He sat in silence in the hospital room.
The black-haired young man, with his eyes closed in a sigh, could hear his mother's heart-wrenching sobs from outside the door. His mother had been a great beauty in her youth and had always taken good care of herself, possessing a gentle and kind heart her whole life. Su Shu had never seen her cry, let alone wear such a haggard and painful expression.
Faced with this image, for the first time, he felt utterly lost. What could he even do?
"Mom, I really miss you so much..." Su Shu lowered his head. "But, I'm sorry... I'm useless. I can't go back. The line between them is just too clear for me."
Her son is Zhang Jue, not Su Shu. She is not my mother—
"Doctor... how did my son become like this... How could Xiao Jue be so aggressive... What on earth is he talking about... I'm begging you... please cure him—"
"We are doing our absolute best..."
"Honey, what am I supposed to do... Xiao Jue clearly recognized me... my son... it's like he's become a different person..."
"Our son is sick, dear. Trust the doctors. We won't give up either. We'll come to see him often."
"Zhang Jue might have to be transferred back to the high-dependency unit. I completely understand your feelings as parents, but you can't visit frequently... My advice is to observe for a while first."
"Dr. Huang, please, I'm begging you to cure him... The cost doesn't matter, you can propose any treatment plan you want. Even if we have to sell our car, sell our house... we will support you with everything we have. Please, I'm begging you to cure our son..."
After much persuasion, the parents finally calmed down. The heartbreaking sound of a woman's weeping gradually faded from outside the room, drifting away from Su Shu's thoughts.
Click. The door was pushed open.
Rubbing his throbbing brow, Huang Xuan looked at the black-haired young man in the restraint chair and sighed silently. "We had an agreement, Zhang Jue."
"Are you sick in the head, Huang Xuan?" Su Shu's gaze was fixed on him, now too lazy to even call him 'Doctor'. "You people are trying to provoke me. Do you really think that will do you any good? You can't break my defenses; you'll only fuel my rage."
"I'm sorry. I was too abrupt. I shouldn't have let them come in directly. I thought it might help you." Huang Xuan apologized plainly. He felt he was beginning to understand the key to treating the patient before him.
And that key was: "Su Shu."
Why did he believe he was "Su Shu"?
The most important thing in treating mental illness is to guide the patient's worldview, not destroy it. There was once a patient who believed he was a mushroom. He would spend all day squatting under the sun without moving, surviving on an IV drip. The doctor squatted beside him for a month, eating, drinking, and reading books during that time, telling the patient that mushrooms also eat, drink, and read. Gradually, although he still believed he was a mushroom, the patient began to live a normal life. This was guidance and channeling, not destruction.
Thankfully, he didn't think he was Kinoko Nasu, otherwise, we might have gotten some ridiculously absurd situation like the Lion's wife.
"The reason you were so agitated to see them, Zhang Jue," Huang Xuan pushed up his glasses and said, word by word, "is because you recognize them, don't you? Whether for Zhang Jue or Su Shu, their faces are the familiar faces of your parents. You believe you are 'Su Shu,' a person completely different from Zhang Jue, and there must be a very important reason for that, right? However, unlike Alvin, Kratos, and Zhang Jiao, you still haven't told me any stories about 'Su Shu.' Why are you so unshakeably convinced that you are 'Su Shu' and not 'Zhang Jue'? What are you worried about? What do you think this entire mental hospital is? And what exactly are Nurgle and Tzeentch?"
Huang Xuan pulled up a chair and sat down slowly in front of Su Shu. The purple bruises from where Su Shu had choked him were still visible on his neck. Yet, as he looked at the black-haired young man with his head lowered, his eyes held only the patience of a doctor.
That look made Su Shu's lips tremble.
"I know you're actually very rational and intelligent. You're a top student with a boundless future. Weren't we getting along just fine before?" Huang Xuan glanced at the departing orderlies, discreetly closed the door, and walked over to undo the restraint on the young man's right hand. He took Su Shu's hand in a solemn grip.
"Tell me your story. How about it? Zhang Jue... no, classmate Su Shu. Tell me. Maybe I can help you."
