This group of kids' words not only injured Qi Yuan, but also the Ghost Bride.
She didn't understand why she had to be the bride instead of the groom.
It was an unhealable scar to begin with, and the elementary schoolers were just pouring salt on the wound. The Ghost Bride's rationality slipped away as her black hair started swirling, showing signs that she was about to attack.
"Why am I the Ghost Bride! I don't want a male companion!"
The middle-aged lady looked at Qi Yuan worriedly, wondering if the young esper could handle this situation.
Sensing the middle-aged lady's concern, Qi Yuan thought things were taking a bad turn. His powers were least effective against irrational lunatics.
They wouldn't evaluate the difference in strength between them, only acting on instinct.
He had to buy time by bringing up topics that piqued her interest first, Qi Yuan strategized, before directly speaking up.
"Why can't the groom be female when the bride can be male?"
The Ghost Bride, who was about to max out her anger meter, was interrupted in her spell casting as rationality returned.
"Oh right, why can't I have a female groom?"
The question that had bothered her since birth was resolved by Qi Yuan, and the Ghost Bride felt the doors to a new world open up.
She let out the classic, eerie, female ghost laughter, which would have been more frightening if not for the overly coarse voice.
"You're very right. As thanks for clearing up my confusion, I'll spare the others but you have to stay."
Isn't this being ungrateful a bit too quick?
The monster's thoughts were completely transparent to Qi Yuan, but he didn't show anything on his face, only complaining inwardly.
Oblivious, the Ghost Bride singled out Qi Yuan as her first target outwardly while greedily eyeing the foul-mouthed kids.
"If he agrees, I'll make more excessive demands to force him to change his mind; if he doesn't agree, cracks will definitely form between the other humans, and I can still enjoy the other humans even if this brat gets disheartened and leaves angrily."
The middle-aged lady had a calm heart. Superstitious as she was, she also believed in one thing - tall tales. But she worried that the kids' nonsense would anger Qi Yuan into leaving.
The elementary school chickens, listening to the wind as rain, started clamoring. Some of the kids were indeed led by the monster to switch sides.
They started hoping that Qi Yuan would stay so they could leave this place.
The students, young in age, didn't know how to conceal their inner thoughts, which were perfectly reflected on their faces.
"Uncle Patrol Team officer, I want to go home."
"Me too..."
Embarrassed to outright ask Qi Yuan to stay, they started bawling, hoping to achieve their wish through throwing a tantrum as usual.
The middle-aged lady was both anxious and annoyed by the kids' antics. "What did your teacher teach you all? You can't believe the monster's words!"
The teacher's scolding changed the kids' loud wailing into sobs, and the scene fell silent.
It wasn't very realistic to expect kids who had never experienced society's blows and were only ever catered to since birth to understand gratitude, but rational analysis didn't mean emotions could accept it.
Qi Yuan observed coldly as the kids bawled.
"Haven't you all seen the Patrol Team uncle's videos?"
One boy broke the silence. Qi Yuan recognized him as one of the temporary team leaders he had appointed.
"For a monster like this, the Patrol Team uncle can take on ten by himself! There's just the glow...then...the monster is gone...many, many monsters disappear all at once."
The boy's poor vocabulary made his depiction faltering as he anxiously scratched his head, using gestures to make up for what he couldn't convey in words.
"That's right, the glow is the same color as the Patrol Team uncle's eyes."
Although the boy's portrayal was crude, the elementary schoolers understood each other, echoing his words despite never having witnessed what he described.
"It's true, I saw it too."
"No, I saw the Patrol Team uncle summon a golden dragon that bit the monster to death."
"You're both wrong, the Patrol Team uncle turned into a dragon himself and bit the monster to death."
"What you said is wrong, it was many Patrol Team uncles that all turned into dragons and bit the monster to death."
The elementary schoolers bickered incessantly.
The middle-aged lady rubbed her forehead worriedly. These kids were making a ruckus without reading the situation.
When the first boy stood up to try and portray the scene, Qi Yuan started paying attention to see if the Ghost Bride would visualize it.
But the kids got more and more outrageous that he couldn't cut in at all to add details to have the Ghost Bride imagine specific abilities.
With her level of tall tales, the Ghost Bride probably wouldn't believe them.
"A golden-eyed human can actually summon giant dragons!"
"An A-rank monster got insta-killed?!"
"There's so many abilities too!!"
The Ghost Bride was frightened out of her wits.
She didn't doubt the elementary students because she had the ability to discern truth from lies herself, and was shocked to discover that everything these human cubs said was the truth.
She had...actually believed it...
Qi Yuan didn't expect there to be such a pleasant surprise. The previously hateful brats suddenly became cute.
Familiarity breeds acceptance. The elementary schoolers had rendered great merit in one go, also fulfilling their wish.
A dragon's cry rang out as an awe-inspiring dragon's might wrapped around Qi Yuan. His golden irises transformed into dazzling, golden beast eyes, gazing down majestically at the Ghost Bride like a king surveying his territory.
Golden scale patterns emerged on his face and hands, and an illusory dragon horn flickered on his forehead as rays of light flashed.
The golden dragon illusion he summoned coiled behind him. The dragon cries came from its mouth.
Qi Yuan was resplendent in light that resonated with the golden dragon illusion, which ascended amidst the dazzling radiance.
The frolicking and swishing tail of the golden dragon seemed to contain some rhythm. Small thunderclouds formed inside and outside the building.
With a snap of his fingers,
The pitch-black teaching building was suddenly illuminated by piercing electric light that shone upon half of it, taking away all monsters in the area.
He sent off the special Ghost Bride in the most gorgeous and cool way on the spot before she could find her female groom. Fragrant and vanished like disappearing jade.
Before leaving, she kept thinking.
The golden-eyed human looks so strong, so why was I still fooled by the human cubs?
Did I get cocky, or was I still wishfully thinking?
Many thoughts ultimately turned into one line.
"You have..."
You have this level of strength and didn't say so earlier!
She didn't even get to finish her sentence before the roaring lightning engulfed her...
Thanks to the elementary students' nonsense, his portrayed strength was greater than before. He completely had the ability to clear out more monsters.
But his esper ability didn't differentiate between humans and monsters. His brain couldn't distinguish more people from monsters.
If it was an AOE that took out the little brothers too...
Qi Yuan didn't dare imagine.
Since the danger had passed from the surroundings, he could also deactivate his ability to rest for a bit.
The shocked elementary students were unable to process the information, remaining foolishly frozen.
Only when Qi Yuan adjusted his breathing and the middle-aged lady handed him the mineral water she had been reluctant to drink did the kids start screaming even louder than the actual ghosts. They charged at Qi Yuan, shouting about how amazing Uncle Patrol Team was, and not even the middle-aged lady's teacher authority could suppress their antics.
Qi Yuan had no choice but to put on a stern face. "Second order, did all the team leaders take note of who broke the rules just now?"
These words instantly suppressed the elementary school chickens.