Chapter 18: Twinkle Little Star

The first news we received was that one of the younger female students was found in a classroom by a janitor in the middle of the night, unconscious and near death. The doctors couldn't find out what was wrong with her, but when I saw the body being carried away, I immediately knew what had happened. Her yin qi essence had been sucked by a demonic cultivator.

"That can't be good," I muttered.

As the weeks flew by, more incidents occurred, with girls in a coma or even dead. By the time it reached four girls, the parents were in hysterics and the school was considering shutting down. In the end, they compromised with ensuring that all students left the premises early, before sunset.

Damn it. I had best do something about this before more girls fell victims to this mess. I felt responsible because I was sure the culprit was a demonic cultivator. And if he or she was a demonic cultivator, then most likely he or she was among those sent back through time and space to assassinate me.

Of course, there was nothing to confirm my speculation, but the likelihood was high. If the culprit was a demonic cultivator from this world, then he or she wouldn't be so careless. At least not to the point where he or she would target a school where it was so easy to attract attention. I was reminded of Ba Bai.

I decided to check the school out at night. When my parents went to bed, I snuck out through my window and jogged toward Gao Zhong High School. I leaped over the fence in a single bound and landed in the courtyard. Looking around, I checked to see if the janitor wasn't around before I proceeded into the campus building.

"The first victim was found here, right?"

The first place I checked was the classroom where the first victim was found. Her corpse was discovered the next morning, but apparently she had been killed in the evening before. Other than a few traces of demonic qi left behind by the killing, I couldn't find anything other clues.

Visiting the other venues of the crime, I couldn't find anything as well. Not that I had expected anything different. I had begun checking on the place every time a murder happened, at least ever since the second case. The first, I had initially dismissed as an accident, but when the body count rose, I thought it was suspicious.

Unfortunately, I found no clues as to the current incidents. Despite closing my eyes and extending my sixth sense for as far as possible, I couldn't detect any qi. I also couldn't sense the presence of any demonic cultivator. The only other living human was the janitor, but he didn't seem to be the murderer. In any event, he had been interrogated by the cops and found to be innocent, so it was unlikely that it was him. I might have to keep an eye on him, though, but without proof, I couldn't just confront him.

Also, I doubted the demonic cultivator was stupid enough to disguise himself as the janitor and draw too much unwanted attention to himself.

Sighing in disappointment, I rose from the latest crime site and headed home. There was no point in sticking around when the culprit wasn't here. I was sure that he or she would be in school, but it turned out that I was mistaken. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any more victims.

*

The next morning, I was carting a basket full of volleyballs from the storage room at the back of the gymnasium and toward the basketball court. My classmates were just starting a physical education lesson, and the new teacher in charge, Teacher Ti (who replaced the late Teacher Qiang), asked for a volunteer. So I raised my hand and offered to grab whatever the class needed.

My reasons weren't entirely altruistic. I was taking the chance to poke around and locate the demonic cultivator. It was possible that he or she might be lurking around in school, given the pattern so far.

On the other hand, it was also very likely that he or she wouldn't be hanging around in campus grounds during the day. That suspicion was hardened when I didn't sense the qi of any practitioner anywhere in school.

Given how my Heavenly Flow and Earthly Paths had sharpened my qi perception to near perfection, I found it difficult to believe that a demonic cultivator could evade detection. Then again, given his or her higher cultivation realm, and the fact that my skills were far from perfect, it was also possible that I just wasn't capable of locating him or her.

Shaking my head, I resigned myself for now and focused on the job at hand. My classmates were waiting, after all.

While I was wheeling my cart, I happened to pass by Mu Zi Xing from the class next door. She was stumbling as she tried to balance a pile of training equipment in her hands.

"Ugh…so heavy…"

"Over here," I called out to her. She stared at me blankly, and I pointed at the cart I was wheeling. "Put them in here, I'll help you bring them to the gym. I'm heading to the basketball court anyway."

"Really? Thank you!"

Mu Zi Xing looked extremely relieved. She frantically dropped the weights into the cart, placing them on top of the volleyballs. I nodded with a smile and then continued pushing it forward. Mu Zi Xing followed me, wiping the sweat from her cute face.

"Um, you're from class 3-8, aren't you? Uh…"

"I'm Shu Cong." I nodded at her. She beamed.

"I'm Mu Zi Xing. Thanks for your help!"

I nodded, even though I already knew her name. Mu Zi Xing was a pretty popular girl, known because she was cute. But she was also quite clumsy and ditzy, which made her appealing to a specific group of boys who felt protective over her.

Not only that, she hung out with two of the most popular guys in the school. Or so the rumors went, but I honestly didn't pay much attention to the details. The only reason why I knew about it was because I coincidentally overheard the girls in my class talking about her. Mostly because they were jealous of how she was so close to the two guys, who they adored.

We strode right into the basketball court, and I helped Mu Zi Xing carry the weights over to her class before returning to the cart. While I did so, one of the basketball players turned to stare at me, a scowl over his handsome face.

"Si Nan! You can do it!"

"How cool!"

"No wonder he's our star player!"

The girls were squealing, oblivious to his momentary pause. Si Nan, as disciplined as ever, returned to dribbling the ball and taking a shot, the orange ball going through the hoop and eliciting a series of cheers.

"Wow, Si Nan is as amazing as ever," Mu Zi Xing remarked cheerfully, her eyes glowing. She then turned to me. "Here is fine. Thank you!"

"No problem."

I did a small salute and returned to my cart.

Since the neighboring class was currently playing basketball, Teacher Ti had decided that we play volleyball in the unoccupied space next to the basketball court. While I had gone to fetch the volleyballs, the rest of my classmates had set up the net.

"Shu Cong, you're finally here!" One of my classmates, Tong Xue called out to me. I nodded and stopped the cart.

