The Thirteen Trials of the Deceptive Monk

This shout was like a stone thrown into still water, causing the other "classmates" in the carriage to turn around in surprise and disbelief. Lü Wenjun thought to himself that any guy with a weaker constitution would probably have a heart attack from the sight, because all the passengers in the carriage... were not human!

A young woman with a head full of tiny snakes was placing her bag on the luggage rack; a rough-skinned, wooden woman had just settled into her seat; and a semi-transparent ghost was still halfway out of the car, waving to its underworld relatives. There were also blue-skinned ghosts, burly men with animal heads, winged youths… all sorts of demons and monsters gathered together, and not a single human could be seen!

Lu Wenjun was quite certain that he was not dreaming, because one of the Gorgon's hairs was tugging at his hair and playing with it, while the other little snakes were fighting with toothpicks in their mouths, making a lot of noise and banging around his head.

"Hey, that's rude!" The succubus quickly pulled the hair back. "Excuse me, classmate, but you smell so strongly of human, it's making me a little hungry..."

"This human touch is much fresher than the original one stored in my home."

"Excuse me, can I lick you? Just one bite!"

All the monsters on the bus crowded around, their eyes filled with surprise and excitement, much like foreign tourists seeing a giant panda for the first time. They sniffed the aroma and marveled, saying, "Dude, your hybridity is incredible! How many parts of you are human and how many parts are monster? You look so much like one!"

Lu Wenjun, a student who was a mix of ten adults and a zero-sum game, forced a smile and babbled incoherently: "I am... a descendant of an ancient bloodline that carries the legacy of an ancient kingdom..."

The bunny girl Mingxiao didn't come closer; after hearing this, she looked at him hesitantly.

“You smell like a pure human to me,” she said.

The moment these words were spoken, the entire bus fell silent, and then all the students gasped and stepped back. The banshee's mouth gaped open, and her head full of snakes also gaped open in fright, causing toothpicks to fall to the ground with a clatter.

"No, it can't be..." she stammered, "There can't really be humans...?"

"He smells so strong..." "Could it really be..." "Good heavens!"

A burly man with a lion's head hurriedly knocked on the window, his lion-like face contorted with fear like a lion dog: "Something's wrong! There's someone in the car!!"

"What?" "Humans?!" "Where are the humans?!"

Suddenly, angry roars erupted outside the train, and when Lü Wenjun turned around, he nearly lost his mind.

He clearly remembered the scene outside the station two minutes earlier: college students setting off, their worried parents, the incessant ringing of telephones, and wisps of smoke. At that time, he held his ticket, head held high, trying to disguise himself as those spirited peers, as if he too was going to a university far away, rather than going to a cram school in the provincial capital to start over as a failed student.

But now he no longer needed to pretend, because there was no one outside the train!

A druid with thick eyebrows and a large beard is borrowing fire from a lizardman; a tauren with chest hair as thick as a forest is wrestling with a stone-skinned dwarf; and a blue-faced, fanged demon is patrolling with a spiked club, its vest emblazoned with a blood-red slogan: "Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free; build a homeless world with all our might."

In the blink of an eye, the city's old, shabby train station was transformed into a scene of carnage, with all the monsters staring at the train and hundreds of terrifying gazes piercing through the windows!

"Damn, that's some guts..." the wolf-toothed club demon growled. "Level one alert at the border of the secret realm! Human invasion! Special forces, get over here!"

Boom!

A sudden, mournful gong sounded, and four little devils in bibs came running, carrying a small sedan chair. The sedan chair, barely a cubic meter in size, clattered down, and four terrifying demons, each at least four meters tall, emerged. Their muscles were so developed and their eyes so ferocious, it was as if the three brothers from Tom and Jerry had spent three hundred years cultivating in the eighteenth level of hell. Each of them also wore a string of fashionable, luxurious little skulls around their necks.

The demon guard's voice boomed: "Where are the humans?"

The wolf-tooth club demon immediately pointed at Lü Wenjun. The little devils in bibs hurriedly entered the sedan chair and brought out a series of divine weapons: a knife for scraping hair, a hook for hanging meat, a large axe for chopping bones, and a gleaming copper pot... This is damn pig-slaughtering stuff, a one-stop service, slaughtering and cooking on the spot!

Lu Wenjun was stiff all over. If he hadn't been trained before, his back would have been soaked in cold sweat. Through the reflection in the car window, he saw the suspicious or uneasy looks in the eyes of Mingxiao, his "senior," and many of his "classmates." Perhaps some of the monster students were still afraid of humans, but the monsters outside the car might very well disembowel him and stew him into a pot.

