Chapter 184: The Great Magic—O Village’s L Wave 6

“Today’s cold snap is so strange. Why did it disappear so quickly?”

In the garden, the three beginner magic students from the academy were sitting by the big bonfire with the tide guest Sijun.

Sijun glanced at Qiaoxi, who seemed distracted, and replied, “I don’t know. You three guests, please rest here for a while. I’ll go check on Qiaoxia.”

*Bang—*

Suddenly, the main door was flung open. A grotesque, shabby-looking monster stepped in, one step at a time.

Its skin was covered in lumps, oozing a bluish-gray liquid, and patches of its body were studded with barbs as if forcibly embedded.

It walked upright on two legs, leaving deep marks on the ground with every step.

Seeing the monster approaching the bonfire outside, Sijun’s face instantly turned pale. The three magic students hurriedly stood up, gripping their magic wands, ready for battle.

“Don’t worry, I’m here. You guys go find a place to hide.”

Forcing himself to calm down, Sijun looked at the three magic students, his face full of hope. “Then, I’ll have to rely on you, great mages!”

Cheng scratched his head shyly, holding his wand in one hand and awkwardly touching his earlobe with the other. “I’m… I’m not a mage yet.”

Sijun said, “But in my heart, you three are already great mages. Don’t underestimate yourselves. You’re all outstanding young people. One day you’ll become real mages—I’m just calling you that a little early. Besides, you saved me today. In my heart, you three are no different from real mages!”

Chao Hai, always proud, was instantly inspired by Sijun’s words. He felt like he wasn’t just a student, but a true mage.

He waved his big hand. “Just watch, I’ll take care of this monster!”

Chao Hai was the first to step forward, his eyes shining with confidence. He raised his wand, and a streak of blue light shot toward the monster.

The blue light struck the monster’s chest like a whip, sending up tiny sparks with a sizzling sound.

The monster blinked, looked down, and saw the sparks jumping around like fleas. Just as it was about to react, Chao Hai shouted, “It’s working! Everyone, use thunder-fire spells to attack!”

The monster stared blankly at the young man on the ground.

Chao Hai really thought it was working and quickly called his friends to use thunder-fire spells. Sijun, who had been clutching his hands nervously, slowly relaxed.

*Ah—!*

With a fierce roar, the monster slapped Chao Hai, who had rushed forward, sending him flying. Then it slowly brushed the ashes off its shoulder.

Tian Meng and Cheng were terrified, stumbling backward. Just as the monster charged at them, a small flame shot out, wrapping around its waist and yanking it away.

“Father!”

Sijun turned pale and rushed over, unleashing his magic without hesitation to help extinguish the small flame.

Cheng stared blankly at Tian Meng. “Who… who was shouting just now?”

Tian Meng said, “Not sure… maybe the monster?”

Chao Hai said, “What are you thinking? It must be the person who just saved me. How could an old man call a monster ‘father’? Idiot, hurry up and help me out. I want to see how that old man tames the monster!”

“Oh, right!”

The three boys helped each other up and walked outside.

Outside, the small flame was perched heroically on someone’s shoulder.

The monster was on the ground. Sijun knelt before him. “Please, let my father go. I beg you!”

Sang Chu walked over, looking at the dying monster. “He’s your father? So, he’s also a merfolk?”

Sijun suddenly looked up. “How… how did you know?”

“I’m asking you now. Tell me honestly—how many people in this small O Village are like him?”

Tian Meng and the others recognized Sang Chu. Remembering how she had subdued so many people and the monster, they shrank back, hoping she’d forget about them and their lodging.

Sijun collapsed to the ground, watching as his father was instantly defeated by the little flame. He gritted his teeth and said, “Not many.”

Sang Chu smiled. “I’ve caught ten so far. With your father, that makes eleven. So, not many? Are you planning to keep hiding him, or are you saying the rest of the villagers are also like him?”

“So what if they are? If it weren’t for you high-and-mighty mages, my father, my mother, and my aunt wouldn’t have ended up like this! Don’t act like you’re doing us a favor!”

Sijun shouted in anger. Chao Hai was startled by his outburst. “Hey, what does this have to do with mages?”

“Haha, what does it have to do with mages? Everything!” Sijun’s eyes were bloodshot as he laughed bitterly, struggling to stand up. “You know he’s a merfolk, but do you know why he became like this?”

Sang Chu said, “Tell me.”

“Fine, I’ll tell you. Years ago, my uncle caught a young merfolk while fishing at sea. He thought it was pitiful and let it go. But he got contaminated by the merfolk’s curse. At that time, a mage was staying at our house as a guest. That mage pretended to be friendly, found out where the merfolk was caught, and after the cold snap, immediately went out to sea. He actually caught one.”

Sang Chu asked, “Was that mage Mage Qi?”

Sijun glanced at her, as if she knew about Mage Qi, but it didn’t matter anymore.

He continued, “No, just one of Mage Qi’s people. He brought the merfolk back, cut her up, and carefully packed the meat into storage rings. My uncle didn’t know—he just thought he’d caught something magical. There are all sorts of strange creatures in the deep sea.”

Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to go on, but he fell silent for a long time, like a storyteller pausing for effect.

Sang Jingwen asked, “Did he turn the merfolk meat into ordinary fish and feed it to your family?”

Someone finally spoke up. Sijun gave a bitter smile and sat on the ground. “More than that. He turned the merfolk meat into regular fish and gave it to many people. I didn’t like fish, so I escaped that fate. But as you can see, my father became a monster and was taken away.”

Sang Chu asked, “He turned into a monster before being taken away?”

“Yes.”

With that, all of Sang Chu’s previous deductions were overturned. If he became a monster before being sent to the mage academy, then Mage Qi might not be the mastermind behind the academy after all."