015 Returning the Favor

015 Returning the Favor in Kind

Only a moment later, sounds reached Zhang He's ears, and he saw two dark shadows vaulting over the wall.

"How did it go? Did you get the goods?"

"I managed to swipe six items in total. Tsk tsk, I was almost discovered. Hurry up, they're about to start the room checks, and that brat Zhang He should be back any minute."

"It smells so good. I really wonder which little harlot this pair of panties belongs to, tsk tsk."

The two voices shared a laugh before entering the Male Martial Child Dormitory.

Zhang He watched clearly as they headed straight for his room. They opened his door with practiced ease, entered, and emerged only a moment later. Zhang He's expression turned grim.

He guessed it immediately: someone was plotting against him.

The two men put the items away, locked the door, and snuck back out.

"When they lock the dormitory gates later, that brat will be back. Young Master Zhao has already made the preparations; we're just waiting for him to take the bait."

"This time, he'll be ruined for sure! He won't be able to stay in the Martial Child Academy any longer!"

Young Master Zhao? Zhao Feng's face surfaced in Zhang He's mind. His expression turned icy; the man was clearly trying to destroy him! If he were the old Zhang He, being set up like this would have certainly forced him out of the Martial Child Academy for good!

Seeing the two men depart, Zhang He returned to his room immediately and found the two bundles hidden under his bed.

Zhang He opened them to find one filled with women's intimate apparel, while the other contained martial arts manuals, several bottles of medicinal pills, and a few purses.

"So it's Zhao Feng, is it? If you want to play dirty, I'll play along to the very end!" Zhang He sneered. He wrapped the bundles back up, opened the rear window, and vanished silently into the shadows.

When the bell rang to lock the dormitory gates, the Female Martial Child Dormitory across the way suddenly erupted in chaos.

"Catch the thief! Someone's stealing things!"

"Pervert! How dare you steal this lady's undergarments? If I catch you, I'll make sure to cut off your roots!"

The Female Martial Child Dormitory was in an uproar, filled with clamor.

Instantly, the entire peaceful Martial Child Academy came alive. Lights flickered on in every room, and the martial children who had intended to sleep scrambled up, eager to watch the spectacle.

Outside the dorms, the female martial children had already rushed out.

"Mo Mo, you said you saw that flower-picking thief running this way?" The leader, Zhao Fuping—a notoriously sharp-tongued and fiery woman—was questioning a timid young girl.

The girl named Mo Mo, still shaken, was the one who had first discovered someone stealing the girls' clothes. She nodded. "That figure definitely ran in this direction."

The direction she pointed toward was the Male Martial Child Dormitory.

"Damn it, you can guard against everything, but you can't guard against a thief in your own house. I never imagined our academy would harbor such scum. This kind of person is a black sheep; we must find him and have him expelled!" Zhao Fuping's face was filled with Sha Qi. She waved a hand at the girls behind her and shouted, "Let's go, sisters! We cannot let such a person hide among us. We're going to the male dormitory right now to drag him out!"

Led by Zhao Fuping, a group of female martial children stormed toward the male dormitory.

The male martial children had already risen, and their eyes widened as they saw the large group of women approaching.

"Miss Zhao, what is the meaning of this? Why the grand mobilization?" Zhao Feng stepped out from the crowd, feigning shock.

"A pervert who stole our clothes ran into your dormitory. We're here to catch the thief," Zhao Fuping said coldly. "Zhao Feng, are you trying to stop us?"

"A thief ran in here? We're all martial children; why would he run here? Miss Zhao, aren't you mistaken?" Zhao Feng asked with feigned surprise.

"I saw him run this way with my own eyes!" Mo Mo argued.

"If that's the case, does it mean there's a degenerate among us?" Zhao Feng realized, his face turning righteous with indignation. "If such a villain has appeared among our male martial children, we must naturally catch him; we cannot tolerate such evil. However, isn't it a bit inconvenient for you to just barge into the male dormitory? If you trust us, we can conduct an internal search and hand the culprit over to you!"

"You're all birds of a feather; why would we trust you? We're going in to search ourselves!" Zhao Fuping retorted bluntly.

With that, the group of female martial children charged straight in.

A glimmer of triumph flashed in Zhao Feng's eyes. Behind the crowd, two martial children gave Zhao Feng a subtle signal before following the others into the Male Martial Child Dormitory.

Once inside, Zhao Fuping ordered all the male martial children to step out, then began searching the rooms one by one.

However, the weather was hot, and many of the boys were too lazy to wash their feet; socks and dirty clothes were piled haphazardly in their rooms, waiting to be washed all at once. As Zhao Fuping and her group burst into the rooms, their expressions twisted. They endured the nauseating stench while conducting a meticulous search.

They were so thorough that they didn't even spare the corners of wardrobes or the space under beds. Yet, after searching five or six rooms, they found nothing. On the contrary, some of the male martial children began to grumble and mock them. Though their words weren't entirely clear, the sarcastic tone made Zhao Fuping and her group seethe with rage.

They had no choice but to endure it. If the boys had been the ones searching their rooms, their reaction would surely have been far more violent.

"Whose room is this?" They arrived at Zhang He's door, which was locked tight. Zhao Fuping frowned as she looked at it.

"That's Zhang He's room," a voice called out from among the martial children.

"Why hasn't he opened the door yet?" Cold light flashed in Zhao Fuping's eyes, her face flushed with Sha Qi.

