An impromptu exam began.
“The Six Great Clans of the Divine Clan.”
“Li, Zhang, Han, Lei, Zhao, Chai.”
“What is the current average lifespan of the two clans, Divine and Demon?”
“Two hundred sixty-seven years.”
“The exact time the First Divine-Demon War began.”
“98,675 BC, 2:13 AM.”
Zhou Sili braced his hands on either side of the lectern and continued his questioning. “Who was the Divine Clan general who led during the Second Divine-Demon War, and what was the outcome?”
“Li Fuzhi, the 268th Clan Leader of the Divine Clan’s Li family. She battled the Demon Clan’s leader for forty-nine days and slew him at Kun Mountain.”
Zhou Sili’s eyes lit up slightly. “Who was the 29th Clan Leader of the Divine Clan?”
“Zhao Rong.”
“What happened on the evening of March 24th, 16,517 BC, at 7:25 PM?”
This time period wasn’t recorded in the official history of the Divine Clan. The other students began murmuring among themselves. Lei Tiantian hurriedly took out his phone to search for the answer. Jiang Wu answered, “Chai Qi secretly collaborated with the Demon Clan to usurp the throne. After the plot failed, he immolated himself at 7:25 PM.”
Silence filled the classroom. The search results on Lei Tiantian’s phone popped up a few seconds later—
“On March 24th, 16,517 BC, Chai Qi secretly collaborated with the Demon Clan for a night attack on Kun Mountain. The attack failed, and he immolated himself on the spot.”
Lei Tiantian clenched his phone, deeply shaken.
Zhou Sili was also astonished—not just that Jiang Wu could answer such an obscure piece of trivia, but more so at the speed of his responses. It was absolutely fluent.
Unwilling to accept this, Zhou Sili asked another question: “What three major events occurred in the Divine Clan four hundred years ago?”
“One, the 268th Clan Leader Li Fuzhi died in battle. Two, Cloud-Step Lunar Realm was founded.”
At the third point, Jiang Wu paused for a second. “Three, Ghost Emperor Lu Sheng succeeded the position of Imperial Lord Beitai.”
Zhou Sili then jumped back to ancient times. “The trigger for the War of the Gods.”
“Tribes under the protection of the Fire God and the Demon God fought over water sources.”
The question-and-answer continued back and forth. When the bell rang for the end of class, Zhou Sili was still not fully satisfied. He returned to his office, eager to devise a few more challenging questions to test Jiang Wu. He picked up his pen and wrote down several, but the furious scratching sound suddenly stopped. Zhou Sili threw down the pen.
His goal was to expel Jiang Wu! What was he getting so excited for!
Zhou Sili pondered for a moment, then picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Equipment Room? This is—”
Back in the classroom, the atmosphere had relaxed considerably. Without Jiang Wu holding them back, they could learn real skills in the next class. Everyone was very excited.
Lei Tiantian was also overwhelmed with anticipation. He chatted with Jiang Wu, “What do you think Teacher Zhou will teach us next? My parents only know how to make money, they don’t know anything else. They just live a bit longer than most people… Ah, I’m so looking forward to class.” He began fantasizing again. “Flying through the sky, burrowing into the ground, I’d even be fine turning into a bird. I really want to fly! And time-space magic! I heard there’s a spell that lets you travel to the past and future. Wouldn’t it be awesome to go back and watch the Divine-Demon Wars live?”
Soon, the bell rang. Zhou Sili stepped in right on time, smiling. “This lesson, we’ll be studying swordsmanship.”
The mood instantly became enthusiastic. “Awesome!”
“Great!”
“Teacher, you’re the best!”
Zhou Sili raised a hand and patted the air twice, gesturing for them to quiet down. A slight look of regret appeared on his face. “But swordsmanship requires swords. I hadn’t originally planned a practical lesson today, so I didn’t collect them in advance. We’ll need a few students to go to the Equipment Room and retrieve thirty Wooden Swords.”
Lei Tiantian volunteered eagerly, “I’ll go! Where is the Equipment Room?”
