Chapter 214
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Chapter 214: The Teacher
Along the winding sandy path, Lin Qiye pulled his suitcase until he reached beyond the military checkpoint.
Just as he was about to wait for the last bus to transport them, his gaze fell on something in the distance that made him pause.
On the side road, he saw a familiar black van parked there. A woman in red sportswear and sunglasses was leaning against the car door. Upon seeing Lin Qiye, she excitedly waved.
Lin Qiye smiled and walked straight over with his suitcase.
“Sister Hong Ying, what are you doing here?” Lin Qiye asked with a smile.
Hong Ying grinned and quickly walked up to embrace Lin Qiye tightly.
“Of course I’m here to pick up Squad 136’s new member!” Hong Ying squeezed him so hard he could barely breathe. After nearly choking him, she finally released her arms and took his suitcase, continuing:
“The captain has been counting down the days until your release since last month, marking circles on the calendar, muttering about how many days until you return… like a monk chanting sutras, so annoying.”
Hong Ying got in the car and closed the door. “But everyone’s really happy you’re being transferred back to Squad 136. Only Leng Xuan had a stern face, coldly saying things like ‘our Seven shouldn’t be sent back to Chang’nan, he should go to greater places…'”
Lin Qiye in the passenger seat scratched his head, able to perfectly imagine Leng Xuan’s expression while saying those words.
Hong Ying started the car and was about to drive off when she paused, turned sideways, and wordlessly patted Lin Qiye’s shoulder.
Lin Qiye asked in confusion: “Sister Hong Ying, what are you doing?”
“…The captain told me to comfort you, saying it’s not shameful that you didn’t get good rankings in training camp, we all believe in your potential…”
Hong Ying’s cheeks reddened, “But, but I… I really don’t know how to comfort people. I wanted to copy the captain’s shoulder pat, but suddenly didn’t know what to say… Argh, so annoying!”
Hong Ying grew frustrated and embarrassed, stepping hard on the gas pedal. With a roar, the tires kicked up clouds of dust as the van shot forward.
Lin Qiye gripped the handle tightly and gulped. “Sister Hong Ying… calm down, calm down!”
By now, Lin Qiye had figured out what was going on. It seemed the training camp rankings hadn’t been directly announced by the instructors, so everyone in Squad 136 thought he was transferred back to Chang’nan because of poor performance…
Should he explain the truth?
While Lin Qiye was hesitating, Hong Ying continued: “Actually, everyone was planning to come pick you up today, but something urgent came up and I’m the only one who had time.”
“What happened?”
“There’s a potentially mysterious case in the east part of the city. Wen Qimo, Leng Xuan, and Little Nan went to check it out. The captain and Old Dog Xiang Nan are… meeting an important figure.”
“Important figure?” Lin Qiye asked curiously. “What important figure would come to Chang’nan?”
Hong Ying smiled mysteriously. “They say it’s one of humanity’s peak experts.”
“What?!” Lin Qiye was startled.
“Surprising, right? I was so shocked I dropped my chopsticks when I heard. Apparently they detected possible divine fluctuations at Jinnan Mountain two days ago, so they specifically invited a peak expert to investigate.”
“They’re meeting with our stationed squad first to understand the situation, then probably heading to the camp to meet with that commander.”
Hearing this, Lin Qiye’s heart jumped. Two days ago at Jinnan Mountain… wasn’t that when he carried Nyx’s soul and killed the Flame Dragon in the sky?!
Although he had coordinated stories with Fatty Bai Li and Instructor Hong to fool the other instructors, the killing of the Flame Dragon did actually happen. Would this peak expert discover any clues when investigating Jinnan Mountain?
“Which peak expert is coming?”
Lin Qiye remembered Wen Qimo explaining humanity’s five peak experts to him – One Sword, One Knight, One Venerable, One Void, and One Teacher. So which one came to Chang’nan?
“The old master came by horse carriage, so it should be the Teacher,” Hong Ying guessed.
Lin Qiye made a sound of acknowledgment and lowered his head in thought.
This… could be trouble.
…
Peace Affairs Office.
Underground.
Chen Muye and Wu Xiangnan exchanged helpless glances.
Sitting on the couch opposite them was an elder around fifty years old. His white hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin, and though his face showed age, his eyes remained sharp and spirited, giving him an otherworldly air.
He lifted a cup of hot tea, took a small sip, then slowly set it down.
“Teacher Chen… we really don’t know much about what happened on Jinnan Mountain. For specific details, you might need to ask Yuan Gang,” Chen Muye said carefully.
Teacher Chen smiled and waved his hand. “No matter, there’s no rush… Are you two so eager to see this old man leave? Is keeping me company for tea and conversation really so difficult to bear?”
Wu Xiangnan couldn’t help but speak up: “But Teacher… we’ve already had tea with you all afternoon. The sun is almost setting now, isn’t this…”
“No matter, no matter,” Teacher Chen said dismissively.
Seeing Teacher Chen unwilling to leave, Chen Muye and Wu Xiangnan could only steel themselves to continue drinking tea with him.
“I hear your Squad 136 has a new Night Watchman called Lin Qiye,” Teacher Chen casually mentioned while sipping his tea. “Would you two mind telling this old man more about his story?”
Wu Xiangnan was startled. “Teacher, you know about Lin Qiye?”
“As the proxy of two gods, of course this old man has heard of him,” Teacher Chen said calmly.
Wu Xiangnan looked at Chen Muye, who nodded at him. Only then did Wu Xiangnan continue:
“Actually, our story with Lin Qiye starts with the Masked Man incident…”
Starting with the Masked Man incident, Wu Xiangnan recounted basically everything Lin Qiye had done, including Squad 136’s evaluation of him. Every few sentences contained praise, with major compliments every five sentences, praising Lin Qiye as perfect in every way, almost elevating him to the heavens.
Teacher Chen just listened quietly, occasionally nodding, his deep eyes concealing his thoughts.
After Wu Xiangnan finished, Teacher Chen set down his cup. “I see… Now I understand.”
Just as Wu Xiangnan was hopefully watching Teacher Chen, expecting him to leave, the elder spoke again: “This tea has grown cold.”
Wu Xiangnan: …
Chen Muye understood Teacher Chen’s meaning and said to Wu Xiangnan: “Xiangnan, go brew some more tea for Teacher.”
“Alright.”
Wu Xiangnan picked up the tea set and left the room, leaving only Chen Muye and Teacher Chen.
Teacher Chen stared at Chen Muye, and after a long moment, slowly said:
“Captain Chen, these ten years must have been difficult for you…”