Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 133 - 53: A Single Leaf Obscures Sight

Chapter 133: Chapter 53: A Single Leaf Obscures Sight

Before the dawn arrived, Cloud Sea Academy was beset by a new crisis.

A food shortage crisis.

Great Emperor Mengsk-Mosong had delivered an uplifting pre-battle declaration in Dreamland while all the students and faculty of the academy were asleep.

"All who enlist tonight will receive an extra chicken leg with tomorrow’s lunch," he had said.

The academy’s students had answered the call en masse, each contributing their Life Energy to the defensive battle. United in spirit and fighting shoulder to shoulder, they faced the formidable enemies from the Imperial Court, defending their home and, at the same time...

...they wreaked havoc on the chicken population.

Under siege, it had been quite some time since the academy had sent out Messengers to procure supplies; with the food in storage, there was no way to fulfill the promise of one chicken leg per person.

In an effort to rectify the situation, the elderly headmaster, over a hundred and twenty years old, had gone without sleep. He was one of only two people in the academy who could turn the tide of this crisis—in time for lunch tomorrow, he had to frenziedly paint hundreds of chicken legs.

This reminded Mo Song of his own student days.

The headmaster of the painting academy back then had requested that each student paint a thousand eggs, with the goal of teaching them the principle of seeing things from different perspectives. Now, he had to solve the academy’s crisis with his own brush.

The other who possessed this Strength, Duan Mingyuan, had been stopped by Jiuyue after painting only three chicken legs.

The little fox usually obeyed him in everything, but there is a common saying, "Food is the God of the people," and she would not turn a blind eye to Mr. Mingyuan over the matter of chicken legs.

In her words, the three things Duan Mingyuan had painted were "a duck leg, a goose leg, and some unidentifiable bird’s leg that also looked like it wouldn’t pass inspection and would likely make someone sick if eaten."

Jiuyue even suspected at one point that Duan Mingyuan might be influenced by the memory of some old poisoner, unconsciously attempting to overturn everyone with the thighs of some unknown birds.

There had to be an old poisoner.

Jiuyue remembered Mr. Mingyuan had once made a similarly dangerous speech.

Full of spirit but lacking in artistic skill, Duan Mingyuan had to leave the front line, admitting to himself that his painting did indeed have certain issues.

"Hmph, how ugly, driven away by that little fox. Seems you’re not good at everything after all," he scoffed.

As soon as Duan Mingyuan stepped outside, he encountered Chen Chou, who leaned against the exterior of the academy with arms crossed in a masterful pose.

"Aren’t you too?"

"Don’t lump me in with you," Chen Chou said with arrogant disdain, "I was chased out because she caught me sneaking a chicken leg."

He believed Jiuyue, "the youngest achiever of a senior title," was perceptive, especially regarding her sense of smell for chicken. His supposedly perfect disguise had been seen through at a glance, and he had almost gotten a thrashing for it.

Of course, sneaking chicken legs was just an excuse; his real purpose was to check on Duan Mingyuan’s condition.

In Chen Chou’s view, those Extraterrestrials were no easy opponents; they spoke grandly of benevolence and morality but were actually scared off by Duan Mingyuan, and that mechanical monstrosity named Tian Yun had been defeated by him.

Although he had not witnessed their battle firsthand, he imagined it must have been earth-shattering, echoing through the ages.

"Now that the Extraterrestrials have left, there’s no need for pretense anymore. You’re actually at the end of your tether. I’m not wrong, am I?"

Chen Chou felt he saw through everything, "You’re so weakened that you can’t even paint a chicken leg properly. Stop trying to act tough. I’ll take over the defense here; you go and rest."

"You’ve got it all wrong. Tian Yun was just a reserve member of ’Long Branch,’ and my inability to paint chicken legs well has nothing to do with my condition," Duan Mingyuan said, feeling that Chen Chou had underestimated both him and the significance of chicken legs.

Even at his peak, Duan Mingyuan would have struggled to paint a perfect chicken leg, let alone mass-produce them like Mo Song.

"Stop being stubborn. I can see the energy in your body is turbulent; you must have suffered an internal affliction."

"No."

"What about fever or headache?"

"No, not that either."

"At least you might have some scratches. Don’t underestimate external injuries. I know plenty of people who accidentally slipped during the war and died of tetanus. It’s not too late to go to the infirmary now and apply some antiseptic solution."

"I don’t have any external injuries either."

Instead, Duan Mingyuan was more curious about how someone who died from a fall could end up on a battlefield.

Could this person possibly be an Extraterrestrial spy planted in the military to undermine morale?

"So you’re saying you’re not hurt."

"Mhm."

"Oh."

Chen Chou replied sullenly, falling into silence. The rumors about him and Duan Mingyuan being at 46 came apart at the seams after this battle.

Just as it was written in the books, a tragic barrier had already formed between them.

Even though the Extraterrestrials had retreated, Chen Chou didn’t feel the slightest bit of joy. His heart was heavy, and he began to loathe himself.

When the enemy from his memories appeared before his eyes, he hid within the crowd, forgetting all his previous bold declarations, behaving no differently from the other teachers and students in the academy.

What made Chen Chou feel even more ashamed was the waver in his heart.

He would surely die if he made a move.

This thought pressed on his heart like a mountain, and his memories told him that the Extraterrestrials had initially controlled the planet using fear.

On the other hand, Duan Mingyuan, who often advised him not to be rash and to advocate for peaceful resolutions to conflicts, killed the Messenger from above. He also didn’t flinch in the face of the descending "Long Branch" or the representative of the Cosmic Coordination Department.

"The one who needs to rest is you."

Duan Mingyuan noticed Chen Chou’s hesitation, "Revenge isn’t your own thought; it’s a memory that has been implanted in your mind."

"But..."

"Several centuries have passed since that memory. You’re someone who’s about to become a full professor. You should understand to look at problems from a developmental perspective."

"Are you advising me to let go of my grudge?"

Chen Chou looked straight at Duan Mingyuan, not even sure what he was hoping for.

If the other party earnestly advised him to release his hatred, he would definitely curse at him, but after the outburst, perhaps as time went by, he might indeed put it out of his mind.

"No, you should see for yourself with your own eyes."

Duan Mingyuan had no intention to debate the issue of familial and national hatred with Chen Chou because he knew, from his understanding of Chen’s argumentative spirit, that such a debate would never conclude.

Moreover, he was never the kind of saint who held great love in his heart, believing that all crimes could be forgiven.

To seek revenge for grievances was always his way of doing things.

"Wait until you’ve truly understood their actions and grasped the full story, then decide whether you want to seek revenge."

That was advice for Chen Chou, but it was also Duan Mingyuan’s sincere opinion.

He too had faced such a choice.

Back then, he decided to cover up the unsatisfactory parts of his life, thinking that what was left should be acceptable.

But now he realized that no one could truly be blind to the faults.

"I’m planning to go to the Imperial Court."

Duan Mingyuan suddenly said, "Before I return, help me take care of the ’Defense Against Evil Spirits’ class. This is also part of the academic evaluation for a full professorship."