School Was About to Begin

As calm calls rang out one after another, vast currents of power began to gather, surge, and change.

Leng Xiaoyue merely walked through the area in a daze. None of those tangled thoughts filled her mind.

She did not know what she was spreading, nor did she understand what kind of effect she was having on these people.

She simply walked straight ahead. At some point, she had lost her shoes and socks, and her bare feet stepped on the cold stone path, yet she felt not the slightest chill.

The person on her mind was none other than her younger brother.

She remembered the way the boy had smiled at her, and the sight of the two of them standing side by side.

She had once rested her hand gently on the boy's head while he flashed a V sign toward the front, his smile bright yet shy.

She also remembered how, whenever she saw him, he would quietly save the money he could never bear to spend, then solemnly place it in her hands.

He would even take her out to buy all kinds of delicious food, just to comfort his older sister.

"He is a brave child."

"He is a kind child."

"He is a child who has suffered so much."

"He is my little brother."

"As long as he can come back to life, I am willing to offer my life to the great God of Abundance."

"I am willing to become the most faithful believer beneath the God of Abundance's throne."

Leng Xiaoyue's voice was so soft that the night wind could almost scatter it.

Her expression had grown dazed, but she continued to repeat those words under her breath as she slowly stepped forward.

Around her, and throughout the entire hospital, countless green petals and petals of every other color began to drift through the air.

Supple vines spread silently through every corner of the hospital. Then wisps of pale-green energy descended, gently enveloping the gravely injured patients.

They kept repeating their prayers to the Medicine King. As the prayers rose again and again, then gradually faded, every trace of pain and illness in their bodies began to recede.

Their weary, sorrowful faces became peaceful and serene once more, even taking on a faint, healthy glow.

Morning sunlight spilled across the earth once more, bathing the world in a brilliant, clear radiance.

In his room, Li Qingyue gave a soft yawn and slowly sat up.

He felt the tremendous changes that had taken place within him overnight, along with the power flowing toward him without end.

Li Qingyue's expression barely changed. Of course he could sense everything that was different inside him.

But he truly did not care much about it.

He rose calmly and walked out. The moment he opened the door, he saw Na'er, who had already left her room and was brushing her teeth.

Na'er stood at the sink, brushing with great concentration. Beside her, Mu Xi bent down and patiently showed the little girl how to do it.

Na'er had clearly learned how to brush her teeth long ago.

So Mu Xi's instruction made her quite unhappy, but she could hardly say anything. She could only cast Mu Xi a rather helpless glance.

She secretly glared at Mu Xi, then obediently picked up her toothbrush and went back to brushing carefully.

When Mu Xi saw Li Qingyue come out, she winked at him and beckoned him over.

Li Qingyue felt a little helpless at her antics, but he could only smile, walk over, and stand with them to brush his teeth in earnest.

After brushing their teeth, the three of them went downstairs and sat around the table for breakfast.

The Mu family had always had a warm atmosphere. The parents loved each other, and their daughter got along happily with them.

Of course, perhaps because Mu Xi was their only daughter, the family of three ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner together almost every day.

Mu Chen was occasionally away from home, but apart from the hours she spent at school, Mu Xi almost always came back to eat with her mother.

Mu Chen was the very picture of a loving father—or rather, a father wrapped entirely around his daughter's finger.

He doted on his daughter to the utmost.

Bao'er, on the other hand, was a stricter mother. Though she disciplined her daughter firmly, she also cared for her in every way.

That was why Mu Xi had grown into such a carefree, lively, and bossy girl.

Children raised in a cocoon of love had fewer worries.

They did not let their thoughts run wild, nor did they often wear themselves down with inner turmoil.

The family of three went about their usual morning routine, not feeling the least bit awkward with Li Qingyue and Na'er there.

Bao'er even used the serving chopsticks to put food on the two children's plates, expressing her kindness and welcome.

After breakfast, Mu Chen took the two of them to study Forging.

He had also enrolled Na'er in a Mecha class so she could learn how to make Mecha.

Na'er was clearly reluctant to go along with this arrangement.

But Li Qingyue had also told her to study, so she could only go to class on her own, unwilling as she was.

She watched forlornly as that big villain Mu Xi pulled her Brother Li Qingyue away, then watched the two of them get into the car together.

In the car, Li Qingyue and Mu Xi sat in the back while Mu Chen drove.

He played the news and hummed softly along, looking to be in a very good mood.

Mu Xi thought her father's singing sounded awful, but she said nothing.

She quietly put on her earphones to listen to her own music, then slipped one earbud into Li Qingyue's ear.

The two listened to a rock song with a strong beat, and the atmosphere in the car was rather pleasant.

Just then, the news suddenly aired a report about the hospital.

According to the report, every patient in that hospital had been cured, but vines now covered the entire building. It looked like a ruin abandoned for years, perhaps even decades.

Mu Xi and Mu Chen had paid it little attention at first, but after hearing the details, they could not help looking astonished.

This bizarre turn of events drew countless people's attention in almost no time.

Many sensed that something was wrong—or rather, that something inexplicable had happened.

They could not understand how anything so unbelievable could have occurred.

Before long, scientists and people from all walks of life flocked there to investigate.

But none of that had anything to do with Li Qingyue anymore.

Some patients left the hospital beside themselves with joy and returned to the warm embrace of their families.

Others, because of medical bills or various other reasons, willingly became guinea pigs, allowing doctors to study how they had recovered so completely from serious illness.

All kinds of complicated emotions mingled together, and hardly any two people felt quite the same.

But none of it mattered to Li Qingyue now, and he paid it little attention.

By then, the three of them had arrived at the Blacksmith Association's upper-level headquarters and resumed their Forging lessons.

With Mu Chen's careful instruction, Li Qingyue's understanding of advanced Forging techniques grew ever deeper.

At times like this, the importance of a good teacher became perfectly clear.

Studying under Mu Chen, Li Qingyue felt almost no pressure.

He could quickly grasp a wealth of knowledge and continually deepen his understanding and insight.

After each lesson, Li Qingyue tried his hand at Forging.

Once he finished, he went home with Mu Chen and Mu Xi, returning to their quiet, heartwarming life.

Amid those warm days, two months passed almost in the blink of an eye.

Soon, the day Eastsea Academy was due to open arrived.