Chapter 1
Early winter, a chilly night on a full moon .
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On the edge of the city center sat a residential area, each house exquisite and elegant, demonstrating a dreamland similar to a fairy tale town . However, only a few houses were lit, scattered here and there in the entire community, with most of the houses contaminated by the night, like a boat sunk under the sea . Splendorous and majestic street lights concealed the desolate loneliness .
A blue car drove through the empty streets, entering the garage of one grey storied building . The lights within the house lit up, the green light of the security system outside the doors subsequently switching on . It was pitch dark in the house across the street, with a broker’s advertisement still hung outside, but behind the second-floor windows stood a shadow, silently fixing his gaze on that lit room .
On the second floor of the grey building, rice-colored curtains before the French windows were pulled shut, isolating the scenery within the room, but a silhouette could be seen through the light on the curtains .
The person in the dark smiled .
What a lovely angel…
The silhouette behind the curtains raised her hand, pulling her hair together to tie it behind her head . Then, her hand moved to her chest, unbuttoning and lightly taking off her blouse, casually throwing it to one side .
He could not see the sight behind the windows, and could only spot a shadow . But it was much more exciting than seeing her actual body, and it would lead him into a reverie .
The exquisite figure walked to the bedside, one foot stepping onto the edge of the bed, then, slim fingers reaching the groin, boldly groped in that area .
The person in the dark froze .
The silhouette behind the curtains suddenly paused heavily, the hand between her thighs conveniently moving downward to the stockings at her feet .
The person in the dark let out a sigh of relief, smiling .
So she was taking off her stockings… What a naughty little thing .
The figure behind the windows turned, exiting the room . The person in the dark smiled lightly, he knew she had gone for a bath, and he also knew that she would spend almost an hour bathing .
This was his second week observing her, his angel . And tonight, he would leave; before he left, he would take away a part of her, as a commemoration of the good times these past two weeks . Even if she had been ignorant of his existence from start to end .
About forty minutes later, an exquisite figure could be seen behind the curtains once more . The shadow moved towards the windows, sitting down, then raising a hairdryer to dry her hair .
She was a little quicker today…
After drying her hair, the figure moved towards the bed, lying down on it .
He knew she was watching television, she would always watch for about half-an-hour of TV before going to sleep, sometimes falling asleep once she switched on the TV . He guessed, perhaps she yearned for the fine and unadulterated romantic love shown on television .
As long as he placed a small curse, he would be able to hear the activities within the house . He had once eavesdropped upon those beautifully tranquil melodies in those films, those passionate confessions, and her tears, light sobbing voice, moved by the contents of the plot—
Ah, what an innocent and cute angel…
“—Spread them out, good girl…”
“…Feel all of it—”
“Ahhn!”
Paired with a high-quality hi-fi system, wet and sticky gasps were played out, along with the slapping noises of physical flesh .
The person in the dark froze .
It suddenly switched channels, the sharp and berserk shrieks of a cat rang out, with a calm and professional male commentator’s voice beside it .
“…Mreooow!”
“—A kitten who has recently joined the community, causing it to display restlessness and fear of its surroundings . For this reason, it shows extreme resistance to the touch of other humans—”
What?
The television once again switched channels .
“—Super effective cleanser! As long as it’s sprayed and rested for twenty seconds, with a light wipe, the old and stubborn dirt will come off on its own, as good as new—”
The person in the dark frowned, confused .
The channels were switched once again, a clean and mellifluous melody ringing out, setting off a conversation of deep emotion between a boy and a girl .
The person in the dark revealed a smile of relief .
Nothing had changed . Everything was normal .
Before long, the television was switched off, the lights extinguished, and the shadow vanished along with the light .
He couldn’t see the sights inside the house, but could still hear the sounds within . The sound of a phone placed on the nightstand, the sound of the mattress pressing down, the sound of the quilt pulled up, the sound of her body tossing and turning restlessly . Around twenty minutes later, the deep and stabilized sound of breathing transferred over .
His angel was sleeping . It was time to move .
He reached out a hand, taking out a snow-white mask that covered half his face from his pockets, putting it on . He opened the windows, standing on the window ledge . After muttering an incantation, he then leaped, his body slowly descending like a piece of paper, the black cloak behind him floating along with the wind, like the black wings of a bat .