Su Shu stared blankly at him, at this ordinary-looking doctor. Huang Xuan's features were so unremarkable that Su Shu couldn't even clearly remember what he looked like. But, like an old man walking his dog on the street, like a kind old woman running a market stall, like children running around after school—like every ordinary person on this land living their life with optimism—he exuded a kind of vitality, a spirit unique to the people of Huaxia.
Su Shu was silent for a long time.
"Doctor, you're actually fake. You're my hallucination."
"Mm, mm-hmm," Huang Xuan nodded vigorously, encouraging him. "Go on—"
"It's an unbelievable story."
"It's fine, I can listen slowly. The doctors here work until midnight anyway."
"That late?" Su Shu found the crucial point. "You're over thirty, aren't you? Don't you have a wife, Dr. Huang?"
The corner of Huang Xuan's mouth twitched. Emotional damage is the most effective damage.
"Good for you. Hah, you have one!"
Su Shu thought for a moment. "Only about seven or eight fiancées, and a bunch of beautiful girls clinging to me, wanting to marry me, thinking about how to force a kiss on me every day."
"Hehe, I wouldn't even dare to dream of that."
Su Shu smiled, closed his eyes in thought for a moment, and slowly began to tell a condensed story.
After hearing his account of being possessed by a celestial, Zhang Fu and Zhang Mu, who had always been convinced their son was the reincarnation of an immortal, exchanged a look and finally let out a sigh of relief.
"I see. Jue'er, I just didn't expect that Taigong Wang to be such a... man of passion."
"I've never seen him catch a single fish. That's how it is with failed anglers. When you can't catch fish, you have to find other things to do. Let's not talk about it."
"Even if we wanted to keep this quiet, it's impossible now. Jue'er, you came back walking on air. The entire commandery is buzzing with rumors about it. In a few days, perhaps all of Ji Province will have heard."
"Then what's wrong with telling people openly? It's not like this is a rare occurrence anyway." It was common for kings and generals to be born claiming to be reincarnations of some great deity to legitimize their rule. People in this era were used to it. If they didn't see it with their own eyes, they would just laugh it off.
As for... trouble.
Although he was only nine, Su Shu was confident that his A-rank Magic Circuits were enough to handle most problems. He was a Magus by trade; swordsman, lancer, and all that were just things he played around with as a child. Even if he ran into a tough opponent... stupid, I can fly! Besides, Su Shu was now practically the little hegemon of Julu. As long as he didn't leave the city, who would dare to cause trouble for the Zhang family?
With the matter of their son's episode cleared up, Zhang Fu glanced at the thin young man before him, then looked up through the window at the bright, clear sky, seemingly hesitant to speak. He leaned in and whispered in Su Shu's ear. "Let me ask you quietly, this weather..."
"I invited a god to clear the skies for the disaster victims. It should last for three to five days, long enough for the commandery to get through the flood season of this storm."
Excellent! The Zhang family has truly given birth to a celestial being.
Zhang Fu's wrist trembled slightly as he looked at the various reports on his desk. Commanding the weather... a divine power like that, if used for disaster relief and agriculture, could bring favorable winds and bountiful harvests... But Zhang Fu also knew that inviting gods was not so simple.
"Jue'er... was it difficult?"
Su Shu thought for a moment. "This time, it was my sincere plea that moved Taigong to manage the waters. It has damaged my cultivation, and I cannot guarantee it will happen again." His 'Mind Essence' ability was not easy to control, and it would be bad if he had another episode.
"In that case, this matter must not be spread... sigh, forget it. Someone will surely connect it to you, Jue'er. You must not admit to it. Just publicize that our Julu is under the protection of the heavens."
The clear skies over the commandery had lasted for half a day, and the flood victims from the various counties and towns in Julu had seen this strange phenomenon and were now fleeing towards the commandery seat with their families. As the Prefect, Zhang Fu was under immense pressure. So many mouths to feed, and a great epidemic was sure to follow a great flood. And then there were those pills sent from the imperial court...
Seeing his father's anxious expression, Su Shu understood. He thought of the chapter he had read in the Secret Sutra of the Seven Chapters of the Profound Lord, the "Talisman of Cinnabar Soul Return," which was a compendium of medical arts.
