Chapter 923: Chapter 920: "He stands under the sunlight.
Leading the group was Major General Su Ping from the military. Seeing the invigilators come to greet him, Su Ping waved his hand: "You continue the exams, don’t mind us."
Then, he sat down with a large group of soldiers nearby, their bodies exuding a heavy scent of blood, all veterans of frontline battles, making the candidates anxious and fearful.
"Why are the military people here..." Jiang Yunmeng whispered.
"Interested in our exams?" Jojo speculated.
Subsequently, a large group of people arrived at the door, dressed in red and white clergy robes, members of the Church.
"We are just observing, don’t mind us." Cardinal Shao Feng smiled and, leading the clerics, sat on the other side of the military.
"Why are the Church people here too?" The applicants were both astonished and thrilled.
"Could it be that there’s an exceptionally outstanding candidate among us, to be recruited in advance?"
"That would be too lucky..."
Faced with the presence of these two major powers, the candidates all tried their best to perform. After the other candidates finished their exams, Su Ming’an and Jiang Xiaosan met in the finals. Su Ming’an accelerated forward, and Jiang Xiaosan was pinned to the ground by him, winning a complete victory.
At this moment, hundreds of people from both the military and the Church stood up simultaneously.
"Finished the exams, right?" Major General Su Ping asked the chief examiner seriously.
"Finished the exams, right?" Cardinal Shao Feng also asked the chief examiner with a smile.
The chief examiner was slightly flattered, as these two were important figures, so interested in a small local college entrance exam: "Uh... yes, finished, then it’s just sending the students back."
Shao Feng smiled.
"Then no need to go back for now," Su Ping’s gaze swept over the students, speaking coldly: "Seal the venue, no one is allowed to leave for now!"
The soldiers immediately closed the arena’s doors, with the heavy sound of the iron doors landing, this place seemed to become a prison.
The candidates suddenly panicked.
"What’s going on!"
"We’ve finished the exams, why aren’t we allowed to go back!"
Su Ming’an felt a tug on his sleeve, and lowered his head to see Jiang Xiaosan pulling his sleeve tightly.
"Please be calm everyone, it’s just the Demon Hunt Order’s blood test, to ensure there’s no exotic species among you." Shao Feng said with a smile.
The doctors pushed open the doors from both sides and set up the blood test equipment.
"Ah, so that’s what it is..." The students relaxed a bit: "Why make it so tense, I thought there was a wanted criminal among us."
"Fine, I’m not an exotic species anyway, just test it."
The Demon Hunt Order had just been implemented, now it’s their turn for blood testing, which wasn’t a big deal. The students lined up for blood tests one by one, then sat on the benches waiting for the results. Su Ming’an silently had his blood drawn, curious to see his own test results.
"Are you cold?" Su Ming’an noticed Jiang Xiaosan shivering beside him.
"Uh... yeah." Jiang Xiaosan whispered.
"Tao Meng’s bracelet, the quality doesn’t seem great, the little rabbit pendant fell off." Su Ming’an grasped the little rabbit pendant: "Here, this little rabbit is for you, you’re Tao Meng’s best friend, she probably hopes you’ll remember her."
Jiang Xiaosan reached out and took the little rabbit pendant. During this action, she never raised her head.
Su Ming’an didn’t pay much attention to her until everyone’s blood test reports were out, as he bent down to move a chair.
—Until he raised his head, he saw a girl with an expression of intense unwillingness and fragility, tears almost falling from her eyes. She pursed her lips tightly, her eyes rimmed with red, tears falling to the ground with a blink.
Drip.
The tears hit the ground silently.
"...Jiang Xiaosan?" Su Ming’an called out softly.
At this moment, Su Ping’s voice came from the center: "According to the blood test results, among 136 testers, there is one exotic species."
Instantly, everyone panicked. Visible fear appeared on their faces, afraid that the person next to them was the terrifying murderous exotic species, with eyes full of aversion, panic, and disgust towards the exotic species.
Jiang Xiaosan held onto Su Ming’an’s sleeve tightly, her head down, hiding her expression behind the students in front of her, making a choking sound:
"Brother Wensheng."
"I might not be able to go to college with you..."
