Chapter 68
Chapter 68
At Mingjiang No. 7 Special School, Shi Xuan, Li Buhai, Yin Rumei, and the others emerged from the auditorium.
Gentle sunlight shone down once more. After the light rain, the campus looked wonderfully fresh.
Li Dao and the others felt as though they had returned from another lifetime.
When they arrived, how arrogant had the Jiangdong Chamber of Commerce and the Hall of Anomalies been? They had believed that by joining forces, they could carve up Jiangdong Province like a fat fish. The Water God’s Authority would be theirs at the snap of a finger, and the Divine Seal Fragment as easy to take as something from their own pockets.
And what had happened?
They had suffered a crushing defeat without even seeing the true mastermind of this place!
The principal members of the Zuo and Cao families had been completely wiped out.
By comparison, the Li and Wang families were extraordinarily fortunate simply to have survived.
“You may rest in the city for now. The Xu family should not arrive until tomorrow,” Shi Xuan said calmly.
“When they do, we’ll need all of you to testify to the crimes committed by the Cao and Zuo families.”
This affair was not over.
Xu Guoguo of the Xu family was determined to obtain the Water God’s Authority, and the Xu family possessed deep roots and enormous influence. Once they learned that Cao Yi had been killed, further trouble was inevitable.
More importantly, Li Que’s connection to the special school could not be exposed yet. They would have to handle the Xu family with the utmost care.
“Very well.” Li Buhai nodded. “Rest assured, Director Shi. We understand what to do.”
They had only just pledged themselves to Li Que and were eager to prove their loyalty. Tomorrow would clearly provide the perfect opportunity.
The group headed toward the school gates. Just as they were about to leave, the bald old man, Abyss, hurried ahead of them and stepped into the security booth.
“Hmm? So this is the security booth? Not bad, not bad at all! The working conditions here are far better than at Sun-Swallowing Gorge!”
He inspected the booth with great satisfaction, then turned, stood ramrod straight, and declared, “Shen Yuan, security guard of Mingjiang No. 7 Special School, welcomes our honored guests to visit our school again for future inspections!”
Everyone fell silent.
Their minds went numb.
Yin Rumei, Li Dao, Li Buhai, and the others were especially overwhelmed by complicated emotions.
They could understand the powerful Teacher Li behind the scenes suppressing Abyss.
But Abyss had volunteered to become a security guard?
And he was throwing himself into the job with such enthusiasm?
What the hell was going on?
Wasn’t this school’s lineup a little too extravagant?
“Right! I nearly forgot!”
Nightmare, who had followed them out, slapped his forehead.
“Meng Yan, boys’ dorm supervisor of Mingjiang No. 7 Special School, also welcomes our honored guests to visit our school again for future inspections!”
His face shone with boundless pride.
When Qin Shiyu first tricked him into becoming a dorm supervisor, he had not taken the job seriously at all. He had accepted only because it gave him a chance to approach Li Que.
Now, however, he was indescribably grateful.
Thank heavens he had been tricked!
Just look at Abyss. He was an ancient SSS-class wild deity, yet he treasured and respected a mere security-guard position!
Nightmare had somehow landed the position of boys’ dorm supervisor. He had struck gold!
There were so many anomalies in the world. How many could claim Abyss as a coworker?
He had made up his mind. From now on, he would pour one hundred and twenty percent of his enthusiasm into the dormitory. He would make the job his greatest pursuit in life and perform it magnificently!
Everyone fell silent again.
They were speechless.
“So this is a true divine-anomaly forbidden zone…” Li Buhai murmured, looking back at the utterly ordinary campus.
From the outside, there was nothing remarkable about it. Even specialized detection equipment would find nothing unusual.
Inside, however, it was astonishing.
An SSS-class security guard. An SS-class dorm supervisor. Students who were gods granted divine investiture. Even the janitorial staff were A-class…
This place would become the nightmare of every anomaly and anomaly wielder in the world!
“It truly looks more and more like that place… Would he really dare?” Yin Rumei murmured in a daze, as though she had thought of something terrifying.
She immediately shook her head, forced the thought away, took a deep breath, and left.
…
After returning to the Anomaly Suppression Bureau, Shi Xuan, Xu Changjiang, and the others immediately issued a notice lifting the alert and allowing the city’s residents to resume their normal lives.
Then they collapsed into their office chairs, complicated emotions written across their faces.
Everything they had experienced today had been an unimaginable shock. They all needed time to process it.
“Director Shi, just what is Teacher Li’s background?” Xu Changjiang finally asked.
