Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“Ding! The host took the students on a practical community activity and completed the mission [Caring for the Elderly]. Reward: one set of teaching supplies, [Ultralight Clay], and 16 Good Teacher Points!”

“Ding! The host supervised Meng Mo and Nian Youyu as they cleaned. You have gained 2 Good Teacher Points!”

The system’s voice rang out inside Mingjiang No. 7 Special School.

Li Que’s eyes lit up.

His ordinary teaching tasks usually earned him only one or two Good Teacher Points, but this practical activity had awarded him sixteen at once!

It seemed this approach was indeed effective.

He now had 296 Good Teacher Points.

Ten thousand was still a long way off, but as long as he accumulated them steadily, he would reach it one day.

Once his excitement subsided, he began planning his next lessons.

First came practical community activities. Judging by Director Xu’s inspection, the departments above the school approved of such initiatives, so Li Que would encounter the least resistance carrying them out.

They also earned him a large number of Good Teacher Points.

That meant he could arrange more visits to elderly people living alone and children in mountain villages, or organize volunteer cleaning activities.

He would persist in giving Meng Mo and the others socialization training.

Second, he needed to improve their academic lessons. These children would still need to attend university one day. He couldn’t let them leave this school knowing nothing.

He had the broad outline of a plan.

For now, however, the most urgent priority was completing the system’s main mission by taking the children to plant trees.

“Teacher Li.”

Just then, someone knocked on his office door.

Li Que looked up and was surprised to find Leng Qingyan outside.

She looked entirely different today. She wore a white blouse, a fitted gray pencil skirt, and glasses, while her wavy hair fell loose around her shoulders.

She was beautifully dressed, and the outfit accentuated every curve of her figure.

Still, she gave off the distinct impression that she was cosplaying as a teacher.

“What are you doing here?” Li Que asked in surprise.

“Well… the people above said I should come here and assist with your work.”

“Starting today, I’m the school’s dean of discipline. If you ever need anything, Teacher Li… you can come to me at any time.”

Leng Qingyan sounded nervous and more than a little awkward.

She had always been the formidable woman who charged at the front lines of the Anomaly Suppression Bureau.

But now that she was at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School, she naturally had to disguise herself as a teacher, just like Li Que.

She had never taught before, so she’d searched online for everything a teacher needed to know, including how to dress.

Then she’d copied what she found.

Understanding dawned on Li Que, followed by delight.

He hadn’t expected the Mingjiang City Education Administration Bureau to attach such importance to Mingjiang No. 7 Special School that it would transfer Leng Qingyan here to help him.

This was wonderful!

His teaching work would be much easier from now on.

“That’s great. I suppose I’ll have to call you Dean Leng from now on.”

Li Que smiled and extended his hand. “I look forward to working with you.”

Leng Qingyan was thrilled. She hurried forward and shook his hand.

“Likewise! I hope you’ll teach me a great deal in the future!”

Before coming here, she’d worried that the Anomaly Suppression Bureau’s arrangement might offend Li Que.

Now she could finally relax.

“Teacher Li, is there anything you’d like me to do?” she asked eagerly.

Li Que thought for a moment. “Actually, I was planning an arts-and-crafts lesson for the students this afternoon. Would you like to join us and see how it feels?”

The system had just rewarded him with a set of [Ultralight Clay]. Clay like this was meant for arts and crafts. Having students sculpt whatever models, figures, or objects they liked could help develop their creativity and imagination.

Leng Qingyan had only just arrived and probably wasn’t familiar with school affairs yet. Including her in more classroom activities would also help her understand the students.

“I’d love to!”

Leng Qingyan agreed without hesitation.

A short while later, inside the classroom…

Meng Mo looked as though he had just woken up. Nian Youyu was still eating snacks. Lin Xiaoyu sat quietly, while Bai Lu continued staring into her mirror.

Leng Qingyan followed Li Que inside and glanced at her wristband. The anomaly reading was zero.

She marveled once again at how extraordinary the two anomalies, Meng Mo and Nian Youyu, truly were.

They could conceal themselves perfectly.

Without Li Que, the Mingjiang City Anomaly Suppression Bureau would never have discovered their existence.

At the same time, another thought occurred to her. If Meng Mo and Nian Youyu were both A-class anomalies, then what about Lin Xiaoyu and Bai Lu?

“This is our school’s new dean of discipline, Teacher Leng,” Li Que introduced. “She’ll be joining today’s classroom activity.”

He brought out the Ultralight Clay. It came in a box filled with brightly colored pieces and looked quite beautiful.

“We’ll be doing arts and crafts this lesson. You can use the clay to sculpt whatever you like.”

Li Que opened the box and distributed the clay. Meng Mo and the others studied it with fascination.

