Chapter 5

Biyehu Lake

The blue water, green mountains, and yellow rocks were dotted with a few white birds slowly gliding on the lake surface. A cool breeze blew over, instantly causing countless ripples on the pale blue lake, blurring the reflected mountain ranges.

A few boys quickly found a good spot along the yellow gravel riverbank and started taking out tools and materials from their bags.

Galong glanced over at the girls' side, where Phineas and a few other girls were standing under the shade of a tree. The dazzling beauty's white, waist-cinched dress fluttered slightly in the breeze, her light golden hair tied to the left side, making her look like a princess from an opera. Her skin was fair and radiant, as if glowing with a faint light, her eyes cold and proud, like the purest sapphire.

Turning back, Galong looked at his own group. He, Caledo, Fein, and Jieke were all poorly dressed, their outfits a chaotic mix of earthy yellow, gray, white, and black, with mismatched styles and low-quality clothes, making them look like a ragtag team. Compared to the girls, their appearance seemed even more out of place.

"That girl is Phineas, invited by Fein's friend to come along for some relaxation. She looks so elegant..." Caledo squatted down to set up the fire pit, speaking softly.

"Tsk tsk... I've never seen anyone with such presence at school." Jieke lowered his voice, adding, "Having a girlfriend like that would be unbeatable."

"That girl is my cousin's friend. I don't know her either, so you guys be careful." Fein added, "I didn't expect my cousin to bring her along. I just asked her to come with her friends." He shrugged.

Galong smiled and squatted down, starting to organize the dirty firewood. Compared to the pure and spotless Phineas, they were dealing with dirty stones and wood, making them seem like people from two different worlds.

"Want to play paper cards?" Caledo came over. The paper cards he mentioned were a game that ordinary children loved to play when they were young. They folded rectangular paper cards and punched different numbers of holes in them, playing with rules similar to poker.

Galong and Jieke Fein became interested when they saw him take out a slightly worn yellow deck of cards. "Sure, what's the bet?" "Roasted meat and fish! One piece per game."

The boys squatted in a circle on the ground, starting to deal the cards on a white stone. They soon became engrossed in the game.

Phineas stood under the tree, watching the boys on the riverbank play simple paper cards in the dirty mud and stones. Though her gem-like eyes held no disdain, she naturally placed herself on a higher level, looking down on them. She and the students from this small city were from two different circles.

She had only passed through this city, and at the invitation of a classmate and close friend, had come out to relax.

A red-haired girl with short hair came over and stood next to her, watching the boys. "Fein is my cousin, a distant relative. The students here love to build a big bonfire and have a barbecue at night. Are you interested? I can ask them to include you later."

"No, it's too dirty..." Phineas frowned slightly. "I just came to relax, so I'd like to be alone for a while."

Galong played a few rounds of cards with them, noticing that everyone's eyes kept drifting towards the girls. He found it amusing and subtly picked up an extra card, overlapping it with another. He glanced at the other three, and no one noticed.

He repeated this a few times, then suddenly threw down his cards. "Sorry, I win."

"Ah...?" The others were momentarily stunned, showing puzzled and surprised expressions.

Galong smiled and calmly collected the cards. Looking at his friends' speechless faces, he was reminded of the old Galong.

Before he had come to this body, the old Galong, once he got into an argument with his sister, would always be completely defeated and brutally beaten. His strong and athletic sister, Ying'er, was not as weak as she looked, and her punches were solid. From the time their parents got married, when he was three, he had been bullied by his two-year-old sister.

When it came to playing paper cards or doing other things, the old Galong had no confidence and never knew how to adapt, leading to constant failures and a growing lack of confidence. His spirit had become increasingly weak. One of the main reasons he started to exercise and practice combat was because he couldn't beat his sister...

Thinking back, even in junior high before high school, he had once been beaten to tears by his sister, causing a slight twitch on Galong's smiling face.

"Being over ten years old and being beaten to tears by your own sister is pretty embarrassing... and crying alone in your room. No wonder the relationship between siblings was so distant..." Galong suddenly felt a bit regretful about coming to this body...

*********

Snap!

A black-feathered arrow shot from the bowstring, firmly embedding itself in the edge of the red heart on the distant target.

Ying'er, dressed in a white archery uniform, slowly lowered her longbow and exhaled. "Still not stable enough..."

"Already very good, at such a distance." A blue-haired girl standing nearby said calmly, "If you can maintain this state, I'll hand over the position of vice-captain of the archery club to you."

"Thank you, senpai!" Ying'er quickly bowed in respect.

The student positions at Saint Ying Academy were different from ordinary schools. Senior students had the authority to participate in school governance and had certain rights in major school affairs, not just ordinary student leaders.

The blue-haired girl nodded. "Also, regarding the incident where you beat someone up, I've taken care of it. Try to avoid such things in the future, at least don't hurt them too badly, as it makes things difficult to handle."

"Thank you very much, captain, I'll be more restrained..." Ying'er bowed again, knowing that the archery club captain had high hopes for her and had helped her with many trivial matters. She was a soft touch, so she always felt a strong sense of guilt towards the captain. If it weren't for the fighting, she would have been the vice-captain long ago.