Sitting in the ruined temple, Su Shu had already flipped through that cryptic Daoist scripture. It described how to draw various talismans, but without any images, only profound and mysterious textual descriptions.
The seven volumes were: Talisman of Cinnabar Soul Return, Talisman of Fleshy Lingzhi Life Extension, Talisman of Demon Subduing and Ghost Binding, Talisman of Earthly Examination and Summons, Talisman of Taiyin Corpse Liberation and Form Shedding, Talisman of Ascending to the Profound and Contemplation, and Talisman of the True One's Holy Descent and Mighty Covenant. They seemed to cover medicine, exorcism and corpse-herding, communication with the spirit realm, and various summoning arts.
It wasn't that Su Shu understood it all at once—he didn't understand any of it—but it gave him an idea. Talismans, right? He was a celestial now. Any talisman he scribbled would be treated as a genuine article. With 'Mind Essence,' I can believe I'm not dead, and even if my head is chopped off and replaced with a lotus root, I can still jump around. Isn't that the perfect ability for a surgeon?
And in addition... "Self-Hypnosis." If the victims were suffering from a plague, could he trick them into drinking talisman water, telling them this divine water could drive away the pestilence, and through that deception, actually achieve the effect of curing it?
"I have no solution for the food problem, Jue'er, but the plague in the city might be resolvable."
"...Oh?!" Zhang Fu turned his head in pleasant surprise.
Soon after, under the nervous gazes of everyone present, the old steward was called in. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing an arm from which several limp, malformed fingers grew.
"It won't hurt, and you don't need to be nervous. Jue is just going to use his divine power to try a celestial's craft."
"A celestial's craft?"
"In this world, there are painters who paint, carpenters who chop wood, and masons who lay bricks. In the myriad forms of life, a person is just another kind of instrument. The so-called 'crafting of man' is just another skill. In ancient times, Nuwa molded people from clay. Jue can't create people, I don't have that kind of power, so today I'll take the liberty of trying... 'repairing and mending people'."
Su Shu spoke with such conviction that even the old steward's face showed a look of yearning.
In a daze, the young man suddenly saw a缥缈mist rise from the old man's body and entwine itself around him, adding a strange strength to his own body. A haze then spread through Su Shu's eyes. In that instant, he seemed to be able to see the old man before him as an instrument he could manipulate at will. At every joint, distorted lines faintly appeared, as if by following those lines, he could disassemble the human body like a toy.
"Mystic Eyes? These lines, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception...? No... not the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, but an ability with a similar function, triggered because of my 'Mind Essence' talent?"
With a hint of understanding, Su Shu slowly reached out his hand. Before the shocked eyes of everyone present, he lightly "detached" the old steward's arm. The cut was clean and smooth as jade, without a single drop of blood. With a light wipe of his fingertip over the malformed area, the excess flesh of the extra fingers was shaved away as if by a blade, instantly revealing smooth skin.
Click.
To the old man's stunned expression, Su Shu perfectly reattached his arm. The focused young man let out a long breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He glanced to the side. His father and mother were in a daze. The surrounding maids and stewards had already fallen to their knees, kowtowing and proclaiming the advent of a celestial.
As if sensing something in his trance, Su Shu looked up at the sky.
Sitting in his hospital room, the black-haired young man put down the excess modeling clay, having sculpted a complete human figure.
"Well, playing with some relaxing toys... has that made you feel a bit better, classmate Su Shu?"
Glancing at Dr. Huang, then lowering his gaze to the clay figure in his hands, the black-haired young man frowned. "I feel... like I've understood something."
