MRSG Chapter 17

Title: Killing Fish?

Content: I heard that an hour ago, a bighead fish from the neighboring Academy of Fine Arts lost control during practice, flew into the dormitory building, and got killed by You Qi—then stewed for Zhou Mu to eat.

1L: Damn you, I’m the mist whale! I didn’t lose control; my opponent did and knocked me over. I’m still alive!

2L: …Lmao, rumor debunked on the spot.

3L: Bighead fish?? The campus clinic’s internet is pretty fast, huh??

4L: Since you’re here, tell us what happened. It’s been a long time since You Qi fought anyone. He’s been at Hualing for years and has already established his dominance. I remember back in the day, some reckless beasts thought they could challenge him just because they were also fierce creatures—turns out, there are levels to this game. Was the situation really that critical this time? Otherwise, why would You Qi explode like that?

5L: Probably because his roommate was still there. Unlike other students who are used to running at the first sign of trouble on campus, I bet he stayed for his roommate. The OP’s theory makes sense—You Qi has indeed been feeding Zhou Mu all this time. @Gui Youqi

6L: But he could’ve just taken his roommate and run.

7L: Run for what? Do you think You Qi’s roommate has to suffer like that? Have you seen how well You Qi has been feeding him? Too bad his roommate doesn’t seem to have gained much weight.

8L: Speaking of which, Zhou Mu actually signed up for the sports competition. I accidentally caught a glimpse of his name, but he hasn’t been practicing at all. He’s probably just playing around.

9L: Playing around in a university championship? So arrogant. No wonder he’s You Qi’s man.

10L: The one above, be careful, or you might get beaten to death.

11L: If I were You Qi, I’d do the same. I’d keep him in my pocket and feed him every day. So fragrant, so cute—I wouldn’t eat him right away. Ah, talking about this makes me hungry, let me order some takeout.

……

30L: [Picture][Picture][Picture] My dinner~

31L: [Picture] Digging in!

33L: ?? I knew this would turn into a food thread again the moment someone mentioned Zhou Mu.

34L: I’m the mist whale! Seriously, does no one care about me? I broke You Qi’s face!!

Dorm Room 1203

Zhou Mu looked deeply at You Qi, unusually quiet compared to his usual liveliness.

You Qi wasn’t sure if it was because of his actions or his words. Fortunately, Zhou Mu’s expression only lasted a moment before he gently rubbed the wound on You Qi’s cheek with his fingers. “…How could I be afraid of you?”

You Qi wanted to say something else.

“Hurry inside, I’ll help you with the medicine,” Zhou Mu said, turning around.

You Qi suddenly grabbed his hand.

“I’m getting the medicine,” Zhou Mu pulled his hand back. He glanced at his palm, still stained with You Qi’s blood and smelling of iron. After a brief hesitation, he wiped it clean with a towel before retrieving some leftover medicine.

Seeing this, You Qi touched his wound and hesitated as well. Maybe now wasn’t the right time—Zhou Mu was still shaken.

He rested one hand on the windowsill, shifting from a squat to a seated position, his head lowered as Zhou Mu applied medicine to his cheek with a cotton swab. Even though it stung, he didn’t dare move for fear of scaring Zhou Mu again.

Zhou Mu’s movements were still a bit mechanical. As he applied the medicine, he was lost in thought—why would a ferocious beast like You Qi display such an irrational level of trust? When he left home for school, he had sworn never to contact his family again, but now he was tempted to send a message back to ask his elders about it.

You Qi remained silent, but he could feel that Zhou Mu’s touch wasn’t filled with fear. That reassured him. All he needed was to wait for the right moment… With that thought, even the wind blowing in from outside felt gentler.

“Director Cui is coming! Director Cui is coming!”

Outside, students were shouting and scrambling to hide contraband items.

But Cui Jue didn’t seem to be here for a dorm inspection. Soon, there was a knock at the door of Room 1203, along with the grumbling of the door guardian grass.

You Qi simply said, “Come in.”

Cui Jue peeked in cautiously, looking exasperated from being scolded by the guardian grass. “That was quite a commotion just now, haha. I just sent student Yu Daoyi to the campus clinic and came to check on you two.”

Yu Daoyi—so that’s the mist whale’s name. Given that You Qi was involved, it wasn’t surprising that Cui Jue was paying close attention.