He was extremely satisfied with this visual effect .
Walking towards the grey storied building, he gracefully leaped over the external walls, coming before the main entrance . He put a hand over the security system’s settings area, and in the next second, the green light was extinguished, the system removed, unlocking the main entrance’s door .
He smiled, but did not march straight in by turning the doorknob . Instead, he turned away to retreat back to where he came from, jumping through the fence, returning to the second floor of the opposite building, then leaping out of the windows once more . This time, he traversed over the street, landing trippingly onto the balcony right opposite, taking the chance to spin around when he descended, cloak nimbly furling up, his movements smooth and easy .
He secretly gave himself a round of applause .
Reaching a hand covered in snow-white gloves, he pushed the window open, stepping into the house . Moonlight spilled in, drawing an outline of the scenery within .
The room with pink as its main colors was fine and elegant, books of prose and spiritual growth placed on light brown bookshelves, as well as dolls and decorative items bought from her travels .
He nodded with a smile . Very good, as expected of his idea on an angel…
Taking a deep breath, the scent of freesia essential oil assaulted his senses . He smiled, but along with the frankincense, the odor of mellow wine caught him off his guard .
He lowered his head in puzzlement, sniffing his own body with a frown .
It must have caught him at work… He had been a little late today, so he hadn’t had time to clean himself carefully .
He turned, walking to the center of the room . A knoll was bulging under the rice-colored bed, long black hair covering a shoulder, concealing most of her face .
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He grabbed onto one side of the quilt, gently pulling it down, revealing the body hidden underneath .
The slender body on the bed lay on one side, curled up slightly, both legs overlapping, akin to a mermaid . Deep purple and silk chiffon night-clothes covered the snowy skin up to her butt, but at present, it was rolled halfway up to her waist, the translucent cloth proving absolutely ineffective in covering her up, hazily divulging the complicated and gorgeous silk undergarment underneath, panties of the same style faintly discernible under the area between two crossed legs; they were the bandage type, a perfect bow-knot tied around the waist .
He stared blankly . He hadn’t expected his pure angel to actually have such a coarse and wild side to her…
This was a little inconsistent with his expectations, but, but…
He looked at the delicate crochet lace, gulping a mouthful of saliva, and smiled .
This wasn’t bad either .
He took out a pink water-lily he had prepared beforehand, in accordance with his usual practice, placing it on the nightstand, then lightly took up the hand on the pillow . To his surprise, her palm was bigger than he had expected .
He left a kiss on the back of her hand .
“Is that enough for you?” A giggling inquiry rang out from the closet . “How pure-hearted you are!”
He jumped, about to flee, when suddenly the overlapping legs on the bed opened up, kicking at his waist sideways, pulling him down . Before he could react, a heavy force attacked from below, pressing him down onto the bed .
It was a trap!
He knew he should counterattack right away, but using force against the opposite sex went against his principles, and besides, she was even dressed up like—
Wait!
He stared at the chest before him, realizing that underneath the gorgeous undergarment was completely flat .
“You don’t have breasts!”
“No shit!” Humphing in disdain, “An enemy won’t go easy on you just because of your gender . Swayed by such a small matter, you’re really a good-for-nothing . ”
He furrowed his brows, waving a fist a the person above him . An offensive spell was added to his fist, shining a purple radiance .
But before his fist could reach his target, he was assaulted by a fiery red shock wave from the side, deviating the path of his fist .
There was a partner!
He was astonished, but not thrown into confusion, ferociously turning around with shrewd reflexes .
The person above him had his center of gravity unbalanced, falling to one side . With the weakening pressure, he handily freed himself, leaping off the bed, rushing at the opened balcony . But just a step before he reached the windows, a gust of wind blew up, shutting the windows close . At the same time, the ferocious wind pushed him to the walls, tightly suppressing him like a formless assailant, forcing him immobile .
“Caught him!”
The doors to the room, bathroom, and closet opened in succession, the men lying in wait to ambush revealing themselves one after another .
The two eyes behind the mask glared at the enemy, gritting his teeth . He cursed lowly, this was the failure of his life .
“We succeeded!” Feng Ping Lan stepped out of the closet, happily walking across to Conglong, clapping a hand on his back, “You’re just too amazing! Conglong! Our dear friend was completely submissive under your lacy nightclothes! My foresight was as expected correct!”