Zhou Sili said, “A Block, Building 2, 1st floor. The snow is heavy and the roads are slippery today. The round trip will likely take at least an hour. Anyone else willing?”
Lei Tiantian made an “ah” sound. An hour’s round trip—that meant he’d miss an hour of class. He scratched his chin, starting to hesitate. He had the kind of slow brain that would fall behind if he missed even a minute.
The other students were also unwilling. As time ticked away, someone suggested, “Send Jiang Wu. If it weren’t for him, the teacher wouldn’t have had to change the lesson plan. He should be the one to go get the swords!”
Zhou Sili sighed and looked at Jiang Wu inquiringly. “Jiang Wu, student—”
Before he could finish, Jiang Wu stood up. “I’ll go.”
Lei Tiantian started to rise as well. “Then I’m coming too!”
Jiang Wu pushed him back down. “Thirty Wooden Swords. I can manage alone.”
Without looking at Zhou Sili, Jiang Wu walked out of the classroom under the weight of numerous gazes.
The snow had intensified, and a thick layer of ice had formed on the ground, making it incredibly slippery. Jiang Wu’s canvas shoes had no grip, so he walked very slowly.
There was no need to rush.
Although the reason was unclear, Zhou Sili had clearly sent him away on purpose.
“A-Wu, wait for me!”
Hearing Lei Tiantian’s voice, Jiang Wu paused before stopping. He waited until Lei Tiantian came skidding over, unable to brake, nearly sliding past him. Jiang Wu reached out and caught him.
Lei Tiantian finally stopped. His entire face was pale white, only his nose flushed bright red from the cold. He bent over, gasping heavily, his words slurred by the cold. “I-I’m coming with you!”
Jiang Wu looked at him, his voice clear. “The class you were so excited about—you should stay and learn.”
“L-Learn…” Lei Tiantian patted his chest and looked up, flashing a mouthful of white teeth. “I can learn anytime. But there aren’t many chances to go get swords with a friend!”
Jiang Wu’s pupils sharply contracted for a moment. He released Lei Tiantian’s arm. “Let’s go.” He paused. “It’s icy, walk slowly.”
“Alright!” Lei Tiantian slowed his pace, following Jiang Wu.
With Lei Tiantian there, the entire journey was filled with the sound of his voice. “You’re so amazing! You know all those names and timelines by heart.”
“I’ve been learning this since I was a kid, and I still can’t remember it all.”
“Oh, right! Aren’t you an ordinary human? Where did you learn Divine Clan history from?”
Jiang Wu was silent for a few seconds. “Yesterday.”
“?”
“Yesterday, I read some history books in the library.”
Lei Tiantian pushed his cheek out with his tongue and pressed his palm against his puffed-up face, letting out a low “Oh.”
Lei Tiantian was unusually quiet for a moment, until they arrived at the Equipment Room in Area A.
The Equipment Room’s door was shut. Lei Tiantian knocked several times, but there was no sound from within.
“No one there?” Lei Tiantian pressed his ear to the door. “That’s weird, I think I hear something…”
There was indeed a sound.
Jiang Wu heard a sports commentator’s voice. The person inside was wearing headphones and watching a game.
If Lei Tiantian hadn’t come along, Jiang Wu wouldn’t have cared. But now—
He told Lei Tiantian to step aside. “Let me try.”
Lei Tiantian obediently moved out of the way.
Jiang Wu placed his palm on the door. Under his hand, he exerted force, imperceptibly.
“Thud!”
The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground. The door lock fell off, and the Equipment Room door slowly swung open.
At the desk diagonally ahead, a middle-aged man took off his headphones in surprise. “What happened?”
Jiang Wu’s expression was perfectly natural. “I have no idea. It just happened when I knocked once.”
Lei Tiantian, acting as a witness, immediately chimed in, “Right, we just knocked once. This door has really poor quality.”
The middle-aged man was about to say something else when Lei Tiantian added, “Teacher, why didn’t you open the door if you were in there? We’re here to get swords for our swordsmanship class. Everyone’s waiting. Thirty swords, thank you!”
