Unfortunately, not everything went according to their plan. They had spent too much time in the library, and as a result, night had already fallen. The entire teaching staff of the Academy was already fast asleep. Of course, there were still people patrolling the academy grounds, but the night watch was usually carried out by individuals of rather low rank. For this reason, the pair decided that they would inform others about their discoveries only in the morning.

  At least, that was the official reason she gave to Zhifang, because in truth, May had made that decision as she had her doubts about the faculty. She had kept her Qi sensing ability active the whole time and was able to tell that they were being watched and eavesdropped on.

  What’s more, she could determine from the body silhouette that it was an adult. This made her realize that she could not fully trust anyone else. She had to pretend she knew nothing and behave as naturally as possible, even if it meant revealing certain secrets.

  She went to her own room and shut the door carefully. She drew the curtains over her windows and leaned against the wall. For the first time since her reincarnation into this new world, she felt so deeply uncertain and unstable. She knew that if she made a mistake, it could very well mean her death.

  This isn’t good. This really fucking isn’t good. Should I run away? No, they won’t let me. I’m too weak to escape. But if the teachers are involved, I could be in serious trouble.

  From time to time, she pushed her Qi Sensing skill to its maximum, covering not only her entire room but also the area beyond it. At that level, her Qi regeneration could not keep up with the consumption, but that didn’t matter to her. She had to know about any danger in advance, as the danger was now all too real.

  This can't be happening, I must do something. Sitting around doing nothing will only make things worse

  May stood up and decided she needed to do something. She decided to go back to Zhifang. He was probably already asleep.

  The women's and men's quarters were in different buildings, and visits were only allowed during the day, at night it was strictly forbidden.

  However, with my Qi Suppression, it shouldn't be a problem to get there.

  May left and activated her Qi Suppression, making her virtually undetectable. She slipped out of her room and went out into the courtyard, heading for the building with the boys' rooms.

  In the main hall, there was something like a reception desk, but May managed to slip past the guard on duty unnoticed. She entered the hallway and started heading for Deng's room.

  When she finally arrived, she started knocking on the door.

  “It's me, May, open the door, I have to tell you something.” She knocked gently, hoping not to attract the attention of the guard who patrolled the corridors from time to time.

  However, no one answered. May finally decided to try to open the door, and to her surprise, it worked. Usually, everyone locked their doors, so this was quite unusual. May went inside and closed the door behind her to avoid attracting attention.

  “I'm coming in,” she said, not wanting to scare the boy.

  The room wasn't big and was basically the same as hers. However, there was no one inside. May felt uneasy.

  Where is he? I thought he was going to sleep, but if he's not here... Could I be too late?

  May sat down on the bed, wondering what to do. The situation could be dangerous. She certainly couldn't go back to her room.

  I still don't know what's causing this whole ‘epidemic’. In the worst case, we may be dealing with a evil cultivator at the Golden Core stage. If that's true, we're already dead.

  Finally, she heard the sound of a door opening. She felt her heart beating.

  Luckily, it was only Zhifang. She felt relieved.

  “May? What are you doing here?” he asked, surprised. May noticed, however, that he was slightly anxious. She could tell from his expression that something had happened during their brief separation.

  “I couldn't just sit there doing nothing in my room.” She said, but after a moment she decided she should tell the whole truth. “I didn't tell you this in the library because I didn't want to arouse that person's suspicion, but someone was eavesdropping on us the whole time. It was an adult, which means we can't trust the teachers. By the way, where were you? I can tell by the look on your face that something happened.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  The boy laughed awkwardly. Then he sighed with audible anxiety.

  “Yes, you're right,” he said. “Right after we parted ways, I started walking back to my room, and that's when I noticed my friend Xi lying in the middle of the hallway.”

  “Oh, I see. So you made sure he got to the academic infirmary.”

  “Right, but that's not all. When I got there, I found Senlin lying there. She looked terrible, she wasn't waking up. That means your suspicions were probably right. If you hadn't spit that worm out, you would probably be another victim trapped in an endless dream.”

  May wasn't shocked by this information as she had already expected it. Still, she felt a little bad about it, after all, Senlin was her friend. She didn't know what to do.

  “What do you think we should do?” asked the boy.

  He was clearly panicked, which made sense in the current situation. He was just a child, after all, and she was an adult woman, at least in her mind, but she was just as panicked as him, if not even more so. However, she didn't want to show it; she knew she had to stay calm.

