Chapter 45: Picking on Huo Churan

All of the ninety-nine onlookers and Mo Ganyun were stunned into silence.

What's wrong with being friends? You're gonna say that after what you just did to him?

They couldn't help but think of the friendly offer that Fang Che had extended to Huo Churan during the new student tournament, the one that Ding Jieran had been smart enough to accept.

In contrast with Ding Jieran, Huo Churan had responded with open hostility.

Huo Churan had managed to remain conscious even after taking so many blows, but those scathing words were the straw that broke the camel's back, and he let loose a wild roar of indignation before falling unconscious.

"I know you're ecstatic at the prospect of becoming my friend, but I didn't think you'd faint from that!" Fang Che scoffed.

He then turned to everyone else in the classroom with a courteous and apologetic nod. "Sorry to disturb you all."

With that, he promptly departed.

After a brief stunned silence, the class captain yelled, "Find an instructor! He needs to be taken to the infirmary right away!"

***

Within minutes, the four instructors of the eleventh class had returned, and they were furious at the other ninety-nine students in the class.

"All of you just watched him get beaten up in our classroom?! Have you no shame?! What happened to sticking up for your classmates?!"

The class captain stood up as he explained, "It's not that we were too scared to get involved. Even if we're no match for Fang Che, we would've only suffered a beating at his hands. THe problem is..."

He was silent for a moment, then continued, "I can't speak for everyone, but I personally do not like Huo Churan, and honestly, I enjoyed watching him being beaten."

"I agree!"

"Me too!"

This statement was immediately met with a chorus of approval, while the four instructors looked on with steely expressions.

Huo Churan did indeed have a rather foul personality, but he was still one of the top-ranked prodigies of his cohort, so never had the instructors imagined that he would be this unpopular!

"What if he were your comrade on the battlefield? Would you watch him be killed?"

That was an entirely different concept, but the students knew better than to argue with the instructors when they were this furious, so no one raised any protests.

After venting their frustrations with their students, the four instructors went to Li Changkong.

"Fang Che went to pick a fight in your class? Who won?"

"Are you an idiot? We wouldn't have come to find you if Fang Che lost! And that's not the point anyway!"

"Ohhhh, so your student was beaten up by ours," Bing Shangxue remarked in a meaningful voice.

The four instructors of the eleventh class: "......"

"And the victim was Huo Churan? So much for the top prodigy of your class," Bao Feiyu scoffed.

"Your student got beaten up, why are you coming to us?" Duan Zhongliu asked.

The four instructors of the eleventh class were speechless.

The chief instructor of the eleventh class took a moment to compose himself, then said, "He lost the fight because we taught him inadequately, but I felt a need to notify you of the incident."

"In that case, you've achieved what you set out to do. You can go now," Li Changkong said with a dismissive wave.

The four instructors were fuming as they departed.

They had always heard that these four instructors were exceptional at their job, but were also very unreasonable, and they had just seen that for themselves.

As soon as the four instructors left, Li Changkong and his colleagues rose to their feet, then rushed into the classroom at the speed of light, where they spotted Fang Che cultivating with his eyes closed like an obedient model student.

His aura was calm and stable, and he was giving off the disposition of a graceful gentleman.

It was difficult to believe that someone like him could deliver a beating as brutal as the one described by the four instructors of the eleventh class.

"Fang Che!" Li Changkong called out in a stern voice.

Fang Che opened his eyes and stood up before asking in a polite manner, "How can I help you, Instructor Li?"

Li Changkong glared at Fang Che for a moment before Bing Shangxue asked, "You went to pick a fight in the eleventh class, did you?"

"I did. That Huo Churan..."

"No need to tell us the reason," Bing Shangxue interjected. "Did you win?"

"I did."

"And you're not hurt?"

"No."

The four instructors stared at Fang Che for a moment longer, following which Duan Zhongliu concluded, "Don't beat him so hard next time!"

Bing Shangxue shot Duan Zhongliu an exasperated glare.

What the hell are you saying?! You're indirectly encouraging him to do the same thing again!

Duan Zhongliu also felt like he had misspoken, but he wasn't going to take back what he had just said.

Besides, it was just a brawl between students, a regular occurrence in a warrior academy.

Mo Ganyun was copping beatings from Fang Che every day, and no one was batting an eyelid.

In their eyes, the four instructors of the eleventh class were making a big fuss out of nothing.

***

That afternoon, Duan Zhongliu realized just how wrong he had been.

They had just received Huo Churan's diagnosis, and even Li Changkong had been stunned into silence.

