"Sir, this is a restricted area. You can't go in!"
"My nephew is in there! My nephew Duan Ming is in there!!"
Third Uncle sounded frantic.
He didn't know that Duan Ming had slain the Human-Faced Spider.
He had heard Duan Ming shouting in there, so he was certain Duan Ming was inside.
"I don't want my third uncle to see me like this."
Duan Ming wiped the blood from his face.
This was the first time he had slain a monster in real life.
But he wasn't afraid in the slightest. Even as he fought, he had been unable to tell whether it was reality or a dream.
Lin Qiao nodded, understanding at once. "I'll handle it."
That night, Duan Ming couldn't sleep.
It wasn't until almost dawn that he finally drifted off for a little while.
In his dream, he saw Zhao Jie.
Zhao Jie told him he didn't blame him, because they were friends. It was precisely because they were friends that Duan Ming had told him about that shortcut.
The next day, Duan Ming didn't go to school.
Instead, he went with Lin Qiao to Zhao Jie's home.
Zhao Jie lived in a run-down neighborhood.
His only family member, an older brother ten years his senior, was sitting on the sofa, holding his old, worn-out schoolbag.
There was also a brand-new schoolbag on the coffee table.
"I was going to give him this new schoolbag when he came home. I never thought it would be his corpse I saw instead."
The man's eyes brimmed with tears. Both his legs were crippled, and he could only sit.
"Senior, I'm sorry for your loss."
There was only one possible reason Lin Qiao would call the man senior: he had also been a student at the Divine Power School.
Judging by his age, he must have been several years ahead of Lin Qiao.
"Now that things have come to this, I want to tell you the truth. I was the one who told Zhao Jie to take that shortcut. Otherwise, nothing would have happened to him."
Duan Ming mustered his courage to say those words.
He was afraid to tell the truth, but he was even more afraid of not daring to tell it.
"I don't blame you, and I believe Zhao Jie wouldn't blame you either. You were his friend, right?"
Duan Ming nodded solemnly.
"I've heard all about what happened last night. You didn't mean to hurt him. You told him that because you were friends. You were his first friend, and I believe he wouldn't blame you either."
Having seemingly gained the forgiveness of Zhao Jie's family, Duan Ming felt a little better.
"Can you tell me about Zhao Jie? I'd like to get to know my friend properly."
Lin Qiao sat to the side.
She hadn't expected Duan Ming to dare admit directly to Zhao Jie's brother that he was the one who had told Zhao Jie to take that route.
"Zhao Jie and I actually aren't related by blood at all."
Duan Ming frowned. "He was adopted?"
"No, I was."
"Because of our family's circumstances, I always told him that children from poor families have to take charge early. Maybe because of me, he was always very introverted."
Zhao Jie's brother began telling Duan Ming about Zhao Jie's life, from childhood onward.
After hearing Zhao Jie's story, Duan Ming suddenly felt that his friend had worked very hard.
Later, when they left, Lin Qiao told him that their family's circumstances had actually improved many years ago.
They could even be considered comfortably well-off.
But Zhao Jie's brother was also a Divine Power Master, and during a mission, a mistake of his had cost six teammates their lives.
He had lived in that shadow ever since.
Of the retirement allowance the Divine Mark Association gave him each year, he kept only a small portion.
He gave all the rest to the families of those six teammates.
Perhaps it was because his own mistake had also cost his teammates their lives back then.
That was why Zhao Jie's brother had no intention of blaming Duan Ming this time.
Perhaps he didn't want Duan Ming to spend the rest of his life in that shadow, as he had.
Or perhaps it was because Duan Ming had been his younger brother Zhao Jie's first friend, and his only one.
As for the arrangements for Zhao Jie's brother going forward, Lin Qiao said they would definitely not leave him disheartened.
The higher-ups had long planned to send Zhao Jie's brother to a convalescent home for Divine Power Masters.
There were people there specifically assigned to care for Divine Power Masters who could no longer look after themselves because of combat.
But for some unknown reason, Zhao Jie's brother had never agreed to go.
Perhaps it was because of Zhao Jie, or perhaps it was for some other reason.
"Third Uncle, if my application for the enrollment allowance is approved, I want to give all of it to Zhao Jie's family."
"No problem."
Divine Power School.
The classroom, which should have had twenty people in it, now had only eighteen.
"I heard from my brother that it was a Human-Faced Arachnid. It could spin silk!"
"Huh? A human-faced pig that can spin silk?"
"This kind of monster has eight legs, each one really sharp. They can climb walls using mucus secreted by glands in the tips of their legs."
"I heard that even though this kind of monster isn't very powerful, civilians who run into one are basically helpless against it."
"Sigh... poor Zhao Jie."
"Zhao Jie was probably scared stiff at the time too..."
"Even if he hadn't been scared stiff, with his current strength, he was no match for that Human-Faced Arachnid."
"By the way, what about Duan Ming? Did he come today?"
"When I came out of the cafeteria this morning, I think I saw him on the field."
Knock, knock, knock!
Outside the principal's office.
Duan Ming had just arrived when he saw Lin Qiao come out.
Her eyes were slightly red, but her voice was calm. "When you go in, don't be too nervous."
Duan Ming nodded.
This was his first time at the principal's office.
When he entered, his first impression was that it was very simply furnished.
There was nothing superfluous beyond a desk, two chairs, and a sofa.
Directly ahead, Li Zhengming, who was over ninety years old, sat upright in the office chair.
Seeing Duan Ming enter, he said with a kindly expression, "Sit down."
Duan Ming nodded and sat in a chair across from him.
"You're Duan Ming, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Mm, I'd heard about you before. Were you the one who slew that monster?"
"Yes."
Li Zhengming looked at Duan Ming with interest. "Could you let this old fellow take a look at your Dual Divine Marks?"
Duan Ming was a little surprised, but he rolled up his sleeves and placed both hands on the desk.
The next moment, two white Divine Marks appeared on his wrists.
Li Zhengming immediately looked astonished.
It was a long while before he came back to his senses. "All right."
Duan Ming withdrew his hands, and the two Divine Marks on his wrists gradually faded.
"I never imagined our school would produce someone with Dual Divine Marks. The world has never had a definite answer as to whether Dual Divine Marks exist!"
"But now you've confirmed the answer! Dual Divine Marks do indeed exist in this world!"
Duan Ming said, "That's a good thing, right?"
"Of course. If this isn't a good thing, what is? But you must remember: from now on, never casually reveal your Dual Divine Marks in front of outsiders."
Duan Ming said, "Because this is a matter of great importance and can't be made public for now, right?"
"Mm, that's right. At present, the only ones who know you have Dual Divine Marks are Captain Du and me. As for those few fellows who saw your Dual Divine Marks, we've already fobbed them off with another explanation. On top of that, since the outside world denies the existence of Dual Divine Marks, they certainly won't think you have them."
Golden sunlight streamed through the window onto the desk.
Li Zhengming asked curiously, "Can you tell me where you learned your saber technique? According to the eyewitnesses there, your saber was fast, and your movements were first-rate too. They even swore that skills like yours absolutely couldn't be developed without eight or ten years of training."
Duan Ming thought for a moment, then said with a perfectly straight face, "Do you want the truth or a lie?"