"Teacher Seraphina, Teacher Seraphina, wake up." She felt someone patting her on the shoulder, and the flickering dots of light before her eyes instantly jolted her out of her dream. "Sorry, Teacher Samuel. I fell asleep." She rubbed her eyes, and the middle-aged woman in front of her smiled. Her plump face resembled a lump of soft, doughy fat.
"It's okay. It must be tiring for you to teach a class all by yourself, young lady." Samuel handed her a bottle of water. "Once this batch of sixth graders graduate, you can take it easy." Seraphina smiled upon hearing this. Who knew which grade the wretched principal would assign her to next?
"Teacher Seraphina, I'll take the kids to go fishing by the stream later. Could you please tidy up the tableware?" The PE teacher, Leon, came over with a smile, his face blackish and flushed.
"Sure, I got it." Seraphina wore a proper smile on her face. Samuel glanced at Leon and said, "Leon, don't worry. I'll also give our Teacher Seraphina a hand."
"Okay." The tall and young lad responded and, presumably feeling embarrassed, quickly ran to the back of the vehicle.
Seraphina turned sideways, pretending to be tidying up her backpack. Through the window glass, she indeed saw the teachers in the back seats whispering to each other.
Especially a few young female teachers, who were saying something with disdainful and scornful expressions on their faces.
She knew very well what they were talking about.
Their Odery Private Experimental Primary School was one of the top private primary schools in the whole city of Odhan. Whether it was the teaching environment or the quality of education, it was top-notch. Every year, children who wanted to enroll had to make reservations several months in advance.
And Seraphina, at such a young age, had been entrusted with an important task by the principal and became the homeroom teacher of a fifth-grade graduating class.
The salary and benefits for a homeroom teacher were twice that of other subject teachers. And she was the first one to become a homeroom teacher in her twenties, which inevitably caused some grumbling among the older teachers. Gossip spread quickly within the teaching circle.
This young and beautiful female teacher must have some connections.
As the saying goes, one can't avoid getting hurt while wandering in the world of people. Seraphina had always told herself this. She wasn't afraid of the undercurrents, but if someone were to confront her with a knife, even a goddess would turn into a strong woman.
"Why did the principal choose such a place for a picnic? It's in the middle of nowhere. Will there be snakes?" A female teacher got out of the car reluctantly, carefully tugging at the hem of her clothes. Her shiny leather shoes were immediately smeared with mud, and she frowned in disgust.
"Just hit the grass with a stick, and the snakes will run away." Seraphina looked around. "Once we start a fire later, no snakes will come near."
Actually, the place chosen by the principal wasn't bad. The mountains were clear and the waters beautiful, and there were even vast fields of wheat in the distance. It was an interesting sight that city kids had hardly ever seen.
"Teacher Seraphina knows so much." She smiled but didn't say anything upon hearing the other's words.
This Celine, who taught music, had also just joined the school not long ago. She was beautiful and sweet-talking, very likable. Some teachers even referred to the two of them together as the two most beautiful flowers in Odery Private Experimental Primary School.
Not far away, Leon clapped his hands. "Come on, kids who want to go fishing, follow me closely." Behind him was a shallow stream, so clear that one could see all kinds of pebbles at the bottom and the swimming fish.
Samuel was obviously a bit worried. "Be careful, everyone. Don't fall into the water. You'll catch a cold in this cold weather." The kids were already overjoyed. Although they promised verbally, they rushed out of the car like wild horses breaking free from their reins.
Seraphina followed the remaining few female teachers to tidy up the picnic supplies. Since the woods in autumn were very dry, the firewood was quite flammable, and she had a bundle in her arms in no time.
She casually put down the pile of firewood. Just as she got up, she suddenly felt dizzy.
'Bang!' She slammed her hands onto the tabletop, making a dull sound.
Everyone around was startled. "Teacher Seraphina, are you okay?" Celine came over to have a look at her. "You're anemic."
"It's okay. I probably just got up too quickly." Seraphina smiled and waved her hand. At this moment, a little girl came over, twisting and turning shyly as she spoke softly, "Teacher, I want to go to the toilet." They looked at each other, and Celine pretended not to hear and turned her head away. Samuel was still washing vegetables and fruits in his hands.
"Okay, teacher will take you." Seraphina took the girl's hand. Since it was in the wild, it was not very convenient to go to the toilet. The girls could only ask the female teachers to keep watch for them. The vegetation in the bushes was lush. Seraphina found a place with thick bushes for the girl to go, and she stood behind a tree.
In her ears were the noisy laughter of the many students, occasionally mixed with the scolding and shouting of the teachers. Suddenly, she felt as if the patch of bushes she was in was isolated from the crowd, and the laughter was blocked outside another dimension.
She pressed her forehead. She was so tired.
It seemed like a long time had passed. Seraphina didn't hear any movement behind her. She peeked her head over. "Sophia, are you done?" There was no answer. She felt something was strange and slowly walked over. "Teacher is coming."