But the last time she beat someone up was because...

The blue-haired girl nodded at her response and left to instruct other club members.

Ying'er continued practicing alone, but after just a few minutes, a brown-haired girl ran in and whispered a few words to her.

Ying'er's face changed instantly. "No matter how useless he is, he's still my brother! Anyone who dares to touch him is not giving me face! Let's go!" She put down her longbow and stormed out of the dojo in her archery uniform, followed by a few other spirited girls, looking like a gang leader.

The blue-haired girl nearby shook her head speechlessly. "This is the umpteenth time... Is she a brother-obsessed person... She always gets so angry when something like this happens... Xiaoling, go and keep an eye on her, Ying'er is our club's most promising candidate for the competition. Don't let her hurt anyone too badly, or it might affect her eligibility to participate."

A petite red-haired girl nodded and quickly followed her out.

The other club members were used to it and continued their practice as usual. Only a few shook their heads and smiled. Ying'er's personality was well-known among the older members: she was obedient and well-behaved in front of family and elders, but violent and terrifying to strangers.

***************

The sky was a clear, light blue, with only a few wisps of clouds hanging at the edges.

Galong sat on a white stone, slowly turning a skewer of grilled lean meat. The spicy and numbing aroma slowly wafted from the flame-grilled meat, and the golden surface was dotted with small oil bubbles.

He put the grilled meat back on the rack and looked at the others, who were busy seasoning their meat and had no time to pay attention to him. He got up and walked to the lake behind, squatted down, and cupped a handful of water to wash his face, removing the smoke stains.

The cold lake water splashed on his face, instantly invigorating him.

He turned his head and saw that the girls had walked far away, standing on a riverbank and spreading out a clean white cloth, placing various food items on it.

He sighed. "It's been so many days since I came here..." He glanced at his status.

Agility and constitution had each increased by 0.01, the result of his recent physical training. Potential was still at 89%.

"Only 11% left, let's see if Fein's gemstone works. If it doesn't, I'll have to find another way... Gems with potential are so rare. That black pearl the etiquette teacher brought out the other day, who knows where it came from, but it could absorb 100% potential in one go."

A cool breeze blew over, and Galong felt a chill on his back, feeling a bit cold. He got up and returned to the bonfire.

"Following the river to the right leads to the suburban paper mill. My uncle works there. Want to visit?" Caledo pointed to the river on the right side of the lake.

"What's there to see at a paper mill..." Fein was about to speak when a scream came from a distance. The girls seemed to have encountered something frightening, and the sound carried over.

The boys quickly stood up and looked over. Three girls were there, two of them had fallen to the ground and were retreating, while another had run to the side, afraid to approach. Phineas was one of the girls who had fallen.

"Something's wrong, let's go check it out!" Galong was the first to react, and the boys quickly dropped their grilled meat and rushed over.

On the dark yellow riverbank, among the gravel, a black-purple snake raised its head high, continuously flicking its red tongue and hissing. Two girls had fallen to the ground, terrified and retreating, one with a dark red wound on her calf.

***************

The sky was a clear, light blue, with only a few wisps of clouds hanging at the edges.

Galong sat on a white stone, slowly turning a skewer of grilled lean meat. The spicy and numbing aroma slowly wafted from the flame-grilled meat, and the golden surface was dotted with small oil bubbles.

He put the grilled meat back on the rack and looked at the others, who were busy seasoning their meat and had no time to pay attention to him. He got up and walked to the lake behind, squatted down, and cupped a handful of water to wash his face, removing the smoke stains.

The cold lake water splashed on his face, instantly invigorating him.

He turned his head and saw that the girls had walked far away, standing on a riverbank and spreading out a clean white cloth, placing various food items on it.

He sighed. "It's been so many days since I came here..." He glanced at his status.

Agility and constitution had each increased by 0.01, the result of his recent physical training. Potential was still at 89%.

"Only 11% left, let's see if Fein's gemstone works. If it doesn't, I'll have to find another way... Gems with potential are so rare. That black pearl the etiquette teacher brought out the other day, who knows where it came from, but it could absorb 100% potential in one go."

A cool breeze blew over, and Galong felt a chill on his back, feeling a bit cold. He got up and returned to the bonfire.

"Following the river to the right leads to the suburban paper mill. My uncle works there. Want to visit?" Caledo pointed to the river on the right side of the lake.

"What's there to see at a paper mill..." Fein was about to speak when a scream came from a distance. The girls seemed to have encountered something frightening, and the sound carried over.

The boys quickly stood up and looked over. Three girls were there, two of them had fallen to the ground and were retreating, while another had run to the side, afraid to approach. Phineas was one of the girls who had fallen.

"Something's wrong, let's go check it out!" Galong was the first to react, and the boys quickly dropped their grilled meat and rushed over.

On the dark yellow riverbank, among the gravel, a black-purple snake raised its head high, continuously flicking its red tongue and hissing. Two girls had fallen to the ground, terrified and retreating, one with a dark red wound on her calf.