Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Ning Zhu stood up and ran over, sensing that Li Jin’s condition was not quite right.
His face was very pale, his body still held upright, but it was clearly forced endurance.
Ning Zhu wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she saw faint strands of ice-blue patterns spreading out from the white collar of his clothing, covering his porcelain-white neck.
Bai Ze: “Mm…”
Ning Zhu quickly supported Li Jin and asked, “Senior, are you injured?”
She had seen his previous battles and knew this person was not as calm and steady as he appeared on the surface—he was someone who would ruthlessly push and even harm himself for the sake of “fairness.”
Li Jin’s whole body was in pain; wherever Ning Zhu touched him, it was especially sharp, even carrying a burning sensation.
Fortunately, he had strong endurance. Even so, he could still speak normally: “I made you wait too long.”
Ning Zhu didn’t care about any of that and anxiously asked, “Is there a hospital in Lingyun Land? Or a shop that sells medical cards? Should we contact—”
“I’m fine.”
“But…”
Li Jin sat down on a chair, closed his eyes slightly, and said, “Sorry, I couldn’t retrieve the Seven-Star Card Ring.”
Ning Zhu was extremely anxious, yet this person was still talking about irrelevant things.
Bai Ze said, “Give him a Spirit Energy Card.”
Ning Zhu immediately took out all the Spirit Energy Cards from her card pouch: “Here!”
Li Jin: “……”
Ning Zhu said, “Use it first. I’ll go buy more.”
Li Jin paused, then took one Spirit Energy Card with slightly trembling fingers and said, “Enough.”
Ning Zhu added again, “It’s fine, I brought a lot of money. I can buy many more!”
Li Jin used one Spirit Energy Card. His expression clearly improved, and his voice was no longer as weak. He said, “Overuse will make it ineffective.”
Ning Zhu said in frustration, “Oh, right.”
Bai Ze had explained to her before that if Spirit Energy Cards were used continuously, their effects would gradually weaken until they became useless.
In such situations, either wait a while before using them again, or use higher-star ones.
However, the highest grade energy cards sold in shops were probably only up to three-star.
Li Jin seemed to have returned to normal. His expression was faint, his voice steady and calm: “After I chased after them, I accidentally entered a Maze Card. This is a type of scenario card. It’s not dangerous, it just traps people inside and makes it very hard to get out.”
Ning Zhu looked at his neck—the ice-blue patterns had already spread down to his jaw.
This did not look like he had recovered at all!
Li Jin noticed her gaze. “What is it?”
Ning Zhu honestly said, “Ice-blue patterns.”
Li Jin froze for a moment. “You can see them?”
Then he lowered his gaze and said, “Right. You would definitely be able to see them.”
Ning Zhu asked, “What is that?”
Li Jin said indifferently, “The backlash of the Libra Card.”
Ning Zhu inhaled slightly and was about to speak, but Li Jin continued, “It’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
Ning Zhu still felt it wasn’t that simple, but she understood too little about all this and could only choose to believe Li Jin: “…Alright.”
Li Jin then brought the topic back: “After I was trapped in the Maze Card, I realized they were using a diversion tactic. Once you left Lingyun Land, they would most likely have attacked you.”
Ning Zhu felt a lingering fear as she listened. “So that’s what happened. Good thing senior reminded me to stay in Lingyun Land.”
Li Jin corrected her: “I didn’t know at the time. I just wanted to retrieve the card ring and then continue taking you to buy the items on the list.”
Bai Ze said speechlessly, “With that rigid, by-the-book personality, no wonder you triggered ‘Justice.’”
Ning Zhu, however, inexplicably felt that the Libra Card holder like this was quite cute. That sense of distance also faded quite a bit. She said, “No matter what, it’s all thanks to senior!”
Li Jin: “……”
He awkwardly shifted the topic again: “Did you buy everything?”
Ning Zhu immediately said, “I bought everything!”
Li Jin looked toward her wrist.
Ning Zhu shook the card ring on her left wrist and said, “Two thousand yuan! The latest model! Cool, right!”
The card ring shop had opened in the afternoon.
At that time, Li Leyang had already gone back, and Ning Zhu had gone around by herself to take a look.
The card rings in the shop were either white or gray, and no matter how Ning Zhu looked at them, she couldn’t see anything like “colorful brilliance.”
Bai Ze said, “Gray ones are better. Just pick one and use it.”
