Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

"There's only one truth... cigarette butt... men... like... being... exhausted afterward... so... getting burned... is reasonable, that's it."

The Duke and Duchess of Warner were immediately shocked. The Duchess said in disbelief, "No way, she didn't show any signs of that."

The middle-aged maid shook her head and whispered, "Madam, she's twenty-six."

The number immediately brought the couple to their senses.

Duke Warner looked at Ying Qin Guan again, his smile returning to normal... Ying Qin Guan hadn't clearly heard what the middle-aged maid had said. But the expression on Duke Warner's face gave him an extremely uneasy feeling... He should have made himself very clear. But why did he still have that expression? Could it be a misunderstanding?

This misunderstanding could have multiple meanings. Ying Qin Guan felt that he might have misunderstood, or the other party might have misunderstood. But neither was a good thing, so he decided to make his words clearer.

"Ahem." Ying Qin Guan placed his right fist in front of his mouth and coughed strategically to attract the attention of the other three. Then, seemingly casually, he said, "Actually, getting burned by this cigarette butt was quite accidental..."

He hesitated, finding it difficult to say. How should he put it? He'd gotten drunk and gone to play bumper cars with Nephalem. Come on, man, some things are better left unsaid...

Just as Ying Qin was racking his brains, the door was suddenly pushed open.

"What's going on? Who's here today...? Huh?" The naive and innocent-looking girl appeared, looking puzzled. "Teacher Ying, why are you here?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Cruel World

(PS: I'm 67 chapters short. I wanted to save up some chapters, but I found I can't anymore. If I had saved up some chapters, I would be too lazy to write them. I'll just write and post them as I go from now on.)

Wakaba?

Ying Qin Guan was slightly taken aback at first, then overjoyed, "You've come at the right time!"

He had been struggling to find the right words to say, as he found them rather difficult to articulate. Now that Ruoye was here, things were much simpler. Ruoye knew the whole story. Even if she hadn't witnessed the cigarette burn on his clothes, she certainly had a general idea of ​​how it happened. So even if he was a little vague, she could fill in the details later, and that would be fine!

At this thought, Ying Qin Guan coughed and said, "Ruo Ye, you've come at the right time. Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

"Yesterday...of course, we bumped into each other at the amusement park, so what?"

—Amusement park.

The trio immediately grasped this key phrase and transformed into Sherlock Holmes. Under what circumstances would an adult go to an amusement park? The answer, of course, is when they're with their girlfriend... So, the situation must be that yesterday, Ruoye went to an amusement park with her friends and encountered Jifa and Ying Qin Guan during the trip.

That must be it... otherwise, what else could it be? Ji Fa just betrayed Ruo Ye yesterday, their relationship couldn't possibly be so good that they went to an amusement park together. They've also heard of Ying Qin Guan, he probably doesn't have a girlfriend.

—It's impossible for two men, or even just one person, to go to an amusement park. Don't be ridiculous. There's no such stupid thing in the world. Surely no one is that pitiful!

"Well, after you left... some things happened." Ying Qin Guan began. From his perspective, this statement was accurate. After the Nephalem's attack, Ji Fa was enraged, and Ruo Ye, seeing the situation was dire, fled without a trace. Actually, to be precise, that incident had occurred before Ruo Ye's escape. But Ying Qin Guan thought that Ruo Ye might not have seen it at the time, and it wouldn't be easy to explain, so it was better to simply say it happened after she left—it was all the same anyway.

Ying Qin Guan organized his thoughts and said, "Ji Fa and I had a little accident while driving. Anyway, her clothes were burned by a cigarette butt. It was my fault. I came here to give her a new one and hope she can forgive my unintentional act."

To Ruoye, these words seemed perfectly reasonable. However, to the Duke and Duchess of Warner, they sounded somewhat off. But that didn't matter; as long as Ruoye helped Ying Qin Guan fill in some points that he was too embarrassed or uncomfortable to mention, all doubts would be resolved.

