The Seat Reserved for Him

Yun Jingheng picked up the enamel cup and took a sip.

What is the Sea God Pavilion's reaction now?

Tang Wulin looked at him speechlessly, "The Crown Prince isn't me, you're asking me, who am I supposed to ask?"

Yun Jingheng paused, holding the enamel cup, and almost spilled the water.

"The Crown Prince?"

His voice rose a half-octave, then subsided as the movement aggravated his abdominal wound, turning into a grimacing emoji. "Who are you calling the Crown Prince? Have you ever seen a Crown Prince nearly suffocate in his own designed Launch Shaft?"

"You."

Tang Wulin remained unfazed. "So you should ask Pavilion Master Yun Ming or Ancestor Zhuo Shi, not me."

"I'm just an Outer Court student. You can ask me to analyze the age of Soul Beast and forge metals, but asking me to analyze the Sea God Pavilion's strategic deployment--"

He shrugged, looking innocent. "Don't you have some misunderstanding about my position?"

Yun Jingheng's lips twitched. He took a sip of water from his enamel mug, slammed it down on the table with a loud thud, and said, "Alright, then I'll ask you as the son of the Sea God Pavilion Master, Tang Wulin, what's the attitude towards Shrek Academy outside these days?"

"Senior Zang Xin just received this information from outside."

Tang Wulin toned down his teasing tone and said seriously, "He said that public opinion outside is very complicated. The news of the massacre of the city has been confirmed, and the news of the destruction of Shrek City has also been confirmed."

Luo Guixing was standing nearby, interjected, "Right now, there's a lot of news circulating outside that Shrek Academy has been completely wiped out, and we can't find out which faction is spreading this rumor."

Yun Jingheng turned to look at him.

"Well, I just overheard it by accident."

"Given this situation... shouldn't we just stand up and announce that we haven't been wiped out?" Ye Xinglan frowned, puzzled.

Yun Jingheng remained silent.

The curtain was lifted, and Lan Muzi peeked in, nodding to Luo Guixing.

"The three of you come with me. Jing Heng... can you get out of bed?"

Yun Jingheng nodded.

Lan Muzi's gaze lingered for a moment on Yun Jingheng's left shoulder and abdomen, which were wrapped in bandages, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"Luo Guixing, Teacher Wu Zhangkong is looking for you." After saying that, she turned around, lifted the curtain, and went out.

Luo Guixing got up from the ground, dusted off his pants, and followed.

Tang Wulin also stood up, preparing to help Yun Jingheng.

Then he saw Ye Xinglan's outstretched hand and reached out to help.

Ye Xinglan bent down, supporting Yun Jingheng's back with one hand and his uninjured right arm with the other. Her movements were swift and decisive, leaving him no room to refuse.

With her help, Yun Jingheng sat up straight, his feet touching the ground. The moment he stood up, his vision went black for a moment. Blood loss and prolonged bed rest had caused his blood pressure to not keep up with the change in posture.

He didn't say anything, but his fingers tightened around Ye Xinglan's arm for a moment.

Ye Xinglan sensed it, but said nothing, only helping him to a more stable position.

The Good Corpse stood up from the bed next to it.

The Soul Power crystal in its palm had been completely absorbed. Although the body formed from Moonlight was still a bit thinner than before, it was no longer transparent enough to see the wall behind it.

It walked silently behind Yun Jingheng, its steps so light they were like Moonlight flowing across the ground.

"Let's go," said the Good Corpse.

Yun Jingheng turned around and glanced at it.

Two faces met for a moment in the flickering emergency lights.

Then Yun Jingheng nodded slightly.

The Good Corpse took a step forward.

The moment its body touched Yun Jingheng's back, it silently dissolved, transforming into thousands of strands of silvery-white light that seeped into Yun Jingheng's body from his back.

Yun Jingheng closed his eyes.

He could feel the Good Corpse's memories reconnecting with his own consciousness. He felt a pang of sadness in his chest when the Good Corpse Good Corpse saw Ya Li's tears, the trembling of his arm as he thrust the Moonlight Sword into the rock, and the curve of his lips when he sat next to Good Corpse Luo Guixing and said "Still alive."