Ning Zhu thought the same, so she simply picked the most pleasing one from the sea of white and gray.
The shop assistant immediately started praising it: “Miss, you have excellent taste. This card ring is the latest 2024 model. Stylish and cool design, exquisite craftsmanship. We guarantee smooth and seamless usage, and it can greatly enhance the effectiveness of card usage!”
After Ning Zhu put it on, she also felt it was good: “Alright, I’ll take this one!”
What “exclusive” or not?
Little gray was fine—trendy and cool—though she was visually impaired and couldn’t really tell QAQ.
Li Jin didn’t say anything further. With a flick of his fingers, a card appeared in his palm. He said, “This is a Concealment Card. Use it, and it will temporarily hide the Star God Card’s presence, preventing people from the Zodiac Society from sensing you.”
Ning Zhu’s eyes lit up. “Great!”
Bai Ze lazily glanced at it and said, “Good grade. That little principal really went all out. Unfortunately, you don’t have a seven-star card ring, so you can’t fully bring out its best effect.”
Hearing that, Ning Zhu understood why Li Jin had been so insistent about the exclusive card ring.
The card ring affects a card master’s card usage performance.
The little gray one in front of her clearly couldn’t fully unleash the Concealment Card’s effect.
Ning Zhu felt warmth in her heart, and her anticipation for Lingka Academy grew even stronger.
The little… cough, Principal Yang treated her very well.
Senior Li Jin also treated her very well.
They were both genuinely considering her, especially Senior Li Jin—he had already been seriously injured twice because of her!
“Thank you!” After using the Concealment Card, Ning Zhu only felt the pressure on her body greatly reduced. She smiled brightly at Li Jin.
Li Jin: “……”
Ning Zhu said, “When I get to the school, I’ll personally thank the principal!”
Li Jin: “Mm.”
“Nonsense!”
A sharp rebuke suddenly rang out, startling Ning Zhu.
She looked up and saw a man in a deep blue windbreaker walking briskly toward them.
He was very tall but extremely thin, especially his face, which was unexpectedly long and narrow, making him look even more harsh and sharp. His hair was slightly curled, likely of mixed foreign descent, with deep-set eye sockets and a pale complexion—he looked almost like a medieval vampire.
There was the emblem of Lingka Academy on his shoulder, indicating he was a faculty member there.
At his age, he was definitely not a student.
Moreover, students’ uniforms had the emblem placed on the left chest.
Li Jin stood up and said, “Professor.”
He introduced her: “This is Professor Jiang of the Libra system.”
Ning Zhu quickly stood up and greeted him: “Hello, Professor Jiang.”
Jiang Binglun looked at Ning Zhu coldly. His tone was neither high nor low, but it made people uncomfortable: “Hello there, Star God Card holder.”
Ning Zhu: “……”
Bai Ze licked its paw and said, “He’s not here with good intentions.”
Ning Zhu muttered in her heart: Obviously!
Jiang Binglun did not look at Ning Zhu again. Instead, he examined Li Jin. His voice was cold, but there was a faint hint of urgency in it: “Nonsense! How long have you even held the Libra Card, and you already dared to use it at full overload twice in a row!”
Li Jin stood there without saying a word.
A flash appeared on Jiang Binglun’s wrist ring, releasing a Flying Carpet Card: “Get on.”
Li Jin looked toward Ning Zhu.
Before she could speak, Jiang Binglun already swept his gaze over her and said, “She already has a Concealment Card, and her home also has a Confusion Card. People from the Zodiac Society won’t be able to find her anymore.”
Li Jin said, “Professor, I’m staying at Blue City Residence.”
Jiang Binglun said coldly, “What Blue City Residence? You are going to the medical facility right now!”
Li Jin: “……”
Ning Zhu could read the situation clearly. She immediately said, “Professor Jiang, please take Senior Li Jin to treatment as soon as possible. I can go home by myself.”
She shook her wristband and blinked at Li Jin. “Don’t worry!”
Seeing that Li Jin still did not move, Jiang Binglun got angry. He said, “Li Jin, do you know the consequences of a Zodiac Card going out of control?!”
Li Jin lowered his eyelashes slightly. “Yes, I know.”
He said nothing more and stepped onto the Flying Carpet Card.
The same Flying Carpet Card, when used by different people, had completely different effects.
