rong Sheng was completely exhausted, while Yin Mei was practically sparkling from how refreshed she felt all over. Well, this was a different way to torture the male lead, but it was just as satisfying! Although Yao Heyan felt a little sad that it wasn''t just Yin Mei and himself, he still felt that it was good that she was able to relax so much and enjoy herself. Though her face still had on that blank look, he could tell that her eyes were clearly sparkling in delight. "I''ll talk to my parents about the engagement thing, so you shouldn''t worry." Rong Sheng said from his seat on the bench as he looked at the lit up amusement park rides. "But, it''d probably be hard for your parents to agree to allow you to get engaged to Heyan, right?" Yin Mei''s brows furrowed as she nodded. She felt that this was slightly weird. After she had thought that she would matchmake the terrible pair of Rong Sheng and Wen Hua together, why was it that now Rong Sheng was the one being a matchmaker? She then stiffened. "I never said I would marry Heyan!" "You don''t want to?" Yao Heyan activates the skill puppy dog eyes! "I-I never said I didn''t want to either!" Yin Mei has been instantly KO''ed! "Then it''s decided." Yao Heyan smiled, and Yin Mei sputtered, but couldn''t come up with a way to reject. Being so forceful with the demon king/zombie emperor''s face was cheating!! She thought this, but in the end could only give in. 54 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 6 Returning back to school, like Yin Mei suspected, there was a mountain of paperwork waiting for them to complete. "These are the proposals for this years culture festival celebration dance that the classes submitted," a student council member said as he handed off a stack of papers. After the culture festival was over, the school would host a dance to celebrate. Although the theme changed slightly every year, it was always a luxurious and formal event. Yin Mei recalled that the proposal that passed this year was a masquerade ball. This was always a very popular theme, and as such was often used, though the last time the school held a masquerade ball event was when Yin Mei was still in elementary school. Because of this, she thought that it was probably about time for it to resurface. This event had been a good chance for others to bully Wen Hua. Because she was a member of the student council, she was required to attend the event. But, almost all scholarship students wouldn''t go, because they didn''t want to be embarrassed due to their poor clothing. Being surrounded by people wearing thousands of dollars worth of designer dresses and suits, it was no wonder that many of the poorer students would elect not to attend. But Wen Hua didn''t have that choice, nor did she have the appropriate clothes for the event. What she did have was a Rong Sheng and Yao Heyan behind her though. Both had sent her a dress appropriate for the dance, and in the end, she chose to wear the one that Yao Heyan had sent, which had upset Rong Sheng. She didn''t understand the implications of her choice, and during the ball, the two friends had fought. Although at this point in time, it was clear that neither of them had much of an interest in Wen Hua, their relationships with her had quickly developed, especially during the culture festival. Well, because of their interference, not only did the students not get the chance to bully Wen Hua much, but their hatred for her also increased tenfold. Yao Heyan and Rong Sheng were extremely popular. In fact, they were the most popular two boys in the school. Everyday they received a large number of love confessions and letters and presents expressing love toward them. Huh? Yin Mei felt that her killing intent was gradually rising. How annoying. Would she continue having to suppress this feeling all the time? It was practically suffocating her. Anyways, because of this event at the ball, Wen Hua''s reputation hit a new all-time low, her aggro drawing skills quickly leveling up at the speed of light. As for He Lanying, she was extremely upset over the fact that Rong Sheng had not taken her to the dance, but instead this Wen Hua, who didn''t come from a rich family and had no status to speak of in their world. This was where He Lanying started going against Wen Hua in earnest, while also trying to avoid the eyes of Rong Sheng and Yao Heyan in doing so. But, through the power of sheer dumb luck and the protagonist''s aura, Wen Hua was always rescued and He Lanying was revealed as the mastermind of everything. The rest was as already mentioned. Yin Mei tapped her pen to the desk, in deep thought. Whatever. Did she still even have to worry about such things? If Yao Heyan dared try and send Wen Hua a dress, just see how she would sort him out. Who cares if he looked like the demon king and the zombie emperor. Did he think that just that could protect him from her rage? She looked through the proposals, finding the one on the masquerade ball. There was nothing wrong with it, so she went ahead and approved it first. Not that it mattered much. She went through the other proposals, approving or rejecting them depending on whether or not they followed the guidelines for the proposal. When she finished, the stack was now slightly smaller. They would then vote on the proposals next week. In the end, the days passed busily like this. There was so much work to be done that the time seemed to all blur together, and the matter of the engagement was put on hold for now. Apparently Rong Sheng had indeed talked to his parents, but he was having trouble convincing them due to how much they liked He Lanying. It seemed that even the male lead was helpless against his stubborn mother. Before they knew it, the time for the cultural festival had arrived upon them. Yin Mei wasn''t feeling particularly excited, but she did have a sense of satisfaction seeing the result of all that hard work. "He Lanying, your waist is so thin and slender!" A female classmate of hers exclaimed, as she helped her tie the sash to the pale green and white hanfu that she was putting on. "A thin and flexible waist like a willow, and white skin smooth like jade. Truly a traditional beauty that looks good in anything." Another girl complimented as she helped He Lanying put on a dark hanging jade emblem. The reason why she was wearing this traditional Chinese dress was because this was the uniform for the tea shop. Of course, the other girls would never let He Lanying have to serve others, so instead she volunteered to go out and walk around as a poster girl. After she was properly dressed, Yin Mei grabbed the class shop''s signboard and held it up, preparing to walk through the halls. It was good that she could also patrol a little to check on the other booths and events going on. Aside from Rong Sheng''s and Yao Heyan''s sweets cafe, there was still Wen Hua''s class, who was putting on a Snow White play with randomly selected roles. Wen Hua had drawn the prince. Yin Mei had to check the information again to see when it was being shown. It was today and tomorrow, at 2pm. Since the culture festival had just started, at 11am, then there was still three hours of time. The class members were probably roaming around enjoying the festival before they would have to head to the gym. As for Wen Hua, she should be going around by herself. Although she didn''t have any friends in her class because of the situation with Rong Sheng and the student council, that didn''t decrease her enjoyment of the culture festival by too much. Of course, she had those lonely feelings inside of her for the male lead to exploit, but she would still try to make the best of things and enjoy the fancy and expensive food with the free tickets given to the students. Well, she might come into contact with her, but considering the size of the school campus, she doubted it. And of course, thinking such a thing automatically jinxed her, and not even half an hour later, she was hiding behind the corner as Wen Hua was being bullied by three girls at the back of a building, where barely anyone passed. Curse her luck that she just had to see Wen Hua being led away by these three girls and she just had to follow out of curiosity. But, there shouldn''t have been such an event today according to the information. Was this the result of a butterfly effect? Godd*mned butterfly effects just have to mess up everything. That being said, the information was normally pretty accurate, it was just that sometimes things would be a little different, probably because of some insignificant action that she had taken had caused things to change. Cliche lines like "you should quit the student council already" or "don''t get too full of yourself just because the president invited you" were being thrown around, and Yin Mei wondered if people really experienced such cliche bullying scenes. This was the first time she had seen something like that. She felt a little bit embarrassed in place of the three girls who were bullying Wen Hua right now. Yin Mei closed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought for a moment. Yep, let''s leave. After deciding this, she was just about to sneak away when a familiar gentle voice echoed out. "What are you four doing here? You know this area is off limits." Yao Heyan said, and the female bullies apologized in a flustered manner, embarrassed to have been caught by the vice-president. Much to their relief though, Yao Heyan didn''t seem to have heard, as he chided them in a kind tone of voice. Wen Hua also apologized, and the four girls soon left after another few words from Yao Heyan. "That question is for you too, Lanying." Yao Heyan said with a smile as he poked his head around the corner and Yin Mei snorted at him, turning her head around so that he couldn''t see her face. "What are you doing following around Wen Hua. You couldn''t have been worried about her, could you?" Yao Heyan said as he walked around the corner to face her, and Yin Mei harrumphed angrily. He couldn''t figure out what in the world had suddenly caused her mood to be so foul. Of course Yin Mei wasn''t worried. After all, with Wen Hua''s protagonist aura, she would draw all sorts of men to save her in the nick of time, right? In the end, Yao Heyan was stuck chasing around Yin Mei throughout the school grounds and trying to comfort her, unsure what exactly he had done wrong (again). He bought her all manner of sweets, and only after two slices of cake, a parfait, and a soft serve ice cream later did she feel a little better inside. How she doesn''t get fat is a mystery. She sat on a school bench, happily licking at her vanilla ice cream while Yao Heyan had on a helpless smile, but also felt satisfied inside that he had finally coaxed her out of her anger. "Aren''t you supposed to be busy with your class''s cafe? What are you doing out here?" Yin Mei said, looking at Yao Heyan. She just noticed that he was dressed in a sharp butler''s outfit, looking extremely nice. She immediately took several pictures with her phone, saving it into a new file that she would name "Yandere Vice-President". Yao Heyan was speechless, but didn''t say anything about it. "It''s my turn to patrol." He said. Wasn''t the patrol schedule passed out the other day? It was odd that He Lanying was unable to remember it. Yin Mei indeed hadn''t recalled the entire patrol schedule, and had just looked at her own shift. After thinking a little she did remember that Yao Heyan indeed had the first shift of the day and nodded. "You''re advertising your shop?" Yao Heyan said, looking at Yin Mei in her traditional styled hanfu. Mm, this style was very good and suited her nicely. Although he felt that she looked good in this sort of fresh spring green color, for some reason, he felt she would look even better in a fiery or blood red. An image emerged in his mind of a beautiful and luxurious red hanfu embroidered in gold. He wondered where that image had come from, but thought that it would be nice to see her in such an outfit. Yin Mei nodded. "Then I''ll come over and buy something." Yao Heyan said, although it wasn''t necessary. Yin Mei still remembered that she had said she would save some of the sweets there for Yao Heyan, since they had both assumed they would both be too busy during the festival to visit each other''s stores. After speaking, Yao Heyan fell silent, and Yin Mei didn''t say anything either, just licking at her ice cream. She didn''t really know what to say. She felt that the emotions she had toward Yao Heyan were exceedingly complex, and the similarity that he bore in appearance with the demon king and zombie emperor didn''t really help. The fact that she always felt like she was forgetting something was also quite annoying too. But she liked this peaceful moment. It made her feel at peace with herself, and relaxed. Like all the violence, blood, and death of the previous worlds was all just a dream - a past that was far, far away. "About the engagement..." Yao Heyan suddenly brought up, and Yin Mei looked at him. They weren''t even dating, but him and Rong Sheng just kept on talking about engagement this, engagement that. Really, it was way too embarrassing. What in the world were they even thinking? Yao Helan noticed Yin Mei''s piercing glare, and inwardly smiled as he continued on. "Don''t worry too much about it. I''ll make sure that the one you marry isn''t Rong Sheng, but me." If Yin Mei had been drinking something instead of eating ice cream, she definitely would have spit it out right now. Was he not embarrassed, spouting a line like that? Even if he wasn''t, she felt embarrassed for him! The tips of her ears started to redden and she quickly looked the other way. She soon reached the end of her ice cream and with a crunch, crunch, crunch, bit into the waffle cone and quickly finished that as well. "You''re getting it everywhere," Yao Heyan said in concern, taking out his handkerchief and wiping the edge of Yin Mei''s mouth. Yin Mei froze, wanting to bury herself in a hole somewhere. Some of the people walking around were staring at them, furiously whispering at each other. It was widely acknowledged that ultimate ship of the school before this had been Rong Sheng and He Lanying, but could it be that they were all wrong and the real OTP was in fact Yao Heyan with He Lanying!? Such thoughts ran rampant in the minds of the students who had spotted this lovey dovey scene between the two. They quickly came up with all sorts of stories to support their theory, from Rong Sheng being rejected and thus it was why he had invited Wen Hua to the student council in a fit of jealousy, to Yao Heyan and Rong Sheng fighting an epic battle for He Lanying''s hand and though Rong Sheng had emerged victorious, in the end it was Yao Heyan who had won He Lanying''s heart and was thus the true winner of their battle... or some nonsense like that became the hottest rumors in the school several days after the culture festival had ended. But that had yet to happen for now. As for a certain Yin Mei, she was currently suffering from an endless case of her CPU crashing and rebooting as she tried to discern the meaning of Yao Heyan''s actions. Why would he want to get engaged to her? What was this oddly romantic scene that she was experiencing right now? In the end, she didn''t come to an answer until several years later, after Yao Heyan thoroughly made clear all his feelings toward her through XX and OO means so that she could never be unsure or misunderstand him ever again. 55 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 7 After a while, the two split up as Yao Heyan returned back to his classroom and Yin Mei continued walking through the school grounds. Some time later, she stood at the back of the gymnasium while watching Wen Hua''s class perform Snow White. Many of the roles were gender bent or seemingly out of place. For example, the witch was an athletic looking boy, while the princess was a cool girl that looked like she could save herself and had a harsh tone as she lectured the dwarves. And when the cute Wen Hua came onto stage, the disconnect between the people and the roles grew greater. She played a cute and slightly clumsy prince, which elicited some laughs and warm smiles from the audience, but Yin Mei just felt increasingly annoyed inside. In the end, she went back to her classroom to change out of her outfit and met up with a member of the disciplinary committee to patrol the campus grounds. Now that she thought about it, shouldn''t Yao Heyan have also been patrolling with a partner from the disciplinary committee? She wondered if they had decided to split up or something. Patrolling around the grounds, their duties were to warn anyone they found breaking the rules, break up any fights, etc. etc. The disciplinary committee managed to see the cool awe inspiring sight of the student council secretary roundhouse kicking a troublemaker, and many people''s jaws almost dropped. Yin Mei would not admit that she was simply venting her frustrations out on other people. It took all her might not to beat the guy up. Another legend was created on this day. Aside from the students able to see such a romantic scene between Yao Heyan and He Lanying, leaving those who had shipped them cheering in joy, they also saw such a badass side of the normally reserved and elegant miss secretary. From this day forward, she was secretly known by the students as Queen. Or so the rumors went. The three day long culture festival was soon quickly over, and as expected, both Yao Heyan and Yin Mei had been too busy to visit each other''s booths. Yin Mei had only spotted Wen Hua occasionally during this time, but pity she had not been able to see any developing relationship between her and Rong Sheng. It wasn''t like she was rooting for them or anything, as she still felt this pairing was a little iffy. Rong Sheng was still okay. In fact, she no longer hated him as much as before after interacting with him for a while, her natural bias against male leads fading just slightly - though, because she knew the original events of the plot, she still had her reservations, but after all, those were actions that he had yet to do at this point in time. But Wen Hua was still someone that she had an aversion too. She recalled that the previous world female lead was still okay, but the world before that. Her eyes darkened. That godd*mn Yao Ling! Just thinking about it still made her upset. Wen Hua herself didn''t have a particularly horrible personality. It was just that she was simply too weak and reliant on men. To top it off, she seemed to constantly get into trouble and accidents on a daily basis, also dragging the people along with her. If Yin Mei recalled from her brief skim through of the storyline, she had been involved in a kidnapping attempt, robbery, attempted murder, theft, miscarriage, attempted r*pe, and all sorts of juicy events for guys to pop out and save her in. It was too the point that Yin Mei wondered if she had born with some sort of special constitution that resulted in all these sorts of things happening to her. Well, whatever. Since they were a pair of soulmates, she shouldn''t say anything in the end. They had a happy ending after all. That being said, it''s not like the information actually showed what had happened after their so-called happy ending - in other words, their life after marriage was completely unknown. So she couldn''t really say how long that happy ending had lasted. The next day, Yin Mei began preparing herself for the school dance that night. She didn''t know whether Yao Heyan and Rong Sheng had sent Wen Hua a dress like they did in the original plot, but she told herself not to think too much into it. The dress that she chose was red. She really like the color of red. It was the color of roses and fire and fresh blood. And most of all, it was the color the demon king liked the most. The color that he looked the best in. But she told herself that wasn''t the reason why she liked it. She looked at her image in the mirror. A long satin dress with a slit at the thigh displayed her slender legs, while her smooth back was almost completely revealed. It was a little revealing for the dance, but not enough to get her in trouble. She put on the red lace masquerade mask, and put on a bright red lipstick to match. Right as she was about to put on the finishing touches to her makeup, her phone let out a message alert sound, and Yin Mei saw that she had received a text from Yao Heyan, asking if she had finished yet. "Not yet," Yin Mei replied before setting the phone back down, and she leaned in slightly close to the mirror to put on her eyeliner and mascara. She hadn''t put on makeup in a really long time. In the zombie apocalypse world, of course there would be no opportunity for anyone to put on makeup. If you had time to be putting on makeup, then one would really wonder if it was truly a zombie apocalypse world. As for the cultivation world, although there was makeup, Yin Mei wouldn''t use that sort of thing. In the first place, Bai Yu and Feng Hua had such stunning natural looks already that makeup was completely unnecessary. Yin Mei finally finished by putting on a pair of red shoes. Her make up was red, her dress was red, her shoes were red, her nails was red, and her jewelry was also made up of rubies. Everything was so extremely red. She wondered if it might be too much, but whenever she looked at herself, she somehow felt satisfied. The contrast of the red against the snowy white skin made it look especially white, and her dark eyes stood out from underneath the lace mask. It was definitely eye turning material. She then messaged Yao Heyan that she was finished, before grabbing a gold clutch and placing the phone inside. Walking out of the dorm, Yao Heyan was waiting. He was wearing a deep black suit with a black button up, his tie a red matching Yin Mei''s dress. He had on a shining and metal black half mask, his blue eyes appearing even brighter than before. It was an outfit that was in stark contrast to his gentle appearance, but he looked good in it, his aura somehow becoming more wicked and seductive. Yin Mei blinked. Yao Heyan turned to look at her, and was stunned in place. This color of red... truly suited her like no other color. Like he had thought, she looked wonderful in red. The image of that beautiful hanfu flashed through his head again as he wondered where he had seen that. But he soon shook his head, refocusing his attention on Yin Mei. He grabbed her slender hand in his own, bending down to kiss it. "Will you accompany me to the venue?" He asked. Yin Mei absentmindedly nodded. When did she promise him that they would go together? Or had he just known that she would agree? The two walked to the entrance of the school, where a sleek black limo was waiting for them. The school had rented a venue off campus, and it would take a good half hour to reach the location. Yin Mei only recalled this when they had both entered the limo. So she would have to be in this same small space with Yao Heyan for half and hour? "You look the best in red after all." Yao Heyan said, as the car began to drive, speaking out what he had thought earlier. "Eh? Why would you think that?" Yin Mei asked. She tilted her head. She recalled that she had worn red before Yao Heyan once before. He Lanying herself had rarely worn the color as she had felt it was too garish. So the one time that she had worn red in front of Yao Heyan had been the dress that she had worn on the day they went to the amusement park with Rong Sheng in tow. The red she had worn then was similar to the one she was wearing now, though perhaps slightly lighter in color. Yao Heyan also remembered that dress, but he thought this one was even better. It was more similar to the image he had in that vision of his. "Hmm, just because." He replied with a slight smile. "I feel like it''s similar to something you''ve worn a long time ago." Yin Mei felt slightly befuddled. Other than the red dress from back then, was there anything else red that He Lanying had worn? She couldn''t think of anything. As for Yin Mei herself, she had of course worn a lot of red in her life. Although in the zombie apocalypse world, she had mostly only worn whatever, in the world before that, she had almost worn red everyday as Feng Hua. Yin Mei tilted her head, once more feeling like she was forgetting something about the villain that she needed to remember. She didn''t want to remember, but she also wanted to remember it. It was a very strange feeling. But she felt that all her doubts and confusions would be blown away if she could just recall. She wondered why she couldn''t remember this very important memory of hers. There were also patches in her memories whenever she thought about the previous world, and even the world before that. "I... did I wear red other than that time at the amusement park?" She finally asked, struggling to get over this feeling that she was missing something. Yao Heyan blinked at her. Now that he thought about it, He Lanying normally had never worn red before, aside from perhaps just a little. So why did he think that? He felt there was a memory from a very, very long time ago that he couldn''t recall. But if he had forgotten it already, then how important could it be? Thinking that, in the end, he gave up trying to remember it. They both grew silent, occupied with their thoughts. Of a memory they had shared together, but had both forgotten. Yin Mei looked out the dim windows of the limo, watching as the city flew by. The sun was just starting to set, and the orange-red color was distorted by the tinted windows. When the two arrived, the venue was already bustling with people as limos pulled in and out, each person dressed in stunning and elegant outfits, all wearing masks of all different shapes and sizes. Each outfit seemed more luxurious and expensive then the last, and one could tell that all the attendees were children of high class families. Yao Heyan was the first to walk out, and though he was wearing a mask, his unique aura immediately drew stares. The man offered a hand to Yin Mei, who took it as she elegantly stepped out of the car. The bright red wasn''t overly harsh and garish to the eyes like Yin Mei was slightly afraid it would be, but certainly drew gasps and attention. Yao Heyan felt a little protective, wanting to keep Yin Mei to himself, so that no one else could lay an eye on her current stunning appearance. She pursued her lips, taking his hand in his as he helped her up the stairs into the venue. The venue was a stunning ballroom with crystal chandeliers, gold pillars, and marble flooring. Butlers walked around with silver trays of champagne glasses and small snacks. Glancing around, Yin Mei saw that Rong Sheng and Wen Hua had yet to arrive. Yin Mei thus immediately retreated to the edges of the room, grabbing a small bite sized cake and glass of champagne while she was at it. "You don''t want to dance?" Yao Heyan asked as he followed Yin Mei. She sat down at the seat of the tall floor to ceiling window, popping the little cake in her mouth. She also took a slight sip of the champagne, before setting it down beside her. It tasted slightly like carbonated lemonade, but she disliked both of those. She had only grabbed it for appearance sake anyways. "No..." Yin Mei replied, her voice trailing off as she gazed at the people mingling, some dancing in the center of the room to the music. He Lanying had been very good at dancing. Ballroom dancing and ballet were her two specialties. Yin Mei recalled that Feng Hua was also good at dancing - the sword dance, that is. Yin Mei herself didn''t really have an opinion on it. Granted, she did like watching other people dance, but herself? She felt that she would much rather stay sitting. "You don''t want to dance with me?" Yao Heyan spoke again, leaning slightly closer toward her. Yin Mei reluctantly gave in. Whatever. She had the memories of this body backing her up after all, so it wasn''t like she would make a fool of herself dancing this one time. Seeing her nod, Yao Heyan''s expression brightened, and he grabbed helped her up, grabbing the champagne glass she had set aside, smoothly placing his other hand around her waist. He set the champagne glass on an empty tray that a server was taking away, before guiding her to the center of the ballroom. The place immediately quieted down as they saw the two stunningly dressed figures walk to the center of the room. Even if everyone was wearing masks, everyone could make vague guesses toward their identities. The song currently on right now was suitable for a slow waltz, and Yao Heyan stepped away to face her, offering his hand. Yin Mei took it, and he used his other hand to grasp her waist, pulling her right up to him. Their faces were now mere centimeters away, and Yin Mei had too look up slightly to meet his bright eyes. Their bodies swayed slowly to the music. Even if Yin Mei wasn''t a good dancer, Yao Heyan had the skills to lead anyone into dancing well. The two of them took a step forward, then a step back. There was a spin, a twirl. Dancing like this was quite cathartic, Yin Mei thought. The music ended soon, and changed. The easy to discern sound of a tango song started to play, and Yin Mei wondered if they would really dance such a passionate and fiery song? One sharp step, then another. They glanced back, then forward. Although they hadn''t choreographed anything before hand, they were so in sync it was as if they did. For some reason, it was as if Yin Mei knew exactly what move to do next, her body moving on its own. He Lanying was unexpectedly good at the tango, perhaps since it was able to release the passion that she had buried deep in her heart for Rong Sheng. Yin Mei suddenly slid down, one leg stretched out as she was supported by Yao Heyan, who pulled her back up. Her foot wrapped itself around Yao Heyan''s leg, as she seemed to look down, her eyes hidden by a pair of fluttering eyelashes, not knowing what was going through her mind. They stopped in this pose for only a minute though, before continuing their steps. Yin Mei would flick her leg, raise it, and was even twirled around in the air by Yao Heyan for a spin. When they finished, Yin Mei and Yao Heyan were both breathing heavily, their chests rising and falling as applause soon filled the building. Yin Mei didn''t know when, but the other dancers had all left the floor, leaving the two to have it to themselves, as they crowded around the edges of the room to watch. The two finally separated, and it was unknown whether the blush on Yin Mei''s cheeks was from exerting herself or embarrassment. They bowed as the people present continued to clap, before leaving the floor. (A/N: The tango song I was imagining - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW71-sVyMzM BTW, I was looking up tango movie scenes, and I really liked the cell block tango, very interesting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1qQCFQCneA Had to take the time to do some more research into tango and try and describe the dance as best as I could. Out of the ballroom dances, I like the sound and feel of tango the best. I really like this dance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3vsiiRK5GU&t=38s) 56 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 8 The moment they had stepped off the dance floor, Rong Sheng came up to greet them, wearing a deep navy blue suit with a white camellia flower in the breast pocket. Beside him was a shy and nervous Wen Hua, who wore a cobalt blue dress, the vibrant color stunning. But Yin Mei thought that it didn''t quite suit Wen Hua that well, who looked better in fresh and girly colors like white or pink. The dress that Yao Heyan would have gotten her in the original story would have been white with light blue trim. It would have made her look exceptionally pure and enhance her natural innocence. As for this dress, though she certainly looked good in it, it dimmed her biggest weapon, that very same innocence that caused men to feel an urge to protect her. But Yin Mei only briefly glanced at Wen Hua, not saying anything as she turned her attention back to Rong Sheng. Wen Hua was in awe of Yin Mei, recalling the passionate dance that they had just finished, still seeing that beautiful red dress fluttering across her sight in her mind. She was a little down that the girl was obviously ignoring her, but brightened up after telling herself it was just because they didn''t know each other that well. Of course her attention would be more on Rong Sheng, who was her childhood friend. "I never expected such a passionate tango from you two." Rong Sheng said, with a raised brow. The He Lanying in his mind was always stern and didn''t let her emotions get the better of her, while Yao Heyan was like a still pool of water, and though he always sported a warm smile, he never showed his true emotions. So to have a passionate exchange like that between the two of them had really been beyond his imagination. "Maybe you should try it yourself someday," Yao Heyan said as he motioned to a nearby server and grabbed a glass of champagne for himself and Yin Mei. Although Yin Mei didn''t really like the drink all that much, she was currently parched, and there was nothing else readily available, so she still gratefully took it from Yao Heyan''s hands and sipped at it delicately to slack her thirst. Only after that did Yin Mei said, "I would be amazed to see Rong Sheng dance the tango." This was true. She couldn''t even image a stern ice cube like him being able to dance the tango. Though, the same could probably have been said of He Lanying. In the first place, Wen Hua had no ballroom dancing experience, and she was the only one that Yin Mei could actually see Rong Sheng dancing something like that with. With other girls, perhaps a slow waltz was the best he could do? She thought that considering just how clumsy Wen Hua was, there was probably no way she would ever see Rong Sheng tango. The three (plus an awkwardly silent Wen Hua) continued to chat in a friendly manner, before they finally split into their respective pairs so as to not interfere with their dates. Yin Mei and Yao Heyan walked out onto the balcony that overlooked a beautiful flower garden, the flowers and leaves taking a bluish tint underneath the full moon and starry sky. The wind was fresh, but slightly chilly, and Yao Heyan conscientiously took off his suit coat to place around Yin Mei''s shoulders. Yin Mei leaned up against the balcony railing and looked into the ballroom, where Rong Sheng had been surrounded by girls and Wen Hua had been pushed to the side. He sported an annoyed expression, before finally seeming to bid them farewell and grab Wen Hua''s arm, pulling her with him to the outside garden, where they could get some peace and quiet. "Why are you always so concerned about those two?" Yao Heyan asked, his eyes dark. This feeling was familiar to him. He seemed to recall experiencing a similar situation before, but he was not quite sure when. Yin Mei blinked and turned her big and bright eyes toward Yao Heyan. How should she answer this question? That Rong Sheng and Wen Hua cause her death in the future? Wait a moment, this situation gave her a sense of deja vu. Didn''t she experience this somewhere in a former world? What did she answer back then? That she had traveled back in time? ... There''s no way she could answer the same thing this time, right? Wouldn''t she end up getting sent to a mental hospital or something if she did? How troublesome. She took a moment to think of a good reply. "Because..." "Because?" Yao Heyan looked at her with a penetrating gaze. "Hmmm... because this couple of a blind idiot and a clumsy idiot is slightly concerning?" Yin Mei said as she tilted her head. Indeed, it was just a bit. Although Rong Sheng seemed to have enough power and capability to get through all the dangerous situations that Wen Hua seemed to get herself in, it was still a little concerning just how many life or death moments they had to go through before finally getting together. Normally, Yin Mei would feel that no situation would be able to kill off the male and female leads, but after the first world, where both male leads had died so easily, she was now a little doubtful about the so-called cockroach vitality possessed by protagonists. "... Rong Sheng is the blind idiot?" Yao Heyan said after a moment of thought. Since there was no way he was the clumsy idiot, then he would have to be the blind one. Yin Mei nodded and Yao Heyan wondered what had happened that transformed her opinion of Rong Sheng so drastically. "Now that I think about it, it''s quite odd that Rong Sheng would take a liking to someone." Yao Heyan commented. Especially a girl like Wen Hua, who was neither wealthy nor from a powerful family - is what he didn''t say. Yin Mei also didn''t really understand it. Rong Sheng had all sorts of girls throwing themselves at him, so why in the world would he choose such an air headed ditz? But this was a question she wanted to ask all the male leads in those romance novels. They were all cold ice cubes that had no interest in other women, to the point where their sexuality was questioned, until the female lead came along and melted their heart. She could never understand just what was so special about the female leads of those stories that they were so appealing to the male leads. Was it really just because they were soul mates? Because it was true love? She guessed that this was the only logical answer she could come up with. "Maybe that sort of girl is just Rong Sheng''s type." Yin Mei said with a shrug. Yao Heyan tilted his head, not quite buying into it. Though, perhaps because Rong Sheng had been surrounded too much by head strong and capable women all his life that this sort of weak girl that was the exact opposite appealed so much to him? The dance continued long into the night, people only starting to leave at around midnight. Yao Heyan and Yin Mei didn''t stay for too long, as they still had a lot of clean up work to do later. But after this, their duties would become a lot lighter. Of course, they would still have normal student council duties, like addressing the troubles of the student body, or passing proposals for some more insignificant things, like new classes or new class materials or something. But it wouldn''t be very busy until the school sports festival started up. That being said, during this time, though the work would decrease, the amount of events happening wouldn''t by much. Because there was a Wen Hua here. If Yin Mei recalled, Wen Hua would be caught up in two major events in the few months between now and the sports festival. The first was a terrorist attack on the Rong family company, resulting in the people of the company being taken hostage, Rong Sheng and Wen Hua included. They would demand a large amount of ransom and a getaway helicopter. Meanwhile the second was Wen Hua being drugged and almost r*ped, before she was saved by Yao Heyan. This event was one that Yin Mei wouldn''t think would happen, since the one who had planned it was He Lanying. But the first one should still occur, and was much more important in her eyes. Of course, Rong Sheng and Wen Hua had both got out completely unscathed, in part because of the help of He Lanying and Yao Heyan. Both had used their connections and moved some strings to resolve the situation without much problems. Aside from some insignificant mob characters who had died, and Rong Sheng and Wen Hua getting closer through such a dangerous situation, nothing else of real importance had happened. Yin Mei put on a thoughtful expression. With all these events raising Rong Sheng''s affection level, did the two even need her to interfere? Though granted many of the events had actually been caused by He Lanying herself, Yin Mei felt that with Wen Hua''s special constitution of drawing trouble from all sides, these events may still even happen without Yin Mei herself needing to do anything. The next day, Yin Mei headed to the student council meeting. There was no school, but because the student council had to deal with the clean up, they had to meet right after the dance. And they were also required to attend the dance, so many of the members were noticeably tired. Perhaps only Wen Hua was bursting with energy, to which Yin Mei responded with a pair of dead fish-like eyes. She wanted to ask just where in the world she got all this energy from. Because most of the student council members had experience with this process, the meeting went by very quickly and when it was finished, there was nothing much left for Yin Mei to do except wait for when school started again. "Ahh, I hope spring break will be here soon." Several student council members said as they chatted after the meeting was over, as they chatted about where they would be going for spring break. There was still a month left until then, but many had already planned out their vacation trips, most of them heading abroad. "Lanying, has your family already decided where they''re going?" Yao Heyan asked as he cleaned up his desk while Yin Mei waited for him. "Mm. We''re going to Hawaii." Yin Mei replied. She liked the beach, so she was quite looking forward to the trip. He Lanying''s father wouldn''t be coming along though, and it would just be her mother and younger brother. Well, she couldn''t see that stern father of He Lanying''s having fun at a beach anyways. "I see. To Hawaii is it?" Yao Heyan said, committing it to memory. "Yes." Yin Mei nodded. Although she herself had never gone to a tropical island before, there were memories of going to the Caribbean and Hawaii in He Lanying''s mind. Every vacation, they would head to all sorts of tourist countries. This was the case for most of the rich kids here, who were all extremely well traveled. "What about your family?" Yin Mei asked curiously. "Our family? From what I remember, they said that they were going to Italy." Yao Heyan replied slightly absentmindedly. "? Are you not going with them?" Yin Mei asked, as Yao Heyan finished putting away the stack of papers on his desk and the two started to leave, while the others bid goodbye to them. "No, I''m not." Yao Heyan replied, and he smiled warmly. "Let''s go grab lunch somewhere?" Yin Mei looked at the time and saw that it was just after lunch. "Not just at the cafeteria?" She said. This school''s cafeteria was staffed by a Michelin star chef after all. The food there was just as good as any restaurant outside. Yao Heyan shook his head. What the heck? Who could have a date at the school cafeteria. Of course they had to go out somewhere. "Let''s go eat a parfait somewhere afterwards as well," he said, tempting Yin Mei with sweets. He had already seen through her true desires. That''s right! Yin Mei was too weak to sweets to resist. That and puppy dog eyes. Yin Mei, whose weakness had been discovered: "Okay, let''s go!" She excitedly dragged Yao Heyan away, calling her chauffeur to come pick them up. Hmm. Yao Heyan wondered by how much he lost to in importance to sweets in He Lanying''s heart. It was no good. He had to thoroughly correct this situation later. 57 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 9 Yao Heyan first brought her shopping before going to a restaurant. After all, any restaurant that they would go too would definitely have a formal dress code. The dress that Yin Mei chose this time wasn''t red, but a peacock emerald color. Although Yin Mei liked red, He Lanying was more suited to these deeper and darker jewel tones. Green and blues especially suited her very well, enhancing her dignified air. The dress was made out of a velvet material, with a collar around her neck and a V-line, her back revealed and the tight skirt stopping just above her knees. Yao Heyan also took the liberty of buying a dark green suit to wear. Although it wasn''t custom fitted, it still managed to look good, and clung to his figure just right. The two headed to a luxurious restaurant in town, one located on one of the top floors of the top hotel, Regalia. (A/N: just came up with something random, don''t know if there''s actually a hotel called this) "You don''t need to come in with us," Yin Mei said to her chauffeur cum bodyguard before he went to go park the car, and went with Yao Heyan to the restaurant. Actually, this date was also in part Yao Heyan trying to claim that He Lanying was his woman. The customers of this restaurant were all members of the upper class, of which had a fairly small social circle. In other words, if the two of them appeared together here, the result would be rumors quickly spreading to the rest of the wealthy families. Lately, Yao Heyan was feeling more and more that if he took his eyes off Yin Mei for a single moment, then she would disappear. He felt that he had to quickly make her his, or he would lose the chance forever. He subtly placed one hand on her waist and held her other hand as he guided her, a smile on his face. Yin Mei didn''t seem to realize anything, simply looking forward to the good food. Although normally this restaurant would be only be available by reservation, both He Lanying and Yao Heyan were VIP customers and granted priority seating. Plus, Yao Heyan had specifically chosen a restaurant that he knew would have available seats at this time. They were quickly guided to their tables, with a few people recognizing their identities and whispering to themselves. After all, it was well known that the He family and Rong families were in negotiations for an engagement between their eldest daughter and son respectively, but He Lanying had actually come to the restaurant accompanied only by the second son of the Yao family? It was quite obvious that they were on a date, and were even wearing outfits with matching colors. This was juicy gossip that they would have to tell all their friends as soon as possible! Yao Heyan pulled out the chair for Yin Mei, who sat and the waiter pulled the chair out for Yao Heyan before handing over the menu to the two of them. He spouted a couple of recommendations before taking his leave. "Is there anything that you particularly like?" Yao Heyan asked, as he looked over the menu. It was a French-style restaurant, and Yin Mei put on a difficult expression. She firmly said, "Pasta," as she seriously considered each and every pasta dish on the menu. Yao Heyan smiled, thinking that this serious expression of Yin Mei''s was really cute. Pasta was one of her favorite foods, and it was just so hard to decide which was better. In the end, she chose a dish with green noodles and a ground duck sauce. As for Yao Heyan, seeing that Yin Mei had such difficulty deciding on what pasta dish she wanted, he also chose a different pasta dish so that they could share. It was a lobster pasta that was one of the more expensive dishes on the menu. The waiter poured them two glasses of the house wine, while Yin Mei asked for a glass of iced water. Yao Heyan took note that including the wine, she also hadn''t seemed to like the champagne for last night''s dance either. "You don''t like alcohol?" Yao Heyan asked, while they patiently waited for the food to come out. Yin Mei shook her head no. Champagne was still okay since it didn''t really have the bitter taste of alcohol, but it was slightly sour, which she didn''t like, and also carbonated... which she also didn''t like.Yin Mei looked down, playing with the napkin on the table. "Uhm..." She glanced up, wanting to say something, but stopped in her tracks when her eyes met Yao Heyan''s. She always felt like she was missing something, when they spoke. Even though Yao Heyan appeared similar to the demon king and the zombie emperor, because of the drastic differences in temperament, Yin Mei never thought the two were the same. But whenever she thought this, for some reason, a small part of her told her she was wrong. "What is it?" Yao Heyan asked, tilting his head. Why can''t I remember? What happened that made me forget...? Such thoughts whirled through her head. She knew there was an important reason why she forgot, and why she didn''t want to remember. But she also knew that along with the memories she didn''t want to remember, she had forgotten something that was very important to her in the process. "I feel like... I''m forgetting something important." Yin Mei finally couldn''t help but say, tapping the water glass with her fork as she looked away. "Something very important, but very painful." She added on in a softer voice. Yao Heyan tilted his head. He always had a sort of similar feeling, as well. It was similar, but slightly different? He wondered if they were perhaps lovers in a past life, haha. Admittedly though, he didn''t even know how he had fallen for He Lanying, and it had seemed so sudden and quick as well. And there was that ancient hanfu too. Yao Heyan had never believed in that sort of thing before, but could it really be they knew each other in another life? "Maybe we knew each other in a past life?" He asked in a joking tone, but Yin Mei froze in place. "What did you say?" She asked, and Yao Heyan looked at her slightly confused. "Maybe we knew each other in a past life?" He still repeated it, wondering if he had said something so odd. Yin Mei felt that this was familiar. This was really familiar. Hadn''t he said something like this before? When was it? When had he said it? She winced, her hand flying up to her head as a sharp pain assaulted it. Don''t remember. Don''t remember it. All you''ll find is pain there. "Are you alright?" Yao Heyan said as he saw the expression of pain flash across Yin Mei''s face. Could he have said something wrong? But how could it have made her feel pain? "I''m fine," Yin Mei said, the pain fading as she put her hand down, her expression also smoothening out and returning to normal. Alright, she decided that she wouldn''t try and force it. The present was more important than the past anyways. If she couldn''t remember... then so be it. In the end, Yao Heyan steered the conversation away from that topic in fear that Yin Mei would find it painful again, and they talked about unimportant stuff, discussing the gossip in the upper class, or their student council duties. When the pasta arrived, Yin Mei thoroughly enjoyed it, along with Yao Heyan''s pasta. More murmurs came from some of the other customers witnessing this lovey dovey scene of Yao Heyan feeding Yin Mei his pasta. Afterwards, Yin Mei immediately dragged Yao Heyan to a famous cafe and ordered a strawberry cheesecake and a strawberry parfait, two of her favorite types of desserts. "It''s delicious~" She said happily, while Yao Heyan took note that she liked strawberries. A red fruit. He thought it was suitable for her. Well, Yin Mei didn''t like strawberries because they were red though. She had just always liked the taste of strawberries (as long as they were sweet and not sour) from a long time ago. The members of the cafe felt that watching such a beautiful couple have fun together was definitely soothing on their eyes. The man was watching the girl happily eat with a warm expression. Mm, they shipped it! Afterwards, Yin Mei and Yao Heyan walked around, simply window shopping and enjoying the warm spring sun. Yin Mei had her chauffeur wait in the car again, thinking that nothing bad was going to happen. And anyways, she still couldn''t get used to being followed around by bodyguards while going places. Plus, even Yin Mei had sort of realized that they were currently on a date... Although it was embarrassing, she was also a little happy. She had never had such an experience in any of her past lives either, not even her original life. And then the worlds after that... who would even have the time to go on a date? Yao Heyan glanced at Yin Mei, before grasping her hand in his. Yin Mei almost tripped and fell at this sudden and embarrassing action, but was quickly supported by Heyan. "Wha-wha-wha-" she stammered out, trying to slip her hand away, but it was firmly grasped by the boy. "You don''t want to?" Again he activated the skill puppy dog eyes, which still had critical effectiveness on Yin Mei, who could not resist the demon king''s face paired with those droopy dog like eyes! D*mmit! "I-it''s fine I guess?" She finally said, and stopped resisting. Seeing this expression of hers, Yao Heyan felt he was practically going crazy. He tugged her into a small alleyway, where they came to an isolated area behind a building. He gently pushed Yin Mei up against the wall, his arm at the side of her head. Yes, it was the legendary kabedon. Yin Mei wide eyed looked at his arm and then Yao Heyan, who was leaning in closer, his eyes dark. Just as Yin Mei was wondering whether or not he was about to kiss her, her ears red, they were interrupted by three men, clearly delinquents. Huh? What was this totally cliche plot development? "Huh? What''s up with these two well dressed kids doing here?" One of them said, as the group approached them. "It can''t be they about to get it on right?" The other callously laughed in an annoying manner. "Wow! What a beauty!" The other said as Yao Heyan turned toward them with increasingly colder eyes, revealing Yin Mei. "Beauty, don''t get together with this weak *ss pretty boy. I bet we can satisfy you more than him." The same one from before said in a lustful manner as they approached closer. Yin Mei''s face was in shadow, and Yao Heyan had appeared to start to reach for the inside of his suit, when Yin Mei placed a hand on his arm, pushing him aside. "Lanying?" Yao Heyan said, remembering that there had been one time he had seen such an expression on He Lanying''s face. It had been a fine day. They were in their first year of middle school, and Rong Sheng had just become the president of the student council. Of course, Yao Heyan was the vice-president, and He Lanying had become the secretary, even though all of them were only first years at the time. Rong Sheng had ran off and Yao Heyan had to chase after him, and the result was that they had dumped all the work onto He Lanying. When they had come back... Let''s just say that they thus resolved never to anger He Lanying again. It was that same face of absolute disgust and rage that she was currently wearing. Yao Heyan placed his hand down from the gun that he was about to grab, and watched as Yin Mei thus roundhouse kicked the first guy, who fell onto his butt, his hand on his cheek as he stared shocked at the girl, not even in a state to register the color of Yin Mei''s panties - they were black though. Yin Mei placed her foot on the man''s chest, pushing him down so hard that his head hit the concrete floor and a disgusting crack sound could be faintly heard. She ground her stiletto heel into his chest, a scary expression on her face as she glanced at the other two, who both jumped in shock. Everything had been too fast for them to register. Before they knew it, Yin Mei was in front of them, grabbing one by the face and slamming him into the ground as well, knocking him unconscious. And then she slammed his face into the ground again, and again, and again, blood flying everywhere. The last person was completely pale in the face, before realizing his chance to escape. He scrambled to run away, but at this moment, Yao Heyan calmly drew his gun, even taking the time to put on a silencer before shooting the man in the back. He then holstered his gun again, before walking over to Yin Mei, wrapping his arm around her waist and grasping the wrist of the hand she had been using to grab the man''s head, raising it up as he whispered into her ear. "That''s enough." He said, and Yin Mei blinked, as if she just realized where she was again. She tilted her head as Yao Heyan helped her up, wondering what she had been doing again. Oh no, that''s right, wasn''t Yao Heyan just about to kiss her? How embarrassing! But what was going on now? "Ah, ahhhh! Why is there blood all over me? Oh no, I got the dress you bought me dirty!" Yin Mei said, as she finally realized the state of disarray that she was in. "Let''s get you cleaned up," Yao Heyan said with a smile, as he set down the phone that he had been talking into before Yin Mei had realized. "Mm," Yin Mei said with a sad expression, looking down she realized there were three bodies on the floor. "Huh? Are they dead?" She asked, tilting her head. Could this have been where the blood had come from? "No, no, they''re fine. I''ve already taken care of everything." Yao Heyan said with a smile, as he put his phone away and began steering Yin Mei back onto the street. "?" Yin Mei let him do so, feeling that there was something odd about the situation. But for someone who had lived through the apocalypse, her sense of morals was definitely twisted and so didn''t say anything, not even thinking to suggest calling an ambulance. Well, since Yao Heyan said that he''d already taken care of everything, then there wasn''t anything to worry about, right? 58 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 10 Before Yin Mei knew it, Yao Heyan had brought her to an apartment suite right in the middle of the city. He had many different apartments and hotel rooms that he had at his disposal whenever he needed them; this one just happened to be closer. It was large and had a modern design, looking like it would have cost a fortune to rent or buy. The chauffeur put down the bags with their school uniforms that he was carrying before going to wait outside the apartment door. Yao Heyan showed Yin Mei to the bathroom, and explained everything before leaving her be. Yin Mei wondered if she would really have to take a shower in Yao Heyan''s apartment... Wasn''t this super embarrassing? But when she looked down at the blood on her, she decided it was still better to shower after all. Yao Heyan had wiped off some of the blood that had been on her hand with his handkerchief, but there was still some left over. In the end, she turned on the shower, stripping off her clothes before stepping into the water. When she stepped out ten minutes later, she felt that she smelled slightly like Yao Heyan - it was a refreshing peach scent. She put on the school uniform after drying herself off, walking out with still wet hair and a towel over her head. Yao Heyan was sitting on the couch outside reading a book, dressed in casual pants and a V-neck sweater. The languid air around him made Yin Mei stop in place, thinking of how uncannily similar he looked to the demon king and zombie emperor at this moment. The man looked up, and saw that Yin Mei still had wet hair, her shirt only partially buttoned up and not tucked in, while she had her blazer in her hand. He could see her collarbone, and his eyes travelled slightly down, following the dripping hair clinging to her body... "... Come here and I''ll help you dry your hair," Yao Heyan said with a smile, and Yin Mei obediently went over to sit on the ground in front of the sofa as Yao Heyan grabbed the hair dryer. The two were quiet as Yao Heyan diligently dried Yin Mei''s hair first with the towel, before the silence was filled with the sound of the hair dryer. Yin Mei squeezed her eyes shut as her hair was blown by the warm wind, feeling comforted by this situation. Yao Heyan wanted to ask her a little about what had happened earlier, but from what he had gathered of Yin Mei''s reaction, she hadn''t realized at all what she had done. It was like she had gone into some sort of berserk trance, as she killed those people. He had already called his men to clean up the bodies, so he wasn''t too worried in that aspect. He was just concerned a little about He Lanying. Normally a state like that would probably be caused by some sort of mental illness or trauma, right? He was slightly concerned for He Lanying when he thought like that. It was alright if the same thing happened again later, as he could always clean up the situation without anyone raising questions, but he thought that it might be detrimental to He Lanying''s mental health. Even so, he didn''t really want to call a counselor, as that would be rude to her, right? Well... then all he had to take was take care of everything before she had the chance to enter that state. From what he saw, it was probably because of anger? Then if he got rid of everything that could anger her before it had a chance to, then that was fine right? "Done," Yao Heyan said with a satisfied expression as he finished drying Yin Mei''s hair. Yin Mei played with a strand of the soft and freshly washed hair, before looking up at Yao Heyan, who was looking done at her. He smiled, tilting his head in questioning. "What is it?" He asked. Yin Mei looked back down in silence. "Nothing," she said quietly. She felt that it might be a little rude to constantly compared Yao Heyan to the demon king and zombie emperor, just because they looked similar. After all... those two were already dead. Now that she thought about it, how did they die again...? She shook her head. Did it even matter at this point in time? It wasn''t like she''d see them ever again anyways. She had to be better at getting over their deaths. After all, from now on, this would be her reality. The norm. She was now immortal in a way. While she would live on after her death, no one else would. She would experience the death of loved ones again and again. She needed to harden her heart, and forget. Forget, like she already was. Forget until this painful feeling in her heart completely disappeared. "Lanying, what''s wrong?" A soft voice pulled her back to reality, causing her to look up again. Yao Heyan stilled in shock, grabbing Yin Mei''s face and turning her around so that she was facing him. Yin Mei''s whose cheeks were squished together: ??? "What is it?" She asked, an expression of doubt on her face. Yao Heyan didn''t say anything, just looking deeply into her eyes before letting out a little sigh of relief. He almost thought that she was about to cry at that moment, though he didn''t know what in the world had happened to cause her emotions to change so suddenly. He was very worried about just how emotionally unstable she seemed, and was frustrated because he didn''t know what he could do about it. "Ah, h-how about we play some games?" Yin Mei said, interrupting the awkward air, her voice sounding slightly weird since her cheeks were still being held by Yao Heyan. Yao Heyan released them after noticing this, and had on a slightly embarrassed expression. "I don''t have anything like games here..." He said awkwardly. It couldn''t be helped. Among rich kids, there were two types - the responsible ones who spent all their times on studies and learning how to manage business, and those who played around all day and went clubbing and drinking at night. There seemed to be no in between. Although Yao Heyan wasn''t the heir to his family''s company, he was rather responsible and was the type to spend all his time on work. Yin Mei really wondered if Yao Heyan was even a high schooler. What high schooler didn''t play any games at all? This was the so called legendary honor student?? "Then, do you have cards...?" She asked, to which Yao Heyan paused before nodding. He went to go grab them, and coming back, Yin Mei proceeded to play with him a variety of card games. She felt a wave of nostalgia as she remembered the time when she had played these with the zombie emperor and the Ri twins... And then she also proceeded to lose in every single game. "Eh? Wait, why? How?" Yin Mei wanted to cry a little. She remembered... Yao Heyan was not only good at reading people, he was also very intelligent and knew how to plan ahead. In other words, Yin Mei had never stood a chance in the beginning. After a while, Yin Mei finally was done with losing card games and demanded that they go back to school. Actually, she had been considering cooking for Yao Heyan, but his apartment didn''t have any cooking tools or ingredients in it anyways, and she was so upset from all those losses that she immediately decided Yao Heyan didn''t deserve to taste her food today anyways. Yao Heyan looked helpless, but though that He Lanying would have been angrier if he had lost purposely anyways. In other words, this was a lose-lose situation from the beginning! Suddenly, just as Yin Mei had finished rage quitting, there was a knock on the door and Yao Heyan went to open it. The bodyguard/chauffeur was standing outside with a phone in his hand. "Young Miss, you mother is on the phone," he said, and Yin Mei went to take it from him with a questioning gaze. What was her mother calling for? And her chauffeur too, not her own phone... oh wait, her phone was probably in the car, which was why she called the chauffeur. "Mother?" Yin Mei answered. "Ying''er? Where are you right now?" He Lanying''s mother''s tone of voice was sharp, and Yin Mei wondered what she had done to get her into trouble?? "I''m at a friend''s apartment," she answered, and Yao Heyan''s eyes grew sharp. Friend? Just a friend? But then he comforted himself that it was because she was talking with her mother and couldn''t just reveal their relationship together... Hm? Wait, he felt that... could it be that they hadn''t actually properly established their relationship with each other yet? But could He Lanying be that dense? "A friend? You''re at the apartment of that Yao family''s second boy, aren''t you?" Yin Mei felt a headache coming on. If you already knew, then why did you ask? "Yes, I am," Yin Mei replied curtly, her voice cooling significantly. But He Lanying''s mother was too worked up to realize. "Ying''er! What if this reaches the ears of the Rong family? We''re in the middle of engagement negotiations with them, so how could you do something so scandalous?" "Mother, both Rong Sheng and I have already said that we don''t want to get engaged!" Yin Mei said, exasperated. "Ying''er you..." He Lanying''s mother was shocked, and tried to remember a time when He Lanying had shown so much emotion. And she realized something. "It can''t be because you''re in a relationship with that Yao family''s kid are you?" Yin Mei almost wanted to cough blood. What was that suspicious tone, as if she was having an affair? She then paused. Could it be said that they were in a relationship? They had talked about getting engaged, and had gone on a date... but wait! Yao Heyan had never actually said that he liked her! So could it be that she was misunderstanding everything?? Yin Mei was indeed just that dense. "That, that''s," Yin Mei stammered out, but she didn''t have to reply because He Lanying''s mother had already filled in all the gaps for her. "So that was why you''re so against the engagement? He''s the second son, isn''t he? No, you have to break up with that Yao kid immediately. He''s no good. Listen to your mother, okay? He''s not suitable for you." Yin Mei felt exasperated, unable to believe what she was hearing. Were all rich families like this? Yao Heyan could also hear the loud voice of He Lanying''s mother over the phone, and hearing this, his eyes darkened. Yin Mei thought that perhaps He Lanying''s parents were partially thinking about her when they said this. But she also knew that they were thinking about the fact that there wasn''t any real benefit to their family if she married Yao Heyan, and that was their main reason for saying this. Actually, Yin Mei was a rather filial person. If it was for the sake of her family, she wouldn''t mind sacrificing a lot of things. But she felt that she couldn''t agree with this, where the parents felt that the child sacrificing themselves for the sake of the family was something natural, taking it for granted. "I-" Just as Yin Mei was about to speak, Yao Heyan took the phone from her hand. "I''m not going to break up with Lanying. And I''ll show you that I''m worthy of her." He said, with a serious expression before hanging up. Yin Mei was speechless staring at Yao Heyan, who looked at her with a faint, sad smile. "Don''t worry," Yao Heyan said, his voice determined. Actually, he had just been afraid of what He Lanying had been about to say, and so had quickly snatched the phone away before she could speak. He was insecure. He was afraid. He didn''t want her to leave him. Even if he had to tie her up and lock her away, even if she hated him for it, he felt it was better than her leaving him for someone else. Or disappearing forever. Yao Heyan handed the phone back to the chauffeur, whose expression betrayed no emotions as he took it and bowed before going back out. "Heyan, you..." Yin Mei trailed off, not sure what to say. That line was just way too embarrassing! "Don''t worry," Yao Heyan smiled sweetly, his eyes curving into crescent moon shapes and Yin Mei was practically dazzled by the sight. "I won''t let anyone get in our way." Although his smile was warm, his voice and eyes were cold enough to send shivers down someone''s spine. The contrast between his expression and his tone made it seem even scarier than it would have been normally. Yin Mei had on a blank face. Well... it was probably okay to leave it in his hands right? After all, it wasn''t like anyone would die... probably? She put on a thoughtful expression. Actually, she felt the likeliness that someone would die was actually pretty high? It wasn''t that she wanted to doubt Yao Heyan, just that that expression combined with his past and future offenses wasn''t really giving her any room to trust him... Well, whatever. Since they were He Lanying''s parents and not some other person, she thought that he wouldn''t resort to killing them. 59 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 11 In the end, the two of them headed back to school with Yin Mei wondering just what exactly Yao Heyan would do. And she found out only a couple of weeks later. As she was browsing the news, she found several articles revealing the identity of the CEO and founder of a new major luxury hotel chain... it was Yao Heyan. She immediately spit out her coffee, coughing violently as it got all over her tablet. She had to set it down and go looking for a napkin, only recovering after she had cleaned up the mess and downed half a bottle of water. What, was there something like this in the information? If so, why couldn''t she remember it? She searched the system''s information, and like she had thought, there wasn''t really anything mentioning it. It was always said in the information that Yao Heyan ran an information guild - he was an intermediary for the buying and selling of information on the black market. But like she had thought, there was no such thing as some luxury hotel chain. Could it be that he had so quickly founded one since he had talked with her mother? There was no way. It hadn''t even been more than half a month since then! She went through the news articles to find more information. Apparently this luxury hotel chain had been opened up about half a year ago, and business was going extremely well for them. They had mowed down their competitors like a hot knife cutting through butter. Oh no, now she was imagining a bloody underhanded battle between Yao Heyan and his competitors. There was no way that could have been what actually happened, but why was it that Yin Mei was partially incline to believe it was real? She wondered what her parents would think of this... But she didn''t think it was enough. Luxury hotel chain or not, it still couldn''t be compared to marrying into the Rong family, which was an old family that had accumulated decades worth of wealth. But the next week, and the next week after that, Yin Mei felt that it was a little bit too much. Every week, it seemed that Yao Heyan released some sort of new news. He had taken over as a chairman of a longstanding technology company, bringing them to new heights with the release of a new type of VR technology. He was part of the board committee of a renown pharmaceutical company. He was a major stockholder of the number one entertainment company, Starry Sky. And perhaps the scariest thing was that he had bought over a series of mines that the He family sourced their gems from! In other words, although Yao Heyan hadn''t killed off He Lanying''s parents, he had taken hostage their main source of business. Yin Mei wanted to cough up blood. Such a hard stance, did he really think that her parents would agree? Wouldn''t this just make them even more reluctant? She guessed that he really did prove himself worthy... but he was also threatening He Lanying''s parents. She wanted to know what the original He Lanying would have thought if she was the one that Yao Heyan had been trying to gain her hand in marriage like this. Well, she also knew that the original He Lanying wouldn''t have been interested in him in the first place though. Well, that was just a what if situation. She didn''t know what happened to the soul of the original body once she entered, but she felt that there was no way that He Lanying would be able to come back anyways. In the end, Yin Mei was told to come back over the weekend by He Lanying''s mother, which she expected. After all, their jewelry business was really important to them. Although they had hands in other businesses and they were also in politics, their money mostly came from the jewelry market, which they had a longstanding reputation and status in. When Yin Mei came back on the weekend, she was immediately met by the scolding of her mother. "Just look and see what a good thing that Yao boy has done! And he wants your hand in marriage? He can forget about it!" Yin Mei wanted to sigh. See? Didn''t she say that this would have the opposite effect? Usually Yao Heyan wouldn''t so directly threaten others like this and put on some semblance of appearances, so she wasn''t so sure why he had taken this route. Was it that he was simply that angry? "Ying''er, I told you that boy wasn''t any good for you! Just look, he''s even threatening our family now! Tell him to immediately back off and break up with him," She said, her voice agitated. Although they could always find a different source of gems, it would be hard. It wasn''t easy to find another mine as good as the ones that they were using, and they would have to break their contract, which would cost a fortune - one that they were capable of paying, but not willing to pay. "Mother," Yin Mei said in an exasperated tone. "If you hadn''t said something like that, he wouldn''t of had to do this." He Lanying''s mother put on a hurt expression. "You''re actually siding with that boy and not your family? Ying''er, I raised you all these years and this is what you repay me with? Do you really love that boy so much? What did he say to seduce you to this point?" Yin Mei stiffened. She actually didn''t know whether her emotions were love... she had never experienced it before, this sort of emotion. But all she did know was that she didn''t want to lose it again. She didn''t want to experience that again. So she nodded, and after a pause, a sneer surfaced on her face. "I''d rather not end up like you mother," she said cruelly, striking at her mother''s weak spot. He Lanying''s mother and father had a political marriage with no emotions of love between them. Of course, He Lanying''s father treated her mother with respect and politeness, but they were distant and her father had several lovers outside - though he still had the decency to not father any illegitimate children. "Ying''er, you..." He Lanying''s mother looked truly hurt this time. Yin Mei was silent, and though she felt a little guilty, she didn''t take back her words. Her eyes were cold, and her mother finally noticed. She bit her lip, before speaking again with a trembling voice. "You''ll regret it." "I''d rather regret being together with him, then regret being apart." Yin Mei answered. He Lanying''s mother closed her eyes, before letting out a deep sigh. "I''ll talk to your father... but I can''t guarantee anything. Go back to your room to rest for now." She said, before walking away, her back now small and weary. Yin Mei sighed at the empty foyer, before obediently heading to He Lanying''s room. She angrily texted Yao Heyan about what good things he had done, only to be replied with a sad face emoji and then an excited voice message: "So we''ll be able to be engaged soon?" Yin Mei scoffed as she typed back, "In your dreams! Mother is one thing, but father definitely wouldn''t agree." He Lanying''s father was prideful, almost to the point of arrogance, and stern. At least, in front of He Lanying and their family. As for those lovers he kept outside, honestly Yin Mei didn''t even want to talk about them. She disliked cheating the most. Once they got married, if Yao Heyan cheated, she would see if he still could once she cut off that thing of his. But she also didn''t think Yao Heyan was the type of person to cheat, so she felt slightly reassured. "Don''t worry about that, I''ve already handled it." Yao Heyan said, and Yin Mei stared at the message for several moments. Handled it? Handled it?? How? That prideful father of He Lanying''s had actually agreed? She tried to imagine the methods that Yao Heyan had used, but it was no good. She kept on imagining violent things. He was a former offender after all. Maybe he had somehow bribed her father? But to bribe him to the point that he would set down his pride would probably have cost quite a bit... She shook her head, and directly asked him, only to be replied with: "That''s a secret." Attached was a smiling wink emoji. D*mn you Yao Heyan! She wanted to punch this man in the face. What in the world was that wink emoji? Hadn''t his personality completely changed? She didn''t know he was capable of making fun of her to this extent...! But, she also wasn''t that interested in what methods he had used. For her, the ends justified the means. Since she was satisfied with the end result, and since Yao Heyan obviously wanted to keep his methods secret, she quieted down. But then she thought that she would let Yao Heyan have a taste of her cooking, and then use that as a way to torture him for teasing her like this. Haha, she had already discovered just how much power her cooking had in the last world! There was no way that any mortal would be able to resist it! Just you wait, Yao Heyan!! The next day, much to the surprise of upper society, Yao Heyan and He Lanying''s engagement was announced. The Rong family didn''t come out to say anything, as they had been placated by their son after a long time. The students of Blue Cross Academy were almost all delighted though, many saying that they had called it and that Yao Heyan x He Lanying had truly been the real OTP all along. The people who had still stubbornly shipped He Lanying with Rong Sheng though were devastated when Yao Heyan and He Lanying became officially canon. Yin Mei felt really weird about all this though. In her original life, she hadn''t even had a single boyfriend even after being in college, while in this life, she was already engaged while still in high school. But Yao Heyan was clearly happy, a delighted smile on his face the entire time, which made him look like an innocent puppy. Even though he wasn''t. Even though he was a sadistic yandere who liked to lock people up and kill people! Yin Mei tilted her head. Did she make a bad decision? But alas, it was already too late. And anyways, Yin Mei''s morals had already warped so much that after thinking about it for a little while, she thought that it actually wasn''t that big of a deal. Didn''t he only commit the crimes of kidnapping, imprisonment, murder, and... she proceeded to list several more crimes in her head before stopping. Yeah, it wasn''t too terrible. The important thing was that he still had a bottom line, and the one thing he wouldn''t commit was r*pe and drugs. She nodded in satisfaction. Her priorities were also a little weird now, it seemed. But it was true that though at first glance, Yao Heyan seemed like a terrible, terrible human being, he did in fact have a bottom line. For example, even though his main rival had been Rong Sheng, he had never made a move to kill Rong Sheng, because they had been childhood friends from birth. Though their relationship did deteriorate significantly and that said friendship had been broken off in the end... But anyways, that was a matter of the original storyline. Currently Yao Heyan was engaged with Yin Mei, and Rong Sheng was still currently pursuing Wen Hua more and more. Hm? Now that Yin Mei thought about it, she had been so caught up in matters with Yao Heyan that she had almost forgot about Rong Sheng and Wen Hua''s matters. That''s right, the whole hostage situation should be happening soon. He Lanying even had to check the date to make sure. It was exactly three days away. What! Since when did it get so close? She didn''t think she would need to make any preparations or anything, but she still had to prepare her heart, her heart! This was the sort of hostage situation that only happened on TV or the movies! Maybe she was a little more excited then she should be, but she had epic visions of rescuing them like some badass secret agent. Of course, Yin Mei knew that this wasn''t realistic. Although she had accumulated a decent amount of fight experience from her previous worlds, she was still thinking that it might be a stretch if she wanted to go up against a group of armed terrorists, right? 