(This chapter is a bonus update for tips.)
Qing Linyun stepped through, and the passage closed behind him. When he reappeared, his feet were planted firmly on the grass of Eastsea Academy's athletic field.
The sun was already hanging halfway up the sky.
Clearly, it was well into the morning.
He looked around, his brow furrowing.
Something was wrong.
A few students stood scattered across the field, but more were walking back and forth.
Several teachers jogged over from the classroom building, then turned toward the dormitories. They looked hurried, as though searching for something.
As though searching for someone.
Students gathered in twos and threes, whispering to one another. Some were also peering toward the office building.
Qing Linyun faintly heard the words "Teacher Wu," before someone pulled the speaker away.
Qing Linyun stood where he was, a little confused. He
He had just taken a step when a middle-aged teacher coming toward him nearly ran into him.
The teacher looked up and froze, then his eyes widened, his face full of surprise and delight.
"Teacher Linyun!"
His voice was loud, and several teachers nearby turned to look.
"Come quickly! Teacher Linyun is here!"
After shouting, the man turned and ran to the side, grabbed a soul communicator, and began contacting people one by one.
Qing Linyun stood there, feeling a little uneasy.
Could it be that I suddenly disappeared yesterday, and they thought I'd gone missing?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
After all, he had barely been an assistant teacher at Eastsea Academy for two days before vanishing. Anyone would be worried.
Thinking of it that way, he really did feel a little embarrassed.
It was true: he had been so caught up in doing that with Ye Lingling last night that he had forgotten all about it, and by the time he got up today, the sun was already high in the sky.
The teacher over there had finished his calls and hurried back, rubbing his hands together with a somewhat awkward expression.
Qing Linyun spoke first. "Sorry, teacher. I really shouldn't have disappeared without a word like that."
Before he could finish, the teacher seized his wrist.
"Come quickly, Teacher Linyun!"
The teacher pulled him along, moving at a frantic pace. "I don't know what's gotten into Teacher Wu. He locked himself in his office and isn't even teaching his classes! Director Long was afraid something had happened to him, so he told us to search the whole campus for you!"
Qing Linyun was dragged along as his mind turned over the news.
Wu Changkong.
He had locked himself in his office and wasn't even teaching?
Qing Linyun frowned.
As well as he knew Wu Changkong, the man might have been a little cold, but he always acted with considerable discretion.
Locking himself away without a word wasn't something Wu Changkong would do.
A bad feeling suddenly welled up in him.
This couldn't have anything to do with me, could it? he thought. If he followed me to the East Sea yesterday, what would he have seen?
The two hurried to the floor where the office was located.
Before Qing Linyun reached the door, he heard Long Hengxu's voice, urgent and hoarse, with a hint of tears:
"Teacher Wu! Please come out! I'll never interfere with you again! Please, don't let anything happen to you! It was all my fault before. From now on, if you ask me to get a student's certificate processed, I'll do it right away without another word! Please stop scaring me!"
Long Hengxu stood with his back to them outside the office, one hand pounding on the door, utterly panicked. Seven or eight teachers had gathered around him, but none dared step forward.
The sun's risen in the west.
Qing Linyun thought.
Just a few days ago, Long Hengxu had been pounding the table in the office, saying Wu Changkong was dragging his feet over a certificate, looking ready to fight him to the death.
And now he looked ready to drop to his knees at the door and beg him to come out.
Was this really the same Long Hengxu who usually wore his resentment of Wu Changkong all over his face and wanted nothing more than to fire him on the spot?
For Long Hengxu to be this frantic, something serious had probably happened to Wu Changkong.
"Director Long!" the teacher who had brought Qing Linyun called out. "We found Teacher Linyun!"
Long Hengxu spun around. When he saw Qing Linyun, his eyes lit up, and he practically ran over.
He grabbed Qing Linyun's hand and pulled him to the door.
"Teacher Linyun!"
Long Hengxu panted. "I know you're Wu Changkong's junior brother. Please, go talk to him! I don't know what happened to him. He locked himself in his office early this morning, and there hasn't been a sound from him since!"
Qing Linyun looked at him, then at the teachers around them. He said nothing, merely giving him a look.
Long Hengxu froze for a moment, then caught on. He hurriedly turned and waved at the people around him. "Everyone, disperse! Go teach your classes or get back to whatever you need to do!"
The teachers exchanged looks, but eventually left one after another.
The corridor fell quiet.
Only then did Qing Linyun raise his hand to knock.
He had heard Wu Changkong's voice many times. Though it was a little cold, his tone was also calm and gentle.
But what came from behind the door now didn't sound like the voice he knew.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch the door, a low, hoarse voice suddenly came from inside.
Well, if he had to describe it, it sounded as though Wu Changkong had been crying.
"Come in."
Qing Linyun's hand froze in midair.
Something's wrong. The unease in his heart instantly surged to its peak.
That voice sounds like he's been up all night, and also like he's been crying.
The voice behind the door didn't speak a second time.
There was only silence, pressing against his chest through the door.
His bad feeling grew stronger and stronger.
Could Wu Changkong really have seen something last night?
Qing Linyun took a deep breath, composed himself, and pushed the door open.
As soon as he entered the room, Qing Linyun sensed that the temperature was off. He looked around and, sure enough, terrifying ice-type Soul Power had frozen almost everything around him, leaving only Wu Changkong sitting in a chair, looking somewhat haggard.
"You're here. I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Wu Changkong spoke slowly.
Qing Linyun nodded, casually pulled over a half-frozen stool, and sat down.
Wu Changkong gazed gloomily out the window without a word. Qing Linyun didn't speak first either, but he already had a faint premonition that Wu Changkong probably knew about what had happened last night.
That left Qing Linyun somewhat helpless.
Qing Linyun knew what had happened in the original story. After killing Dark Hummingbird, Wu Changkong had died for love, following Long Bing in death.
But to tell the truth, Qing Linyun didn't want Wu Changkong to die.
Of course, that couldn't possibly be because of any affection between them.
The two were junior and senior brothers in name only, and there was no particularly deep bond between them. After all, they had hardly had anything to do with each other.
The only reason Qing Linyun didn't want Wu Changkong to die was that his death would disrupt the arrangements in Eastsea City.
If Wu Changkong died, someone else would have to take over as Class Five's homeroom teacher. And if that happened, whether Tang Wulin could still grow as he had in the original story would be uncertain.
If he wanted the plot to follow its established course, Qing Linyun would have to take Wu Changkong's place. Only then could he ensure that the general course remained unchanged, giving himself time to observe, plan, and make arrangements.
But that would also effectively nail Qing Linyun firmly to Tang Wulin's side, and it might be even more dangerous. After all, Tang San was due to awaken around this time.
"Yesterday, over by the East Sea, I found a severed arm belonging to Dark Hummingbird, one of the Holy Spirit Cult's Four Heavenly Kings."
Wu Changkong's sudden words interrupted Qing Linyun's thoughts.
"Was he chasing you down? And did you turn the tables and kill him?"
Wu Changkong looked over at him, his eyes vacant.
Qing Linyun's mind raced, and in an instant, he came up with the rough outline of a solution.
He pretended to sigh helplessly.
"Yes. I don't know why Dark Hummingbird set his sights on me either. Fortunately, my strength was decent enough, and I used the power of the Death Arena, so I barely managed to survive."
"But Dark Hummingbird escaped too."