She didn't know if it was an illusion, but suddenly Seraphina felt that the leaves in the bushes had become much denser. She struggled to push aside the branches and was shocked to find that there was no one in the bushes in front of her.
"Sophia!" Her first reaction was that the child was lost. She shouted loudly a few times, but only her own echo came back.
What was going on...
Seraphina stood alone in the bushes. She couldn't even hear the laughter of the children that had been there before, as if she was the only one here from the beginning.
She pushed aside the branches forcefully and walked back. The bus and everything else had disappeared. Even the clear stream and the distant fields were gone, leaving only a desolate and silent forest.
Truly, 'Not a soul is seen in the empty mountains'.
Seraphina felt her legs go weak and suddenly fell to the ground. The layer of fallen leaves beneath her hands was thick and soft, looking like it had accumulated in a deep mountain forest for decades. And the forest where they had originally been traveling was just an artificial orchard.
"Is anyone there? Teacher Samuel, Teacher Leon!" She just tried shouting once, and the echoing sound floating in the forest instantly made her hair stand on end.
"This can't be true." Such a supernatural event...
Seraphina swallowed hard. Suddenly, she remembered that she was still carrying her shoulder bag. "Hey, I'm..." She fumbled to open her phone. She had just said one word when she suddenly froze.
The grayed-out signal bars on the screen were telling her that this was a no-signal area.
This can't be true! This can't be true!
Seraphina ran frantically in the forest. Anyone would do! Come and save me!
Suddenly, she stepped on something under her feet. Instantly, she felt dizzy and the world spun around her. Then everything went black and she lost consciousness.
When she woke up again, she smelled the fragrant warm air at the tip of her nose. Then something soft was poking her with a certain force.
Seraphina opened her eyes suddenly and then screamed out loud. In front of her was a giant with a woman's face, who was poking at her with something in her hand.
"What a boring bird, so afraid of people." The woman casually threw the flower stick into the hand of a palace maid and then lazily lay on the phoenix couch covered with fox fur. She was gorgeously dressed, with a charming and alluring makeup. Her fingers with gold finger cuffs were pointing at the back of the mahogany chair. "Minister Samuel, are there any other interesting things?"
The official who was called upon trembled and then slowly walked forward. "Your Highness, this subordinate still has two snowfield puppy dogs that have not been presented yet."
The queen waved her hand to interrupt her. "There's already a litter of dogs in the palace. They bark all day long, disturbing my peace of mind. Tomorrow, tell the imperial kitchen to stew them all."
Minister Samuel shuddered violently and shut her mouth. Another minister next to her glanced at her and said with a charming smile, "Your Highness, this subordinate has a treasure to present. It was discovered by the soldiers guarding the border in a desolate and uninhabited wilderness. There is only one in the world."
"Oh, take me to see it quickly." The queen became curious and turned over to sit up from the phoenix couch.
The minister chuckled. "This beast is extremely spiritual, but it has a fierce nature. To ensure the safety of Your Highness and the king, it must be locked in an iron cage and guarded by two teams of imperial guards."
The queen was suspicious. "There are also tigers and lions in the palace. I've never heard that something locked in an iron cage could still pose a threat. What on earth is it?"
"It's the King of All Wolves."
Wolves are social animals. Usually, seven of them form a pack, with a pack leader and a pack queen. And the pack leader of the entire wolf pack is the King of All Wolves.
"The King of All Wolves is a priceless treasure. Its blood can dispel disasters, evils, and diseases. Its fur is impervious to water and fire. Its bones can cut through iron like mud. Its tendons are so strong that they can't be broken by pulling." The minister rolled his eyes. "His Majesty has been bedridden for a long time. Your Highness, why don't you listen to this subordinate's suggestion and try the wolf blood on His Majesty?"
"Absurd! His Majesty's body is so precious. You, an unorthodox folk remedy..." Minister Samuel angrily rebuked. Before she could say two more sentences, she was interrupted by the queen. "Shut up!"
Then she looked at the minister. "Is what you said true?"
"Absolutely true."
"Okay. Anyway, even the imperial physicians have been at a loss about His Majesty's illness. We might as well take a chance. Maybe there's still a glimmer of hope." Minister Samuel was shocked. Such a royal secret was so easily leaked by this queen. If it were to spread out, that King Alexander Paladin was already beyond help. Who knew what kind of turmoil would be stirred up.
"Come here! Reward Minister Wilfred with a hundred taels of gold." The queen slowly rose from the magnificent throne and said, "If His Majesty recovers from his serious illness, your rewards will not be few." Minister Wilfred was so excited that he kept kowtowing. Everyone on the ground knelt down with a flutter, loudly praising the queen for her long life.
Seraphina watched all this and suddenly felt a throbbing pain in her temples. When she opened her eyes again, in front of her was still the endless desolate forest. The dry cold wind blew on her face, and she suddenly felt that her atheistic education of more than twenty years had been shaken.
She had come to a strange forest, had a strange dream, and in the dream, she became a bird.