Simo looked at Conglong’s manner of dressing, eyes widening . She wanted to speak, but said nothing, and after stalling for a long moment, spat out her dissatisfaction at last, questioning in a quiet voice .
“Why did you take my… my clothes…”
“He told me to put them on . ” Conglong pointed at Feng Ping Lan .
Simo looked at the mastermind plaintively .
“I borrowed them from you yesterday!” Feng Ping Lan spoke hastily, “I couldn’t possibly enter a girl’s room without permission, so I took them directly from the clothes rack . Luckily, it fit him quite well . ”
“B-but…” He hadn’t mentioned anything about borrowing her undergarments!
“You wear these all the time?” Conglong asked, simultaneously grabbing in between his legs, “Don’t you feel uncomfortable?” He had started feeling itchy all over although he had worn it for just a short while .
“That’s… real silk…” Simo refuted softly, at the same time questioning Feng Ping Lan, “Is there a need… to take it to this step…”
“I was thinking that since he’s a specialized pervert, we have to respect his specialty, this way he’ll take the bait . ” Feng Ping Lan cracked his mouth into a smile, “Am I right! Mister Procreation Thief, Magician of the Obscene?”
“It’s called the Gentleman Thief, Magician of the Silver Moon!” The intruder retorted in rage, then glared at Conglong, “Cover your legs! Cease your groping!”
“You’re noisy! Why don’t you put them on!”
“It’s just a pervert with a defective brain, nothing too difficult . ” Morris stared at the immobile man before his eyes, raising his eyebrows, “Twelve failures to apprehend him? I never thought the Summoners were this crippled . ”
The Gentleman Thief, Magician of the Silver Moon . His activities had started five years ago, sending unsigned postcards with water lilies pressed onto them to his targets before committing his crimes; always operating during the night of a full moon, slipping into a single woman’s room, leaving behind a bouquet of water lilies, then applying coral lipstick on her and making a rubbing of her lips before leaving .
Due to his victims never suffering an explicit loss in their wealth, nor receiving any bodily or mental damage, this criminal had always been thought of as merely a pervert . However, due to many unexplained happenings at his crime scenes, the Association had included him into the list of targets to be observed, sending out protection teams from various regions to inspect him, not to pursue him proactively yet . Until a woman had met a tragic death in her room two years ago, her heart gouged out with a rose discovered on the site of the crime scene and coral lipstick spread on the victim’s lips, the Association finally started to follow this ‘Gentleman Thief’ closely, placing him into the list of wanted men .
Although this was a small character in a D-ranked mission, the pursuers would always be defeated, so the reward money had changed with the overall trend, equivalent to an rank mission .
The missions below D-rank did not need to be reported to headquarters, only needing them to pay a deposit to receive the resources, executing their commission . As such, Yin Su Shuang had permitted Feng Ping Lan’s group to take the case into their own hands, only requiring them to report beforehand .
They had received this mission a week before, pursuing him to this place . The original owner of this house had been placed under an intimation spell by Byriel, once she had gotten off work, to return to her hometown .
Looking at the past records, Feng Ping Lan guessed that the Gentleman Thief was extremely sensitive to demonic auras and spells, or had used some sort of method to detect the presence of Summoners and demons . So as not to alert their target, the demons had not used a single spell, allowing Feng Ping Lan to drive everyone to the house using the original owner’s car .
As for Conglong, his mouth had been sealed off using packaging tape, so that his vomit would not leak out, then placed him in the rear compartment, only letting him out to change when they arrived .
Feng Ping Lan had originally offered to perform as the owner of the house, but due to the Gentleman Thief’s criminal record of murder, the Contracts worried that it would be dangerous for Feng Ping Lan if he became bait on the front lines, so they had sent Conglong, who had a similar body shape, forward .
As for the only female in the group, Simo had not been considered due to her stiff acting skills .
As they had surmised from the records of previous cases, there was a possibility the Gentleman Thief could be observing from a nearby residence, or had even placed listening devices or spells of that sort, so for the entire process, everyone had kept their silence, only using hand signs and writing to converse .
Everything had been carried out according to plan, and as the plan had anticipated, they had captured their target without a hitch .
