Inside a pink-decorated young girl's room.
Ning Rongrong sat before her vanity mirror,
looking at her slightly pale face in the reflection, and let out a soft sigh.
Today, she had only meant to go to Heaven Dou City as usual and "fish for criminals," luring a few bad guys out so she could catch them.
She had played this game many times.
She would deliberately wander into some deserted alley, baiting the clueless thugs into taking the bait.
Then the guards hidden nearby would step in and arrest them.
Every time she saw those arrogant bullies on their knees, begging for mercy, she felt especially satisfied.
But today was different.
Today, those three thugs had come after her.
If the young man and woman hadn't acted first, the guards would still have stopped them at the last moment.
But the black-haired boy hadn't waited for the guards to step in.
He had acted himself.
No words. No hesitation.
The moment the cyan flames ignited, three lives became three charred corpses.
It was the first time she had seen living people turn into corpses right before her eyes.
Death, real and unmistakable.
Flesh blackened and curled in the flames.
Blood congealed and froze in the cold.
The dying screams were cut short before they could even fully escape their throats.
The scene had branded itself into her mind like a red-hot iron, impossible to shake.
Ning Rongrong buried her face in her hands and sighed into her palms.
"I should've stayed home today."
"Knock, knock!"
There was a knock at the door,
followed by Ning Fengzhi's gentle voice.
"Rongrong, may I come in?"
"Dad?"
"Mm... come in."
Ning Fengzhi opened the door and entered.
He had changed out of his formal attire and was wearing a plain robe.
The instant he saw his daughter's pale face, a hint of pain flashed behind his gold-rimmed glasses.
He sat down beside the bed.
He reached out and laid a hand on Ning Rongrong's forehead.
After making sure she didn't have a fever, he withdrew his hand.
"Dad knows what happened today."
Ning Fengzhi's voice was as gentle as ever.
There was no reproach or lecture.
"Dad, I..."
Ning Rongrong bit her lip. "Those three died so horribly."
"They wanted to hurt you,"
Ning Fengzhi said calmly. "Whether it was that young man or the guards around you who acted, those men deserved to die."
"Rongrong, where there is light in this world, there is darkness. Where there are good people, there are bad people."
"What you saw today was simply the punishment those bad people deserved."
"So you don't need to feel guilty about their deaths."
Ning Rongrong was silent for a long while, then gave a slight nod.
The unease in her heart hadn't completely faded, but her father's words made her feel a little better.
Suddenly, as if struck by an idea, she grabbed Ning Fengzhi's hand.
"Dad, help me find those two!"
Ning Fengzhi paused, then a meaningful smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
"Find them?"
"Could it be that our Rongrong wants to get them into trouble?"
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened, then she pouted and rolled her eyes.
"Do you really think I'm that unreasonable, Dad?"
Ning Fengzhi neither confirmed nor denied it. He picked up his teacup and gently blew away the foam.
That expression only made Ning Rongrong angrier.
The worst part was, she couldn't even argue with him.
In the eyes of everyone in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she, Ning Rongrong, really was a spoiled little demoness.
She relied on the affection of her dad, Sword Grandpa, and Bone Grandpa,
and spent all day doing whatever she pleased, with no regard for the rules.
Thinking about it carefully, her reputation really wasn't all that great.
Ning Rongrong blushed.
Her voice grew quieter without her meaning to.
"I don't want to get them into trouble."
"I just... want to thank them."
"Whatever else, they saved me. I can't let good people lose heart."
Ning Fengzhi's hand paused around his teacup.
He looked up at his daughter's flushed cheeks and earnest gaze, and a deep, indescribable warmth welled up inside him.
His little Rongrong was finally beginning to grow up.
He set the teacup aside.
Then he gently ruffled the top of her head.
"All right. Dad promises."
"I'll have people look into where they are."
"Once we find them, I'll take you to thank them in person."
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she nodded firmly.
Watching his daughter's face brighten again,
Ning Fengzhi suddenly felt that what had happened today might truly have been an unexpected gift.
That young man had not only made Rongrong face the cruelty of the world for the first time, but had also taught her to be grateful.
For those two things alone, the gift he, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, gave that boy once they found him would be no small one.
Of course,
it would be even better if he could also find out just how capable the young fellow was.
