Everyone Is Non-Human Except Me [Rebirth] Chapter 48

Wei Huan didn’t remember how he fell asleep, but when he woke up, Yun Yongzhou was already gone. The sofa was empty, leaving only him behind, still covered with that blanket, which faintly carried Yun Yongzhou’s scent.

Yun Yongzhou always seemed busy, coming and going early and late. Even though they were in the same academy, they rarely crossed paths.

Fate was truly amusing.

In his past life, Wei Huan never would have imagined he would form a pactt with Yun Yongzhou, would sit on the sofa with him, opening his heart and listening to Yun Yongzhou talk about his past. He found himself increasingly imagining: what would happen if Yun Yongzhou knew the truth? But he still didn’t know what this signified.

On this rare weekend break, Wei Huan decided to zone out on the sofa for a while and let himself rest. Just as he was stretching lazily, he spotted a small thing hopping onto his knee.

“Ying!”

A little furball shook its fur, carrying a tiny pack on its back, as if it were wearing a backpack.

“Oh, so you actually remembered to come back.” Wei Huan reached out with two fingers as if to flick it away. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in a century. I thought you ran away.”

The little furball trembled in fear.

Seeing this, Wei Huan chuckled and pulled his hand back. “You went on vacation or what?”

The furball let out a string of pitiful “ying ying ying” cries, shaking its round body and dumping items from its little bag one by one. “Ying ying ying, ying ying ying.”

“What’s this?” Wei Huan watched as it dumped out a small piece of rotting wood, then hurriedly pushed it onto its own head, hopping onto the coffee table, as if it was about to drop the wood into a cup on the table.

“Hey, hey, hey—what are you doing?” Wei Huan quickly grabbed the furball. “If Yun Yongzhou finds out you soaked rotten wood in his cup, he’ll burn you to ashes in a heartbeat.”

But the furball still let out a “ying” and dropped the piece of wood into the cup. Strangely, as soon as the wood touched the water, it floated and began to emit a faint light.

“Isn’t this Guan Yue Zha?” Wei Huan picked up the cup. “Where did you get this?”

When he was a child, Wei Huan’s father had brought him a dried tree piece of Guan Yue Zha and even made him a little boat. On summer nights, he would drag his glowing Guan Yue Zha boat into the river to catch small fish.

The furball chirped a few more times and shook another item out of its backpack. This time, it wasn’t rotten wood but a nearly withered blade of grass. Strangely, as soon as it fell onto the blanket, it shriveled into a thin strand of red, brittle grass, twisting and burrowing toward the floor.

Wei Huan bent down and picked it up, noticing how it writhed as if in pain. He asked the furball, puzzled, “What’s this thing now?”

The furball jumped anxiously, trying to snatch the dried grass back. “Ying ying ying!”

“I don’t think you went on vacation; you went dumpster diving.” Wei Huan tossed the shriveled grass back in front of the furball and poked its little backpack. “Your little trash can doesn’t look big, but it sure can hold a lot.” He poked the furball again and added, “Did you sort your trash properly?”

He had originally wanted to tease him a bit more, but the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Who is it?” Ever since he was secretly photographed by a girl from Yansui Academy and the photo was posted on the forum, Wei Huan had felt uneasy about staying at Yun Yongzhou’s place. He looked down, searching for slippers for a while, only to find that his remaining one had gone missing. Instead, just outside the sofa, there was a neatly placed pair of light blue cotton slippers.

Forget it, he thought—just wear them first.

Wei Huan stepped into them and found, to his surprise, that they fit perfectly. The little furball, seeing that Wei Huan was about to leave, jumped back onto his shoulder, shaking its little bundle nonstop. The doorbell rang incessantly. Wei Huan patted the furball. “Alright, alright, I’ll look at your treasure later.” Then he quickly headed over and checked the entrance monitor—on the screen were Jing Yun and Yang Sheng.

“What are you doing here?” Wei Huan opened the door. Yang Sheng stretched his neck to peer inside, but Wei Huan blocked the doorway, giving him a forced smile. “Instructor Yang, what are you looking for?”

Yang Sheng returned the same fake smile. “Catching someone in the act.”

At the mention of that, Jing Yun’s eyes widened, and he too tried to peek inside. Wei Huan smacked him lightly on the forehead. “Why do you believe everything he says?”

“Our Instructor Yun is a very busy man, left early in the morning,” Wei Huan leaned against the doorframe. “What, Instructor Yang, got something urgent for him?”

