CHAPTER 76: WAN ZHIMEI

In Dong Yunyu's mind, after he said "You think you can just leave without any repercussions?" Fang Che should've replied with something like "What do you want me to do then?" and he would've seized firm control of the situation.

He could either put on a display of benevolence or reprimand Fang Che in a justified manner, and Fang Che would be forced to passively accept either outcome.

However, Fang Che wasn't following the script at all, putting Dong Yunyu in a very awkward position.

"I'll be taking my leave now, Master Dong," Fang Che sneered, then departed with Mo Ganyun to have lunch in the cafeteria.

Veins were bulging on Dong Yunyu's forehead as he clenched the hilt of his sword in a white-knuckled grip, and he gave a cold harrumph before also turning to depart.

He had decided there and then that he would teach those three a lesson if he ever encountered them outside the academy.

Wei Zihao scrambled to his feet, then extended a deep bow of gratitude. "Thank you, Master Dong! I..."

"Piss off! Coward!" Dong Yunyu sneered as he kicked him in the chest before storming away.

A young man strode lazily onto the scene, then called out after Dong Yunyu, "Did your attempt to make yourself look cool fall flat on its face? How pathetic!"

"Shut your mouth!" Dong Yunyu snapped without even bothering to turn around.

The young man turned his attention to Wei Zihao, then asked, "Why is your face so dark?"

Wei Zihao: "???"

"You were beaten to the point of begging for mercy, then tried to suck up to Dong Yunyu, but failed miserably. Honestly, I struggle to see any redeeming traits in you," the young man sighed.

Wei Zihao: "......"

"When did you get back, Hefang? Did you complete your mission?" someone called out from afar.

The young man was none other than Jun Hefang, one of the academy's top four prodigies.

Jun Hefang turned to see who it was that had called out to him, then smiled as he remarked, "I didn't expect to see you back here, Brother Hua."

The one who had greeted Jun Hefang was Hua Kaixie, a student from the same cohort as Jun Hefang and Dong Yunyu.

"I'd be expelled if I didn't return to the academy."

Jun Hefang strode over to Hua Kaixie, then slung an arm across his shoulders.

Hua Kaixie immediately began struggling vigorously.

"Let go of me! You stink like shit! How many days has it been since you last took a bath?"

"Don't be like that! You wore my underpants back when we were first-year students, and I didn't even complain," Jun Hefang chuckled as he wound his arm tightly around Hua Kaixie.

"That's only because you wore my underwear first, so I had nothing to wear! Let go of me!"

The two of them continued to bicker as they walked away, and before long, a white-robed young man that was giving off a frosty aura appeared in their path.

He was standing as straight as a spear with his hands clasped behind his back.

His hair was arranged in an impeccable manner, and his clothes were immaculately clean.

His complexion was as fair as snow, but it didn't give off an appearance of ill health.

A hint of warmth surfaced in his cold eyes at the sight of the two bickering young men, but he didn't hold back at all as he reprimanded, "Quit making fools out of yourselves! Can't you clean yourselves up just a little bit? If you go out like this, everyone in the outside world will think that our academy is filled with filthy mongrels!"

Jun Hefang and Hua Kaixie hung their heads as they accepted the scolding in silence.

However, they then quickly perked up again.

"How'd your date go, Boss?"

"Shut up! Come with me!" the white-robed young man snapped, and Jun Hefang and Hua Kaixie were happy to comply, trailing along behind him with wide grins.

"I saw Dong Yunyu trying to act tough in front of the first-years again, and it completely backfired on him! It was hilarious!"

The white-robed young man was also one of the academy's four top prodigies, Wu Zhibing, and he didn't even bother to turn around as he said, "Dong Yunyu is not worthy of our attention."

The trio entered the building with Wu Zhibing leading the way, leaving a frosty aura in his wake.

***

Inside the cafeteria, Fang Che watched the four of them depart.

Dong Yunyu left on his own, while Jun Hefang, Hua Kaixie, and Wu Zhibing departed in another direction.

He needed no introduction to know who those three were.

Even though Hua Kaixie and Jun Hefang were acting very casual with Wu Zhibing, it was clear that they respected him from the bottom of their hearts, and the three of them were so close that they felt like a single, seamless entity.

Mo Ganyun was also observing the trio, and he turned his gaze to Fang Che.

At the same time, Ding Jieran also cast his gaze toward Fang Che, only to immediately lower his head as a hint of dejection flashed through his eyes.

This didn't escape Mo Ganyun's notice, and he picked up his and Fang Che's food, then strode over to Ding Jieran's table as he offered, "Let's eat together!"

A hint of elation flashed through Ding Jieran's eyes, and he scooted over slightly to make room for Fang Che and Mo Ganyun, only for a troubled look to resurface on his face, as if a sobering thought had occurred to him.