Su Ming’an tightened his grip, realizing what Jiang Xiaosan meant.
Su Ping walked into the crowd and headed straight for Jiang Xiaosan, with soldiers following behind him, drawing their snow-bright long swords, gleaming blindingly.
People hurriedly made way for them, only Su Ming’an didn’t move. As a result, Su Ping got closer and closer to them.
Jiang Xiaosan grabbed Su Ming’an’s hand, and it stiffened. For a moment, he felt confused about the "Exotic Species." Some of them were not bloodthirsty, like Jiang Xiaosan, who had no trace of bloodlust, even shedding tears for Tao Meng’s death. So, what principle was she born from?
Jiang Xiaosan bit her lip hard, holding back the tears in her eyes; she didn’t want her tears to fall endlessly, leaving Wensheng with a final memory that was too ugly.
Just as Su Ping was about to catch sight of Jiang Xiaosan, he suddenly turned and shouted at someone in the crowd, "It’s him! Capture him!"
Jiang Xiaosan was slightly stunned.
Su Ming’an was also taken aback.
...The blood test has a margin for error, Su Ming’an knew this. So, the person identified as an Exotic Species wasn’t Jiang Xiaosan?
Following Su Ping’s gesture, the panic-stricken crowd immediately dispersed, leaving behind a man in a suit and shorts, standing quietly among the people.
The man neither resisted nor begged on his knees; he merely pushed his golden glasses, his expression very calm.
Su Ping unfolded the document in his hand, reading aloud, "Teacher of Talisman course at Dao Ya City No. 1 High School, scholar of Healing path, Xia Jiawen, correct?"
The man still did not move.
Su Ping sneered, "The blood concentration is extremely high; there’s no chance of an error, Xia Jiawen! In the name of the Ubang Nation’s military, I will execute you on the spot!"
Su Ming’an stood with Jiang Xiaosan at the back of the crowd. His gaze trembled slightly.
The soldiers behind Su Ping raised their spears. They were a vanguard unit specialized in capturing Exotic Species, with abundant combat experience and an array where hundreds could exert force together. As long as the Exotic Species remained in human form, they had the confidence to kill it before it reverted to its normal shape. The strength of human-shaped Exotic Species would be weakened; this was the price they paid for abandoning their menacing forms, also humanity’s best chance to kill them.
Xia Jiawen, upon hearing this, only replied slowly, "I just want to teach."
"Exotic Species should be executed!" Su Ping said coldly.
Xia Jiawen shook his head, only saying, "I just want... to teach."
Some Exotic Species bring calamity with them; others, like Xia Jiawen, can suppress their radiation and do not harm others.
"Kill him directly, be careful not to hurt the children!" Shao Feng shouted.
The soldiers immediately began to draw Matrix Orders. However, someone blocked in front of Xia Jiawen first.
"This must be a mistake!" a student shouted.
"Mr. Xia wouldn’t hurt anyone! He even gives his money to disadvantaged students, eating porridge every day, only wearing faded clothes; he can’t be an Exotic Species!" Jojo used her small frame to block the Matrix Orders, trying to persuade the soldiers.
"Remove these children!" Su Ping shouted, frowning.
The strong, burly soldiers quickly pulled the students away, leaving Xia Jiawen standing alone in the corner. He looked up at today’s sunlight; the afternoon sun was still shining brightly, with the scent of the Parasol Tree in the air.
Beautiful.
He remembered, when he first gained consciousness, it was also such a sunny day. Although it was February, the sun in the Ubang Nation had already begun to heat up. He stood under a Parasol Tree by the street, with no memory in his mind, just like a brand new blank sheet of paper that suddenly appeared in this world.
Two children forced to drop out of school brushed past him, crying and vomiting water out of hunger. At that time, he thought, although he remembered nothing, as a newborn Exotic Species, his talent was high; he could teach people Talisman.
At that time, he thought, maybe, maybe he could become a teacher, trying to let the children get into college. So when hearing the children’s cries on the street, his heart wouldn’t ache in tangs of pain.
"Being an Exotic Species, why think like this?" Xia Jiawen muttered to himself, "Can an Exotic Species also have the concept of ’kindness’? Clearly they are naturally harmful sources of radiation."
