Chapter 32: Dragon Cry Middle School (9)

Ye Xuechun shouted, “What? That’s a Rat Spawn!”

Yun Xueqing didn’t understand, but when he heard that touching it would pollute one’s mental value—and that Fu Wuxuan had exhausted his spirit energy, with his mental value already nearing the critical point—he quickly pulled him behind himself.

The Man in the Painting said flatly, “The Rat Spawn will interfere with my mental value and drive me mad. You’ll have to handle it yourselves.”

With that, the black smoke dissipated completely, and the Man in the Painting vanished, leaving only a faint silhouette of his back in the picture frame.

Ye Xuechun exclaimed, “!”

So disloyal!

Yun Xueqing drew the Calamity Blade from his Storage Space and braced himself warily. However, the Rat Spawn seemed to have gained intelligence as it carefully selected the easiest target to deal with and lunged straight at Ye Xuechun!

Ye Xuechun’s eyes widened in terror as he shrieked in panic. While yelling “Xueqing, save me!” he flailed about in a frenzy and grabbed an English-Chinese dictionary from the office desk, hurling it at the Rat Spawn!

The Rat Spawn, which had darted in like lightning, was precisely struck by the dictionary. Its body convulsed once before collapsing to the ground.

Ye Xuechun blinked in confusion. “?”

He stared dazedly at the other two. “Did I do that?”

Its combat power was that weak?

Fu Wuxuan drawled slowly, “The most terrifying thing about the Rat Spawn isn’t its combat ability. Touching it causes a severe drop in mental value, but on its own, it’s no different from an ordinary rat—low combat power, extremely high pollution spread, and zero defense.”

Ye Xuechun’s dictionary strike had nearly smashed it to death in one go.

Muttering to himself, Ye Xuechun said, “In that case, it’s not that scary after all.”

Fu Wuxuan shook his head. “A single Rat Spawn isn’t frightening. What’s scary is a swarm of them.”

Killing one was easy, but evading a horde was not.

Rat Spawn appeared without warning. A single touch caused mental power to plummet at an alarming rate—within three seconds, one would degenerate into a Weird. Countless renowned Oracles had met their end under the siege of these tiny Rat Spawn.

Ye Xuechun grew fearful again as he listened. “We’ve already seen one. Like the cockroach effect, doesn’t that mean twenty more are lurking in the shadows?”

They could be hiding right behind them, watching in secret.

Fu Wuxuan chuckled mockingly. “Possible.”

The Man in the Painting, who had concealed himself once more, reappeared. “There’s no Rat Spawn aura nearby anymore.”

Ye Xuechun grumbled, “And now you show up again.”

The Man in the Painting replied flatly, “Better safe than sorry.”

Fu Wuxuan’s eyes flickered as he opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.

The Man in the Painting continued, “The Rat Spawn are controlled by a more powerful Weird—the Rat Mother. Sun Li from the Orphanage is the Rat Mother. Kill her, and the Rat Spawn won’t be a threat.”

Ye Xuechun’s eyes widened. “We’re supposed to do something that dangerous? What are you going to do?”

The Man in the Painting answered, “My power is limited. I can help you clear out the Weirds on the school side.”

Ye Xuechun hesitated, but Fu Wuxuan agreed readily for once. “Deal.”

The two sides reached an agreement. The three left the office, and the once-lively room returned to its former silence.

The picture frame hanging on the office wall seemed especially desolate. A faint wisp of black smoke drifted down, and the Man in the Painting stepped out from the darkness.

He wore a white robe, with a veil hat covering the upper half of his face, revealing only a small portion of his chin.

He removed the veil hat, exposing a profound, deep-set face.

He gazed toward the office door, as if watching the departing figures of Fu Wuxuan and the others.

A meaningful smile curved the corner of his mouth beneath that profound visage, though his eyes remained cold and devoid of any mirth, barely concealing the venom within.

“Dong Jun, this time you’re dead for sure.”

*

Ye Xuechun scratched his head. “We’re just leaving like this?”

Fu Wuxuan glanced faintly at him. “Or do you have more questions?”

Ye Xuechun was at a loss for words. “Not really.”

