Chapter 6
Chapter 6
“Principal Zhu, I was just about to look for you. Miss Leng here from the Municipal Administration Bureau can prove what happened in Jixiang Alley-”
Li Que began to explain.
Before he could finish, Zhu Jiayan broke into a fawning smile.
“Teacher Li, there’s no need to discuss any of that. It’s a small matter, nothing more!”
“Your work has been outstanding. Director Xu and Director Zhou both asked to meet you by name!”
He turned to Xu Changjiang. “Director Xu, this is Teacher Li Que. He’s conscientious, responsible, and deeply loved by his students!”
His face radiated apparently heartfelt praise.
Li Que stared at him in surprise.
Why had Zhu Jiayan’s attitude changed so drastically? Did every government official receive secret training in Sichuan opera face-changing?
Xu Changjiang, meanwhile, studied Li Que with exceptional gravity.
“Director, this is the Li… Teacher Li I told you about,” Leng Qingyan said, taking the initiative to introduce him.
Xu Changjiang nodded.
“Hello, Teacher Li. I’m from the… Municipal Administration Bureau. I heard about what you did in Jixiang Alley and came specifically to see you. I hope we haven’t disturbed you.”
He felt rather uneasy.
Generally speaking, anomaly wielders had to contain anomalous entities. The more powerful the anomaly wielder, the more susceptible they were to the anomalous entities’ influence, and the more unstable their temperament tended to become.
Xu Changjiang only hoped his sudden visit hadn’t offended the man.
His words left Zhu Jiayan reeling yet again.
Director Xu clearly stood far above Director Zhou, yet he was treating Li Que with such courtesy.
He was even addressing him with honorifics!
Sweat poured down Zhu Jiayan’s back. He stood there dumbstruck.
Even Zhou Chaoyang’s expression turned solemn with respect.
He knew Xu Changjiang’s true identity. At first, he’d assumed Li Que was merely a promising anomaly wielder who had attracted the Anomaly Suppression Bureau’s attention.
But now it seemed that Li Que was anything but ordinary.
Far from it!
Zhou Chaoyang quietly moved his hands from behind his back and folded them in front of his waist, his posture suddenly cautious and deferential.
“You haven’t disturbed me. Not at all!”
Li Que heaved a long sigh of relief. It seemed the principal’s drastic change in attitude was entirely thanks to Director Xu’s arrival.
“Director Xu, I may not have handled the situation in Jixiang Alley very well…”
“No, no!”
Xu Changjiang hurriedly interrupted him.
“What you did was perfect. Absolutely perfect!”
“For Mingjiang City to have a… teacher like you is an honor for the entire city!”
Sweat poured down his back as well. The Stray Cat and the Cat-Faced Crone had both been wiped out without leaving a trace, yet Li Que somehow felt he hadn’t done enough?
Comparisons truly were infuriating.
“So you agree that there’s nothing wrong with taking these children out for more practical community activities?”
Li Que’s eyes lit up. Director Xu seemed like a decent man after all.
Xu Changjiang blinked. Li Que was still speaking in circles around them.
He refused to mention anomaly wielders or anomalies at all.
Clearly, he truly didn’t want his identity exposed.
Xu Changjiang felt a surge of relief. Thank goodness Leng Qingyan had warned them not to reveal Li Que’s identity. If they had barged in and exposed him, they would surely have drawn his displeasure.
“Of course!”
Xu Changjiang was a perceptive man. He smiled immediately.
“In this day and age, having a teacher as righteous and principled as you is a blessing for all of Mingjiang City!”
“Teacher Li, to be frank, I came here because I believe your abilities could take you to a broader and higher platform, where you could accomplish much more-just as you did in Jixiang Alley. What do you think?”
He had made his position clear. This amounted to a formal invitation.
Zhu Jiayan was stupefied.
He desperately wanted to point out that all Li Que had done was take a few students to visit an old woman.
How could something so insignificant possibly deserve such extravagant praise?
Of course, he understood that Director Xu couldn’t truly value Li Que so highly over his professional abilities alone.
There was only one possible explanation: Li Que possessed an unimaginably powerful background.
His connections were so formidable that even the most trivial deed he performed would be treated as a monumental achievement!
Li Que was surprised too.
So this man had come because of what happened in Jixiang Alley. From the sound of it, he even wanted to promote Li Que and transfer him to a better organization.
No wonder Zhu Jiayan’s attitude had changed so completely.
But after giving it some thought, Li Que shook his head.
Anomalies ran rampant in this era. He might die a horrible death at any moment.
A promotion and a raise didn’t mean much.
