Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Ignoring Jian Jingzheng who was shaking with unrestrained anger, Fu Qian wiped the bloodstains off his hands and pushed the door open to leave.

What he said earlier was the truth; Ruan Shuo had hidden himself really well.

Unlike Yuan Xin from before, Ruan Shuo didn’t have any hint of a killing aura about him.

Until his disguise was exposed, Fu Qian had only felt that there was something extra about him, something that didn’t quite match the ferocious sword energy in the video.

The only certainty at that time was that he hadn’t left the Sword Pavilion empty-handed and had concealed that fact.

However, Jian Jingzheng’s attitude essentially represented the stance of the Swordsmanship Department on this matter, openly dissatisfied with having their student suspected, it was just a formality for him to show up.

...In such a situation, relying solely on this anomaly, expecting the Swordsmanship Department to thoroughly investigate was almost impossible.

Given that no transcendent materials had been found, Ruan Shuo could probably dismiss it with any excuse he came up with.

Although this mission hadn’t set a time limit, based on past experiences, letting things drag on was never good.

He didn’t have the time to waste on these people; cutting the Gordian knot was the way to go, especially since Jian Jingzheng had been asking for a beating for a while now.

If Li Weixuan really came out because of this to cause trouble for him, that would be just what he wished for; it provided him with an excellent opportunity to confirm whether this person was his target.

…

By the time Fu Qian got outside, there were already many more people than before.

Although the whole thing hadn’t lasted more than a minute, Ruan Shuo’s cries had been quite loud, clearly attracting these students.

Now a group of them looked at Fu Qian with both shock and suspicion, but none dared to come forward and interrogate him.

Some had recognized him as the person who had spoken with Ji Liushuang.

Gossip always spread quickly; by now, his identity as an instructor from Heaven’s Commencement Institute was well known.

“Problem solved.”

Without paying attention to the students, Fu Qian left straight away, finding a place to contact Lanaia.

To be honest, he was not in a good mood.

Reality proved that although Ruan Shuo had caused quite a stir, he was not Fu Qian’s target.

It was pretty much a futile effort.

“That quick!”

Lanaia was surprised by Fu Qian’s words.

Hadn’t it been less than an hour since their last conversation?

“You confirmed it’s him?”

“He admitted it himself. It’s pretty much the story of a low-key genius practicing quietly,” Fu Qian replied.

“…Where is he now?”

“Dead, he resisted desperately.”

Fu Qian briefly described what had happened.

“You’ll have a detailed report from the Swordsmanship Department soon.”

…

Listening to Fu Qian’s description, Lanaia fell into a long silence, feeling an immense headache.

Confirming the real culprit was good, but the fact that the culprit was an Academy student and now a corpse was problematic, especially considering the hassle that was now sure to ensue.

Although Fu Qian made it sound easy, the process was probably anything but.

“Given the circumstances, I need you to come over here,” Lanaia finally said after giving it some thought.

Telling Jia Yi, simply that the person had been found but was now dead, wouldn’t suffice.

For an incident like this, it was better for Fu Qian, the eyewitness, to come and give an explanation.

A trip over there?

To be frank, Fu Qian didn’t care how Lanaia communicated with Jia Yi, but since she had asked…

“Sure.”

…

When Fu Qian met Lanaia again, she had a rather strange expression on her face.

Apparently, she had already received the report.

“You really went too far!”

Lanaia stared at Fu Qian as if he were an alien.

“Killing someone without any evidence, and you even injured Jian Jingzheng who tried to stop you?”

“Do you know how many crimes that guy listed against you in the report? Cruel methods, brutal by nature…”

“I didn’t mean to kill Ruan Shuo on purpose.”

Fu Qian pointed at his body.

“He must have mentioned I was stabbed, right?”

“Though that guy is a bit petty, he hasn’t got the guts to hide that.”

Lanaia nodded.

“How is your injury?”

“Almost healed.”

Fu Qian patted near his wound, indicating there was no need to worry.

In fact, with his constitution, had he not deliberately suppressed the speed of recovery, there probably wouldn’t even be a scar visible by now.

Even so, the wound was nearly healed.

But that didn’t mean Ruan Shuo’s sneak attack wasn’t serious. The dagger was not only sharp, but it was also clearly poisoned—anyone else would have been down long ago.

“That’s good then!”

Lanaia, seeing that Fu Qian didn’t appear to be too seriously hurt, finally eased her mind.

“Still, try not to let things like this happen in the future, it makes you an easy target for criticism.”

“Yeah, I tend to be impulsive, I’m still regretting it now,” Fu Qian said casually.

“Teacher Jian Jingzheng should be okay, right? I’ll find a time to visit and apologize.”

Do you look the least bit regretful?

Lanaia glared at him unamusedly.

Given Jian Jingzheng’s personality, backstabbing through gossip was one thing, but whether he would dare to show his face if Fu Qian genuinely came to apologize was another unknown.

…

“Mr. Fu wants to tell me that a student of the Swordsmanship Department, not even Middle Tier, slaughtered our two warehouse guards in a row? And the person died during the capture? I must say, I cannot explain such results to headquarters, and if this is the Academy’s attitude, then I have to consider involving the Night Watchman.”

In the meeting room, Jia Yi coldly laughed at Fu Qian, clearly dissatisfied with the investigation results.

“What are you implying? That the Academy would use a student’s life to gloss over things for you?” Lanaia said, slapping the table, clearly holding back a lot of anger.

“I didn’t say that,” Jia Yi retorted, unafraid of her.

“I just feel the investigation was rather hasty, with neither evidence nor testimony.”

Oh?

At that moment, Fu Qian looked up at Jia Yi.

“Jia is right, being too hasty is indeed not good.”

Hey!

Lanaia stared at Fu Qian, wondering whose side he was on.

“So, for the sake of caution, shall I send you to personally question the student?”

“…What do you mean?”

Jia Yi was stunned for a moment before grasping Fu Qian’s implication, his face instantly turning pale.

If anyone else had said this, he would have taken it as a threat.

The problem was that he had just reviewed the Academy’s report, although it was a simplified version, and there wasn’t much described about Fu Qian’s reprehensible actions.

Still, he knew it was this person who had executed Ruan Shuo, even in front of the instructors from the Swordsmanship Department.

This guy was definitely audacious and ruthless; predicting what he might do was difficult.

“Literal meaning.”

Watching Jia Yi silenced, Fu Qian no longer bothered with him.

The fact was Jia thought a student’s life wasn’t significant enough, and was worried about explaining to the corporation.

How important the truth was could be another story entirely.

Frankly speaking, his concerns were not unreasonable.

In Fu Qian’s view, no matter the outcome of the investigation, the Yuan Clan wouldn’t fall out with the Academy over something like this.

But a less than perfect accident report might indeed lead to Jia Yi, the regional manager, being held accountable.

Perhaps it was unfair, but when such a thing happened on your turf, the best move was to accept the bad luck.

Bearing the brunt is part of the responsibility of a leader with no backing.