“Isn’t this a Pixiu?” The Principal suddenly squeezed forward from behind. He pinched the scruff of the Pixiu’s neck as the creature crouched and hissed, lifting him up to inspect him. He sighed, “How did you end up like this? How pitiful!”

The Pixiu’s white fur was sticking up in all directions, having already rolled on the floor until it turned gray. Because he had bitten down too hard earlier, one of the two sharp little fangs protruding from his mouth had broken, and a trace of blood stained the fur around his snout. Now, held by the scruff of his neck by the Principal, he looked as wretched as could be, without a single trace of his majestic divine beast stature.

Having his identity suddenly exposed, the Pixiu’s body stiffened. Both ashamed and annoyed, he flapped his wings vigorously in an attempt to break free from the Principal’s grip. However, he was running on an empty stomach and had just been injured, making him extremely weak. No matter how hard he flapped, he couldn’t break free.

But seeing that he wanted to get down, the Principal chuckled and let go. Caught completely off guard, the Pixiu tumbled straight to the floor, rolling twice before collapsing into a heap like a fluffy rug.

The Pixiu let out a cry of pain. This fall left him dizzy and disoriented, and he didn’t even have the strength to fly. His wings drooped listlessly behind his shoulders, so he simply gave up entirely, curling into a tight ball and hiding his face beneath his belly to play dead.

Long Ya looked at the dusty ball of fur in front of him. Nudging it with the toe of his shoe, he said dismissively, “So this is the so-called son of a dragon.”

The curled-up Pixiu twitched his nose, smelling that familiar and detestable scent again. He snapped his head up, staring incredulously at the child in front of him, his voice cracking with fright, “Yazi?!”

Long Ya tilted his chin up, narrowing his eyes at him. “What of it?”

Lying on the ground, the Pixiu looked up at this sibling who was both his closest relative and his most disliked brother. For a moment, his emotions were incredibly complex. Yazi had a gloomy temperament and was much older than him; they had never been close in the past. But now, Yazi might very well be his only surviving kin…

Irritated, the Pixiu buried his head between his front paws and asked in a muffled voice, “Is it just you and me left?”

Long Ya sneered. He couldn’t possibly understand the Pixiu’s complicated feelings. Although he was the second son of the dragon, he did not resemble his father’s dragon form at birth. Instead, he inherited his mother’s lineage, possessing the body of a jackal, and was therefore disliked by his father. After reaching adulthood, unwilling to endure the disdain of his clansmen, he had left early to gain experience, and naturally was not close to his other brothers either.

Seeing the Pixiu reduced to such a state, though he was surprised, it didn’t stir any other emotions in him.

“Teacher Rong, how should we deal with him?” Long Ya turned to ask Rong Sui. This was Rong Sui’s home, so naturally, Rong Sui had the right to decide how to handle him.

However, Rong Sui was staring blankly at the Pixiu, seemingly lost in a daze. He didn’t respond even after being called several times.

Seeing that he wasn’t speaking, Bai Tu reached out and tugged him. Just as he was about to speak, Rong Sui seemed to trigger some sort of switch, suddenly taking a violent step back and pointing at the Pixiu with a terrified expression, “H-h-he… he can speak…!”

Everyone else: “???”

Rong Sui had been scared witless just now. Hearing a ball of fur speak in a human tongue so suddenly made him feel as if he had stepped into thin air, his whole body dizzy as if caught in a dream. One moment he was wondering what on earth this creature was, and the next he was debating whether to run first or beat it again… His mind was temporarily jammed with a mess of chaotic thoughts. It was only when Bai Tu tugged him that he finally snapped back to reality.

He had originally assumed everyone would be as shocked as he was, only to find that after he finished speaking, everyone—including the little cubs—was looking at him with bizarre expressions.

Rong Sui: “???”

Instinctively sensing that something was off, he emphasized with a trembling voice, “He can talk!”

Don’t you guys find this strange at all?

An animal! A hybrid creature! It actually speaks human language!

