"Have you seen him?" the Cultivation Department Tutor furrowed his brows deeply and immediately said, "What exactly happened at that time? Tell me everything."
Fang Ren displayed a troubled yet surprised look and said, "At that time, I really needed to pee and there was no restroom nearby... so I just went over there. Right when I was about to leave, I saw classmate Wang Shuai suddenly fly over, grabbed my collar with an angry face. I thought it was because of some conflict we had in the cafeteria that day, and he wanted to get back at me.
But unexpectedly, he asked me if I had seen a man in black clothes, and then I said I didn't know. In the end, he just started searching the surrounding bushes, and since it had nothing to do with me, I just walked away. I never imagined he would... he would end up like this."
"A man in black clothes?" the Cultivation Department Tutor's expression grew more solemn.
"Could it be that he's not a student from our school?"
"But why would someone who's not one of our students know a Cultivation Technique like the Green Snake Seal?"
"A former graduate?"
"Although Wang Shuai has a somewhat flamboyant style usually, he has never made any serious enemies within the school. I don't think it's possible for it to be one of our students," said a student from the Cultivation Department.
"Yes, we're all classmates. It's normal to have some small frictions, but no one could do something that endangers a life."
Upon hearing this, Li Xingwang and Jing Haichuan both jumped in and hurriedly said, "That day in the cafeteria, we had some verbal disagreements with Wang Shuai, but they were all over trivial matters, at most just some shouting, and we aren't even cultivators."
Everyone looked at each other, all baffled.
Jian Qi'er, standing in the crowd, was watching Fang Ren with a cold expression. At this moment, in her heart, this seemingly harmless young man had been placed in a very dangerous position.
Originally, he hid his own sky-defying talents for both tool refinement and alchemy, yet was content to be the third from last in university for three years, completely discarding fame, fortune, and even glory.
Now, he had also taken advantage of his hidden identity, letting Wang Shuai, who wanted to kill him, become careless and in the end, effortlessly completed a counter-kill – a level of composure not typical for his age.
Moreover, what made Jian Qi'er feel even more horrified was that when Fang Ren was pursuing Liu Qianqian, a girl with extremely beautiful looks, he evidently wanted her, yet he was able to give up his feelings for her in order not to expose himself.
You should know that at this impetuous age, to give up a woman one really likes and is within reach is a very heartless act!
It's like a scorpion retracting its stinger, making you think it only has two ugly pincers, without realizing that behind it hides a sting that can be fatal with just one prick.
— All the above was Jian Qi'er's own imagination.
If Fang Ren heard her thoughts, he probably would have jumped up and said: "If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't even know I was so awesome!"
...
"Everyone, put down your luggage bags, and class monitors will check each student's luggage thoroughly. If you find any suspicious black clothes, report it immediately; casual and sportswear don't count."
Right at that moment, one Tutor immediately made the announcement.
Upon hearing this, Fang Ren felt a headache coming on. He had just barely muddled through the previous issue, and now the class monitors were checking luggage. His own luggage bag contained that white garment! What if Liu Qianqian saw it? How would he handle it?
Wouldn't the fact that he delivered the notebook to her be exposed!
Following the Tutor's words, class monitors started searching through each student's luggage in their respective classes.
After a round of searching, Liu Qianqian had almost checked all the students' luggage in the class, and finally came to Fang Ren's side.
"I'll check her luggage as well, just to avoid any suspicions."
Liu Qianqian approached Fang Ren, looked at Mu Huanqing, who was holding Fang Ren's hand, and said with an expressionless face.
"Her luggage is with mine," Fang Ren said.
After speaking, he handed his luggage bag to Liu Qianqian, and right then, he quickly slipped the Space Ring onto his finger from the pocket of his clothes. The moment Liu Qianqian opened his luggage bag, he was ready to transfer the white garment into the space of the ring.
Anyway, he couldn't let her find out he had delivered the notebook; it would mean a lot of trouble for him, and there could also be a misunderstanding in their relationship, which would then become awkward.
The moment she took Fang Ren's luggage bag, Liu Qianqian couldn't hold back her curiosity.
The man in white clothes who delivered the notebook to her at noon today, there's an 80% chance he's a student from this school. Even though the man's voice was very deep, she could tell it was on purpose, and he was actually young. Where would young people have the time to come here for a leisure trip at this period when there are no holidays? Other universities didn't have trips today.
The person she was most suspicious of was Fang Ren, because the confidently spoken words from the day before and the events of today had a connection that she just couldn't dismiss.
She believed he was the one who gave her the notebook.
Although she didn't know where he got Master Qingan's insights, everything on it was truly beyond ordinary people's comprehension.
