Chapter 21: It Really Wasn't Me Who Touched It

"I—I didn’t do it, it was Brian!" Fitch protested miserably, his face drawn as he spoke to Fanny.

Slap! Slap!

Two more resounding strikes landed, and now Fitch’s cheeks were swollen from the blows. Fanny glared at him in fury, her voice laced with resentment: "Still trying to deny it? Brian is such an honest person—how could he possibly do something so base? It must be you!"

Han Shuo was silent, secretly amused, but quickly forced an expression of wide-eyed innocence onto his face, looking between Fitch and Fanny with a clueless, foolish grin. "What’s going on?"

"Miss Fanny, I really didn’t do it!" Fitch’s grievance could have rivaled a victim in a tragic play; he covered his cheeks and explained, voice full of misery.

"Enough excuses. Get out—immediately!" Fanny’s eyes flashed with disappointment, her tone brooking no argument.

Fitch’s face burned from the slaps, and seeing Fanny on the verge of a full-blown outburst, he realized that no explanation would help him now. Afraid she might lash out with even more force, he could only force a bitter smile, nod in defeat, and slouch out of the training ground.

As he passed Brian, Fitch paused, glaring at Han Shuo with deep-seated hatred before grinding his teeth and muttering under his breath, "You’re ruthless!"

Han Shuo feigned complete ignorance of Fitch’s resentment, offering him a friendly, simpleminded smile and saying with a naive tone, "Hey, how did you suddenly get so fat?"

Fitch was livid, clutching his face and shooting Han Shuo another hateful glance before quickly darting past the obstacles and disappearing out the door.

"Brian, what brings you here?" With Fitch gone, Fanny’s anger slowly subsided, and she turned to Han Shuo with a question.

"Cleaning duty," Han Shuo replied, heading towards the corner of the training ground, picking up a broom to start tidying up so the necromancy students could use the space next.

"Oh, I see. By the way, how’s your back? Once you’re better, I really want to take a closer look at you—how could a Soul Pain spell actually grant you mental strength? It’s unbelievable," Fanny said, her demeanor soft and kind when facing Han Shuo. She helped him clear away some of the debris from the floor, showing not a trace of airs.

"Much, much better. Um, Miss Fanny, could you not report yesterday’s incident to the school?" Han Shuo asked nonchalantly as he swept up bone dust, taking the opportunity to bring his right hand—the one that had just groped Fanny’s behind—to his nose for a surreptitious sniff.

A faint, delicate fragrance lingered on his fingertips, making Han Shuo’s heart flutter. He glanced covertly at Fanny’s shapely figure in the distance. As she bent to clear away obstacles, her back arched, her curves accentuated, carrying an almost magical allure.

Fanny was surprised by Han Shuo’s request; she straightened up immediately, turning to look at him in astonishment. "Why? Wait—Brian, you’re so distracted! Your foot’s on the broom!"

Caught off guard by her sudden turn, Han Shuo felt a pang of guilt and hurriedly moved his foot away, offering a sheepish grin. "Um, you see, Kelly and Borg are actually good people too. If you report this, they’ll be expelled, and without their silver coins, their families will have a hard time."

Fanny was taken aback, looking at Han Shuo with raised brows. After a moment, she smiled, "Brian, you’re always so kind. Even after they bullied you, you’re pleading on their behalf. Well, since the victim himself is so forgiving, I won’t make things difficult for them. You’re crucial to my research. If anyone bullies you again, you must tell me!"

Kindness! Han Shuo was speechless at the thought. He truly was "kind" now, or he wouldn’t have coerced Kelly and Borg into working for him. If not for the responsibilities he’d have to bear if they were gone, he wouldn’t care about their fate at all.

Lost in his own musings, Han Shuo was caught off guard as Fanny eyed him suspiciously. "Brian, you don’t seem all that mad or silly to me. Otherwise, how could you say such things?"

Startled, Han Shuo felt a jolt of panic. He scratched his head awkwardly, mumbling, "Uh, sometimes my mind just goes all fuzzy, and then I don’t know what I’m doing!"