All of a sudden, he rose to his feet with his head still lowered as he said, "I'm finished."

He then departed with his half-eaten food.

Mo Ganyun was furious, standing up as he yelled, "Ding Jieran, get back here!"

Ding Jieran shuddered slightly, but continued walking and quickly made his way out of the cafeteria.

"Ding Jieran!" Mo Ganyun yelled again as he prepared to give chase.

However, Fang Che grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him.

"Don't chase after him. At some point, you'll come to understand why he's doing this. For now, let's eat."

Mo Ganyun stared at Fang Che for a moment, then sat back down in a huff and began shoveling food into his own mouth.

As Fang Che ate, he continued to think about the darkness clinging to Wei Zihao's face, and the more he thought about it, the more unsettled he became.

He had to find someone to ask about this.

Furthermore, he had to do something about Wan Zhimei.

He was about to begin cultivating all day, every day for the next few months, was he supposed to just leave her alone and allow her to develop during that time?

After lunch, he decided to pay a visit to Fang Qingyun, who was just about to go on a mission and was very surprised by Fang Che's abrupt visit.

Several of the female students with him were overjoyed, but Fang Che didn't stay for long.

He had come to bid Fang Qingyun farewell, as well as to drop off some resources and supplies.

It was a very normal visit.

In the afternoon, Fang Qingyun's group was discussing their imminent mission. This was their first-ever mission, and they had chosen a medicine collection mission, which was relatively low in danger.

However, Wan Zhimei was a little distracted.

She had noticed a discreet symbol by the door, one that consisted of a crooked heart with several dots inside, like the freehand drawing of a child.

She strode over to the door in a subtle manner, then brushed a hand over the symbol to erase it.

She appeared calm and composed on the surface, but her heart was pounding. If someone else had discovered the symbol instead of her, that would've been sufficient evidence to prove that there was a One Heart Church undercover agent in their class.

If an investigation were to be launched, then the consequences would be catastrophic.

But why has the symbol appeared at this time? Is it a summons?

"What's wrong, Meimei? You seem really distracted. Are you not feeling well?" Liu Xueyun asked.

"I'm fine," Wan Zhimei replied. "We're setting off tomorrow morning, so we still have some time to prepare. I've left some things in my room, and I'll need to pack them for tomorrow."

It was rather redundant that Wan Zhimei had repeated the plan to everyone, but no one thought anything of it.

After a brief discussion, everyone went their separate ways.

That night, Wan Zhimei emerged from her dormitory room with a bag of rubbish, and after disposing of the bag, she quickly snuck into the nearby forest, making it as if she were on a casual stroll, but in reality, she was desperately searching for something.

Finally, she noticed something on the bark of a tree.

The symbol on the tree was barely noticeable, but it failed to elude her searching gaze, and she immediately approached it with her heart pounding.

The piece of tree bark was right around eye level, and she brushed it aside to reveal a small hole, within which were a jade vial and a slip of paper.

She discreetly grabbed both items and tucked them into her pocket, then crushed the piece of bark underfoot with a single stomp before making her way back out of the forest.

After returning to her dormitory room, she entered the lavatory before pulling out the slip of paper, which told her that the vial contained two Ten Year Pills, a reward from the pope.

Wan Zhimei was ecstatic to see this.

A Ten Year Pill was a pill that could grant the consumer ten years' worth of cultivation base, and it was a secret pill of the One Heart Church.

Wan Zhimei had recently reached the Lesser Grandmaster tier and was already at the second rank, so it made sense that she was beginning to receive resources from the church.

What she cherished even more than the pill was the thought that the One Heart Church was planning to nurture her!

Two Ten Year Pills equated to twenty years' worth of cultivation base.

She only possessed low A-grade aptitude, but these two pills would still be enough to elevate her cultivation base by several ranks!

It wasn't necessarily the case that anyone who consumed a Ten Year Pill would be able to elevate their cultivation base by the same extent.

After all, there were people with mediocre aptitude whose bodies were like holey cloth pouches, unable to retain any spirit power that they took in.

Given Wan Zhimei's aptitude, she should be able to retain at least a third of the benefits granted by the pills.

Wan Zhimei returned to her room before closing the door. From there, she prepared some food and water in anticipation of the hunger and thirst that would arise from a drastic jump in cultivation base, then tipped out one of the two pills in the vial.

***

The next day.

Fang Qingyun and the others had already assembled, but Wan Zhimei was late.

Hence, Liu Xueyun and another female student went to search for her, but she didn't respond to any door-knocking, and there was a foul stench emanating from within her room.

Liu Xueyun kicked the door open to discover that Wan Zhimei was laying on her bed, already long dead, and her corpse had even begun to rot.