The Mighty Mage-Chapter 385: Forgiveness

Long Yifan’s gaze was icy, his presence commanding.

"You’ve been causing quite a commotion," he said calmly, his voice sharp as a blade.

The young man’s legs trembled as he realized the severity of the situation.

Long Yifan wasn’t just any student—he was a member of the student council.

If he reported this incident, the consequences would be dire.

"I-I’m sorry!" the man blurted out, dropping to his knees in desperation.

He bowed his head low, his voice quivering.

"I swear, I didn’t mean to break any rules! Please don’t report me! I won’t do it again—I promise!"

Long Yifan raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable.

He took a step closer, his shadow looming over the kneeling man.

"Do you realize how much trouble you’ve caused?" Long Yifan asked, his tone firm.

"Not just for the other students, but for yourself? You’re breaking dorm rules, and if I file a report, you’ll be expelled without question."

The man’s hands clenched into fists on the floor, his shoulders shaking.

"Please, Senior Long! Have mercy! I’ll fix everything, I swear! I’ll report the broken soundproof magic and make sure it never happens again!"

Long Yifan stared at him for a moment, then sighed.

"Get up," he said, his voice less harsh but still commanding.

The man hesitated before rising to his feet, his head still bowed.

"Thank you, Senior Long," he murmured. "Thank you for giving me a chance."

Long Yifan’s gaze didn’t soften.

"Who said I have forgiven you?"

The man’s blood turned cold and he was about to kneel, when Long Yifan stopped,

"I don’t want your kneeling."

The young man almost cried.

"What is your name?" Long Yifan asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yan Zhou."

Long Yifan nodded, as he seized Yan Zhou up and down and commented,

"From how confident you were before, you sure seem experienced."

Yan Zhou shook his head.

"No experience! No experience! This was my first time!"

Long Yifan ignored his words and asked,

"From what I can see you are experienced."

Yan Zhou’s face crumpled as he looked up at Long Yifan, his voice trembling.

"Senior Long, please! I’ll do anything to make it up to you! Just tell me what I can do!"

Long Yifan didn’t respond immediately. He simply stared at Yan Zhou, his eyes cold and piercing.

After a tense moment, he finally spoke, his voice sharp and deliberate.

"Don’t repeat this mistake," he said firmly. "I’m watching you."

Yan Zhou nodded quickly, almost too quickly, like a bobbing doll.

"Yes, Senior Long! I promise I’ll never do anything like this again!"

But then, Long Yifan’s expression shifted slightly, and his tone grew even colder.

"Tell me something, Yan Zhou," he began, his eyes narrowing.

"Do you know the guy just now?"

The question caught Yan Zhou off guard.

His eyes widened in surprise, and he stammered,

"Yes...yes...he...he is new special admission student Luo Meng."

Thinking that Luo Meng and Long Yifan know each other, he continued,

"He’s... he’s a close friend of mine."

The moment those words left his mouth, Long Yifan’s expression darkened.

A shadow seemed to pass over his face, and his voice dropped to a menacing tone. "Close friend, you say?"

Yan Zhou’s heart sank.

He could feel the temperature in the room drop as Long Yifan stepped closer, his gaze now almost unbearable.

"Let me make one thing clear," Long Yifan said slowly, each word like a hammer striking an anvil.

"Luo Meng and I are enemies. He’s nothing but trouble."

Yan Zhou’s face turned pale as the weight of Long Yifan’s words sank in.

He stumbled over his response, his voice shaking.

"E-Enemies? I... I didn’t know!"

Long Yifan smirked faintly, but it wasn’t a kind smile.

"Tell me, Yan Zhou," he said, his tone casual but with an edge of steel.

"What has Luo Meng told you? What has he asked you to do?"

Yan Zhou felt like his knees were about to give out. He didn’t dare lie.

"He... he asked me to teach him how to woo someone," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

"He wanted advice on how to win someone’s heart."

At that, Long Yifan laughed—a low, mocking sound that sent chills down Yan Zhou’s spine.

"Woo someone? Luo Meng?" he said, shaking his head with a smirk. "How pitiful."

