Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Qin Shiyu and Shi Xuan quickly settled the details of their cooperation.
She would remain at the school and take over as dean.
Leng Qingyan, the former dean, would be promoted to vice principal.
The two sides also discussed how they would deal with the Eclipse Organization.
“The Eclipse Organization is certain to be curious about this school. And at the moment, they appear to be especially fond of that restroom…”
Xu Changjiang analyzed the situation. “It’s understandable. If my guess is correct, they probably obtained the scale from the public restroom.”
The three of them wore equally complicated expressions.
That was the Water God’s Scale. Yet one of Li Que’s students had swallowed it-and then excreted it.
The thought of the Eclipse Organization’s agents fishing for something inside the public restroom disgusted all three of them. Qin Shiyu’s delicate brows drew together.
“In that case, we might as well use the restroom to our advantage.”
After considering the matter for a long time, Shi Xuan looked at Qin Shiyu.
“But that will require your cooperation, Miss Qin.”
Qin Shiyu arched an eyebrow.
…
Not long afterward.
“This public restroom doesn’t look unusual at all.”
Liu Ying and Sun Cheng were talking in a shadowed corner outside the school wall.
“Do you really think something like that came from here? Did we actually find it?” Sun Cheng asked.
The whole thing felt like a dream.
“Stranger things have happened in this world. What’s so surprising about it?” Liu Ying shook his head.
As anomaly wielders, they had witnessed far too many bizarre incidents. The birth of every anomaly wielder was itself usually the result of some improbable, extraordinary event.
That naturally made them more accepting of such “accidents” than ordinary people.
“Wait. I think I hear something!”
Sun Cheng’s expression suddenly changed, and he looked toward the public restroom.
Liu Ying was startled as well. The two men silently moved closer.
“Where did the Water God’s Scale go? Speak!”
It was a woman’s voice, sternly interrogating someone.
“You want the Water God’s Scale? Dream on!”
A man’s angry voice answered,
“You want me to nurture the Water God’s Scale for you… Never.”
The woman sounded bitterly disappointed.
“Do you have any idea how much the Hall of Anomalies sacrificed to obtain the Water God’s Authority? This is a divinity-nurturing ground we selected with painstaking care. The Water God’s Authority could have ascended to an entirely new level here, yet you betrayed the Hall of Anomalies!”
“But even if you threw the Water God’s Scale outside, we can retrieve it. Until we do, you will remain sealed here!”
…
The voices fell silent.
A strange struggle could faintly be heard from inside the septic tank, but it soon quieted again.
Liu Ying and Sun Cheng stared at each other, shock written across both faces.
“People from the Hall of Anomalies…”
“A divinity-nurturing ground…”
They exchanged a glance, then turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
This information was far too important. They had to report it immediately!
…
Meanwhile, inside the school, at the entrance to the public restroom.
Xu Changjiang watched the two faint trails rapidly recede across the detector’s display and smiled.
“It worked!”
They had staged the entire scene to focus the Eclipse Organization’s attention on the school’s public restroom.
They wanted the Eclipse Organization to believe this was a carefully chosen stronghold of the Hall of Anomalies. That would conceal the existence of Li Que and his students.
Moreover, now that the Eclipse Organization possessed the Water God’s Scale, they would never ignore a divinity-nurturing ground capable of strengthening the Water God’s Authority. Before long, many of the organization’s experts would arrive to contest this place.
The authorities could then seize the opportunity to deal the Eclipse Organization a devastating blow!
The bait was in the water. All that remained was for the fish to bite.
“The Eclipse Organization will certainly investigate this place over and over,” Shi Xuan said thoughtfully. “But Teacher Li has already laid the groundwork. The more deeply they investigate, the more firmly they’ll believe our trap.”
Even Qin Shiyu nodded, her expression complicated.
Only after arriving with Shi Xuan and the others had she discovered that an A-class anomaly was actually hidden beneath this public restroom!
It was Qin Zhenye, whom they had been unable to locate before.
Qin Zhenye now appeared to have lost his mind. He had immersed himself completely in the septic tank and seemed perfectly content there.
Even more surprisingly, the public restroom truly contained lingering traces of many anomalous entities associated with the Water God.
At last, Qin Shiyu understood everything. The Water God’s Knot sent here earlier, Frost after that, and even the scale… Li Que’s students must have swallowed all of them and excreted them here.
Outside the school, people would split each other’s skulls open fighting for these treasures. Here, they were dumped into a toilet without anyone asking a single question.
In a certain sense, this restroom truly had become an anomaly-nurturing ground. Qin Zhenye would indeed benefit greatly from remaining here!
With such convincing evidence already in place, the deeper the Eclipse Organization investigated, the more completely they would fall for the authorities’ arrangement.
“Dean Qin, a pleasure doing business with you.”
Shi Xuan smiled faintly at Qin Shiyu.
Qin Shiyu nodded.
“The Eclipse Organization and the Hall of Anomalies have fought over the Water God’s Authority for years, but our goals are different.”
“We want to cultivate a new Water God. They want to absorb the Water God’s Authority into themselves and use it to grow stronger.”
“Now that they have the Water God’s Scale, they should first go to Five Dragons Mountain and unearth the remains of the Water God who died there. Then they’ll return to this anomaly-nurturing ground for the final containment ritual.”
Qin Shiyu had fought the Eclipse Organization for years and could broadly predict their next move.