  “Listen, I think we should...” Before May could finish, they heard a loud female scream. It came from the main square of the academy.

  Both May and Zhifang immediately got up and rushed to the window to see what had just happened outside. Although it was still dark and the snowstorm was raging, they saw a woman lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the academy square, illuminated by the lanterns hanging from the wooden roofs of the buildings.

  “Fuck,” said May.

  “Yes. Fuck.” he replied.

  They were both in shock. Although they were aware that the woman had been murdered, they were unsure of the cause. She was alone there.

  Finally, they heard other people screaming. The noise probably woke up all the students and teachers. Mass panic broke out in the building. Anyone would be terrified at the sight of a murder, especially kids.

  “I recognize her by her clothes. She taught illiterate people to read and write.” said the boy after a moment.

  May could read and write, so she didn't have to attend these non-compulsory classes, which is why she didn't recognize her.

  “We have to hide somewhere, it's not safe here. We have to find a safe place quickly!‘’ she said in a trembling voice. The students were obvious targets.

  “But where can we hide?” he asked. It was a good question, but unfortunately she didn't have an answer to it.

  The library? No, that's a bad idea. Too obvious. We need to get away from the main buildings... But there's a snowstorm. We need to be somewhere sheltered so we don't freeze, but at the same time away from the main buildings... Is there such a place?

  Finally, she remembered something. A place where absolutely no one would go. Since May worked in the kitchen, she knew a bit about where food comes from. The kitchen was still too obvious, of course, but she knew a place that everyone avoided.

  “We have to go to the most disgusting place,” she said to the boy, who frowned.

  The cows kept in the barn had a floor lined with straw, which, together with the animals' manure, was a valuable fertilizer. It was kept in a special building, commonly referred by students as the shithouse.

  “Are you kidding?” asked the boy. He was still a child, after all, and he didn't like the idea. “Look, the teachers are already investigating the situation, maybe there's no point in hiding?

  May shook her head. The point of no return had been crossed. Until now, this person had been holding back, but now that someone had been killed, it was too late to back down. She knew that this person had gone full throttle.

  “There's no time. Either you come with me or you stay here and die.”

  The boy seemed shaken but agreed.

  “Use Qi Suppression and don't turn it off. Follow me and don't say anything, no matter what you see.”

  They left the room and cautiously began to descend the stairs. There was panic in the corridor, and many people left the room looking worried.

  The guard tried to calm everyone down.

  “Everyone return to your rooms! Immediately!” He yelled and chased the students into their rooms. In all the chaos, they managed to slip unnoticed to the exit. The guards were too busy.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked quietly.

  “You were supposed to keep your mouth shut.” she replied briefly. To be honest, she wasn’t sure herself, but that’s what her intuition told her.

  To reach their destination, they had to pass dangerously close to the crime scene. There were already many teachers there investigating the case.

  May signaled to him to be quiet. They were only about 30 meters from the crime scene. They had to pass by hiding behind a stone wall. Who knows what would have happened if they had been discovered.

  They were already halfway there. They were about to pass by. May looked closely at the body. The young man did the same.

  What kind of wounds are those? It doesn't look like a normal attack... It looks more like she was torn apart by a wild animal.

  Unfortunately, Zhifang was looking too closely and didn't watch his step, causing him to fall over and make a loud noise.

  “Hey, you there! Get out now!” She heard the voice of one of the teachers standing next to the body.

  Fuck, that idiot!

  May was furious, but also slightly worried. She wanted to hide for safety, and now she was the center of attention! What's worse, the murderer could still be lurking nearby, or worse, it could be one of the teachers at the crime scene.

  They had to get closer. They had no way out, even if they wanted to, they couldn't escape.

  “What? What were you doing there? Why aren't you in your rooms at this hour?” The teacher seemed suspicious.

  But it couldn't be possible that he suspected us, could it? Surely two children couldn't have killed a teacher at that academy...? But being so close to the place must be suspicious, no matter how you look at it.

  “We were just...” She began to say, making up some nonsense, hoping he would fall for it.

  Unfortunately, she didn't have time to finish, as the sound of an explosion came from the girls' dormitory and smoke began to rise from the building.

  "What the hell?" man said.

  May grabbed Zhifang by the hand and started pulling him and running with all her might.

  “Hey, come back here!” The teacher shouted and started chasing them. The other teachers were too busy looking around the building, so they left him to pursue them.

  May, however, decided that even though she was being chased, it was better to try to escape.

  The dorm exploded anyway, where am I supposed to go back to?