Ning Fengzhi pushed up his glasses, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile only he understood.
Moonlight spilled over the imposing gates of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Even in the early morning, this renowned institution of the continent looked magnificent.
The names of outstanding students from generations past were carved into the towering archway.
The stone pillars on either side glimmered faintly in the sunlight.
Ye Qing stood outside the academy gates and couldn't help sneezing.
"Achoo!"
He rubbed his nose, brows knitting slightly.
With his constitution,
he had Hundred Poisons Immunity and was impervious to water and fire.
Forget catching a cold—
he could spend a whole night in an ice cellar and still wouldn't get sick.
A sneeze without any apparent cause probably meant someone was talking about him behind his back.
That old geezer?
Or the three scumbags who'd gone to hell last night?
"What's wrong?"
Dugu Yan stopped and turned to look at him.
"Nothing."
Ye Qing shook his head and turned his gaze away from the academy gates.
"Go on in."
"You've been on leave for more than three months. Your dorm's probably covered in dust, so go clean up."
"..."
Dugu Yan didn't answer.
She stood there, her jade-green eyes fixed on Ye Qing, a strange, hard-to-define emotion in her gaze.
From the time they'd returned to the hotel last night until now, she'd felt a little dazed.
They were about to part for a while.
It was only temporary, but her heart still felt strangely empty.
The feeling was unfamiliar, awkward, and nothing like her usual self.
Looking at her expression, Ye Qing couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.
"Don't make that face. Anyone who didn't know better would think you couldn't bear to leave me."
"Who couldn't bear to leave you?" Dugu Yan reflexively protested.
"Then you can't bear to leave my body?"
Dugu Yan froze for a moment before she understood. Her face flushed bright red, and she raised a hand to hit him. "Ye Qing! You're asking for it!"
Ye Qing laughed and jumped back, dodging her slap.
Then he walked back over and ruffled the top of her head.
"I'm just kidding."
"You looked like you couldn't bear to leave, so I wanted to cheer you up."
"Go on. We'll see each other again tomorrow."
Dugu Yan was silent for a moment, then suddenly rose on tiptoe and gave him a light peck on the lips.
The movement was so quick it was almost impossible to see.
Her lips felt soft and cool, carrying her own unique fragrance.
Before Ye Qing could react, she had already turned and jogged through the academy gates.
Her long jade-green hair traced a graceful arc in the morning breeze.
Only after she had reached the other side of the gate did she stop and turn back to wave at him.
Her smile shone in the morning light.
Then she turned and quickly disappeared into the depths of the academy.
Ye Qing touched the lingering feeling on his lips. Watching her disappear at the end of the academy's main avenue, he couldn't help smiling.
How strange.
They'd already done everything at the hotel.
So why did her kissing him in broad daylight stir up a flutter in his heart like a first love?
It was a pretty nice feeling.
He took his admission certificate out of his coat and checked it over once more, then turned and left as well.
Behind one of the stone pillars on the other side of the academy gates, a blue-haired girl stood rooted to the spot.
Her long blue hair fell to her waist like a waterfall.
Her eyes matched her hair, clear and free of any impurity, like the purest blue gemstones.
She wore a simple, plain-colored dress, her bearing elegant and refined.
In her arms, she held a thick book on pharmacology.
A bookmark made from a dried flower was tucked between its pages. She had just come from the library.
Ye Lingling thought she must have imagined what she'd just seen.
She'd only been passing by the academy gates.
She'd happened to glance outside and witnessed something that left her stunned:
Yanzi, who barely gave even Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan the time of day, had actually kissed a boy of her own accord right at the academy gates!
And she'd smiled so... sweetly?
Ye Lingling rubbed her eyes.
She watched the black-haired boy walk away, then looked toward where Dugu Yan had disappeared and murmured, "Was that... really Yanzi?"
Her voice was full of uncertainty.
What had Yanzi gone through over the past three months?
When she'd taken leave, she'd hurriedly said she needed to go home and ask her grandfather something. After that, she'd vanished without a trace.
She'd suddenly come back.
Her whole demeanor had softened.
She'd even kissed a man goodbye at the entrance.
Ye Lingling closed the pharmacology book in her hands.
She decided she had to go to Yanzi's dorm today, no matter what, and get to the bottom of things.