Society Is Very Simple...

"What does this mean?" Li Yu asked, shaking the gold card.

Director Wang finally relaxed and said with a smile, "I know the two High Persons naturally have no regard for such worldly things, but it is the thought that counts, not the gift. This is merely to express my admiration and yearning for you both—a gesture of goodwill.

"I'm only afraid you two might think my status..."

Xun Xin immediately cut him off. "Ah, Director Wang, what are you saying? You and us simply have different talents; we are all citizens of Qingyang Kingdom. Don't say such things to demean us."

Director Wang promptly clasped his fists. "Oh, I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! Then, about my nephew...?"

Li Yu and Xun Xin exchanged a glance. "May we ask who Director Wang's distinguished nephew is?"

Director Wang smiled and handed over a file containing his nephew's photograph and basic information.

"So it's him?" Li Yu said in surprise after seeing it. "I thought it was..."

As he spoke, he passed the file to Xun Xin. After taking it and looking it over, Xun Xin saw:

Tie Dan, male, eleven years old...

Xun Xin set down the file and smiled. "Director Wang, that is quite the move. In order to get your nephew into the Preparatory Academy, you actually turned him into an 'orphan.'"

Director Wang smiled. "There was no other way. Our family only has this one male heir in this generation. Naturally, I have to make plans for him, so that our Wang Clan can bring honor to our ancestors.

"Once he enters the Preparatory Academy, he'll be touched by you High Persons' immortal aura. When he goes out to work in the future, everything will go smoothly for him."

The two smiled at that, thinking, It is hardly as simple as things going smoothly. With a Preparatory Academy diploma, no matter what job he applies for, he will stand a step above everyone else.

To ordinary people, that advantage was anything but insignificant.

If an ordinary university degree was a stepping stone into employment, then a Preparatory Academy graduate held a golden stepping stone. The difference was just that enormous.

And with such a golden stepping stone, coupled with the Wang Clan's influence in Wu City, one could imagine that this "orphan Tie Dan" had a future without limits.

Director Wang might have spent an enormous sum now, but he would earn several times that amount back in the future.

Li Yu and Xun Xin put away the items. They had also looked over the materials, so the matter was more or less settled.

Director Wang then arranged their meal and lodging. Before leaving, Li Yu said to him, "Director Wang, with your boldness and farsighted vision, it will only be a matter of time before your Lineage becomes the leading one in Wu City."

As he spoke, he raised a thumb.

After being praised by an "Immortal," Director Wang truly felt as though immortal aura was drifting around him. Besides, he was large in volume and low in density, so he already had the foundation to float; now, his heart swelled even further.

Of course, he did not dare act presumptuously before the two Immortals. He hurriedly replied with barely any humility in his humble tone, "Not at all, not at all. People like us are merely at the bottom rung, just scraping together a living."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, both sides went their separate ways.

Li Yu and Xun Xin stayed in the same residence. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a large living room.

They were rather excited and did not go to sleep early.

Li Yu said with a smile, "When Director Wang said he wanted to recommend his nephew, I thought he meant that little radish head. That child was rather interesting."

Xun Xin recalled it as well, then nodded. "Exactly. By all rights, he should have been the one most likely to pass this year's assessment."

Li Yu sneered. "Who knows what tricks Director Wang has been pulling behind the scenes. He bribed the academy, yet year after year he only put on a show here and never admitted anyone.

"If the academy had not failed to recruit students for so many years and received a dead order from above, they probably would have returned empty-handed this year as well.

"And the moment that order came down, Director Wang shoved his nephew in. Was it simply perfect timing, or was there some deeper meaning?"

Xun Xin smiled. "Can't you see through something this obvious? Director Wang's place is no simple place. It would not be an exaggeration to call it a den of thieves.

"Getting his nephew into the Preparatory Academy lets him silence everyone while reaping tangible benefits. What a fine plan—killing two birds with one stone."

Li Yu said, "Then did we ask for too little...?"

Both froze at the same time, their gazes turning toward a corner. A little Rat stood upright there, looking utterly terrified.

Li Yu frowned. "What a bold little brat, daring to use such a trick!"

After thinking for a moment, Xun Xin smiled. "No need to be nervous. What tricks can a mere orphan possibly pull? He only has that intention, that's all."

Li Yu asked, "Really?"

The Rat immediately nodded.

Both men's expressions stiffened somewhat, but Xun Xin still said, "Come over!"

Elsewhere, Chen Nan broke out in a cold sweat. He had naturally sent the Rat, but he had not expected that after overhearing some secrets, the two would discover him so quickly.

