The sheer number of misunderstandings lmao.
Translated by: TaffyGirl13
Chapter 5: Even if it isn’t your own body, you have to wash it clean
Friday. The 13th.
The day after the incident occurred was an inauspicious day that seemed to foreshadow an inauspicious fate.
There were two compulsory courses on Friday, as well as class activity time.
The evening session for Basic Witchcraft Application had both second and third-years. The northern campus representatives all looked a bit haggard and frustrated. Aside from Brad looking exceptionally energetic, the others were clearly drained. They had not yet grown accustomed to their new bodies or familiarised themselves with these new personas, yet were forcibly being pushed out front and centre to perform.
“Those guys from northern campus look off somehow,” one of the southern campus representatives, the darkblood Muzter, muttered to his companions.
“They look quite exhausted,” Emily critically scrutinised Shiran. “Perhaps they increased their special training.”
“Zhu Yue-jiějie looks very tired too.” Hai Yue craned his head to take a look. “Oh, even her hair is a mess.”
“Looks like she’s using all her energy to train.” Zhu Yu shook his head. “But she still can’t beat us.”
The twins sniggered to each other off to the side.
Shiroizumi subconsciously glanced at Momiji, only to see her face wear an irritated look he had never witnessed before. She had an absent-minded Taeharu in tow.
Then, a laidback Emerald strode over and cheerfully greeted Momiji. It was uncertain what they spoke about, but Momiji’s expression morphed into rage and she quietly lashed out at him, causing Emerald to erupt into laughter. Then, Emerald stared at Momiji for a few seconds, furrowed his brows, and leaned in close to her face to concentrate hard on it. Furthermore, he reached out to caress Momiji’s face.
When Shiroizumi saw these actions, he couldn’t help but unconsciously clench his hands into fists.
“Tsk tsk, as expected of a fox spirit. Her skill in playing around with men is simply exceptional.” Margaret sourly commented, “Your fiancée is truly amazing.”
“She’s not my fiancée,” Shiroizumi coldly replied. “As a dream spirit, your charm doesn’t seem to have any effect on that wind elf.”
Margaret unhappily scoffed in response.
“Don’t get thrown into confusion,” Ryner flatly reminded. “Disturbing the enemy’s hearts is one of our tactics. Don’t end up getting affected by them instead.”
“Got it…”
On the other end of the practice room, the northern campus representatives were gathered together with heavy expressions.
Dan Juan-as-Momiji was still holding onto Zi Ye-as-Taeharu. He was very unhappy, extremely unhappy.
It wasn’t just this identity, or having to lead this child that seemed to have an old person’s dementia around that upset him. Rather, the thing he was most annoyed about was the fact that there was a crowd constantly approaching him. To be more precise, these were people coming to strike up a conversation with Momiji!
When he had been eating breakfast, many students, including new students, classmates, and seniors, had constantly tried to show off their “sturdy muscles” or bizarre sense of humour. There had also been extremely strange confessions.
“Although a beastman’s physical strength is naturally superior to that of other races, I still have the habit of working out. I’m currently pursuing the ultimate beyond-perfect body.” A random wereleopard unbuttoned his shirt to his navel, revealing his taut upper body. “Want to try touching?”
“No thanks.” Like hell I care! Can you please put away nauseating things while I’m eating?!
“I thought it was hottest outside.” A random water elf pulled aside a seat next to Momiji to sit down without permission. “But it turned out that this is where my blood truly starts boiling, to the point where even my heart is about to melt…”
Dan Juan forced a chuckle. “Take care.”
“My family has a villa in Ireland with beautiful scenery and great weather.” A darkblood senior had his head propped on a fist as he fell deep into a daydream on his own, sketching out a future blueprint. “That place is very well-suited for raising children. How many do you think is a good number to have?”
“I think you need to be chemically castrated.” Dan Juan slammed his bowl down, picked up his tray, and left.
I’ve seriously had enough. How the hell does this woman deal with these idiots?
“Heh, you look terrible.” In contrast to Dan Juan’s tragic state, Momiji-as-Emerald was clearly as laidback as a fish in water. “Who would’ve thought that Class C’s most outstanding student would have things beyond their control?”
Dan Juan glared at Momiji. “Shut up! As if it’s not because you usually act so unrestrained and act dubiously with all those people!”
Momiji waggled her pointer finger. “Nu uh, that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t know a single one of those people.” Then, she quietly muttered in a somewhat self-mocking tone, “Don’t accuse a flower of selling its beauty just because it draws bees and butterflies…”
Although these words came out from Emerald’s mouth, that expression carried a sorrow he had never seen before.
