108 Chapter 107: Conspiracy Crushed (1/2)
”T…Teacher Jiao!”
Yuan Mei cried out and backed away immediately, her face turning pale. Ding Yan also retreated quickly, looking dismayed. Li Chun Long blanched and withdrew his sword from cutting my head off (not that he would be able to).
Only Gu Chun Song's expression remained veiled behind that half-mask of his, but his lips were pressed into a thin line.
”What are you doing?” Teacher Jiao demanded, but was only greeted with silence as the student council members hung their heads in shame. I sent him an I told you so look, but as usual, I was ignored. That didn't matter. Teacher Jiao had arrived as promised, ensuring that the student council members wouldn't harm Zhu Jiao.
”This is blatant disregard for the academy rules,” Teacher Cai declared as he arrived. Clearly he hadn't been very far behind Teacher Jiao. The latter must have forwarded my email to him after he received it, especially since the former was officially in charge of handling the tournament. Teacher Cai's authority would be needed here. ”You're supposed to be student council members! You're supposed to set an example for other students! Yet here you are, breaking the rules and seceretly attacking the tournament participants in the middle of the night!”
”Right before the day of the semifinals too.” Teacher Jiao shook his head at the sheer stupidity of things. ”What were you thinking? Did you really think you wouldn't get caught?”
”Well, they almost got away with it, and would have if I didn't inform you about this,” I pointed out dryly. Teacher Jiao sent me a sharp glance.
”I mean, it would be hard not to launch an investigation if the tournament participants were found injured and crippled the next day, right before the semifinals. Even an idiot would find the whole thing suspicious.”
There was that, I suppose, but it would be too late for Zhu Jiao if they waited until the next day to start being suspicious and investigating.
”But sorry for taking so long.” Teacher Jiao lowered his head slightly. ”And thanks for watching out for Student Zhu Jiao.”
”Yeah, well…” I scratched my head in embarrassment. The student council members stared at me, not comprehending what was happening.
”I told you I trust you,” Teacher Jiao said simply and cocked his head at Teacher Cai, who nodded.
”You will all be following me to the office,” Teacher Cai told the student council members strictly. Then he turned to me. ”Student Fei Wu, we'll count on you to bring Student Zhu Jiao to the infirmary. Seems like you'll have to bring Student Qing Xin Xia, Student Li Guo Qiang and Student Xin Lai as well.”
”The infirmary?” I asked as I glanced at the four injured students. ”But, at this time of the night, would there be anyone?”
”Oh, you don't have to worry about that,” Teacher Jiao assured me. ”I've already informed Teacher Yi before I got here. She'll be waiting in the infirmary for you.”
”I see.” I nodded, stunned by his foresight. I had been so worried about Zhu Jiao that it didn't occur to me that we might need Teacher Yi.
”I figured someone would get injured one way or another,” Teacher Jiao explained humorlessly. ”I was hoping that I wouldn't be right, but I had to assume the worst-case scenario.”
”You did the right thing,” Teacher Cai told him and then turned to me. ”Student Fei Wu, you should hurry. Zhu Jiao especially looks like he's in critical condition.”
I nodded as I made my way toward my friend. ”What about the others? I can't carry all of them on my own.”
”That's a good point,” Teacher Cai admitted as he glanced at the other three students. ”You'll need some help.”
At that moment, Xin Lai stirred and rose. She looked utterly shocked when she opened her eyes and saw the two teachers, yelping and falling over.
”W…why are the teachers here?!”
”Because Fei Wu told them about our plans.” Gu Chun Song remained unmoved as ever, his lips pressed tightly into a thin line as he turned to me. ”Tell me, how did you learn of our plans? Was there a traitor in our group?”
”Are you an idiot?” to be honest, he wasn't, but I couldn't tell him that I eavesdropped on the student council members' conversation last night. ”Anyone would have suspected something when you called Jiao out in the middle of the night right before the semifinal.”
”I see. I didn't think Jiao would run into his friends in the middle of the night. Looks like I miscalculated.”
”Ding Yan. Bring Li Guo Qiang to the infirmary and report straight to the office afterward. Don't try to run away, we'll track you down.”
Ding Yan gulped and nodded. Among the student council members, he was the more cowardly of the bunch, and so was the least likely to run away. That was why Teacher Cai chose him to carry Li Guo Qiang to the infirmary instead.