These memories are like leaves from two different branches on the same tree, gently touching in the same breeze, and then reaffirming their roots.

He could also feel his body absorbing the Soul Power brought back by the Good Corpse.

The abdominal wound still hurts, and the stitches on my left shoulder are still throbbing with each heartbeat, but the exhaustion I felt earlier, which made it difficult to even lift my eyelids, has subsided considerably.

At least, he can walk on his own now.

The silver light dissipated.

Where the Good Corpse had stood, only a few wisps of fading Moonlight remained, like a small patch of shimmering light scattered by the wind on a lake in the dead of night.

Yun Jingheng opened his eyes and released Ye Xinglan.

He looked at Tang Wulin, "Let's go."

"Um."

Outside the medical area is a narrow corridor.

An opening in the shelter's ventilation system allowed a faint flow of air, carrying the unique dampness and coolness of the deep underground, mixed with the faint aroma of rice wafting from the nearby makeshift kitchen.

Every few steps along the metal walls on both sides of the corridor hangs an emergency Soul Guidance Lamp, its dim yellow light just enough to illuminate the path beneath one's feet.

Yun Jingheng walked between Tang Wulin and Ye Xinglan.

He didn't ask for help. The stitches on his left shoulder stopped bleeding after the Good Corpse merged with him. The penetrating wound in his abdomen was still painful, but the pain had changed from a sharp tearing sensation to a dull, aching ache.

At the end of the corridor was a heavy metal door.

The door was originally a spare supply warehouse in the shelter, but it had been temporarily converted into a meeting room. There was no sign. Two Inner Court disciples were standing at the door. When they saw Yun Jingheng and the other two approaching, they nodded slightly and pushed the door open.

The meeting room was small and simply furnished.

A long table was clearly made up of several temporary beds, covered with a dark blue curtain that had been taken from somewhere and used as a tablecloth, with the metal frame of the bed frame still showing at the corners.

On the table were several handwritten intelligence summaries and an open map of the mainland, the corners of which were being held down by something.

Upon closer inspection, it was a fragment of a broken Soul Guidance Cannon shell, with scorch marks on the edges from high temperatures.

There were more than a dozen chairs of varying heights, including leather swivel chairs snatched from the office, plastic stools moved from the cafeteria, and one that was simply an overturned ammunition box.

There were no decorations on the wall, only a Shrek Academy flag nailed to it. The edges of the flag were charred, and there were several dried and blackened bloodstains on the green background, but the roaring Soul Beast totem on it was still clearly visible.

Almost everyone has arrived.

The moment the door opened, everyone's eyes turned to the entrance.

Yun Ming raised his head, his gaze passing over Tang Wulin and Ye Xinglan's shoulders and landing on Yun Jingheng.

He didn't speak, but the fingers clasped on the table tightened slightly for a moment.

Ya Li had already stood up and taken two steps toward him, but then stopped abruptly. In this situation, she was first and foremost a member of the Sea God Pavilion, and only secondly her mother.

But the way she looked him up and down was exactly the same as when he had a high fever as a child.

Yun Jingheng walked into the conference room, pausing for a moment at the door.

His gaze swept over the maps, intelligence, and fragments of Soul Guidance Cannon on the table, over the charred academy flag on the wall, over every face, whether old or young, yet equally weary and resolute, and then paused for a second on the empty seat between his father and mother.

That spot, perfectly positioned, was to Yun Ming's right and directly opposite Ya Li. It was reserved for him.

"Please sit down since you're here."

Yun Ming's voice was as steady as ever, without any unnecessary pleasantries, "We're discussing the situation outside. Since you can get out of bed, why don't you listen in?"

Tang Wulin and Ye Xinglan exchanged a glance, then each found a seat next to Xie Xie and Gu Yuena, respectively.

Yun Jingheng walked to the empty seat, pulled out the chair. Like the others in the room, it was an old chair salvaged from an office. The leather on the armrests was worn shiny, and the seat cushion was a bit sagged, but in that position, it was the most intimidating chair in the conference room.

He sat down.

Ya Li watched him sit down from across the table. Her eyelashes trembled, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly before she quickly regained her serious expression and pushed a piece of information in front of Yun Jingheng.