Chapter 26: You Are My Faith (VII)

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Chapter 26: You Are My Faith (VII)

Headmaster Gamov prepared a temporary lesson-preparation room for Shang Ke. He had originally intended to arrange housing for him as well, but Shang Ke declined. He had already promised Kaiser that they would live together, and besides, he didn’t want to stray too far from the “protagonist” in case some unpredictable accident occurred.

The main reason Shang Ke had agreed to become a guest lecturer was to make it easier to publicly reveal the method for sealing the Devil’s Tree. Before doing that, however, he needed a certain amount of status and reputation. Only then would people take his words seriously.

His memory was exceptional, and when combined with the knowledge Osari had already learned, teaching first-year students should pose no problem.

When Tylor arrived, Shang Ke was preparing his lesson in the lounge. He was leaning casually against the windowsill, long hair falling loosely at his side, both legs slightly bent in a comfortable posture as he drank tea and flipped through a textbook. The afternoon sunlight spilled over him, making him look like a leisurely, lazy cat.

Tylor noticed that Shang Ke was turning the pages extremely quickly, nearly one every three seconds. He didn’t believe Shang Ke was simply skimming at random, which left only one possibility—he could read ten lines at a glance.

Shang Ke seemed to sense someone watching him and looked toward the doorway, immediately meeting a pair of blood-red eyes. Truthfully, he found red eyes a little intimidating, especially when they belonged to such a cold, stern face.

“Sorry to disturb you.” Tylor stepped into the lounge.

Shang Ke looked at him. “Lord Tylor was looking for me?”

“The headmaster asked me to see whether you needed any help preparing your lessons.” Tylor produced the excuse without so much as changing expression.

“No.” Shang Ke’s manner remained distant. If this man truly was the person he suspected, then Shang Ke really didn’t want to become too close to him—at least not before he knew whether he would survive this world.

Tylor walked over and stared directly into his eyes. “Do you hate me?”

“As someone you defeated, do you think I should like you?” Shang Ke raised an eyebrow and tilted his chin slightly upward.

Tylor’s gaze swept across his moist lips. “The old you may have hated me, but the current you doesn’t necessarily feel the same way.”

“Oh? And what makes you say that?” Shang Ke assumed an attentive expression.

“There’s no disgust in your eyes,” Tylor said with certainty.

Shang Ke frowned, then suddenly used his fingers to push the corners of his eyes upward, putting on a vicious expression. “How about now? Do I look disgusted enough?”

Tylor stared coldly at Shang Ke’s ridiculous expression without saying a word.

The instant Shang Ke finished, he regretted it. Why were my hands so damn restless? Why did I have to clown around in front of Tylor of all people? What happened to being cold, elegant, and aloof?!

“Continue preparing your lesson. I won’t disturb you.” With that, Tylor left the lounge, leaving Shang Ke alone in a state of utter disarray.

After leaving the lounge and turning into a corridor, Tylor suddenly let out a laugh.

“Ahem.” In the next instant, Tylor had already restored his usual stern expression, but Shang Ke’s ridiculous face remained deeply imprinted in his mind, leaving him in an excellent mood for the rest of the day.

Why had he never noticed before that Osari was such a cute guy?

Shang Ke’s first lecture took place on the third day after his appointment. The subject was the restraining relationship between demonic energy and faith.

That day, every seat in the classroom was filled, and many more people stood outside to listen.

Shang Ke had excellent composure and practically no concept of stage fright. On top of that, he knew the textbook backward and forward. Almost no one in the classroom could stump him with a question; he could even tell them the exact page and line where the answer appeared.

The first class was a great success.

After class, someone suddenly asked, “Teacher, now that you’re teaching, are you still going to sell boxed lunches? I haven’t been able to eat one lately, and life hardly feels worth living!”

The question immediately drew enthusiastic agreement from the others.

Shang Ke said, “Anyone who earns full marks in my class gets treated to a deluxe feast.”

