Chapter 150: The Invisible Window

Seeing the beautiful solution and steps I had written on the blackboard, the students all looked on with admiration.

Among them, the most astonished was Xiao Qing.

Only she truly knew that I wasn’t actually Xia Yubing.

Furthermore, Xiao Qing was well aware of my previous academic standing.

I had been a textbook “slacker.”

My grades weren’t even high enough for an elite class.

In a regular class, I ranked in the lower-middle tier and struggled even to pass.

I used to copy her homework for every single assignment.

Now that I could suddenly write as if possessed by a divine spirit, I must have given her quite a shock.

I hadn’t told her about the calligraphy treasure yet.

If Xiao Qing wanted one, I could buy one for her as well.

However, this didn’t come without a price.

Upon returning to my seat, I felt even more mentally exhausted.

My high-speed cognitive processing left me with a throbbing headache.

It was as if I had completely overdrawn my mental reserves.

Once back at my desk, I could do little more than slump over and rest.

Fortunately, the physics teacher didn’t call on me again.

My performance in solving the problem had already proven my capability.

So for the rest of the period, I used the excuse of feeling unwell to remain slumped over the desk.

In reality, my pale complexion alone was enough to convince anyone that I was indeed sick.

Some teachers kindly suggested I visit the infirmary.

But the school doctor couldn’t find anything wrong and simply told me to lie down and rest for a bit.

I finally endured until the lunch bell rang.

Xiao Qing pulled me toward the cafeteria.

“Brother Xiao, you should eat more meat and liver.”

“Maybe that will help replenish your blood Qi.”

However, just as we reached the crowded entrance of the cafeteria, Bai Yue approached us.

She was seemingly looking for me.

Once she drew near, she said briefly,

“Follow me.”

“Alright.”

I was pulled into the cafeteria by Bai Yue.

Xiao Qing followed behind.

“By the way, how did you find us among so many students?” Xiao Qing asked.

“Both of you have my Gu insects on you.”

“I can find you just by sensing their aura,” Bai Yue replied.

“Wait, where are you taking us?”

I looked at the various cafeteria stalls.

Many vendors had contracted shops here.

Since it was lunchtime, every window had a long line and brisk business.

“To a special window that students usually don’t encounter,” Bai Yue said.

“Sister Mo wouldn’t let me bring you here.”

“But this really is the best way to replenish blood Qi.”

As she led us around a corner, the atmosphere suddenly shifted.

The cafeteria lights grew incredibly dim.

The surrounding clamor of voices became muffled as if separated by a wall.

The area suddenly became empty.

Not a single student in sight.

In this lonely corner sat a dark, unlit service window.

Nothing could be seen inside.

It was as if everyone ignored it.

Despite being just meters away from the bustling crowd, there was no one here.

“What is this place?” Xiao Qing asked uneasily.

The atmosphere here was far too eerie.

One look was enough to tell it wasn’t a safe or good place.

“This is the Invisible Window,” Bai Yue said curtly.

“Only a few students who lose their way occasionally stumble into this place.”

“But I come here every day.”

She walked up to the pitch-black window and swiped her meal card.

She didn’t even say what she wanted.

Yet a pair of hands quickly pushed out a tray.

‘Is this some kind of set meal?’

On the tray sat a bowl of soup, a piece of meat, and five-colored rice.

Although the combination was strange, a delicate fragrance wafted toward me.

I suddenly felt an extreme hunger.

My body seemed to instinctively crave that meal.

Seeing Bai Yue do this, I followed suit and swiped my own meal card.

My previous card had been lost during the Painted Skin Ghost’s attack.

This new one had been issued under Xia Yubing’s name.

A raspy sound emitted, as if the card reader were broken.

It flickered a few times and displayed a number: 30.

‘Does this cost thirty yuan? That’s a bit expensive, isn’t it?’

As I was wondering, the number suddenly jumped to 0.

‘What does this mean? Why did it become free?’

Two hands pushed a tray out.

It remained pitch-black.

I couldn’t see anything inside the window.

It was as if those two hands had reached out from an abyss.

It was impossible to tell whose hands they actually were.

“Thank you.”

The moment I took the tray, my vision suddenly blurred.

The bowl of soup turned into a thick, blood-red liquid.

The cooked meat became a piece of gore-covered raw flesh.

Even my Gu insects began to stir restlessly.

Even the hands handing over the tray had turned into rough, rotting skin.

The skin was a filthy pink color, covered in patches and spots.

It resembled the hide of a pig that had died from a plague.

I almost cried out in alarm.

But at the same time, an intense craving erupted from within my body.

It was like seeing a cup of sweet, plain water after not drinking for three days and nights.

I wanted to grab that bowl of blood and drink it without a second thought.

But I managed to forcibly suppress my instinct at the last moment.

After only a moment of restraint, the Ironwire Gu impatiently emerged from my wrist.

It drank the entire bowl of blood clean.

Staring at the empty bowl, I felt a wave of emptiness wash over me.

I even felt the urge to lick the remaining bloodstains off the bowl.

But a voice of resistance deep inside told me I absolutely must not do that.

“What are you doing just standing in front of the window?”

“I’m getting my food now,” Xiao Qing said, pulling out her own meal card to swipe.

Bai Yue immediately stopped her.

“Senior Ou, you can’t eat this.”

“I only brought Senior Xia here to replenish her blood Qi.”

“It’s not good for the health of living people to eat this.”

The way she said it made it sound like I wasn’t a living person.

She brought me here specifically to replenish blood Qi.

This reminded me of how Mo Qingyan had suggested Xiao Qing drink my blood after the ritual.

Combined with the impatience of the Gu insects, could this be…?!

“Not good for living people? But Yue, didn’t you buy a portion too?” Xiao Qing looked at Bai Yue’s tray in confusion.

“This is for feeding my Gu insects,” Bai Yue said.

“In a moment, I’ll go with you to a normal window to buy a regular lunch.”

“Senior Xia, now that you’ve gotten your food, let’s go.”

I felt my stomach churn.

I wanted to vomit.

But because of my depleted blood Qi and the fact that I hadn’t eaten, I couldn’t bring anything up.

I could only carry the tray and follow Bai Yue out in a daze.

After just a few steps, the noisy environment suddenly enveloped me again.

My surroundings brightened.

I turned back in surprise.

Only to find no service window at all.

It was just a corner of the cafeteria—nothing but a bare wall.

The items on my tray were no longer raw meat and a blood-stained bowl.

Instead, they were cooked slices of meat and a clean bowl.

Even the five-colored glutinous rice had turned into plain white rice.

But the Gu insects were still stirring.

I knew.

The things I was holding were the same as the “snake and bird meat” sold by that old man at the market.

This was, quite simply, human meat.