Whose Nirvana (9)
The night is as dark as ink.
Sitting on the Yunmeng Tiger's back, holding the kitten, and watching the clouds drifting quietly around her, Linyin felt a sense of wonder. For the first time, she truly felt the benefits of having a mythical beast.
The kitten sensed her thoughts and slapped her with its tail in annoyance.
The principal's fingers flickered with a green aura, and a small flame appeared at her fingertips. With familiarity, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and handed it to the tense Rin Yin beside her. "Want one?"
"No thanks. I don't smoke." Linyin declined politely.
The principal didn't force it, taking the cigarette case back and flicking the flame between her fingers until it extinguished. She exhaled a thin puff of smoke and looked at Lin Yin through the swirling green light. "Do you know why I chose to sign a contract with Meng Meng?"
Linyin was startled. She'd heard the principal was a martial artist, but to adapt to the times, even she needed to contract a mythical beast to maintain her position. She stroked the Yunmeng Tiger's not-so-soft fur and said something more euphemistic, "Because... you need each other's strength?"
"That's right." The principal nodded. "I'm not an idealist. I don't see things in black and white. Being able to contract a mythical beast is an ability in itself. There's nothing to be ashamed of."
Idealists usually die young. The principal took a deep breath and suppressed the tears in his eyes.
Lin Yin thought the principal was trying to persuade her to contract a phantom beast. Just as she was about to explain, she was interrupted by the principal, "I'm not asking you to contract a phantom beast. What I want to say is -
"You're too used to shouldering everything on your own. There's nothing shameful about seeking help, whether it's contracting a phantom beast or finding someone to share your difficulties with." She flicked the ash from her cigarette. "When Damian led the charge to kidnap Crystal, you asked for my help in time. You did a great job."
"Rin, I'm the highest leader of an academy. I have far more resources than you do, and I can do many things that you can't possibly do. After that, I thought you finally understood... but now it seems you still don't."
Linyin lowered her head, unable to refute.
"You hate the nobles and think it's unfair, so you start a fight... Of course, that's one way to do it," the principal said with a gentle look in his eyes. "But are you the only one in the school who hates the nobles? Even if no one among the students dares to do it openly like you, what about the teachers? What about the management? For example... Do you think I like those noble children?"
The principal stopped short. "These are external forces within external forces. Some people are naturally ill-suited to utilizing them. As long as your ideals aren't 'revitalizing martial arts' or 'overthrowing the Hall of Fantasy Beasts,' it doesn't matter. But... what about your companions? Why don't you ever seek their help?"
Linyin's head drooped lower and lower.
"The mythical beasts of Yuzhu and Shuijing are not what they are registered as, right?"
Linyin looked up suddenly, and the principal's eyes were full of cunning light. "What are you looking at me for? If you don't have this much observation ability, how can I be a principal? You have been helping them hide their true forms and abilities, right?"
"I understand your concerns." The principal's eyes softened. "But times have changed. Things that we had to conceal before are no longer the same now. We can now confront them openly."
The principal didn't think her choice of words was wrong at all. "Since they are all trustworthy people, you can share the burden with them appropriately." She looked directly into Linyin's eyes and said, "Let them stand by your side and work together!"
Linyin thought of Yuzhu's hesitant expression and Shuijing's worried look - perhaps she had missed more than she thought.
"I..." Linyin took a deep breath, "I'll talk to them."
The principal smiled with satisfaction and put out his cigarette. "That's right."
"Among your friends, regarding Belle and the Lan family... there are some things I want to share with you."
The principal's voice trailed off, and Rinone sat up slightly straighter.
"The Lan family isn't the kind of family you imagine, one that exploits power to oppress others," the principal said slowly. "On the contrary, almost every head of the Lan family has been an idealist. Take Belle's mother, Cecilius Lan, for example."
Linyin was stunned. She had always been wary of Belle, thinking that all crows were evil, and had never even bothered to delve into the inside story.
"Martial arts had been declining for years. Cecilis, in pursuit of its future, chose a path virtually tantamount to self-sacrifice." The principal's gaze grew distant, as if he were observing a distant figure. "She founded the Martial Alliance and studied the secrets of Wuji Zhenqi, attempting to create a universal method to break the aristocratic families' monopoly on power and allow more ordinary people to wield true power. But her actions affected the interests of too many people, and ultimately... she was killed by the previous master of the Fantasy Beast Hall."
"Belle... do you know this?" Lin Yin asked in a low voice.
The principal shook his head. "Not many people know about the existence of the Martial Alliance. Cecilys is a noble, after all, so the matter was tacitly suppressed. Belle's grandmother also kept the truth secret to protect her. But now..."
