Chapter 385: It’s Over… I’ve Been Tainted by Something Nasty!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 385: It’s Over… I’ve Been Tainted by Something Nasty!
After that heart-to-heart with Guan Qiuling, even my head felt swollen, as if the aftereffects of overusing Spirit Vision were flaring up again.
Previously, I’d told myself to try not to view my roommates as mere sources of amusement. After all, we were going to spend many years together; no matter what, we would eventually be friends.
But… Guan Qiuling. I had already been using a very tolerant and open-minded perspective to interpret her behavior and guide her, yet in the end, she still managed to leave me utterly shell-shocked.
They say there are four things in this world you should never try to do: prop up wet mud, carve rotten wood, flip a salted fish, or scald a dead pig.
I haven't given up on Guan Qiuling yet. It’s just that within those perspectives of hers—which have already reached a point where I can’t look at them directly—there are still basic cognitions worth changing. She’s simply limited by her own awareness and doesn't know how to start.
Actually, when I first saw the freshman curriculum, I thought the courses were very important out of sheer ignorance. However, when Teacher Ji Niang gave me a course exemption without a second thought, that was the first time I doubted the syllabus. As I found the gap between myself and those around me growing wider and wider, my skepticism toward the curriculum only intensified. As I delved deeper, I finally understood: the curriculum is also a part of the Academy's screening process.
It perfectly suits the path of students who like to follow instructions step-by-step. Theoretically, one could become a perfectly ordinary Transcendent Witch that way, but that’s the limit.
I feel that what freshmen need to learn most is a course on the cognition of the Transcendent world and planning for their future paths, rather than having everyone dive headfirst into the Transcendent world to fledge for themselves without a word. And… even if they have to figure it out on their own, the Witch Academy protects its students far too well.
After all, for an ordinary person, a human life is finite, but the Transcendent is not necessarily so. This is the cognitive difference between Transcendent races and humans.
When lifespan is no longer a concern, then no matter when one wakes up to the reality of their life, it will always be a brand-new beginning.
But such a cognition doesn't apply to us.
I admit that those who can test into the Witch Academy are all geniuses, the elite among elites. Many of them naturally understand how to plan their own paths.
However, there is one crucial point: everyone in my dormitory was "abducted" here. They were all boys before. Having their plans shattered, their gender changed, and then being forced to accept this reality is indeed enough to break a person.
Don't be fooled by how Guan Qiuling seems to be doing well, living happily and enjoying herself at the Witch Academy—she was actually the first one to be broken.
In truth, rather than having Guan Qiuling master power, it would be better for her to master a craft. In a relatively peaceful environment like the Witch Academy, mastering a craft never goes out of style.
The first thing I recommended was Alchemy. Guan Qiuling took it to heart immediately and expressed a desire to learn it, without me even needing to provide reasons or offer other options for comparison. It caught me a bit off guard.
I recommended Alchemy to her because, as long as one has money, one can experiment with it. Guan Qiuling didn't seem like the type to be short on cash.
Of course… my main thought was to see if Betty needed someone to show the ropes.
Because of Teacher Ji Niang, I probably won't be able to accompany Betty to practice Alchemy for a long time. Looking at Betty’s personality, I wasn't sure if Guan Qiuling would get along with her.
But one can't take anything for granted. If she has no foundation at all, Guan Qiuling would naturally be useless to Senior Sister Betty.
After all, I met Betty while I was studying runes, so I also recommended that Guan Qiuling learn some runes. I don't know if she actually listened.
Once my roleplay as a life mentor was complete, I bid farewell to Guan Qiuling and headed upstairs.
As I climbed the stairs, I saw an unexpected figure at the corner of the second floor.
"Xiao Han..."
"Mm... heard everything?" I looked at Dongli Yiren. I was a bit surprised, but I didn't show any embarrassment. Even if she had heard everything I said to Guan Qiuling, so what?
Was she going to denounce me for mentally manipulating Guan Qiuling?
I didn't think Dongli Yiren would do that.
"Yes..."
"Eavesdropping on other people's conversations isn't very polite, you know?"
"Sorry..."
"But if you don't get caught next time, it doesn't count as eavesdropping. What do you think?"