Principal Yang’s was warm-toned, somewhat flashy and out of place, but it made people feel comfortable lying on it.
Professor Jiang’s was cold white—plain, dull, and rigid. It didn’t look like a flying carpet at all, more like a stone bed, hard and uncomfortable at a glance.
Before leaving, Jiang Binglun suddenly looked at Ning Zhu again.
Ning Zhu tensed up, and the feeling of being stared at by a strict head teacher instantly rose in her.
Jiang Binglun lowered his voice and asked her, “What is your relationship with Miao Feng?”
Ning Zhu: “!”
Jiang Binglun sneered. “I remember he has a niece…”
Ning Zhu asked, “Professor Jiang, you know my uncle?”
Jiang Binglun said, “As expected.”
However, he said nothing more. With a flick of his body, he left Lingyun Land.
Seeing Ning Zhu getting anxious, Bai Ze said, “They’re about the same age. Maybe they were classmates. That’s normal. You should know, there’s only one Lingka Academy in all of Huaxia.”
Ning Zhu thought about it and felt that made sense.
She suppressed her urgency, thinking that school would start in a few days anyway, and she would have many chances to meet this Professor Jiang…
Mm, he didn’t seem to like her very much.
It didn’t matter. There were probably many people at school who knew her uncle.
Miao Feng had become a knot in Miao Yun’s heart.
And Ning Zhu was no different.
She still couldn’t believe that her uncle—the one who always smiled with dimples, loved fluffy adorable alpacas, and always lifted her up whenever he saw her—would do something so utterly wicked.
Ning Zhu returned home to find Ning Quanren and Miao Yun waiting for her in the living room.
As soon as she entered, both of them first let out a breath of relief, then walked up and asked, “How was it? Did you buy everything?”
Ning Zhu said, “I bought everything!”
She didn’t mention the theft of the card ring, only said that she had made a new companion and that they had lost track of time playing in Lingyun Land.
Ning Quanren listened with great interest, while Miao Yun glanced at the card ring on her daughter’s wrist, her eyelashes trembling slightly without her noticing.
Ning Zhu really wanted to show off the card ring, but considering her mother’s feelings, she didn’t even dare to shake her wrist casually.
Miao Yun looked tired and said, “Good that everything is ready. I’m going to rest first.”
After she left, Ning Quanren could no longer hold back his excitement and asked, “So this is a card ring?”
Ning Zhu nodded repeatedly.
Ning Quanren asked, “How do you use it?”
Ning Zhu said, “You need cards, but I still can’t use them freely outside school…”
Ning Quanren, who had stayed up all night rereading Harry Potter, said, “Got it, got it. Don’t use it randomly. We’ll talk about it later.”
Ning Zhu then explained the Concealment Card and the Confusion Card.
Ning Quanren finally relaxed and said, “So I can go to work tomorrow?”
Ning Zhu said, “Mm!”
Ning Quanren asked again, “Do we need to move?”
Ning Zhu quickly said, “No need! I asked Senior Li Jin. He said that with the Confusion Card, the most dangerous place is actually the safest.”
The father and daughter chatted until late into the night.
Ning Zhu really wanted to tell her mother about all this too, but she knew her mother would not be able to accept it in such a short time. So she suggested going to sleep early, so she could talk more with her father.
The next early morning, Ning Zhu once again saw the “Delivery Card.”
This time it delivered…
A boarding pass.
Ning Zhu looked closely, hoping to see something like Platform 9¾.
However, the boarding pass was too normal—so normal that it didn’t carry even a trace of mystery.
A normal airline, a normal boarding gate, a normal boarding time.
If anything was unusual, it was only that she didn’t need to go to the airport to get the boarding pass.
Bai Ze said, “Flip it over and look.”
Ning Zhu said, “Oh.”
She flipped the boarding pass and saw densely packed small text on the back:
“Safety instructions for first-time users of the ‘Somersault Cloud Express Card’:
“1. Please arrive at the card boarding gate 15 minutes early.
“2. You must change into the school uniform.
“3. Students prone to motion sickness should apply in advance for a Motion Sickness Card.
“4. No eating four hours before boarding.
“5. After boarding, no loud noise or random movement is allowed. Seat belts must be fastened.
“6. Students who fall off the Somersault Cloud Express Card due to personal reasons are responsible for their own medical expenses and second boarding fees.
“7. Recommended to purchase China accident insurance, 60 yuan per person.”