Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Inside Mingjiang No. 7 Special School.
Qin Shiyu had left the teaching building and was wandering aimlessly through the campus.
“Teach anomalies to read, guide them into becoming real people, and even enable them to attain divinity?”
She murmured to herself, thinking of Lin Xiaoyu.
Rain had originally been somewhat weaker than Frost.
That was precisely why the Hall of Anomalies had chosen Frost. The stronger Frost was, the greater her chances of becoming a god.
Yet the outcome had been the complete opposite of what they expected!
Lin Xiaoyu had truly acquired part of her humanity. Through it, she had even contained that mysterious Water God’s Knot and gained control over part of the Water God’s power.
Even though Frost had possessed the Water God’s Scale and the Water God’s Knot for so long, she had never been able to contain them completely. She could only draw on part of the Water God’s Scale’s power!
This was more than enough to prove that her teacher’s path had been correct all along!
Humanity was the ladder to divinity.
Her teacher had simply failed to reach the end of that path.
Li Que had succeeded!
The conflict inside Qin Shiyu grew almost unbearable.
She was one of the Hall of Anomalies’ most loyal members. Although her teacher had gone mad, the Hall Master had not abandoned her, instead giving her the Sovereign Seal and allowing her to become an S-class anomaly wielder ahead of schedule.
She had come here under orders to help Frost obtain Rain’s anomalous entity, enabling Frost to claim the Water God’s divine authority.
Now that the mission had failed, she should immediately report everything she had discovered to the Hall of Anomalies.
And yet, she hesitated.
She knew perfectly well that the moment this information reached them, the Hall of Anomalies would attack at any cost.
Rain’s preliminary command over the Water God’s Authority alone was enough to provoke a massive response from the Hall of Anomalies.
And that was without considering Meng Mo, who appeared to be the Dream Demon, or the mysterious girl who loved staring into her mirror.
The peace of this school would be shattered completely.
So what if Li Que was an SS-class anomaly wielder? The Hall of Anomalies was a vast and ancient behemoth with unfathomable reserves. If the two sides truly clashed, the outcome would be inevitable!
But what if… she chose not to report it?
Li Que had already achieved a measure of success. Could he one day truly realize the path her teacher had described?
In her mind, she saw her teacher’s obsession and desperate cries before madness claimed them.
Li Que might be the only person in this world capable of fulfilling her teacher’s dying wish!
“Hm?”
As she wrestled with the decision, she suddenly noticed a familiar figure cleaning the athletic field not far ahead.
It was… a woman holding an infant.
The woman swept with meticulous concentration, as though cleaning were the only thing that existed in her world.
“The Wraith-Mother of the Vengeful Infant?!”
Qin Shiyu could not help exclaiming in surprise.
The Wraith-Mother of the Vengeful Infant was merely an A-class anomaly. She had also come from Five Dragons Mountain and had been nothing more than a tool they used to locate Rain. Qin Shiyu had never paid her much attention before.
Later, when Qin Zhenye could no longer be reached, she had assumed that the Wraith-Mother of the Vengeful Infant had disappeared along with him.
Yet she was still here on campus-and she had even started cleaning the school?
What the hell was going on?
Qin Shiyu walked over and quietly activated her own anomalous entity.
“What are you doing here?” she asked curiously.
The pale-faced Wraith-Mother looked up and actually gave her a chilling smile.
“Clean the school… get candy.”
The infant in her arms reached out with both tiny hands. “Candy! Candy!”
A woman who had been dead for untold years stood holding her dead child, yet the two of them somehow radiated warmth and happiness. The sight was eerie beyond description.
Qin Shiyu was utterly shaken!
Anomalies at the level of Rain and the Dream Demon already possessed a certain degree of sentience. Li Que guiding them toward humanity was impressive, but it was not wholly unprecedented.
Her teacher had walked that road before, after all.
The Wraith-Mother of the Vengeful Infant, however, was only A-class.
Anomalies at that level were still driven largely by instinct.
Yet what was Qin Shiyu seeing now?
The Wraith-Mother, once little more than a walking corpse, was showing a strange form of maternal tenderness. Even the infant’s reactions resembled those of a normal human baby.
How in the world had Li Que accomplished this?!
Even if her teacher were here to witness it, they would probably cry out in astonishment!
In that instant, nearly all of Qin Shiyu’s hesitation vanished.
Li Que’s achievements on this path had already far surpassed her teacher’s!
He could unquestionably reach its end. He might even rewrite the fate of countless anomalies.
Without another moment of hesitation, Qin Shiyu went to the guardhouse and retrieved her second Sovereign Seal. Then she set out to find Li Que.
…
At the same time, elsewhere in the city.
Wang Zhong and Zuo Qingting were driving toward the Anomaly Suppression Bureau.
They intended to tell Shi Xuan everything that had happened at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School, then use official resources to investigate it.
“Pull over up ahead,” Zuo Qingting suddenly said. “I’m going to buy a pack of cigarettes.”
The car stopped, and he quickly entered a tobacco shop by the roadside.