What's the point of running? The disparity in strength is so great; even if we got off the vehicle, we wouldn't get very far. So, hijacking the car? Exploiting the fear of some demons to take them hostage? Even if we managed to succeed by chance, it would only escalate their hostility; they'd probably end up chopping us into mincemeat instead of grilling us…

Let's talk it over first! Basically, let's figure out a way to get through this!

"Excuse me, everyone, I think I got on the wrong bus..."

Lu Wenjun smiled awkwardly and reached into his pocket to take out his ticket to check and buy some time. But instead of the crumpled paper ticket, he touched a hard, round thing.

It looks like the head of a scroll.

He instinctively pulled the thing out of his pocket, raising his hand higher and higher. The monsters inside and outside the carriage also raised their gazes in response to his movement, even having to tilt their heads back.

Because he pulled a scroll about half a meter wide out of his jeans pocket, just like Sun Wukong pulling his golden cudgel out of his ear.

Everyone's eyes were somewhat glazed over, but Lü Wenjun struggled to maintain his composure. He tore open the scroll and glanced at it quickly; what he saw in that brief moment allowed him to make a swift decision.

He turned around resolutely, grabbed Mingxiao's hand, and smiled warmly and brightly: "Yes, senior, no problem! I just checked again, and I'm sure I didn't go to the wrong place. I'm here to register at our school!"

Mingxiao didn't react for a moment: "You're a freshman? What race are you? What's your family's ancestral scripture?"

Lu Wenjun stood with his hands behind his back and smiled, "Senior sister, have you ever heard of the Lu family of the East China Sea?"

Senior Mingxiao was taken aback again: "Never heard of it..."

“That’s right, you haven’t heard of it. My parents only told me about the ancestral home of the Lü family this morning.” Lü Wenjun explained in detail, “The ‘Eastern Sea’ refers to the ‘Eastern Sea Coast,’ which belonged to the Qi State in ancient times. And the Lü family of Qi originated from the earliest king enfeoffed in this area!”

Mingxiao's rabbit ears perked up in surprise: "King Lü, could it be that Grandfather...!"

"That's right, my ancestor was none other than Jiang Taigong Lü Shang, who assisted King Wu in conquering the Shang!" Lü Wenjun said proudly. "To be honest, I, Lü Wenjun, am the 113th generation descendant of the Lü family of Qi, a true descendant of Taigong. Taigong was a master of military strategy and extraordinary abilities, and the original text passed down in my family is the military book personally written by my ancestor, the Six Secret Teachings!"

"My God!" "He has the ancient bloodline of an ancient Eastern country." "His ancestors were deified!"

A gasp rippled through the carriage, even Mingxiao, the senior student, was taken aback by the commotion. She hesitated, "Are you really a descendant of King Wucheng? Then how come..."

Lu Wenjun remained calm: "Senior, you may not know this. Our Lu family lineage follows the tradition of our ancestors, advocating seclusion and only venturing out when there is great turmoil. In this world, there are few disputes, and our Lu family is happy to see peace. We have lived among ordinary people for a long time, and our bloodline has gradually become thinner. By my generation, let alone the demeanor of immortals, I am no different from ordinary people in the eyes of anyone."

Mingxiao immediately understood: "So it's a half-blood mage... ah no, a half-blood immortal."

"Don't laugh at me, but until this morning I thought I was just an ordinary person. If my parents hadn't demonstrated their supernatural abilities and told me my time had come, I would never have believed in ghosts and gods," Lu Wenjun sighed. "My bloodline is thin, so I can hardly prove it myself. However, my parents gave me a document before they came..."

He unfurled the scroll: "I wonder if this 'admission notice' can serve as evidence?"

The scroll was of exceptional quality, made of parchment favored by Western wizards. It bore a seal of thundercloud protection and a signature in bold, flowing strokes. At its center was a standard passport photo, clearly showing Lü Wenjun's face, below which were large, gold-embossed characters that read:

"Student Lü Wenjun from the ancient country of the East:"

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Trista Academy of Magic.

Please bring this notification to the nearest station for registration. We sincerely look forward to meeting you on campus.

Senior Mingxiao looked at it carefully for a few moments, then quickly shook Lü Wenjun's hand vigorously: "Yes, yes! I didn't expect that there would be a descendant of the Great Ancestor among this year's freshmen. I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding earlier. Welcome to join our school and study together, Wenjun!"

Facing the admiring gazes of everyone in the carriage, Lü Wenjun quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Senior Mingxiao, you flatter me. I'm a latecomer to this field and know nothing about the common knowledge here. I'll have to rely on all of you for guidance and support in the future, and I'm happy to learn and progress together with you all."

"Student Lü is too modest." "We're the ones hoping for your guidance." "Student Lü, can I lick you, just one lick..." "Shut up, you're so embarrassing!"

