Chapter 26: Forcing a Smile

When Gu Yechén woke up from unconsciousness, night had already fallen outside.

"Where… am I?"

Gu Yechén opened his bleary eyes, sat up, and rubbed his aching temples before carefully surveying his surroundings.

The air was filled with the smell of medicine. The bed and sheets around him were all uniformly white.

On the wall directly across from him hung a red banner inscribed with words of praise such as "exceptional medical skills" and "miraculous hands bring the dead to life."

Clearly, this was an infirmary for recovery.

This kind of infirmary typically dealt with internal injuries that healing-type soul masters couldn't cure. External wounds could be treated directly by soul skills, but internal injuries still required medicine—especially in cases of unconsciousness, which even auxiliary-type soul masters couldn't resolve.

"Big brother, you're awake!"

A lovely little girl, who had been dozing at the edge of the bed, stirred at his movement and looked up.

"Little sister, did you bring me here?"

Gu Yechén looked around. Seeing only Jiuying in the room, he assumed she was the one who carried him here. But how did someone so tiny manage to carry him?

Jiuying pouted and shook her head. "Nope, the big devil brought you here. I used up all my soul power earlier, so I couldn't carry you."

Gu Yechén frowned. "Big devil? Who's that? I've never heard of him."

Jiuying explained, "It's the senior who registered us. He's our new team leader. From now on, we'll be under his command—if he says go east, we can't go west. That's why I call him the big devil."

"Wang Li is our team leader?"

"And who exactly do you mean by 'we'?"

"Weren't you supposed to be assigned to the second team of the Heaven Dou Royal Battle Team?"

Confused, Gu Yechén asked, "Little sister, what's going on here?"

Seeing how clueless he looked, Jiuying giggled and said, "Big brother, you don't know? When I defeated Sin Wuqing, Team Leader Wang Li happened to witness it. He insisted on recruiting me after seeing me beat that bald jerk."

"I thought he was here to hand out rewards, but no—he was selecting team members."

"The big devil was forming a Royal Preparatory Team and needed eight members. So, he just recruited the top eight candidates from the assessment—including me. How shameless."

"According to Old Man Sun, there was an error in the intel. The second team of the Royal Battle Team had just filled its final slot half an hour before the results were announced. Even the first-place winner wouldn't have had a chance to join."

"Old Man Sun talks a good game, but he's just a fence-sitter who blows with the wind."

"He thought I didn't know, but they had long reserved that last spot for Prince Xue Beng. Making it a 'reward' was just a publicity stunt by the three deans. Otherwise, do you really think Old Man Sun would've offered up three additional prizes?"

"Although they gave me a medium-grade medicinal herb later as compensation—which is far more valuable than the low-grade herb the second-place winner got—I still won't forgive them."

The more Jiuying spoke, the more upset she became. Beyond that, she realized they had another motive—surveillance.

If the big devil was put in charge of her, it would be nearly impossible for her to act freely at the Royal Academy in the future.

"So that's how it is," Gu Yechén nodded. Since Senior Wang Li had recruited the top eight performers, it meant both he and the little girl were now under his command.

Of course, that also meant Sin Wuqing, Kong Long, and Wang Ba were all part of the Royal Preparatory Team as well.

"Oh right! Big brother, here's your reward!"

"Here you go!" Jiuying took out a pouch of gold soul coins from her ornate bracelet and handed it to Gu Yechén with her tiny, fair hand.

"Thank you!"

Gu Yechén was indeed strapped for cash. A hundred gold soul coins meant he wouldn't have to go hungry anymore.

He reached out to take the bag, but when he saw Jiuying's doll-like, adorable face, he paused momentarily in surprise.

Was she really over sixteen?

Just then, Jiuying subtly flicked her wrist, and Gu Yechén grabbed at empty air.

She giggled. "You're already reacting like this, and I haven't even used a soul skill yet. If I used my soul ring ability, you wouldn't even get a chance to react."

One of Jiuying's soul ring abilities was "Allure."

It could cause any male target to lose their rationality—though it wouldn't work on someone more than one major rank above her. In that case, the effect would weaken or disappear altogether.

Gu Yechén awkwardly wiped his forehead and said, "Little sister, it's not what you think. I've been wondering about something for a long time, and I hope you can answer it."

"Why do you like giving people nicknames, but you call me 'Big Brother'?"

"And actually, you seem to be three years older than me. Isn't it kind of weird for me to call you 'little sister'? Should I just call you 'Big Sis' from now on?"

Jiuying shook her head furiously. "No! I'm only a little sister—I refuse to be a big sister."

"Why?" Gu Yechén was baffled by this strange little girl.

Jiuying smiled. "Because you look a bit like my brother. So I can only be the little sister."

Uh...

That explanation was a bit flimsy. But whatever—everyone has their quirks. Maybe she's just a "brocon" little girl. Sister or not, it didn't matter.

Gu Yechén asked, "Did Team Leader Wang Li say when classes would start? I still don't understand a lot of things about soul masters. I can't even tell different types of soul beasts apart or estimate their ages."

Jiuying pouted. "Big brother, you've never been to a beginner soul master academy? Those are all basic concepts taught early on. Heaven Dou Royal Academy is a mid-to-high level institution, so there's very little theory—most students practice on their own. Those with team leaders focus mainly on real combat."

"So tomorrow, we'll be going to the Great Soul Arena in Heaven Dou City for a practical combat class. Are you ready for that? If not, I can ask for leave on your behalf."

"When the big devil recruited me, I made him agree to three conditions. If he wanted me to win battles and bring him glory, that was fine—but he had to meet my three very reasonable demands."

"If you need it, I can use one of those conditions to get you a leave of absence. You can spend some time in the Royal Academy's library instead. They have lots of books covering theory."

Gu Yechén was stunned. "If that's the case, thank you so much. I'm really not ready for combat just yet. Let me study on my own for a while, and I'll rejoin you later. Please request a one-month leave for me. Consider it a favor I owe you—I'll repay it double when I can."

"Okay, I'll request it. But remember, you owe me now. It's getting late—I should head back to the dorm. Big brother, you get some rest."

"Oh right, I'll also talk to the big devil about getting you a dorm room. See you in the morning!"

"Mm." Gu Yechén nodded.

He found this little girl quite pleasant—definitely someone worth becoming friends with.

Suddenly, Gu Yechén's brow furrowed tightly. He felt a searing pain in his chest, as if thousands of ants were gnawing at his heart. The agony spread rapidly.

He clenched his teeth, but the pain showed no signs of easing. It intensified, engulfing every part of his body as if he had been cast into hell.

His eyes, throat, internal organs, bone marrow, fingertips—every part of him throbbed with unbearable pain.

Gu Yechén forced a smile and said, "Little sister, leave now. I want to get some sleep. If you hear any strange sounds… don't turn back."

Jiuying seemed to ponder his words, then nodded slowly and walked away. As she left, she wondered, Big brother seemed like he was trying to push me away… Does he hate me?

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(End of chapter)

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