CHAPTER 93: DEAN GAO, I HAVE SOMETHING TO REPORT!

Mu Linyuan was very pleased that Fang Che was willing to share this secret with him.

He's really starting to open up to me!

With that in mind, Mu Linyuan felt more incentive to help Fang Che.

"If there's nothing else to be discussed, then I'll go now."

"Alright. I'll wait for your message before I make my report."

"When do you think would be the best time for them to make their move?"

"We have to give White Cloud Warrior Academy and the Hall of Protectionists some time to prepare. If they're notified with too little time in advance, they may not be able to catch everyone."

"That's true. How about tomorrow night then?"

"Let's make it midnight."

With that, Mu Linyuan departed like the wind, while Fang Che also left his manor to go out drinking.

It would be implausible for him to be tipped off while staying at home, so he had to go out and manufacture some scenario in which he obtained this information.

***

At around 2AM, Fang Che rushed to White Cloud Warrior Academy, then headed straight to Li Changkong's residence, where he immediately began pounding on the door.

"Instructor Li, I need your help!"

Li Changkong was awakened in a bleary-eyed manner.

One of the perks of serving as an academy instructor was the safety and security granted by the role. Prior to becoming an instructor, Li Changkong never allowed himself to sleep too soundly, sometimes even sitting in meditation throughout the night so that he could be prepared for unforeseen mishaps.

However, he had since grown complacent and was even taking off his clothes before going to bed.

He immediately sat bolt upright, then sprang out of bed and opened the door, still in his pajama shorts.

His sword was already drawn, and he was scouring the surrounding area with both his gaze and his spirit sense as he asked in an urgent voice, "What's wrong?"

Fang Che was stunned into silence by the sight of Li Changkong's hirsute legs.

His face was always very clean-shaven, but his legs were as hirsute as those of an ape!

"You're like a monkey..." Fang Che murmured under his breath.

"What?"

"I said... uh... Wakey wakey!"

"I'm already awake! What do you think I'm doing right now, sleepwalking?"

"Let's go inside. I have something urgent to report," Fang Che said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Li Changkong took a suspicious glance at him, then allowed him to enter the room while putting on his clothes.

"What's this urgent matter you have to report? Let me make this clear: if this is a prank, I'm going to hang you upside-down and flog you like a pig!"

"It's not a prank!" Fang Che insisted while panting heavily to indicate that he had come here in a real rush.

"I've received word that the One Heart Church is about to make a big move!"

"What is it?" Li Changkong asked in an urgent voice.

"I was getting a little stuck in my cultivation tonight, so I went out drinking to take my mind off things."

Fang Che blew a breath into Li Changkong's face to prove his point.

"Fuck! I didn't need proof!"

Li Changkong was caught completely off guard and almost threw up from the combined odor of alcohol and stomach bile.

"While drinking, I heard people at the table behind me discussing a big move that the One Heart Church is planning to make tomorrow. They're going to destroy the White Cloud Lake dam to flood the prefecture, then assassinate Prefectural Overseer Fan Anmin amid the ensuing chaos!"

"You expect me to believe that? I go out drinking as well, how come I never uncover any One Heart Church plots in the process?"

"It's true!" Fang Che insisted. "They're going to be making their move at midnight, and over a hundred warriors will be deployed at once to break the dam in the shortest time possible..."

Fang Che quickly relayed the entire plan to Li Changkong based on what he had been told by Mu Linyuan.

The more Li Changkong heard, the more plausible everything sounded.

Is this really not a prank?

The seriousness of the situation finally began to dawn on him.

"It's all true, Instructor Li! I swear!" Fang Che insisted. "I wouldn't lie about something that concerns the safety of the entire prefecture! Even if those two were only spinning a tall tale, it's still worth taking precautionary measures just in case it turns out to be true!

“If it all turns out to be a waste of time and resources, then I'm willing to accept any punishment! It seems like midnight is still a long time away, but we have to report this matter to the dean and the others, they have to ascertain the authenticity of the lead, and time has to be spent mobilizing forces as well! We have to act now!"

Finally realizing that Fang Che wasn't having him on, Li Changkong instructed with a serious expression, "Stay here, and don't go anywhere!"

He then rushed out to find Huang Yifan.

***

A bruised and battered Li Changkong was thrown down onto a chair by an incensed Huang Yifan.

"This better not be a prank, Instructor Li! Otherwise, I'm going to take you apart at the seams!"

He had thought that serving as assistant dean of the academy would be a comfortable gig, but that had proven to be completely false!

He was constantly being used by Gao Qingyu, but he agreed with everything that Gao Qingyu set out to achieve, so he could only swallow his pride and comply.