“You guys from the Association?” The Gentleman Thief raised his eyebrows, glancing at Feng Ping Lan, “You’re a Summoner? They’re your Contracts?”
“Yeah . ” Feng Ping Lan answered, but his heart inwardly spasmed with guilt . “Why are you asking me that?”
“Because you have a face that has stupid written all over it! Will you stop the nonsense now? Let’s retreat quickly!” Conglong urged impatiently, “Let’s send this perverted murderer to the mortuary, I still need to collect the fruits of my Easter Egg Tree . ”
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“I have never killed anyone . ” The Gentleman Thief sighed, “That was not my doing . ”
Conglong humphed dismissively, “That’s right, you wear a cloak, hiding behind a mask, slipping into a female’s room at night to pilfer, your words are really convincing me!”
“I am the Gentleman Thief, I arrive in the moonlight, leaving a fragrance in my wake . What I steal are the perfumes of young girls, what I ask are the clean and honest lip marks, as a remembrance of a page of the eternal days of youth; I leave flowers behind, representing my enthusiasm and sincerity, as a souvenir of our meeting, an apology for my fickle departure . ” The man murmured as if he was reciting poetry, pleading his innocence .
“I’m starting to worry…” Byriel gave a wry smile, “That we might find Bai Li Rui under that mask . ”
“It can’t be Li Rui . ” Feng Ping Lan refuted .
“Oh?” Byriel raised his eyebrows, “You’re that trusting of him?” Heh, what a steady friendship they had .
“Li Rui’s afraid of heights, he can’t possibly jump from the second floor . ” Feng Ping Lan turned his head to glance at the Gentleman Thief, who was shackled to the walls by Dongya’s wind curse, reaching out his hand, “Let’s see your true face, Mister Thief!”
“I’m afraid not . ” Below the mask, half of his face was uncovered, he raised the corners of his lips, “The right to remove my mask belongs only to my angel . ” With that, he exerted all his strength, the wind curse vanishing instantly . He leaped forward, shoving Feng Ping Lan away, who was blocking him, rushing straight towards the windows .
As they converged, Feng Ping Lan could smell a sort of odor . It was a complicated odor, a little familiar, but it was hard to recall at the moment, the circumstances before his eyes not allowing for him to get distracted recalling either .
Dongya startled, not expecting him to break away from his spell, but immediately returned to his senses, summoning his wind blades to shoot at him . At the same time, Morris cast out a ball of flame .
The wind blades tore holes into the cloak and suit, the ball of flame instantaneously incinerating the cloak into ash, but the man’s movements did not stop, as if he was unaffected . He reached out a hand into his pocket .
A silhouette appeared outside the window, flying up to three floors high .
Immediately, a flash of light resonated outside the room, the blinding radiance causing everyone in the room to close their eyes .
“It’s a Contract! This guy’s a Summoner!”
The Gentleman Thief crashed through the French windows, preparing to leap out . Simo hurriedly tapped her tuning fork, extending a sound wall around the area outside the room, but this had absolutely no separating effect, the other grasping onto the hand of the person outside and jumping onto the ground .
Byriel waved his arm, a dozen golden needles shooting out at the Contract, who wore a thick windbreaker and adorned a mask and sunglasses .
Pop!
A tiny sound of something bursting rang out, but the Contract who was hit did not make a sound, descending with their master .
Quetzal stood there motionlessly, glancing out the window . The surface shadows outside started to twist and sneak around . Before the Gentleman Thief fell to the ground, the shadows sprung up as if splashed, descending from above, enveloping and restricting them .
The people in the shadows struggled, the shadows morphing to their movements .
“Caught him!” Feng Ping Lan stood by the windows, saying excitedly .
But in the next moment, a pair of hands penetrated through the shadows, and following it, his head, torso, legs, and entire body separated away from the cage of shadows, carrying the Contract with the windbreaker on his back, the two of them scuttling out .
Everyone was astonished . There was actually a demon who could break through Quetzal’s shadow curse?
Quetzal was expressionless, but his eyebrows were furrowed slightly .
The Gentleman Thief passed through the front courtyard with lightning speed, pushing the iron gate on the external walls .
“Beep! Beep! An abnormal occurrence! An abnormal occurrence!” The security system’s alert signal rang out, resounding through the entire house .