The middle-aged man was left speechless. He had been following Zhou Sili’s phone call and was pretending to be away. But now that the door lock was broken, he had no choice but to get the swords. He dawdled for ages before piling thirty Peachwood Swords onto the table. He said grumpily, “Be careful when using them, don’t break them. These are genuine peachwood swords, can ward off evil and exorcise ghosts.”
Lei Tiantian’s eyes darted around. He hastily grabbed the box. Only after they left the Equipment Room did he quietly ask Jiang Wu, “A-Wu, have you ever seen a ghost?”
“No.”
“Me neither.” Lei Tiantian lowered his voice even further. “Sometimes I wonder if ghosts even exist. Take the Demon Clan, for instance. They’re exactly the same as us. My family even has businesses collaborating with the Demon Clan. Everyone’s just ordinary people, making money in an ordinary way.”
Jiang Wu suddenly recalled the translucent black shadows he had seen in Lu Sheng’s residence, chained by their pipa bones and ankles.
Were those shadows ghosts?
As he was pondering this, Jiang Wu stopped in his tracks and looked ahead.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Lu Sheng stepped out of a car. Without a sideways glance, he walked right past them and entered the elevator.
Lei Tiantian noticed nothing and continued talking. “Oh right, the Logistics Center is super close to here, right? Let’s pick up our uniforms on the way back!”
Then he remembered something. “Ah, no, I didn’t bring my phone!”
Jiang Wu turned his head. “What’s wrong?”
Lei Tiantian said regretfully, “I can’t pay without my phone.”
Jiang Wu’s left temple throbbed a few times. “We have to pay for the uniforms?”
“Yeah, it’s winter now, so there are two sets of uniforms.” Lei Tiantian thought for a moment. “If I remember correctly, they’re three thousand each per set.”
Now both of Jiang Wu’s temples were throbbing.
As he was about to exit the teaching building, he glanced at the elevator. The red number had stopped on the 28th floor.
28th floor, the Principal’s office. On the computer screen, a video clip played of a train crashing into the railing of Kongming Bridge.
At the 21-second mark, the Principal paused the video again and dragged it back to 15 seconds to rewatch.
He did this several times. Then he removed his reading glasses, picked up his tea mug, and blew on the surface. Just as he was about to take a sip, he sighed and put it back down.
At that moment, the phone rang. His assistant’s voice came through. “Principal, Mr. Lu is here.”
The Principal immediately stood up. Moments later, the assistant pushed the door open. The Principal smiled and hurried forward to greet the guest. “I finally managed to invite you here.”
Lu Sheng’s face showed no expression. The Principal gestured for the assistant to leave, then personally closed the door and asked, “What would you like to drink? I have Da Hong Pao, Taiping Houkui, and Maofeng.”
Lu Sheng said, “What is the matter.”
The Principal knew the man’s time was precious. He skipped the formalities and got straight to the point, leading Lu Sheng to the computer. “Please take a look at this video.”
Lu Sheng’s gaze fell on the screen. In the torrential rain, the derailed train was rushing towards the railing, about to plunge into the sea.
The Principal pressed pause and said, “Something behind it dragged the train.”
He nodded with certainty. “There was absolutely a force that saved this train. I requested a Heavenly Divination once. The divination pointed southwest—the direction of Kongming Bridge on the Xianjiang. I suspect—” A fervent, wild excitement rose in his eyes. “The person we’ve been looking for has appeared!”
He looked back at Lu Sheng, his expression becoming respectful. “You oversee the life and death of all things. I take the liberty to ask, were you at Kongming Bridge that night?”
Lu Sheng withdrew his gaze. “No.”
The Principal couldn’t hide his disappointment. He asked again, “Did you notice anything unusual in the video?”
“No.”
The Principal murmured in bewilderment, “You didn’t see it either… Could I be seeing things because I wish for it too much…”
Then he heard Lu Sheng’s voice.
The Principal hadn’t caught it clearly. He raised his eyes. “Apologies, what did you say?”
Lu Sheng repeated himself. “This year’s freshmen uniforms. I will sponsor them.”
