Volume Three: The Academy's Full-Scale Rampage - Chapter 187: Xiao and Sakura Dance

The next day--

I laboriously pulled a copy of "A Century of Spirit Star's Major Events" from the bookshelf, gently brushed off the dust, and placed it on the long table to read.

This book is like a yearbook of major news events, containing a list of the most significant events that have occurred on Spirit Star over the past century. I squinted at the small print in the table of contents, carefully searching through it.

"Urahara Sakura Dance... Urushihara... Urushihara... actually there is."

Turning to the corresponding page, I read it carefully, and the opening content alone startled me.

"The one known as the 'Asura Martial God'... Urahara Mai Ryu?"

The preceding section is a brief introduction to a woman named "Urahara Mai Ryu". She was born into the Ghost Clan, and even among the Ghost Clan, which is full of combat geniuses, she was a top-tier powerhouse—or rather, she was a bit too powerful.

"... Urahara Mai Ryu, the master of the Night Nether Style fighting style, and the inheritor of the legendary Gun Fu, is the most terrifying fighter born among the Ghost Clan in hundreds of years, revered as the 'Asura Martial God.' He is extremely cruel, and ten years ago he committed the One Man Slaughtered Ten Cities!"

I was stunned. The One Man Slaughtered Ten Cities —I'd heard Si Nan Yuan and the others mention it back in the capital. It was a tragedy that occurred ten years ago. Some extremely powerful being single-handedly wiped out one large city, three medium-sized cities, and six small cities belonging to both humans and Ghost Clan. All the residents who couldn't evacuate were brutally slaughtered. It was a horrific tragedy that shocked the world at the time, and even now, many people still remember it vividly. Even more bizarrely, it's said that the perpetrator's purpose was simply to "test his killing efficiency"...

Is this Urahara Mai Ryu the same terrifying killing god who One Man Slaughtered Ten Cities?

Urahara Sakura Dance Urahara Mai Ryu —two people with the same surname, and considering Xiao Wu's reaction at the time, they're probably... mother and daughter?

In other words, Xiao Wu also has the blood of that serial killer flowing in her veins.

"Call..."

I closed the book and leaned back in my chair.

The fact that the daughter of a vicious serial killer is actually his own minister is hard for me to believe. After all, I'm from another world, and I can't fully comprehend the impact of that massacre that One Man Slaughtered Ten Cities, but it must have been extremely heinous.

Ten years ago... Xiao Wu was just a nine-year-old child back then. As the daughter of the culprit, what exactly did she go through? Unless she tells me herself, I will never know.

But I'm more interested in other things.

Gun Fu – This is indeed mentioned in the introduction to the Urahara Mai Ryu.

Seeing the Gun Fu here, and then recalling the pistol that Xiao Wu pulled out when she lost control of her emotions yesterday... it's hard not to have all sorts of thoughts.

First of all, this is the first time I've seen modern firearms in all the time I've been on this planet.

Spirit Star's technology tree seems strange to me. Only their racing car manufacturing technology is exceptionally advanced. Overall, their everyday technology level is inferior to Earth's during World War II, while their military technology remains at the level of Earth's 19th century. The weapons used by those with superpowers are similar to Spirit Artifact Treasure Artifact found in fantasy novels, and firearms-type Spirit Artifact Treasure Artifact extremely rare. I've never seen any advanced firearms, let alone rocket launchers or tanks. Is this because of the prevalence of superpowers? I did see muskets in the capital before, but those were just ordinary Spirit Artifact, and their designs were very outdated.

But the pistol that Xiao Wu pulled out was different. Apart from the ornate patterns on it, its overall structure was no different from that of a pistol on Earth.

Since Xiao Wu is Mai's daughter, her incredible martial arts skills must have been inherited from her mother. Could this include that mysterious Gun Fu? Ever since I watched the movie Equilibrium when I was a child, I've been fascinated by Gun Fu, a fighting style that only exists in fantasy. This fascination only intensified after playing the Devil May Cry series. What's even more intriguing is the bayonet mounted under the gun barrel. Could her Gun Fu allow her to engage in close-quarters combat? Close-quarters slashing combined with suppressive fire—wouldn't that be incredibly cool?

It's about time... she should be here soon.

I put the book back on the shelf and looked around.

