Mo Fan's Astonishment

"Bang." The apartment door shut.

When it opened again, Tang Yue had changed into casual wear, her pencil skirt swapped for form-fitting skinny jeans.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, likely from the rush of changing clothes.

"Come in. I'll answer whatever questions you have," Tang Yue said.

Jiang Yuan didn't stand on ceremony and walked straight in.

He sat on the living room sofa and laid out his issues.

Tang Yue explained them attentively.

Her soft voice was pleasant to listen to. Jiang Yuan's eyes inadvertently swept over Tang Yue's long legs, the skinny jeans perfectly showcasing their proportions.

He couldn't help but think back to how she'd looked in black stockings.

Was she wearing stockings under the jeans?

Jiang Yuan's focus wavered, and he quickly averted his gaze.

But he was too late—Tang Yue's sharp intuition had already caught it.

She finished explaining the problem and cleared her throat. "Jiang Yuan, I know you're in your adolescence right now. It's normal to be curious about the opposite sex, but as your teacher, I still hope you'll focus on your studies and meditation."

She went on at length, her tone full of teacherly instruction.

Jiang Yuan looked at her. "Teacher, you're not that much older than me. Why do you talk like I'm a kid?"

Tang Yue paused, then let out a silent laugh.

She really wasn't that much older than Jiang Yuan—some siblings had a bigger age gap than theirs.

And in terms of height, Jiang Yuan's 185 cm frame towered a head over her.

"With your talent, you'll definitely reach broader horizons. Why else would I bother saying all this?" Tang Yue dropped the teacher act entirely, speaking like an older sister.

Jiang Yuan nodded.

"That's more like it." Tang Yue felt relieved and planned to keep Jiang Yuan for dinner at her place.

She wasn't just nice to him—she treated other students the same way. But Jiang Yuan, being both smart and well-behaved, caught her attention a bit more.

Jiang Yuan was about to agree when a call came in.

It was Xu Dahang.

He had to decline. "Teacher, I've got something to do later. I won't eat here tonight."

Something again?

Tang Yue found it odd. Jiang Yuan was always so mysterious, and she had no idea what he was up to.

It didn't seem like he was up to no good.

She felt that as his teacher, she needed to find time to have a proper talk with him.

It wouldn't be good if he went down the wrong path.

"Go ahead, then. Don't skip today's meditation," Tang Yue said.

Jiang Yuan acknowledged her and left the apartment to meet up with Mo Fan.

The two found Xu Dahang, who had been waiting for a while, and took the mission briefing.

This mission was to investigate an anomaly at a factory. People kept feeling tremors underground, and recently, someone had gone missing.

Since it might involve a demon, a demon-hunting request had been submitted.

"That's the gist of it. Nothing too hard."

"I've still got another mission to finish, so Jiang Yuan, you head to the factory first to check things out. Since Fan Mo just got here, take him along to get him familiar with the ropes." Xu Dahang laid out his plan.

The danger level of this mission wasn't high. Even if there was a demon, a single Servant-level one was something Jiang Yuan could handle on his own.

And if it was just an investigation, the risk was even lower.

"Got it, Captain. I'll take Fan Mo to investigate first. I'll contact you if anything comes up," Jiang Yuan replied.

Before they left, Xu Dahang repeatedly stressed that they should stay safe.

Once Xu Dahang went off to handle his other mission, the curious Mo Fan finally couldn't hold back. "Are there really demons in the city? The captain kept telling us to be careful. Can't the two of us mages take down a single demon?"

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment, his expression serious. "Whether there are demons in the city, you'll find out after a few more missions. As for how strong demons are—"

"Let me put it this way: an ordinary mage needs a whole squad to take on a demon of the same level. The ones who can face a demon alone are one-in-ten-thousand geniuses!"

Mo Fan hadn't read much, so he took Jiang Yuan's words at face value, nodding blankly.

"Even if we run into a demon, no big deal. With the two of us geniuses, we'll handle it easy!" Mo Fan wasn't worried at all, his face lit up with excitement, itching to see a demon right away.

The two took a slow vehicle straight to the factory.

By the time they arrived, the factory had already shut down for the morning due to the missing person case, waiting for the Demon Hunting Squad to show up.

Shortly after the factory manager led them inside, Jiang Yuan caught a faint, barely-there stench of rot.

Looked like an old acquaintance.

"I have no idea where a rat died. There's always this stench, and we can't get rid of it," the person in charge complained.

Jiang Yuan told him to leave first, then led Mo Fan deeper into the factory.

The stench grew stronger. The source seemed to be the equipment room.

Jiang Yuan lowered his voice: "If nothing's off, there should be a demon inside that equipment room. Just not sure how many."

The equipment room was packed with gear, perfect for a Giant-eyed Stinky Rat to hide in.

"You sure?" Mo Fan sniffed carefully toward the room and nearly threw up.

Jiang Yuan nodded. "Pretty much confirmed."

"So do we leave now, or...?" Mo Fan didn't want to go just yet. He wanted to see it for himself.

"Not yet. We need to figure out roughly how many demons there are. If it's too many, we'll have to call in reinforcements from other City Demon Hunting Squads."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Mo Fan charged ahead and kicked open the door to the equipment room.

What the hell?

Since when was Mo Fan this reckless?

Jiang Yuan remembered Mo Fan being pretty cautious the first time he encountered a demon.

That kick immediately startled the Giant-eyed Stinky Rat hiding inside.

Mo Fan had barely poked his head in when a scarlet beam shot straight at him.

Jiang Yuan had stayed on guard. The moment danger appeared, he shoved Mo Fan aside and dodged in the other direction.

The scarlet light hit the wall nearby. With a bang, it exploded, sending chunks of dirt flying.

Mo Fan broke out in a cold sweat.

"What the fuck? That strong?"

If Jiang Yuan hadn't acted just now, would that ray have blown him to bits?

"Mo Fan, get away from the equipment room. The demon's coming out!" Jiang Yuan warned.

A figure burst out of the room, reeking of rot, its target the one who'd provoked it—Mo Fan.

Seeing this, Mo Fan tried to connect his Star Track.

But the Star Particles in his mind wouldn't obey. He linked a few, and they scattered everywhere.

He had zero combat experience. There was no way he could use magic in a sudden situation like this.

"Ice Control!"

Blue magical light flashed. A spear of freezing ice shot out, blocking the space between the Giant-eyed Stinky Rat and Mo Fan.

Mo Fan stared in shock at Jiang Yuan. "How are you using Ice element magic?"

"I'll explain later. First, let's take care of this Giant-eyed Stinky Rat!"

Jiang Yuan closed the distance a bit and thrust another Ice Control at the rat.

Sensing someone interfering, the Giant-eyed Stinky Rat whipped around and swung its terrifying sharp claws at Jiang Yuan!