Chapter 9: Ghost Pupil

“A shop.”

Zixueta quickened her pace.

She walked ahead, Bai Mingliu’s tall figure trailing behind.

Otherwise, they’d look odd together.

Zixueta held medicine, stowing it before retrieving food and drinks from her system.

Even if she hadn’t stored them, her magic broom at home would tidy up.

Her food and drinks were refined, not seeming like trash bin finds.

Bai Mingliu took the drink and food without a thank you.

He popped open a can and drank.

Zixueta asked: “What did you learn in the palace?”

Bai Mingliu paused, then said sheepishly:

“My grades weren’t great. I studied biology, racial politics, ethnic geography, Wangcheng history, clothing design, weapon crafting, swordsmanship, and online courses in basic chemical magic, exotic plant studies, and introductory linguistics.

My best was swordsmanship. My language skills are decent—I understand dialects from various races and regions.”

Zixueta asked: “Your best score? Out of 150, you got at least 130, right?”

Bai Mingliu rubbed his head, reluctant: “Well… my best was 100…”

Zixueta said disdainfully: “That’s barely passing.”

She suggested:

“Read more. Study ‘History of Electronic Technology,’ ‘Methods to Earn Credit,’ ‘Magic Studies.’ You haven’t mastered magic, yet you took chemical magic?

That’s turning chemical equations into spells. Similar courses include story magic and ancient poetry magic. Learn basic magic first.”

During their talk, she saw Ghost Pupil’s shop ahead.

Zixueta ran toward it.

Bai Mingliu hurried to keep up.

Ghost Pupil’s shop was famous.

Everyone knew Ghost Pupil, a merchant who freely traveled between worlds.

He dealt in strange, fascinating trades.

Many knew him for selling ‘hate’ for ‘love’ or twisting odd emotions.

He traded items with peculiar effects.

His shop was a tourist attraction.

A fence stood out front with a sign: open all day, recording allowed from 2 to 6 p.m. human time.

They went straight in.

The shop had no name, its exterior pitch-black, an unnamed store.

At the entrance, Zixueta saw a beast head on the door.

It asked: “What’s your business?”

Zixueta said: “I’m here for info on drug antidotes.”

Her words made the head shout: “You’ve already made medicine! Why are you here? What do you want?”

Bai Mingliu covered his ears, finding the noise piercing.

Zixueta, unfazed, told the head: “Fine, the truth. I’m here for data.”

She was honest, so the head stopped yelling.

It shook and opened the door for her.

Zixueta stepped inside, everything familiar.

The shop had people.

Ghost Pupil was there, dressed in his familiar black cloak, hiding even his hair.

A vampire was brewing tea nearby.

When Zixueta entered, followed by Bai Mingliu, both focused on her.

Zixueta’s arrival surprised ‘Ghost Pupil.’

The vampire offered to make tea: “What would you like?”

Zixueta said to ‘Ghost Pupil’: “I’m here for your data. You know a lot about this world. I need your writings.”

Before ‘Ghost Pupil’ spoke, the vampire said: “Sorry, his data isn’t given out freely. Who are you?”

Zixueta replied: “I’m Ghost Pupil’s kin. You have copies of the data, right? Need me to trade for it?”

‘Ghost Pupil’ wasn’t Ghost Pupil.

Zixueta knew.

Ghost Pupil was another form of her.

Long ago, on a rainy day, she found her body had grown into a male.

She saw trees bearing lantern-like fruits, likely from absorbing too much energy.

She could revert, but after testing her hand’s transformation, she chose to stay in this form.

She thought: ‘This form lets me use my true power… I’ll explore with it.’

As Ghost Pupil, she adventured widely.

Ghost Pupil’s experiences changed his personality.

She began to see Ghost Pupil as a separate soul.

She noticed differences between herself and Ghost Pupil.

As Ghost Pupil, she met this ‘Ghost Pupil,’ a blood prince, Mos Ous. Bu Hesuya.

The tea-making vampire was his brother, Mos As. Telansi (real name).

Before the vampire brother spoke again, Zixueta said: “Huiyin, right? I’m Zixueta.”

Huiyin, shocked she knew his alias, looked at his brother.

Zixueta turned to A Dai: “I know you, A Dai, Huiyin’s brother. Both blood princes. A Dai works under Ghost Pupil. My brother told me.”

Her explanation convinced A Dai and Huiyin.

As princes, they used their real names publicly.

“Blood princes use aliases during training, so names alone don’t reveal identities. They rarely see real princes, and official prince images are beautified by the system.”

Zixueta crossed her arms.

The gesture reminded A Dai of Ghost Pupil.

Especially that rainy day, when he lay dying, Ghost Pupil stood before him.

Ghost Pupil saved him.

With no money, he worked for Ghost Pupil.

Ghost Pupil didn’t tell him to follow Zixueta, but he would.

Ghost Pupil had vanished somewhere.

He sensed trouble.

He could follow someone like him to find him during training.

He couldn’t just say: ‘Let’s go together!’

He said: “I’ll give you the data. But it’s not free.”

Zixueta replied: “Fine. What conditions for me to take the data?”

Her presence felt familiar to A Dai.

He couldn’t pinpoint why.

From the moment he saw her, he felt something special.

Maybe because she resembled Ghost Pupil.

He wanted to reclaim his princely dignity, tired of being bullied as Ghost Pupil’s subordinate.

Yet he also wanted to protect her.

Ghost Pupil didn’t need protecting, even with emotional scars.