Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Once Lu Shu entered the dojo, he saw Bunndai waiting in the yard. Earlier, he had ordered her to retreat immediately if he had not returned by sunrise.
Bunndai made a deep bow to Lu Shu. “Welcome back. Did everything go well?”
“Yes. I killed Nogiwa Hakushun. But I’m not sure whether it can be planted on Kitamura Hirono. However, we should be safe.” In any case, Kirihara Yousuke’s enemies should be the Jingoists and there was nothing to do with Nogiwa Hakushun.
Lu Shu received 1000 distress points in Nogiwa’s dying moments and a great deal from the Collection of Gods superiors following his death.
Checking the names of the entries, he was relieved to know that the name list was almost identical to the one registered after the end of the Beimang remains.
Mystery solved. In other words, those names belonged to the Collection of God superiors and last time it was related to the relic and their missing Class C spy.
Now, the illumination of the third layer of his celestial map was almost complete. Lu Shu’s mind was at total peace.
He did not like to owe anybody anything. Thus, when the breakfast vendor Uncle Lee and others were kind to Lu Shu, he often allowed them to try some of his stinky tofu for free when he sold it. Certainly a piece of stinky tofu would not mean much to them, but Lu Shu would feel uneasy had he not done so.
The more coldness one has experienced in the world, the more he will cherish the warmth around him now.
Thus, Lu Shu did not take the Heavenly Network’s care and kindness for granted either.
As the saying goes, “sow nothing, reap nothing”. Be it at the Beimang remains or the Salt Lake remains, he had not spared a single spy’s life. Of course, it was his duty too. He did it out of responsibility and also as an act of reciprocation.
Lu Shu had never forgotten the importance of re-paying other people’s goodwill, even though he had experienced the full taste of darkness, indifference and heartlessness of the world.
This time, he had accepted the mission, knowing all too well that he was the most suitable candidate for Kirihara Yousuke’s replacement.
Nie Ting gave him the divine water for free. And the Heavenly Network had decided to give him deep sea white sand as well despite their ignorance of Lu Xiaoyu’s control of an earth-type Metahuman’s spirit. It was all because of the same reason, that Nie Ting saw Lu Shu as deserving of it.
On the other hand, they could have confiscated both thinking that they would not be useful for Lu Shu.
Hence, Lu Shu was determined to make some contribution this time. Although he was upset about the inheritance scam and he had overthrown his supposed persona, he did not think it was a big issue at all…
But it would have been just wonderful if the Heavenly Network had fulfilled its promise on the inheritance…
Then a thought crossed Lu Shu’s mind. Could he ignite his entire third layer nebula using distress points from the Collection of Gods if he began a killing spree?
Easy-peasy. Most of the remaining Collection of Gods forces were Jingoists, who well deserved to die…
Following this vein, he might have to rely on the Collection of Gods for his future promotion.
The thought dragged him out of his bed and into the yard for sword practice, until the full dawn of the day.
At the moment, the news on Nogiwa Hakushun’s death spread out, and Conservative members like Sakurai Yaeko and Oda Tokuma were the first group of outsiders to learn about it.
No one had any clues on the murderer’s identity. According to the insider information of the Collection of Gods, the Heavenly Network was the only suspect and no attempts were made to create an illusion of an internal conflict.
Oda’s face was expressionless upon hearing the news. He agreed on the involvement of the Heavenly Network. Yet… Where were they? Why was there no trace at all?!
In fact, Oda did hope for the interference of an external force to disrupt the Jingoists’ complete dominance. But it certainly had better not be the Heavenly Network, a non-native force.
In the meantime, Nie Ting was reading the update in the Liuhai Lane. His fingers tapped rapidly on the stone table, and his face remained expressionless throughout. Shi Xuejin shot him a curious look and asked, “Why so happy?”
Nie Ting showed him the news, and the latter was stunned at once. “So fast? It’s only been a few days. This kid, is certainly not very forgiving… You need to watch out.”
“No worries. I’m waiting for his safe return so that he can seek revenge from me,” replied Nie Ting lightheartedly.
The key thing was, the information in their hands was not from Taniguchi Bunndai, who had yet to file any report. But when Nie Ting and Shi Xuejin learned about Nogiwa Hakushun’s death, they instantly arrived at the conclusion that it was definitely Lu Shu’s doings.
…
In the morning, Lu Shu walked to school as usual. The streets were clean as always and nothing seemed to have changed since Nogiwa Hakushun’s death. Kirihara Yousuke was free from any suspicion too.
But once he entered the campus of Beika High School, he sensed strange stares all around.
Indeed, he was a different person from the Kirihara Yousuke in the past, and in this case it was only shown in their attire style. The old Kirihara used to be properly dressed and would even button up the top button of his uniform shirt. But Lu Shu did not button it.
Lu Shu decided not to waste too much time on trivialities like this. Suddenly he pulled a boy up with his collar and asked, “Why are you staring?”
“From Suto Keiji’s distress, +199…”
Caught off guard, Suto replied nervously, “People are saying that you are Sakurai Yaeko’s swordplay teacher…”
“Oh…” Lu Shu nodded. So that was the aftereffect of making so much money. Never mind the trouble, so long as he had enough money to make!
Lu Shu let Suto go. Those students around were dumbfounded. Based on his strength, there was no doubt that he was a well trained swordsman. But why had he remained silent in the past despite being a victim of bullies?
However, what was happening now seemed completely justifiable given his parents’ sudden death and the title as “Sakurai Yaeko’s swordplay teacher”.
When Lu Shu walked into his classroom, the seven students who were beaten up by him instantly went quiet.
As he walked past Noguchi Yuki, the latter lowered his head diffidently. Lu Shu knocked on his table and demanded, “Did you tell your family to put less salt?”
“From Noguchi Yuki’s distress, +555…”
How did it feel when the boy who used to be bullied suddenly became the head of the gang…?
