C23 She Wouldn't be so Ungrateful Right?

When Yun Chen awoke, it was already nine o'clock in the evening. His first order of business was to scour the place for something to eat. Clutching a piece of bread, he gnawed on it while mumbling indistinctly, "I should have conserved my mana. I nearly starved to death!"

Finishing off the bread with a final bite, Yun Chen stretched lazily and surveyed his surroundings, his brow furrowing in concern. "Just as I suspected, there's definitely something off about this place!" He could sense an invisible miasma permeating the area, accompanied by a sticky sensation in the air—a feeling that became all too apparent at night.

"Where could Siyu have gone?" he wondered. Upon waking, he found himself alone in bed; Lin Chuxia and Shen Siyu had vanished. His phone, having been struck by lightning, was beyond repair, and he hadn't found the time to replace it. "It's already night; I just hope she isn't wandering around outside."

With that thought, Yun Chen moved to open the door, ready to assess the situation and hopefully locate Shen Siyu. But just as he reached for the handle, the door swung open. Shen Siyu and Lin Chuxia entered.

Shen Siyu was the first to rush in, and upon seeing Yun Chen, she flung herself into his arms, exclaiming, "Mr. Yun! You're finally awake! I was terrified when you passed out!"

Caught off guard, Yun Chen stumbled but managed to regain his footing. He was about to inquire about their whereabouts when Lin Chuxia burst in, urgently saying, "Yun Chen, come with me! There's been an incident!"

Bewildered, and before he could ask for details, Shen Siyu tugged him out the door, insisting, "Mr. Yun, follow me. I'll explain on the way."

Confused, Yun Chen had no choice but to follow Shen Siyu's lead. As they hurried along, Lin Chuxia added, "Yun Chen, I won't thank you right now. I'll make it up to you when there's time."

After Lin Chuxia finished speaking, she didn't give Yun Chen a chance to respond. As she walked, she simply said, "All you need to do is listen."

"While you were unconscious, Siyu and I were right there in the room, waiting for you to wake up."

"But even after two hours, you didn't stir, so we decided to step out for a bite to eat."

"That's when Wang Dadao, someone from your class, came looking for you to invite you to the bonfire party."

"Seeing you still out cold, we told him that you had caught a chill saving me earlier and had gone to bed early after taking some medicine."

"Wang Dadao, after hearing this, inquired about your condition and then invited us to the bonfire party as well."

"I wasn't keen on going, but Siyu seemed to know Wang Dadao, so she accepted the invitation."

Yun Chen nodded in acknowledgment. Wang Dadao, his desk mate, was indeed acquainted with Shen Siyu.

Yun Chen could still picture Wang Dadao's first encounter with Shen Siyu.

But the guy had never shown any romantic interest in her.

He always said that a true gentleman doesn't pursue someone else's love, especially not a friend's, which Yun Chen was to him.

So, at that time, Yun Chen had set aside his baseball bat.

"Exactly! We planned to grab something to eat and then look after you, Mr. Yun," Shen Siyu added.

"But as we were about to leave, something unexpected happened!"

A hint of fear crossed Shen Siyu's face, yet she pressed on, "Suddenly, a group of soldiers in uniform descended from Celestial Dragon Mountain."

"They were carrying more than a dozen dead bodies!"

"The sight was horrifying! The faces of the dead were decayed, their bodies smeared with blood. Chuxia and I nearly threw up."

"Some of the more daring students were curious and wanted to get a closer look."

"But..."

Shen Siyu hesitated, her pace slowing significantly.

"But before they could get anywhere near, those bodies started to move!"

She went pale and couldn't continue.

Lin Chuxia picked up the thread, "Not only did they move, but they also broke free from the soldiers carrying them."

"And then... those 'corpses' came to life, attacking and biting people all around!"

"Luckily, Siyu and I ran quickly, or we might have been in real danger!"

"Afterward, Siyu and I thought of you. I figured you'd know what's going on."

While speaking, Lin Chuxia and Shen Siyu turned their gaze toward Yun Chen.

Yun Chen appeared to realize something, his face turning pale as he urgently asked, "Where are you talking about?"

Seeing the alarm on Yun Chen's face, Shen Siyu and Lin Chuxia pointed without hesitation in the same direction.

That direction was exactly where Yun Chen's class was supposed to have their bonfire party that evening!

Without further ado, Yun Chen said, "I have to go ahead," and unleashed the Wind Escaping Technique at full force, vanishing like a swift arrow.

Shen Siyu and Lin Chuxia were left gaping in astonishment at the spot where Yun Chen had disappeared.

After a while, Lin Chuxia came to her senses, eyeing Shen Siyu with a puzzled look and asked, "Siyu, just who is your Mr. Yun?"

Shen Siyu, looking bewildered, shook her head and murmured, "I'm not sure, but Mr. Yun seems really cool right now!"

Lin Chuxia was at a loss for words at her friend's infatuation.

Meanwhile, Yun Chen had reached the location Lin Chuxia and Shen Siyu had mentioned.

Upon arrival, he couldn't help but halt in his tracks.

Though the place was deserted, Yun Chen sensed that the temperature was significantly lower than in other areas.

Noticing the remnants of a fire on the ground, Yun Chen was almost certain this was where his class's bonfire party had taken place.

"But why are there no signs of it?" Yun Chen mused, his brow furrowed as he surveyed the area, finding no evidence whatsoever.

Yet according to Lin Chuxia and Shen Siyu, a corpse had supposedly "come to life" and even bitten several people!

Such an incident would surely have led to some struggle, and with struggle, there should be evidence!

But Yun Chen found no signs of any struggle, which was exceedingly odd.

"Could it be that Siyu and Lin Chuxia are deceiving me?" he wondered aloud.

Then he shook his head, dismissing the thought as unlikely.

At that very moment, a brilliant beam of light suddenly pierced the heavens from halfway up Celestial Dragon Mountain. Its luminosity was so intense that it likely caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity of the mountain.

Yun Chen found himself drawn to the dazzling light, his gaze involuntarily lifting toward Celestial Dragon Mountain. With the activation of his Celestial Eye Technique, he was determined to uncover the source of this mysterious radiance.

However, as the scene became clear to him, his expression darkened. "The Big Dipper has shifted, evil energy gathers at the summit, the Celestial Dragon meets an untimely end, and the purple aura departs to the west!"

"This is actually the Land of Great Vicious!"

"Could my luck be any worse..."

Fixated on the column of light, Yun Chen's mouth twitched as he murmured to himself.