For a moment, Dan Juan felt a faintly unbearable emotion that made him feel both uneasy and resentful.
“But I think you take quite a pleasure in it.” Dan Juan’s tone was acerbic with an intentional malice. “No wonder your fiancé wanted to leave.”
Momiji’s expression faltered for a second, but immediately returned to its smile. Not to be outdone, she taunted back, “By the way, if you hadn’t gotten to know Fu Xing through being Emerald’s roommate, do you think anyone would’ve wanted to put up with your pretentious self trying to mingle with us?”
“What did you say?!” Dan Juan glowered back.
Momiji, who had irritated Dan Juan, smirked in victory at his angry face. However, she immediately stiffened, then stared at Dan Juan’s face with a fierce look.
“What are you looking at, you—” His curses were interrupted as his dainty chin was grabbed with the slender fingers of a large hand.
“What’s with those dark circles!” Momiji glared at her own face as she sternly interrogated, “Why is the skin so dark?! The T-zone is so oily!” My beautiful face! To think it now has damned blemishes!
“Wha-what?”
Momiji narrowed her eyes as she darkly asked, “You didn’t use makeup remover yesterday and just directly washed your face, I bet? And you didn’t put on eye cream or a facial mask at night. Then when you got up this morning, you didn’t wipe completely after washing your face before directly adding powder. Am I right?!”
Dan Juan was speechless. “Eh!” Does this woman have video cameras installed in her room?!
Momiji clicked her tongue as she moved her head closer, examining her own face in distress. “Ah, my beautiful skin…”
Her warm breath blew onto Dan Juan’s face. Although the person currently in front of him was Emerald, for a moment, Dan Juan was unsure of where to look. There was an inexplicable and unfamiliar feeling of unease and embarrassment.
In other people’s eyes, their actions were filled with equivocal hints.
In the eyes of a “certain person” from the southern campus, this also carried a sense of provocation that lit up a fiery rage deep inside their heart.
“Let go, you stupid woman!”
“You can’t even take proper care of a stupid woman!” Momiji sniffed, then her eyes immediately widened into a look of disbelief. “You didn’t bathe yesterday?!”
“It was already very late yesterday, and so many things happened, so I—”
“You didn’t bathe? You really didn’t bathe?!” Momiji completely lost it. “This body isn’t just yours!” Momiji’s words drew mutters around them. The rumours and gossip were like sugar dropped into an ant’s nest, attracting everyone’s attention.
“Lower your voice!” Dan Juan quickly reprimanded. Suddenly, a tall figure appeared to stand in front of him.
“Excuse me, Momiji.” Shiroizumi had both arms crossed in front of his chest, seamlessly sliding in between the two and moving away the hand from ｢Momiji｣’s face. “It’s been a while. If possible, could you introduce me to your teammate?” He shot a glare of unconcealed hostility at ｢Emerald｣.
“That’s right, Emerald.” Margaret appeared behind in a natural manner as she hooked herself around ｢Emerald｣’s arm. In an extremely charming and light tone, she eyed ｢Momiji｣ and commented, “Your taste seems to have gotten worse after breaking up with me?”
Momiji pushed away her hands from that well-bodied chest in disgust. “Being together with you is what’s really tasteless.” Damn bitch!
“What did you say?!” Margaret was suddenly both surprised and angry. The Emerald she knew would have never spoken to her like this no matter how discontent he was.
“Let’s go, let’s go, we need to gather up.” Momiji casually grabbed Dan Juan’s hand, intentionally shooting Shiroizumi a look before using ｢Emerald｣’s mouth to smile and declare, “She no longer belongs to you.”
Not giving the two southern campus representatives time to ask further, they strode off towards the northern campus group without a backwards glance.
The second and third year students were scattered across the wide space. Despite being the most attention-garnering, the northern campus representatives were gathered in the most inconspicuous corner.
Momiji-as-Emerald, Leon-as-Shiran, Emerald-as-Rocort, Rocort-as-Dan Juan, and Taeharu-as-Fu Xing seemed calm, having remained unaffected.
Zhu Yue-as-Leon and Shiran-as-Flora carried a trace of out-of-place tiredness.
Brad-as-Zhu Yue and Dan Juan-as-Momiji were significantly more haggard, having suffered the greatest mental stress and torment. In contrast, Flora-as-Brad was exceptionally energetic and in very high spirits.
And Zi Ye-as-Taeharu had looked lifeless and absent-minded since the body swap.
Everyone exchanged looks, then down at their bodies. They let out a long sigh in unison.
“Did everyone’s nights go alright?” Shiran asked first.
