As Gaara left with the magic circle, Li Jiayu gently squeezed the small gourd in his hand, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over his mind. His eyelids felt heavy, desperately wanting to sleep immediately – ugh, damn it... looks like this summoning consumed more mental power than expected.
"I'm tired, you come over..."
Just as Li Jiayu was about to speak to Xiao Wanqing, his eyes suddenly lit up, like a cat's eyes in the night!
Twenty Exploding Tags!
Gaara left, yes, but he actually left twenty Exploding Tags at the magic circle spot!
Yellow talismans, inscribed with flowing, dragon-like symbols, emitted a faint yellow glow under the dim light, seeming to announce their extraordinary nature.
"That legendary figure called Gaara... isn't he a bit too generous?"
Li Jiayu murmured to himself, overjoyed inside. Honestly, the moment he saw the Exploding Tags, he almost suspected Gaara had deliberately left twenty of them to silence him, fearing they would instantly explode and blast the entire classroom to smithereens.
However, facts proved that a legendary figure like Gaara probably wouldn't resort to such means against a mere apprentice summoner. Besides, Li Jiayu looked closely; the twenty Exploding Tags hadn't been used yet, so naturally, there was no need to worry about them detonating.
"Gaara and I are neither relatives nor friends... Giving me a 'Sand Gourd' was already extremely benevolent. I didn't expect other gifts too, it really makes me feel overwhelmed by favor. Good people have a peaceful life..."
Li Jiayu shook his head, forcing himself to stay awake, and carefully picked up the twenty Exploding Tags. In his past life, when he was still a novice and intermediate summoner, he often summoned Exploding Tags to supply his team and Demon Hunting Group. After all, Exploding Tags were very useful: setting ambushes, remote demolition, even usable in conjunction with traps. If used skillfully, they could even blast high-Tier 2 insects to death!
"Li Jiayu, are you okay?"
Seeing Li Jiayu's face turn even paler, fatigue etched between his brows, even standing a bit unsteadily, Xiao Wanqing knew Li Jiayu had overexerted himself. She disregarded any concerns about propriety between genders, directly walked up to him, gently supported his waist, and held this boy twelve years her junior in her soft, warm embrace, simultaneously blooming with holy, gentle white light.
"How could I be okay..."
Li Jiayu rested his chin on Xiao Wanqing's shoulder, inhaling the refreshing fragrance that filled his senses. He could feel the rounded softness of her snowy peaks against his chest, completely different from a young girl's, but the unique ample elasticity of a mature woman, the texture extremely fine.
"Big Sister... find me a place to rest... I'm tired, really tired. I must sleep for ten minutes or so, recover my mental power slightly..." Li Jiayu's eyelids were already about to close, his voice weak and listless.
"Jiayu, given your condition... I'm afraid just ten-something minutes won't be enough. How about this: let's go back to the thirteenth floor to rest, adjust properly overnight. It won't be too late to clear out the insects tomorrow morning after you've recovered your energy. We don't need to rush right now; your health is more important..." Xiao Wanqing gently stroked Li Jiayu's back and said softly.
"Yeah, Jiayu, you should rest well. Our gains today have already been very substantial... Besides, it's starting to rain lightly outside, and the sky is getting dark soon, making it inconvenient to fight... Even if the bottom three floors haven't been cleared, it doesn't matter. We can move some things to block the thirteenth-floor staircase, then we'll be temporarily safe..."
Ran Hongxia spoke, her clear, innocent starry eyes gazing at Li Jiayu's face. Only when Li Jiayu closed his eyes did Ran Hongxia dare to look at him like this; after all, usually, the moment Ran Hongxia looked at Li Jiayu, he would immediately turn his head away irritably.
"Right, no time to delay, let's head back now. Hmm, might as well collect the Insect Crystals from those four piles of meat scraps..." Chu Xiang said, about to take Li Jiayu from Xiao Wanqing's arms, wanting to carry him on his back.
"No! I already said... tonight we must push the progress to the student supermarket and the female dormitory... Otherwise, tonight will be very long. In this kind of apocalyptic crisis with heavy casualties, the first night is the hardest to endure. No food, no warm clothes... Many people won't be able to stand it... I don't care if others freeze, but anyway, I am unwilling to let Sister Xiao Wanqing suffer cold and hunger. And my good friends, Han Xiaoqi and Hua Xiaolu, they can't suffer either... Otherwise, everything I've done loses much of its meaning..."
"You... why must you fixate on such things? It's not like we can't endure hardship... You don't need to force yourself like this..."