Rong Sui was screaming internally, but on the outside, only his fingers trembled slightly.

Long Ya furrowed his brows, a hint of confusion surfacing in his gloomy eyes. “Yes, everyone can talk.” So what was there to make such a fuss about?

“But… he’s not human…” Rong Sui wanted to cry. He grabbed Bai Tu beside him like a saving grace. “How can an animal speak human language? Is he a monster?”

Made tense by his reaction, Bai Tu stammered, “Y-yes.” As an ancient divine beast, calling him a monster wasn’t technically wrong, right?

Rong Sui: “…………”

Looking around blankly, he realized that out of everyone present, he seemed to be the only one looking shocked. To everyone else, seeing an animal speak human language was as normal as seeing it eat or drink, as if he were the odd one out.

Avoiding Bai Tu’s hand which stretched out to support him, Rong Sui took a few steps back. “You… let me calm down first.”

By now, the others seemed to have realized something as well, looking at Rong Sui with surprise and suspicion, yet not daring to rashly tear down this wall of pretense.

Just then, Yin Zhuzhi took a step forward and called out softly, “Teacher Rong.”

“Ah?” Rong Sui looked down to meet his gaze, his eyes still clouded with lingering confusion.

Yin Zhuzhi gave him a small smile, and then immediately reverted to his original form.

The cute, ponytail-wearing little boy vanished. In his place on the ground lay a dragon cub with golden pupils and small horns. The dragon cub opened his mouth and spoke in human tongue, “Teacher?”

Rong Sui: “…………”

Rong Sui fainted from the shock.

Before the others could even react, he fell face-first onto the ground. Fortunately, the Pixiu beneath him served as a cushion to buffer the fall, but even so, the others were frightened out of their wits.

Bai Tu was so startled his rabbit ears popped out. He hurriedly picked up Rong Sui, who was pinning the Pixiu down.

The Pixiu whimpered and cursed from underneath, but Bi Fang impatiently kicked him, forcing him to shut up.

Bai Ze and Wen Tun dragged the reverted Yin Zhuzhi away by his tail, lest he frighten Teacher Rong any further.

After scaring Rong Sui unconscious, Yin Zhuzhi himself fell into a daze. In truth, he had vaguely realized long ago that Rong Sui was different from them. For instance, Rong Sui had mistaken his original form for a lizard, was extremely familiar with human society, and the scent of a powerful demon on his body was gradually fading… It was only today, upon seeing Rong Sui’s reaction to the Pixiu, that his suspicion was thoroughly confirmed.

Rong Sui had absolutely no idea he was a demon—or perhaps, he wasn’t even a demon to begin with.

Swatting the two cubs away with his tail, Yin Zhuzhi shifted back into his human form, pursed his lips, and muttered softly, “Coward.”

The Principal still didn’t seem to understand what had happened. Standing to the side, he chuckled and sighed, “Ah, to be young is so good…”

Bai Tu carried Rong Sui upstairs, but even after pinching his philtrum hard, Rong Sui didn’t wake up. He instantly panicked. Looking around, there was no one else besides the cubs and Aunt Wang, so he could only cast a helpless look at her, “What do we do?”

Aunt Wang didn’t have any experience either. She said hesitantly, “Should we call an ambulance?”

With his ears drooping listlessly on his head, Bai Tu stared at the unconscious Rong Sui for a moment, then pulled out his phone, truly intending to dial 120.

“Let Bai Ze do it.” Yin Zhuzhi interrupted his movement with a dark expression. Grabbing Bai Ze by the collar, he pushed him to the bedside and urged, “Don’t you know medicine? Wake him up.”

Bai Ze scrambled onto the bed with his short legs and pressed his fingers against Rong Sui’s wrist for a long time. Finally, with a miserable face, he said, “I forgot…”

They had all woken up from a long, deep slumber, only to find themselves reverted to their childhood forms upon waking. Not only had their divine powers waned, but their minds also felt as if they were covered in a layer of mist. They only remembered scattered fragments of their pasts. Naturally, Bai Ze couldn’t possibly remember how to treat illnesses and save people anymore.