“What’s going on?!”
“He touched the security system!”
The black silhouette sprinted towards the street, the headlights of a car parked in the corner of the street lighting up . He rushed to the car, opening the door, and jumped in, starting the engine with lighting speed . Morris, Conglong, and Dongya shot attacks at the car, but most of them were blocked by a defensive spell, leaving a few dents and breaking two car windows .
The car accelerated and sped past, swiveling violently around the lane way, letting out screeching braking sounds, and when he passed around a corner, he faded away as if melted .
Everyone stood by the windows, looking at the empty streets . The alert signal was still echoing through the house, as if mocking their failure .
“Get that woman to shut up!” Morris bellowed impatiently .
“We can only stop it by removing its settings…”
“Then remove it!”
“But we don’t have its security settings card . ”
The sound of a telephone’s ringtone rang out .
“What is it this time!”
“It must be from security center . ”
Morris waved his fist resentfully, a fiery claw striking the telephone, blasting it into fragments, thoroughly and effectively obstructing the ringtone .
“Uh, it would actually be better if we picked it up . ” Feng Ping Lan scratched his head, “We have the profile of this house’s owner, Simo could pretend to be her, sending the security away with the excuse that she accidentally set off the security system—”
“It’s just a phone call, so what if we didn’t pick it up!”
“If we don’t pick it up, the people from the security company will personally come here to check on the situation, we will need to spend more time resolving it . ” Byriel crossed his arms, looking at Morris exasperatedly, “When will you ever evolve into a paramecium, I wonder? I am constantly anticipating on having a much higher-leveled species as my teammate . ”
“Shut up!” The feeling of defeat and vexation caused Morris to be filled with pent-up anger . He reached out, four claws of flame attacking Byriel .
Before Byriel could dodge or counter-attack, the four fiery claws were extinguished in the air by the clap of a formless wind, transforming into fragmentary tephra before falling to the ground .
Dongya’s hand halted in midair, keeping his offensive stance . There was a smile on his face, but it looked incomparably malevolent .
“Do not destroy anything else in this house, all these…” Dongya pronounced each and every word slowly, “Have . To . Be . Paid . For…”
Morris’s expreesion changed abruptly, his bluster vanishing in an instant . “…I will take the blame . ”
Byriel glanced at Dongya, not saying anything, then turned his gaze out the window .
Dongya furrowed his brows slightly, giving an inward sigh .
The sound of approaching vehicles rang out, the people from the security company had arrived .
Their target had escaped .
D-rank mission, the case of apprehending the Gentleman Thief, Magician of the Silver Moonlight, had ended in its thirteenth failure .
The Janus Mortuary .
In the spacious basement, seven figures stood before the disarrayed front desk, faces looking particularly unpleasant .
“You were defeated?” Shen Yang chewed on a piece of gum, head propped up, focused on staring at the water ring toss game in their hands, ignoring the row of long-faced guests before them . “The records need to be updated again . ”
“What’s that guy’s origins?”
“We don’t know, that’s why we need you to investigate . ” Shen Yang stared at the little rings in the small window, pressing the buttons, the formless water pillars flushing the wings upward, which missed the pillars in the air, sinking back to the bottom . “Aiya! So close!”
“That guy could break through all our attacks, he’s not a simple character . ” Conglong spoke . “Shouldn’t this mission be ranked much higher than D-rank?”
“Although it’s a D-rank case, the failure rate’s just too high, so the reward money was increased, why do you think catching this pervert is worth twenty-five thousand US dollars? Half of it comes from the deposits of those who gave up . ”
“I don’t understand, why do we have to pay a deposit for D-rank missions? It’s just too unreasonable!” Conglong continued to protest .
“Because, if you alert the target by making a mistake, it’ll make things even more difficult for others receiving the mission after you . ” Shen Yang explained, “As for missions C-rank and above, a failure usually results in death or injury, so, out of humanitarian compassion, we won’t collect deposits from this . Just treat it was Janus’ consolation gift, hahahahahaha!”
Shen Yang continued to press the buttons, their entire head following the movements of the rings of the little water box, drawing an arc . Unfortunately, it was still a miss .