「Your miraculous skill has left everyone stunned. Under your father's worried gaze, you set up a charity stall at the entrance of your residence to 'repair' people.」
「With a light scratch of your fingernail, you can sever bonded bones and flesh. With a knock of your fist, you can correct a hunchback or a fracture. With a single chop of your hand, you can slim down and reshape a portly man, a blob of soft, sagging fat sloughing off his belly.」
「Having witnessed your skill in repairing people, your reputation as a descended celestial spreads far and wide in Julu.」
「Disaster victims, whose bodies are covered in various corrupt and grotesque growths from taking the pills, hear the news and flock to you, turning your once quiet days into busy ones.」
「After removing their grotesque and corrupt organs, you also urge them to drink a bowl of talisman water, which you casually make by mixing herbs and paper, saying it can drive away the plague.」
「You don't know if it works, but under your illustrious reputation, people gratefully comply. You see a strange mist winding from the bodies of the victims towards you, augmenting your magical energy and spirit.」
「Your talent has been upgraded.」
「Self-Hypnosis: E → C」
「Some people have begun to believe and accept your lies. You are able to draw a power known as 'Fantasy' from them.」
「You run the charity stall for three sessions a day, on a first-come, first-served basis. Your father, with a sigh, dispatches guards to maintain order. No one dares to cause trouble at the Prefect's residence.」
「The entrance to your residence is piled high with thank-you gifts from the people. Unable to refuse them, you pass them on to your father, who is troubled by the lack of food and clothing.」
「White foxes begin to appear frequently around your residence. Due to your orders, no one dares to drive away these spiritual beasts.」
「You watch them approach and wag their tails vigorously. You would knowingly say to them, 'I say you really look like a beast-eared beauty!', and they would stand up, bow, and then run off happily, whimpering.」
「After more than a month passes like this, you have treated several thousand victims, and over ten thousand have consumed your talisman water.」
「Many people still die on the road while fleeing, but whether it is due to the talisman water or not, the plague does not spread within Julu Commandery.」
「Your fame grows. People from all over send invitations to Julu, requesting you to mend their bodies. You frown at the large chests of gold and silver that arrive with the invitations, among them from many noble families far more powerful than the Zhang family of Julu.」
「In the evening, your father calls you to the study with a solemn expression.」
"I understand your compassionate heart for saving the world, Jue'er. But medicine cannot save the Han Dynasty. There are so many suffering people in the world; how can you ever save them all one by one?"
"Who said I'm trying to save the Han? I don't know them. Jue just couldn't bear to see the people suffer."
"Sigh... Let's just keep this between us. I also feel pity for the victims... But have you ever thought, Jue'er, that news of your deeds has already reached Luoyang? So many people are interested in you. Right now, it's just rumors on a small scale, so people might think it's an exaggeration. But if you continue to save people like this, the Han Dynasty will certainly not tolerate you."
"Huh?" Su Shu couldn't help himself. "I'm helping him treat the sick and provide disaster relief, and he won't tolerate me? Is Liu Hong brain-dead?"
Zhang Fu's beard trembled. He paced back and forth several times before finally letting out a heavy sigh. "This illness cannot be cured! The effects of those pills cannot be dispelled!"
Hearing this, Su Shu frowned. "Jue doesn't understand."
"Every province and every commandery has a quota for the number of people who take the pills as part of their annual assessment. It must be met. I don't know what the Han wants to do, and you don't need to know either, Jue'er!" Zhang Fu placed his hands on his son's shoulders. "The court now has an army of a million, and the chrome-plating techniques of the Immortal Qin to suppress the nation. They are at the height of their power. You can go become an immortal, live a carefree life. Why get involved in these worldly affairs?"
Su Shu's brow furrowed tightly.
"Your ability to dispel the effects of those pills, once word of it spreads, will surely be coveted and not tolerated by the Han. The invitation from the Han family, the governor of Ji Province, is a small matter. An envoy from Si Province has already set out from Luoyang. You must leave Julu at once, Jue'er."
Su Shu was stunned for a moment. As if sensing something, he glanced over and saw his mother leaning against the window, weeping silently.
"I have to go... when?"
"Tonight. The carriage has been prepared for you." Zhang Fu sighed, supporting himself on the desk to keep from collapsing. "Healing the sick is a good thing. I didn't want to stop you, so I let you do it. Jue'er, you undoubtedly have the makings of a celestial. Your mother and I have arranged to send you to study with Master Sima Hui of the Water Mirror in Yu Province. The Master's divine arts are unparalleled in the Han. Jue'er, you must not waste your time."