I didn't wait for Dongli Yiren to reply. I walked straight past her toward my bedroom. Regarding my question, I wasn't looking for an answer from her; I simply wanted her to think about it herself. It was enough if she had the answer in her own heart.
Everyone is curious about the unknown, even if eavesdropping is technically impolite on the surface.
This time, as a third-party observer, Dongli Yiren could naturally hear the leading nature of my words. She would also constantly look back on the time she and I talked, wondering if I had been just as calculating back then.
But I didn't care. I believe smart people won't care, and I believe Dongli Yiren is a smart person.
Back in my bedroom, I instinctively checked the time. Chatting with Guan Qiuling had indeed wasted quite a bit of time, but I felt it was alright. Spending a little time to understand someone else's life was worth it.
Otherwise, my life would consist of nothing but my obsession with the Transcendent and Sister Bai.
Locking the door, I threw myself onto the bed, letting the soft mattress support my entire body.
This method of relaxation quickly brought a hint of fatigue. As expected of a bed... I’d only just lied down and it already hit me with a drowsiness buff.
Perhaps my energy really had been depleted too much.
"I'll just take a nap," I whispered to myself. Before closing my eyes, I took one last look at the composite rune I had imprinted on my hand.
This was the composite rune formed from a piece of information within the [Transcendent Knowledge].
The next challenge... should be dismantling this rune, right?
After dismantling it, I would understand the deeper, underlying runes. That should be what I need to learn at this stage.
Just as I was about to disperse it and take my nap, I discovered that this rune, which I had imprinted with my mental power, was actually showing signs of maintaining its form even without my mental focus!
"Miraculous..." I rested one hand on my forehead, my exposed right eye glancing at the rune. After a brief moment of wonder, I casually dispersed it.
I slept very soundly, experiencing the comfort of deep sleep.
But all of that was shattered by a nightmare-like scene that made me bolt awake!
"Ngh! Hah..."
The moment I opened my eyes, I gasped for air. Only after seeing the familiar ceiling and those flickering runes did I gradually calm down. My memories rushed back like a tide, making me realize my current situation.
I... Yang Yuehan. After being sent away by Teacher Ji Niang, I returned to the villa and then... took a nap.
My gaze wavered slightly. Something seemed off...
I turned my head toward the window. It seemed to be dark outside. Had I slept that long?
I turned my head back, staring blankly at the glowing rune in front of me.
Wait... a rune?!
I was so startled by this sudden development that my breath hitched instinctively.
My eyes were fixed on the rune as that nightmare-like scene from moments ago flashed repeatedly before my eyes.
An empathetic emotion surged out of me uncontrollably—sorrow... sadness... despair... helplessness... numbness...
A tear escaped the corner of my eye and rolled down.
"Something's wrong... something is very wrong!"
I muttered to myself, my body tensing up. There was no way I would lose control of my tear ducts and cry just because of an emotion!
I am... a Self-Awakened Body Cultivation practitioner.
I reached out and touched the moisture at the corner of my eye. It wasn't fake.
In an instant, I calmed down. With a wave of my hand, I dispersed the rune again. Then I sat up, feeling that surge of emotion recede like a tide.
"That rune just now... strange. Didn't I already disperse it?" My expression turned grim. This was far beyond my expectations.
A rune that refused to dissipate—that sounded incredibly eerie! Moreover... I strongly suspected that this rune was the culprit behind that strange dream!
But now that I was awake, the memory of the dream was gone, as if I had never experienced it. Only that lingering trace of emotion made it clear that this was the source of the anomaly.
After calming down, I began to reflect. A rune imprinted by my mental power, one that hadn't been refined by me... how could it possibly exist independently?
Or rather... did this rune inherit some characteristic of that mysterious, unknown [Transcendent Knowledge]?
When in doubt, practice leads to the truth.
Spirit Vision, activate!
My Spirit Vision swept over the spot where I had just erased the rune. There, I saw anomalous information—it seemed to be the data of that very rune.
It... was condensing spontaneously!
And the root cause of its condensation... seemed to be related to me!
There was a connection there that even I couldn't understand, and it was maintaining the rune's operation.
"It's over... I've been tainted by something nasty..." I muttered to myself as I scrambled out of bed. When in doubt, go find Teacher Ji Niang!