“Besides, the Gentleman Thief wouldn’t have the need to flee if he was really that powerful . The others who received this mission in the past, although failing their mission, had never resulted in any casualties . With the exception of a few rookies who were caught by security in the escape, and were hit by a few police batons . Ah, another failure, how hateful . ”
“That guy’s a Summoner, doesn’t the Association have a few related records?”
“Summoners are identified by their Contracts . If the appearance and ability of the Contract is unknown, there’s no way you can investigate him . Besides, he might be an Opposer who has yet to be naturalized . ” Shen Yang blew a purple bubble from their mouth, and after exploding, reached out their tongue to roll it back into their mouth, carrying on with their chewing, “Actually, you guys did quite well . In the past, most of the others were seen through by him and given the slip before they could even spot him, not even able to confirm his identity as an Usurper or an Opposer . ”
The rings sunk again, making Shen Yang frown .
“Um…” Feng Ping Lan couldn’t help but speak out . “Tilt the box, then move the box directly when the rings fall to the center, letting the pillars receive them, this way they’ll be easier to catch . ”
Shen Yang followed his instructions, successfully catching the last ring .
“Oh yeah! Thanks!” They clapped their hands happily, placing down the game in satisfaction, glancing up at Feng Ping Lan, “I’ve heard that the blue-haired one turns into a fountain every time he sits in a car, if he was disguised as the owner of the house, who was the one driving?”
“Me . ” Feng Ping Lan admitted .
“Oh?” Shen Yang raised their eyebrows, “Where did you learn to drive?”
Feng Ping Lan scratched his head in embrarrassment, saying in a quiet voice, “…Tom’s World . ”
Shen Yang stared blankly at him for a few seconds, before roaring in laughter . “You guys are quite courageous!”
“Only he could drive, of course we would let him drive . What’s so funny about that?” Conglong frowned in reply . “Besides, before we left, he spent thirty tokens to receive specialized training, it wasn’t going to cause any problems . ”
Shen Yang was astonished, “You were being serious?”
Feng Ping Lan hurriedly changed the subject, in order to avoid Shen Yang detecting the demons’ unfamiliarity in the human world . “Then, what should we do now? Is there a time limit to this mission?”
“There is, you’re limited to a month . But it isn’t a regulation placed so that you have to capture him within a month, instead to avoid incompetent dogs in the manger, so if you are unable to complete the mission within a month, you will be forced to forfeit, handing the opportunity to others . Of course, if you want to continue the mission, you just have to pay another deposit . ” Shen Yang smiled, saying, “Are you going to give up? As you’re students, I’ll only collect half of your deposit . ”
“We don’t plan on giving up!” Dongya rebuffed readily .
The other Contracts expressed their agreement . Byriel looked at Dongya silently, then looked at Quetzal, at last giving a light humph .
“You guys are that concerned about such a small sum of money?” Shen Yang raised their eyebrows .
“This is an issue of dignity!” Morris spoke loftily .
“What an unyielding strength of character . ” Byriel clapped his hands, “Right, where are your laptops and LCD screens? Oh, I just remembered, they’ve been taken away by Dongya as collateral . It’s fine, at least you still have that unfailing computer mouse and cat teaser for self-entertainment, hehehe . ”
“Shut up!”
“So noisy!” Shen Yang picked their ears impatiently, “You can continue your mission, but do you really have time to investigate?”
“Ah?”
“It’s December . ” Shen Yang propped their head with both hands, saying with a grin, “The Shadow Academy’s winter of blood and tears, the main venue will be held at Zephaniah this time around . ”
Everyone had faces of confusion . “What do you mean, winter of blood and tears?”
“You must be referring to the mid-term exam, right?” Feng Ping Lan speculated .
Because it was almost time for mid-term exams, only he and his Contracts had accepted this mission, and hadn’t asked the others for help .
“What does that have to do with blood and tears?” Conglong questioned .
“Some people shed tears when they get a bad grade . ”
“Why would someone cry over such a senseless matter . ” Morris humphed in disdain .
“What about the blood?”
Feng Ping Lan tilted his head to think, “It might be due to the winter’s dry weather, so it’s easy to break your skin and bleed…”
“Yin-laoshi has really taught a bunch of earnest and motivated good students . ” Shen Yang mocked, cradling their head, staring at Feng Ping Lan and the others, “You guys really don’t know?”
