Everyone Is Non-Human Except Me [Rebirth] Chapter 13

Consciousness detached from the body.

Wei Huan felt himself sinking slowly into a cocoon of black threads. In the silent darkness, a gentle voice called out.

[Ah Huan.]

Mother? Wei Huan followed the voice and saw his mother’s back, clad in military uniform.

[Ah Huan, take care of yourself.]

[Live on.]

Don’t go!

Wei Huan tried to call out, but no sound came from his mouth. He ran toward her, arms outstretched to embrace her—but the moment he reached her, she vanished.

His arms were empty—he grasped nothing.

Mom…

[Ah Huan, you are my son… you carry the honor of the Nine Phoenixes…]

Father?

That was his father’s voice.

Wei Huan hesitated to turn around. His father sounded so weak—Wei Huan had never heard him like that before.

A terrible sense of dread surged up.

But it had been so many years—how could he not turn back?

Eyes stinging, Wei Huan rubbed them and decisively turned around—only to see his father kneeling in a pool of blood, the nine-turn phoenix mark on his forehead soaked in crimson.

His father looked at him, eyes filled with boundless warmth.

[You thought I’d say that…]

Wei Huan’s heart sank.

[No.]

The powerful man before him shook his head slightly and said, one word at a time, with difficulty:

[You are… yourself.]

[Dad can’t protect you anymore…]

Pain twisted through Wei Huan’s chest. He moved heavily, step by step, to his father’s side, knelt down, and reached out. The moment his fingertips touched his father’s face, his father disappeared—like a misty light scattered by the wind, vanishing slowly into the darkness.

Then, suddenly, wild flames erupted in the endless blackness, trapping Wei Huan within. The fire grew higher and higher, forming burning walls. The suffocating heat pressed on his nerves. Wei Huan stood up, looking around the fiery barrier. Through the blazing wall, he squinted and saw the faint silhouette of a tall figure.

The figure approached step by step, walking toward the fire formation that imprisoned him.

Wei Huan slowly reached out his hand.

In the next instant, a hand pierced through the wall of fire and gripped his tightly. A powerful force pulled his body forward—he lost his balance and was dragged out.

The moment he crossed through the fire wall, Wei Huan jolted awake from the dream, his eyes snapping open.

The dream had been too real, too heavy. He gasped for air, chest rising and falling violently. His unfocused gaze stared up at the white ceiling for a long time before he finally came back to himself.

“Ah Huan, you’re awake? Thank god, you’re finally awake.”

The sound of a voice made Wei Huan turn his head warily. Seeing Jing Yun sitting at his bedside, his frantic heartbeat began to slow down a little.

“The match…” Wei Huan opened his mouth. His voice was hoarse and dry, and he coughed a few times.

Jing Yun quickly handed him a cup of water. “The match is over. You’ve been unconscious for a full day, do you know that? No matter what we did, you just wouldn’t wake up. I was terrified when I heard you got hurt. Thankfully…”

“What?” Wei Huan widened his eyes and interrupted him. “I was out for a whole day?”

Jing Yun blinked and nodded. His glasses slid down halfway and he pushed them back up again.

A knock came at the door. The two turned toward the sound.

Yang Sheng?

Seeing his childhood friend’s face, Wei Huan suddenly tensed, lowering his head and taking a sip of water. Why was he here? Could it be he noticed something?

He’d been watching the match against Yang Ling the whole time. Even though Wei Huan had tried hard not to use his usual moves or habits, someone like Yang Sheng—who grew up with him—might still have noticed.

If he had figured it out… should Wei Huan just admit it?

Yang Sheng had already changed out of his Shanhai combat instructor uniform. He now wore a fresh, light-blue shirt. He’d only taken two steps into the room before glancing back over his shoulder. “Where is she?”

He called out the door, “Come in already.”

Leaning against the corridor wall outside, Yang Ling pouted. The heels of her little shoes lightly tapped against the base of the wall. She heard her brother calling, but her pride wouldn’t let her move.

Yang Sheng walked out, grabbed his sister by the hand, and pulled her in. Watching Yang Ling’s tsundere act, Wei Huan almost laughed, but held it in.

“Didn’t you promise before we left? Now you’re trying to back out?”

Still pretending to be stern—he was such a sister-con. Having grown up with him, Wei Huan knew Yang Sheng all too well and couldn’t help but complain internally.

Releasing his sister’s wrist, Yang Sheng turned to Wei Huan. “Student Wei, my apologies—we came today specifically so my sister could visit you.”

Visit? Wei Huan immediately understood. So he dragged his sister over to apologize with a lowered head.

