Return to Town
The mornings in Bluestone Town begin with the steam rising from the soy milk shop at the street corner.
Long Tian and Yu Jin stood under the old locust tree at the entrance of town for a while. The trunk was thicker than when they left, and the leaves on the branches were already dense, turning a bright green in the morning breeze. The main street of the town was not yet fully bustling, but the shops along the street had already taken down their doors one after another, and a few early-rising vendors were setting up their stalls on the side of the street, with the clattering of pots and pans coming from the alley.
They walked along the main street towards the college. As they passed the braised meat shop, the door was ajar, and the broth in the pot was bubbling away, the aroma exactly the same as it had been years ago. Long Tian glanced inside as he passed the shop but didn't stop. When they reached the entrance of the college alley, on the other side of the old locust tree, Zhao Xiaopang was hurrying out of the alley, clutching a roll of paper, as if he had just run out of the college to buy breakfast at the street corner.
When he saw Long Tian and Yu Jin standing at the alley entrance, he paused, almost dropping the scroll of paper. This time, he didn't freeze for several breaths like last time; he just stood there, mouth agape, for a couple of seconds, then tucked the scroll under his arm, strode over, and said in a low voice, "What brings you here? The patrol team just left a few days ago, and Mr. Wang was still telling you to keep your distance."
Long Tian followed him through the side gate of the academy, across the familiar corridor, and stopped in the small courtyard behind the teaching hall. Zhao Xiaopang led them into a side room filled with miscellaneous items, closed the door, and then spread the scroll of paper he was holding on the table. It was a list handwritten by Mr. Wang, listing the registration information and Soul Power records of all students in the academy over the past three years, with several items marked in red that needed to be cleared. Zhao Xiaopang's alias was circled in red, and the annotation next to it read, "Cancellation materials prepared, awaiting submission."
"When the patrol team came, Mr. Wang showed them the official roster. The alias registration record wasn't in the official roster; it was only tucked inside an old supplementary file. They didn't find that file when they were looking through it, but your alias was definitely on the list. Mr. Wang later checked, and the old supplementary file showed no signs of being tampered with, meaning they found the name from somewhere else." Zhao Xiaopang pointed to another name marked in red on the list. "This person transferred from town to the Shrek Academy last year. We didn't have direct contact, but his alias registration method was similar to yours—both were done through Mr. Wang's document. Besides you and him, the list the patrol team took away also had an alias belonging to a student from Tang San's group."
Long Tian sat down at the table, glanced through the list, and then asked, "Where is Mr. Wang now?"
"Upstairs, he's organizing files. He said he needs to re-screen all the records of those who registered under pseudonyms through him in the past three years, canceling those that should be canceled and completing those that need to be completed, all before the patrol team turns back."
Long Tian stood up, told Zhao Xiaopang to wait downstairs, and went upstairs to the second floor. Mr. Wang was sitting behind a desk, the files in front of him piled higher than usual. His brass-rimmed glasses sat on his nose, and his eyes behind the lenses were scanning an old registration form line by line. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, glanced at Long Tian, took off his glasses and placed them on the table, and said a sentence in the same tone as when he had taught Long Tian about Soul Ring in the academy years ago, "I know about the list. You've come at the right time; there's something I need you to do."
Long Tian walked to the table, Mr. Wang handed him a folded piece of paper with an address and a name written on it. The address was in an old warehouse in the north of town. "This man used to be an archivist at Spirit Hall Branch, but he retired and is now living a quiet life in town. He has a copy of the old archives of the Spirit Hall Branch, which records all the registration materials of the Soul Master he filed. If the patrol team wants to check those people on the list, they will eventually look for that copy of the index. Go to him now and ask him to copy out the pages related to the academy from the index. Have him temporarily move the original index somewhere. If the patrol team comes to check and sees that those pages are missing from the index, at least they won't immediately trace it back to those people on the list."
Long Tian carefully put the letter away, stood by the table for a moment, and then asked, "Is this person reliable?"
"He's reliable. He had contact with people from the Seventh Squad before he retired; your dad knows him. Just mention your dad's name."
Long Tian tucked the letter into his coat pocket, turned, and went downstairs. Yu Jin was waiting in the courtyard. Zhao Xiaopang walked alongside them for a while, then stopped at the side gate, saying, "I'll go to the kitchen and get you two some dry rations," before quickly running towards the cafeteria. Long Tian and Yu Jin exited through the side gate of the academy and walked along the alley towards the north of the town. As they turned the corner, he glanced back and saw Zhao Xiaopang running back from the cafeteria, carrying two oil paper packages, catching up to them from the alley. He shoved the packages into Long Tian's hands, took a couple of breaths, and said, "Eat these on the way. I'll keep an eye on Mr. Wang; I'll come find you if anything happens."