Caught in the Act

Under the watchful eyes of all the disciples in the classroom, Feiluo and Moxi’s gazes met.

Beautiful crimson eyes locked with dazzling golden ones.

Moxi’s eyes narrowed slightly, her lips pressed into a thin line, and her ruby-like pupils were brimming with what could only be described as ‘kind’ emotions.

Feiluo, on the other hand, averted her gaze, biting her lip, a stiff, unnatural smile plastered across her face, while panic flickered in her beautiful golden eyes.

“My dear disciple, would you be so kind as to tell me what I’ve just been discussing?” Moxi offered a faint smile to Feiluo, whose face was rigid and etched with apprehension, and posed the question.

The smile was undeniably beautiful, yet it sent an involuntary shiver down Feiluo’s spine. The reason was simple: though her lips curved upward, Moxi’s eyes held not a trace of mirth.

“This… ah, this… you just said… uh…” Instinctively, Feiluo rose to her feet, her gaze fixed on the glowing screen behind Moxi, desperately hoping to glean some hint of the lecture’s content from it.

Alas, her hopes were dashed; the screen currently displayed a cruel vista of dilapidated ruins and crumbling walls. While this could tenuously be considered a clue, such a scene offered no real insight into Moxi’s recent discourse.

‘Move, my brain!’

‘Unleash your imagination!’

‘Think about ruined buildings and scorched earth—what could they possibly be related to?’

Feiluo’s forehead began to prickle with cold sweat, her lips pressed together tightly. The formidable computational power of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator was pushed to its absolute limits, threatening to scorch her brain.

Still, she found nothing. Just as she was about to surrender and blurt out any answer, a flash of inspiration ignited in her mind.

‘That’s it!’

‘It’s a battlefield!’

‘Ruined walls, scorched earth, countless massive craters on the ground—isn’t that precisely what a battlefield looks like?!’

‘And only cultivators could leave such terrifying marks on a battlefield!’

‘And powerful cultivators at the Integration stage or above, at that!’

To her knowledge, the last and only war that had mobilized cultivators at the Integration stage and beyond was—

“It’s the Three Clans’ Great War! The war between humans, demons, and devils three thousand years ago!” Under the collective gaze of all the disciples in the classroom, and Moxi herself, Feiluo offered a confident smile and declared.

“Hmm, it seems my dear disciple, you were indeed listening attentively after all.” Moxi nodded in satisfaction.

“Take a seat.”

“Phew~” Feiluo plopped onto her chair, patting her still-racing heart, and let out a long sigh of relief.

While she wasn’t particularly afraid of Moxi’s scrutiny, for some inexplicable reason, after realizing Moxi was today’s instructor and seeing her genuinely standing at the podium delivering a lecture, Feiluo found herself feeling a certain reverence toward Moxi as a teacher.

‘This must be the unique buff that comes with the teaching profession!’

‘How terrifying, truly terrifying!’

“Alright, let’s return to the Three Clans’ Great War.” Moxi held a textbook in her left hand, her teaching pointer in her right gesturing towards the glowing screen behind her, her expression solemn as she began:

“Three thousand years ago, the Human Imperial Dynasty of that era initiated an attack on the demon race…”

Feiluo propped her elbow on her desk, resting her right hand against her face, listening to Moxi’s incessant lecturing from the podium as her mind gradually drifted.

At this moment, she had entered the highest realm of ‘slacking off’—a focused expression masking a mind completely checked out! In this state, while she could still react to external stimuli and engage in simple conversations, her consciousness had long since soared far beyond the clouds.

“Dong! Dong! Dong!”

After an indeterminate amount of time, the chime signaling the end of class resounded throughout the lecture hall, jolting Feiluo awake from the manga she had been re-reading in her mind.

Upon realizing it was the dismissal chime, a relieved smile spread across Feiluo’s face. She stretched luxuriously, the ineffable sensation of comfort making her hum contentedly.

‘Ah, finally, class is over.’

‘If it went on any longer, I truly felt like I’d go crazy.’

Feiluo rubbed her slightly stiff little face. While her consciousness had been wandering, replaying old manga in her mind, she had held her facial expression for too long, leaving her muscles aching.

‘Hehehe~ Class is over, I wonder where I should go play~’

Just as she was pondering where to go for some fun, she spotted a slender girlish figure descending from the podium and walking directly towards her.

Feiluo’s expression froze, and she immediately considered slipping out the back door. However, how could little Feiluo possibly escape Moxi’s grasp?

Before she could even rise from her seat, Moxi was already standing before her, a faint smile gracing her lips. Moxi looked at Feiluo, who had just lifted her backside from the chair only to abruptly sit back down, and asked,

“My dear disciple, where are you planning to go?”