Leng Qingyan glanced over and was instantly shocked.

The clay Li Que had taken out was clearly an anomalous entity!

And from the feeling it gave her, it didn’t seem much weaker than the ruler.
Could this also be an A-class anomalous entity?

When had Li Que killed another A-class anomaly?

This was absurd!

“Why don’t you try it too, Teacher Leng?”

Li Que smiled and handed her a piece of clay so she would have something to do.

“Oh… Of course!”

Leng Qingyan hurriedly accepted it, her mind buzzing.

If she wasn’t mistaken, this was an A-class anomalous entity. Used properly, it could allow a B-class anomaly wielder to advance to A-class!

Yet Li Que had brought it out as a toy for his students.

She looked around. Meng Mo, Lin Xiaoyu, and the others had already started playing with it, apparently treating it as nothing more than ordinary clay.

She even saw scraps falling to the floor as Meng Mo worked. Nian Youyu took a bite, tasted it, then spat it onto the ground.

What a waste. This was an unforgivable waste!

“Teacher Leng, why haven’t you started?” Li Que asked.

“I… I’ll start right now!”

Leng Qingyan picked up the clay and wondered what she should make.

After some thought, she steeled herself and began sculpting an angel.

She slowly immersed herself in the work. As she did, an inexplicable calm settled over her heart, and every stray thought seemed to drift away in an instant.

She felt as if she had returned to the year she was twelve.

That was the year her mother lost control and transformed from a B-class anomaly wielder into an anomaly.

Leng Qingyan had watched the Anomaly Suppression Bureau arrive, seize her mother, and seal her away.

She had wept and screamed, desperately trying to call her mother back. But Xu Changjiang had only told her with deep regret, “Once someone becomes an anomaly, they can never return to normal. For those who lose control, death is a form of release.”

All Leng Qingyan could do was cling to the cloth doll her mother had sewn for her before losing control.

It was an angel.

How she had wished angels truly existed and could save her mother.

Perhaps it was precisely because of that lingering regret that something inside her had stirred when she saw Li Que willing to give everything to guide anomalies.

If anomalies could be taught, did that mean her mother might still have a chance to become human again?

As her thoughts wandered, the clay gradually took shape in her hands. At last, an angel doll appeared.

“It looks beautiful,” Li Que said with a smile from beside her.

Leng Qingyan woke as if from a dream and immediately looked startled.

What had just happened? Without realizing it, she had forgotten everything around her and inexplicably finished the doll.

“This anomalous entity in the form of clay can manipulate the mind and make people reveal the most vulnerable part of themselves without realizing it?”

She understood with a start.

“No…”

Then she noticed that the blue pendant around her neck seemed to be shining more brightly.

“Did the Tear of the Charm Demon just grow stronger?”

She could hardly believe it.

The Tear of the Charm Demon was her contained entity and the foundation of her power as an anomaly wielder.

It had come from a B-class anomaly known as the Deep-Sea Charm Demon.

In battle, the Tear of the Charm Demon could cover her body in scales and vastly enhance her strength and speed.

But it had a side effect: certain parts of her body continued to grow, increasing the burden she carried in everyday life.

For example, the oversized blouse she’d deliberately chosen that morning was already beginning to strain.

“This clay can help an anomaly wielder’s contained entity grow?”

Leng Qingyan was stunned.

Ordinarily, an anomaly wielder’s rank was determined entirely by the level of the anomalous entity they contained.

The Tear of the Charm Demon was B-class, so Leng Qingyan was a B-class anomaly wielder.

There were only two paths to advancement. First, the anomaly wielder’s contained entity had to possess growth potential, and they had to find suitable resources to feed it so its growth could drive their own advancement.

Second, they could find a higher-ranking anomalous entity and use it to replace the one they already contained.

Both paths were extraordinarily difficult.

For one thing, contained entities with growth potential were exceedingly rare. Most anomalous entities had been fixed in strength from the moment they came into existence.

For another, replacing a contained entity or taking on additional ones was an extremely difficult process that greatly increased the anomaly wielder’s risk of losing control.

That was why every anomaly wielder who touched the threshold of A-class was so precious.

The Tear of the Charm Demon did possess some growth potential, but its requirements were strict. It had to absorb water-aligned anomalous entities to replenish itself.

Yet this Ultralight Clay had strengthened it directly!

Leng Qingyan’s expression turned complicated. If other anomaly wielders learned of this material’s existence, they would fight to the death over it.

“All right. Everyone has finished,” Li Que said as he looked over their creations.

Nian Youyu had sculpted a strange beast with an enormous mouth. It reminded Li Que of the mythical Taotie.

Bai Lu had made a beautiful girl who bore a faint resemblance to herself. Yet the clay figure was covered in cracks, as though it would shatter at the slightest touch.
Meng Mo had sculpted a bat and painted it entirely black.