I am currently at the Mikael-Changting Library, a library jointly run by the Mikael Girls' Academy and Changting Liberal Arts College, and a symbol of the friendship between these two prestigious institutions. Although it is only a university-level library, its scale is comparable to the Imperial Capital Grand Library. Its collection ranks among the top five even among the Central United Academy, with most of the books provided by the vast Changting Liberal Arts College, including many student works, making it truly comprehensive.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Ye... Phew..."

A familiar purple figure walked towards me. Si Nan Xiao was carrying a thick, heavy book in her arms and was panting as she walked towards me.

"I've said it so many times, calling me 'Miss Ye' is too formal. Just Xiao Ye or A Ye."

"Then I'll call you... Ye?" She looked at me with a slight blush, I couldn't tell if it was from shyness or from being tired from the journey.

"Okay, then how about I call you 'Xiao' too?"

"Of course... hehe."

Just yesterday, after Xiao Wu's emotional outburst caused the welcome party to end badly, on the way back, Si Nan Xiao apologized to me and said she wanted to take me to visit the library as compensation. Unfortunately, Haoyue had her first law class today and couldn't come with me, so it became just the two of Si Nan Xiao.

No, there are three people.

"Wow--Mother, this place is so big!"

Shh! Keep your voice down, loud noises are prohibited in the library!

"Oh, I'm sorry... Little Butterfly will be more careful next time."

It was just Si Nan Xiao and me here, so Xiao Die, Little Butterfly had been cooped up for a long time, transformed back into human form and circled around me, her innocent big eyes looking left and right, showing great interest in the library.

Si Nan Xiao led us through a maze of streets until we arrived at a hub-like area where staircases leading to all the floors converged. She explained, "The first floor has various newspapers and magazines, the second floor has math and finance books, the third floor has business and history books, and there are also various literary books online..."

We climbed the ornately carved handrails, which had a vintage feel to them. Looking at the rows of bookshelves and the famous paintings by various literary masters on the walls, I even had the illusion of traveling through time. Little Butterfly looked around, eager to go on an adventure, but because I had told her beforehand not to wander off, the obedient Little Butterfly had to stay by my side.

"Ah, this is the end."

After climbing a few more flights of stairs, Si Nan Xiao suddenly stopped.

"The end? But isn't there another level above?"

"That's the premium book section, which houses many unique manuscripts and first editions, many of which are rare copies. They're all extremely valuable books, and ordinary people aren't allowed in."

So that means we can't go in for a visit?

"It's a bit of a pity... Although I have a pass, only one person can go in. There are guards outside monitoring the area, so it would be very difficult to sneak in."

"It's okay, let's see how Little Butterfly does it!"

Little Butterfly spread her hands, and a small ball of pink light gathered in her palms. The pink light continued to coalesce and deform, eventually forming a small butterfly of light.

Go ahead~

At Little Butterfly's command, the Light Butterfly immediately flew towards the guard at the stairwell, landing on the back of his neck the instant he turned his head. As soon as the Light Butterfly touched the exposed skin, it began to emit a faint golden light, the golden and pink light intertwining, truly a pleasing sight.

The guard immediately collapsed to the ground as if his cord had been cut. He was still alive, but seemed to have completely lost consciousness.

Oh my god! My sweet daughter assaulted a police officer!

"Wait... Little Butterfly, you have superpowers?"

"Superpowers? That should be pretty common, right?" Little Butterfly blinked her cute big eyes, looking at me innocently.

"... Never mind, let's not talk about this for now."

There are too many unsolved mysteries surrounding Little Butterfly. Originally just a cocoon in the underground ruins of the Northern Realm's ancestors, she was able to take over my body and be reborn, and even transform into human form—none of the demon beasts on Spirit Star can transform into humans, and the Ghost Clan only resembles humans in appearance. Now, it has been discovered that she can create things that glow like butterflies. Although this time she only knocked out the security guards, who knows what other uses she might have.

"Why not take advantage of this?" Led by Xiao, who was terrified after assaulting a police officer, we sneaked inside.

"Heave-ho~~~~ That's it, how's that?"

Si Nan Xiao placed a large stack of books on the table, her eyes sparkling. She really loved books...

