Vol 4. Chapter 162: A Good Impression

As the black-haired girl gradually approached, Lingluo couldn't help but feel her heart tremble when she finally saw the girl's face clearly.

The girl before her was dressed in a cute, casual short-skirted outfit.

She possessed clear, bright sapphire-blue eyes, delicately arched eyebrows, and long eyelashes that fluttered ever so slightly. Her flawless, fair skin carried a faint rosy blush, while her thin lips were as tender and alluring as rose petals, so soft and delicate that a single glance seemed enough to leave someone intoxicated.

Her lustrous black hair, as soft and beautiful as flowing water, cascaded down like a waterfall, falling perfectly across her slender shoulders...

Her figure was graceful and slender, and she stood with an elegant, captivating bearing.

...

Such a beautiful girl, combined with that enchanting and friendly smile, left Lingluo momentarily stunned.

During her time in the Saint Lomari Empire, Lingluo had seen countless beautiful village girls and noble young ladies from prestigious families. Yet none of those women could compare to the black-haired girl standing before her.

In terms of appearance, this girl was certainly no less beautiful than the class monitor Lingluo knew.

However, compared to Mengxi's saintly, innocent beauty, the girl before her possessed a faint, almost imperceptible trace of seductive charm and wicked allure...

But regardless of how one described it, the person before her was undoubtedly a breathtaking beauty rarely seen in this world.

Looking at such a girl, Lingluo unconsciously bit her lip and lowered her head in shame.

An indescribable sense of inferiority gradually surfaced in her heart.

As she lowered her head slightly, Lingluo slowly raised a hand and pulled her disheveled hair down to conceal her disfigured right eye, which had long since gone blind and now looked rather frightening.

At the same time, she gradually withdrew the magical power she had been channeling into her spatial ring.

After all, the immediate danger had already passed. There was naturally no need to use her final life-saving trump card...

After doing her best to conceal the wounds on her upper body, Lingluo asked quietly,

"Are you... the new... homeroom teacher? The one from the Black Rose Family?"

"That's right. You can call me Teacher Yu, Student Lingluo."

The black-haired girl generously offered a sweet, friendly smile and displayed the Black Rose Family crest embroidered on her sleeve to prove her identity.

Naturally, this black-haired girl was none other than our Miss Yumo.

After hearing the name 'Lingluo,' Miss Yumo, who had only recently left the bookstore and originally had no intention of getting involved in troublesome affairs, had come over to investigate.

After listening to the conversation between Lingluo and Kadila for a while, Yumo became even more certain that the girl was indeed the student who had been absent from school for so long.

And so, she had intervened a little and helped her out.

"Teachers helping their students is only natural, after all~"

As for Kadila and his companions, considering that they were dressed as government officials, Yumo had decided against killing them to avoid unnecessary trouble in Anvika.

Instead, she had simply given them a concussion and a healthy dose of amnesia before calling it a day.

...

After confirming that Lingluo's eyes held no suspicion or wariness, Yumo slowly approached the green-haired girl.

Carefully holding down her skirt, she crouched in front of Lingluo and began examining her wounds.

To inspect them properly, Yumo had no choice but to undo Lingluo's tattered robe.

This immediately stirred some resistance in Lingluo.

Influenced by her deeply rooted feelings of inferiority, Lingluo was reluctant to expose the ugly parts of her body before someone so beautiful.

Well, strictly speaking, Lingluo didn't want to show her hideous scars and burns to anyone.

She didn't want others to pity her.

Of course, the head maid who stayed by her side was an exception.

If it was that silly Pipi, Lingluo wouldn't mind showing her scars at all. After all, Pipi wouldn't pity her. On the contrary, she would probably mock her or even compliment her scars.

But...

When facing anyone other than Pipi, Lingluo couldn't help struggling in resistance.

Unfortunately, in her already weakened state, her resistance was completely meaningless.

Ultimately, faced with Yumo's slightly forceful gaze and terrifying strength, Lingluo chose to compromise.

And so, Miss Yumo opened Lingluo's white robe and the jacket beneath it, revealing the fair skin hidden underneath, along with horrifying knife wounds and numerous hideous burns.

When all of these were exposed before her new homeroom teacher, Lingluo instinctively curled up.

Intense embarrassment and uneasiness appeared in her emerald-green eye.

She seemed worried that this beautiful woman would look at her scars with disgust.

However, Lingluo soon discovered that she had apparently been overthinking things.

Not only did Teacher Yu show no disgust upon seeing the burns, but a hint of admiration actually flashed through her eyes.

This left Lingluo thoroughly puzzled.

Nevertheless, her heart gradually settled down.