“So how large a fish you want to catch-and when you pull in the net-is up to you.”
If Shi Xuan only wanted to expose the mole, he could take the specialized detector back to the Anomaly Suppression Bureau and arrest the traitor immediately.
But if he held back and waited for the Eclipse Organization to move further, its true leaders would inevitably enter the field themselves and ultimately gather at this divinity-nurturing ground.
The latter option, however, also meant an unimaginably fierce final battle.
Shi Xuan nodded. “Thank you for the warning, Dean Qin. I will weigh the risks myself.”
“But you just said the Hall of Anomalies and the Eclipse Organization have different objectives?”
Scrutiny entered his gaze. “You want to cultivate a new Water God? Why?”
Until now, the authorities had only known that both factions wanted to obtain the Water God’s Authority.
The Water God’s Authority would greatly benefit either anomalies or anomaly wielders, so the authorities had never investigated the two factions’ ultimate goals.
But now, it seemed the Hall of Anomalies had another reason.
“There’s no harm in telling you. You’ll learn the truth sooner or later anyway,” Qin Shiyu said.
“Director Shi, have you heard of the Black Mist Calamity?”
Shi Xuan frowned.
“Nothing more than an absurd legend.”
Qin Shiyu shook her head. “It isn’t absurd.”
“According to legend, many years ago, this world was different. Anomalies and anomaly wielders both came into existence because of a calamity… and that calamity was marked by black mist surging through many different places.”
“The black mist eventually vanished. No one ever discovered a connection between it and the emergence of anomalies, but the Hall of Anomalies has continued researching it.”
“I can tell you with certainty that the black mist will return one day. When it does, a true anomaly calamity will descend upon us. The anomaly wielders of today… will be utterly incapable of resisting it.”
“Cultivating a Water God is only one part of the Hall of Anomalies’ preparations to oppose that calamity.”
Her tone was grave.
Shi Xuan arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying the Hall of Anomalies has been working to save the world all this time?”
The Hall of Anomalies had crossed too many lines over the years, trampling ordinary laws and order. Hearing that their goal was to resist a calamity only made the claim sound even more absurd.
“You don’t have to believe me, Director Shi. But if you ever get the chance to see the things within the black mist… I believe you’ll change your mind.”
Qin Shiyu’s expression grew complicated, as though she had remembered something terrible.
She too had once dismissed the calamity as utter nonsense.
Until she witnessed those things with her own eyes.
Even S-class anomaly wielders had been powerless. They had fought with everything they had, burning their anomalous entities to ash, and it had still been almost entirely useless.
Shi Xuan fell silent for a moment.
“I’ll investigate it.”
“We’ll leave you for now. Teacher Li doesn’t like being disturbed by trivial matters from outside the school.”
After speaking, he cast a regretful glance toward the teaching building.
He truly wanted to meet Teacher Li and talk with him. Shi Xuan even felt that some of the questions that had troubled him throughout his many years at S-class might find answers from Li Que.
But identifying the mole and dealing with the Eclipse Organization came first.
He quickly left with Xu Changjiang.
…
Meanwhile, at the Anomaly Suppression Bureau.
“All right. I understand…”
Inside an empty private room, Zuo Qingting ended a phone call.
Excitement rose across his face.
So this had all been a plot by the Hall of Anomalies. They had actually created a divinity-nurturing ground in Mingjiang City in hopes of using it to control the Water God’s Authority!
But despite all their careful calculations, they had never expected the anomaly sealed inside the divinity-nurturing ground to make one desperate effort and throw the Water God’s Scale outside-where Zuo Qingting’s people just happened to find it.
After a moment’s thought, he dialed another number without hesitation.
“Third Uncle, it’s me. Qingting…”
He lowered his voice. “I’ve obtained the Water God’s Scale. I also have information about the Hall of Anomalies’ operation…”
“What should I do next?”
A hoarse male voice slowly answered from the other end.
“You did well.”
“But that old fox Shi Xuan has always been shrewd. Have your subordinates bring the scale to me immediately, before he discovers it.”
“And now that we have the Water God’s Scale, it’s time for us to travel to Five Dragons Mountain and pay our respects to the dead Water God…”
“Here’s what you’ll do. Find a way to prepare some sacrificial offerings and lure Shi Xuan away from Mingjiang City to Five Dragons Mountain as well. He crippled me back then. It’s time for that blood debt to be repaid.”
“Once the tiger has been lured away from its mountain, it’ll also be easier for us to send people in and take over the divinity-nurturing ground.”
Before ending the call, the man offered him a final word of encouragement.
“Keep up the good work. The Zuo family… may be counting on you to lead it one day!”
The call ended.
Zuo Qingting grew even more excited.
He had shown respectable talent over the years, but he belonged to a collateral branch of the clan. That was why he had been planted inside the authorities as an undercover agent.
Third Uncle’s words meant that Zuo Qingting… now had the qualifications to compete with members of the main lineage.
If he could help the family obtain the Water God’s Authority this time, his future position would be all but guaranteed!
Without hesitation, he hurried downstairs and bought a pack of cigarettes at a nearby shop. Along the way, he handed the Water God’s Scale to Sun Cheng and Liu Ying and ordered them to take it away.
When he returned to the Anomaly Suppression Bureau, Shi Xuan and Xu Changjiang had just arrived as well.
…