It was at this moment that Ruoye looked at her parents, both of whom had furrowed brows and solemn expressions.

Why are you making that face...? You're just saying perfectly normal things.

They were driving bumper cars and knocked the cigarette away, is that right?

Ruoye was puzzled, but she vaguely sensed that there was room for her to manipulate the situation. She quickly walked to the middle-aged maid, pulled her aside, and began to explain in a rambling voice. From the maid's embellished account, she accurately reconstructed the entire incident.

What...it's a misunderstanding.

Ruoye was heartbroken. What kind of things are you people thinking? The moment you see short sleeves, you immediately think of bare arms, you immediately think of... a mere cigarette butt, how could you think about the aftermath?!

Ruoye was about to go and explain things to her parents, but as soon as she took a step, she suddenly stopped, as if struck by lightning, suddenly enlightened!

"Wait...wait a minute!"

"They misunderstood... They misunderstood, they shouldn't have misunderstood. It's because Teacher Ying is handsome, good at fighting, and a colleague, meeting all the criteria—the perfect eligible bachelor... So subjectively, they thought in that direction, thus ignoring many other unreasonable points..."

"Furthermore, what Teacher Ying just said..."

In an instant, a terrible thought appeared in Ruoye's mind, and then, like a sudden wave of sleepiness in math class, it was invincible and indelible. Until the bell rang and the math teacher called your name, this sleepiness was unstoppable.

Wakaba, naturally, was also unable to overcome this terrifying idea.

"Hmph...hmph hmph hmph...Hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph...Jifa, will you repent for your shameless betrayal yesterday? Now, it's my turn!"

With this thought in mind, Ruoye quickly stepped forward and went to her parents' side.

Ying Qin Guan still couldn't hear their conversation clearly, only vaguely catching a few keywords.

"Um... it's like this... driving... not literally driving... it's a euphemism... it means... yes, it matches up... I don't know why he said that... but I think... it's something like 'I'm sorry'... I think that makes sense... Why am I also guessing?... Because I left..."

The couple's faces once again showed the shock of my mother, while the middle-aged maid on the side also looked like she had just learned something new.

They were about to say something when Wakaba showed a nervous expression. Afraid of giving herself away, she lowered her voice and said:

"No... They don't want us to know... Young people... Freedom... Pretending not to know... is..."

After a conversation that seemed to have no meaning, the four people opposite Ying Qin Pass all showed expressions that said, "I understand everything." Duke Warner waved his hand and laughed heartily, "I understand, no need to say more."

Ying Qin was also somewhat puzzled. Given the other party's behavior, it was difficult for him to determine what was going on. He couldn't be sure whether the other party truly understood or was pretending to understand. But at this moment, he had no other choice.

Afterwards, because it was lunchtime, Ying Qin Guan stayed at Ji Fa's house for lunch. To his relief, it seemed there really wasn't any misunderstanding. Usually, if there were a misunderstanding and someone was invited to stay for lunch, they would ask some questions, such as about their job, salary, health, or elderly family members. But the Warner family didn't ask any of those questions.

The truth is, they don't need to ask at all... even if they wanted to know, they wouldn't need to ask on the spot.

After lunch, Ying Qin, feeling safe, took his leave. Ruoye saw him off at the door with a bright smile on her face.

"Sister, if you want me to lose my freedom, then I'll just have to make you lose yours too. Life is about constantly taking away each other's freedom so that we can become the freest ones. But I will definitely win. As for why, you're older than me, and you struck first. Don't blame me for being heartless."

The cruel world will always tint every little white flower with some other colors.

Chapter Twenty-Five: In the Ruins

The ruins were pitch black, and deathly silence was the defining characteristic of this place. Even the sound of the wind was absent. The silence here took on a new form, as still as a painting.

"Wake up!"

A dull, chaotic sound came from the headset. The man opened his eyes abruptly, his gaze passing through a thick radiation shield before he saw the silent world before him.

