Chapter 35
“Ah, I wouldn"t put it like that,” Daliana said, hugging her legs and looking at the two sleeping people. She replied, “While Bonnie always supported Katis, she also spoiled her, but that isn"t important. They wouldn"t normally act recklessly unless there was a crisis. If it wasn"t for me…” Her words stopped, she bit her lower lip, and she began to ponder silently.
Zi Linglong blinked and stared at her for a while. She didn"t ask any more questions and just placed her hands together. She did not speak either while leaning against the stone.
The sounds of wind echoed within the jungle as Long Shiyan rested her eyes, listening to the surrounding environment. Thirty meters west, scorching energy wrapped around a single man. It was needless to say that this person was the fire magician Brands. He was constantly checking his surroundings with his guard up.
In addition to Zi Linglong and Daliana, there were four others next to Long Shiyan, excluding Edgar and Chris. There were two slightly injured people from the Alchemist Society. The other two were slowly breathing as they slept soundly. Zi Linglong and Daliana were sitting together, and the two people who were breathing weakly were the injured Katis and Bonnie. After some rest, they seemed to be in better condition.
Even without using her eyes, Long Shiyan could still perceive her surroundings. This was an amazing place br.i.m.m.i.n.g with an abundance of spiritual power.
Supposing her spiritual force was still in its initial phases, she would only be able to sense her surroundings to an extent. But now that she was a seventh-level swordsman, she didn"t need to rush. She could improve her spiritual power at her own pace.
Little by little, her strength would be refined with each pa.s.sing day.
After all, practicing martial arts wasn"t easy!
The hurried footsteps approached. Long Shiyan"s eyes were still closed, and she didn"t move. It was Edgar and Brands who slowly watched the group of people arrive.
“Everyone, wake up. Many adventurers are coming from the southwest direction at extreme speeds. I can"t tell whether they"re friends or enemies, so we should remain on guard,” Brands said with a grave expression.
As several people sobered up, they picked up their weapons and pretended as if they weren"t prepared for battle. However, from time to time, they would glance at Long Shiyan"s face.
Yet, Long Shiyan"s eyes remained closed.
A few people wanted to wake her up, but they shut their mouths. After a few seconds, they were brave enough to call out to her, but she still didn"t open her eyes. Long Shiyan parted her lips and whispered, “Don"t worry, those people aren"t our enemies.”
The others looked at each other in confusion.
“In front, there is an eighth-level fire magician and an eighth-level water magician. Furthermore, there are twelve seventh-level swordsmen guards. This aura, if I did not guess wrong, is Teacher Wenruo and Teacher Hongyun,” Long Shiyan answered slowly and unhurriedly.
Sure enough, after she completed her words, around a dozen people entered their territory. The two sides looked at each other for a while before they came closer and started a conversation. Long Shiyan also opened her eyes, greeted them, and slightly bowed politely. She asked despite knowing the answer, “Teacher Wenruo, Teacher Hongyun, where are you two going?”
“Yan Yan!” A blue-dressed woman looked at her in amazement. “How are you here? Over here are…” She suddenly turned her eyes to the injured people and noticed their alchemy badges.
Long Shiyan replied with a sigh, “After we completed our mission, we coincidentally came across them. We were temporarily taking a break so they could rest until you all arrived.”
The woman in blue clothing sighed in relief as she raised her hand to signal for Long Shiyan to not speak for a while. She took two steps forward and looked at the slightly injured duo. “You part of the alchemy team. Where are the others? Are you the only ones left?”
The injured male student a.s.sistant choked with sobs and replied: “We…we only have a few others left, the others are already…” His eyes were red as he stammered to the point he could barely speak.
Zi Linglong and Daliana also greeted them very quickly. Daliana replied, “Teacher, we have been abandoned by our captain. We almost died.”
“Is that so!” The woman in blue clothing cast her gaze upon Daliana without blinking. She became puzzled when she listened to the students" report.
“Teacher…team…Coron is the worst. Regardless of how we were wounded, he escaped with the ones who could still fight. If Daliana had not fought to protect us, if the head of the group hadn"t arrived in time, we…we would have died.” The male student burst into tears. They didn"t only suffer from horrible magical beasts, but they also had to exert themselves despite being injured, face the pain of losing their teammates, and become abandoned by their captain. With all that had happened, it couldn"t be helped that they were grieving so heavily.
“Right, Teacher Wenruo, you must help us. Any captain who would abandon his team members to escape alone must be a greedy and selfish coward. So, our captain isn"t qualified to be the leader of our alchemy team. He must be severely punished.” Another injured team member"s expression was full of resentment. If the captain really was nearby, then he didn"t know what he would do to the captain.
