Chapter 179: Falsely Accused
Reverend Wuwang was a True Lord, so his little golden characters were even more valuable than art relics.
Tang Jie had once more inexplicably gained a big treasure.
Now that everyone knew that this was True Lord Wuwang’s territory, nobody dared to cause any more trouble, and they all kowtowed on the floor. Only that bewitching young man refused to prostrate, simply bowing from a distance.
That True Lord Wuwang didn’t mind, simply chuckling and saying, “But the character you left on my stele is truly too ugly…”
The “逐” character that Tang Jie had written gradually disappeared, and replacing it was a new “逐” character that was written with vigor and style, exactly the same as the one that Tang Jie had captured.
Tang Jie blushed in shame. “When this student returns, he will work hard on his calligraphy.”
True Lord Wuwang grunted, and the golden eye faded away as he took his leave.
With the matter over, the muscular man wasn’t willing to linger, and those young masters needed to go down to find that Young Master Lin, so they all took their leave. Only that bewitching man remained seated.
Tang Jie saw that nothing else was happening, so he called over Wei Tianchong and Shi Meng so that they could go down.
As they went down, Wei Tianchong couldn’t help but grumble, “You’re really too bold, even stealing Wuwang Characters. Are you not worried about causing trouble?”
“It’s rare to get such chances, so how can I miss out on one? Whether I succeed or not, I have to try first,” Tang Jie said with a smile.
“Were you not worried that he would send his Divine Will to tear you apart in a fit of rage?” Shi Meng asked.
“Maybe, but True Lord Wuwang has an excellent reputation, and he is also known for his tolerance. I dared to do such a thing naturally because I believed that the True Lord wasn’t this sort of person. Even if he wasn’t willing to give me a Wuwang Character, the most he would do is take back the Wuwang Character and give me a small punishment. My life wouldn’t have been in danger. Moreover, I’m still a Basking Moon student, so the True Lord has to give a little face.”
Wei Tianchong resentfully said, “You really know how to exploit your Basking Moon student status.”
Tang Jie lightly said, “You have to grasp opportunities on your own. If there are no lucky encounters, you have to work to create your own. If you were me, even if meatcakes fell from the heavens, you would still somehow miss out on it.”
He was naturally referring to what had happened with Divine God Luo.
Wei Tianchong grumbled, “We already agreed to not talk about it, but you still bring it up. Besides, I’ve also managed to make use of opportunities, just not the kind you think. I’ve managed to get something that you haven’t,” he smugly said.
“Oh? What is that?” Tang Jie curiously asked.
Wei Tianchong tilted his head back and laughed. As he sauntered down the stairs, the image of Ping Jingyue’s alluring body appeared in his mind.
Once they were at the bottom, a page came to send them out.
As they were about to leave, Tang Jie asked the page, “Right, upstairs, we saw this young man who was so beautiful he was like a woman. Little Brother, do you know who that was?”
“A man as beautiful as a woman?” The page blinked. “I didn’t see anyone like that.”
“Didn’t see him?”
The page thought it over again and firmly shook his head. “I didn’t see him!”
Startled, Tang Jie turned around and swiftly went back up.
At the top floor, he saw that the room was empty, and there was no trace of the bewitching man.
After leaving Fangshan City, Tang Jie’s group hurried back.
They finally reached Wanquan City, and as they arrived at the Student Forest, they saw that a large crowd of people had gathered outside the ferry.
They were all wearing the moon-white uniforms of Basking Moon, and there had to at least be five hundred of them.
“Why are there so many students gathered here?” Wei Tianchong said in shock.
“You need to ask?” Tang Jie coldly said, “The news of Lin Lang’s death has already gotten here. Someone has gotten the head, so everyone is naturally thinking about stealing it.”
These people hadn’t given up after failing to find the head. They knew that any student who had the head would have to return to the academy, so they had decided to stand guard and wait, blocking the main entrance.
It was a rather silly method, but it worked.
Wei Tianchong was aghast. “Then aren’t they waiting for us?”
Tang Jie put a hand on Wei Tianchong’s mouth. “Shush! I’m still not sure about how much information has gotten out. They know that Lin Lang is dead, but they might not know that it was us who did it.”
“But Ping Jingyue’s group knows.”
“But they might not tell others.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m not sure, but we’ll have to test it out to know,” Tang Jie replied.
If he were Ping Jingyue, he would never let this news get out. This was partially because this might not do her group any good. Stealing food from three people would always be easier than stealing from five hundred. Secondly, Tang Jie was still their friend, and while they might fight with each other, it would at least be one of their friends that benefited. They had to at least have a bottom line.
They were most likely hiding somewhere, waiting for the opportune moment to strike and take the head.
“This is the last trial. If we get through it, we will have completed the mission,” Tang Jie replied.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Shi Meng heroically urged.
Fortunately, Tang Jie had accounted for this scenario, and they didn’t have Lin Lang’s head. Thus, he had nothing to fear.
Even so, the stares of countless students were a heavy weight. Wei Tianchong felt an inexplicable pressure that made his legs shake.
He found it easy to imagine the sight of all these people converging on them once they learned that they had completed the mission.
