Chapter 1113: Reappearance of Jiangtian

Chen Ling looked at the girl who was tangled and worried in front of him and shook his head calmly:

"Using secular stereotypes to define a person's goodness or badness is the most superficial and arrogant thing. Your brother is not that kind of vulgar person... He wouldn't care if you smoke or drink, but would care more about what you have done."

Chen Ling was telling the truth. If Xi Renjie had used stereotypes to judge Chen Ling's kindness or evil back then, he should have blown Chen Ling's head off with a shot, but he didn't do that... He knew that although Chen Ling didn't look like a good person, he had never done anything bad, which was why he let Chen Ling go.

Hearing this answer, a glimmer of light flashed in Xiao Tao's moist eyes. She pursed her lips and didn't speak, just nodded gently, and continued to walk toward the library.

The library of the Integration School wasn't big, and most of the books on the shelves were popular science books. The study room was also relatively quiet. After the two of them entered, they chose a seat by the window on the edge. For one, the ventilation was okay, and for another, speaking in low voices here wouldn't affect others.

Xiao Tao set up her books, took out the stationery from her pencil case, and placed them on the table one by one. By now, she had completely recovered. After rubbing the corners of her eyes, she asked earnestly:

"Brother Chen Ling, what don't you understand?"

Chen Ling didn't say a word, opened his notebook directly, and asked questions one after another according to what he had read last night.

Xiao Tao was indeed a top student. She only had to glance at those knowledge points to be able to answer them like a treasure, making Chen Ling feel like he was back in high school, with a sense of sudden enlightenment.

After explaining several knowledge points in a row, Chen Ling couldn't help but ask:

"Don't you read novels at night? Where do you get so much time to study?"

Xiao Tao's face turned red. "So what if I stay up late to read novels... I can understand these things just by listening in class; there's no need to spend extra time after class."

Chen Ling: ...

Sure enough, learning requires talent. Chen Ling sighed deeply in his heart.

Teacher Xiao Tao's private tutoring session lasted for about a morning. Fortunately, Chen Ling didn't have classes this morning, so he didn't need to go to the classroom. By the end of the morning, he had mastered most of the knowledge points he didn't understand.

Just then, a noisy sound came from the library entrance, interrupting Chen Ling's train of thought.

Xiao Tao looked curiously toward the door and saw Miaomiao and the others gathered together anxiously, as if they were trying hard to find something. She frowned, and after hesitating for a moment, she stood up and walked toward the crowd.

Chen Ling didn't move. At this distance, he could clearly hear the conversation outside the door.

"Sister Miaomiao, what's wrong?"

"Xiao Tao, have you seen Linglong and Xiaobai today?"

"No."

"It was their turn to go out to pick dead leaves yesterday, but it seems they didn't come back all night..."

"What??" Xiao Tao was stunned, and then her face turned pale. "How could this be... They aren't that young anymore; they wouldn't run around randomly... Have you asked Teacher Ye yet?!"

"Teacher Ye has already been notified, and Old Wolf and the others have gone out along the route to pick dead leaves to find them, but there hasn't been any progress yet..."

Xiao Tao's brows furrowed tighter and tighter. After asking the others a few more questions, she returned with a heavy heart.

"What happened?" Chen Ling asked.

"Two classmates went to pick dead leaves and disappeared..." Xiao Tao's face was visibly anxious. "How could this be... It was supposed to be my turn to pick them last night! But I wanted to stay up late to finish that novel, so I asked Linglong to swap with me... How, how could she have gone missing??"

"Has this kind of thing happened before?"

"Of course not. The canopy of the Mother Tree is special; it's like a domain. Not only can it retain color in the Gray Realm, but it can also dispel calamities... So the Integration School has never been attacked by calamities in the Gray Realm for so many years. It should be absolutely safe."

"The dead leaves that fall from the Mother Tree are excellent fuel. A small piece can burn for a long time, and all the wicks in the Integration School use this material, so people take turns picking dead leaves every day, but they never go outside the range of the canopy... For so many years, I've never heard of anyone going missing while picking dead leaves."

"Could it be that they left on their own?"

"Absolutely impossible... Linglong is fine, but Xiaobai is so timid, it's impossible for him to walk into the Gray Realm by himself..."

Speaking of Xiaobai, the first thing that came to Chen Ling's mind was the boy who had been scared to his knees by him on the first day he arrived. With his timid nature, he really wouldn't have ventured into the Gray Realm alone.

But regardless, it wasn't Xiao Tao's place to investigate the disappearance of the two. Now they could only trust Teacher Ye and Old Wolf and the others. Xiao Tao took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and continued to explain the problems to Chen Ling...

Even so, Chen Ling could feel that Xiao Tao seemed to be a bit distracted.

"Let's stop here for today. These knowledge points are enough for me to digest for a while." Chen Ling took the initiative to say. "You go do your thing, don't worry about me."

Seeing this, Xiao Tao didn't insist anymore. After simply saying goodbye to Chen Ling, she ran out, her expression visibly anxious.

Chen Ling packed up his notes and walked straight to the office upstairs.

……

*Knock, knock, knock.*

"Come in."

As Teacher Ye's voice rang out, Old Wolf and the others pushed the door and entered, their expressions somewhat heavy.

"How is it? Did you find them?" Teacher Ye asked.

"...No." Old Wolf shook his head. "We searched the area under the canopy and the Gray Realm within a few kilometers around the canopy... We didn't find any trace of them."

Teacher Ye frowned and fell into deep thought.

"That shouldn't be..."

"There's one more thing..." Old Wolf hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"What?"

"I don't know if it's my imagination... but I seem to have smelled the lingering aura of the Jiangtian Sect in the Gray Realm outside the canopy."

Hearing the words "Jiangtian Sect," Teacher Ye's eyes narrowed slightly. He slowly raised the teacup in his hand and took a light sip:

"The Jiangtian Sect, huh..."

"Teacher Ye, it's rumored throughout the human domains that the Red Star is about to return, and the Jiangtian Sect is making moves at this time... Could there be any connection between the two?"

Teacher Ye paced in the office for a long time, wondering what he was thinking.

In the end, he didn't answer this question, but asked back directly:

"Can you track them?"

"...It's difficult." Old Wolf shook his head. "A whole night has passed, and with the various calamity auras mixed in the Gray Realm, it's really difficult to track and lock onto them by scent... I can only say I'll try my best."

"Mm."

Teacher Ye nodded slightly. "Try it. If it doesn't work, I'll think of other ways."

Old Wolf and the others bid farewell to Teacher Ye and turned to leave.

Just as they opened the door, they saw a figure in a bright red opera robe waiting outside with several notebooks.