Chapter 28
When Chen He’an arrived, the students, who should have been dismissed after soothing training, were being kept after class in the large lecture hall.
On the podium, Lin Qi wore a grim expression, scolding them with a dark face.
“Some students, although newly awakened, must learn to manage their own Qi. Don’t go harassing classmates for no reason.”
“If you can’t even manage your Qi, how can we expect you to go into battle against Anomalies? Oh! The Anomaly comes, you need to use your Qi, but you turn your head and see your Qi has run off onto a classmate?!”
As he spoke, he sneered, vividly embodying the image of a sarcastic teacher.
“From now on, no one is allowed to skip the ‘Qi Management’ class. Anyone who skips will be put in confinement!”
Chen He’an: “…”
This looked like ‘Teacher Scolding Tactics’ learned straight from the internet.
Unfortunately, the students who ‘committed the crime’ didn’t react much. At least on the surface, everyone appeared relatively calm.
This was normal. An Awakener’s instinct was not to show weakness in front of others. Even if they felt something inside, they wouldn’t show it.
Just like a wild beast in nature wouldn’t show signs of decline after being injured, to avoid other predators seeing something wrong and taking advantage.
Luo Shizhen, on the other hand, sat in his seat looking apprehensive and a bit nervous, appearing very guilty.
The seat to his right, separated by an empty space, should have been Rong Nian’s, but since Rong Nian was in confinement, it was empty.
Luo Shizhen could only quietly shift his body to the left and whisper to the student sitting on his left.
“Hello. I haven’t learned to manage Qi yet, and I can’t feel the externalization of Qi. Sorry to ask, but can you feel it? Was Teacher Lin talking about me?”
The externalized state of Qi was easily influenced by the Awakener’s personality.
Like an arrogant Awakener would have arrogant Qi; an Awakener who liked fighting would have battle-ready Qi.
Energy types in the past, being mostly sensitive artists, would have more refined control over their Qi.
But Luo Shizhen’s personality was naturally a bit slow. Even though he listened attentively in class, after a few days, he still couldn’t even feel where his own Qi was.
Now that Teacher Lin was up there saying “some students,” Luo Shizhen very guiltily assumed it was him.
The black-haired student of the twins: “…”
As the actual “some student,” when Lin Qi arrived, his and his twin brother’s Qi were tangled on Luo Shizhen’s arm, fighting inseparably.
He paused. “…It’s not you.”
Luo Shizhen let out a huge sigh of relief.
It was good that it wasn’t him. He was really worried his Qi would harass classmates without his knowledge.
He smiled gratefully at the black-haired student. “Thank you, Ying He.”
Ying He was slightly stunned. He hadn’t expected Luo Shizhen to remember his name.
After all, Luo Shizhen had seemed immersed in his own world these past few days and always seemed busy.
Ying He had even suspected he didn’t even know how many people were in the class.
Surprised internally, he remained impassive on the surface. “You’re welcome.”
His Qi, originally coiled quietly on him, began to stir again as Luo Shizhen approached.
Because there was a powerful older Awakener in the room suppressing things, only a tiny thin thread extended, moving slowly toward Luo Shizhen.
Ying He’s body stiffened. He wanted to control it, but being in the early awakening period, the Qi that was usually obedient was now acting quite willfully.
Luo Shizhen sat up straight and proper listening to Teacher Lin’s lecture, completely unaware.
Lin Qi glanced down, eyelids twitching again.
He extended his long legs, intending to go down and teach the student committing the offense in public a lesson, but Chen He’an quickly stepped onto the podium and stopped him.
“Teacher Lin has said enough. I’ll speak.”
Chen He’an signaled Lin Qi to step down. Lin Qi gave the black-haired student a warning look and strode off the stage.
The difference between a novice teacher and a veteran was clear at a glance.
Chen He’an still had a smile on his face, and his tone was gentle:
“Although it’s in the textbook, the teacher wants to explain it to everyone again. I know the students have strong territorial instincts, being at an age where you want to claim territory over everything you see.”
“But we are humans after all, not beasts. Placing Qi on other students without their permission is a very barbaric and rude behavior. We do not encourage this.”
“Some students might say they can’t control their own Qi, but the teacher wants to tell everyone clearly here: unless you are fully polluted, your Qi is equivalent to yourself.”
“Qi might move freely when one is relaxed, but it cannot be completely uncontrolled by its master. To some extent, it represents the Awakener’s subconscious. Everything it does is because the Awakener wants to do it.”
Chen He’an looked down with a smile. Ying He, who was being watched: “…”
His expression was natural, eyes looking straight ahead.
But a wisp of his Qi was still clinging to Luo Shizhen’s arm, flowing slowly.
Chen He’an raised an eyebrow and changed the subject:
“Since we’re discussing this today, the teacher will teach everyone a little trick to distinguish Qi bodies.”
