Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After the dismissal bell rang, the students left the classroom one after another.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked to the classroom door, only to have my path blocked by a few people.

“Same old rules.” The one in the lead pointed upward. “To the rooftop.”

The rooftop was the lawless territory they all tacitly recognized.

I said nothing and followed them upstairs.

They hadn’t expected anyone to already be there.

“Y-Young Master Yu?”

They didn’t take it seriously. After a brief flash of surprise, they casually explained, “We couldn’t find you just now, so we brought her up first.”

With my back to them, I looked at Yu Mingsheng.

“Don’t hit their faces.”

The two boys froze. “You’re seriously trying to bargain with us?”

“I wasn’t talking to you.” I pointed at Yu Mingsheng. “I was talking to him.”

Under the boys’ shocked gazes, Yu Mingsheng walked toward them step by step.

Then swung his fist.

…

No one had expected the school tyrant Yu Mingsheng to publicly announce that he would protect Jiang Yuan forever.

He beat up everyone who had bullied Jiang Yuan, then followed her everywhere, never leaving her side.

So loyal he was practically a dog.

At dusk, Yu Mingsheng trailed behind me to walk me home.

When no one was around, I turned and patted his head. “Good boy, Ah Huang. This body is pretty useful, isn’t it?”

His head rubbed against my palm as he let out soft whimpers.

Ah Huang left.

I walked to the door of my rental. The moment I opened it, something small lunged at my feet.

It was a mouse tied up by the door. Hearing movement, it bared its teeth and claws as it pounced, only to be held back by a rope around its limbs and tumble miserably to the floor.

I lowered my head to look at it and smiled. “Good evening, Student Yu.”

The mouse squeaked wildly, looking utterly furious.

See? When the weak get angry, they even look adorable.

Yu Mingsheng’s pack of no-good friends couldn’t easily accept the change in him.

The school tyrant had suddenly become a knight in shining armor. No matter how they thought about it, something was off.

At first, they guessed Young Master Yu had simply had too many good things and, after suddenly seeing a little wildflower like me, found me fresh and interesting.

But later, they realized they were wrong.

Yu Mingsheng wasn’t just protecting me. His entire personality had changed, and even his habits around food, drink, lodging, and daily life were different.

So they reported the situation to the Yu Family.

The Yu Family had also long since noticed that something was wrong, so they quietly found a capable expert from outside…

They suspected Yu Mingsheng was possessed.
On Friday evening, with no bullies making things difficult for me, I returned to the alley as usual.

But I stopped at the mouth of it.

Someone was standing inside the alley. Judging by the figure, it looked like a girl.

She saw me and stepped out of the shadows.

“Huh.” I looked at her in some surprise. “Yun Ruyi.”

…

A few minutes later, Yun Ruyi stood inside my cramped rental room without the slightest sign of discomfort.

I poured her a glass of water and studied her.

She quietly finished the water, then looked up at me. “Do you know why I’m here?”

“The Yu Family invited you?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “So now you’re here to deal with me?”

The mouse tied by the door squeaked, as if it had sensed something too and was treating her like a lifeline.

Fair enough. Yun Ruyi was among the strongest Great Demon-Subduing Masters alive, and she was also the bride bound by contract to Dragon King Mingyuan. If she wanted to save him, I couldn’t stop her.

Yun Ruyi looked at the little mouse, then turned back to me and shook her head. “No. I only found you through the Yu Family. Jiang Yuan, I want to ask you for a favor.”

I paused. “What favor?”

Yun Ruyi asked, “Have you ever heard of a Soul Seizer?”

…

Of course I had.

I knew them very well.

The innate ability of my Underworld Clan was Soul Seizing.

Earlier, because I had been bored and playful, I accidentally released the soul of an extremely evil person the Underworld Clan had captured and sealed away.

That was exactly why my father punished me by sending me to the Mortal Realm to suffer and reflect.

In a sense, a Soul Seizer was also a member of the Underworld Clan, just with an impure bloodline.

They were descendants of the Underworld Clan and humans. They possessed the power of Soul Seizing, but with severe limitations.

Only the sick, or frail women and children-people whose souls were unstable-could have their souls seized by a Soul Seizer.

Yun Ruyi said, “Ten malicious Soul Seizing incidents have already occurred in Hai City this month.”

“Jiang Yuan, I need your help.”

I sat in my chair, swinging my legs. “Then what benefit can you offer me?”

Yun Ruyi sat across from me, propping her head on one hand as she looked at me. “I already let you off. Doesn’t that count as a benefit?”