For some reason, just for a fleeting moment, Xiao Wanqing was genuinely moved by Li Jiayu. She couldn't understand why Li Jiayu, whom she had only met by chance and had merely a plain teacher-student relationship with, would repeatedly give her special treatment. Han Xiaoqi and Hua Xiaolu were understandable, after all, they were his good friends. But what was Xiao Wanqing? Strictly speaking, Xiao Wanqing and Li Jiayu had only truly gotten acquainted today.
He really didn't need to give so much... After all, his shoulders were just as broad as any ordinary person's; he didn't need to carry too many responsibilities upon himself.
"Less nonsense! What I've decided is not for you to veto!"
Li Jiayu slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head, speaking wearily:
"Take me to the classroom next door... that classroom has no corpses, it's relatively cleaner... Go there, I need to sleep... Did you hear me?"
Xiao Wanqing and Chu Xiang exchanged glances, smiled bitterly at each other, and could only reply helplessly:
"Alright, we'll listen to you."
With that, Xiao Wanqing gently patted Li Jiayu's back, carefully yet somewhat strenuously supporting him, and led him to the clean classroom next door. The axe-wielding fighters deftly pushed aside desks and arranged several chairs into a makeshift bed, gesturing for Xiao Wanqing to place Li Jiayu down to lie on it. But Xiao Wanqing shook her head, simply found a random chair to sit on. Li Jiayu sat beside her, only his upper body rested against her warm embrace.
"All of you, get out. At a time like this... I don't want any other people disturbing us."
Hearing Li Jiayu's command, Chu Xiang and the dozen or so other boys looked at each other, their expressions strange, but they understood implicitly. The strong always had certain privileges. If it were before, they would naturally gossip about a man and woman being alone in a room, but now, they felt a sense of anticipation instead.
The dozen boys silently walked out of the classroom. Even Lan Xiaoyue didn't dare to linger. Only Ran Hongxia stood prettily before Xiao Wanqing, whispering:
"Ahem... Aunt Xiao, let me stay. At least I can protect you inside. If a spider breaks in through the window, at least I can put up a fight..."
Just as Xiao Wanqing was about to speak, Li Jiayu weakly said:
"Out! Didn't you hear I don't want anyone disturbing me? Octopus, you get out too!"
After sending the Dark Octopus and Ran Hongxia away, Xiao Wanqing sighed softly, lovingly reaching out to stroke the bloody scratch on Li Jiayu's face. Holy Light bloomed from her palm as she said gently:
"Sleep well... Don't think too much... Just treat my embrace as your safe harbor, you don't need to worry about anything..."
"Sister, don't touch my face, it itches..." Li Jiayu closed his eyes and grunted.
"Why do you always call me Sister? Is there... some distant family relation between us? Or does your older sister look very much like me?" Xiao Wanqing gently stroked Li Jiayu's back, scratching it comfortably for him.
"Neither."
Li Jiayu shifted slightly, finding a more comfortable sleeping position, and smiled unintentionally:
"I want to call you Sister, so I call you Sister. What, do you have an opinion?"
"No opinion. Call me that if you like... I even benefit, gaining such a handsome younger brother as a bodyguard for free." Xiao Wanqing smiled gently, her expression tender and pitiful, utterly moving.
"Mmm... being able to sleep in your arms has been my greatest wish for two years..."
Unconsciously, Li Jiayu's breathing became deep and even, his expression serene. He uttered one last phrase in his sleep:
"I'm afraid of being alone... I don't like being the only one left living alone in this world. Every time it rains, my heart turns cold, I want to find someone to talk to, but every time I can only go stare blankly at your cenotaphs... So, please, don't go. Please stay by my side, okay? Stay with me, I will protect you all well..."
This unconscious sleep-talk struck Xiao Wanqing's heart. She stared blankly at the already fast-asleep Li Jiayu. She could hear the despair and longing intertwined in his words, creating an indescribable feeling, one that simply made listeners want to cry.
"He... what was he dreaming about? This child... always hides so many secrets in his heart. Doesn't he know that carrying too much makes life very tiring?"
Xiao Wanqing gently shook her head, milky-white Holy Light still emanating from her embrace. Although she knew this weak Holy Light wouldn't help Li Jiayu much, any help was better than none. Outside the window, lightning flashed across the thunderclouds, illuminating her flushed, pretty face, smooth and moist, as gorgeous as a spring begonia by the water.
"I don't know how the road ahead will unfold. I just hope more students in the school survive. My husband, far away in Yong City, should also be safe and sound, right? And this child, Li Jiayu..."
Xiao Wanqing looked down, stroking Li Jiayu's cold, smooth white hair. She saw the faint smile on his slightly pale face. But why did it seem there was something crystalline reflecting light near the corner of his eye?