There were no life-threatening injuries, but his skull had been caved in, and that was only the beginning of a long laundry list of injuries.

Even the best doctors in White Cloud Warrior Academy using the best medicine wouldn't be able to treat him to a full recovery within a few days.

Bing Shangxue heaved a long sigh before shooting an accusatory glance at Duan Zhongliu, who could only respond with an innocent shrug.

Surely it's not going to happen again... right?

***

That night, Fang Che returned to his manor, then checked on Ye Meng's progress before setting up a secret compartment in his bedroom, where he went to rest with his spear in case of a retaliative attack.

However, it turned out to be a peaceful and uneventful night.

Huo Churan didn't try to get back at me?

Fang Che was very displeased.

He was expecting Huo Churan to at least send a few people from his clan, but that wasn't the case.

Isn't your clan connected to the Three Saints Church? Why aren't they coming after me?

The next day, after lunch, Fang Che went out on a stroll again.

Huo Churan was sitting in his chair in the classroom, bandaged up like a mummy with a glum look on his face.

Fang Che knocked on the door before making his way inside, while all of the students intently scrutinized him with wary expressions.

Fang Che met Huo Churan's fiery gaze, then made his way over to the latter and said, "The instructors heard about what happened yesterday. They reprimanded me and told me not to beat you so hard in the future."

All of the students looked on with surprised expressions. Is he here to apologize? That's rather... unexpected.

All of a sudden, Fang Che turned to Wei Zihao as he snapped, "What the hell are you laughing at?"

"I didn't laugh!" Wei Zihao denied with a flabbergasted expression.

"You clearly did, you little shit!"

"I didn't!" Wei Zihao denied vehemently.

Fang Che threw a punch into his face before he could spit out any more denials.

"I didn't laugh... You have to believe me..." Wei Zihao howled in agony.

"How dare you lie to me!"

Fang Che was even more furious as he rained down a barrage of punches.

He threw forty to fifty consecutive punches into Wei Zihao's face, and the latter had already fallen unconscious long ago.

As Fang Che raised his fist one final time, he saw the blackness in Wei Zihao's complexion beginning to rise up.

He immediately stopped what he was doing upon seeing this, then threw him back into his chair as he scoffed, "How are you going to be a warrior if you can't even take such a light beating?"

He then turned his gaze back to Huo Churan. "I was talking to you just now. You're not gonna say anything?"

Some of the students in the classroom had already rushed to Fang Che's side, only for Fang Che to resume his apology to Huo Churan, and they could only stand down with speechless expressions.

"What do you want me to say?" Huo Churan snapped in a resentful manner.

"I just told you that the instructors told me not to beat you so hard in the future. Why didn't you say anything to that?"

Huo Churan had never felt so exasperated in his life.

You started beating up Wei Zihao before I could even get a word in, yet you're blaming me now?!

It then occurred to him that Fang Che had definitely been forced to come here to deliver an apology, so it made sense that he would beat up Wei Zihao to vent his frustration.

I just have to make peace with him for now. Once I'm all healed up, I'll make sure to repay him a hundredfold!

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

With that in mind, Huo Churan gritted his teeth and said, "It's fine. I lost to you because I'm an inferior warrior. If there ever comes a day when I get to beat you up, I won't hold back, either!"

A loud slap rang out across the entire classroom.

Fang Che had just slapped Huo Churan across the face.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! I came here to try and make amends, yet here you are, threatening me?! You want to beat me up? I should've known better than to apologize to you!"

Huo Churan's nose was still not yet fully healed, and it was snapped again by a punch from Fang Che.

He let loose an agonized howl as he fell back onto the ground.

Fang Che immediately straddled him and began raining punches down upon him.

"Everytime I try to make peace with you, you always gotta say some stupid shit! This is what you get! You clearly still haven't learned your lesson, so let me teach you until you understand!"

Fang Che made sure to get in as many punches as he could before the other students in the classroom could swarm him.

"Fang Che! How dare you!"

The class captain raced toward Fang Che as he threw an enraged punch, sending the latter flying out of the classroom.

Fang Che winced as he rubbed his shoulder and praised, "As expected of the class captain, that was a really impressive punch! That Huo Churan is a real nasty piece of work, but I'll let him off the hook for now."

With that, he turned and departed, while the class captain looked down at his own fist with a dazed expression.

Am I really that strong? Normally, I'm no match for even Huo Churan!

All of the other students could only look on in a flabbergasted silence. Fang Che was clearly the aggressor here, so why did it seem like he was the one forgiving Huo Churan?

How could there exist someone so utterly shameless?!