60 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 12 Three days later, Yin Mei and Yao Heyan were at the Rong family''s company headquarters with Rong Sheng and Wen Hua. As expected, even without interference from He Lanying, the two had still gotten progressively closer. Rong Sheng had on a slightly annoyed expression as his work date had been crashed by this happy-go-lucky newly engaged couple, but he bore with it. He might as well let Yao Heyan boast while he could. "I brought some muffins, would you like to eat them?" Wen Hua said with a shy expression, her cheeks slightly pink as she glanced toward Rong Sheng. "Only for Rong Sheng?" Yao Heyan teased, and immediately Wen Hua''s already pink cheeks turned bright red as she shook her head furiously. "N-no, there are enough for everyone," she said, gripping at the basket in her arms. "Then let''s go to Rong Sheng''s office to eat them," Yao Heyan said, and Rong Sheng nodded. Yin Mei recalled that the female lead was very good at baking. But, it wasn''t like she hadn''t tried baking either. Since kids were fond of sweet things, even though sugar was a little difficult to get their hands on, Yin Mei would still occasionally bake them something - thankfully, baking was considered as part of the cooking skill to the system, so her sweets had turned out just as delicious as her normal dishes. So although Yin Mei would be missing out on this opportunity, she wasn''t really concerned. "Heyan, I''m gonna go to the bathroom real quick," she said with a blank expression, and Yao Heyan looked at her, finding it weird. "Then-" He was about to suggest that he would accompany her, but Yin Mei guessed his intentions and shook her head. "You go on ahead with the other two. I''ll be right back," she said, and Yao Heyan nodded reluctantly. Rong Sheng looked at this lovey dovey display that seemed as if they were parting for a million years and not five minutes, and his eyebrow twitched a little. He grabbed Yao Heyan by the shoulder, as he said, "Don''t worry Lanying, I''ll take care of your man for you. You can rest assured and go to the bathroom." Yin Mei nodded so solemnly and seriously that Rong Sheng felt a little bad for teasing them. What the heck, it was like He Lanying was a soldier heading off to war, and Yao Heyan was her wife she was leaving at home. Rong Sheng immediately banished that image from his mind. Yin Mei lingered for a moment, wanting to warn Yao Heyan not to kill anyone while she was gone, but after all, this wasn''t really appropriate to say out loud, so in the end she went to the bathroom with a sad face. Once in the toilet stall, she texted this to him instead. She checked the time, it was just about correct, and then looked up. It was a ventilation duct! Yes, that was right, Yin Mei wanted to try crawling through the air vents like in those movies. She took off her high heels, placing them on the top of the toilet paper dispenser before standing on the toilet lid barefoot. She reached up, on her tip toes as she pushed open the cover. It took a few tries, but she did it! Thank god no one else was in the bathroom, or they would have noticed. After a few more efforts, she got up inside. It was a little cramped, but He Lanying''s body had a slender build, so it was still manageable. She crawled, making a decent amount of sound in doing so. "Why is it so loud?" She mumbled. It wasn''t like in the movies at all QwQ!! While Yin Mei was struggling to navigate the air vents and getting extremely lost and covered in dust in the process, the building was quickly seized by a large group of armed terrorists, as they killed the guards and took the people inside the company hostage. They killed those who resisted and tried to run, and gathered the rest on a high floor meeting room that they cleared out of tables and chairs. Because there were simply too many people for them to all take hostage, they did allow some to go, but they kept a medium sized group of people here - and of course, those included all the executives and higher ranks. Yao Heyan was kneeling along with the rest, his hands behind his head, but his expression was extremely dark. Obviously, it was because Yin Mei had gone to the bathroom and not come back yet, while they had been taken hostage by a group of terrorists. But remembering how he had already promised He Lanying that he wouldn''t kill anyone through text, he tried to calm himself down. It was no good, this dark and anxious feeling kept on rising up in his chest. He would lose her again. No, no, no, he couldn''t lose her again... He wasn''t even able to stop and think how Yin Mei seemed to have predicted such a situation, instead struggling to contain himself from attempting to kill the terrorists and put everyone else in danger. It wasn''t that he cared about everyone else, but he hadn''t lost it so much as to perform such a deed in front of people who could be potential witnesses. But, he was very close to losing it. Right around this time, he was nudged by the elbow of his close friend, Rong Sheng. "Calm down. I''m sure He Lanying is fine." He said in a quiet voice to him. Yao Heyan didn''t really believe him, but he still took deep breaths to calm himself down. Even though he promised himself that he would protect her, why is it that every time he failed to do so? Useless, useless, useless! It was his fault. It was because of him that she was suffered all that pain. Because he was never there when it mattered. Meanwhile, Yin Mei was tired of struggling to get through the air vents, and finding the nearest exit, unceremoniously kicked open the duct cover and dropped out onto the ground. It looked like she was in a hallway, but she was completely and utterly unable to figure out where she was exactly. She heard the sounds of footsteps approaching and quickly ducked into the nearest room, squatting down as she kept her ear to the door. "Did you hear some sort of sound from over here?" Person A said, his footsteps heavy. "I don''t think so- wait, what is that? Did someone go into the air vents?" Person B replied as the footsteps came to a stop. Yin Mei knew that they had machine guns, handguns, knives, and bulletproof vests. She had no idea how they could''ve gotten anywhere being so heavily armed, but she also knew there was no point in wondering this. She wanted to steal some of their weapons, but was a little cautious in going up against people with guns. After all, there''s no way He Lanying was fast enough to dodge bullets, unlike her previous bodies. So, she would probably have to ambush one of them if she could catch one alone. The two men talked for a little while more, before finally leaving. Yin Mei double checked before she left the room, keeping her footsteps quiet as she snuck up to the wall, using it as cover as she peeked around the hallway corner. She had no idea where she was, so she just picked a random direction to go in. "Hey! You!!" A voice suddenly shouted loudly, and Yin Mei whipped her head around, to see a man decked out in a helmet, black bulletproof vest, and machine gun. It was only one person though. Yin Mei didn''t understand what kind of weird patrol system these guys were operating on, but that didn''t matter right now. She dashed forward, but didn''t dare to turn a corner in case she met someone else. Instead she chose a room to enter. It looked like a small storage space and she glanced around before looking like she had got an idea. When the man entered the room, he looked back and forth but couldn''t see the girl. He walked forward several steps, when Yin Mei dropped down behind him... and her knee hit the ground. "Ow! Sh*t, it hurts!" She said, and the man whipped his head around, to see Yin Mei clutching her knee with a teary eyed expression. "Why doesn''t anything go like in the movies? This isn''t fair!" She complained as the man grabbed his machine gun, pointing it toward her. She grabbed his arm, whirling around and pushing him down to the ground with a force that he wouldn''t have expected from such a slender girl. She stepped on his arm, and pulling it, it broke with a crunch. He stared at it in shock, and just as the pain was about to hit him and he was about to start screaming, Yin Mei knocked him unconscious with a metal pipe she found lying around. Man, storage closets really had everything, didn''t they? She also found a hose, that she used to tie him up as she looted his body for his handgun and machine gun. She also took the knife just in case. "If I kill someone, could it be justified as self defense?" She mused to herself, her motions smooth and practiced. This was the norm in the apocalypse after all. She had already long been a veteran of corpse looting! Well, considering the situation, and the amount of money and connections her parents had, it shouldn''t be a problem to cover it up, right? Though in the end, she sighed, still deciding to hold back. After all, it would be harder to defend if she ended up killing a bunch of people. One or two was still explainable, but she had to do it in a way that it looked like an accident... Mm, and since she couldn''t take them on as a group, she''d also need to pick them off one by one. She had to do it quickly as well, before they noticed anything was wrong. Curse the fact that their guns didn''t have silencers. If she fired, everyone on the floor would be able to hear it! And so Yin Mei continued on her quest of becoming a hero, conquering the world, getting rid of terrorists. The usual. She was a little upset that both her attempts at imitating movie-like moves ended up in failure (dropping down from the ceiling and navigating the air vents), but she was still determined to enact a cool secret agent fight scene. She tried recalling what was a cool scene from a movie. She ticked off commonly used moves. Slamming a vase or wine bottle over someone''s head. Throwing a knife at someone. Throwing someone over a table. No, none of these would work in this location. Oh! Oh! She got one. It was the classic move for the female fighter - the one where they would wrap their legs around a person''s head or neck and swing around to bring them to the ground. Uhh... It was a cool move, but Yin Mei wondered if she could pull this off? Chinese martial arts didn''t have this sort of move, and Yin Mei had never learned it. No, there was always a first for everything! She would pull off a badass movie worthy scene, goddammit! Of course, there was no way that this was in any ways a good idea. In fact, it was a terrible idea. And so she proceeded to find patrolling groups of one or two people to try this move out, only to fail terribly each time. She would miss, misjudge the distance, not jump high enough, not have enough momentum for the swing, or etc. etc. Only after she had probably taken down 2/3rds of the terrorists did she finally feel like she got it down. As for the guns, pfft, who needed those things anyways. Said Yin Mei as she ended up having to finish half of those terrorists with a gun because she had messed up for the nth time. "Mm," Yin Mei was currently hiding out in a medium sized meeting room, considering her life choices. Of course she had gotten noticed by now, and there were a large influx of people running around the halls trying to find her. "Wait! Wouldn''t that mean that there are less people guarding the hostages?" Yin Mei thought out loud, but then remembered she still didn''t know where the hostages were held. In addition, with so many people out there, it would hard to get to the room undetected even if she did now. Plus, the whole air vent thing hadn''t worked out either, so that was a no go as well. "Gosh, why is this so hard? I just wanted to reenact a spy movie fight scene..." Yin Mei lamented. Somewhere along the way, it seemed that her priorities had completely changed? Sighing, she took out her phone, checking her messages. There were multiple from her family and friends, and Yao Heyan had also replied with a brief okay to her don''t kill anyone message. It looked like her family already got notified about the hostage situation. Maybe it was already on the news? She casually checked the news as well, confirming it. "Mom," she texted, and immediately several messages came back. "What''s going on?" "Are you okay?" "You aren''t taken hostage?" "Are you still stuck inside the building?" Yin Mei quickly responded to stop the influx of messages from continuing. "I''m hiding from the terrorists right now. I don''t know where everyone else is." "Don''t move from there, then, okay? Those people are dangerous. Your father is already contacting some people he knows. Don''t worry, we''ll get you out soon." Her mother replied. Yin Mei sighed, and put her hand down, seeming to think for a while before answering. "Don''t worry about me." She said, before pocketing her phone. She then zipped up her pocket. Haha, she had worn a jacket with zipper pockets just for this reason! "Okay, let''s start the rescue operation, for real this time! Let''s see if I can do it before the SWAT gets here." Yin Mei said, standing up with a happy expression on her face as she clenched her fist in anticipation. It wasn''t that she was a battle junkie. She just was a fan of spy and superhero movies, okay? 61 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 13 The issue right now was how to locate the room where the hostages were while avoiding the terrorists. Yin Mei was very upset that the air vent traveling didn''t work, as this would have been such a good opportunity to do it. Hmm, normally in movies, what would they do in this situation aside from traversing the air vents? Set off the fire alarm? Turn off the power? The first one seemed plausible, though the second one was too hard for her - after all, she''d have to find the power box to do it. Plus, usually the building would have some sort of emergency power source in a case like this. Yin Mei also looked outside. It was also still light outside, so it probably wouldn''t help at all if she turned off the power anyways. Though it certainly would have made for a cool in the dark fight scene! No, my dreams may perhaps still be accomplishable! Thinking this, Yin Mei unzipped her pocket and whipped out her phone, furiously texting her mother. On the other side, though He Lanying''s mother was unsure why her daughter would ask her something like that, and thinking of what in world sort of dangerous thing she wanted to do, she in the end couldn''t deny the request of her daughter that was currently stuck in a building and hiding from terrorists. She immediately went to her husband, who felt it was a terrible idea, but when faced with the pleas of his wife and his daughter on both sides, he ended up going to the police commissioner. The police commissioner also felt it was a terrible idea, but when faced with the pressure of the He family, he could only order the chief at the scene to do it. The chief at the scene, like the previous two, felt this was an exceedingly terrible idea, but with the pressure of the police commissioner, he could only order their resident hacker to hack into the building''s systems and bring down the power, as well as the automated blinds. That was right. The Rong company had automated blinds in many of their rooms, so Yin Mei had the genius idea of having someone hack the system and bring down the blinds and the power! Like this, wouldn''t it be possible to achieve her cool in the dark fight scene? "Alright, we''ll do it on the count of three," Yin Mei said, as she glanced at the manual fire alarm pull station in the hallway through the door window. She was currently on call with the hacker and chief of police at the scene, who were outside the building. She set her hand on the door handle, pushing it down slightly. A couple of terrorists jogged by, and Yin Mei opened the door, running out. "Three, two..." She skid to a stop before the fire alarm. "One!" A moment later, the lights all shut off, and a split second after that, a dim light lit up the halls again - the emergency power. She hung up, stuffing her phone back into her pocket as she grabbed the handle of the pull station, pulling it down. Moments later, a sharp alarm sounded, and Yin Mei winced, covering her ears. It''s so loud! So f*cking loud!! Meanwhile, in the room where Yao Heyan and them were being held hostage. Rong Sheng leaned in closer to Yao Heyan, his voice lowered as he said, "Don''t you think that there''re less of them now?" Yao Heyan hadn''t been paying attention as he had instead been trying to control himself from going on a rampage and then looking for He Lanying, but now that Rong Sheng mentioned it, he glanced around. Before, there had been at least over ten guards who had been watching over the group, but now there were only five. "..." Rong Sheng had on a pensive look as he considered a course of action. He debated if they could take down all five men fast enough without there resulting in any casualties. "Can you handle the two on the left? I''ll take out the three on the right," Rong Sheng said, and Yao Heyan paused, just about to nod when one of the guards noticed the two talking. "Hey! No talking!" He said, walking closer with an annoyed look on his face. It was at this moment that the blinds came down, and he whipped his head around, looking at them in confusion. "What''s happening?" "Who activated the blinds!?" The shouts of the terrorists went around, but they didn''t get an answer when the lights suddenly shut off. There was no time to communicate, they had to take the opportunity before them. Yao Heyan immediately tackled the guard that had been walking up to them, and there was a shout of surprise as the flash and sound of his machine gun went off, firing toward the ceiling. Rong Sheng had memorized the location of the guards, and quickly ran, probably stepping over some people in the progress as they let out sharp yelps of pain. He jumped and roundhouse kicked a standing silhouette, bringing down the man and grabbing his machine gun. At this time, the emergency power came on, and dim lights lit up the room. He took the opportunity to aim the gun, firing it into the legs of the next closest guard. The rest of the group was in a panic, shouting as they scrambled about for cover. The other guard dropped to the ground, and Rong Sheng clicked his tongue, throwing away the machine gun and making his way toward him. Yao Heyan had used the butt of the gun to knock the man he was on top of unconscious, before standing and looking around for his other target. The man was crouching, aiming his gun at Rong Sheng. Yao Heyan took a knife off of the man under him, throwing it with uncanny accuracy to hit the person in the hand. He dropped the gun, grasping his hand as Yao Heyan ran over, keeping his body low. He slid, his legs hitting the other man''s as he was struggling to get up, knocking him off balance. He fell forward, and Yao Heyan helped him, grabbing his head as he partially got up, slamming it into the floor just enough to knock him unconscious. It all only took a few moments. The fire alarm already started ringing by now, and Yao Heyan stood up. Rong Sheng had already finished on his side, also standing, a new machine gun in hand. "Rong Sheng!" Wen Hua called out from where she was crouching in a group of people, her eyes teary. Rong Sheng nodded to her, but went up to Yao Heyan. "You go ahead and go look for Lanying. I''ll stay here and evacuate everyone." Yao Heyan nodded, his eyes grateful but his expression terse. He had seen what He Lanying could do, but he was still worried. He didn''t want her to fight, get hurt, or experience anything dangerous. Before it was just delinquents, but who knows how she would fare against a group of terrorists chasing her around with guns? And he had even sworn to himself that he would take care of anything that could possibly hurt her or anger her... He quickly rushed out, going to look for Yin Mei. On the other hand, Yin Mei was currently going through a movie scene checklist. Throwing a knife - check and failed. Dammit! She should''ve known that it wouldn''t be that easy to accurately throw an unweighted knife... Smashing someone in the head with a vase or wine bottle - check. It didn''t work since the guy was wearing a helmet. That was probably a thoughtless move. She also destroyed one of the probably very expensive vases that had been decorating the company hallway. Sliding past a hallway while shooting a gun - check and failed. It was harder to slide on her knees than she thought. She stopped in the middle and was almost hit by gunfire! That had been a close one. Yin Mei lamented that she would never be able to pull off a movie worthy scene today! She was devastated. Just as she was feeling sad about life, and thinking about whether or not she should just give up already, she ran into Yao Heyan. "Lanying!" His former panicked expression was replaced with relief, and he immediately ran over and scooped Yin Mei into his arms, hugging her tightly. Yin Mei had no idea what was happening, her face turning a bright red. "What, what is it?" She then realized something. "Ah! Did you guys already escape?" She cursed. There had gone her chance to heroically rescue the hostages as well! Nothing was going her way today. Though it was to be expected, considering her goal had drastically changed to reenacting superhero and spy movies in real life. There''s no way things would''ve gone as planned while doing that during a hostage situation right? In the end, the situation was quickly wrapped up as the hostages had saved themselves and Yin Mei had taken care of a good portion of the terrorists. The SWAT swarmed the building, and Yin Mei and Yao Heyan waited outside. Yin Mei was wrapped up in a blanket, drinking a warm hot chocolate as she thought that in the end, the only move that she had actually made work had been the one with the legs around the head thing. She was sure she could master the dropping from the ceiling move given enough time as well... At this moment, her mother interrupted her thoughts with a wail, hugging her daughter tightly and almost causing Yin Mei to spill her drink. Yin Mei seemed to not have noticed, still considering what in the world had gone wrong, her expression blank and dead eyed. It had been a fundamental problem from the very beginning, so of course she was unable to figure it out. He Lanying''s mother completely misunderstood this expression, thinking that her daughter had been so traumatized by the experience that she couldn''t even react. She would definitely make sure someone took responsibility for this. While her mother was burning with passion, Rong Sheng and Wen Hua came up to them. Wen Hua was still beside herself with terror from the experience, her eyes teary. "How are you? You didn''t get caught by the terrorists?" Rong Sheng asked when he saw Yin Mei. He looked her up and down, and she didn''t seem injured, or even shaken up really. She was wearing an indifferent expression, though she seemed a little disappointed about something? Yin Mei sighed. "I''m fine," she said, though her voice was gloomy. "Huh? What''re you sad about? Shouldn''t you be glad that you escaped unscathed?" Rong Sheng raised an eyebrow at this, feeling that He Lanying was acting a little weird. He was right. He was right, but... Yin Mei continued looking exceptionally gloomy, and Rong Sheng could almost see the little blue ghost fires forming around her. But because he had no idea why she was so depressed, he had no way to cheer her up. Yao Heyan too, was at a complete loss. Around this time, the lead detective came over to ask the four of them questions. At first, He Lanying''s mother was angry because she didn''t want her daughter having to recount such horrible experiences, but Rong Sheng calmed the woman down with a few words. On the other hand, Yin Mei was simply too depressed to say anything. "Lanying, Lanying. The detective is asking you something," Yao Heyan said, his mouth close to her ear as he drew her attention back to reality. "Eh? What is it?" She asked, blinking as she looked at the gruff middle aged man with a blank expression. "Just some basic questions, miss. No need to worry too much." The man said. He knew that he couldn''t offend the family''s of any of these kids, and so he kept his questions brief and to the point. "You weren''t with the other hostages, correct?" He said, and Yin Mei nodded. "I was in the bathroom at the time..." She said, and the man nodded, writing down a short note. "How did you avoid the criminals then?" He asked, looking back up at her. "I went in through the air vents." She replied, and everyone looked at her with funny expressions. "The air vents... you say?" The detective asked in a dubious voice. "The air vents." Yin Mei nodded, her expression serious. "But it was too difficult, so I had to get out at the nearest duct..." She sighed in disappointment. "I then found a nearby room to hide in." The detective nodded. Rich kids! He couldn''t fathom their thought process. "Oh, that''s right, there were also accounts from the criminals that many had been defeated by a young girl. Do you know anything about this?" He studied Yin Mei. She was a little dirty and dusty, but still as pretty as before. She was young, with a slender build. He dispelled the thought that she could actually defeat a bunch of terrorists, and decided that it must have been someone else that did it. "Nope," Yin Mei said, her expression cool and controlled. The man nodded, and then bid his goodbye to the group with a bow before leaving. There was some discussion between them for a few moments, before the group also all bid farewell to each other. Although Yao Heyan was reluctant to leave He Lanying, in the end, they still had to separate. Yao Heyan had a dark expression on his face as he was coming up with all sorts of ways to torture those terrorists later, while all Yin Mei wanted was a hot shower and some sleep. Later in her bed, Yin Mei wailed out, "All movies are lies!" Before falling fast asleep. In her dreams, she became a super secret agent like in the movies, and did each movie like fight scene with perfect execution. Well, at least her wish had finally been granted - though it was only in a dream. 62 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 14 When Yin Mei woke up again, she was feeling very refreshed. She felt like she had had a good dream, but she couldn''t quite remember what it was. When going back to school, she was immediately swarmed by students who were asking about her experiences, pitying her, and comforting her. They were all making sure that it was known that they were there for her. Even though she didn''t know most of them. She felt like she couldn''t catch a break at all! And for some reason, Yao Heyan wasn''t here today either. When she had texted him, he had said that there was some important business to attend to, but Yin Mei felt it was very rare that there was business so important that he would actually miss class. She let out a small sigh as she cleaned up at the end of the day, the student council meeting having just been disbanded. Because Rong Sheng had also been absent, busy taking care of his company matters, Yin Mei had to be the one to take charge today. "M-miss Secretary, are you alright?" Wen Hua said shyly, having a little more courage to speak out now that the two were alone and Yin Mei wasn''t being crowded by other people. She wanted to ask this before, but never had a chance too. She always felt that it was hard to interfere between Rong Sheng, Yao Heyan, and He Lanying, this trio of people, who seemed to have a special connection between them. Was it because they were childhood friends? But now that Rong Sheng and Yao Heyan weren''t here, Wen Hua could take this opportunity to talk to He Lanying like she had always wanted to. Although He Lanying was scary, Wen Hua had always admired her strict diligence and smooth efficiency in work. She felt that she was the complete opposite of herself, who was clumsy and only knew how to study. Yin Mei looked up, surprised that Wen Hua would take the opportunity to talk to her. "I''m fine," she replied curtly, but Wen Hua didn''t seem to realize that Yin Mei''s tone was clearly saying that she had no interest and talking, and continued to speak. "Those terrorists sure were scary, weren''t they? But Rong Sheng was so cool in the way he took them down!" She continued, her expression filled with admiration every time she thought of that scene. Yin Mei''s lips twitched a little. She really wanted to question that guy''s tastes again. "It''s not that big of a deal," she said, with a hmph. The terrorists had been much easier to take care of then she had thought, considering how armed they had been. She had been a little worried, after all, this body wasn''t like that of the other bodies she had inhabited, which had all surpassed human limits and could dodge bullets and other attacks without much thought. He Lanying''s body was fairly flexible and suitable for martial arts, but that was it. It was still bound by mortal constraints. Wen Hua turned her admiring gaze onto Yin Mei. Even though He Lanying had experienced the same thing as she had, she hadn''t been scared at all and even now was able to exude such composure and dignity at all times. She really wanted to be able to do the same, but it was too bad that she was always scared of the slightest things... Yin Mei felt goosebumps appear all over her skin when Wen Hua''s sparkling eyes turned onto her, and she wanted to immediately slap the girl silly and ask her what in the world she was thinking. Something as little as this and she would already be worshipping her like a female buddha?? Wasn''t that a little bit too much? Wen Hua continued chattering away, while Yin Mei looked like she was on the verge of death. Someone rescue me from this crazy female lead! Those were her true thoughts. In the end, she left Wen Hua with an exhausted expression, wondering if she would have to deal with that girl for another year and a half before she could graduate... This world was good... if only the female lead wasn''t a blockhead! That was her only complaint. She was honestly even missing Ming Yu a little. At least Ming Yu had both good IQ and EQ, unlike this Wen Hua, who seemed a little lacking in both. A couple of weeks later, when the noise around the terrorist attack was finally starting to die down, Yin Mei received an invitation to Rong Sheng''s birthday party. Mm, it seems it was time for the r*pe event to happen. During this party, He Lanying had initially drugged Wen Hua and then had planned on having her caught in a disadvantageous situation with another man for Rong Sheng to see, but in the end, things didn''t end up going the way she had planned. Through some series of events, Rong Sheng had been the one together with Wen Hua when He Lanying had brought over a crowd after being unable to find him, and she had outright fainted from the shock. Rong Sheng''s family was of course extremely upset, but they could only reluctantly accept the situation when it was found out that Wen Hua was pregnant. Pregnant, at 15! And it had only taken one night of drugged s*x to do it! Yin Mei really had to marvel at this work of art that was known as Wen Hua. She found it ironic that because of He Lanying''s meddling, their relationship had progressed even faster and she had even given Wen Hua the protective charm known as a baby to prevent the Rong parents from raising too many complaints. After all, no matter how much they despised this poor and loose girl who climbed her way into Rong Sheng''s bed, she still had their grandchild in her belly. In the end, because of He Lanying, Wen Hua had miscarried the baby, and this had been the main reason that Rong Sheng''s attitude had changed so drastically toward her. "Uwehhhh, what horrible plot development," Yin Mei couldn''t help but say to herself, thinking just how cliche this was. Though usually the girl wouldn''t be a high schooler in this sort of development, right? She couldn''t get over the fact that these people were still just high schoolers, high schoolers you know! This sort of plot development should be restricted to ages 18 and up. No, even 18 was a little bit too young for having a kid... In the end, Yin Mei went to the party anyways. Of course, she was going to go with Yao Heyan. She was having a hard time deciding what color to wear, but in the end, she went with her favorite red after all. But this red was completely different from the red she normally wore - it was a deep wine red velvet dress that clung to her curves. It had thin straps, a V-neckline, and a slit at the thigh. She wore a red lip, diamond jewelry, and matching stiletto heels of the same color and texture as her dress. Along with a sparkling diamond studded clutch with a silver chain, she was ready. Of course, Yao Heyan would match his own outfit to hers, so wore a deep wine red suit with a black button up shirt. He had on no tie, looking slightly informal but exuding a similar sexiness that was different from his usual gentle air. Yin Mei felt that even though he wasn''t supposed to suit such outfits, like this one and the black suit he wore for the culture festival dance, he still somehow did. Just that the air around him got ten times more evil. He practically looked like a vampire noble from one of those western vampire movies. Rong Sheng''s birthday party would be held at the Rong family mansion, which was located by a mountain, which of course, they owned. Along with the rest of the nearby land. The mansion was lit with a warm light, the fountain at the entrance spouting water, and expensive cars pulled up to the house one after another, every person stepping out dressed beautifully. It looked very similar to the scene from the culture festival dance, though this time it was not just young teenagers attending, but also adults and the elderly. After all, this wasn''t just a normal birthday party, but in fact more of a gathering to establish connections and make business deals. Yin Mei had her hand resting around Yao Heyan''s arm, looking around for the birthday boy and his little girlfriend. She soon spotted him, wearing an all white suit. It was unblemished and perfect, giving him an aloof immortal like aura. She almost wanted to give him long hair and put him in a traditional Chinese robe, and you''d have one of those aloof like an ice lotus on a high cliff immortal swordsman right there. As for Wen Hua, she really stood in contrast to Rong Sheng. She was also wearing white, though her dress had small cute little pink flowers on it, and her pretty appearance was much more... worldly? At least, that''s what Yin Mei felt the best word for it was in comparison to Rong Sheng''s appearance, that was like lofty clouds untouched by the mud. He was an immortal beauty, while Wen Hua was a mortal beauty. That was probably the accurate description that Yin Mei had been looking for. Wen Hua saw Yin Mei and Yao Heyan as soon as they had entered, her eyes drawn to the seductive aura that was around them. They were like a pair of devilish beauties, their eyes holding an unspeakable charm. Especially Yin Mei, as her slender and tall body swayed back and forth with each step. To top it off, the mixture of a gentle expression and indolent air around Yao Heyan was exceedingly complex and contrasting, but that somehow made him all the more attractive. Wen Hua''s eyes immediately sparkled with admiration. Rong Sheng soon also spotted the pair, and politely bid farewell to the people of varying ages that had been lingering around him. They all understood, since it was well known that he was childhood friends with Yao Heyan and He Lanying, so they also politely let him go with a few words before going off to do something else, or perhaps staying to observe the interactions between the trio. Rong Sheng walked up to two. "I wonder what you guys got me?" He immediately asked, his expression domineering as he eyed them, though they both knew that he was just teasing. There was no such thing as opening the presents out in front of the guests in these kinds of parties, as this would just make people unhappy in case they got embarrassed for bringing a present that wasn''t as good as the others. So the guests would hand their present off to the butler waiting at the entrance, and they would be opened later, after all the guests had already left. But Yin Mei and Yao Heyan had both gotten very good presents, and so both answered with confidence. Of course they both had to get something that was above average and to Rong Sheng''s tastes, as the relationship between them wasn''t shallow. "Custom made sword from Japan''s national treasure blacksmith." "A Fu Baoshi plum blossom painting." Yao Heyan and Yin Mei said respectively, their expressions blank, and they exuded confidence. And they should be. The things that they had got were not only expensive, but couldn''t be bought with just money. In addition, they were both things that Rong Sheng indeed immediately liked, feeling exceedingly satisfied with the choices of his two friends. Yao Heyan had to pull a lot of strings several months in advance for that sword, paying a fortune, while Yin Mei had pulled out a several million dollar painting that had been passed down for a couple of generations in her family already. Wen Hua, hearing this, could only be filled with awe. She couldn''t even imagine just how expensive those things were. Compared to her modest handmade gift, it was a world a difference. Although she was a little embarrassed, she remembered how Rong Sheng had reacted to her present and felt a little better - after all, money wasn''t everything. Her present at least had heartfelt feelings behind them, and Rong Sheng had acknowledged that. Not that Yao Heyan''s and Yin Mei''s presents didn''t, but she felt that she shouldn''t compare herself to people who had known Rong Sheng since they were babies. Once she had known Rong Sheng for longer, she would also be able to understand his tastes better as well. "Haha, no wonder you guys were filled with confidence." Rong Sheng said, laughing amicably. It seemed that ever since him and Wen Hua had been getting closer, his entire personality had softened up. Was it the power of love? Yin Mei tilted her head in thought. Well, he was still ruthless in his business practices though. The four of them chatted (though once again Wen Hua barely said anything, feeling like she didn''t want to interrupt the three of them), but before long Rong Sheng''s father called everyone to attention in order to make a speech at the temporary stage that had been set up. They all quieted down, and Rong Sheng bid farewell to make his way over, to prepare for his own speech. Yin Mei glanced at Wen Hua. It should be after this that He Lanying would have drugged her... She wondered, with Wen Hua''s powerful trouble attracting ability, could this even still happen even if Yin Mei didn''t do anything? 63 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 15 Yin Mei didn''t listen too much to the birthday speech by Rong Sheng and his father, as it was basically the same every year. She did at least put on an expression that made it seem like she was listening though, occasionally nodding her head while her eyes glazed over slightly. When they finally finished talking, Yao Heyan snapped her out of her daze after who knows how long later as he handed her a cookie, drawing her attention instead to this delectable snack. Looking around, she realized that both Rong Sheng and Wen Hua had gone missing. Could it be? But who was the culprit? While Yin Mei munched away at her cookie in thought, Yao Heyan had also realized the two''s disappearance. Just as he was about to say something, Liang Xiu, the student council treasurer, came into the room with a panic from a hallway at the side. She had been invited along with the rest of the student council members. "What is it?" Several people asked her when they saw her face alternating colors between white and red. Liang Xiu became tongue tied, unable to decide how to respond. The commotion grew louder until Rong Sheng''s parents took notice and came over and also curiously asked what was wrong. At this point, Liang Xiu couldn''t not answer, but she also felt that if she said something in front of a crowd like this, wouldn''t that make the Rong family lose face? This situation, no matter what she did, the results would be terrible! In the end, she stammered out, "R-Rong Sheng is..." as she pointed in the direction of the hallway that she had come in. Rong Sheng''s father''s face immediately grew ugly. "He''s what! Spit it out girl!" He said in a loud and commanding voice. Rong Sheng''s mother was worried that her son might''ve gotten hurt, and was about to go in the direction that Liang Xiu was pointing in. But Liang Xiu interrupted with a panicked expression, "Wait! Th-that, it''s not really suitable for, that is," she flushed bright red, not exactly sure how to word this. Yin Mei wanted to cough up blood. This turn of events, wasn''t it definitely the case that the two of them had s*x in one of the rooms? She really couldn''t fathom how this event had happened so perfectly even without Yin Mei doing anything. She hurried over, dragging Yao Heyan along as she spoke before Rong Sheng''s father could berate Liang Xiu for not making herself clear. "Heyan and I will go and check on Rong Sheng! The esteemed elders, you don''t need to worry about anything. I''m sure Rong Sheng just got himself a little bit too drunk or something." She said, and Liang Xiu shot her a look of relief. "Now, Liang Xiu, hurry up and show us where he is," she said, and this time changed from dragging Yao Heyan to dragging Liang Xiu, not even leaving the two Rong parents any time to say anything. Although they were worried, and even though He Lanying had already been engaged to another person, they still very much liked this diligent and hard working girl and felt that they could leave things in her hands. And from that other girl''s reaction, they could tell that what had happened would probably be not too good to show to guests. So they could only distract the guests from their curiosity, leaving things in the hands of Yin Mei and Yao Heyan. Liang Xiu showed the way to the room. She had been feeling a little drunk that day and after going to the bathroom, had wanted to find a room to rest. Who knew that the first door she had opened would reveal such a sight! She pointed at the door. Because of the house''s good soundproofing, Yin Mei and Yao Heyan couldn''t hear anything from outside. "Lanying, let me-" Yao Heyan was about to say to let him open the door, but Yin Mei unceremoniously opened the door revealing a hot and steamy sight. The moans could now be heard quite clearly, and both Rong Sheng and Wen Hua had glazed over eyes, clearly unable to tell their surroundings. Yin Mei wanted to cough up blood. Wen Hua she could understand, but Rong Sheng, how could you get drugged too? Just what in the world were you doing? Yao Heyan immediately grabbed Yin Mei by the waist, pulling her away while shutting the door as fast as possible. Showing his Lanying such a dirty sight, what in the world was Rong Sheng that b*stard doing? If he wanted to get it on with his little lover, couldn''t he have done it elsewhere? Of course, Yao Heyan also noticed the unnatural state that the two had been in, but he still felt dissatisfied. He Lanying hadn''t even seen himself naked yet, but had now already seen Rong Sheng naked? He would need to fix this as soon as possible. On the other hand, Yin Mei had no idea why Yao Heyan had closed the door. "What''re you doing?" She asked, with an annoyed expression. "We need to quickly get them to sober up!" She struggled, but Yao Heyan was too strong for her. "I''ll do it," Yao Heyan said, then spoke to both Liang Xiu and Yin Mei. "The two of you stay outside." "What! No!" Yin Mei said, immediately rejecting this suggestion (it hadn''t been a suggestion though). "Wen Hua is a girl. I''ll handle her." Her glaring gaze said that if he rejected her, she would tear him to shreds. In the end, he relented, because he thought this jealous look was cute. "Liang Xiu, you also help me." Yin Mei said, and Liang Xiu flushed a bright red, but finally nodded after a while. Yao Heyan opened the door again, and with unnatural speed, went up to Rong Sheng, pressing several pressure points and knocking him unconscious. Yin Mei and Liang Xiu''s eyes almost bulged from the shock. What the f*ck was that Chinese martial art movie-like move! So that could actually work in real life? Yin Mei knew that as Feng Hua or Bai Yu, she could probably also achieve similar results by circulating her inner energy through someone''s pressure points, but for an ordinary human to be able to do this... She was shocked. What godly technique! Yao Heyan bore with Yin Mei''s uncomfortably sparkling gaze as he dragged the unconscious Rong Sheng off of Wen Hua and into the bathroom, as he turned on the water in the bath tub. He practically knew that she would end up asking him to teach her the technique - his gut feelings were never wrong. Yin Mei and Liang Xiu began to clean up the room, while Yin Mei put a blanket to cover Wen Hua up. The young girl had a flushed face, her eyes glazed over and unseeing, as she panted heavily. "Where do we put these?" Liang Xiu asked with a red face, holding up the clothes of the two in her arms awkwardly. "Give them to me for now," Yin Mei said, and began to fold the wrinkled clothes as neatly as possible before placing them onto a chair. "Shouldn''t we take them to the emergency room?" Liang Xiu asked, glancing cautiously at Wen Hua, who was uncomfortably shifting around, the blanket that Yin Mei had used to cover her almost about to fall off and reveal her naked body again. Yin Mei knew that this was the right course of action, but where would the Rong family''s face go if they did that? "Go ask Rong Sheng''s parents to call their family physician. Do it discreetly, discreetly, okay?" Yin Mei said with a cold and piercing glare, and Liang Xiu immediately nodded. She also knew the consequences if this got out. Goodness! The Rong family''s heir, who was normally such an excellent student, had actually done that with an unknown girl at his birthday party while there were still guests around! If this got out... She shivered to think what would happen. She hurriedly left in order to go have the Rong parents fetch a doctor, while Yin Mei looked at Wen Hua, not quite sure what to do. Would dumping her in a bath of cold water help? She felt like that was what they did in all the stories, but she didn''t know if it actually did anything. And, to top it off, Yao Heyan was currently with Rong Sheng in the bathroom. "Heyan," she said, popping her head into the bathroom. "Lanying! Don''t look," Yao Heyan said, and Yin Mei immediately popped her head back out, turning her back to the door. Yao Heyan had tossed Rong Sheng into the bath tub, which he was filling up with cold water. Rong Sheng groaned, still half dazed, but looked much better than before. "I''m gonna put Wen Hua into the shower." Yin Mei said, and Yao Heyan scowled slightly before immediately fixing his expression so that his unhappiness didn''t show. He honestly wanted Yin Mei to blindfold herself, but he knew that nothing could be accomplished like that. In the end, he could only let her in with Wen Hua. Yin Mei took care not to look in Rong Sheng''s direction - although objectively it could be said he was a fine male specimen, she had no desire to purposely let him corrupt her eyes with everything out for the world to see. She helped Wen Hua into the shower, turning on the cold water. Because she had to prop Wen Hua up, Yin Mei also couldn''t help but get wet, completely ruining her extremely expensive dress. She sighed. Whatever. After all, that amount of money was just pocket change for the He family. After a while, when Yin Mei felt that Wen Hua was more sobered up (at least she wasn''t moaning softly anymore), she stopped the water, grabbing a towel to dry the girl off. She was afraid if that she let her stay in any longer, she would end up catching a cold. With how delicate Wen Hua was, even this much might already result in her getting a cold. She then helped out the shivering girl, leading her back into the bedroom where she step by step put on her clothes for her. Wen Hua sneezed delicately, not quite sure what was going on. Her mind still felt like it was shrouded in a thick fog, though her body didn''t feel quite as hot as it had been earlier. After a while, Yao Heyan also took Rong Sheng out of the tub, though he most certainly wasn''t going to help the man dry himself off and put on clothes. Thankfully though, Rong Sheng seemed much more sober compared to before and was able to do those things by himself. Half an hour after Liang Xiu had left, she quickly came in with an elderly looking man who was carrying a leather case and had a stethoscope around his neck - the Rong family''s doctor. The two Rong parents really wanted to also go check on their son''s condition, but in the end decided to stay outside. After all, if they went and left no one there to host the guests, that would also be bad. The doctor had already heard everything, and quickly checked up on the condition of the two before administering a shot and prescribing a few things. When it was finally over, Yin Mei could only sigh and relief. The next part of this was only to face the wrath of the Rong parents and the matter of the baby? She inwardly grimaced. Oh right, there was still the miscarriage incident as well. She really had to wonder what in the world had happened so that the two had gotten drugged. It hadn''t been Yin Mei, aka He Lanying, so who had it been? It didn''t seem like it was Liang Xiu, who discovered the scene of the crime, either... No matter how many questions Yin Mei and Yao Heyan asked the two, it seemed that they couldn''t really remember much - was it the fault of the drug? In the end, they could only let it go without being able to find a hard suspect. Yin Mei could only hope to catch them in the act next time... though wouldn''t next time be when Wen Hua miscarried? After pausing for a moment, she could only say that this fetus never had any fate with Rong Sheng and Wen Hua, this couple, in the first place. It was a bit of a pity, but aside from that, was there even anything else they could do? Certainly they could stick a guard on Wen Hua, but she had had a guard in the original storyline, yet the baby had still been miscarried. So Yin Mei could only say that if the baby survived, then good, but if it didn''t, then it could only be considered a pity. 64 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 16 When the Rong family parents found out about all the details of the matter, they were of course, enraged. In their opinion, Wen Hua was the culprit. Hadn''t she drugged Rong Sheng and herself in order to climb into his bed? They wanted to take all their anger out on this no name girl, but Rong Sheng actually protected her, saying it wasn''t the case. Rong Sheng''s parents weren''t idiots, and Rong Sheng was also their son. They could immediately see the tender feelings in his eyes toward Wen Hua, and felt even angrier and stifled, with nowhere to release that anger. This situation went on for several weeks, and even the normally energetic and cheerful Wen Hua was starting to look weary and tired. When Yin Mei chanced upon her vomiting in the bathroom one day, she took the opportunity to conveniently suggest to Rong Sheng that they take a pregnancy test. Rong Sheng wouldn''t think that Wen Hua could actually get pregnant from just one night of s*x, but recalling Wen Hua''s recent condition, he decided to take Yin Mei''s advice. The results were as known - Wen Hua was pregnant. The Rong family parents were shocked. They were torn between having the girl abort the baby and having her keep the baby. This sort of situation was too scandalous - after all, both of the two were still only high schoolers. But in the end, this was their future grandchild. Even if they didn''t like Wen Hua, it was just a matter of taking the child away from her once it was born. "Hmm, so Wen Hua is dropping out of school isn''t she?" Yin Mei said, furrowing her brow as stared at the TV screen. A game with beautiful graphics were displayed on it, and she was furiously bashing the buttons as she beat a monster up. She was currently at one of Yao Heyan''s apartments, as he had invited her over after setting up a gaming console. Apparently he had really taken her comment to heart last time, and wanted her to enjoy herself when she was at his apartment, and so had specifically bought some of the most popular consoles, along with all the highly rated and popular games right now. Actually, after experiencing real fighting situations, she felt that games were not as exciting as the real thing, but bashing buttons was still fun. And she was much more skilled then before. Was it the result of now having better reflexes and hand-eye coordination as honed through three to four lifetimes now? Yao Heyan was sitting on the fluffy carpeted floor between the coffee table and the sofa, on his laptop working as he occasionally glanced up to see blood flying as monsters died on the screen. He really couldn''t understand the appeal of games, but since Yin Mei seemed to be enjoying herself, he was satisfied. He would buy some more games for her to play later, so that she would have some more variety. "It seems that way. The Rong family is forcing her to. They''re taking her in for now, so that nothing will go wrong with the child." Yao Heyan replied, leaning back as he watched Yin Mei dispatch yet another monster. "Wahhh! Nooo!" She suddenly shouted, as she frantically dodged a few attacks but was still hit, a good chunk of her health disappearing. She panicked slightly, and in the end, died after she was surrounded and couldn''t escape. She sighed, putting the controller down. "That''s understandable, I guess. Still, pregnant at 15! This really won''t look good on the Rong family." "It can''t be helped. Since Wen Hua wants to keep it, Rong Sheng wouldn''t let his parents have her abort the baby anyways, and Rong Sheng''s parents also want a grandchild." Yao Heyan said, while Yin Mei went back to the home screen to change the game. "But they''re still so young. A grandchild can happen anytime. Aren''t they being too impatient like this?" Yin Mei said, though after another thought, all parents in C Country seemed to be impatient when it came to the matter of their grandchildren! Yao Heyan nodded. Having a baby so young could possibly bring harm to Wen Hua''s body. But, that was their decision to make. Yao Heyan used his hand on the sofa to life himself up slightly, bringing his face closer to Yin Mei''s as he leaned in. "Enough talk about Rong Sheng and Wen Hua." He said, and Yin Mei grew increasingly conscious of his closeness. She also realized that the two of them were alone. In Yao Heyan''s apartment. !!! How did she not realize how embarrassing this situation was earlier? Curse the games for distracting her! She had just noticed now! But wasn''t this the perfect opportunity for- Yin Mei raised both her hands, blocking Yao Heyan''s face. "What are you doing?" He asked in a soft and gentle manner that sent shivers up Yin Mei''s spine. "U-uhhh..." Yin Mei didn''t know how to reply. Yao Heyan smiled sweetly, and then took Yin Mei into his arms. Why does this princess carry seem so familiar...? But seeing that he was bringing her into his room, she immediately started to panic. "Wait, no, no, today''s no good!" "What''s no good?" Yao Heyan asked and Yin Mei blushed furiously. There''s no way she could say it out loud! And she definitely knew that he would probably tease her for misunderstanding if she did! D*mmit! Her heart was not prepared! Because of this, she could only remain silent with a red face, her expression a mixture of anger and sulking. Yao Heyan couldn''t help but find this expression really cute, especially knowing that it was because of him that she had on such an expression. He Lanying had really changed, showing much more emotion and expressions now, and he thought it was a good thing. In the end, of course Yin Mei would lose to Yao Heyan. The moment she had been thrown into the bed was her loss. Nay, the moment she accepted his invitation to come over to his apartment, she had already lost! Yao Heyan thoroughly enjoyed eating Yin Mei up on that day. Yin Mei cursed how he seemed so experienced in addition to his godly stamina. WTF! She wanted to demand compensation for being unable to get out of bed the next morning. After being a virgin for some several hundred years, her first experience actually lasting all night like that... She wanted to cough up blood. And the words that he had actually said during the deed, made her even more want to cough up blood. What, did you enjoy looking at Rong Sheng''s naked body? What whose body did you like better? What sort of torture was this? Not only that, but Yao Heyan was the type to become exceedingly gentle and warm to the person the day after. That refreshing smile, even though she was currently in bed suffering from a sore back. Godd*mmit! Even if he brought her breakfast in bed, along with sweets, she still wasn''t keen on forgiving him so easily this time. He better fly her all the way to Japan if he wanted her forgiveness this time! So he did take her to Japan, and Yin Mei was finally satisfied. She returned her attention back to Rong Sheng and Wen Hua''s matters. She still wasn''t quite sure who the culprit of the drugging was. The thing with this matter, was that she couldn''t be sure that the culprit had the same intentions as He Lanying had, although the results ended up the same. In addition, Rong Sheng had also been drugged this time, which could be an accident or intentional. If it was intentional, than the motive of the crime would change. A few weeks after Yao Heyan and Yin Mei did it, Rong Sheng invited the two to his family''s summer villa for summer break. It was already nearing that time. Yao Heyan didn''t have many plans for summer, while Yin Mei was initially planning on going with her mother and little brother to Hawaii. But she didn''t mind going to the summer villa with Rong Sheng and Wen Hua, since this was a delicate time for the couple - in addition, she couldn''t predict what would happen during this time. This wasn''t an event in the information, and so was out of her expectations. In the end, she decided to go, and of course Yao Heyan also decided to accompany her. The Rong family manor was situated on a private island, populated only by the staff and their family that worked for the Rong family. For some reason, Yin Mei felt like this was a perfect set up for a murder mystery... But this wasn''t that kind of world. When summer break rolled around, Yin Mei and Yao Heyan boarded the same private jet and flew on over to the Rong family''s private island. Rong Sheng and Wen Hua had yet to arrive, so the head butler of the villa personally guided them instead, taking their luggage and showing them to their rooms - which were separate, but connected. How conscientious, Yin Mei thought. Seeing as the door connecting the two rooms could be locked from either side, she resolved that she would not let Yao Heyan into her room. Or else who knows how many sleepless nights would result from this? She didn''t want to go through the entire week with a sore back, okay? "The young master should be arriving by the end of the day. Until then, please make yourselves comfortable. If yo need anything, you can ask any of us staff here," the elderly butler said politely before bowing and leaving them to their own devices. Yin Mei sat down on the sofa, immediately entering lazy mode. Maybe because Rong Sheng was also the diligent type like Yao Heyan, there was also no games here. These high school kids were really not like high schoolers at all! Yao Heyan opened up the curtains to the door that overlooked the balcony, large windows providing a beautiful view of the noon sun overlooking the green forest, white sand beach, and blue-green sea. Yin Mei already had a list of things she wanted to do in her head, of which included scuba diving, snorkeling, jet skiing, surfing, and etc. She was prepared to have a lot of fun here! The drama known as Rong Sheng and Wen Hua were of lesser priority. "Should we go do something?" Yin Mei asked, and didn''t feel bad at all even though those two weren''t here. In the first place, could pregnant people even do something so exerting like what she had mentioned? She felt like if it was Wen Hua, the moment she even tried a little bit of snorkeling she would be worried the baby would miscarry! That was simply how delicate of an image that Wen Hua gave off - both in terms of aura and previous offenses noted in the original storyline. Hell, Yin Mei felt that even if Wen Hua was pushed just even a little bit she could miscarry the baby. "Well, what do you want to do?" Yao Heyan asked, raising an eyebrow. Yin Mei flipped over from her back to her stomach on the sofa, to look at Yao Heyan. "How about surfing? Do you know how to surf?" Yao Heyan did in fact know how to surf, and honestly Yin Mei wondered if there wasn''t a single godd*mn thing this f*cking perfect man couldn''t do. That being said, Yao Heyan immediately dashed Yin Mei''s dreams of learning how to surf, as he said, "this beach probably isn''t suitable for surfing. The waves are too calm." Yin Mei felt like everything in this world was a lie and that she would definitely punch Rong Sheng when she next saw him. D*mn, she should''ve just gone to Hawaii so she could go surfing! But alas, she was already here so she would make the best out of it. In the end, they didn''t go anywhere, and instead, had some fancy shaved ice made by the villa''s personal chef. Yin Mei wanted Oreo shaved ice, while Yao Heyan got a very traditional matcha with red bean and mochi. They spent their time leisurely, reading books and admiring the view while waiting for Rong Sheng and Wen Hua to arrive. 65 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 17 When Rong Sheng and Wen Hua finally arrived, it was just about dinner time. Yin Mei had considered cooking for everyone, but why would she expend the effort when there was already an extremely skilled chef already here cooking? But she still hadn''t forgotten her plan of getting Yao Heyan hooked onto her cooking, so that she had a way to manipulate him, just like he did with sweets. Yes, Yin Mei had realized that Yao Heyan had been subtly using the carrot and stick technique, and that she fell way too easily to pastries. It couldn''t be helped though. All the pastries that Yao Heyan got her tasted way too good! This wasn''t something that she could control. That night, considering that the only one here who had an extensive experience in gaming was Yin Mei, Yin Mei decided to introduce them to all sorts of good games. Although the villa didn''t have any consoles or games, the family of the staff would certainly have some. So the butler''s son brought over his gaming console to set up, providing them with a few recommended games like M*rio P*rty or something. Yin Mei recalled the classic saying - "Mar*o Part* destroys friendships." Mm, she decided to joyfully play it with her wonderful friends plus fianc¨¦. And she watched dumbfounded as all three of them were crushed by Wen Hua. What the f*ck. Why didn''t she know that Wen Hua possessed such outstanding gaming talent? What happened to being a noob that had never touched a console in her life? Yin Mei wanted to call customer service to demand some answers, but there were none to be found. So, she decided to ditch M*rio Part* and play another game. And another. And then after consecutive defeats, she moved on to card games. After more consecutive defeats, she decided to try games that didn''t require anything. And the result was that Wen Hua was the winner. Even Rong Sheng and Yao Heyan couldn''t help but be shocked at how she had won through sheer luck. This was unfathomable. One of the world''s new seven mysteries! Was this the true power of a beloved daughter of heaven?? Was this what they meant when they said that Lady Luck was on your side!? Yin Mei wanted to revolt. Wasn''t god just being too biased? In the end, she went to sleep without winning a single game, while Yao Heyan and Rong Sheng had both one a single game each, in the vast number of games that they had played that night. Yin Mei could only explain it by saying Rong Sheng was the beloved son of heaven, and Yao Heyan was the only one who could compete with said son of heaven on almost equal terms. It wasn''t that Yin Mei didn''t have the skill. She simply just didn''t have the luck, okay? The next few days were very peaceful. For Yin Mei, who didn''t like losing, she would force the other three to compete in games every single night. Rong Sheng didn''t mind, as he was also a sore loser, and Wen Hua would of course go along with most things. As for Yao Heyan, he could only smile wryly and accompany the three of them to play. Meanwhile in the mornings, they would do all sorts of beach related activities, and even played things like beach volleyball... but because Wen Hua was pregnant, the son of the butler, who was a little bit older than them, played with them instead. For Yin Mei, she could win about one out of three times with Yao Heyan against Rong Sheng. Yin Mei blamed his protagonist halo for her loss, though she did know that Rong Sheng had quite a good amount of experience in sports and martial arts. They would also go snorkeling, or hiking, which Wen Hua did accompany them to do, since this sort of exercise was not too hard on her body and also good for the baby. Yin Mei felt that these relaxing days would continue, having let her guard down. It seems that Wen Hua was fine, and it wasn''t like there was anyone they needed to worry about here, right? But of course, there was no way that things would go that easily when it came to Wen Hua. "It seems that a typhoon will be hitting us soon. We probably will have to wait for it to blow over before going back to the mainland." Rong Sheng said, as he turned off the news that had just been reporting the course of the typhoon. Yin Mei wanted to say something about this being the perfect opportunity for them to be killed off one by one... a summer villa and a storm, what a truly perfect combination for a mystery! That night, Yin Mei was unable to sleep. To be more exact, she was too excited to sleep. The sound of the ran pelting the windows, the wind howling against the trees, and the sound and flashes of thunder were keeping her just as awake as the prospect of the world''s genre changing from campus romance to murder mystery. She finally got up to go get a cup of water, anticipating this to be the moment in time where she was either about to be murdered, or happened to find a dead body. As she neared the staircase, she heard and odd thud sound, and conveniently, a bolt of lightning lit up a shadowy figure with piercing eyes at the top of the staircase, who quickly turned around and ran away without noticing Yin Mei''s presence. She couldn''t tell much of their features, but they looked to be a girl, wearing a fluttery skirt that was reminiscent of the maid''s uniform here. Yin Mei: Wait, will this really turn into a murder mystery? She quickly went to the staircase, looking down to see Wen Hua on the floor down below, wearing a pained face as she clutched her stomach. What the f*ck! She felt she was really saying this way too often, but the situations just kept on warranting this kind of profanity from her mouth. She couldn''t help but think that it can''t be that Wen Hua was going to have the miscarriage right now, right? "Help! Someone help!" Yin Mei immediately yelled out, and fumbled around looking for the light switch. By the time she had found it and turned it on, Rong Sheng and Yao Heyan had already come out of their rooms, along with a few of the servants who lived in the rooms downstairs. "What is it?" Yao Heyan asked in a confused manner, when he saw that Yin Mei looked completely fine. "Somebody''s dead- is not what I mean! Wen Hua looks like she''s about to miscarry!" Yin Mei replied, last minute fixing her words and making Yao Heyan raise an eyebrow to that. Hearing this, Rong Sheng''s face changed slightly, as he headed in the direction that Yin Mei was pointing in to see Wen Hua collapsed at the bottom of the stairs. He immediately went down to check her condition, while ordering one of the servants to go find the doctor. But in this sort of weather, even though the doctor lived nearby, it would be dangerous to go out to look for him. Even so, Rong Sheng ordered it, so the servants could all only decide to help out together. Yin Mei observed the servants. There were a total of five who stayed in the villa, four of them youths, and one of them an elderly man. There was an even split of two and two girls and boys. They stayed at the villa due to either having no family at all, or simply living apart from their family, and as such, didn''t need an entire house to themselves. Because Yin Mei had only gotten a glimpse of the person who seemed to have pushed Wen Hua down, and had mostly only caught a shadowy figure, she was unable to decide if any of the ones here were the person that she''d seen. But she decided that it must be among the people here. After all, that person hadn''t looked wet, had they? And it didn''t seem like any of the doors had been opened? So they couldn''t have come from outside, or gone out from the villa... Yin Mei concluded that it should be highly unlikely that the person was from outside. As such, there were only the two girls here. The question would be why they would do it? And were they involved in the drugging incident as well? Yao Heyan put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her back to attention, as he glanced downstairs. Yin Mei understood his meaning and the two headed down, where Yin Mei sat on one of the armchairs, while Ron Sheng impatiently paced back in forth in front of Wen Hua, who occasionally groaned in pain. "What in the world happened?" He could only ask Yin Mei, trying to take his thoughts off of things. He looked toward the girl who appeared in deep thought, seeming to pause for a moment before opening her mouth. "I wasn''t able to sleep, so I went to go get a cup of water." She said simply, and Yao Heyan and Rong Sheng nodded their heads. "At that time, I saw a person at the top of the staircase, though they didn''t seem to see me. They ran the other way, for the servant''s staircase." Yin Mei said, and Ron Sheng stiffened. "When I went to the staircase to go down, I saw Wen Hua." She ended. At this moment, Yin Mei was observing the reactions of the two girls who had remained. Although one showed a little interest in their conversation, her expression didn''t change at all. Yin Mei couldn''t decide if the girl had even heard their conversation or not. The other one had just exited the kitchen with a pot of tea, so she probably didn''t hear it. "So someone pushed her? Do you remember who this person looked like?" Rong Sheng said, his face immediately darkening as his voice turned slightly sinister. "Uhh... no, sorry." Yin Mei said. She also wanted to add on that a person shouldn''t trust witness testimonies, as they were extremely unreliable. But thinking that made Yin Mei almost start to doubt if the person she saw had really been wearing a skirt at all. Or was it even a person!? Maybe it was a figment of her imagination? After a while, she dispelled her doubts though. She wouldn''t go so far as to say that she hadn''t seen the person at all, but she also was still a little doubting of the whole skirt thing. She decided that she wouldn''t let the shadow of a skirt limit her search, and decided to include the two male servants among her suspect list. Anyways, for all she knew, one of the guys could have changed their clothes in that split second, though she wouldn''t know why they would have been wearing a skirt anyways. Yin Mei hummed and hawed, her brows furrowing as she fell into deep thought. But she was interrupted by Yao Heyan (again, for the nth time), as she spoke. "Rong Sheng! She''s bleeding," he said, motioning toward Wen Hua, who started to bleed down there. She was actually miscarrying now? And the doctor still wasn''t here yet. It seemed she really wasn''t fated with this child. Yin Mei was correct. By the time the doctor arrived, drenched and a complete mess, along with the other two servants, the baby was already gone. He could only sigh and treat Wen Hua, prescribing a few things so that her health wasn''t impaired and that she wouldn''t have problems with having children later on. Yin Mei and the two boys were waiting outside of her room, and Rong Sheng''s expression was almost like that of a demon from hell. "There no reason for one of the servants to do it. They must''ve been bought out." He said, and Yin Mei blinked. She hadn''t thought of that. It was true though, this certainly seemed like a likely possibility. In that case, she thought if she just left it to Rong Sheng, he could certainly discover the mastermind in no time. Then her curiosity would also be resolved. She really was wondering who the mastermind was in place of He Lanying. The summer break had started out so happily, but ended on a tragic note with the loss of a baby. Wen Hua was absolutely devastated. Although granted the baby was an accident, and at age 15, she probably couldn''t have properly cared for it anyways, she had already grown attached after the weeks it was in her belly. Yin Mei didn''t dare comfort Wen Hua, as her comforting would only be insincere anyways. She felt that only the male lead could comfort her properly, to which she urged Rong Sheng to do so, despite being busy with finding the mastermind. It would be terrible if he was so hung up on revenge that he would neglect the female lead in this delicate time of her life. Rong Sheng also understood this point. For a f*cking virgin, he was really experienced in the ways of a girl''s heart, wasn''t he? She thought that Yao Heyan was the same in this point too! Thinking about it just made her angry. In another place, Yao Heyan sneezed delicately, not knowing that Rong Sheng had brought disaster upon himself. If he found out, he would definitely be dumbfounded and would want to say that he really didn''t understand girls at all... After a couple of weeks, Rong Sheng succeeded in coercing (torturing) the servant responsible to spit out the name of the person who ordered them to do the job. It seemed that his prediction had been on the spot, and the servant (one of the girls; in the end, it hadn''t been a trap) had indeed been paid to do it. She didn''t know who the true mastermind was, and had been asked from online. Although the person had hidden their traces well, Rong Sheng was still able to hire a skilled hacker to track them down. The result was shocking - it was actually Rong Sheng''s little sister! What the f*ck! What the f*ck! Yin Mei felt the desire to say this phrase that she had repeated so many times already a little more. This girl turned the female lead''s follower had actually been both the cause of the drugged s*x and the miscarriage. This was way too shocking. Of course, Rong Sheng was also completely shocked. He couldn''t believe that his little sister that he doted on and spoiled for so many years would actually harm the girl he loved, and even cause that girl to miscarry his child. Yin Mei was completely unable to say anything and subtly withdrew herself from this delicate family drama situation. She saw nothing, heard nothing. She sent a prayer to the heavens, thinking that she could no longer predict how the relationship between these people would go. She didn''t expect that at all. (A/N: Because I came up with it just now) She might as well categorize it among another new mystery of the world! This sort of dog blood drama that was only found in TV shows; she had now personally experienced for herself... She thought that after all, maybe it was better that movies and TV shows should stay on the screen and out of real life. 66 The Vice President is Secretly a Sadist 18 In the end, the second year of high school, and even the third year of high school passed by quickly, with the three childhood friends graduating. The result of the family drama had been that Rong Sheng''s younger sister was sent to a private boarding school, while Rong Sheng had comforted the upset and depressed Wen Hua. Because Wen Hua had a weak personality, she forgave Rong Sheng, and even his sister in the end. Although now that there was no child to protect her, Rong Sheng was still at her side, keeping her from being bullied by his parents. After graduation, he forced their engagement, even with his mother and father''s disapproval. The two of them ironed out the kinks in the relationship between their family after many years, getting married at 23. As for Yin Mei and Yao Heyan, the two of them got officially married and held a lavish ceremony when they were both 21. Of course, Yao Heyan couldn''t help but subtly flaunt his newlywed life in front of Rong Sheng, who had yet to marry at that time, invoking jealousy in the man. Yin Mei, who had completed her mission, initially thought that that was the end, but the mission actually had to update itself to the next mission: have a baby with Yao Heyan. Yin Mei wanted to send back this faulty useless system to its creator. Have a baby, have a baby your mom! She wanted to ask just how many babies she would need to have with Yao Heyan before this mission was finally complete? Really terrible! Bad reviews, she would give the system bad reviews! After graduation, Yin Mei became a housewife. She could have gone to work, but she felt being a rich man''s trophy wife was also good. She showed off her prowess in cleaning and cooking, that she hadn''t been able to before, and Yao Heyan didn''t even need to hire a personal chef or maid. Yin Mei had never liked doing either of those two activities before now, but maybe because she was good at them, she began to find both of them relaxing and enjoyable. She especially liked cooking, perhaps because it made her recall happier times in her previous world. One day, Yin Mei decided to confront Yao Heyan. "Let''s have a baby," she boldly proclaimed. After a few years, it seemed that her sense of shame about these matters had faded a little? But she had to say this, or who knows for how long this guy would continue having protected s*x with her! She would never complete the mission this way. Although it didn''t matter that much, she still felt like if she didn''t say something they might end up at age 40 with still no baby. Yao Heyan blinked in surprise, finding this unexpected. Yin Mei always seemed unwilling to do it with him, though he could tell it was a combination of shyness, embarrassment, as well as simply due to the fact that his stamina was more than hers... as a result, he felt that her unwillingness was even more endearing in his eyes. But, this sort of boldness was also good. He immediately felt his desire to eat her up rising, and seeing her red ears as she put up a brave front just made his throat feel a little dry. "Do you know the consequences of what you''re saying?" He asked, standing up from where he was sitting on the couch to walk over to Yin Mei, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close to him. He caressed her cheek, a gentle smile on his face that made Yin Mei feel an innate sense of danger. "O-of course I do! We''re 25, it should be a perfectly good time to have a baby now!" She said bravely, and Yao Heyan leaned in closer. His warm breath brushed up against her ear as he spoke. "Then I guess we''ll have to. Work. Very. Hard." He emphasized each word at the end, before biting her ear, nibbling at it gently, and then slightly harder. Yin Mei yelped. Yao Heyan proceeded to kiss, nibble, and lick at Yin Mei, moving down her neck and beginning to unbutton her shirt. "Wait! We aren''t going to do it here, are we??" Yin Mei asked, pointedly looking around them. They were currently in the living room, and though the floor was covered in a lush and soft carpet, it still couldn''t compare to the comfort of a bed. Yao Heyan lifted her up, and carried her princess style into the bedroom. He seemed to really like doing this. Although he had been tempted just to take her then and there, after all, he really didn''t want to make Yin Mei more uncomfortable than she needed to be. As for making her unable to get out of bed the next day due to a sore back, well, that was a totally different matter. He placed her onto the bed, continuing his mission of undressing her, and Yin Mei also proceeded to undress Yao Heyan. This creamy white skin that was more beautiful than any female model''s really made people want to stab him. Just that he was also so beautiful that it made one reluctant to do so at the same time. But Yin Mei had also now gotten used to having a beautiful appearance after four lifetimes of receiving bodies with good looks, and so didn''t feel as hateful about it as she probably would have felt had she never transmigrated. As Yao Heyan unbuttoned her shirt and revealed her pale skin underneath, a lace black bralette contrasting against the white of her blouse and skin. Yao Heyan continued to kiss down her chest and stomach, his hand slowly going lower, as Yin Mei shivered. Yin Mei discovered that night exactly just how motivated Yao Heyan could get when she took the initiative like that. In the end, she was sulking in bed for a very long time, completely unable to move. Of course, Yao Heyan, with that refreshing and warm smile of his, would continue to pamper and dote on her in the morning after, feeling completely satisfied with things. Unlike Wen Hua, Yin Mei''s fertility levels were normal and she wouldn''t have such a convenient pregnant after one night of sex moment. She only got pregnant another year later, coincidentally at the same time as Wen Hua. Because Rong Sheng and Yao Heyan were still very good friends and business partners, naturally Yin Mei had continued socializing with the couple and the result was that everyone had taken Wen Hua and Yin Mei to be best friends. Yin Mei wanted to deny this with dead eyes, but seeing this sparkly eyed little animal looking up at her with admiration, she could only stay silent. Wen Hua was extremely excited that she and her best friend (Yin Mei: ... ) had become pregnant at the same time and immediately felt this was fate. She decided that if the children were opposite genders, they should definitely get engaged. Yin Mei personally disagreed with this sort of thing, feeling that this would definitely end up as some horrible convoluted love story, but upon Wen Hua''s insistence, ended up agreeing with a sigh. Whatever. It wasn''t guaranteed that they would be opposite genders anyways. But this was Wen Hua, the beloved daughter of heaven! So when they gave birth one day apart from each other, Wen Hua gave birth first to a little adorable boy and heir for Rong Sheng, while Yin Mei gave birth to a lovely cute young princess. Yin Mei: ... She should have known! The boy was called Rong Yi, and the girl was called Yao Yu. Because the families were close, the two children naturally also became very close friends from a young age. Yao Yu inherited her mother''s domineering attitude, while Rong Yi was a cool and capable little kid. Five years later, Yin Mei gave birth to a male heir for Yao Heyan called Yao Yong, while Wen Hua gave birth to a little princess for Rong Sheng called Rong Xing a year after that. Yin Mei really wanted to cough up blood - were her children destined to be married to Wen Hua''s children? She found heaven''s love for this woman incomprehensible, for even both their second children to be born so close to each other and of opposite gender as well. Even despite Yin Mei''s reservations, the two families remained very close, and her two little babies got along very well with their childhood sweethearts. Yin Mei as well was finally able to complete her quest after Yao Yong''s birth... was what she thought, but it had told her that the next quest was to actually grow old and die with Yao Heyan. She had to say, Yao Heyan this b*stard was too greedy, actually not satisfied with her laboring to give him two cute little kids and still wanting to grow old with her! She was not secretly feeling warm in her heart at all. The end result was that her babies got married to their respective childhood sweethearts, with none of the drama that Yin Mei had been expecting. They had babies of their own. Before Yin Mei knew it, Yao Yong had already succeeded his father in the companies that Yao Heyan owned as he retired. Rong Sheng as well, had retired even earlier. As for the information guild, he had washed his hands of that underworld stuff when his daughter had been born, wanting to start anew for the sake of his little innocent child. Yin Mei felt very satisfied. Her older daughter was a successful lawyer, married to the current CEO of the Rong family''s company, while her younger son was the CEO of Yao Heyan''s companies, and even though he was married to Wen Hua''s daughter, she had to say she did like this daughter-in-law of hers, that knew how to take care of her mother-in-law and was very conscientious. Although the mother was still an airhead after all this time, her children had inherited the intelligence of their father, and Yin Mei felt satisfied over this fact. They also didn''t have that trouble drawing ability that Wen Hua possessed! Though after she had gotten married, it was true that Wen Hua no longer drew any trouble. Maybe it was because they had passed the "ending" of the original storyline? Yin Mei didn''t know. In the end, the two pair of Yin Mei and Yao Heyan lived to a ripe old age of 91 years before passing away at the same time. While lying in bed together, Yao Heyan''s old hand gripped Yin Mei''s. "I''ll be even better to you in the next life." He said. He actually already remembered. He had slowly recalled over the years, but always kept silent. He felt guilt. He felt regret. He wished to turn back time, but it was already impossible. He could only treat her well now, and in the next life, and the next life after that. No matter what, he would find her again. Yin Mei also remembered. She remembered it. But maybe because he was here by her side, it didn''t seem to matter as much anymore. Her memories were still filled with pain, but now they also had warmth. She recalled the warm times as well as the painful times. And most of all, she now had this life to look back on, where she had a loving hubby, two lovely children, and lots of cute little grandchildren. It was a good life. No matter what happened next, she felt that now... now she had the strength to take it on. The two of them closed her eyes. She felt Yao Heyan''s breath slowly leave him and she let out a deep breath she didn''t know that she had been holding. She then opened her eyes, and they were filled with a determination that she didn''t have before. "System, I wish to leave this world now." She said. "Confirming decision. Please wait as host is transferred." The cool voice of the system sounded in her ears, and she also took her last breath. 