Xin Lai, on the other hand, was pretty unlucky. She woke up at the most inopportune moment and was now expected to report to the office along with the rest of her comrades. Qing Xin Xia, on the other hand, was still unconscious. I made a mental note to inform Teacher Jiao and Teacher Cai later of her actions before she was knocked out.
Out of the student council, Qing Xin Xia was the most innocent, and she didn't deserve to be punished. Not when she protested against the assault of Zhu Jiao and was knocked out for it. Fortunately, judging from Li Chun Long's expression, I knew that he would certainly take care of her and tell the teachers about her lack of involvement in the attack.
There clearly was some sort of complex of love triangle or love rectangle going around here. Qing Xin Xia was in love with Zhu Jiao, who was clearly smitten with his childhood sweetheart, Bai Ning Xue. Li Chun Long always had feelings for Qing Xin Xia, which was why he was so hostile toward Zhu Jiao. Bai Ning Xue, while usually cool and aloof, seemed to harbor affections for Zhu Jiao, but she was never very open with them so it was difficult to tell.
I was so glad I wasn't involved in all this romantic bullshit that plagued protagonists. Being a realistic side character, I would be lucky if even one girl looked at me, never mind two or more. And even the one girl I thought I might have a chance with was too busily focused on succeeding the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect that she had chosen to discard romance.
Being a protagonist was great, wasn't it? Too bad I didn't have the same sort of fortune as Zhu Jiao, or I might be able to get a harem.
”Are you all right?”
However, this wasn't the time to be indulging in my jealousy. Placing Zhu Jiao's arm over my shoulders, I helped him up and supported him toward the infirmary. Zhu Jiao might be the typical enviable dense harem protagonist, but he was still my friend and as such, I had to help him. Behind me, Ding Yan carried Li Guo Qiang on his back and hurried after us. Qing Xin Xia seemed fine, not in any critical condition at all, so Teacher Cai eventually allowed Li Chun Long to carry her to the office along with everyone else.
That meant only the four of us would be heading to the infirmary.
”Remember to get your injuries treated as well!” Teacher Jiao told me sternly. ”I know the priority is Student Zhu Jiao and Student Li Guo Qiang, but you're not exactly unscathed yourself. Get yourself healed up too.”
”Yes, sir.”
I waved a hand at him to show that I heard him before I proceeded to bring Zhu Jiao to the infirmary. As we limped along, Zhu Jiao sagged visibly.
”Ugh…you knew about this all along?”
”I warned you,” I grumbled under my breath. Zhu Jiao sighed and hung his head in shame.
”Yes, you did. I'm sorry I didn't believe you.”
I said nothing to that. I wasn't the kind to gloat over being right or whatever. Okay, maybe I was, but Zhu Jiao was a good friend and I wasn't stupid enough to do something that would lose me my friends.
”Let's get you healed up,” I told him instead as I half-carried the nearly crippled Zhu Jiao into the infirmary.
As promised, Teacher Yi was waiting in the infirmary for us. She looked dismayed when she saw the state of Zhu Jiao. Rounding on Li Guo Qiang and Ding Yan, she glared at them furiously. I swallowed in surprise. This was the first time I had seen Teacher Yi so angry.
”What were you thinking?” she snarled at them. ”You're student council members! How could you beat up a fellow student to this condition?”
”Uh, we…”
”To be fair, it wasn't them who beat up Jiao,” I told Teacher Yi. ”It was Gu Chun Song who was the main perpetuator. Li Guo Qiang was injured by me.”
Teacher Yi studied me with a quick glance, and then nodded. ”Good thing you were there to watch out for Student Zhu Jiao. You don't look like you're in good shape yourself. Take a seat. I'll take care of Student Zhu Jiao and Student Li Guo Qiang first before I take a look at you.” her expression hardened. ”Don't go running away now. Your condition is serious as well, even if it's not as critical as these two.”
Well, Zhu Jiao basically took hits from at least three student council members while Li Guo Qiang had his bodily fluids frozen by me, so they were definitely in worse shape than I was. That said, I wasn't stupid enough to antagonize Teacher Yi, so I obeyed. Damn it, I was really spending too much time in the infirmary lately.
”And you, Ding Yan, report to the office. I'm letting Teacher Jiao know that I've sent you back, so don't try to run away.”