However, it was a slippery slope where he was having to comply and compromise more and more, to the point that he had become a glorified henchman to Gao Qingyu!

This already left him feeling very frustrated, and all of his pent-up frustration immediately boiled over with Li Changkong pounding on his door in the dead of night.

No one respects me in this fucking place! What am I, a servant?!

Li Changkong was aware of Huang Yifan's fiery temper, so he had come prepared, but he was still grimacing in pain from the blows that had been dealt to his face as he said, "I have an urgent matter to report! Something that concerns the safety of the entire prefecture!"

"What is it?"

Li Changkong immediately relayed Fang Che's message.

A grim look instantly appeared on Huang Yifan's face upon learning that Fang Che was the source of this lead.

After hearing what Li Changkong had to say, he decided, "We have to report this to the dean! Now!"

With that, the two of them stormed to Gao Qingyu's residence, and Huang Yifan barged in like a wrecking ball before smashing the door of Gao Qingyu's bedroom to bits with a single palm strike.

"Dean Gao, I have an urgent matter to report!" Huang Yifan declared in a thunderous voice.

A loud scream rang out as Gao Qingyu's wife ducked under the bed with a blanket wrapped around her body.

***

Gao Qingyu was like a volcano on the verge of eruption as he listened to Huang Yifan's report.

He quickly discovered that Huang Yifan had just cause for such an urgent visit, and the fact that he had no excuse to vent his fury on Huang Yifan only made him even more furious!

He pointed at Huang Yifan with a trembling finger as he spat through gritted teeth, "I'll get you back for this!"

"What should we do, Dean Gao?" Huang Yifan asked in an urgent manner, while Li Changkong stood beside him with his head lowered, cursing him incessantly in his heart.

It's over for me! You're the assistant dean, so you can afford to get on his bad side, but I'm just an instructor! Given how petty and snide the dean is, I'm screwed for at least the next few decades!

"Don't panic, we have to keep this matter confidential so we don't alert the enemy," Gao Qingyu said as he hurriedly put on his clothes. "We'll have to notify the Hall of Protectionists, then go from there."

"What about inside the academy?"

"There's a mole in the academy, and we still don't know who it is. Hence, we have to keep this a secret from everyone else in the academy. Otherwise, the enemy could be tipped off and call off the operation."

Right at this moment, the shrill, enraged voice of Gao Qingyu's wife rang out from within the bedroom.

"Gao Qingyu, you old prick! Go take care of this at the academy! And don't bother coming back after you're done! I'm not your wife anymore!"

Mrs. Gao was furious, as any woman would be in her situation.

Just like Gao Qingyu, she had realized that Huang Yifan's actions were justified, so she could only take out her rage on her own husband.

Gao Qingyu hurriedly dragged Huang Yifan and Li Changkong out of the room as he made a panicked escape.

Several pairs of shoes were hurled out of the bedroom after them, and they didn't dare to evade.

"Ow! Right where it hurts!" Huang Yifan wailed in an exaggerated manner.

Gao Qingyu rushed out of the house like a gust of wind with Huang Yifan and Li Changkong in tow.

"You're all a bunch of old pricks!" Mrs. Gao screeched. "Huang Yifan! Just you wait until I've put on some clothes!"

With Gao Qingyu's trio fleeing for their lives, her voice quickly faded away into the distance behind them.

This had been such a cathartic experience for Huang Yifan that he almost burst out laughing!

If Li Changkong hadn't kicked down my door, I wouldn't have thought of such a good idea!

Gao Qingyu turned to discover a wide grin plastered across Huang Yifan's face, while Li Changkong looked as if he had just swallowed a fly.

He took a deep breath to suppress his fury, knowing that he had to focus on the task at hand first.

However, once this matter was taken care of, he was going to get his payback for sure!

A secret meeting was held between several members of the academy's top brass, and before long, Chen Ruhai and Fan Tiantiao also arrived.

After some discussion, they took great caution in drafting up a list of names, all of whom were absolutely trustworthy beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"We can deploy a thousand men," Gao Qingyu said.

A thousand people sounded like a lot, but given how enormous the academy was, this was only a small percentage of its staff.

Each year level had an average of around eight thousand students, and assuming there were a hundred students in each class, that equated to eighty classes. Each class had four instructors, bringing the total for each year level to 320. Multiply that by the five year levels, and that was 1,600 warriors in instructors alone.

Additionally, there were all of the different departments, and even at a conservative estimate, the number of staff in the academy definitely exceeded three thousand.

"That should be more than enough."