"Hunter, enforcer, order Keeper."
Back in the dormitory, Mo Ying whispered these three professions.
She knew what a Hunter was—a job that would do anything for money and rewards.
Enforcer, according to what Teacher Liushu had said, was a unique profession of angels; they were responsible for enforcing the new rules set by the Goddess.
Order Keeper... she had never heard of this profession.
Order Keeper was an envoy of the gods? Teacher Liushu seemed to have said that.
"Xiya, do you know what an Enforcer is?"
"Angels who maintain order in Yggdonia."
"That's what's written in the books."
"What else does the book say?"
Mo Ying probably hadn't even opened her textbooks from last semester.
"The existence of Enforcers is to prevent the god-established order from being desecrated. The Goddess forbids human trafficking, forbids the sale of slaves. If anyone violates this rule, they'll be purged by an Enforcer."
"The Goddess decreed a ban on race wars. If one day the Elven Queen and the Beastfolk King came into conflict, enforcers would also intervene. They'd try to persuade both leaders to reconcile."
"What if they couldn't?"
Mo Ying asked like a curious child.
"Then swap in a leader who can reconcile... That's what Director Wei said."
"That sounds a bit frightening..."
Could racial leaders really be switched so easily?
"As long as you don't touch the rules set by the Goddess, you won't get targeted by Enforcers, so there's no need to be so scared of them."
"Do you think Teacher Milia could be an Enforcer?"
"You'd have to ask her yourself for that..."
"Let's sleep first, I'll ask her tomorrow."
Mo Ying lay down, covered herself with her blanket, and picked up her phone.
Time passed little by little. Fifteen days had gone by since the start of the new semester.
It had also been fifty days since Shuang Yun disappeared.
Today was overcast; light rain fell intermittently from the sky, but it didn't affect students attending class as usual.
"Ah, teacher Liushu, did you sneak out to drink again yesterday? Look at you, still half asleep—hungover again, aren't you?"
During the afternoon class, Mo Ying looked at the barely awake Liushu, who was dozing off.
"It's not like I had class this morning, so what's wrong with having a drink?"
Liushu's slouchy demeanor couldn't help but make people laugh.
"Fine, what are we playing today? I brought Reversi."
Liushu pulled out a game board.
"Let's play indoors; it's drizzling today and the grass is all wet." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel※fire.net
"Alright, let's just find an empty classroom then."
Liushu carried the board, walking shoulder to shoulder with Mo Ying, with Xiya following behind them.
They walked and walked, and it seemed like they had gone far, but still hadn't reached the teaching building.
"It's getting foggy,"
Mo Ying murmured, looking at the white mist surrounding them.
Fog settling in the afternoon, especially on a windy, rainy day, was highly unusual.
The entire Tianqing City was shrouded in white mist.
Even other cities were affected as well.
"This isn't naturally formed fog. Mo Ying, Xiya, stay close to me."
Liushu lit a cigarette.
They had been walking for over ten minutes by now; logically, they should have reached the teaching building already.
But now, all around was a thick white fog, and they couldn't see anything.
Liushu seemed to activate something—not a phone—and tried to contact Wei.
It seemed this fog also cut off communication devices.
This was clearly not normal mist.
Mo Ying heard the sound of Liushu picking up his weapon.
It was the first time Mo Ying and Xiya had seen Liushu take up arms.
It was a long blade, the scabbard already rusted through.
So far, Liushu hadn't drawn the sword, but he was holding the scabbard in his hand.
A sword rusted to this degree probably couldn't even cut a cake...
The three stood where they were, not daring to move.
They couldn't see a thing; this fog obscured everything visible.
Liushu finally spoke.
Gradually, dark magic began to radiate from the rusted blade.
This magic dispelled a bit of the white mist, though its effect was minimal.
Mo Ying and Xiya followed closely behind Liushu, moving cautiously forward.
They still remembered Liushu's warnings.
In this world, life was cheap.
Stepping into some spatial anomaly carelessly could mean instant death.
Right now, they were facing a similar situation.
The white fog seemed endless. The three of them had advanced for quite a while but still saw no sign of the road ahead.
Footsteps echoed from within the fog.
The girls also halted.
The footsteps drew closer.
Liushu slid Qili out partly from its sheath.
A black shadow appeared ahead of them.
At the shadow's feet, a silver blossom was in full bloom.
Liushu, stunned, set his sword down.
That tone, that voice...
A gust of wind swept up as the fog scattered.
The sound of the wind drowned out Liushu's voice.
Suddenly, the noisy din of the crowd filled their ears.
They were back in the school, suggesting that the heavy fog had impacted many people.
Students everywhere talked animatedly about the strange fog they'd just experienced.
Classes for the afternoon were canceled because of it.
Though the fog was odd, it hadn't caused anything—no one went missing or died. It was as if nothing had happened at all.
The fog quickly made the news.
But since it hadn't led to any tangible consequences, no one paid much attention to it.
The time turned to the next afternoon.
"We have actual combat class today,"
Mo Ying said as she checked the class schedule.
"So lazy... Can I skip?"
Xiya refused her flatly.
"Teacher Liushu, I'm so bored."
Mo Ying draped herself over Liushu.
"If you're bored, don't hang all over me."
Liushu shrugged her off.
"Didn't you say we'd get to experience the hunting grounds in the second year? It's almost a month into the semester, and I haven't heard anything about them."
"In two days, you'll go to your first hunting grounds. The principal will organize it."
Mo Ying perked up instantly.
"Really. Why would I need to lie about that?"
"Teacher, aren't hunting grounds dangerous?"
"The hunting grounds you'll visit are relatively safe. At least, the creatures inside can communicate. If things go well, you might even come back with some benefits."
"I can't really explain—just wait two more days and you'll see for yourself."
Liushu lit another cigarette.
At that moment, it started drizzling again.
Liushu looked up at the sky.
The day Shuang Yun disappeared, it had also been raining lightly.
"I'm heading out. You two prepare for the afternoon combat class."
With that, Liushu left alone.
"Is something wrong?"
Liushu casually grabbed an umbrella and walked out of the academy.
"Drip, drop, drip, drop..."
Light rain fell in the backyard of an apartment complex as a young girl stood there.
She subconsciously clutched her neck.
She didn't understand the meaning behind her action.
A man appeared in front of her.
"Gone for two months, and you finally turn up,"
Liushu said, holding the umbrella as he walked up to Shuang Yun.
Shuang Yun looked at Liushu, nearly bursting into tears—actually, the tears were already falling.
Liushu held the umbrella over her head.
Shuang Yun broke down and threw herself into his arms, sobbing.
"Well, looks like it's a long story again. Let's go back—Xiya and Mo Ying have been waiting ages for you,"
Liushu said with a sigh, looking helplessly at Shuang Yun crying in his embrace.
He really wasn't good at comforting kids.
PS: Yinhua hasn't officially appeared yet—she's basically the main character of this book, so it's normal you don't know her yet. After all, this is a slow-burn story.