“What do you think we need to know?” Byriel asked instead, trying to coax out the answer .
Shen Yang was not fooled, they lifted their lips into a mischievous smile . “All I know is, you’ll no longer have your deposit returned to you . ”
There were two final exams in a term in Zephaniah, set individually in the mid-term and end-of-term . Each examination would be settled within a day, where the students would be taking the tests from morning till night, with only a few occupational classes taking the technical exams on the second day .
Monday, after experiencing the day school’s academic exams, most of the students were evidently more exhausted than usual during the night classes of Shadow Academy .
The moment the bell rang, Yin Su Shuang stepped into the classroom, but this wasn’t a period set for his class .
“Class Advisor, you walked into the wrong class!” Feng Ping Lan raised his hand helpfully, reminding him in a low voice .
Yin Su Shuang spared Feng Ping Lan a glance, not replying, turning his body on his own and taking a piece of chalk to write on the blackboard . The moment the chalk was placed down, there were additional huge letters on the blackboard .
North Pacific Inter-School Festival .
“A school festival?” Feng Ping Lan’s eyes lit up, “It’s a celebration!”
In comparison to Feng Ping Lan’s excitement, the other students appeared much more grave and solemn .
“Why doesn’t anyone look all that excited…” Feng Ping Lan questioned Su Li Wan beside him quietly, “Isn’t a school festival interesting?”
“A Shadow Academy’s school festival is not like any other ordinary school’s . ” Su Li Wan answered in a low voice, “Most participants wouldn’t think of it as interesting…”
“What!” Feng Ping Lan was shocked, “Could it be that the school festival is not referring to a festival, but a religious sacrifice? Do we have to give livestock or a virgin’s blood as offerings?!“
“Uh, it’s not that . ” Su Li Wan awkwardly asked him in turn, “This is a grand occasion in the Summoner’s world, haven’t you ever heard of it?”
Feng Ping Lan smiled foolishly, about to think of a reason, when Yin Su Shuang coughed lightly, ice-cold glare shooting over . Feng Ping Lan and Su Li Wan hurriedly sat upright and pretended to be obedient .
Yin Su Shuang took a sip of herbal tea, speaking, “I want all of you to know, December is a time representing harvest and settlement, to all Shadow Academies, given the title ‘Winter of Blood and Tears’ . It has been three months since you entered the Shadow Academy, this is the first ordeal you will come across . ” His gaze stopped upon Feng Ping Lan’s face for one second, before sweeping over Conglong and the others, reminding them to be mindful without betraying his expression and movements .
“December twenty-fifth is the school festival celebrated by all Summoner academies in the world . During the school festival, various activities will be conducted, including the zhoushu tournament, academic exchange, as well as recreational activities . It will be carried out in six great regions around the world . And this year, Zephaniah just happened to become the home ground for five schools in the North Pacific Region . ”
Feng Ping Lan thought, in the day school’s academic calendar, there was a ten-day consecutive break before and after Christmas, all of those living in the dormitories enforced to leave school grounds and return home . He had originally thought it was fitting in with the foreign students returning to their hometown for celebrations, and it was only now that he knew, this was a clearance for the Shadow Academy’s school festival .
He had never thought of the existence of other Shadow Academies, but now that he thought of it carefully, if there were plenty of Summoners around the world, there would certainly be more than one Shadow Academy . He wondered, what were the other Shadow Academies like?
“…The activity will be separated into two parts, one being the strength tournament, the other being the celebration banquet . Zephaniah will be the ones hosting this year’s home ground, undertaking the entire celebratory section . The strength tournament will be arranged by each of the other four schools, refining and putting all the students to the test . ” Yin Su Shuang paused a little, “The second part’s celebration banquet will be conducted on two days, Christmas eve and Christmas itself, divided into two groups to manage the garden party vendor’s booth and to perform in the banquet’s concert . This will be decided by drawing lots among the entirety of Shadow Academy . Are there any questions?”
Although Feng Ping Lan had many questions to ask, but as he knew absolutely nothing about this activity, he did not know from where to begin asking .
A student raised his hand, Yin Su Shuang giving a nod to allow him to speak .
“I’ve heard that only the seniors will be sent to participate in the tournament, will there be any places retained for the new students?”
