The next morning, when Xuanxi opened her eyes, she felt a strange sensation in her hand. At some point last night, Hildegrifa had taken her hand and hadn’t let go all night.
Her long hair was spread out on the ground mat, her eyelashes trembling slightly in the morning light, her breathing steady. Xuanxi didn’t move, afraid to wake her.
She looked down and saw the now-complete jade pendant at her collar, its Azure Dragon pattern seemingly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The five destiny marks under her right eye lay quietly there. She touched them with her finger and found nothing different.
Hildegrifa’s fingers twitched. Xuanxi pulled her hand back, pretending she had just woken up, and yawned.
“Morning.”
Her voice was a little hoarse.
Hildegrifa opened her eyes. The amethyst pupils reflected the morning light. She looked at the scabbed wound on Xuanxi’s face, at her tangled hair from just waking up. She sat up, folded her sleeping bag, rolled up the ground mat—movements quick and steady.
“Time to get up,” she said.
“The patrol team is packing up the tents. We’re going back to the academy.”
Xuanxi crawled out of her sleeping bag. Her right arm wasn’t fully healed yet, but the pain was much lighter than last night.
The Wolf family’s healing potion really worked—the wound was accelerating its recovery, and the bruise on her shoulder had turned from purple-blue to pale yellow.
Outside the tent, Elsa was already up. She was applying an ice pack to her own shoulder. When she saw Xuanxi come out of the tent, her eyes lit up.
“Xuanxi! Are you feeling better?”
“Much better.”
“Your face—” Elsa pointed at her right cheek. The wound cut by the gravel had formed a thin scab, its edges slightly curling up.
“Will it leave a scar?” Elsa leaned in to look.
“It shouldn’t,” Valeris’s voice came from the side. She was already fully dressed, her light golden fishtail braid re-braided, her ice-blue eyes fixed on the wound on Xuanxi’s right cheek.
“The Wolf family’s healing potion contains regenerative herbs. Once the scab falls off, it won’t leave a scar.”
Elsa breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s good, that’s good. If you left a scar, Xige would be heartbroken.”
Just then, Hildegrifa walked out of the tent. She paused at the words, didn’t look at Elsa, but didn’t deny it either.
The patrol team was packing up the tents. The team members worked quickly and efficiently, folding the gray-green canvas into neat squares and stuffing them into backpacks.
The five members of the Wolf Squad also got up. Rex Wolf’s right arm was still in a sling, but his complexion was much better than yesterday. He nodded at Xuanxi without speaking.
“Fall in!” the patrol captain’s voice echoed through the canyon. Everyone assembled, and under the patrol captain’s lead, they returned to the teleportation array.
The teleportation array lit up. Pale blue light rose from the ground, enveloping everyone’s bodies. Xuanxi touched the jade pendant at her collar. Her mother’s last words seemed to echo in her ears— “Live, return to the Eastern Dragon Domain, and then save all living beings.”
The five destiny marks glowed faintly in the morning light. She took a deep breath and stepped into the teleportation array.
The light grew brighter, and the canyon, rock walls, vines, and carvings of Echo Valley gradually faded away in the glow.
Back at the academy, the ten members of both teams were forced by the teachers to go to the infirmary for a checkup. The white walls there gleamed harshly in the sunlight.
Dr. Yilian, wearing thin-rimmed glasses, peeled off the bandages on Xuanxi’s right arm layer by layer.
The bandages came off, revealing the skin underneath—the purple-blue bruising had mostly faded, almost invisible for a severe injury. Several cuts from the gravel had already scabbed over, showing pink new skin underneath. Dr. Yilian first pressed her right shoulder, then her ribs.
“It’s recovering faster than expected.”
She pushed up her glasses.
“The Wolf family’s healing potion is really effective. But you still need to rest. No strenuous exercise for three days. Stay in the infirmary for a few days, and be careful not to use spiritual energy.”
Xuanxi nodded and pulled down her sleeve.
“And the wound on your face.” Dr. Yilian turned her face to look.
“Let the scab fall off on its own. Don’t pick at it. It won’t look good if it scars.”
Xuanxi nodded again, looking very obedient.
Hildegrifa stood at the infirmary door, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. She didn’t come in, but she didn’t leave either.
Dr. Yilian glanced at her.
“Your spiritual energy is also frighteningly depleted, and it hasn’t fully recovered yet. You need to supplement nutrition. The cafeteria has meal plans. Remember to get them.”
Hildegrifa nodded to indicate she understood.
The assessment score report was personally delivered to the infirmary by Teacher Cecilia.
She stood by Xuanxi’s hospital bed, holding a dark brown kraft paper envelope sealed with the academy’s gold-embossed crest and red lacquer.
“Xuanxi Squad,” she read slowly, every word very clear.
“All nodes completed. High-level magical beast hunting mission completed. Bonus points: after completing the mission, when encountering a top-tier magical beast, assisted the Wolf Squad, also assessment participants, in killing a Rock-armored Dragon Lizard through mutual cooperation, with no casualties. Comprehensive evaluation: SSS-rank!”
Elsa’s mouth formed an O.
“SSS-rank… We really got SSS-rank!”
Reginald stood next to her. The burly man’s eyes rarely held a glint of tears. He nodded.
“Mm.”
Xuanxi lay on the bed, looking at the dark brown envelope, not reaching for it. She turned to look at Hildegrifa sitting beside her.
“Could you collect it for me? I’m not really in a position to right now.”
Hildegrifa nodded. She stood up, took the envelope from Cecilia’s hand, her slender fingers gripping the edge of the kraft paper, and put it into the cloth pouch at her waist. The movement was very natural.
Teacher Cecilia glanced at her, then at Xuanxi, as if she understood something, but she said nothing. She turned and left. Before leaving, she wished everyone a pleasant holiday.
After Cecilia left, Elsa and the other light patients also left first, using the excuse of packing their luggage. The infirmary suddenly quieted down.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on the white bed sheets, and landed exactly on the complete jade pendant at the head of the bed.
“Your jade pendant—the third piece found?” Xige’s voice was very soft.
“Mm.”
“When?”
Xuanxi was silent for a moment.
“Last night, after you fell asleep.”
Hildegrifa didn’t press. She just looked at the jade pendant for a while, then reached out, her fingertip touching the spot on Xuanxi’s cheek where the destiny marks were.
“The fifth destiny mark also appeared? Also while I was asleep?”
“Mm, also last night.”
Hildegrifa seemed to guess something. She didn’t ask further. Then she placed the jade pendant back by the bed.
“Time to go pick up winter break homework. You rest well. I’ll bring yours for you.”
She turned and left the infirmary.
Xuanxi ended up lying in the infirmary for three more days. During those three days, she couldn’t exercise vigorously, couldn’t use spiritual energy—basically couldn’t do anything.
Her only entertainment was talking to the school doctor and Xige, or pulling out the communication slate that Xige had given her to browse the academy forum.