Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Ning Zhu’s shocked expression was something Yang Huaizhou had long since gotten used to. With a grave expression, he said: “The attackers were members of the Yellow Path Society. Over the past hundred years, they have assassinated nearly all Star God Card holders.”

Ning Zhu tensed up, and Ning Mu couldn’t help stepping forward, gripping her daughter’s hand.

Her mother’s panic instead helped Ning Zhu calm down. She gave Ning Mu a reassuring squeeze in return before asking Yang Huaizhou: “Why do they want to assassinate Star God Card holders?”

Yang Huaizhou said: “In their eyes, the Star God Card belongs to only one person, and that person has already been dead for a hundred years.”

Ning Zhu drew in a small breath, unable to understand the logic of the Yellow Path Society.

She was about to ask more when beams of light descended, and many people in trench coats appeared out of thin air. Some of their coats were like Yang Huaizhou’s, with dark red collars, while others were deep blue…

Another beam of light descended, and a different group of trench-coated people appeared. Their uniforms were different again—sharper, more streamlined, with pure black collars and badges on their chests. A faint outline of an “eagle” could be seen.

Ning Mu murmured: “Special Affairs Bureau.”

She recognized their uniforms, especially the eagle badge.

Yang Huaizhou said to Ning Zhu and Ning Mu: “We still need to search for and capture the remaining members of the Yellow Path Society. You two should go upstairs and rest. Remember, do not go out these next few days. Once it is confirmed safe, I will visit personally.”

Ning Zhu nodded in agreement. Ning Mu was already so tense her palms were drenched in sweat, and she just wanted to leave quickly.

Yang Huaizhou’s card ring flickered, and Ning Zhu and Ning Mu felt a red light envelop them. In the next instant, they were already at their doorstep.

Ning Qingren had waited for a long time, but the mother and daughter still hadn’t returned. Feeling uneasy, he was about to go out to look for them when he opened the door and bumped right into them.

“Wha—” His words cut off abruptly as he stared in shock at his wife and daughter who had appeared out of nowhere.

“Go inside first,” Ning Zhu said.

Ning Qingren stammered: “O-okay.” He stepped aside. After they entered, he cautiously looked outside, and only after confirming no one was there did he quickly close the door.

“What… what happened?!” Ning Qingren asked with a trembling voice.

Ning Zhu didn’t immediately explain the attack. Instead, she looked at Ning Qingren and said: “Dad, I want to go to the Spirit Card Academy.”

Ning Qingren: “!”

He carefully looked toward his wife.

Ning Mu’s face was very pale. She let out a barely audible sigh and said: “…Let her go.”

—

Yang Huaizhou sent Ning Zhu and her mother off, then arranged for people to maintain security and watch the area.

A medical professor immediately stepped forward: “I’ll take Li Jin back first!”

Yang Huaizhou nodded: “Thank you, Professor Xu.”

After finishing this, he turned to the Special Affairs Bureau side.

“Thank you, Bureau Chief Qing, for making the trip personally.”

The Special Affairs Bureau had seven or eight people present. Leading them was a cold-faced middle-aged woman who looked to be at least fifty or sixty years old. Her face had clear wrinkles, and her thin, elongated neck gave her an even sharper presence.

“Is she the Star God Card holder?” Qing Yanyu asked bluntly.

Yang Huaizhou replied: “Possibly not.”

Qing Yanyu sneered: “If she isn’t the Star God Card holder, would the Yellow Path Society send six high-level card cultivators?”

Yang Huaizhou shook his head: “The Yellow Path Society also eliminates Star Constellation Card holders without hesitation.”

Qing Yanyu continued: “The Fate Bell rang twice. Could it be—”

Yang Huaizhou insisted: “Bureau Chief Qing should also know that Li Jin has recently been holding the 【Libra Card】.”

“You mean the Fate Bell rang because Li Jin holds the 【Libra Card】?” Qing Yanyu cut in before he could finish. “Principal Yang, don’t take others for fools. The 【Libra Card】 is in a bonded state. Even if Li Jin possesses it, it would not trigger the Fate Bell. Only wild constellation cards or… no, it must be a Star God Card. The bell rang throughout the Spirit Card Academy, and twice at that…”

Yang Huaizhou said: “There are always special cases.”