“It was beyond terrible,” Dan Juan grumbled.
“I was fine.” Emerald shrugged. “I know Rocort very well and we’re both male, so there wasn’t much of a difference.”
“You forgot to mention that you used Rocort’s looks to trick a group of ignorant female juniors into buying your blackmarket goods with thirty-second hugs. Isn’t that crossing the line?” Flora asked.
“Really?” Rocort asked in astonishment.
“I was just making the best out of things. I have my own boundaries!” Emerald shot Flora a look. “Who was the one that stood naked in front of the mirror yesterday while stroking their hair and taking a bunch of selfies?” Hmph! My information channels are very quick too!
Brad stared at Flora in shock, making Zhu Yue’s originally pale and thin face look even more wan. Flora glared at Emerald before muttering to herself.
“Dan Juan went too far too! Did you guys know that he actually didn’t bathe? It’s too disgusting!” Momiji opened fire right afterwards.
In that moment, awkward expressions simultaneously formed on a few others’ faces, indicating that they had done the same “disgusting” thing.
Brad shot a conflicted look at Zhu Yue. The person he liked the most was currently staying in his archnemesis’s body.
“Sorry…” Despite knowing it was Zhu Yue inside, he still internally struggled to apologise to ｢Leon｣. “I thought that casually touching a lady’s body was very rude, so I just…”
Zhu Yue smiled as usual, though it looked bizarre on Leon’s face. “There’s no need to consider so much. After all, it’s a critical time right now. In order for you to be comfortable, you should just bathe as you please. Being unable to properly bathe and rest after training is very hard to bear with.”
Brad heaved a sigh of relief and gratefully thanked her while declaring repeatedly, “I’ll do it with my eyes covered!”
“I washed, I washed!” Taeharu raised her hand with a grin. “Zhu Yue, Fu Xing, and I all bathed together!”
Everyone’s eyes gathered onto Zhu Yue, which forced her to awkwardly speak up.
“Since the two of them seemed very lost, with Zi Ye’s hair being severely knotted and Taeharu not clearly understanding the situation, I figured might as well all go together and help handle everything…Er, I’m already used to it after taking care of my younger siblings in the past, so when it comes to male body parts, I’m not—um, no, I mean, since everyone more or less looked like children, I didn’t feel awkward—Ah! That’s not it either! I had no intention of belittling you guys—!” Zhu Yue tried her best to explain, but she only progressively made things worse.
For some reason, Leon looked as though he had suffered a slight blow.
Shiran lightly coughed to draw everyone’s focus back before he began to report official business. “I went back and checked some documents. An incident regarding souls switching bodies was recorded in the ancient records.”
Shiran recounted all the related clues that he had found after spending an entire day stuck inside the library. “Disregarding the source’s discussion of rural myths, there are very few records in official and historical documents. Moreover—” Shiran paused for a second. “All the records are within the taboo documents and top-secret files. It is a secret spell that cannot be publicly mentioned or even implemented.”
“Why?”
“Soul-switching was once used to manipulate how history progressed. There were a few great wars brought about by soul-switching, such as the Crusades. At the time, it was to divert humankind’s attention and disperse the Sanctification Court’s power so that they would leave Europe, eliminating the persecution and hunting of special animate beings.”
“How does this spell function? Is there a way to break it?”
“That was all I could find using the password and gold emblem I have as Aquarius’s vice president. Exchanging souls is a very profound and high-risk advanced spell. Aside from powerful spell control, one needs an even greater special ability prowess…”
“Then why was Fu Xing able to cast it?”
It had felt like a child’s play with a somewhat silly objective that had led to mysteriously switching twelve souls around.
“I’m not certain…”
“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“Perhaps it really is a coincidence…a ridiculously absurd accident…”
“It’s a coincidence, but also not.”
Zi Ye, who had been playing with the tassel pendants on his backpack by himself the entire time, used Taeharu’s childlike voice to mutter this all of a sudden.
“At first it was, but later it wasn’t. Although it wasn’t, it actually does count as one…” The usually lively eyes were currently vacant and dull.
Their gazes all gathered onto Zi Ye. “Zi Ye, do you know something?”
“I know everything and I know nothing.” Zi Ye raised his head. “I can see some things, but I’m not used to this current body…” His words paused and he was silent for a few seconds. “It’s something that can be done by someone that spans across two realms, standing on the boundary – the group at the centre of the balance. I am one, this body is one, and the guy that caused this is one too.”
Zi Ye’s vague and cryptic words had everyone completely lost. Only Momiji’s expression stiffened briefly before fading away without anyone noticing.