”I won't,” Ding Yan mumbled quietly before he took his leave. I watched him leave before I leaned back on the bed.
”This has really been one hell of a night,” I muttered before I ended up dozing off.
*
”So that's basically what happened,” I finished and bowed slightly before taking a step back. Principal Xiao Zhang watched me for a moment and then nodded. He seemed to consider my side of the story for a few moments.
”Yeah, I can roughly guess the situation now,” he said and turned toward the student council members who were standing trial in a different section of the room. They looked away guiltily, unable to meet his gaze. ”To think that I trusted you with governing the school body. If you guys fall into corruption, then how can we have hope for the rest of the students? For the future of this academy? If word of this gets out…”
”It won't, sir,” Gu Chun Song interrupted softly, only to shirk when Xiao Zhang visited upon him the full gaze of his wrath.
”Whether outsiders know of this or not isn't the problem. The problem is that you've abused the authority I had bestowed upon you and betrayed the trust of not just the teachers, but also all the students. You've let the academy down with your actions.”
”Sorry,” Yuan Mei murmured, looking ashamed. Then she took a deep breath, and tried to hold back her tears as she pleaded. ”Please, Principal Xiao, Bai Ning Xue has nothing to do with this. We did all of this on our own, without her knowledge. She shouldn't be punished for our actions. We've already provided proof of her lack of involvement.”
”I know,” Xiao Zhang cut her off. ”I have no intention of punishing Bai Ning Xue. But the rest of you, on the other hand…”
He glanced at the row of teachers lined up as jury, and they nodded, as if agreeing with whatever he had planned.
”All of you here will be stripped of your student council positions and demoted back to ordinary students. You'll also have your resources appropriate to your level withheld, and with the exception of Qing Xin Xia, you will be sentenced to six months in isolation training. Xin Xia, you will only get three because you tried to stop the assault, but I cannot let go of your involvement in the match-fixing of the tournament.”
”That's fair,” Qing Xin Xia replied softly. She had accepted her fate long ago, and thanks to my intercession – as well as Zhu Jiao and Li Chun Long's – she was spared the same lengthy punishment that the other student council members suffered.
This meant that the student council will be made out of Feng Tian Yong, Zhu Jiao and Tang Qi Hong, with Bai Ning Xue retaining her seat as the student council president. There was a great need to recruit and replace the seven now vacant spots.
Well, that was none of my business. They could choose whoever they want as replacements while I returned to my life of normalcy, which would hopefully be free of such backstabbing and conspiracies.
”What about the tournament?”
Teacher Cai raised a hand.
”If I'm not mistaken, this means that Li Chun Long will be disqualified and the other semifinal match will be held tomorrow?”
The seminfinals had been postponed indefinitely after the student council's actions had come to light. Apparently the academy had to sentence them first before deciding what to do with the tournament. Since Bai Ning Xue wasn't involved in the entire fiasco, there was no reason to punish her. On the other hand, Li Chun Long would clearly be disqualified because of his role in matchfixing as well as being part of the group who attacked Zhu Jiao just before the original day of the semifinal match. That meant I had automatically won.
But I didn't like that. Not a single bit.
”Yes. The student council members will be given several days to prepare and set their affairs in order before they enter isolation training.”
Isolation training was a little harsh, especially as it meant that you spent a specific amount of time locked up inside a highly fortified chamber – which was little better than a prison cell – and you were expected to invest all that time into cultivating and developing your martial arts. Just like ascetics of old, where they imposed a self-exile on themselves and cultivated alone in remote mountains and other deserted places bereft of human life and civilizations, they were forbidden to make any contact with any other person as they developed their skills.
That might not sound like much of a punishment, but it was precisely because they were isolated from any human contact that they were deprived of resources. Well, mostly. Technically, teachers and masters were allowed to deliver scrolls and techniques to them through the fortified steel door that separated the inmates from the outside world, but without access to the Internet, phone service or any of the modern amneities that allowed communication, the people on the outside rarely had any way of knowing which scrolls or techniques they needed. Spirit pills, artificial qi, equipment, spirit armaments and other non-scoll or non-technique resources were banned, however. So no test dummy or battle puppet to practice your skills on while you were locked up.
In a sense, the isolation training was good for martial artists desperate to make a breakthrough and develop their martial arts further, but the complete lack of human contact and socialization might drive the prisoners crazy.