Set constants will obscure the brilliance of human reason. This is the meaning of breaking through fate, stepping from a finite closed world towards a future of infinite possibilities.
Some succumb to their inborn fate, others live their whole life against it.
Over a hundred Matrix Orders attacked him.
He closed his eyes, no longer suppressing the strength within him—his immense power as an Exotic Species.
Releasing strength easily leads to going berserk. He didn’t want to become a cruel, bloodthirsty being; he merely wished to teach and educate all his life. Hence, he always suppressed his power, even if it meant being a weak Talisman Master of the Healing Series, living a mundane life, even having his confession rejected in a very clumsy way.
But now, he would not be allowed to live.
At that moment, jet-black tentacles grew from his body, scaring timid children into loud screams.
A frenzied, terrifying aura spread through the air, the powerful presence radiating from Xia Jiawen made everyone’s legs tremble.
Su Ming’an pulled the students beside him, covering their eyes, as watching this scene with the naked eye could easily lead to corruption.
"Mr. Xia..." Su Ming’an murmured softly.
He recalled the sight of Xia Jiawen standing at the classroom door, covered in blood. Mr. Xia then angrily scolded the soldiers, saying he wanted to give the children a future.
```
But can the future overcome "the fate of being an exotic species"?
An eagle flies across the sky, letting out a piercing screech.
"I just want to run away, I don’t want to hurt anyone... please don’t." Xia Jiawen said.
"Kill him!!!" Su Ping’s roar drowned out Xia Jiawen’s voice.
With a command, talismans bombarded towards Xia Jiawen. He sighed, as wave after wave of powerful energy surged within him, emitting an aura like a rising tower, suppressing everyone almost unable to breathe.
He was about to transform into a powerful exotic form, at which point he would successfully escape.
Until——
"Ah!!!"
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, among the hundreds of talismans aimed at Xia Jiawen, one was shot off course towards a nearby female student.
The girl shrieked in fear. This talisman came from Major General Su Ping, who was beyond her ability to resist. Instinctively, she called out to Mr. Xia, as Xia Jiawen had always said during countless classes——
[When in danger, call the teacher.]
"Help! Mr. Xia!" The girl screamed.
Xia Jiawen froze, and then the terrifying aura around him stalled for a moment.
The next instant, he disappeared from his spot and appeared beside the girl, grabbing her shoulder and tossing her aside.
"Boom——!!!"
The talisman exploded on Xia Jiawen’s body before he could fully transform into an exotic form, spewing out a mouthful of blood.
Successive energy waves crashed into him, painting large areas of bloodstains. The talisman pierced through his body like a long tawny snake, stabbing through his limbs.
...That talisman was clearly deliberate by Su Ping, meant to lure Xia Jiawen into saving someone, even at the cost of pointing a knife at students, indifferent to their deaths.
And to save the student, Xia Jiawen had to interrupt his exotic transformation, resulting in severe injury and backlash.
"Boom——!!"
Numerous talismans followed, smashing him hard against the stone wall behind him, a torrent of blood flowing down, staining the incongruous snow-white shorts with his suit jacket. Bones cracked heavily, and the ascending aura ceased due to the severe injuries.
——But why did he pull that girl aside? He knew doing so would mean death.
Xia Jiawen coughed up blood, unable to even stand, his vision blurring.
Su Ming’an watched this scene, clenching his fists tighter and tighter.
Amidst the blood-stained ground, Xia Jiawen seemed to glance in this direction, with a perplexed look in his eyes.
——It seemed to be an instinctive action.
Be... a teacher?
Humans point their swords at children to slaughter exotic species, while exotic species keep risking their lives for children.
If these children grow up and enter society, will they too be squeezed into soldiers like those here?
Yet somehow... he taught them to become splendid beings.
Blood at the corner of Xia Jiawen’s mouth, he looked at the students with complex expressions, forcing out words from his throat.
Su Ming’an heard the expectation and regret in his voice, fading quickly like life.
"The last... lesson."
"Don’t, don’t... forget why you’re human..."
Clearly an exotic species,
yet in front of a group of adult humans,
he teaches the children the principle of humanity.
...
Union Government, Zone 12.