At the words our Instructor Yun, Yang Sheng rolled his eyes so hard they almost flipped into the sky. “Freaking homo.”

Wei Huan beamed. “Freaking homo, who are you talking about?”

“Enough, enough.” Jing Yun didn’t know why, but every time these two met, they always ended up bickering. It didn’t feel like teacher and student at all. He grabbed Wei Huan’s arm cheerfully. “Ah Heng, there’s no class today—let’s go hang out!”

Yang Sheng yanked Jing Yun’s hand back. “Speak properly. Don’t get handsy.”

Wei Huan, seeing that, pulled Jing Yun straight into his arms. “I like talking while holding someone. Got a problem?” After showing off, he turned to Jing Yun, “Where to?”

In the end, they still ended up at Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion.

“Jing Little Yun, you’re way too obsessed,” Wei Huan said, as they were brought to Shangshan. From a distance, he could already see Su Buyu. He almost raised his hand and shouted “Buyu!”, but suddenly remembered Su Buyu still didn’t know his identity. So, mid-wave, he shifted his hand back and pretended to stretch lazily. “Nice weather today.”

Su Buyu opened the barrier of Shangshan, his face carrying that usual faint smile. “No classes at Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion on weekends—you came at the perfect time.”

Jing Yun sweetly called out, “Teacher Su.” Seeing Yang Sheng’s speechless expression, Wei Huan deliberately mimicked him and also called out, “Teacher Su.” Su Buyu paused for a moment, then lowered his eyes and smiled.

“I adjusted my schedule last time specifically to watch your simulation match,” Su Buyu said calmly as he walked over to Wei Huan. “You’re impressive—much more so than I was back then.”

Hearing that Su Buyu had gone to watch him on purpose, Wei Huan was secretly delighted. “I saw you too—in the audience at Shangshan.”

After entering Shangshan, everywhere they looked were students in white uniforms. It was Jing Yun’s first time here, and he immediately noticed how different it was from Fuyao. Fuyao’s buildings were all towering structures that stretched into the sky; even the training and sparring arenas floated midair in all shapes and sizes. There were very few trees—likely to avoid hindering students’ flight.

But Shangshan was different. There weren’t many buildings, and the whole area looked wide and open. Every so often, you’d pass a body of water—some big, some small—scattered across the academy’s grounds like turquoise and sapphire gems set into the earth.

“Which building is Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion?” Jing Yun asked curiously.

“None of them,” Yang Sheng said, slinging an arm over his shoulders. “Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion isn’t a building. Once you’re in the water, you’ll see.”

Jing Yun’s expression turned a bit troubled. “Right… I was scared you wouldn’t bring me if I told you, so I didn’t say anything… but I actually can’t swim. I’ve never been in the water…”

Wei Huan burst out laughing, deliberately teasing, “Ah~ then you’re doomed. No going in for you.”

Seeing Jing Yun’s disappointed and shocked face, Su Buyu’s heart instantly softened. He opened his palm toward him—three translucent scales shimmered there in the sunlight, glowing beautifully.

“They’re teasing you,” Su Buyu said gently. “Take one, and stick it on your forehead.”

Jing Yun carefully picked one up, examining it against the light. “So pretty…” Su Buyu didn’t rush him, but Yang Sheng was already getting impatient. He grabbed one scale, slapped it on Jing Yun’s forehead, then took the one in Jing Yun’s hand and stuck it on his own. “Alright, kid, now you can go in.”

“Just like that?” Jing Yun looked amazed. He had thought Su Buyu would conjure some big bubble to put him inside and then carry him underwater—but it turned out to be this simple.

Su Buyu patiently explained, “These are mermaid scales from my body. They carry my demon energy. Once you’re underwater, they’ll form an invisible barrier around you so you can breathe freely.”

“That’s amazing!” Jing Yun touched his forehead. “So as long as we have these mermaid scales, any demon can go underwater?”

Su Buyu nodded. “Most of them, yes.”

Wei Huan suddenly chuckled. The other three looked at him, but he quickly waved it off. “Nothing, nothing—I just spaced out a bit.”

He had just remembered what Su Buyu said—most of them—and thought of Yun Yongzhou. In Shanhai, there were all sorts of wonders like No Speak Building and Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion. Most students who got accepted wanted to explore for the novelty, and Yun Yongzhou was no exception. Back then, they had just been assigned to their battle teams, and to celebrate, everyone agreed to visit Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion together.