“Wait!” A woman in a long red dress suddenly stood up and interrupted their conversation. “What are you talking about? Why are their words different from what their captain said?”
After a while, the two boys asked, “What…what"s different?” Daliana also stood up and asked, “Teacher, what did he say?”
“Hong"er don"t be anxious, first think about what they said again.” The woman in blue clothing held the red-dressed woman"s jade-like hand. She frowned and turned her gaze towards Long Shiyan. She asked, “Yan Yan, do you know what happened?”
Long Shiyan blinked as she stared at a pair of innocent big eyes. She replied not too fast, yet not too slowly, “Teacher, how could you not tell that Coron was lying? Clearly, the differences in testimonies should indicate something.”
The red-dressed woman"s eyebrows scrunched. She was about to move forward, but she was pulled back by the woman in blue clothing. After the woman in blue clothing said something next to her ear, she unwillingly stood aside.
Long Shiyan glanced at them, but quickly retracted her gaze and pretended that nothing had happened.
“Teacher, you can"t deliberately favor one side just because Coron is a rare genius in the school. He abandoned and used us as bait. The facts are right in front of us. Originally, we had over a dozen team members, but now there are only five of us left. Furthermore, Katis and Bonnie are still unconscious.” With Long Shiyan not speaking and the others still unperturbed, the male student dressed in ragged clothes spoke up with resentment.
“But wait a moment! Aren"t you misunderstanding something?!” The woman in blue clothing replied, “Coron was seriously injured when he met us. There weren"t many people around him, and he was very anxious. He urged us to hurry to save you all. How could you say that your captain had abandoned you all?”
“How could that sort of captain choose to betray the members of his Alchemy Society?”
The students couldn"t help but look at each other in dismay before turning their attention towards Daliana. One of the male students with long hair asked, “Daliana, do you think that we made a mistake? Did the captain lead the magical beasts away in order to let our wounded teammates survive?”
Everyone"s eyes were cast upon her.
Under the gazes of everyone, Daliana bit her lip and couldn"t speak. This action showed that she was having an internal conflict about all of this.
The blue-clothed woman, Wenruo, said softly, “We personally confirmed Coron"s miserable state when he came to us. His behavior and conduct at school were also very good. We don"t think that he was the kind of person to leave his team and escape alone. Maybe he was afraid that you all would feel guilty since he chose to sacrifice himself for you guys. Therefore, he didn"t discuss it with all of you. Don"t worry about it too much, just wait until we gather up before we slowly discuss this affair. Then, the truth will be revealed. It"s a very sinful thing to misunderstand others and hurt others" reputation just because of a misunderstanding.”
Everyone kept silent.
Daliana wanted to say something, but she was also speechless. She thought she understood the truth. But Coron was apparently in a miserable state after escaping. He even cried while recounting what had happened to the teachers. She wasn"t sure what was really true or false.
“I don"t think Coron is completely innocent.” Long Shiyan, who has been silent for a moment, suddenly spoke. When she said this, everyone"s eyes were on her as they were filled with questions. They waited for her to continue explaining.
“Why would you say that?” The woman in blue clothing was a little surprised.
Long Shiyan looked up at the blue-clothed woman, Wenruo. She said, “Unless he was doing it on purpose, there would, otherwise, be a problem with IQ.” She paused and continued, “Teacher, you shouldn"t just blindly a.s.sume the truth and lose your original judgment. The people you cherish aren"t as beautiful as you may believe they are.”
After she said that, she turned around and left, leaving behind a group of completely stunned people. Zi Linglong also hesitated for a while before catching up to her together with the system.
After the conversation, Daliana stood up as she bit her lip and clenched her fist. She said, “Teacher Wenruo, Teacher Hongyun, could you two accompany me for a while? I want to slowly discuss things through with you two.”
Zi Linglong chased behind Long Shiyan and found her sitting on a tall branch with her eyes closed. This was Long Shiyan"s customary habit apart from reading and practicing.
She climbed up as the two sat at a distance from each other, leaning against the big tree.
Zi Linglong took the system off her head and placed it in her hand. “Is Elder Sister going to leave without planning to help Daliana and the rest?”
“Does Ling"er want her elder sister to help them?”
“Will Elder Sister really not go and help them?” Zi Linglong asked, “I remember what Elder Sister had once said. We are actually good people and the real bad guys are those who don"t do evil. Elder Sister is even more proper and honorable than those sorts of people. She won"t leave them alone."
“Elder Sister is still a little angel within my heart!”
Long Shiyan: “…”
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