67 The Necromancer and the Priestess 1 Yin Mei returned to the white space, where she was greeted politely by the system. She didn''t even need time to recover, immediately asking him to present the skills that she could take. She looked at them. This time, new skills had appeared. Dancing, Singing, Etiquette. She still couldn''t understand the logic of these skills, but after a moment, decided on dancing. It would either be that or singing, but she really thought that dancing would also be beneficial to her martial arts and fighting, which seemed to be important even a seemingly harmless modern day world. The system next provided her with a choice between three random worlds again. Western Fantasy: Classic sword and magic world, with fantasy races. An epic story of heroes. Ancient China: Alternate Ancient China during an era where war is brewing between countries. A story of war and love. Death Game (Game World Ver.): Trapped inside a game world where death has become real, one must play until the end in order to return to the real world. Yin Mei wanted to ask just how many different type of death game worlds there were in order for it to be picked twice randomly... although it looked like it was a different type of world from the one last time. She considered the three of them. All of them seemed fairly dangerous, but the one that caught her eye was the western fantasy world! Magic was romance! She happily chose western fantasy. She didn''t regret! Even if it might not have been the best choice, she wanted to use magic, magic! Cultivation techniques are already similar to magic? Bah! It wasn''t the same thing okay? When she next opened her eyes, she was in a spacious stone-walled room, knelling in front of an altar and well carved statue of a beautiful woman. She glanced around, and saw that there were no windows, and the room was dimly lit by a multitude of candles. The altar was filled with beautiful fresh white flowers, while luxurious tapestries hung from the walls. Yin Mei felt that her hair was long and soft, and looking down, it was wavy and blond. She was a blonde haired foreigner now!? She quickly dived into the memories and information. This was, as stated before, a western fantasy world. There were in fact different races like elves, dwarves, dragons, fairies, and etc., but these races were actually rare and almost never seen. Yin Mei felt slightly disappointed. Anyways, continuing, they were currently on the main continent of the world, where there were three empires and five large kingdoms that split the land between them. They were currently on decent terms with each other - that being said, there were tensions between some of the countries, it just had yet to develop to the point of war. In addition to that, there was obviously magic, which mainly used the elements and invoked the power of the gods. Of course, there was also religion in the presence of real life gods. The most popular religion was that of the Goddess of Light - whose statue that Yin Mei was kneeling before at this very moment. The Church of Light was the most famous and worshipped church in the main land, and Yin Mei''s identity was also closely related to the church - she was the church''s high priestess. Her identity was a young 16 year old girl called Celestina, who had been raised in the church''s orphanage from a young age. It was discovered that she had an especially strong affinity with the light element, perhaps one of the strongest seen in centuries. Because of this, when she was only ten years old, she was established as the church''s high priestess. Although it sounded like a prestigious title, she had no real decision making power - though she did have some measure of authority, it could not be compared to the church''s true decision maker, the Bishop. In addition, there was one problem to being the high priestess. She could not leave the church. She physically could not leave the church. Yin Mei felt a thousand grass mud horses run across her heart. The high priestess herself was a intermediary for the seal that sealed the great demon laying underneath the church. Because of that, she was bound to this location, unable to go outside the church grounds. The desire to curse was welling up in Yin Mei''s heart. If she couldn''t leave the church, then how in the world was she supposed to complete her mission! She demanded a setting change!! After calming down, she continued to calmly go through the rest of the information. The male lead of this time''s plot was a member of the church''s Knight Templar - knights that guarded the wellbeing of the citizens and protected the interests of the church. He was a man with a strong sense of justice and loyalty toward the church. As for the female lead... she was the slave of the villain, who had fallen in love with the male lead and thus betrayed the villain, leading to his death. Yin Mei quickly looked at the villain''s identity, all while wondering if he was her demon king this time as well. She wanted to hurry and meet him to confirm, but d*mmit, she remembered she was still stuck inside this damnable church! The villain this time was a necromancer that did many heinous deeds, becoming this continent''s most infamous and wanted criminal. He had massacred hundreds of innocents, experimented on even more, and had dabbled in all sorts of forbidden black magic. But this necromancer, El, had a shocking other identity. He had actually been part of the same orphanage that Celestina had, and had been tested as possessing a very strong dark affinity - the opposite of Celestina. At a young age, he was thus brought into a secret squad of spies and assassins that the church trained and used. A couple of years ago, he had defected and thus became the well known criminal of today. Yin Mei read on further, and now understood the reason of Celestina''s ending. Celestina had died, killed by the male protagonist, who afterwards sealed the demon that had become unsealed through El''s methods using a new method that would no longer require a human intermediary, and instead used a holy weapon that he had been granted by the Goddess of Light. The reason that he had killed Celestina, who was someone that he had admired as the holy saints of the church, was because he had found out that Celestina had colluded with El on multiple occasions. Though, colluded was probably not the word that Yin Mei would use. In the first place, stuck here in the church, there was a limit to what the young powerless priestess could actually do, aside from slightly impeding investigation and subjugation attempts a little. But Yin Mei understood Celestina''s reasons - she blamed herself for El''s actions. Because the reason that El had defected was in order to find a way to release the seal that bound Celestina to this one location, and free her from the confines of the church. Yin Mei felt that this love story between El and Celestina would be much better than that of the male lead and female lead - but she was also very biased toward the villain and against the male and female leads. Yin Mei stood up, closing her eyes. She could somehow feel the dark and menacing presence of the demon deep under the grounds of the church, still struggling against the chains of light that bound him here. She already roughly knew the way to escape the seals, as it had been described in the final scene of the plot information that had been provided. But this would need the cooperation of El and the male lead, Kai. In addition, the method for releasing the seal was slightly vague, though they did detail the ingredients necessary - it would just require El to continue researching the method. After that, she would be free from the seals that bound her to the church. Then she would now simply need to contact El. Actually, this wasn''t that hard, and was also the reason that Celestina had gotten caught - it was because El used a hidden passage to enter the church. It was a passage known only by their close friend group from the orphanage, of which now only Celestina and El were present in the capital. Their other three friends from that group had spread out across the mainland. That was right. El was actually still in the capital! Hidden right underneath the noses of the church, he actually operated as a professor of the prestigious Erindal Empire''s number one Magic Academy. At this moment, there was a rustling as a hand reached out and pulled open one of the luxurious tapestries hanging on the wall from behind, and a beautiful man wearing a priest''s garb exited from the dark hall behind him, which disappeared behind a stone wall the moment he stepped out. Yin Mei glanced at him, her bright blue eyes blinking at the man. He had on a pair of frameless glasses, his hair pitch black, and his eyes an emerald green. He had thick lashes, and a seductive aura. When he looked at her, his cool expression was replaced with a naive smile. Celestina''s memories flashed through Yin Mei''s brain and she knew that this was El, in disguise. His true colors were a beautiful white hair with blue eyes, but since he was a wanted criminal after all, he had vaguely disguised himself with the appearance and identity of one of their friends from the orphanage who had died in an epidemic, Riel. Yin Mei looked at him and could already see six points out of ten of similarity to his former lives. Looking at his true appearance in Celestina''s memories, she could see that if he took off the disguise, he would look even more similar. It was her demon king. It was her zombie emperor, her Yao Heyan. Much to El''s surprise, the moment he saw Celestina, she had on an expression like she was about to cry, immediately flinging herself into her arms and hugging him tightly. He didn''t know what had happened, but he immediately began comforting her. "Celes, did someone bully you? Tell me who it is and I''ll take care of him," he said in a frantic manner. Yin Mei pursued her lips, refusing to let her tears fall. Did he forget her again? No matter. Even if he never remembered, she would, for the both of them. She let go, rubbing her not yet existent tears away as she turned her head so that he couldn''t see her red eyes. El wondered what in the world had gotten into Celestina. She had never cried again in front of them after she had become the high priestess. Because of this, El didn''t know how to deal with a crying Celestina. Yin Mei once more looked into Celestina''s memories, comparing them to the timeline in the information. Like usual, they were starting near the beginning of the plot. El''s slave, a girl names Rosella, had already encountered Kai. Celestina thought that she needed to immediately separate that ungrateful b*tch who betrayed El from him. Yin Mei turned back around, her expression calm again. Celestina had a very youthful and cute, almost loli like face, immediately making El want to dote on her. El didn''t know why he and Celestina had always gotten along so well. aCtually, with such strong affinities for contrasting elements like this, they normally shouldn''t even be able to stand in each other''s presences. The priests at the orphanage had always marveled over the fact that despite possessing a strong light and dark element, they seemed to almost harmonize with each other. "El, send that girl you''re taking care of to me," Yin Mei said after some thought. Celestina already knew about Rosella, as El had used her to send messages to Celestina occasionally. "That slave brat? Why do you want her? A little dirty thing like that isn''t-" El began to say, but saw that Celestina was staring at him. She stared, and stared, and stared, and El immediately surrendered. "Alright, I''ll have her come see you." He finally said with a sigh, and Yin Mei smiled brightly. El returned it with a wry but doting smile, patting Celestina''s head. It couldn''t be helped. He had never won against her since they were young. They continued talking about little things for a while, before El finally left. Yin Mei didn''t speak about his affairs, and neither did El. Clestina and him seemed to have a sort of unspoken agreement about this. Celestina never wanted to hear about it, as it only made her feel guiltier, while El didn''t want to dirty her ears with those morbid matters. Yin Mei exited the basement shrine, heading up and up a spiral set of stone stairs until she reached a wooden door. Opening it, outside was the beautiful inner sanctum of the church. The place seemed as if locked in an eternal spring, the water of the marble fountain glistening under the warm sunlight, the sound of birds chirping resounding through the blue sky, and the smell of fresh flowers tickled the nose. Very few people were here, as this was considered to be accessible only to the high ranking members of the church and was the high priestess''s quarters. There were only a few priestess''s who served Celestina and some guards present. Yin Mei closed the door behind her, walking over to the fountain and sitting down at it''s edge, relaxing in the warm spring sunlight. Even if it was winter, this inner sanctum would forever stay locked in time like this. Protected by a barrier and almost completely isolated from the outside world. Celestina was truly like a little bird locked in a gilded cage. She looked at this world''s main mission. Main Mission: Unseal the demon under the church. She closed her eyes, and as a few priestess''s passed by, they couldn''t help but think about how holy and pure the high priestess looked - after all, she was different from the normal people. Her light aura spilled out from her, bringing peace and warmth to those around her. Yin Mei was limited in her actions. But she wouldn''t let that stop her. She would make sure that they had their happy ending this time too. And she wouldn''t let anything get in her way of it. 68 The Necromancer and the Priestess 2 The next day, Yin Mei was once again sitting on the edge of the fountain, feeling that this location was very nice for basking in the sun. All sorts of little small animals gathered around her, drawn to the warm and comforting aura that she gave off - was this a result of the strong light affinity she now possessed? She almost felt like some sort of fairy tale princess... She had a few cats and birds and bunnies and squirrels all surrounding her. Whenever someone walked by, they would feel comforted just by the scene. Celestina was the most beloved and doted on member of the church. Her popularity was even higher than that of the Bishop. But it had to be noted just how skilled the Bishop was that he was able to retain a firm grip on the power over the church despite this. Around this time when Yin Mei was meditating and harmonizing with the light element in order to better get used to this thing called mana and magic (which really was fairly similar to cultivating), a priestess came up to her. The priestess was dressed like all the other high ranked priestesses that were granted the opportunity to serve the high priestess - in a pure white robe with pale gold trim. As for Yin Mei, she wore only a pure white dress, that accentuated her figure and gave her an almost angelic, or dare one say, celestial appearance. "High Priestess, the messenger from Sir Kiel wishes to meet you," the priestess whispered in Yin Mei''s ear as she bowed down. For some reason, looking through Celestina''s memories, everyone seemed to wish to talk in a whisper when speaking to or speaking near Celestina - as if a louder voice would disturb the peaceful air around her. The priestess was feeling a mixture of confusion and excitement. This was because, before, the messenger would never ask to meet the high priestess in person, instead always sending letters. As for the excitement, the reason was because all of Celestina''s servants really liked the professor, shipping them with their beloved high priestess. Of course, there were some that debated whether the scholarly and slightly androgynous professor was better, or if they preferred the silent and stoic guard captain. This priestess who was currently reporting was a member of the Kiel x Celestina ship. One would think that a wanted criminal would be more low key, but in fact, shockingly enough the entire inner sanctum knew of Kiel - the extremely handsome childhood sweetheart of Celestina''s, who was also a professor of the prestigious magic academy. He constantly sent messages to her, and would even pay visits. Though, because as high priestess, Celestina could not get married or do anything that would risk her purity, he would always put a polite distance between them that would make the priestesses, who had too much free time and imagination, very sad, but also very moved. But this sort of forbidden love was always extremely popular. The priestess bowed to Yin Mei before going to fetch Rosella. She thought that a slave girl like that shouldn''t meet the high priestess, but after all, the high priestess was a kind and gentle soul that didn''t discriminate against others. She was thus filled with even more admiration than before, thinking that she needed to work harder in order to follow Celestina''s lead. After almost half an hour, the priestess finally returned with Rosella. This amount of time was in part due to the size of the church, and also in part due to the fact that no person could just casually meet with the high priestess, even if they had her permission. For meetings that weren''t that urgent, and even in part for meetings that were urgent, they had to go through specific procedures to cleanse their body of any outside impurities before meeting with the high priestess. This was in part due to superstition and tradition, as some people thought that if they brought dirt or miasma from the outside and affected the high priestess''s health, it could be detrimental to the state of the seal. But this was just useless worrying, as Celestina''s light affinity was so high that it was practically impossible for her to get sick. As for miasma or poison, or some stuff like that, there was practically none that Celestina couldn''t heal and thus that Yin Mei couldn''t heal or purify. This was the first time Rosella was meeting with the high priestess, though she had passed on messages to the high priestess''s servants many times before. When she first met her, her first thought was that she was beautiful beyond words. She looked like an angel that had graced the earth - the epitome of beauty, innocence, and purity. This was the woman that protected the Empire. That protected the world. She, a lowly slave, was actually meeting such a high up personage of the church. She could hardly believe it. If she wasn''t serving an old childhood friend of the high priestess, she probably would have never gotten this chance. Although she had never been grateful to be a slave before, at this moment, she felt just a little bit of gratefulness - after all, there wasn''t one single person who didn''t worship the Goddess of Light that would not want to meet the high priestess, who was said to be the closest incarnation to the goddess in several hundreds of years. The high priestess was the hope of the people. For Rosella, who had not yet discovered El''s true identity, she could still think such thoughts about Celestina. Yin Mei dismissed the priestess with a wave of her hand, who looked slightly reluctant to leave but couldn''t disobey the high priestess. Although she trusted Sir Kiel, she glanced at some of the guards standing nearby, nodding to them to keep an eye on things. After all, one couldn''t be too careful when it concerned the fate of the high priestess. Yin Mei wasn''t too concerned about the guards or priestess standing not too far away, and subtly placed a sound barrier up, as she turned to look at Rosella. Celestina''s eyes had a mysterious power to them, that drew people in. For those who were criminals with weak wills, they would easily begin to feel guilty and wish to repent. For those who were of purer hearts, they would feel a deep admiration and awe. Celestina was truly what one would call the incarnation of the goddess of light. It was too bad that even though she had the love of the goddess, the one that the heavens truly favored were that of the male and female lead. It seemed even the will of the goddess could do nothing against that. No, in the first place, the goddess no longer held any interest in the mortal realm. As long as her believers, and thus her power, didn''t fall, then she would hold no concern to what her children did. For one example was the Bishop. The Bishop was not a really good man. He wasn''t particularly corrupt, but by no means was he a "good" person. He had ordered many assassinations throughout his time, and caused the death of many others. Although he may have never gotten his own hands dirty, he was certainly not clean of all sins. Yet, his affinity toward the light element was still as strong as ever, only second to Celestina''s. This was why Yin Mei was confident that no matter what actions she took, she would not be struck down by some sort of heavenly lightning or divine retribution. She had no fear of the gods, so why should she fear humans? Okay, maybe she was a little afraid of the humans. She still had some trauma associated with being killed by the female lead last time, and with the zombie emperor having been killed by the male lead the time after that. But, she wouldn''t let this stop her. Her high position, the admiration and respect the leads still had for her - she would use this to her advantage. She wouldn''t let any little thing that could help her go. The male and female leads weren''t the only ones who deserved a happy ending! Yin Mei smiled, her blue eyes curving into crescent moon shapes. Rosella almost thought that the smile looked almost sinister, but blinking, she could only see the sweet smile of a gentle and beautiful girl. She thought that it must''ve only been her imagination, blushing a little to be faced with this lovely smile. Yin Mei spoke for a bit with Rosella, not saying much before calling the priestess back over. "This girl will remain here," she said firmly, though the priestess immediately disagreed with this, glancing over at the brown haired slave girl before leaning in to whisper to Yin Mei. "High priestess, this isn''t a very good decision? Even if she is Sir Kiel''s servant, we don''t know her background. Shouldn''t we discuss this with the Bishop before allowing her to stay in the inner sanctum?" The priestess said. Although she was only worried for the safety of the high priestess, Yin Mei could tell just how good of a grip the Bishop had in the church''s matters - look, even Celestina''s personal servants wished to report to the Bishop first before obeying her orders. "There''s no need," Yin Mei said with a smile. "Or do you not trust my judgement?" She asked slyly, and the priestess immediately shook her head. After considering it for a while, although Celestina was considered by the priestesses to be slightly naive and unaccustomed to the hardships of the world, because of her high light affinity, she was actually very sensitive to any bad intentions people held toward her. To top it off, anyone with a weaker will would find it hard to move against her, and even just meeting her once was sufficient for many criminals and sinners to be reformed. In addition, the priestess trusted in the ability of the guards posted at the various locations in the inner sanctum. She finally nodded and agreed, though she would certainly be keeping a close eye on the girl. She didn''t believe that a slave sent by Sir Kiel would have malicious intentions, but all of those who served the high priestess in the inner sanctum had kept a high alert so that nothing would happen to Celestina. "Oh right, Elaina," Yin Mei called to the priestess, who had been walking away to guide Rosella to an empty room. She looked back briefly, before speaking with a guard, who took over and walked away with the brown haired girl before going back to Yin Mei. "Yes, high priestess?" She said, leaning in. "Ask to transfer a member of the Knights Templar by the name of Kai to the inner sanctum," Yin Mei said. It was true what they said - keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Although she wouldn''t be able to stop Rosella and Kai from associating with each other if she did things this way, she could keep them away from El like this. In addition, El had not yet begun having Rosella aid him in his experiments, and thus she didn''t know of his identity as the most wanted necromancer on the continent as of this moment. Thinking this, Yin Mei did not mind as much if the two associated. She prioritized keeping them close to herself. And if Kai was stuck in the inner sanctum, then he couldn''t go around willy nilly trying to investigate El''s whereabouts. Although Elaina didn''t know why Yin Mei specifically wanted this Kai person, the members of the Knights Templar were trustworthy in her opinion - all the members of the inner sanctum guards had been appointed from there after a strict selection process. "He can''t refuse, okay?" Yin Mei said, looking into Elaina''s eyes, who nodded. She wondered who exactly was this person that the high priestess so insisted on him? She felt a potential love story brewing, and wondered if her Kiel x Celestina ship was about to sink? Oh no! She needed to quickly discuss this with her fellow sisters. After being dismissed by Yin Mei, she quickly left to carry out her orders. 69 The Necromancer and the Priestess 3 Several days later, Yin Mei was able to meet the male lead of the plot for the first time. She hadn''t really known what to expect, except she only thought that she would probably find him obnoxious - she really had those types of MCs that preached about justice and righteousness, after all. Kai was a man whose looks, though handsome, were not as outstanding as El''s or that of the guard captain that some of the priestesses favored. He had dark brown hair and light brown eyes, with a very heroic, and almost older brother like appearance. As for Kai, in meeting the high priestess in person, he was naturally filled with the sense of awe that any devoted member of the church would have. He had seen Celestina from afar on multiple occasions, and every time he did so, he felt that they were in different worlds, despite both working for the sake of the church. He had never expected to be selected for a member of Celestina''s personal guard. Although he had some thoughts of rejecting them due to personal reasons, in the end, he knew that becoming the guard of the high priestess was an extremely important and prestigious duty, too much to give up. As a result, he accepted, despite the fact that he would now have to search for the criminal necromancer in his free time, instead of being able to pursue him as freely as he had while working. When Kai first came into close contact with Yin Mei, the other priestesses kept a close eye on their interactions, to decide whether their ship was about to fall, or perhaps even if this new ship was worthy enough for their considerations. Kai felt that the high priestess was truly different from ordinary people like themselves, her holy aura and appearance making one almost believe her to be more angel than human. On the other hand, Yin Mei''s bad opinion of Kai didn''t decrease - yep, after all, he was the type of male lead that she hated. She disliked this type of righteous person the most, especially since she felt that this type of person would go down the wrong path quite easily. Although if it was a side character, she might not say the same about them, since it was the protagonist... Yes, she was fairly biased. Now that she had bound both the male and female leads to her side, she needed to make sure nothing bad happened. The problem was that the plot somehow had a way of trying to correct itself - at least, that was what she had discovered and experienced in the last world. In the former worlds, she tried to recall, but couldn''t quite remember if this was also the case then. Either way, she needed to stay cautious. With the beloved son and daughter of heaven aura that the two of them had, she had no doubts that they might stumble across some golden finger or another, or some good clue that would lead them to El''s identity. With the two of them so close to herself as well, though this would make it easier to keep an eye on them, it would also make it easier for them to notice anything about herself. Thinking about it like this, Yin Mei felt her head already hurting. She didn''t think of herself as a very good schemer, but she had to work hard to balance this delicate situation and manipulate all the parties involved so that things went as she planned. There was also the matter of releasing the seal. If the great demon underneath the church was released, it would wreak havoc on the mainland. Yin Mei didn''t really care about how many people would die, she was simply concerned with her own survival and that of El''s survival in this case. Even with Celestina''s ability, going up against an elder demon like that was still pushing it... wait, no, the demon would have been weakened by the skill, so if it was just escaping it was possible. But Yin Mei had to plan for the future. She couldn''t just let the demon destroy the entire main continent, the result being that she would no longer have a place to live. She didn''t know what the next quest would be beyond the unsealing, but she thought that about the quests so far. They had all been for the benefit of the villain. In the case of El, his main desire had been to free Celestina of her duties to the church and the chains that bound her to this location. In other words, it shouldn''t be a problem to reseal the demon using the method that the male lead had employed. But this would require that El not die at the hands of Kai before Kai resealed the demon. In the original story, El had been killed just as he unsealed the demon - of course, Yin Mei couldn''t let that happen now that she was here. Kai felt slightly uncomfortable as Yin Mei studied him, wondering what in the world was going on through the high priestess''s head as her slow, unblinking eyes seemed to contain both the all the profundities of the world and the innocence of the world, creating a sort of contrast that still worked together in harmony with each other. She finally nodded, to herself, and whispered to the little bird beside her in a voice that for some reason not even Kai could pick up with his keen senses. The interesting thing that Yin Mei had found out was that if one got creative, there was a wide variety of ways that they could use their magic. When one thought of light magic, they would normally thing of things like buffs, purification, healing, and etc., right? That was the case for the residents of this world at least. But, as displayed by the charm and mind control magics, if one was creative enough, they could branch out in areas that one may not think possible at first. Another example were illusion and invisibility magic, which could also be used by both light and dark affinity users (water affinity users could also use it, though the process was slightly more complicated). Yin Mei wasn''t quite sure how this process worked - she just knew that the definition of the light element in this case was actually perhaps a little different from the dictionary definition of it. But after some messing around, Yin Mei figured out a few different interesting magics that could be used by light system mages. Anyways, what was the point of all this? It was that Yin Mei was not crazy because she was talking to this bird. This bird was a summoned light familiar that she could use in replacement of Rosella to send messages to El. No one noticed much as the little white bird flew off, and Yin Mei turned her attention back to Kai. She spoke only a few words to him before motioning for the guard captain to take over. The guard captain that the priestesses liked to always pit against the professor was a stoic looking man with short cut black hair and dark eyes. He had just the right amount of muscles that if he took off his shirt, it would give something for the girls to drool over, and not too much that it would turn people off. He was a serious looking man that was one of the most desirable bachelors of the church. If Yin Mei had to say, she didn''t think this type of a guy was that bad. In fact, she also thought he was handsome, and preferred him over Kai. But her preference would always remain the demon king. In terms of appearance, no one could best the demon king. Of course, that also meant no one could best his reincarnations either. The zombie emperor, Yao Heyan, and El. All of them had unparalleled looks in her eyes. She preferred a beauty above all else, after all. On the other side, the priestesses, seeing this gaze full of "love" and "passion" being exchanged between Kai and Yin Mei, couldn''t help but feel their ships were at risk. Some began seriously considering whether to change their ship, already coming up with all sorts of imaginative dramas in their heads, as others were looking at the guard captain with pitying gazes as they silently implored him to work harder. As for the absent Sir Kiel, they could only lament that he did not have the same opportunities available to him as these two knights and was at a distinct disadvantage in this battle for Celestina''s heart. If Yin Mei knew what these girls were thinking, she would definitely say that they had too much time on their hands if they could come up with these elaborate and epic dramas all the time. After a while, the group dispersed as Yin Mei returned to Celestina''s room. With Kai and Rosella already tied down here, she had to figure out her next move - she had no clue what to do next. Perhaps she should help El with his research on the demon''s seal? She knew that this seal was really tricky to undo - of course it would be, after all, their ancestors that had put it down wouldn''t want just anyone being able to unseal this demon to wreck havoc on the continent. It had taken El a great amount of time and study in the forbidden magics to finally figure out the method to unseal the demon. As was mentioned earlier, the information didn''t include the details of the method. All Yin Mei knew was that it was a very complex spell that required a lot of ingredients and sacrifices. She did know the ingredients used, so she guessed that she could try mentioning it to El. In a subtle way, so that El wouldn''t find anything off about her. It was different from that time when she had given Ming Wei hints - after all, Ming Wei had never known her from before. But, El was Celestina''s childhood friend. If she did something out of character, it would definitely make him suspicious. She was thinking whether or not she should pull the time travel card like she did last time, but then decided against it. After all, time travel magic was a real thing here and had been researched in depth. First of all, only a mage of the time affinity could perform it - of which, there had been no known time mages in the last several decades. And secondly, it was well known that only the mage who had performed the time travel magic would retain his memories of the time travel. Of course, there had been research into changing this, but with time mages being so rare, there was little progress ever made. In addition, it was extremely difficult to time travel very far back in time. For those with a weaker affinity to the time element, it was already impressive if they could wind time back for even a few seconds. Apparently, the record amount of time that a mage had claimed to travel back or forward in had been ten years - and it was unknown whether or not this was true, as only he retained his memories. This legendary time mage had already passed away several centuries ago, and there had yet to be a mage who had achieved more than a month of time travel after that. In other words, because time travel was actually possible in this world, Yin Mei felt it would be difficult to use it as an excuse - after all, with studies done on the matter, it would probably be easy for a knowledgeable mage like El to see through the holes in her explanation. Although El was a dark affinity mage, he had studied quite a bit into the other element systems in his pursuit of forbidden magic. Thinking like this, Yin Mei decided that she would have to find another way. After a lot of thinking though, she really found it hard to decide what to do. She felt extremely frustrated that she was trapped in this stupid bird cage. She wanted to go out and wreck some havoc! A peaceful little garden greenhouse was okay, but after a while, it really got boring. And so, like when Yin Mei had been imprisoned for several centuries, the only thing she could resort to was watch some TV... This wasn''t stalking, okay? She pulled up the system''s surveillance camera, displaying El''s current actions, only to be shown a sudden gore filled scene like straight from a horror movie. Godd*mn, she should have seen that coming. 70 The Necromancer and the Priestess 4 Although Yin Mei was already pretty used to seeing gore filled scenes (a zombie apocalypse world really did wonders to her mindset), she still closed the surveillance camera. She may be used to it, but that didn''t mean that she was interested in watching it like some sort of weird pervert. Several days later, while Yin Mei was messing around with magic and still in the midst of contemplating her next move, the Bishop payed her a visit. According to Celestina''s memories, this man would visit her at least once a week. Celestina didn''t have much of an opinion, if any at all, of this person. Yin Mei, seeing him in person, could only think that he looked really young - maybe late 20s at the oldest. He had long hair, and a stern and dignified aura. If Celestina''s holy aura was like a warm and peaceful spring sun, then his was like the harsh and unforgiving summer sun. His robes were white, with a red trim. Yin Mei felt that he slightly reminded her of Ming Wei, but just slightly. It wasn''t really in his appearance or the way he acted either, but just some sort of vague feel that he gave off. Or maybe she was just being delusional. Ah, perhaps that was it. He was similar in that they would both do anything for the sake of their goal. The two of them were in the church''s garden, with guards posted every five feet at a distance that did not intrude upon them, but would still allow them to react in time should anything happen. Yin Mei sat at a small table under a gazebo, sipping at a delicate cup of black tea, while the Bishop stood with his hands behind his back, facing outwards. "I heard that you recently requested for a knight and even took in some slave girl to work in the inner sanctum," He said, his voice just as dignified as the rest of him. It was a sort of dignity that came deep from within his bones, carefully cultivated over several years. "It is quite rare for you to take interest in people outside of your childhood friends." Yin Mei lowered her eyes, the thick lashes creating a shadow that covered their expression. Hum, she really didn''t know how to react to this guy. Seeing that she was remaining silent, the Bishop also didn''t bring up the matter any further. In his eyes, Celestina was a small bird who couldn''t do anything but sit in this golden cage of hers as she watched the outside world move by her. She was weak willed and obedient, never straying from the path she was told to take and never going against the flow of the river. Especially with her childhood friends in his hands, she would never disobey an order of his. Of course, with Celestina''s soul switched out, the new person inside couldn''t really care less about these childhood friends of Celestina''s that barely had any appearance time in the original plot line... The Bishop had already looked into the identities of the two people that Celestina had dragged to her side. The man called Kai had nothing of ill to speak about - his reputation among the Knights Templar was very good, and he had fairly decent skill. He was loyal and passionate in his work, and had been fervently pursuing the criminal El before being transferred to the inner sanctum. As for the slave girl, she had been sold by her parents when her village faced a drought and there was no more food to go around. It wasn''t anything rare. She was then later bought by Kiel, the childhood friend of Celestina and a professor of the magic academy who had a good reputation both as a teacher and a scholar. The Bishop recalled that this person had gone missing for a period of time during the epidemic several years back. It was assumed that he had died, but he had reappeared a few weeks after. Because of this, the Bishop was slightly suspicious of him, and what had happened in that time, but he had no proof of anything else. "You don''t have to worry about anything," Yin Mei finally said, after a long time of consideration. "Those two are ''good'' people." Yin Mei had on an earnest expression. Yes, that''s right. They were "good" people, at least, by normal standards. But this "good" person mask - she really wanted to rip it right off their faces and reveal the ugliness that lay underneath. The Bishop felt that the way that Celestina had said "good" was slightly odd, but he didn''t think too much into it - this was Celestina after all. She probably sincerely thought this. And after considering for a bit, he decided to let it be. After all, though Celestina had been unable to leave the church since a young age, she had good instincts. Her affinity with the light element allowed her to easily sense those who had bad intentions toward her or just in general. In addition, those people who were faced with Celestina''s holy aura for too long would begin to be plagued with guilt and quickly repent on their actions. This was why the selection process for the guards and priestesses in the inner sanctum needed to be so strict - it wasn''t just because they needed the best of the best protecting Celestina, but also because they needed those with strong wills and a clean conscience, so that Celestina''s holy aura wouldn''t adversely affect them in any way. Well, he would have his people first observe them. There was no harm in letting Celestina do what she wanted, as long as she didn''t go too far. After all, an obedient child should be given sweets occasionally, right? Aside from that, the two didn''t really have anything to talk about. The Bishop mentioned a few things, such as the return of a squadron of the Knights Templar from Gloom Forest, and anything else that Celestina would need to take note of as a high priestess. Which wasn''t a lot, simply because Celestina never really personally acted most of the time. She would occasionally reveal her face for publicity, or heal a member of the main church that was injured too severely for anyone else to heal, but that was about it. Her duties were mostly just to exist - as long as she was alive, the seal would remain intact. And she would have to live like this until the day that someone who could inherit her position was found. Apparently, her predecessor had waited a grand total of 700 years for Celestina before finally being freed. He was now traversing the world, and almost never checked in with the church. Ah! Yin Mei realized that finding someone to inherit her position was also a potential option. But no such person with that ability existed at this time. From how long Celestina''s predecessor had waited, it could be seen just how rare it was for a person to be born with a strong enough affinity to be able to act as the seal''s mediator. She sighed inwardly. It seemed that the first option was still the best. In addition, the mission wasn''t actually to free Celestina from the seal, but rather to unseal the demon. She paused, thinking this was slightly odd considering that El''s end goal should be the former. But the result was the same, so she didn''t think too much into it. The Bishop didn''t stay much longer, bidding Yin Mei farewell as he took a portion of the guards with him as he left. After all, compared to Yin Mei, the Bishop was much busier and he handled most of the duties of governing the church. On the other hand, Celestina had no such duties, so spent most of her time playing with small animals, reading, watching the scenery, or playing games with the priestesses. In other words, Yin Mei had so much free time - she was way too bored. She practically had a headache from thinking so much these last few days, she honestly just wanted to go outside and explore the world. Such a fantasy like world with knights, dragons, and mages, yet she couldn''t step a single foot outside of these godd*amn church walls! This was so important that she needed to emphasize it and repeat it multiple times. At least several times a day she had to curse her fate to remain stuck inside this stupid church. But, no matter. Since she found it hard to think, she would continue experimenting with magic. El was not the only one who could experiment with magic - Yin Mei decided she would too and try to potentially find another method that could work. Although the magic books in the church''s library were a little complicated, they weren''t too bad. She was able to make great gains in this short amount of time, in part because magic bore some similarity to cultivation. She was currently thinking of whether or not she could summon someone from another world. Yes, she wanted to turn this into an another world genre, because f*ck it, she could! When thinking of stories, she knew that this genre was very popular - people being summoned, reincarnating to, or just appearing in another world that was filled with fantasy and magic. They would be granted a variety of cheats, and in general be very OP. Bringing out this sort of protagonist to compete with the original protagonist, Yin Mei wondered if it was a good idea. And in some of the novels, these summoned kids weren''t as easy to trick into doing what the summoner wanted. But, she resolved that it was worth a try... it wasn''t just because she was feeling spiteful toward the "good" guy knight in shining armor type protagonist. But, she had already started testing out normal summoning. So far, she had been able to summon a light spirit - the little white bird familiar. Summoning was a researched subcategory of the light element system. In fact, all the elemental branches could summon spirits of their own element, but the those of the light element (and dark element) could specifically summon a variety of other things as well. The light element had a vast reach in the world of magic, along with dark magic. Because of this, aside from the extremely rare time and space element affinities, people with these affinities were extremely sought after and the two were considered one the strongest elements simply for how versatile they were. The thing that concerned Yin Mei was that summoning a person from another world would require the help of a space affinity mage. She did know of one space affinity mage in the plot line, so at least there was that. She was just a little concerned because of this person''s identity. In addition, she wondered if this weird round about way of doing things was really worth all this effort. She didn''t even know what benefit this summoning would have to herself, except for potentially inconveniencing the male lead and giving her another pawn to work with, or maybe another obstacle to deal with. Another pawn sounded good, but that was under the conditions that she could manipulate the person being summoned well - which she didn''t have all the confidence in the world to do. She wondered if she could specifically choose who she would want to summon, like they sometimes did in the novels. But, she had long discovered that things never went as well in real life as they did in the stories (which should be obvious). But, this matter should be saved until she made contact with the space affinity mage. She sighed. She really didn''t want to get in touch with a troublemaker like him, but she guessed that there was no choice. Aside from the matter of summoning someone from another world, that person would also be very useful later on. After all, he was one of the male lead''s allies in the original plot line that had aided him in defeating the great demon. And to top it off, he was the second male lead! He was both Kai''s ally and love rival. She let out yet another sigh. One male lead was already such a troublesome existence, but to add a second male lead into the mix... she really wasn''t sure how this would end up. 71 The Necromancer and the Priestess 5 Yin Mei was currently lying on the garden grass, her hands folded over her stomach as she looked up at the sky. She wasn''t watching the eternally blue and beautiful sky of the church''s inner sanctum, but looking at the system''s surveillance screen. The person on the screen was the space mage that Yin Mei was thinking of drawing to her side. This space mage was a frivolous, but handsome, looking man. He looked to be in his potential mid twenties, the same as the male lead. Yin Mei really wanted to say something about it - wasn''t this age gap between him and the female lead a little bit too big? But, well, she realized that a lot of novels had male leads with hundreds of years of age gap between them and the female lead, yet it was still acceptable because they looked young and handsome. So what was the age gap between the space affinity mage and the female lead in the face of that? Plus, the age gap between Rosella and Kai would also be slightly questionable then - in fact, it would be outright illegal in Yin Mei''s original world. But maybe because the era was different, the level of acceptance for this sort of thing was also different? This space affinity mage was a well known personage on the continent who went by the name of Leon. He was well known in part because he was in possession of a rare space element infinity, and in part because he was a truly skilled mage. Plus, he was also the son of a duke and the son of a princess. A highly desired bachelor and well known playboy who didn''t like being tied down, he only got serious when it came to the female lead... She shook her head at this, feeling slightly speechless. She could never understand why it was that only the female lead was so special that all these people would fall for her so easily. At the very least, he was not the type that was unreliable during important moments, or she would really give up on having him on her side. After all, she wouldn''t want a pig teammate dragging her down. Yin Mei looked at the screen and sighed. He wasn''t a pig teammate... probably? She watched as he flirted with the prostitutes at the high class brothel he frequented and really wondered how much she really wanted to go through with this summoning plan. Whatever! It was an interesting concept, and she was committed. Plus, it would be a good project to pass the time with... In the first place, for the matter of El, even if she didn''t give him any clues about his research, he would still be able to complete it within the next year or so, giving him the method. It was just the matter of his death that she worried about. She would still also have to interfere with the Knights Templar in similar ways that Celestina had done in the original plot line as well, in order to give El the time and space needed for him to continue his research. Ah! She then suddenly realized something. Taking Rosella away from his side wouldn''t have too big of an affect on the research, right? She thought about any points where Rosella might have contributed. A few months from now, if they were still following the original plot line, El would have Rosella begin to help him with his experiments. She would be filled with guilt and disgust over herself, but still end up participating, as she couldn''t disobey El''s orders. She had slowly gained El''s trust not only through her obedience, but also through her small but useful contributions toward his experiments. If Yin Mei recalled, she had been the one to accidentally stumble upon one of the key ingredients for the spell circle, a black flower found in Gloom Forest - coincidentally the same forest that the Bishop had mentioned the other day. She had also discovered an old spell book at a small bookshop in the capital that had allowed El some significant gains. Aside from those two, that should be it? Yin Mei reviewed the information with a critical eye and nodded. Those two should be the most important points. So, she would probably need to send Rosella out to find at least the flower? Maybe the book as well. She felt that even though she knew the vague location and descriptions of these items, they would be hard to find without the aid of the protagonist''s aura, which was just filled with good fortune. It was an aura that tyrannically claimed all treasures present in the area. As long as it was a good treasure, it would fall into the hands of the protagonist. Therefore, though Yin Mei was reluctant, she thought that she would still need to send either Rosella or Kai to go look for these two items. She didn''t want Kai to leave the inner sanctum, but Rosella was still okay - she said this because Rosella had no combat capabilities and was lacking in experience in comparison to Kai. So in other words, if the situation took a turn and for some reason the protagonist encountered El, or something happened that would lead them to El, it was better for Rosella to be the one to be there instead of Kai. Yin Mei wondered if she was thinking too much into things, but then shook her head. Considering the power of the protagonist''s halo, it wasn''t pushing it to assume that if Kai or Rosella went out, they would come across some sort of clue pointing them toward El''s true identity. She decided to make a little checklist in her mind. Pulling over the space mage Leon to her side. Sending Rosella to fetch the black flower and magic book. Researching summoning. Preventing El''s death. Now she would need to plan out how to do each of them. The most important issue was probably El''s death, but that was also something that wasn''t going to happen all that soon. There was a year left, so for now, she could put it off. Plus, she didn''t know what exactly she could do to prevent this in the first place, other than keep a tight reign on Kai and Rosella. The next important thing then would probably be sending Rosella to gather ingredients for the unsealing. The book shop was in the capital, so that could happen at any time. Yin Mei decided that to increase the chances of success, she would specifically send Rosella at the same point in the timeline that she would have originally gone. As for the black flower, Yin Mei would need to ponder this. The best way would be to probably send her along with a squadron of Knights Templar when they go on expedition to the Gloom Forest. This was a regular event, but because they had just left to go, it would probably be several months before they went again. But if Yin Mei requested it, it may be possible to shorten the time in between the expeditions. She decided that she would mention it to the Bishop next time. That left the last two. Researching summoning would be a hard process, and would become much quicker if she had Leon to aid her. So she would probably have to leave that for after she recruited Leon. In other words, the first thing that she would have to do is get Leon on her side. So the next week, when the Bishop paid her a visit again, she asked him about the two matters of the expedition and Leon. She disliked that to do most things, she had to go through the Bishop, but that was just how it worked. In the end, the one with the most authority in the church was this man. Even if she requested, say, Elaina, Elaina would still have to go through the Bishop anyways. So it was just faster if she talked to the Bishop instead of using her attending priestess as an intermediary. "You want to push the next expedition to Gloom Forest forward? And allow that girl you took in to go with them?" The Bishop said. Celestina almost never asked for things, so the Bishop felt he was always surprised when she did. And perhaps because she rarely asked for something, he would normally grant it. But this issue was a little tricky. The matter of pushing the expedition forward wasn''t too big of a deal, it was the fact that Celestina wanted them to bring a girl with no known combat ability to Gloom Forest. Gloom Forest was a place filled with monsters and miasmas, having been contaminated several thousand years ago when the bridge to the demon world opened up. It was something that rarely happened, but when it did, a lot of sacrifices always had to be made in order to stand up against the demons until the bridge closed up again. Even now, Gloom Forest remained corrupted by miasma and demonic magic, so the church had to constantly send people out to purify and cleanse the place, as well as thin out the monsters. Although the Bishop wasn''t really a good person, he was still someone that knew how to take care of his people - in a slightly cunning, manipulative sort of way. As a result, he couldn''t really immediately agree to this. After all, it would make it harder on the expedition members. Yin Mei didn''t know what the Bishop was thinking, but she could roughly guess his thought process. Mostly because that was what Yin Mei would think herself. Who would want to babysit some weak girl in such a dangerous situation? Because of this, she would have to say something to give him the incentive to accept... "There''s something I need in Gloom Forest that only she can get," Yin Mei said, and the Bishop seemed to be in thought. He wondered if this was the reason that she was doing things that were out of the ordinary for her? If so, he wondered what item it was that she wanted so much to go this far for it. He looked to her, and Yin Mei could tell that he was silently questioning her. "It''s part of a project that I''m doing." She said with such a sweet smile that the Bishop couldn''t help but stay silent for several moments. "Could you also summon Leon of the Duke of Adellain''s house? It''s also for this project." The Bishop finally asked. "What''s this project?" She was looking for an item in the Gloom Forest, and even wanting to summon a space affinity magician. He tried to think for a moment, but couldn''t really come up with anything with so few clues. "I''m going to create a hero." A couple of weeks later, Leon was summoned to the church''s inner sanctum. He was extremely surprised, as the amount of people who were granted an audience with the high priestess were very low, and the amount of people who were requested to have an audience with her were even lower. She was a personage that ordinary people could only dream of meeting. Among the nobles of the Erindal Empire of Leon''s generation, she was a legendary, untouchable beauty known as the church''s golden oriole. Personally, Leon was not really interested in that sort of sheltered and pure girl that was untouched by worldly desires and impurities - a girl who quietly sat, comfortable in her little cage. But, there was no way that he would reject a summons to meet her. Although she wasn''t his type, he was still a little interested in the girl who was often talked about in the rumors. He had to take a bath in holy water, dress in simple clothes given to him by the church, and was purified by a priestess before finally being taken in to meet the high priestess. Yin Mei was once again sitting under the garden gazebo, sipping at a cup of tea and delicately eating a slice of cake. The inner sanctum didn''t really have any sort of meeting room for her to use, like say a palace would, so this gazebo would often be used instead. There was no need to worry about issues like weather either, as the church''s inner sanctum used magic to keep itself at this perfect moment in time - a just warm enough, sunny spring day. Yin Mei turned to look at Leon, her blue eyes blinking as she studied the man. There wasn''t really anything different about him from what she had seen in the surveillance she had performed, though he did put on a much more dignified expression in comparison to the one he had on while wooing prostitutes - though that was to be expected. Leon was the type of person who was at least good at putting up appearances when he needed to, and was also capable of being serious when it was necessary. When Leon saw Yin Mei, he had to say that he was surprised. He had seen her form a distance before, when she had made a public appearance to a few selected commoners. He couldn''t really quite recall what he had thought back then, just remembering commenting to a friend that such a person wasn''t someone that they would probably ever see again. Seeing her now, in person, he could definitely say she deserved her title of a legendary beauty. It was a beauty and warmth that almost made him completely forget about all that nonsense he had thought earlier, about her not being his type. No matter whether she wasn''t someone''s type or not, the moment a person met her, they would realize that this type of girl was actually everyone''s type - this was not just her appearance, but also Celestina''s holy aura at work. Though Leon was a skilled mage, it required more than strong magic to resist the natural charm of Celestina''s holy aura - one needed to also be of strong light affinity, like the Bishop, and have a strong will, like Kai. Leon had neither the strength of will belonging to a protagonist, nor a strong light affinity. But he was still a second male lead after all. He blinked a few times, partially clearing his head. Although he still had that pleasant and warm feeling in his heart, his thoughts were clear again. He may not be able to completely resist it, but like the priestesses and guards of the inner sanctum, he was able to retain his calm and control over his mind and heart. He had to say, above all else, she really was like the second coming of the light goddess! Such strong light aura, it was absolutely one of a kind. If Yin Mei knew his thoughts, she would roll her eyes. Such strong light aura, in the end, wasn''t it still useless against a protagonist''s aura? 72 The Necromancer and the Priestess 6 When Yin Mei discussed the matter of her project with Leon, he was quite intrigued. Summoning a hero was, like Yin Mei had thought, more suited to the space system of magic, as it was taking an object or person or whatever else and essentially teleporting them through space and time to get to the location they wanted them to. Yin Mei constantly invited Leon over to work on this side project of theirs. Rather surprisingly, Leon was a fairly passionate researcher of magic. Although it was rather implied that he was a skilled magician mainly due to his high affinity and genius, in actuality, a lot of his skill came from hard work and research. She admitted that he was a better person than he appeared to be on an outside - he had more depth to him rather than just being the empire''s number one well known playboy. During this time, El made several visits to see her. Yin Mei didn''t say too much about her project or the matter of the two ingredients that she would be sending Rosella out to find, and they instead mostly only made small talk. Celestina would leak important church information to him on occasion, but she didn''t really have that much access to such information. The Bishop never told her really important things, as long as there wasn''t any need for her to know them. The things he did tell her were normally like if a member of the royal family was born, thus they would be coming over for her to baptize the newborn. Either that, or if she was to make a public appearance, or if a subjugation team was going out, and etc. She was not completely left out of the dark about the hunt for El, mostly because the Bishop never revealed to her the identity of the "criminal necromancer" that he would speak of. But, he was still cautious about her finding out, so he would never say much. It was just that Celestina had already discovered of the necromancers existence through the mouths of some of the more talkative priestesses, so he did give her some information to keep her from asking more or becoming overly curious. Yin Mei and El were sitting on their ground with their backs to each other, and El passed her a cookie that he had gotten from a popular bakery outside. Celestina was not allowed to eat anything from the outside, but El knew that this was her favorite item from when they had sneaked out to play in the capital when they were kids, so he would always bring some for her when he visited her through the secret passageway. "I heard that recently you''ve been inviting that space user, Leon, to the church?" El said, his expression covered in the shadows created by the flickering candle lights that never seemed to go out. Leon''s playboy attitude was not at all secret, and El''s heart grew dark when he thought about that person using his flowery words and cunning wiles to seduce his Celes. "Yes. I need his help for something." Yin Mei answered, not seeming to notice that the person beside her was currently eating a jar of vinegar right now. She was instead happily munching on the cookie. The food that the high priestess got was pretty good, just a little too... humble for her tastes. It was plain and simple, something that you would expect a member of the pious church to eat. But Yin Mei couldn''t stand eating that sort of thing day in and day out, and wanted a little more variety... It was too bad that the priestesses had all vehemently opposed her stepping foot in the kitchen, so now her only comfort were some of the sweets the priestesses made for hobby, or the snacks that El brought from the outside. Hearing this, El felt even more upset in his heart. If he had to explain the way he felt toward Celestina, then he would say that he felt more like a father or older brother toward her than anything. And this emotion too, he explained it as a feeling of his daughter being chased around by a good for nothing fly. It wasn''t that he was jealous. He felt that this emotion was really complex... he wondered what matter Celestina was talking about - was it not something that she could say to him? Was it something he was incapable of helping her do? Was he just that unreliable, or was it that only that playboy magician could help her with it? A thousand questions and thoughts swirled in his head, and his heart only grew heavier and darker. "It''ll be a nice surprise when I finish it," she commented, bringing El out of his reverie. He didn''t reply, but pondered on the meaning of her words. They talked about a few more little things, with El mostly talking about what was going on with the outside world - how a new sweets store had opened up that was popular with his female students, or how a famous entertainment troupe was coming into town soon. Those sorts of things. At the end, Yin Mei would always see him off with a smile, before returning back to her room, or if it was still early, to sit at the fountain in the inner sanctum''s courtyard. Today, she would once again be meeting up with Leon to discuss some finer details of the summoning circle that they would be using. It was already around time for Rosella to go with the expedition. Considering Rosella''s luck was actually pretty good, and she wasn''t as prone to getting into trouble like Wen Hua had been, Yin Mei didn''t feel too worried. With her protagonist aura, it was likely that she would not get into any life threatening danger that would kill her. When Rosella was asked by Yin Mei to find a certain herb for her, she immediately agreed. This life at the church was extremely peaceful and happy for her, and she felt that she had Yin Mei to owe for this. Because of this, she would do anything to repay this debt toward the girl. Although she was a little worried about going to the Gloom Forest of the stories and rumors, she was still determined to get the flower that Yin Mei had asked for. She was being entrusted with this important task; she would ensure that she would carry it out no matter what. When Rosella met the captain in charge of the expedition, he appeared like a middle aged veteran that had seen his fair share of battles, the scar running down his face giving him a gruff and stern look. She was nervous, but recalled that she was here for the sake of her assignment, given to her personally by the high priestess. Although the members of the squad were secretly a little bit unsatisfied having to take care of this little girl who probably had no combat experience whatsoever, they also knew that this had been a personal order from the Bishop, under the request of the high priestess. All the members here were very loyal to the church, and held extreme respect for these two personages. Because of this, there was no bullying or snubbing of Rosella - they maintained a semblance of politeness toward her. Though, that was just how the knights normally acted in the first place. All the members of the Knights Templar normally had impeccable manners, and were known as the symbol of the country. There was no way that they would act rude in a way that would tarnish the church''s reputation. Because Rosella would be accompanying them into the Gloom Forest, Yin Mei had the priestesses give her the adequate supplies, while also personally blessing Rosella so that she wouldn''t be affected by the miasma of the forest. Rosella had never been to the forest before, but Celestina''s attendants had told her all sorts of things before she left. It was slightly different from the exaggerated stories that she had heard, but she felt that their version of things was much more reliable, because some of them had gone on expeditions themselves before becoming Celestina''s attendants. Though they had probably also added on embellishments, a first hand story was much better than those rumors that had passed through who knows how many ears and mouths before reaching Rosella. To reach the Gloom Forest from the capital would normally be a two week travel by horse, but the church had several teleportation circles established that would lead to their major branches, including one that was right at the edge of the Gloom Forest. This sort of teleportation circle was only available for use by the royal family and the church. For a commoner, or even many nobles, they would never have the chance to experience teleporting. It would also be Rosella''s first time, and she had to say it was not the most pleasant of experiences, causing her to feel nauseous and sick at the end of it. They were lead out by a priest, and she saw the complete change in scenery. The edge of Gloom Forest was not very populated, and this church was also only here as a sort of border guard, to defend against miasma from spreading too far outside of the forest, and take care of any straggling monsters that would sometimes wander outside. Aside from that, there were almost no villages, aside from a very small one that housed the family members of the church. This was due to the fact that being so close to Gloom Forest meant that the land wasn''t fertile, and the water unclean. Everything had to be imported in from any other major branches, be it through the use of teleportation, or from traveling merchants that wanted to curry favor with the church or sell items useful toward monster subjugation. Rosella stood outside with the rest of the group of ten to fifteen people, who were getting ready. Priests and priestesses blessed and buffed themselves and the other members of the group, while the knights put on their armor. None of them were carrying bags, the supplies instead being stored in a spatial storage bracelet - this sort of thing was essential, but very hard to get. Rosella felt awkward, because although the knights and priests treated her politely, there was no chatting between them. They all had on serious expression, and they didn''t make any small talk, just discussion the task at hand. When they set off, the captain gathered everyone to position, and Rosella was put in the middle of the group with the few priests and priestesses as the knights surrounded them protectively. She wondered how she would be able to look for the black flower that the high priestess had asked her to look for in this situation, but she also couldn''t stray from the group, else she would most likely end up food for the monsters. She pondered her options, but could only choose to stay with the group. After all, even if she found the flower, she needed to stay alive in order to return and hand it over to the high priestess, right? So she shouldn''t neglect her life either in order to search for it. The expedition would last for a total of two weeks, before they would head back to the capital. For the first week, nothing much out of the ordinary happened. Because this time''s expedition had been moved up, there were less monsters than normal to clear. Everyone here were experienced and moved like a well oiled machine. Because there were priests to back them up, they weren''t afraid to get a little injured - as long as they didn''t lose a limb or die, then the priests would still be able to heal them. Rosella felt admiration for these knights, seeing the skillful way they fought and their stern figures. She had seen knights before, but only during the occasional parades when they came back from an especially difficult subjugation. She had thought they were gallant looking and dignified then, but seeing them fighting in person now was much different. Rosella, seeing all this, couldn''t help but make the determination to become stronger - a small desire to become a knight herself was birthed in her heart. If she became a knight, wouldn''t she also be able to join these people in protecting the church and the high priestess tooth and nail, through her own blood, sweat and tears? Actually, before, she had never thought that the church and nation did much for her. When her village was in a drought, where was the help? When she was sold to slave owners, where was the goddess of light to aid her then? But, when she had the opportunity to meet the high priestess, all those doubts and that hatred seemed to have faded away. Ahh, all those obstacles and trials were for this moment, was what she had thought. Because she had overcome them, she was granted the chance to meet with the high priestess. In her eyes, the person who had saved her from slavery (though granted, being Sir Kiel''s slave was not bad, a slave was still a slave) was the high priestess. A female knight. Thinking about it, she nodded in satisfaction. This image was really nice. She wouldn''t be that helpless young girl who couldn''t do anything while her parents sold her to a slave trader anymore. She would make them regret. Make everyone who had wronged her because of her status as a slave regret. 73 The Necromancer and the Priestess 7 Rosella was panting, smeared with mud as she hid in a ditch, tucking herself in a shadowy place behind the roots of a tree. She clutched a bag to her chest, making herself as still as possible. She covered her mouth with her hand, stopping her breathing as she closed her eyes. Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest. There was a rustling in the dark and gloomy blue-black leaves of the forest, as something seemed to stop, sniffing loudly. Rosella was just reaching her limits when the thing finally moved away. She released her hand, letting out a sharp gasp as she drunk in the damp and heavy air. Why was she here in this situation again? Rosella tried to recall, but thinking about it, her body started to shiver and her face turned pale. That''s right. The squad had been completely wiped out by something. She didn''t know what it was, but it had killed everyone. No, perhaps not everyone, but Rosella had been too concentrated on surviving herself that she didn''t know if anyone other than her was still alive. That bloody image still made her feel nauseous. And now she was alone in this forest, with no idea how to get out, or even survive. Each moment was a battle - she constantly had to run and hide from the monsters. And she still didn''t know if that something that had taken out the squad was still there. Although the forest was dangerous, the squad should have been experienced. Something that powerful shouldn''t have appeared. What in the world was happening? She closed her eyes, getting sleepy. No, she couldn''t fall unconscious here. She had to find a safer place... Back in the capital, Yin Mei had on a dark expression as she looked at the system''s surveillance screen. She had been checking in on Rosella daily, but she had just looked away once, and something major like this had happened? She rewound the video, watching what had actually happened from start to finish. What in the world was that? If she recalled, there hadn''t been anything like that in the information. It was a dark, shadowy thing that appeared like some sort of beast with glowing red eyes. The closest thing that she could reference it too from Celestina''s memories was... an evil creature, perhaps? But... Yin Mei glanced away, in deep thought. An evil creature was a being of pure concentrated miasma. It didn''t have a corporeal body, and could only be defeated through strong holy magic. The problem was that an evil creature shouldn''t have appeared. Or rather, one hadn''t appeared since the early years after the demon bridge had disappeared. This was because the church consistently went on expeditions in order to purify the miasma! In doing so, there was no way it could reach a concentration high enough to give birth to such a thing. Especially considering that the time in between this expedition and the last one was even less than usual! So why is it that it had appeared anyways? Could it be the prelude to the opening of the demon bridge? No, that shouldn''t be the case. The demon bridge had never opened during the time period covered by the information. Unless her appearance had resulted in a strong butterfly effect?? No, she would first need to quickly report this to the Bishop. Rosella still hadn''t gotten the black flower for her, so how could she let her just die off like this right now? That day, the church when into a frenzy as the high priestess sensed the birth of an evil creature in Gloom Forest. Actually, Celestina didn''t have this sort of ability, but there was no way that anyone knew this, as it had been far too long since the last appearance of an evil creature. Because of Celestina''s personality and ability though, there wasn''t anyone who doubted her. The Bishop immediately gathered up a squad of highly skilled and experienced priests and knights, and was even considering to personally go himself when thinking of the dangers that an evil creature would pose. But upon further thought, he couldn''t leave the church with all the work that he had to deal with. In the end, Yin Mei and the Bishop had a serious conversation for the first time in order to choose a person with the suitable ability to go. They didn''t know how much holy power was needed in order to defeat an evil creature, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The problem was that aside from Yin Mei and the Bishop, all the other members of the church simply didn''t meet the cut for them. There was just too large of a difference in affinity. Yin Mei already knew that it had taken out almost the entire squad that they had sent on this expedition, and that squad already contained some fairly experienced and talented members of the church. To be killed off despite this, Yin Mei knew that it would be difficult to find someone who would be able to take care of this among the church members. The only person she could think of off the top of her head would be Kai - she thought that with his protagonist aura, even if he wasn''t fully equipped to kill off the evil creature now, he should probably still be able to do survive and then power up and do so later? But her experience with male lead''s made her confidence waver. She thought that there was a very delicate balance with what a protagonist could handle - although it was implied that they could overcome any obstacle, her experience made it clear that there were in fact obstacles too powerful for them to overcome sometimes. The obstacle had to be at just the right strength for them at that moment to be able to survive and then power up. She blinked. Perhaps this was the perfect chance to try out her summoning project? They were almost done, and Yin Mei had predicted they would only need a few more meetings and some small experiments to work out the minor details - it would be possible to push things up a bit if they needed to. But this would still take some time. Would Rosella be able to hang on until then? Oh! She could always send her little familiar to aid her. Thinking of things this way, Yin Mei made her decision. "Are you sure about doing this?" Leon said with an anxious decision, as he tried to keep up with the quick paced Yin Mei. "Of course I am. There''s no one else who can do it. I can''t leave the church, and even if the Bishop could, we can''t afford to lose him." Yin Mei said. Saying it like this was pretty cruel. Leon blinked, feeling shocked at what she was implying. In other words, because they couldn''t risk losing the Bishop... they would summon someone who was more disposable? He paused. No, she probably didn''t realize the implications of her words. After all, Celestina was not that type of person. He was just thinking too deeply into things. He saw that Yin Mei had gotten even further ahead of him and so quickly jogged to catch up. The two of them entered a room in the inner sanctum that they had cleared out to use for their summoning project. On the ground was a complete summoning circle drawn in white chalk. "We still have only done some minor experiments. Even if it''s you, the mana consumption rate-" Yin Mei interrupted him. "It won''t kill me." She had calculated it herself. The mana consumption would exponentially increase based on the mass of the person summoned, but it was still within manageable parameters. At least in theory. They had already put in the target restrictions - limited attachment to the earth, high holy affinity, and an acceptable personality. How the magic would judge this, Yin Mei guessed it had to do something with the goddess. Leon sighed, but knew he couldn''t change her mind. He instead went to go grab a few priestesses to be on standby, in case something happened. Yin Mei couldn''t die at this moment in time. If she did, then forget about the evil creature, they would have a bigger problem on hand. He was shocked that the Bishop would actually agree to such a risky plan. The reason the Bishop had agreed was because of Celestina''s confidence. Above all, Celestina''s magic skill was undeniable. Because of this, he didn''t think it would be a problem. Yin Mei knelt down before the circle before the worried faces of the priestesses and Leon. Ah, perhaps she should''ve said something to El before this. But it was too late now. And anyways, why was she thinking like this would be the last time she would see him? "Goddess be by my side, in this time of need." She muttered. She wasn''t a religious person, but the goddess was a real entity. And she could sure use her right now. The people present blinked, feeling shocked as they seemed to see the hazy image of a smiling woman appear behind Yin Mei for a moment. That image, was just like that of the paintings and statues of the goddess that were in the church! Yin Mei began chanting, power flowing through her veins and the circle light up with a warm golden light. There was a flash of light, and power quickly drained out of it. By the time the priestesses and Leon regained their sight, a young girl in a school uniform was sitting with a shocked expression in the middle of the summoning circle, while Yin Mei had collapsed, unconscious. The priestesses immediately rushed to her side, pouring their magic into her to make up for what she had lost. But their magic was only a drop in the ocean for Celestina, and they knew it would probably require days of effort from them before she could awaken - the good thing was that she was still alive, and still maintaining the seal. The young girl, a high school student from Earth by the name of Yu Na, blinked in confusion at this sight before her. She had been walking home from school when a flash of light had appeared before her feet, and before she knew it, she was now in this stone room. On the ground was some sort of circle written in strange runes, while a beautiful lady was collapsed before her, other pretty women fussing around the girl. "How are you?" Asked a deep voice, drawing Yu Na''s attention to a beautiful man dressed in a purple tasseled robe. He had a gentle expression, but his eyes kept on darting toward the fallen girl. It was clear that he was worried about her, but he still prioritized talking to Yu Na. He could tell from the reaction of the priestesses that Celestina was not in any danger, so he decided to confirm the results of the experiment first. "I-I-" Yu Na felt slightly panicked. Where in the world was this? It couldn''t be that this was the rumored summoned to another world trope commonly used in light novels right? She felt shocked, but quickly regained her bearings. For these youths that were constantly fed this sort of story, they immediately knew to analyze their surroundings and confirm the reality of the situation. She pinched herself, feeling the pain. It wasn''t a dream. She really was summoned to another world! She felt a mixture of worry and shock, but more importantly was excitement. After all, this was another world they were talking about here! She could see the glowing light from the palms of the hands of the women surrounding the collapsed blond haired girl, and could confirm... it was a world of magic! "Where is this?" She asked, her voice growing slightly more confident as she succeeded in calming herself down. "This is the Empire of Erindal. I''m sure you''re confused, but we''ll explain everything." Leon said, reaching out his hand. Yu Na blushed a little - after all, this person was really way too handsome. She took his hand, and he helped her up. Leon told the priestesses to take Yin Mei to her room, and had them also call the Bishop just in case. Although Yin Mei was not in any danger, it was better safe than sorry. The Bishop had the mana needed to heal her faster anyways. He had someone take the girl they had summoned to an empty room, and only after arranging everything did he go to see her again. He calmly explained the situation, and Yu Na''s eyes began to sparkle more and more as she understood it. It seems that the church that she had been summoned by was currently in a predicament. An extremely powerful thing known as an evil creature had appeared and had already killed off a squad of some of their most skilled and experienced knights and priests. The beautiful girl who had summoned her was their high priestess, who, though she had a very high holy affinity and was unrivaled in power, was unable to leave the church. Because of this, they could only rely on summoning another person to help them dispel the evil creature, that could only be killed by people with high holy affinity. "We''ll test your holy affinity later, but it shouldn''t be low, since we specifically summoned someone with a high affinity. For now, you should get some rest." Leon said. He bid farewell, shutting the door behind him. His expression was slightly indifferent, as he stood for a moment with his back to the door. He didn''t mention to her, that if her affinity was high enough, then not just the matter of the evil creature - it may even be possible to use her as Celestina''s successor. He wondered, did Celestina think about this when creating the summoning circle...? No. He still felt the same when he thought of what she had said earlier. Celestina was ignorant - he didn''t think she had the capabilities of thinking that far into things. The reason why she had started summoning was merely due to her free time and interest in magic in the first place. What she did was to aid the people. And anyways, the matter of finding a disposable pawn and finding someone to replace her as the seal''s intermediary were slightly contradictory as well. He sighed. It would be good if she woke up soon. 74 The Necromancer and the Priestess 8 El was grading tests on his desk at school when the little bird that had been joyfully eating sunflower seeds from a small bowl he had placed at the windowsill perked up. It glanced out the window, and a moment later, flapped its wings and flew away. El''s first thought was if something had happened to Celes for it to leave so quickly. He paused. It shouldn''t be the case? Celes was a powerful mage, and protected by the most elite members of the church. But, he still couldn''t dispel the nagging feeling he had in his heart, so decided to pay a visit to the church later today. When he arrived, the church was bustling with activity as knights and priests rushed too and fro. The inner sanctum''s entrance was guarded more heavily than before, and El could feel his heart sinking. The guards, though some were familiar with Kiel, would not let him in as this was an emergency situation. Around this time, a priestess from the inner sanctum walked by, immediately recognizing the beautiful professor. "Sir Kiel!" She exclaimed, and hurried over. She looked around as she grabbed him and pulled him to the side. "This isn''t really a good time to be here. You should go back the academy." "What happened?" El asked, his voice stiff. The priestess, Naenia, noticed something was wrong and saw the tense worry on Sir Kiel''s face. This was the first time that she had seen him lose composure, but thinking about it, it made sense. After all, he was probably worried sick about the high priestess''s situation, with no idea what was going on. "The high priestess was testing out a new form of magic. She just accidentally used up all her mana and is currently unconscious, but the Bishop is attending to her and she''s not in any danger." Naenia answered, comforting the man. "Naenia! What''re you doing? Hurry up!" A priestess spotted Naenia and called out to her, and the young priestess looked back to say that she''d be there in a moment. She looked at Sir Kiel with a sorry expression. "I have to go. You can try coming back a few days later, though I don''t know if the high priestess will be awake by then." With those words, she rushed away, meeting up with the priestess who had called her as they hurried to the high priestess''s room. El was silent, his expression unreadable as his head was bowed, his eyes covered in shadow. In a blink of an eye, he was gone, as if he had never been there. In the Gloom Forest, a little white bird flew a few times around Rosella before landing on her shoulder. Rosella recognized this little bird, as she had seen it with the high priestess before. She cuddled it to her cheek, feeling comforted inside. Her body grew warmer, as a shimmering veil of light fell over her. She knew that this must be the high priestess who had sent the bird, knowing that she was in this predicament. She felt even more determination. Even though things weren''t going as planned, she wouldn''t let this stop her from completing her mission. With the light spirit familiar by her side, no ordinary monster in Gloom Forest could pose her any trouble, and they all steered clear of Rosella. This sort of strong light aura immediately gave them a sense of danger - they knew that if they came into contact with it, they would most certainly die. Even the air around them seemed to be slowly purified by just this one protection barrier, making the air lighter and easier to breath. Rosella spent the next several days looking for the black flower. She didn''t know where she would find it, or even what it looked like exactly. Yin Mei''s description hadn''t been very specific - she had said it was a flower with black petals and leaves, and that Rosella would know when she saw it. Although Yin Mei had told the girl not to stress too much about finding it, Rosella was filled with energy as she searched high and low, leaving no inch of ground uncovered. Back at the church, the Bishop was sitting on a chair by Celestina''s bed, where Yin Mei lay unconscious, only looking as if she was sleeping peacefully. He was reading several papers, doing work as he watched over the high priestess. At this time, there was a knock on the door as Leon entered. The man had already reported in detail what had happened earlier, and this time, the matter he was here for was for something else. "How is the high priestess?" He asked, walking over and looking down at Celestina''s beautiful face - she almost looked like she had been frozen in time, able to awaken at any moment. "She''s fine. She''ll be able to wake up in a week," the Bishop replied, his voice slightly cold. Leon smiled bitterly, but didn''t say anything about the cold reaction the man had. After all, it could be said that it was partially his fault they were in this situation in the first place. But, the Bishop knew that he was also partially at fault. They all were. This could have been completely preventable, but he had been too lax with things. His eyes darkened slightly, and Leon shivered. So the man who represented the church of the gentle goddess of light could actually show such a terrifying expression... Leon didn''t say much, just wanting to check on how Yin Mei was doing. Afterwards, he left to go to Yu Na''s place in order to test her holy affinity. It was really easy to test for a person''s affinity - they used a classic magic crystal, that would react to their affinity and display it in colors and intensity of the light it gave off. For someone at Celestina''s level, she had broken the magic crystal ball and they had to use a much larger and stronger version that they had stored away to actually properly measure her affinity. Leon had with him a couple of priestesses as witness, and they directly went to the large pillar of magic crystal instead of using the smaller crystal ball. It wasn''t because he had confidence that Yu Na would have a strong affinity, but it was because she needed to have such a strong affinity if she was to go against the evil creature. It was better to skip the step of the smaller magic crystal and just directly make sure with this larger one. Yu Na was feeling a mixture of anticipation and excitement, as her hand came closer to the crystal. She had already been changed out of her school uniform into the traditional priestess robes. Because the priestesses didn''t want any outside things contaminating the inner sanctum, they had directly burned her uniform. Although she had been a little sad, she felt it was more freeing than anything - as if it showed that she was leaving her old life behind for a newer, better life here. When she touched the pillar, a pure golden light flooded the room, almost blinding everyone present. "She actually has a holy affinity that''s almost on the level of the high priestess...!" One woman said, as they looked in shock. "This is great! Now the high priestess can finally have a successor!" Another girl said, but a sharp glance from the other priestess made her cover her mouth as she glanced toward Yu Na. But the high school girl was too busy being fascinated by the heat of the stone and light, her eyes glittering in fascination as it slowly died down. Leon had on a cool expression as he watched this, but put on a gentle smile when Yu Na finally turned to face him, praising her with a few kind words. They began quickly arranging plans for her to go to Gloom Forest. As Leon was walking back with Yu Na, a hand clapped him on the back and he turned around to see Kai, who had on a grin on his face. Leon raised a hand to motion to the priestesses, and they silently took Yu Na away with them back to her room. "What is it?" He asked, folding his hands across his chest. "What? I can''t greet a friend?" Kai replied as Leon leaned up against a white pillar and let out a sigh. "No, it''s just that I''m a little busy right now." Leon answered, massaging his temples. There was really a lot to consider. Yu Na''s light affinity was really too high - it was likely that the Bishop would insist that she stay and train to be the high priestess''s successor. He seemed to pause for a moment, not knowing how to feel about this. Actually, in his heart, he thought that this wasn''t too bad of a thing... This way, Celestina wouldn''t have to stay locked away in this church for hundreds of years, like her predecessor had. "I know you probably are," Kai said with a nod. "Do you have any information about the expedition to Gloom Forest?" He asked. He had been assigned to this time''s subjugation of the evil creature, but he was a little worried about the previous expedition that Rosella had gone with - because the two of them had arrived in the inner sanctum around the same time, they got along fairly well and Kai thought of the slave girl a bit like a little sister. He was worried about her status, what with the whole uproar about the evil creature roaming around in Gloom Forest. Leon shook his head. "I don''t think you need to worry about anything. The high priestess wouldn''t send Rosella there without any preparations." He said. He knew the reason that Kai was worried and had in fact met Rosella once. There wasn''t anything to dislike about the girl, but he also didn''t have any interest in her. For some reason, after this long, it seemed that all other girls seemed to dull in comparison to Celestina. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He really didn''t like this feeling in his heart, constantly weighing on him and making him feel unbearably uncomfortable. He hated, despised. Kai nodded. He also believed this, but he couldn''t help the worry in his heart. He wanted to quickly rush to Gloom Forest to go look for Rosella. That girl had suffered a lot from her childhood already. He felt that she shouldn''t have to suffer anymore, yet this sort of thing had actually happened to her. Leon understood his friend''s worries still weren''t alleviated despite those words, so he continued. "The summoned girl has already been tested for her affinity. If it was up to me, she would stay here for a few more days to learn the basics of magic, but we probably don''t have that much time. We might have her set out with the group first and learn along the way." He said, tapping his finger on his arm in thought. "Hmm," Kai said in thought. He didn''t know what complicated thoughts were going on through the heads of those higher ups like the high priestess and the Bishop, but he knew they had their own considerations when they made the choice to summon that girl. Even though to him she looked just like a young girl who had never seen battle... He looked in the direction that Yu Na had left in, his eyes narrowing. "Are you feeling pity? Don''t. She''s almost as powerful as the high priestess. I hear that it took the high priestess less than a day to master the basics of magic, and then not even a year before she became a grand mage. Although evil creatures are said to be extremely strong, she should be enough to take care of a single evil creature. She doesn''t need to know any complex spells to do it either." Leon said, as he straightened up his back and got up from where he was leaning on the pillar. "I''ll keep you updated, but for now, it''s better if I go teach that girl a few things before it''s time for the subjugation group to leave." He pat Kai on the shoulder as he left, and the knight watched for a moment before also turning away and returning to his post. If Leon said such a thing, then he would trust him. 75 The Necromancer and the Priestess 9 "Ah, it died again," El muttered, his expression scarily cold and indifferent as he set down the scalpel in his hand, gazing down at the cut open corpse on the table. He took a nearby towel, wiping the blood on his hands as he sat down, leaning back with a weary sigh. His surroundings were dark, barely lit with a single candle, as his gold eyes glowed in the writhing shadows. Blood pooled on the floor, seeping into his shoes as he seemed absent minded. He had come here to get his mind off things, but his thoughts couldn''t help but run around in a circle before falling back onto Celes. "Why? Why did she do something like that?" He muttered, head in his hand as he clutched at his hair. "Quickly," he stood up, slightly stumbling as he walked toward the door. "I have to quickly unseal him..." He didn''t look back, raising a hand as the swirling shadows seemed to eagerly devour the corpse and blood, leaving nothing behind but the reeking stench of death. A couple of days after Yu Na had been summoned, Yin Mei had yet to wake up. The Bishop made the decision to send Leon and Yu Na along with a group of elite knights and priests to Gloom Forest. When they arrived, the forest seemed even more menacing than usual, the air heavy with miasma. "What in the world is this? The miasma should have been purified pretty recently, so just how in the world is there still so much...!" The priestess, Naenia, exclaimed, covering her mouth in disgust. Just being near such heavy miasma was making the members of the group feel nauseous. The only one who was unaffected was Yu Na. "It must be the evil creature," Leon said after a moment''s thought. The evil creature was a creature made entirely of miasma. It wasn''t so odd if it''s existence resulted in this sharp increase in the density of the miasma in the air. It seemed that they would have to quickly take care of it or it would only grow stronger. If the miasma increased anymore, then they would have a large problem on their hands. Aside from the fact that stronger monsters would begin to appear, the likelihood of another evil creature appearing would also become higher. "Ah! Naenia, can''t you sense the high priestess''s power?" A priestess said as she turned to look at the one priestess who served the high priestess that had come with them. Naenia paused, and extended her senses. There really was the sense of the high priestess''s power. "This should be her familiar? That''s right! The high priestess had sent that slave girl Rosella into the forest. The familiar must be protecting her." Naenia said, drawing the attention of the nearby Kai. He was relieved that things were like what Leon had said - the high priestess really did make preparations to protect Rosella. Although their main mission was to defeat the evil creature, there was no way that they could just leave one of the high priestess''s people in the forest to fend for themselves. They quickly met up with Rosella, who had looked like she had gone through hell and back - she was smeared in dirt, blood, and leaves, her white robe now completely unrecognizable and ripped up in various places. "Rosella!" Kai exclaimed, rushing over to the girl. Rosella blinked several times in surprise, not having expected this. But now that she thought about it, since the previous expedition group had all died, of course they would have sent new people in to check out the situation right? "What''s going on?" She asked. Seeing that they had actually sent Kai, and another priestess from the inner sanctum that she recognized, the situation should be pretty bad, right? She paused. Didn''t she just think it - since the previous group had all died, of course the situation was dire! She felt a little silly. Kai explained things in a soft voice, while Yu Na looked toward Leon in slight confusion. She didn''t know who this girl was, but it looked like that handsome knight had recognized her. Leon noticed Yu Na''s questioning gaze, and replied with a polite tone, "That girl was sent to Gloom Forest by the high priestess with the expedition group a couple of weeks ago on an errand." Yu Na blinked, and looked back at Rosella. Leon approached Rosella, asking her about the status of the expedition group. "I don''t know if anyone else survived. But... it''s likely that not a lot of people did." Rosella spoke in a soft voice, and the atmosphere of the group grew gloomy as they knew that they had probably arrived too late to save the members of the expedition group. Rosella had the protection of the high priestess with her, but the other members didn''t - it was highly unlikely that the others had survived. Rosella was then approached by a couple of priestesses, who healed her up. Leon decided that they should set up camp for today, of which the girls all agreed - especially since they wanted to get Rosella cleaned up from all the dirt and blood that was covering her. As they cleaned her up and gave her a new change of clothes, away from the gazes of the men, they explained what had happened while she was gone. Yu Na was not with them, and instead sitting nearby Leon, who was taking the time to teach her a few more spells while he still could. "Is the high priestess okay?" Rosella asked in a worried tone. She didn''t really care about this girl from another world, who supposedly had a holy affinity almost as great as the high priestess''s. In her eyes, that little girl who kept on looking toward Leon with a pair of sparkling eyes and speaking in a high pitched voice could never compare to the high priestess. "The high priestess is being taken care of by the Bishop. She should be able to awaken soon," Naenia said, and her eyes caught notice of the pouch in Rosella''s hands. "Do you want me to ask Sir Leon for a storage bracelet so you can put your stuff into it?" She said. Because Leon was a space affinity mage, who were the only mages that could make the spatial storage bracelets, he had a surplus of them that he had handed out to each of the group members. Rosella nodded, feeling that the black flower inside the pouch would be better protected if it was inside the storage bracelet. She would also not have to worry about it wilting, as the space that the bracelets were connected to were cut off from the influences of time - basically, things didn''t age when they were placed into the bracelet. Naenia interrupted Leon and Yu Na''s conversation, and Leon smiled in a friendly manner as the two talked for a moment before he stood up and came with Naenia over to Rosella. Yu Na looked over in their direction, her eyes growing slightly cold before after a moment she put on a pouting and sulky expression. "Here," Leon said, passing over a slender silver bracelet embedded with a clear blue sapphire. Gems made for good magic mediums, and were constantly used to imbed magic into an item. Rosella slipped the bracelet onto her hand, and facing the gem toward the pouch that she had been holding this entire time, it flashed a bright light as the pouch disappeared from her hand. Leon didn''t ask much about what errand the high priestess had sent Rosella on, as it wasn''t his business, but he didn''t deny that he was curious. With how the girl had been holding that pouch this entire time, he wondered if that contained something that the priestess had asked for. But, he didn''t know if his guess was on the mark or not. He wasn''t the type to pry so only said a few more polite words of concern that matched their relationship as acquaintances before going back toward where Yu Na is. "His relationship with that summoned girl is pretty good isn''t it?" Rosella commented in a slightly indifferent manner. In her eyes, this Leon person should like the high priestess, like all people should, so she felt slightly miffed that he would so quickly change his affections toward this outsider like that. For some reason, she really didn''t like this Yu Na girl - as if she would someday steal something very important from her. Naenia didn''t pick up on Rosella''s thoughts, only feeling that the relationship between Leon and Rosella was juicy gossip. With Kai''s appearance, a lot of priestess''s were wondering if this would result in some sort of love story, but where disappointed when nothing happened. Then Leon appeared, and a few people jumped ship to Leon x Celestina. Because of this, seeing Leon so friendly with Yu Na immediately made Naenia''s juicy story sensor go off. "I''m not quite sure either. Leon has been teaching her magic these last couple of days, and he was also the only one who worked with the high priestess on the summoning spell..." But now that she thought about it, although Leon was a very accomplished mage, it would actually be better for a priestess to teach Yu Na about magic right? After all, Yu Na was of the light element, and not the space element like Leon. So Naenia did think it was weird that Leon was the one teaching Yu Na. Maybe it really was just because he and the high priestess had been the two to summon her, so now that the high priestess was unconscious, he felt a sense of responsibility toward Yu Na? She tilted her head. This explanation was a little boring, but she guessed that it sort of made sense? The other explanation was that he fell in love at first sight, or that he was confirming the results of his research, etc. etc. "Hmm," Rosella murmured, her expression cool, as if she didn''t buy into it. She normally wasn''t the type to dislike someone at first glance, so she shook her head. The girl hadn''t even done anything, so she shouldn''t be so biased toward her. The group set up a barrier and the knights assigned watch as Yu Na and Rosella went to sleep peacefully that night. The next day would start getting busier as they would begin to set traps and track down the evil creature. The next morning, the priests expanded their senses to track down the center of the increasing miasma. It was difficult, as the density of the miasma kept on growing thicker, impeding their senses. It took all of them together to narrow down the location of the evil creature - right at the center of Gloom Forest, where the miasma was usually the thickest. It was the best place to spread its influence. Leon discussed with the captain of the knights what the best plan of action would be. Rosella didn''t care, as she would be in the back lines with the priests and priestesses. The main problem was that the knights would need to take care of all the monsters - with miasma that thick, it was guaranteed that there would be many strong monsters present. They couldn''t have the monsters interfering with them while they tried to take down the evil creature, but they also couldn''t have the evil creature sabotaging them while battling the monsters. Because of this, they decided to split the group into two. A few elite knights and several priests and priestesses would accompany Yu Na to dispel the evil creature, while the rest would focus on learning out the monsters in the vicinity. Around this time, Yin Mei had finally woken up and was thoroughly scolded by the Bishop. She stayed silent, his words going through one ear and out the other. In the end, her calculations were on the mark, so what was he so angry for? Though, she guessed that if she did fail, she would end up having to go to an even more difficult world... Okay, maybe she was a little reckless after all. But it all worked out in the end, didn''t it? The priestesses all updated her on what had happened, and hearing their words, Yin Mei realized that Yu Na might be able to become her successor. Her first thought was that she would be freed! And then her second thought was doubt. She had summoned an another world heroine, although this girl wasn''t the protagonist of the main plot line, she was a little curious if she could still count as a newly introduced female lead? Her concern was, of course, the protagonist''s halo. If she transferred the seal to this Yu Na girl, it wouldn''t come to bite her back in the butt again later, right? 76 The Necromancer and the Priestess 10 Waiting at the entrance of the church, just behind a shimmering barrier that only she could see, Yin Mei was talking with Elaina about something when the subjugation group finally came back. When Rosella saw that beautiful figure, she brightened up, immediately rushing over. Leon''s pace quickened as well. Yin Mei smiled, tears springing into her eyes as she hugged Rosella. "It''s my fault for sending you to Gloom Forest, making you experience such a thing..." She said in a tone that made the people present feel their hearts soften. The tears in her wet eyes were like dew on peach blossoms, extremely beautiful and heartbreaking. Rosella blushed, shaking her head, thinking how blessed she was that the high priestess would actually shed tears for her. "How was the subjugation?" She asked Leon, who quickly approached them. "There were no problems. Yu Na, the person that we summoned, had a very strong light affinity." He said, motioning to the girl as she caught up with Leon. She had on a slightly odd expression as she looked between Leon and the very beautiful high priestess, biting her lip and not speaking. "You''re the girl that we summoned?" Yin Mei said, her lips curving up into a sweet smile, tears still at the edges of her eyes. "Thank you! I''m sorry for forcing you to do something like this... it must''ve been very scary... but you''ve saved us." She grasped Yu Na''s hands, Yu Na slightly flinching but not pulling away. Yu Na having a light affinity that strong meant that Celestina''s innate charm ability wouldn''t work on her... how annoying. Although both of the girls had warm smiles on their faces, on the inside, they had a pair of cold eyes. "No, it was nothing," Yu Na said. She glanced toward Leon, whose expression was several degrees warmer in comparison to his usual polite and gentle facade that he had on when talking to her. Yu Na''s eyes slightly darkened, but she still smiled as brightly as ever toward Yin Mei. After a while, Yin Mei didn''t keep the group any longer. Yu Na and Rosella, along with Leon, Kai, and Naenia all came back to the inner sanctum. The girls would be bathing after a long journey, while Leon had something to discuss with Yin Mei. Yin Mei sat down on the edge of the fountain, and immediately a white cat ran up to her, purring as it rubbed up against her leg and she picked it up, placing it in her lap. Leon described what had happened during the subjugation in more detail this time, also going into depth about Yu Na''s abilities. "Yu Na seems quite attached to you, doesn''t she?" Yin Mei commented, as she seemed to look absent minded at the ground, her hand playing with the cat''s ears and tail. Leon paused, not quite sure what Yin Mei was trying to imply. "It might just be because I''m the first person she met in this world?" He finally said cautiously. Yin Mei tilted her head. To her, it had appeared that Yu Na had a crush on Leon? She didn''t like the way that Yu Na girl acted. Maybe it was because she had gotten so good at fake smiling that she could tell - that girl''s smile was too fake. Alarms were going on all over in Yin Mei''s head. She understood that this person could become a potential threat later on... Or was it that her bias against protagonists was acting up again? She shouldn''t be so biased toward them all the time... She turned to Leon, smiling. "I heard that you had been teaching Yu Na magic? I''ll take over from now on, so there''s no need to trouble you any further." Leon looked into Yin Mei''s clear eyes, not sure what to say. The high priestess personally teaching someone - so as expected, Yu Na would become her successor? He felt a little bad for her, but after a moment, thought that it might be better this way. After all, the high priestess deserved her freedom. It can''t be that because he felt bad for Yu Na, that he could tell Celestina to just wait several hundred years for the next person to come along right? The only reason that he felt bad was probably because they had been the ones to drag her into this themselves. But how was that any different from the normal selection process to appoint the high priestess''s successor? Seeing that Leon wasn''t saying anything, Yin Mei also didn''t speak. She had been a little worried that maybe Yu Na might have some sort of Mary Sue aura and had seduced Leon while she hadn''t been looking, but it seemed that that wasn''t the case. Maybe she wasn''t a true protagonist after all, since she had been summoned from another world, and was not someone that originally belonged to this story line? Yin Mei still couldn''t decide. She thought that she would obviously be a protagonist, but perhaps she wasn''t after all... The next day, Yin Mei was waiting in the underground shrine room for El. She had heard from Naenia that "Kiel" had visited her on the day that she had fallen unconscious, so she had immediately sent her little familiar as a messenger so that El wouldn''t be worried anymore. El appeared from the hidden passage, in his disguise as Kiel. Yin Mei immediately brightened up, smiling at the man, whose gloomy expression disappeared. He grabbed the girl in a hug, his grip tight enough that Yin Mei could barely breath. Only after she tapped several times in surrender did he let go with an apologetic expression. The two of them sat down in front of the statue of the goddess, leaning against each other as Yin Mei explained what had happened. "A girl with a light affinity about as strong as yours?" El said thoughtfully. Yin Mei nodded. "Although training her to take my position might take a while, I''ll finally be able to go outside again afterwards...!" She said with a happy expression. Although actually Yin Mei hadn''t been Celestina for that long, she was already craving freedom - she really wondered how this girl had handled being stuck in this cage called the church for so long without going crazy. El''s eyes shone with an odd expression, which he quickly covered up, lowering his head. His lips curled up into a smile as he raised his face up again to face Yin Mei. "That''s good. We can finally go visit the bakery you like in person now." They chat for a little longer, before El had to leave. "Tell me when the succession ceremony will take place." He said, his smile extremely gentle and warm. Yin Mei paused, wondering what El was up to. The succession ceremony... it would be the time when the seal was the weakest... She nodded, and El disappeared into the shadows of the hidden passage, stone wall closing behind him after he had obtained her confirmation. It couldn''t be that... he would unseal the demon during the succession ceremony? Yin Mei suddenly realized something. The mission had always been to unseal the demon, and not free Celes. The easiest way to unseal the demon was to kill Celestina, but taking into consideration all the information thus far, El had been trying to find a way to unseal the demon without killing his childhood friend. But... now that Celestina had a successor, then there was no need to go through such a roundabout way to do things. He could directly kill off Yu Na during the succession ceremony! "If that''s what El is aiming for, then I''ll have to do my best to help him out, right?" Yin Mei smiled sweetly, the flickering light and shadows of the room making her expression seem almost menacing, her soft giggles echoing off the stone walls. The next several months, Yin Mei and the priestesses spent most of their time teaching Yu Na about magic and the history and traditions of the continent and church. Although Yu Na didn''t quite understand the reasoning for this, after thinking about it, this was a sort of scene that was often shown in those another world stories. Because of this, she dutifully whipped out her high school studying skills and diligently memorized everything - she never thought that she would still need to study even in another world... During this time, Leon would also occasionally come over, making excuses to visit his friend Kai or to check on Yu Na''s progress. Yu Na would constantly ditch her work whenever he visited, putting on a sweet smile and a cute voice to butter up with him. Leon, being the smooth playboy he was, never looked uncomfortable due to this and always handled the girl with a smile. To Yin Mei, in her eyes, he was just treating her like a little sister, but Yu Na seemed to think differently, misunderstanding his kind treatment as interest toward her. So when that kind treatment was also given to other girls, such as Yin Mei, Rosella, or the other priestesses, even if they were just a few polite greetings exchanged between them, a dark expression would flash past her face. "High priestess, what''s your relationship with Leon?" Yu Na one day asked while Yin Mei was teaching her about the history of the empire. By her side, Elaina was shocked by Yu Na''s bluntness, covering her open mouth while looking back and forth between the two girls. "Leon is a research partner. He helped me create the spell that summoned you," Yin Mei didn''t even bat an eye as she replied, looking down at the open book in her hand. "It''s better to leave these sort of off topic questions for later. For now, do you remember how the current emperor came to power?" Yu Na frowned, feeling that Yin Mei was purposefully steering the topic away from her question. "I''m already tired of all this useless knowledge," she said with a sulky expression. "Are you sure your relationship is just that?" She eyed Celestina suspiciously. To her, the relationship between the beautiful Celestina and the handsome Leon was too friendly for comfort - she felt like he treated her differently from everyone else. No! Celestina was just a resident of this world. She was the one who had been summoned, so shouldn''t Leon obviously be in love with her, who was clearly superior toward Celestina? "Shut up!" Before Yin Mei could answer again, a sharp hiss came out of Elaina''s mouth as her hand shot out, gripping Yu Na''s wrist tightly. "Saying such blasphemy when you don''t know anything!" She was completely outraged. Some gossiping between the priestesses was fine, but if this outsider said the wrong thing in front of others, then the consequences could be dire. The high priestess still hadn''t been relieved of her position, and as such, could not be in a relationship with others. "The high priestess is different from us ordinary people; she is above such matters," Elaina said, her eyes cold as Yu Na turned pale. She released the girl''s hand after a moment, wiping her own hand on her skirt, as if she had touched something dirty. She bowed to Yin Mei, apologizing, "I apologize for interrupting." Yin Mei shook her head, surprised that Elaina actually had such a vicious side to her. That expression was scary enough to kill a person. She glanced at Yu Na, who looked as if she had been wronged. "Slandering the high priestess is a crime that could result in death. You should watch your mouth. It''s okay since the one you spoke to was me and Elaina, but if it was anyone else, then you would be imprisoned and depending on what you said, potentially executed." Well, since Yu Na''s identity was special, this wouldn''t happen. But it would be good to scare her a little. Seeing that Yu Na''s face became significantly paler, Yin Mei considered her job of scaring the girl successful. Mm, she didn''t really feel that bad, since Yu Na''s words could have gotten them both in a lot of trouble. But, soon she wouldn''t have to worry about that. Yin Mei put on a warm smile again as she continued the lecture. After all, she''d be free. Soon, soon, soon. Did she feel guilty for putting someone else in her current position? The answer was no! She was just selfish in that way. In the end, if it came down to it, Yin Mei wouldn''t mind sacrificing a single little girl for the sake of her own happiness and freedom. She''d already sacrificed far more before, what was one more life to that? 77 The Necromancer and the Priestess 11 "Rosella, are you really sure you want to go through this?" Kai said with a worried expression, but Rosella had on a determined expression. She was dressed in trousers and light leather armor, holding a wooden practice sword in her hand. "Yes!" She said with a firm nod. She had asked Kai to train her in swordplay, and after a few months of basic strength and stamina training, she was finally ready to be taught some actual techniques. Kai was a little reluctant, but she had persevered this far, so he felt like he couldn''t say anything. Maybe because of what she had experienced from a young age, but Kai felt that Rosella''s determination was even better than many novice squires. While Rosella and Kai were training, Yu Na was also going through harsher and harsher training. She wanted to know the reason why she had to do this, and the reply from Yin Mei was always that she wasn''t "strong enough". Yu Na furrowed her brow. She had been able to take down that evil creature that had worried them so much, so how was it that she wasn''t "strong enough"? From what the others had said, she could gather that she was actually pretty strong - the high priestess was considered one of the strongest mages on the continent, and she had potential comparable to hers. She wasn''t stupid, so why did the high priestess continue to insist this? When she confronted Yin Mei, Yin Mei''s expression was calm, only raising an eyebrow. "Potential doesn''t equal skill," she said, turning her attention back to the magic book on her lap. Because she had finished her previous summoning project, aside from teaching Yu Na, there wasn''t anything more for her to do in her free time, so she started to research something else again so that she wasn''t bored all the time. Yu Na didn''t buy it. Maybe it was because of what those around her had said, or perhaps because of all the books that she had read, but she already had it in her mind that she was a "genius" magic user, and even more, the "protagonist" of this story. All those heroines in the story would be having such an easy time, so why was it that it was only her going through such harsh training? Suddenly, an overwhelming pressure hit her, bringing Yu Na to her knees. Yin Mei looked down at her coldly, as the area was flooded with holy aura, but it was concentrated to just the area around them. It was heavy, like a ton of water crashing down on Yu Na''s body. She tried resisting it, biting her lip so hard that she drew blood, but for some reason she couldn''t. Why was there such a big difference, even though they should have similar ability? "You see? Your ability to manipulate your magic is still too clumsy." Yin Mei said, calmly flipping a page in her book as she released her pressure. Actually, she didn''t want to make Yu Na any stronger, but too bad that she had to at least put on appearances, or the Bishop would never allow her to succeed Celestina as the high priestess. She was already going through the trouble of suppressing Yu Na''s holy aura, so that it didn''t affect anyone, so why was it that she have to make her stronger on top of all that? It was such a pain in the ass! She even had to personally teach her too, or else if someone else taught her something that was actually useful, then wouldn''t she be screwed? D*mn, she wished that the time for the succession ceremony could already hurry up and come! Because of her stupid decision, so many of her previous efforts were all in vain, she definitely wasn''t going to let summoning Yu Na be in vain as well. She fell unconscious for a week because of this girl; she would definitely have her repay her by dying splendidly. Yin Mei looked thoughtfully as Yu Na''s face alternated colors from red to white to blue before she finally stalked away angrily. Actually, considering Yu Na''s progress, her talent really wasn''t as good as Celestina''s. At least, she wouldn''t be able to reach Celestina''s status of archmage any time soon. The only problem was, was that because of Yu Na''s affinity, it was hard for Celestina''s magic to have an affect on her - at least, certain aspects of her magic. Specifically any mental manipulation magic, such as charm or mind control. Brute forcing it like she had done earlier still worked, but that sort of thing also had a limit. The issue was that Celestina was not good at offensive magic, and instead specialized in support magic. On the other hand, the Bishop was the opposite way. Because of this, Yin Mei had been specifically looking more into offensive magic. She hoped that whatever El was planning wasn''t too dangerous. That being said, she couldn''t see El losing to the Bishop. Actually, when she thought about it, El was even stronger than the Bishop? Hm? She tilted her head. Maybe it was because as the villain he was destined to die under the hands of the protagonist that Yin Mei kept on thinking of El as weaker than he actually was, but could El in fact be the strongest person here? She started measuring strength. In terms of bullshit strength, clearly Kai ranked number one. But in terms of pure offensive magic capability, El, who had an affinity rivaling that of Celestina''s, and also specializing in offensive magic, could be considered the strongest attack oriented mage on the continent. She was mind blown. Did this guy even need her help? Well, wait, the issue still remained with the protagonist though. El could take care of other matters by himself, but certainly he would need help so that he wouldn''t die to the protagonist. Yin Mei felt that since the male and female leads were no longer useful, she should just get rid of them now so that there were no issues later, but on second thought, they could still prove to have some use. After all, they were both loyal to her at this point in time. As long as she continued to keep her involvement with El a secret, there shouldn''t be a problem. She felt that the biggest issue was if her relationship came out. The issue wasn''t Rosella, who actually had no real reason to hate El at this point in time, but Kai, whose family had been killed by El. Yin Mei closed her book with a clap, standing up with a cool expression as she looked into the distance. She better make a few preparations just in case... "Is that so?" The Bishop said coolly as a man dressed in black finished his report. The Bishop. His real name wasn''t unknown, and it wasn''t even clear if the man even remembered it himself. He had already lived a long time. Not as long as Celestina''s predecessor, but already a very long time. He had recently been concerned that Celestina had been a little different from usual, but he hadn''t thought too deeply into it. But now it was clear that for some reason, she was anxious. Anxious about the matter of her successor. Was it just her wanting her freedom after these six years, or was it because something happened that was spurring her on? For her to go as far as to risk developing a new type of magic, the Bishop thought that it was the latter that was the cause of her actions. She had been docile all these years, still as water, unmoved by the world outside - so what was it that could move her? There was already an answer in his heart, but no matter how he thought about it, he didn''t think that that could be the cause of her actions. A few months later, the succession ceremony was finally scheduled. No one had mentioned to Yu Na that she would be succeeding the high priestess, or even asked for her opinion. This was because in their eyes, it was unnecessary. In the first place, Yu Na had no choice in the matter anyways, and in the second place, they could not fathom that someone would reject such a prestigious position. But, obviously Yu Na had different viewpoints toward the residents of this world, being a modern woman. Yin Mei knew this, and so purposefully shut down the information that she would receive. As for the matter of the ceremony, she outright planned on drugging the girl if she couldn''t be convinced. "What is it?" Yu Na asked, when Yin Mei took the opportunity to have her stay after the class to talk. Yin Mei motioned the away the priestess who had been with them, and she bowed before leaving, shutting the door quietly behind her. Yin Mei turned her attention back to Yu Na, who thought that the blond haired girl''s blue eyes were more piercing than ever. "I''d like you to inherit my title and position as high priestess. A person with such strong light affinity is rare, and this might be the only chance for me to be able to train a successor." She said calmly. Yu Na thought for a moment, and then finally realized why the training had been so harsh - had Yin Mei already been training her with the intent for her to succeed this position, one she hadn''t even been asked if she had wanted? She bristled up slightly, feeling angered. "The position of high priestess is extremely important and prestigious. We protect all of humanity from danger, we are the hope of humankind." Yin Mei continued, without care for Yu Na''s thoughts. "Even the king must bow his head to us when he meets us." Yin Mei thought that she had a basic grasp of Yu Na''s personality - this kind of girl was vain, and slightly self centered. A very normal person. Because of this, she was directly trying to feed this girl''s ego. "There will be no more need for want, as everything will be at the tip of your hands." Yin Mei''s voice and words were alluring, seductive, even. But Yu Na was suspicious. If it was such a good position, then why did Yin Mei insist on handing it over to her? "You''re wondering why I want you to succeed me then?" Yin Mei said, guessing what Yu Na was thinking. After all, she would probably think the same thing if she was in Yu Na''s shoes. Yu Na cautiously nodded, disliking the way that Yin Mei seemed to know what she was thinking. Yin Mei leaned her head on her hand, continuing to speak, "It''s because what I want is something different. And I can''t get it until I''m no longer the high priestess. Well, it''s a very personal matter though, so I won''t say anymore." Yin Mei glanced toward Yu Na. "You should think about it. I won''t say that this position doesn''t come without its responsibilities, but it does let you live without needing to want for anything more." Other than freedom that is. And good food from the outside. And actually a lot of stuff. But it was true that everything else was beautiful and perfect, at least, from the outside looking in. Yin Mei let Yu Na take a break for the next couple of days to think things over, before she finally came to Yin Mei, agreeing to take on the duty of becoming the high priestess. In her eyes, if Yin Mei was no longer the high priestess, and she was, then perhaps Leon would look at her more. It was a silly thought, but love gave birth to those sorts of silly and unreasonable thoughts sometimes. Yin Mei smiled brightly when she got the answer that she was looking for. That''s good. If Yu Na had rejected this, then she would''ve had to figure out some sort of way to smuggle drugs into the church! Man, was she glad that she wouldn''t have to do that now. 78 The Necromancer and the Priestess 12 The night before the succession ceremony, the inner sanctum of the church was extremely busy. There would be no witnesses, other than those who had to participate in the transferring of the seal, which included the Bishop, and several elite of the elite priestesses, while the guards would be on stand by. Yin Mei also let El in during this time, when everyone was distracted by preparations for the ceremony. There would be a planned official ceremony after this, but Yin Mei didn''t think that that would happen - after all, Yu Na would die tomorrow. During this time, the barrier was also changed, turning off for one short moment. Because, normally the person holding up the church''s barrier was Celestina, but during the succession ceremony, Yin Mei would be unable to use magic to maintain it. Because of this, they switched it out with a special one time use barrier tool, putting up gemstones in key points of the church. Yin Mei and Yu Na were both purified and bathed in holy water the day of the ceremony. It would be performed at noon, when the goddess''s power was at its strongest. Yin Mei didn''t know what El''s plan was, but she had already done all that she could. When the succession ceremony happened, Yin Mei would be incapable of using magic during the transfer of the seal, and immediately after the seal was transferred. See, she even had an excuse for not making a move against El when he would make his move. During this time, not only herself, but the Bishop would also be significantly weakened. This moment was the best moment to make an attack on the church, which was why they made things as hush hush as possible, only including the bare minimum of trusted people to perform the ceremony. After all, not only would the seal be significantly weakened right after the transfer, the two strongest members of the church would also be weakened. Because of Yin Mei''s interference, she had inadvertently set up the most perfect situation for El. When everything was ready, the group were all in the garden. Yin Mei and Yu Na were both kneeling on the ground, barefoot, while the Bishop stood in front of a gently smiling statue of the goddess of light. The bishop looked up to the statue, a chant smoothly flowing out of his mouth. It was peaceful, almost like music as it flowed through the garden. A light began to shine, and from the chest of the goddess statue, a heart appeared, wrapped in golden chains. Celestina''s heart. The intermediary for the seal was the heart of the high priestess or high priest. Yu Na was surprised seeing it in person, but she stayed calm, as the entire process had been explained to her beforehand. She didn''t know why they needed her heart, but she did know that there wouldn''t be any adverse affects to her body. She had been afraid at first, but after a while, she reconfirmed her conviction and determined that sacrificing a heart would be worth it in the long run. The Bishop walked over, leaning down and his hand snaked forward. In a clean movement, he striked through Yu Na''s chest, his hand coming out the other side, heart still beating in it. He moved his hand back, sliding through Yu Na''s body like water, not leaving a single mark behind. The heart rose from his hand into the air to hover next to Celestina''s heart. With more chanting, the golden chains wrapping around Celestina''s heart slowly transferred to Yu Na''s heart. The girl screamed in pain. This process, it was more painful than death. Yin Mei didn''t know how a ten year old child could bear it, but actually, children were more adaptable than adults. Perhaps that was why. Yin Mei closed her eyes and ears to the sounds that Yu Na made, as the ceremony continued to pass. She could feel herself being freed. As if every scream of Yu Na''s was another chain off her heart. She relished it. A faint smile graced her lips, her expression gentler than ever, and at this moment, was the most beautiful. She bowed her head to hide it, clasping her hands as if in prayer. The ceremony seemed to last an eternity, but at the same time, but only a moment. The moment that Celestina''s heart was returned to her body, Yin Mei felt her body slump in relief. She couldn''t suppress the laugh that escaped her mouth, the soft giggle entwining with the sound of rhythmic chanting. Yu Na''s heart was placed inside the goddess statue, and the chanting stopped, along with Yin Mei''s laughter, as she stared blankly at the ground, waves of exhaustion hitting her all at once. At this moment, the bright noon sun was blocked out by darkness, alarming everyone present. There was the sound of something shattering - the barrier. Yin Mei had tweaked with the barrier gems the other day, and now El had forcefully broken them with barely any effort. "What is this? How could the barrier break?" One person said in alarm, as everyone glanced around. The sudden change from day to night was disconcerting, and Yin Mei was expecting ghosts to pop out at any moment. Well, El was a necromancer after all, so that wouldn''t be too far fetched. A white fog began to appear around them, the temperature dropping. Yin Mei felt that it was extremely cold. When she breathed out, she could see her breath becoming a white mist in front of her. Normally, a change in temperature wouldn''t affect Celestina, but perhaps it was because it was caused by the magic of someone on par in strength with her, and on top of that, while she was weakened, that Yin Mei could feel the cold so clearly. "It''s been a while? How has everyone been while I was gone?" A gentle voice sounding out, and the sound of rattling bones could be heard. A giant skeleton had appeared from who knows when. Sitting on its shoulder was El. His golden eyes almost seemed to glow from behind his pair of glasses, while his body was wreathed in white mist, giving him a mysterious and eerie air. "El! This is your doing? How did you know that-" The Bishop said, but he suddenly sharply looked toward Yin Mei, who calmly stared back at the man. Her lips curled up in a faint smile as she wanted to ask him if he was doubting her. But before she could speak, El spoke. "Why are you looking at Celes like that? Wouldn''t the more suspicious person be yourself, father?" ??? Yin Mei''s face was blank, with no reaction. But on the inside she was confused to all hell. Excuse me? Father? Who? The Bishop? What??? She had to pause for a moment. There wasn''t a single mention of this in the information! What the hell? Why was it that the information was so unreliable at an important moment like this? She wasn''t the only one shocked, and the others didn''t hide it as well as she did. They outright stared wide eyed at the Bishop. El''s appearance was wide known, and there was only one person who could summon such a strong undead - he was definitely the infamous wanted necromancer, who had massacred hundreds in his search for power. The large skeleton grabbed at a building as he leaned in, his eyes glowing bright blue. El''s feet touched the ground, and he stood in front of the frozen group. A smile graced his lips, and he kept his attention focused on the Bishop, not even glancing in Yin Mei''s direction. "It''s been a while, father," He said, with such a sweet and sunny smile that it looked out of place in this situation, more creepy than anything, sending shivers down the spines of those present. Yin Mei looked at the Bishop. The high priestess was not the only one who was forbidden from relationships. So was the Bishop. Though in the Bishop''s case, it was more so that he had no family members that could be taken hostage in times of crisis. Ever since an event like that had happened in the past, it had become an unspoken rule of the church for the higher ups to not take any lovers or have a family. The Bishop could feel the gazes of the group on him, but didn''t even flinch. His eyes were cold as he looked at El. Yin Mei could now see the resemblance. The Bishop''s long almost white hair, and his cold golden eyes. The monocle he wore glinted in the light of the full moon that had replaced the sun, bathing their figures in a pale blue wash of color. "I''m not your father," the Bishop replied, his face one of disgust. As if the mere notion was revulsive. El laughed. "Yeah, after all, the Bishop of the church of light could never father a demon, right?" El tilted his head. "But, no matter. That''s not what I''m here for today. Today, I''m here to fulfill the contract that you made so many years ago." The Bishop flinched, his eyes going to Yu Na. "Stop him!" He shouted, reaching out to grab at El. He himself barely had any mana left. But the priests and knights did not have the magic capability to go up against El. When they did, there was the clattering sound of bones, as skeleton of all shapes and sizes began appearing from purple magic circles on the ground. "Tsk! Celestina-" The Bishop called, but he knew that even if Celestina really did want to do something to stop El, she was incapable of doing anything. Her body had yet to adapt to the return of her heart, and she would be unable to use any magic for the time being. A soft laughter escaped her lips. "Nothing can be done," she said, and a sharp wind blew past her, with it coming the splattering of blood. Half her face became covered in red, as Yu Na, who had been absentminded from the exhaustion and pain of the seal transfer, died just like that. Whether they were the protagonist of the story or not, they all died so easily. Human lives, they were so fragile, like a flickering candle light, able to go out at any moment. Yin Mei smiled, but no one had the time to pay attention to her. There was a rumbling from deep under the ground. "The seal!" Exclamations came from all over, and one person even wailed like it was the end of the world. The goddess statue cracked, crumbling to the ground. There was only blood from where Yu Na''s heart was buried. The ground seemed to crack with the statue, as if splitting apart to reveal something dark and evil from underneath. El was laughing, as blood flew and screams echoed around them. "You''re crazy! Do you know what you''ve done?" The Bishop said angrily. His hundreds of years of hard work, ruined by this b*stard! He knew that he should''ve killed the boy while he was still in his cradle! El sneered at the man. "I''ve done what you should have done a long time ago." And with that, the great demon that the church had been in fear of this entire time revealed itself. Yin Mei was curious - this was a character that had barely made its appearance, only to be resealed by Kai. It was a demon of legends and stories used to scare little children to sleep. And much to her shock, it was a person that looked uncannily like El. Golden chains crumbled from his body. Long black hair, golden eyes with black sclera, deep bluish gray skin, and runic tattoos all over his body. He floated in the air, as he opened his eyes like awakening from a long slumber. Yin Mei didn''t understand, but she instinctively thought that this must be the true reason for the mission being the way it was. Their appearance was like that of twins. If El had been a demon, perhaps he would look like that. El walked up to the silent floating demon, stretching his hand out. The demon spoke not a word, only meeting his hand with El''s. There was a flash of light, and the sound of the Bishop shouting something that Yin Mei couldn''t hear. When she regained her sight, there was only one person left - it was as if the two had merged into one. It was El, but it also wasn''t. His skin had turned that same ash color as the demon''s. The silver rings on his wrists and ankles jingled, as he stared at his hand, seeming thoughtful. He lifted that hand, and a blast of pure magic power hit the Bishop, knocking him into a marble pillar and causing him to cough up blood. He didn''t lose consciousness though, his eyes glaring at El, who slowly approached Yin Mei. He caressed the girl''s cheek. "Sorry, Celes. I have to go now." He said, and before Yin Mei could reply, a tear in the space appeared, and El walked into it. It shut behind him. With his disappearance, the skeletons fell, and night turned back into day. Yin Mei could hear the sound of the system congratulating her for completing the mission, and it asked her to be patient as it calculated the next mission. "What, the f*ck?" She said, laughter leaking out of her mouth. "What the f*ck!" She didn''t realize there were tears running down her face. That b*stard dared run away? He actually dared to run away, leaving this mess for her to deal with? Don''t joke around with her! On that day, the world was hit by a storm. After the necromancer El had raided the church, the great demon had escaped its seal, the high priestess''s successor was dead, the high priestess herself had gone missing, and the Bishop was severely injured. The humans of the continent lamented and cried out in despair, as if the world was about to end. The strong pillar known as the church that had defended them so far was starting to crumble. 79 The Necromancer and the Priestess 13 Main Mission: Wait for the opening of the bridge. It was still the same. The mission had been updated after that day, and had been stuck at this same mission for the last year. Wait for the opening of the bridge. But how long would she need to wait? It had already been a year, so how much longer? Two years? Three? Five? Ten? "U-um! Excuse me! Is this where I can register to be an adventurer?" A young boy nervously said. The pretty girl blinked her eyes from behind the counter before smiling brightly, as if she was used to such a scene. "Yes! Are you able to write? If you can, then please fill out the form here," She took out a sheet of paper with neat and efficient movements as she continued to speak. "A-ah, I can''t read or write..." The young boy nervously rubbed at his neck, an embarrassed expression on his face as he clutched at his shirt. It had taken all of his courage to come here. The Guild. It had been formed almost a year ago, in the aftermath of the unsealing of the demon. While the church was unstable, an organization had formed that worked as a sort of intermediary between employers and employees. Anyone could become a member of the guild, take on jobs, and receive money from doing them. With the church weakened, subjugation requests came in like a storm, and the Guild quickly rose up to become an extremely important organization rivaling that of the church. Hot headed youths, like the one currently standing in front of the reception counter, quickly flooded the ranks of adventurers, wanting to make a name in the world. "That''s alright, then just tell me the information and I''ll fill it in." The receptionist said, filling in the name, age, place of birth, and etc. for the records. Afterwards, the receptionist took out a small bronze plate, placing it over a slab of black metal with a magic circle engraved on it. There was a glow of light before the receptionist handed over the plate, which was now engraved with the boy''s information, along with the Guild''s seal. "This is your Guild ID. It''ll cost a gold to get a replacement, so please don''t lose it. The bronze color is to indicate that you''re a beginning adventurer, Rank F." "Ah yes, thank you-" The boy said, but his words were interrupted by a clamoring in the guild hall, as a group entered through the door. "Isn''t that the founder? She''s with that famous S-ranked party too..." Several voices said, and the boy couldn''t help but curiously look over. A beautiful girl with long black hair and a cold expression was walking between a party of skilled looking people, all beautiful and wearing expensive looking equipment. It was as if there was a bubble around them, and they were from a different world than their own. "Are you interested?" The receptionist asked with a slightly sly grin. "A-ah, yes! S-since, the rumors have reached pretty far after all," the boy replied nervously, bowing his head as he blushed. The S-class party, White Bird. Although no one knew the meaning of this when the rumors first emerged, after a while, everyone understood what it meant to be S-class. Slaying an evil dragon, rescuing the princess of the Kalan Empire from a group of 20,000 brigands, clearing out the most wanted criminals one by one. The receptionist smiled even brighter, her eyes curving into crescent moon shapes. "Right? They''re that amazing after all. The guild founder as well, is a pretty amazing person." The girl looked around before leaning in a little and speaking in a whisper loud enough to be heard over the commotion of the room. "This is a secret, but she used to be a member of the church. After everything that happened, she decided that the people needed to take matters into their own hands, instead of always relying on the church. Because of that, we now have the guild here today~ Not only is she the founder, but she also the leader of the White Birds, and they say that she''s pretty much at the level of a master mage." "Wow," the boy exclaimed, looking back at the girl in admiration. Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt like her blue eyes glanced in their direction for a moment. But it was only a moment, and before he could wonder where she was looking, the group had already disappeared up the stairs. "Ah, looks like they left. They never stay for long. To be able to see them like this on your first day, you''re quite lucky, huh?" The girl said, before getting back to business. "Oh, right, do you need me to explain the ranking system and quest system?" The boy nodded, and the receptionist smoothly explained before asking if he would like to take a request, recommending the errand quests, like gathering herbs, or cleaning houses and finding lost cats. She lectured him over how he shouldn''t take subjugation quests until he was more combat experienced, and the boy, being a rather more shy and cautious type of person, gratefully went on his way with his finding a lost cat request. The girl smiled as she waved him away, thinking that a diligent person like him, who wasn''t rash in trying to immediately subjugate something like goblins or slimes, might actually end up becoming pretty good in the future. Perhaps because of the way their guild was set up, the death rate of newly registering adventurers that were his age were quite high, due to how many rash teenagers went to immediately go and try to kill off monsters. "He''s a good kid." She commented, before her eyes wandered away, falling on the stairs that led to the guild master''s office. "Hey, it''s time for the shift change," another girl called out from behind her, patting the first receptionist on the shoulder. "Oh? It''s already that time? Then I''ll leave it to you~" The girl said happily, as the two changed places and she ran off to the back to get changed. "That girl''s always so carefree." The girl who just sat down commented, and the receptionist nearby leaned in. "I know right? Actually, I don''t think I''ve spoken to her outside of work." She said, and another receptionist also came closer as she spoke in agreement. "Actually, do any of you even know her name?" They all shook their heads, before looking at each other. "Um, excuse me, I''d like to take this request..." The voice of an adventurer snapped them back to attention, and they all hurried back to work. Meanwhile, the receptionist girl from before was humming as she changed out from her uniform into a casual dress, as well as redoing her bun. Her curls bounced around, framing her small face as she nodded in satisfaction at the mirror. Mm, she was so pretty! Humming, she left the changing room, walking up the stairs to the fourth floor. At the end of the luxurious hallway was a set of carved double doors, and entering it was the guild master''s office. Inside... "What the f*ck! You were the one who made such a stupid mistake, so why are you blaming it on me!?" "Did you actually just say that? Who was the person who was playing around with girls all day and came back to finish the request hungover?" Kids. Kids were arguing. "Ahhh! Leader!" A black haired girl cried out, her eyes filled with tears as she hugged the receptionist girl, who wasn''t paying attention, her eyes like that of a dead fish. "Arthur and Lana are arguing again! Leader, only you can stop them!" If the people from downstairs were here, they would realize that this girl was the prestigious founder of the guild. "Ack! It''s the leader!" Hearing this, Arthur and Lana both immediately had on expressions of terror. Arthur put on a flattering expression, as he spoke, "Hahaha, leader, it''s really nothing for you to worry about. Lana and I were just have a little friendly argument, right Lana?" He turned a sharp glare toward the short haired girl who nodded furiously. "Yes, just a friendly argument! Like friends do!" They laughed nervously, hands over their shoulders as they put on a show of getting along. A short haired man sighed, rubbing his forehead. "If only they could get along like this all the time, then we wouldn''t need to worry." He said, and the beautiful woman next to him dressed in a skin hugging dress laughed. "They''re so scared of leader, it''s hilarious," she said, her painted red lips curling up in a mocking smile. "Hey, you b*tch! You say that, but you''re just as scared-" Arthur shouted, but he was interrupted by a cool voice. "Enough." The receptionist girl''s face was cold, as she looked down on everyone. "Y-yes ma''am..." They immediately fell silent. "Are you guys finally done with fooling around?" An angry voice came from the side of them, and turning around, they were met with the guild master''s angry smile. It was Leon. "Ah, sorry guild master!" "Don''t kill us!" The dignified White Bird party cried out, begging for mercy. "Pfft, they all look like idiots in front of leader and the guild master~" The black haired girl said, still hugging the receptionist. "Huh!? Did you just call us idiots? All you do is suck up to the leader all the time," Arthur sneered, looking down on the girl, who was immediately riled up. Now, the people fighting were Arthur and the black haired girl, instead of Arthur and Lana. "Enough is enough. Rose, you should know better." Leon said, and Rose looked reluctant, but quieted down with an unhappy frown, while Arthur sneered at her. They were about to start fighting again, when the receptionist girl let out a soft sigh, but things immediately became pin drop silent. "It''s good that everyone''s finally paying attention," Leon grumbled, but finally got down to business. "I called everyone here today so that we could discuss the next mission," Leon said, picking up some papers to read over them. "We''ve been requested to find someone who went missing in Gloom Forest by the Fairfell Kingdom. The description is a young girl with silver hair and purple eyes..." "Silver hair and purple eyes? Isn''t that royalty? No way, are we going to rescue another princess again?" Arthur said excitedly, while the other members murmured to each other. Lana glared, grabbing at Arthur''s ear. "Can you only think about hitting on girls all the time? She''s just a princess, what are you so excited for? The Empire already has twenty-seven of those!" She continued nagging a pale faced Arthur, when Leon finally interrupted with a cough. Once the two settled down again, he continued. "Gloom Forest has been getting more and more dangerous these days, especially since the church hasn''t been in a state to purify it. Because of this, the kingdom specifically paid a fortune to request for you guys, the White Birds. Although the person''s life or death is uncertain, it''s still a good opportunity to do some clearing up of the forest, and they''re also paying handsomely. You guys don''t mess this up and do a good job." "Yes~" The group replied, looking like a group of very obedient and cute kids. If they didn''t open their mouths that is. The moment these guys opened their mouths and started fighting, all that dignified aura flew away far, far into the distance. "Leader, are you going to come with us this time?" Rose asked, swinging the reception girl''s arm back and forth. The girl had on a polite smile as the group crowded around her, asking the same thing. "Leader, leader, without you our group is useless!" "You should ditch your receptionist job and come with us!" "I hear that there are a few new promising adventurer recruits that you should take a look at, they might be able to join our group-" "Come out with us to drink-" They were like a nest of newborn chicks clamoring for food. Leon: ... He pretended not to see anything. 80 The Necromancer and the Priestess 14 "You guys go on ahead to the restaurant. I have to talk about something with the guild master first." The receptionist girl said with a smile, and though the group was reluctant, they ended up parting, with the party save for Rose heading to the restaurant first to grab seats. "Umm..." At this moment, when the party was walking outside on the streets, a young boy took the courage to speak up. He had a sweet looking face, and was wearing leather armor. "I didn''t have the courage to say anything before, but... who was that?" The group stared at him, and he blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Ahhh! That''s right! Alex is a newbie, so he wouldn''t know the leader huh?" Arthur exclaimed. Suddenly a sly grin snuck onto his face, but he was hit by a short-haired man before he could say anything. "What the hell was that for, Ryan!?" He shouted angrily, clutching at the part of his head that had been hit. "You were clearly up to no good right there," Lana said, and they immediately began to squabble between each other again. While this was going on, the busty older sister like woman of the group, Lilith, came closer to the young boy, Alex. "That girl with brown hair is the leader of of the White Birds and the founder of the guild. She''s also a super skilled archmage." She said, and Alex looked at her in shock. "Eh!? That wasn''t Rose, though?" He tilted his head. He had only been with the White Birds on one mission, but there had been no indication that Rose had not been the person of the rumors - although, he did notice that Rose had never used magic, which he found odd... "Nope, Rose is actually a vice-leader like Ryan. She leads the party when the leader isn''t here." Lilith answered. "As for why everyone thinks Rose is the real leader, that''s on purpose." "On purpose?? Why?" Alex couldn''t think of any reason for the powerful guild founder needing to have a double. After all, it wasn''t like they were royalty, who had some members that were unable to defend themselves. "It''s because the leader likes to be left alone," Ryan said, popping into the conversation between the two. "She also doesn''t like working. Because of that, she left the position of guild master to Leon, and she has Rose pretend to be her so that she doesn''t get bothered." Alex paused, and guess that this explanation kind of made sense. "Anyways, since you just joined, then you better be prepared to have a training session with the leader soon," Lilith giggled eerily, sending shivers up Alex''s spine. He had a feeling that this training session would definitely be extremely difficult... Back at the guild master''s office, the receptionist girl was sitting on the sofa while Rose served her tea and snacks, before sitting down across from her. "How is the status of the information?" The brown haired girl asked, delicately sipping at her tea cup. This elegant and beautiful appearance made Rose''s eyes sparkle - it was only the leader who could manage to do anything and still look beautiful at all times! "Elaina contacted me and said that there have been no issues." Leon answered, busily reading and signing off on the stack of papers on his desk. "Well, it''s to be expected. Ever since you did that half a year ago, there have been no other people coming out to bother us. I still don''t understand what your goal is... Will you really not tell me? Celestina." "Don''t call me that." Yin Mei said, her facial expression and voice emotionless as she set down her tea cup. "I''ve already told you that my goal is the betterment of society, didn''t I?" As well as finding that b*stard El who dared to run off and leave his woman for some godd*mn frolicking about in the demon world! Seeing the sinister smile on Yin Mei''s face, Leon could say that that definitely wasn''t the expression of someone who was working toward the "betterment of society". He inwardly sighed. It was because of that chaos with the unsealing of the demon that she had turned out like this. He shook his head, thinking that she must feel betrayed by her childhood friend, who had become a criminal of the highest degree of wanted level. He was somehow misunderstanding her, but it couldn''t be helped considering that his basic understanding of Yin Mei was skewed in the first place. Yin Mei let out a sigh, calming herself down. Recalling back to the events of that night, she could now calmly understand why El did what he had done. The information guild that Yin Mei had established had, through the use of some special magic techniques that she and Leon had researched, discovered the information that she wanted. El was indeed the Bishop''s child. She never expected it of that straight laced man, but some twenty or so years ago, he had a girl that he liked, who had died during childbirth, leaving him behind with a sickly El, who was expected to die in a few days as well. Perhaps because he was not thinking straight, he had made a deal with the devil (the great demon), in order to increase El''s lifespan. He then placed El in the church''s orphanage. All should have been well, but as El grew older and older, he began to resemble the great demon more and more in appearance. To top it off, he had such a strong darkness affinity. It wasn''t that the dark affinity was looked down upon, or seen as evil, but more so that the Bishop, who had such a strong light affinity, could father someone with the exact opposite element - this was almost impossible. So the Bishop began to think that El was not truly his child, but some spawn of the great demon that he had contracted with. El was trained by the church''s secret assassination and spy corps, and then actually betrayed the church and started to wreck havoc across the empire. As for why he wanted to unseal the demon, it wasn''t as romantic as had been implied in the system''s information and though El did wish to free Celestina, it hadn''t been his main goal. His main goal had been to fulfill the payment for the contract that the Bishop had made so long ago, in order to continue living, as well as to merge with the great demon. El and the great demon were like two halves of a whole, as the great demon had essentially fused part of himself into that small newborn baby to save him all those years ago. Because of that, they naturally desired to return to their most perfect form, instead of staying split in two. And as for El running off to who knows where, this was much more difficult to find out. After all, this had to do with the demon world, which they had little information of. Even with their specialized information gathering magic, it was hard, as the demon world was only connected to their own world during certain times. They had to dig through historical textbooks and all sorts of theories before they created a theory of their own. It likely had to do, not with El, but with the great demon himself (though, they were now the same person). The great demon was said to be a grand duke of the demon world, and it was claimed in some vague information they had filched from the church that he came here on orders of the demon king to clear out the residents of this much more prosperous and resource rich world so that they could live here. In other words, El had run off, leaving behind his woman, in other words her, in order to deal with his work. If it was Yao Heyan, she would have immediately gone to the company to drag his sorry ass back home, but the problem was, was that she had no means of going to the demon world. She had no idea how El had done so - it looked like some advanced use of spatial magic, but Leon also had no clue. Because of this, they could only continue to gather information while researching magic. Before Yin Mei had realized it, a year had passed, and though both the Guild and the information guild had grown greatly in size, there was no progress in the areas that Yin Mei had really wanted to progress in. "What is your opinion on this time''s mission?" Leon suddenly asked, abruptly changing the subject. Although he was the one who constantly brought it up, he also hated to see Celestina like this. It was hypocritical, but for some reason, he could never help it. "This time''s mission? Ah? With the princess girl?" Yin Mei was drawn back to reality, as she recalled what this time''s mission was. As Arthur had thought, the person that the kingdom who had requested them wanted to find was their beloved youngest princess. Although there were no rumors that she had gone missing or anything, there was little information that could slip through their fingers - such was due to the capabilities of magic. Except, this mission was a slightly tricky one. First, Yin Mei found it slightly suspicious that the kingdom would fork over so much money for a girl whose life or death was unknown - and whose death was more likely than her life. Secondly, something was interfering with their magic. In other words, they hadn''t been able to gather as much information on the mission as they had liked. Although Leon had personally wanted to turn down the mission because of this reason, Yin Mei had been intrigued and had insisted on taking it. After all, she needed to know what was capable of interfering with their magic, so that they could come up with counter measures for the future. "It''s interesting, I suppose," Yin Mei said emotionless, before suddenly breaking out into a smile. "Well, I''ve stayed here long enough. Rosella and I should go meet up with the rest of the White Birds." Rosella - who was wearing a disguise with her long black hair - immediately perked up in excitement. Leon knew that Yin Mei was purposefully avoiding the topic, though he wasn''t sure why. But he didn''t say anything, letting her go with a wave of the hand. The two of them went to go meet up with the White Birds at their usual tavern, where things were rowdy for well into the night. Yin Mei didn''t like the commotion that much, but in her eyes, she was just taking care of some kids. The original members of the White Bird party, of which there were six, were somewhat like her kids - she had picked them up from a variety of bad situations and then put them through a hell like training to get them where they were now. As for the newer members, one of which she had just been introduced to now, well, they weren''t all that close yet, but she also considered them as kids to take care of. "So? Leader, are you going to come with us this time? You haven''t been going with us at all ever since half a year ago." Arthur said as he took a swig out of his beer. "The leader has her own considerations. Arthur, don''t keep on bothering her about coming with us when she has other things to do," Ryan said as he cut through a piece of meat, putting it in his mouth. "Haha, you say that, but be honest that you and Rose are the ones who want leader to come with us the most." Arthur mocked. "Don''t put me together with Rose." Ryan said, not saying anything else about Arthur''s statement. "What? What''s so dislikable about being grouped together with me?" Rosella glared at Ryan. They continued to argue. Sigh, these kids just really couldn''t get along. But, at the very least, they had someone to argue with in this manner. And anyways, they''re compatibility as a party was actually very good. Thinking about this reminded her of her past. Well. That was already a long time ago, though... "Stop arguing, or I won''t come along." She said sternly, and everyone immediately shut up, turning several pairs of pleading puppy dog eyes onto her. She smiled wryly as she let out a sigh. "You guys really... can''t be helped." 81 The Necromancer and the Priestess 15 Several days later, the party was currently camping out in Gloom Forest. Unlike what one would expect when coming to Gloom Forest, everyone present was merrily chatting away and cooking and eating, as if they were on vacation. Was this the attitude of the strong? The only nervous person was that newbie kid Alex, who was the only person amongst the group who had yet to experience Yin Mei''s hellish training. Whenever these little brats complained that her training was hellish, she really wanted to retort - it was only a little bit of fighting, what in the world were they so hung up about? If they heard her say that, they would definitely question her standards. Yin Mei finished cooking, the delicious scent causing the groups stomaches to all rumble at once, as Arthur, Rose, and Lana were already gathered around the campfire, drooling as they stared intently at the pot of stew and several small birds being roasted. Hmm, Yin Mei was remembering the past, whenever she would cook for the little kids during the zombie apocalypse, they would also act like this. She had also cooked for Yao Heyan and her own kids, and thinking about Yao Heyan''s expression at the time, she would immediately start feeling smug all over. Though actually having cooked for her kids had ended up being really troublesome, since the result was that they became immensely picky gourmets. These kids as well. She knew that secretly the reason they all wanted her to come with them on missions was simply because they missed her cooking! She ladled out the soup and cut up the roasted meat, handing out the food. When the newbie Alex tried it out, he was immediately blown away, wanting to tear up. Among the White Bird party members, not a single one could cook competently, and thus they were reduced to eating salted jerky and burnt monsters most of the time. In comparison, Yin Mei''s food was beyond heavenly. It was as if the goddess herself had come down to bless this meal to be the most delicious ever in existence. Yin Mei also sat down to eat. She checked the system mission, sighing when she saw it was unchanged. She really wanted to punch this screen, but too bad that wouldn''t accomplish anything. On the other hand, considering just how little progress they had made in trying to figure out how to get to the demon world, she was wondering if the result would just be them waiting for the demon bridge to open anyways. She felt extremely frustrated... ... ... Wait a second? She felt like she was forgetting something important. !!! Yin Mei looked at the system. F*ck, she had forgotten this system had a surveillance feature! She had spent several months developing that stupid information gathering magic, and then had spent more months in frustration when they couldn''t get anything on El, and here she had the most OP information gathering magic in her hands already! What the hell! She felt so silly, but quickly had the system show El as fast as possible. It had been a year since she had seen the beautiful face of her beloved man- oops, she meant that stupid b*stard who dared to leave her behind in the human world. The system displayed an image of El. His face was as beautiful as ever, though the dark cool dark grayish skin was something to get used to, along with the dark black horns that curved up out from his head. Did he always have those? El currently had on a thinly disguised expression of annoyance, as some silver haired beauty was grabbing at his wrist, her eyes teary as they enacted some soap drama-esque scene. "Azazel! What in the world happened in the human world that you won''t talk to me about it? Even breaking our engagement as soon as you got back... if you tell me, then we can work through it together!" Snap. "Huh? Did someone just hear a- hiii!" Arthur saw the murderous aura around Yin Mei and immediately let out a girlish shriek as his face paled, drawing the attention of others, who also turned pale. They don''t know what in the world had happened, but they knew that their leader was angry. They had never seen her this angry before. It was on the level where they were contemplating who to sacrifice, how they should go about conquering the world or defeating the king, and wondering if it was a person that had angered her, what sort of torture they should enact upon them to thus curb her outrage. On the other hand, Yin Mei was thinking of all the ways that she would dispose of that slut that dared to touch her man and actually had the guts to enact this scene like straight out of a romance drama! Disciplining El could come later. She first had to hurry up and go to the demon world and proclaim ownership. Look, he was only gone for a year and see all the flies he attracted! To explain Yin Mei''s possessiveness, one should look at her previous crimes in her last life. At that time, Yin Mei had been pregnant with her first child, and it had already been announced with much fanfare to their parents. Yao Heyan had spent much of his time dealing with business matters, so that when their daughter was born they could spend their time taking care of her, and so when Yao Heyan''s ex-girlfriend had popped up in front of Yin Mei, Yao Heyan had been on a business trip at the time. When he came back, Yao Heyan no longer had an ex-girlfriend. As for those girls that dared tried to flirt with him, Yin Mei would show them the sheer difference between them and herself. Dared to actually try and flirt with her man with your pathetic looks and ability? Hah! In other words, let us just say that although Yin Mei wasn''t the type to restrict the actions of her man, she was definitely the type that would act behind the scenes to make sure no woman could get their grubby hands onto him. Rosella was about to get up to approach approach Yin Mei, but immediately two hands grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. She turned her head around, and Arthur, along with another member of the party, a beautiful man with long hair called Lang, were shaking their heads frantically. Only after a while did Yin Mei calm down and she realized that the campsite had fallen completely silent, with everyone frozen. "What are you all doing? Is the food not to your tastes?" She asked with a cool voice, and they all shook their heads as quickly as possible, immediately shoveling the food down their mouths, to the point that Arthur almost choked. But thankfully, his sacrifice caused the air to go back to normal, and everyone started chatting again, though their voices were much quieter than before. Yin Mei had already shut down the surveillance, her mind filled with the ways that she would punish that girl later. And also El. Though her priorities had changed, she still didn''t forget that she would need to thoroughly scold that guy for running away. Meanwhile, in the demon world, El had dead fish eyes as he was being annoyed for the nth time by this girl. He would have gotten rid of her already, if only she wasn''t the daughter of the demon king. It was already difficult enough breaking their engagement - god knows how many excuses and extra work he had needed to do so. But she was stubbornly continuing to bother him, even though the only reason that he had gotten engaged with her was due to her status. But now that he had his Celes back in the human world, of course he would break things off. But she just wouldn''t get the hint. "Azazel! Are you even listening to me?" Eve said, feeling upset inside. After all, before, Azazel would always treat her like a princess. But ever since he returned from the human realm, he had completely disregarded her. "No," El answered with a cold voice, shocking Eve. She burst into tears, running off, but El didn''t bother with her. He was currently still researching how to open the demon bridge, how could he have time to comfort an idiot girl who didn''t understand etiquette? It had already been a year since he had last seen Celes. Was she doing well? Since he wasn''t there, he was constantly worried about her health, or if any flies were buzzing around her. He hated the fact that it had been necessary for him to return to the demon world - if he had a choice, he definitely would have stayed. But his original body had gotten too weak from being sealed up for thousands of years. The only solution was to just open up the demon bridge as soon as possible, in order to reunite with Celes. Back to Yin Mei, she was casually sitting on top of a boulder, dutifully polishing her sword, as the people around her fought off a group of monster. Rosella shouted out orders, and blood, magic, and arrows flew all around them. She admired her handiwork, as a dark spell from a monster flew to her. Alex, the rookie, was about to shout out in surprise in warning, but the spell dissipated as it hit a barrier, which glimmered gold for a moment before becoming invisible again. He gaped in amazement, but was snapped back to attention by a monster flying toward him. "Get your act together and focus!" Ryan shouted, and the boy winced but quickly put up his sword to block the claws that swiped down at him. Yin Mei swung her sword a few times, whistling a happy tune as she imagined it slicing up that silver haired girl. Just because she was a little pretty, she thought she could get El''s attention? Yin Mei''s sinister laugh and smile sent chills down the backs of everyone present. Someone please tell them what in the world had angered their leader so much. Today and tomorrow both, just look at that murderous aura she was leaking out! When the battle was finished, the party members pushed and whispered at each other. "You go ask her!" "No, you ask! Do I look like I''m suicidal?" It was to the point that even Yin Mei noticed something was wrong, feeling very irritated at the whispers that were being exchanged. They finally pushed the rookie Alex forward, who was pale faced and nervous sweating. But, since he had yet to experience the true terror that was called Yin Mei. In other words, he had neither seen her in action, nor experienced her training. So he gathered up his courage to ask what was upsetting her. Yin Mei smiled sweetly in response, terrifying the other kids. "No, I''m just a little angry at someone who did something they shouldn''t have." Immediately, the other kids all rushed in, speaking all at once. "Who is this b*stard? Leader, just say the word and we''ll definitely teach them a lesson!" "Let''s kidnap them and teach them not to mess with the leader!" They stared at her with sparkling eyes, waiting for her verdict. "Maybe next time," Yin Mei replied. That person was in the demon world, what in the world could they do right now? They would have to wait for the demon bridge to open, or figure out some other discreet way to go there before being able to do anything. Everyone put on disappointed expressions. Would they have to continue dealing with the leader''s intense murderous aura until she could vent her anger out? No way! They wouldn''t be able to survive that way. They needed to quickly get her mind off things! The result was that the group members all sucked up to her and treated her like royalty... like they normally did anyways. ... Yin Mei didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. (A/N: oops, forgot to set timer) 82 The Necromancer and the Priestess 16 Several days later, while the party was searching the Gloom Forest, they ran into an expedition party from the church. The leader was, shockingly, Kai. Though, Yin Mei thought it might not be so surprising after all. Among the people of the church who came with her, aside from Rosella, there was also Elaina and Naenia, who were handling the information guild. Among the knights, they were all too loyal to abandon the church. That being said, that was just Yin Mei''s own thoughts, and she never asked them, and nor did they say anything to her when she left. Actually, she kind of wanted to bring Kai with her, just for insurance. But, it was better for her not to, in case things got complicated. After all, she didn''t want him betraying her because of her unethical deeds after all. Kai didn''t recognize Yin Mei or Rosella, who were both disguised. His expression was emotionless, but he didn''t have a good opinion of the guild - in his eyes, they had taken opportunity of the church''s time of weakness to establish themselves and grow into the powerful organization that they were today. But, his friend Leon was also the guild master, so he felt like if he said anything, it would be betraying their friendship. He recalled what Leon had said on the day after the chaos of the unsealing... He knew that Leon was not the founder of the guild, but wondered who exactly was the founder to be able to draw that frivolous guy over to their side. He wanted to know, but Leon had stayed vague. In addition, there was the matter of the high priestess''s disappearance. Rosella as well, had also gone with Leon when the high priestess disappeared. He doubted. Doubted if his choice was the right one. Both his friends had moved on from the church, the high priestess he respected had disappeared during the church''s time of need, and the Bishop was still recuperating from injuries to this day. There was silence between the two groups. The members of the White Bird didn''t know much about their leader''s history with the church, just that she had abandoned it in order to start the guild. The only person they knew who knew more were Leon and Rosella - the two who had been with her from the beginning. But, in their opinion, the church was nothing. For the original members of the White Bird party, the church had never done anything for them. The leader as well, had left the church, so just how special could it be? Once these thoughts went through the minds of some of the members, they immediately put on an arrogant air. At least, Arthur did. "Huuhhh? If it isn''t the church! Considering how useless you all have been these days, I didn''t expect you guys to actually still be subjugating monsters in the Gloom Forest! Your Bishop is still bedridden isn''t he? It''s okay, you guys don''t need to overexert yourselves! Just leave things to us, the commoners!" He said, looking completely like a ruffian. Rosella was uneasy, her gaze darting toward Kai. She bit her lip, but in the end, didn''t say anything. Although the three of these people, Leon, Kai, and Rosella did not know the details of what happened during the succession ceremony, nor were they directly involved anymore, this event had still caused their relationship to grow more complicated than before. After all, one of them founded the guild, the other left the church for the guild (though she was never really a member of the church), and the last one had stayed behind. The people who left, and the one who stayed behind, what sort of thoughts had gone through their heads at the time? Well, Yin Mei didn''t really care about that sort of thing. Though, it didn''t mean she wanted to purposefully provoke the church group. She could tell that they had already been on edge, due to the events from a year ago. Of course, Arthur''s words hit their sore spot, and some of them outright showed their anger on their face. "Arthur, enough." Yin Mei said. Arthur didn''t protest, shutting his mouth, though his gaze remained provocative as he haughtily shot his gaze over. Anyone would get angry looking at this smug person''s face, but the church group didn''t say anything, keeping silent. Even if they were angry, they were not the type to do anything about it - after all, they were the role models of the people. Rather than get angry over someone''s words, their time was better spent training and protecting the citizens of the country. "I apologize for the words of my party member," Yin Mei said, her face calm as she addressed Kai, who appeared to be the leader of the group. It wasn''t unexpected. He had the skills and was formerly part of Celestina''s guard, though not for long. "There''s no need to apologize," Kai responded curtly. He couldn''t tell that Yin Mei was Celestina at all, not only because of the change in appearance, but the change in personality. Yin Mei no longer needed to act sweet, and did not have that peaceful and gentle expression on her face at all times anymore. Instead, her aura had become significantly more gloomy and aloof. The light aura that she spread all the time was also being consciously restrained as well. Leaking it all over the place could bring unwanted attention after all. It didn''t matter much when she was still inside the church, but now that she had discarded the identity of high priestess and was wandering about to and fro, there was no way that she could continue spreading out that euphoria inducing aura, right? It had been difficult to learn how to restrain her aura all the time, and it somewhat felt like trying to live with a straitjacket on her (well, not that she knew how that would feel though). Even now, embarrassingly enough, it would still leak out if she wasn''t careful enough. "No, no, of course I need to apologize for the rudeness of my party member. One must take responsibility for the transgressions of their people, isn''t that right? I''ll discipline him later, for having such a loose mouth." She smiled, but her eyes weren''t smiling. Lana elbowed Arthur in the stomach, who still couldn''t tell that he had done something wrong. His face was slightly pale. What the heck, just what did he do wrong? "There''s no need to go that far. None of us took his words to heart." Kai answered stubbornly, his expression also cold. For some reason, the other people present seemed to see sparks flying between them, an image of a snake and tiger battling in the background... But just as soon as Yin Mei was angered, she had calmed down. What was she getting worked up for? It''s not like she was a child. He didn''t want to accept her apology, then whatever. It had no affect on herself. Once she was calm, she once more smiled again as she spoke, "If you say so." She then continued on. "If that''s all, then we''ll take our leave now." Kai had no reason to keep them there, so simply nodded. "May the goddess be with you," he said politely. "The goddess be with me? That''s unnecessary." Yin Mei answered as she glanced back at him with cold eyes. The group left, and Kai didn''t know what to say to that. In the end, they also left, leaving the forest clearing empty. "L-leader, please forgive me," Arthur tentatively said, with sparkling teary eyes. "Huh? There''s nothing to forgive," Yin Mei answered coolly, but that made Arthur only feel more anxious, to the point where he was on the verge of begging her while grabbing her leg. "Unless you want to go through another month of training, then you better let go right now." He let go. Yin Mei really wanted to ask if her training was that bad?? Why is it that all these kids treated it like the bane of their existence! It was only some survival and battle training! Geez, if they kept on doing this, she would definitely make them retrain on a harder schedule, and then they would know the true meaning of hellish training. The White Bird party, who had unintentionally dug their own graves: QwQ What did we do to deserve this! "Leader," Rosella spoke out with an anxious tone, her eyes like that of a saddened puppy as she looked toward Yin Mei. Why are you looking at me like that? Yin Mei wanted to ask, but she didn''t. "Don''t look at me like that," she instead said with a cool voice. "Are you regretting your decision?" "!! No, I''m not!" Rosella immediately denied. Regret? No, that wasn''t it. She didn''t regret her choices at all. Although she felt that after that day, the high priestess had changed, she was still the person who had rescued her from slavery. This life saving grace was something that she would never forget. But, she didn''t want the relationship between herself, Kai, and Leon to stay this way. Celestina too. Everything had been so good between all of them until that day, so why is it that now, it had all changed so much? The high priestess barely smiled anymore, and when she did, it was obvious that it wasn''t sincere. Leon obsessed himself with research and work, no longer playful and always putting on a serious expression. She herself was now occupied with the White Bird party. As for Kai, they hadn''t even spoken to each other in more than half a year now. After a day or two more of fruitless searching, Yin Mei was growing more irritated and frustrated. She soon tried looking for the person with her surveillance system, but to her frustration, the only thing she could see was darkness, no matter what she did. What the f*ck kind of location was this? Maybe an underground cave? If it was dark all the time, then it probably wasn''t outside, right? She impatiently tapped her foot for a moment in deep thought, before consulting with the group. They quickly changed directions, and began to make their way toward the ruins at the center of Gloom Forest. It wasn''t quite known what city these ruins were of - it had already been too long, and that knowledge had been lost in the great sea of time. A white misty fog wrapped the gloomy stone buildings, crumbled and fallen with time. "This is my first time here, and damn, it''s like a haunted house. Or haunted city, I guess." Arthur said, and Lana shivered from the cold air. It was a place where a ghost wouldn''t look out of place here. "There''s no sign of any life within a fifty meter radius. Leader, it doesn''t look like the quest target is here either," Lilith said, standing up from where she had been kneeling by a puddle of water. "Hmm. So my theory was wrong after all?" Yin Mei mused, rubbing her chin in thought. She had considered that this place would be the most likely location to hold the princess, but was she wrong? What had she overlooked? "Well, for now, let''s do a sweep of the area before rushing to conclusions." It wasn''t that she didn''t trust Lilith''s abilities, but it was just in case something had been missed. Magic jamming was a possibility, or perhaps the person was in a place where Lilith''s magic couldn''t reach. The party naturally understood this, and proceeded to get into position, tensions and cautions high as they went through each building, efficiently moving through the city. But, this was a city after all. They probably wouldn''t be able to cover the entire area in one day, no matter how fast and efficient they were. "We''ll stop here for now. Let''s set up camp in the-" Yin Mei said, stopping her words when she noticed the group that walked out from the fog in the distance. "... It''s them again?" Naturally, the other group also noticed them, changing directions slightly so that they met up. "So we meet again. I didn''t know that Gloom Forest was so small," Kai said after politely greeting Yin Mei. "Yes. Quite small indeed." Yin Mei replied, face expressionless. 