Dark and Sunless

When Tang San woke, dawn was already near. His whole body ached, and he felt weak all over, basically without any strength left. Of course, that was also perfectly normal.

After all, last night he had been bombarded by those things from the opposing Shrek Academy with all kinds of strange weapons, and their power had been truly terrifying.

Tang San knew that even if he had used Blue Silver Grass to defend himself, it would have been useless. His Blue Silver Grass probably would have been blasted to bits.

Pain was normal. It would have been abnormal if he did not hurt.

Tang San closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared to brace himself against the ground and sit up.

But just then, Tang San suddenly felt that his body was very cold. When the wind blew across him, it seemed as if it met no obstruction at all.

And at that moment, Tang San could not help lowering his head, only to discover scraps of cloth scattered all over the ground, lying in bits and pieces around him.

No, this was impossible. Even if he had been bombarded, his clothes should not have been torn to this extent. (In fights, clothes were always only damaged, never reduced to scraps all over the ground.)

Tang San's pupils suddenly contracted, and he snapped his head around.

On the left, Dai Mubai lay on the ground, the clothes on his body also reduced to fragments. His long golden hair spilled across the ground, revealing his solid chest and arms.

On the right, Ma Hongjun was sprawled several meters away, his round back exposed to the air.

Tang San's mind went completely blank. Those two had been defeated by the opposing Shrek Academy before him, but the clothes on their bodies had not looked anything like this then.

"This... this is..."

His lips trembled, and his mind spun wildly.

Dai Mubai also woke. He shook his head, propped himself up on his arms, and then he too saw the scraps of cloth on his body. His expression instantly turned ashen.

Ma Hongjun was the last to wake.

He rolled over, lay spread-eagled on the ground, and stretched lazily.

Then he froze.

"Huh?"

Ma Hongjun blinked and sensed the soul power inside his body.

In those small eyes, a gleam of wild delight suddenly burst out.

"Boss Dai! Boss Dai!"

He scrambled up in one motion and, without caring whether he had any clothes on, charged straight toward Dai Mubai.

"I think... I broke through to rank thirty!"

"Rank thirty! Did you hear that? Rank thirty!"

"Getting beaten up can actually make you stronger?!"

Dai Mubai did not answer. His expression looked even uglier than before.

Ma Hongjun was still excited.

"Great! Now I'm a Soul Elder too!"

Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly stopped, because when he pounced onto Dai Mubai, the feeling was wrong.

And it was only then that Ma Hongjun finally noticed the state the two of them were in, especially the way their eyes were fixed straight on him, as if they wanted to eat him alive.

Ma Hongjun shrank his neck.

"Wh-what's wrong?"

Just then, Ma Hongjun also discovered his current state. Where were his clothes? How were his clothes gone?

Ma Hongjun's expression turned from delight to terror.

"This... this... this..."

He hurriedly crossed his hands in front of himself, covering up, and shrank back several meters.

"Boss Dai, Tang San, you... what did you do to me?!"

"I'm warning you, I, Ma Hongjun, may be charming and romantic, but I'm not into that!"

Dai Mubai's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and Tang San's face was as white as paper.

Neither of them spoke.

Ma Hongjun looked at their expressions and suddenly realized something.

"No, wait..."

He swallowed.

"Was... was it you two who got... or did all three of us..."

"Or maybe..."

His voice grew smaller and smaller.

"That group across from us... to us..."

"We're unclean now... all of us are unclean..."

Tang San's lips trembled. In his mind, a thought coiled like a venomous snake, refusing to leave.

But he did not want to say it out loud. If he did, it would prove... he was no longer clean.

Tang San could not accept that fact.

Especially now, when both Tang San and Dai Mubai could feel the traces of evil fire left inside their bodies. That sensation of evil fire was also terribly familiar.

How could... how could...

Dai Mubai's fists clenched until they cracked.

He gritted his teeth and looked at Ma Hongjun.

"Ma Hongjun."

"You... just you wait."

"When we get back, I'm going to teach you a proper lesson."

He was Dai Mubai, a man who often wandered through every sort of romantic haunt, yet he had never experienced anything like this. For an expert in love affairs like him, this was simply a humiliation beyond compare!

Ma Hongjun shrank his neck, wanting to explain something.

Suddenly, his eyes widened. He remembered. Last night...

After he ate that pill...

His whole body had grown hot... his evil fire had surged... and then...

Ma Hongjun's expression changed abruptly. He remembered. He remembered everything. He opened his mouth, wanting to speak.

"Um... Boss Dai, Tang San... I remember..."

Dai Mubai let out a low growl.

"Shut up!"

Tang San also looked over coldly.

"Shut up."

Their voices rang out at the same time.

Ma Hongjun shuddered in fright, but still could not hold back from muttering softly.

"But... I said a long time ago... I can't hold back my evil fire..."

"You can't blame me for this..."

Dai Mubai's eyes turned red.

"I told you to shut up!"

Ma Hongjun hurriedly covered his mouth, not daring to say another word.

The three of them fell silent just like that.

The night wind blew past, chilly and biting.

Tang San took a deep breath and propped himself up from the ground.

His legs were trembling, though whether from the cold or from anger, no one knew.

"Change clothes."

His voice was very cold.

"Go back."

Dai Mubai nodded. The three of them casually found three passersby, knocked them unconscious, and changed directly into their clothes.

None of the three said a word. Following the road they had come by, they quickly walked back to that shabby, run-down Shrek Academy.

Along the way, Tang San walked at the front, his pace very fast.

Dai Mubai followed behind him, his face livid.

Ma Hongjun walked at the very back, head lowered.

After entering the academy gates, the three of them each returned to their own rooms.

Tang San closed the door, leaned against it, and slowly slid down to sit on the floor.

His eyes stared straight at the ceiling, hollow and empty.

Rage churned inside his chest.

"Ma Hongjun..."

Tang San's voice was very soft, so soft it seemed squeezed out from between his teeth.

"You already have a way to death."

His fingers carved deep marks across the floor.

"Dai Mubai..."

"You have a way to death too."

Tang San closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Those two... can't be allowed to live."

"Otherwise, if this gets out... my, Tang San's, reputation will be ruined."

A cold glint flashed through his eyes.

"When the time is right... I'll get rid of them together."

Then Tang San thought again of that academy across from him.

Those students, those Soul Cannons.

If not for them, he would never have gone to keep watch.

If he had not kept watch, he would not have been knocked unconscious. If he had not been knocked unconscious, then he would not have...

Tang San's fist slammed hard into the floor.

"Bang—!"

A crack split through the wooden planks.

"That academy... everyone in it..."

"You're courting death!"

He gritted his teeth, enunciating each word.

"One day... I'll make every last one of you... pay the price."