CH 122

"If we did meet before, does that mean I've been in the Advent world when I was fifteen?" Xiao Lan said.

The young man in school uniform looks down in contemplation, the sunlight outside the window gilding his silhouette with a soft glow, like an oil painting that has been deliberately conceived and then sketched out with delicate strokes.

He turned his head to look at Luo again, "But then I kept living in the real world, what happened after that? How did I get back, and why were you sealed in the envelope?"

Luo looked at the young man in front of him, whose eyes were as clean and clear as he remembered them to be.

The difference between his eyes and those of his memory is that they have less of the ignorance and trepidation they had at the time, and more of the determination and calmness polished by the years, which makes him seem so different.

But that's the look Luo knows best.

The smile on Luo's lips didn't change, "I'd like to know too, maybe not until I get more of my memory back."

In Luo's memories, he mostly just sits idly reading a book, and only has one short meeting with Xiao Lan at the end.

Luo had a hunch that this meeting might have been a shock to the original him, changing something very crucial.

He was really curious as to what had happened since then.

As they both had classes scheduled afterwards, they didn't talk for long before they each left.

--

Nothing special happens during the daytime sessions, as if this really is a peaceful and tranquil college.

It's dinner time.

Served on a dinner plate with.

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Tomato stew with yesterday's bread (of which looks exactly the same as the one yesterday that was hard enough to knock out).

Chilli biscuit soup.

Watermelon and bacon risotto.

It seems that the theme of the day is red.

The students sighed almost in unison at the sight of the meal and then ate the bizarre dishes that the writing dinners read as murder weapons with a heart of gold.

Even the players who were used to seeing the world in a big way couldn't help but blush bitterly, why weren't many of the food provided in the copies of the descent world normal?

Is it to urge players to get through early and not stay behind?

Who in their right mind would stay in a place where they don't know when they're going to hiccup!

Only Xiao Lan, who ate to his heart's content, had no psychological problems.

The students around us looked on with growing admiration.

If he really was a student here, he would have become a new generation legend at the college in less than a semester -

The man who doesn't change his face in the face of a big cafeteria trick.

Xiao Lan has just finished his dinner.

The Headmistress, Mrs Weld, however, stood up suddenly and she announced to the students, "Children, a student has sadly passed away. We are holding a funeral for him this evening, so please follow your respective grade leaders to the auditorium and offer him your final blessing."

Xiao Lan is a bit surprised. Shouldn't the parents be contacted if something happens to a student? Why would the college simply hold a funeral for him?

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And judging by the reactions of his classmates around him, no one expressed any doubt about it, as if it was a perfectly normal thing for them to do.

--

Xiao Lan followed the students to the auditorium.

Before entering the auditorium, everyone was given a candle, which was to be used in the funeral prayers for the deceased students.

The auditorium is still in the same Gothic style as the college, with a high dome surrounded by stained glass. The auditorium is lit with candles, which are not exactly bright, but the warm yellow candlelight gives a little warmth to the cold building.

Xiao Lan surveyed the auditorium.

The auditorium looked a bit like a church, but the idol in the middle was not any he had seen before, it was a woman with two snake tails, and she was looking down at the students below with a compassionate expression, but because of the snake tails she looked a bit eerie.

A coffin was placed in the middle of the auditorium with a figure lying inside, flowers were placed all around it and because of the distance, Xiao Lan could not see the face of the person in the coffin for the moment.

Mrs Weld, the headmistress, came up the steps holding a candle and mourned the dead pupil in a sombre tone, speaking with tears in her eyes and a few choked sobs that showed no sign of faking.

This is when Xiao Lan spotted the Xi Li trio in the crowd, who had been giving him school gossip earlier.

The trio happened to be not far from him and Xiao Lan crept up a few steps to their side.

"Hello, guys." Xiao Lan greeted them softly.

The three men returned the salute to him quietly.

Xiao Lan, seeing that the headmaster on stage was not paying attention, asked in a whisper, "Why is the funeral of a classmate being held by the college? Where is his family?"

Xi Li's expression was a little complicated as she lowered her voice and said, "I'm not sure what excuse your family used to send you here. But most of the people who come here, apart from a few who have disabilities, are illegitimate children who are not expected by their families, children left behind by their ex-wives, orphans who are disliked by their relatives after the death of their parents."

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"Once we're thrown in, they basically leave us alone, and even if we die, those people don't even care. There have been things before where students have died unexpectedly but the parents don't want to come and claim the body."

"Then slowly, whenever a student died, the college would simply hold a funeral for them."

So this is where the so-called "special children" are special?

They are all a bunch of unmissed, unloved children.

Xi Li's voice was a little lower: "If it wasn't for the headmaster, there might not really be anyone in the world who cared about us."

Dave also says: "Thank goodness for Mrs Weld ......"

Saburo, who had been silent, also nodded.

Xiao Lan's emotions were further complicated when she heard this.

For these children, Mrs Weld is gentle, beautiful and patient with her pupils, like a saviour to them.

But the human grease found in the craft class shows that things are not as rosy as they thought.

It's really too easy to do something about a group of children who have basically been abandoned by their families, who nobody cares about even if they die, and who still have total trust and longing for the headmaster.

"Yes, thanks to Mrs Weld." Xiao Lan chimed in and changed the subject again, "When did the college start holding funerals?"

Xi Li recalls, "I heard that the original funeral was for Mrs Weld's daughter, and then she couldn't bear to let the students die without a funeral, so she gave them one too."

"But since when, I don't know." Xi Li turns to her young friends and asks, "Do you know?"

Dave and Saburo both shook their heads to say they were not sure.

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Xiao Lan noticed the word "daughter" and asked, "Do you know the name of Mrs. Weld's daughter?"

