Chapter 267 Where to Go (Part 2)
After reaching Sephiroth 4, the ascenders on the Path of Oneness gain the ability to freely control their own bodies.
The degree of freedom of this ability varies from person to person. Most people with wings can freely fold their wings and make minor changes to their limbs, facial features, etc.; a small number of gifted people or people of special races can arbitrarily adjust their height, alienate their limbs, and even "change their appearance" from the inside out.
Qingxia is a rare individual among the Chengkong Wing. Thanks to the inherent talents of the Enjoyment Demon Clan, she can freely switch between the forms of Sephiroth 1, 2, 3, and 4. A unique mutated virus also grants her the ability to drastically alter her body to her own whims, a creative power that transcends the inherent constraints of the Outer Path.
Theoretically, Qingxia can transform into a complete horse or other animal form, but she herself does not want to do so.
"I heard from my grandfather that if the body changes too drastically, there's a chance of losing oneself. That's why the more powerful Transformers are, the more cautious they are with their transformation abilities."
"That makes sense. The spirit-body is easily affected by the physical body. Physical disability, for example, can significantly impact a person's mental state." Chu Hengkong nodded. "Especially when it comes to facial changes, one must be extremely cautious. This is the clearest definition of self."
"Yeah, so no matter what I become, I'll keep my face." Qingxia poked her cheek. "I heard that during the war, some ascenders became 'faceless people' in order to infiltrate the battlefield. It seems that their spirit bodies would turn into a ball of faceless dough."
"You are wrong. The self-esteem of that kind of person is the most determined." Chu Hengkong said.
"?Why?"
"Their spirits can maintain stability without the reference of a physical body, so they don't need their own faces." Chu Hengkong said calmly, "When you meet someone like that, you must be vigilant. They are the most terrifying type in the world."
"I've learned a lesson." Qingxia took out a notebook and wrote down carefully, "Be careful of Wuxiang..."
"Don't use that misleading writing style." Chu Hengkong wanted to rub her head, but he couldn't reach it. "We're here now, be serious and don't let the children laugh at you."
“Ahem!”
Qingxia put away his notebook and assumed the air of a proud warrior commander. They walked past the beautiful wooden wall covered in creeping vines and arrived in front of the bronze gate. Two plump dragon statues stood on either side of the gate, with a jade plaque from the City Lord's Mansion prominently displayed beside them:
"Be civilized, be polite, and set a good example for the swamp."
This is the landmark building newly built in the swamp this year, the No. 1 Experimental School of Bize District, which was built by the City Lord's Mansion at a huge expense.
As the saying goes, no matter how hard life is, we must not let our children suffer, and no matter how poor we are, we must not let our education suffer. Since the reconstruction of Dahuilongcheng, Youyou has reflected on the past chaos in the marshland and is determined to strengthen compulsory education at the grassroots level, promote healthy and positive religious beliefs, and fundamentally eliminate the contamination of cult beliefs and external religions. Thus, the First Experimental School was born.
This school brings together the city's most determined, motivated, and highly paid elite teaching staff, offering comprehensive education at all levels, from primary to secondary. During the day, it provides basic quality education for minors, while in the evenings, it offers evening classes for local adults. Students with outstanding academic performance and good character can also take the official biannual Qualifying Exam for Transformers, known as the "Transformation Exam."
After the school was opened, it was very popular among the people. Many citizens of Zhongtian rented wooden houses in the swamp just to send their children to the school for entrance exams.
The children of the settlement, having settled in the swamp and being all talented young people who had experienced the wilderness, were all given places in the same school. Chu Hengkong greeted the school security and led Qingxia into the campus. Soon, a female teacher hurried over, her smile a little awkward.
"Mr. Shenzi... no, Inspector, we are honored to have you inspect our school..."
"It's Miss Qingxia who's here for the inspection. I'll be your escort." Chu Hengkong waved his hand. "No need for fanfare. Please show us the new students."