83 The Necromancer and the Priestess 17 Both Yin Mei and Kai were standing on the side, watching their parties set up. There was silence between them, before Yin Mei asked, "Why aren''t you helping out?" "I can say the same of you," Kai answered after a moments surprise that she had spoken out. "The kids wouldn''t let me do it even if I offered," she answered. That''s right, it wasn''t that she didn''t want to do anything! It was just that the last time she tried, the party members all got their panties in a twist making her stop. Sigh, even though with her master cleaning skill level, she would probably be able to get everything done faster, but since they insisted with those expressions like it was a matter of life or death for them, then she could only sit things out from then on. "The kids?" Kai looked at the girl. She didn''t look that old, maybe in her early 20s at the most. So why would she call her party members, who appeared of around the same age as her, as kids? Yin Mei didn''t realize anything was weird, just nodding. "Don''t take what Arthur said to heart. When I picked up those kids, they were all in... not so good situations. For them, the church in their eyes isn''t anything good. Neither the goddess nor the church did anything for them." Yin Mei said. "Not that either of the two had the obligation to... but, as a result, they don''t have a very good opinion of the church. I don''t know if you could understand, since your situation was the opposite though..." She murmured that last line, and Kai looked to her with an odd expression. She spoke as if she knew what had happened. But how was that possible? They had never met before... But now that he thought about it, this girl acted slightly as if she was familiar with him. It was just a vague feeling, that he couldn''t really put his finger on until now. He closed his eyes, deciding it must just be his imagination. She was probably just assuming it, since he worked for the church as a knight, right? After all, most knights had experienced a similar situation to his... "I never took any offense in the first place. It is the fault of the church that we were unable to inspire trust in the people, and rescue those that needed rescuing." "Ha. If you believe so," Yin Mei said with a sharp bark of laughter. "The goddess is quite cruel, to burden you all with such a heavy mission." Kai was about to protest, but Yin Mei had already gone over to her party, a gentle smile on her face as she spoke with some of the members. It was slightly different from the cold and polite smile that she had had on before. Kai was curious... Was she included among those that the church had been unable to help? That night was uneasy for both groups. The priests had set up barriers around the abandoned church that they were using as a shelter. Though initially Arthur didn''t want to be in the same building as the members of the church, in the end, it would be more convenient as they would be under the same barrier. As for the members of the church, they wouldn''t fight for the place when there was enough space for all of them plus some. Yin Mei didn''t sleep that night, sitting on a portion of crumbled wall and looking out into the darkness. A couple of balls of light floated beside her, to chase away the shadows. There was no moon or stars that could be seen, just formless shapes, black on black. Yin Mei wasn''t scared of the dark, but on a night like this, it took on an eerie air. She felt like something was about to happen. What did people call this? The calm before the storm? "You''re not sleeping?" Suddenly, Kai''s voice came from behind her. He had just got up for second watch. He looked at the balls of light floating around her and commented, "So you were a light mage?" Light mage. This affinity was fairly rare, so anyone who was found with a light affinity was often immediately drafted into the church. The only ones who didn''t were those who had the wealth and power to reject the invitation, and even then, that was rather rare. "No," Yin Mei answered without looking back, and took out a scroll with a spell circle drawn onto it. "It''s a disposable spell that can be invoked by anyone with the mana. Lasts a few hours. Our guild developed this fairly recently." She injected mana into the scroll, and it burned up, another ball of light popping out into existence to join its brothers and sisters. She wasn''t lying. Yin Mei had the knowledge of different worlds, and most of all, all those stories from her original world in her head. She had used different concepts in those to create new magics, like the information magic, the summoning magic, and the disposable scroll. Of course, she had also used it to create the guild. She had already prepared a lot of things so that her identity wouldn''t be found out. After all, things would get messy if people figured out her true identity. "Oh," Kai said, nodding. He was slightly interested, thinking that this concept was interesting. There was no incantation, the casting was instantaneous, and most of all, it would allow mages to use spells that were not of their own affinity. Maybe he could later ask if the church would be able to purchase some from the guild after they had left Gloom Forest. There was silence between them, when suddenly, both Yin Mei and Kai''s eyes became sharp as they straightened up, snapping to attention. Their gaze bored into the darkness of the night. "Undead," Yin Mei said, and Kai nodded. As people who had light affinity, they were especially sensitive to the aura of the undead. Kai immediately went to wake the people, and Yin Mei''s eyes darkened as she muttered something to herself, but she didn''t make a move. "Leader! How many of them are there?" Lana asked, walking up with Lang, who had his bow out and ready, his blue eyes cautiously surveying the landscape. "I have eyes on twenty... twenty-five." Lang reported. "They''re coming from... the center of the city?" Yin Mei said. The number continued to grow, as if they were infinitely spawning from the center location. "... We''ll have to destroy the spawn point?" Yin Mei murmured to herself. Although this wasn''t a game, she felt that this was probably what they would need to do. Of course, they could also defend their stronghold (the abandoned church) until morning. If it wasn''t a person that was summoning the undead, then they would be unable to continue moving. If it was a human, then... someone of El''s calibre could keep undead moving for almost an infinite amount of time - even high class undead, since those had an independent power source. As for lower class necromancers, they would probably last a couple of days. Meanwhile, Yin Mei calculated the amount of time it would take them to reach the center of the city. It would take more effort than just defending the ruined church... But they could probably do it before the sun came up. The question was whether it was worth it. "Let''s go to the city center." Yin Mei said. She was curious just where these undead were coming from after all. For undead to be spawning at a rate like this, it was definitely abnormal. There must be something that was acting as a catalyst, be it a person or item or whatnot. "Alright," Lana and Lang immediately nodded, going to inform the rest of the party. They didn''t question her, or think about how dangerous it would be. They had all already gone through fire and water together, even taking down a dragon - compared to that, just how dangerous could this be? The party quickly geared up, grabbing their weapons and putting on their armor with smooth and quick actions. Not even Alex was any different - although he was still considered a rookie, he had to have some amount of skill to have been able to enter the White Bird party. "Wha- you guys are going to the center of the city?" Kai exclaimed, as Yin Mei politely informed him of their course of action. Although it was unnecessary, she thought that it was better than not saying anything at all. "Yes. We''re going to see what the cause of the undead are. Since they are originating from the city center, we''ve decided to go there." Yin Mei replied, thanking Ryan as he came up to hand her her sword. She strapped it to her back, so that it was horizontal over her lower waist. "It''s too dangerous!" Kai said, frowning. He didn''t like the White Birds that much, but that didn''t mean he could let them waltz off to their deaths like this. "Dangerous? Haha! Who do you think you''re talking to?" Yin Mei said, laughing heartily. She and her group gathered up, and she burned a stack of scrolls, tens of light balls popping up and bobbing up and down around the group before they went off into the darkness. Flashes of light, and the sounds of battle could be heard, but even that quickly disappeared under the thick blanket of shadows that cloaked the city. Kai grit his teeth, before fairly shouting, "We''re going after them!" "But, captain-" A priest started to protest, but was silenced by Kai''s stern glare. In the end, the members of the church didn''t say anything. Actually, they knew the skill of the White Bird party couldn''t be looked down upon, and more people were always welcomed. Compared to defending this location alone, though they had the confidence to do it well, it would still be better to stick with the other group. In that way, they could also lessen their conscience. In the end, the White Bird party consisted of commoners, and it was their duty to protect the common people. They quickly got ready, grabbing all their things and taking down the barrier, before journeying into the darkness, following the direction that the other group had gone in. "It''s too difficult to see in this darkness!" Lilith complained, as she flicked her hand, summoning several icicles in the air that flew out randomly. She couldn''t tell if she had hit anything, but those icicles would freeze the area around them when they hit the ground, so at the least, they should be able to catch some undead and stop them in their tracks. Lana summoned several balls of fire, which lit up the area along their path as they streaked through the air, illuminating several rotting faces and skulls. "Gross, gross, gross!" Lana said, making a face as she saw this scene like straight out of a horror movie. Yin Mei''s face was impassive, as she had long grown used to the faces of rotting corpses and undead - man, living in a zombie apocalypse really did wonders to a person''s mentality. She used to be disgusted at every little thing, but now she could look at this scene without even blinking a single eye. "In terms of a scale of one to ten, I would place undead at a three. C*ckroaches would be a seven." Yin Mei said with a thoughtful expression, even as she held her sword up, shooting a spell using the blade like a magic staff, slicing the approaching zombies to pieces. "How can bugs compare to rotting corpses? Leader, aren''t your standards too messed up?" Arthur said, as he threw several blades into the head of the zombie in front of him. "? My standards are perfectly normal, aren''t they?" Yin Mei asked, her expression truly clueless, unable to recognize how she was weird. "No, no, no, your standards are definitely too strange," Lana said. Though she didn''t like bugs either, at least they weren''t animated corpses. Look at these things! They had intestines and organs hanging out here and there, and most importantly, smelled disgusting. "If you say so," Yin Mei said, but still thought that her standards were perfectly normal. The group made good progress, making sure that they never got completely surrounded by a large horde of undead. The further they went, the more undead there were. Lilith and Lana began using stronger and strong AOE spells, annihilating great numbers of them at once. Yin Mei didn''t, in case it would draw the eyes of the church members, that she could feel were gaining on them. But, she did replenish Lilith''s and Lana''s mana so that they wouldn''t have to use potions. Yes, as long as Yin Mei was present, no one could die, no one could tire, and no one could run out of mana. In that way, they were similar to the undead - they were soldiers that could continue fighting for as long as necessary. Several hours later, they finally reached the center of the city, walking up the steps to the shrine that was the source of the undead. A strong death aura hung around it, but it slowly dissipated, and the undead they had been battling all fell away, before scattering to ashes. "Oh... the sun has risen." Yin Mei said, turning her head to gaze at the rays of light as they spilled over the horizon. "It''s a nice dawn." 84 The Necromancer and the Priestess 18 "You''re going in?" Kai asked, and Yin Mei turned to look at him. "Of course. I have a good feeling," Yin Mei said. She felt that their quest target was probably inside, though Lilith hadn''t checked yet. "There''s no need for you all to come along." Or rather, it would be bothersome, so don''t. After all, while they were here, she couldn''t use her magic. Because of them, they ended up wasting more potions than necessary. At least the members of the White Bird party had brought a lot of potions along, since they had gotten used to completing missions without Yin Mei. In the first mission without Yin Mei, they had suffered from a potion shortage, so after that, they would always make sure to buy enough. "No, we can''t let you venture into such dangerous territory alone." Kai answered. Mister protagonist, did you know that your righteousness is really annoying? Wouldn''t it be easier on the both of us if you weren''t so filled with justice and responsibility, burning with a sense of duty all the time? Yin Mei really wanted to ask this to him, but didn''t. Yin Mei''s eyes wandered around as she seemed to be in thought, her deadpan expression looking just slightly annoyed. "No, after all, it would be better if we went alone. Frankly, it''ll be a burden to work with people we''re unfamiliar with. Plus, we have some personal matters to attend to inside the shrine." Kai wanted to insist, but after a continuous back and forth with Yin Mei, in the end relented to standing guard outside. Entering the shrine, they walked down. And down. And down. And even further down. Lang mapped things out, preventing them from getting lost as they continued down staircase after staircase. It took them some time, but they finally reached their destination. It was pitch black, but not like any ordinary darkness. It stank of death, but more than that, it was thick with miasma. Yin Mei lit up the vast room, and sitting in the middle, was the girl they were looking for. Her head was bowed, silver hair covering her face, shining in the warm light. Yin Mei felt a feeling of wrongness. This girl... had the aura of a dark element lingering about her. But, the princess should be a water affinity mage. In addition to that, this dark element was slightly strange. There was something demonic about it, like it had been mixed with miasma. Thoughts swirled about in Yin Mei''s head. Dark element. Miasma. Demons. Undead. "Ah, it''s the quest target!" Arthur was about to rush forward, but Yin Mei grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. "Leader?" He turned to look at the leader, who had on a very serious expression. Arthur immediately fell silent and didn''t make another move. Such an expression, he knew that there was something very wrong. "You, you ate something you shouldn''t have?" Yin Mei said, and the girl raised her head. Her violet eyes were pitch black, like the depths of an abyss. The party members all flinched, looking into those inky eyes of hers. "What in the world-" Lana began to say, but didn''t finish when the room started rumbling, interrupting her words. "!!" Alarm showed up on the faces of those present as the air of miasma strengthened. Yin Mei immediately put up a barrier, preventing the thick dark fog from reaching them. That was dangerous. Miasma that thick would poison those who didn''t have a strong enough light affinity or weren''t blessed. "Shit," Yin Mei cursed, drawing her sword. "Leader, what''s happening?" Rosella called out in alarm, looking around in caution, feeling as if something was about to pop out of the billowing miasma at any moment now. "That girl most likely ate a ''seed of evil''," Yin Mei said. She had read about this in the church''s books. This seed of evil was the embryo of an evil creature. If a human consumed it, then they would "change", becoming similar to that of a demon, but also not quite a demon. It was too bad that there wasn''t enough information, as all these were stories from a long time ago. Rosella didn''t understand what a seed of evil was, but didn''t ask further. Just hearing it was enough to know how dangerous it was. Yin Mei really wanted to ask why there had been a seed of evil. They had just gotten rid of the evil creature last year, there was no way that there was enough miasma to produce another one! She was reminded of the strange conditions that had resulted in the birth of that evil creature. For that evil creature as well, it shouldn''t have been possible for it to appear considering that the forest had been purified recently. In that case, could the seed of evil also have appeared this time for the same reasons as the evil creature of last year? "..." Well, this sort of thinking wasn''t useful right now. The problem was if they should kill the girl or not. She didn''t want to, since then all the trouble they had gone through to complete that stupid quest would be for not. But it would be troublesome if they didn''t. After all, they couldn''t just leave her like this, right? Look at that miasma! F*ck, at this rate, the entire forest would become a no man''s land! A person who had consumed a seed of evil was even more troublesome than your average evil creature. They possessed thought, reasoning, and everything that made humans more capable than your average beast. At the least, that was what the books had said. Yin Mei had not experienced either an evil creature or a human who had eaten a seed of evil, so she couldn''t make any comparisons herself. "... Do you think we can extract it?" Yin Mei mused, but wasn''t sure how to go about this even though she had said it. "Extract it? It''s something that can be extracted?" Rosella asked. "Whatever you plan to do, isn''t it better to do it sooner? At this rate..." Arthur looked around nervously. Goddamn, the inability to see anything beyond the barrier was really putting his nerves on edge. "Alright, then we''ll try it that way." Yin Mei said, and walked outside the barrier. The fog quickly swallowed her up, and the group members couldn''t see her figure at all. "Wha-" "Leader!" Several frantic calls of leader echoed, but there was no answer. "... I''m going out," Rosella said as she grit her teeth, but Lang placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. "Lang is right. You can''t be reckless. The leader must have a plan in mind," Ryan said, his voice calm, but his foot was impatiently tapping on the ground. Lana paced back and forth, biting her thumb in frustration. "Dammit! If it wasn''t for that goddamn miasma! Only the leader is able to resist miasma of that density. If any of us go out, we''ll be dead in minutes," she said angrily. They all looked outside. It was a darkness that inspired fear, and anxiety. "We can only wait." Ryan reaffirmed, and Rosella banged her fist up against the barrier wall in frustration. It wouldn''t let her out. Even if they wanted to, their only choice was to wait. As for Yin Mei, she was casually strolling around. She lit up the way with her light balls, which she had to constantly feed large amounts of mana, lest they be overwhelmed by the constantly increasing miasma. Her body was glowing slightly around her, fending off the aggressive fog that seemed to want to consume her. She walked straight several tens of feet, before she stood in front of the silver haired princess, who was in the same position she had been when they first came in. "... How pathetic," Yin Mei said, looking down on the girl. The girl looked up, her eyes dull. "Don''t you mean yourself?" She said. "Hahaha!" Her cackling laughter was sharp and piercing, her expression crazed as she clutched at her stomach. Yin Mei didn''t answer, her hand darting out and piercing right through the girl''s chest. Pulling it back out, in her hand was a glowing purple crystal with writhing black veins. "So this is what the seed of evil looks like? Quite creepy." She commented. The girl had already collapsed on the ground, unconscious. There was not a single injury on her, as Yin Mei had used a technique similar to the one the Bishop used during the succession ceremony. Without the girl acting as a vessel for the seed of evil, it lost its power, and the miasma began to slowly dissipate. Soon, the room was clear of fog again, and Yin Mei and the members of the White Bird party could clearly see each other. "Leader!" Their shouts of excitement echoed across the room, and Yin Mei smiled, waving at them in reassurance. "Well, it doesn''t really matter anyways," She said, her gaze indifferent as she burned the thing up with holy power. Within moments, it was gone. But, just as Yin Mei was about to grab the princess and walk over to the others, the room began to shake violently, as if an earthquake was happening. "What the hell? And here I thought that everything would be taken care of!" She said, immediately hoisting up the girl over her shoulder and running over to where the others were. She quickly. let down the barrier, and they all didn''t say anything, immediately making toward the exit. Just, the goddamned exit was so far!! The building began to come down on them, and Yin Mei really wanted to ask what the hell was wrong with this world. She erected individual barriers for everyone that blocked the pieces of falling debris, and buffed them so that they could run faster. They made it out in record time, just before the entire shrine collapsed. "What in the world was that?" Yin Mei said, talking to the group of church members who had retreated away from the shrine. But they were staring at the sky, not even noticing that the White Birds had exited from the shrine. Yin Mei followed their gaze, and saw floating in the air above where the shrine had been, was some sort of gate. It was pitch black, with twisted designs. "... The demon bridge?" How was that a bridge? Wasn''t it just a gate?? No, no, in the first place, why in the world had the demon bridge appeared? Yin Mei heard the familiar voice of the system, as it congratulated her, before telling her to patiently wait as it calculated the next mission. Wait, why was she even thinking about this? None of that mattered? What mattered was... A smile naturally formed on her lips, and her expression appeared half crazed as she looked at the gate with an odd desire. Kai, who saw this, was chilled to the bone. How is it that she could still smile, when such a disaster had befallen their country? "Ah, oops!" Yin Mei said, using her hand to cover up the grin on her face. It was no good. She had been so delighted that she had accidentally let all her emotions show. How embarrassing. Although she still didn''t know why exactly the demon bridge had chosen this time to open, there was also no need to wonder. All she knew was that she could finally take the opportunity to slice, chop, cut, crush, stomp, and destroy that slut that dared touch a hand on her El! And while she was at it, she would also give El a good punch to the stomach or two, in order to beat it into his body that she was not the sort of girl he could just up and abandon without consequences. Or maybe that was too violent... She considered it for a moment. Would she drive El away if she was too violent? That was no good. Although she was angry, she couldn''t have her man running away again! But what other way could she use to show her dissatisfaction? Yin Mei''s expressions changed at the drop of a hat, going from thoughtful, to energetic, to frowning in seconds. Either way, she would have to decide soon. After all, with the demon bridge open, she''d finally be able to meet El again. After all this time... she''d certainly make sure to drag his butt back over here. (A/N: OMG, totally forgot about posting. Finished too late to schedule so I was like I''ll just post it normally and then got caught up with some homework >->) 85 The Necromancer and the Priestess 19 After a several minutes, the members of the two groups seemed to regain their bearings. "I will be going to the church to report this. In the meantime, we''ll be a leaving a few of our members here to control the situation. As for you all...?" Kai said, looking toward Yin Mei. "Good question," Yin Mei said, but didn''t answer Kai''s question. She was instead thinking. She wanted to stay here and wait for El, but it might also be better to go back to the guild to relay information. In the first place, even if she waited for him here, she didn''t know how long she would need to wait... to top it off, there were those pests... Her eyes were cold as she glanced at the church group but quickly returned to normal. "Leader... it might be better to go back to the capital. We have the princess with us too..." Ryan leaned in to speak with a quiet voice, his eyes glancing toward the silver haired girl being held by Lang. Yin Mei closed her eyes. "You''re right," she finally said. "We''ll be returning to the capital." She threw one last reluctant glance at the demon bridge, but in the end, still walked away. No matter. No matter where El was, she would still be able to find him. The group used a special teleport scroll made by Leon to quickly return to the capital, which was still calm, not yet having received news of the demon bridge. "... Is she even still alive?" Leon had to ask, when the group appeared suddenly in his office, Lang carrying the princess like she was a bag of rice or something over his shoulder. "Should be?" Yin Mei said. She couldn''t attest to her state of mind though. She had been able to extract the seed of evil without killing the girl, but this was a first. There were no records of such a thing happening that she had read about, so she really didn''t know what the after affects would be. "Should be you say..." He massaged his forehead. No, this was okay. They had predicted that she would most likely be dead anyways, and the request of the kingdom was to find her - it had no mention concerning her life or death. So, in other words, even if she was dead, it would still count as completing the mission. After comforting himself thus, Leon felt much better. "Oh right, and we also have something to report..." Yin Mei said, as Lang tossed the princess onto a nearby sofa. "What is it?" Though Leon wanted to say something about this rough treatment of the princess, his attention was drawn back to Yin Mei. "Well, the demon bridge opened." She said. "Huh?" "The demon bridge opened." Yin Mei repeated. "... I''m sorry, what did you just say?" Leon felt there was something wrong with his ears. After all, it wasn''t possible that she would say something like the demon bridge had opened or anything, right? "The demon bridge. It opened." Yin Mei patiently repeated herself one more time, and Leon could no longer continue denying the truth. He held his head in his hands, not knowing what to think about this information bomb that Yin Mei had thrown at him. "What in the world even... no, never mind. Don''t say anything. I don''t want to know." Leon has cast escapism! "For now, let''s first deliver the girl. Anything else can wait." He continued. Escapism was successful! "Leon, we''ll have to post a guild notice. We can''t have out guild members going into Gloom Forest anymore." Yin Mei said, blocking off his path to retreat. "Kuh...!" Leon grimaced in frustration. "You''re right." And was promptly defeated. "Have the employees post a notice about the opening of the demon bridge. From now on, we''ll be rejecting any mission requests in the area around and in Gloom Forest. Take down any quests that are pinned up on the board as well." He ordered. Yin Mei nodded. "I''ll do that. You guys go ahead and deliver the girl." She said, and Ryan nodded. Rosella frowned reluctantly, but also nodded. That day, the continent erupted into chaos. The people already had a low morale due to what had happened a year ago, and then they were hit with news of the demon bridge opening. Suicide rates were at an all time high, as people lamented that the world was going to end. Meanwhile, in the demon world, El was ecstatic. "Someone destroyed the seed of evil? Who would have expected that that could trigger the demon bridge opening. How interesting. I''ll have to look into this. No, but for now... I can finally see you again, my Celes." He smiled so sweetly, as he called for his attendant to bring him his cape. "Azazel!" The sound of an annoying voice reached his ears, and El immediately felt a strong feeling of annoyance creeping up inside his heart. He was in such a good mood now, and this girl had to come over and destroy it. He took in a deep breath, allowing his expression to return to normal before turning around. "What is it?" He asked coolly, looking at Eve''s teary eyed expression. "You''re going back to the human world?" She asked, as El brushed past her, taking a hat that was offered to him by his butler, along with a pair of black leather gloves. "Of course I am," El answered, briefly stopping in front of a mirror to look at his appearance. The pair of black horns and dark skin... it wouldn''t scare Celes right? He frowned, and with a wave, returned back to his appearance before he had fused with Azazel. He tightened his tie, looking satisfied. "C-can you not go?" Eve said nervously. It was after he had gone to the human world the first time that he had changed so much. Her gut feeling told her that if he went again, he may never come back. El looked at her so coldly that she flinched, backing away by half a step. "Don''t say something so stupid." He said, and left her standing there trembling. "... Then I''ll come with you." Eve grit her teeth, speaking even though there was no one to hear her. Hmph! Just you wait, El. As long as she asked her father, there was no way that El could disobey! Even if it made him hate her, she would still force him to bring her along. Back in the human world, the church had quickly negotiated with all the countries on the continent, setting up a "volunteer" army at the border of Gloom Forest. Several priests worked day and night to continuously purify the strong miasma, while keeping a barrier working to isolate Gloom Forest from the rest of the world. Yin Mei joined, along with Leon and several other members of the Guild, though Yin Mei''s ultimate goal was different from theirs. In fact, she was seriously contemplating ways that she could sabotage the army, for no other reason but to allow El to succeed in his dream of world domination. What? El''s dream wasn''t world domination? Bah! What villain didn''t dream of world domination. Yin Mei knew that deep down El''s greatest desire must be world domination. After all, he wouldn''t be able to become a cliche villain without having this life long dream of conquering the world! It wasn''t just because Yin Mei felt it would be interesting at all. "You''re..." Kai spoke, when he encountered Yin Mei, Leon, and Rosella at one of the encampments at the Gloom Forest border one day. Yin Mei looked between Rosella and Kai, and wondered if this was the so called red string of fate pulling these two lovers together. After all, there were so many camps, so how was it that they coincidentally were able to meet Kai at one of them? "Leon, you knew these two?" Kai said, but then shook his head at his own question. Of course he did, after all, those two girls were the member of the famed White Bird party, while Leon was the guild master. It would be more strange if Leon didn''t know them. Actually, now that he thought about it, he didn''t even know the name of the two girls. They had never been properly introduced to each other. "Oh? You guys have met?" Leon said, looking at between the three with a very odd gaze, not knowing what to say. "Yes, in Gloom Forest, when the bridge opened," Kai said. Rosella was looking away, her expression dark, while Yin Mei had on a face of cool indifference. Leon didn''t really quite know what to say. "Then, you probably don''t need me to introduce them..." He said, struggling to put on an indifferent expression himself. He just felt that this was such an awkward situation. "No, no, please do. We didn''t have the chance to do so before. My name is Kai," Kai said, reaching his hand out to shake Yin Mei''s hand, but was ignored. He awkwardly withdrew his hand back, but didn''t think too much into it. After all, from their interactions, he already felt he had a general grasp of this person''s personality. He felt that this girl was the slightly cold and calculating type, and for some reason, did not appear to like him very much. "This is the leader of the White Bird party," Leon said, seeing that Kai was looking at Yin Mei. "? What''s your name?" Kai asked, finding it odd that Leon didn''t say Yin Mei''s name, as he looked toward the brown haired woman. There was a pause of silence between the group. Actually, Yin Mei had never come up with an alias. For some reason, they had just silently acknowledged never to say her name, and had somehow gotten away with that for the past year. "... I don''t have one." She said coolly. If she came up with a name on the spot, she felt like she would be guaranteed to forget it... so she just decided to do it like this instead. "You... don''t have one?" Kai looked toward Leon in confusion, who just shrugged. Whatever, this works as well. It''s not like anyone called Yin Mei by her name since then anyways. It was always just saying leader these days. "Leader is leader," Rosella added in, making sure to back up Yin Mei. "Huh..." Kai still looked slightly doubtful, but also didn''t ask any further. Thinking about it, he felt like she must have some reason behind not having a name, and his thoughts immediately turned to coming up with all sorts of tragic backstories, imagination on par with those priestesses that always had too much free time. Kai chatted with Leon for a bit, catching up on things that had happened since they had last seen each other. Yin Mei could see that Rosella was fidgeting a bit, seeming to want to talk to Kai, but also restraining herself. The relationship between Kai and Leon, though it had gotten slightly lukewarm, was still pretty good. But as for Kai and Rosella, because of that event from half a year ago, they hadn''t talked at all since then. Actually, already from a year ago, their relationship was already on the verge of collapsing. But, it was also clear to Yin Mei that Rosella didn''t want to let things end like this. "Leon," Yin Mei said, interrupting the two. She had on a serious expression, causing Leon to immediately react. Yin Mei rarely put on an expression like this. "What is it?" He asked, and Yin Mei pulled him closer. She paused for a second, thinking. "... I have something to tell you. Not here. Let''s go over to the border." Leon didn''t think much of it, feeling that it must be something important considering how serious her expression was, so he nodded. He told Kai to excuse them for a moment. Rosella looked like she wanted to come with them, but Yin Mei made her forcefully stay, and she had on a slightly lost and confused expression as they left the two behind. "So what did you want to talk to me about?" Leon asked as they walked right up next to the edge of the barrier, the faint gold shimmering light separating them from the darkness that seeped out of Gloom Forest. "Huh? Did I say something like that?" Yin Mei replied, and Leon felt speechless. "What in the world was the point of you dragging me out here then?" He asked, and Yin Mei turned around, looking in the direction that they had left Rosella and Kai in. "Well, I wanted to leave them alone together. They need to sort out their issues. Ever since we saw Kai the other day, Rosella has been absent minded," Yin Mei said with an annoyed sigh. Leon raised an eyebrow. Huh. Although it had seemed that her personality had gotten colder after what happened last year, but on the inside, she was still the same old Celes. He couldn''t help but smile a little inwardly. After all, although it looked like she didn''t care, in reality, she did. "... Let''s go," Yin Mei said, walking up to the barrier, placing her hand on the shimmering gold veil. "... Where?" Leon had a bad feeling about what Yin Mei was going to say. "Where else?" She answered, and walked through, black miasma swirling around her. "Come on. Don''t be slow about it." She looked up. She could tell. The demons would be arriving soon. Leon groaned, but also couldn''t say no to her. He followed her into the forest, feeling like this was a terrible idea. He could never tell what was going on through this girl''s head. It couldn''t be that she was expecting them to go scout out the demon army themselves, or something along those lines? Or perhaps there was something that she wanted in the forest? Either way, why was it that she always had to drag him along into it? Damn, if it wasn''t for Rosella and Kai, he would''ve definitely run back the other way! He sighed. No matter! After all, someone would have to clean up her mess one way or another! 86 The Necromancer and the Priestess 20 Yin Mei blessed Leon, and the two walked through the dark misty forest. She was shining like a golden light bulb, filling the area with light and driving away the darkness. It wasn''t as completely dark, as during the time in the shrine, but it was difficult to see more than ten feet in front of them. Yin Mei lit up several balls of light, which bounced and floated around them. Yin Mei could sense it. She could sense that the demons... were coming. As for whose side Leon would choose, she was truly curious. Rosella as well. Yin Mei knew that Rosella had placed her on an oddly high pedestal, and she also had that complicated relationship with Kai, so she was a little curious if Rosella would side with the church, or with her. But, that was a question for later. The current question was to find El. After they had walked a significant distance, Leon couldn''t help but speak out. "Where are we going? At this rate, we''ll reach the demon bridge. If the demon''s army is there..." He trailed off. Although he trusted in both his own and Celes''s ability (they were both high class mages after all), it was probably asking a bit too much of them to fend off an entire army of demons. "It''s fine," Yin Mei said, though she herself was wondering just how she would fare against demons. From what she knew, all demons were born with high mana capacity and stronger physical abilities then humans. That being said, they had a lower reproductions rate, and thus a lower population in comparison. It was a classic setting. Considering this, perhaps there would be those among the demons that could rival Celes''s magic prowess. After all, among the demons, El already rivaled Celes in magic power and affinity. Yin Mei didn''t know how strong El was among the demons, but she felt that he could be considered a fairly elite demon, considering that he was significant enough of a personage to be sealed under the church. Leon didn''t really think it was fine, but he also couldn''t let Yin Mei go alone. He continuously tried persuading her, but she wouldn''t have it. In the end, they had quickly reached the city ruins where the demon bridge was located. At the very border of the ruins, Yin Mei had already extinguished most of her lights, and even the faint shimmer around their bodies could no longer be seen. Though they were still protected from the miasma, Yin Mei had made the barrier around them practically invisible by manipulating the light it gave off. For some reason, the city was the only place that seemed fairly clear of miasma - to the point where it was much easier to see in comparison to the rest of the forest. Was this what they mean by being in the eye of the storm? Yin Mei didn''t know if that phrase could be applied in this case. They hid behind a tree, looking down at the demons who were setting up camp. Indeed, the demon army had already passed through the bridge. Looking up, there were still even more demons pouring through. Yin Mei wondered just how many resources the demon world staked on this every time the bridge opened. She didn''t know the reason why the demons kept on insisting on invading the human world, and nor was she interested. She was here for El, and El alone. "These numbers... and here I thought they say that demons have lesser numbers than humans? There are way too many of them," Leon said. This army rivaled the number of their own army. And considering that the average strength of demons was higher, they were in a lot of trouble. It would be a massacre. "We''ll have to report this," he murmured. "Not yet," Yin Mei said, holding out an arm to block Leon from activating a teleport spell. "What else is there to see? If we stay too long, we might get caught," Leon hissed back, but Yin Mei wasn''t listening, her eyes trained on the army camp. "No, no, no," She muttered to herself, still not seeing the person she wanted to see. "Celestina!" Leon whispered loudly, grabbing her wrist. "Dammit!" She cursed, but still let Leon pull her away. They came quite a ways from the ruins before stopping. "From here, they probably won''t be able to sense it if we teleported." Leon said, pulling out a piece of parchment. Yin Mei clicked her tongue, kicking a nearby tree in frustration. "Dammit! If we took out their magic observers, then we wouldn''t have to worry about getting caught," Yin Mei said. Magic observers. This was a common used tool. It was used by armies and cities in order to catch and record any suspicious mana fluctuations. It was to prevent surprise magic attacks, or spying by another party. "Take out whose magic observers?" A voice spoke out, and the two of them froze in place. From the shadows, appeared someone that Yin Mei had been wanting to see. That stupidly beautiful face... was really...! Yin Mei, after regaining her senses, ran up to him. And proceeded to slap him. Leon and El both had wide eyes, shocked at this development. El''s hand covered the cheek that Yin Mei had slapped. Actually, it didn''t hurt at all... after all, El had the body of a demon, while Yin Mei was a weak human girl - as long as she didn''t enhance her body with magic, which she hadn''t done. El looked up, to Yin Mei''s almost crying expression. He immediately began panicking. He hadn''t seen Celes cry since she was ten, when she had been taken to become the high priestess. He wasn''t good with her crying. He didn''t know how to comfort her. "It''s okay," he finally managed out, hugging her gently. "What okay? How dare you leave me, you bastard!" Yin Mei said, struggling, but unable to break free from El''s grasp. "I''m sorry, I''m sorry. It''s all my fault." He outright admitted. But, there was no way he could bring Celes, a human, to the demon world, right? And if he had stayed here, the injuries that Azazel, that he, had sustained several thousand years ago would have significantly worsened and permanently weaken him unless he returned to the demon world. But, he wasn''t going to give excuses. He knew that Celes wouldn''t accept his excuses. "Azazel-" At this moment, Eve''s voice rang out, and she stopped, seeing this seen of her ex-fiancee hugging some unknown human woman. Leon was immediately on guard, backing away several steps. "Wha- what..." Eve had been wondering why Azazel had left the army, and so had followed him, but now she was seeing him with this human woman? What the hell? What the hell? "Azazel, get away from that piece of trash." Eve said coldly. El released Yin Mei from his hug, but kept one hand on her waist. "What... did you just call her?" El''s gaze was chillingly cold, as he stared at Eve with an almost murderous expression. "!! I called her what she is." Eve growled. She instinctively knew that this girl was the reason that Azazel had changed so much. No, if Azazel was involved with a human girl, he would certainly be persecuted under the crime of treason. She had to get rid of that woman. "Hand her over." Yin Mei clutched at El''s cape, her arm wrapped around him as her eyes gazed at Eve from El''s partial embrace. "Who is this slut?" Yin Mei said, and Eve turned red from anger. El felt a little speechless. Was Celes always like this? He tried to recall, but after a moment''s thought, felt that this was very familiar. Perhaps... Celes really had always been like this? "It''s no good El. This is all because you ran off, that now you have this fly stuck to you." Yin Mei said, pushing El away. "I''ll have to... clean things up." She said, very, very coldly. But El grabbed the hand that she had been raising up to cast a spell, shaking his head. "Don''t get your hands dirty for that thing," he said, holding up the hand to his cheek. Yin Mei felt touched, and the two gazed into each other''s eyes. The forgotten Leon and Eve who were being forced to eat this dog food: ... Eve''s shoulders shook from anger, and she rushed toward Yin Mei, reaching her hand out to claw at her. Leon raised up his wand, but El reacted faster, his foot elegantly raising itself up to cruelly kick Eve in the stomach, sending her flying before she hit a tree, collapsing on the ground and coughing up blood. "..." Yin Mei didn''t say anything, her eyes indifferent. Actually, if the way that El handled things weren''t to her liking, then she would definitely come up with all sorts of ways to punish him later. Yin Mei recalled those days where she would refuse to cook for him for months on end, or force him to sleep on the sofa, or take her children to vacation abroad without him in a silent protest of anger. Mm, it''s a good thing that this sort of cold faced El who was cruelly inflicting harm onto Eve was just to her liking! It was unknown whether Yin Mei was just that weird, or that her eyes were blinded by love - or perhaps more accurately, El''s sexy and beautiful figure and face. "El! My father won''t forgive you for this!" Eve said, clutching the place where she had been kicked as she glared at Yin Mei and El. "Your father?" Yin Mei tilted her head, looking at El. "The demon king," El answered, his expression unchanging. That senile old man, do something to him? He wanted to see him try! On the other hand, Yin Mei''s expression darkened. She knew that El wasn''t the demon king, but hearing it made her even more upset. Someone else had the title of demon king? No! That title only belonged to her man! Her lips curled up into a sneer. She wanted to see what person dared take this title from El! She would make sure that El reclaimed his rightful place as demon king... At this moment, the system let out a familiar ding. "Main Mission: Help El ascend the demon throne." Yin Mei''s eyes lit up. See? Even the system agreed with her that El should be the demon king! "The title of demon king... The only one who should have it is my El!" Yin Mei muttered, her eyes curled into crescent moon shapes as she released a powerful holy aura, crushing Eve to the ground with it. She walked up to the girl, who was shocked over how powerful this light affinity was. A human actually had such ability? Yin Mei reached her hand out toward Eve''s head, grasping it. "It''s my first time doing this, so forgive me if it hurts a little." She smiled very sweetly, and Eve started screaming in pain as Yin Mei looked down at her. Several moments passed, before Yin Mei let go, and Eve''s head collapsed to the ground. She was unconscious. Leon, seeing this, felt a slight fear. Perhaps it was because this Eve girl looked too much like a human. But, no. One couldn''t feel pity for the demon race. She would have killed them if she had the chance. That''s right. One must be ruthless in war. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, his expression had returned to a pool of calm. "Celestina, who is that?" He asked, looking to El. But he could tell. This was the infamous necromancer that had disappeared one year ago. But, how is it that he had now become a demon? Although the appearance was like that of a humans, he couldn''t be deceived. From the clues of their conversation, he had picked up that this guy was on the same side as that silver haired girl. El looked at Leon with a guarded expression, pulling Yin Mei toward him, placing her behind him protectively. He was like a cat, hissing with hackles raised toward Leon. Who was this frivolous looking pretty boy? What relation did this guy have with his Celes? The three were silent for a moment, each preoccupied with their own thoughts. 87 The Necromancer and the Priestess 21 "Ah... Leon, this is my childhood friend, El," Yin Mei said, with a slightly forced smile. "El, this is Leon. He''s been helping me with my magic research..." El looked Leon up and down. So this was the famous space mage Leon? He remembered - that was right, wasn''t he the one that was researching that magic with Celes that caused her to go unconscious? His dislike increased by another degree. No, this sort of frivolous guy wasn''t any good... he needed to get rid of him immediately! El glared at Leon with a pair of sharp eyes, sending a shiver down the man''s spine. He immediately became guarded. So these were the eyes of an infamous criminal...!? No, they were just the eyes of someone eating vinegar without realizing. "But, this person..." Leon spoke warily, and Yin Mei knew what he was trying to say, seeing the suspicion on his face. "I-it''s my fault!" Yin Mei said, pushing El so that now he was the one who was behind her. "What?" Even El was slightly confused, the both of the men looking to Yin Mei with startled expressions. Yin Mei put on an uneasy expression, looking down slightly as she put to use her beautiful face, that pair of watery blue eyes able to evoke all sorts of feelings of pity. "It''s because of me that El did all those things... so don''t blame him...!" El was confused. Could it be that Celes was blaming herself all this time? He couldn''t let her do something like that. Someone like him didn''t deserve... On the other hand, Leon was also confused. The high priestess... was the reason that the most infamous criminal of the continent committed all the crimes that he did? Could that be possible? But this revelation of their relationship as childhood friends was shocking enough... Yin Mei chose this moment to raise her eyes, looking to Leon with a pleading gaze. Leon was thus immediately KO''ed. "... Alright, I''ll believe you." He finally said, with slight reluctance. He was still suspicious about this guy, but seeing Yin Mei''s expression, he couldn''t bring himself to say anymore. It was clear that there was some sort of painful past associated with all this. "But, what about the thing with the demon...?" He pointedly looked at Eve''s unconscious figure, implying how they had seemed to know each other. At first glance, neither El nor Eve looked like demons, and appeared almost identical to humans. Among demons, there were many races, some appearing less human than others - from horns, to scales, to wings and tails, there were a variety of ways that humans distinguished demons from themselves. Aside from appearance, the other way was magic. Demonic magic was slightly different from human magic. Though, there were ways to disguise someone''s magic to make them completely indistinguishable from that of a human, Eve hadn''t done that when she was releasing her aura in anger. Due to this, Leon could feel that this person was "not human". Although he didn''t know what demonic magic felt like, he could certainly tell that this person used something fundamentally different from human magic. If Yin Mei had to describe the difference, then she would say that the magic demons used could be classified into two types. Firstly, an "elemental-less" type of general use magic that has a basis in science, and secondly, hereditary magic, such as the vampire''s blood magic to give an example. For mages, it was quite easy to tell the difference in feel, though it was hard to find the right words to describe just how it felt different. As a result, Leon could tell that although this girl may look human, she was most certainly a demon. And with the conversation between them, he could infer... that El, might also be a demon. Though, in that case, how was it that he was the childhood friend of the high priestess? Wouldn''t that be impossible? Since there had not been a demon in the last thousands of years. Even if some demons survived past the closing of the demon gate, cut off from their world and source of power, they would find it hard pressed to survive. After several thousand years, they would be dead, and their descendants no different from human. Yin Mei looked away at this, not exactly knowing how to answer. The hatred between humans and demons... hm? Actually, since it had been so long since the last opening of the demon bridge, the hatred between demons and humans wasn''t actually as strong as it had been in the distant past. So maybe, if she just said the truth, Leon wouldn''t mind? She tilted her head, trying to judge just how severe the racism between these two races really was. "This is because..." Her expression became troubled, not sure what to say. This sort of troubled expression immediately caused Leon to come up with all sorts of reasons in his head to answer his own question, all equally tragic and epic stories to rival those that the priestesses would come up with during their free time. "No, there''s no need to say anymore." He said, surprising Yin Mei. "I understand. It must be something too difficult to talk about." He continued, and Yin Mei tilted her head in confusion, a multitude of question marks practically written on her face. "I''m sure it''s a terrible story...!" ... If you say so. Yin Mei didn''t know what happened, but if Leon said so, then sure. She''d accept this result. "I see. That''s good." She answered woodenly, before quickly changing the subject. "Let''s go back to the camp." "Ah, but we can''t go back with..." Leon looked toward El. "Oh, there''s no issues there," Yin Mei said, and El promptly changed his appearance. His hair turned black, his eyes green, and his height appeared to shrink a little, while his face appeared more gentle and scholarly than before. Leon let out a voice of admiration. This sort of thorough transformation magic was really hard to do - there weren''t even signs of any magic use, very skillful! But, it also sent a shiver up his spine. Skillful, and just as dangerous. No wonder this guy could escape capture for so long! With such skilled transformation magic, there was no way that he could ever get caught. "Just call him Kiel," Yin Mei said, and Leon blinked. "Kiel? Why is that name so familiar?" He said, trying to remember. "Probably because Kiel is a professor at the magic academy," Yin Mei said and Leon gaped. A professor at the magic academy? That prestigious magic academy in the capital? "This, wait. Could it be that...." Leon trailed off, staring at El. "Kiel was El''s alternate identity while he was residing in the capital," Yin Mei answered, as they walked through the forest. To think that the greatest criminal of the continent had been hiding under their very noses this entire time...! And as an honorable professor of the great magic academy of all things! Leon felt that his three world views had been destroyed. "Ah!" Yin Mei suddenly shouted out, stopping in place. "What is it?" Leon and El asked at the same time, and immediately El glared at Leon, who didn''t know what he did wrong. "I almost forgot about that thing," Yin Mei said, running back to where they had been and picking up Eve''s corpse (unconscious body), carrying her back over like a rice sack. "You should''ve just left that thing there," El said, his expression one of distaste as he could barely stand to even lay eyes on that girl. She had been such an eyesore during his return to the demon world, that he simply wanted to be rid of her as soon as possible. "No. She''ll be useful," Yin Mei said. She had gone through all that trouble to try out a new magic technique, there''s no way she would abandon her experimental subject just like that right? "What do you plan to do with her?" Leon asked curiously, as they once again continued walking. "Hum. Something interesting," Yin Mei answered vaguely, and Leon gave a huh sound before falling silent. The awkward silence between the trio continued until they finally reached the camp again. With Yin Mei and El both disguising El and Eve''s demonic aura, the barrier could not sense any difference between them and a human at all, letting the group in smoothly. They had already been gone for several hours, but surprisingly, Rosella and Kai were still at the place they had left them. They weren''t speaking, and were sitting on opposite sides of a campfire, the air between them heavy and awkward. Yin Mei thought that by leaving them alone, they would be able to solve the issues between them, but in the end what had happened? Did it result in the opposite effect? But no, the fate between them shouldn''t be that weak that it would so easily break apart, right? Yin Mei tried to recall her experience in the other worlds, but it had been too varied for her to give a concrete answer. Sometimes, it seemed that the fate of these protagonists were actually weak, and other times, it seemed like as if everything moved in their favor. So, Yin Mei really didn''t know how things would turn out. "Oh, you guys are finally back..." Kai trailed off, staring at the new addition to their party, and the girl that El was carrying over his shoulder. Along the way, El had taken Eve from Celes - after all, there was no way that he would let her carry that thing the entire way. "Ah! Master Kiel! Didn''t you go overseas to study the magic of the eastern islands?" Rosella exclaimed, startled to see him here. This whole studying the magic of the eastern islands thing was an excuse that Yin Mei had prepared for Kiel, asking for leave from the magic academy for him, just in case he wanted to use this identity again when he came back. Sigh, the things that she did for this guy! He needed to appreciate her more, instead of running off to the demon world without even saying anything! She inwardly pouted, but in her heart, had already basically forgiven him. She knew that it would be hard on him if he didn''t, but was just upset that he had barely said anything before disappearing. But after all, one look at the pretty face of his, and a person would be unable to stay angry... Damn, that sort of beauty was truly unfair! Well, Celestina also had that sort of beauty though. El glanced toward Yin Mei, and then smiled without missing a beat. "Yes, I came back when I received news that the demon bridge had opened." Kai looked at El up and down. This person... wasn''t he the famed Sir Kiel? He had been a very popular topic among the priestesses of the inner sanctum, as he was the high priestess''s childhood friend. That meant that that girl really was... his eyes turned to Yin Mei, but still doubted the conclusion that he had come to. Although the signs seemed to point there, but he still couldn''t believe it. This person, was that same high priestess? That same person who smiled so warmly, who seemed so at peace, as if she wasn''t even a part of this world? But now... He glanced at Rosella, who purposely was not looking at him, instead talking happily with Yin Mei. As for Yin Mei, she didn''t notice anything at all. "What''s wrong with the girl?" Rosella asked curiously. Although she couldn''t see the girl''s face, she was wearing some high quality clothing, and her silver hair was exceptionally beautiful looking. It made her think of the silver hair of the princess they had rescued before. "Oh... her? She''s just unconscious. You don''t need to worry about her. She''s someone that Kiel met on his journey to the eastern islands," Yin Mei said, the lies smoothly slipping out of her mouth. She didn''t even notice just how good of a liar she had become, her expression indifferent and unblinking with each lie she spoke. "Oh? She''s someone from the eastern islands?" Rosella''s eyes sparkled, and she fidgeted, wanting to get a better look. She had never seen someone from the eastern islands before. She had heard that they all had very beautiful and exotic appearances, and that their culture was very different from that of the people of the main continent. "Maybe you can talk with her later," Yin Mei said. "For now, there''s something more important." "? What is it?" Rosella tilted her head. "Information on the demon army, of course." Yin Mei smiled. 88 The Necromancer and the Priestess 22 The question is whether or not to lie about the army. There were two paths that Yin Mei could take. She could allow the demons to win. In doing so, El would rack up achievements, the demons would conquer the human world, and it would be easy to gain support for when he ascended the throne. The second option was to allow the humans to win. By doing so, it could cast doubt on the policies of the current demon king, who would now have two failures under his doubt. El could take advantage of this to garner the support of the people and claim the throne in this manner. Actually, Yin Mei was leaning more toward the first option. But the problem was... her eyes slid toward Leon. Even if Leon was supporting Yin Mei now, there was no way that he would support the demon army over the human army. Yin Mei closed her eyes, before opening them again. "Kai, you''re in contact with the army commanders?" She asked, looking to him. He paused, before nodding. He was the liaison between the commanders and the church, so he did in fact have a direct line to the generals of the army. "Then, can you introduce them to us? Leon and I have some important information to relay about the demon army." She said, and he was silent for a second, before nodding again. This serious expression, it must be very important information. Any information at this point would be helpful, for them who currently did know anything about the enemy side yet. As the group started to walk, Leon grabbed Yin Mei''s arm, stopping her in place. El noticed, also stopping as he coldly gazed at the place where Leon''s hand was on Yin Mei''s arm. Leon could feel a murderous intent, and quickly retracted his hand before remembering what he had intended to say. "Is that okay?" He lowered his voice, looking toward El and then back to Yin Mei. "Is what okay?" Yin Mei said as she continued to walk once Leon let go of her. The two kept pace, while Rosella seemed absentminded, walking slightly ahead, with Kai slightly ahead of her. Leon gaped, but then realized that Yin Mei''s question had some truth in it. Why wasn''t her relaying information about the demon army not okay? They didn''t have the time or energy to spare to pity their enemies! Not even El had said anything in protest, so who was he to speak up? Maybe because he was used to the image of a gentle and kind high priestess that everyone was taught about, that he continued to think this way. Continued to feel pity. To feel weakness. But nothing that Yin Mei had said was wrong. All her choices were logical. They were logical, so why did it make him feel sad whenever she acted in this way? After a while of walking, they had traveled to the main camp, where the guards salute Kai as the group walked in. In the center of the main camp were large and dignified looking tents - one of them was a meeting space for the generals and their advisors. Coincidentally, they were having their strategy meeting at this time, according to one of the patrolling soldiers that Kai had asked. It was good that they were all together. It meant that Yin Mei would only have to relay the information once, instead of multiple times. The guard announced their arrival, and after a while, were ushered inside. Torches flickered, casting shadows up against the tanned hide of the tent, while several people were gathered around a wooden table, a map of Gloom Forest and its surrounding territories spread across it. "What is it?" A young man with long black hair in a ponytail asked, looking up from the map. Yin Mei tilted her head, feeling that this person looked familiar. "... Kiel?" The boy looked surprised, his eyes landing on the disguised El. After a moment, Yin Mei remembered this person. He was a childhood friend of El, the dead Kiel, and Celestina! "Eugene, you know these people?" An elderly general with a white beard and slicked back hair said from beside the long haired man, looking to the other people aside from Kai. Since Eve had been dumped at a tree nearby, with Rosella watching over her, it was just Leon, Yin Mei, and El who had come in with Kai. Of them, he could recognize Leon, whom he had actually met briefly before at some formal gatherings. Aside from that, the other two were not familiar to him. The other generals, also could not recognize them. "Ah... these people had something important to report, so I decided to bring them here," Kai said, looking toward Yin Mei. "Important?" Eugene moved his gaze to the girl that Kai was looking at - Yin Mei''s current appearance was that of a young woman with wavy brown hair, looking older and more mature than Celestina did. Along with the change in personality and the lack of her former strong aura, there was no way that Eugene could recognize her, especially since Eugene hadn''t seen Celestina in over a couple of years now. "Leon and I went through the barrier surrounding the forest, to go look at the area near the demon bridge," Yin Mei said, and immediately murmurs spread through the tent. "To do something so dangerous, what in the world were you thinking!" The general next to Eugene said in a sharp and scolding tone. Because these were kids who were about the age of his own grandchildren, he couldn''t help but speak in this manner. But, after second thought, Leon, though not a mage at the level of Celestina, was still a master magician of the royal court. But still, was this reckless decision the result of his young age and youthful passion? Even though the general felt he should trust in Leon''s skill, what he had done was just way too dangerous. Only two people, and not even real scouts, had gone to scope out the situation? "The demon army has already passed through the bridge, and their numbers rival ours." But, Yin Mei didn''t pay attention to the general''s words, and continued anyways. And her words sent chills down the backs of those present. Their numbers rival ours. This was the key information. Because, from the history books, everyone knew that an average demon was stronger than the average human soldier. That meant, in normal conditions, a one on one battle with no tricks, between their army of equal numbers, the one to win would guaranteed be the demon army. "Tell me more," Eugene said with a serious expression. A half hour later, Yin Mei and the others left the tent. Leon and Kai both had on worried and serious expressions, but Yin Mei and El''s expression were unchanged, as if they had not just discussed the entire fate of the continent. "You..." Kai suddenly said, and the group stopped in place, everyone looking back toward Kai, not knowing who he was speaking to. "What is it?" Yin Mei asked, tilting her head in questioning. Her expression was calm, with no change, as if this was any other day. As if they weren''t on the verge of a battle that would determine the fate of the continent. "... Aren''t you too calm?" Kai asked. Was this really the high priestess that he knew? The symbol of the people? The protector of the people? The so called incarnation of the goddess? Yin Mei was confused over Kai''s sudden question. "Then what else should I be, other than calm?" She asked, truly feeling confused and unsure how to react. "I don''t know," Kai was also confused why he felt this way, and even more so, was frustrated. But this question hit him right in the gut. That''s right, what was he expecting of her anyways? To be panicked? To be depressed? No, none of that suited the high priestess. Actually, wasn''t being calm the best reaction? In the end, they were here as soldiers. The moment they lost their calm was the moment they would die. So, why was it that even when he thought this, he still couldn''t accept it? As if there was a feeling of wrongness. As if the girl in front of him, was for some reason, abnormal. Ah... that''s right. It''s because every action she took was far too logical. Even though it made sense, it lacked humanity. He had felt this before, that it was as if this girl was isolated from the world, a barrier between her and everything else. Like she was in a world all of its own. Like this world was a chessboard, the people chess pieces, and she was the player. It sent a shiver down his spine. Indeed, it was almost as if she was playing at god. Was this the true nature of the powerful? That gentle and compassionate high priestess, was this her real self showing? He recalled that smile she had shown when the demon bridge had opened. It can''t be. She couldn''t possibly be the high priestess of his memories... "Kai," Leon said, interrupting the man''s thoughts. "You''re asking really weird things..." He said. Actually, it wasn''t that he hadn''t thought this himself. But Leon knew that those thoughts were rude. After all, all that Yin Mei was doing was being logical, so what was so strange about that? "You''re right," Kai said. That''s right. What was he thinking? He didn''t know this girl''s situation or thoughts. So all these assumptions were being rude. There was no way that she could be like that... he shook his head, getting rid of his doubts. "I''m sorry," he said, apologizing upfront as he bowed down. "No, there''s nothing to apologize for..." Yin Mei said, but inside she was wondering. Was she really too calm? Was there something wrong with that? With... her? No... it can''t be, right? Look, even Kai admitted his mistake. Leon as well, said that what he asked was weird. That''s right. What was wrong with being calm anyways? How else should she have reacted...? But somehow, she felt like that a very, very long time ago, she wasn''t like this... ... All people change. Change was not necessarily bad either. So, there wasn''t any need for her to be worried. When she thought about it like this, she thus quickly threw her doubts to the back of her mind. Why was she even concerning herself so much with this little question? It shouldn''t concern her. So what if she was different? That''s right. She closed her eyes, then opened them, her expression cool. El looked at her, his expression slightly concerned, as if he could see all the thoughts and emotions that had gone through her head in that short amount of time. But in the end, he didn''t say anything. They soon reached the tree where Rosella was waiting for them, Eve still unconscious and lying on the floor by the base of the tree. She asked what had happened, to which Leon politely explained everything that had gone on. She turned slightly pale, but quickly returned to normal, her face calm. Kai wondered if maybe he was the weird one - or perhaps, women were just more adaptive than men...? "For now, I think we''ll return to the capital. After all, we have Sir Kiel with us," Leon said, also glancing toward the unconscious Eve. He didn''t know her name though, so didn''t say anything about her, but everyone could guess that he was also talking about her as well. "That''s probably... the best thing to do," Kai said. After all, Leon, Yin Mei, and Rosella actually didn''t have anywhere to stay the night. The guild''s encampment was slightly further off, but they didn''t have any room there to stay either - unless they wanted to share a crowded tent with the others. The reason for this was of course, because Yin Mei had decided to abuse Leon''s handy ability as a space affinity mage, and thus, they were staying at the capital rather than camping out here in the wilderness. Of course, the White Bird party was very jealous, but after all, it would be asking too much of Leon to be teleporting large groups of people across long distances daily. With just them, it was still not too much to ask for. But with each person added on, the mana consumption would start to increase exponentially. "Alright. Then, we''ll talk to you later," Leon said, and Kai nodded. He glanced at Rosella, who looked away with a dark expression. He seemed to want to say anything, but in the end, simply gave a generic goodbye to the group before watching Leon cast a spell and teleport them off. Only when they were gone, did he let out a sigh, not knowing how to feel. Why was it that things were this complicated now? He really wished... that they could go back to those more peaceful, more simple times. But maybe it was because they all knew that that was impossible, and that was why things had come to this. In the end, there was no one he could blame but himself. 89 The Necromancer and the Priestess 23 When they arrived at the guild, Leon started to arrange for a room for El on the upper floors, where the White Bird party resided. Rosella had already bid goodbye, to go take a bath and return to her room for some much needed speech. Meanwhile, the three of them, plus a certain Eve thrown and forgotten in the corner of the room, were standing in Leon''s office. "What? He can just stay in my room," Yin Mei said, and Leon and El both looked at her with bulging eyes. "N-no, no, no, no. Definitely not," Leon immediately rejected this. A man staying in the room of an unmarried girl, and more importantly, a former high priestess? He could see himself being struck down by the gods in his head. "? Why not?" Yin Mei said, confused. Perhaps it was because she had lived as a married couple with Yao Heyan for many years already that she felt this was totally natural. She couldn''t see anything wrong, and innocently blinked her eyes at the two men. On the other hand, these two people misunderstood, and felt that Yin Mei was too innocent! "No! Men and women shouldn''t share a room. We should get Sir... Kiel here a separate room. We have enough of them to spare." Leon said, and El nodded in agreement. He hadn''t shared a room with Celes since they were children. It was too indecent to do so now that they were both adults - for the 20 year old El and the 17 year old Celes, they were both classified as adults under the empire''s laws. Yin Mei still had part of the open mentality of a modern day person, and couldn''t quite understand the more conservative mindset of people from an older era. But since El had agreed with Leon, sigh, she could only reluctantly let him go. No, wait, she should still be a little angry at him. So what was she doing, allowing him to sleep in the same room! It should be proper that she shun him and have him sleep outside. But, since he was the one to want to sleep outside, how was that a punishment anymore? Yin Mei felt a little miffed, her expression immediately becoming upset. Leon and El both saw this and were speechless, but couldn''t do anything. Why in the world was she upset about not sleeping in the same room as El? Shouldn''t she be more protective of her innocence?? Is it because she was raised up in such an isolated and closed off environment that she didn''t understand this sort of thing? But no, a high priestess should be conscious of it, because they needed to protect their purity. Sigh, they really couldn''t understand this person... In the end, the night passed without a hitch, though Yin Mei was considering whether to raid El''s bedroom, she decided against it. Bah! He still needed to work a little harder for her favor. The next morning, Yin Mei decided against going to Gloom Forest''s border, instead opting to work on magic research in the guild lab. The guild had two magic laboratories - one, which was open to adventurers for a small fee, and another private one that was exclusive to only a select few magicians that worked with Yin Mei to develop things like the magic scrolls she used, or the special information magic taught to the members of the information guild. Lying on what appeared to be an operation table was Eve, who was still knocked out even after all this time. Yin Mei put on a pair of gloves, custom made medical tools arranged neatly on a tray nearby. "Wait, you aren''t going to..." The nearby Leon started to say pale faced, thinking that she was about to start dissecting the demon right in front of him. Although due to healing magic, science, and especially medical science, was much underdeveloped, there still existed the knowledge of dissection to learn more of the human body, used mostly on the corpses of criminals or unknown humans that would have been thrown into a mass grave. "No, this was just for getting in the mood." Yin Mei said, her partially shadowed expression returning to normal as she put her hands up innocently. Of course she wasn''t going to dissect Eve! First of all, she didn''t have that sort of experience, and second of all, Eve was her precious experimental subject. As for things like whether or not it was disgusting, or whether it was immoral or not... that sort of stuff had flew far, far away after five hundred years of living in a cultivation world, and then several years battling and dissecting zombies. "What I want to do is see the results of the new magic I tried on her," Yin Mei said, putting her hand on Eve''s head. A faint light glowed, and she opened up her eyes - previously, they had been a red color, but were now a pale gold. "What magic...?" Leon asked, unable to see that Eve had opened her eyes. "Memory manipulation," Yin Mei said, and Leon subconsciously backed away a step in shock and... fear. "Are you afraid that I''ll use it on you?" The girl asked, looking back at him with an almost menacing expression. "Don''t be. In the first place, your magic is too strong for me to use it on you in the first place." Leon stilled, feeling embarrassed that he had shown such fear in front of Yin Mei. What the heck was he doing, doubting the former high priestess? Just because her actions in this last year had been a bit... it didn''t mean she was different from before. That''s right, he had known her for this long already, and here he was, doubting her. On the other hand, Yin Mei''s eyes staring at Eve were emotionless. Actually, what she had used wasn''t just memory manipulation magic, but also the forbidden mental manipulation magic. They weren''t really that different, but one was forbidden black magic, and the other wasn''t. As a result, she was certain that should she have revealed the whole truth, then Leon would probably end up reporting her to the church, despite her identity. Because, forbidden magic was simply just that taboo. It was ingrained in the minds of the people from birth. But, just as forbidden as it was, so was it useful. But, it was also true that because Leon''s magic power and control almost rivaled that of Yin Mei''s, she would be hard pressed to perform such magic on him. So, there really wasn''t any need for him to worry no matter which magic she used. Yin Mei then smiled, as she placed the finishing touches on her experiment. She asked in a gentle tone. "How are you feeling?" Eve blinked several times, her dull eyes seeming to regain their light. "A-ah... I''m feeling quite fine... Where is this?" She looked around, confused. "This is the guild. I''m a healer. We found you unconscious in the forest and brought you back here. There''s no uncomfort anywhere?" Yin Mei took off her gloves as Eve sat up. "No, not at all," Eve said, studying her body to check. Rather than uncomfortable, she felt great and refreshed. Was it because the healer was just that skilled? "That''s good," Yin Mei smiled. "Don''t worry about compensation either, since we were the ones to pick you up." She washed her hands, drying them with a towel before walking back up to Eve. "I''m... That''s right, I''m Yin. What about you?" She stuck her hand out for a handshake, her smile bright and sunny, as if with no ulterior motives behind them. Eve, seeing this, felt very warm inside, thinking that this person was truly a good person. "Ah, I''m..." She paused for a moment. "I''m..." She tried thinking harder, but no matter how hard she thought, she couldn''t remember. Her name, her background, her home, none of it. She was only drawing a blank. "I-I can''t seem to remember." She stuttered out, her hand touching her head as a confused expression surfaced on her face. "You can''t remember? Oh... that''s terrible. You must have hit your head somehow when you were injured." Yin Mei put on a sympathetic expression. "I''m sorry, there''s nothing I can really do about that. Aside from waiting for them to come back..." She shook her head. Even if Eve wasn''t a demon and had knowledge about human magic, she would not doubt this. Although memory manipulation magic was not exactly forbidden magic, it also was not a magic that was kindly looked down upon. In addition, it was an extremely difficult magic to learn, and had steep requirements. Because of this, though perhaps not as rare as some other magics, it was still hard to find someone who could use this magic. "I see..." Eve had on a lost expression, not sure what to do. "How about this, you can stay with us for now. We have a lot of empty rooms that you can use. You can also work for us in order to make money." Yin Mei said, and Eve immediately brightened up. This person was already kind enough to treat her, and was now even willing to offer lodging and work? Would there ever be a better offer than now? She had no suspicions, the thought to doubt Yin Mei not even crossing her mind. "Really?" "Yes. The job isn''t too hard either." Yin Mei said. "Oh... now that I think about, where are we...?" Eve said, looking around curiously. "This... is the guild." Yin Mei smiled. Although Leon was a little doubtful, he didn''t go against Yin Mei''s suggestion, and had some of the receptionists show Eve the ropes of the job. El disagreed with keeping her around, but once Yin Mei said that she would be good use as a hostage or traitor, did he end up finally accepting it. "So, El, do you plan on overthrowing the current demon king?" Yin Mei suddenly asked, from where they were sitting on the guild building''s roof. Yin Mei was eating Celes''s favorite cookies that El had gotten for her, and it was like the events from a year ago had never happened. "... Why would you say that?" He said, wishing that Yin Mei would not bring up matters about the demons. It made him realize that things weren''t the same anymore, and that the events from a year ago could never be truly erased. "Because if you are, then I''ll help you." Yin Mei said, holding up the last piece of the cookie and dropping it into her mouth. She munched on it happily, before speaking up again after swallowing. "Don''t treat me like an idiot. I know! I can tell." Well, since the system had given her such a mission, she could assume that El had such ambitions. But, she wondered... would he... truly be happy with such materialistic things...? She felt like in most stories, the theme would always be the opposite. But for some reason, her system believed that these things would save her demon king. ... No, there was no point in doubting the system. Anyways, her job was just to complete the mission. There was no need to ask questions. "..." El was silent, looking at the sprawling city before them, at the church, the palace, and the people walking on the street. "If you want me to, then I will," he said with a smile, not truly answering her question. "... If it makes you happy..." Yin Mei said to herself, so quietly that El couldn''t hear it. "Then I guess we''ll have to prepare to take the crown! And after that, we can conquer the world! Then you won''t have to worry about hiding anymore." "Kiel, too, deserves the funeral he never had." Yin Mei said. This wasn''t her feelings, but Celestina''s. Although Celestina had put on a brave front, with that gentle smile, and appeared so peaceful and lovely, in reality, she had been constantly suffering. She didn''t know what to do. Everything about the world only brought her pain. She was trapped in the church, unable to leave in the foreseeable future, and her childhood friend was a wanted criminal and mass murderer. The fact that El had stolen Kiel''s identity was just another point that caused her agony, that her old friend would never be able to be properly laid to rest. "You''re right," El said in agreement, closing his eyes. Mini-scene from last world: Yao Yu: Mommy, are you fighting with daddy again? Yin Mei: Of course not, sweetie. It''s just that daddy did something very bad, so he doesn''t get dinner today. What happens when you''re bad? Yao Yu: Bad girls don''t get to eat mommy''s cooking! Yao Yong: B-bad boys also don''t get to eat mommy''s cooking...! Yin Mei: That''s right. Your daddy was a bad boy, so he''s getting punished. Yao Heyan, grabbing Yin Mei by the waist and whispering in her ear: How about I show you just how bad I can really be...? Yin Mei: !!!! Yin Mei sharply elbows Yao Heyan in the stomach, and he immediately lets go, clutching his stomach in pain. Yao Yu: Oh no mommy! Your face is red! Are you sick?? Yao Yong, looking at his father on the ground: O_O... Yin Mei: No, mommy just overexerted herself a little getting rid of a certain pervert. Yao Heyan: ... QwQ Yao Yu and Yao Yong: ??? Yin Mei: It''s okay children, you don''t need to understand. Just know that in the future, when you marry... until the man begs for forgiveness saying that he was an idiot, while offering to make you dinner and clean, you can''t forgive him! Yao Yu and Yao Yong: O_O Yao Heyan: Lanying, it was me who was stupid... I''m sorry. I''ll make you dinner and clean, so please forgive me... Yin Mei: Fine, but just this once! In the future: Yao Yong, inwardly crying while kneeling with a bouquet of roses in front of Rong Xing: Please forgive me! I was stupid! How about I cook and clean for you today? We can go shopping for anything you want later as well! (I finally understand my father''s sufferings...) Yao Yu, laying in bed unable to move: So this was what mother meant... 