“What does that mean—”
“We’re splitting up for training now!”
When the instructor loudly announced this, the northern campus representatives finally realised that class had long since ended, and they were now entering the application portion. They had originally wanted to continue their discussion here, but the southern campus representatives that they had just recently angered approached menacingly.
“Long time no see, Brad.” Ryner walked up to ｢Brad｣. Despite this being a conventional greeting, his tone carried a provocative and scornful tone. “Is the family still doing well?”
“Mn, it’s not bad,” Flora gave a random answer back. Aren’t you from the same family? What are you asking for?
“You’re the only one that goes home every break…” Ryner chuckled and shook his head. “Mingling together with Mother and our sisters at the drop of a hat without any kind of backbone. It seems like you haven’t grown at all since coming to the northern campus.”
“Mn.” Flora’s response was indifferent to Ryner’s challenge.
For one, it was because she was not actually Brad; for two, she knew very well what large, patriarchal clans were like.
Feudalistic, autocratic, and—possessing a childish cruelty.
Flora focused on scanning the person in front of her. Ryner had a very similar appearance to Brad. There was a deep layer of harshness in his abstruse gaze. His body was slightly taller and sturdier than Brad’s, giving a more threatening feeling…looking at those sturdy muscle lines was truly a delight. However, she would not be affected; after all, she had just given herself a good “battery charge” last night.
She had admired Brad’s body by taking multiple photos from various angles and postures. It had been extremely profitable!
No matter how I look, Brad is still the most praise-worthy! She couldn’t help but grin.
However, Flora’s faint smile was interpreted as a challenge back, making Ryner angry.
“Looks as though the northern campus taught you how to rebel.” Ryner hooked his fingers, the tips transforming into sharp wolf claws.
Flora raised a brow. Partial transformation was an advanced transformation skill. The more minute and isolated the transformation was, the more difficult it was to control. Looks like this guy really does have some tricks up his sleeve. No wonder he’s so arrogant. But…
“Let me reteach you the rules. Just like when were little!” Ryner charged forwards with a burst while swinging his clawed fingers.
Flora stood motionless and closed her eyes. Then her eyes snapped open, the pupils now transformed into those of a beast’s. Her motion perception instantly strengthened severalfold, and right at the very last moment, she dodged the attack.
A smirk of disdain formed on her lips as she smugly glanced at Ryner. He was far inferior when compared to her!
First-generation transformed jingguai all trained to free themselves from Hell-like environments. Having experienced tempering oneself like this meant that a first-generation’s strength and abilities naturally surpassed the typical level of a second-generation.
Ryner was stunned, clearly shocked at Brad’s ability. However, he immediately grinned in admiration.
Not bad. Seems that the brat did have some growth after all…
That’s what you call a part of the Albert family, someone that qualifies as my little brother!
Ryner then lashed out multiple attacks in succession. Not to be outdone, Flora countered in return, and an intense brawl unfolded.
Momiji and Dan Juan, who had just been tangled up with Shiroizumi and Margaret earlier, were once again wrapped up in ceaseless argument.
Meanwhile, Rocort-as-Dan Juan was also being pressured by a fierce-looking Hu Rong.
“Although I knew I would bump into you here at northern campus, I hadn’t imagined it to be in such a setting.” Hu Rong raised a brow with an eye-catching golden piercing above it. “To think that even you would be selected as a representative…the northern campus must be only mediocre level…”
Rocort stared seriously into Hu Rong’s eyes without saying a word.
“Heh, not bad, you have the guts to meet my eyes now…” Hu Rong chuckled and moved closer, provocatively placing his arm on ｢Dan Juan｣’s shoulder. “You’ve already stopped getting nightmares?”
“Hm?”
Hu Rong’s head neared Dan Juan’s in attempt to force out a fearful look. He opened his mouth and the copper piercing on his tongue glinted ominously. “The nightmare of ‘playing’ together with us…”
“You…” Rocort returned the other’s gaze. Imitating Hu Rong’s tone, he seriously asked, “Did you pierce your tongue and brows yourself?”
Hu Rong was dumbstruck.
“Can…I touch?” Without waiting for the reply, he stuck his fingers into the other’s mouth and casually pulled the tongue out. “It can’t be plucked out!” Rocort cried out in wonder.
Hu Rong viciously spat out the invasive object from his mouth. ｢Dan Juan｣’s reaction was completely beyond his expectations, which both startled and irritated him. “Damn thing! Looks like I need to teach you a lesson!”
Hu Rong swung a fierce and heavy punch out at ｢Dan Juan｣.
