CHAPTER 126: IT WASN'T ME

"In any case, my job here is done," Zhao Shanhe harrumphed coldly. "Let me reiterate that there are still many points of suspicion surrounding Fang Che, so he is not allowed to take part in any of your academy's significant events! He is not to receive any honors or benefits!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gao Qingyu asked.

"What I'm saying is that he is not to take part in any competitions on behalf of the academy, nor is he entitled to any rewards like pills or natural treasures. Let me warn you right now not to disregard my instructions! These are not my orders, I am only a messenger myself, so don't get any funny ideas!"

"Which clan was it that reported Fang Che?" Meng Chizheng asked in a furious voice. "They've already ruined him, and they still insist on ruining his future? They've gone too far!"

Everyone was in full agreement with Meng Chizheng.

Exempting Fang Che from all honors and benefits was nothing short of ruining his future!

"The reporting clan is clearly too powerful for us to mess with, but please tell us who this mighty and righteous clan is so we know who to thank!" Lü Jiaoshan said in a facetious manner.

"All you need to do is follow orders! As for which clan it was, that's not for you to worry about!" Zhao Shanhe said in a cold voice.

"How is this not something for us to worry about? My student is the direct victim in all of this!" Gao Qingyu protested.

"Like I said, I am only the messenger," Zhao Shanhe sad in an indifferent manner. "Make sure to keep a close eye on Fang Che, understood?"

"We hardly have any choice but to keep an eye on him, given that he's been reduced to a vegetable!" Gao Qingyu harrumphed coldly. "I'm really busy right now, so I won't keep you for a meal."

Clearly, Gao Qingyu couldn't stand the sight of Zhao Shanhe for even a moment longer.

"I've already relayed the message, it's up to you whether you heed my advice or not," Zhao Shanhe harrumphed. "If anything happens, I won't be to blame."

"Of course, Master Zhao. You're so careful in everything that you do, you wouldn't get struck even by a falling leaf!" Gao Qingyu sneered.

Zhao Shanhe gave him a cold glance, then yelled, "What are all of you still hiding for? We've clearly overstayed our welcome!"

Eight figures instantly emerged from the shadows, and they were none other than Zhao Shanhe's personal guards.

"Let's go!" Zhao Shanhe ordered, and the eight of them promptly departed.

"Fucken coward! He's got so many guards with him even though he's just visiting the academy! Is he scared we're going to assassinate him?" Gao Qingyu grumbled.

"He's probably not out of earshot yet," Meng Hejun cautioned.

"I want him to hear me! What a piece of shit! I thought he was a decent guy in the past, turns out I was blind!"

Gao Qingyu laid his fingers onto Fang Che's wrist to feel his pulse as he sighed, "It's really going to take a miracle for him to recover... He's still not even a General yet, how could he have possibly withstood the rigors of the Path of Self-Inquisition?"

Meng Hejun heaved a forlorn sigh.

Meng Chizheng approached them as he said, "Master Zhao didn't explicitly state it, but he heavily implied that we're not to help Fang Che in his recovery."

"Fuck that!" Gao Qingyu yelled. "Get me all of the soul-nourishing natural treasures we have!"

Li Changkong's eyes were downcast, and there was a look of heavy guilt on his face.

As an instructor, he felt as if he had failed his student.

"It's my fault. I couldn't protect him."

"Oh, shut up! Who the hell do you think you are to be taking the blame?" Gao Qingyu raged. "I'm the dean! My failure is orders of magnitude more severe than yours!"

"I'll take Fang Che back to rest."

"Don't take him back to his residence. We'll keep him at the academy until he recovers."

With that, Li Changkong carried Fang Che out of the building.

As soon as he emerged, Mo Ganyun and the others immediately gathered around him.

"Is Boss alright?"

"He's suffered some damage to his soul, and he's going to be unconscious for a few days."

"Is it serious?" Mo Ganyun asked in an urgent manner.

"It's alright. Whether he manages to recover or not will be down to his luck."

Meng Chizheng emerged from the building after Li Changkong as he mused, "Apparently, he was reported by a student from a major clan. Fang Che's still just a boy, but he sure does seem to have a lot of enemies! First, Huo Churan tries to assassinate him. Now, someone's blackmailing him! How popular he is!"

He then stormed away with a cold expression, and clearly, he had intentionally said this for Mo Ganyun and the others to hear.

Sure enough, their expressions changed drastically as they turned to one another with accusatory looks on their faces.