The most important thing was becoming an anomaly wielder.
Only then would Li Que have the power to protect himself when he encountered an anomaly. Only then would he possess true freedom and strength.
So he had to keep his head down at this school and continue accumulating Good Teacher Points.
Giving up this opportunity would be worth it. Once he became an anomaly wielder, he might even find a job at the legendary Anomaly Suppression Bureau. Wouldn’t that be a hundred times better than working for some ordinary government department?
He had to look at the bigger picture.
Li Que immediately smiled.
“Thank you for the offer, Director Xu, but all I want is to stay here and teach in peace.”
He refused!
Zhou Chaoyang and Zhu Jiayan were both stunned.
Zhu Jiayan’s expression turned complicated. How could Li Que let such a wonderful opportunity slip away?
Other people came to this school because it was the only place that would take them.
Did Li Que genuinely love this profession?
What was so enjoyable about spending every day with a group of troubled teenagers?
Zhu Jiayan couldn’t understand it.
Neither could Zhou Chaoyang. What ordinary anomaly wielder wouldn’t want to enter the Anomaly Suppression Bureau?
Anomaly wielders had to contain anomalous entities, which made them highly susceptible to losing control. The higher their rank, the greater the risk, and the more they needed official support and assistance.
Without it, losing control and transforming into an anomaly themselves was only a matter of time.
Yet Director Xu had come to invite Li Que personally, and he had still refused.
Only Xu Changjiang and Leng Qingyan looked dejected.
They had already anticipated this outcome.
After all, if Li Que had wanted to join the Anomaly Suppression Bureau, he could have done so at any point over the years. There would have been no need for them to invite him now.
“Still, I have to thank you, Director Xu, for caring so much about these special-needs children. Why don’t I show you around?” Li Que continued.
This field trip had made Li Que realize that if he wanted to accomplish anything, he needed support.
If he could make the departments above the school appreciate the importance of special education, it would be easier for him to teach his students in the future.
“Of course. Thank you for taking the time, Teacher Li,” Xu Changjiang replied immediately.
The group rose and followed Li Que toward the classroom.
“This is where the students usually have their lessons. My class only has four students at present, and we don’t spend much time on standard academic subjects…”
Li Que introduced the school as they walked. Everything he described was perfectly mundane, yet Xu Changjiang and Leng Qingyan listened with rapt attention.
They never would have imagined that a top-tier anomaly wielder like him could truly be so devoted to teaching.
Perhaps it was precisely because he had held on to this original aspiration that he’d managed to reach A-class on his own, without official support or losing control.
Leng Qingyan couldn’t help taking another look at Li Que. At that moment, the mysterious and powerful anomaly wielder became a little more real in her mind.
She couldn’t help admiring him.
“Hmm? What is this?”
Just then, she noticed a ruler lying on the lectern.
She picked it up lightly, and horror immediately flooded her eyes.
“Director…”
Her voice trembled.
Xu Changjiang turned to look, and his pupils abruptly contracted.
“Is that… an A-class anomalous entity? It might even be stronger!”
He was utterly shocked.
Anomalous entities could only come from one source: anomalies themselves.
There was an anomalous entity here that was at least A-class. Did that mean Li Que had once killed an A-class anomalous entity?
Li Que, meanwhile, looked puzzled. Wasn’t that just a ruler the system had rewarded him with?
Had these country bumpkins never seen one before?
…
At the same time, in a dark and damp urban village in Mingjiang City…
A man in gray crouched in a corner, his head lowered as he softly called, “Here, kitty, kitty.”
He ultimately received no response.
“Something’s wrong. It seems the Stray Cat has been eliminated.”
At last, he rose with a deep frown. “And there’s been no movement from the Cat-Faced Crone either!”
A man in a felt hat standing behind him spoke gravely.
“How is that possible? According to the plan, once the Cat-Faced Crone ate Leng Qingyan and replenished herself with the Tear of the Charm Demon, she should have reached A-class. What went wrong?”
The man in gray asked, “Could Xu Changjiang and the others have discovered the plan and made their move?”
The man in the felt hat shook his head. “Impossible. Xu Changjiang is only a B-class anomaly wielder. He would die against the Cat-Faced Crone too!”
“Something unexpected must have happened.”
The man in gray’s expression turned grim.
“If we can’t raise an A-class anomaly or obtain the anomalous entity Leng Qingyan carries, the plan from above may be obstructed. Their people will arrive in a few days. What are we supposed to do?”
The man in the felt hat gritted his teeth. “First, we investigate. We need to find out exactly what happened to the Cat-Faced Crone and the Stray Cat!”
…