Swish—
As she opened the luggage bag, Liu Qianqian glanced inside, then frowned and began to search through it. However, after searching two or three times, she found no white clothes!
How could this be... Could it not be him?
Liu Qianqian suddenly felt a huge sense of loss in her heart.
Fang Ren, watching her frantically rummaging, felt helpless and finally said, "Er, class monitor, you've already searched it three times..."
"Ah? I... that... sorry, my apologies."
Liu Qianqian was stunned for a moment, then she immediately threw her luggage to Fang Ren and turned around with a somewhat panicked expression to report to her tutor.
Watching Liu Qianqian turn to leave, Fang Ren finally heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the timing of the Space Ring's activation was good, and the luggage hadn't exceeded the maximum usable distance.
How come it feels like today, aside from acquiring a tree, everything else has gone awry? He couldn't help but grumble in his heart.
After turning around, Liu Qianqian's thoughts became somewhat jumbled. Was the person who helped her not him?
How could this be?
Was everything he said yesterday and the actions of the person today merely a coincidence... How could it be...
After a few minutes, the class monitors of each class had finished reporting, and no suspicious black clothing was found.
"Could it be that the person really isn't from our school? Although there weren't many people besides our students who came to Jiulong Mountain today, it's not impossible that someone came with ill intentions," a tutor said, frowning.
"Black clothes... Could it have been someone from the Nightfall Organization?" another tutor suddenly said, looking up.
"The Nightfall Organization!"
At the mention of that name, the people around immediately erupted into a buzz of discussion.
"Yes, the Nightfall Organization! They've been missing for a long time, and then they suddenly showed up in our Yangming City yesterday! And they even killed the Mayor!"
"You can't rule it out, it's really possible! I heard the Nightfall Organization only kills officials, and Wang Shuai's father just so happens to be the Chief of the Public Security Bureau in our city!"
"But what does his father being the Bureau Chief have to do with him?"
"Are you dumb? Every time the Nightfall Organization appears, they kill their target outright. This time they didn't take Wang Shuai's life, which must mean they used some tactic to extract the whereabouts of his father from Wang Shuai. That's why they let Wang Shuai live!"
"Damn, this Nightfall Organization..."
...
Listening to the surrounding discussions, Fang Ren was stunned. Without saying a word, a large group of people were already crafting a script for him. Why hadn't he realized before how adorable these folks at school were?
However, in the corner, Jian Qi'er clenched her fists tightly, her eyes nearly shooting fire at the sight of Fang Ren.
This guy's actions were making their organization take the blame! Damn it!
"Good for you, Fang Ren! Just you wait, if you give me a chance, I swear I'll bury you! Ahhh..."
Internally frantic, Jian Qi'er ultimately felt quite helpless in the end.
Their organization was always being smeared, and some people always judged them by their façade, which saddened her.
The night was not peaceful. Wang Shuai was taken to the hospital by several tutors, and the remaining tutors and students of the Cultivation System began to stand guard in turns.
Because of the Nightfall Organization, the tents of each class were pitched very closely together, and Fang Ren and Mu Huanqing felt very uncomfortable living in this environment. Tonight... was not convenient for doing any shameful acts.
Inside the small cozy tent, Fang Ren gazed at Mu Huanqing in his arms, wrestling with whether to tell her the true situation of today's events.
He really wanted to talk about what happened today, but although he was capable of cultivation, she sought a simple life with him. This kind of thing... was better buried deep in his heart unspoken.
"Qing'er, some people are truly wicked. You must be careful not to be deceived by appearances," Fang Ren said as he touched her soft hair, his voice somewhat deep.
Mu Huanqing looked up at him and smiled faintly, "I'll remember what you said."
Having gone through the events of these two days, she had come to an initial understanding of what humans were like beyond the battlefield; people's hearts were far from as good as she had imagined.
But Ah Ran, he was the best.
"So good."
------
------
At that moment, on the cross-river bridge in Yangming City, a black sedan raced along, its windows rolled down, two middle-aged men in casual clothes holding cigarettes out the window.
The man in the passenger seat held a photo in his hand, which was none other than Fang Ren.
"Just a cultivator incapable of cultivating, is it necessary for the two of us to take action, Second Master?" the man in the passenger seat said, frowning in incomprehension.
"The Second Master is very cautious in his dealings, fearing any unforeseen accidents along the way. It's better we be cautious as well. This life is of great significance, and we must not err," the man driving said, taking a puff of his cigarette.
"This kid is also quite unlucky, born into the Fang Family yet never having enjoyed wealth and glory, and now he has to be killed without knowing why, truly pitiful."
"Blame the marriage contract he has with Princess Bai Xi, no one else," the passenger concluded.