The atmosphere in Freshman Class One was somewhat oppressive. Wang Yan stood at the lectern and sighed inwardly. There was nothing he could do to interfere; everything had been handled according to the academy's rules.
At the back of the classroom, Tang Wutong was comforting Xiao Xiao, whose eyes were a little red, while inwardly cursing a man who had disappeared for the entire night.
Knock, knock. Two soft taps came from the doorway. Xiao Yi stood there, a faint smile still on his face, and gave Wang Yan an awkward grin.
"Sorry, Teacher Wang Yan. An upperclasswoman from the Inner Academy asked me to help with something last night. I'm sorry."
Wang Yan nodded slightly to indicate that he could come in. Then an excited voice rang out, accompanied by the hopeful gazes of the students around them.
"Xiao Yi, you bastard! You finally came back!"
Noticing the strange atmosphere in the classroom, Xiao Yi tiptoed over to Tang Wutong and asked curiously, "What's going on? I was only gone for one night."
"Heh. An upperclasswoman asked you to help, so why didn't you just stay gone?" Tang Wutong said with a face full of mockery.
Xiao Yi's mouth twitched. What's gotten into this girl? But before he could say anything more, he saw Xiao Xiao beside them, crying so hard her face was a mess. He glanced at Tang Wutong's unhappy expression, then noticed the absence of another petite figure. His heart sank.
"Xiao Xiao, what happened?" Xiao Yi grabbed Xiao Xiao by the shoulders as she looked up at him with hope in her eyes.
"Xiao Yi, Yu Tong... sob... Yu Tong, she..." Seeing Xiao Xiao crying like this, Xiao Yi grew increasingly anxious.
"What happened to Yu Tong?"
"She was seriously injured. She's receiving treatment now..."
A voice came from behind him. Xiao Yi turned and saw Wang Yan standing in the aisle, his face full of sorrow.
"What happened?" Xiao Yi looked at Tang Wutong, who had fallen silent beside him.
"Last night, Huo Yutong ran into a new student named Dai Huabin while she was grilling fish. They seemed to know each other. I only found out later, but anyway, they got into a conflict and went up to the Soul Fighting stage. Because of the academy's rules, senior students can't force junior students to fight them, so Huo Yutong had to face him alone. He even broke one of her arms..."
As she spoke, Tang Wutong's eyes grew damp, and guilt crept into her expression. If she had been there, perhaps Huo Yutong wouldn't have had to face him alone. Even if she couldn't win, at least she wouldn't have suffered such serious injuries...
Xiao Yi's mind went blank. Then he remembered: something similar had indeed happened in the original story. But that time, Xu Sanshi had started a fight because someone refused to sell him grilled fish. Bei Bei had been there, so he and Xu Sanshi had fought instead, and Bei Bei had even won two Mystic Water Pills.
But this time was different. Jiang Nannan had gone with the others, Bei Bei hadn't been there, and Dai Huabin had taken Xu Sanshi's place...
Xiao Yi could have figured out with his toes that when those two met, Dai Huabin would definitely have made some cutting remarks. After all, Huo Yutong was a girl, and Dai Huabin had probably recognized her...
Then they must have gone up to fight. Huo Yutong had been gravely injured. Though that girl looked gentle and fragile, there was no hiding the fierceness in her eyes.
Xiao Yi clenched his fists, regretting that he hadn't gone to check on them last night. He had simply assumed nothing would go wrong...
"Take me to Huo Yutong." Xiao Yi's voice was hoarse.
The three of them walked slowly into a room filled with the sharp smell of disinfectant. Several figures were already inside.
Tang Ya, Jiang Nannan, Bei Bei, and an elderly man dressed in green.
Bei Bei was speaking with the old man.
"Elder Zhuang, is there really no way to heal my junior sister's hand?" Bei Bei's face was full of anxiety and regret. Tang Ya's face was streaked with tears as she gazed hopefully at Elder Zhuang.
"Alas, if the severed limb were still here, I could reattach it for this little girl, but..." Elder Zhuang trailed off. Everyone present understood what he meant.
Tang Ya covered her mouth as tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes. Her body trembled, and Jiang Nannan gently comforted her while Bei Bei's face twisted with pain.
The other party had done something so heinous, yet he couldn't do a thing—not even teach him a lesson. Senior students were forbidden from laying a hand on junior students.
When Xiao Yi and the others entered, they saw this scene. First, he bowed to Elder Zhuang—Zhuang Yusen, a level-96 healing-type Super Douluo—then walked over to the bed. The old man had probably come only out of consideration for Bei Bei.
Unable to hold back her tears at the sight, Xiao Xiao cried out, "Yu Tong!" She threw her arms around Huo Yutong on the bed. Seeing a friend she had only just met reduced to this state made her feel as though her heart had been gripped tight.
A flash of murderous intent passed through Xiao Yi's eyes. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
The girl's face, already a little sallow, was now deathly pale. Her lively eyes, usually sparkling, were hollow and lifeless.
Most horrifying of all were her arms. Her entire left forearm was gone, and her right hand had lost three fingers. The wounds had already healed, but seeing them was still unbearably jarring. It was obvious what had happened.
Xiao Yi clenched his fists until his nails nearly sank into his flesh. His chest heaved, and the fury inside him was almost impossible to contain. He had never felt anything like this before. How could he hold back, looking at this scene? Just how cruel did someone have to be to do this to his own younger sister?
He couldn't understand what was wrong with the academy, or what that useless giant worm inside Huo Yutong's mind was doing. Right now, all he felt was anger, compressed to the breaking point.
How could he hold back his emotions when the girl, whose eyes had once shone with hope, had been reduced to this?
As if he had made up his mind, Xiao Yi forcibly suppressed his emotions and let out a long breath. He was responsible for this—not for any other reason, but simply because he couldn't bear to see the light fade from the eyes of a girl who had once been full of hope.
"Xiao Xiao, I have a way. Get off Yu Tong first..."
Everyone froze at his words. Elder Zhuang in particular stared at Xiao Yi in disbelief, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
A glimmer suddenly returned to Huo Yutong's hollow eyes. She stared at Xiao Yi in disbelief. Even Sister Tian Meng had been powerless to help—could Big Brother Xiao Yi really do it?
"Big Brother... Xiao Yi?" Huo Yutong's voice came out thin and strained, as if she had to force the four words past a blockage in her throat.
Xiao Yi slowly crouched down and gently stroked her head.
"Good girl. Close your eyes, Yu Tong. This is only a nightmare." Feeling the warmth of the hand on her head, Huo Yutong nuzzled against Xiao Yi's palm with a touch of longing. The sensation was so familiar. She closed her eyes, and the figure before her seemed to become her mother, Huo Yun'er.
Xiao Yi silently made up his mind. Dai Huabin, you dared to lay a hand on my people. Just you wait!
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