ALL NOVEL Chapter 31: Classmates
Taking a brief glance around the room, Ling Yi quietly took two steps back. Bathed in the moonlight streaming through the corridor on the third floor, he began to observe his surroundings.
With his eyes slightly narrowed, Ling Yi listened attentively. His excellent senses, combined with spiritual power far surpassing the ordinary soul master, enabled him to perceive everything within a radius of several dozen meters, imprinting it into his consciousness.
On the first floor, in room 104, Ethan Annuo was conversing with a fellow student who had also returned to school early. The sound from room 102 was faint, obscured by several walls, and Ling Yi could only barely catch a few complaints from Ethan Lillian.
Apart from this, recalling what he had seen earlier downstairs, lights glimmered from the windows of rooms 103 and 104 on the first floor, 201 and 203 on the second, and 301 on the third. Clearly, there were people who had returned to the academy ahead of schedule...
Meanwhile, just a few steps away in room 303, Ethan Pike had just reached the wall at the far end of the room and was opening a window.
Upon noticing this, Ling Yi shifted his gaze to his own room, 304, focusing on the wall directly opposite him.
There was a window there as well, but it stood open.
Along the way here, Ling Yi had already heard Ethan Pike mention that the sixth-year work-study seniors had, over the past three months, one by one, applied for graduation. Some went on to the Intermediate Soul Master Academy, some joined the duchy’s military, others became part of noble families, or joined a soul hunting team outside the Spirit Forest... or simply returned home.
In any case, none had returned to the academy or this dormitory.
"So, have new students entered early?" Ling Yi pondered silently.
The issue was that all twenty beds in the room were unoccupied. Earlier, he hadn't heard anything about new students moving in from the dormitory supervisor on the first floor.
However, Ling Yi quickly reasoned that the dorm supervisor had no obligation to notify him in particular; whether she informed him or kept silent was perfectly reasonable.
After all, who said that people you encounter away from home are always willing to offer kindness, assistance, and convenience?
With most people you meet in life, if you can simply not interfere with each other and avoid doing harm while doing nothing beneficial, that is fortune enough.
Marking his recent reflexive reaction, Ling Yi planned to reflect on himself later, to see what areas might need improvement.
In the span of just a few breaths, using his five senses and mental acuity, Ling Yi confirmed that nothing was amiss around him, such as any pranks from senior students. He finally stepped into Room 304.
Surveying the room, Ling Yi carefully examined the place he would be living the next few years.
The room was a spacious two hundred square meters, with two rows of beds lined up on each side—ten on the left, ten on the right. Each bed was a meter and a half wide, paired with a bedside cabinet slightly taller than the bed itself.
Seeing such an arrangement, Ling Yi felt quite satisfied; it was certainly better than his former university dormitory. Back then, although there were four people to a room, the spaces were much smaller, and the personal area was far less generous than here.
He walked to the innermost corner by the window, about to place his bag and bedding on the bed to the right, when his movement paused.
Ling Yi continued to lay down the bedding he was holding, simultaneously turning to look at the door he had just casually shut.
“Click—”
The door lock was opened from the outside, and the wooden dormitory door was pushed open. A thin and small figure appeared before Ling Yi's eyes.
Ling Yi and the other exchanged glances, the other clearly did not expect someone to be inside the room, causing them to hesitate at the doorway.
“Brother Yuan, what's wrong? Aren't you going in? Did you leave something in my dorm room?”
Just then, a soft voice inquired from outside the door.
A few minutes later.
In dorm room 304, on the beds situated at the far end by the windows, a thin mattress was laid out on each.
Ling Yi shook out his blanket, neatly folded it, and placed it at the end of his bed before turning to look across at the others.
There, a boy and a girl were working together to set up their bedding, looking somewhat flustered in their efforts.
In the end, they were just two six-year-old kids.
Finally, with Ling Yi's help, his roommate named Mo Yuan managed to make his bed properly.
Thanks to Ling Yi's willingness to make friends, the small barriers of wariness and unfamiliarity between the two youngsters quickly vanished, and they ended up sharing a lot about themselves.
Mo Yuan, six years old, possesses the "Swordfish" spirit with innate soul power at level two, is a first-year working student, and shares a dormitory with Ling Yi.
Yun Lan, also six, has the "Flowing Cloud Jellyfish" spirit with innate soul power at level three, is a first-year working student as well, childhood friends with Mo Yuan, and resides in Room 301.
Earlier, the two of them had set up all of Yun Lan's belongings in Room 301, and had only stopped by Room 304 to check it out and open the inner window for some fresh air.
Mo Yuan and Yun Lan hail from an ocean-close town named Qingyuan Town.
Both of them are sort of locals to Ling Yi as well, since Qingyuan Town is fifty miles southeast of Shanhai Village, all in the area east of 'Muzhi City', and their working student quotas are all assigned to the east city's Green Leaf Junior Soul Master Academy.
After chatting casually for a bit, Ling Yi brought out his own flatbread with minced meat, while Mo Yuan pulled out smoked sea fish and rice balls; exchanging these treats helped foster their newly formed friendship.
Yun Lan, on the other hand, listened quietly throughout, only whispering softly when the conversation turned to her.
As the night deepened, Yun Lan tugged on Mo Yuan's hand to bid farewell to Ling Yi, who then escorted Yun Lan back to her dormitory.
On the third floor, after a quick wash in the waterroom by the stairs, Ling Yi lay on his bed. He exchanged a "good night" with Mo Yuan before closing his eyes to reflect on the day's events.
He reviewed all the information gathered throughout the day, introspected his own words and actions, and speculated on the potential situations he might encounter at the enrollment office tomorrow...
The following morning,
As the first light of dawn appeared, Ling Yi awoke from a deep sleep, feeling somewhat out of place.
The school's dormitory was, after all, not like his home in Shanhai Village, where he had spent several years creating an environment full of "Blue Silver Grass."
The alternating practice of soul power and deep sleep throughout the night did not enhance his soul power as efficiently as when he was at home in Shanhai Village. This gave Ling Yi some urgency to change his future academy life.
Thinking of the package on his bedside table containing "Blue Silver Grass" seeds, Ling Yi decided that after registering at the enrollment office today, he would dig up some soil to make use of the bamboo cups he brought especially for this purpose, and nurture a few "Blue Silver Grass" plants by his bedside.
Or perhaps, he could look around the academy to see if he could find any existing "Blue Silver Grass" to use?
(End of Chapter)