Even though You Qi had beaten up a fellow student, the fact was that the student had broken school rules first. Naturally, Cui Jue wouldn’t punish You Qi. In fact, he even praised him: “Good thing You Qi stepped in, or the other students might’ve been frightened…”

And to think that Hualing had managed to educate a naturally bloodthirsty, desire-driven beast into such a disciplined student. The years of effort were truly paying off.

As Cui Jue approached, he finally noticed the wounds on You Qi’s face and the medicine still in Zhou Mu’s hands.

“What happened to your face? Who bit you?” Cui Jue asked, puzzled.

“Director Cui, who would bite him like that?” Zhou Mu said indignantly. “That little fat fish scraped him! Isn’t that a serious violation? Shouldn’t he be punished?”

“Uh… Haha, well, we’ll wait until he wakes up before deciding,” Cui Jue said, still finding it odd. “He actually managed to scratch You Qi? You Qi, were you already injured before this?”

You Qi thought Cui Jue was acting a bit paranoid. “No.”

Cui Jue gave a sheepish laugh. “Oh, that’s good. I just came to check in—I’ve still got things to do.”

Zhou Mu grinned. “Director Cui, are you busy welcoming the university championship teams? We signed up for the team combat event. Got any intel for us?”

Cui Jue looked to the sky. “I wish. But apparently, the judge this time is a Xiezhi—those legendary law beasts are known for their absolute fairness. I doubt I’ll get a chance to play favorites.”

“Besides, even without intel, I believe you guys can take the championship and bring glory to Hualing,” Cui Jue encouraged, but his tone also carried a note of caution. “Even though it’s your first time competing, Zhou Mu only just came to Hualing this year. You Qi, you have to protect your roommate.”

Since Zhou Mu was one of the few demon races with unique traits, Cui Jue had always looked out for him.

Hearing this, You Qi responded seriously, “Understood, sir. I will protect him.”

Cafeteria.

Zhou Mu, You Qi, and Tian Qi were sitting together, listening to Tian Qi ramble about governance.

“…You see, when our homeroom teacher asks me to do something, she keeps calling me ‘Tian Qi this, Tian Qi that,’ but when I message her, she doesn’t even reply!” Tian Qi complained, even showing the messages to Zhou Mu.

“Eighteen sixty-second voice messages? No wonder she’s ignoring you,” Chun Shijiu suddenly chimed in from behind. Lately, he’d been training his mental state, making him almost ghost-like—you never knew where he was lurking.

Tian Qi quickly moved closer to Zhou Mu, using him as a shield. “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t I need to eat?” Chun Shijiu said leisurely, setting his tray down at their table. Seeing Tian Qi’s defensive stance toward Zhou Mu, he found it amusing and poked Tian Qi’s forehead with a finger.

“Watch out, You Qi might hit you!” Tian Qi turned his head away, even roping in You Qi to scare him.

“The cafeteria is a public space. Why would he hit me? Besides, I heard you recruited three other people for the group combat event—why’d you invite Gui Youqi but not me?” Chun Shijiu stared at Zhou Mu with ill intent, fully aware that Zhou Mu was afraid of him.

Zhou Mu immediately leaned into Tian Qi, who in turn huddled against You Qi. You Qi was wearing the white dress shirt Zhou Mu had gifted him. According to the campus forums, that shirt made him look much less intimidating.

You Qi said calmly, “We already have enough people.”

Chun Shijiu: “…”

For once, he couldn’t find a retort—he was the one who had challenged Gui Youqi in the first place.

“Hey, look!” Tian Qi wriggled out of Zhou Mu’s hold and pointed out the window toward the courtyard. “That’s the referee panel for this competition! I even greeted them this morning. They were holding flowers, and when the referees came out, they shook them before presenting them.”

Hualing Academy does this kind of thing too? Wait… could this have been the team leader’s idea?

Zhou Mu wondered, peering through the window. He spotted Cui Jue accompanying a group of referees dressed in round-collared robes with jade belts. Leading the group was a middle-aged man with a refined yet authoritative presence, sporting a goatee.