He subconsciously tried to stand up, but the sensation under his feet was like slippery tentacles, or a swamp that would devour him. When he stepped on it, he couldn't balance his body at all and fell down again.

When his body touched the ground again, he clearly felt that the ground was hard. It was neither Kel'Thuzad's tentacles nor some swamp where you could never get out once you went in. It was just normal ground. Even if it had been through the apocalypse, it would not have turned from flat ground into tentacles or a swamp.

He realized... the problem wasn't the ground, but himself.

Is the problem serious?

The man lay on his back on the ground, only able to see a dim, yellowish sky. Indistinct voices came through his earpiece again. Then, a head appeared above him, looking down at him. It was his teammate, also wearing a thick layer of anti-radiation clothing. His bloated body reminded him of the shrew next door who was eight months pregnant but could still yell at people with a booming voice.

Is the problem serious?

The man wanted to answer, "It's not serious, sir," but he couldn't. It felt like he had a twenty-year-old phlegm stuck in his throat, thicker than a box of yogurt that cost fifteen pounds. He couldn't spit it out, couldn't swallow it. When he tried to feel it, he suddenly realized his high body temperature; it felt like he was burning up. The man even felt heat rising around him. How high was his body temperature? Probably about the same as a hot bath.

Why did I become like this...?

The man tried hard to recall, and finally remembered some things.

He was a military personnel, ordered to go to the Black Dragon Ruins to find Yinhensheng.

Frankly, this isn't exactly a suicide mission. *Yinhensheng* is a type of wild grass, and finding it doesn't require venturing deep into the Black Dragon's interior; it's just that the search is quite difficult. After all, nobody knows exactly where *Yinhensheng* is. But based on past experience, it's simply a matter of wasting time. No one has dared to venture deep into the Black Dragon's interior so far. As for the outer areas, while we can't say we can come and go freely, the military has explored them many times.

However, this time, they encountered a monster.

Is it a magical beast? Or a special alien race? He didn't know, because he couldn't say for sure. It was a magical beast that had mutated after being exposed to radiation, but whether it could be considered a magical beast or a special alien race after its mutation... that question was a bit beyond his scope.

As a professional team, the men's squad also had a knowledgeable member who recognized it as the Five-Strange Serpent. The five strange characteristics of the Five-Strange Serpent are 'two legs', 'three eyes', 'asexual', 'external heart', and 'explosive venom'. That is to say, it has two legs, an extra eye in its throat, no gender, a heart in a swollen mass outside its head, and... the ability to release explosive venom.

As a magical beast, this wasn't particularly difficult to deal with. However, the one they encountered was terrifyingly strong. It had undergone some kind of mutation, resulting in an incredibly massive size. If it were outside, it wouldn't be a problem; a round of heavy fire would surely reduce it to ashes. However, their squad was lightly armed and hadn't brought many alchemical weapons. They fired a few shots at it with their pistols, but the bullets bounced off, the sound of which was barely audible.

Several members of the squad were martial artists, but even they couldn't unleash their full potential. The heavy radiation suits not only hampered their fighting ability but also prevented them from channeling their inner energy. The mage tried it out, only to find that the enemy's scales were practically those of a dragon, rendering their magic less effective than bullets. The squad decided it was pointless to fight and decided to flee. During their escape, the man was briefly enveloped by a poisonous explosion, but he didn't have time to react at the time. Now that they had finally escaped, the poison immediately took effect.

This shouldn't be...

The man's mind was foggy, as if someone had shoved a red-hot iron spoon into his ear and stirred it violently. How could the venom of the Five-Herb Serpent be so potent? He was wearing a radiation protection suit. Although it was for radiation protection, not gas protection, he could only have inhaled a tiny amount... Could it really have caused this?