The three headed toward the dormitories when Yun Xueqing suddenly said, “That Yin Shixing feels a bit off.”

Fu Wuxuan chuckled lightly. “He is a bit strange. He dared to infiltrate the hospital alone, yet now he’s afraid of a single Rat Spawn and so cautious…”

His tone grew enigmatic. “It reminds me of someone.”

Yun Xueqing asked, “Who?”

Fu Wuxuan shook his head. “Just a hunch. He probably wouldn’t come here. Maybe I’m overthinking it.”

Ye Xuechun snapped angrily, “Stop speaking in half-riddles, you riddle freak!”

Fu Wuxuan promptly gave Ye Xuechun a solid knock on the head, and the other immediately behaved.

The lights were dim. Yun Xueqing looked ahead at the path, where silvery moonlight fell on the small road like a layer of frost.

He said flatly, “Whether he’s Yin Shixing or not, we have to check out the Orphanage.”

Ye Xuechun sighed. “If that guy in the painting is telling the truth, we’ll probably have to fight Sun Li.”

But with just the three of them—their combat power lower than the next—could they really take down at least a B-Rank Rat Mother?

Fu Wuxuan eyed his skinny arms and legs with rare disdain. “How did you survive the apocalypse?”

Ye Xuechun scratched his head. “Whenever danger struck, I’d get saved for some inexplicable reason. Pure luck?”

Yun Xueqing affirmed, “Luck is part of one’s strength.”

Ye Xuechun grinned cheekily. “Yeah, yeah! My luck’s pretty good. Stick with me, and yours will improve too!”

The three chatted idly as they soon reached the dorm building and parted ways. They agreed to meet at the school gate early the next morning to head to the Orphanage.

When the three arrived at the gate, Ye Xuechun suddenly suggested, “Should we sneak in?”

Walking in openly and interrogating Sun Li didn’t seem right—they had no evidence.

Yun Xueqing glanced at the other two. “Do either of you know concealment talismans?”

Though the Sword Pavilion taught how to draw concealment talisman paper, he wasn’t a talisman cultivator. He always skipped those classes to practice swordplay and hadn’t memorized the method.

Ye Xuechun hesitated. “I don’t know any Oracles. I’m basically a normal person.”

Fu Wuxuan pondered briefly. “There’s Oracle: Concealment. It can briefly hide one’s form and aura, but it requires a lot of spirit energy. I can’t cast it right now.”

As soon as Fu Wuxuan finished, both he and Yun Xueqing turned to Ye Xuechun and said in unison, “Why don’t you learn it now?”

Ye Xuechun was utterly shocked. “That sounds like a high-tier Oracle. I can’t learn it!”

“You won’t know until you try,” Fu Wuxuan said carelessly, his tone flippant. “You’ve been a good-for-nothing for two years. Time to learn something.”

Ye Xuechun relented. “…Fine.”

Fu Wuxuan said, “Alright, listen up.”

His thin lips parted as he recited a long string of incantations.

Ye Xuechun blinked. “?”

After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Say it again?”

Fu Wuxuan repeated it.

Ye Xuechun said, “Still didn’t get it. One more time?”

Fu Wuxuan’s patience ran out. “I shouldn’t expect someone who failed elementary math to suddenly master college calculus.”

Ye Xuechun was speechless. …Too vicious.

Yun Xueqing sighed, knowing there was no help for it. “Let’s just go in directly.”

Unexpectedly, however, the Orphanage gate was locked, with a notice posted beside it: Closed on Mondays, no service.

Fu Wuxuan smiled. “Looks like we timed it perfectly.”

Yun Xueqing also found the closure suspicious. “No idea what they’re doing inside.”

Fu Wuxuan’s lips curved into a somewhat wicked grin. “Doing what? We’ll find out once we’re in.”

The Orphanage gate was a classic keyhole door, locked from the inside. Fu Wuxuan was about to kick it open when Yun Xueqing stepped forward, plucked two long strands of hair, and inserted them into the keyhole. In less than a minute, the lock clicked open.

Fu Wuxuan chuckled. “You have that skill too?”

