The Plot Goes Off Course

The moment Chu Heng saw the mission prompt, his spirits lifted. At last, a new mission. But then he froze, and his expression slowly changed.

No. Something was very wrong.

As he remembered it, this conflict should have happened long ago.

Soon after Tang San and Xiao Wu entered the academy, they were supposed to clash with Xiao Chenyu and the other noble students over who led Dorm Seven. Tang San would defeat Xiao Chenyu and become the dorm's true leader.

So why had the system waited until now to issue the mission?

A possibility struck Chu Heng. Had his arrival changed the course of the story?

He looked at the system panel. A moment later, a new line of text appeared.

[Current fate deviation: 6%]

[Notice: The host has affected certain plot events, changing when and how they occur]

Chu Heng's pupils contracted. So his arrival really had changed the original story.

"Six percent..."

He had thought he couldn't change the world's larger course. But if things kept going like this?

The next day.

By the time Su Xianling came to find him, Chu Heng was ready and waiting in the hall. As soon as she appeared, he spoke.

"Big sister."

Su Xianling gave him a surprised look.

"What is it?"

"Can I go to Soul Master Academy today? My friend might be in trouble..."

Chu Heng had spent all night trying to think of a suitable excuse to get Su Xianling's permission. Unable to come up with one, he told her what he wanted outright.

Su Xianling hesitated for a moment.

"The boy from last time?"

She vaguely remembered meeting Tang San in the Soul Hunting Forest. Only after returning had she realized he was the friend Chu Heng had met when he first went to Soul Master Academy.

So when Chu Heng said his friend at the academy might be in trouble, Tang San was the first person she thought of.

Chu Heng nodded.

"If he's in trouble, you can go. He helped you last time, after all."

Su Xianling didn't ask how Chu Heng knew. She simply agreed.

"I'll come with you and speak to the people at Soul Master Academy. Perhaps they can look after your friend."

The trip would take time. Su Xianling didn't want the same thing to happen again, so she decided to go along and settle the matter.

Chu Heng had no reason to refuse and nodded.

He explained that he only needed to arrive by noon. Su Xianling first took him to deal with some Spirit Hall business, then brought him to Soul Master Academy when the time came.

They had left in a hurry, so Chu Heng hadn't changed. He was still wearing his Spirit Hall uniform when they entered the academy.

When Xiao Wu saw him with Tang San, her expression changed. She stared at Chu Heng.

"You're from Spirit Hall?"

Damn, I forgot about that. His affiliation was already out in the open, and trying to hide it now would only make him look guilty. Chu Heng admitted it without hesitation.

"That's right, Sister Xiao Wu. I'm a Directly Nurtured Disciple of Spirit Hall."

He kept his tone casual, pretending he saw nothing wrong with it.

Tang San already knew Chu Heng trained at Spirit Hall, though he wondered why Chu Heng had come at this particular time. Xiao Wu reacted differently. She instinctively took half a step back, even briefly channeling her Soul Power.

Chu Heng knew why she was wary, but he couldn't explain that he knew her identity.

Then Xiao Wu asked a pointed question.

"Every time you came to see us, did Spirit Hall send you?"

Chu Heng looked puzzled.

"What do you mean, Sister Xiao Wu?"

Xiao Wu didn't answer. She said coldly:

"We'll talk after this is over."

Tang San had some inkling of why Xiao Wu and Chu Heng were at odds, but first he had to deal with the conflict with the noble students. He could clear things up between them afterward.

When Chu Heng looked around, he saw that the conflict between the Work-Study Students and the noble students had already begun.

He followed Tang San's gaze and finally took in the scene.

On an open patch of ground behind the academy, two groups of students stood on opposite sides.

On one side were the Work-Study Students from Dorm Seven, led by Wang Sheng. On the other stood several academy students in noticeably finer clothes. The boy at their front was tall and considerably older than Tang San and the others, with a trace of youthful arrogance on his face.

Xiao Chenyu.

Chu Heng recognized him at once. The problem was that this scene didn't quite match the original story as he remembered it.

"You say your supplies were short, and that means we took them?"

Xiao Chenyu frowned.

"I don't decide how much the academy hands out."

Wang Sheng gave a cold laugh.

"You know perfectly well who ended up with the missing supplies."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Xiao Chenyu's face darkened.

"Wang Sheng, say what you mean."

As the two sides threatened to start arguing again, Chu Heng frowned slightly.

This doesn't sound like an ordinary student dispute.

He glanced at Su Xianling beside him. She seemed to have noticed something off as well, and her relaxed expression grew more serious.

Tang San explained quietly:

"Lately, the Work-Study Students have been receiving less food and fewer daily supplies than the academy rules say they should. Wang Sheng and the others have asked several times, but no one's given them a clear answer. Then someone said the noble students took what was missing."

Chu Heng understood. No wonder the conflict had dragged on until now. What had originally been friction between the Work-Study Students and older students now involved a muddled account of academy supplies.

"You're just useless, and now you're trying to blame us!"

An older boy among the noble students suddenly spoke up, his voice loud and his tone insolent.

"You just can't stand us, can you? Then let's fight! Whoever wins gets to call the shots from now on!"

At that, several people around them began shouting their support.

Chu Heng looked at the speaker. The boy was about eleven or twelve, thin, and had been standing behind Xiao Chenyu. The hostility on his face was even more obvious than Xiao Chenyu's.

Chu Heng narrowed his eyes.

Something's wrong. They're arguing about academy supplies, but he keeps trying to turn it into a contest between students.

As if he can't wait for everyone to forget about the missing supplies.

While Chu Heng was thinking, Su Xianling spoke calmly.

"Chu Heng."

"Hm?"

"Do you think they're arguing about the same thing?"