She looked at Linyin and said, "Thanks to you, Belle has gradually mastered the Wuji Qi and has the ability to protect herself. Her grandmother has acquiesced. It's time to let her slowly understand everything."
Linyin was silent for a long time, she felt a little breathless.
The kitten nuzzled into her arms, resting its two little paws on her collarbone as if to comfort her.
Linyin patted its head.
Suddenly, the kitten spoke in her consciousness, "It's an emergency!"
Rinyin felt the principal's body tense up as well, and the two of them, along with the cat, stared at each other.
"Your cat can talk directly into my head?" The principal's eyes widened.
"Did you hear the kitten talking?" Rin asked the principal.
They both spoke at the same time, noticing each other's shock.
"In fact, the action of the Fantasy Beast Hall is to take away the kitten..." Lin Yin didn't expect that the principal who seemed to be in control of the situation really didn't know this news.
"Isn't it because Song Baiyue has the ability to make people contract with heavenly-level monsters?" the principal wondered.
Rinyin knew that this required an explanation.
Seeing that the two were talking further and further away, the kitten had to speak again, "Yingyue Spirit Deer just sent me a message. It said it saw Song Baiyue being transported to the clock tower in the east area of the Fantasy Beast Hall. Something's not right!"
"Transported" to the East District Clock Tower...
Koneko's choice of words made Rinyin feel a little dizzy.
The principal didn't hesitate for a second, "Let's go." She said only one word, and Yunmenghu growled, the muscles in his limbs tensed, and a large amount of cloud-like energy instantly rose from his body. He rushed out like an arrow, so fast that the surrounding clouds were pulled into blurred blocks of color.
…
Wrapped in the kitten's bubble, the two people and two beasts traveled unhindered. According to the coordinates provided by Yingyue Linglu, they finally arrived in front of a towering incinerator.
The night wind, carrying a burnt smell, brushed across Linyin's cheek.
Pah.
A body was thrown into the fire by a mechanical arm, and the flames suddenly shot up, illuminating the people standing in formation around it. They were hidden in the mist-like armor and watched the burning process silently.
Rinyin's bad premonition became stronger and stronger.
The flames gradually died down and the ashes were swept into a collection trough by an automatic device.
Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and ashes flew everywhere, like snow, falling all over the heads and bodies of everyone present.
At the bottom of the incinerator, an L-shaped ring lay there quietly.
When the ring came into view, Rin's voice caught in her throat, and a cold sting ran through her blood vessels to her heart.
The next second, she felt a pain in the back of her neck, and darkness swallowed her consciousness.
………………
Thick, dark clouds hung heavy over the sky, swallowing up all the moonlight. Inside a mansion on the outskirts of Coachella, a flame simulated by phantom energy flickered restlessly in a replica fireplace.
Mao Tan stood in the middle of the living room, with a rug made of frost wolf fur under his feet.
"Flora, that crazy woman!" Mao Tan picked up the teacup and smashed it against the wall. "That's her own son! She actually fed him to that unlucky Qiangwei!"
The teacup fragments flew everywhere, and some of them were deeply embedded in the bookshelf.
"Fortunately, the Young Palace Master not only survived, but also lost all his memories of his time as a Shadow Guard... I think this might be an opportunity for us." His subordinates bowed in reply.
Mao Tan took a breath and looked at this subordinate with some surprise. He felt that he could do nothing but flatter others a few days ago. He said with some surprise, "You have improved a lot."
He gestured to the servant beside him to change his tea set and said, "Please sit down."
The subordinate sat down respectfully.
"Indeed. If Song... Haha, now we should call Fei Rui. If he really takes down the Devouring King, we might have a lot of difficulties cooperating with him."
"You are wise." The subordinate raised his glass to Maotan, and then took a sip himself.
Mao Tan frowned. This wasn't a dinner table, so why was he serving tea?
"Although we processed the egg ahead of time and can control him, it still leaves traces, which could easily lead to his inner dissatisfaction." The subordinate said cheerfully, not realizing that his criticism of Mao Tan's initial plan had already made his face worse. "As it stands now, without the Devouring King, his succession qualification is not logical enough. If he doesn't want to suffer like his mother, he will definitely need your support."
"Yeah." Mao Tan nodded, his expression unclear.
The subordinate finally realized something was wrong and quickly changed his words. As soon as he opened his mouth, he realized that if he wanted to say that Maotan's plan was better, he would have to admit that the current situation was not in their favor - this would also make Maotan very unhappy, and in turn affect him, who was running errands for him.
Why is it so difficult to find a job?
"Okay, okay, you go down first." Seeing how restless he was, Mao Tan felt that he was not presentable.
On Fei Rui's side, they also hold another trump card -
Fei Rui doesn't remember anything now, but as long as they point out what Flora did to that female student at the right time, are they still afraid that Fei Rui won't rebel?
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