Chapter 404: Layers of Ghost Fire

Chapter 404: Chapter 404: Layers of Ghost Fire

The guards grabbed their weapons, and Shen Ningning and Xu Jingxi rushed over as well.

In the adjacent courtyard, separated only by a wall, Ye Shangyi sat on the ground, rubbing her ankle. The Black Wolf King stood guard beside her, its vigilant eyes scanning the surroundings.

Everyone froze at the sight.

Blue-green flames, more than a dozen orbs in total, drifted erratically through the air.

The guards stared, dumbfounded.

"Will-o’-the-wisps! It’s will-o’-the-wisps!" someone shrieked in terror.

They were all familiar with will-o’-the-wisps. In the open fields at the foot of the mountains, one could occasionally see orbs of flame drifting around gravesites.

Xu Jingxi said sternly, "Shen Ningning, you need to get out of here."

Not far away, Ye Shangyi’s miserable sobs could be heard.

"I think I twisted my ankle! I can’t get up... WAHHH! Ningning, help me! Don’t leave me here all by myself!"

Shen Ningning’s soft voice was calm and full of childlike innocence. "Don’t be scared. I’m not leaving."

With that, she took a step forward and reached her small hand out to touch the nearest will-o’-the-wisp.

"Careful!" Xu Jingxi’s expression changed as he lunged forward and pulled her behind him.

Shen Ningning blinked her large eyes. "It’s okay. I think I know what’s happening. This isn’t the work of ghosts at all."

Ye Shangyi, who had been clinging to the Black Wolf King’s neck, was dragged all the way back by the great beast.

Her legs were weak, and her face was streaked with tears from the pain.

"Not ghosts? Then why are there so many will-o’-the-wisps? As soon as I came over, I saw them bobbing around in the air."

Shen Ningning covered her mouth with her little hand. "Hmm, how should I explain it? Did you know that everyone’s body has something called ’phosphorus’ in it? After someone dies, the phosphorus in their buried body evaporates. When the weather gets really hot, it naturally burns and turns into a blue flame."

Everyone present was utterly baffled.

"Phosphorus?"

Ye Shangyi, still trembling, asked, "Then why do they float?"

"They’re very light, so they move with the wind. Watch if you don’t believe me." Shen Ningning puffed out her cheeks and pushed forward with her little hand, creating a small gust of wind that sent two of the wisps drifting forward.

Ye Shangyi’s eyes widened in amazement. "That’s incredible! Ningning, you can control will-o’-the-wisps!"

The little girl giggled. "I already told you, it’s not because of ghosts."

She explained seriously, "This place used to be a mass grave, so there must be a lot of skeletons underground. It’s not strange for these phosphorus flames to appear."

Xu Jingxi, however, frowned in confusion. "How... do you know all this?"

’This knowledge is like something from a divine text.’ He considered himself well-read, but compared to Shen Ningning, he felt he still had a long way to go.

Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes, paused for a moment, and then said with a grin, "It was explained in a little book my mother left for me."

’Actually, it was in the writing primer Mother gave me. It taught me how to write the word "phosphorus," and right after the word, Mother had written down this interesting little fact.’

’She even wrote that many people don’t understand it and mistake it for ghosts.’

’In reality, it’s just a chemical reaction.’

Xu Jingxi thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something was off.

"You just said that this ’phosphorus’ only burns when it’s very hot. But it’s autumn now, so how could it be hot?"

Ye Shangyi exclaimed in surprise, "That’s right!"

Shen Ningning puffed out her rosy cheeks, thinking hard.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she bent down and touched the ground with her little hand.

"I wasn’t wrong before! The ground here is warm!"

Everyone else quickly touched the ground to check, and sure enough, it was!

Why would the ground be warm at an abandoned house in the mountains?

Just then, the Black Wolf King let out a long "AWOOOO."

Shen Ningning’s eyes widened. "Let’s go! Let’s go check up ahead. Langlang says there’s a strange smell coming from the mountain behind the house."

With that, she nimbly hopped onto the Black Wolf King’s back. The others quickly raised their lanterns and followed the Wolf King.

Branches crisscrossed in the mountain wilds, and the dense forest was deep and dark.