Bang! The fist abruptly stopped five centimetres away from Rocort. To be more accurate, it struck an invisible defensive screen.
The barrier as sturdy as a boulder made Hu Rong pale in pain. He retracted his fist with clenched teeth. “Despicable lowlife!”
Rocort doubtfully tilted his head. “You have to activate a defence ward when the application portion of class is ongoing. Did you not know that?”
This was what the professor had reminded all the students on the first day of class. However, Rocort was the sole person that truly followed this, since maintaining a defensive barrier expended a large amount of special ability power. Furthermore, preserving its condition was an extremely difficult task.
Hu Rong continued launching attacks at Rocort, but the latter did not even try to evade. Regardless of what moves the opponent attempted, the defensive barrier remained completely unharmed. In the end, Rocort simply sat down to take his time watching Hu Rong’s “performance”.
On the other side, ｢Leon｣ was facing “deep concern” from two members of his race.
“Practice with us.” Kyle rested an arm on Muzter’s shoulders. Despite their idle appearance, they were attacking ｢Leon｣ with their eyes. “Let us witness the capability of someone from the Sagveiss clan, the so-called Darkclaw. How about it?”
Zhu Yue was clearly at a loss as she turned to glance at Leon-as-Shiran. However, the latter was currently preoccupied with their own matters.
The wind elf Emily gathered a swirling wind with a soft green glow. After gathering her power, she glared at ｢Shiran｣ in wait.
Emily’s eyes were filled with resentment and unwillingness to concede. “Why won’t you activate your Wind Wall? Are you looking down on me?”
Leon shot a flat look at Shiran-as-Flora, his gaze clearly asking, “What’s with this?”
Shiran returned with a bitter, remorseful smile as he mouthed back, “Personal grudge, clan dispute…”
“I’m talking with you right now, please look at me directly. Don’t tell me you’ve even abandoned basic etiquette?” Emily raised her voice. “If the Grand Elders saw how you’ve fallen, I wonder what they would think—”
Emily’s voice came to an abrupt halt. Because Shiran, who usually wore a gentleman’s smile on his face, currently had an expression so chilling that it made her shiver.
“Are you done speaking?” Leon frigidly asked. “You’ve been noisy upon first meeting by prattling on self-importantly; who is the one that doesn’t understand etiquette [here]?”
｢Shiran｣’s foreign attitude startled Emily.
“You…” What’s going on? The Shiran I know wouldn’t be so cold, let alone speak to me this way…“Sophister!”
Leon sneered, “If the Grand Elders saw how you’ve fallen, I wonder what they would think.”
He purposely taunted Emily with her own words. Despite not knowing the circumstances of Shiran’s clan, let alone who these “Grand Elders” were, he could tell from Emily’s tone that she cared about these matters very much.
Sagveiss was an enormous clan. It seized others’ weaknesses and ruthlessly hammered out an attack to establish their status and authority. This was a fundamental [concept] for all large clans that existed.
As expected, these words did anger Emily. The soft green wind that had been gracefully circling around her immediately transformed into a thick dark green. It then morphed into two sharp wind blades that shot towards Leon.
Leon nimbly leapt away to evade the attack.
“Le—ah, Shiran, be careful!” Shiran knew Emily’s competitive personality and was concerned that she would not hold back, so he hurriedly shouted out a reminder. However, calling out his own name felt unnatural.
Leon responded with a relaxed smile. Although he did not have a grasp on a wind elf’s abilities and could not control wind, his real battle experience was definitely more extensive than this excessively conceited woman.
After skilfully and swiftly jumping up, Leon flipped in midair and took this opportunity to unsheathe a rapier hung on the wall. Upon landing, he spun around and locked onto the gap in Emily’s defence to stab the blade out—
Emily’s eyes widened in disbelief, feeling both shocked and indescribably sad.
Shiran, why?
“Stop—” Shiran charged over, prepared to stop Leon. However, Flora’s body was significantly more petite than his original one, making it impossible to reach his target immediately as he had hoped.
Fortunately, the tip of the blade stopped approximately two inches in front of Emily’s forehead.
Leon calmly stated, “I know my boundaries.” These words were directed at Shiran.
The fight between Emily and ｢Shiran｣ had temporarily drawn other’s attention. Zhu Yue took advantage of this moment to avoid Kyle and Muzter’s demands by quickly and covertly moving to a different corner.
“Zhu Yue-jiějie!”
Zhu Yue unconsciously turned her head when she heard the familiar, innocent voices. The twins, Zhu Yu and Hai Yue, were currently surrounding “herself”.