Shadow’s wrist went numb. He realized Mizushima Kawa Sora’s strength had increased significantly, with golden light in her skills.
It was almost like... the power bestowed upon her by a deity.
A woman with golden hair, holding a longsword, like an angel wielding divine judgment. Shadow stood opposite her, his already depleted mana points were bottoming out, and his body was covered in dense wounds and blood. Several powerful talisman masters surrounded Shadow.
"As the First Dream Patrol Family, your compatibility with the Eldest Prince within ’Louyue Nation’ is extremely high. I can suspect you also have dual identities as an exotic species and an eligible." Mizushima Kawa Sora pointed her sword forward: "Lay down your arms and accept investigation. We can reconcile, I do not wish to be your enemy."
Shadow coughed blood and smiled: "Then? Like the Eldest Prince, imprisoned to draw blood?"
Cardinal Nalfas proclaimed loudly: "We won’t do that, you are a human hero. But if you truly have dual identities, we must protect you closely, accompany you at all times. You are already severely injured, please do not fight anymore."
Protection? Surveillance!
Clearly the hero who drove away the Black Mist, yet merely because of an exotic species identity, treated as if a thief.
Shadow glanced around, no one spoke for him. His blood dripped onto the ground, the cross long dyed in red, his entire body exhausted.
Mizushima Kawa Sora’s longsword was pointed at him, and several dozen talisman masters surrounded him.
Suddenly, Shadow burst into laughter.
His laughter was desolate, sending a shiver through people’s hearts.
"Eldest Prince——Eldest Prince, ha, haha, ah hahaha——!"
He laughed with and without breath:
"Eldest Prince ah! Eldest Prince ah——I used to secretly laugh at your foolishness and weakness, laughing at you for clinging to kindness, suppressing negative emotions to the extreme, confined in the tower all day, not even daring to darken! Not even daring to reclaim the White Fox peeled and boned!"
"——I laugh at the deaf and blind world of Louyue——I laugh at the shortsightedness of the royal family——I laugh at common folk oblivious to truth——I laugh at absurdity across all things——but now I realize, Eldest Prince ah!"
"You are me, you are me ah!!"
"This Louyue Royal Family ah!"
"——You are them ah!!"
"Reality! Game! Reality! Game——good and evil loop endlessly, Zhuang Zhou’s dream of a butterfly, how to discern truth! We’re all the same, all the same!!"
He laughed, laughing at the secular spectrum, his voice bright as an eagle soaring across the sky, a screech.
People silently watched this scene, guilt enveloping their hearts, heavy aching pressing upon them, unable to offer a word of comfort.
They knew the First Dream Patrol Family was heroic and knew Mizushima Kawa Sora had a hidden agenda. Yet she was favored by a deity, and she hails from the Union Government.
So even though the situation is absurdly similar to the Eldest Prince case in ’Louyue Nation’, even though they witnessed Shadow drenched in blood and surrounded,
No one spoke up, only tears were shed.
...We don’t want this.
...We also don’t want this.
Sorry.
Sorry.
...
["Sister, what’s outside the palace walls?"]
["Over there... there are very tall peaks, and very wide rivers. There are paper kites flying high in the sky and little chicks and ducks running on the ground. There are sugar figurines and candied hawthorns by the street, tasting sweet. Want a new outfit, well, you don’t have palace maids serving it in golden boxes, but you bring cloth to a tailor instead."]
["Sister, when can I go out and have a look?"]
["When you grow up, you have the common people in your heart, you can think... if the person making candied hawthorns ate well today? Can think whether the person sewing clothes is wearing warm? You can improve their lives, can try to make sure their children have books to read, truly loving them——when that time comes, you can go out."]
...
Later, the Eldest Prince grew up and pushed open the palace gates.
He saw——very tall peaks, very wide rivers, beautiful paper kites flying high, small chicks and ducks running on the ground, diligent and simple folk. This sight was just as his palace maid sister described, making him happy.
But when he raised his head, he suddenly saw, in blinding sunlight, someone standing very far away, muddling the rivers, tearing the kites, killing people, pushing the palace maid by the well.
The Eldest Prince could not see their faces.
The sunlight was too dazzling.
——They stood at the pinnacle of morality.
——"They" stood in the sunlight.