Yun Yongzhou was the first to object. “I’m not going.”

Wei Huan: “Yun Yongzhou’s objection is invalid. Anyone else object?” He raised his right hand in a fist, left hand supporting it below, and solemnly knocked three times. “Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion once, Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion twice, Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion thrice—motion passed!”

Yun Yongzhou: “……”

Wei Huan had dragged him there by force, refusing to let him leave Group Seven. Su Buyu had given each of the three a mermaid scale, and everyone had obediently stuck it on before entering the water one after the other. Yun Yongzhou, who was last, turned around and left the moment he saw Wei Huan was about to go in.

“Hey hey hey! Why are you running!” Wei Huan reacted quickly, darting back to grab him, wrapping him up tightly in his arms. “You’re not allowed to run!”

“Let go!”

“Nope!” Wei Huan held on tightly and finally dragged Yun Yongzhou down into the water.

It was only after they were underwater that Wei Huan realized Yun Yongzhou’s fire attribute clashed with Su Buyu’s water attribute—so the mermaid scale couldn’t last long and was soon broken by Yun Yongzhou’s demon energy.

Later…

Eh? What happened after that?

Wei Huan suddenly felt like there was a gap in his memory, no matter how he tried, he just couldn’t remember.

“Should I help you put it on?”

Su Buyu’s gentle voice pulled Wei Huan back from his memories. He looked up and saw the faint dimple at the corner of Su Buyu’s lips, momentarily dazed. “What did you say?”

Su Buyu extended his hand—between his fingers was that tiny scale. “I’ll help you stick it on.” But the moment he saw the small golden mark on Wei Huan’s forehead, his fingers paused. It wasn’t until Wei Huan called his name that Su Buyu snapped out of it and pressed the scale to his forehead.

“Be careful when you go down. Stay close to me,” he said softly.

Wei Huan nodded. “Of course~”

The four of them continued forward. Along the way, students kept greeting Su Buyu, calling him “Teacher Su” as they passed. Wei Huan felt both comforted and proud. Back then, he’d treated Buyu like his own little brother, teaching him all his combat skills so he wouldn’t be bullied. At that time, Buyu didn’t even dare to speak loudly, afraid of drawing attention. His half-demon identity always left him confused about who he was, constantly standing at a crossroads.

Wei Huan would always stubbornly hold his hand and lead him forward.

[Who cares if you’re demon or not—you’re Su Buyu.]

Just thinking about how he was now a capable teacher made Wei Huan genuinely happy for him.

They passed by lake after lake and finally reached a vast blue sea stretching beyond the horizon. A soft blue mist hovered over the water, with faint words appearing above—Yunsheng Jiehai, a mirage created by sea demons.

“We’re here. The place you wanted to see,” Yang Sheng stretched lazily and started warming up. Jing Yun followed his movements step by step like a little fledgling.

“Ready?” Yang Sheng struck a diving pose and was about to make a graceful entrance when Wei Huan suddenly shouted from behind like a broadcaster:

“Sexy Yang Sheng, diving live!”

Yang Sheng lost his balance and fell in with a splash. Wei Huan laughed until his stomach hurt. Jing Yun, after laughing, cautiously jumped in too. He held his breath, clenched his eyes shut, and trembled as he felt something grab him. Startled, he thrashed in panic.

“It’s okay, it’s okay—nothing to worry about.”

Hearing Yang Sheng’s voice, Jing Yun relaxed and opened his eyes. Yang Sheng’s face appeared right in front of him, and he reached out to squish Jing Yun’s puffed-up cheeks. “You can breathe, see? I’m even talking.”

It really did feel no different from being on land. Jing Yun, still being squished, blew out a string of bubbles and even hiccuped.

Wei Huan swam over, his skin looking even fairer under the water, shimmering with a beautiful sheen. He pointed behind Jing Yun. “Look! There’s a jellyfish!”

Jing Yun turned around quickly and squinted. “There’s nothing there.” Then, realizing he could really talk underwater, he got excited and grabbed Wei Huan’s hand. “Ah Heng, I can swim now!”

Yang Sheng was indignant. “Hey now, I was the one who told you it was safe to talk first…”

Wei Huan corrected Jing Yun, “Well… to be precise, you didn’t really learn to swim…”

Su Buyu swam over, gently parting the water as he turned and came beside them. “Jing Yun, if you really want to swim, I can teach you.”

“No no, thank you.” Yang Sheng immediately pulled Jing Yun behind him. “Let’s hurry and show the kid around.”

