Chapter 41: Where Did You Get This From?

Chapter 41: Where Did You Get This From?

Fang Che was walking along the street on his own under the feeble winter sun.

Despite the winter chill, the street was thriving, and the shops that lined it were packed with people.

These people had no idea what had just transpired only several hundred feet away, and they were busy going about their daily business.

On the side of the street, a young fish salesman was breathing onto his hands while jumping back and forth from one foot to the other to ward off the cold.

A man walked past with a bunch of tanghulus.[1]

Behind the tanghulu vendor was a little girl in her mother's arms, desperately pointing at the tanghulus as she yelled, "Mother, I want that one! I want that one!"

The woman turned to another direction as she asked, "Which one? Oh, you want to buy some floral fabric? Which design do you like?"

The little girl's face puckered up with urgency as she yelled, "I don't want floral fabric, I want that one!"

However, at that point, the tanghulu vendor had already vanished into the crowd, and the little girl instantly burst into tears.

***

Fang Che couldn't help but shake his head in amusement as he observed the bawling little girl from nearby, and with a wave of his hand, some scrap scrap silver fell into tanghulu vendor's pocket, while a pair of tanghulu's drifted into Fang Che's hand.

He handed one of them to the little girl, and a wide smile instantly broke through her tears.

"Hurry up and thank the kind man!" her mother hurriedly urged, but Fang Che had already disappeared into the crowd.

He continued to make his way down the street while snacking on his tanghulu, thoroughly enjoying the bustling yet serene atmosphere.

A joyful smile appeared on his face as he envisioned a world in which everyone could live in peace and harmony like this, and he was determined to fight for the coming of such a wonderful world.

Tanghulus were generally regarded as snacks meant for children, so the fact that a grown man in an administrator uniform from the Hall of Protectionists was munching on one as he made his way down the street attracted a great deal of attention, but Fang Che didn't care.

His smile was just as vibrant as the one on the face of the little girl that had been gifted the tanghulu earlier, and no one could've possibly imagined that this grinning administrator had just taken the lives of over eighty demonic church members.

His joyful smile seemed to have infectious properties, and many of the people around him also began grinning from ear to ear.

All of a sudden, the winter chill didn't seem so unbearable anymore.

***

"Master, Administrator Fang had just eradicated all eighty-five members of the Divine Heavenly Church branch helm!"

"Well done, Administrator Fang!"

Yin Shengong immediately began chortling with glee at this piece of fantastic news.

That's what you get for crossing me, Kou Yifang! I've been so good to you, helping you on multiple occasions, yet you choose to spit in my face!

"Administrator Fang was not injured, was he?" Yin Shengong asked in a concerned manner.

"Administrator Fang is fine. He was accompanied by quite a few of his colleagues from the Hall of Protectionists, and after the event, he split the merit points with his colleagues 70:30. Everyone also reaped additional spoils from the operation, and Administrator Fang's reputation in the Hall of Protectionists has been further bolstered."

"Well done! You did exceptionally well! You have to understand that there will always be a cloud of suspicion around you, and that you're always going to receive unfair treatment in the Hall of Protectionists. All you can do is make more contributions and force them to see you through a different lens. At a time like this, it's very important to establish close ties with your colleagues so that people will be willing to stand up for you if something happens."

"Yes, Master. I'm doing alright at the Hall of Protectionists at the moment, but I can tell that the hall master and deputy hall master are constantly suspicious and wary of me. It's really not a good feeling."

Yin Shengong heaved a forlorn sigh. This was indeed a problem that had to be addressed.

"Also, even though White Cloud Warrior Academy has been keeping an eye on my safety out of sympathy, I have a feeling that'll eventually go away with time. After all, I'm just a student, and countless students come through the academy every single year. I was only there for less than half a year, so the instructors will be sure to forget me soon."

'That's why you need a backer in a high-up place, someone that can stand up for you when others won't. Otherwise, once White Cloud Warrior Academy forgets about you, the Hall of Protectionists will remain suspicious of you, and you'll be in a very bad situation then."

"Rest assured, Master, I'm doing my best to search for such an opportunity right now. I've been frequently making contributions to the Hall of Protectionists, and no one works as hard as I do. Surely, the weight of my merit points alone will earn me some respect over time."