Brad seemed quite embarrassed, an awkward expression clearly forming on ｢Zhu Yue｣’s face as he had no idea what to do.
“Where did you run off to yesterday? We searched forever but couldn’t find you!”
“Dinner last night was terrible, and it made us really miss Zhu Yue-jiějie’s cooking.”
“I was busy yesterday,” Brad cautiously replied to refrain from exposing himself.
These two look so similar to Zhu Yue. As expected of siblings…Seeing the boys that had faces resembling Zhu Yue’s made Brad momentarily feel as though he was being surrounded by two Zhu Yues at the same time.
Two Zhu Yues…being surrounded by two Zhu Yues…When his thoughts reached this point, he inexplicably blushed.
“We originally wanted to go into the female dorms to wait for you, but the dorm supervisor wouldn’t let us in. Such a pain!”
“That lame, old, fat werewolf woman with orange skin was so noisy. Why does the northern campus have so many rules? It’s annoying!”
“To have fallen into such a tragic state where they have to come act as a school dorm supervisor is honestly expected of dying family dog.”
When Brad heard these words, his expression immediately turned heavy.
The female dorm’s supervisor, Holly Joseph, was a distant relative from the clan in Avignon, France. She was also the only remaining member of the Joseph clan.
The remaining Josephs had heroically sacrificed their lives in a war against White Triangle 170 years ago. This was how she had lost her right leg as well.
The insulting twins made Brad feel deeply annoyed.
Even though they look like Zhu Yue on the outside, they’re nothing compared to her on the inside. Brad inwardly thought.
“Is Zhu Yue-jiějie unhappy?” Noticing Zhu Yue’s change in expression, Zhu Yu asked in astonishment, “You’re angry?”
“You can’t be about to spout out those super outdated arguments, right…” Hai Yu rolled his eyes to indicate his disgust. “Like ‘be more considerate of others’ or ‘don’t speak so harshly’—I’m tired of hearing it!”
“Why do we need to think about so much? We’re just telling the truth!”
“Sorry, their words are a bit blunt, don’t pay it any mind…” Zhu Yue knew Brad and Holly were distant relatives, so she quickly came out to apologise, forgetting that she was currently Leon.
Zhu Yu and Hai Yue were perplexed as they glared at Leon. “What’s it got to do with you? Do we know you, darkblood?”
Brad suppressed the urge to curl his hands into fists and punch the little brats in the head. He gritted his teeth and then lifted the corners of his mouth, trying his best to imitate Zhu Yue’s usual warm smile.
“Don’t say that…” Eyes curved in crescents, lips turned up at a fifteen-degree angle, reveal just a bit of the pearly teeth on top, tilt head slight to the right. Zhu Yue’s standard smile and tone of voice seemed completely normal to bystanders, but the northern campus representatives were all staring in stunned astonishment at this.
“Zhu-Zhu Yue?” She’s back in her own body?
“Is something the matter?” Brad replied in a practiced manner. A shift of the shoulder slightly swished the bright black hair, just like how Zhu Yue typically did.
“Ah, erm, you look like you’ve already recovered from training last night…” Emerald carefully measured his words to bend the question slightly.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t yet.” He wrinkled his brows slightly, though the corners of his mouth were still curved upwards. It matched Zhu Yue’s bitter smile perfectly.
Upon understanding the situation, the northern campus representatives thought to themselves in unison: That’s too amazing. Who would’ve thought that Brad would actually have a talent in acting?
In reality, Brad could only play the role of Zhu Yue. This was because he had long since engraved every one of Zhu Yue’s movements and smiles into his mind.
“Cut the prattle!” A rapidly spinning stream of water rose above Zhu Yu’s palm. “We’re going straight in!”
The water jet shot out towards ｢Zhu Yue｣, but Brad nimbly dodged.
“There’s still me!” Hai Yue leapt up, both his hands held together high above his head. Then he threw them back down in front of him, causing a water whip to materialise and dance through the air.
Brad evaded once again, though he couldn’t help but mentally grumble.
Even if this is a mock battle, doing this to your sister is just too overboard. It’s basically just bullying.
Faced against the two people’s attacks, Brad only dodged. After all, the opponent was Zhu Yue’s flesh and blood; he felt it was inappropriate to act.
“Stop!” Zhu Yue shouted from the side.
“Since when has the Sagveiss’ Darkclaw started being concerned about others?” Kyle sneered. “Is she your woman?”
“No—” Zhu Yue clarified, afraid that she would create unnecessary rumours about Leon. “I don’t have that type of relationship with her!”
