To wizards, Painted Skin had two meanings.
One was a rare magical item; the other was a mysterious magical creature.
The former was made from human skin, animal hide, and the like. Its skin was intact, and its hair and seven orifices were no different from those of a living creature. To use it, one merely had to wrap it around oneself and roll on the ground, transforming into the creature signified by the Painted Skin. Very few wizards could tell the difference.
The latter was a type of ferocious ghost, with green faces, jagged saw-like teeth, and cries resembling a pig's squeal. They liked to eat children's hearts and could strip off a victim's skin to become that person. Because they were far too vicious, wizards had hunted them to near extinction. Even students of First University could only see their remains in the specimen room.
At present, the pet snake's shed skin hidden among the grass was obviously unrelated to those ferocious ghosts. Therefore, the "Painted Skin" Dr. Xiao had mentioned could only refer to the first possibility.
Nicholas's expression changed drastically upon hearing Xiao Xiao's judgment.
"Painted Skin?! That can't be possible." He muttered, his voice strained. "Could there be some misunderstanding? Should we take another look..."
There was naturally good reason for his panicked attitude.
If this shed snake skin was indeed a Painted Skin, as Xiao Xiao said, then who had used it? Why had that creature disguised itself as a pet snake to enter First University? Most crucially, did the pet snake's owner, Liu Feifei, know about this? If she did not, would she bear primary responsibility for this incident?
Just thinking about it brought countless terrifying possibilities to mind, leaving Nicholas deeply unsettled. His only hope was that Xiao Xiao had made a