Night was as thick as ink that could not be dissolved.
Mu En and his group staggered out of the Star Dou Great Forest's borders. Ice-cold rainwater soaked through their clothes, mixing with the bloodstains on their bodies and leaving shocking trails across the muddy ground.
No one spoke. Only ragged breathing echoed through the silent night. Every step felt like treading on knife blades, so heavy that it made their hearts tighten.
Qian Duoduo's eyes were hollow, and it was impossible to tell whether the liquid on his face was rainwater or tears.
The vice-dean of the Soul Guidance Academy looked like a soulless statue at that moment. Only the slight trembling of his body revealed the emotions he had yet to completely suppress.
Although he and Xian Lin'er had only been husband and wife in name, not in reality, he had long regarded her as his wife in his heart.
Now, his wife had been killed by Soul Beasts right before his eyes. How could his heart possibly feel at ease?
Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei'er supported each other. Their wounds were still bleeding, and every breath pulled at agonizing pain, yet they no longer even had the strength to frown—compared to their physical injuries, the despair in their hearts was even more suffocating.
Xuan Zi walked at the front. The powerful physique granted by his Godly Taotie Bull martial soul meant his injuries were somewhat lighter, but his tightly pressed lips and ashen face exposed the fury and grief he was suppressing to the utmost limit.
Elder Lin, Elder Song... those old friends who had worked beside him for a lifetime had just been left behind in that dark forest forever.
Mu En was half-supported by Xuan Zi. His already hunched back was now bent even further, as though it bore a burden of a thousand pounds. His face was whiter than paper, and dried blood hung at the corner of his mouth. Those eyes that had once gleamed with wisdom and authority now contained only lifeless grayness. He gritted his teeth tightly, allowing the ice-cold rainwater to batter his face, yet he did not even have the strength to raise a hand and wipe it away.
He simply could not understand it.
He had thought that, carrying Shrek Academy's prestige with him, even if Di Tian was arrogant, he would at least show some consideration for the centuries-long balance between their two great powers. He had even prepared his arguments, intending to use the academy's foundations and its potential threat to force the other side into compromise. Even if Di Tian only pretended to help search for Beibei, it could still have won them a sliver of hope.
But reality gave him its cruelest slap.
Di Tian simply did not act according to common sense. There had been no negotiation, no probing, not even a single extra question. He had immediately gone for their lives. That overwhelming dark power and merciless slaughter were like a massive hammer, ruthlessly smashing apart all Mu En's plans, along with Shrek Academy's lofty pride.
"We... lost."
Someone at the back of the group murmured it. The voice was as soft as a sigh, yet it was like a needle that pierced through everyone's forced pretense.
Yes, they had lost. They had lost utterly, and the price had been devastating.
When they returned to Shrek Academy, the familiar campus seemed especially deserted beneath the night sky. The dormitory buildings that were usually brightly lit lay in complete darkness. Only a faint light still shone in the direction of Sea God's Pavilion, like a lonely eye silently watching their return.
No one suggested treating their wounds, and no one wanted to rest. They stood before the plaza outside Sea God's Pavilion in a daze. Rainwater dripped from their hair and the hems of their clothes, gathering into small puddles at their feet that reflected their haggard figures.
The oppressive atmosphere was almost enough to drown them.
"Master... Teacher,"
Yan Shaozhe was the first to break the silence. His voice trembled uncontrollably, every word seeming to be squeezed from his throat as he asked, "Wh-what do we do next?"
This question was like a boulder crushing every heart. Elder Lin, Elder Song, and Xian Lin'er had fallen. Mu En was gravely injured. How were those who remained supposed to face the academy's teachers and students? How were they supposed to face the powers watching them like tigers from outside? How were they supposed to face that nightmare known as the Star Dou Great Forest?
Mu En did not answer.
He only stared blankly toward the highest floor of Sea God's Pavilion, where the memorial tablets of Shrek Academy's past sages were enshrined. He could feel the Soul Power inside the body draining away frantically, while his old and new chest wounds erupted together, causing pain so intense that he nearly fainted. Yet compared to his physical pain, the regret and helplessness in his heart were even harder to bear.
