Chapter 370: The Truth

At this moment, Parrot’s gaze turned toward Nie Yan.

“Respected Mr. Parrot, hello. I’m here to rescue you,” Nie Yan greeted, attempting to sever the iron bars with the Sword of Zeinnard. The sword struck the thick steel bars with a sharp clang, but the bars remained unmoved.

Nie Yan was startled. It seemed impossible to cut through these bars.

He tried other methods, attempting to throw an Instant Teleport Scroll inside, only to discover a faint magical barrier blocking the way, preventing the scroll from passing through.

“Hello, Demon Slayer and Scholar. It’s useless. This iron gate is protected by magic. Unless you defeat the Black Flame Hound guarding this place and obtain the key from it, you cannot open this gate,” Parrot sighed.

To defeat the Black Flame Hound to obtain the key made Nie Yan feel anxious. That creature was definitely beyond his capability unless he could devise a special method to kill it. After all, it was a level seventy boss!

In such a narrow passage, killing a level seventy boss was extremely difficult!

Nie Yan’s gaze fell on the iron gate again. Magic protection?

It must be some kind of magical barrier!

Was there any other way to pass through this barrier?

Nie Yan checked the time. With only twenty minutes left before logging out, he decided to first search the official website for information on how to deal with magical barriers and deal with it the next day.

“Respected Mr. Parrot, I’ll leave first and think of a way to break through this barrier.”

“Alright, thank you, Demon Slayer and Scholar.”

From Parrot’s tone, which was solemn and deep, Nie Yan could sense that he must have been a person of high status in his usual life. This class-changing quest was indeed quite challenging. He wondered what reward he would receive if he managed to rescue Parrot.

Nie Yan took off his helmet, freshened up, and had breakfast. It was time to go to school.

Although it was already eight or nine o’clock, the morning mist still lingered near the lakeside, making the air exceptionally fresh. Looking toward the lake, everything was blanketed in white, with golden sunlight piercing through the mist.

Occasionally, a few cars passed through the villa district.

Nie Yan drove for over twenty minutes, winding his way to Xie Yao’s residence. Xie Yao lived in a two-story villa, surrounded by an iron fence within a hundred-meter radius. Inside, various plants and flowers flourished, blooming vibrantly in the mist, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere. A winding stone path led to her front door.

Nie Yan stepped out of the car and glanced inside the iron gate, then dialed Xie Yao’s phone.

After a while, Xie Yao answered the video call.

Nie Yan looked at the phone screen. Xie Yao appeared wearing a pink spaghetti-strap pajama top, revealing her delicate shoulders and fair arms. Below was a pair of denim shorts, showcasing her long, shapely legs. Her mouth was full of toothpaste foam as she sucked on her toothbrush.

“Nie Yan, wait a moment. I’ll be right down,” Xie Yao mumbled indistinctly.

Nie Yan smiled. This was the first time he had seen Xie Yao looking so disheveled. She must have just woken up.

A warm and pleasant feeling arose in Nie Yan’s heart. After experiencing so much in his past life, even a simple, tacit smile now made him feel happy and moved.

He waited for a while, and soon saw Xie Yao rushing out, dressed in light blue sportswear, exuding youthfulness and energy.

The long pants accentuated her slender legs. Her curvaceous figure reminded Nie Yan of the time they had gotten drunk together, the soft, taut elasticity beneath his fingers. He also recalled the unforgettable moment in the dungeon chamber with Yaoyao, whose soft body, like fine wine, exuded a fragrant allure. Just a gentle touch had intoxicated him.

“Why haven’t I seen your family members?” Nie Yan asked. He had been here several times but had never seen Xie Yao’s parents.

“They went on a romantic trip for two,” Xie Yao pouted slightly, expressing her dissatisfaction.

The way Xie Yao stuck out her lips was quite cute.

Nie Yan smiled understandingly and said, “Let’s go. We have class soon, and supposedly today the humanities scores will be released.” He got into the car.

“Okay.” Xie Yao opened the passenger door and sat down.

The car sped swiftly along the road.

Arriving at school, they parked in the garage and walked out together.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao immediately drew many envious glances from their classmates. Both of them were well-known figures at school, so naturally, walking together attracted attention. Feeling the unusual gazes, Xie Yao whispered to Nie Yan, “Nie Yan, let’s walk faster.”

Xie Yao felt a bit uneasy. Walking side by side with Nie Yan was like announcing their relationship.

Just then, a girl approached them. She had a beautiful appearance, wearing casual clothes and long hair cascading down, giving her an elegant and calm aura.

Seeing the girl approach, Xie Yao’s face flushed with embarrassment, feeling as if she had nowhere to hide.

