Chapter 159: The Great Magic—Fear

“I—I understand.”

Mu Xue lowered her head, her eyes a little red. Sang Jingwen just quietly patted her shoulder from the side, and Lu Minli also fell silent.

Since no one was speaking, Yi simply shut his mouth as well, plopping down onto the soft ground. He stared at the bright floor, searching for a long time for the spot where Sang Chu’s corrupted energy had appeared, but didn’t see any trace of it nearby.

In the end, he couldn’t help but break the silence, blinking as he said, “There’s no sign of corrupted energy on this ground. How am I supposed to find it?”

Sang Jingwen glanced at his own light screen and brought up the map. There were plenty of nests marked on it, even some points of interest for treatment, but there was no sign of corrupted energy.

Lu Minli said, “I noticed before, but didn’t say anything. The cold tides in the wild are terrifying. After every cold tide, there are always a lot of monster corpses on the road, and many nests are destroyed. So my suggestion is: after we find the mole rat nest, I’ll hide inside first. Everyone can use this time to cultivate. When the cold tide is about to end, I’ll ride the flying squirrel out. I have to finish before it fully freezes over.”

Sang Jingwen replied, “That’s a good plan. When the time comes, let’s split into two groups. I’ll go with Yi to search farther away, and Minli, you stay with Mu Xue and search near the mole rat nest. Safety comes first. If anyone is discovered, make sure to return to the nest before the cold tide ends. We can’t let the monsters discover the flying squirrel and cause unnecessary trouble.”

Lu Minli nodded, “Alright, the cold tide is almost here. I’ll head down now.”

Mu Xue’s expression was still a bit dazed, but at least she wasn’t dragging everyone down anymore, so Sang Jingwen didn’t pay her any more attention.

Some things you have to figure out for yourself. If others say too much, it can have the opposite effect.

After Yi and Sang Jingwen entered the mole rat nest, they took out their crystal cores and spirit jade to meditate and cultivate. Lu Minli glanced at Lin Mu Xue, who was lost in thought, but didn’t say anything more. He just handed her a crystal core and then went to meditate by himself.

Only Mu Xue sat there in a daze, watching the others cultivate, and couldn’t help but recall what she had seen in the cultivation room.

When she was training her spiritual power in that room, she saw that the food Sang Chu used to raise the base’s pets was all the dead birds from the base. At the time, she didn’t feel afraid—she just thought Sang Chu was taking care of her own pets.

But she hadn’t expected to see Sang Chu, after finishing her work, gather up all the ordinary people from Qingliu City and bury them together. Every day, people disappeared from the base.

She didn’t know why she had seen this—maybe it was just a small guess, but she was certain she didn’t want to believe it. No matter what happened, Sang Chu was her best friend, her sister, her closest person. She was determined to trust her.

But after what happened to Na, she fell into deep thought again. Did she really understand Sang Chu?

Were those missing people in the base really not being used by her?

And in all of this, what role was Lu Minli playing?

She didn’t know, and she didn’t even dare to speak of these things. These were just fragmented images she saw during cultivation—she didn’t know if they were real or not. She wanted to believe in Sang Chu, but her instincts told her that all of it was true, maybe even things that would happen in the future.

Mu Xue curled up in a corner, trembling with fear. Lu Minli noticed her and couldn’t help but walk over, gently asking, “Did something happen that scared you?”

No one really understood Mu Xue’s abilities, but he knew she wasn’t easily frightened. Something must have happened—she just didn’t dare to say it.

She hesitated for a long time, not knowing how to speak. Her mind was completely blank; she needed someone to give her answers.

“If—if one day you found out that I was different from the person you thought I was, what would you do?”

Lu Minli softly whispered in her ear, “Everyone has many sides. Even if you’re not the same as I thought, it doesn’t matter. I know you’re you, and that’s enough. No one stays the same forever, but you have to believe—I will always be on your side. That will never change.”

Mu Xue clenched her trembling hands, carefully grabbing the hem of Lu Minli’s clothes, lowering her head to rest against his chest, her voice trembling, “I understand.”

“Don’t put such a heavy moral burden on yourself. It’s exhausting.”

“Mm.”

Mu Xue mumbled a response, and Lu Minli just gently hugged her, saying nothing more.

......

Witch Academy Laboratory

“Dean, can we really trust this Sang Chu?”

Facing the person in front of her, Wu Qi just sneered coldly, like a poisonous snake lurking in the shadows, making people shiver in fear. “It doesn’t matter. As long as we keep people under control in the academy, who cares what Liu Shiqin says? Did those people really die?”

“From what I can tell, probably not. But Sang Chu did buy a lot of magic rings from Mrs. Mi’s shop before. It’s very likely those people disappeared because of her!”

“And the bodies were all recovered, and she used water magic to cover up the traces. It’s just that no one really believes she’s one of the Rose City group.”

Wu Qi said, “It doesn’t matter. Since Sang Chu says she doesn’t like those people, then let her handle their corpses. Consider it her initiation into the academy.”

Watching Wu Qi’s sinister smile, Meng Lin lowered her head and said, “Yes, Dean. I’ll take care of it right away.”

“Good. Also, increase the security around here. Don’t let Sang Chu leave the academy. If she wants to join, then let her. Tell everyone, she can go wherever she wants inside, but she’s not allowed to leave.”

“Yes, I’ll handle it right away.”

After Meng Lin left, Mi Zimo walked in. Wu Qi glanced at her and said, “Why are you here? You’re not supposed to enter my office without permission.”

Mi Zimo’s elegant face showed a trace of anger. “This is house arrest!”

“She came to us herself. What does it have to do with me? Besides, wasn’t it you who vouched for her?”

Mi Zimo was speechless. She had vouched for Sang Chu because she thought Sang Chu was just a naïve young lady who couldn’t survive in a place like this. But Sang Chu had value, and with Wu Qi’s protection, as long as she didn’t cause trouble, she could live a peaceful life.

But she hadn’t expected that she would be so wrong!

She had always thought that if she brought someone into the academy, at least they would be a good person!

But she hadn’t expected—she hadn’t expected that Sang Chu would also be so ambitious!

“You think it’s my fault for vouching for her, so now you want me to—”"