It was his mistaken decision. It was his arrogance that had caused the academy to suffer such grievous losses.
He had failed his dead old friends, failed the academy's teachers and students who trusted him, and failed Beibei, whose whereabouts remained unknown...
"Cough... cough cough..."
Mu En suddenly began coughing violently, his body shaking fiercely. His already aged face was now covered in deep wrinkles, as if he had instantly aged several decades. His bent waist nearly touched the ground.
"Elder Mu!" Xuan Zi sensed something was wrong and hurriedly reached out to support him.
But he was still one step too late.
"Pfft—"
A mouthful of crimson blood sprayed from Mu En's mouth, splattering across the ice-cold ground like a tragically beautiful flower. His body swayed, his eyes rolled back, and he completely lost consciousness.
"Elder Mu!"
"Teacher!"
Everyone's faces greatly changed as they cried out and rushed forward. Qian Duoduo also abruptly snapped back to his senses and rushed over to examine Mu En's condition.
"Quick! Carry him into Sea God's Pavilion!" Xuan Zi made the decision immediately. He carefully lifted Mu En into his arms and rushed into Sea God's Pavilion.
Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei'er, Elder Zhuang, and Qian Duoduo followed closely behind.
Inside a secret chamber on the top floor of Sea God's Pavilion.
"Elder Zhuang, I'm counting on you." Xuan Zi spoke hoarsely, his eyes full of worry.
Elder Zhuang nodded solemnly. "Don't worry. I'll do my best."
If anyone's injuries were the lightest, if anyone had barely been injured at all, it was only him, as a healing-type soul master.
Xuan Zi turned around and led Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei'er, and Qian Duoduo out of the secret chamber, gently closing the door behind them.
The four stood in the corridor, looking at each other's bedraggled appearances, and silence fell once more.
"This matter... cannot be made public."
Xuan Zi spoke first, his voice low and firm as he warned, "The deaths of Elder Lin, Elder Song, and Xian Lin'er, as well as the news of Elder Mu's unconsciousness, must be kept strictly confidential."
Yan Shaozhe's face turned pale. "But..."
"No buts!"
Xuan Zi cut him off, his sharp gaze sweeping across them as he said, "Once this information leaks out, panic will inevitably spread through the academy. The outside forces, especially the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult, will definitely take advantage of our weakness if they learn that we have lost so many Elders and that Elder Mu is unconscious! When that happens, Shrek Academy will truly be in danger. It will be a crisis of life and death!"
Qian Duoduo clenched his fists, his knuckles whitened. "I understand."
He could not allow the academy Xian Lin'er had protected with her life to collapse at a time like this.
Cai Mei'er nodded as well. "Elder Xuan is right. This is not the time to announce it."
Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath and forced down the bitterness in his heart. "I understand. But... what about the Soul Guidance Academy?"
He looked at Qian Duoduo, his eyes filled with worry. "Xian Lin'er is the backbone of the Soul Guidance Academy. If she stays out of sight for too long, the researchers and students there will definitely grow suspicious."
The Soul Guidance Academy was an important part of Shrek Academy. If trouble arose there, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Xuan Zi frowned, helplessness flashing through his eyes. "We can only hide it for now. Say that Xian Lin'er, Elder Lin, and Elder Song have gone out together on a secret mission and need to remain in seclusion for a long time. We will conceal it for as long as we can."
He paused, a hint of hope in his voice. "Hopefully... we can hold on until those two girls, Xiaotao and Lexuan, grow up. They are the most talented juniors of the Inner Court. Perhaps... only once they can truly stand on their own will we be able to catch our breath."
Xiaotao and Lexuan—one was Yan Shaozhe's prized disciple, while the other was a genius maiden of the Inner Court. They were Shrek Academy's hope for the future.
But now, that hope seemed so faint.
The four fell silent again. The candle flames in the corridor flickered, stretching their shadows long across the ice-cold stone walls, filled with heaviness and confusion.
This crushing defeat was like an invisible shackle, tightly locking itself around them. They did not know how to walk the road ahead. They only knew that they had to endure—for Mu En, for their fallen old friends, and even more so for the glory Shrek Academy had carried on for tens of thousands of years.