He had been one of the first people to come into contact with Li Que. Only now did he realize that they knew virtually nothing about the man.
The main problem was that their own strength and understanding were far too limited.
They were like blind men feeling an elephant. The elephant stood before them, yet they could not comprehend its full shape.
“I don’t know either.” Shi Xuan shook his head and sighed. “There are probably very few people in this world who can explain Teacher Li’s origins.”
“We’ll have to wait. The people from the Special Anomaly Investigation Bureau should arrive tomorrow. Perhaps we’ll obtain some information from them that can confirm our guesses.”
The Special Anomaly Investigation Bureau held a lofty position within the Anomaly Wielders’ Alliance. It specialized in researching unusual anomalies and possessed a great deal of top-secret intelligence.
Xu Changjiang hesitated before speaking.
“Director Shi, the matter of Mingjiang No. 7 Special School… We still shouldn’t let the Bureau learn about it.”
“Of course I understand,” Shi Xuan replied. “Everything concerning Teacher Li must remain strictly confidential!”
He trusted the people coming from the Bureau, but he still could not reveal everything to them.
After all, its members also came from the Old-Grave Clans. Who knew whether those clans would develop other ambitions after learning about the special school?
“We can still use their influence to keep the Xu family in check,” Shi Xuan mused. “Those Old-Grave Clans possess far too many secrets. Even if Teacher Li can contend with them, now isn’t the best time for a confrontation.”
Xu Changjiang nodded, then asked, “Director Shi… What do you think Teacher Li is ultimately trying to accomplish?”
He truly could not contain himself any longer. Countless questions filled his mind.
Shi Xuan sighed softly. “I don’t know… but it probably has something to do with a certain legendary place.”
Then, as though remembering something, he abruptly changed the subject.
“By the way… Could you ask Qingyan whether the school has any positions left?”
“Do you think she could save one for me?”
He was genuinely tempted.
The SS-class Nightmare had fought to become a dorm supervisor, and the SSS-class Abyss was enthusiastic about serving as security guard. Shi Xuan suddenly wondered whether he ought to secure a position at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School in advance.
Xu Changjiang froze. “You’re a bureau director! Wouldn’t working at a school be a terrible waste of your talents?”
“Spare me the nonsense.” Shi Xuan snorted. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you whispering with Leng Qingyan for ages when we left the school. You were trying to get yourself a position there too, weren’t you? Don’t forget what my anomalous entity is!”
Embarrassed at being exposed, Xu Changjiang relented.
“Fine, fine. You win. Qingyan said she still needs to ask Teacher Li. If he agrees, we can both take nominal positions at the school.”
“Director Shi, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something profound about Mingjiang No. 7 Special School. I feel drawn to seek a position there without even knowing why…”
Shi Xuan’s expression shifted. “Even you feel that?”
He fell into thought. He had assumed that the Sundial of Insight had allowed him to catch some ineffable rhythm, which was why the idea had occurred to him.
But Xu Changjiang was only a B-plus anomaly wielder, and he had sensed it too!
It now seemed that with Abyss joining the school, a certain occult configuration was taking increasingly distinct shape within Mingjiang No. 7 Special School.
…
“Mrs. Wang,” Li Buhai said gravely elsewhere in Mingjiang City, looking uncertainly at Yin Rumei, “do you know Teacher Li’s true identity?”
He had noticed something unusual about her.
When they faced Abyss in the auditorium, Yin Rumei had been far calmer than the rest of them.
Li Buhai even suspected that Nightmare had never truly taken her dreams!
Yin Rumei merely lifted her coffee and took a sip.
“Why do you ask, Mr. Li? Are you planning to learn his identity and betray him?”
Li Buhai smiled bitterly. “I wouldn’t dare!”
“I only want to know whether the existence the Li family now follows is human… or something else.”
Clearly, he had formed his own suspicions about Li Que.
His wariness was understandable. No anomaly wielder in all of Jiangdong could possibly possess the strength to suppress Abyss.
Moreover, Li Que’s students-even the dorm supervisors and cleaners at the school-were all anomalies.
It was only natural to wonder whether Teacher Li himself was human.
Yin Rumei slowly set down her cup and spoke calmly.
“If that is your concern, Mr. Li, then you’re worrying too much.”
“Anomalies are incapable of teaching and nurturing students. Have you ever heard the old saying?”
“What saying?” Li Buhai asked.
Yin Rumei enunciated every word.
“Teaching is a sacred profession.”
Li Buhai’s expression changed violently. He stared at her in horror.
…