Night.
Sun Shun held the Plague-Slaying Blade.
He stood far beyond the gates of Suhui Central Academy.
In the distance, the school, not especially large, crouched in the darkness like a vicious beast.
"That's the place... There's only one night watchman, an old man. He's the gatekeeper, right on the outskirts."
Sun Shun spoke in a low voice.
Zhou Zhi stepped out of the shadows.
"What's it like inside? I haven't asked until now, but I'm a little curious. What kind of monster is the Disease Seed in there, and what abilities does it have?"
Zhou Zhi lightly lifted his Blade Case.
Sun Shun looked nervous, but forced himself to stay calm.
"It seems to be... a mass of slime... with, with a few threads of blood in it..."
Sun Shun seemed to be trying to remember.
"Never mind."
Zhou Zhi waved a hand. "Let's go in."
"Lately, a lot of students who've gone missing in Suhui have come looking for me... I should at least go in and take a look."
Zhou Zhi smiled, then headed inside.
"Wait..."
Sun Shun hesitated before speaking.
Zhou Zhi turned back. "What is it, Sun Shun? Is there something else?"
Sun Shun coughed twice. Looking at Zhou Zhi's calm face, he instinctively shook his head. "No, no. I just wanted to remind you to be careful. It's really dangerous. Everyone else died."
"They might die, but I won't."
Zhou Zhi said coolly, "Didn't you say that if I did a good job clearing Strange Incidents in the Outer City, I could get a ticket to the Inner City banquet?"
"I'd quite like to see it."
The iron gate swung open.
Zhou Zhi glanced toward the security booth.
A dim, yellow light glimmered inside.
It seemed like someone in the booth was Peering at him.
That old man?
Or perhaps someone else.
Zhou Zhi walked straight in.
Sun Shun hesitated, then followed.
In truth, the school wasn't as modern as it had been in Zhou Zhi's Past Life. To him, this place looked more like a traditional school.
The students receiving basic and plague-extermination education were divided into two sections, with around a dozen classes in all.
Damp, blue-green bricks paved the ground.
Beneath the night sky, the whole school lay silent, like a corpse that had long since died.
Every now and then, the wind stirred the leaves. Even though it was the end of March, the fallen leaves still made the sound of the dying.
Zhou Zhi walked along the school paths. The darkness around him made him feel a chill.
"There are a lot of eyes Peering at us... I can feel them watching from all over that three-story classroom building in the distance."
Zhou Zhi turned his head slightly as he spoke.
Sun Shun trembled a little but said nothing.
"I heard the class that underwent disease transformation had more than twenty students. They've all turned into Disease Seeds, scattered throughout the school."
"Are those them?"
Zhou Zhi waved a hand. "Guide, do try to show a little more dedication."
"I don't know."
Sun Shun seemed different from before.
Once so arrogant, now he looked afraid in a way that was difficult to describe.
As if someone had stolen something from him.
"But it should be like that. The Disease Seeds roam all over the school, so we still need to be more careful."
Sun Shun's answer could only be described as distracted.
Zhou Zhi didn't mind.
He continued straight ahead.
To the right of the path was a thicket.
It stretched for dozens of meters along the road.
The streetlights on either side were all extinguished, making the place look like a towering person standing there.
Zhou Zhi's foot came down.
An eye.
Peered out from between the bushes.
It was filled with death, devoid of even a trace of life.
Sun Shun jumped in fright.
"It's a dead person..."
Zhou Zhi used the corner of his Blade Case to part the bushes.
A girl's corpse tumbled out.
Her body was covered in tiny red rashes.
Several of her subcutaneous nerves seemed to have pushed through her skin.
Her entire face had turned purplish black, but she was still wearing her school uniform, and one could just make out the lovely features she must once have had.
[A female corpse.]
[She died of the Chickenpox Plague. There are signs that she may contaminate and transform her surroundings.]
[She thought she could escape. She was so close... but that was only what she thought.]
Sun Shun frowned and turned his head away, as if he couldn't bear to look at the sight.
"When she was alive, she must have been the moonlight in many boys' hearts."
Zhou Zhi's voice rarely carried any emotion.
"Disease really is a terrible thing."
"It's very good at taking things away. The cheapest thing it takes is life."
Sun Shun turned back. "You... you really don't feel anything?"
"Seeing something like this?"
He asked in a low voice.
Zhou Zhi turned to him. "She's already dead. What am I supposed to feel?"
"Am I supposed to grieve for all living things, like you?"
"That... really isn't necessary."
"After all, when Le Wei and the others died, you had the same expression on your face."
The moment he heard Zhou Zhi's words, Sun Shun's expression changed.
From surprise, to disbelief, and then to grim resolve.
The shift happened remarkably fast.
"You came here on purpose?"
Sun Shun's voice came out hoarse.
Zhou Zhi didn't answer the question.
Instead, he looked behind him.
From the darkness of the school,
dozens of men and women in matching white uniforms walked out, their faces wooden.
Their footsteps made no sound, and they murmured under their breath.
In the darkness, their behavior was so strange it sent a chill down one's spine.
"Daily bread, silence your mouths and sit upright..."
Sun Shun took a step back. A smile forced its way onto his face. "Everyone."
"I've brought another Apprentice Plague Exterminator!"
"Everyone!"
"Where are the masters?"
"I've brought another one!"
As he spoke, Sun Shun looked toward Zhou Zhi, his gaze gradually turning vicious. "Whether you came here on purpose or not, you're going to die here tonight."
Malice filled his eyes.
He hated the boy standing before him so much.
He was even younger than Sun Shun, yet always put on that calm, unruffled air, as if everything were in the palm of his hand.
In Sun Shun's heart, he was a top student from Chang Medical.
Everyone should have centered themselves on him, just as that useless Le Wei had!
"You're going to die!"
Sun Shun growled under his breath, like a beast.
"Everyone..."
The next moment, Sun Shun froze completely.
"Master."
"Master."
"Master."
"You've arrived."
Dozens of men and women brought the first two fingers of their right hands together at their chests and bowed their heads slightly.
Every single one of them!
Did the same thing!
"It's not too late. I had time to look around a bit."
Zhou Zhi said.
What was going on?
Sun Shun couldn't understand.
What was going on?
"But... they're not the Longevity Path... what... you..."
Sun Shun began to stammer, looking completely at a loss.
The scene before him slammed into his mind.
"What... what is this..."
Zhou Zhi shook his head slightly.
"Sun Shun, why are you so worked up?"
"You're acting as if this were real."
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