“First, close your eyes.”
In the whole class, only Luo Shizhen, the sole person present who couldn’t yet distinguish or sense Qi, immediately closed his eyes obediently.
“Focus all your attention on yourself. Quietly feel every part of your body. Feel if there’s anything wrong anywhere, if it seems like there’s some strange object on your body.”
“Deep breath… start from the bottom. Feet, calves, thighs, waist, chest, right arm… left arm…”
Following Teacher Chen’s words, Luo Shizhen focused on his left arm.
Suddenly, although his eyes were closed, he felt as if there was something small, like a feather, gently sliding on his right arm.
Above, Chen He’an was saying, “If you feel a difference, you can open your eyes and look. If you see nothing but have a faint feeling something is resting there, that is Qi.”
Luo Shizhen’s eyes widened in wonder. He really couldn’t see anything on his right arm, but he could clearly feel that weightless feather.
Was this his own Qi?
Chen He’an said timely, “This kind of Qi where you can feel a clear foreign sensation belongs to others. Your own Qi, originating from your body, won’t create a foreign sensation.”
He emphasized the word “others.”
Ying He’s Qi paused for a second, then continued to flow slowly as if nothing happened.
Sitting to the front left, the red-haired boy seemed to sense something and whipped his head around.
Seeing his twin brother’s Qi openly clinging to Luo Shizhen, he looked at his brother in disbelief.
Ying He: “…”
It was hard to explain, so he didn’t plan to.
He just looked away, avoiding eye contact with his brother.
More and more students in the classroom realized Chen He’an was pointing at something.
It was too obvious; who couldn’t hear it?
Some of them also sensed their surroundings, then cast their gazes on Ying He, who was openly violating the rules.
Under so many gazes, Ying He managed to turn a blind eye, his Qi still openly circling Luo Shizhen.
Actually, he wanted to retract it too, but his Qi felt comfortable on Luo Shizhen. Ying He didn’t show it on his face, but he had actually used all his strength and still failed to pull his Qi back from the person next to him.
Ying He didn’t want to admit to Chen He’an’s statement that “Qi is controlled by the subconscious.”
He thought there might be other reasons, such as the attraction of a Purifier to Qi.
But Luo Shizhen’s personality was indeed surprisingly good. They had been “neighbors” for almost three days, and in every class every day, he saw Luo Shizhen studying seriously.
Towards someone who approached everything with such a serious attitude, it should be hard for anyone to harbor ill will, right?
Chen He’an walked slowly down from the podium:
“If you feel Qi but can’t distinguish whose it is, you can close your eyes again and feel the surroundings. In darkness, your five senses will be sharper, and you can follow the ‘other’s’ Qi you found, tracing it back to its owner.”
Probably only Luo Shizhen in the whole room didn’t pick up on the subtext. He really thought Teacher Chen was lecturing.
And only Luo Shizhen in the whole room was listening to the class seriously.
He closed his eyes again, trying hard to sense his surroundings.
The world with closed eyes was pitch black, but because of the small sensation on his left arm, Luo Shizhen tried focusing his attention on it.
This must be a feather, right?
Very soft. Although invisible, a feeling strangely popped up in his heart: it’s a white feather.
In the dark world, Luo Shizhen curiously observed this white feather. Although his body didn’t move, he felt like he could touch it.
With a light touch, it wasn’t as light and soft as imagined. On the contrary, it was a bit hard, emitting a vibe of inaccessibility.
Luo Shizhen cautiously retracted his sensory touch, but unable to curb his curiosity, his consciousness approached again, patting and tapping the feather.
The feather didn’t seem to mind, drifting closer instead.
“Ahem!” Chen He’an’s voice was much louder than before. “To some extent, Qi is equivalent to half of the Awakener’s body. High-ranking Awakeners integrate deeper with their Qi, so after reaching high ranks, the Awakener can feel the touch their Qi feels.”
“Although those under Rank 5 can’t share senses with Qi yet, good habits must be formed now. Do not touch others’ Qi at will; it is impolite behavior.”
The very polite Luo Shizhen thought, Does this count as touching another’s Qi?
Chen He’an had already walked to Luo Shizhen’s side, placing a hand gently on the student’s shoulder. His voice was a few degrees gentler than before:
“Move your consciousness. Every Qi has a unique aura. Follow its aura to find its owner…”
Luo Shizhen obeyed, controlling his consciousness to stop stroking the feather. Then, guided by Teacher Chen’s voice, he tentatively moved left following the feather’s aura.
Found it. More feathers.
Luo Shizhen suddenly opened his eyes. His own Qi was hovering curiously in front of Ying He.
Man and Qi shared a similar curiosity.
Luo Shizhen: “Ying He, is your Qi on me?”