The girl looked at Xie Yao teasingly, then glanced at Nie Yan and smiled. “Yao Yao, is he your boyfriend?”

When the girl said “Yao Yao,” Nie Yan felt momentarily dazed. This term of endearment was usually used between close friends. He almost mistook it for “Yaoyao.” “Yao” was the second tone, while “Yao” (as in Yaoyao) was the third tone. The pronunciation was so similar.

“Hello, I’m Nie Yan.” Nie Yan greeted cheerfully.

“Nie Yan?” The girl was momentarily taken aback, looking at Xie Yao with confusion.

“He’s Nie Yan. ‘Nie’ as in the surname with the ear radical, and ‘Yan’ as in the word for language,” Xie Yao explained hastily, her heart beginning to race. If Nie Yan discovered she was Yaoyao, she wouldn’t know how to face him.

“Oh, I see. Hello, I’m Tang Yue.” The girl extended her hand, her smile exuding a refreshing warmth.

Nie Yan shook her hand. The name Tang Yue sounded familiar. He recalled that someone had mentioned before that Yue’er’s real name was Tang Yue. Observing the slightly nervous and awkward Xie Yao and then looking at Tang Yue before him, Nie Yan finally confirmed that Xie Yao was indeed Yaoyao, almost certainly. Xie Yao must have known all along that the Dragon Leaping Corporation’s investment in the Bull Man Tribe was initiated by her.

Thinking of this, Nie Yan felt a mixture of emotions. He recalled some details from his past life.

After he and Xie Yao separated in his past life, he met Yaoyao through friends from Xia Ling’s side. His relationship with Yaoyao was unusually harmonious. At that time, Xie Yao must have already known that Nie Yan was him but chose to keep the truth hidden, staying by his side for years. Reflecting on this, Nie Yan wished he could slap himself a couple of times. Back then, how could he have failed to realize that the Xie Yao he had been pursuing was right beside him all along? His attitude towards Yaoyao had been somewhat indifferent, and even after they had a relationship in the dungeon chamber, he remained indifferent to her. He had deeply hurt Yaoyao’s heart, which was why she left him.

Yaoyao had cared for him so much, staying by his side quietly even during his most despondent times. Unfortunately, at that time, his heart had only belonged to Xie Yao.

Recalling all this, Nie Yan felt a deep sense of guilt. How many mistakes had he made in his past life! Counting them one by one, even a few lifetimes wouldn’t be enough to make up for them.

Nie Yan took a deep breath, looking at the charming and lovely Xie Yao beside him, as pure as a snow lotus. In this life, he was determined not to let Xie Yao slip away again!

Tang Yue and Xie Yao chatted about some girl talk, while Nie Yan followed behind them into the classroom.

Tang Yue glanced at Nie Yan, smiling slightly. “Nie Yan, do you mind if I take your seat for a while and chat with Yao Yao?”

“You two chat. I’ll go find Zhai Hao,” Nie Yan smiled and walked toward the back seats.

A group of over ten people, including students from other classes, were gathered around Zhai Hao at the back. Nie Yan remembered that Zhai Hao hadn’t had many friends from other classes before.

Seeing Nie Yan approach, Zhai Hao immediately came forward with a slight smile, somewhat enviously saying, “Some classmates saw you coming to school with the class beauty this morning. You’re quite something, buddy. You’ve already won the class beauty so quickly.”

Nie Yan smiled and asked, “Don’t talk about me first. How are you and Xia Ling doing? Any progress?”

Zhai Hao immediately became somewhat reserved. “So-so.”

Zhai Hao was still the same as before. Usually, he was carefree, but whenever Xia Ling was mentioned, he became shy and bashful. Looking at his old friend, Nie Yan recalled their past experiences playing games together and hanging out. Although Zhai Hao was a bit wild, he was a genuinely good person.

In this life, influenced by Nie Yan, Zhai Hao had become more ambitious. It was said that he had performed well in the humanities exam this time. For the entrance exam of the First Military Academy, other schools were also watching closely. Generally, those who performed well in the First Military Academy exam but didn’t meet its admission criteria would still be approached by other prestigious universities. Nie Yan wondered which university Zhai Hao had chosen. It should be better than in his past life.

A crowd gathered around Zhai Hao. When they saw Nie Yan approach, everyone turned their attention to him.

It was hard not to recognize Nie Yan, such a prominent figure. Many people who previously didn’t care much about Zhai Hao now flocked to him, wanting to befriend him and, incidentally, get closer to Nie Yan. Most of them were here for Nie Yan.

Zhai Hao smiled helplessly at Nie Yan, who immediately understood. In this prestigious school, there were no shortage of people with connections.

Nie Yan didn’t want to get too close to these people and decided to just go along with them for now.