Meanwhile, upon seeing the burns and knife scars covering Lingluo's delicate body, Miss Yumo couldn't help recalling the girl's experiences recorded in her student file.

This was a girl who had started as a lowly commoner and, through her own hard work and determination, overcome countless dangers and hardships.

Only after surviving numerous near-death experiences had she finally earned the qualifications to become a candidate for Imperial Sovereign of Saint Lomari.

The wounds covering Lingluo's body seemed to tell the story of all the hardships she had endured over the years.

To overcome so many difficulties, suffer such horrific injuries, and still manage to survive with such determination...

Yumo genuinely admired her.

Perhaps this was precisely the cockroach-like tenacity that Miss Yumo believed a true Child of Destiny ought to possess...

Still, seeing so many wounds inevitably made Yumo feel a little regretful.

If it weren't for the scars covering her face and body, this student named Lingluo could probably have blossomed into a stunning beauty herself.

After all, the girl's natural features were actually quite lovely.

After reflecting on this for a moment, Yumo knitted her brows and focused all her attention on Lingluo's abdomen and thigh.

"These injuries of yours... are rather serious."

At this very moment, a huge, deep gash had been carved into the right side of Lingluo's abdomen.

Blood and intestines continuously spilled from the wound.

Her right leg was twisted and broken at an utterly unnatural angle. The fractured leg bone had pierced straight through the muscles of her thigh like a sharp spear, creating a truly horrifying sight.

If these injuries weren't treated promptly, Lingluo would probably die from excessive blood loss very soon.

Under normal circumstances, even if her life could be saved, her leg would likely be completely ruined.

She would lose the use of that leg for the rest of her life.

Clearly, the green-haired girl before her understood this perfectly well.

Yet what surprised Yumo was that Lingluo showed no signs of panic or terror.

Her expression remained remarkably calm as she quietly observed her own bloodied, mangled body and the person treating her wounds.

Whenever Yumo's hands touched an injured area, the resulting agony would have been enough to make most girls her age burst into uncontrollable tears.

Yet Lingluo never uttered a sound.

She merely bit her lip tightly, enduring the excruciating pain in silence.

This girl...

"She's quite tough..."

Yumo couldn't help praising the green-haired girl inwardly.

Although they had only spent a few short minutes together, this girl, who had endured countless hardships yet remained brave and resilient, had already left quite a favorable impression on Miss Yumo.

Considering that favorable impression, combined with the fact that Lingluo was also her student, Miss Yumo didn't hesitate to retrieve the elves' sacred healing medicine, 'Tears of Nature,' from her spatial ring.

After briefly cleaning and treating the wounds, Yumo gently applied the cool liquid, brimming with rich life energy, to Lingluo's injuries.

For a moment, a faint emerald-green glow flickered into existence.

As the Tears of Nature began taking effect, Lingluo's wounds gradually stopped bleeding and slowly started to heal.

The heart-wrenching agony also began fading away, allowing the green-haired girl's tense expression to relax.

When Lingluo saw that her new teacher was actually using the precious Tears of Nature to heal her, she made no attempt to conceal the gratitude in her gaze.

After all, this was their very first meeting.

And to a great family like the Black Rose Family, she was nothing more than someone of lowly birth...

Thinking of this, Lingluo felt her favorable impression of this lifesaving benefactor steadily increasing...

"How do you feel? Does it still hurt?"

Yumo asked with concern.

Lingluo obediently nodded.

"Mm, much better. It doesn't hurt nearly as much anymore. Thank you, Teacher Yu."

"Mm, good. I'm glad it's working."

As she spoke, Yumo took some bandages from her spatial ring and began skillfully wrapping Lingluo's wounds.

Back when she lived in the Great Winter Forest, whenever her children injured themselves while playing or training, Yumo had always personally tended to their wounds and bandaged them.

Consequently, Yumo had accumulated quite a bit of experience in treating injuries.

With Lingluo cooperating obediently, the treatment was completed in no time.

After confirming that Lingluo's life force was no longer draining away and that her life was no longer in danger, Yumo slowly stood up.

Placing both hands on her hips, she tilted her head and questioned the girl with a slightly displeased expression.

"All right, then. Now... could you explain to me exactly what happened here, Student Lingluo?"

"Hmm???"

However, upon seeing that expression and those familiar gestures, Lingluo didn't immediately answer Yumo's question.

Instead, she involuntarily froze for a moment.

At that instant, Lingluo suddenly recalled all the times Pipi had scolded her after she returned from one of her dangerous adventures.

For a moment, the figures of two beautiful women seemed to faintly overlap in Lingluo's eyes.

She wasn't sure whether it was just her imagination, but...

Somehow, she couldn't shake the feeling that...

"They're... actually quite alike..."