"I see. It seems that Soul Pain spell really did have some bad effects on you. Don’t worry—once your back has healed, I’ll give you a thorough examination and find a way to cure your strange condition. It’s about time—I need to prepare for the next experiment with the students. You tidy up here yourself," Fanny said, casting a necromancy spell to send the summoned zombie warriors back to their dimension before leaving the training ground.

Shortly after Fanny left, Han Shuo abandoned the mess and went off to find Kelly and Borg. He announced haughtily, "Don’t worry, your problem’s been handled. Now the two of you—go clean the training ground properly!"

Kelly and Borg were overjoyed. After expressing their gratitude, they eagerly gathered brooms and mops, bustling off to take care of the aftermath for Han Shuo.

With nothing else to do, Han Shuo’s thoughts drifted back to yesterday's events. He was filled with curiosity about the contents of the jade box; he desperately wanted to know what that orb inside truly was. He couldn’t ask anyone else about it, so after some deliberation, he decided to head for the Dark Arts library to see if there was any record of such an orb.

At Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts, each discipline had its own independent library. The collections were vast, detailing every aspect of their respective fields. Generally, these libraries were not open to outsiders, and there were strict regulations about students moving between them.

Using the excuse of helping Jack with cleaning, Han Shuo strolled confidently into the Dark Arts library, brush in hand.

"Brian, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be cleaning the training ground right now?" Chubby Jack, who was shelving some magic books, called out in surprise as he saw Han Shuo enter with a brush.

"Heh, from now on, cleaning the training ground is Kelly and Borg’s job. I’m here today on serious business!" Han Shuo smiled, casually picking up a magic book, glancing at it, and returning it to the shelf when he saw it was just a basic text on dark magic.

"Kelly and Borg? They’re cleaning for you? How’s that possible? Wait—was it because you scared them in the training ground yesterday?" Jack’s eyes widened in disbelief. Remembering Han Shuo’s performance, he looked at him with some apprehension. "By the way, Brian, what happened to you yesterday? You seemed like a completely different person. We’re friends, but even I was a bit afraid to look at you!"

Han Shuo draped an arm over Jack’s shoulder, chuckling softly. "It depends on who I’m dealing with. If someone crosses me, I won’t let them off easily. But with you, I’d never lay a finger on you. Say, Jack, where are the books describing magical items in this library?"

"Over there, second shelf from the back. But why do you ask?" Jack pointed, curiosity written on his face.

"Oh, just helping you clean, of course!" Han Shuo replied with a smile, making his way to the indicated shelf.

"But Brian, I just cleaned that one!" Jack protested.

"Then I’ll give it another sweep for you!" Han Shuo replied.

Arriving at the bookshelf filled with descriptions of magical items, Han Shuo began searching from the bottom row, flipping through books and carelessly tossing his brush aside.

The previous night, while examining the jade box, he’d felt a strange flow of mental power toward the orb inside, sensing faint magical fluctuations. Han Shuo was no longer ignorant of magical knowledge; he realized such fluctuations indicated the orb was likely some kind of magical artifact. That’s why he’d come to the library to investigate its origins.

Unfortunately, after searching through most of the books describing magical items, Han Shuo found only simple explanations of ordinary wands, robes, and jewelry—nothing that matched what he was looking for.

With a sigh, he gave up hope on that section and moved to the necromancy bookshelf. Since he was here, he couldn’t leave empty-handed—he might as well take a book to read. He scanned the bottom row, as the books higher up were too advanced for him.

A book titled "A Survey of Dark Creatures" caught his eye. Flipping through a few pages, Han Shuo found it described the various dark creatures summoned by necromancers.

Delighted, he found Jack and waved the book at him with a grin. "Jack, I’m taking this to study. Cover for me, will you? Don’t let anyone notice."

Without waiting for a response, Han Shuo tucked the book inside his clothes, grabbed his brush, and left the library in high spirits.