The misunderstanding was cleared up, and the carriage was filled with laughter. The sharp-eyed demon guard outside spotted the acceptance letter, hurriedly turned around and told everyone to disperse, then shouted angrily, "Kid, watch your step next time you go out. If you do it again, it'll be on your record!"

Lu Wenjun hurriedly apologized, exchanged a few pleasantries with his classmates, and then put down his suitcase and chose a window seat. The train slowly started moving, faster and faster.

It nimbly departed from the tracks, dozens of dragonfly-like folding wings extending from both sides of the carriage, flapping its wings and soaring straight into the sky with an elegant momentum that could infuriate aerodynamics experts.

Most of the students were seeing this scene for the first time, and they shouted and yelled as they looked at the white clouds and the vast sky. A few demons saw Lü Wenjun sitting calmly by the window and secretly admired his extraordinary demeanor. The descendants of the immortals of the ancient kingdom were indeed different from ordinary demons.

At this moment, Lü Wenjun was in a state of utter collapse, with a faint urge to die.

The immediate crisis has been managed to be glossed over. But the train has grown wings and flown away...

How can he continue his studies at this cram school?

Chapter 2 Seventeen Ways to Write "Fox Demon"

What nonsense about ancient bloodlines and being a descendant of a great-grandfather! Lu Wenjun was born under the red flag and grew up in the spring breeze. He received a firm physicalist education from childhood, and his parents were also firm physicalists.

If he hadn't been so desperate, he wouldn't have resorted to such a ridiculous excuse... Now look what's happened, he's passed the impromptu performance, but the problem is he's also gone to heaven!

Lu Wenjun's mind was in turmoil, like a drunkard dancing in a minefield, but on the surface, he calmly gazed out the window, putting on an air of nonchalant mastery. This disguise effectively blocked the curious gazes of his fellow students, and for a while, no one dared to speak to him, with only a few scattered whispers occasionally drifting by.

"Jiang Taigong's descendant is considered a semi-divine being, right? He must have a lot of magical power, right? Why does he have such a strong human scent about him?"

"Shh! Easterners value concealing their abilities and biding their time. How can they live a normal life without disguising themselves? He's definitely keeping all his magic under wraps. Besides, be careful he doesn't try to defeat you, little tree!"

"No way? It's the 21st century..."

The tree spirit girl, who was gossiping, glanced over and met Lü Wenjun's ambiguous gaze. Startled, she quickly ran to the other end of the carriage, the leaves under her skirt rustling against the shiny stone floor.

This welcome train is unbelievably high-class in every aspect. The central stone aisle is spacious enough for two sumo wrestlers to dance ballet side by side. The seats are neatly arranged in pairs facing each other, and there are large floor-to-ceiling glass windows on one side, which reminded Lu Wenjun of the luxurious sightseeing trains in movies.

Fortunately, the car was spacious, and the monsters were scattered around, so no one was near him for the time being. But Lü Wenjun knew he didn't have much time left. These new monsters were all quite lively, and after causing such a commotion, it wouldn't be long before curious onlookers would come to talk to them. Before that happened, he needed to figure out what was going on as soon as possible.

He took out his acceptance letter and stared at the scroll that had saved him from dire straits.

This thing appeared out of thin air; after all, his pockets couldn't possibly hold that half-meter-long contraption. His train ticket to the provincial capital for retaking the college entrance exam inexplicably turned into an acceptance letter from a bizarre university…

What's going on? Are you so unlucky that fate is giving you a guaranteed gacha pull?

Lu Wenjun blinked hard, interrupting his wild thoughts by the strange sight before him.

The words on the acceptance letter seemed to swirl towards the center of the paper like a vortex, while the photo, signature, and flamboyant calligraphy dissolved into drops of ink, converging into a cold, one-eyed star.

The eyes on the paper blinked, and a faint female voice inexplicably echoed in his mind.

(Signal……)

(The signal...weak...)

(Use your eyes...)

(Cherish...two chances...!)

The female voice gave a few perfunctory instructions before hanging up, indicating that the magical signal on the flying train was indeed very poor.

As the sound faded, the ink-stained eye left the parchment and crawled up the back of Lü Wenjun's right hand. It settled quietly, and three small, tear-like patterns appeared below the eye.

One of the three tear streaks was hollow, while the other two were filled with ink.

Lu Wenjun realized two things. First, he was probably really involved in some terrible mess. Second, those two tear stains must be the "two chances" mentioned by the woman's voice.

"Huh, why does it feel less human?"

"He probably covered it up with magic... I guess what happened just now angered him..."

The monsters started talking again. It seems that the one-eyed monster has at least brought him some "magic," saving him the trouble of wasting time on nonsense.