And he was already considered one of the lucky ones; those with worse luck, like Wen Tun, had not only reverted physically to childhood but had also regressed intellectually.

Yin Zhuzhi’s expression grew increasingly grim as he paced anxiously by the bedside.

Bai Tu said weakly, “Should we still call a doctor?”

…

In the end, having no other choice, everyone decided that if Rong Sui didn’t wake up in ten minutes, they would call an ambulance.

Aunt Wang took all the cubs out, leaving only Bai Tu and Yin Zhuzhi in the room. Bai Tu stayed behind to look after Rong Sui, while Yin Zhuzhi flatly refused to leave.

Sitting by the bedside, he stared intently at Rong Sui without moving or speaking. Various expressions crossed his face, finally settling into remorse.

Having reverted to a childhood form, his temper and personality were inevitably affected. Had it been his usual self, he would never have been so reckless as to suddenly shift forms in front of Rong Sui. But after turning back into a cub, his temper had become impulsive. At the time, he was single-mindedly focused on proving his theory and had shifted back into his original form without much thought, not expecting it to be the final straw that shattered Rong Sui’s worldview and knocked him out cold.

“I’m sorry,” Yin Zhuzhi whispered, bowing his head, looking uncharacteristically disheartened.

Standing nearby, Bai Tu wanted to comfort him but felt an instinctive fear. After hesitating for a long while, he said dryly, “Rong Sui won’t blame you.”

Yin Zhuzhi gave a quiet “mm” in response, though it was hard to tell if he felt comforted.

Rong Sui had a very long dream.

He dreamed he was back at the kindergarten, but there was not a single person there. A bit scared, he ran around while calling out the names of Bai Tu and the others. Before he knew it, he had run to the playground behind the teaching building. The grass on the playground grew very tall. As Rong Sui paced around the edge, he could faintly see many glowing eyes staring at him from within the brush.

He was so frightened that goosebumps broke out all over his arms. Not daring to look further, he hurriedly ran back. But the animals in the tall grass seemed to have spotted him, chasing after him one by one.

Rong Sui ran and ran with all his might. He didn’t know how long he ran, but when he finally couldn’t run any further and stopped to catch his breath, he was suddenly pinned to the ground by a black dragon as massive as a mountain. The black dragon stepped on him with its claws, its golden eyes cold and terrifying. Behind it followed many bizarre-looking creatures, slowly surrounding him in the center. Then, they opened their mouths in unison—

And called him… “Teacher.”

“Holy crap!”

Rong Sui bolted upright, breaking out in a cold sweat, still shaken from the nightmare.

Yin Zhuzhi’s eyes widened slightly, his expression filled with pleasant surprise. “Teacher, you’re awake?”

Hearing this “Teacher” almost made Rong Sui pass out again. He scrambled backward in terror, saying to Yin Zhuzhi, “Don’t, don’t, don’t! Don’t call me that yet, let me catch my breath.”

Yin Zhuzhi’s eyes dimmed. Thinking that Rong Sui was angry with him, he hung his head in dejection and apologized, “I’m sorry.”

Rong Sui gulped down a large cup of water, finally shaking off the shadow of his nightmare. Seeing the child apologize so dejectedly, he couldn’t bear it anymore and instead comforted him lamely.

“It’s… it’s fine.” Remembering the scene of the sudden transformation into a Torch Dragon, Rong Sui’s smile was a bit stiff. “Actually, it wasn’t that scary. It’s just my first time seeing it…”

“…I’m just not quite used to it,” under Yin Zhuzhi’s expectant gaze, he swallowed hard, saying with great difficulty, “I’ll get used to it… after seeing it a few more times…”

_

Author’s Note:

Little Friend Yin Zhuzhi: Teacher, let me perform a magic trick for you.

Teacher Rong: No, no, please don’t.