You Xue lowered her head, pretending to be a passerby who just happened to pass by.
The alley wasn’t narrow, but the branches of the trees growing inside the academy walls blocked most of the sunlight, leaving only dappled spots on the ground.
You Xue walked in the shadows, trying her best to minimize her presence.
She didn’t even spare a glance from the corner of her eye toward those disguised Dark Crow Organization members.
But she could still feel their cold, piercing stares.
Even an ordinary passerby was enough to put them on alert.
You Xue ignored those looks and silently pressed forward along the wall.
One step.
Two steps.
Slowly, their figures passed by one another.
The alley was so quiet that the only sound was the faint rustle of leaves.
Even after she walked past the last man, You Xue did not stop.
She could be patient—but those men? Not necessarily.
A howling wind reached her ears, accompanied by heat that grew fiercer by the second.
Those people would never let go of anyone who had witnessed them, even an ordinary person who passed by by chance.
But this was the moment You Xue had been waiting for.
She had already prepared thoroughly.
She threw herself to the ground and rolled several times.
Her movements lacked any grace, but she dodged the fireball aimed at her head.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she flicked six Rune-Engraved Daggers from between her fingers and hurled them toward the group.
“She’s not an ordinary person!”
Only then did You Xue hear the startled shouts behind her.
Unfortunately for them, the thrown daggers wouldn’t give them a chance to fight back.
Thanks to the Tracking Seal, she didn’t need to aim precisely—just throw in the general direction.
The sound of daggers cutting through air, piercing flesh, and cries of pain mixed together, then abruptly faded.
By the time everything went silent, You Xue hadn’t even gotten up yet.
‘Looks like everything went smoothly,’ she judged.
She pushed herself off the ground, her heart pounding wildly.
No matter how thoroughly she planned, mistakes were always possible.
And even the smallest mistake could cost her her life.
Yes, she was afraid.
Even though she had already died once.
Life was precious.
Besides, she still had her mission.
Until she reached that goal, she would never give up.
But when You Xue stood up and turned around, the sight before her startled her.
Five bodies lay on the ground beside the cargo they had been transporting.
Two had been struck in the head, two had daggers through their necks, and one had been pierced through the heart.
All of them were dead, bright red blood flowing from their wounds.
Only one exception remained—a man in a short shirt with an ugly scar on his face.
He stood there, alive, the thrown daggers lying at his feet.
“That was close to tripping me up.”
He spat on the ground.
“Surprised I’m still alive?”
You Xue didn’t reply.
A cold gleam flashed from her right hand as she threw another dagger.
She narrowed her eyes, watching the blade arc through the air, headed straight for the scarred man’s chest.
But just before it hit, the dagger stopped midair, as if a transparent barrier stood in front of him.
Then the dagger fell at his feet, just like the ones before.
The scarred man grinned viciously.
“Looks like you’re out of tricks.”
He glanced at his companions and let out a sneer.
“Trash, every last one of them. Letting a woman like you kill them.”
He snapped his gaze back to You Xue.
“But even if they’re trash, they were still my partners. And you killed them.”
He cursed harshly.
“I’ll finish you off first, then kill you!”
The scarred man charged at You Xue.
Without hesitation, she stepped backward.
After her dagger attacks failed, she had only one option.
Run.
But espers naturally had stronger physical abilities than ordinary people—and You Xue was also suffering from the terminal Magic Rejection Syndrome.
Her steps grew slower.
The twisting pain in her chest intensified, and even normal breathing became a luxury.
A surge of salty, sweet liquid rushed into her throat.
She covered her mouth with her hand and coughed lightly.
Her palm was stained with fresh blood.
The scarred man was closing in.
But You Xue didn’t feel cornered.
Slowly, she ran out of strength and stopped.
The scarred man was barely five steps away.
“Run. Why’d you stop?”
You Xue remained silent.
The man looked her up and down with a disgusting, lustful gaze.
His eyes practically overflowed with desire.
“Skinny, but not bad looking.”
He licked his cracked lips.
“How about letting me have some fun? I like ’em warm!”
You Xue’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“Go to hell.”
At the same time, she flung her last dagger from her right hand, the blade aimed straight for his head.
But that transparent barrier blocked it again.
Once the dagger lost its momentum, it fell at the man’s feet.
“I changed my mind. I’ll kill you first. Still warm when I do the deed!”
The scarred man stepped forward, an unknown power gathering in his fist, then swung viciously.
You Xue felt as if she had been struck by a speeding truck.
Her feet left the ground, and she heard several sharp cracks from her bones.
But this was the opportunity she had been waiting for.
Having read the original story, she knew this ability—C-rank Barrier Ability.
When stationary, it generated a transparent barrier covering the whole body, effectively blocking physical damage.
It could also be attached to body parts for attacks.
Its only flaw was that it couldn’t use both modes simultaneously.
That meant, as an ordinary person, she could only exploit that mechanism to take down this thug.
And now was the time.
Though all eight daggers had been thrown, besides Tracking, she had another seal she hadn’t used yet.
The Loyalty Seal!
All the daggers—near and far—trembled on the ground.
In just an instant, they leaped into the air, like wandering silver threads.
Then those threads pierced through the scarred man’s body, spraying streams of blood.
“How…”
He only managed to utter those words before collapsing.
He fell right in front of You Xue.
She gasped for air, her chest feeling as if it were splitting open.
Another surge of blood rose in her throat.
She couldn’t swallow it, and it trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Her ribs were probably broken, she estimated.
Her clothes were torn and tattered from scraping against the ground.
Her skin was abraded, slowly oozing blood.
It hurt.
‘It hurts so much.’
Everything in front of her grew blurry.
But that was a good thing.
Only the living could feel pain.
She rested on the ground for a while until the pain faded slightly, then slowly got up.
Now she had to leave the scene quickly.
Being exposed to other factions wouldn’t be good for her.
The bodies—let the academy handle them.
You Xue limped along the road home.
But just as she was about to exit the academy gate, she heard a familiar voice.
It was a relaxed male voice.
“Where should we eat today?”
“Brother Su, there’s a new restaurant somewhere outside. Want to go together?”
“Let’s go.”
The last voice replied.
You Xue’s steps halted.
This voice—so familiar.
It had to be him.
Only him.
From the past until now, the only voice she had engraved in her memory.
It was Su Li.
You Xue gripped the hem of her clothes and looked toward the direction of the voice.
That face, those black strands of hair—so familiar.
Su Li wore a relaxed smile.
He was bright, handsome.
He was a talented esper, meant to be full of vitality.
You Xue looked down at her own clothes.
Tom here, ripped there, revealing scraped skin and still-drying bloodstains.
She looked pathetic—like a stray dog that had been stepped on.
She lowered her head and hid in the shadows, feeling hollow inside.
‘Why do I feel this way?’
You Xue didn’t understand.
But she knew she absolutely couldn’t let Su Li notice her.
So she shrank deeper into the shadows, like a true wanderer.
‘Don’t see me,’ she prayed.
Footsteps passed in front of her.
She counted them—each step growing farther away.
You Xue breathed a sigh of relief.
But then she heard footsteps approaching from behind.
She heard the speaker say:
“You Xue.”
“I know it’s you.”