Muzter smiled thinly. “Failing in front of your own woman is quite shameful, you know.” Then he pulled out a rapier and abruptly shot towards Zhu Yue to strike.
Zhu Yue had not alternative but to dodge backwards. Her other teammates wanted to help, but they were similarly entangled with southern campus representatives.
Kyle and Muzter continued to press in, their rapiers and dual blades glinting coldly with flashes of white light. Although their attacks were fierce, Zhu Yue was always able to dodge or neutralise them so that the blades would land empty by just a millimetre.
The oblivious observers were on edge in apprehension while simultaneously admiring Leon’s skills.
“Why isn’t Leon countering?” The northern campus students were fervently discussing amongst each other.
“Probably afraid that seriously attacking would injure them. The southern campus representatives are guests; it’s not very appropriate to injure them.”
“So that’s what it was.”
The bystanders’ whispers were overhead by Kyle and Muzter, and they both grew furious.
“What, is the successor of the Sagveiss clan a coward that only knows how to run away?” Kyle mocked, though he was inwardly angry that he was unable to land a single finger on the other party.
“That’s not it…” Zhu Yue spun to dodge Kyle’s direct attack.
“Then use your real skill!” Taking advantage of ｢Leon｣’s blindspot while turning, Kyle tossed out a dagger in his hand.
Zhu Yue saw the dagger spinning out at her. However, she was unable to put up any type of defence in that moment. She simply raised her arms in front of her and braced herself to meet this attack head-on.
Clang! The sound of metal striking metal rang out.
The iron dagger was struck by an old and heavy candleholder made of copper, and it ricocheted through the air.
The one that had tossed out the candleholder was ｢Zhu Yue｣, who was currently in the middle of the twins’ coming in from both sides. In a spare moment, ｢Zhu Yue｣ had picked up the ornamental candleholder on the wall and stopped this bloody calamity.
“Zhu Yue-jiějie isn’t focusing!” Hai Yue cried out unhappily.
Bang! Another collision caught everyone’s attention.
The dagger that had been struck in midair had not yet fallen to the ground before it was hit by another object, causing it to shoot at the light above Kyle’s and Muzter’s heads. The chandelier’s connections were snapped, and the entire light fixture began to fall.
“Damn it!” Kyle and Muzter scrambled to dodge.
Boom! The light crashed down, exploding into a large number of shards along with a flurry of dust. At the same time, it cut off all the ongoing fights.
“What the hell!” Grod roared out in rage as he stormed out. He glared at the sudden mess while reprimanding, “Who allowed you all to damage school property?! You bunch of damn stupid brats!”
“This place was already run-down in the first place anyways…” Zhu Yu muttered a retort.
Grod coldly shifted his gaze towards Zhu Yu. “Do you have a problem?”
Zhu Yu obediently shut his mouth.
“Don’t think that you can run around and do whatever you want just because you’re representatives for the school ceremony! Selfish, rash, disorderly – you guys aren’t worth shit!” Grod sternly scolded, “Both campus’s representatives must stay behind to clean up the area!”
“Why do we have to do such things?” Muzter grumbled in discontent. He’s just a human lich, what authority does he have to command us around?
“I still have something to do later,” Margaret chimed in.
“Correction.” Grod did not even look at the two of them. “The southern campus representatives will stay behind to clean the grounds. The rest are dismissed!” After saying this, he turned around and loftily strode towards the door.
Unable to swallow his burst of anger, Kyle shouted, “A lowly witch like you shouldn’t go too overboard—ugh!”
A burst of stabbing pain pierced his heart, causing him to fall to his knees.
The other people from the southern campus rushed to surround him in deep concern, only to see the blood vessels around Kyle’s chest bulging out to form a sinister, red-purple web of veins.
“Watch your words,” Grod stopped in his tracks and frostily shot the other person a look. “Unless you want to feel your heart rupturing, darkblood.”
Everyone present fell silent. A few seconds after Grod left, they all dispersed.
The northern campus representatives had long since taken the opportunity to leave so that the southern campus representatives would not clash with them again.
While the two school’s representatives had broken out into a dispute in the shared classroom, the new students on the other corner of campus were currently attending Human Sociology Theory. Fu Xing-as-Zi Ye was blankly sitting amongst the crowd, watching the others gather and engage in lively discussion in small groups while he sat alone without moving.
This was his best subject – Professor Peiris had even praised him greatly. However, there was currently no room for him to demonstrate this.
“Why aren’t you discussing with your classmates?” Peiris came forth to ask.
“I can’t find group members,” Fu Xing guiltlessly replied.