90 The Necromancer and the Priestess 24 "After a night of thinking, I think that the best option is to negotiate a peace treaty." Yin Mei said, from where she was leaning on Leon''s desk. Sitting on the sofa was El, sipping peacefully at a cup of tea, with Leon sitting across from him, staring wide eyed at Yin Mei. "A... peace treaty? With the demons?" He said. This... wasn''t this completely impossible? Yin Mei nodded. The thing is, is that of the two options for the demons to lose or win, losing would actually be terrible. Yin Mei had considered this plausible before, but she forgot to take into account that the general of the demon army was El! Why the general of the demon army could be lounging here all relaxed and not over at the demon''s main base camp and giving out orders was besides her, but she knew that if the demons lost the war, the brunt of the responsibility would certainly fall on El, and it would become difficult for him to gain the people''s support. As for the demons winning, this would be the best in order for Yin Mei to complete her mission, but there were issues with this as well. For one, Yin Mei didn''t want to lose the support of these two important characters, Rosella and Leon. For another, humanity still had the power of a certain powerful protagonist called Kai. She was still thinking of how to get him to her side, so in that case, the demons winning wasn''t actually the best choice for her here. As a result, after thinking it through, Yin Mei landed on the third choice - a peace treaty between the two races. She had thought about this before, that perhaps the hatred toward demons that the humans had was less than it had been several thousand years ago. That being said, it was practically ingrained into humans from a young age that demons were the "bad guy". But, this was still something of stories. Because of this, Yin Mei hoped that with enough persuasive power, it would be possible to convince the people that a peace treaty was the best possible route. The problem was that... Yin Mei did not trust humans. Back in the modern world, where things were much more progressive than in this world, discrimination and racism still ran rampant. Because of this, she was worried. But among the three options, although the third was the hardest, it was also what Yin Mei considered would be the best choice. "This... wouldn''t it be too difficult?" Leon said. He didn''t immediately reject Yin Mei''s proposal, but also didn''t think that it would be possible to execute. It would be trying to overturn years of conditioning that demons were the "villains". "And, considering the loss that the demons took last time, they may be even harder to persuade," Yin Mei mused, looking in El''s direction. He set down his tea cup. "The demons believe it to be utterly humiliating that they lost to the humans. It would indeed be difficult to persuade them to enter a peace treaty." He said. But, Yin Mei didn''t want to give up so easily... She needed some sort of way to make this work. Was she being too greedy? "What was the reason that demons insist on invading this world anyways? After their last loss, they still insisted coming back. Is it just pride?" "Perhaps in part, it''s due to pride. But the other part is due to the fact that the human world is so abundant in resources in comparison to the demon world." El replied. "... Maybe we can use that," Yin Mei mused, with a thoughtful expression. "Leon," She looked at Leon, who let out a sigh. "Fine, I''ll talk with the royal family," He said. As a former royal court mage, he was familiar with the members of the royal family. It would be necessary to hold discussions with the leaders of the nations in order to move through with this plan. "Then all that''s left is..." The two of them looked at El, who had on a thoughtful expression. "... I''ll work something out," He finally said, unable to say no to Yin Mei''s puppy eyed expression. Yin Mei nodded. She would call this Plan Treaty of... Treaty of... Well, she would come up with a cool name later. For now, let''s just refer to this as Plan Peace Treaty Between Demons and Humans, or PTBDH for short! Mm, she nodded in satisfaction. If this succeeded, then all she would need to worry about would be starting a coup d''etat against the current king and stealing the throne back for her man. Well, that is, if it succeeded in the first place. What she would need was luck, persuasion ability level MAX, and some cookies. All the cookies. But Yin Mei wouldn''t rely on luck. A couple of weeks later, she got the agreement of the royal families. The war had been delayed on both sides due to Leon and El''s efforts. It was at a complete standstill, with both armies staring across at each other, but not making a move. Dissatisfaction was simmering, but Yin Mei felt the opposite. She had the leaders of the nations agree with her, but she would still need to convince the people in order to get what she wanted. As for that thing called luck, hah, she had substituted with a more useful thing called magic. The abilities of her aura, were really useful. And the only people who knew of this ability and could resist it were the high ranked members of the church. Which, she also needed to convince. But she had Leon deal with the church side - she suggested bringing in Kai, and knew that with the combined ability of the second and first male leads, there should be no problems. Though the Bishop made for a pretty strong last boss, his influence had weakened since the incident of the demon unsealing. The issue was that with the people, her magic was not so great enough that she could influence so many people. Especially if they went with a speech that would be spread by magic mirrors - basically, a live broadcast. It would be hard pressed to want her to be able to influence those watching through the magic mirror. "How is it?" Yin Mei asked, talking to El through a magic mirror hanging on the wall. He shook his head, sighing. Yin Mei bit her thumb, her eyes narrowed. For demons, it would be hard to influence them with a light aura, as demons were naturally averse to the light affinity. In other words, it was all on El. Yin Mei paced back to back, deep in thought. "Okay, okay, this is still alright." She trusted that El could do this. After all, the last boss couldn''t be that easily defeated. "El, what do you think is capable of persuading the demons? What would we have to do in order to gain their trust." Yin Mei said, placing her hands on the top of the stand the mirror hung over. El seemed to ponder for a moment before giving an answer. "Most of the demon races respect strength. If a human appeared and beat the demon army''s strongest soldiers in a fair duel, then they would very quickly earn their trust." "What? Just that?" Yin Mei blinked in surprise. That was much simpler than she thought it would be! "Hm, but I guess demons are stronger than humans..." She murmured. "Celes, you probably wouldn''t be able to do it. Although your magic works well against demons, your style is too focused on support." El said bluntly, though Yin Mei could see the concern in his eyes - he was worried that she would charge right in and start demanding to battle against the demons. But, Yin Mei nodded. Although compared to before, Yin Mei now knew more offensive spells, she was admittedly still a support focused mage. Because of this, she didn''t doubt El''s words. The better option would be to send... Kai? Leon was okay, but Kai was probably the best choice. Firstly, with his protagonist aura, he could overcome most hardships (though Yin Mei was still worried due to her previous experiences, she decided that she should believe in the protagonist aura!). Secondly, he had a light affinity, which was stronger against demons, in comparison to Leon''s space affinity. And thirdly, Yin Mei just assumed that the demons would prefer to go up against a "warrior" then a mage. "Okay. I''ll find someone." Yin Mei nodded firmly. Now there was only the issue of convincing the humans. And convincing Kai. But that guy shouldn''t have anything against the demons. With his righteous personality, it shouldn''t be that hard. He just couldn''t see El''s true appearance and figure out his identity. Oh, no, wait, that might be difficult, since El was the commander of the demon army! Yin Mei sighed. Argh! Why do these missions always require so much thinking and strategizing! Was it too much to ask for a mission where she could just brute force her way through everything? Instead of having to do all this much planning... Her head was going to explode by the end of this... A week later, Yin Mei had already given her speech. She had secured the support of the people. It was easier than she thought it would be. She had spend a long time writing up that speech with the help of everyone else, but she still didn''t expect that. But this was good. It meant that she didn''t need to do anything extra. (A/N: fk writing that speech, sorry y''all but I tried thinking of one and it just sounded wayyyyy too cheesy and lame so I was like nope) Yin Mei was currently standing in Leon''s office, with Leon, Rosella, and Kai in front of her. "Are we ready?" She asked, and Rosella nodded. Leon stayed silent, feeling that he needed appreciation for all the things he did, and Kai had on a serious expression as he gave a firm nod. "Okay! Let''s go." Leon constructed his teleport spell, and soon, they were in El''s tent. El was wearing a demon mask, Yin Mei''s shoddy makeshift solution to not revealing his identity to Kai. Leon raised an eyebrow, not sure what El was doing, but didn''t say anything. "This is Azazel, the commander of the demon army and archduke of the demon empire. He''s our supporter." Yin Mei explained to Kai, who looked toward El suspiciously. El nodded at Kai, not recognizing the man. He didn''t say anything, just showing the four of them out. Guards surrounded them, completely covered head to toe in armor as they went to a fairly empty grounds where several people were waiting. It really had the air of a duel! Yin Mei felt kind of excited. She never used to be a person who liked fighting, or even fought at all. But now, she thought that she quite enjoyed it. Perhaps because she was an instinctual fighter that it required little thinking, which was why she liked it. No thinking! Sigh, what a dream! She also wanted to be able to not think when doing things. But no. These missions, although they appeared simple, were much harder than expected! Always requiring stupid strategizing and planning and thinking. She continued to inwardly grumble, as the crowd roared and sent out one of their strongest fighters - a slender, sort of delinquent-looking guy with ram horns and feet. He stretched his arms and legs, looking ready and excited to fight, a sneer on his face. There was jeering and shouts, as the demons made fun of them in their own language that none of them could understand. El raised his arm, silencing them. A barrier was raised up, surrounding the two, so that none of their attacks would affect those on the outside. He spoke, his voice slightly different than normal, almost as if he was using a voice changer, "No lethal attacks, first one to forfeit loses." After a pause, he set his hand down. "Begin." 91 Update Probably won''t be able to post, if I do, it''ll be late, since we drove to Houston to eat and are going to go watch the light show thingy they have o_o 92 The Necromancer and the Priestess 25 "Joshua''s strength lies in the power of his legs, along with his speed and agility. He is truly the perfect soldier, his only weakness being that he is slightly rash." El said. "On the other hand, though Kai has high offensive power for a Knight Templar, the knights focus on a more supportive and defensive style of fighting. Because of this, the issue in this case is time and stamina - if Kai can outlast the demon, then he should be able to cinch the win." Leon added on. The two of them had on very serious expressions as they continued with a play by play commentary of the fight. How Yin Mei could tell despite the fact that one of them was wearing a mask was instinct! Yin Mei stared dead eyed into empty air, not knowing what to think about this situation. She felt like she was at some sort of sports game, and not a life or death battle that would decide the course of the war. "Hmm... If Kai loses, I''ll kill him," Yin Mei said, with an equally serious expression, interrupting the commentary of the two. The three of them had on fierce expressions, their serious aura almost visible to the eye. On the other hand, only Rosella was left out, a worried expression on her face. The two had already begun fighting. Joshua, the ram horned demon, was using a spear, and Kai a sword and shield. The two exchanged blows, and Yin Mei could tell that Joshua truly had a great amount of strength in his legs. Because of this, he was extremely fast. And with his maneuvering, the result was that each of his blows packed a lot of power in them as well. But, Yin Mei tried not to be too worried. She had already decided to trust in the power of heaven''s beloved son, aka, the protagonist''s halo. They would always pull through when it counted - that was the protagonist. The issue was that whether or not Kai himself was supportive of the treaty. Because if he didn''t feel passionate enough about it, how could he bring out the inner strength of the protagonist that would give him all sorts of power ups to allow him to overcome obstacles? Yin Mei didn''t think that Kai would purposefully lose - his "righteous" personality would prevent him from doing that sort of underhanded thing, even if he wasn''t in support of the treaty. Though, Yin Mei thought that treaty would be just the sort of thing that this guy filled with thoughts of justice and fairness would like. Even so, if he was just half hearted about it, how could he activate his hidden power? "And now Joshua launches himself at Kai again! His blade is covered in black flames! How interesting! What sort of enchantment is that? It''s not something that is seen in the human world, a magic unique to demons! Kai attempts to dispel it, but it doesn''t look like it worked. Huh... how interesting, just how in the world does that work..." Leon became so distracted that his commentary was interrupted and he continued muttering, trying to figure out the properties of the enchantment magic on the demon''s spear. "This black fire cannot be put out by any known means, aside from the will of the user. It will continue burning until its target becomes ash. It can even eat through magic." El explained, and Leon let out a whistle. But, he also felt cold on the inside. Such fierce magic, if their army had battled against them... he didn''t even want to imagine it. The sun continued inching its way across the sky as hours passed, with no end to the battle in sight. Yin Mei couldn''t be bothered to stand around watching them exchange blows and pull off all sorts of fancy finishing moves that never actually finished off the other person, and so... started playing poker with Rosella! She had taught Rosella and the White Bird party all sorts of games when they camped out for missions, and as a result, now the White Bird party was addicted, especially to gambling with blackjack and poker. Yin Mei had been surprised that this world didn''t have those games, but apparently it did have similar games, but they were also different. After all, it was a different world, huh? Some of the demons around them became intrigued, and though they didn''t have good thoughts about humans, still couldn''t help their curiosity, gathering around to take a look. In the end, a few even joined in. By evening, the group had split into two - one group was watching the battle, with El and Leon continuing to provide generous commentary, seemingly not getting bored of it, and the other group was playing or observing the poker game. "And the bet goes to this player here!" Yin Mei said, acting as dealer as she pushed all the chips toward a leopard-faced beastman. Yin Mei was surprised to find that among the many demon races, included were not just the classic demons, but also races like beastmen, vampires, succubus/inccubus, mermen/mermaids, harpies, and all sorts of different fantasy non-human races. Even races that were normally thought of as "good", such as elves, dwarves, and etc. were included! For humans, they were all classified under the same title of "demon", but in actuality, that was just the result of human ignorance. "For a human, you''re not too bad!" The leopard faced man said in the demon language with a boisterous laugh, clearly having a good time after winning. "Your demon language is pretty good too!" That''s because of magic... Yin Mei retorted in her heart, but put on a polite smile. "Thanks," she said. "You said this is your original game? You''re quite good to come up with something as interesting as this. I could make a good buck or two selling it to one of the merchants back home," a demon who had been observing mused, rubbing his beard and mustache in thought. The soldiers broke into laughter. "Yeah right! Not before someone else manages to sell it before you!" Yin Mei didn''t really care what they wanted to do with the game, but she was glad that something like this was enough to win over their hearts! Damn, if she knew this, she wouldn''t have needed to have Kai duel at all, would she? And here El had been saying that they would be hard to persuade! Bah, how dare he lie to her? El: I''m innocent... Two days of this passed, and by the time it was over, the demon army camp had practically become a casino. Meanwhile, even the full of stamina Joshua and Kai were becoming tired. "It... looks like... you''re getting tired... how about you forfeit already?" Joshua said, panting heavily as he had his hands on his knees. "I would say the same about you," Kai responded, also breathing hard, his sword stabbed into the ground as he leaned on it for support. They glared at each other, and Yin Mei felt that at the end of this, they would be best friends. Such a classic exchange of words! Mm, it was the staple fight scene between the protagonist and his rival. In the end, they would be laying on the ground, laughing, and make up with each other over whatever they had been arguing about. Yin Mei nodded wisely. "Make your bets! Make your bets now before the battle is over!" She called out, holding up a sign as she walked around, calling out. That''s right, she took advantage of the battle to set up a gambling ring... What? She had to get profits where she could. Although... actually, even if she got any money out of this, all of it was the demon world''s currency! She didn''t think of that. But oh well, she was already here. Most of the best were for Joshua, of course, but many demons had been impressed by Kai''s skill and tenacity, and so there were a decent number of people who had bet on him, much to Yin Mei''s surprise. "You... were a good opponent..." In the end, Joshua grinned as he fell to the ground, unconscious. The crowd went into an uproar - the last one standing was Kai. A human had actually ended up beating one of their most elite warriors! They were shocked, but it was a good fight... of which only a small part of those present had completely watched through, the rest occasionally watching while also partaking in all sorts of games held by Yin Mei. "Hahaha, how unexpected! You humans are more tenacious than I gave you credit for," A demon said, slapping Yin Mei on the back. "Damn, I shoulda bet on the human!" Another demon said. There was excited chattering, but by all appearances, it seemed that the demons had accepted them. The first part of the mission was accomplished. After signing the treaty, they could proceed to conquer the whole demon world! Yin Mei was thoroughly satisfied. "Eve!" A girl called out from the door to the guild toward a girl with silver hair who was sweeping the entrance. Eve looked over, raising a hand in greeting. "Come back in. It looks like it''s about to rain," the girl said, tilting her head upwards toward the gray sky. She shook her head as she went back inside, closing the door behind her. Eve glanced up. The sun was covered up, and the clouds were a pale gray. "I hope it doesn''t rain," Eve murmured, before also going in. A week later, Yin Mei was back with the demon army. The treaty had been signed. (A/N: Me lazy so no details... yes, all these times skips are me being lazy... ;P) Now, Yin Mei was to travel with the demon army back to the demon world as an ambassador. The demon world had been working for several thousand years on the way to not only open the demon bridge, but to also keep it open. Although the initial plan was to conquer the human world and completely migrate over the demon population, they knew that this would be difficult, and so had decided to instead research ways to keep the demon bridge open so that they wouldn''t need to take this step. In addition, although the human world was resource rich, without the source of their power and magic, the miasma of the demon world, leaking into the human world, they would lose their advantage over humans - in other words, aside from the difference in physical appearance and the type of magic they used, they would essentially be no different from humans in terms of physical and magical strength. But due to this, Yin Mei could propose... a cultural exchange! That''s right, she wanted to do a cultural exchange. Of course, they couldn''t do it immediately. There would need to be research and surveying done before hand, and rules established, before being able to do so. Because of that, a trusted advisor of El''s would be staying here under Leon''s supervision, while Yin Mei would be going to the demon world. Rosella and Kai were to accompany her. Yin Mei had also decided to bring along Eve as well - obviously, they still needed Eve for their plans. Although she had been left at the guild forgotten for the last few weeks, Yin Mei still remembered the existence of this important hostage/pawn/experimental subject. It didn''t take much convincing, as Eve found it touching that her life savior would ask something of her. She had yet to repay the massive favor that Yin Mei had done, and as such, immediately agreed to accompany her to this far off foreign land that she spoke of. Foreign, in quotation marks. Yin Mei disguised Eve, the brown wavy hair and blue eyes... looking exactly like Yin Mei while she was disguised. Meanwhile, Yin Mei took off her own disguise, and Kai could no longer deny that she was the high priestess - although she looked a little older now, and more mature, she was definitely still Celestina. Yin Mei had already guessed that Kai had figured out her identity - Rosella had probably let something slip while the two had been left alone, or Kai had connected two and two when Rosella revealed her own identity. Yin Mei didn''t know which it was, and nor did she particularly care. After all, she just thought it natural that the female lead would reveal things to the male lead. After all, the two were fated lovers, right? Rosella as well, undid her disguise. She felt uneasy, like she was naked. After all this time, she had finally regained her true appearance, but all it did was make her feel insecure and unsure of what was next. She didn''t like this feeling. Only when she looked at Celestina beside her did she feel better. It had been a while since she had seen Celestina''s true appearance. The golden hair that was like the color of sunshine, and those cerulean blue eyes that glistened under the light... when a person looked at Celestina, they would only feel good emotions in their heart, never bad ones. Celestina was the type of person that people wouldn''t mind dying for. But, now that the inside had changed, was that still the case? 93 The Necromancer and the Priestess 26 When Yin Mei crossed the demon bridge, she had to say that she understood why the demons would rather migrate to the human world. Barren gray plains, with the occasional tree, spread as far as the eye could see. In the distance where dark shadows of a jagged mountain range, while the sky was dyed a dusky red. It was an image that Yin Mei expected of the demon world. When seeing this, her first thought was that it was exceptionally fitting. "This is the territory of the beastmen. When we move further, we''ll be able to see the capital." El explained, as Rosella moved closer to Yin Mei, her expression nervous. She thought that this place was far too eerie. Because of Yin Mei''s blessing, neither her nor Kai would be affected by the miasma which was always present in the demon world. Even so, although she wasn''t affected physically in any way, the demon world was still gloomy enough to make both Rosella and Kai feel down. The soldiers were now keeping their distance to Yin Mei though, uncomfortable expressions on their faces. Firstly, because they didn''t recognize her from before - as the one who now looked like Yin Mei was Eve. And secondly, because she was a light affinity mage. They saw light mages as very dangerous, as their magic was particularly effective against diminishing their strength, since it could purify the source of their power, miasma. Rosella was angry about the attitude of the soldiers, but Yin Mei was indifferent. She had been a witness to all sorts of human cruelty in the time she lived, so this sort of thing was cute in comparison. Demons and humans - in the end, were they really so different? The trip to the capital would take several weeks. At first, the demons were worried that the new human companions who had joined them would slow them down further, but that wasn''t the case. First of all, they were all riding horses (or some sort of monster that vaguely resembled a horse, but was much sturdier and faster than one). And secondly, even if they tired, Yin Mei could quickly heal their fatigue. As a result, none of them were any worse off than the demon soldiers. "So it''ll take three weeks? That''s quite far." Yin Mei commented in the meeting tent. Her, along with Eve, Rosella, and Kai, were here with El and his advisors. Even on faster horses than human horses it would still take three weeks - it really was very far. Yin Mei roughly judged it to be about the distance from one end of a medium sized kingdom to another. "The area we''re in is at the very southern edge of the empire." One of El''s advisors, a man with long black hair and black sclera said, pointing at the map placed on the wooden table before them, drawing a line with his finger between their location and the capital city. "We''ll have to cross both Aura''s Forest, as well as the Dragon Mountains." "... Dragon Mountains?" Yin Mei turned to look at the masked El, her eyes so bright that they practically glowed in the dimly lit tent, and El wanted to know what exactly was so exciting that she had on such a face. "... It''s said that dragons live in those mountains." He said, and Yin Mei was so excited that everyone could almost see sparkles flying everywhere. She had been sad when she had learned those fantasy races and stuff like dragons were rare, but who knew that it was because they were all located here, in the demon world! Her dreams of a true fantasy world were still achievable! She''d decided! She would find and tame a dragon, just like the legendary dragon rider Er*gon!! "What did they say?" Rosella asked, looking confused. She couldn''t understand the demon language, so all she saw was that one of the demons had said something, and then Yin Mei had become extremely excited, looking off into the distance in joy. "He said that the Dragon Mountains that we''ll be passing through has dragons." Eve replied, and Rosella paled. She had heard of dragons before. They were those beasts of legend, as strong, wise, and terrifying as the gods. "Dragons? Isn''t that dangerous?" She said, turning a worried expression toward Yin Mei, but the girl wasn''t paying attention, still absorbed in her fantasies of dragon taming. El answered Rosella instead. "It''s not dangerous. The dragons haven''t come out in many millennia now, and we also have an ancient treaty with them allowing safe passage." Rosella let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile Yin Mei was looking at El with an extremely disappointed expression, as if the world had ended. El looked away. Dragons were way too dangerous, so why in the world did she wanted to see one so badly? Yin Mei sat down on a stool, a gloomy aura completely enveloping her. "Well, rare doesn''t mean we won''t meet any at all right?" Kai couldn''t help but say in an effort to comfort the girl. Yin Mei immediately brightened up, and quickly returned to her former sparkling excited self. That''s right! Just because they were rare doesn''t necessarily mean they wouldn''t meet one at all! In fact, if they went hunting for dragons, they would probably be able to find one? "It''s decided. Let''s go dragon hunting!" Yin Mei exclaimed, and immediately the group of demons gathered all shouted out, "No!" at once. "That''s too dangerous!" "We need to hurry to the capital, how could you think of going to hunt down dragons!?" "Are you seeking death?" Those sorts of words were thrown around, but Yin Mei wasn''t listening. Both Rosella and El could tell - she had already made her decision, and nothing would be able to change her mind about it. Nothing. Except maybe cookies. Or ice cream. No, wait, this was dragons they were talking about. Not even cookies or ice cream or cake would be able to change her mind now! The advisors looked toward El for support, wanting their commander to shut down Yin Mei''s plan here and now. "It seems interesting enough." But they were instead betrayed by these words. "!! But commander!" El put up a hand, silencing those present. "You don''t have any... complaints, do you?" A silent pressure filled the air, and everyone paled, except for Yin Mei, who seemed to notice no difference. "N-no," the advisors replied, bowing their heads. Though they were still reluctant, they couldn''t disobey the words of the commander. And that was how the army''s goal went from returning to the capital to dragon hunting. It took them a good two weeks of traveling. Aura''s Forest was an interesting place - apparently, it was the most beautiful location among the entire demon world, home to the elves, dryads, and etc. But, elves were slightly different to what Yin Mei had been imagining. In Yin Mei''s eyes, elves were an extremely beautiful race in tune with nature, but perhaps because this was the demon world and elves were considered "demons", this was not exactly the case. It was true they were beautiful, with long ears. But they had ash colored skin and red eyes, looking far different from the pale skinned light haired people that Yin Mei thought they would be. The forest as well, though beautiful, was not like an ordinary forest - instead, the trees were of dark black colored bark, and blue, purple, and emerald colored leaves. It was a mystical forest that looked like all the colors of the galaxy. They stayed a few nights at the city of elves, before leaving to head off to the Dragon Mountains. The Dragon Mountains - those were the jagged dark shadows that Yin Mei had seen in the distance on the very first day they had arrives. They were sharp, like thorns or shark teeth piercing toward the sky. Arriving, the stone was a cold gray, and the sound of the wind blowing past was like that of a banshee''s howl. Yin Mei didn''t even know if banshees were a real thing in the demon world - they might be. Maybe ghosts and zombies also lived side by side with the demons. Although in the human world, ghosts and zombies were something to be defeated and exorcised. "So, how are we to find the dragons? They''re probably well hidden," The black haired advisor of El''s said, resigned to their newfound duty of dragon hunting. Dragons. They were not only highly intelligent and strong, but they could also use magic as well. Among all of the races of the demon world, they were the strongest. Their kin, the wyvern and the half-dragon, were also highly ranked on the strength scale. "If the dragons don''t want to be found, then there''s no one that will be able to find them," the demon man continued, looking up at the dreary sky, the screeching sound of a falcon echoing through the stone cliffs. Yin Mei pouted. "But why don''t they want to be found? Since I want to find them, then they better obediently show themselves!" She said domineeringly, and everyone was speechless. This sort of arrogance was really... Kai covered his face with his hand. So the high priestess was in reality this sort of childish person... But he felt this also made sense. Before, the high priestess had been someone who seemed almost like a god, so different from humans, isolated and someone to be respected, worshipped. But now he knew this wasn''t the case. In reality, she was still young, and had been stuck in the church since she was ten. Perhaps her time had stopped since then. In reality, she really was quite a childish person, wasn''t she? Such a sheltered person, there was no way that she wouldn''t grow up like this, right? She was used to her orders being followed, her every need being met. She had never experienced the real world either. When he thought of things like this, he felt everything seemed to make sense, and he could somewhat accept all of her actions so far. Actually, wasn''t a more human high priestess better than that doll of before? He shook his head, thinking his thoughts rude. Yin Mei stood in front of the group, and expanded her senses, covering as much as the mountain range as she could. But, even if Celestina was the most powerful mage of her time, even she could not quite come to be on the same level as a dragon. Perhaps she was not far, but she had yet to reach the level of the being that was considered a god on earth. If the dragons did not want to be found, then no one could find them. What the demon had said was very much true. There was no sign of dragons - whether it be physical or magical marks. But, not all dragons did not wish to be found... After Yin Mei was disappointed, the group continued to move through the mountains. Though they kept an eye out, they were not expecting much. After Yin Mei''s first attempt, she tried a few more times, but it bore no fruit. She even tried the system''s surveillance system, but because she didn''t even know what exactly that she was supposed to be looking for, it was also unable to show her what she wanted. It was during this time, that a child suddenly appeared before them. The child had black hair and black eyes, dressed in a fabulous outfit, that shimmered pale gold in the light, embroidered with small diamonds and silver thread. She didn''t look no more than five, and had a haughty air about her, hands on her hips and her lips in a frown, brows furrowed. "You''re that arrogant girl who has been spreading her magic everywhere these past few days!?" She shouted at them, pointing to Yin Mei. "Stop it! Your gross primitive magic has been interrupting my nap time!" Yin Mei didn''t know what dragons were supposed to be like, but her instinct told her that this young girl, who appeared in the middle of the Dragon Mountains with such a proud attitude and tone must definitely be... a dragon! This was her years of being an experienced reader speaking to her! No one else could tell, and had on confused expressions - who was this little girl, to speak so arrogantly to them? But Yin Mei''s eyes were sparkling so bright that El had a bad feeling about this. One of his advisors was about to step up, but El held a hand out to stop him. This was El''s experience from years of being Yin Mei''s husband speaking. Although he didn''t remember his previous life, this was bad a feeling that spoke to him from deep within his soul. "S-s-sooooo cute!" Yin Mei couldn''t help but exclaim. Truly, the human form of this dragon, though a young child no older than five, was indeed the epitome of beauty and adorableness! As expected of the legendary dragon race! "H-hmph! Of course I''m cute! Compliments won''t get you off scott free!" The young girl said in a huff, but her cheeks turned pink. "And a tsundere!" Yin Mei was immediately sold. She immediately launched herself at the girl, who was so startled that she flung an arm out in defense. "Oh shi- I forgot to hold back..." The black haired girl said, but soon trailed off as the dust cleared, and Yin Mei was unharmed, the barrier in front of her glimmering before disappearing as she hugged the black haired girl in satisfaction. "Wha- how in the world...! There shouldn''t be someone strong enough to be able to block my attack like that! What in the world are you!? Some sort of newly evolved race...!?" "I''m human," Yin Mei replied, rubbing her cheek up against the little dragon girl''s cheek, and the girl''s eyes almost popped out. "H-h-human!?" She turned to look at the group, who all nodded. "No way! That weak race of the stories could actually block my attack...!" The little girl was so shocked that she immediately passed out. ... ...... Yin Mei: "?? Huh? Why in the world did she pass out?" El: Mm, my bad feeling was correct... 94 Update: Sorry No Chapter Again for the Hundredth Time I feel like such a terrible author, cuz no chapter today either. I was planning on writing more during Thanksgiving and couldn''t as well *sob* I have a lot of stuff to do so there wasn''t any time for me to write today. Finals are coming up in two weeks and all these major projects are starting to get due, so a little bit mildly panicking here. So this week, I will be updating, but it may be every other day. Because these major projects are looming behind my back, the due date slowly creeping up on me... as in one is due in three days and my major paper is due in seven... GG. At least the other paper was turned in today so I don''t have to worry about that anymore. But still so much workkkkkk. Goodbye my life. And hello end of semester HELL. 95 The Necromancer and the Priestess 27 The army found a place to set up camp, and inside the tactics tent, everyone was gathered, with Yin Mei sitting to the side still cuddling the unconscious little girl. "A dragon!? This little girl is?" One advisor exclaimed, unable to see it. That being said, their knowledge of dragons was mostly passed down through stories and legends. And plus, that arrogance and strength... the single half hearted fling of her arm, though it hadn''t harmed Yin Mei, had gauged a long scar into the mountain... it was a terrifying level of strength. "W-w-we, won''t we be killed?" Another advisor stammered out, staring in fear at both the dragon and Yin Mei. Yin Mei, who could block such an attack, was equally as terrifying as the dragon who possessed such strength. No, perhaps even more so, as for a dragon to have such power was only to be expected. "Hmm..." El let out a long sound of thought. Yeah, this might be bad. Looking at the dragon, it could only be a child. That strength, though powerful, could still be blocked by Yin Mei, who was after all, still only human. Not even Yin Mei could be on par with a fully matured dragon - that meant that this one should only be a kid. And that blatantly arrogant and brash manner of speaking also implied that the dragon was still young. And dragons were well known to be overprotective over their young, as having a child was rare. In other words, they were totally screwed? "Celes, how about putting down the dragon...? Like this, you might anger its parents..." El said cautiously, but he could tell that Yin Mei was being very stubborn, and gave him an expression of absolute reluctance. "What? But..." She looked at the little adorable doll in her arms and didn''t want to at all. This cute darling tsundere child was not being let go until she could make a contract! "Please put it down before you kill us all." The advisor with black hair said, his tone and expression such a mixture of seriousness and desperation that it even gave Yin Mei a surprise. "A-a-alright, fine," She stammered out, actually relenting in the face of that expression. She reluctantly let go of the little girl, but carefully sat her on the small nearby animal skin draped sofa. "Should we just toss the girl and leave? But no, that might be too disrespectful. What in the world should we do...!!" The demon advisor was completely panicked, clutching at his head in frustration. "What in the world are they talking about?" Rosella finally couldn''t take it and asked Eve, who relayed what they had said. Both Rosella and Kai''s faces paled slightly. So that was actually a dragon! The tent became enveloped in a dark and gloomy mood. "We can only wait until the girl wakes up." El said, and they all nodded. So that''s the only thing that was left to them... Yin Mei waited patiently, while the advisor paced back and forth. El sat down, looking calm and majestic as a servant prepared him fruits. The others could only shift back and forth nervously, their eyes on the little girl, waiting for her to make a move. When the little girl finally opened her eyes, she was greeted with Yin Mei''s sparkling gaze. "Hii- h-human! It''s rude to have your face so up close to mine!" She almost let out a faint shriek before quickly correcting herself to make it seem like she was just speaking normally. To be scared of this single human, how shameful! She quickly gathered her bearings, her arrogant expression returning in full force as she pridefully looked down on the human female before her. "Aw, so cute!" Yin Mei didn''t blink, simply fawning over the little girl. "Little girl, do you want some fruit?" She said, quickly going over to snatch El''s platter of peeled and preprepared fruit to give to the child. El: But that was mine... Yin Mei took the metal pick, piercing something that looked somewhat like a slice of pear, and holding it up to the girl''s mouth, looking at her in anticipation. The girl seemed reluctant for a moment, but then obediently ate some anyways. Munching away with full cheeks, she found that this fruit actually tasted pretty good... "I''ll have you know that I''m not a little girl! I am a noble dragon, the mighty and strong beings of the legends! You puny humans should be worshiping me, instead of being so disrespectful!" She said, but continued to be obediently fed by Yin Mei. The rest of the group: ... How should they say, their image of dragons had been completely destroyed... Yin Mei was happily nodding as she continued doting on the little girl. "Yes, yes. You''re so amazing!" She praised, and the girl''s face turned bright red. "H-hmph! As I should be!" The rest of the group: ... After several rounds of pampering, the girl unconsciously began to relax in Yin Mei''s presence, seeming to open up a little. "Your... Your excellency, where''s your family? Dragons haven''t been seen in almost over ten thousand years, so..." So why in the world are you here? A bushy bearded man with droopy rabbit ears said, speaking cautiously. "Hmph! This idiot human here woke me up from my nap! I was sleeping peacefully when she went around spreading that barbaric magic all over the place!" She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "That and I wanted to go explore the outside world..." The last part was muttered so softly that no one could hear what she had said. "Yes, yes, I''m sorry," Yin Mei said, even as she continued to feed the little girl. For Yin Mei, feeding kids had already become a natural habit... After all, she had always managed to coax kids with food before, so she naturally didn''t think anything differently this time. And though the target was a majestic baby dragon instead of a human child, the result still was no different - she still ended up all cute and obedient didn''t she! So in other words... this dragon''s parents didn''t know that she had run off? Oh no, when they find out, won''t they all be killed? "Are you sure you''re really a dragon!" One advisor couldn''t help but shout out, in part due to fear. "How about you prove it?" A female advisor with blonde hair who was standing next to him immediately covered his mouth with her hands to shut him up. "H-he didn''t mean that just now!" She said, but the little girl was already angered. "Hmph! So you puny little demon wants proof, huh! Then I''ll show you proof!" She said, standing up on the sofa. And with a flash of light, her body transformed into a small and majestic black dragon... that was the size of a cat! Beautiful, shining and sleek black scales, such a beautiful little western dragon! She had a slender body and head, her eyes a bright red. At one glance, she looked like she was built for speed and agility, nothing like those fierce and rough looking drawings of dragons that Yin Mei saw everywhere in popular media. Not only that, but she was such a perfect pet size! Perfect for on the head, shoulders, and to hold in the arms! Yin Mei immediately lunged in to grab the little dragon girl, cuddling her in her arms. "She''s so adorable, what is this adorable creature, too cute, I can''t take ittttttt...!!" Now no one could deny it, she certainly was a dragon. Though on the small size... she must still be a baby dragon. Her parents will kill us. This was the thought that ran through the minds of the advisors. Only Yin Mei was happily in her own world, while the little dragon struggled in vain. "Insolence! Get your dirty hands off me!" She squealed out, and Yin Mei thus reluctantly put her down. But, she had on such a sad expression that the dragon girl actually felt bad! Wait, what was she feeling bad for! With another bright light, the dragon girl returned to her humanoid form. "Hmph! Now you ignorant fools believe me, right?" They all nodded in unison. "Little miss dragon, how about we take you back to your home? If you''re gone for this long, your family will certainly worry, right?" El finally spoke up, having stayed silent all this time. "Who needs you weaklings to take me back!" The little dragon girl said. "Even so, it''s only polite. We can''t allow your excellency to go back alone, right?" The bunny-eared advisor spoke again, patiently coaxing her. Although they were still afraid, they could basically grasp her personality after seeing her interactions with Yin Mei. In other words, she was the type of person that was hard on the outside and soft on the inside! Weak to praise, and easily flattered! "Well... since you insist, then I''ll permit you all the honor to escort me back!" The girl relented. Yin Mei was in tears though. Go back? They would have to send her back? She didn''t want that. No, there was still opportunity. She would somehow in this time do something so that this girl would stay in their family...! She never knew that she had needed to adopt a little dragon daughter before, but now that she did, she would definitely make this dream come true! On the other hand, El, who didn''t know at all that Yin Mei had already skipped becoming lovers and getting married and gone straight to adopting a kid, was giving out commands for the army. Only a small number of them would be setting out, as El was definitely not going to bring an entire army marching up to a dragon den''s doorstep. The little dragon turned back into dragon form and perched herself proudly onto Yin Mei''s head. Yin Mei, of course, was delighted. Damn, if only she had a phone or camera, she would take a million selfies! Curse this backwater world that hadn''t yet experienced the information revolution! "Leader, are you alright?" Rosella couldn''t help but worry over the weird expressions that were flashing across Yin Mei''s face, and had to ask. "Just ignore it," El said. He was already used to this, and knew that it was just her thinking of something weird. He paused. He was used to it...? He felt there was something wrong with that, but because he could''t tell what, he just shook his head and decided that he was thinking too much. After a few hours of marching, they reached the entrance to a valley. There were two extravagantly carved stone pillars standing up, almost like some sort of gate, but by all appearances, the valley was completely still and empty. Yin Mei knew that there must be some sort of magic in place to make it appear this way. As suspected, the little dragon called out some mysterious words in a language that Yin Mei didn''t understand and the space between the two pillars began to shimmer slightly. She secretly thought that she must have said Open Sesame, but they would never know. The group walked through, and the image before them completely transformed. It was a world of dragons. A lot of dragons. "Aaaazzuriteeeeee!!" There was a great roar, that caused the ground to shake, and all the dragons, flying or not, seemed to stop, not moving an inch as the sound of wings flapping resounded. Before long, a majestic and giant black dragon alighted before them. Unlike the sleek and little dragon on Yin Mei''s head, this dragon was different. He looked rough and fierce, with man sharp spikes and horns. An old, battle worn dragon. "Grandpa!" The little dragon on her head, Azurite, said. "Azurite! You snuck outside again! And this time you even brought back outsidersss!!? What were you thinking!!" Azurite''s grandpa roared, his voice loud and booming, each syllable vibrating through the air and Yin Mei could practically feel it displacing her organs... Azurite agitatedly smacked Yin Mei a few times with her tail, growling slightly as she whined, "But grandpa!" "No buts! Someone come! Wipe the memories of these outsiders and take them out!" He said, and a nearby white dragon beat its wings, taking flight and coming over to them. "WAAIIIITTTTTTTTTT, esteemed one!" Yin Mei shouted, enhancing her voice with magic, before returning her volume to normal. What the hell, there was no way she would allow them to erase her memories when she had gotten this far! She wouldn''t give up this little cutie pie to anyone, even if this noble looking grandpa! "HHUUUHHHHHH!?" The dragon''s sharp eyes looked down at the puny thing that had dared to speak against him. He lowered his head, his eye right up against Yin Mei, sharp and bloodthirsty. Yin Mei: ... DON''T THINK THAT YOU CAN SCARE ME! I''M NOT SHAKING AT ALL! 96 The Necromancer and the Priestess 28 Not only the grandpa dragon, but the rest of the group was also staring at her, probably thinking that she had gone crazy. No, from her actions before, she had already been crazy. It was just that she had leveled up now, and was even crazier than before!! "What is it?" The grandpa dragon growled, a hot breath blowing over Yin Mei and the group when he opened his jaw, a sharp row of long teeth glistening white. "..." Yin Mei''s lips twitched. Pfft, what was she even afraid of? Okay, so this guy was stronger than her. But she had faced dragons before! Long Aotian, for example. Though they were different since one was a Western dragon and the other an Eastern dragon, and at that time, Feng Hua was of similar ability and skill... Bah! It didn''t matter! The point is, she shouldn''t let a difference in strength get her feeling shaky all over! "Esteemed elder, may I be so presumptuous to ask why in the world the dragons have shut themselves off from the world? For a young child, it is too restrictive to expect them to restrain their curiosity and not want to go explore the outside..." Yin Mei thought for a moment before saying. She had called out in the spur of the moment, and so could only just manage to cobble together her words. "You dare question us? You think us dragons can be put on the same level as human children?" He growled, but these words actually caused Yin Mei to bristle up. Excuse me, was he looking down on her beloved kids right now? "I think that children have some of the same characteristics, no matter the race," Yin Mei said with a forced smile, a fiery aura surrounding her. "Hoho, you have courage to dare say such things!" Sparks flew as the two glared at each other. "Grandpa! You can''t bully my servant!" Yin Mei wanted to ask when she had been given this servant status, but she didn''t say anything, partially touched that Azurite was speaking up for her. "Wha-What? You would speak against me for an outsider?" Old grandpa felt betrayed, raising his head up as he staggered backward like he had suffered from a fatal attack. Yin Mei grasped Azurite from her head, bringing her down to hold her in front of her. "Wha-What?" Azurite said cautiously, but seemed to not struggle from being held by Yin Mei anymore. Gasp, habit was terrifying! Although it had only been a little while since they met, she had already been tamed to this point... how scary... "Little child, you agree with me right? Don''t you want to see the outside world? Aren''t you curious? You want to experience the things that you can''t from inside this little valley, right?" Yin Mei asked, her eyes and expression extremely serious. The little dragon''s own eyes began sparkling. Of course, she could use magic to do all sorts of things from in here, from seeing these sights with something similar to clairvoyance to making a playground that imitated those outside sights. But, that was different from experiencing it herself. She didn''t know why, but she just felt that it would be. As a child, she held boundless curiosity for the things beyond this little fenced greenhouse. Although she possessed knowledge beyond that of any ordinary child, perhaps it was even more so due to that that her curiosity was even stronger. "I wanna go see!" She said excitedly. Yin Mei turned her around and held her in her arms, looking smugly at a now collapsed grandpa dragon who had suffered a two time combo of betrayal. "See? Even Azurite says she wants to go out to see the outside world! It''s practically sinful to keep a child locked up in here. Perhaps for you old fogey- I mean, you esteemed elders may have already seen know everything, but it''s different for a little child!" Rosella was so impressed that she couldn''t help but applaud, though she had not understood a word that had been exchanged between them. The rest of the group members were practically petrified in fear though. They felt that Yin Mei was definitely insane to actually stand up against a dragon like this. As for El, he just thought that this was something normal. "Even so, I cannot allow Azurite to go outside." The grandpa dragon was quiet for a moment before standing up to speak. Azurite immediately had on a teary eyed expression and Yin Mei felt angered on her behalf. "And just why is that?" "That''s a story that goes back to why we have isolated ourselves in the first place." He replied, shaking his head to show his unwillingness to reply. But Yin Mei sat herself down. "Well we have all the time in the world! Speak already!" Grandpa dragon: ... The rest of the group: ... He let out a sigh, his breath blowing over the group as he played down with a large thump, head placed before Yin Mei. The other members also all sat down, although some were groaning inwardly inside. "Ten thousand years ago, the first of our kind fell victim to a strange illness. It was the first that we had seen of it. It turned dragon to stone, regardless of age or gender. We isolated ourselves in this valley in order to study it and find a cure. But even ten thousand years later, we have only been able to come up with measures to slow the spread. Azurite''s parents fell victim to it before she even had the time to hatch..." Unlike how the group had been thinking, the story was quickly over. Yin Mei thought for a moment. "What if I helped you find a cure? If a cure is found, then you don''t need to stay here anymore, right?" The elderly dragon scoffed. "Little human girly, you dare to claim to be able to find a cure, when us dragons haven''t been able to find one in the last ten thousand years?" Everyone around her all nodded, aside from Rosella and Kai, who didn''t understand the words of the dragon. Of course Yin Mei wasn''t confident about this. But... "More brains are better than nothing, right? Anyways, a fresh pair of eyes never hurt!" She did indeed believe this. Plus, Yin Mei did have knowledge of several different worlds crammed into her head, which wouldn''t hurt. And to top it all off, these two kids sitting next to her were the male and female protagonists! Although they may not be able to figure out the cure, they would certainly be able to greatly help, right? After all, one couldn''t underestimate the power of the great luck that these two people possessed! The grandpa dragon snorted, but he did understand Yin Mei''s reasoning. Plus, one actually couldn''t underestimate the potential of other races. Although on average, a single human or demon would be weaker than a dragon by far, there were still those individuals that had been able to climb up to the level of dragons. Because of this, in the end, grandpa dragon relented and let this strange group stay in the valley to research the cure. El was afraid that they would be here for a very, very long time... he had one of the people with them send a message to the army that was waiting in the mountains on standby. He really hoped that Yin Mei would give up soon, or figure it out even sooner... but he felt that he would be here for the long run... As for Yin Mei, she was already focused on coming up with a cure. She would be having Rosella and Kai aid her, though not in coming up with ideas... but going out with an expedition group of El''s soldiers to find treasures! That''s right, she sent them treasure hunting, while she would be holing up here like some shut in NEET trying to figure out the cure. First, she read through the information that the dragons had on the illness. Which was a lot. An unbelievable amount. So she had the librarian dragon (a cutie with a long green braid and glasses) bring her the most relevant information. That alone took her several days to read through, even with her enhancing her reading speed with magic. She then organized the information in her head. There were no precedents of this illness before the first dragon had been infected. Considering the long life span and perfect memory of the dragons, Yin Mei didn''t doubt this. They had records dating back to tens and hundreds of millions of years ago. Aside from dragons, there was no other race that had appeared to be infected. Was it genetic? Race specific? Yin Mei couldn''t say for now. She looked at the case study of the first patient as well. The incubation period of this illness was unknown. They weren''t even able to tell whether or not it was a curse or a virus or what. Firstly, they didn''t believe it was a curse, since it did not have the characteristics of a normal curse - to interfere with a person''s mana. Secondly, this world had no conception of viruses or bacteria, so there was no information there. But since dragons were so much more knowledgeable about magic than Yin Mei, she would rather go down the more scientific based route... Anyways, going back to the first patient. He first showed signs of the illness when he was two thousand years old. First his left leg turned to stone, spreading from there to various parts of his body, and in no less than ten years, he had completely turned to stone. He could still survive with his heart turned to stone, but once his brain had been taken, then he had died. After that, the cases were sporadic. Sometimes there were five or ten dragons showing signs of infection in one period, and sometimes, several years would go back without any dragons showing symptoms. The period of time that the stone took to spread also varied, anywhere from one year to a hundred years. The source location would also change, which could also affect how long the dragon would be able to spread - if both the heart and head were turned into stone, then the dragon would die, but if neither or only one was left unturned, then they could continue surviving until the end. There wasn''t any way of knowing how dragons were infected. It seemed completely random, and the dragons had been unable to pinpoint a pattern. If not even the extremely intelligent dragons could spot a pattern, then Yin Mei didn''t think she would be able to either. Genetic? Environmental? Magical? Virus? Bacteria? The tenth day that Yin Mei was here, she visited the dragon graveyard - rather than a graveyard, it appeared more like a garden, with large stone dragon statues dotting the landscape. Yin Mei felt that she could remember an illness in the modern world that was somewhat similar. What was it? Where the person would slowly turn into bone...? There was something about calcification... She couldn''t remember a lot, so it was unhelpful. She also remembered reading fantasy novels that used this same "turning to stone illness", but again, because she couldn''t remember anything, that was useless as well. She had knowledge of another world, but she didn''t have the memory or knowledge to recall anything useful. All those knowledgeable protagonists from the novels were fraud! When she went back to the modern world, she would make sure to memorize all sorts of useful information... Because they were all stone, she couldn''t even perform an autopsy. Using magic, she could see that everything was stone - inside and out. She returned back to the library to look back over the information gathered by the dragons. It couldn''t be cured by healing magic - but that wasn''t unexpected. Healing magic would only work if the healer had a basic grasp of what they were healing. Of course there was no need for detailed information like killing off this virus to cure this illness, but the healer would need to at least know the illness and what it affected in order to cure it. Because of this, many illnesses were still left incurable, with healers unable to deal with it - just knowing the basic symptoms wasn''t enough. They would be able to relieve said symptoms, but it would only be temporarily. They needed to be able to treat the cause. And with this illness, they weren''t able to find the cause, and thus were unable to use healing magic to cure it. On the third week, the treasure hunting party came back. Yin Mei studied their loot. Yin Mei had implored to them to desperately search for something to cure the dragons, so although it didn''t look useful, she was sure that it had its uses. "What does this look like to you?" Yin Mei asked, holding up what appeared to be a small marble. She held it against the light, and the insides reflected a myriad of colors. It was like it was holding inside of it its own little space, a starry sky of blues, pinks, purples, and blacks. El leaned over her shoulder, squinting at the thing. "Some sort of stone? It''s a peculiar material that I haven''t seen before." He said. It was the one thing that the treasure hunting group had brought back that caught Yin Mei''s eye, just for how pretty it was. But, she knew that true treasures shouldn''t catch someone''s eye, but in fact be so ordinary or broken down that no one would look twice at it! After all, that''s how it always was in the stories. Even so, she couldn''t help but feel that this little marble thing would be useful. With how it looked, Yin Mei''s first guess was that it might contain its own world. It looked like it had a little galaxy packed inside of it, so wouldn''t it make sense if it really was like that? But, how would that be useful to curing the illness? Maybe she was overlooking something? "Hmm... If only you had your memories." Yin Mei said, looking up to El''s face. He looked at her with a questioning expression. "You would definitely remember more than I do..." But what was the point of regret? That''s right, in the end, what was the point... 97 The Necromancer and the Priestess 29 "How is research going?" El asked from his seat in the room that the dragons lent them. He was reading a book, his mask set aside and wearing his glasses. On the other hand, Yin Mei was on the bed, also reading, her book raised high above her head. Her face was scrunched up as she focused, seeming to be thinking hard. She finally groaned and placed her arms down, book on her chest. "Terrible. Very terrible." She flung the book, and El caught it perfectly. She then proceeded to roll around the bed multiple times. "What do I dooooooo~" She said, before stopping, her hair now a mess. El set the book down on the table in front of him. "It''s already been a month since we''ve been here. How about we-" "No." Yin Mei rejected, already knowing what he was going to say. El had on a wry smile, knowing she was already going to say that. She was so close, she knew it. The solution was certainly in her hands already, she just wasn''t quite able to grasp it. "General," A voice said, and the black haired advisor poked his head into their room, obviously having something to report. El didn''t want to disturb Yin Mei, who had fallen back into her thoughts, and so stood up, switching his glasses out with his mask before following the demon out. The walked from the cave outside, to a distance away, before stopping. "What is it?" El asked coolly. "I''ve already contacted our secret troops. General, are you sure...?" The advisor trailed off, his face showing slight unease. "Sure about what, Kiel? That senile old man isn''t worth the effort." El said coldly, waving his hand. "Unless you''re having doubts?" "N-no," The demon shook his head. "Maybe it''s because you used to be human that you''re so soft. I thought that Celes would be happy, so I brought you back to life, but... after all, you''re a failure." El said. Perhaps because of the illness he had been infected with, or some other outside reason, but this person here was no longer human after El had raised him up from the dead. He was not quite a real demon either. In other words, he was a failure. His appearance had changed to the point that Celestina couldn''t even recognize him, while he also wasn''t able to use magic at all, and his physical strength was the same as a human''s. But, El still kept him as an advisor, perhaps partly due to sentiment. Kiel lowered his head, a slightly bitter expression on his face, but it quickly disappeared. "Anyways, it''s good for you to just do as I say. The current demon king was never worth serving in the first place. Weak and pathetic." El said. Kiel nodded, but he was curious. El had never had the interest in a coup d''etat before, so why now? What had happened to cause the sudden change? The two continued talking for a while more, meanwhile, Yin Mei back in the room had changed locations to the seat that El had been sitting in. "That guy actually went and left while I was thinking. Such a terrible person!" Yin Mei grumbled. She stuck her hand in her pocket, to pull out a candy, but she felt a smooth round surface of something else. She paused before pulling it out. It was that marble that Kai and Rosella had brought back from their treasure hunt. She had just stuck it in the pocket of her robe and forgot about it. She had also forgot to ask the two where they had found it. She set it on the table, rolling it back and forth with her finger. Hmm. It was really pretty. Actually, looking at it like this, it kinda looked like a hard candy. Though it certainly didn''t feel sticky like one. Man she was hungry. She lay her head down, staring at the item. Staring, staring, staring some more. She really wanted to eat it... So she did. She popped it in her mouth, bit down, chewed a few times, and swallowed. And it tasted really good. Like a burst of some sweet, fruity syrup like flavor of some kind - it was a taste that she liked the most in the world. How peculiar. She wasn''t expecting that. Or rather, why in the world had she eaten it in the first place? Then, there was a sharp pain coming from her stomach, and with a cough, blood began seeping out of her mouth. She felt her stomach getting weirdly... cold? What the hell? She pulled up her clothes, and her stomach was turning into stone. Firstly, how did that get digested so quickly. Secondly, this was spreading way too fast. And thirdly, although she was glad that she had finally found the cause of the dragon''s illness, wasn''t this kinda bad?? Or rather, it was spreading way to fast for comfort! She wasn''t like dragons that could survive with her heart turned to stone! She quickly put her hand over her stomach, and closed her eyes, seeing her body like through an X-ray. She wiggled her fingers, and strands of light appeared, drawing out pieces of that strange marble, turning it whole again in midair. It bounced onto the ground and she disregarded it, instead focusing on returning her body back to flesh. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead, her brows furrowed in pain. The blood that seeped from her mouth dripped down onto the ground. Only after a long while, who knows how long, did she finally fall to the ground, exhausted, but healed. That marble was too strange. It had some sort of weird magic about it that almost made it impossible to catch with her magic vision. Only when she had adjusted it slightly, and because she had known what she was looking for, did she manage to extract it from her body. In addition, why had she eaten it in the first place? There definitely had to be some sort of mind manipulation magic at work there. And how did this little marble turn her body to stone anyways? There were many unanswered questions, but the good thing was that she wasn''t dead, and she had discovered the cause of the mysterious stone illness. Though... Yin Mei leaned up against the bed, wiping the blood away from her mouth. Shit... this may be hard to fully recover from... Her mana felt sluggish. She could practically feel it leaking out from her. She had definitely injured her magic source. With her magic source damaged, there was no way that Yin Mei herself would be able to heal it... Ahh, but she was too tired to think of anything right now... She closed her eyes, her consciousness fading. Damn, mind manipulation or what, she would definitely never put just anything in her mouth again... food poisoning aside, it was definitely a first to experience being turned to stone because she ate something strange... When Yin Mei next woke up, El was sitting beside her, with the rest of the group crowded around. A new face, a woman with wavy white hair, was talking to El. "Her magic source is severely damaged. It''ll take quite a long time to be treated, and even then, it''s hard to say if she can ever manage to use magic at the same level that she had been before," the girl said, noticing that Yin Mei had woken up. "How do you feel?" "Fine," Yin Mei said. "A little weak, and my magic flow is... but aside from that, there''s no issues," Yin Mei added on honestly. "To be expected." The woman nodded. "I''ll go write up a prescription, so until then, stay here. Don''t get up from your bed." She left, leaving Yin Mei alone with El and the others. "What in the world happened?" El said coldly, and Yin Mei could tell that behind that mask he was fuming. He was very angry. She recalled that Yao Heyan was almost never angry, but the one time he had been was when she had been gone to play with some underworld gang and had gotten herself shot a couple of times... What can she say, they were messing with her family, so she obviously had to go "play" with them a little, right? The result was that Yao Heyan had been sulking for the next week. Of course, he still obediently paid her visits at the hospital, but he refused to talk to her and had constantly been wearing a sour expression. This reminded her of that time. "I figured out the cause of the illness the dragons have been suffering from." Yin Mei said, avoiding the question, her eyes not meeting El''s. El''s brows furrowed from underneath his mask. "Don''t avoid the question." Rosella was standing on the side, a worried expression on her face. "Leader..." She said, also wanting to know what in the world had happened. All she knew was that the demon beside her had found Yin Mei collapsed on the ground, unconscious. Bringing her to the dragons, she didn''t think it was anything serious, but it was actually extremely serious. Her magic source was injured! If there weren''t dragons, this would certainly be an incurable problem that could potentially result in Yin Mei being unable to use magic ever again, or just very simple and weak magic. "Well, you know the marble that we looked at? The one that Kai and Rosella brought back... I was looking at it and got the sudden strange urge to eat it..." She trailed off, looking away again. "So you ate it?" El''s voice was very cold. "Maybe?" El was speechless. "... Was it some sort of magic?" This was all he could think of. Although Celestina was a little bit foolish, she wasn''t a total idiot. There was no way that she would put something that strange in her mouth, right? So he decided that there must be some outside powers at work here. Yin Mei nodded. "And shockingly enough, my body started to turn to stone! I quickly extracted it and healed myself, but after all, being turned to stone is a little..." El sighed, taking her hand in his. "Don''t do something so dangerous next time." On the other hand, both Rosella and Kai had pale faces, Rosella''s more so than Kai''s. Because Yin Mei had been talking in the human language, they could clearly understand what she had said. "I-it''s my fault." Rosella couldn''t help but say. It''s because she had found that object and given it to Yin Mei that she was like this now! "It''s not," Yin Mei immediately said. "It''s no one''s fault. Actually, this is good. You found what I wanted you to find." "But-" Rosella began to protest, but was interrupted by Yin Mei. "No buts. It isn''t your fault, so don''t blame yourself." She said firmly, and Rosella fell silent, a bitter expression on her face. Kai didn''t say anything, but equally felt like he held the blame for this situation. "Where did you guys get that marble?" Yin Mei asked, and Rosella quickly answered her, as if trying to make up for her blunder. "They were in one of the dragon treasure hoards that the dragons let us take a look at. Apparently they''re occasionally found in the magic stone mines nearby here." Rosella said. At this time, the white haired woman came back, giving her a box of potions and a prescription, along with instructions to come visit her every week for treatment. She predicted that it would take two decades before her treatment could finish... Yin Mei: ... So, the option was to stay here for two decades and receive treatment, and the other option was to just be unable to use strong magic again. Oh... and also have a shorter life span. With her magic source injured, then she would be reduced to the lifespan of an average human. Two decades was too long. Yin Mei''s face hardened, and El could immediately tell what she was thinking. "No!" He said loudly, and everyone turned to look at him. "You''re staying here and getting the treatment." Yin Mei looked at him with a slightly sad expression. "I-" He shook his head. "No, you''re getting the treatment." He stubbornly insisted. "But-" "No!" He refused to hear it. "..." Yin Mei was silent, speechless. Having an injured magic source was nothing major and didn''t bother her at all, so why is it that El was so concerned?? She didn''t realize it was because El was different from Yin Mei, who possessed her memories from her past life and knowledge that she would always reincarnate. In other words, her death was never permanent, so she was not afraid of a shorter lifespan. But El was. El, or more accurately, Azazel, had lived a long time, and still had an even longer time ahead of him, if he completely lived out the rest of his potential lifespan. If Yin Mei''s magic source hadn''t been injured, then she would be able to live out the same time that he would, but now that it was, she would simply be a blink in his time of existence. Human lives were short and fleeting. He didn''t want that. He wouldn''t let that happen! 98 The Necromancer and the Priestess 30 Yin Mei and El, for the next couple of days, proceeded to have a silent war. Snubbing each other at lunch time, when meeting, and etc., everyone was at their wits end. It hadn''t taken long for people to have realized how well the two got along, and so seeing this was very painful for them. "What do I do?" Yin Mei said gloomily, even tearing up a little. Okay, she hadn''t actually meant to be like this for so long, but once she started, it was hard to stop. And before whenever she was like this, Yao Heyan would immediately start asking for forgiveness and pampering her, so it was easier to stop. But now El was also being angry at her! She was really upset, but she also really didn''t want to waste twenty years in the dragon valley. She had spent so much effort to escape the church, only to walk right into another cage? Although she knew it was for her own good... But it was clear that El wasn''t going to let up until she agreed. "Is it that important...?" She leaned back against the edge of her bed, looking up at the cave ceiling. She couldn''t understand. She really couldn''t understand. In the end, the one who gave in was Yin Mei. Although Yin Mei was normally the stubborn one, the moment that El was involved, she quickly broke down. Well, the result was that it was for her own good. But, she was anxious. Unbearably anxious. The last time she left things to his own hands, what had happened? She had died, and then he had died soon after. From inner demons... Would this time be any different? In this amount of time, she had also talked with Azurite''s grandpa about the cause of the illness. He was shocked - it had been something under their noses all this time? How is it that they could have not seen it? But when he heard more from Yin Mei, he realized why. First, dragon''s had a much higher residence against the illness in comparison to humans. Because of that, the development of the illness was much slower and less noticeable, making it harder to pinpoint the exact time when they had caught the illness. On the other hand, Yin Mei had immediately developed symptoms after consuming the marble, and the spread of the "stonification" was also extremely quick. In addition, the marble was very difficult to find with a magical x-ray sight, unless they knew exactly what they were supposed to be looking for. The grandpa dragon was surprised, but also extremely grateful. Yin Mei was named an honorary member of the dragon race, the first human to be name thus, and the first person in more than ten thousand years to be named thus. In addition, grandpa dragon promised the best care and treatment for her during this time that she would be staying here, in addition to any time she wished to return. Yin Mei felt that after the treatment duration, she would definitely never want to return though... The grandpa dragon even said that he''d set up a teleportation portal that connected to the demon king''s castle so that the group could visit Yin Mei when they wanted. But, Yin Mei herself was advised not to leave, as the dragon valley had special parameters that would aid her healing... QwQ When it came time for the group to leave, Yin Mei was still sulking a little, a gloomy expression on her face. Rosella, Kai, and Eve had both elected to stay here, but because Yin Mei was worried, she had asked Rosella to go with El, and they would be keeping in contact through Yin Mei''s familiar. As for Kai, she was still worried about what would happen if he found out his true identity, and so would definitely not allow him to leave with the other group. And for Eve, she was also slightly worried. With her magic in its current state, she wouldn''t be able to make any adjustments to her initial mind manipulation, and thus, also allowed her to stay here. Now it was El''s turn to be worried. He left the black haired demon with her, along with a few other soldiers, just in case. With only two people, both people he didn''t like, here, then how could he not worry? Of course, there were the all powerful dragons protecting Yin Mei, but this was a more a matter of him being able to feel that she was safe with people he trusted by her side than anything else. "We''re going now," El said, after Rosella tearily bade Yin Mei goodbye. The two groups stood facing each other. Rosella was by El, her eyes slightly red as she looked reluctant to part. Rather than El, it felt more like Rosella was Yin Mei''s lover than anything else. Huh? For some reason, Yin Mei felt that there was something that she had forgotten. She shook her head, before looking at El. Although she was still a little sulky, she couldn''t help but tear up a little. She stubbornly turned her head away. Of course, she knew that after the teleportation array was set up, El would be able to visit any time. But, she wouldn''t be there. All her planning, and she would be stuck here for the most important part of the mission. What if something went wrong? Who would be able to save El? There was only Rosella she could rely on, but she had always still been worried when it involvedthe female and male leads. Even if such thoughts went through her head, she couldn''t stop El, nor convince him. With those thoughts in her head, Yin Mei was suddenly enveloped in a warm embrace, a voice whispering by her ear, "Don''t worry. I''ll see you soon." She looked up, but by that time, El had already let go and turned around, walking away. She hated the El, who would do things like this, making her want to forgive him. In the end, El left just like that, and Yin Mei shut herself in her room. Kai looked to Eve, but she just shook her head. They couldn''t do anything. Kiel stood nearby, biting his lip. The Celestina that he remembered wasn''t like this, but, in the end, people changed didn''t they? He had already been dead for so long... Several months later. "Azurite? Azurite! Are you over here~ Or is it here~?" Yin Mei called out. She looked very good, like the events of before had never happened. She was energetic again, and though her magic was still the same - as weak as before - she was no longer having any issues with her health due to the injury of her magic source. She was playing hide and seek with Azurite, of course, with no magic and a limited area. If there was magic, the game would be unfair... and also completely impossible for Yin Mei to win. As for the limited area, with the size of the dragon''s valley and the fact that one individual had wings and the other didn''t, then it would make it equally impossible on Yin Mei. Therefore such rules had been invented in light of Azurite''s sheer OPness. That being said, even with these rules, Azurite was still more intelligent than any average human, and thus, Yin Mei was still having difficulties. She had been at this for half an hour now, wandering here and there, this way and that, but had still yet to succeed. "Celestina!" Eve called out, running up to Yin Mei. "What is it?" She asked. "The dragons said that they''re setting up the teleportation portal now. They just received notice from the commander." She answered excitedly. She knew how much Yin Mei liked the general, and so was happy for her savior. "... That''s... good." Yin Mei was at first unable to say anything, but finally managed to just say that. She was happy, really. Happy that she didn''t have to experience something like in her previous worlds, where all her hard work had been unable to result in anything. But at the same time, she wasn''t sure what to feel. The sign that they were building the teleportation array meant that El had likely succeeded in overthrowing the demon king right? In that case, then what was all her hard work for, if he could finish the mission on her own? In fact, wouldn''t that mean that all her interfering was... Maybe even for the worse? No. That was untrue. She knew it was untrue. After all, if not for her, El would have died under the hands of Kai already. But, then she thought of the previous worlds. The modern world didn''t need to be talked about, but in the zombie apocalypse world, if she hadn''t interfered, then wouldn''t the zombie emperor have still lived? It... it was her fault that he had died. "That''s good, really," Yin Mei said. Eve tilted her head, feeling that Yin Mei''s expression was slightly off. "Azurite! Azurite! The game is over! Let''s go look at the teleportation array!" Yin Mei shouted, her face clearing up. She didn''t know why she bothered to think these things. They were useless, stupid thoughts. Azurite poked her head out from seemingly nowhere, before rushing over and grabbing at Yin Mei''s robe. "Haha, that means you lose again! A human can''t beat me after all! I''m too awesome!" Azurite gloated and Yin Mei couldn''t help but smile, picking her up. "Of course, our Azurite is the best!" She said happily. Eve guided Yin Mei to one of the mountains, walking through the large opening to the vast system of cave tunnels inside. Even after months, neither Yin Mei, Eve, nor Kai had yet to memorize all the routes, and instead, had to carry with them a map every time. Except for Yin Mei, who couldn''t read maps for her life. But she always had someone else with her at all times, so it also wasn''t necessary. The three of them continued until they reached a medium sized cave, where several dragons in humanoid forms were working on creating a magic circle on the ground. "Ah, human. You''re here. Just in time, it''s almost done." A middle aged looking man with a black beard and hair said - he was Azurite''s old grandpa. Among the dragons, he was the oldest. And though he looked only in his forties or fifties, he also appeared the oldest dragon as well. He was the eldest of the dragon''s council of elders. Yin Mei didn''t think that such a prestigious and honorable sounding title suited this boisterous and loud old man, but what can she say. It was a title earned by the oldest of dragons, and wasn''t granted based on their personality traits. He was no longer as intimidating before, and much friendlier. Probably due to the fact that Yin Mei had saved his life, considering that he was one of three dragons that had been infected with the illness. Though she didn''t even know if it could be called an illness. Maybe more of a curse, or something. They hadn''t let her in on what they had found out, and Yin Mei didn''t really ask. Although she was certainly curious, with all the unanswered questions, she also had no desire to have anything to do with it anymore - considering it had turned her stomach to stone (temporarily) and left her stuck here for the next two decades. Kai nodded at them, giving a short and friendly greeting before going on to listen to the dragon who was talking to him. Yin Mei had noticed that he had gotten much friendlier with Eve in the time that they were here, and was seriously wondering if the fate as true lovers between Kai and Rosella was in jeopardy right now. It was so serious that Yin Mei was considering setting the two up together so that she didn''t break this whole true love thing going on. Though she wasn''t sure why it made her so anxious, but it did. Perhaps it came with the fact that she wanted to believe in true love, but if the male and female lead never got together, the one role model of true love, then how would she be able to believe it? How would she be able to believe that every lifetime, the one who El, who the demon king, zombie emperor, or whatever he was in that life... the one who he would fall in love with was her? For some reason, she had been getting gloomier and gloomier these days, only thinking of depressing things. She had thought she had been beyond that by now, but it looks like she wasn''t. "It''s done." Grandpa dragon suddenly said, and everyone stepped back a moment, admiring the intricate runes drawn onto the ground. "The one at the palace will finish soon too. Are you ready to see your friends again?" He looked at Yin Mei. "Yes." Actually, she wanted to say no. 99 The Necromancer and the Priestess 31 With a flash, a small group of people appeared. Included amongst them were El and Rosella. "Celes!" El said, rushing over to check on Yin Mei. He hugged her, really hard, as if they had been separated for ten years and not just a few months. Yin Mei felt slightly flustered, to be honest. A nearby demon laughed heartily as they slowly walked closer. "Actually, this guy was upset this entire time. Some idiot laughed about raping humans, so-" "Shut up," El said with a chilly gaze, and the demon stopped in place, mouth snapped shut and hands raised in surrender. Yin Mei didn''t really know what he was trying to say, but she thought that a fretful El like this was also good. She hugged back, feeling slightly satisfied inside. What had she been worrying about in the first place? Unlike what Yin Mei had initially thought though, El had not in fact become demon king yet - actually, that should have been obvious, seeing has she had not received the familiar notification from the system. In other words, he would be leaving soon. Yin Mei really wanted to go with him, but if she left the valley, it would only further extend her treatment time. "The general has basically finished though. The only thing left is to find the escaped heir... It''s a little concerning, since the prince is a pretty capable person. But he''s nothing compared to the general." A talkative demon told her, and Yin Mei nodded. Because she had only been occasionally checking up on El with the surveillance system over this time, she had not known much about the progress of their coup d''etat. She hadn''t checked in more, partly due to being so anxious that she didn''t want to look at all, and partly still being upset with El. "The prince, huh?" Yin Mei said thoughtfully. But then she shook her head. With how she was now, she was probably too useless. She couldn''t use magic, and El would never let her leave the valley. It was probably better to just leave it to him and his army to hunt down the prince. They had already started calming down the people. When the prince is killed, there would be no cause left for rebellion against them, and El could peacefully be crowned king. Actually, he could be crowned king now, but El would rather tie up any loose ends first before doing so. Yin Mei agreed. When it came down to it, Yin Mei knew that El was more capable than her. In every life, he was always the more capable one. The only thing was that Yin Mei knew the future, and he didn''t. Although they would only be here for a few days, Yin Mei decided to make the best of that time. She resolved that she would firmly declare El as hers! She didn''t know when she would get another chance! She had on a resolute expression as she thought of all manner of ways to go about doing so. El and his group were still situated in the same rooms as from before when they stayed here, meaning El was in the room right next to hers. When she walked into the room, El had already settled in and was sitting on the bed, reading a book. For some reason, she was wrenched straight back into her memories. The zombie emperor really like to read, along with Yao Heyan. But, the two of them were somewhat different, like seemingly all of the demon king''s reincarnations. The zombie emperor always had on an emotionless and stiff expression, still like a puddle of stale water. Yao Heyan on the other hand, had a dignity and elegance that came from being a well bred kid of a rich and noble family, while also having a warmth to him that could not be emulated by someone who was undead. And then, the both of them were also different from the demon king. The demon king was also elegant, somehow, despite being so lazy and languid looking all the time. It was an elegance that came from deep within the bones, and a laziness that seemed right. He was beautiful in every way, and his laziness only made him seem more so. They were all similar, but all different. Was it because he was not born with his memories? That he didn''t remember? The result of having the same soul, but different experiences? But right now, if before he only seemed to resemble the demon king by seven, or even only just six parts, his current languid appearance bumped it straight up to nine parts. His calm and slightly sleepy looking eyes as they scanned over the pages of the book in his hand were especially beautiful, like glistening jewels. The one thought that went through Yin Mei''s head at this sight, with a serious face, was that she really wanted