Yun Xueqing’s expression remained neutral, as if he hadn’t done anything wrong. “Picked it up from being locked in confinement.”

In the past, when he messed up, his master Mei Qujun would seal his spiritual power and lock him in his room to reflect.

Over time, he’d mastered this trick to sneak out.

Fu Wuxuan stifled a laugh. “You got confined? Doesn’t seem like you.”

Yun Xueqing looked up and asked flatly, “Doesn’t seem like it?”

Fu Wuxuan shook his head. “Nah. You look like the rule-following type—goes to class on time every day, never skips. The model student.”

Just with a touch of chuunibyou.

Everyone had their quirks, though.

Yun Xueqing didn’t bother arguing. “Let’s go in.”

The three gently pushed open the gate and entered. Unlike their previous visit when the small courtyard had been packed with people, it was now completely empty, evoking a sense of desolation as if the wind had swept everyone away.

Ye Xuechun’s eyes widened. “Where’d everyone go? They weren’t all sold off by that director, were they?”

Yun Xueqing said flatly, “Let’s check inside first.”

Though the courtyard was less than 200 square meters, it had numerous rooms, making a thorough search time-consuming.

Fu Wuxuan reminded them, “Focus on the floors. Look for hidden passages or basements.”

They conducted a blanket search until Yun Xueqing called out, “Over here.”

They followed the discovered hidden passage down to a basement.

The basement was spacious, divided into several rooms that took up nearly half the Orphanage’s size. When they turned on the lights, they saw the floor was covered in a layer of dark red.

Ye Xuechun had a bad premonition. “Don’t tell me that’s dried blood…”

“Mmm… mmph… mmm!”

A sound like muffled groans and cries for help echoed. The three hurried to the source and entered a room where they found three children of varying ages bound on the floor.

Their hands and feet were tied with hemp ropes, mouths gagged with white cloth, and their faces and bodies bore bruises of all sizes, as if they’d been beaten.

Ye Xuechun said indignantly, “These must be the kidnapped kids, about to be sold off!”

Fu Wuxuan’s expression darkened. “Evidence confirmed.”

Yun Xueqing said nothing as he sliced through their ropes with his blade.

He casually yanked the white cloth from one child’s mouth—only for a Rat Spawn to suddenly burst out!

He instinctively struck back, killing the Rat Spawn with his blade, but his hand still inevitably brushed against it!

Yun Xueqing’s heart raced, a palpitation gripping his chest. Malicious thoughts amplified endlessly in his mind, seductive whispers echoing in his ears like the devil’s murmur!

A woman’s shrill laughter rang out. “How stupid. I used the Rat Spawn to test you yesterday, and today you walk right into my trap.”

Ye Xuechun said furiously, “You’re despicable!”

This woman had actually used the children’s bodies as containers for the Rat Spawn to attack them!

Sun Li descended the stairs in her high heels. “Still too stupid. Perfect timing—your organs look healthy. We’ll sell you off along with these kids.”

Fu Wuxuan ignored her and turned to Yun Xueqing, who clutched his head in agony. “Hold on! Don’t let it bewitch you!”

Oracles touched by Rat Spawn would mutate within three seconds, but Yun Xueqing showed no such signs.

Come to think of it, Yun Xueqing had emerged from the previous Weird Domain without dying from pollution or awakening as an Oracle. His mental threshold might differ from ordinary people.

Fu Wuxuan gripped his shoulder. “Don’t get assimilated. Stay rational.”

“Enough.”

Yun Xueqing, who had been clutching his head, suddenly dropped his hand. A flash of impatience crossed his usually impassive face, his mild tone vanishing into coldness. “Quit yapping. Annoying.”

Disgust flickered in his normally serene eyes, like a pebble rippling still water.

Fu Wuxuan immediately relaxed, releasing his grip with a faint smile. “Dropping the act? Looks like you’re fine.”

Yun Xueqing’s unstable mood vanished quickly, returning to his usual mild tone. “I’m okay. No need to worry.”

Sun Li came down the hidden stairs. “Three small fries daring to barge in.”

Fu Wuxuan tilted his head. “Is that so? Oracle: Beast Trapping Cage.”