“I see…” Peiris smiled awkwardly. Fu Xing could see the helplessness and pity in the other’s eyes, as well as some fear. “Then you can just be your own group. It’s fine; it won’t affect your grade.”
Fu Xing nodded and quietly stared at his textbook.
His seat was right in the centre of the classroom, but it was as though he did not exist.
Earlier, he had attempted chatting with the people around him, tried to show his goodwill. However, he had only received two types of responses: fearful rejection or disgusted dismissal.
Looks like variant “hybrids” really are inauspicious in everyone’s eyes…
Is this how Zi Ye’s character came to be? Does he not have any friends? Did he have to face these types of looks his entire life? Isn’t that…way too lonely?
Fu Xing couldn’t help but feel sad for Zi Ye. At the same time, he inevitably felt glad that—
Good thing I’m not a variant. Good thing…no one knows I’m a hybrid.
Wham! A hard object struck his back. Fu Xing turned his head to see Yu Tai sneering at him.
If I remember correctly, this person is the same race as Zi Ye. Is he a friend?
“You’re still the same as usual…” There was both loathing and contempt in his tone. “I originally thought I could avoid you, yet we somehow managed to run into each other again instead.”
“Mmm…” Looks like he’s not a friend…
Yu Tai sized ｢Zi Ye｣ up. “It seems that you’ve finally evolved to the point where you understand what a tidy appearance is. You don’t look as much like trash anymore…”
“Mmm…”
“No one’s in a group with you?”
“Mmm…” So annoying, don’t come near me…
“That’s expected. Just look at your character.” Yu Tai snorted. “Who would want to be together with a freak like you?”
“Mmm…”
Freak. This word evoked some of Fu Xing’s memories.
He scanned his surroundings. The ignoring and rejecting gazes felt familiar to him.
Déjà vu.
It was as though he had gone back to first grade, when he had returned to classes after taking half a year’s leave. He had not known any of his classmates, while the rest of them had long since grown close to each other and formed their own groups with their friends circles. Only he had been all alone.
Some of the special privileges he had enjoyed as a person with weak constitution had made certain students unhappy. This had made him even less compatible with them, becoming the marginalised one of the group. He had hated classes that required separate groupwork the most, because he had never been able to find teammates – always the last one that was grabbed just for even numbers.
Although he had never encountered any excessive bullying or pranks, those loathing eyes and negligent attitudes had been hurtful enough.
“Freak.”
Back then, everyone had called him that too.
The negative emotions surged up like a tide to enshroud his heart, filling it with unbearably agony.
It hurts…
“What, are you unhappy?”
It hurts…
Yu Tai’s words fell on empty ears. He only felt the depression in his heart grow clearer and more concrete as it flooded his heart. It was as though it would swallow his consciousness and emotions—
The ground began to tremble. First, it was only faint tremors, but it gradually changed into obvious shaking.
The professors and students inside the classroom noticed the abnormal activity and a small commotion broke out.
Fu Xing’s vision blurred slightly. Although he had been seeing indistinct mist blocking his vision ever since entering Zi Ye’s body, the blurriness was now especially severe, like glass covered in rain. But despite being unclear, it also felt like his focal point was gradually adjusting to match the right frequency.
Still seated, Fu Xing’s hands curled into fists and the ground shook more intensely. The uproar and unease continued to rise with it.
“Tsk tsk, really, what a troublesome fellow.”
A familiar voice rang out. It was not from his surroundings, but directly in his mind.
This voice is…
“It is not yet time.”
The voice carried magic power that calmed the turmoil in his heart and soothed his pain.
The ground slowly turned still, the vibrations gradually ceasing. The disturbance and restlessness in the classroom died as well.
“You will be even stronger than that variant…”
Fu Xing raised his head, the scene before his eyes clearing up.
All the invisible enchantments and wards in the classroom were now plainly visible to his eyes. The air and walls were covered in large, small, old, and new traces of casted spells.
Then, a familiar face appeared in his mind – a black-haired, delicate boy. He recognised the person, but could not recall anything about them at the moment.
Most importantly, there was something else on the boy’s face that drew all his attention.
The boy was emanating a faint golden glow, and there was a horn jutting out from the middle of his forehead—
A half-broken horn.
However, the image was immediately erased the next second by the enchantment that had been buried into his mind long ago.
Fu Xing blinked as though he had just woken from a dream. He glanced at the people around him fervently discussing the earthquake that had just passed, then was forced to silently lower his head and continue staring at the same exact page of his textbook.
~Taffy Translations~ 
thanks
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Dan Juan learning about the challanges of being a sexy young lady is hilarious.
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IKR that was definitely the funniest part of the chapter for me xDDD
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