Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 80 - 1: The Peach Blossom Spring

Chapter 80: Chapter 1: The Peach Blossom Spring

Jiuyue was especially happy today.

As soon as Duan Mingyuan entered, he heard her humming a tune in the kitchen, accompanied by the sound of knife sharpening.

Hearing the door, Jiuyue called out proactively, "Mr. Mingyuan, you’re back, and there’s something delicious today!"

Moments later, he saw the treat Jiuyue was talking about.

A crane nearly one meter tall, its body entangled in a net, its beak bound with rope, its crimson eyes sending him constant signals for help.

"Look, what a big White Feather Chicken!"

To give her distant friend a hearty welcome, Jiuyue wanted to adjust the kitchen knife to its sharpest state.

In the meantime, her friend seemed to have a lot to say, but Jiuyue believed that there was no need for many words among friends; once the meat was in her stomach, she would naturally understand everything about friends.

"That’s a crane."

Duan Mingyuan bent down to untie the rope from the crane’s beak, correcting her.

"A crane is a chicken, a subspecies of chicken."

Mr. Mingyuan’s definition of monsters deeply inspired Jiuyue; the definition of chickens, like monsters, was extremely broad—anything that flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or swims in water, as long as it can be eaten, is a chicken.

"Help me!"

The crane spoke the instant the rope was removed, its tone clearly panic-stricken.

"Don’t panic, she’s just joking with you."

While Duan Mingyuan spoke, he helped the crane out of the net and sternly glanced at Jiuyue, who was holding the kitchen knife, her face full of reluctance.

It was clear this crane was a monster; he had observed that monsters were mostly larger than their animal counterparts, distinguishable in a crowd at first glance, just like elite monsters in a game’s horde.

He didn’t know how the food chain among monsters was divided, but he would have to seriously discuss with Jiuyue that they should not eat other monsters in the future.

The moment it escaped from the net, the crane staggered behind Duan Mingyuan, showing only its head, and stared at Jiuyue in terror; less than an hour of interaction had left it with a severe psychological trauma.

Duan Mingyuan had no choice but to take the crane to the living room and then commanded Jiuyue to stay in the bedroom.

Still shaken, the crane gazed at the closed bedroom door for a long while before recovering its strength. With its beak, it retrieved an envelope from beneath its feathers and personally handed it to Duan Mingyuan; it read "For Mr. Duan Mingyuan’s Hands Only," "Mr. Duan Mingyuan, this is the invitation personally entrusted to me by the dean for you."

"An invitation?"

Duan Mingyuan checked the envelope; apart from his name, the bottom right corner also bore the words "Yunhai Academy."

He had never heard of this place.

His hand reached for the seal of the envelope, and the moment it opened, the entire envelope suddenly sprang to life, slipping from his grasp. What popped out wasn’t a piece of paper, but a vivid scene—a watercolor painting depicting a world secluded from everything else.

The guide was a silhouette of a man standing eight feet tall, with broad shoulders and thick arms, out of which emerged the figure of an old man.

"Mr. Duan Mingyuan, by the time you open this letter, you must have already met Yun Lin, the academy’s messenger. We’ve heard about your deeds, and we’re aware of the current situation in Yunlong City. The academy has always been looking for individuals like you to protect the precious knowledge passed down from the ancients. Should you be interested, Miss Yun Lin will explain more about the academy to you."

The ink painting kept changing as they followed the guide along a narrow path, moving forward until they stood beneath a towering mountain. Looking up, the mountain’s peak was shrouded in mist, with ancient-styled buildings faintly visible through it. It seemed that by following the winding mountain road ahead, one could reach the pavilions located at the peak, enveloped in the clouds.

"This is Qing Chi Peak, visible only to those invited by the academy."

Yun Lin’s tone also softened, returning to her usual cool demeanor, "Yunhai Academy is located atop Qing Chi Peak, a place isolated from the world, unknown even to Universe Company."

This time, their visit to Yunlong City was different from previous student recruitment efforts; besides a few students, they were also looking to hire a teacher.

The dean had given her this important task, hoping she would assess whether Duan Mingyuan was trustworthy enough for the academy.

Although Yun Lin’s first impression of Jiuyue was extremely poor, up to this point, Duan Mingyuan’s every move was impeccable—kind, steady, reliable, and, as the dean said, like everyone else in the academy, he was a seeker of knowledge.

Having shown Duan Mingyuan the outlines of Qing Chi Peak and Yunhai Academy, the letter turned into a scattering of dust in mid-air.

This reminded him of a text he had studied in high school, about a lost traveler who stumbled into a cave and found an isolated world after travelling through a dark narrow path.

He too had once fantasized about a group of people in an unknown place, possessing knowledge of evil spirits, and now, one of their messengers was standing before him.

"You wish to invite me to be a teacher?"

Duan Mingyuan asked, "Then, what are the terms?"

"A salary of 50k-75k Bei, with snacks and afternoon tea provided. Paid leave during the winter and summer vacations, holiday benefits, monthly team dinners, a year-end bonus, annual gala benefits, and retirement pension plans. Upon joining, you will have access to the academy’s documents, but no form of external dissemination is allowed."

Listen, listen!

This is the correct way to recruit!

Duan Mingyuan truly wished Jiuyue would learn a thing or two. Her strategy of making empty promises and acting on passion had long been abandoned by the times. He had really not expected Yunhai Academy, seeming as if it had stepped out of an ancient ink painting, to recruit in such a modern way.

In Yunlong City, this salary was considered very good, and all sorts of benefits were comprehensively included.

Yun Lin added, "This time, Tang Qianqian and Yang Ping are also among the students the academy is aiming to recruit."

Duan Mingyuan had a suspicion that the reason Yunhai Academy had approached him at this time was probably related to the hunters and the once obliterated Royal Hunting Court. Whether it was Universe Company, Da Jiang, or Yunhai Academy, it seemed they all wished for the organization’s resurgence, with the difference being that they hoped the new Royal Hunting Court’s partner would be themselves.

Looking at it this way, the hunter seemed to be a profession with a huge market demand.

"What is the purpose of Yunhai Academy?"

Duan Mingyuan asked.

Given the recent emergence of terrorists or human trafficking organizations, he had to ask for clarity.

"You must have realized that after the Extraterrestrials arrived, they endeavored to completely eradicate knowledge related to Life Energy. However, there were some who refused to compromise with the Extraterrestrials. They gathered their last Strength and created Yunhai Academy, isolated from the world. We are not seeking revenge against the company someday; our goal is to protect the lost knowledge. That is the reason Yunhai Academy exists."