The stars twinkled dimly.
The thin young man sat with his head bowed, silently gazing at the swaying candlelight of a lantern hanging inside the carriage. A fleet of luxurious carriages sped south under the dark night sky. The old steward driving the carriage knew the young master was in a bad mood and remained silent.
The carriages left the city and entered the main road. Gazing at the piles of burnt bones waiting to be buried in the withered wheat fields under the moonlight, Su Shu was in a daze.
"Was it wrong for me to save people, Steward?" the young man asked, his fringe swaying with the carriage's jolts.
"You were not wrong, Young Master. It is the world that is wrong." The old man turned his head back, reached out, and, taking the liberty, patted the young master's head on behalf of the Master. "This old servant has heard it on the streets. Everyone you treated is very grateful to you. They praise you as a living god who has come to save the world."
"A god. Is that useful?" Su Shu said, word by word. "This world is plagued by floods and epidemics, yet I've never seen any god show their power."
"Didn't you invite a god?"
"It's embarrassing. I was just lying," Su Shu sighed. "I was never the reincarnation of any celestial."
"Heh... hehehe— If everyone believes in you and worships you, then you are, without a doubt, a living god."
The road gradually became rougher as they entered the mountains. Spotting the dilapidated, seemingly ready-to-collapse temple, Su Shu felt the Secret Sutra of the Seven Chapters of the Profound Lord in his robes and stopped the carriage. He had read through the scripture three or four times. He still couldn't understand it, but it had given him some inspiration.
Dismissing the accompanying guards, Su Shu entered the ruined temple with a candle and bowed to the idol whose tentacles he had broken off. "I do not know your name, so I shall call you Profound Lord. Upon my return from my studies, Jue will remember to build you a temple."
As his words fell, a golden shimmer emerged from behind the idol. A pure white fur, whiter than snow, was tipped with a magnificent, regal gold, as if it had been dyed. Her three fluffy tails swayed teasingly behind her.
A large white fox, the size of a small mastiff, leaped down from the altar. It walked with graceful, lotus-like steps to Su Shu's feet, squinted its translucent amber eyes in contentment, and curled its soft body, rubbing against his ankles.
Su Shu bent down and picked up the fox. "Yo, have you come to repay my kindness, three-tails? You're a bit heavy. What a fat fox."
Hearing her benefactor call her fat, the white-and-gold fox shot the boy a resentful glance. Her soft tail gently brushed against Su Shu's face, making his brow itch.
"A-choo!"
Seeing her benefactor sneeze, the large white-and-gold fox giggled. Her hazy amber eyes curved into crescent moons, her laughter as charming and affectionate as a young girl in love.
"You're a one... a one... wait, you're a whole litter!" With his new divine skill of 'repairing people,' Su Shu's keen senses immediately noticed something extraordinary about this fox's body. "Your whole litter of whimpering foxes cultivated into one giggling big fox?"
The big fox squinted and nodded obediently.
"..."
A look of utter despair appeared on the young man's face.
"This isn't what I wanted... my... my harem of dozens of fox girls... lolis, maidens, mature women, married ladies, beautiful wives... all my character designs... My house is huge, it could have fit all of them... Oh, sorry, I don't have a home to go back to now. Fine, I guess concentrated is better?"
Su Shu lifted the fox up, meeting her love-struck eyes. "So, can you meow like a cat?"
The big fox shook her head, letting out a soft whimper.
"Then can you turn into a big-breasted fox girl?" At least this big! .jpg
The big fox still shook her head. Whether it meant she couldn't or just couldn't yet, Su Shu held out hope.
"A mature woman? A beautiful maiden? At the very least, a white-haired, red-eyed, white-stockinged loli fox girl would be fine..."
The big fox looked at him mournfully.
"Your cultivation level is low, then. What can you do?"
The white-and-gold fox gave Su Shu a very human-like eye roll, leaped onto his shoulder, and wrapped herself around his neck like a warm scarf.