Tang Jie put an arm on his shoulder and said, “Don’t panic. It’s just for show. They don’t dare to actually do anything. After all, we’re in front of the school, and even if we’re not inside the academy, the school won’t like it if someone is killed right at the entrance.”
“Do you think things will be like with the Chen brothers?” When they were coming back, Wei Tianchong had been told about what had happened with the Chen brothers, but Tang Jie had kept the matter of Ping Jingyue and Liu Hongyan a secret.
“It won’t! Of course, if things get messy, it will be hard to guarantee anything. And there’s always a possibility that someone causes trouble.”
Wei Tianchong shivered again.
Tang Jie smiled and pushed him forward. “Look at how scared you are! Whether it’s a cultivator or a man, they have to experience all kinds of trials and tribulations. Regardless of the situation, you have to experience it first in order to mature. You’re only being stared at by hundreds of people, so why are you so scared? In the future, when we go out adventuring, we might face countless enemies. Maybe it will be tens of thousands of fiend beasts, and if their looks alone are enough to rob you of the will to fight, then you can forget about cultivating Immortality. You don’t need to be polite. They’re looking at you, so look back at them. Isn’t it just meeting eyes with eyes? It’s just a question of who’s afraid of whom!”
“Oh!” Wei Tianchong nodded. Straightening his back, he angrily looked around while muttering, “I don’t have the head. I don’t have the head…”
Once they got closer, a somewhat older student blocked their path. “Stop! You can’t enter the academy unless you’re searched.”
“Oh?” Tang Jie raised an eyebrow. “Why should we let you search us?”
The student was angry, grunting as he pointed with his thumb at the large number of people behind him. “Because of them. Is that enough?”
Tang Jie looked at the wolfish stares around him and then shook his head in feigned helplessness. “If that’s the case, then search away. Young Master, you first.”
Wei Tianchong stepped forward, already ready to let himself be searched.
That student searched Wei Tianchong thoroughly and appeared disappointed, shaking his head at the people behind him.
All the students sighed helplessly.
Wei Tianchong asked, “Can I go yet?”
“You may, but why doesn’t Junior Brother stay with us and guard the entrance to see if anyone brings back Lin Lang’s head?” the student offered.
This person was called Lu Fei, and he was a rather conniving and sly fellow. He had used the same method to recruit more than half of the students at the ferry.
His idea was that even if he couldn’t succeed, he wouldn’t let anyone else succeed easily.
Wei Tianchong shook his head. “Forget it. With all these people and all these upperclassmen here, I don’t think I have any chance. It would be better if I got back to the academy and started cultivating again.”
Lu Fei wasn’t surprised. Many people had shared the same thoughts as Wei Tianchong. After a fruitless search, they had given up on the chase.
Since Wei Tianchong wasn’t willing, Lu Fei stood aside and let him through.
Wei Tianchong boarded the boat while Shi Meng was searched.
After another fruitless search, Lu Fei let Shi Meng go.
The next to be searched was Tang Jie.
As Tang Jie handed over a Mustard Seed Bag, Lu Fei’s eyes flashed with greed. As he was about to take it, Tang Jie drew his hand back. “Just look at it from there.”
Lu Fei snorted in anger, but he let Tang Jie open the bag and looked inside.
With one glance, Lu Fei shuddered.
There was naturally no head in the Mustard Seed Bag, but it was stuffed with money.
There were seventy to eighty spirit jades in there, and also a large number of spirit coins that had yet to be traded in. Lu Fei was almost instantly dazzled.
“So much money?” he blurted out.
“It has nothing to do with you. You’ve seen the bag and seen that there’s no head. Can I go now?” Tang Jie said as he put away the bag.
“Wait!” Lu Fei shouted. “Leave me your bag. I need to inspect it again!”
“What did you say?” Tang Jie was startled, but when he saw the greedy look in Lu Fei’s eyes, he understood.
There was no doubt that this was a greedy fellow who had decided to rob him.
Tang Jie put away the bag and quickly fell back.
Lu Fei saw that Tang Jie was absconding and instantly panicked. He shouted, “The head is in his bag! Don’t let him run!”
“Bastard!” Tang Jie cursed.
He had made an intricate plan to complete the mission by shipping the head to the school, and all that was needed was to enter the school to get the head. He had never expected this sort of misfortune to occur at the final moment.
He could naturally try to clear his name, but one hundred thousand spirit coins could tempt Lu Fei, so why couldn’t it tempt the others?
When everyone benefited from chaos, the truth was no longer important. What was important was action and how much one could gain from action.
As Lu Fei shouted, the crowd surged at Tang Jie.
Tang Jie knew that this was bad and immediately turned to flee.
Wei Tianchong became anxious and wanted to go and help him. Thankfully, Shi Meng grabbed him and said, “Young Master, don’t. Going over there won’t do any good.”
“But…”
“Hurry! Once we get back to the academy and hand over the head, the message arrow will immediately be sent out, and all of the storms will be pacified!” Shi Meng hurriedly said.
Wei Tianchong finally came to his senses and began to run toward the ship. The moment he stepped onto the deck, he shouted, “Hurry up and set sail!”
The boat unhurriedly set sail toward the center of the lake.
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