But that formality was just too funny. Wei Huan cleared his throat, holding back a laugh, and shook his head innocently. “It’s fine, I’m good—still got all my arms and legs.” As he spoke, he swung his arm slightly, pulling at the wound on his chest and letting out a small hiss of pain.

Jing Yun hurriedly stepped forward to support Wei Huan’s arm, stammering out a warning to be careful.

Wei Huan glanced at Jing Yun in passing—this kid, for some reason, had turned completely red in the face, like a crab just pulled from a steamer.

Yang Sheng continued, “It’s lucky you weren’t hurt worse, which is also lucky for this girl. Yang Ling’s performance in the match was clearly immature—she didn’t hold back her blows. She realizes that now and felt pretty bad about it. Yesterday she told me she wanted to come visit you.”

Really? Wei Huan curled his lips a little.

“I didn’t feel bad! I’m totally fine with it…” Yang Ling muttered under her breath, only to fall silent when her brother’s gaze swept over her.

“We’re very sorry. We’ll cover all of your medical expenses from here on,” Yang Sheng bowed slightly toward Wei Huan, who sat on the hospital bed. He even reached out to press his hand on the back of his sister’s head, forcing her to bow in apology as well.

“Sorry.” Yang Ling said the word so fast it was nearly unintelligible, then sprang upright like a spring. Her twin ponytails bounced—she was almost too cute.

Under normal circumstances, Wei Huan would definitely have teased her a bit, but now that things were different, he didn’t really have the standing to do that anymore. He gave up on the idea and instead looked to Yang Sheng. “It’s okay. Every match has winners and losers, and injuries are just part of it. Don’t get too worked up just because I’m human—I’m actually really strong.”

Yang Sheng shook his head, the light tone from earlier gone. His expression turned serious. “No, this isn’t just about whether you were hurt or not.”

“She’s a Bifang bird—she knows what she’s capable of. She also knows how much her opponent can take. But she didn’t hold back. She nearly caused a fatal accident. That was because of her competitiveness and immaturity. Right now it’s only been ruled as a violation, with no major consequences. But if she isn’t disciplined, she’ll cause something far worse in the future.”

That was Yang Sheng all right. No matter how much they joked around on a normal day, when it came down to it, he always saw things clearly—and he was stubborn too, always insisting on what he thought was right.

Yang Ling pouted, both cheeks puffed up, clearly unhappy. Wei Huan looked at her and almost laughed again.

…Wait a second.

“A violation?” Wei Huan was a beat slow. He turned toward Jing Yun, who nodded like a pecking chick.

That made Yang Ling’s face twist even more. “You’ve got some nerve asking! It’s your fault! I clearly won—the first one to fall off the platform was you! But Instructor Yun insisted I violated the rules!”

Yun Yongzhou? Wei Huan was even more surprised.

Right—Yun Yongzhou had been the referee. Wei Huan looked up at Yang Sheng, a flicker of anticipation rising in his chest. “So what was the final result of the match?”

“Because Yang Ling violated the rules of fairness and safety in actual combat—and because she lost control while manipulating the fire lotus—after discussion among the judges and instructors, it was ruled a foul. But… you were still the one who was eliminated first…”

Ah… so it still didn’t count. Wei Huan lowered his head.

“So the final result is: Yang Ling advances, but you’ll receive 15 bonus points as compensation due to her foul.”

Yang Ling inched her way behind her brother, looking away and muttering under her breath, “I think it was unfair too. Felt like someone was helping him…”

Fifteen bonus points. Wei Huan’s eyes lit up. “So? Is the combat test over now?”

Jing Yun beamed like a sunflower, grabbing Wei Huan’s arm. “You passed Shanhai’s entrance exam! We’re classmates now!”

He paused after saying that, maybe realizing he was too excited. He coughed to calm himself down, let go of Wei Huan’s arm, and picked up a glass of water to sip slowly while peeking in their direction.

Hiding behind her brother, Yang Ling poked her head out, gave a sharp “Hmph,” and said, “What’s so great about getting in dead last? If it weren’t for those bonus points, you’d be out!”

An unexpected gift! Wei Huan clenched his fists. “Awesome.” The grin on his face couldn’t be hidden even if he tried.

Yang Sheng suddenly turned to his sister. “Didn’t you say you had something else to do?” Yang Ling glanced at her brother, pouted pitifully, then glared viciously at Wei Huan. “Tch, who wants to stay here anyway?” She darted out of the room.

Once his sister was gone, Yang Sheng seemed to remember the other person in the room. He turned to Jing Yun. “Hey, little student, could you help me check where my sister went?”

He smiled politely. Jing Yun blushed bright red, nodded rapidly, set his cup down, and marched out of the room—completely stiff and moving in sync like a robot.

Is this kid sick? Wei Huan shook his head inwardly.

Something’s off with him.