“There, that’s the head referee, Xie Rulin. They say the Xiezhi has Kirin blood—like a one-horned Kirin. Pure Kirins are extinct nowadays, so maybe we’ll get to see Teacher Xie’s true form. It’d be like witnessing a Kirin in the flesh! They say Xiezhi can distinguish between good and evil. I swear, when we were giving flowers, Teacher Xie smiled at me. Do you think he sees me as a righteous official too…?” Tian Qi kept chattering, but then he noticed Zhou Mu staring out the window, standing up unconsciously.

He even stretched his neck a bit—was Zhou Mu even more eager to see a Kirin than he was?

You Qi noticed Zhou Mu’s odd expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“That guy… he looks like an old senior of mine.” Zhou Mu pointed at one of the referees. Though he said ‘looks like,’ with his keen eyesight, he was already certain. A smile gradually spread across his face.

Meanwhile, Cui Jue was leading the referees into the building—likely to host them for a meal.

The person Zhou Mu had pointed to was standing right beside Head Referee Xie Rulin. He appeared to be around twenty-three or twenty-four, dressed in snow-white robes. His eyes were sharp like cold stars, and his long, inky black hair was tied up with a jade crown. His demeanor was calm and measured, with an expression both cool and slightly arrogant. He had an ethereal aura, like a celestial being descended to earth.

As soon as he entered the cafeteria, he drew countless stares.

Zhou Mu was ecstatic, dashing toward the staircase in a few quick steps. “Senior!”

It was the first time You Qi had seen Zhou Mu so excited. But considering Zhou Mu had left home to study at Hualing Academy and had no old friends or hometown acquaintances at school, it wasn’t surprising.

The so-called senior looked up and, upon seeing Zhou Mu, seemed equally surprised. He whispered a few words to Xie Rulin and Cui Jue, then gracefully lifted his robes and ascended the stairs toward Zhou Mu.

“Oh? So he’s Xiao Mu’s senior?” Tian Qi murmured.

During the flower-giving ceremony that morning, aside from the Xiezhi, this man had left the deepest impression on him.

Turning to You Qi, Tian Qi whispered, “He’s super cold. When we gave flowers, he didn’t say a word. I overheard two teachers gossiping—apparently, he’s a relic of the human race who cultivated to enlightenment, which is why he has such presence. Plus, he’s under national protection!”

“…” Chun Shijiu scoffed coldly. “Heh. What, is he some kind of sentient Terracotta Warrior?”

Presence? More like pretentiousness.

Tian Qi was confused. “Terracotta Warrior? I don’t think so, but he does have a history spanning thousands of years.”

You Qi remained silent, but he, too, recalled how Zhou Mu had tricked Chun Shijiu before. Could the inspiration for that lie in this very senior?

If so, their relationship must have been quite close…

By then, the senior had reached the top of the stairs. Zhou Mu beamed and greeted him. “It’s been a while, Senior Cong! You’re as impressive as ever!”

The senior gave a slight nod and clasped his hands in greeting.

Senior Cong?

Chun Shijiu’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Didn’t you say he was some ancient relic? What, is he a thousand-year-old scallion just dug out of the ground?”

With an air of refined detachment, the senior replied, “You are mistaken. I am Qing Cong, the sword of Duke Huan of Qi, and have since attained enlightenment. Hence, I go by the name ‘Lord Cong.’”

Chun Shijiu grew even more suspicious. “…There was actually a sword named Cong?”

Zhou Mu, feeling quite smug, explained on his behalf. “Haven’t you read any books? ‘Duke Huan’s Cong, Duke Tai’s Que, King Wen’s Lu, Lord Zhuang’s Xu, Helü’s Ganjian, Mo Ye, Juque, and Bilu—these were all legendary swords of old.’”

Duke Huan of Qi was one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period, and his sword was not only an ancient artifact but one of significant historical value.

But Chun Shijiu, having been tricked by Zhou Mu before, was highly skeptical of anything he said now. In fact, Zhou Mu defending this obvious show-off only made him more suspicious. “This is a scam. You two made this up, didn’t you?”

There’s a saying that trouble comes in threes. Chun Shijiu had doubted him one time too many. Lord Cong’s gaze turned sharp.

“What’s with you?” he suddenly snapped in an ancient dialect, “I don’t care if you believe me or not—shut your mouth!” His ethereal presence instantly transformed into an imposing sword aura, and in his irritation, a thick Qi accent slipped into his speech. It was both intimidating and… oddly authentic.

Chun Shijiu: “…………”