The deeper they went, the darker it became—so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Fortunately, they had brought lanterns with them.

"Do you hear running water?" Ye Shangyi asked suddenly.

The others nodded in agreement. Xu Jingxi took a careful sniff of the air. "And I think I smell a faint scent of sulfur."

After the Black Wolf King led them over a slope, they stood at the top and looked down to see a shimmering, sparkling vista spread out before them.

"Wow!!" Shen Ningning’s large eyes grew wide with amazement.

The scene before them was as bright and open as the forest had just been dark and oppressive.

In a hidden mountain hollow, there were several hot springs!

Bathed in moonlight, the water of the springs was a milky white, giving off a faint mist in the cool autumn air.

"So that’s why the ground was warm—there are hot springs here." Because of the local ghost stories, they had never been discovered by anyone else.

Ye Shangyi leaned against a tree trunk and murmured, "Ningning, this is an incredible discovery!"

「Late October.」

The feel of autumn was fading as winter approached.

Mr. Han was evaluating the students’ completion of their assigned tasks.

One by one, the students submitted their reports and described their good deeds.

But the "good deeds" performed by some students were simply absurd!

Mr. Han frowned, looking at Lu Shaoyuan standing before him.

"You shut down half a Money Shop? Why?"

"That Money Shop was my venture. I’m no longer giving the rich the opportunity to deposit their silver with me. Instead, I’m urging them to go to the other Money Shop, the one my mother runs. She regularly gives aid to the poor."

Watching Lu Shaoyuan answer with such a straight face, it was as if he genuinely believed this was an excellent plan.

Mr. Han was aghast. "You really are a..." ’...genius,’ he thought to himself.

Speechless, Mr. Han waved his hand. "Next."

’If I have to talk to Lu Shaoyuan for another minute,’ he thought, ’I won’t be able to resist the urge to beat him.’

After a full day of evaluations...

The deed that most impressed the teachers was one performed by Xie Yuanjiu and several other young ladies in partnership.

They bought fish from the market to set them free in the river. At the same time, fishermen downstream would catch the fish again and send them back to the market.

This prevented the excessive killing of fish while also meeting the needs of the fishmongers and the fishermen.

Only Mr. Han frowned.

’Something feels off about this,’ he thought. ’Can this really be considered a good deed?’

Besides Xie Yuanjiu’s group, there was also Liang Yici’s deed. She had performed a sword dance in the streets and given all the silver she earned to the local beggars.

Mr. Han nodded in appreciation.

The students crowded around the teacher’s desk, asking, "Teacher, have you decided? Whose good deed was the most outstanding? Who gets to dine with the Emperor?"

Mr. Han looked around the room. "Let’s wait a bit longer. Ningning hasn’t turned hers in yet."

Xie Yuanjiu, standing off to the side with a few of her close female classmates, started snickering when she heard this.

They whispered among themselves.

"There’s only about an incense stick’s worth of time until sunset. If the Princess can’t hand hers in, will the teacher punish her?" ℴℴ𝘮

"What are you talking about? Mr. Han dotes on the Princess. He treats her like his prized pupil. Would he really have the heart to punish her?"

"Exactly. She’s a princess, after all. She’s not like us. It wouldn’t be surprising if he made an exception for her."

As they spoke, they turned to Xie Yuanjiu. "We just can’t stand seeing the Princess bully you. Just you wait. This time, the teacher will definitely choose you to enter the palace and dine with the Emperor. When that happens, the Xie family will regret ever throwing you out."

Xie Yuanjiu was skilled at making friends, always saying what they wanted to hear and catering to their tastes.

In just two short months, she had already made a new circle of friends at the National Academy.

In the eyes of these classmates, Shen Ningning was a bully who threw her weight around, while Xie Yuanjiu, who wasn’t as cunning, was the one who ended up being kicked out of her home.

The group was eagerly waiting for Xie Yuanjiu’s moment of triumph.

Just then, Ye Shangyi’s voice rang out from the doorway. "Teacher, we’re here! The report is ready!"

Xie Yuanjiu looked over and saw Shen Ningning trailing behind Ye Shangyi. The little girl was dressed in a fine embroidered dress, her hair adorned with tiny pearls, making her look exceptionally cute and exquisite.