Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 844: The Final Entrustment

Chapter 844: Chapter 844: The Final Entrustment

At the critical moment, Jian Shen immediately sent his mentor flying with a palm strike, saving Lu Bei’s life just in time. Had he delayed for a moment longer, Lu Bei’s neck might have been snapped.

Having been saved, Lu Bei was terrified. Clutching at his neck and scrambling with hands and feet, he crawled to one side and then looked at his mentor as one would at a monster.

The mentor got up and bared his teeth menacingly at Jian Shen, no longer resembling a human, but rather a wild beast hunting its prey.

At this time, Lin Xi walked over, chanting a spell as she moved. She used the Meditation Curse, which instantly brought the mentor back to his senses; his eyes returned to normal, and the ferocious expression on his face disappeared.

"What’s going on, what exactly happened to me?" The mentor, unable to accept what he had just done, then glanced at Lu Bei, still in a state of panic, and knew he wasn’t dreaming.

Jian Shen reassured him, "It’s alright, Master, nothing’s wrong now, I am here."

"We should find a cave quickly, before the sun rises," Lin Xi suggested with timely advice. Jian Shen immediately helped his mentor up, deeply concerned about what to do next, given the terror still evident in his mentor’s eyes.

They were in luck and soon found a cave. Jian Shen, Lin Xi, Lu Bei, and the mentor quickly took refuge inside, mainly worried about the effect the sunlight would have on the mentor once it arose.

The mentor sat in a corner, motionless and forbidding anyone to come near, unable to accept what he had become.

Jian Shen wanted to say something comforting but was stopped by Lin Xi, who indicated that no words would help now, only the mentor himself could recover from this.

Seeing the mentor’s face age so rapidly and witnessing his inner turmoil filled Jian Shen with pain. He knew his mentor best, an exceedingly upright and righteous person who abhorred evil. Seeing his mentor in this state, Jian Shen’s heart was far from at ease.

Jian Shen pulled Lin Xi aside and asked softly, "What can be done, Qian Ye? Do you have a way to turn my master back to normal?"

Lin Xi shook her head, "I’m sorry, vampires originate from the West, and I know very little about them. I can’t help your master."

"Then is there any way to suppress my master’s thirst for blood?" Jian Shen asked, holding onto the last glimmer of hope, but Lin Xi still shook her head. The Meditation Curse could only work temporarily. Overcoming the bloodlust would depend on the mentor’s own willpower.

After hearing this, Jian Shen looked back and saw the mentor sitting in the corner, his body trembling, his face tight with strain as he seemed to be fiercely resisting something; and Lu Bei, noticing something was wrong, instinctively moved away from the mentor.

"What should we do? Why don’t we leave the uncle-master here and come back for him once we figure out a solution?" Lu Bei was truly scared and thus made this disgraceful suggestion.

Jian Shen did not blame Lu Bei because he too had just narrowly escaped death; it was natural for him to be afraid and want to flee.

Lin Xi said, "If we go, there’ll be no one to stop him. He needs help more than ever right now, so we can’t just abandon him here."

"Yes, that’s right," Jian Shen said, gratified because the statement should have come from him, yet it was Qian Ye who spoke those words, making him feel increasingly that she was the woman he had once deeply loved.

"Alright, if you won’t leave, then I can’t abandon loyalty," Lu Bei showed a troubled expression but decided to stay nonetheless.

Jian Shen was grateful to Lu Bei. He knew that it was Lu Bei who risked his life to save his mentor during the battle with the Devil Incarnate.

Late at night, the four people rested in the cave. With Jian Shen’s reactionary abilities, even asleep, he could still be aware of everything happening around him. Therefore, they didn’t need to worry about their mentor suddenly going berserk, allowing everyone to rest assured and close their eyes to rest.

The next day, as the sun rose, Jian Shen and Lin Xi almost simultaneously opened their eyes and found their mentor already standing at the cave entrance, supporting himself on the stone walls. He stared blankly at the outside sunlight, his eyes somewhat vacant, lost in thought.

Jian Shen and Lin Xi were somewhat worried and walked over.

"You have awakened. I didn’t want to disturb you, so I didn’t greet you," the mentor said, his lips curling into a bitter smile.

Jian Shen took a step closer, "Master, don’t worry, I will figure something out."

The mentor shook his head with a sigh: "There’s no way. These past few days, I have personally seen the Devil Incarnate unable to control his bloodthirst, frantically devouring human flesh. I don’t want to become like that."

Lin Xi added, "Senior, this isn’t your fault. It was those harmful aspects of you that did it. The Devil Incarnate chose to become like that on his own, but you didn’t."

Upon hearing this, the mentor smiled appreciatively: "You are Qian Ye, right? Thank you for last night. You didn’t let me commit an unforgivable mistake. Also, I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have been prejudiced against you. You are not some demoness, but a good person. My disciple wasn’t wrong about you. It’s just that the timing of your being together was unfortunate. I shouldn’t have judged you based on rumors. I was wrong."

"It’s okay, senior, I’m used to it." Lin Xi smiled and then glanced at Jian Shen. Both felt that there was something off about their mentor’s tone.

"Jian Shen, I have a request for you. Please, you must stop the Devil Incarnate. If he succeeds, not just the Martial Arts world but the whole world will never have peace. You are the only one who can stop him," the mentor pleaded, placing all his hopes on Jian Shen. This put Jian Shen in a difficult position, for he no longer wished to be involved in the feuds of the Martial Arts world but wanted to live a peaceful life with his beloved.

"I know, you are now an enemy of Martial Arts, despised by people in Martial Arts. Asking you to repay evil with kindness to help Martial Arts is truly unfair to you. But aside from you, who else can?" Having said this, the mentor stepped forward out of the cave and into the sunlight.

"Master!" Jian Shen wanted to stop him, but his mentor turned and smiled in the sunlight, allowing the flames to consume him.

It was too hot; Jian Shen couldn’t approach, his heart in turmoil.

"Jian Shen, you know best what kind of person I am. Only by this means can I be set free," the mentor smiled with acceptance: "I am glad to have you by my side at my last moment, letting me know that the disciple I took pride in has returned."

"Promise me, you must stop the Devil Incarnate, stop those Westerners. You absolutely cannot let them disturb our homeland. This is no longer about personal grievances but about righteousness, just as I taught you since you were young." The flames on the mentor grew fiercer, irreversible, and in his final smile, he completely turned to ash.

Jian Shen couldn’t bear to watch any longer, closed his eyes in grief, clenched his fist, and stood silent in his spot.