"Oh, so you're one of those freeloading foxes from Weibo, looking for a sugar daddy, huh? Never mind then, I like pretty but useless things." Stroking the fox's soft fur, Su Shu, now with an extra scarf, felt the probability of him getting shoulder pain had just increased significantly. What a fat fox!
Under the admiring gazes of his retainers, Su Shu emerged from the temple wearing his fox scarf. In just a short while, the Young Master has attracted another fox. Well, it's just one fox. Everyone knows the Young Master is a natural with foxes, so this is normal.
"This one, is the Young Master going to keep it?"
"I'm keeping her! I'll raise her myself." Su Shu stroked the fat fox on his neck, deciding to whisper in her ear every day, I say you look like a big-breasted fox-eared beauty, as big as Tiamat and the witches, to promote her growth and development.
「Through connections, you are sent to Master Sima Hui's Water Mirror Manor in Yu Province. Master Water Mirror, having already heard of your fame, comes out to greet you personally.」
「As dawn breaks over the main city of Yingchuan Commandery, you look up at the chairman of the Water Mirror Group before you. A smiling man in a long robe, wearing sunglasses and leaning on a cane, walks out. He's actually blind.」
"Master Sima? Are you alright?" Su Shu asked as he saw Sima Hui stumble over the threshold. He rushed forward to support him, otherwise, the man would have definitely fallen flat on his face.
"Not bad. Excellent constitution, quick reflexes." The smiling man grabbed Su Shu's arm in a reverse grip, sensing the torrential flow of magical energy within the boy's body. Damn it, these Magic Circuits... what kind of peerless genius is this?! "Such aptitude, even a genius like myself is moved. Good Zhang Jue, a fine 'Jue'! Come, Zhang Jue, into the academy. I will personally welcome you."
Su Shu steadied him. Sima Hui was so eager he tried to drag the boy inside, only to find he couldn't move him. "...Hmm? What is it?"
"I have a question for you first, Master." Su Shu glanced at the departing Zhang family carriage. The large fox was lazily draped around his neck. "So, what can you teach me?"
Faced with this sharp question, Sima Hui, an old hand at this, pondered for a moment and threw the question back. "So, what do you want to learn?"
"Jue has not heard much of Water Mirror Manor's reputation, nor do I know what skills you possess." Su Shu, of course, knew that in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Sima Hui was the one who recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei. But how old was the 'Sleeping Dragon' now? He was probably just a little boy. Not to mention, this was the Type-Moon Three Kingdoms. The fact that Sima Hui, whose divine arts were said to be unparalleled, was running a school here as a hermit suggested that learning Daoist arts couldn't save the Han.
"When it comes to famous academies, the Imperial University in Luoyang is considered the best. Zheng Xuan and Lu Zhi are renowned teachers whom all scholars in the land aspire to learn from. Their prestige and knowledge are universally acknowledged." Su Shu's words were a sharp, painful jab. "I wonder, what skills do you have to teach Jue?"
Heh, this Zhang Jue kid, he hasn't even enrolled and he's already looking down on me. This is a first.
"The Imperial University?" Sima Hui gave a sharp critique. "Not even a dog would go there! Zheng Xuan, Lu Zhi, what bullshit great scholars. They can't even compare to a single hair from my Water Mirror Manor."
Water Mirror Manor? More like the Zaun Manor!
"You still haven't answered my question, Master."
"Teaching students according to their aptitude is my greatest skill." Sima Hui waved his hand. Without forming any hand seals, a ripple like a water mirror spread out before them. He pulled Su Shu and stepped right through it.
"Whoa... is this a Daoist art, Master?"
"What bullshit Daoist art. It's just a trick that communicates with the ley lines, not yet worthy of being called a Daoist art."
They stepped from the entrance directly into the classroom. Facing the seven or eight disciples sprawled lazily and improperly below the lectern, Sima Hui smiled and took Su Shu's hand.
"Let me introduce everyone. This is my new disciple, Zhang Jue. From now on, he will be your junior brother."
"Jue hasn't agreed yet." Su Shu gently pulled his hand away from Sima Hui's.
