What surprised Zheng Qing, yet did not surprise him, was that Professor Monteria did not draw blood to determine whether he had truly fallen under some kind of bloodline curse. Instead, he began by examining Zheng Qing's eyes.
Because just last year, around this same time—Zheng Qing could not remember exactly, perhaps the first or second week after the previous winter break—he had first gone to the Bloodline Research and Advanced Magic Script Analysis laboratory after blood clots appeared in his eyes, asking Professor Monteria to examine them.
The results of that examination had not been clear. The professor had merely vaguely concluded that there was a force inside Zheng Qing that did not belong to him. Due to its "improper borrowing," that force had overflowed and caused a certain degree of backlash to his body, leaving blood streaks in the depths of his eyes.
Now that he was being examined again, and Professor Monteria had just advanced to become an Archwizard, it was only natural that he would start with the direction he had investigated before.
"Have you had any blood clots in your eyes recently?"
"N-no."
"Any swelling, pain, or other irritating sensations?"
"No."
"Over the past year, have you undergone any bloodline modifications, or similar bloodline-related treatments? Hmm, if it involves anything private, a brief answer will do."
"No!"
Zheng Qing answered that final question without the slightest hesitation.
Indeed, several months after Professor Monteria had examined his eyes, Zheng Qing had accidentally blown himself up because of certain mishaps. But Mister had later refined for him an almost identical body—at the very least, it felt no different from his previous one—so he felt entirely justified in answering "no."
Professor Monteria removed his gold-rimmed monocle, took out a roll of leather from his handbag, and spread it