At this moment, I instinctively looked out the window. It was pitch black outside, but after only a second of hesitation, my resolve to find Teacher Ji Niang remained firm.
So what if it was night?
Teacher Ji Niang had said she would be in that laboratory all day.
Immediately, I consumed mana, and a teleportation channel appeared before me. I stepped through, and in the next moment, I arrived near the statue that served as the teleportation landmark where Ji Niang had brought me before.
Then, I showed my authorization to pass the front desk and rushed to Ji Niang's place. Along the way, I encountered several Witch Mentors who greeted me, and I brushed them off with brief responses.
Seeing the urgent look on my face, they didn't press me further.
Arriving at the door of Ji Niang's laboratory, I pushed it open. Immediately, I saw the surprised expression on Ji Niang's face behind the door; she seemed very unexpected to see me at this hour.
Ji Niang seemed unable to believe it. She rubbed her eyes and checked the time, confirming it was indeed night.
"Xiao Han? Why are you here? Didn't you say you should be sleeping at this hour?"
"Teacher Ji Niang! I can't sleep now!" I slammed the laboratory door shut with a click. Seeing Ji Niang finally allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Can't sleep? Even if you've put a lot of energy into [Transcendent Knowledge] these past few days, I still have to tell you: you still cannot touch or observe the main body of the [Transcendent Knowledge] today."
"No! Teacher Ji Niang, it's not that. I... I've been tainted by something nasty!" I said, struggling to organize my words.
"Something nasty? Can't you just wipe it off?" Ji Niang looked at me with a strange expression.
"Not that kind of nasty. It's... it's the other kind..."
"Don't rush. Speak slowly. Did you run into trouble?" At this point, Ji Niang noticed my abnormal behavior and immediately became serious. She beckoned a chair over and signaled for me to sit down and explain.
"I... Teacher Ji Niang, do you remember that rune I imprinted from the [Transcendent Knowledge] before I left?"
"Of course. Acting recklessly—if anything happens, you deserve it," Ji Niang said crossly.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Ji Niang. I really did deserve it... That rune, it's haunting me now!" I said, my voice tinged with anxiety.
If I hadn't discovered that it hadn't caused me any substantial harm yet—only established a strange connection—I might have been even more frantic. After all, the unknown is what people fear most.
"A rune is haunting you?" Hearing my description, the corners of Ji Niang's mouth curled into a curious arc. "Tell me, how is it haunting you? Can't your Spirit Vision see the reason behind it?"
"It's... even without my mental power, this rune is spontaneously condensing and appearing in front of me. And... this rune seems to give me nightmares, but I can't remember the contents. Only the emotions left behind when I wake up are incredibly intense. They even broke through my Self-Awakened Body Cultivation's control over my body and emotions, making my tear ducts produce tears!"
"Spontaneous condensation? A hint of..." Ji Niang nodded as if she didn't care at all. Then her gaze fell on me again. "So, what did your Spirit Vision see?"
"Spirit Vision... I don't know. The information feedback from Spirit Vision tells me that I've developed a connection with this rune that even I can't understand. That's about it..."
"A rune developing a connection with you... Hmm, it feels a bit like destiny..."
"Destiny? But haven't I already broken free from the Script?" I asked.
"Of course you've broken free. I'm just saying it feels like it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. In the Transcendent world, you'll always encounter many inexplicable things, things whose causes you might never uncover in your entire life. Besides, the culprit behind all this is likely the [Transcendent Knowledge] itself."
"Right. Could it be that the rune ritual I transcribed from that portion of [Transcendent Knowledge] inherited some of its characteristics or power?" I asked tentatively.
"Perhaps. Consider this a lesson. Manifest that rune; let's put our original plan aside and deal with this first," Ji Niang said helplessly.
"I'm sorry... for the trouble, Teacher Ji Niang..." I lowered my head. This time, I truly admitted my mistake—the kind where I actually intended to repent...
I had really taken a hit this time... I had tripped hard on the path of exploring the Transcendent.
It made me realize how small I was in the Transcendent world.
The Transcendent world was not a place where I could run wild just because I had Spirit Vision.
"It's good that you know you were wrong. Hurry up," Ji Niang said, sounding relieved.