"You're still far too naive! Once an image of someone has been formed, it's very difficult to alter. On top of that, there are people in the Hall of Protectionists who know for certain that you're a demonic church member, so no matter how many contributions you make, they won't be fooled. Hence, finding a powerful backer is a matter of the utmost importance."

"Yes, Master, I'll be sure to set that as a top priority. In the meantime, please look after yourself. Just treat the lockdown as a holiday. Honestly, I really envy you, Master. You get to do nothing but sit around and sleep all day! It sounds like heaven to me!"

"Piss off!"

Fang Che put away his communication jade as he continued to make his way down the busy street.

There was a reason why he had contacted Yin Shengong, and he had achieved his objective. He carefully mulled over their conversation, and once he was certain that he had achieved what he had set out to do, he immediately set off for White Cloud Warrior Academy.

***

"Where did you get this from?" Old Man Shen asked as he scrutinized Fang Che with an intense expression.

"I told you, I found it in the branch helm that I eradicated today!"

Fang Che had already sworn a vow that he was telling the truth, but Old Man Shen still didn't believe him.

"I have witnesses! Ten of them, in fact! You can go ask them if you don't believe me!"

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"There's no way your luck could be this good! You found a divine crystal yesterday, and you found a piece of divine power essence today?! You expect me to believe that?!"

"It's still the truth, regardless of whether you believe it or not," Fang Che said with a wry smile.

Old Man Shen threw the divine power essence down onto the table with a stern expression, then ordered, "Stay right here! Don't go anywhere!"

He then stormed out of the room before returning shortly thereafter with Li Changkong.

"Take this little rascal to the Hall of Protectionists and ask his colleagues about this. Don't let him out of your sight on the way there! He says his colleague by the name of Zuo Guanglie can bear witness for him, so go and ask him."

Li Changkong nodded in response, then picked Fang Che up by the back of his collar before flying away.

"I can walk on my own, Instructor Li."

"Shut up!"

"I'm telling the truth, Instructor Li!"

"Do not utter a single word until I get to the bottom of this! Otherwise, I'll have to knock you unconscious!"

Li Changkong arrived at the Hall of Protectionists right after Zuo Guanglie and the others emerged from the merits department, and they were clearly all in very high spirits.

"Which one is Administrator Zuo Guanglie?"

"That would be me."

"Pleased to meet you, I am Instructor Li Changkong of White Cloud Warrior Academy."

"Welcome, Instructor Li. How can I help you?"

"Can I speak to you in private?"

"Sure."

Fang Che was left outside as Li Changkong entered a small conference room with Zuo Guanglie and his team.

"Fang Che is my student, and earlier today..."

Li Changkong quickly debriefed everyone on the purpose of his visit, and Zuo Guanglie and the others immediately regarded him with even more respect upon learning that he was Fang Che's instructor.

They provided their own recount of events, and it perfectly matched Fang Che's story.

All ten of them were eager to vouch for Fang Che.

"I saw it with my own two eyes. I didn't know what it was, so I just tossed it into the pile along with all of the other spoils."

"If I recall correctly, Administrator Fang also took a saber as well."

"Yes, that's exactly what happened. We can all corroborate Administrator Fang's story," Zuo Guanglie declared in a confident manner. "If you don't believe us, you can take a look at the list of the spoils that we compiled. These lists have to be submitted to the relevant departments for cross-examination, so they can't be faked."

Li Changkong felt completely bewildered.

He had come here fully expecting to find a bunch of holes in Fang Che's story, but things hadn't gone according to plan at all. As a safety precaution, Li Changkong examined the list of spoils to find that it included some other precious items, including several divine crystals and various strange and exotic gemstones, none of which were things that the Protectionists could normally expect to come across.

However, Fang Che hadn't claimed any of those things for himself, taking only that saber, the piece of divine power essence, and a few silver vouchers.

Li Changkong's experience and intuition told him that Zuo Guanglie and the others were all telling the truth.

1. A tanghulu is a classic Chinese snack consisting of sugar-coated haws on a stick. ☜