Qing Yanyu frowned: “You mean Li Jin achieved perfect resonance with the 【Libra Card】?” That could indeed trigger the Fate Bell’s attention.

Yang Huaizhou glanced at the throat-slit members of the Yellow Path Society and said meaningfully: “If it wasn’t perfect resonance, how could he have killed six high-level card masters?”

“……”

Another young man from the Special Affairs Bureau said: “Even so, it’s impossible for it to ring twice in a row!”

“Coincidence.” Yang Huaizhou added, “After Li Jin became the Libra Card Holder, someone else also became a certain constellation card holder.”

Everyone present fell silent.

Not only the people from the Special Affairs Bureau, even the teachers of the Spirit Card Academy stopped speaking.

Here it comes again. Here it comes again.

The principal is once again starting to speak complete nonsense in a serious manner!

Everyone understood perfectly well—when the Fate Bell rang like that, it must be the Star God Card appearing in the world.

You have to know, the Fate Bell itself exists to sense the Star God Card… and, incidentally, it also reacts to Star Constellation Cards.

Qing Yan Yu couldn’t be bothered to argue with Yang Huaizhou anymore. She said: “Since the principal is so certain, I assume you can handle the situation here. We won’t disturb you further.”

Yang Huaizhou smiled gently and repeated: “Thank you, Bureau Chief Qing, for making the trip in person.”

Qing Yan Yu: “Goodbye.” With that, a flash of light enveloped her, and the people from the Special Affairs Bureau left as well.

One of the combat professors from the Spirit Card Academy, Gu Lieyang, couldn’t help asking: “Principal, it really wasn’t the Star God Card appearing?”

Professor Huang couldn’t help but look at him with disdain: “Can you use your brain before you go out? The principal is clearly trying to protect—”

Yang Huaizhou interrupted before he could finish: “We need to strike while the iron is hot and wipe out the Yellow Path Society in H Province in one go.”

—

Ning Zhu waited at home for three days.

During these three days, their entire family did not leave the house. Fortunately, staying in was no issue—there was enough food in the fridge, and daily necessities were well stocked. Not to mention three days, even a week would have been fine.

Ning Qingren was able to work from home, and in just three days, the company wouldn’t run into any problems.

Especially after experiencing two life-and-death situations, Ning Qingren had come to see things much more clearly.

Money could never be earned endlessly—he might as well spend more time with his family.

Within these three days, the family reached a consensus.

The principle that “a man is innocent, but possession of a treasure brings trouble” was something both Ning Qingren and Ning Mu understood well.

Their daughter had already been dragged into this. They could only accept it and face it.

Not just Ning Zhu—both of them also needed to understand the cards as much as possible and learn to use them, so they wouldn’t hold their daughter back.

On the first day, Ning Zhu was quite calm, thinking that the unusually young principal must be dealing with many matters and wouldn’t come looking for her so quickly.

On the second day, she became a little uneasy.

On the third day, she was restless and unable to sit still.

Bai Ze licked its paw and said: “Relax. They’ll only ask you to enroll.”

Ning Zhu paced back and forth: “What exactly is the Yellow Path Society? You really haven’t heard of them before?”

Bai Ze said: “You’ve asked that a hundred times already!”

Ning Zhu: QAQ.

Bai Ze couldn’t stand her teary-eyed expression anymore and finally answered: “Never heard of them! I’ve been asleep for a hundred years. Who knows what they’ve become!”

These days, whenever Ning Zhu had nothing to do, she would cling to Bai Ze asking questions nonstop.

Since she had already decided to go to the Spirit Card Academy, she naturally wanted to understand more.

However, Bai Ze knew quite a lot about card-making, but very little about the Spirit Card world.

It had lived for a long time, but had been in a constant cycle of waking and sleeping. Ninety-nine percent of Star God Card holders were unable to communicate with it, and without communication, it could only remain asleep.