Only Lin Xiaoyu’s creation seemed unfinished. She had already given up and looked frustrated.

“Everyone did well. As a reward, you may take your creations with you,” Li Que said. “Class dismissed!”

“Thank you, Teacher Li,” Leng Qingyan said, complicated emotions filling her eyes.

Participating in the lesson had allowed her Tear of the Charm Demon to achieve a rare measure of growth.

She had taken another step from B-minus toward true B-class.

“I’m sure you’re busy, Dean Leng, so I won’t keep you. Don’t forget to take your angel doll with you,” Li Que said with a smile. “You did a fine job.”

Leng Qingyan froze again. “I… can take it?”

She stared at the angel doll on the desk in disbelief.

This was an anomalous entity of at least A-class, with the ability to help other anomalous entities grow. It was absolutely priceless!

Even nationwide, anomalous entities like this were extraordinarily rare, kept behind the highest levels of secrecy, and inaccessible to ordinary anomaly wielders throughout their entire lives.

Yet Li Que was giving it to her?

“Of course.”

Li Que smiled. “What, you don’t like it, Dean Leng?”

Leng Qingyan began to stammer. “I like it… Of course I like it!”

“Thank you, Teacher Li!”

She was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Li Que found her reaction baffling. It was only a doll made from a piece of clay. Did she really need to get this excited?

Perhaps because she was too agitated, Leng Qingyan’s body trembled and a button suddenly popped off her blouse. She hurriedly covered her chest and fled, calling back as she ran.

“Goodbye, Teacher Li!”

Li Que was speechless.

He couldn’t help sighing softly. They really were… enormous.

Then he drew a deep breath and turned back. “Meng Mo, Nian Youyu, clean up the classroom.”

Plenty of clay scraps littered the room and needed to be swept away.

Meng Mo and Nian Youyu wilted, but could only answer, “Yes, sir.”

They swept the floor, then carried the trash to the school’s garbage collection area.

“Xiaoyu, what were you trying to sculpt? Why did you only finish half of it?”

Li Que looked curiously at Lin Xiaoyu.

She answered timidly, “Sir… I wanted to make you, but I couldn’t.”

“When I tried to remember what you looked like, I suddenly couldn’t recall your face at all. I couldn’t even see your features clearly… Sir, am I useless?”

Her eyes filled with frustration and disappointment. She lowered her head, on the verge of tears.

Li Que paused, then smiled. He picked up her unfinished figure and worked the clay a few times. A face and other details quickly emerged.

It looked remarkably like him.

“Here. It’s yours. Don’t be sad.”

Lin Xiaoyu immediately brightened. “Thank you… sir!”

Li Que smiled, gathered his lesson plans, and left the classroom.

At the same time, the system chimed. Completing the lesson had earned him another 8 Good Teacher Points.

After he left…

“Bai Lu, Sir gave me a figure of himself!”

Lin Xiaoyu cradled the figure in her palms, utterly captivated by it.

“Mm. You can advance now. Meng Mo won’t dare bully you anymore,” Bai Lu said without looking away from her mirror.

In the reflection, a crack seemed to flash across the flawless pale skin of Bai Lu’s face.

…

Meanwhile, at the Anomaly Suppression Bureau…

“Director Xu, it’s been a long time.”

A woman in a short purple skirt entered the conference room with a team behind her.

Xu Changjiang rose to greet them, only to freeze when he saw who had arrived.

“Xueru… It’s you?”

The expressions of the other officers changed instantly.

Zhao Xueru had once been a member of the Mingjiang City Anomaly Suppression Bureau.

Five years ago, the bureau had hunted an anomaly known as the Undying Yin Locust Tree. During that battle, five officers were critically wounded.

The anomalous entity left behind by the Undying Yin Locust Tree possessed powerful restorative abilities and could have saved the team. But Zhao Xueru had contained it herself.

Of the five critically wounded officers, only Leng Qingyan survived. The other four died.

Zhao Xueru explained that she had absorbed the anomalous entity left by the Undying Yin Locust Tree through a complete accident. Yet no matter how reasonable her explanation sounded, it rang hollow against the loss of four lives.

Two or three months later, Zhao Xueru was promoted and transferred to the Provincial Anomaly Suppression Department.

The two sides hadn’t seen each other since.

And now the person headquarters had sent to assist with the investigation into Rain was Zhao Xueru.

“It is. Is that so surprising?”

Zhao Xueru smiled faintly. “By the way, where is Sister Qingyan?”

“I’ve spent all these years waiting for her to advance so we could reunite at the Provincial Anomaly Suppression Department. Don’t tell me she’s still only B-minus-class?”

Her broad smile carried an unmistakable trace of mockery.

…