That also proved that his ability to mentally control small animals was nothing unusual to people like them. In other words, he possessed Transcendent abilities.

Li Yu and Xun Xin's residence was located to the east. It was a detached house, and what it valued most was peace and quiet, so naturally no guards or the like had been stationed there.

Thus, when Chen Nan came over, he used the Rat to scout the way and ultimately found everything safe and sound.

The instant Chen Nan reached the door, it opened automatically. After he entered, it closed by itself.

When he reached the living room, both men sat on the sofa, watching Chen Nan with appraising gazes.

Although uneasy, Chen Nan showed no cowardice. He walked before them and said politely, neither servile nor overbearing, "I apologize for disturbing you two, but I hope you can do me a favor."

As he spoke, he removed the bag from his waist and placed it on the coffee table.

Li Yu smiled. "Child, what is this? And what favor do you want from us?"

After taking a deep breath, Chen Nan said, "I hope you can let me enter the Preparatory Academy. Even if that is impossible, I hope you can take me out of this Orphanage."

The two roughly guessed that Chen Nan already knew some of the truth, so they spared themselves all the useless words. Xun Xin picked up the bag, opened it, and found it filled with gold and jewelry.

"You got all this by using those Rats?" Xun Xin asked.

Chen Nan nodded. There was no point in lying here.

Xun Xin continued, "Fine. We'll accept it all. Just rest assured."

After saying that, neither of them paid Chen Nan any further attention. The atmosphere instantly turned awkward. Chen Nan naturally understood that they were sending him away, so he turned and left.

At the moment he was leaving, Xun Xin said to Chen Nan, "Don't let your Rats appear around us again. You can't hide them from us. If they show up again..."

Chen Nan's cold sweat dripped to the floor. He nodded. "I understand."

Only after saying that did he leave their house. Outside, Chen Nan steadied his emotions, but he had no good feeling about how this matter would turn out.

It was not that he had no other feelings. One was especially obvious: he felt like a sucker who had been taken for a ride.

Only after watching Chen Nan leave did Li Yu say to Xun Xin, "Why take his little bit of money?"

Xun Xin smiled. "Little money? He gave it all to me."

Li Yu immediately abandoned any image of an Esteemed Personage and rushed over to snatch it. "We have to split it evenly."

As the two divided the gold and jewelry, Xun Xin said, "That child clearly stole this from Director Wang. It is not excessive for us to take it."

Li Yu asked, "What about his request?"

Xun Xin said, "Are you stupid? What we took belongs to Director Wang. What does it have to do with him? He really thinks too simply. Does he think anyone who brings gifts can get things done?"

Li Yu said, "But I'm afraid this might bring us trouble."

Xun Xin said indifferently, "You're greedy for money, yet your courage is so small? He is just an orphan. He cannot even leave this Orphanage. Even if he can get out, with you and me keeping an eye on him, he can forget about entering the ranks of Transcendents. Once he passes a certain age, he will be finished. What can he possibly do to us?

"Besides, we can be even more ruthless. We can kill with a borrowed knife..."

A sentence drifted down from the sky: society was very simple; people were the complicated ones...

Those two had fallen into the eye of money, possessing the fine virtue of plucking every feather from a passing goose. Fortunately, they did not do anything too outrageous. In other words, that later talk of killing with a borrowed knife was merely talk.

And what saved Chen Nan was still the same principle: he was an orphan with no background. Who would even take him seriously? Even if he had the ability to become a Transcendent, without an opportunity, he would ultimately remain an ordinary person.

Chen Nan returned to his dormitory, yet could not fall asleep for a long time. Every event from that day circled through his mind, tormenting his heart as though it were being boiled in scalding water.

Especially what had happened that night—giving away that money left him with an extremely bad feeling. He felt severely deceived, as though he had been treated like an idiot. And now that he thought about it, his action had indeed been rather unreliable.

But what was done was done; there was no undoing it.

"Ah, everything depends on tomorrow," Chen Nan thought. "No matter what happens tomorrow, I'm leaving this place."

"Chen Nan, you became an Immortal? That's wonderful! Ah, you're giving me all these tasty things..."

Chen Nan jumped, only to discover that it was Little Black Ox talking in his sleep. Smiling, he softly said to Little Black Ox, "Don't worry. If I become an Immortal, I'll definitely give you a good life. I swear it on the half pancake you gave me."

Gradually, Chen Nan fell asleep as well, but he did not have any pleasant dreams that night.