to f*ck him. Excusing the language, but in all frustration, El had not done anything lovey dovey in all the time that she was in this world. In other words, it had been years! And even longer since she had seen him looking like this... But when she blinked, that mysterious aura that the demon king had always had disappeared from El as he looked up, blinking. "..." Yin Mei was silent, walking over. "Celes? What is it?" El asked, slightly concerned. He had talked to the doctor who was in charge of Yin Mei''s treatment earlier, and according to her, everything was alright, so it shouldn''t have anything to do with that, right? Yin Mei grabbed El''s book from his hand, closing it and setting it on the bedstead as she pushed him down so that he was laying face up on the bed. She then sat on top of him. "???" El was slightly confused, not sure what was going on. It wasn''t that he was the innocent type - it was his belief that Celestina was the innocent type. "I''m gonna be the one to eat you up this time." Yin Mei said, her small tongue licking her lip ever so slightly. (A/N: This is El secretly but not really: ... O_O) The next morning, for the first time, Yin Mei was up earlier than El, and feeling very energetic. Maybe it was because she was the one to take the initiative? Normally she would be stuck in bed at this time, sulking and waiting for Yao Heyan to bring back sweets and breakfast to satisfy her, but actually being the one to bring breakfast for her partner in bed wasn''t too bad of a feeling. She could understand that guy''s smug expression now. She wandered around, taking in the beautiful scenery of the dragon valley and the pale morning sunlight. She was in such a good mood. Until she happened upon Kai and Eve. Holding hands. In the middle of a flower meadow?? She paused. Blinked. Turned away and then turned back, as if confirming this sight. No matter how you looked at it, there were definitely romantic hints there. When in the world had they gotten this close? No, wait, it was definitely during these several months when she had been holed up in her room, leaving these two to their own devices. "Ah, Celestina..." Kai said out, noticing Yin Mei. He had on a slightly embarrassed expression. Eve turned around and her expression brightened. She had returned to her original appearance during these last few months while the people who knew her as the princess had left, but with El''s return, had gone back to emulating the disguise that Yin Mei had when she was with the guild. "You two are..." Yin Mei walked up to them saying, as she trailed off, her expression odd. But the two didn''t notice. Kai coughed to cover up his embarrassment. "Well, as you can see, we''re together, with the intent of marriage... At least, when we get back to the empire." Yin Mei''s expression grew stranger and stranger. He was getting together with, of all people, Eve? Not Rosella? This fate, wasn''t it too easily destroyed? Wasn''t it supposed to be stronger than that? But now that she thought about it, hadn''t it always been like that? Now that she thought about it, the demon king and Yao Heyan - both of them had been fated to fall in love with the female lead, hadn''t they? But Yin Mei had so easily destroyed that fate. In the first world, though it was still a mystery to her, the female lead had died off very quickly. And in the last world, Yao Heyan had married her. In fact, wasn''t Yin Mei''s purpose this whole time to change fate? For some reason, perhaps because of the last world where Wen Hua''s fate remained the same despite Yin Mei''s actions, she had had it in her head that fate was not so easy to change. But in fact, it was very easy to change, wasn''t it? The death of the male and female leads, the changing of alliances and friendships. ... Well, what was the point of thinking this sort of thing anyways? If fate was so easy to change, then she would change it. She would continue to change it. It''s not like there was anyone else like her, going around messing up the plot lines, right? So what was she worrying about? All she needed to do was to make El fall in love with her every single time. Who cared about true love! Yin Mei didn''t know how she reached her room, but she did. She got dressed, and grabbed her sword, hanging it on her hip. She walked out and quickly reached the cave where the teleportation array to the castle was. "Big Sister, where are you going?" A cute voice asked, and Yin Mei turned to see Azurite behind her. It had taken a while, but she had gotten Azurite to call her big sister, causing her endless satisfaction. Maybe it was because it reminded her of those kids from a long time ago. It was already a lifetime away. She could only barely recall their faces now. "I''m going to end some unfinished business." Yin Mei answered. She reached out a hand. "Do you want to come with me? I''m going outside." Azurite furrowed her brow. "But isn''t it bad for you to go outside?" She tilted her head. She wasn''t an ordinary child who couldn''t understand complicated matters. She knew that Yin Mei was receiving treatment here, and wasn''t allowed outside as it would prolong the treatment. "Yes, but I still have to go." Yin Mei said. Why was she going? She didn''t know why either. She just knew that she couldn''t drag this on any longer. What was the point in sitting here, allowing fate to run its course? After all, she needed to take matters into her own hands. El could be angry all he wanted. She needed to do this. It was her mission. Anyways... it wasn''t like he would remember in the next life, right? Azurite pondered for a moment. Since it didn''t look like Yin Mei would stop, then it was probably better if Azurite went with her, right? She also had to admit she really wanted to see the outside world. In the end, Azurite grabbed her hand, transforming to her dragon form and crawling up to sit on Yin Mei''s shoulders. Yin Mei walked into the cave. Immediately, the grandpa dragon raised his head up from where it was lying on the ground, looking in the direction of the teleportation array from his cave. What was the human and his granddaughter doing in that place? He could feel the activation of the array. He didn''t stop it. He knew it was bad for Yin Mei if she went out, but he wouldn''t stop her from doing so - it was her choice, and he couldn''t prevent that. Though why the hell was she taking his granddaughter with her? He puffed out smoke, not sure how to feel. In the end, he decided to go call upon El and their group to inform them that Yin Mei had run off to the outside world. He wouldn''t restrict her actions, but from what he could tell, that human girl listened to the silver haired demon. Meanwhile, Yin Mei had reappeared in an empty room with stone walls, unlit torches hanging on the walls. She tilted her head. What should she do next? Although she had no magic, she still had her sword. And a dragon on her shoulders. First off, she should probably get out of the castle, or El would be able to quickly find her. Haha, this time she was the one running away and El would be the one to suffer! Actually, that was a terrible thing to think of. She didn''t really want El to suffer. She just... wasn''t satisfied with the situation as it was right now. El, who had just suffered from a one night stand: Shouldn''t I be the dissatisfied one!?? 100 The Necromancer and the Priestess 32 Yin Mei had sneaked out with the help of Azurite using stealth and transformation magic, exiting the castle into the royal capital. The royal capital was a bustling place, filled with energy, despite the fact that their king had just been overthrown. Actually, it wasn''t the commoners who they needed to be worried about - they didn''t care who the king was, only concerned with whether or not their lives would change as the result of the king. It was the nobles that they needed to watch out for, always calculating things with their own interests in mind, save for that rare noble that thought about the people. "Azurite, do you think you can find them?" Yin Mei asked, talking to the black cat on her shoulder. With disguise magic, Azurite had turned herself from a very stand out black dragon into a less noticeable black cat. As for Yin Mei, she now had short black hair, looking and sounding like a young man. "A group of soldiers, with the king and prince," Azurite confirmed and Yin Mei nodded. Before leaving the castle, she had looked around for pictures of the royal family and found a family photo with the king, deceased queen, and prince and princess. The king was an older man with white hair and a beard, but still managed to look like some sort of warrior king. The queen looked similar to Eve, though with a peaceful and loving expression on her face. The prince and princess were both children in this picture, like a happy family. Finding another painting, the prince was standing in one, a sword in his hand and wearing a red fur trimmed robe. He had on a dignified expression, looking like what Yin Mei thought a prince should look like. Azurite began searching around with her magic senses, before shaking her head. She could sense that the silver haired demon that Yin Mei liked had arrived via teleportation magic, but stayed silent on that. Yin Mei sighed. Did they already leave the city? If they were in the city, Azurite would have definitely sensed them. It seemed that the two of them would need to go outside to find the runaway king and prince. Yin Mei would have liked to explore more of the royal capital of the demons, but no matter. There were more important things to do. Meanwhile, in the castle, El was angry, but also couldn''t understand. What in the world was Celes doing? She must know that going out was dangerous, yet she had still done it anyways. It was the same when she had tried to reject treatment, even though she knew that her lifespan would shorten as a result, and she would also become unable to ever use stronger magic again. He couldn''t understand her reasoning for her choices - it was as if she was purposefully courting death. She clearly had no care for her life and death, and that made him upset. Yin Mei wasn''t purposefully courting death. She''d rather like to call it dancing with death. Or perhaps she was just too desensitized that she could no longer comprehend how dangerous the things that she did were. Yin Mei was currently kneeling in the forest, one hand on a tree trunk as Azurite''s tail swished back and forth. Right when Yin Mei was about to move, she heard a notification sound from System 097. "ERROR. Recalculating mission. Mission updated." "New mission: Return to the dragon valley and finish recovery." ... Yin Mei was a little bit speechless. She wasn''t sure how to feel - was this her being so important to El that he no longer cared about the demon king''s throne and instead just wished for her to finish her recovery? But, she still couldn''t understand why her recovery was so important. In the end, Yin Mei didn''t want El to be the one to suffer. She decided that if he wanted it so badly, then she should go ahead and just follow what the mission says. The problem was, she had already come so far, wasn''t it better to just finish what she started before leaving? She stared down at the clearing in front of her, where a group of soldiers were setting up camp. Mm, she would real quick finish things up here before going back. Well, that was her original plan anyways. She confirmed the locations of all the people here, along with their power levels. Even though she had lost most of her magic, something as simple as this didn''t require magic. But, just in case, she had Azurite do the same - after all, if someone was using magic like they were to disguise or hide themselves, then her instincts wouldn''t be enough to sniff them out. Azurite confirmed Yin Mei''s suspicions - there was a total of four people who were hidden from her view with magic. According to Azurite though, they were not strong enough to contend against her. Although Azurite was arrogant, she was not so much so that she couldn''t get a proper grasp of other people''s strengths - especially after her attack had been blocked by a mere human, she had become more cautious when judging others. Then, what Yin Mei needed was for Azurite to take care of those four, and any mages. Yin Mei wasn''t an idiot - when it came down to it, the most magic she could do right now was a bit of physical enhancement, and maybe a fireball. She wouldn''t be able to contend with a royal mage. Especially when her knowledge of demon magic wasn''t that deep. But, the group of soldiers. Those she could take care of. This time, she really wasn''t being arrogant. Honestly, with a dragon on her side, there was no mentioning of arrogance at that point. But, dragon aside, Yin Mei did have the experience and skills necessary to take these guys on. "Alright, on my mark." She leaned forward slightly, the leaves crunching beneath her foot. But it didn''t alert anyone, courtesy of Azurite''s stealth magic. "Go." Azurite jumped from her neck, racing off into the trees, her figure quickly disappearing as Yin Mei lunged forward. There was no clamor from the soldiers - Azurite hadn''t released her magic. To them, she was still completely invisible. Yin Mei unsheathed a knife, grabbing the first soldier, covering his mouth with her hand as she slit his throat. He didn''t have any time to say anything, collapsing to the ground as weird sounds attempted to come out of his mouth, blood flowing from his neck. There was an immediate clamor from the soldiers, as they quickly moved to protect the king and prince, uneasiness showing on the faces of some of the more green soldiers. Yin Mei could pinpoint one person who was clearly the leader - a handsome uncle with slit-pupil eyes, the only characteristic that differentiated his appearance from that of a normal human. "What''s going on?" The king said, narrowing his eyes. "He collapsed just out of nowhere..." One soldier said in a frightened tone, pale faced. "Shut up! They must be using some sort of stealth or invisibility magic." The captain said, looking to a robed mage next to him, nodding. But Azurite''s magic couldn''t be so easily discovered. The mage shook his head and even the captain felt a chill go down his back. The most likely reason was that the opponent had a magician of even greater skill then their own. And a stronger magician meant that they would most likely not be able to win. He could tell that they would probably die here. He closed his eyes. So this was as far as they got? Opening them up again, a resolute expression was on his face. "Wow, I like that look," Yin Mei said, but even her voice couldn''t be heard by the group. She went up to the next person, a low sweep of her foot sending them crashing to the ground as she stabbed down at his neck. The other soldiers immediately swung their swords toward the person who had fallen - only able to vaguely guess Yin Mei''s location. She swiftly dodged their haphazard blows, quickly slicing the necks of a couple of soldiers in the process. Fighting an invisible enemy who you couldn''t see, hear, nor sense was truly terrifying. One soldier tried to throw dirt to catch the invisible body, but even if that did fall on Yin Mei, it would only become invisible with her. The only thing that she was cautious about was, after all, that captain. He wasn''t the leader of the soldiers here for nothing. He was more skilled than her in combat. Yin Mei had never actually specialized in combat - in the cultivation world, she did learn more than enough, mostly from the memories of her host bodies, but that sort of combat also relied on cultivation. The rest came from her surviving a zombie apocalypse, but the combat she learned there was dirty and emphasized survival above all else. In other words, compared to a real master like the one in front of her, she wasn''t exactly sure how things would fare. But, she also had the clear advantage of being invisible. Suddenly, a spear of black crackling lightning flew out of the woods, piercing the mage right through the chest. "Alexander!" The captain shouted, frustrated. What in the world was that black lightning? There was someone else here? From what he can see, the invisible person was using a blade. They had a strong stealth magic - probably from a different person, a powerful mage. That meant that the black lightning was from the mage? Demonic magic was complicated. The variety of spells used was far wider than that of human magic, so even for someone who specialized in studying all sorts of magic, it would be hard to know what every spell was. Especially for a knight like the captain, there was no way that he would be able to know what type of magic had just came flying at the mage. All he knew was that it was clearly dangerous. It freaking one shot their mage! Okay, sure, Alexander was not the best mage in the demon world - no, their best mage had turned coat and gone to Azazel''s side, for reasons unknown, but that was still a royal court mage they were talking about here. The moment the knight captain was distracted, Yin Mei lunged forward, her knife swift as it shot straight toward his neck. It hit, sparks seeming to fly as it almost seemed to bounce off, like it had hit armor. But it didn''t. "What the fuck?" Yin Mei said, confused. This was a mithril dagger that she had nicked from grandpa dragon''s treasure horde. It sliced through normal armor like butter, let alone flesh and bone. What sort of goddamned enchantment did this bastard have on that could actually block the mithril knife? And because of that attack, the man immediately became attentive, clutching at his neck with a serious expression. For this person to so quickly and accurately strike at his neck during that moment of distraction, he could tell that they were skilled. If not for his family clan''s innate magic that protected his entire body like armor, he would have definitely died right then. "Captain! What in the world is going on!" The king shouted, slightly agitated now. So many of their soldiers had already fallen, and he was afraid that he would be next. But he shouldn''t have said anything, because he reminded Yin Mei of his existence. That was right. Why was she focusing on the knight captain? She didn''t even need to kill him - all she needed was the king and prince dead. "Your Majesty!" The knight captain also grew slightly panicked. Although he could protect himself from this invisible being, the king and prince were a different story, especially when he didn''t know where the attacks were coming from. There was also the other attacker, who possessed that terrifying magic. Yin Mei stabbed the king through the back, and broke the neck of the prince. They both collapsed on the ground motionlessly. "... Well that escalated quickly. Much easier than I thought." Yin Mei mused as Azurite ran out from the forest, taking a leap and landing flawlessly onto Yin Mei''s head, her tail swishing back and forth happily. "Of course, these weak things are nothing before me, muahahaha!!" Azurite said proudly, laughing like some cliche villain from the stories. Yin Mei nodded. That''s true. It was all because of Azurite that things went this easily. Dragons weren''t the strongest for nothing. "My Azurite is so awesome!" Thus Yin Mei concluded, a proud expression on her face. 101 Update Honestly I still haven''t decided on the ending for this arc and I''m seriously so over it X''D lol I''ve already starting thinking about the next arc... anyways, my schedule today and tomorrow are too busy to update, and I don''t know about this entire next week, since we''ll have family over. The next weekend will especially be busy since more family is coming, then we''ll be driving from Texas all the way to Florida, and then after that, we''re going on a cruise, and then I''m going to Iceland. So I''m going to call a mini-hiatus (okay, long hiatus - it''ll be like a month until my winter break finishes) until then. I will guaranteed start updating again mid- to late January (if something else happens, then I will say so, but otherwise that is the expected time), and may or may not have chapters throughout that time, but highly unlikely, because I''m off to part-aaaayyyyyyyy and vacationnnnnn and have funnnnnnnn (so yeah, sorry guys, I''m abandoning you all for sun, beaches, dolphins, and then the Northern lights). Happy holidays everyone and hope you all have an enjoyable Christmas and New Years! Comment below what you''ll be doing? Just chilling like a couch potato, working, or maybe traveling like me? Here are some recs that you might enjoy over the holidays (they aren''t holiday themed tho)- Music: Lil Wayne, Ty Dolla $ign & XXXTENTACION - Scared of the Dark (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) - We watched Into the Spider-verse when it released, and I have to say, it was actually pretty good. My brother was really looking for the soundtrack, which on the other hand made me not too excited about it because our music tastes are fairly different, and I usually don''t like the music he likes at all. But, I actually quite enjoyed the soundtrack, and this was my favorite song from it. The animation style was also fairly interesting and cool as well, very colorful, which I liked. There were some really awesome scenes, so all in all, I would recommend the movie as well as this song. CN Novel: My Classmate is 200 Million Years Old - So, I really liked I Am A Killer from the same translator (I was a big advocate for that novel to be picked up), and this novel has similar vibes. An OP soul transmigrating into a cute Lolita little girl, resulting in a healthy dose of a lot of badass things. Basically, she''s badass, and cute, so therefore you should read it. An Oddette''s Otherworld Odyssey - about an OP and kinda stupid and dense girl transmigrating into another girl''s body in a different-ish world. There''s a little bun (she has a cute baby), therefore you should read it. She''s also really adorably stupid. And she can talk with animals. It''s a slightly western cultivation world with sword masters and magicians. KR Novel: Running Away From The Hero! (Remake) - So I was actually an editor that worked for the translator of the original Running Away From The Hero! He dropped the Remake due to a request from the author, so I was really happy to hear that this was picked up again - I love the story. It''s quite funny - a villain trains a bunch of badass kids for an evil organization, one of who becomes a hero. Definitely recommend. Anddddddd that''s it. Again, hope you guys have a good holiday, and forgive me for the hiatus with this list of recs :p 102 Update @@ Okay, so I did mention this in my discord, and I''m going to copy and paste what I said here: I think that I will post an update later on the site about not finishing this current arc - because I honestly have no idea how the fk to write it. I thought of like several different endings and was unsatisfied with all of them, and then proceeded to write it in a way where they don''t even work anymore, and now I just can''t come up with one at all (and honestly I''m sick of it, and like I said, have already started thinking about the next arcs). So yeah, probably will leave this arc as is and just start the next one. Terrible, I know. But I don''t want writing to be something I don''t enjoy, and I also don''t want to write something terrible just because I felt obligated to do so. So hope u guys understand that. I''m currently writing the next chapter, but I keep on changing my mind about the setting for the next arc - I had planned it out before, but I''m just not feeling what I had planned so I was like lets come up with something more interesting. And now I''m deciding between fifty million other ideas, some of which I have written a bit for, and some that are just floating in my head as possibilities. Anyways, yeah. I''ll try and get a chapter out today, but like I said. I''m still INDECISIVE. And releasing a chapter means COMMITTING. So maybe, maybe not.@@ 103 The Teacher and the Student 1 When Yin Mei opened her eyes, she was standing in front of a window, overlooking a brightly lit city. Flying cars drove by, holographic screens flickered, and an explosion of color painted itself against the night sky. A futuristic world. It was just like she had imagined it would look like. Yin Mei recalled what the description had said when she had chosen it. Sci Fi World - A world where cancer has been cured, humans live to age 200, and there are flying cars, fully immersive VR, and supernatural abilities. Not much of the plot was given away, but Yin Mei had always wanted to be in a sci-fi world. After all, who could resist the allure of such new and amazing technology? The fact that people had supernatural abilities also intrigued her. She looked around. Yin Mei stood in a large and clean looking flat, with a sleek design - it appeared luxurious and elegant, but also empty. As if no one lived here. From her host''s memories, she knew that this apartment was prime real estate, right in the center of the city, with the best view and everything. And her hosts'' parents owned the entire building. She shook her head. That didn''t matter to her. After many lives having a rich family, it all seemed normal now. Her hosts never had a very happy future anyways. It went to show that wealth and beauty didn''t equal happiness - at least, never in the case of Yin Mei''s hosts. She blinked, placing her hand on the cool glass of the window before her. The window spanned the entire wall, and when Yin Mei moved her hand away, she couldn''t see a single fingerprint, the glass staying as clear as ever. The main male lead of this world was a person who transmigrated. His original name was... Yin Mei blinked. Qin Shuang? Why did this name sound so familiar? She tried hard to remember, and after a long time, a vague face floated up from the depths of her mind. Eh? Wasn''t that the same name as that blood user boy she had raised in the zombie apocalypse world? She tilted her head. What a coincidence? She continued digesting the information, and quickly discovered it wasn''t at all a coincidence. The information on the plot explained Qin Shuang''s identity in very clear words - The first captain of the Black Cross Brigade, protectors of humanity, the adopted younger brother of the Zombie Queen. WTF! Isn''t this exactly the same Qin Shuang she had raised up? She quickly read more, confirming that this world was the world a thousand years after the zombie apocalypse. Only a small number of the strongest and oldest mutants remained in a so called "special district", living their lives peacefully, while humans had evolved to become stronger and smarter. Yin Mei opened and closed her mouth several times, utterly shocked. Not only Qin Shuang, but a couple of other kids she had raised had also transmigrated into new bodies in this brand new era. It didn''t really explain how, but neither did she care. She never expected to return to a world, let alone be able to meet the people that she had once associated with. She closed her mouth, slowly moving from the window to the couch, and sat herself down, needing a moment to digest things. Only after taking several deep breaths, was she able to continue reading on. Qin Shuang had transmigrated into the body of one of his descendants, a boy by the name of Qin Lan. Qin Lan had initially been the youngest child of the Qin family, and also the one with the weakest ability. As a result, he had a timid and weak personality, and was constantly bullied by his relatives. At least, that was the case, until Qin Shuang transmigrated into his body. Qin Lan had had a sickly body since young, an illness incurable even by the miraculous medical technology of these futuristic times. As a result of this illness, he had perished, and Qin Shuang''s soul had entered his body. The actuality of it was that Qin Lan''s body was just too weak to contain Qin Lan''s powerful soul. Somehow, through a series of miraculous events, when Qin Shuang entered Qin Lan''s body, it purged it, allowing Qin Shuang''s soul to reside in the boy''s body comfortably, without needing to worry about all that illness nonsense. Yin Mei wanted to protest to someone, this writing was just way too sloppy. Anyways, Yin Mei moved on, continuing her reading. Qin Shuang, now that he had the chance to relive his youth in this mostly peaceful, futuristic world, would of course grasp tightly at such an opportunity. He quickly enrolled in Black Cross Academy, the hardest school in the Empire that raised up the next generation of Black Cross Brigade members, and much to the Qin family''s surprise, earned first place on the notoriously difficult entrance exams. Even though the members of the Qin family were granted automatic entrance into the school, Qin Shuang had stubbornly insisted on experiencing life as a commoner and taking the entrance exam. He proved wrong all doubts about him, and finished with a flourish. Yin Mei closed her eyes. Her adorable Qin Shuang was currently the male lead. She really didn''t know how to feel about this. This little arrogant kid was just... way too cute! She read on further, wanting to find out who the female lead was - who in the world would her little kid fall in love with? She knew that if Qin Shuang had descendants, it meant that he had a girl back then, after she had died. The female lead was a student at Black Cross Academy called Alice White, entering at the same time as Qin Shuang. She was not a member of one of the major families, who were all descended from people like Ming Yu or a founding member of the Black Cross Brigade. She was what one would call a commoner. Despite this, she was very skilled in combat, and had a water ability. Both in appearance and personality, she reminded Qin Shuang a little of his adopted elder sister - if Yin Mei was drinking something, she would have immediately spit it out. Instead, she ended up choking on her own saliva, coughing violently. She decidedly did not want to read anymore of this love story between Qin Shuang and the girl who was apparently slightly similar to herself. But even so, she forced herself to continue to read, and her thoughts soon turned somber and dark. This girl cured Qin Shuang of his regrets, which he continued to carry from all those years ago. For Yin Mei and Qin Shuang both, a lifetime had already passed for them both. For Yin Mei, it was two lifetimes ago, but even so. Qin Shuang had never forgotten, on the other hand, Yin Mei''s memory was already fuzzy. She felt ashamed. She no longer thought about what her death meant to those she left behind - after all, she didn''t think she would ever see them again. For her, death was impermanent. She would move on to another world, where she would meet new people, live a new life. She had lived very long at this point. If she bothered to recall every person she met, every person she had a meaningful encounter with, then wouldn''t her head explode? Even those who she loved, even those she doted on, whom she treated as family... Knowing what happened to them afterwards had only brought her pain, and so at one point, she had stopped caring. She wasn''t sure when, exactly, she had stopped caring. She blinked. Her hand slowly formed a fist as she leaned back against the sofa. In the end, she continued on, even though she still hadn''t seemed to recover from her confusion. She still needed to know who the villain was. Qin Shuang was important, but, and she didn''t feel bad for thinking this, he wasn''t as important as the villain. The villain was the one who would always be with her. Qin Shuang was a surprise, one she couldn''t say was a good or bad one, but that was all. It''s not like it would happen again - her coming to this world a third time, meeting another reincarnated Qin Shuang. (A/N: Yin Mei you are too heartless. It''s okay QS, I''ll love you) The villain this time was also a student of Black Cross Academy. It seemed that the school would be the main stage of this plot. The villain was a commoner called Song Hua. Yin Mei couldn''t help gaping again. She felt she was constantly being shocked by this world''s plot. Her villain was a commoner!? This was definitely a first. He was a commoner indeed, but not any ordinary commoner. His family was poor, and as a result, from a young age, he had learned to navigate the criminal underworld of the Empire. He was a scavenger and bounty hunter, and had even apprenticed for a black market doctor at one point in time. He used the skills and cunning he had learned from his experiences to pass the Black Cross Academy entrance exam with flying colors, earning a full scholarship. Even so, he was still beat by the young master of the Qin family, Qin Lan. He immediately hated the boy, who was born with everything in life, at least from the eyes of Song Hua. The two of them were like rivals for a time, but for Song Hua, who had been navigating the darkness of the Empire from a young age, he didn''t know when too much was too much. Their rivalry quickly grew deadly. Qin Shuang, from where before he had simply thought of it as playing between kids, soon grew more and more serious. As a result, the two of them became irrevocable enemies. Yin Mei had to say, that this was unexpected. Her man had been reincarnated into such a vulnerable and insecure boy? The girl closed her eyes, turning her attention now to her host identity. Her host was actually a teacher at Black Cross Academy! Yin Mei: ... This... this... She struggled with herself for a moment before continuing onwards. Yin Mei''s host was called Mei Wen. She was a member of a major family, like Qin Lan, and a former member of the Black Cross Brigade who had retired due to injuries. Yin Mei hadn''t noticed anything at all, but apparently Mei Wen''s right leg was a special prosthetic. It was practically no different from a real leg, perhaps even better, but Mei Wen had still stubbornly retired for some reason - maybe due to the fact that her partner had died. In the end, she became a history teacher at Black Cross Academy, peacefully raising up the next generation of Brigade members. Well, Yin Mei said peacefully, but the end result was the she was fired due to being biased against Qin Shuang. This was because of the problems between Mei Wen''s family and the Qin family. Both were major families, but were not on good terms. Yin Mei didn''t know why, but that was how it was. And these personal issues ended up affecting Mei Wen''s treatment of Qin Shuang. Qin Shuang was never the type of person to take things lying down, and so he quickly acted to have Mei Wen fired from the school. There was a lot of back and forth, as Mei Wen was a former member of the brigade, but in the end, Qin Shuang emerged triumphant. That little brat really grew up to be a cunning guy, didn''t he? Yin Mei couldn''t help but think. She was finally finished looking at all the information. Every time she entered a new world, there was always so much to digest. She flipped over her wrist, a small silver diamond embedded in it. With a thought, the diamond projected a holographic screen, at which she marveled at for a moment. Futuristic worlds were truly great! She looked up the history of the world, or rather, what happened after she had died, in detail. The so called apocalypse period had only last for five years, but those had been humanity''s darkest five years. They were called The Evolutionary War, and afterwards, as she had already known, Ming Wei''s cure had been distributed, the Black Cross Brigade was founded, and things were all fine and dandy. Humanity quickly recovered, mutants and humans signed a peace treaty, with Ri En acting as the de facto leader and representative of the mutants. Yin Mei was surprised, but also not that surprised. Ri En and Ri Yi, after her death, had done their best to take Yin Mei''s place and fill her shoes as leader of the zombies and parent to the orphans. After a while, countries formed again. There was where they were currently located, the Empire, the strongest country and source of the cure. Aside from the Empire, there was the United Federation, the Free States, and the Southern Colonies. Yin Mei was curious - the world was so much more different, even though the apocalypse had only lasted a short five years. The damage it had done was still irrevocable, it seemed. Even so, Yin Mei could see that the world had recovered very well. A green light blinked at the edge of the holographic screen, and looking at it, a new window popped up, showing a message from one of Mei Wen''s friends. "Are you a member of the testing panel this year?" It asked. The user who sent it was simply called "K", and wracking Mei Wen''s memories, she knew that this K was an old friend of Mei Wen''s, and had a little brother who was planning to take this years entrance exams. Hence her question. Yin Mei looked through Mei Wen''s memories again and saw that she was indeed a member of the judging panel for this year''s entrance exams. That would be interesting. It meant that she would be able to meet Qin Shuang, Song Hua, and Alice soon. She sent her response to Mei Wen''s friend, as she stroked her chin, perfectly painted nails and lips giving off a sense of elegance and well put togetherness. This world was chaotic, full of surprises, and definitely interesting. She liked it. A/N: This world definitely draws inspiration on Superstars of Tomorrow (hell, I''ve written probably fifty different versions of the setting for Superstars of Tomorrow because I liked it so much) as well as Quick Transmigration Cannon Fodder something something (the one with the school doctor uncle - I loved the idea of revisiting a former world, which hadn''t happened before in anything else I read). Anyways, I basically mashed those two together, along with another idea that I had had of a world that was initially going to be space military academy mecha stuff :P Man I need to read those two novels again and catch up on the new chapters. But also I have so much other things to do... 104 The Teacher and the Student 2 When Yin Mei went to the school the next day, it was mostly empty of students - after all, the school year had yet to start. Most of the students were visiting their parents or other places for vacation, while very few remained in the dorms. The quiet school grounds would soon be lively again though, once the entrance exams came around. In the faculty room, Yin Mei was not the only teacher who had come today. Today, the teachers would be reviewing this year''s entrance exam. The topics and material for the entrance exam would change each year, but it mostly always consisted of a written exam, a practical exam, and ability test, and an interview. Although each student had written their ability on the application form (which they needed to fill out and be passed before even being able to take the entrance exam), it was nothing like seeing the ability fo themselves. It wasn''t like they would fail just for having a weak ability, but they certainly would have a much higher chance of passing if they had a strong ability. Mei Wen''s coworkers all greeted her in a friendly manner when she entered. Mei Wen, in general, had a very pleasant personality, and a pretty appearance. To top it off, she was a direct descendant of one of the major families. As a result, she was well liked by the faculty. Even so, Qin Shuang had managed to get her kicked out. Yin Mei really had to admire his capabilities. As expected of the kid that she raised and the former Vampire King! Even though she said this, in actuality, she hadn''t been with the children for all that long - only a few years. So in fact, it had more to do with his own capabilities, rather than how good of a teacher Yin Mei was. Even so, it was true that Yin Mei had a lasting impact on Qin Shuang. "What are you guys talking about now?" Yin Mei asked as she sat down on the table with the group, looking at all the holographic screens floating above the table. It had, of course, this year''s written exam questions on it. She could spot some history questions that were Mei Wen''s work, all asking about very obscure events. Of course, there was no multiple choice here, only short answer and essay questions. But, at the same time, humans were now smarter. As a result, though this would be a hellish, impossible to finish test by her original world''s standards, this was a... still hellish test by this world''s standards. Just not impossible to finish, only hard to finish. "We were currently picking favorites out of this year''s applicants," a young man with glasses said, with a bemused expression on his face. Those glasses weren''t the result of bad eyesight - it was, rather, a terminal that connected to the internet, displaying screens on the small glass lenses. For those who wore glasses, commonly it was those type, while more rare where a special type of lense that restrained abilities related to the eyes. Yin Mei rolled her eyes. As expected of these guys, they weren''t actually working, but picking favorites. She, of course, immediately selected Qin Shuang and Song Hua as her favorites. "These two?" A fellow female teacher with dark ocean blue hair furrowed her brow, not quite understanding why Yin Mei had chosen like she had. One was the well known weak son of the Qin family, pampered and only recently recovered from a severe illness, while the other was an unknown commoner boy. "I''ll even bet on them," Yin Mei said with such natural confidence that the other teachers couldn''t help but look at each other. Yin Mei didn''t need money, but it would definitely be satisfying seeing the expressions on their faces if she won. But none of the teachers dared bet with Mei Wen. They had already experienced being sucked dry by this vampire before. They all huddled together, whispering to each other about these two people that Mei Wen had picked out, trying to see just what was so special about them. Mei Wen''s eye for things was undeniable, so they trusted her judgement - they just couldn''t see what made these two stand out themselves. Only after a while did the teachers get back on topic, editing and looking over the written exam. Yin Mei only made a few half hearted suggestions. At the end of the day, the teachers wrapped up before all going to a bar to wind down and relax. Some began telling old stories of their glory days, back when they were still members of the Brigade - about half of the Black Cross Academy teachers were former Brigade members, and many of them had been assigned dangerous missions on other worlds. For those who were assigned missions on Earth, they would probably not have any real stories to tell, only protecting important personages, or acting as spies in foreign nations. On the other hand, those who went to foreign worlds would encounter all sorts of mutated beasts and monsters, making for very interesting stories. Mei Wen was one of those who had been assigned a mission on another planet, and had lost her leg to something like a sand worm - a very, very giant worm with a mouth full of teeth that liked to bury itself in the sand and ambush anyone nearby. It was only late at night before everyone dispersed. "Hey, why do you really favorite those two kids?" Alexei, the teacher with the glasses, asked before they parted, one hand supporting the blue haired woman, who was partially passed out at this point. She wouldn''t even wake up with a hangover though. Such was the constitution of these new, evolved humans. In fact, normal alcohol couldn''t even make them drunk - the alcohol served these days was a special synthesized version that was much stronger. Yin Mei paused, tilting her head. "Your family isn''t even on good terms with the Qin family. Everyone knows that. Yet you actually choose its youngest son as your favorite applicant?" Alexei continued, shaking his head, clearly thinking there was more to this than meets the eye. "That stupid rivalry?" A flash of annoyance went by Yin Mei''s face, surprising Alexei. He had always thought that Mei Wen was always very supportive of her family, and also disliked the Qin family. But right now, it didn''t seem like she felt that way? Yin Mei scoffed before speaking again. "What my family thinks doesn''t particularly matter. And those two kids... why I favor them shouldn''t matter much either, right?" She tilted her head, and Alexei shook his. He was simply curious, but it seemed that Mei Wen was unwilling to explain. In the end he sighed. "If you don''t want to say so, then that''s fine." He waved a hand, dragging the blue haired teacher along with him as he left. The next few days passed by quickly, as the teachers finalized the plans for the entrance exams. Yin Mei felt satisfied, in an evil sort of way, when she looked at the end result. Of course, she knew that the male and female lead and the villain would all pass with flying colors, but this sort of entrance exam, that seemed designed to induce suffering, really made her want to laugh manically. She would definitely enjoy watching those kids suffer through this. The day of the entrance exam quickly came. K didn''t ask for Mei Wen to leak her any details of the exam, only feeling more relieved knowing that her younger brother would have a supporter on the judger''s panel. That being said, if K''s younger brother failed terribly, there was nothing Mei Wen or Yin Mei would have been able to do - Yin Mei had stated so very clearly, but even so, K was still relieved to have a friend of hers being one of her brother''s graders. The teachers all gathered in a meeting room, several screens showing the applicants as they arrived at the school, going to the assigned rooms for their scheduled written exam. The blue haired teacher, Hai Lan, nudged Yin Mei. "Look. The boy from the Qin family has shown up." She said, pointing at one of the many floating screens as she moved away from the meeting room entrance to take her seat at the round table. Yin Mei looked up at the screen that Hai Lan pointed at, and saw a young boy with red eyes arriving in an expensive flying car, drawing the attention of the other applicants. He was older than the Qin Shuang from her memories, but still looked eerily similar, even though it was Qin Lan''s body. His expression was cold, indifferent, and seemingly bored. Yin Mei thought that he should show some interest in this future that he had worked so hard to create, but that wasn''t so. Instead, he had a sort of gloomy aura around him, that naturally pushed people away. Yin Mei couldn''t recall - had Qin Shuang always been like this? The boy that she faintly remembered was an adorable child with a gaze full of life and admiration. A pure kid who was hopelessly attached to her. She couldn''t describe the emotions she felt, seeing him now after so long. After she had abandoned him. She frowned deeply, before smoothing her expression out and joining Hai Lan and Alexei at their place at the table. "You will have three hours to complete the written exam. It starts now." Several voices echoed through the room at once, and Yin Mei could see the strict exam proctors from the screens dressed in all white as they spoke from the front of the multiple exam rooms. "Haha, looks like Rong Zhu got stuck with proctor duty," Hai Lan said, her eyes on a screen showing a man with slicked back brown hair and sharp black eyes. Both the proctors and the judges changed every year. Mei Wen had been a proctor the last year, and the year before that, had not been a member of the teachers that issued the practical exam. In that year, the practical exam had been a very fun game of hide and seek, with the teachers being the seekers. Of course, just because an applicant was found wouldn''t mean automatic failure; it was also acknowledged that this exam would favor some and not others. As a result, a variety of different aspects were tested during this time, instead of just whether or not the applicant could be found. This year, the teachers who had been handling the practical exam had been keeping it hush hush, always walking around with smug and amused expressions even though Yin Mei knew exactly what the practical exam was this time. "Oh, I see the other boy you said you liked," Hai Lan whispered to Yin Mei, keeping her voice quite as the teachers all concentrated on the screens, on the lookout for any signs of cheating. Some where checking the realtime upload of the student answers, grading them on the moment, discussing quietly their thoughts about this year''s batch. Hai Lan pointed to a screen. It was the same room as the one Qin Shuang was in, and Yin Mei could see that Alice was there as well - the girl''s silver hair stood out, even though many people in this world had colorful hair. But her eyes quickly left Alice and found Song Hua. His appearance was much like a younger demon king, with shorter hair, and a gloomier aura. He was similar to Qin Shuang, perhaps, in that regard. As if the both of them had seen the world as it was, for all its darkness, and as a result, were broken deep inside. They were both people who had suffered. At this point, Yin Mei tilted her head. Wait a moment. Qin Shuang knew the zombie emperor - and Song Hua, though more similar in appearance to the demon king, was undeniably also similar to the zombie emperor. After all, they all looked the same in the end. She recalled that Qin Shuang had always hated the zombie emperor - so could it be that this so called rivalry was much deeper than it appeared? After all, there was no way that Qin Shuang wouldn''t be able to recognize someone with the zombie emperor''s appearance, right? She watched Song Hua as he typed his answers into the computer terminal with a serious expression, his red eyes dark. Yin Mei realized that both Qin Shuang and the demon king had red eyes and black hair. Qin Shuang would definitely be disgusted if he knew this, and Yin Mei thinking that found it slightly amusing. She watched both Song Hua and Qin Shuang take their tests with a gentle and warm expression, though there was a hint of sadness in there as well. She was actually rather surprised that Qin Shuang, even though he was an old man from a thousand years ago, could actually pass this written exam with high marks. It seemed that he had taken the time to thoroughly study up on this new era. Even the complex science questions didn''t phase him. That being said, science was not as important, as he was testing into the combat section of the academy, not the R&D department. That would be a whole other beast. "Your kids are doing really well," Alexei said from the other side of Hai Lan, his gaze on the tablet in his hands, his stylus moving as he graded another question from Qin Shuang. Hai Lan curiously looked over, and was surprised. So far, Qin Shuang had yet to get a single question wrong. He was making good progress too - there was no reason not to think that he wouldn''t be able to finish the exam in the remaining time. Yin Mei looked down at the untouched tablet in front of her, picking it up and swiping a few times before she located Song Hua''s test answers. Although Yin Mei herself had no real knowledge of this world, Mei Wen was still a graduate of the Academy and a former star member of the Brigade - with her memories and brain to back Yin Mei up... along with the answer sheet, she could still efficiently grade Song Hua''s test answers. Like Qin Shuang, he had perfect marks so far. But, it would be the last question that the two would truly go head to head against each other with - the hardest question. It would defeat Song Hua, but not Qin Shuang. Really, Yin Mei swore this wasn''t because Song Hua was lacking, but because this little brat had picked up the thing called the main character aura. She called him a little brat, but still looked at the boy with a trace of affection. Only a trace though. She closed her eyes. In the end, she really didn''t know how to feel about Qin Shuang. She wanted to dote on him like before, but actually, she couldn''t even remember those days very well. Faces welled up in her memories, but she could just barely put names to them. She seemed to remember being happy. But not much more. And to top it off, she had already abandoned him once. She felt that he wouldn''t forgive her. Maybe interacting with Qin Shuang might bring back memories of that long ago time. But Qin Shuang had already grown up. He wasn''t the same ten year old boy he had been. Alexei looked up, and saw the expression on Yin Mei''s face. A combination of wistful nostalgia, sadness, and bitterness all seemed mixed together, and he couldn''t help but look at where she was looking - a nearby screen showing a room with the two kids that she had claimed as her favored applicants. He was even more curious now - what in the world was the relationship between her and these two kids? It was already weird that she favored a Qin family kid, but this expression... Yin Mei blinked, and the expression cleared. She had mulled over for it too long. Repeating these thoughts over and over in her head got her nowhere. She turned her attention away, deciding that she should finally take a look at the mission given by the system. She had ignored it for the past few days, in part due to anger, and in part due to simply the fact that she was growing sick of these missions, and of this stupid system. But like always, the system said nothing. She knew it could hear her thoughts. But the system never replied. It only spoke when necessary. Those other novels she had read before - hadn''t they all gotten interactive systems? So why is it that only hers acted like a true machine, a true emotionless AI, only doing what it was programmed to do? Main mission: Help Song Hua rank Number 1 on the midterms. So essentially... private tutoring sessions? A weird expression surfaced on Yin Mei''s face, as all she could imagine were XX and OO scenes. ... This... this... She dashed the image as soon as possible, feeling like she had swallowed a bug. Seriously, this setting was way too terrible! 105 The Teacher and the Student 3 When the three hours were finally over, only a little over half the students had finished their tests. Those who hadn''t finished weren''t immediately disqualified, but they would certainly be losing many points. The teachers all discarded grading to instead begin observations of the practical exam. The rest of the grading would be done later, and with the aid of AI programs, it would be easy. The little bit of grading they had done there was simply the teachers wanting to get a little look at the capabilities of this year''s applicants. The group of teachers chattered happily, many taking the break time to go grab snacks or food. Meanwhile, a portion of the teachers received notifications, and after reading them, got up to leave for the practical exam rooms. Hai Lan and Alexei noticed Yin Mei was about to leave, along with those other few teachers. "What! Since when did you get assigned as a hidden examiner?" Hai Lan couldn''t help but exclaim in surprise as she grabbed Yin Mei''s arm, dragging her back. "I pestered Huang Jing about it," Yin Mei said, naming the leader of the practical exam planning group. "I thought it would be amusing," she added on. Hai Lan looked mildly upset and envious. Of course it would be fun! Damn, she should have thought about pestering that bastard Huang Jing as well, then she would have also been able to join in on the fun of playing around with those little chicks. But it was too bad that she hadn''t thought of that. She reluctantly let go of Yin Mei''s arm, her expression like that of an abandoned lover as the girl made her way to the examination rooms. "Dammit! Next year I''ll definitely make sure to get on the hidden examiner''s team." She said, and Alexei shook his head in exasperation. He himself didn''t understand why some of these teachers enjoyed playing with the applicants so much. It was just like a cat toying with mice, way too easy and nothing fun about it. But of course, the majority of the teachers didn''t think that way, and instead thought of being a hidden examiner as a chance to let loose and relax. When the group of hidden examiners entered the exam room, all the students were already inside their Deep Dive VR pods. These pods would transport them to a specially programmed VR world that would be their practical exam site. It was really interesting to Yin Mei how advanced VR had gotten, where it was to the point that it was almost not different from real life. Other than the fact that one couldn''t die in VR. The programmers could even make sure that the applicants would have the exact same physical specs in the VR world as they did in the real world, extracting the data from the physical and fitness exams that applicants were required to take for their application. A few people dressed in white were making rounds of the room, checking the data displayed on the lids of the pods, including monitoring of the health of the applicants. One of them stopped in order to talk to Yin Mei and her fellow teachers. "Go ahead and use the ones over there," he said, pointing to several free pods. They quickly entered, and the lid hissed as it closed automatically. Soon, Yin Mei''s consciousness was pulled under. When she opened her eyes, she was in an all white room. Around her where the young applicants. She felt smaller, and looking at herself, she was smaller. She was dressed in a black and green sleeveless body suit, and moving her left leg as she admired her new virtual body, she could see the thin line that ran across the middle of her thigh, along with the dark inked logo of the prosthetic maker. Her virtual body had been mad younger, to blend in with the students. Even though Mei Wen was in her late 30s already, in this world, she was still in the prime of her youth, and looked young. But, she still looked like an adult. As a result, there was no way she could be mistaken as an applicant. As a result, hidden examiners were given a younger virtual body. It could also be said to be something of a handicap, as they would have to adjust to the often smaller body in a short amount of time. "Greetings, applicants." A voice boomed out, clear and loud, silencing the chattering students as they turned to look toward its source. A middle aged man with slicked back hair sat in a floating chair, looking extremely pretentious and dignified. All the proctors and teachers loved to put on airs during entrance exam time, in order to intimidate and impress the little chicks. Yin Mei resisted rolling her eyes, instead putting on a serious expression as she pretended to dutifully listen to the proctor, imitating the faces of the kids around her. "The practical exam this year is... an obstacle race!" The proctor said, a slightly smug expression on his face. "In a few moments, you will each be transmitted to a different obstacle race in correspondence to your group number. You will compete against other applicants to become the first to finish. Even if you don''t finish first, don''t worry - we will be grading you on other aspects as well. Not only that, but there will be chances during the race to achieve bonus points." Yin Mei nodded. Hidden examiners were not just there to judge applicants, but actually, they were also there to show any groups that weren''t doing so well some hints as to how to proceed next in the exam. Of course, it would mean that they would have lower scores - but, it also made it more interesting. Yin Mei really wanted to say that the teachers at Black Cross Academy were truly sadists - they were more concerned about how interesting the test was in comparison to whether or not the students passed or failed. Maybe that was why the tests had ended up so hard... After the man finished giving out instructions, he waved his hand, and the white room changed. Many students disappeared, only a small group remaining as they all stood in front of the finish line. Stretching before them was the obstacle race - dark metal blocks that they would have to jump across, and in the distance, large metal spiked balls and sharp axes hung from the ceilings. The sounds of gears turning could be faintly heard, a steady click click sound that soon faded into the background. Yin Mei glanced around. She was in the same group as Qin Shuang and Alice. On the other hand, Song Hua was in a different group. She had debated a while which group she should ask Huang Jing she wanted to be in, but in the end, her curiosity in seeing Qin Shuang again had won over. She quickly spotted the boy. His black hair was trimmed short, and his posture was relaxed and leisurely. His red eyes were dark, darker in color compared to Song Hua''s and the demon king''s, and he hid the sharp glint in them well, causing them to look dulled and bored. Yin Mei took her gaze away quickly before he could sense it, turning her sight to Alice. Alice was a pretty girl with long silver hair and glittering blue eyes. She was delicate, in a similar way that Yin Mei''s host in the zombie apocalypse world had been, and though she was a commoner, held her head high. Yin Mei could tell she was slightly nervous, but she hid it well, forcing herself to appear relaxed. Yin Mei herself couldn''t see how this girl was supposed to be similar to her - other than the fact that both were pretty in a similar way, and that both had had the same ability. On the other hand, Mei Wen''s ability was... "The race starts in 5... 4... 3..." Yin Mei turned her attention forward, her eyes calming as she debated how to go about things. Qin Shuang was the male lead now, and should have the strength to back it up. The problem was, was that she couldn''t use Mei Wen''s ability too much - this ability was too OP after all. She just needed to test the waters, no need to go too far. Actually, hidden examiners weren''t even allowed to go to far, lest they destroy the chances of the applicants to display their abilities. But she thought that Qin Shuang would definitely be able to hold up against her. She should draw him to a place where the other applicants couldn''t see first, and then test him out. Nodding, Yin Mei decided she liked this idea, even as the proctor called out "Start!" in a loud voice, and the applicants burst forward. Yin Mei rolled on her feet for a moment, her steps light as she sprung forward herself. In one step, two, she was already past the main crowd of kids, and some of them gaped at her speed. The physical abilities of a former member of the Brigade couldn''t be underestimated - all the training and experience under Mei Wen''s belt wasn''t for nothing after all. Before long she had caught up to the leading applicants - Qin Shuang, Alice, a boy whose eyes were covered by a head of thick and fluffy hair, and a boy with flaming red hair. She was startled, feeling this boy with red hair looked really familiar - he was a member of the Ri family. Immediately an image of a pair of siblings flit through her head. She dug through the information to find out that this kid would pass and become close to Qin Shuang, who would dutifully take care of this descendant of the Ri twins. As for the boy with the shaggy hair, Yin Mei didn''t find him familiar. Yin Mei darted past this group, taking first place. Glancing back, she could see the frown on all their faces, including Qin Shuang, who hated to lose. Before them came the road turned into a cluster of pillars and blocks, that would require them to continue upward. Yin Mei stepped forward with her left foot and smoothly jumped the couple of meters up onto the first block, surprising those behind her. This prosthetic leg was really handy - the programmers had even dutifully copied over all its specs into this virtual world. Not everyone could jump up several meters like Yin Mei though, so the applicants paused, having to figure out other ways to make the trip up. The Ri boy was the first, backing up a little before jumping forward, using some mysterious "Air Step" ability to step by step go up until he landed next to her. She whistled. She was glad that he took the initiative to display his ability, allowing the others to realize that they could use their own abilities. Quickly, all the other applicants began to throw out their abilities, and Yin Mei turned away, starting to quickly jump up the blocks like a lithe mountain goat. Qin Shuang and the Ri boy weren''t far behind, their abilities suitable for this obstacle. On the other hand, Alice was a little bit further, using her water like jet streams coming from her hands in order to shoot herself up. As for the shaggy haired boy, he had created a golem from the metal of the ground, riding on its shoulder as it slowly but surely climbed the blocks for him. It was really impressive how this VR could even copy their abilities so accurately. This was partially as a result from the exam before application, as well as the pod''s system constantly scanning their brain activity. Yin Mei didn''t know the specifics of how it worked, but it did, and it was impressive. "To think that she can actually jump up without using any of her ability!" Ri Yang said, shaking his head in admiration. "Unless her ability is physical enhancement?" He couldn''t help but ponder. Qin Shuang heard what the boy near him said, and pondered. He didn''t think that this person in front of them had an ability like physical enhancement. The ability may be rough and base, but was actually quite a useful ability depending on how strong it was. That being said, the sense of danger he got from this person... He thought that they definitely had a much more dangerous power than just physical enhancement. His eyes met hers as Yin Mei glanced back again, not slowing down in the slightest even as she did so. He had noticed that she kept on looking toward him, and wondered why. She soon disappeared past the top though, her eyes leaving his. He quickly moved to catch up, his blood threads pulling him past the last block. Right when he came up, a leg suddenly came at him, and through pure reflex, he raised his hand up, threads almost invisible in the shadows of the obstacle coarse coiling around the leg, stopping it in place. There was a sharp almost creaking sound, like metal clashing against metal as his threads tightened itself against the leg. When he focused again, he saw that it was the girl who had been in front of him. Her eyes were calm, her short cut hair fluttering softly from her previous movements. Her lips opened ever so slightly, and he couldn''t help but stare, finding her so oddly... Before he noticed, a dark blade had appeared in her hand, cutting through his threads. He frowned - these threads were impossible to be cut through with normal steel. What in the world was that blade? Was that her ability? Looking at it sent chills down his spine - it was darker than the deepest night, glinting menacingly. But it dissolved away, and her hand became empty as she turned around, seemingly uninterested in him any more. He was flabbergasted - what the hell was the point of that? "Oho?" A sound broke Qin Shuang''s attention, and he looked at the fiery haired boy who had spoke, his hair darker in the darkness of the room the vast shadowy room the obstacle race took place in. "So we can do that!" He said, as if having a sudden realization. Qin Shuang quickly realized what it was that the boy had realized - so, they could make a move against the other applicants? A glint surfaced in Ri Yang''s eyes and he thrust his hand out to the side, a tornado suddenly appearing before the blocks. Those who were unprepared were quickly sucked in while screaming, and the more quick thinking ones quickly used their abilities to keep themselves from being blown away. Qin Shuang was not sucked in, using sticky threads on the soles of his shoes to keep himself in place. He quickly ran, seeing that this chaos was letting that girl go even further ahead of them, unperturbed. Ri Yang, seeing this, also stopped messing around with the other applicants, running to catch up. Before long, Alice, and the shaggy haired boy, both came up, having not been sucked up by the tornado, which was already dying down now that the controller had left. Alice grit her teeth, seeing the three people ahead of her by several meters, her eyes shining in determination as she landed on the ground running, even faster than before. The other boy continued riding on his golem as the thing lumbered forward in a light jog, letting out a sigh as he relaxed. The obstacle course had just started, but he was already tired... Sigh, how bothersome! 106 The Teacher and the Student 4 Yin Mei ran for several more tens of meters before skidding to a stop before the next obstacle, right at the edge of a large pit that dropped down into an unending darkness below. Several small pillars, just large enough for perhaps a single foot to stand on, dotted the pit, and several metal chains hung from the ceiling high above them. In other words, they would have to either cross by using the chains or the thin pillars. But Yin Mei barely blinked and she ran straight across. Qin Shuang couldn''t help but blink in slight surprise as he caught up just in time to see the darkness beneath Yin Mei''s feet swirl, like some sort of living beast, before dispersing itself just as quickly. It was like she was walking on clouds. No, more accurately, she was walking on shadows! This girl, her ability was actually shadow manipulation? A strong shadow user was absolutely terrifying - Qin Shuang couldn''t help but feel slightly could inside. The strength of their ability was truly to the point of almost being disgusting. Even Qin Shuang, who had the extremely powerful blood manipulation ability, would have a hard time facing someone with a shadow manipulation ability. Not only that, but there were some who had special mutations of the ability that only. made it even. more powerful... But so far, the girl didn''t seem to have done much, so he didn''t know just how powerful her ability was. He thought that he needed to test her. He had already pegged her as a rival at this point. The other kids, even if they had powerful abilities, were too inexperienced and young to enter his eyes. But he could tell this girl was different. She had the aura and bloodlust of a well trained warrior, one who had seen many battlefields. It was hard to think of her as the same age as the other kids. He reached his hand out, several blood threads shooting toward the girl to tangle up her feet. Yin Mei didn''t blink as the dark shadows shot up to protect her, forming a shield that the threads glanced off of. Qin Shuang''s fingers twitched ever so slightly and the threads changed direction, trying to get around the shield, but the shield moved each time with unparalleled speed, defending Yin Mei from them. He clicked his tongue, but seeing the other people catching up, knew he couldn''t waste anymore time trying to test out Yin Mei''s limits. Yin Mei smirked to herself as the boy formed a bridge with blood, traveling across it as quickly as possible. He continuously created and destroyed the bridges without a change in expression. For most people, even if they had the same ability, they would not be able to achieve this level of control and manipulation. It required not only good concentration, but a large amount of power - many would be exhausted at this point. But Qin Shuang wasn''t even breaking a sweat. Yin Mei stepped on one of the small pillars, leaping up and landing gracefully with one foot on another. In reality, she didn''t even need her ability to cross this obstacle - but she wanted to pressure Qin Shuang a little. It looked like it had worked too. At this moment, a small glittering white feather entered Yin Mei''s sight. It was slowly floating down, right a few meters before the pit ended. A few of the other applicants also saw it, appearing slightly confused. Qin Shuang too, was momentarily puzzled before recalling what the proctor had said. Could this be one of the bonus point chances? Yin Mei was the closest to the feather, and was not far from it. But Qin Shuang didn''t want to let her have the feather. He immediately sent his threads out to grab it for himself, but a wave of darkness rose up to swallow them whole. He frowned. This girl''s power had too much of an advantage here, where they were surrounded by shadows in this barely lit room. Yin Mei leapt up, flipping in midair and grabbing the feather midway through, while she was still upside down. By the time she was righted, a pair of shining white winds had appeared on her feet, giving her a speed boost. With a hop, skip, jump, she was past the second obstacle and running again, faster than before, but appearing even more relaxed, looking as if she wasn''t trying. Because she wasn''t. This speed boost was really great! The proctor: Why in the world is a hidden examiner like you stealing such obvious points from the applicants? This is just bullying children! Yin Mei who was currently having fun bullying children couldn''t read the proctor''s mind, but she did sneeze delicately, wondering who in the world was thinking of her right now. She slowed down as she reached the next obstacle - a bridge of swinging axes. This allowed the time for the group to slowly catch up, and she patiently waited a few moments, lightly bouncing back and forth on her feet, appearing to be impatiently thinking of her next move. At least, that was the explanation that Qin Shuang gave for her just standing there. She looked back, checking the distance between her and the others with satisfaction before turning around and jumping up. She grabbed the hilt of the large and menacing axe that sung buy, standing gracefully upon it before jumping to the next. And the next. And the next. Her movements were rhythmic, never missing a beat as she made it appear oh so easy. And it was. For her at least. When she lightly landed on the other side, she looked back again, as Qin Shuang landed next to her just a few moments after. She let out a sound of mild surprise - faster than she thought he would take. He really had improved from what she recalled. She remembered that back then, he had been weaker than her. She wondered if he was still weaker than her now? She smiled. "How much have you improved?" She thought, and Qin Shuang blinked in surprise. Oops. Did she say that aloud? Even as she thought that, her hand reached out, shadows dripping down from her fingers in slender threads. She had been the one to teach him how to manipulate his strings. Not only that, she had experienced manipulating them herself, together with him. So it stands to reason that she was a fairly decent string user herself. "Threads!?" Qin Shuang said in alarm. This usage was too similar to his own, but then he wondered why he was surprised. His style of fighting was well known now, and widely imitated. That being said, though people may be able to copy him, they may not have the talent to master the skills they were copying. The threads were darkness, melding with the shadows, silent and unseen. He could almost feel them, like a snake readying itself to strike. He flexed his hand next to his side, his own threads trembling as they sensed the vibrations in the air, as they sensed the strings. Yin Mei could see that Ri Yang and Alice were both getting close. Her eyes glittered in the dark and she struck, quick and vicious, her threads attempting to coil themselves around Qin Shuang''s body. Qin Shuang''s fingers twitched, as if to the sound of music, as the threads of the two battled unseen in the air. They weren''t moving, but sparks clashed around them, as if they were at the center of some unseen battle. Which they were. But Yin Mei retreat the moment the flame haired boy and silver haired girl caught up to them, flying backwards by a several meters with one leap. Add in a few elegant flips, and she thought she looked pretty cool as she twirled around to start running again. She knew that there were still several more obstacles left. Just this much wasn''t enough to be considered too difficult for the applicants present. After all, they were even allowed to use their abilities. At this moment, when Yin Mei stepped forward, a square of floor that she had stepped on clicked as it sunk in by an inch, and she immediately jumped back, right as a giant spiked steel ball came hurtling at her. The shadows surged upwards from the ground to protect her, but she hadn''t needed it, jumping just far enough that it only missed her by a few centimeters as she leaned back. This was the next obstacle. The metal floor stretched out in front of them, with no indication that their next step could land on a trap. This obstacle would favor someone like Ri Yang, who could travel the entire length of the floor without touching the ground. Of course, with Yin Mei and Qin Shuang''s abilities, they could also do the same. It would be Alice who would have a few more difficulties with this obstacle, resulting in a lower score for her in comparison to Song Hua and Qin Shuang. Yin Mei built a bridge of shadows, and Qin Shuang, a bridge of blood, in order to run across without touching the floor. But just that wasn''t enough to prevent traps from activating. Yin Mei stopped, seeming to silently observe the empty space in front of her for a moment, as Qin Shuang rushed by.He felt something snap, and knew he had made a mistake, not copying Yin Mei''s actions. Flaming arrows flew toward him from out of nowhere, and he quickly manipulated his threads to cut down the few that he could tell would hit him. He made no wasted movements, staying still as he let the other arrows pass. Yin Mei, when Qin Shuang had activated the trap, had quickly ran as she put up a shield of shadows before her in case she would be hit by any arrows. She was, but the shield protected her, steadfast and unbreakable. Well, unbreakable to anything weaker than the strength of her ability. Yin Mei looked at Qin Shuang, who had now fallen behind. The two of them continued back and forth, switching places constantly as to who was in front and who was behind the other. After making it past the floor of traps, they reached a door, where Ri Yang stood, completely stumped. His brows were furrowed as he looked at the large door, an expression of thought on his face. Yin Mei knew this door - it was a truth door. It was a mean door that would pose a single question, the same question, to each applicant, which they must answer truthfully. Whether or not they had told the truth would be determined by the pod that was constantly scanning their brains - it would use something like a lie detector program, except this one was much more trustworthy than the lie detectors of the past. Ri Yang glanced briefly at the two who now approached, unable to prevent himself from frowning. He looked reluctant before speaking outa single word - "Failure." "Correct," a deep voice boomed, and with a bright shimmering light, Ri Yang was teleported away. Not, to the end of the obstacle course. No, there was still technically one more trial left - the room beyond the door. But that was for later. For now, they would need to answer the question of the door first. At this time, Alice and the other boy who had created a golem, a boy by the name of Jade, had also arrived. Yin Mei stepped back, clearly not wanting to go first. Qin Shuang, who was curious, looked at the girl, but still approached the door. "Applicant Number 0083, you must answer the following question with the truth and nothing but the truth," the door said. The metal double doors had on it a carved lion''s head, the pair of glowing golden eyes staring down at the small human before it. Yin Mei really wanted to ask why they had even bothered to make it look like a door - they were being teleported so it''s not like the door would ever even open! "What is your greatest fear?" It asked, watching him. Waiting. Judging. "... Losing the people I hold dear in my heart," Qin Shuang said bitterly. Resentfully. Yin Mei stayed silent. "... Correct." The lion said, and Qin Shuang disappeared. "What is your greatest fear?" The lion asked once again, and the applicants who arrived answered one by one. Until the only one that was left was Yin Mei. The lion asked her the same question as it had to those before her. And Yin Mei answered in a soft voice. Her answer didn''t matter. The last obstacle was not one that others could interfere with anyways. Her answer was truthful, but when she opened her eyes, the door to her pod was opening. Her job was finished. For now. 107 The Teacher and the Student 5 When Yin Mei got out of the VR pod, some teachers had already exited, while some were still inside. Yin Mei leaned up against the pod, flipping her wrist and logging onto the teacher''s system to check the livestream of the final obstacle. Qin Shuang was surrounded by corpses. So many corpses. They looked vaguely familiar too. The last obstacle for the race course that Qin Shuang was in was really mean. It brought to life their greatest fears. It was extremely difficult for many to overcome, but in order to become a good Brigade member, one couldn''t be rendered so easily frozen by their fears. Mei Wen''s fear, for example, had been bugs. If she hadn''t been able to overcome that, then she may have never even survived the planet she had gone to, with all its mutated bugs constantly attacking her. Qin Shuang would be able to pass this, and quite easily too. After all, he already had much experience in overcoming the deaths of his loved ones. He was unlike those young chicks, and was a veteran of many years. Overcoming fear in the battlefield - he had long understood the importance of this. Soon, there was a beeping, and one of the pods hissed open. As expected, Qin Shuang stepped out of the pod, his eyes slightly dark and gloomy. Although he had overcome the trial, it had brought up many bad memories, and as a result, his mood was now terrible. Yin Mei flipped over her wrist, seeing the small silver diamond blinking blue as it projected a notification to the teachers that Qin Shuang had received first place for his race track. Yin Mei looked back up toward Qin Shuang, who also noticed her. He paused. This person was similar to that girl from the obstacle race, but she was taller, and looked a bit more mature, and slightly older. Yin Mei waved. "Good to see you''ve passed, kid. I hope this year I''ll be able to have you in my class." She smiled brightly, and Qin Shuang inwardly groaned. He should have seen it! Such an experienced person, of course she had been a hidden examiner! Yin Mei left as a white robed proctor came to talk with Qin Shuang and guide him to the next exam room. Or more accurately, the interview room. She would join up with a group of interviewers in order to talk with the applicants and get a grasp of their personality and thoughts. After all, the Brigade didn''t want to be recruiting anyone who may potentially end up being an issue later on. Though that being said, in the end, Song Hua had been an exception. Despite his less than pretty past, he had still been recruited due to his dazzling potential, as well as the fact that, at first glance, he didn''t seem to have a terrible personality. He was polite and hid his daggers well. Yin Mei entered a room, where Alexei, Hai Lan, and two other teachers were already seated at a table. There was one seat still available at the edge, next to Hai Lan. "You''re finally done?" Hai Lan said as Yin Mei sat down. "How was it?" Even though she asked this, she had already seen what had happened. Yin Mei knew this, so she kept her answer brief, only replying with a casual, "It was okay," before grabbing the tablet in front of her and tapping it on. Sifting through the plot information, Yin Mei saw that Mei Wen had interviewed both Alice and Song Hua, but not Qin Shuang. She was a little disappointed, but thought that this must have been the faculty knowing the bad blood between the Qin and Mei families, and so had kept them separate. Even so, it hadn''t prevented Mei Wen from becoming Qin Shuang''s homeroom teacher - after all, she had been the homeroom teacher for class 1-S for several years already, and for Qin Shuang, who scored first on the entrance exams, his entrance into class 1-S had been guaranteed, and nonnegotiable. As for Mei Wen, of course she wouldn''t give up this prestigious position of class 1-S''s homeroom teacher. Yin Mei took the stylus attached to the tablet into her hand, spinning it a couple of times as she half listened to Hai Lan''s babbling, with Alexei occasionally making a witty remark. Only after a notification was sent to their devices did everyone quiet down, a couple minutes later, the first applicant entering through the door. A metal plate with his number was pinned to his shirt, and he sat down on the chair in front of them. He appeared nervous, as he should be, facing the people who would be deciding whether or not he passed or failed. Yin Mei looked up, finding this person slightly familiar. He had black hair and gold eyes, looking like an honest and athletic type of boy. Very pleasing to the eye. She then recalled - this must be K''s younger brother! They shared the same gold eyes and burnt honey colored skin. But, Yin Mei couldn''t show any favoritism, at least, nothing too obvious. That being said, everyone did have subconscious biases, and if his results weren''t too shabby, she could still give him the little push he would need to pass. Yin Mei looked down at the tablet in front of her with his information, tapping the tip of her stylus thoughtfully on the table. He had done pretty good, as expected of a member of K''s family. That girl had been worrying so much, but wasn''t he doing fine? Yin Mei thought that she thought a little bit too little of this brother of hers. That being said, Black Cross Academy''s entrance exam was something to worry over anyways. But with results like this, Yin Mei probably wouldn''t be accused of favoritism if she decided to vote for passing him. The questions that came from the judges were all fairly normal, and had all been decided in advance. That being said, it wasn''t like some judges didn''t occasionally present a random question out of their own curiosity or interests though. Yin Mei wrote down a few comments and thoughts as the tablet recorded his answers. They were good. Nothing special, but nothing to frown over either. She gave a slightly embellished review at the end, clicking on the button that voted to accept him. Of course, after the votes were all given, a list of the accepted applicants would be compiled, and then after, they would proceed to cut out the less exceptional until they reached a certain number. Some years, reaching that number was easy, while other years, they wouldn''t even have to go through the extra step of thinning out the herd. In comparison to toward K''s little brother, Yin Mei was ruthless toward the other applicants. If they weren''t important to the plot, she didn''t look kindly onto them. Those mob characters she outright voted against, even thinking that she was doing them a favor - after all, many of these kids would end up dead through the brutal plot developments. It was better that they go to a different school, where, though they may not receive as elite of an education, they could still keep their little lives. After a while, Alice entered the room. Her short hair bounced as she walked, the silver strands glittering under the white lights, and her pale blue eyes had some sort of power and pull to them, shining and clear like lake water. "You did very well on the written and practical exam," Yin Mei opened, much to the surprise of the others. She had shown little interest so far, only making a few comments here and there when she saw fit to voice her opinion. She had yet to directly show so much interest in someone. Alexei couldn''t help but look closer at this girl. If he recalled, she had been in the same map that Mei Wen had participated in. Could it be that was why she was showing interest in her? Thinking of it like that, then it made sense. "I didn''t do that well," Alice said with a slightly embarrassed tone, though she looked happy for the praise, able to raise herself up a little higher. "It says here that your parents are government officials. With their salary, it would be hard to... create the ideal environment in cultivating talent. May I ask how you learned your skills?" Yin Mei said, casually casting a glance at the tablet, where it contained detailed information on Alice''s background. Alice''s father was a diplomat from the United Federation, hence her Western name. Meanwhile, her mother worked a desk job for the Empire''s government. Though diplomat and government official sounded like a nice job, in reality, it didn''t pay that much, though it certainly had its perks. "I did a lot of self study, using the public library and training on my own." Alice said honestly, not taking any offense. Although her family didn''t have a lot of money, neither were they poor, and they could afford a fairly good quality of living. There wasn''t any reason to be angry toward Yin Mei''s words - only those who were insecure about their living situation would react in that manner. After all, Yin Mei wasn''t talking down on Alice, simply expressing her curiosity. It was true that most of the time, the people who entered Black Cross Academy tended to be from good families - after all, they had more access to materials and the time to cultivate their skills. In that way, those who were commoners with not as much money were actually looked upon with a more favorable eye to come this far with their hard work and talent, rather than money. The teachers all let out sounds of appreciation. To come this far on her own was very good, very good. Such a talent like this naturally made the others crave to have her as their own student, polishing this rough stone into a shining diamond. Yin Mei looked at Alice with an odd expression though. Honestly, she didn''t really have much against this female lead. She was a strong girl, stubborn, and hard working. All fairly good traits. The only issue was that Qin Shuang had become interested in her because she was supposedly slightly similar to herself. This caused her to have a big pot of mixed feelings as a result. She already didn''t have any good feelings toward female