They were silently fuming as they trailed along behind Li Changkong, who was planning to take Fang Che to his own dormitory room.

However, on the way they encountered Old Man Shen, who demanded, "Leave him with me! I don't trust you to look after him."

"But Elder Shen, he's in no condition to be digesting medicines himself, so will need to help him using spirit qi."

"You can just take turns coming over to do that each day. Make sure you arrange a proper roster, I don't want to have to go chasing after you! My cultivation base may have been destroyed, but my soul is still intact. I have to keep an eye on him so none of you rotten brats kill him while he's unconscious!"

Old Man Shen concluded his tirade by spitting disdainfully onto the ground, and everyone could only hang their heads in silence.

"Leave him with Elder Shen," Gao Qingyu decided, and Li Changkong had no choice but to comply.

"A bunch of fucking idiots, all of you! Everyone from the fucking dean down, and that fucking Zhao Shanhe in particular!" Old Man Shen grumbled incessantly, and everyone could only listen to his profanity-laden rant in silence.

Old Man Shen's furious tirade continued incessantly without pause, and unable to bear listening to him any longer, Meng Hejun, Gao Qingyu, and the assistant deans left along the way, leaving only Li Changkong and Mo Ganyun's group to escort Old Man Shen and Fang Che.

Thankfully, at some point, Bing Shangxue and the others arrived, and only then did Old Man Shen quiet down a little, but he was still muttering incessantly under his breath.

Trailing along far behind everyone was Xie Gongping.

Mo Ganyun was glowering intently at Yu Zhongge, Qiu Yunshang, and Jing Shuanggao, but he didn't look at Ding Jieran.

In his eyes, there was no way Ding Jieran was the culprit as he lacked both the motive and the personality traits.

He knew that reporting Fang Che didn't realy benefit Ding Jieran and Xie Gongping, but it would certainly benefit Yu Zhongge, Jing Shuanggao, Qiu Yunshang, and himself as this was an opportunity for them to take Fang Che's place as the leader of the group.

Hence, those three were the only suspects in his eyes, and the three of them were also glowering at one another with suspicious expressions.

"What're you looking at?" the four of them asked in unison.

"I'll look at you if I want! What're you gonna do about it?!"

Once again, the four of them had spoken in unison.

"It wasn't me!" Yu Zhongge harrumphed.

"It wasn't me, either," Qiu Yunshang declared.

"It definitely wasn't me," Jing Shuanggao said.

Ding Jieran didn't say anything as his sharp gaze raked back and forth over Mo Ganyun and the others, and his hand was resting on the hilt of his sword, as if he were prepared to lash out as soon as he detected even the slightest glimse of dishonesty.

"I didn't do it! Whoever did it is a pathetic piece of scum!" Mo Ganyun said.

"I agree! Whoever did it is a pathetic pice of scum, and the same applies to their entire family!" Yu Zhongge declared.

"Whoever did it is a pathetic pice of scum, and the same applies to their entire family!" Qiu Yunshang repeated.

Jing Shuanggao did them one better.

"Whoever did it is a pathetic pice of scum, and the same applies to their entire family, and they deserve to have their ancestral grave blown up!"

Everyone then turned to look at Ding Jieran, who looked back at them with his hand still resting on the hilt of his sword.

"It's fine, you don't have to say anything," the four of them sighed in unison.

As for Xie Gongping, none of them even bothered to spare a glance at him.

After reaching Old Man Shen's residence, they set Fang Che down onto the bed, and Bing Shangxue was unable to hold back her tears at the sight of the terrible state that he was in.

She was the instructor that had been closest with Fang Che of late.

Initially, she had also been suspicious of him, and she had set out to guide him back onto the right, but the more time she spent with him, the fonder of him she became.

He was polite, hard-working, measured, and sometimes rash, but always ready to deal with the consequences of his actions.

He was never arrogant or conceited. He spoke to others when spoken to, he answed questions earnestly when they were directed at him, and he rarely took the initiative to strike up interactions, but never turned anyone down, either.

He didn't look down on his less privileged classmates, nor did he ever suck up to the more affluent ones, and he worked harder than anyone and everyone.

Bing Shangxue's heart throbbed with pain as she thought of how Fang Che's reputation had been dragged through the mud.

He was the brightest of rising stars, yet just as he began to glow, he was struck down by fate's cruel hand, and now, here he laid in a helpless and unconscious state.

Whether he could recover or not would be entirely down to the will of the heavens, and it all jsut felt so unfair to Bing Shangxue.

Please wake up soon, Fang Che...