“Oh yeah!” The students erupted into a chorus of cheers.

“A deluxe feast.” After school, Tylor intercepted Shang Ke at the academy gate and calmly asked, “I wonder whether I might have the good fortune to enjoy one as well?”

“No.” Shang Ke immediately quickened his pace.

Tylor followed close behind him all the way to Kaiser’s house.

Kaiser had martial arts training that evening and wouldn’t return until midnight. Shang Ke went to the neighbor’s house to pick up Pupu, who was already on the verge of tears. The poor little girl had apparently thought Daddy had abandoned her. She had been trying desperately not to cry, but the instant Shang Ke appeared, she threw herself into his arms and began sobbing aggrievedly.

“Daddy, Daddy…” She kept calling for him, every repetition filled with accusation.

“Good girl. Didn’t I tell you I’d be back tonight?” Shang Ke stroked Pupu’s head.

Pupu pouted and wiped all her tears and snot onto Shang Ke’s clothes.

Tylor watched them for a long moment before asking, “You adopted her?”

Osari had only been gone for five years, so there was no possible way he could have a six- or seven-year-old biological child.

“Mm.” Shang Ke nodded casually, set Pupu down, and turned toward the kitchen to cook dinner.

Pupu clutched the hem of his clothes and followed closely behind him.

Tylor leaned against the doorway and quietly watched Shang Ke bustle around the kitchen, his expression perfectly still, almost like a statue.

Pupu looked back at him several times. Every time their gazes met, she immediately hid behind Shang Ke, leaving only one round, dark eye visible as she secretly peeked at him.

Tylor had never particularly liked children, but there was something about seeing Osari together with this girl that always made him feel strangely comfortable.

That evening, Tylor enjoyed a thoroughly satisfying meal at Shang Ke’s house, left behind ten gold coins, and departed in high spirits.

By the time Kaiser finally finished training and dragged his exhausted body home, he discovered that there wasn’t even a scrap of food left for him…

Shang Ke’s life gradually settled into a relaxed routine: teaching during the day, taking care of Pupu at night, feeding the household dog, and occasionally tossing food to a wild animal.

This continued until three months later, when the demonic-energy storm Shang Ke had been waiting for finally erupted. The Devil’s Tree’s energy was usually stable, but at certain periods it would erupt once or twice in violent storms, much like a volcano.

The affected area varied from storm to storm, but this one was the largest ever recorded, covering nearly one-third of the continent. Countless people suffered demonic invasion, riots broke out repeatedly, and order collapsed into chaos. Ordinary demonic energy did not actively invade people, but a demonic-energy storm was different. Its energy was too powerful and too concentrated, leaving even many completely innocent people unable to escape contamination.

The Imperial Capital was also within the storm’s range, and one-fifth of its population soon began showing signs of initial-stage demonic invasion.

Every clergyman and physician available was summoned. Several treatment zones were established so that the afflicted could be treated in concentrated groups.

But as the number of victims continued to rise, the clergy and physicians were quickly overwhelmed. Eventually, even teachers and students were mobilized to help.

Kaiser was assigned to the eastern district to maintain order and assist with treatment. Shang Ke, considered too weak to be useful in the field, was given no assignment and remained at home with Pupu.

Unfortunately, home wasn’t particularly safe either, because their neighbor suddenly succumbed to demonic invasion.

Fortunately, the neighbor was only an ordinary person, so Shang Ke didn’t expend much effort drawing out his demonic energy. The man quickly returned to normal—but that one act soon brought an endless stream of other victims to Shang Ke’s door seeking treatment.

The reason was that after being saved, the neighbor enthusiastically advertised Shang Ke everywhere as an incredible healer with a miraculous, completely painless treatment method—the obvious first choice for anyone troubled by demonic energy. Over the next several days, people arrived one after another to seek Shang Ke’s help. Even those whose contamination was barely serious enough to matter came over to join the crowd.