“Nowhere… wait!” Feiluo was about to blurt out ‘nowhere’ when she recalled that class was dismissed. Her demeanor immediately shifted, and she declared with righteous indignation,

“It’s dismissal time now! It’s my freedom to go wherever I want, isn’t it?! You have no business telling me what to do!”

“Indeed.” Moxi nodded, resting her chin in her hand. “Class is over now, so technically, I can’t dictate where you go.”

“Then you should let—”

“However, it’s also perfectly reasonable for a teacher to randomly check on a student’s learning progress, isn’t it?” Just as Feiluo was happily about to tell Moxi to move aside so she could go play, Moxi’s words abruptly shattered her plans.

“Eh? Random check… learning progress?” Feiluo repeated Moxi’s words, dumbfounded.

“That’s right~” Moxi stared directly into Feiluo’s golden eyes.

“My dear disciple, you…”

“You were slacking off in class, weren’t you!” Her voice was a low murmur, yet it struck Feiluo like a bolt from the clear sky.

“How did you kno— no, I wasn’t slacking off!” Feiluo gasped in alarm, blurting out the words, only to realize she had let slip a confession. It was too late to mend it now.

“You spilled the beans, didn’t you.” Moxi pinched Feiluo’s little face, pulling outward with both hands, causing Feiluo to yelp in pain repeatedly.

“S-shtop p-p-pinching, shifoo, I know I made a mishtake.” Tears welled in Feiluo’s eyes as she pleaded with Moxi.

“Hmph~ Don’t you dare do that again next time!” Seeing Feiluo’s teary-eyed expression, Moxi’s heart softened slightly. She gave a soft huff and released the soft, tender cheeks she had been pinching.

The moment Moxi let go, Feiluo immediately began rubbing her aching cheeks.

‘It hurt so much; I thought my face was going to be pulled right off.’

‘Good thing it wasn’t actually pulled off.’

‘Sigh, if it were my old body, what would this little bit of pain even be?’

‘A little loli’s body truly is too delicate. Moxi didn’t even use much strength, yet I felt so much pain that I couldn’t hold back my tears.’

‘From now on, I absolutely must be careful of Moxi’s cheek-pinching attacks; they’re terrifying for a soft, adorable loli like me!’

“My dear disciple, make sure to listen carefully in class next time, alright?” Moxi gently ruffled Feiluo’s little head and spoke softly.

“I know~” Due to the lingering pain in her cheeks, Feiluo’s speech was still a bit slurred.

Observing Feiluo’s pitiful demeanor, Moxi unexpectedly found her rather adorable, and a faint smile touched the corners of her lips.

Opening her spatial dimension with her right hand, Moxi produced a bento box and placed it before Feiluo.

“?” Feiluo tilted her head, indicating her confusion.

“You left in such a hurry today that you forgot your bento.” Moxi opened the bento box, and an enticing aroma instantly wafted out.

Upon inhaling the fragrance, Feiluo felt as though the pain in her cheeks had vanished. Her eyes gleaming, she gazed into the bento box: fried, roasted, boiled, braised—sweet, sour, spicy, numbing—a complete array of all her favorite dishes!

Beholding the aesthetically pleasing and fragrant delicacies, Feiluo longed to devour them immediately.

Just as she was about to act on her impulse, Moxi promptly closed the bento lid. The preservation and scent-isolation arrays activated, a brief flash of light pulsed over the box, and it reverted to its original appearance from when Moxi had first taken it out.

“Don’t eat it now! If you finish it all now, what will you eat for lunch? Gnaw on the bento box?” Moxi grumbled helplessly, then placed the bento box into Feiluo’s spatial bracelet.

“Eh-heh~ cough cough…” Feiluo instinctively acted cute, then realized her behavior was far too childish for a ‘little loli’ and quickly let out a light cough to cover her momentary cuteness. Though, of course, Moxi had already witnessed her entire act.

Moxi patted Feiluo’s little head and said, “Class is over, I’ll be heading home now.”

“Mhm mhm mhm.” Feiluo nodded eagerly, naturally hoping Moxi would hurry home. If Moxi stayed to supervise her class, how would she be able to slack off later? So, Moxi definitely needed to go home!

“…Make sure to listen carefully in class.”

“I know!”

Seeing Feiluo’s eager anticipation for her immediate departure, Moxi had completely seen through her thoughts. Yet, she merely smiled helplessly, then left the classroom.

With Moxi finally gone, Feiluo let out a long sigh of relief.

She yawned, deciding against going to play and instead opting to rest her head on her desk for a nap, just as a figure settled into the seat beside Feiluo.