Chapter 27: Their First Day at Hunter Academy!

However, Jiang Zihan would never blame his mother for hiding the truth from him. Instead, he’s really happy that she was able to find a husband who cherished and respected her. As long as she’s able to live happily, that’s enough.

But still, because of that childhood experience, he seemed to have lost the ability to trust others easily. For years, the only person that he had ever believed in was Ling Xiao.

Ling Xiao... As he thought of him, he lowered his eyes and hid all his emotions under his eyes.

"Zihan...? Zihan?!"

His mother’s voice brought him back to reality. He shook his head lightly, thinking that he might just be overthinking. Before he could find a way to go back to his original world, there was no point in recalling anything about the past.

He reminded himself again to focus on the present. Then he let out a gentle smile and said, "Mom, I was just a bit lost in my thoughts."

"Are you sure? I noticed that your expression wasn’t right before. Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?" his mother asked with concern.

"I’m fine; there’s no need to worry," he replied calmly as he comforted her. "Let’s start celebrating, or else the cake’s gonna melt."

——

"Where is my toothbrush? I remember I just opened a new one yesterday," Jiang Zihan asked as he looked around the restroom.

"I’ll get you a new one, and we could look for the one you lost when we come back," Mo Shiyan said as he bent down and unwrapped a brand-new toothbrush, handing it over to Jiang Zihan.

"Feels like there have been a lot of things missing these days..." Jiang Zihan muttered as he looked toward the clock.

Jiang Zihan: "!!!"

It’s already 7:30?!!

He quickly brushed his teeth, rushed toward the closet, and wore his uniform before rushing out of the room. Mo Shiyan was already standing by the door, waiting for him with a sandwich in hand.

"Don’t rush; there’s still some time," Jiang Zihan’s mother said as he handed him a sandwich.

Jiang Zihan took it before saying goodbye to his mother and pulling Mo Shiyan out of the house. "Hurry up, Shiyan!"

"Be careful on the way!" she yelled by the door.

"We will!"

It was their first day attending the Interstellar Ice Hunting Academy, and in order to prepare for it, Jiang Zihan had set an alarm every ten minutes to make sure that he woke up in time, starting from six o’clock. However, none of them seemed to wake him.

In the end, it was Mo Shiyan who had finally dragged him out of bed.

"Good thing we were still able to catch the bus, or else we’re definitely gonna be late for school," Jiang Zihan said as he panted heavily to catch up to the bus.

Mo Shiyan gently patted him on his back to help him catch his breath. "It’s okay. If we couldn’t catch up, then we could just call a taxi."

"That’s gonna be so expensive. Don’t forget that we still haven’t brought any equipment yet because of the cost. Who knows what is waiting for us at the academy," Jiang Zihan replied as he took a sip of water.

However, even though Jiang Zihan was mentally prepared and knew that there might be some challenges waiting for them at the academy, it seemed like he wasn’t fully prepared yet.

The moment they stepped through the academy gates, Mo Shiyan felt a hostile gaze from behind. He turned his head and scanned around, but there wasn’t anything weird.

"What is it, Shiyan?" Jiang Zihan asked in confusion.

"...Nothing. I might have been mistaken," Mo Shiyan replied as he continued to walk toward the school with him.

The next second, the surroundings around them suddenly changed. The school buildings transformed into a forest, and they instinctively moved back-to-back, their eyes staring around cautiously.

"Is this... an illusion?" Jiang Zihan asked, his voice low.

Mo Shiyan shook his head. "I don’t sense the flowing of magical energy around. It seems like an actual forest."

Suddenly, Mo Shiyan held Jiang Zihan by the wrist and jumped up. His other hand wrapped around Jiang Zihan’s waist as they landed on the other side. Jiang Zihan looked down and noticed that a longsword had suddenly appeared at the location where they had originally stood.

Jiang Zihan: "!!!"

Then Mo Shiyan materialized a longbow in his hand, aiming in a certain direction. The next second, a scream of agony echoed through the forest.

The sudden cry scared Jiang Zihan a little, so he subconsciously stepped a few steps backwards, while Mo Shiyan stepped forward and stood in front of him.

"Who’s there?" Mo Shiyan asked, his voice cold and sharp.

Seeing that there was no response, he drew his bowstring to full tension again. Just as he was about to send another arrow, there was a figure who suddenly walked out from behind a tree.

"Don’t... Don’t shoot us!" he shouted, covering his injured arm with a hand as blood continued to seep out.

"You are...? Jiang Zihan asked, his voice hesitating. He didn’t remember seeing this person before.

Before that person responded, a few more figures were stepping out of the forest and surrounding them in a circle. Jiang Zihan frowned a little. He lowered his hand, and in the next moment, a strand of thread materialized above his palm.

Magical energy ran throughout his body toward his palm; the silvery-white threads turned light purple and struck toward the nearest opponent under his control.

No matter who they are, it’s best to control them first.

That person reacted very fast. It was obvious that he was an experienced hunter as he immediately realized that there was a distance limit for Jiang Zihan’s control, so he jumped out of that distance. He twisted through the air, and suddenly, a long flute appeared in his hand.

A flute...?

Jiang Zihan suddenly recalled something that he had learned in a book before, and immediately yelled out. "Cover your ears!"