Whenever he found the time, Kaiser helped Shang Ke chase away batches of people who clearly didn’t need treatment.

But Shang Ke, a professional death-seeker, faithfully upheld his saintly principle of “sacrifice and devotion.” He refused no one and kept absorbing demonic energy to his heart’s content. By the time Kaiser realized something was seriously wrong, Shang Ke was already hanging on by his last breath while treating an intermediate-stage victim.

“Shang Ke, that’s enough!” Kaiser shouted anxiously.

At that exact moment, Tylor arrived with several clergy members. They saw demonic energy coiling around Shang Ke while one of his hands tightly gripped another man’s wrist, making it look as though he were about to “attack” him. Without stopping to think, one of the clergy raised his wooden staff and swung it directly at the back of Shang Ke’s head.

“Stop!” Kaiser and Tylor shouted at the same time, but neither was fast enough. They could only watch as the clergyman struck Shang Ke down.

Pain exploded through the back of Shang Ke’s head. Oh, shit! He had imagined all sorts of possible ways he might die in this world, but never once had he considered being clubbed from behind. What an utterly inelegant way to go!

His consciousness blurred, and then everything went dark.

“Shang Ke!” Kaiser and Tylor rushed to his side. Just as they were about to lift him, the clergyman immediately stopped them. “Don’t touch him. He’s already in a state of deep demonic invasion. He can’t be cured.”

“You don’t know shit!” Kaiser cursed furiously.

The clergyman stared blankly for several seconds before recovering and replying indignantly, “I understand that you’re upset, but this is my duty. Anyone found in a state of deep demonic invasion must be dealt with immediately.”

“He isn’t suffering from deep demonic invasion—he was saving someone!” Shang Ke lay completely motionless on the floor, his long hair spread around him while blood slowly seeped from his hairline like a blooming crimson flower. Fear suddenly closed around Kaiser’s heart, and for a moment he almost didn’t dare go closer to check.

“Saving someone?” The clergyman snorted coldly. “Are you joking?”

“Then fucking look for yourself!” Kaiser roared, pointing toward the other side of the room.

Everyone looked where he was pointing. The man Shang Ke had been gripping moments earlier had already regained his senses and was staring around in confusion. When he saw Shang Ke lying on the floor, he immediately asked, “What happened to Teacher Shang Ke?”

“He was trying to hurt you,” the clergyman said.

“Who said that?” the man demanded angrily. “He saved my daughter, and now he’s saved me too.”

“Saved you? How is that possible?” The clergyman stared in disbelief. “He’s been invaded by demonic energy himself.”

“He wasn’t. I was,” the man explained. “He absorbed all the demonic energy from my body.”

Everyone froze. When they looked at Shang Ke again, they realized his hand still had not released the man’s wrist, yet not a single trace of demonic energy was leaking outward from him. Instead, it was being drawn little by little into his body.

“What is going on?” Tylor immediately realized something was wrong and turned toward Kaiser.

Kaiser carefully lifted Shang Ke into his arms. The usual smile had vanished completely from his face. “Do you know why Osari, once so extraordinarily powerful, has become the physically weak Shang Ke you see today? Because he uses his own body as a vessel, draws other people’s demonic energy into himself, and then suppresses it with nothing but his own will.”

Shock flashed through Tylor’s eyes.

Everyone else looked equally incredulous.

“Shang Ke has saved countless people and endures tremendous pain every single day. Even then, he never gave up his hope of living—and now he’s died by your hand!” Kaiser glared furiously at the clergyman who had struck him, tears shining in his eyes.

The instant Tylor heard the word “died,” his heart abruptly clenched. An inexplicable pressure tightened his chest while sharp pain pulsed through his temples.

The clergyman felt a chill crawl down his back beneath Kaiser’s stare, but he still argued, “I’ve never heard of any normal person willingly drawing demonic energy into their own body. There are only two possible outcomes—either they go mad and die, or they fall and become an apostle of the Devil’s Tree.”