Once inside, he glanced behind him and confirmed there was no one nearby. Then he called out in a low voice,
“Come out! The hidden dragon does not act!”
Two figures immediately emerged: Sun Cheng in his battered felt hat, and Liu Ying dressed entirely in gray.
“Didn’t I tell you never to contact me unless there was absolutely no other choice?!”
Zuo Qingting frowned deeply.
Ever since Zhao Xueru’s exposure, he had acted with extreme caution. This time, the old fox Shi Xuan had come along as well. The slightest mistake could expose him.
“Lord Hidden Dragon, this is an emergency!”
Sun Cheng spoke respectfully. He took out a cloth bundle, opened it, and handed it to Zuo Qingting.
“We found this scale by accident outside the public restroom at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School. Liu Ying and I believe it’s at least A-class. We nearly froze to death just from carrying it for this long…”
Shock flashed through Zuo Qingting’s eyes. He picked up the scale, examined it carefully, then held it beneath his nose and sniffed.
Disbelief immediately spread across his face.
“This thing… actually fell into your hands?!”
He looked as though he had seen a ghost.
“Sir, what is it?” Liu Ying asked curiously.
“The Water God’s Scale.”
Zuo Qingting’s expression grew extraordinarily complicated. “When the Water God of Five Dragons Mountain died, this was the only scale left behind. Obtaining it gives a person the foundation they need to inherit the Water God’s Authority!”
“Tell me exactly how you obtained it. Don’t leave out a single word!”
Liu Ying and Sun Cheng were even more stunned. They quickly recounted everything that had happened.
“A mysterious restroom?!”
Zuo Qingting frowned. He could not make sense of it no matter how hard he tried.
How had such a valuable scale ended up outside the school?
What secret was hidden inside that public restroom’s septic tank?
He wanted nothing more than to race back and investigate the restroom himself!
But he also understood that he could not rush this matter.
“You two have rendered a great service!”
He drew a deep breath. “From this moment onward, your only assignment is to keep that septic tank under constant watch!”
“Record every single change in detail!”
That restroom was far too important. Based on everything they knew, it might well be connected to the Water God’s Authority!
Zuo Qingting put away the scale, grabbed a pack of cigarettes, and quickly left.
…
Outside the school gates.
Not long after Wang Zhong and Zuo Qingting departed, Shi Xuan arrived with Xu Changjiang and Leng Qingyan.
“Leaders, please, come in!”
Principal Zhu Jiayan had received a message from Leng Qingyan and was already waiting at the gate. He welcomed Shi Xuan and the others with great enthusiasm, secretly overjoyed.
All sorts of officials had visited lately, conducting one inspection after another.
At this rate, a promotion was surely only a matter of time.
“We’re here to see Teacher Li,” Xu Changjiang said calmly.
Zhu Jiayan was not surprised in the slightest and immediately led them to find Li Que.
…
“You want to work at our school?”
Inside the office, Li Que stared at Qin Shiyu in astonishment.
“Yes.”
Qin Shiyu bit her lip and gathered her courage.
“As long as you let me stay… I’ll do anything!”
She had decided to set the Hall of Anomalies aside for now and remain here to observe for a while.
She had to discover how Li Que had done it.
This path was far too important. Not only could it fulfill her teacher’s dying wish, but it might even rewrite the Hall of Anomalies’ entire strategy.
Li Que gave a helpless smile.
He genuinely could not understand it. Qin Shiyu was a great beauty and clearly came from a comfortable background. She could not possibly need the money.
So what could she gain from working at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School?
Could she truly be that passionate about the cause?
That was possible. Back at the cafe, Qin Shiyu had mentioned that she used to sponsor children with special needs!
Li Que had met plenty of kindhearted people like that before.
“Miss Qin, it’s not that I want to turn you away… It’s simply outside my authority.”
Li Que shook his head. “All school hiring has to go through personnel approval.”
The only exception had been the woman with the child during the Ghost Festival.
But she was mentally unwell and currently had nowhere else to go. Humanitarian concerns were the only reason the school had temporarily kept her on as a cleaner.
Qin Shiyu’s situation was different.
She froze at his response.
Personnel approval?
Was Li Que serious?
As an anomaly wielder of his level, surely every important decision concerning this school-or even all of Mingjiang City-could be settled with a single word from him.
Why would he need to care about ordinary administrators?
“Teacher Li, several leaders are here for an inspection and would like you to accompany them.”
Just then, a group approached along the corridor.
Zhu Jiayan had arrived with Shi Xuan, Xu Changjiang, and the others.
Inside the office, Qin Shiyu turned around. The moment she saw Shi Xuan, her expression tightened slightly.
Shi Xuan, deputy director of the Jiangdong Provincial Anomaly Suppression Department. An S-class anomaly wielder tempered by countless battles. Even the Hall of Anomalies regarded him as a serious threat.
They had even clashed with him in secret several times before and knew perfectly well how powerful he was.
Shi Xuan’s gaze fell on her as well, and surprise crossed his face.
“Miss Qin. It’s been a long time.”
Shi Xuan greeted her first.
…