"Heh... you little rascal." Any other great family would be begging him to take their son as a disciple. He had never seen one so rebellious. Sima Hui was getting fired up. "The disciples I, Sima Hui, teach are each ten, no, nine times better than those wastes at the Imperial University. Chen Gong, get your ass up here and show Zhang Jue what you can do!"
Su Shu glanced at the slouching, listless youths below. These are the disciples of the Water Mirror Academy? Nine out of ten of them look like punk rockers, with all sorts of ridiculous hair colors.
At Sima Hui's call, a purple-haired youth with glasses, despite his young age, lazily stood up from his seat and slowly put on a pair of white gloves. This is Chen Gong? The Chen Gong? Why is his hairstyle in the Type-Moon world so out there? A long strand of hair dangled in front of Chen Gong's forehead, making Su Shu want to yank it off.
"So, should I blow him up, Master?"
"Just beat him up a bit."
As Su Shu struggled to keep a straight face, Sima Hui said with a smile, "I've specifically asked a disciple to enlighten you on my methods, Jue. This doesn't count as bullying the new kid, does it?"
"Heh, a decisive master indeed." Su Shu raised a single hand, smiled, and provocatively beckoned to Chen Gong with his middle finger. "Come."
Chen Gong? Just a squishy strategist. Among mages, no one was better at close combat than him.
Then, to his stunned expression, the young Chen Gong picked up a sleeping black-haired boy next to him and swung him violently at Su Shu.
"...Huh?" What kind of move is this?
"What's happening?!" The startled black-haired boy's eyes shot open from his dream.
Su Shu caught the innocent, sleeping-in-class boy, only to see a talisman written in cinnabar stuck to the boy's chest, which began to glow with an explosive, fiery light...
BOOM—!
A violent explosion erupted, blowing away half of the Water Mirror Academy's classroom. Su Shu was thrown back by the impact, falling to the ground while clutching the fox. A brilliant aura of electricity erupted from his body, a vast protective shield of magnetic energy deflecting all of the blast away from him and the fox. Still, his appearance was a bit of a disheveled mess.
"Fuck, what the hell was that..." He could certainly survive an explosion like that. But the other boys in the classroom, those without any defensive skills, would all die. Isn't Chen Gong supposed to be Lu Bu's strategist? Why is he using people as human bombs? Who the hell wrote this Type-Moon setting?! Is this Water Mirror Manor full of terrorists?
Su Shu dazedly looked up. Amidst the tragic ruins, the entire scene seemed to be frozen in time. A ripple spread out. In the reflection of the water mirror, all the chaos was refreshed.
Su Shu opened his eyes to find himself standing in the classroom again, a stunned look on his face. "It was... an illusion?"
"Illusion and reality, truth and falsehood. A flower in the mirror, the moon in the water. Who can truly distinguish between what is real and what is illusory?" Sima Hui said with a mysterious smile, tapping Su Shu's head three times with his ruler. "Well, are you willing to become my disciple now? I am preparing to train you to be the Eighth Wonder of the Water Mirror, Zhang Jue."
"The Eight Wonders of the Water Mirror?"
"That is, my eight most prized disciples. In the future, they will be a force that can sway the course of this world."
Su Shu didn't answer, instead glancing at the eight slouching youths below. "But, Master, it seems you already have eight disciples."
"Sima Yi is an auditor. I have not accepted him as a disciple."
In a corner, one person had no desk, sitting only on a bamboo chair. A similarly thin, black-haired youth gave Su Shu a slight smile. He had long, flowing hair, a pale complexion, and delicate veins on the back of his hands. His features were so exquisite he could have been a woman.
Hah... Sima Yi? This girly-looking guy is the young Sima Yi? The mastermind of the Sima family that usurped the fruits of the Three Kingdoms, and Sima Hui won't even take him as a disciple?
Seeing this, Su Shu grew even more curious about who the remaining prodigies were. Could Zhuge Liang be among them?
"I wonder who your other disciples are, Master."
"Introduce yourselves," Sima Hui said, tapping the lectern.
"Chen Gong." The purple-haired youth with slightly dark skin and a cinnabar dot on his forehead introduced himself, looking at Su Shu with great interest. "To be able to take my lightning-fire talisman, your Daoist arts are quite good. Is it lightning magic? I've never heard of the Zhang family having a lightning magic lineage. Are you the one who is the reincarnation of a celestial?"