Yan Zhou felt sweat bead on his forehead.

"I-I swear, Senior Long, I wasn’t going to teach him anything bad!" he blurted out, desperate to avoid further trouble.

Long Yifan’s eyes narrowed, and his smirk widened.

"Oh? Are you sure about that? Were you really going to give him all the right advice?"

Something clicked in Yan Zhou’s mind. He suddenly realized what Long Yifan wanted.

"N-No! Of course not!" Yan Zhou said quickly, shaking his head.

"I’ll give him the worst advice! I’ll make sure he doesn’t get anywhere with his plans!"

Long Yifan’s expression softened ever so slightly, though his gaze remained sharp.

"I am not asking you to give him all the wrong advice. After all, a half-truth is more believable than a lie."

Yan Zhou blinked, not quite understanding what Long Yifan meant at first.

He was still shaking from the tension in the air, but he nodded anyway, trying to follow the command.

"You want me to give him...half-truths?" Yan Zhou asked, his voice tentative, still unsure if he heard correctly.

Long Yifan’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous calm.

"Exactly," he said, his voice smooth, almost like he was enjoying this conversation.

"You don’t need to lie completely. Just give him advice that sounds good at first, but it will only lead him in the wrong direction.

Make sure he spends all his energy on the wrong things, and by the time he figures it out, it’ll be too late for him."

Yifan would want him to sabotage Luo Meng completely, but this—this felt much more sinister.

A half-truth was far more dangerous than a full lie.

It would trap Luo Meng in his own beliefs, making him believe that he was doing the right thing when in reality, he was only digging himself into a deeper hole.

"Understood, Senior Long," Yan Zhou said, his voice firming up as he finally caught the drift of what was being asked.

"I’ll make sure Luo Meng gets all the wrong advice, but it’ll look like it’s right. He won’t even know what hit him."

"Also, make sure to not include advice related to intimacy. Make sure to advise him not to try to kiss Gu... the woman he is trying to woo."

Yan Zhou was baffled by such a request but agreed,

"Alright."

Long Yifan nodded once, pleased with Yan Zhou’s response.

"Good. If you follow through, you won’t regret it. But remember, if you fail, I’ll know. And the consequences won’t just be for you." His eyes sharpened.

"They’ll be for everyone you care about."

The weight of his words sank into Yan Zhou’s chest.

He had no intention of failing. Not now, not with Long Yifan’s warning hanging over him.

The last thing he wanted was to find out what would happen if Long Yifan really did turn his back on him.

"I won’t fail, Senior Long," Yan Zhou promised, determination settling in his voice.

Long Yifan’s smirk returned, but this time, it was colder.

"You better not. Now go. I have other matters to attend to." He waved a hand dismissively, signaling that the conversation was over.

Yan Zhou didn’t hesitate. He quickly asked the woman to leave and closed the door.

Long Yifan turned and left too.

A smirk appeared on his face,

"Let’s see how you will be able to woo her now."

Suddenly he thought of something and moved toward the girl’s dormitory.

Soon he reached outside Gu Jin’s room. With a hesitant expression, he lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

It took a while before the door was opened.

Gu Jin came out and calmly asked,

"What do you want?"

Long Yifan smiled. Calming his racing heart, he took out a box and gave it to her,

"Here. I especially bought it..."

"I don’t want it." Gu Jin coldly rejected.

"Before you reject, let me tell you, the cake is infused with mana. Eating one can increase the cultivation speed by 3 times for the next 9 hours."

A surprised expression appeared on Gu Jin’s face,

"Are you...trying to scam me into eating it?"

Long Yifan blinked, caught off guard by Gu Jin’s bluntness.

He quickly shook his head, his voice steady but a little desperate.

"No! I wouldn’t do that," he said firmly.

"This cake is real. I had it specially made by the best bakery in the city. You can check it yourself if you don’t believe me."

Gu Jin folded her arms, her sharp gaze making Long Yifan feel like he was under a microscope.

"Why would you give me something like this? What’s your goal?"

Long Yifan hesitated for a moment, then forced a calm smile. "No goal," he said smoothly.