The captain tried calling out to the man several more times, but all attempts failed. He was at a loss and made a decision: return to camp first. The lives of his team members should be the priority. Besides, they weren't the only team searching for Yinhensheng in the outer reaches of the Black Dragon; there was no need to rush. Moreover, that Five-Faced Serpent was very strange; when did such creatures appear in the outer reaches...?

"Take him away," the captain ordered. Immediately, a team member stepped forward and helped the man up. The captain also took out his communication equipment, intending to contact the people outside.

The man was helped up by his teammates, his gaze falling on the horizon, where the sky was a hazy yellow. But as soon as he opened and closed his eyes, the entire sky suddenly turned gray, devoid of any life, as lifeless as a painting by a mental patient.

【"grey..?"】

The scene before him shocked the man. He instinctively tried to make a sound, but could only let out a strange "hoarse" sound. But that was good, at least it would attract the attention of his teammates. However... there was no sound from around him.

It turns out that it wasn't just the sky that turned gray, but the whole world.

"Troublesome." Suddenly, a sigh sounded from behind, the voice carrying an innate elegance and nobility, as if something had been etched into its very bones since birth.

The man was unable and had no strength to turn around, but the owner of the voice slowly walked up to him. He was wearing a black monk's robe, with a scarlet cross of unknown material hanging on his chest. His silver hair cascaded down to his waist, and he had a charming smile on his face that could make medieval women with corsets faint.

"Is it really necessary to disturb my experiment like this just because I'm trying to find a secluded place to conduct an experiment? You've caused stress to my test subjects."

Experiment? Experimental subject? Stress?

The man's mind was foggy and he was completely unable to think clearly. But he still intuitively felt that the experimental subject the other party was talking about was that Five-Herb Serpent... His first thought was, was it really appropriate to use the word "stress" to describe such a terrifying monster?

The man tried to speak again, but the scene in front of him changed rapidly. His perspective plummeted, showing him his protective suit, then his chest, his legs, and finally his body hitting the ground. After bouncing a few times, he realized, "Oh, I've been beheaded."

The man's last gaze fell upon the sky, a deathly gray expanse, like the prelude to the apocalypse.

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Secret Ritual

Pies lit a cigarette, and the officer beside him hesitated, then stopped, but ultimately didn't dare to speak. In fact, Pies's physical condition had deteriorated considerably; each cigarette was a drain on his remaining life force.

"What kind of look is that?" However, Pies keenly noticed the officer's gaze. Though his days were numbered, he remained the old man whose eyes were sharper than an eagle's. "Do you think this cigarette will have any effect on me?"

The officer, having been ordered around, could only obediently nod and say, "Yes, Commander, your personal physician suggests..."

“I’ve already outlived two private doctors, and the weeds on the grave of the last health guru who advised me are taller than your son.” Piece took a deep breath, but because it was so strong, he started coughing violently.

The officer immediately gave him a look that said, "See, I told you so." Pieces could only glare at him fiercely, but there was nothing more he could do.

He had to admit that he was getting old.

Piez can still recall what he looked like back then. He was a tough guy who could stand on his fists and ride a horse on his arms. He had half a company of girls chasing after him. His veins were filled with the finest wines from Fittl Hill. He always wore a custom-made Asphalt suit and shiny black leather shoes. He would light a cigar with a wad of cash, take a puff, exhale the smoke, overturn the table, and shout, "Then I'll fucking fight them!"

But time waits for no man. Now he is a balding old man with thinning hair, a face full of wrinkles, who gets choked half to death by a cigarette and needs to be sent to the hospital after a few sips of alcohol.

In particular, he is now facing such a troublesome situation.

Three teams that were sent into the Black Dragon Ruins have gone missing.

It's strange how teams entering the Black Dragon Ruins often die or never return, and losing contact is also common. But regardless, before dying, not returning, or losing contact, there should always be some information sent back to headquarters, telling them that they might have been wiped out, that they might not be coming back, or that they've discovered some dungeon and need to check it out. If there's no news, it means they're dead... In any case, at least some kind of message should come through.