Chapter 46: A Troubling Reunion and a New Purpose

“You…” Shakia’s expression was filled with rage. As she looked at Mo Ya, she unconsciously gritted her teeth.

The atmosphere between them had been far from pleasant, verging on a stalemate. They found themselves caught in a strange loop of silence.

“Mo Ya…”

The words that had escaped Mo Ya’s lips were, without surprise, overheard by Akuma. Though they were calm and rational, Akuma felt a pang of inexplicable sadness. Mo Ya’s desolate expression resurfaced in her mind.

A storm of conflicting emotions brewed within her, yet she found herself powerless to intervene.

Mo Ya and Shakia locked gazes. Different ideologies clashed within their hearts, creating a silent conflict.

Wind continually swept through the forest, brushing against their cheeks. From within the trees, the sound of a harmonica drifted out.

The melody was graceful and poignant, imbued with a sense of tragic beauty.

“Ah! Ahhh! That sound, it’s!” Luoyi heard the harmonica, his face filled with astonishment. “It couldn’t be him, could it…”

“Who?” Akuma furrowed her brows, utterly perplexed by Luoyi’s incredulous reaction.

The harmonica’s sound drew steadily closer, and because of this, the tension between Mo Ya and Shakia temporarily dissolved.

They simultaneously cast their gazes towards the forest, where a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and dressed in disheveled clothes appeared before them.

“Yo, everyone, it’s been a long time!”

The man who emerged from the forest lowered the harmonica from his lips, raising his arm high as he greeted the group in a friendly manner.

Luoyi’s shock deepened even further.

“Conrad… why are you here? No, why did you open the barrier here and allow ordinary students to enter?”

Shakia looked at the newcomer, showing not the slightest hint of the reverence a student should have for an instructor.

“Ah, as for the outcome… I think it’s quite good.” Conrad tucked the harmonica back into his pocket, adjusted the wide-brimmed hat on his head, and concealed his expression beneath its shadow.

“Originally, I had prepared a backup plan in case you couldn’t defeat that monster. But it seems it won’t be necessary now.”

As he spoke, Conrad’s gaze subtly flickered towards Mo Ya, whose face was etched with coldness.

Mo Ya leaped forward, landing before Conrad and grabbing his collar.

“Are you saying I’m your pawn?”

“Oh, no one ever said that, Mo Ya.”

“Was it also your idea to lead us here through the Principal?”

Conrad, held by Mo Ya’s grip, remained perfectly composed, without a trace of tension.

“Ah… explaining things is troublesome, it drains a lot of my brain cells. And besides…” Conrad nonchalantly scratched his stubbled cheek, his eyes suddenly sharpening. “You must have guessed my objective, haven’t you?”

Conrad’s gaze shifted from Mo Ya, landing on Luoyi, whose face was a sickly shade of green. It seemed Luoyi was quite afraid of Conrad.

“It appears the shackles are gone.”

Mo Ya’s eyes gleamed with an intensely cold light, a fact Shakia clearly perceived.

‘What’s going on? What’s his relationship with Conrad?’

“One more question… what is this mark?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t quite understand your meaning.”

“The Ouroboros.”

“Ah… that’s another troublesome thing to explain. To be honest, I don’t want to explain it. But I can tell you one thing: it can bring you what you desire. You must have felt it many times, haven’t you? Like, the sudden surge of magic…”

“Enough. Say no more.”

Mo Ya released his tight grip on Conrad’s collar, turned on his heel, and walked into the house.

“Aren’t there any other questions? I thought you’d have a lot to ask. It’s rare for me to be this interested, you know. It’s a shame not to ask.”

“Next time, I won’t be your pawn.”

Mo Ya gritted his teeth, forcing out the low words from his throat. Behind him, a playful glint flickered across Conrad’s face.

“Alright, alright, I’ll be looking forward to it.” Conrad straightened his disheveled clothes, his gaze inadvertently falling upon Feng Ling.

“You are…”

Being stared at by such a strange person, in every sense of the word, was utterly uncomfortable. Feng Ling’s eyes darted left and right, struggling to form words.

“Um, this, that… Excuse me!”

“Huh?”

“Goodbye!”

Feng Ling swiftly turned and chased after the departing Mo Ya, grabbing the hem of his clothes. Only a bewildered Conrad remained.

Shakia slowly walked past him, stopping behind Conrad.

“More of your tedious schemes. Do you truly regard that underachiever as a life, or merely a pawn?”

“Shakia, saying such things to me would deeply wound my feelings.”

“Can’t you act more like an instructor? That’s why I dislike you.”

“That’s rude, I’m your savior, you know.”

“No, that’s just your unilateral assumption.”

Conrad fell silent, a profound gaze flickering in his eyes. He quietly turned, looking at Shakia’s retreating back.

“That’s enough for today. I’m heading back. I’ll apply to the Principal for the maintenance fees for the back mountain, deducted from your salary, of course.”

“Hey, hey, hey! I can’t do without a salary!”

Shakia’s words struck Conrad’s chest like a powerful gunshot. Conrad heard the sound of his heart shattering. His facial expression twisted in agony, filled with heartache. However, Shakia ignored him, leaving the desolate forest.

Before the house, only Luoyi, Akuma, and Conrad remained.

Luoyi and Conrad faced each other.

“Um… this time should be for the two of you, right? I’ll go check out my future dormitory first.”

With that, Akuma jogged away, disappearing from the clearing in front of the house.

Only Luoyi and Conrad were left.

“Yo, it’s been two years, hasn’t it?”

“It has.”

“What do you plan to do now? Will you study magic? You’re eighteen now, aren’t you?”

Luoyi shook his head.

“Thank you for your kindness, but a high-risk profession like a mage isn’t suited for a coward like me.”

“Then what do you plan to do in the future?”

“Why even ask? I’m going to live in this dorm! Then, I’ll become a researcher worthy of my master’s renown!”

“Is that so…”

“Mm.”

Luoyi nodded, looking at the dilapidated house with a sense of emotion. He hadn’t returned in two years.

As he thought this, startled shouts erupted from inside the house.

“Woah, woah, woah! What is this thing?!”

“Calm down, Feng Ling, don’t cling to me.”

“Hey, get off Mo Ya right now.”

Such sounds continuously emerged from within the house. Conrad once again pulled down the brim of his hat.

“It seems they’ve stumbled upon some of your master and apprentice’s old, bizarre inventions.”

“It certainly looks that way.”

“Alright, our chat is pretty much done. I should go find the Principal for my salary. You just live well, and carry on with the research your master left unfinished.”

“Of course I will…” Luoyi smiled, choosing the opposite path from Conrad and walking into the house that had once symbolized his sins.

“Hey! You three!! Don’t mess with my inventions without permission!!!”

The once cursed house was now filled with the sounds of playful commotion. Listening to the noise from behind him, Conrad looked up at the sky.

Flowing clouds drifted across the sky, making no pause.

‘Will these people truly create a miracle?’

The sound of the harmonica echoed through the forest once more.

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