In the countless, endless years of its existence, Bai Ze could only clearly remember two people.
One was the first-generation Card Master.
The other was Ning Zhu.
Ning Zhu had once curiously asked it about the first-generation Card Master.
Every time, Bai Ze would cover its ears and shout, “I don’t know, I don’t know!” Then late at night, it would lie by the window, gazing melancholically at the distant starry sky.
If its back weren’t so round and fluffy, the melancholy vibe would have been much stronger.
Three days had passed, and Ning Zhu’s anxiety had reached its peak.
“Is something wrong with the Spirit Card Academy? Am I going to drop out before I even enroll?”
Bai Ze: “……”
Ning Zhu: “Was that really the principal? He looks even younger than me. He might actually be a middle schooler…”
Bai Ze: “……”
Ning Zhu: “I wonder how the Libra Card Master is doing. Is he really no longer in danger?”
Bai Ze: “……”
Ning Zhu couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed the fluffy cat and gave it a thorough rubbing before saying, “I must be dreaming, right? How can there be Spirit Cards in this world? Cards are just cards—how can they have ‘superpowers’? No, I’m not dreaming. I’ve developed schizophrenia, ahhhh…”
Bai Ze’s chubby face was squished out of shape. It cried out, “Stop! You rude human!”
Ning Zhu: “Salmon freeze-dried treats.”
Bai Ze: “……”
Ning Zhu: “Goat milk pudding.”
Bai Ze: “……”
Ning Zhu: “Extra-large shredded meat canned food.”
Bai Ze gave up struggling and shouted loudly, “Offerings first!”
While Ning Zhu went to get the canned food and freeze-dried treats, she became even more depressed. “What Card Spirit? You’re just a gluttonous kitty.”
Bai Ze: “………………” I’ll scold her after I finish eating!
Knock knock knock.
Ning Zhu, who was opening a can, jumped in fright. She looked up toward the window.
A human figure was floating outside the window, hovering there stiffly like a stone statue. It was as eerie as it could possibly be.
“A… role card?” Ning Zhu had seen quite a few by now.
Bai Ze glanced over, then continued eating its salmon treats. “It’s the 【Courier】.”
Ning Zhu: “You call this a courier?!”
Bai Ze: “Look at his hand. Isn’t he holding a package?”
Ning Zhu: “……”
She swallowed dryly and asked, “Who sent it?”
Bai Ze: “Must be that little principal.”
Ning Zhu thought about it and agreed.
If it were people from the Zodiac Society, what would be floating outside the window wouldn’t be a 【Courier】, but combat role cards like 【Warrior】, 【Assassin】, 【Mage】, or 【Knight】.
“Hello,” Ning Zhu opened the window and the screen, speaking cautiously.
Surprisingly, Principal Yang’s voice came from the 【Courier】’s mouth. The clear, youthful boy’s voice was very distinctive, yet completely mismatched with the stone-like role card in front of her:
“I’m very sorry. Things are more complicated than I expected, so I can’t come see you in person. This is the academy’s enrollment gift package. Inside you’ll find the admission notice, the list of items required for first-year students, and a small welcome gift… We can talk about the rest in detail once you’re at the school.
“Oh, right—Li Jin has fully recovered. Tomorrow he will take you to buy the necessary school supplies. You two can return to the academy together then.
“The school starts on September 1st. I look forward to seeing you on campus!”
The clear youthful voice disappeared. The stone-like 【Courier】 stiffly raised its hand and handed the package to Ning Zhu.
Ning Zhu quickly took it. Just as she was about to thank him, the statue-like 【Courier】 dissipated like water vapor.
With a soft pat, an empty card fell onto the windowsill.
Ning Zhu picked it up and examined it curiously. “One-time use?”
Bai Ze: “What else would it be? Once the spiritual energy is depleted, it becomes a blank waste card. There are recycling agencies that specifically collect these. You can save them up—if you collect enough, you can sell them for quite a bit of money.”
Ning Zhu had never been short on money. She didn’t think much of it and simply said, “It’s pretty fun.”
She put away the empty waste card, planning to keep it as a souvenir, then opened the package box.