Chapter Fifteen

1

"Nofice, don't touch those things."

"But master, they're so beautiful." Nofice bent over, mesmerized by the pale blue flowers that resembled forget-me-nots, but the petals were covered in tiny, sharp thorns.

"These things are mildly toxic to humans and highly poisonous to Angels. They have a fitting name – Angel-killing Thorn."

Shi Xueqi stood beside me, her voice filled with curiosity. "Do you understand all this?"

"No, I don't."

"Hah! You admitted it so readily, yet you claimed to understand plants."

"Well, the old army doctor does know. Look, this is the journal he gave me before he left. It's a compilation of his field experiences from the first half of his life, and it has information about them." I tapped a yellowed notebook in my hand.

"What exactly did you two talk about?"

"We discussed military matters, civilian life, women, and so on."

"Military matters?" Shi Xueqi seemed skeptical that I would engage in such conversations.

"Yes, they think that battleships with main cannons are just a waste of money. They argue that their accurate range is too short, and it's all about intimidating people with their massive destructive power. They believe that physical explosives are more effective."

"Are physical explosives the missiles described in history books?"

"Yes, indeed. But they don't realize that battleships are meant to frighten gods and demons. If missiles were effective, they would have been used thirteen million years ago." I closed the book and noticed a transparent glass column of light ahead, one of the teleportation points that connected to every district in Jincheng's primitive forest based on community distribution.

Nofice still stared at the blue flowers, longing to touch them. I couldn't help but tap her head.

"Master!"

"Don't even think about touching them, you hear me? I don't want another casualty. Don't touch anything that looks suspicious." I turned to Shi Xueqi, who had too many bandages on her hands and seemed inconvenienced.

"Although medical treatment is great, I can offer you a free one." Flames flickered in my hand; Flame of Punishment had excellent healing effects.

"No, thanks."

"Are you too embarrassed? Or perhaps you have some scars on your hands that I can't see, like knife wounds. It's inconvenient to eat with injured hands."

"Forget it. Letting you treat me would deplete your magic power, and you know yourself better. Even if Nofice were to do it, it would still rely on your magic power."

"If I run out of white magic, I'll use mine." I casually played with the flames in my hands.

Suddenly, Shi Xueqi's eyes widened as if she had just discovered something.

"White? Your hair is black... So you're Black Qin Yang. Since when?"

"I've been Black Qin Yang since the moment I left. You just didn't notice. I'm the class monitor and your maid."

"Yes, Nofice can testify. When the master left the tent, his hair was already black."

I didn't intend to tell Shi Xueqi too much. Stepping forward, I held her hands, and golden flames crawled up her wrists, causing her to feel a tingling sensation.

"Alright, as a token of appreciation for understanding my magic power, I'll help you this much. Anything above your wrists, you'll have to handle on your own. At least now you can hold chopsticks and eat, right?"

Shi Xueqi removed the bandages from her wrists, revealing intact skin.

"Indeed, Black Qin Yang is not as reasonable as White Qin Yang. Let go now. You were always hiding during our first year. So, which one are you truly?"

Shi Xueqi stared at the arteries on her wrists, which pulsated strongly, and her fingers and wrists were agile as if they had never been injured before.

"First grade? That's me too. You can't understand what's inside me. The power of a person should be expressed differently at different stages."

"Boring."

I pointed to my own nose and said, "Am I boring? Such profound words are here to teach you what self-awareness means."

2

Soon, we saw the pillar of light, the stone inscription with pale blue floating letters. It didn't seem like a simple teleportation Magic spell. If it were too simple, any wild beast that charged in would be transported above.

"Master, I feel like something is following us." Nofice wasn't interested in the Magic formation, but instead paid attention to our surroundings.

I looked around, observing the swaying leaves and vines.

"Or maybe it's some wild animals or small monsters." Shi Xueqi grew up in the small village in the castle town, and she had a good understanding of this primitive forest. Powerful monsters wouldn't exist because they were intentionally kept away from humans.

"That might not be the case." The trembling of the trees didn't give a sense of peace.

"Non-humans are not supposed to approach within a hundred meters of this place."

"Then Nofice is also a non-human!" Nofice laughed, and what Nofice said was right. Angel was not human, despite her appearance.