“The rules have changed this year, all students will be allowed to participate, regardless of your year, you can form your own teams . ”
The students below stared blankly, and in the next second, all of them revealed excited expressions, eager to give it a try . Having no school representatives, meant that everyone had a chance to seize the crown .
“Why was there such an alteration?” The student continued to question .
“The Director was the one who proposed this, he wishes to let everyone have the opportunity to express themselves, and not to place the focus on the minority . ” Yin Su Shuang glanced at Feng Ping Lan, as if in deep thought, “This is a new system adopted by the North Pacific Region, if it proves to be effective, the others will also follow someday . ”
The students below discussed in whispers, some of them even starting to rope in team members . Some students who did not interact much with Feng Ping Lan were currently glancing at him with tender and cordial gazes, waving at him to express goodwill .
Feng Ping Lan, unaware of the situation, waved at them with a foolish smile, but was immediately pulled back by Kaido .
Kaido glared, the others turning their heads in succession, evading Kaido’s vicious expression .
“Ignore them . ” Kaido reprimanded Feng Ping Lan in a low voice .
“Kaido… You…” Feng Ping Lan was astonished, “I never expected you to have such strong possessiveness, getting jealous of people calling out to me…”
“They’re trying to pull you into their team! Idiot!”
“Oh . ” Feng Ping Lan paused for a second, both hands touching his cheeks, “…So, is Kaido worried about me being snatched by someone else?”
“I’m just choosing you for your capabilities!”
“What!” Feng Ping Lan’s countenance lost color, biting onto his little fingers in shock, “…I see, Kaido is no different from the others, merely coveting after my body…”
“The fuck are you talking about!”
“Be quiet at the back! You’re damn noisy!” Yin Su Shuang growled, cutting off the discussion below, “Starting from next Monday, the leading teams of each school will arrive successively in Zephaniah as delegations from our sister schools to set up the base of communications . The students of the leading teams will be assigned to each class to work together with the students, the comers being guests, so please do perform the duties of a host, giving them your fundamental courtesies and respect . ”
The students below responded reluctantly .
“What’s a base of communications?” Feng Ping Lan asked Kaido quietly . But Kaido was still angry, so Feng Ping Lan could only turn to Su Li Wan for help .
“It’s a type of space barrier, a large-scale enchantment that connects the space of different regions…” Su Li Wan explained, “During the school festival, each of the schools will open up the passage, connecting to the hosting school . The students situated at different locations can go to and fro using this enchantment . ”
“So cool! Mightier than the 3 rings & 3 lines1!”
“The lottery results for the celebration groups will be announced today, after school ends . Additionally,” Yin Su Shuang breathed in deeply, “In the duration of the school festival, all Shadow Academy classes will be suspended, so, we’ll have to increase our pace with the final exams within the nine days before the school festival starts, this way we’ll be able to revise for the exams in January…”
Groans rang out .
Such was the formidable might of the winter of blood and tears .
“All other related material will be announced on the bulletin board of the Shadow Academy’s website, search it up if you have any questions . ” Yin Su Shuang flipped his textbook open, “Time for class . ”
As he said this, a crisp metallic cry rang out, resounding through the hallways outside the classrooms .
“What’s that noise?”
“The lottery results for the celebration groups . ” Yin Su Shuang answered in a deep voice, simultaneously glancing at the walkway out the windows, staring at the classroom plaque hung on the wall .
Following the sound waves, the snowy-white classroom plaque with the letters ‘Shadow 1A’ written on it started to turn from muddy to grey, rippling into colored rings . The plaque’s color became much darker, then turned light, lighting up a light yellow .
When the halo faded away, the snowy-white plaque’s color had turned purple .
Yin Su Shuang’s face instantly darkened, then, following the discoloring of the classroom plaque, it turned purple, a zombie-like color .
“The plaque switched colors!” The students made an uproar, those sitting by the windows peering their heads out, “The other classes have blue and red . ”
“What does this mean?”
“Red is the performance team, blue is the vendor stall team . Purple, stands for both…” Yin Su Shuang held his forehead, looking as if he was about to pass out any time, “We’ll have to undertake both jobs…”
‘3 rings, 3 lines’ refers to an MRT network in New Taipei City .