The school soon discovered the charred corpse. It was disfigured beyond recognition, no longer even resembling a human body, and the matter was immediately reported.
As for the boy who had been sent back to his family, they also sent people to follow his trail to the school.
The school was bustling that night. The one behind the incident acted as though it had nothing to do with him, blending into the crowd and listening to the students talk.
"Does anyone know what happened?" The students gathered nearby to discuss it.
"Sounds like someone died in the little grove, and that guy from the Wang Family was involved too."
"No way. How could something like this happen right before the gaokao?"
In the meeting room, the principal was facing pressure from the Wang Family. He wiped the sweat from his brow, forced a smile, and said ingratiatingly, "Family Head Wang, unfortunately, all the school's surveillance cameras have really been broken these past few days. There's nothing we can do."
"And as for Xu Weiwei, if my guess is right, that charred corpse..."
Wang Haotian slammed his hand on the table, instantly shattering it into pieces. "I want an explanation from your school, not a corpse!"
"You're right. The school will certainly provide an explanation." The principal lowered himself before him.
After seeing the Wang Family members out, the principal let loose a torrent of complaints.
"Holy freaking crap, that wasn't any ordinary fire. Wang Long must have set it himself. He burned someone to death, and they still want our school to answer for it? Screw them."
"Money, money! You think having money makes you so great?" After venting, he slumped into a chair and covered his eyes with an arm, as though he no longer had any hope for life. "Boo-hoo, having money really does seem to make you great..."
After all the investigating, it was only when Wang Long woke up that they learned there had been a mysterious third party at the scene the previous night.
The burden lifted from the principal's shoulders. He fawned over Wang Haotian and said with an apologetic smile, "Family Head of the Wang Family, a criminal slipped into the school and accidentally injured your son. Our security measures were also at fault."
Everything he said made it clear that the incident had nothing to do with the school. The authorities would take over the matter of the criminal, and the only thing the school had to answer for was security.
"Fine. Just fine." Though Wang Haotian was furious, he could only grit his teeth and nod.
Wang Long had started the fire. There was no benefit in continuing to make a fuss, so he could only let the matter drop.
He led his people away, passing He Piaojian, who had just returned to school, on the way.
As He Piaojian walked past him, he frowned and looked back in puzzlement.
He knew Wang Haotian. His family was powerful enough to lock horns with the major families in the Magic City and the capital. But why did he have an air of viciousness about him? It didn't seem quite like that, either. A ghost tamer, but had he been officially registered?
At that moment, he missed Xun Wind's ability.
Intuition: looking at people and events without using his brain, relying entirely on feeling.
Before he could think any further, the cordon in the distance caught his attention.
He hurried over and found a few passing students to ask, "What happened here?"
He had only been away for a day, and someone had already died at the school. If something had happened to the person he was supposed to protect, he would become the laughingstock of the Mysterious Gate's after-dinner chatter. That wouldn't do.
"Someone was burned to death. I heard that guy from the Wang Family did it." The student leaned close to He Piaojian's ear and whispered, "Don't go spreading it around."
He Piaojian patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry. My lips are sealed."
After that student left, he turned and caught another one to ask, "I heard that guy from the Wang Family burned someone to death. Who was it?"
After questioning people for a while, he had a vague feeling that things weren't so simple. He even guessed at an answer that seemed highly unlikely.
The Four Fiends Cult!
That group of human traitors who had been close to Guixu decades ago had vanished without a trace after Guixu fell into decline.
"I keep having a bad feeling..." He clutched his hair. "This is so annoying! It was just a task I casually agreed to. How did it lead to so much trouble?"
"And I still have to go to school. Aah, hurry up and get here, gaokao!"
At last, amid the students' grumbling, the gaokao arrived. The academic exams took place on the seventh, eighth, and ninth. On the tenth, most of them would make their first trip into Guixu.
Fan Daoyi estimated the score he would need to enter Dawnlight Academy.
This time, the Guixu portion would no longer be an easy source of points. With Guixu scores excluded, the admission cutoff would be lower than in previous years. After the disruption, enrollment at Dawnlight Academy, which had a mandatory Guixu requirement, would only be more dismal.
The grades associated with this identity were middling, nothing outstanding. Even if he were a dark horse, there was no way he could take first place in the province.
He made revisions as he estimated his score. Neither outstanding nor mediocre, it was just right in the middle.
The three days of academic exams ended, and the moment the gaokao students had been most excited for finally arrived.
They looked at the exam admission tickets in their hands and found their assigned entrances.
Fan Daoyi found his group. The thief was toward the front, while Wang Long was behind him. Both were targets he intended to kill inside Guixu.
What a coincidence.
He Piaojian hadn't been assigned to the same group, which spared Fan Daoyi some worry.
He saw He Piaojian casually yet carefully select a branch, one that just barely resembled a sword in the making. He plucked a leaf, aimed it at a section of the branch, and flicked it out. The edge of the leaf sliced straight through the branch. After picking it up, he casually swung it a few times and nodded in satisfaction.
Before they entered Guixu, there was a speech. The speaker was the mayor of Azure Cloud City. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, with some white hair at his temples. Standing in the center of the raised platform, he addressed them.
"No tools are prohibited in this Guixu exam. After all, it's an open-book test. As long as you show up, you can all get full marks."
His humorous words eased the anxiety of the examinees who had just finished their written exams. "And that young man who just chopped my tree—next time, don't do that right under my nose. At least do it on the sly. That tree was really, really expensive."
The examinees around him burst into laughter.
"All right, there's no risk involved in the opportunities in Guixu, but I still hope all of you will stay true to yourselves." After lightening the mood, the mayor got down to business. "Teachers from the education committee will monitor the exam throughout. All fighting and brawling is prohibited. Anyone who fights will have all their gaokao results canceled. Anyone who kills..."
The soldiers standing at the entrance to Guixu raised their guns and fired into the sky.
The examinees covered their ears, but their gazes all turned in the same direction as they waited for the mayor to continue.
The mayor looked around and went on, "Anyone who kills will be deprived of their personal freedom and may even face the death penalty."
This was the authorities' warning to them. People who held grudges against each other would often make their move in Guixu. China would never permit such a thing to happen.
"I know that for most of you, this is your first time entering Guixu, and you're eagerly looking forward to it. After all, this will be a major turning point in your lives." He began to encourage them. "I won't keep you any longer. Get ready to have your admission tickets checked and enter. I hope you enjoy your trip to Guixu and all obtain the abilities you want!"
Excitement sparkled in the examinees' eyes. Clutching their admission tickets, they lined up and entered Guixu one by one.
Fan Daoyi was toward the back of his group. He noticed flying insects following at the very end of the line, each with a slender golden body and silver wings on its back.
Red lights flickered in the insects' eyes. These were probably the exam venue's surveillance tools.
The surveillance was a disadvantage for Fan Daoyi. He considered what to do as he moved forward with the line.
By the time he reached the entrance to Guixu, he had made his choice. For the outside world, that choice would be quite a surprise.