Fortunately, I didn't encounter any other spirit beasts on my way back to Mo Men Village. Xiao Huo was more than happy to vanish inside the same summoner storage space as the Salamander egg, which she was probably taking care of right now. The rest of the journey was uneventful, with me avoiding more spirit beasts on the way back to the ghost town.
As I expected, there was still no one in Mo Men Village. I was about to look for a place to camp out when I saw lights somewhere.
"So there are people who live here."
I was mistaken. When I neared the place, I saw that the lights came from a bus. The driver, the same man who drove me here, had parked his bus in a garage and had disembarked. He was heading somewhere and I ran after him.
"Um, excuse me! Sorry, sir! Do you mind…?"
He turned around to stare at me, and I was struck by how familiar his aged features looked. Nonetheless, when he waited patiently, I quickly asked a question.
"Is there anyone in this village? Are you staying anywhere? I was hoping to find a place to stay for the night."
"Honestly? There's no one else in this village except you and me. It has been abandoned for decades now, ever since a swarm of spirit beasts attacked it and wiped out almost all of the residents. By the time cultivators arrived to fight them off, there was no one to save."
"But there's still a bus service to here…?"
"Oh, this bus service was entirely for you."
I stopped at that, my eyes widening. Then I realized that his voice sounded very familiar as well. The bus driver chuckled and lifted his cap to reveal his face.
"The…reverend from the temple?!"
"Oh, so that's what you call me, huh? Reverend? I'm flattered. But I prefer to be called the Architect."
"Dude, if I call you that, we're going to get into trouble for copyright issues."
"Fine, game master. Call me the game master. I see that the system I gave you has finally bestowed some rewards on you." He peered at me before grinning. "An egg and a spirit beast, in addition to recovering your cultivation. Congratulations."
"Thanks." I bowed my head slightly. Part of the reason was thanks to him. Then I frowned. "So you provided the bus service just for me…?"
"Yeah. It's my job to accommodate the players' needs."
Players?
"Well, now that you're accomplished your mission, I don't need to play the role of bus driver anymore." The game master stretched himself and waved his hand. To my surprise, the bus vanished. I gaped at the empty space before turning to him.
"Hey! How am I supposed to get back to the train station now?!" Then I calmed down. "Oh, you'll just make the bus appear again tomorrow morning?"
"No need for that. I'll just send you home straight." He raised his hand and a spirit array appeared beneath us, a glowing circle of ancient runes. I blinked, my jaw dropping.
"What…?"
"It's a teleportation array. I'll be sending you back to Xia Hai City directly."
"Wait…"
Before I could protest, there was a blinding flash of light. The next thing I knew, I was standing in an empty intersection in the middle of Xia Hai City. I recognized the road and buildings – I wasn't that far from home, only a few blocks away.
There was no sign of the old man who called himself the game master.
"What in the world…?"
Shaking my head in disbelief, I proceeded back home, still dazed and confused.
"You've gotten back your cultivation!"
My dad was the most delighted when I reached home. Apparently, my family was still up. They weren't waiting for me, which was natural because they didn't know when exactly I would return. However, they were anxious enough that they weren't able to sleep well for the last few days. I felt guilty for causing them even more worry.
But that anxiety seemed worth it when they were overjoyed by my recovery.
"You're a cultivator again, big bro." Jun Hai smiled.
"Thank heavens you're safe." Mom was on the verge of tears as she embraced me. "Don't do something so reckless again!"
"Sorry…but I wanted to get back my cultivation, no matter the cost. This was the only feasible way for me to repair my meridians."
"A man has to do what a man has to do," dad said and patted my back. "I'm glad for you, son. But don't cause your mom to worry so much next time, okay?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
And so, all's well that ends well…or so I thought, but when I returned to school the next day, a different form of trouble awaited me.
To my surprise, the first person who greeted me wasn't Li Wang or Teacher Jiao, but Long Fan Xue. The black-haired beauty was leaning against the school building and folding her arms, only to step out when she caught sight of me.
"Song Jun Wen."
"Oh, Long Fan Xue. Sorry, but I'm back. looks like I wasn't able to listen to you and leave the school, after all."