"Sons and Lovers, Lolita, The Lightness of Being, Nana, Paradise Lost... these are all rare books that you can't find anywhere else! If you don't read them now, you'll never have the chance again!"

Are you sure these aren't banned books?

"Xiao."

"Hmm? Which one do you want first?"

"How much do you know about Xiao Wu?"

"..."

As if doused with a bucket of cold water, her expression darkened.

"So that's what you wanted to ask? Okay... I know a little about her background, and I also know what kind of work she does..."

"She's the daughter of the 'Asura Martial God,' and also one of the Scavengers at the Central United Academy, right?"

"... So you've already found out everything."

She sighed softly.

"Ye." "Hmm?"

Do you know how the concept of "World's Little Corner" came about?

"Didn't you come up with this name?"

"I'm talking about the club itself... Did Monet tell you anything about her past, or about that child named Margaret?"

"I know the general outline of what happened, but Margaret... apparently committed suicide in the end, right? Why?"

"I don't know the specific reason... I only know that Monet and Margaret, who were being bullied, ran into Xiao Wu. Even though they were strangers to each other, Xiao Wu still stepped in to protect them while complaining about the trouble. She not only taught the bullies a lesson but also helped the two, who had nowhere to go, find a place to stay."

"That place of refuge is World's Little Corner?"

"It was originally called the 'Pajama Enthusiasts Club.' At that time, the three of them were getting closer and closer, and I think it was Monet who first suggested forming a club. According to her, when she came up with the idea, the three of them were staying overnight in that small building, all wearing pajamas, so they came up with the name 'Pajama Enthusiasts Club.'"

"So that's how it came about..."

"However, not long after the club was established, Xiao Wu wanted to quit. Monet said she didn't know what Xiao Wu was thinking at the time... It was around that time that Margaret committed suicide."

"Why?"

"Monet didn't know, and Mai Xiao Wu wouldn't tell me either. All I know is that Margaret's death affected Xiao Wu, and Xiao Wu ultimately managed to keep the small group together, probably partly out of guilt towards Margaret."

"Then, what about the other children? How did they come to be?"

"Perhaps it's a case of birds of a feather flocking together. The club's initial purpose was to protect Monet and Margaret, two poor children who were being bullied, and this has become the club's motto without us even realizing it. The club gradually spread among children struggling with reality, and occasionally new children would come to seek help. Xiao Wu never turned anyone away; she even went so far as to become a street Scavengers, using the high rewards from those dangerous missions to support some homeless children... She's really had a tough time all this time."

"I see... But in that case, wouldn't it just be a small-scale welfare organization?"

"This club has never been a welfare organization. That's the only thing I can be sure of. Whether you ask Xiao Wu or the children under her protection, you'll get the same answer—"

Xiao's tone suddenly turned serious.

"--This World's Little Corner, not some welfare organization; it's just a place where the weak band together for warmth."

"..."

"Neither Xiao Wu nor I have fundamentally changed the children's situation. At most, we can only 'prevent them from being bullied,' 'give them a place to stay,' and 'help them become friends in similar circumstances.' Once they leave the club, they will revert to being those insecure, timid, gloomy people living at the very bottom of the school community..."

"For example, Monet..."

"Oh? Have you seen what she looks like outside?"

"Yes, in the crowd of students leaving school, she was walking all alone, and all the students avoided her."

"Indeed... Xiao Wu used strong measures to stop the bullying by the bad kids, but she was also feared by everyone. As a result, Monet has never been harassed since then, but still no one wants to be her friend."

No wonder, Monet told me that she only "went from negative to zero, but didn't become positive"...

"Xiao Wu has done her best to get to this point. While it's possible to escape bullying with the help of others, building normal interpersonal relationships depends on oneself. It's not that Xiao Wu doesn't want to help, but that she can't. Ultimately, it's Monet and the others' problem. Living such bleak lives, their mindset can't be changed overnight... Ah! I didn't mean to blame them! It's just... it's just..."

"Just stating the facts, right? It's okay, I understand."

"That's good... Anyway, although Xiao Wu's background and profession aren't exactly honorable, and she's a bit cold, I can guarantee—"

Her tone was extremely sincere.

"Urahara Sakura Dance, she is absolutely the kindest person I have ever met, without a doubt!"

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Suddenly realized that Xiao Wu is the real CP-breaking maniac.