Su Buyu and Wei Huan exchanged smiles and shrugged.

The entrance to Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion looked just like an ordinary open sea, except there were schools of fish swimming in a tight formation. They swam downwards until they encountered a huge purple coral reef blocking the way. Su Buyu channeled his spiritual energy, and the reef suddenly began to glow. Guided by his demon energy, it parted to both sides like a grand gate.

“This is the first floor,” Su Buyu explained, then swam inside.

“Amazing…” Jing Yun held onto the coral doorway, wide-eyed. Inside the first floor were many mermen he had never seen before—their upper bodies human, clad in Shangshan uniforms, their lower bodies variously colored tails swishing gracefully. The space was vast, filled with refracted light that shimmered like the sky. All around them, exotic and beautiful sea creatures swam by. A silver school of fish spiraled upward like a tornado, surrounding them in a glowing whirl.

Jing Yun’s hair floated upward with the current. He looked up, mesmerized, as the silver tornado spread open above him.

Just then, a group of palm-sized red fish swam toward them. Their bodies glowed with a warm red light, like little underwater flames—strange and beautiful.

“Teacher Su! What kind of fish is this?” Jing Yun hugged one excitedly. “It’s so pretty!”

Su Buyu swam over, smiling. “These are called Dan Fish. Once one kisses you, you don’t need to swim anymore—you’ll be able to walk underwater like on land.”

“Really?” Jing Yun was astonished.

Su Buyu nodded and called out, “Dan Fish.” The little fish in his arms immediately darted out, swam around Jing Yun, and gave his cheek a gentle peck. Jing Yun instantly felt all the resistance on his body vanish. He tried walking a few steps. “It’s true! I can actually walk!”

The Dan Fish then zipped over to Yang Sheng and cheekily kissed him too. Wei Huan made a show of it, “That’s an indirect kiss!”

The mischievous little fish seemed eager for more drama and swam over to Wei Huan, giving him a quick peck too.

Wei Huan immediately clutched his face and pointed at the fish. “You little rascal, taking advantage of me!”

Everyone burst out laughing as they passed through the area where the mermen had gathered—it seemed like they were holding an open-air concert. All the instruments were made of shells and coral, and the strings were slender seaweed. Perhaps because they were underwater, the music sounded especially fresh and captivating.

“Are all mermen good singers?”

“You’re mixing things up—merfolk can’t sing, it’s sea demons who can~” Wei Huan slung an arm around his shoulders as they walked into a tunnel woven from pale golden sea grass. Strange berries of all kinds grew on the grass, clinging and spreading across it.

Jing Yun was mesmerized. Wei Huan casually picked a black one and popped it into his mouth. When he spoke again, his voice had completely changed—it had become that of a young girl, who sweetly teased him, “Don’t go getting yourself bewitched by sea demons later, or you might never make it home~”

Jing Yun shivered. “U-understood.”

Wei Huan turned his head and called, “You two hurry up already.”

Yang Sheng wore a blank expression. “You sound like you’re trying to lure customers…”

Su Buyu couldn’t stop smiling and said softly, “So childish.”

The aqua-blue light of the seabed filtered through the pale golden sea-grass tunnel, each step bringing a different glimmer, impossible to replicate. Just as they emerged from the sloped tunnel, a wild gust howled past. Wei Huan quickly pulled Jing Yun aside. “Careful.”

Su Buyu stepped out from behind them and saw a student riding a seabed motorbike. He raised his hand, and under the guidance of his demonic energy, the surrounding seaweed shot forward, wrapping around the student tightly and dragging him back to Su Buyu.

The student had blue scales on his forehead and water-colored eyes. As soon as he saw Su Buyu, he immediately grinned ingratiatingly. “T-Teacher Su…”

Su Buyu was still smiling, but his tone was much more serious than usual. “You broke the rules, didn’t you?”

“Y-yes,” the student stammered. “I was just in a hurry to meet a friend—she’s on the 35th floor, and swimming all the way is such a pain…”

“What about the boundary-jumping technique?” Su Buyu asked calmly. “You were heading to a restricted zone, weren’t you?”

The student chuckled awkwardly. “Teacher Su, you’re the best. Just this once, please? Don’t give me a major demerit—I’ll end up on probation if this keeps up!”

With a wave of Su Buyu’s hand, the tightly wound seaweed loosened.

“Give me the bike,” he said.