"Xun Yu." The silver-haired youth nodded slightly, a perfect, polite smile on his face. "Welcome, Junior Brother Zhang Jue."
"Jia Xu." A youth with a cold aura like Orochimaru's nodded, a perpetual shadow in his eyes. He seemed to dislike Su Shu's lightning magic. "I don't like you very much. Why would you bring a fox to class? It's against the rules." The big fox couldn't be bothered with this venomous snake.
"Guo Jia... cough cough—" Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, a sickly-looking youth gave an apologetic nod. "Sorry, an old ailment."
"Zhou Yu." The most handsome youth present smiled. His heroic and commanding presence seemed to draw attention at all times, a natural air of superiority about him. "Zhang Jue, you're not bad. I have high hopes for you. You have the right to be our fellow disciple."
"Pang Tong." A youth with mottled skin, seemingly a man of few words, stated his name and then closed his eyes, sinking back into meditation.
"Uh." The black-haired youth still in Su Shu's hands tapped his arm. "I'm the one who..."
With every name, Su Shu's pupils contracted slightly. Finally, he gently set down the sleepy-eyed boy and patted his not-yet-fully-awake face. "Zhuge Villager?"
Zhuge Liang: "...Huh?"
So that's how it is. The entire future brain trust of the Three Kingdoms, the most intelligent and cunning group of strategists, were all gathered here at the Water Mirror Manor, ready to unleash countless brilliant schemes. No wonder Sima Hui was so arrogant.
If the Imperial University in Luoyang was one of the top two universities, then Water Mirror Manor was the Whampoa Military Academy.
"Heh..." Looking at the monsters before him, Su Shu slowly began to smile. "Zhang Jue. The 'Jue' from 'enlightenment' (觉悟)."
"Hehe... good. Then, I hereby announce that Zhang Jue is now a member of the Water Mirror—"
"—But I refuse."
A cold, emotionless female voice echoed through the classroom.
BOOM—
Countless explosive, blood-red spears, like sharp needles, pierced through the Water Mirror's pocket dimension, tearing a violent rift in the illusion.
A beautiful, black-haired woman in a large cloak shook her wrist. Creeping threads of blood reformed into her fair, smooth right hand.
Yu! .jpg
Followed by her obedient maid, the black-haired beauty strode into the Water Mirror Academy as if no one else existed.
"Apologies, my lady has interrupted your lesson and broken your illusionary seal. Xu Fu will compensate for the repairs to the Water Mirror Academy." The black-haired maid signed a silver draft for a huge sum, let it flutter to the ground, and bowed with a smile.
"Announce my ass, Sima Hui. I announce that this guy was already claimed by us at Nanhua." Giving Sima Hui a dirty look, the black-haired beauty grabbed Su Shu's hand and started to drag him out. The sight of this hot-tempered lady made sweat break out on Master Water Mirror's forehead.
"C'mon, let's go back to Mount Wuling to cultivate, little junior brother. How did you end up running out of Ji Province after just taking a nap..."
"...Who the hell are you?" Su Shu was speechless.
"Who the hell am I? I'm your damn senior sister, Zhang Jue! When your mother gave birth to you, it was that old man from Nanhua who did the divination!"
"Don't know you." The white-and-gold fox bared her teeth at the beauty.
Su Shu pulled his hand away, calming the big fox on his neck. He looked at the beautiful, delicate face with its arched eyebrows and felt a wave of annoyance. "Whether you're Nanhua or Beihua, you have no right to make decisions for me."
The black-haired beauty rubbed her chin for a moment, finding the situation amusing. Never one to care about the thoughts of mortals, she raised her hand and chopped towards the back of Su Shu's neck. I'll just drag him back to cultivate first. The hope of reviving my dear friend rests on this guy, after all.
However... the power of a True Ancestor was lightly caught by the thin young man before her.
Su Shu pushed her hand away, holding the fox in his arms, and stood behind Sima Hui. "...I have to say, you are very annoying."
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