leads, let alone adding this similar to herself trait, it was all sorts of bad bundled in one. In the end, she went silent, letting the others take over as she wrote very little down on the tablet. Her summary was very short, only one word, "talented," in big letters as she voted to accept her into the academy. Oh well, she may be the female lead, but in reality, she did not have that big of an impact on the plot. Aside from her role allowing Qin Shuang to recover from his traumas as well as aiding him in a variety of plot developments, she herself was not that much of a... troublemaker. Mm, Yin Mei thought this was the perfect word! Only after several people later did Song Hua enter. Everyone perked up, casting a few glances in Yin Mei''s direction as their eyes brightened with interest. They stayed silent first, thinking that Yin Mei would speak up, but when she said nothing, Alexei instead cautiously started. "It looks like you have a bit of a... history, as a scavenger and bounty hunter here. Can you explain your experiences to us?" Alexei said, noting that not only was Song Hua''s family situation bad, but that he hadn''t been involved in the most legal of trades. Not that there was anything wrong with being a scavenger or a bounty hunter. In fact, there were many former members of the Brigade that would turn to this job for a bit of extra cash. It was just that the personality of these people tended to be a little bit questionable, and more often than not, many of those who worked this sort of job had some sort of criminal record, dabbling in the ways of the underworld. Song Hua was silent for a moment, before straightening up. The gloomy and dark cast across his face that Yin Mei had seen before was gone, replaced by a calmness uncanny for his age. He had good manners and etiquette, appearing more like a noble son than a street rat. That being said, Yin Mei could see that his fingers were twitching ever so slightly, and the sheen of sweat on his brow, both betraying his nervousness. Both betraying that he was a fake. His manners and etiquette carefully studied and crammed in the darkness of his tiny and poor room, and not learned from young in a gorgeous rich man''s manor. Yin Mei couldn''t help but smile, finding this new reincarnation of the demon king oddly endearing. When he began talking, he wove a story of epic proportions, a story of wonderful and bloody beauty. He made it sound like he was not some minor bounty hunter, but in fact, a hero that had come out of fairy tales and legends. Yin Mei appreciated it, and so did the others, amused expressions on their faces. They did like a smooth talker. She happily put down several comments heaping praise on him as she voted to accept Song Hua into the academy. Her bias was clear, but not unwarranted. After all, he had the talent, the ambition, the wits, and the determination. In another world, he would have been the hero. 108 The Teacher and the Student 6 Yin Mei finally let out a sigh of relief as the day of rigorous entrance exams finished. Even though she wasn''t a student that had been taking them, why was she still so tired? And there would still be more work to do for the teachers in the coming days, as applicant results were reviewed, students were accepted, and classes and dorm rooms were assigned. Honestly, before Yin Mei had though being a teacher was a much more leisurely job in comparison to being a student, but that was completely untrue. Even with the advancements of technology that allowed most of the grading and other work to be automated, how come there were still so many things to do? Yin Mei could only be grateful that Mei Wen had already thoroughly planned her class materials and lessons in advance, or she would only cry and have to still work on that too. After all, since students would share all the materials from last year''s class, Mei Wen would always have to come up with a new lesson plan every year that was just different enough that even if the materials from last year would be helpful, students wouldn''t be able to go off of just that. Yin Mei didn''t even need to review it either, everything stored nicely in Mei Wen''s brain. As expected of an evolved new human, her memory was superb! The day of the entrance ceremony, the students and teachers all gathered in the auditorium. Standing on the stage, the principal gave a grand speech, his flaming red hair standing out. He was a handsome middle aged looking man, and Ri Yang''s father! Yin Mei hadn''t expected that the Ri twins descendants would be the ones who were still keeping watch over this school, after so many years. Yin Mei was dressed in a sparkling black dress with a deep blue cardigan over top. The A-line skirt ended around a couple inches above her knees, and Yin Mei thought it really made Mei Wen''s long and beautiful legs look even better. On the other hand, Hai Lan who stood beside her was wearing an extremely badass and futuristic looking blazer that glittered like a collection of silver stars, pulsing blue lines of light lining it. She wore matching shorts, and her hair was slicked back, her lips painted dark blue. Alexei, who stood next to her, was probably the most boring of them all, wearing a very bland and professional looking steel gray suit. The only thing that looked slightly more interesting was the mechanical flower pinned to his lapel, a collection of gears and sleek metal pieces - from Mei Wen''s memories, she plucked the knowledge that this was a rare piece created by the famous artist Hong Mao. "And now, I''d like to invite the representative of the first years up to the podium for a speech," Ri Yang''s father said, holding his hand out to the side of the stage, where Qin Shuang was waiting. The person who scored highest on the entrance exam would be the representative of the first year students. Not that the position mattered that much - it only meant that the student would be making speeches during important events, and also meant there would be more eyes and higher expectations on him. It was a position that came with glory, but no real power. Qin Shuang''s expression was calm, though his eyes softened slightly looking down at the students in front of him. This was the future that they had fought for. It was the future that she had fought for. He inwardly felt satisfied, beginning his speech with such a feeling in his heart. He talked about the past, the Great Evolutionary War that had lasted not even a decade, and moved on to speak of the great technological and evolutionary advances that had been made from then. He flaunted his historical knowledge (of course, since he had lived the era), and the teachers all nodded in appreciation. The Great Evolutionary War and the heroes it had produced were greatly worshipped during this time period. It was the darkest times for humanity, as well as the one that created the greatest of people. When he finished, the students and teachers all clapped, though perhaps the teachers with more enthusiasm than the students. After all, students were students. It was good if they had even been paying attention to the speech at all. After that, the next person who came up to talk was Ri Yang''s older brother and the school principal''s first son, Ri Yi. Ri Yi! This guy looked like an older version of Ri En, his expression gentle and his smile making the girls in the room all give him another look. Yin Mei perked up, because she knew that this person was one of the others who had transmigrated along with Qin Shuang. He not just looked like Ri En, he was Ri En. Ri En. Actually, she hadn''t remember that kid''s name, only knowing it from Mei Wen''s memories. But after hearing it from Mei Wen''s memories, her own couldn''t help but surge up. He could be considered something of a second in command of hers, taking care of matters at H City after her death. He was a mature kid, Yin Mei recalled. Clever, too. Ri Yi thanked everyone first, before building off of Qin Shuang''s speech, praising him for his knowledge and far reaching view, along with his patriotic spirit. He gave a very deep look toward Qin Shuang, but in a blink, his gaze was back on the audience, calm and unreadable. This guy was even more cunning then before, age causing his schemes and acting to become deeper, more layered. After the end of the speeches, the students mingled and talked for a little while as they all walked to their classes. There would only be a half day today, and the classes would just be an introduction to the school in general. Yin Mei approached Ri Yi, who was standing by the stage talking to the student council Vice President. She had on a smile and Ri Yi, who noticed her, waved the Vice President away and greeted her politely. "Teacher Mei," He said. "You did a good job," Yin Mei replied. Their tones were rather familiar, as Mei Wen was Ri Yi''s homeroom teacher in his first year. Because of that, Ri Yi, though naturally polite, could relax around her. "Haha, you''re over praising. All I did was leech off of our new junior''s speech. He was the one who did the good job," Ri Yi said, his eyes roving around as he appeared to be looking for Qin Shuang. But the boy had already disappeared, probably on his way to the classroom by now. "That boy, Qin Lan, truly has a deep understanding of the Great Evolutionary War. I don''t know if I''ll be able to even teach him anything new." Yin Mei said, and something flashed by Ri Yi''s eyes, before he replied to her. "You jest. Teacher Mei is one of the leading historians of that era. There''s plenty that you can teach to a new student like him, no mater how talented." He said, and Yin Mei smiled. "No, I really don''t think I can." These words caused Ri Yi to look slightly confused, but he quickly disguised his expression under a mask of calm. "It was good talking to you again. It''s been too long. You''re a smart child. Aside from that little brat, you were my best learner. Your sister too." Yin Mei''s eyes seemed to glaze over. Ri Yi seemed to pause at this. "Teacher Mei, my sister was never in your class...?" He cautiously said, studying her face. Ri Yi''s sister was several years older than him, and at the time when she attended the academy, Mei Wen was still a member of the Brigade and had not started teaching yet. Yin Mei blinked. "Yes, that''s right." She said, but she didn''t explain further, only smiling and bidding him farewell before she left. Ri Yi stood, rooted in one place for several moments. She... But before his thought completed, he was interrupted by a member of the student council. In the end, he could only shake his head and turn his attention toward other matters. On the other hand, Yin Mei was walking toward the 1-S classroom shaking her head in dismay at herself. Why had she gone over to talk to Ri En? She needed to be clear and sever herself from the past, instead of letting it tie her down like this! The end result would only be heartache, so why did she even bother!? She was angry at herself, for being so weak. Don''t remember. Don''t reminisce. She kept on chanting this to herself as she entered the room. The thirty students of her class, the thirty who ranked top in the entrance exams for this year, were all seated obediently at their desks. The minute she walked in, their excited chatter fell silent and they turned to look at her with glittering eyes filled with anticipation. Yin Mei smiled, setting down her tablet on the podium at the front of the room, and locked eyes with each student one by one. Qin Shuang was here. So was Song Hua. And Alice, Ri Yang, and Jade. As expected. "Congratulations everyone, for getting into Black Cross Academy. You can take a moment to be proud of yourselves, for getting this far." Yin Mei said, saying the same words that Mei Wen had said every year before her that she was a teacher. The students relaxed, happiness clear in their eyes as they whispered to one another for a moment. "But..." The whispering stopped. "This is just the beginning." They grew serious, but the excitement bursting within them could not be disguised or hidden. Even Song Hua could not help but be affected, his eyes gleaming. The only calm one was Qin Shuang, who was an old man amongst this group of youngsters. "At Black Cross Academy, not only will you be studying in depth about mathematics, literature, history, and the sciences, but you will also learn how to refine your combat skills, your survival skills, and your abilities. You will train in a variety of both simulated and non simulated situations, all to prepare you in becoming a member of the Brigade." Yin Mei said, and at first glance, it didn''t sound too impressive. She continued. "Don''t think it''ll be easy. Just because you passed the exam with top scores means nothing. We will make sure to push you to your limits, and beyond that. To evolve. To become more." "And those that can''t have no need to be here. Rules and regulations of the school can be found in the school handbook, which I advise you to quickly read and memorize. Dismissed." Yin Mei coolly said, and the students blinked in shock at how quickly she ended her speech, but seeing the woman pick up her tablet and walk toward the door, they understood that they were well and truly dismissed. Yin Mei was probably the only one who dismissed her class this early, but Mei Wen was also a straightforward type of person who did not like spending excessive time on things when they could be done quickly and efficiently. Yin Mei cast a look at Qin Shuang for a second, but didn''t linger and left quickly. Don''t remember. Don''t do anything unnecessary. She needed to focus on the mission, not get caught up in stupid emotions and memories of the past. She kept on telling herself that, but soon, a voice called out to her from behind. "Teacher Mei!" This voice was not familiar. When she turned around, Qin Shuang was staring at her. His voice had really matured - after all, he had grown up now. Plus, this wasn''t even his original body, but the body of his descendant. "What is it?" Yin Mei said. Good. Her expression and voice were both still calm, not betraying her. He paused for a second. "Your thread manipulation... is really. good." He finally said, though it was clear that wasn''t what he actually wanted to say. Yin Mei tilted her head. I''m the one who taught you it, so naturally, my technique can''t be that shabby, Yin Mei thought. "Thank you. It''s only natural that as your teacher, I should have some tricks up my sleeve, right?" Qin Shuang couldn''t say anything to this and fell silent, pursing his lips. "Is that all?" Yin Mei asked, "... Yes, that''s all," Qin Shuang in the end didn''t say anything more, only saluting his teacher and bidding her farewell politely. Yin Mei, who had resolved to cut off this shadow from the past, also didn''t linger any longer. But as a shadow user, how could she ever escape from the darkness, when she lived, breathed, and walked it? 109 The Teacher and the Student 7 The next day, classes started in earnest. Yin Mei was wearing a pair of glasses, of course, the ones that connected to the internet and displayed their screens on the lens, along with a futuristic like body suit with heeled boots and a short cropped blazer jacket. She felt she looked pretty badass, to be honest. Although some of the futuristic clothes were quite out there in her opinion, there were also some, like these, that she really liked. They were tight fitting and made out of some sort of mysterious flexible metal-like material, the dark black color glistening like it was wet. Thin lines ran through it, lit up with a green-blue light. Seeing how it was slightly similar in style to Hai Lan''s suit, Yin Mei could tell this was a popular fashion style in this era. Yin Mei started off the first class of the year with the Great Evolutionary War, of course. This was considered the most important part of history, and was always covered first, in depth and as thoroughly as possible. Yin Mei was half waiting for Qin Shuang to interrupt her and tell her that she had gotten something wrong, but perhaps in order to not draw attention to himself, he never said anything,only obediently listening with an expression of partial curiosity. It seemed that he was interested in the way history had portrayed himself and the others that he had known. When Yin Mei reached the part about herself, she felt extraordinarily awkward. Talking about herself in a history class, wasn''t this a little... "What does everyone think of the so called Zombie Queen?" She asked, throwing responsibility toward her students to talk about her instead of herself. Her gaze wandered at the students who had raised their hands, and noticed that Song Hua was one of them. She was curious. What did her man (though he didn''t have any memories) think of the past her? She called on Song Hua,who stood up, his back ramrod straight and his expression cold as he spoke. "Lu Mei''s position in history is often widely debated on, as though she had done many things considered evil, and even ruthless, in the end, many of her actions resulted in benefiting humanity as a whole." Yin Mei couldn''t help but feel slightly smug inside, thinking that this really was her man! She would''ve been devastated if he said something to denounce the past her. But, her face soon turned for the worst as Song Hua continued. "Even so, at the end of her life she killed off the entire elite forces of B City. I believe that even if she contributed toward the creation of the cure, the fact that she was a mass murder can''t be forgiven." Yin Mei could see that at this point, Qin Shuang''s expression had also grown dark. Yin Mei wanted to yell at him - aren''t you a villain? What do you care about mass murder! I was avenging your death, okay!? Although she said avenging his death, in actuality, she had very little memories of that time, only remembering that she had been so angry that she had blacked out. The next she knew was that everyone had died. This was totally not her fault okay. "How can you say that? All she did was to sacrifice the lives of the few for the sake of the many! Even if nowadays such a thing is looked down upon, back then, they had no other choice." Qin Shuang couldn''t stand hearing his caretaker and life savior badmouthed like this so stood up to argue against this pretentious kid. Yin Mei pursed her lips, looking at them with a complex expression. Cough, cough, she couldn''t help but recall and image from the past, when Qin Shuang would always go up against the zombie emperor with an angry face. "No other choice? She murdered the entirety of B City''s army. There was definitely a choice there." Song Hua said. "They were the ones who attacked first. Unless you''re saying that you should show mercy to your enemies? If she let them go, then wouldn''t they just keep on coming back?" Qin Shuang replied. It almost seemed like sparks were flying as the two glared at each other. The students all looked at the teacher for help to dispel this dark tension, but Yin Mei only appeared amused, not seeming to have any intentions in stopping them. Alice now stood up, a cautious expression on her face. "Although I don''t think that murdering them all was right, the times back then were different from the present. Many humans then would commit terrible crimes without batting an eye, and as such, we should think of what she did in the context of what the world was like then." Qin Shuang gave Alice a once over, a look of appreciation flitting across his face for a moment. Yin Mei took this all in, wondering if this would be the beginning of their epic love story-! She laughed inwardly a little. Now that Alice had joined in, the other students all began throwing out arguments one after another, taking sides. It seemed that the overwhelming majority were on Qin Shuang''s side - after all, major contributions to the cure of the virus weren''t something that could be overlooked so easily. In addition, the ones who had been the first to attack were those of B City, so it could only be said that they had deserved what they had got, bringing karma onto themselves. Even so, there were others that still couldn''t stomach the fact that Yin Mei had killed pretty much everyone. This was mass murder, and any other person would be convicted with an immediate death sentence. Yin Mei took a look at the time, realizing that class was almost over. She clapped her hands, the crisp sound echoing through the room and immediately the students fell silent. Look at how obedient these cute chicks were! On the other hand, this Song Hua... really, he was too cruel. Yin Mei''s heart hurt at this attack that her man sent over here as he condemned her actions of that time. She would definitely make sure he understood the consequences of doing so later! Other people were still okay, but how could her own family''s man dare to badmouth her in front of others? Look, even the little brat she abandoned was still defending her, and then look at you! Yin Mei smiled. "Since every one seems so passionate, then we''ll have this as an essay topic. Everyone will write a 10,000 word essay on the topic before turning it in to me for a major grade next month." The students immediately looked like they regret their actions, but still quickly wrote down notes and due dates on their tablets. Such good students, Yin Mei really admired them. She wondered just what they would write in order to get a whole ten thousand words on the topic. She was kind of looking forward to it. "Next class will be in the training hall. Don''t dally or Teacher Xiong will most certainly punish you," Yin Mei said as she placed her tablet in her bag and the students all stood up, grabbing their things to proceed out the doorway. Yin Mei still had to teach other classes, so although she actually really wanted to go with them to observe, in the end, she went on to go about the rest of the day. During lunch, she and her other teachers went to the cafeteria, grabbing their food before proceeding to the faculty only dining area, which was upstairs overlooking the student''s dining area. "How was everyone''s first class?" Hai Lan asked as she stabbed a piece of alien meat (it was, actually, alien meat - meat from another planet), sawing at it with a knife before plopping it into her mouth. Yin Mei sighed. "I''m very disappointed. One of my favorites doesn''t like Lu Mei." She bemoaned, scooping some of her curry and rice up - one of her favorite dishes. "Which one?" Alexei asked, playing lazily with the salad in front of him. From what he recalled, Mei Wen was a Lu Mei supporter - in other words, she believed that Lu Mei''s achievements in life cancelled out her crimes of mass murder. "Song Hua."Yin Mei answered and Alexei nodded as if it was expected. It was. After all, among the major families, very rarely did any of them say anything bad about Lu Mei, at least, not publicly. That was because of the major families, many were descended from the children that Yin Mei had personally picked up and taught. She was the life savior of their ancestor, by badmouthing her, weren''t they basically like a dog biting the hand that fed them? Others could badmouth Lu Mei, but the major families couldn''t. Even so, it was clear that perhaps some of them held resentment toward her, else with their power, they could have easily silenced the opinions of others and only allow praises to be sung of her. But they didn''t. This was in part because in the past the others had believed that the masses should think what they will and it wouldn''t have mattered, and in second it was because there were no descendant''s of Lu Mei around to guard her image. A good example of this would be the Qin family. Although Qin Shuang had been fairly ruthless and cold blooded during his time as leader of the Black Cross Brigade, he had a pristine image in the hearts of the people. This is because his descendants had worked hard to keep his image this way. "Seeing as he''s a commoner, it''s not uncommon." Alexei said heartlessly, spearing his fork through a cherry tomato. Yin Mei frowned, clearly still displeased. Alexei noticed this and quickly added on, "But I''m sure he''ll change his mind once he''s attended more of your classes." Even so, Yin Mei didn''t look convinced. "The kids had their abilities graded today, didn''t they?" Alexei said in order to distract Yin Mei, and she nodded, flipping her wrist over to bring up the grades of her students abilities. When kids were young in this world, their abilities would be tested for and graded at the age of 10. That being said, it was different from the extremely thorough ability test performed by the school. The school loved to do ability tests, and would constantly have students try and test the limits of their ability. As expected, Qin Shuang was rated with an S grade ability, and SS control. As for Song Hua, Yin Mei could see that his ability was electricity - Yin Mei almost coughed up blood. What was this irony? It was completely done in bad taste! For Song Hua to have the same ability as the person who killed him in the previous world, Yin Mei could only be speechless. It was also an S grade ability, but only with S control compared to Qin Shuang''s SS control. Alice was graded with an A grade ability and control, while Ri Yang had an A grade ability and S grade control, and Jade with an S grade ability and S control. Yin Mei tapped her perfectly painted fingernail on the white cafeteria table, seeming in thought. "Qin Lan''s control rivals the teachers," she said, not that she had expected any less from him. "Really?" Alexei felt he was continuously being surprised by this supposedly sickly youngest son of the Qin family. On the other hand, Song Hua was second best in comparison to Qin Shuang. The two of them would constantly trade places, but Song Hua would end up losing to Qin Shuang more often than not. This would become the source of his inner demon, resulting in Song Hua turning to the dark side. How adorable! Yin Mei felt that Song Hua was definitely a sweet child with a delicate heart that couldn''t stand losing. Somehow she felt this was slightly off, but looking at his beautiful face, Yin Mei decided that her thoughts were correct after all. After all, her man was the most beautiful, awesome, amazing, cutest, best, cool, and totally unparalleled person in the world. 110 The Teacher and the Student 8 Time began to pass, and Yin Mei continued teaching her students leisurely. She said leisurely, but the only one who was relaxed was herself. A large amount of homework and training would be dumped on the students, who clearly looked overwhelmed. But, it was not beyond what they could achieve. The work load was calculated just so that it would push them, but not by so much that they would burn out. She kept on thinking of ways to try and get closer to Song Hua, but she couldn''t come up with anything. The problem with after school tutoring was that - Song Hua didn''t actually need it! He was ranked second in the entire grade, if he needed tutoring, then what would that say about other people? Yin Mei could only furrow her brow and bide her time. She was frustrated. And that bastard didn''t even come to approach her first either! She really wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but of course, she couldn''t do something like that. Song Hua seemed like he was completely clueless to all this. And weirdly enough, Qin Shuang couldn''t recognize him at all, as if he didn''t look at all like the zombie emperor. Even though the two clearly should at least appear related. Yin Mei felt like she was going crazy and that maybe Song Hua was not the villain after all. But of course, that was impossible. After all, it was written clearly in the plot information! And Yin Mei couldn''t deny his appearance that was obviously similar to that of the former villains. "What are you thinking about?" Alexei asked when he entered the faculty room, putting down his things and sitting at his desk. Yin Mei was currently leaning back on her chair, her feet unceremoniously propped on the table as she stared at the ceiling with a furrowed brow. "Just-" She started, before receiving a notification sound on her tablet. She struggled reaching for it, but finally grabbed it and tapped it on. "... Huh! Since when did they decide on the plan''s for this year''s field experience?" Yin Mei said, seeing that she had been messaged the travel plans and tickets for next month''s field experience. Every year, the students would spend a week in some wild destination and be thrown there to survive. It was like a camping trip, but on hell mode. "At the meeting last week. The one that you didn''t attend." Alexei said, raising an eyebrow. That''s right, Yin Mei mused. At that time she had gone shopping for a few things and had completely forgot about the faculty meeting. "So we''re going to Planet Leiden?" She struggled again, setting down the tablet onto her desk, pushing it a few times so it no longer dangled over the edge. "Ughhhhh, Planet Leidennnnnn??" Alexei touched a cabinet at his desk, the weird squishy silicone material sinking in and glowing blue where his finger was, before making a pleasant alert sound and sliding open. He put his things inside, closing it with his feet. "What''s wrong with Planet Leiden? I think it''s quite a good choice. Nice and scenic. It''ll be fun." This was certainly true. At least, for the teachers. Planet Leiden was like an immortal heaven, with beautiful misty mountains, dazzling forests, and a shimmering white beach and glittering blue oceans. It was like out of some magical cultivation world. As long as one didn''t go to the danger zones. So, while the teachers would have a fun vacation touring Planet Leiden, the students would be stuck in a danger area filled with all sorts of monsters and other obstacles. "Yeah, but that''s not what I was really worried about." Yin Mei said, but before Alexei could ask her to elaborate, Hai Lan bounced in, her hair tied in several braids that were all bunched together into a ponytail. A spray of rainbow freckles splattered her face, and her eyes were a misty gray rather than their usual ocean blue color. Hai Lan really liked messing with her appearance, constantly going to the salon to do things like that. In this world, one could do things like changing their eye color or skin color with minimal effort - it was about the same as getting their hair dyed. That being said, it was usually only those youngsters who would do that sort of thing, and the school forbade students from making themselves look too crazy, else it would interfere in any stealth missions they would need to complete during training. But Hai Lan really enjoyed doing this kind of thing, and she wasn''t the only one among the teachers. Yin Mei recalled that the third year chemistry teacher liked to get snake scales embedded into her skin and had gotten a special type of eye color that would change depending on her body temperature. As for Alexei, he didn''t like body modification, and Mei Wen''s family had looked down on that sort of thing, so neither of them had ever gotten something like that done. "What were you guys talking about?" Hai Lan asked curiously. "Nothing much," Yin Mei said as she stood up, and the three of them began to head off to lunch. The thing she was worried about could be addressed later - after all, there was still three weeks before the trip. After lunch, Yin Mei only taught one other class before she was finished with the day. She had given the students an assignment before sending them out to explore the campus, and was left alone in the classroom. Sitting down, she watched a video on her tablet. There was no sound that others could hear, and it was instead playing through her glasses using a special vibration technology. What she was watching was a video of Song Hua using his ability and sparing with his classmates. His usage of the lightning was rather simple. Just what she would normally think of when she thought of someone with a lightning ability. That being said, his control was really good, and he had good combat sense, only as expected. She switched the video to Qin Shuang, and there was nothing out of expectations for him either. He was clearly holding back, but even then, a bunch of chicks couldn''t compare to someone who was raised during the Great Evolutionary War. His experience was nothing to laugh at. Not only that, but he was always a talented kid. Talent, age, hard work, and experience. It really wasn''t something that a 15-year old Song Hua would be able to overcome so easily. Yin Mei bit down on her thumb, her foot tapping impatiently as she tried to think of a way that Song Hua could beat Qin Shuang. The only thing to do was probably throw him out in the wild? Only in that way could he exponentially grow in skill... Someone knocked on the door, disturbing her. She felt that her thoughts were often interrupted these days, leaving her frustrated. She looked up, her frustration showing on her face for a moment before she saw it was Qin Shuang. She couldn''t hide her surprise, the expression quickly replacing her former one. She shut off her tablet, standing up and putting it on the nearby podium. "What are you doing here? Don''t you have class?" She asked, taking her glasses off and folding them, tucking them into her blazer pocket. He looked around, before turning his gaze back on her with a pointed look, clearly implying the same question that she had just asked. "The kids are on an assignment." Yin Mei said flippantly. "I am too." He said curtly, and they fell silent. If you''re on an assignment, then why are you here? Yin Mei wanted to ask. She didn''t. The two eyed each other, one warily, the other with an odd expression. The silence stretched on for several more moments. The one who gave in first was Qin Shuang. "Ri Yi approached me the other day." He said, furrowing his brow. Ri Yi? So that''s what this was about. Yin Mei frowned. She had accidentally said a little too much to that guy during the entrance ceremony. Ri En was a smart kid, and she had been slightly worried that he would have figured out her identity. But, as the days passed and nothing happened, she had quickly forgotten about it, putting it at the back of her mind. "Your thread manipulation is really good." He said, repeating the same words that he had said on the first day. "Yes, I''m your teacher after all." Yin Mei repeated the same response she had given him before, and he shook his head, glaring at her. "It''s not just that. That ability rivals Qin Shuang''s." He said, brazenly referring to himself in the third person. "The founder died almost nine hundred years ago. How would you know whether or not my ability rivals his?" Yin Mei replied without missing a beat, her eyes and expression calm, though her tone was slightly mocking. They both knew why. But the two fell silent again. "If that''s all, then you should quickly continue with your assignment." Yin Mei said, reaching into her pocket for her glasses. But Qin Shuang had come this far. He wasn''t going to let the conversation end just like that. "Are you-" Yin Mei raised her hand to stop him, saying, "Let''s not-" But like she had interrupted him, she was also interrupted. A loud boom echoed, the building shaking as Yin Mei was almost knocked off balance. She grabbed the podium to steady herself, the tablet falling off and onto the ground - it didn''t crack at all though, as expected of a sturdy futuristic technology! She frowned, clearly irritated. What the hell, people needed to stop interrupting her! No, no, no, that wasn''t the issue here. She shook her head, her mind whirring as she combed through the information. This event... wasn''t it supposed to happen later? So why...? Qin Shuang''s eyes were sharp as he looked out, his eyes searching for the source of the explosion. The scent of smoke was in the air, clear now that Yin Mei had gained her bearings, the rumbling coming to a stop. "What idiot would dare attack the academy?" She said, though she knew the answer to her own question. She was about to call Qin Shuang by his name, but stopped herself before she did. "Qin Lan. Go gather up all the students into the gymnasium." She saw that he wasn''t paying attention though, and raised her voice to snap at him. "Now." He blinked, looking at her. She raised an eyebrow. "Well? What are you waiting for. Do as I tell you." He nodded, turning around and running, heading toward the building exit. Yin Mei bowed down, grabbing her tablet as she received a notification through her personal terminal. She flipped her wrist, a holographic image of the head of security showing, his hologram cutting in and out, shouting barely distinguishable in the background. "All students are to report to the gymnasium! Year one teachers are to guide the students, year two teachers protect the gymnasium, and year three teachers report at the West Gate!" The message ended, but Yin Mei had no intentions on following the directions. She could leave these things to the others. Her skill had better uses. Yin Mei snapped her fingers, the lights turning off in the room and plunging her in the darkness. When they came back on again, she was nowhere to be found. There was gray all around her. That was the world that Yin Mei was in. Doors and windows were all around her, but the light that came through was just a lighter gray than the murky darkness around her. Even so, she could see extremely clearly. She held the tablet loosely in her hand as she walked, slowly, as if she was traversing through water. The air around her seemed to ripple and part in front of her, as if it was made of water, or silk. She stopped in front of one window above her, craning her neck to look out at the scene displayed. Everything appeared as if in extreme slow motion. People dressed all in black, wearing white faceless masks, were previously moving through the forest toward the school, but were now paused in time. They were moving, but so slowly that Yin Mei couldn''t tell. She reached out, grabbing at the edges of the "window", and pulled herself out. The world snapped back to life, continuing to move again at its normal speed. A dagger materialized in Yin Mei''s hand, and she stabbed the back of the man whose shadow she had crawled out of. His clothes were probably made of the special armor that this world used, but a pity. Her shadows weren''t so easily blocked. It slid right through, piercing his heart. He didn''t even realize what happened before he fell over, dead. Yin Mei calmly took out her glasses, putting them on as the other people realized they had an intruder who had quietly slipped into their midst. "Wha-" "Who are you!?" They turned toward her, shocked even as they pointed their guns and drew their swords. Yin Mei looked at the body by her feet, feeling as if the shadows that writhed around her were slowly blanketing her heart, stealing all manner of feelings. Her pulse slowed, her vision sharpened. "You don''t need to know that." 111 The Teacher and the Student 9 For a moment, no one made a move. Yin Mei appeared relaxed, her expression not revealing anything, while the black clothed people were filled with wariness and tension, like beasts on edge. No one knew what started it, but someone lunged forward, bringing their blade down. This gave the signal to start. Yin Mei raised her prosthetic leg, using it to block the blade, sparks flying as the metal clashed. The sword didn''t make a single scratch. Her hand grabbed at shadows, bringing it up like a curtain against the bullets that flew this way. They sunk into the darkness of the "curtain", as if gobbled up by the shadows. "Sh-shadow manipulation! This is the retired Captain Mei Wen!" Someone said, and a shiver of fear ran through the group. They had all reviewed the faculty list of Black Cross Academy before they launched their attack, and among the members, it was definitely the former Brigade members that were the most dangerous. Among those Brigade members, though Mei Wen may not have been the one with the highest rank before retirement, she was most definitely one of the most dangerous. After all, though she had not been in the Brigade for very long, her name had still spread far and wide in those days. She was the strongest shadow user in the world, the only one who was able to use shadows to manipulate space and time. Her ability was extremely dangerous, her combat prowess unrivaled, and her cold ruthlessness widely known. Those other countries could only breath a sigh of relief when they had heard that Mei Wen had retired from the Brigade, even though the reason wasn''t something they had understood. After all, hearing that such a talented person had not only lost her leg, but also her partner, it was a big shock. Although it had been a while since those days, many people still remembered Mei Wen''s fearsome reputation. "According to protocol, shouldn''t Mei Wen be guiding and protecting the students!?" Another person said. It was clear that they had a deep understanding of the school. Yin Mei knew there was a mole, so she didn''t think this was too odd. She kicked the sword of the man attacking her away, the blade flying high in the sky. She released her shadow curtain to grab it as she used her foot to send him flying. The shadows fell to the ground as she did, her body low. Pushing herself with her feet, she appeared suddenly in front of a man several meters away from her, who was now shooting at empty air. The blade sent a silver arc through the air as it sliced strait through the man''s neck, decapitating him cleanly. She didn''t plan on killing everyone though. She needed people alive and extract information from. But these guys weren''t that important. The person she wanted was... She glanced around, the screen on her glasses identifying bodies and threats. Not here. Where was he? The plot information was vague. "You''re all useless." Yin Mei said, standing up and flinging the blood off of the sword in her hand before spearing it into the ground. Bullets continued coming at her, but they were all blocked by shadow shields, which moved and flowed like water to block where they needed to block. Yin Mei reached her hand out, turning her palm upwards and curving her finger, like beckoning something. Spikes shot up from the ground, and the members of the group shouted in alarm, some killed immediately, others fatally injured, and a few flinging out their abilities to dodge or block them. A few were successful, the others less so. Like playing a piano, or conducting an orchestra, her single hand moved to some form of silent music, as the solid spikes flowed back down to the ground, before shooting back up again. Again, and again, until the people couldn''t stand it, and everyone was on the ground, bleeding, except for her. She grabbed the sword before walking toward one man, who appeared somewhat better off compared to his comrades. "Now, where''s your leader?" Yin Mei asked as she pointed the silver blade point at his neck. "Who would tell you?" He replied with gritted teeth. They had been completely destroyed. This woman was on another level. He felt that they had underestimated the Brigade. Originally it was supposed to be a fairly easy mission - after all, all the Brigade members here were retired either due to injury or old age. And, in the end, it was just a school. But it clearly was more than that. State of the art security and veteran Brigade members made for a truly strong defense. Injured? Old age? Ha! Even so, compared to the average soldier, they were still stronger. "Oh? Then you''re useless." Yin Mei stabbed him through the eye, a little bit of blood spurting onto her body. She frowned, but continued to the next person. This was a younger boy, his eyes wide, his face pale from blood loss, and his lip ever so slightly trembling. "Are you going to tell me? I''ll stop your blood loss if you do." She said, her expression emotionless. The boy thought that if there was a devil, then this woman was it. "The l-l-leader is at the North Gate." The boy answered, before shutting his mouth in surprise, wondering why he did that. He had to admit, a crazy lady pointing a sword at him really had a strong persuasive power... "Thanks." Yin Mei said, before stabbing him too. Her eyes didn''t even blink, her expression remaining unchanged. "Monster!" A still living man said, completely horrified at her Yin Mei''s heartlessness. Yin Mei stopped. Monster. This was what some people referred to Lu Mei, her previous self, as well. Was she a monster? She calmly looked down at her hand. Her heart felt like it was wrapped comfortably in darkness. She didn''t feel anything. She closed her hand. The man was silenced, along with the rest of the living. She still didn''t feel anything. But the thought soon faded, as if washed away by the flowing blood that seeped into the earth. Her tablet suddenly buzzed, and she flipped it over, tapping it open. A hologram of Alexei emerged, his expression calm. "Mei Wen, where are you? We''re supposed to be gathered at the gymnasium now." "I''m headed to the North Gate. Tell security that there''s need of cleanup in sector 52." Yin Mei replied, and before Alexei could answer, switched her tablet off. She tossed the tabled into her shadow, where it sunk in and disappeared. The shadow world could even act as an inter dimensional storage space. It was very convenient. That being said, the one problem was that anyone who possessed the same ability as Yin Mei could similarly access any items she had stored in the space. But, currently, the only known shadow user who could manipulate space like her was... well, only her. The reason that she knew others who could use the same ability could access her things, was because of the items left behind by former shadow-space users. Yin Mei flipped her wrist over and looked at the time. Not even ten minutes had passed since the attack. She touched the dark shadowy bark of a nearby tree, and disappeared into it. When she reemerged, it was by the North Gate. The North Gate. This place was normally very well guarded as it exited out into a protected experimental area often referred to as the mutant garden. It held all sorts of various beasts and flora that had been experimented on and genetically modified, as well as a variety of alien imports. It was a dangerous area, and occasionally used as training grounds for the students. But because of the attack on the school, there were only a few guards that had been left here, the majority of them having been rerouted to the West Gate. Yin Mei should have known that that guy was at the North Gate. After all, she knew what he was here for. She frowned as she saw the guards who should have been on lookout at the gate. They were lying on the ground, and she checked their pulse. Not dead, surprisingly. She rolled one over, using his thumb to tap on the emblem pinned to his uniform lapel. It was scanned before glowing with a blue light. This was a special SOS signal that was used by the school security. Standing up, Yin Mei then headed toward the white and pale blue gates that loomed above her. The area beyond was encased in a round dome, the insides hidden from view. Yin Mei placed her wrist up against the panel by smaller door to the side of the large gates, and a pleasant beep sounded before the door soundlessly slid open. Entering, it soon closed behind her. It was an elevator, and after rising for a few seconds, came to a stop. She exited, now inside a closed space that overlooked the Mutant Garden that stretched for several kilometers. Although the outside of the dome had appeared white, from the inside, one couldn''t see any sort of ceiling, the sun and sky pleasantly displayed by the special screens that stretched from ground to ceiling. She tapped the leg of her glasses, and it scanned the surroundings, looking for signs of life. It registered the beasts that were already in the school lab''s database, and nothing else. She expanded the search region, her eyes constantly scanning the lush forest for people. The glasses vibrated, giving her a topographical display of the garden, where a small group of little red dots were moving around in the northeastern region. They had already gotten quite far. Yin Mei once more entered the world of shadows. She actually didn''t really like traveling through the shadow world, since it always took what felt like ages. Although almost no time passed by in the real world, it was quite agonizing of a feeling, to slowly move through the thick and heavy air. Moving through the bright and deep emerald greens of the forest, a young man with glasses furrowed his brow, coming to a stop. "What is it brother?" A girl who looked near identical to him, save for a slightly smaller stature, slightly more delicate features, and longer hair, asked, also coming to a stop. A laser rifle was held in her hands - state of the art, smuggled in from the Free States. He held up a hand. "Silent. There''s something-" Before he could finish, muffled shouts sounded from behind, and he whipped his head around, shocked when he saw that the elite group of his was now dangling from the trees in some sort of dark black cocoon. "Who goes there!" He raised his own rifle up, pointing at the dark shadows of the forest. For some reason, he felt like it was darker than before, the shadows stretching out, wanting to consume him. "Outsiders are forbidden in here." Yin Mei said in an almost pleasant tone of voice as she emerged from the darkness, her glasses tucked back into her pocket. "If the Ming twins had wanted to come for a tour of the school, I''m certain that we would have been glad to comply." She looked curiously upon the two figures in front of her. Ming Wei and Ming Yu. She dragged these memories up from the dusty corners of her brain, though not with much difficulty. Ming Yu a little more effort, but she hadn''t worked for Ming Wei for not. She still remembered him. She remembered that he was a researcher type. She eyed the rifle in his hands. Perhaps she needed to reconsider her memories. These twins were descendants of the Ming family - in other words, descendants of Ming Yu. After all, Ming Wei never had children. The family had kept the surname of Ming, instead of the surname of Ming Yu''s husband, in order to keep the Ming family line alive. Ming Wei and Ming Yu both had transmigrated into their bodies, but shockingly enough, neither knew. They both thought that the other was the original person. Yin Mei wanted to laugh. They were both pretty smart, yet somehow so dense? She couldn''t help but find that amusing. Ming Wei glared at her, a deep frown on his face. "Mei Wen." He stated. Even if Mei Wen was not infamous as a Brigade member, the two would still probably know her, as they were both members of the major families. To top it off, the Mei and Ming families were actually on pretty good terms, as Ming Yu had really doted on the kid that the Mei family had descended from. "I apologize, but the two of you will need to peacefully come with me. We wouldn''t want you to get injured, now would we?" Yin Mei said with a smile on her face. She felt maybe a little bad, recalling that she had owed Ming Wei in the past. But that was the past, and right now, they were already both in different bodies. Although Ming Wei was reluctant, not having been able to accomplish his goal before being interrupted by Mei Wen, he knew that he and his sister would not be able to go up against Mei Wen. Even if the tales of her ability were exaggerated, Ming Wei didn''t think it would be by much. After all, her ability was well known. Just the potential of it was enough to make him think twice. Ming Yu was a little upset, but seeing her brother set down his rifle, she could only do the same, her brow crinkled in dissatisfaction. "It''s good that the two of you are so obedient. No need to worry, you''ll be treated well." Yin Mei said. Even if they were prosecuted, Yin Mei didn''t think that they would be heavily punished. After all, their family''s influence was too large. It was more likely that the school would make an under the table deal with the Ming family. Yin Mei didn''t know how things would go down though, as in the original plot line, the two had never been caught. Yin Mei wrapped their hands in shadowy ropes, as a precaution, before undoing the cocoon bindings of the other members of the group. She herded them up and the group began heading back to the North Gate. No beasts or flora bothered them, mostly because they were much weaker than Yin Mei. They naturally sensed this, and gave the group a wide berth. When Yin Mei arrived at the gate, things were already beginning to wrap up, and a few new guards were there, the ones who had fainted previously had been taken to the infirmary. Yin Mei spoke with one of the guards, before they called on others to escort the group away. Yin Mei waved in a jolly manner as she saw the Ming twins off, before heading to report things to the principal and head of security, whom had requested her presence. "Man. I hope I won''t get my salary docked for this." Yin Mei said aloud, pondering upon this very real possibility. 112 The Teacher and the Student 10 When Yin Mei stepped into the principal''s office, Ri Yang''s father was currently on the phone with someone, his voice serious and forceful. The head of security was standing nearby with a stern face and furrowed brow, his hands behind his back. Seeing that Yin Mei had entered, the man quickly wrapped up his call, before finally turning to the girl. "You''ve left quite a mess," He said, and Yin Mei coughed lightly. Perhaps she had gone a little too far with that group by the West Gate. The principal had on a slightly wry smile. "It''s fine. It''s technically self-defense anyways. You did good in finding the Ming twins. It would have been terrible if they managed to get their hands on any of the experimental subjects." He said, taping an elegant and slender finger on his desk as he looked deep in thought. Yin Mei translated this as that there would be no docking of salaries today. She was satisfied. The head of security frowned a little, but said nothing. It was not that he was dissatisfied with this decision of the principal''s, he just wanted to give Yin Mei a slight slap on the wrist (not literally) for disobeying direct orders. After all, in a state of emergency, it was imperative that order was kept to. How disastrous would it be if everyone was like Yin Mei, deciding to run here and there and do whatever they wanted? "As for the Ming twins, we''ll handle things with them. Although no one was seriously harmed, I''m sure that we can still manage something." The principal laughed eerily and Yin Mei wanted to tell him that he really looked like a villain right now. But she kept proper etiquette and remained silent. After all, he was her boss. "Don''t be too hard on them." Yin Mei couldn''t help but say. Sigh, in the end, look how kind of a person she was! She still felt guilty toward Ming Wei after all those years. She couldn''t help but put in a good word or two. "They have their reasons." The principal narrowed his eyes, taking a good look at her. "Their... reasons, huh? And what reasons, would those be, pray tell?" He asked, the aura of the leader of a major family leaking out as he folded his hands in front of him. Yin Mei paused. "Well... so you see... this is just a what if scenario, right?" The principal raised an eyebrow. He considered for a moment. "Alright." He said. "Now, what if, just what if you know, the Ming family was able to ah... obtain some very... special information right?" Yin Mei shifted a few times uneasily, feeling a little bad in divulging the secrets of the Ming family, but even so, she continued on. After all, this was for the good of all of mankind! Also it was just a what if scenario alright, so therefore, it didn''t count! "And so, this special information contained information about the fate of the world in it. And it wasn''t a very good looking future. So therefore, the Ming twins decided they need to do something about it. They needed to... uh... become heroes to save the day, right? This is all what if okay." Yin Mei added on. The principal nodded, indicating for her to continue. "And to save the world, they needed to gather a few things. Some of which are inside the garden. And therefore, we come to our current situation. Although it''s just what if. You know, what if the world was ending and the Ming twins were secretly superheroes trying to save the world." Actually, what she had said wasn''t exactly accurate. It was... somewhat the truth, but not the whole truth. She had omitted and changed a lot of things. In reality, the truth was this: The Ming family''s youngest child had been born with a prophecy ability. Fearing the consequences of this, they hid the child away from the rest of the world. The child''s prophecy ability predicted many great disasters. To be precise, it all involved disasters on large scales. It was one such prophecy that the child had recently divulged which had driven the Ming twins to raid the Black Cross Academy''s experimental garden. It involved some information that involved the evolution of the zombie virus. That was right, the evolution of the zombie virus, thought to have been cured a thousand years ago. The zombie virus that was no longer a threat, of which all current humans were immune too. The zombie virus that no one was infected with, because firstly, the infection rate of the remaining zombies (or better known as mutants now) was minuscule, and secondly, because those remaining zombies were isolated in their own city, of which humans were forbidden entry to without the proper procedures. For Ming Wei, whose life work had been the zombie cure (and the virus itself, but we don''t mention that), of course he couldn''t let said virus run rampant as a new evolved, super version of itself. So, using the information gleaned from his newly obtained younger sibling''s visions, he began researching the virus again, and preparing for its evolved form. So actually, what Yin Mei had said could be considered to be quite true in the end. Of course, Yin Mei could actually just reveal all this. But, she somehow felt that that would be kinda bad. Aside from knocking the plot so off-course that she''d honestly have no idea if it could even be knocked anymore off-course, it could potentially result in mass panic. There was the that the major families and the government may band together to do something about it, but who was she kidding? Those major families setting aside their differences to work together, even if it was for the zombie virus? She felt it was more accurate that they would all fight for resources and lock themselves in an underground safe house. Now, it wasn''t that she didn''t think people were capable of making good, correct decisions under duress. It was that she didn''t trust humans. At least, most humans. She didn''t think that the major families were composed of idiots (some were though, granted), just power hungry assholes who couldn''t get their shit together, even under threat of an apocalypse. She had always wanted to yell at those types of characters in the movies and books, not understanding how they could think like that instead of working toward the betterment of the world, but now she realized that it''s because humans were really like that. Sure, there were good people out there (somewhere, she was sure), but these people weren''t it. What other reason would the Ming family thus keep this information to themselves, instead of conferring with the other families and the Empire''s government? The principal furrowed his brow, seeming to seriously consider what Yin Mei had said. She studied her perfectly painted almond-shaped nails, not even chipped a little from the battle, the red polish gleaming in the light of the room. Hmm, hmm, her nails were very interesting. Very interesting. She decided that she wanted to paint them blue next time. A nice aqua color, maybe. (A/N: My nails are currently a sparkly blue aqua, therefore I require Yin Mei to match them. Yes.) "I will look into this. If what you say is true, then we may be able to come to a compromise with the Ming family. For now, you may be dismissed. Classes will resume as usual tomorrow." The principal said, but just as Yin Mei was about to exit, he suddenly spoke. "You didn''t know about the attack, right?" He hadn''t thought it particularly strange that Yin Mei held possession of this information, as it was well known that the Ming and Mei families were close. But if she had known about the attack, then even if he was reluctant to punish such an excellent teacher, then he would still have to. Yin Mei shook her head, her face calm. The principal nodded, accepting her answer before waving her off. The next day, the class was a little bit different. The students were still uneasy, and it was understandable. But, this much wouldn''t get in the way of the things that they had to do. Yin Mei was in a room with just a table and two chairs. She would be calling the students in one by one to discuss plans about the field experience. The students wouldn''t just be surviving during this period, but they would also have a curated training plan with various carefully selected missions just for them. That was what they were here to discuss today. Although, Yin Mei wouldn''t be going to much in detail, just suggesting what she though was appropriate. The students would also be going over this with all their other teachers, before their combat teacher would finally look over the plan and edit it. Yin Mei looked up as Song Hua stepped into the room. His appearance was as delicate as ever, his round baby-faced cheeks showing his youth. Song Hua was only 15, still a child. Yin Mei would need to at least wait until he was 21 before being able to gobble him up (legally speaking). But looking at him now, so up close, with his thick fluttering lashes, his glittering eyes and porcelain skin... She really wanted to eat him. Song Hua shifted slightly uncomfortably under Yin Mei''s intense gaze, letting out a soft cough and drawing the girl''s attention back to the present. She waved a hand at him to take a seat, her gaze calm as if she was not just thinking uncensored thoughts. She had never understood those novels where the one thousand year old immortal or vampires would be able to get together with high school children. Those sorts of pedophiliac actions were against her morals! As a law abiding citizen, Yin Mei would not have such untoward intentions to a little young chick like Song Hua. Once he was officially an adult, that would quickly change though. Song Hua sat down, his actions as delicate as his entire self. He looked at Yin Mei, having recognized the emotions in her eyes. They were similar to the way older woman and even some men had looked at him before. During that time, he had been disgust, and even felt disdain toward those people. But seeing this woman look at him that way, he didn''t feel that way at all. He almost felt... excited. As if he actually liked the way she looked at him, with the thinly masked desire in her eyes. He inwardly shook his head, pushing down the thought. But he couldn''t stop his eyes from roaming. It first stopped on her lips, plump and glossy, the inside dyed a reddish-pink, like she had just been sucking on a lollipop. It continued down, the slender neck, so delicate that it looked like he could break it with a single touch. And then those collarbones- Yin Mei cleared her throat. "Are you listening?" She asked, blinking at Song Hua, whose eyes snapped back to Yin Mei''s face. "Of course," He said calmly, as if he had not just been looking at his teacher''s chest (and though it was not the most abundant chest in the world, and in fact, on the smaller side, they were round and perky, and in his opinion, quite satisfactory looking - but he would never admit this out loud). Yin Mei nodded, though her gaze remained doubtful. She continued to talk, though Song Hua had completely missed the first part of the conversation. "Considering your grades and performance so far, I''ve decided to recommend these missions for you to take during the field experience. If you have any opinions, do say so." She handed over her tablet, where a long list of missions were displayed. It was clearly a lot to take on in a week, but Yin Mei believed that Song Hua could do it. She felt that if he did not do at least this much, then he would never be able to overcome Qin Shuang. Song Hua also felt this way. He was the type of person to constantly push himself over the limits, and so he didn''t say anything, only nodding as he handed Yin Mei back her tablet. "Then I''ll input them into the system." Back in his dorm room, Song Hua was sitting on his sofa, looking at his tablet. Mei Wen had sent back the essays on Lu Mei the other day after grading, and Song Hua had gotten a 98 out of a hundred points. He read the note that was attached to the essay. She had written that although she personally supported Lu Mei, objectively speaking, his essay had brought up many good points. Even so, Lu Mei''s contributions toward humanity as a whole couldn''t be ignored and she wished that he had gone over this more in his essay. As a result, she was deducting two points. Song Hua set down his tablet beside him, leaning back. Lu Mei. Whenever he read articles or essays on this historical figure, for some reason, he always felt irritated. In fact, it was somewhat similar to the way he felt toward his teacher, Mei Wen. He couldn''t understand this feeling, as if a cat was scratching at his heart. It was painful. It was despicable. Whenever he saw her, it was as if the emotions he worked so hard to control were ballooning up, wanting to consume and devour him. He hated it. He hated her. And yet, even so, he still wanted her. 113 The Teacher and the Student 11 After Song Hua, the next person that came in was Qin Shuang. It was awkward being alone with Qin Shuang, his intense gaze making Yin Mei constantly wonder if her identity had already been seen through. Because they had been interrupted the other day, she didn''t have her answer, and neither did he. Yin Mei didn''t bring it up though, instead tapping at her tablet for a moment before handing it over for Qin Shuang to take a look at it. It only had on task on it, the task that Yin Mei had considered the most important out of the original tasks that Mei Wen had assigned to Qin Shuang. Qin Shuang raised an eyebrow. "Only one?" He took the tablet from Yin Mei, taking a look. "Obtain the egg of Planet Leiden''s sacred beast?" Qin Shuang raised an eyebrow. Yin Mei tapped her stylus on the table. "If you recall from your interplanetary studies..." Yin Mei began, but Qin Shuang interrupted her to finish. "According to the murals left behind by the now extinct indigenous peoples of Planet Leiden, they worshipped something resembling a phoenix as their sacred guardian and protector.... But, isn''t this just a legend? There is no proof or evidence of this beast ever existing." Qin Shuang said, furrowing his brow. "Don''t worry. It exists. And I have no doubt that you''ll be able to find it. This is important. He is important." Yin Mei seemed to emphasize, narrowing her eyes, but in a moment, her face was once more calm. Qin Shuang was doubtful, but for some reason, at this moment, he felt a flash of familiarity. It was faint, but there. And he couldn''t help but feel that this woman was really... really like his older sister. That older sister of his, who was constantly one step ahead, seemingly knowing everything - it was only later that he realized that she had known the future. Her once incomprehensible actions finally made sense. In the end, everything had fallen into place, the cure had been created, the world had been saved. In Qin Shuang''s opinion, without Lu Mei, none of that would have ever happened. He would have died, the doctor would have never been able to formulate the cure, and the mutants would have never been able to enter a treaty with the humans. "Since that''s settled, that''ll be all today. Call Alice on your way out," Yin Mei said, dismissing him without noticing the changes in his expressions. He obediently did so, and only afterwards did he regret it. His body had just naturally moved to complete her request! He had on a bitter expression. Now he would need to wait for another time to corner her while she was alone. Dammit, if only there was some way to know for sure if she was his older sister... And if she was, then why hadn''t she said anything? Ri Yi had only needed to probe him for a few moments before the two had realized each others identities. But for Mei Wen, it was as if she didn''t even have a single intention of revealing herself, if she truly was Lu Mei. He bit his lip, and in the end, settled down with the rest of his classmates, taking out his personal tablet to study. When Alice walked into the adjoining room, Yin Mei looked up to see this pretty little thing that was the female lead. Silver hair, shimmering eyes, and pale skin. She was like some sort of starlight princess, with her lovely appearance. She politely waited for Yin Mei to motion for her to sit, her mannerisms soft and gentle. Yin Mei really wanted to ask - where in the world did Qin Shuang see any resemblance of this girl in comparison to herself? The answer was apparently: her ruthlessness toward her enemies. Yin Mei: ... Yin Mei was silent, going through a few things on her tablet. Alice felt slightly nervous, her eyes curious as she looked at this beautiful teacher of theirs. She felt that she really admired her. She had heard a lot of rumors from her classmates, about how she was once a very talented Brigade member known for her ruthlessness, only to retire early on and take on this job to nurture the next generation. Alice thought that for such a strong person to make such a decision, sacrificing herself for the sake of teaching others, was very admirable. Of course, she had completely misunderstood Mei Wen. Yin Mei finally began talking, first going over Alice''s performance in class. Alice was a good student. She was ranked third in the class, below Qin Shuang and Song Hua, and her best subjects were combat theory and weapons studies. Although Yin Mei''s class wasn''t included among them, it wasn''t surprising. In fact, the only student whose "best class" could be considered history was Qin Shuang, and he had lived through history. Yin Mei wondered if it would be better to change subjects... Next year, she decided maybe she would try teaching combat training. At least then she would be able to beat up students! In fact, it was odd in the first place that a former Brigade member like Mei Wen was even teaching a core class like history, instead of combat elective. But, such was Mei Wen''s decision. When she had retired from the Brigade, she had done so in order to get away from fighting. Not have to teach it for the rest of her life. Yin Mei turned her tablet toward Alice, where there was a small list of missions written out. It wasn''t that much, and Yin Mei hadn''t actually put any thought into them. These were all what the original Mei Wen had given to Alice. The original Mei Wen may have considered this and that when assigning them, but Yin Mei didn''t know her thoughts on the matter - the information didn''t go that much in detail. Alice looked over it. She thought that they all looked reasonable, a few of them especially tailored to help her overcome her weaknesses, and she once more thought that her teacher was a very admirable person, who paid attention to her students. Her sparkling eyes of awe were a little painful and Yin Mei really wanted to ask - what in the world are you looking at this minor villain like that for? The session ended quickly, and each one after that was a blur, Yin Mei simply recommended what the original Mei Wen had - as for those less important students whose missions hadn''t been mentioned, she had randomly chosen a few things that had seemed suitable before sending them on their way. The next month passed by slowly but surely, as things returned to normal and the students seemed to forget that there had been an attack on campus at all, falling back into the rhythm of things, burying themselves in their school work. As like Yin Mei had thought, the issue with the Ming family was handled under the table, and there was no news of the attack from any media outlets at all. She didn''t know what deal had. been made, but the Ming twins had been quickly released and returned to the Ming family''s home, their actions afterward quiet and very much under the radar. By the time Yin Mei blinked, it was already time for the trip to Leiden. Because of advancements in technology, the trip would be like the time it would take for about a short plane ride - only two and a half hours. After the invention of warp tunnels, space travel had taken on a whole new meaning, and advancements in it were made in leaps and bounds, humanity journeying to far off stars and planets. When the group landed, they could immediately see the misty green forests and mountains of Leiden in the distance, truly deserving of looking like a cultivation world where immortals meditated at. The group dropped off the children in the sector of the world that they would be training in, while the rest of the teachers would have their accommodations paid for and could go travel wherever they pleased for the rest of the week. Hai Lan planned to go to one of Leiden''s beautiful beaches along with a group of other teachers. Though she had invited both Alexei and Yin Mei, the former was planning on staying at the hotel the school had booked near the space station, and Yin Mei had her own plans. She was disappointed but still excited for her own vacation plans and so the three quickly split up. Yin Mei wasn''t exactly here on vacation, though she certainly planned on enjoying herself. She looked at the looming forest and mountain ranges beyond the gated wall where the students were currently embarking on their survival journey, battling ferocious alien beasts and carnivorous plants. She went to what she could only describe as a ticket booth, where a security officer was in a room inside the wall, a window between him and the outside world. "I''d like to purchase an adult training pass." Yin Mei said, knocking on the window lightly. The security guard yawned lightly, tapping something into the computer. "That''s 850 credits miss. Ah... but with the Black Cross Academy discount, you''ll only need to pay 650 credits." Yin Mei reached her hand through the slot in the window, and the guard scanned her wrist where the small diamond was. There was a beep that indicated the successful transaction. He waved her off, the gate opening to let her in. Beyond the gate was an enclosed space, with another gate that opened as the first one closed. An extra security measure, to make sure nothing that they didn''t want to would get out. When Yin Mei entered the forest, the first thing she noticed was the darkness. The leaves were a deep green, almost blue color, and the shadows made the bark of the trees a near black. In addition, there was a light fog that slightly impeded ones vision. It was a witch''s forest. That was what Yin Mei thought. She wasted no time in entering the shadow world, and when she reemerged, the scenery had vastly changed. The ground was smooth black rock, and before her was a deep scar in the earth, a ravine that was all darkness. She had no hesitation in jumping in. She felt like she was going down the rabbit hole, though it wasn''t a rabbit hole that she was going down. For what could have been several hours, or only several minutes, she was free falling in complete darkness. But after a while, she could see a small light, getting brighter. The shadows turned murky and thick, slowing her descent. Soon the brightness was overwhelming, momentarily blinding her. When she blinked it away, she was no longer falling through darkness, but had reemerged into a whole new world. The world under Leiden. The shadows wrapped themselves around her, completely stopping her fall now, allowing her to hang in the air and admire the scene before her. There were pockets, holes of light that shone through the earth to illuminate the scene. There was a forest, a volcano dripping with lava, a small mountain range, and the ruins of an ancient city. It was literally a world within a world. In some weird way. The shadows stretched down, down, down, before letting her go gently to the floor. This region was one that was undiscovered by the governments of their world, through a magical barrier that messed with their technology. That barrier was a remnant of the ancient technology of the indigenous Leiden people, who were already extinct (or perhaps they had flown off the planet and gone to explore the rest of the vast expanses of space, but the point is, there were no more of them left on Leiden). And now all Yin Mei would need to do was wait for Qin Shuang, Song Hua, and that Alice girl to arrive here. Of course, with Qin Shuang main character halo, there was no way that he would not discover this place. And, this was where the sacred beast egg that he needed to find was. Yin Mei glanced toward the small mountains, with their gray jagged peaks. They were high enough to almost touch the ceiling that was lined with a bright glowing moss, and wreathed in mist, almost as if they were shy, hiding themselves from the view of others. She checked the time. It would take a few days before Qin Shuang and Song Hua (plus an Alice) would get here. She might as well go exploring. She felt that she would feel too guilty if she stole treasures from Qin Shuang out of all people though, so this really would just be exploring. Not treasure stealing. She nodded firmly. After all, she wasn''t the type of person to bully little kids, okay? 114 The Teacher and the Student 12 Although Yin Mei thought that she wouldn''t do such a mean thing like steal away Qin Shuang''s treasures, after a moments thought, she decided that no one could say anything about stealing away the treasures that the world governments would later find. After Qin Shuang and group were rescued by the school, this region became a highly protected research region under the governance of the various world governments. Although Qin Shuang had found what could have been considered the most important treasure (the sacred beast egg), there were still enough good treasures to go around for those government bodies. Yin Mei suddenly seemed to brighten up. Anyways, it''ll be good to be able to power Song Hua up without stealing from little kids. She thought that this idea was genius! She happily went about exploring. The only pity was that she wasn''t properly equipped to handle the volcano region, so she would have to give up on the treasure that reside there. Instead, she made a beeline toward the city ruins, arguably the most interesting place - aside from the mountains, where the sacred beast had once resided in. There weren''t any monsters or other things around, everything so eerily quiet save for the rumbling of the volcano off in the distance. The air was hot and heavy, but Yin Mei could barely feel it, first due to the evolved physique of the new humans, and secondly due to the temperature adjusting properties of her bodysuit. Although Yin Mei had called the cities ruins, when Yin Mei arrived, she clearly saw that such a word was not fit to describe it. They were practically pristine and untouched throughout the ages, the pure white stone engraved in unknown symbols that were hard to describe - they were elegant and beautiful, but nothing of this world. Oh, I guess they were of this world, since this was the language of the Leiden indigenous peoples. Yin Mei fished out the tablet from her shadow, taking pictures. And a few more pictures. And also a selfie. Once she was satisfied, she put the picture through a language and image analysis program, but as expected, it came up with nothing. After all, this language wasn''t anything of Earth. It''d probably take much more than just a simple program installed on her tablet to decipher it. She continued on through the abandoned city. There were no signs of life whatsoever, and although most of the city looked perfect, there were some crumbling portions that had clearly been the result of the passage of time. She continued taking pictures happily, thinking that this place really looked good. Real tourist worthy, though there was no way that the world governments would let in tourists until they had thoroughly cleaned out the entire place of anything valuable with a fine-toothed comb. Yin Mei entered a house, the thick wooden door opening without any problems. She looked around. It was empty. Like every other building seemed to be. For some reason, there was no traces of life. No hints that anyone had lived here at all, save for the city buildings themselves. She took another picture. A while later, Yin Mei entered the palace - at least, that was what she called the looming building at the center of the city, that, by all intents and purposes, seemed to be a palace. It had pure white spires and pale blue crystal windows. Alien flora the color of fresh blood - red leaves, red vines, and red petals - climbed up the walls, entwined with what appeared to be its golden sister - gold leaves, gold vines, gold petals. Yin Mei studied the moat. The water was an icy blue-white, harshly dividing the palace from the rest of the city. There was no sign of any moat bridge, just a white wall that bordered the building. It was smooth and wet, appearing very much unclimbable. There wasn''t even a gate. Just a moat, and a wall. Yin Mei slowly walked around the entirety of the palace, her heels clicking on the white cobblestone road. Everything was so white that it annoyed her, slightly. Save for those blue crystal windows and the red and gold flowers. It was all white, white, white. She stopped back at her original place, where she had first arrived at the castle. She kicked a loose stone forward, and it dropped into the waters... is not what happened. In fact, it bounced forward, a cling sound as it hit what appeared to be empty air. Bounced once, twice, and then did it drop into the water, swallowed up by its frothy white depths. Interesting. Yin Mei stepped forward. Her heels made a sharp sound against the "air", and her other foot left the white stone ground to stand next to her first foot. She was standing in air. Perfectly floating. Or rather, she appeared to be standing on some sort of material that was so clear it was invisible. Or perhaps the material itself was invisible, rather than being a clear material. But it was clear that the material didn''t continue across the entire moat. Yin Mei continued, each step testing for the feel of something solid beneath her, as light footed as a ballerina. One step and another, then the next. It was when she neared the halfway point when her foot only met air and nothing else. She cautiously explored, finding the edge, and continuing on until she discovered where the invisible bridge continued. At the end, she reached the white wall, looking up at it. She had reached the end, but there still wasn''t a gate or door to let her in. She put her hand up on the smooth material - it felt like how it looked. Smooth and wet. It was cool to the touch, and where her hand moved away, though the material had felt wet, her hand came back dry. It was an odd experience. She continued feeling up the wall, but didn''t seem to find anything. She took out her tablet, the camera scanning the wall. It didn''t find anything either. She was about to give up in frustration when a loud rumbling almost knocked her off balance. She looked in the direction of the volcano, which constantly glowed like a bright beacon of light. Her eyes then changed direction to the. mountains, where the misty peaks seemed as peaceful as ever, laying completely undisturbed. Her eyes then fell to the forest that she had landed in. The same as before. She tilted her head. The rumbling continued, the wall that she had leaned against to regain her balance vibrating under her hand. Yin Mei stamped her foot slightly, then kicked the wall as if it could stop that obnoxious rumbling. It did. And like some sort of miracle, the wall beneath her hand disappeared, and she tumbled into the now empty space. The wall closed itself a moment later, as if nothing had happened. Inside the palace walls now, Yin Mei rebalanced herself, her feet stepping on a deep green grass. She looked around, seemingly in a location that resembled some sort of garden - a garden with glowing blue flowers, weeping crystal willows that glimmered under the light and tinkled like a wind chime as their branches clashed against each other, and furry leaves sprouting out of deep blue soil like bouncing rabbit ears. Yin Mei took some more pictures before continuing on her way. Entering the palace, the inside appeared made out of a sort of white marble like material, polished to a mirror like shine. The chandeliers that hung from the ceilings, for no better word for them, seemed made of silver, pale tears, and glowing blue flowers. Yin Mei wandered here and there, seemingly with no purpose, until she arrived in front of large double doors, only distinguished from the wall due to the extravagant engravings. The. language of Leiden''s indigenous people seemed wondrously entwined with images of Leiden''s alien beasts and flora. Yin Mei studied it. Took pictures. Analyzed it. The door remained silent throughout, and no matter how Yin Mei seemed to push it, it did not open. The next couple of days passed with Yin Mei attempting in vain to open the door. She didn''t appear at all to get bored, in fact, as each day passed, she only seemed more intrigued. But soon the kids would arrive, and she didn''t have much more time left. There was no way that she would leave this place without at least one treasure. She had already gone from the mindset of not stealing any treasures to absolutely needing to steal a treasure. As for this door, the information didn''t reveal to her anything. For all she knew, the world governments had never been able to open this door. After all, what the information revealed was fairly vague - a few treasures that they had obtained had been revealed, but the methods of obtainment were hidden. This is because they weren''t important to the plot. She narrowed her eyes from her seat in front of the double doors, her legs crossed over each other as she hummed and hawed in thought. She flicked the air in front of her, looking slightly bored now as she leaned her cheek against one palm. "Why can''t the door just open by itself? Like open sesame~ and bam, it''d open, and we''d all be happy." The door opened. Yin Mei blankly stared at in, unable to comprehend. Huh? Did it really just open? Just like she had told it to?? WTF! If she knew it was this easy then what where those three hard days of work for! She managed to recovered her wounded heart and soul, standing up to enter. The room was vast, the ceiling floating high up above her in a dome like shape, lights hanging from the walls, the glass "lanterns" filled with water and glowing flowers. Inside, there was only one thing. Yin Mei had hoped it was a treasury, but thinking of how empty the rest of the city and palace were, even if it was, she was afraid that it wouldn''t have held anything inside of it for her to pilfer. This room didn''t appear very much like a treasury, and more so similar to a mausoleum. Standing in the center was what I would say appeared to be a rectangular coffin made of white stone. On it was engraved something that Yin Mei couldn''t decipher. There were images of Leiden''s fauna, along with some humanoid like people. The humanoid people had horns. Yin Mei could tell that these people should be members of Leiden''s indigenous peoples. The coffin was uncovered, and filled with white flowers resembling spider lilies, and some sort of smooth gray pod. How curious. Yin Mei tapped the pod-like thing, and it seemed metal-like. So perhaps something man-made? Though in this case it would be alien-made. She placed her hand on it. It was slightly warm to the touch, but not hot, and almost seemed to hum beneath her hand. Whatever it was, it seemed like it hadn''t run out of power after all the years it must have been stuck in here. She scooped it up. It was small enough to hold, but big enough that she could probably fit a human baby into it. She paused. She didn''t jinx that right? She thought that there was no way there would be a baby inside the pod. It didn''t do anything, so she lazily placed it into her shadow. She didn''t have any more time to loiter. Although the only reward for her hard work was this mysterious item that didn''t seem to have any purpose, she thought that she should at least be able to grab some other things while observing the kids. She opened up the system''s surveillance system. The kids were due for tonight, and nightfall should happen in the next few hours. They appeared to be having fun, Yin Mei thought as she watched Qin Shuang, Alice, and Song Hua all run from a large beast with a called belly and furry back. She took a look at what Alexei and Hai Lan were doing - both seemed to be enjoying themselves. The former was relaxing in the hotel like he said he would, drinking out of a tea cup and reading something on his tablet while bathing in the pale light of the Leiden sun. The latter was surfboarding with coworkers. She waved away the screen. Sigh! Look at all this fun that she had given up in order to watch over these little brats! Honestly, even if she wasn''t here they could still take care of themselves... But this was all for the demon king, so that he wouldn''t continue having a disadvantage when pitted up against Qin Shuang... She felt that wouldn''t Qin Shuang be happy, if he knew that the zombie emperor he had once tried several times in vain to defeat was now weaker than him? She continued to sincerely wonder why it was that he seemed incapable of associating Song Hua to the zombie emperor. Did he not recall the man''s appearance, or did he simply not recall the zombie emperor in general? She thought that maybe one day the mystery would be solved. But alas, today would not be such a day.