"No…I'm the one who should apologize." To my utter surprise, Long Fan Xue bowed her head deeply. "I'm very sorry for what I said to you a few days ago. Li Wang spoke to me, and I realized just how awful I had been. How rude. He was right. You were courageous enough to risk your life when no one else did, and we repaid your valor with scorn."
"Whoa! Don't do that!" I waved my hands about frantically and tried to get her to raise her head. "Don't worry about it!"
"I am ashamed of my actions. As a cultivator, it is my duty to protect the citizens of Hua Xia, yet I allowed my arrogance to override my morals. It's clear that my training and discipline were lacking. I cannot apologize enough. I will do my best to make up to you."
She finally acceded to raising her head. I gaped at her in disbelief, especially when I saw the sincerity in her dark eyes. This was the Ice Queen we were talking about here, the number one ice-cold beauty of our academy. I had never expected her to lower her head and apologize to anybody, least of all me.
"Li Wang and I will speak to the board of directors and get you reinstated in the elite class. We'll also do our best to help you regain your cultivation…"
"There's no need for that. I'm more than happy to stay in the regular class. Teacher Jiao Shi seems like a good person, and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from him."
Long Fan Xue hesitated and looked away. "You're right. Truthfully, despite the attempts from both Li Wang and me, Teacher Wang Fei has no intention of letting you back to the elite class. I also asked our other classmates to apologize with me, but…"
She didn't have to explain. Their absences more than spoke for their attitudes.
"That's fine. I'm actually touched that you apologize."
"It doesn't change the fact that I was so rude before." She closed her eyes, ashamed. "I need to reflect. And though it might not be enough compensation, I'll also do my best to help you find a solution. I cannot promise anything because that's an exceedingly difficult matter…"
"Oh, I've figured out how I can regain my cultivation, so don't worry about it. I appreciate the sentiment, though."
"What?" Long Fan Xue's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"I don't want to give too much away, but suffice to say, I'll show you what I mean in the tournament less than three months later."
Long Fan Xue studied me for a moment before a faint smile touched her lips. She nodded, her expression sincere and free of mockery.
"I look forward to it."
After she left, Li Wang popped up with a chuckle.
"I managed to win Long Fan Xue over to your side." He shrugged when I turned to him. "To be fair, it wasn't difficult. All I did was remind the class of the codes that we cultivators had sworn to upheld. Unfortunately, only Long Fan Xue had a change of heart. Given who her parents are, I guess that makes sense, but the others remained unconvinced. Still, Long Fan Xue is probably the equal of the whole class, so I would still call that a win."
He was right. I recalled that Long Fan Xue's parents were legendary cultivators. The Lord and Lady of Eternal Winter, who ran a large sect of their own.
"Thank you."
"Still, are you sure you found a solution to your destroyed meridians? I asked my dad for help, but even he can't find anything so far…well, if he puts in effort, he might, but…" Li Wang looked a little dismayed. "If it doesn't involve his own son, he probably couldn't care less. I bet he was only saying he will to humor me. But don't worry! I'll pile on the pressure…"
I silenced him by offering him my hand. He stared at it, bemused, and then gripped it in a firm handshake. When I allowed my qi to flow, his eyes widened. Before he could say anything, though, I raised a finger to my lips.
"You…"
"Yeah. I told you I have it all figured it out. But I'm keeping a low profile until the tournament."
"That makes sense." Li Wang laughed and clapped my shoulder. "Still, if you need any help, let me know."
"Sure. Thanks for everything."
The two of us proceeded toward our respective classrooms. While we parted ways and I strolled down the opposite corridor, I felt several gazes on my back. closing my eyes, I allowed my senses to heighten so that I could keep track of who was doing or saying what.
The gazes came from a group of guys. I didn't recognize most of them, but the leader was the son of a rich, powerful family, by the name of Shao Ye. That meant most of the guys around him were his lackeys, people who sucked up to him so that they could leech off his wealth and resources.
Why the hell were they glaring at me?
"Young master," one of the flunkies said, wrapping his arm around Shao Ye's shoulder and rudely pointing a finger in my direction. He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "You see that guy over there?"
What? I was minding my own business…
"The school's number one beauty looked at him."
Shao Ye's expression completely changed. I could literally feel murderous intent rolling off him in waves.
…seriously?
Trying my best not to bury my face in my palm, I hurried toward my new classroom so that I could escape all those murderous glares from jealous young masters and their ass kissing entourages.