A golden-red beam descended from above, forming a cage that trapped Sun Li firmly.

Ye Xuechun was even more shocked than Sun Li. “Big shot, didn’t you say you had no spirit energy left?!”

Fu Wuxuan’s lips curved. “Would you show all your cards?”

He didn’t waste any more words and hurriedly said, “Quick, let’s go. This cage won’t hold her for long.”

The three of them rushed out of the basement and into the orphanage’s spacious courtyard. Before they could make it out of the orphanage, they heard Sun Li’s voice from behind. “You won’t get away.”

Fu Wuxuan turned back helplessly. “Beautiful lady, why do you insist on hounding us?”

Sun Li casually removed the hair tie from her high ponytail, letting her hair fall loose. She tossed it aside lightly, her tone equally flippant. “Handsome Guy, I told you—I have to sell all of you off.”

“How heartless.” As soon as Fu Wuxuan finished speaking, he shot forward like an arrow off a string. He wielded a knife he’d somehow grabbed from somewhere and stabbed furiously at Sun Li.

But she was extraordinarily agile, dodging with incredible speed. Despite Fu Wuxuan’s high-output assault, he couldn’t even graze a single strand of her hair.

Ye Xuechun watched anxiously. “Damn it, what can I do?!”

In his panic, Yun Xueqing charged in as well. Even under the combined assault of the two, Sun Li handled it with ease.

Pure physical combat alone wouldn’t beat her.

Realizing this, Fu Wuxuan pulled back the battle line. “Looks like I’ll have to use this move.”

He casually touched his neck, clenched his right hand into a fist, and under a red glow, slowly drew out his spinebone.

Ye Xuechun’s eyes widened. “It’s the Spinebone Whip!”

Among all Oracles, only one person’s weapon was the Spinebone Whip!

Could it be that this guy, who’d been cracking jokes with him all along, was the legendary…

Fu Wuxuan gripped the Spinebone Whip. “It still hurts a bit.”

The Spinebone Whip wasn’t long—about a meter or so—with extreme hardness. He lashed it straight at Sun Li!

Sun Li hadn’t taken these two seriously before, but as soon as the whip appeared, the momentum shifted dramatically. The unremarkable-looking Spinebone Whip brought a bone-chilling sensation upon impact, one that made even the soul tremble.

The ease vanished from Sun Li’s face, replaced by terror. “That’s an S-Rank Weird Artifact in your hand!”

“That’s right!” Fu Wuxuan sneered, whipping relentlessly. “An S-Rank Weird Artifact lashing a mere B-Rank Weird like you—consider yourself lucky!”

But after a brief moment of panic, she quickly regained her composure. She tried to widen the distance from Fu Wuxuan. “Your Weird Artifact is powerful, but you don’t deserve an S-Rank one. Controlling an S-Rank Weird Artifact requires massive amounts of Spirit Energy to suppress it, or it’ll backfire on you.”

She looked at Fu Wuxuan, whose attack speed had clearly slowed, and flashed a mocking smile. “If I’m not wrong, you’re already at the end of your rope, aren’t you?”

Fu Wuxuan halted his attacks and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. “Almost at my limit, yeah. But it’s enough to kill you.”

He channeled Spirit Energy into the Spinebone Whip. The blood-red spinebone suddenly took on a ghostly blue hue.

He controlled the Spinebone Whip from afar with a single wave of his hand. “Go!”

The Spinebone Whip shot forward like an arrow, piercing straight into Sun Li’s chest!

Sun Li’s eyes turned blood-red as she let out an enraged roar.

Its body gradually swelled and grew massive, its head shrinking smaller and smaller until only a pair of scarlet eyes remained. Human skin sloughed away, replaced by grayish-white fur—it transformed into a gigantic rat!

It had undergone Berserk Transformation!

A Weird’s Berserk Transformation doubled its combat power. Yun Xueqing, who was assisting from the side, raised his Calamity Blade. He instinctively glanced at Fu Wuxuan nearby, awaiting orders.

In that glance, he saw Fu Wuxuan’s body trembling uncontrollably. Pale blue scales had grown on his smooth face!

From overusing Spirit Energy, Fu Wuxuan had degenerated.