Ying He, who had allowed others to stare and maintained a natural expression despite the teacher’s warning and the twins’ indignant glare: “…”
Being looked at by Luo Shizhen’s dark, bright eyes, he slowly looked away.
“It’s me.”
“So it really is you!!”
Ying He felt numb all over.
He was prepared for Luo Shizhen to scold him for low moral character.
Of course, he admitted he wasn’t a person of high virtue.
But being misunderstood by someone like Luo Shizhen—who looked serious by nature—because his Qi was disobedient, Ying He naturally didn’t feel great.
“Thank you!!”
Luo Shizhen’s cool voice came.
Ying He was stunned. His dark eyes turned back, landing on the person beside him.
Luo Shizhen was still excited: “If not for your Qi, I wouldn’t know where to feel Qi right now! I actually learned it!”
He looked up at Chen He’an standing behind him, eyes sparkling with excitement:
“Teacher, does this count as learning to sense Qi?! I can feel Ying He’s Qi is feather-shaped. Did I feel it right?”
Chen He’an looked at Luo Shizhen, who was beaming and completely unaware that he was being touched by someone else’s Qi again. Letting out a helpless smile, he gently rubbed his shoulder:
“That’s correct. Ying He is Sequence 11—Angel—White Wings.”
“Shizhen, you learn very fast.”
Praised by the teacher, Luo Shizhen became even happier.
He turned to Ying He. “Ying He, did you put your Qi on me on purpose so I could practice? Thank you!”
Luo Shizhen’s thanks were always sincere and enthusiastic; his heart seemed to have an endless supply of goodwill.
Ying He, who could remain calm under everyone else’s gaze, felt inexplicably flustered being looked at like this by Luo Shizhen.
Saying yes now would be equivalent to admitting he helped Luo Shizhen.
Saying no would be equivalent to saying his Qi was uncontrolled.
Ying He simply lowered his eyes, avoiding Luo Shizhen’s gaze, and pursed his lips without answering.
Luo Shizhen didn’t mind his silence.
He was still in the excitement of having learned to sense Qi.
For three days, he had tried to practice daily but felt nothing. Now he had made such huge progress all at once!
Luo Shizhen carefully raised his left arm. He wasn’t closing his eyes now, but he could still clearly feel the white feather there.
Truly wondrous. Not in his vision, and barely perceptible to touch, yet he was aware there was a feather there, even knowing the color.
Luo Shizhen instinctively reached out to touch it.
Chen He’an: “Ahem, Shizhen, remember what the teacher just said? Touching others’ Qi at will is impolite.”
Luo Shizhen quickly retracted his hand.
He was a good child who listened to teachers.
So, fighting his excitement, he asked Ying He very politely:
“Ying He, can I touch your Qi?”
If permitted, it wouldn’t be touching at will, right?
Chen He’an: “…”
Teacher Chen opened his mouth, then closed it, ultimately saying nothing.
Ying He: “…”
Ying He raised his eyes. “You… want to touch my Qi?”
Seeing his reaction, Luo Shizhen was a bit apprehensive, wondering if he said something wrong.
After all, he wasn’t very familiar with Ying He, only having been “neighbors” for three days.
“I just wanted to try if I can feel Qi with my hand. If you don’t want to, it’s fine.”
Saying that, he turned to Chen He’an. “Teacher, can you let me…”
“You can,” Ying He answered.
Luo Shizhen turned back in surprise. “Thank you! I’ll be very gentle!”
He carefully extended his right hand, gently stroking the cold, hard, sharp feather according to the position he sensed.
“I can really touch it!”
Luo Shizhen was incredibly surprised. He looked at Chen He’an. “Teacher, Teacher, I touched it!”
Its lines were smooth, slender, and elegant. Luo Shizhen could even feel the blade-like sharpness of its tip.
But the feather didn’t hurt him. When he reached out to touch, the feather tip, capable of easily slicing human skin, raised slightly on its own to avoid cutting his hand.
This action added a touch of gentleness to the sharp feather.
Luo Shizhen didn’t notice this. He remained in the state of “I learned to sense Qi,” maintaining a serious “research” mindset.
Meticulously, thoroughly, inside and out, he touched the feather all over.
Done touching, Luo Shizhen stroked the feather gently from top to bottom while looking at Ying He with envy.
His praise always stated his true inner thoughts directly, making it exceptionally sincere:
“I feel it’s like a sword.”
“So beautiful.”
“Ying He, thank you.”
Chen He’an’s gaze landed on Ying He’s earlobe, which had reddened quite some time ago. Having anticipated this, he just gently rubbed Luo Shizhen’s head.
Luo Shizhen obediently let him rub it, turning back to smile at him affectionately, his eyes full of defenseless trust and intimacy.
Ying He answered two seconds late, his expression still revealing nothing:
“Mn. It’s nothing.”
After another two-second pause, he added in a calm tone:
“If you like it, you can touch it more.”
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