Assessment

The news about the Sucha Street fugitive had broken long ago, so Wu Li wasn't surprised that Cheng Sheng knew about it.

But most ordinary people who hadn't seen the footage from the scene circulating on the Dark Forum still believed a bomb had caused the deaths and injuries of so many innocent people on Sucha Street. The police department had also classified the fugitive as an extremist terrorist, and the scene really did look like the aftermath of a terrorist bombing.

"They didn't catch him."

Wu Li shook her head. "But the alert in Kunsha District has been lifted completely. I heard that bad guy fled to another city..."

Then Wu Li couldn't help adding, "If you don't have to, stay away from Kunsha District. Who knows if that guy will come back..."

Cheng Sheng nodded. Even without Wu Li's warning, he understood.

The news that the fugitive had fled to another city might not be true. It could just be something the authorities had put out to calm the public.

After two sacrifices, he had gained some ability to protect himself, but compared with the "inhuman" being in the video, the gap between them was still as vast as if they were two different species.

While he was relatively weak, the wisest thing to do was to keep his head down and develop.

"...Next month is when the Black Tide happens most often. We've already booked several experience tours from Dongyue, and your dad wants to seize the chance to crush Golden Valley once and for all. You and Yueyue need to behave and give your dad less trouble..."

Dongyue had the Black Tide too, but its territory was much larger than Nantu's, and the Black Tide was concentrated mainly near the coast. Many people from inland Dongyue had grown up hearing stories about it without ever seeing it even once.

And so, someone had come up with the genius idea of a "Black Tide experience tour." It had quite an audience, and business boomed at certain times every year.

What a strange and kaleidoscopic world.

"Oh, right, don't you have some kind of disciple assessment at the boxing gym today?"

Wu Li suddenly cried out in the middle of her rambling. It was remarkable that she had even remembered the day of his assessment.

"Yeah."

Cheng Sheng nodded.

"How is it? Are you confident?"

Wu Li came over and gave Cheng Sheng a hug. "Sweetheart, it's okay if you don't pass. What matters is taking part."

"Mom."

Cheng Sheng said helplessly, "That's what you said before the big exam, and I really did fail."

"I just didn't want you to feel pressured."

As Wu Li spoke, she took off the Buddhist amulet she had worn around her neck for years. Holding it in her hand, she murmured into the air, "Datuk Gong, please bless us! Bless my Shengsheng and let his exam go smoothly today. Please don't let him get hurt..."

Listening beside her, Cheng Sheng found it funny and a little heartwarming, but inwardly, he shook his head.

If Datuk Gong really existed in this world, he wouldn't bless a warlock who spent his days in the company of demons. He ought to fear Cheng Sheng, or curse him to go to hell sooner...

Cheng Yue left the residential complex, crossed two streets, and waited at a minibus stop for a while. A fiery red jeep roared to a stop in front of her.

"Yueyue, get in!"

The door opened, and a girl wearing heavy smoky makeup waved Cheng Yue over. Cheng Yue climbed in with practiced ease.

The car was filled with a mixture of perfume, tobacco, and alcohol. Besides the girl who had greeted her, two boys sat in front. They looked about Cheng Yue's age, but their clothes and bearing were much more mature than those of their peers.

"Did you guys party all night again?"

Seeing the three of them yawning nonstop, Cheng Yue couldn't help frowning slightly.

"Otherwise, how could we possibly be up this early to pick you up?"

One of the boys in front smiled and turned around. "Speaking of which, Cheng Yue, did you have another fight with your family?"

"How did you know?"

"You're smart, Cheng Yue, but don't take us for idiots, okay?

"When would you ever think to call us and ask us to come over unless you'd fought with your family..."

Cheng Yue didn't argue. She merely said coolly, "This time, we've completely fallen out."

She briefly explained what had happened. As soon as she finished, the heavily made-up girl beside her cried out.

"Oh my god, your brother is so disgusting! He actually went and tattled on you!

"Is he jealous that you bought a new phone and made a bunch of rich friends like us?"

"Cheng Yue, what does your brother do?"

The boy in the driver's seat asked.

"What does he do?"

Cheng Yue's mouth twitched, and she sneered. "He doesn't do anything. After he failed the big exam with a score of just over two hundred, he's been staying at home. Recently, he asked the family for another sum of money, saying he wanted to go learn boxing..."

"Help!"

The heavily made-up girl looked like she couldn't take it anymore. "Your parents are ridiculous too, playing favorites with an older brother who loafs around and can't do a damn thing. Is there something wrong with all their heads...?"

She wrapped an arm around Cheng Yue and said sympathetically, "Poor Yueyue, living in a family like that. If it were me, I'd have broken down ages ago!"

Cheng Yue said, "I've already applied to live at school."

At that moment, the boy in the passenger seat slapped the seat and urged, "All right, hurry up and drive Cheng Yue to school. We don't have class, but she does.

"We're still counting on Cheng Yue for next month's monthly exam. Don't forget what you promised your dad when he rewarded you with this car..."

"Forget it. I'm in a bad mood today. I don't want to go to school."

Cheng Yue shook her head and spoke up.

"Yueyue."

The heavily made-up girl beside her couldn't help trying to persuade her. "Don't let those awful people affect your studies. What if you don't do well on next month's monthly exam? What will we do...?

"And if you skip class, what about our homeroom teacher, Sam...?"

"Don't worry."

Cheng Yue said calmly, "I finished teaching myself the high school curriculum a long time ago. As for our homeroom teacher, after I finished an entire set of senior-year exam papers in front of him, he personally promised that I could come to school or not as I pleased, except for exams..."

"That's our Cheng Yue, the number one genius top student at Qingsha No. 3 Middle School!"

The boy in front gave Cheng Yue a thumbs-up and couldn't help cheering, "Then let's keep the party going!"

The girl in the back also smiled in relief. "Yueyue, since you don't want to go to class today, this is perfect!

"Haven't you always wanted to take the SAT so you could ditch this family and go to school in Dongyue? But you were worried the SAT would be too hard and you weren't good enough yet...

"We'll take you somewhere. Once you've been there, you're guaranteed to pass the SAT. If we're lucky, maybe it can even help the rest of us pass too..."

"Where?"

Cheng Yue looked visibly tempted.

But the girl kept her in suspense with an air of mystery. "Once we get there... you'll know."

Beside the stop, the red jeep gave a tremendous roar and suddenly took off.

It deliberately sped along right next to the curb, sending several people waiting under the bus-stop sign scurrying in panic. The boys and girls burst into a string of gleeful laughter as they drove away.

Cheng Sheng sat quietly on the minibus, watching the rice paddies, farmhouses, and coconut trees flash past the window.

The weather was good today, perfect for some outdoor activities.

It had been cloudy for several days straight without raining, so the roads were less muddy. Even the stretch through the rubber grove on the way to the boxing gym was much easier to walk than usual.

On the day of the formal assessment, the boxing gym was far livelier than usual, with many unfamiliar faces.

As Cheng Sheng passed the open space in front of the gym's entrance, he saw several people feeding Dongni bananas, oranges, and pineapples. Dongni was eating to his heart's content. In front of the shrine beside the training ground, a group of people were kneeling and devoutly kowtowing to the statue of Ruesi on the table.