"Here are the balls."

The lesson proceeded as usual, with the class having a lot of fun smacking the volleyballs around. Obviously, I had to control myself because I didn't want to reveal my superhuman physical capabilities. Not to mention, if I used too much strength, I might accidentally murder a classmate by smacking a high-powered ball right into his face.

I sure as hell didn't want to go to prison over such a stupid thing.

The class was over before I knew it, and I helped my classmates packed up the volleyballs. Then I offered to cart it back to the storage room. On the way back, I stopped by the neighboring class, and as I expected, I saw that Mu Zi Xing was struggling with the weights.

While her male classmates were playing basketball, the girls had been doing weight training. Or they were supposed to do weight training, but the majority of them spent the lesson watching the boys play. To be more precise, they were watching Si Nan play basketball.

"Put them in the cart. I'll help you bring them back."

"Really? Thanks!" Mu Zi Xing brightened up. When she made to follow me, I shook my head and gestured for her to stay back.

"I'll take care of it."

"Eh? But I'll feel bad…"

"Nah, it's all right. There's not much to do. I'm just going to leave the cart in there, so all I need to do is take these out and put them back on the shelf. I can do it by myself, so there's no reason for you to come along."

"That's…"

"Besides, you look exhausted." I had noticed her flushed expression. "Make sure you drink water."

"Okay. Thank you."

While we were conversing, Si Nan was watching us. Shi Xiao Nian had run up to him and offered him a bottle of water, but he declined politely. Half-distracted, he made his way toward Mu Zi Xing just as I wheeled the cart of volleyballs and equipment back.

Right after Mu Zi Xing finished drinking, he leaned over and took the bottle out of her hands and took a swig of his own. Mu Zi Xing gaped at her childhood friend.

"Hey!"

"Who were you talking to?" Si Nan asked, ignoring her outrage. Mu Zi Xing blinked and then smiled.

"Oh, Shu Cong from class 3-8. He is a nice person. He offered to help me with the gym equipment."

"That guy?" Si Nan glanced in the direction where I was disappearing in. He sighed and took another sip of water. "Be careful and avoid talking to strangers. You heard about the recent cases, didn't you? All those poor girls in a coma or dead? Don't fall for a guy's tricks just because he's acting nice to you. What if he's the culprit?"

Hey, fuck you, dude. You knew nothing about me, so don't you dare throw stupid accusations about.

I clamped down on my rage and pretended I didn't hear anything. Si Nan, oblivious to my anger, raised a finger and continued.

"Next time, if you need help, let me know. Those weights look heavy. The guys should be carrying them, not you."

"Nah, you guys are busy training for the basketball tournament."

"That's not a reason for not being to help you ladies." Si Nan turned away. "Anyway, next class is math. We should get ready to return to the classroom."

"Ugh! Math class!" Mu Zi Xing turned pale. She hated math because it was her worst subject.

"Hurry up, I'm going to change first." Si Nan held up the bottle of water. "And thanks for the drink."

"What…!? Hey! I didn't buy that for you…!" Mu Zi Xing exclaimed, and then she hurried after her childhood friend. "And wait for me!"

While the two walked together, someone watched them from afar. She was Shi Xiao Nian, the girl who offered her bottle of water to Si Nan earlier. She couldn't help but grip her bottle tightly.

"Xiao Nian! Let's go!" Jin Bai He called out to her. Swallowing, Shi Xiao Nian put on a cheerful smile and turned to them. As she did so, Jin Bai He bit her lip looking a little concerned. She then grinned and threw an arm over her best friend, tickling her.

"Ha ha! Stop it, Bai He! What are you doing?"

"Cheering you up! You look prettier when you smile!"

"Thank you, Bai He. Don't worry about me. I'm just…"

"Don't worry, you'll find a better guy. He's blind for not noticing your good points." Jin Bai He pulled Shi Xiao Nian closer into her embrace. "Perhaps the right person for you is nearby, you know? You just need to look closer."

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?"

A sad look came over Jin Bai He's face, but she shook her head and released Shi Xiao Nian.

"I'm just teasing you, Xiao Nian. Don't think too much about it. Anyway, let's change and then head back to class!"

"Okay!"

By the way, this was still an urban cultivation story, not a high school romance story. Which was why I didn't want to get involved in this stupid love triangle or love quadrangle or whatever.

If things went according to the usual clichés, then Si Nan would undoubtedly turn out to be an arrogant young master from a rich family, and he would begin targeting me. Probably hire thugs to beat me up, or find ways to make my life difficult. Whatever the case, I had landed myself in trouble by kindly helping Mu Zi Xing.

According to some people, that might be a good thing. The greater the adversity, the higher the rewards. Unfortunately, I would rather not have to deal with this kind of adversity.

That said, even if I had known about this from the start, I still would have offered to help Mu Zi Xing. I wasn't an asshole. I recalled how poor Mu Zi Xing was struggling under the weight of the training equipment alone. It wasn't that she was being bullied. It was just that none of her classmates noticed that she needed help, and Mu Zi Xing was too reserved to request assistance from any of them.

However, that would change now. Si Nan had noticed the burden she had been bearing, and in future he would be more observant to her needs. Part of it was because he was uncomfortable with the idea of another guy getting close to her, but I could sense that he genuinely cared for her.

Perhaps he was different from the usual arrogant young masters that I had seen so much in web novels. I had to remind myself that fiction was different from reality.

I doubted that Si Nan was the malicious sort of person, but I didn't think he would just let this slide. He might view me as a love rival and compete against me.

Fuck that. I didn't have any interest in his girlfriend at all. He could have her to himself.

Stifling a groan, I closed my eyes briefly and tried to mentally prepare myself for whatever storm was heading my way.