The female teacher's smile became even more awkward: "How about I show you two around the campus first...?"
Qing Xia tilted her head: "Are they having classes outside the teaching building?"
The female teacher turned around resignedly, her voice filled with sorrow: "Please follow me..."
Chu Hengkong and Qingxia exchanged a glance, both baffled. They followed the female teacher to a classroom on the third floor, where they saw an old teacher, excitedly lecturing on a copy of "Candlelight Poetry," while a group of children listened intently. The teaching atmosphere was as positive as it could be.
However, there was still a small problem in the classroom.
"...Why are half the seats empty?" Qingxia poked her head in. "Only 30% of the children in the settlement are here."
The female teacher's forehead began to sweat: "This...this..."
Chu Hengkong didn't want to embarrass her, so he happened to see someone he knew in the classroom and waved. The little girl sitting by the window responded, running out the door with the safe on her back, followed by a swaying puppy.
"Hello, Detective Chu!" Tina said crisply, and the little black dog Hawu barked twice.
This little girl was none other than the ghost girl from the haunted house. Now that order had returned to the city, she could finally go to school with her peers. Chu Hengkong squatted down and smiled at the little girl, "Is it so hard for you to come all the way to the swamp to go to school?"
"It's not hard. Dad is very strong now because of exercise. He carries the safe to take me to school every day." Tina smiled.
"Then his fitness training is quite effective..." Chu Hengkong's mouth twitched, "Do you know where the new students have gone?"
Tina blinked: "Can you promise me not to blame the teacher first?"
"Don't be afraid, we're not here to cause trouble." Chu Hengkong signaled the female teacher not to be nervous, "Right, Qingxia?"
"Of course~" Qingxia said softly.
Tina nodded and said to Qingxia, "Ms. Centaur, all the children you brought with you have skipped school."
Qingxia showed a devilish and terrifying expression.
·
Foreman Lao Fan, holding a torrent axe, shouted, "Ten minutes of rest, line up for inspection!"
The lumberjacks lined up lazily in a row. Old Fan, with his hands behind his back, checked the wooden stakes one by one, focusing on the direction where the stakes had fallen.
Falling trees are the most dangerous accident in the industry. Before felling a tree, one must carefully consider the direction. Certain resilient woods can rebound, and hollow logs prone to premature collapse are even more dangerous to cut. The swamp is home to many unusual and bizarre trees, so even after felling, one must be cautious; who knows what might be hidden within the logs.
Old Fan, with his sharp eyes and careful observation, spotted a thin strand of insect silk extending from a wood chip. He raised his axe and smashed the hidden poisonous insect into a pulp. "Who's chopping this off? You're killing me!" A young worker in the team shrank back. It was the infamous baneling, which exploded if exposed to air for too long.
Lao Fan killed three more different bugs. The more he watched, the angrier he became. He turned around and started cursing, "Fuck your mother! I told you to memorize the safety regulations, but you didn't. You didn't remember the required movements, but you're such idiots! You still want to work on your own? You'll be dead in a week! You're lying in the park with broken arms and legs, collecting welfare, and you're asking your mother to carry you!"
The workers were scolded and humiliated. Old Fan walked to the last row and stood there. The woodpile contained a nest of poisonous insects, all of which had been killed in advance. The direction of the wood's fall was even more precise than he had calculated, avoiding the small, easily scattered logs nearby.
"Whose is this?"
The new female worker raised her hand. She was wearing a wooden helmet as a protective headgear. "Mr. Fan, this is mine."
"You're a great chopper! You won't fall to your death next time you go out!" Old Fan looked at the other wood piles and was very satisfied. "You old idiots can't chop as well as these young people. Time to rest and have lunch. Newcomers get an extra chicken leg at noon!"
The workers responded listlessly and ran off to collect their lunch boxes. The female workers and the other young people gathered together to eat. Old Fan squatted over with his own portion. "What's your name? Vita, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Fan."