"Either the Magic has gone wrong, or a more powerful Magic has appeared here. Could it be what those lords heard about...?"

"What are you mumbling about? Hurry up to the community. Qin Yang, do you want to waste your magic power here?"

"It's fine. If we go up, these monsters will follow. We won't know what's happening up there."

Suddenly, just as our conversation wasn't finished, a shiny-furred monkey jumped out.

"So it's a golden monkey?"

"Wait!"

The golden monkey stood upright in front of us. Its pose was cooler than that of a superstar. It held a pitch-black iron rod. Although it was only half our height, its imposing presence and six-pack abs made even me envious.

"Doesn't it look like the Monkey King in that legendary book?"

"Sun Wukong?" I remembered the ancient book Shi Xueqi mentioned. I had read the original version before, and that monkey wasn't as handsome as this one. It just became more and more handsome in later adaptations.

"Yes, it is. Recently, I even saw an adapted comic of it, then..."

"Hehe, our class leader doesn't like men but likes monkeys, even ugly ones."

"A monkey is still better than you. At least it has six-pack abs." Shi Xueqi poked the monkey's abs with her finger, feeling their hardness.

"Oh~" The monkey let out a deep roar from its throat, seemingly dissatisfied with Shi Xueqi's actions.

The monkey emitted a faint golden magic. It was rare for a monster to have magic attributes.

"A ground-type monster, truly a Monkey King." The monkey we saw grew to two meters tall, making us look up at it instantly.

"Master, I suspect it must have read that ancient book."

"It's possible that some monkeys in the monkey species actually read it and passed it down through generations! But it's very likely some weird adaptation comic."

With its strong body and a shining golden iron rod, the stomp of the monkey caused sand and rocks to fly, smashing the stone slab with the inscription.

"Wow, it smashed the Magic formation. Master, it shouldn't have appeared!" Nofice didn't speak in a cute voice this time. Instead, it sounded cold and emotionless, like it was in battle mode.

"I know, catching one of these Monsters is specimen-level!"

"Both of you are still thinking about collecting specimens, but it has already destroyed the Magic formation!"

"Hey, since Shirley provoked this monkey, why don't we give it a banana?"

The three of us dodged the monkey's iron rod, and as it swung the rod, it played with such skill. Then it threw it with force, and the rod landed in the spot where Shirley had been standing a second ago, but its figure was already gone.

"Ah!" I appeared next to Shirley and forcefully pushed her away, while the monkey and its punch were already in front of me.

Nofice unfolded her eighteen wings of the Angel and followed closely behind the monkey, lifting her wand, but she couldn't catch up to that punch.

"Clang~" There was a crisp sound of impact, and a black shield flew out, perfectly blocking the punch before it reached my body.

"Nana, it's so good to see you."

"I am a bodyguard and protector. Since you are not safe, you summoned a cute familiar who warms beds before me." Since Nana had served as a soldier in the border city for two years, she had developed a strong liking for wearing tight black clothes, especially leather jackets.

"Because... summoning Nofice is a habitual action."

"Never mind, I'll handle this monkey. Let's quickly get to the next pillar of light." Nana gripped her black shield and long sword, emanating dark magical power, with a look that seemed ready to devour someone.

"Let's go, don't think too much." I lifted up Shirley, urging her to leave quickly.

"Aren't you going to take care of her?"

With Nana's shield in hand, I guarantee she won't die."

"Are you... cold-blooded or just calm?"

Five hundred meters away from our original location, a sudden strong wind blew past. We turned to look, and trees fell and birds scattered. Nana's figure jumped out of that forest.

"So fast?"

"The monkey is very cunning. As soon as I hurt a single monkey hair, it ran away." Nana wiped off a monkey hair from her knife blade, and indeed, there was only one.

I suddenly felt something was wrong and nervously said, "Nana, do me a favor and quickly find a group of elderly people at the location I designated. One of them is an old military doctor. Tell them to leave this forest. It's not safe here."

"Understood." Behind her tight clothes, Nana pulled out a hat identical to that of the envoy of the underworld. When she put on the hat, it was the moment when the "Envoy's Zone" was opened.

"Qin Yang!"

"We need to find the Emperor of the Empire immediately. I should know what 'Lè' wants to do."