He simply did not believe anyone could suppress such concentrated demonic energy through willpower and faith alone.

Just then, another clergyman entered from outside with a strange expression. “Sir, I took several people around the area to investigate, but we didn’t find a single victim requiring treatment.”

“None? Was the report false?”

“Well…” The man Shang Ke had just cured spoke up. “I think I can explain. There were originally more than a dozen people here suffering from demonic invasion, some mild and some severe, but Teacher Shang Ke cured every one of them. We sent the report three days ago. If it hadn’t been for Teacher Shang Ke, by the time you arrived, this entire area would probably have already descended into chaos…”

“You’re saying there were more than a dozen, and he cured all of them in only three days?” The clergyman found it almost impossible to believe. In other words, this man had absorbed the demonic energy of over a dozen people in three days. An ordinary person would have gone mad long ago. Was there truly someone in this world willing to save others through such a self-sacrificing method? It would require unimaginably strong willpower and faith.

“Daddy.” Pupu emerged from the corner, crouched beside Shang Ke, and took his icy hand in hers. “Daddy… Daddy…”

Shang Ke lay in Kaiser’s arms. All the demonic energy had already been absorbed into his body. His expression was peaceful, his face pale and his lips vividly red, like a night-blooming cereus opening at midnight.

“Daddy… Daddy…”

In the silent room, the only sound was Pupu calling for him again and again in growing anxiety.

Kaiser pressed his ear against Shang Ke’s chest. He could still feel a trace of lingering warmth—but there was no heartbeat.

His shoulders sagged, and a choked sob escaped him. He couldn’t accept it. How could someone so cheerful, so kind, and so strong simply die like this?

Tylor’s expression turned terrifyingly dark. He roared at the clergy beside him, “What are you standing there for? Get over here and save him!”

Everyone snapped back to their senses and hurried over in a panic.

But just as they crowded around him, Shang Ke suddenly coughed and came back from his deathlike state.

Kaiser was beside himself with joy and immediately pulled Shang Ke into a hug. Pupu threw herself at him as well, clinging tightly to his arm.

Tylor released a long breath. The darkness pressing on his heart seemed to disperse all at once, and his heartbeat finally returned to normal.

In truth, Shang Ke really had been on the verge of death. His soul had already left his body. At first, he thought the mission was doomed to fail, but then he suddenly remembered what had happened in the first world: when his body had been frozen, his soul had also left it, yet the moment he came into contact with his body again, he had been pulled back inside. So he guessed that as long as his soul returned within a short enough period, he could revive.

So he tried it—and sure enough, he returned without incident. As for everything that happened afterward, he no longer had the strength to care.

In any case, his true objective had already been achieved: making everyone believe that willpower and faith could suppress demonic energy. That understanding was also the only path toward sealing the Devil’s Tree…

By the time Shang Ke woke again, it was already noon the next day.

He looked around and found himself in a luxuriously furnished bedroom. Pupu lay beside him, clutching his sleeve as she slept soundly.

Shang Ke sat up, only to find his entire body weak and aching while waves of dizziness washed through his head.

He immediately lay back down and remained motionless like a corpse.

“You’re awake.” A familiar voice suddenly came from beside him.

Shang Ke turned his head and saw Tylor standing straight beside the bed in an elegant formal outfit, staring at him without blinking.

“Tylor? Where am I?” Shang Ke asked hoarsely.

“My residence,” Tylor replied.

“Why am I here? Where’s Kaiser?”

“He’s fine. For now, you’ll stay at my residence until things outside stabilize,” Tylor said in a placating tone. “The demonic-energy storm will pass soon.”

“Why do I have to stay at your residence?” Shang Ke continued.

“For safety.”

Shang Ke: “…How could I possibly be safe beside the rival who defeated me?”

“We don’t necessarily have to remain rivals.”

“Then what are we supposed to be?”

“Friends, comrades, or perhaps…” Tylor said seriously, “lovers.”

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