"You're a diligent worker, knowing your life is at stake," Lao Fan said. "I've got a spot for a night class at a school. You can go."
Vita shrank her neck: "No need, no need..."
Lao Fan was dissatisfied: "Fuck your mother, you don't even go to school? There's air conditioning."
"Time at night is so precious, why not practice boxing? Learning a skill is worse than studying." Another black guy said lazily.
Lao Fan patted his arms, which were as thick as tree trunks. "Fighting? Want to be a cop?"
"Being a cop can also help you fight against outsiders, and you can earn a lot of money."
"Even cops need to study, you losers." Old Fan sighed, "If you don't study, what will happen to the quota?"
"You can go and do the work yourself. I'd rather be a carpenter."
"I'm a rough guy, and I still have to go to school my whole life. It's ridiculous." Old Fan spitted. "Fuck, I really want to introduce you to a carpenter. You have a lot of opportunities at a young age. You can make quick money, but you don't have to work so hard all the time... What's going on?"
There was a loud rumbling noise all around, like a huge army galloping towards him. Lao Fan's chopsticks were shaking. He put down his lunch box and turned around, only to see a bloody centaur charging towards him, with a ferocious expression that looked like he wanted to eat him alive.
Old Fan was so frightened that he almost lost his soul: "Help! Inspector, help! Help!"
The centaur grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. The 1.6-meter-tall old Fan looked like a chicken. "I'm going to sue you!"
Old Fan's eyes darkened. He thought, "Isn't this just a demon claiming my life? How did it become a civil dispute?" He was also frightened and confused. He stiffened his neck and said, "I have a business license..."
"You employ child labor!" Qingxia's roar was like a gust of wind.
Old Fan got even more anxious when he heard this: "Are you kidding me?! Where are the child laborers?!"
The outstanding young people began to retreat. Qingxia pointed at the black brother and said, "Lu Ge is only eight years old!"
Old Fan stared at the black man's muscular body, shiny bald head, and two-meter-tall burly body, feeling so aggrieved that he was speechless: "This guy is eight years old?!"
The black guy hesitated and said, "Master Blood Knight, I am nine years old this month..."
"They are all kids, what's the difference?" Qingxia let go of Lao Fan and stared angrily at the group of newly hired lumberjacks.
Some of them looked to be university scholars, while the youngest looked fifteen or sixteen years old, so they were definitely not children. Throughout the Shendong world, it was common for thirteen or fourteen-year-olds to work as laborers, and no one in their right mind would consider these strong laborers "children."
Even though their real age is less than ten years old.
"We finally have such a good environment now, why don't you go to school and study hard!" Qingxia's roar was like thunder exploding in the wilderness.
The children huddled together timidly, not daring to say a word. Vita stood up with her neck stiffened: "Lord Blood Knight, may I ask why we have to study?"
Qingxia was furious. It was the first time she had heard these kids talk back to her: "You can only have a bright future if you go to school and study—"
"But Lord Blood Knight, you haven't been to school either, yet you're still a hero of the settlement," Vita said angrily.
"I...I..." Qingxia was speechless for a moment. The children mustered up some courage and protested, "Lord Blood Knight, this isn't fair." "Everyone's working, why are we the only ones sitting around studying?" "I can't let my grandparents support me for nothing!" "Reading those crappy books is worse than practicing martial arts..."
Qingxia pointed at the wooden stake and said, "Chopping down trees will teach you a lot?"
"Lord Blood Knight, we've learned how to cut down trees safely and even identified many types of poisonous insects," Vita said. "Besides, we can earn 450 Flowing Pearls for a day of felling trees, which is more than many office workers earn!"
Qingxia was repeatedly contradicted, but she couldn't find any reason to refute it. She stomped her feet in anger. She turned around and shouted, "Chu Hengkong, help me speak!"
The inspector leaned against a big tree and gloated: "I didn't go to elementary school either."
"ah??"
(End of this chapter)
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