At that moment, the parchment transformed back into an acceptance letter from the magic university, and the one-eyed mark on the back of his hand disappeared without a trace, remaining silent. Lü Wenjun stuffed the parchment into his backpack, finding that his hand was still fairly steady, without howling and screaming like a brat who had mistakenly wandered into a berserker's camp. Perhaps this was because when people are overly nervous, they don't have time to overthink.

What he needed most now was time. He needed time to think, time to calm down, and time to test the strange one-eyed ability. But reality gave him no chance to catch his breath. Lu Wenjun's ears twitched as he heard the soft sound of heels tapping on the stone steps behind him.

The footsteps were getting closer; that curious troublemaker was about to arrive!

He turned his head and stared intently out the window, trying hard to project the image of a melancholic college student. Outside the window, rows of bamboo stalks fluttered their wings nervously, and the reflection of a pair of small, cute fox ears drifted in through the white clouds.

"May I sit here?" the fox-eared girl asked.

She wore a pair of bookish round-framed glasses, and her long black hair was braided and left behind her head. If you ignored the pointed fox ears on her head, she would look exactly like a perfect student in the stereotype.

“No, I don’t mind at all. After all, this is a public area, why do you need to ask my opinion?” Lü Wenjun said.

The fox-eared girl laughed somewhat awkwardly: "Because Wenjun exudes a strong desire to be alone..."

Lu Wenjun shrank tightly into his seat, covering his face with his hands, like a vampire seeing the light for the first time.

"That's strange, where did you see that I'm xenophobic?"

"The problem is where you're not xenophobic!"

The good student was already a bit overwhelmed after just one round of sparring. She sat down opposite Lü Wenjun, regaining her composure: "My name is Ten'in-in Reiko, I come from Mount Fukugaku, and I am an ordinary fox spirit."

Lü Wenjun crossed his fingers and said proudly, "I am the Left General of the Han Dynasty, the Marquis of Yicheng, the Governor of Yuzhou, and the Imperial Uncle Lü."

"That's Liu Bei!" Miss Linggong's composure crumbled for the second time in a short period of time.

Lu Wenjun was surprised: "I didn't expect you to know about Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Ling Gong's knowledge is much broader than I thought."

"You're clearly underestimating me! Why are you being so aggressive towards a female classmate who's trying to strike up a conversation with you?"

Lu Wenjun abandoned his roguish demeanor, leaned back in his chair, and smiled, "It's only polite to reciprocate. Ling Gong's self-introduction was vague, why should I take it seriously?"

Ling Gong was taken aback: "I didn't..."

"Ling Gong claims to be an ordinary fox demon, but the word 'ordinary' is puzzling," Lu Wenjun said unhurriedly. "You should know that there are countless demons in this world, with diverse types and different supernatural powers, and fox demons are the most so."

"Those who can see a thousand miles away are called celestial foxes; those who can predict good and bad fortune are called immortal foxes; those who receive sacrifices and bestow blessings are called divine foxes; those who emerge during times of peace are called auspicious foxes; those who bring disaster to the country and its people are called demonic foxes; those who bewitch and confuse the mind are called enchanting foxes; those who attain enlightenment through unorthodox means are called wild foxes; those who transform and hide are called transformed foxes. Based on the deities they believe in, they are categorized as red, white, gold, silver, and black; based on the level of their supernatural powers, there are also the categories of heaven, sky, air, and wilderness..."

After finishing his long speech, Lü Wenjun looked up and smiled, "I wonder which kind of 'ordinary' Linggong refers to?"

Ling Gong was stunned.

"I'm... well, you know... a vixen... no, I'm a bit more sophisticated than that..."

She couldn't think of an excuse for a moment, and finally shook her head in defeat: "Sorry, I am Sora Fox."

"With your noble birth, whose supernatural powers are second only to the Celestial Fox, you can hardly be called ordinary, can you?" Lü Wenjun smiled. "Lü Wenjun, a descendant of the Lü family, is new here and would appreciate your guidance."

Ling Gong was now full of admiration: "Wen Jun is truly learned, no wonder he is a descendant of a great family."

After this display of skill, Lü Wenjun regained his composure and seized the initiative in the conversation: "This newcomer is just a theorist; in terms of practical experience, he is naturally far inferior to Ling Gong. I wonder if there is anything I can do to help?"

"Haha, I don't believe it..." Ling Gong pushed up her glasses. "Since Wen Jun is so smart, I'll just say it directly. Are you interested in preparing for the entrance exam later?"

Lu Wenjun was so excited he almost jumped out of his chair: "Can I drop out of school if I fail the exam?!"

"How could that be? It was just a little test to ease the tension! What are you expecting with that tone?"

Lu Wenjun slumped back into his seat, looking dejected: "Then what's the point of forming alliances in this kind of harmonious and friendly competition?"