"Maybe he's asleep? Strange, I've never seen him sleep this early before," a martial child muttered. These words reached Zhao Fuping's ears, and her expression darkened.

"I suppose he's guilty of a foul deed and is too afraid to show his face now?" Zhao Fuping sneered. "Since he won't open the door, we'll break it down!"

With that, Zhao Fuping stepped forward, ready to kick the door in. Zhao Feng remained calm, but he was overjoyed inside. Brat, once this door opens, your reputation will be completely ruined!

"What are you doing?"

A puzzled voice suddenly came from behind them. The martial children turned to see Zhang He standing at the back of the crowd, looking at them in bewilderment.

Zhao Fuping felt a slight sense of awkwardness, but she asked in a deep voice, "Zhang He, where have you been?"

"I went out for a walk, so what? Why are you all standing in front of my door?" Zhang He frowned slightly.

"A theft occurred just now, so we need to open the rooms and let them go in to search. If you have nothing to hide, just open the door and let them check," a martial student interjected aggressively.

This remark was sharp and barbed, like a spear hidden in a bouquet of flowers.

The moment Zhang He heard the voice, he knew this student was one of the two who had gone to steal the clothes earlier. He sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he looked extremely displeased. "Do you have any evidence? How can you just search someone else's room? Even if a search were necessary, it wouldn't be your place to do it, would it?"

Among the crowd, several male martial students who had long been fed up with the situation immediately cheered him on in secret. Did these women really think they were such big shots that they could search the boys' rooms whenever they pleased without any restraint?

However, while Zhang He's words sounded righteous, they also inevitably sowed seeds of doubt: Is he being so evasive because he really has a guilty conscience?

Zhao Fuping said coldly, "If we finish the search and find nothing, I will naturally apologize to you. But if you are feeling guilty and trying to block us, don't waste your breath! Are you going to open the door yourself, or should we break it down?"

A look of anger appeared on Zhang He's face. This woman really thought she was something special! What use was her apology?

"He was with me last night, so it's impossible for him to have had the time to steal anything," a crisp voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.

The martial students looked over, their jaws dropping in unison.

The Goddess Lian!

Lian Yunbi was dressed in white, and under the blowing night breeze, she looked like an ethereal fairy who had descended from the heavens. Every other female martial student paled in comparison to her.

Zhang He felt a sudden surge of surprise. Why had Lian Yunbi appeared? And why was she helping him?

The male martial students, however, had no time to admire her stunning beauty; they were all shocked by her words! What? Zhang He was with the Goddess Lian last night, and she had admitted it herself?

All the students looked at Zhang He in disbelief.

In the crowd, Gan Tian'er was incomparably shocked. She had always felt inferior when facing Lian Yunbi. Now, hearing Lian Yunbi personally state that Zhang He had been with her all night, her first reaction was that it was impossible! Then came the shock. She couldn't understand how a white swan could be with a toad.

A thousand questions swirled in her heart. Her eyes fell on Zhang He, and she suddenly realized that she couldn't quite see through him anymore.

Could there be something unknown going on here?

Lian Yunbi's words immediately dispelled everyone's suspicions toward Zhang He.

Who was Lian Yunbi? Would she ever lie?

Zhao Feng's face was incredibly gloomy. He was also deeply shocked; what on earth was going on? Why would a woman as high and mighty as Lian Yunbi suddenly stand up for Zhang He? He was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred!

I must destroy Zhang He today! No one can stop me!

"Since Yunbi has personally testified, Zhang He's suspicion is cleared," Zhao Fuping nodded. She said to Zhang He with an apologetic look, "I am very sorry for the offense just now; I hope you can forgive us."

"No, how can we give up the investigation just because of one person's word? Isn't that unfair to those who have already been searched?" Zhao Feng gritted his teeth. "We must search! If we don't, we can't prove his innocence!"

Zhao Feng's intense reaction immediately drew side-eyes from the other students. They weren't fools; they immediately sensed that something was strange about this.

Zhang He looked at Zhao Fuping and smiled slightly. "In that case, I will open the door and let you search. I, Zhang He, stand upright and fear no shadow."

A trace of helplessness appeared on Lian Yunbi's face. This idiot, this is clearly a conspiracy; why is he jumping into it so willingly?

The door opened, and Zhao Fuping muttered an apology before entering the room. The others followed. Zhang He's room was very simple and lacked the filth and clutter of the other boys' rooms. Instead, there was a faint, elegant fragrance that made one feel refreshed upon entering.

After entering, Zhao Feng headed straight for Zhang He's bed and lifted the bedding, but a look of disbelief flashed in his eyes: "How is this possible!"

Under the bedding, it was completely empty!

"Zhao Feng, you seem very disappointed that you didn't find anything under my covers," Zhang He said calmly. "There is nothing in my room, but now I am suspicious of you. Your every action just now seemed to be targeting me. Could it be that you are a thief crying 'stop thief' to frame me? Among all the martial students, your character is the lowest. I think you are the one who should be searched!"

Zhao Feng gritted his teeth, his expression ferocious. In the crowd, Han Zhao, Xu Lu, and two other students wore looks of utter disbelief.

Fatty Tang had sensed something was wrong from the start. He immediately jumped out to fan the flames: "That's right! Zhao Feng, it's your room that should be searched now! Don't even think about escaping!"