The student got off reluctantly, and watched as Su Buyu stored the vehicle using a shark pearl. He tried to protest, “Please, Teacher Su, have mercy—I really can’t afford probation…”

Su Buyu blinked innocently. “Have we met today?” Then he turned to the others and said gently, “Let’s go.”

As they left the tunnel, they heard the student shouting behind them, “Teacher, I love you!” Wei Huan laughed so hard he almost choked.

If every teacher had been like Buyu back in the day, he could’ve soared to the heavens.

“Be careful up ahead,” Su Buyu warned. “We’re about to enter the second level. Between every two levels, there’s a stretch of misty sea called the Illusory Mirror Spiral Valley. It’s easy to get lost if you wander in.”

“Right, it’s dizzying inside, all mirrors spiraling downward—there are so many copies of yourself, you can’t tell which is real…” Wei Huan quickly picked up the explanation, but halfway through, he froze.

Why did it feel so familiar?

A massive white conch shell, spiraling downward layer by layer, wall after wall. The inner walls of the conch were completely covered in mirrors, all pieced together to form a gigantic mirrored maze. Countless reflections bounced through the seawater—light darting from left to right and back again.

Together, the lights formed mesmerizing paths—a web of light.

Every mirror reflected his face. His figure.

But… not just his.

“Little Golden Crow, are we lost?”

A voice surfaced in his mind. The scene came back piece by piece.

Yun Yongzhou’s face looked pale, the mint-colored seawater giving his skin an eerie luster. His light brown hair floated in the water, and his clear pupils, under the layered colors, looked like gemstones.

“You okay?” Wei Huan swam over. “You seem… off.”

“Don’t come closer.” Yun Yongzhou leaned against a mirror wall, slowly descending down the spiral path. “Get out. Now.”

Wei Huan caught up to him and looked at his profile. The flame-shaped mark on Yun Yongzhou’s forehead had turned a deeper red—it burned like a flickering candle under the sea.

As they moved, Yun Yongzhou suddenly stumbled, dropping to one knee and bracing himself against the wall.

“Hey—Yun Yongzhou!” Wei Huan squatted beside him, trying to pull him up—only to realize that the skin around the shark scale on his forehead was glowing faintly red. As that demonic light spread, the scale began to disintegrate.

Wei Huan reached out to grab it, but before his fingers could touch it, the scale dissolved completely, vanishing with the current. Yun Yongzhou’s body sank rapidly, too fast for Wei Huan to react. Wrapped in the red glow of his demonic aura, the flame academy uniform clinging to his form, he looked like a rose slowly descending into the sea.

The swirling mirrors around them reflected his image endlessly.

In an instant, the entire mirrored spiral seemed to rain roses.

“Yun Yongzhou!”

Wei Huan dove down, chasing after his sinking figure with all his strength.

“Wait…”

Just a bit more.

Almost…

Wei Huan reached out—and through the shimmering light in the mint-colored water, caught Yun Yongzhou’s hand.

“Got you.”

In the mirrors, blue and red blended together.

The rosy sea grass at the bottom of the spiral swayed gently, enveloping the two of them. Wei Huan laid Yun Yongzhou on the white reef at the center of the spiral, gently shaking him.

“Hey, Yun Yongzhou… Are you alright?”

He didn’t open his eyes, as if deeply asleep.

“Don’t scare me like this.” Wei Huan felt his body temperature steadily dropping, which was very abnormal—Yun Yongzhou’s body had always been warmer than any of theirs. That sinking cold made Wei Huan’s heart plummet.

He glanced up. At the top of the spiral stairway of the shell valley, a sliver of daylight shone down.

No good. If this keeps up, something will happen. At least he could swim—maybe he could bring him back.

There was no time for hesitation.

Wei Huan removed the mermaid scale from his own forehead and pressed it against Yun Yongzhou’s brow. Gritting his teeth, he leaned down. At the instant their soft lips met, deep beneath the sea, he transferred his breath into the unconscious Yun Yongzhou.

He controlled the flow carefully. The warm current slipped through, lingering past lips and teeth, gently reaching its destination.

Dreamlike light pierced the mint-colored sea and, guided by the mirrored walls, refracted into dazzling patterns—like a palace made of cellophane, trapping the two lost boys inside.

The mirror walls reflected countless shadows, each one a fusion of red and blue, all caught in moments of intimate nearness.

“I’ll take you back.”

Sincere, pure, intense, dangerous.

The hidden sea remembers every secret.