The teenagers were not sure.

Just then the Principal's eulogy was finished and the next part was for each person to go up and say goodbye to their deceased classmate and leave a candle in front of the other's coffin to express their thoughts.

The body will then remain in the auditorium overnight until the burial tomorrow.

Xiao Lan also moved slowly with the crowd, gradually getting closer to the coffin's location.

He took the opportunity to look towards the coffin while he was close to the prayer.

The candlelight was still too dim and Xiao Lan could barely make out the person in the coffin, who was wearing a school uniform and lying quietly with his eyes closed and his hands on his chest, and nothing looked out of place.

But between flashes of light and shadow, he seemed to see the skin of the corpse reflecting.

It didn't seem to be the sheen of human skin.

Before he could take a closer look, the students behind him had already come forward and he needed to give way to someone. Xiao Lan took one look at the body in the coffin, and as there was still a night to go anyway, he decided to find another opportunity to come and have a look in the evening.

After the funeral, it was completely dark.

A pale red moon was hanging in the dark night sky, spilling its glow in a pale red too, giving the night a dangerous look.

Students are arranged to go back to their bedrooms by their grade leaders.

Xiao Lan is also walking in the direction of the dormitory.

Next to him, however, a boy in school uniform approached him, the boy with an extra badge on his chest compared to a normal student, which, according to the rules of the college, was the symbol of a grade leader.

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The Head of Year came up to Xiao Lan: "Excuse me, are you Xiao Lan?"

Xiao Lan: "Yes, what can I do for you?"

"Well, Corrieff Academy has a tradition of night duty, and each night, one student from each year will be on night duty." The Head of Year seemed a little confused too, "Although you are a new student, it is your turn to be on night duty tonight, as arranged."

"Go straight to the night watchman later and he will tell you the dos and don'ts of night duty."

Sure enough, the game is not going to let players simply experience a relaxed and enjoyable school life.

The red moon nights coupled with the night watch system were, I fear, arranged to put them in danger.

Xiao Lan also needed to get out of the dormitory for the night, and now he had a legitimate excuse to do so, so he nodded his head in agreement.

--

Follow the directions given by the ranking officer to the night watchman's quarters.

The night watchman glanced at Xiao Lan, his face expressionless as he shoved a paraffin lamp into Xiao Lan's hand, "Go wherever you want to patrol, but I advise you to stay out of the forest outside the college."

He paused and an expectant smile surfaced on his face, "Unless ...... you don't want to come back."

For the curious adolescent, the more off-limits a place is, the more attractive it will be, and by the look on his face it is also clear that he is looking forward to Xiao Lan's visit to the forest.

Xiao Lan ignored him, whether he meant well or not, but if the clue did lead to the forest, he had to go, dangerous or not, in order to pass the level.

The door of the night watchman's quarters closed behind him and Xiao Lan lifted the paraffin lamp and walked out into the night under the red moon.

The night of the red moon is extraordinarily silent.

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The moonlight is not bright, and Corrieff College has no electric lights, so the light from the paraffin lamps only illuminates an area around Xiao Lan.

This light is not so much for the students to light up as it is for showing the way to whatever is out in the night.

To be on the safe side, Xiao Lan extinguished his paraffin lamp for the time being, but if he needed light, he still had the [nuclear torch], which was more convenient than this.

Xiao Lan walks in the direction of the auditorium.

Now that the funeral had been over for a short time, the packers should have almost finished packing, so it was time to go over and see what was so odd about the body we had seen earlier.

In the darkness, Xiao Lan moves along as quietly as possible, using the buildings to conceal his form.

Suddenly, his footsteps stopped.

For the smell of blood was coming from a short distance ahead from the auditorium.

The smell of blood was accompanied by the sound of high heels hitting the ground and the sound of some kind of sharp blade cutting through flesh.

Xiao Lan relaxes his breathing and hides in a corner, while quietly looking for an angle to see where the sound is coming from.

Appearing in view was a long, blood-coloured dress, a magnificent gown that outlined the woman's delicate figure, her head covered with a black veil that ran from her hair to her back, completely obscuring her face.

It is the rumoured Mrs. Hong Yue.

There was also a figure dressed in black lying on the ground, surrounded by a pool of deep red blood; the man was motionless and looked most likely to be dead.

Mrs. Hong Yue's back is turned to Xiao Lan, and in her hand she holds a fan of the kind most often used by noblewomen, but when it is open it reflects the cold light of the moonlight with a sharp edge.

As she waved her fan, the body on the ground was cut, and it was from this that Xiao Lan heard the cutting sound earlier.

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Within a short time, Mrs. Hong Yue had removed the skin from the body, just as rumours had it.

In the next instant, Mrs. Hong Yue's head swivels as if checking to see if anyone is around.

Xiao Lan held her breath and did not move, as if she was just a part of the shadow.

After examining her surroundings, Mrs. Hong Yue withdrew her eyes, picked up the leather she had placed next to her and was almost instantly far away, leaving only a blood-red streak, the clatter of her heels echoing crisply in the darkness.

So fast.

Xiao Lan couldn't help but frown, such speed was not necessarily faster than his opponent even in his original body, plus now that he was forced to shrink to fifteen, both his endurance and explosive power had decreased.

Once pursued by Mrs. Hong Yue, it may be difficult to escape.

What is it about [Sparks with Lightning All the Way] that I suddenly miss a bit?

No, no, no, it's better to forget it.

Xiao Lan stopped his horrible thoughts just in time, if he used [Sparkle and Lightning All the Way], he wouldn't be able to outrun Mrs. Hong Yue, but he would become an overnight sensation and the new rumour of the college -

Red Moon Flash Butt Man.