madnovel Chapter 91 The Back-to-School Turmoil: Qin Hao Makes His Move
Chapter 91 The Back-to-School Turmoil: Qin Hao Makes His Move
Dusk crept in from Black Wind Ridge, like a layer of grayish-purple gauze, gradually covering the sky. As the five emerged from the mountain pass, the last ray of sunlight disappeared over the ridge, and scattered lights began to twinkle in the distant Star Martial City.
The guard at the school gate recognized Leng Feng. Seeing the bandages on his arm and the bloodstains on his clothes, he quickly made way without asking any questions. The moment the five of them stepped into the school gate, the surrounding students' eyes turned to them as if drawn by a magnet.
It was dinnertime, and the school gate was bustling with people. Some were eating their lunchboxes as they walked, some had just come out of the training room with their hair still wet, and some were walking out in twos and threes. When they saw Lin Chen and his group, many people stopped in their tracks.
Lin Chen walked at the front, his clothes torn in several places, the fabric on his shoulder ripped open, revealing the red, bruised skin beneath, scarred by poisoned needles. Su Muyue followed beside him, her white dress stained with mud and dark red stains, her hair disheveled, but her back ramrod straight, still clutching the Demon-Slaying Flag in her hand. Leng Feng walked on the left, his right arm bandaged from wrist to upper arm, a patch of dried, dark brown blood seeping through the white bandage. His face remained expressionless, as if nothing had happened, but his right arm barely moved as he walked, his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Chu Fan walked on the right, his clothes relatively clean, but a streak of ash ran from his cheekbone to his chin on his face, and his glasses were speckled with mud, which he hadn't had time to wipe off. Su Ling'er walked at the very back, her face flushed, whether from exhaustion or anger, it was hard to tell. Her ponytail was askew, and she didn't care that her hair tie was about to fall off. She carried a medicine box in one hand and rubbed her shoulder with the other.
"Isn't that Lin Chen?"
"Who's that woman next to him? I've never seen her before."
"Look at Leng Feng's arm, and Su Ling'er, they're covered in injuries. What were they doing?"
"I heard they went to Blackwind Ridge to do a mission, hunting Shadow Panthers."
"Shadow Leopard? That's a fourth-tier ferocious beast, and those guys are only at the Meridian Opening Realm, right? Did they really kill it?"
"I don't know, but it's already amazing that they came back alive..."
Whispers drifted in from all directions, some whispered, others deliberately speaking in a voice just loud enough for Lin Chen to hear. Lin Chen ignored them, his steps unchanged, his gaze fixed straight ahead as he walked directly toward the mission hall.
Qin Hao blocked the steps at the bottom of the mission hall.
He was wearing a new school uniform with silver embroidery that shimmered in the twilight. Behind him followed a dozen or so people, both boys and girls, all wearing the core class's silver-embroidered uniforms, standing in a row, blocking most of the entrance to the mission hall. Qin Hao stood with his arms crossed and one leg slightly extended forward, his posture casual, but a smile that made people uncomfortable lingered on his lips.
Lin Chen walked down the steps and stopped.
The two people were separated by three steps, and neither of them gave way first.
Qin Hao's gaze swept from Lin Chen to Su Muyue, then from Su Muyue to Leng Feng's arm, and finally to the ash marks on Chu Fan's face and Su Ling'er's crooked ponytail. His gaze was slow, as if he were counting the number of wounds on their bodies, and the smile on his lips deepened.
"Lin Chen, you're finally back." Qin Hao's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for the thirty or forty people around to hear. "I thought you had died in Black Wind Ridge. I didn't expect you to be so tough."
He emphasized the phrase "still has a tough life," as if he were saying something regrettable.
There were people around him chuckling softly; they were Qin Hao's followers.
"However, I heard—" Qin Hao took two steps forward, ascended two steps, and looked down at Lin Chen, "that you embezzled the treasures of the evil race's stronghold in Black Wind Ridge and deliberately destroyed the mission traces in an attempt to monopolize the points. Is that true?"
Lin Chen shielded Su Muyue behind him and looked up at Qin Hao. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were devoid of warmth.
"You're spouting nonsense. We hunted the Shadow Panthers as required by the mission and completed it. We didn't embezzle any treasures. Qin Hao, you lost on the sparring stage, and now you're throwing a tantrum here?"
Qin Hao's face twitched. The matter of the sparring platform was a thorn in his side, and Lin Chen bringing it up in front of so many people was like stepping on that thorn again.
"Throwing a tantrum?" Qin Hao sneered, raising his voice by half a tone, and waved behind him, "You say so, so it is? Men, bring up the evidence."
A weasel-faced lackey squeezed through the crowd, holding a piece of paper. The paper was new, with straight creases, clearly freshly written. He held it above his head, deliberately showing it to the surroundings, and loudly read: "According to reliable sources, Lin Chen and his group discovered a large quantity of rare and precious materials in the Black Wind Ridge demon clan stronghold, including several high-grade spirit stones, spiritual herbs, and magical artifacts. They failed to hand them over as required, privately dividing the spoils, and only handed over the corpse of a Shadow Leopard to appease their mission. This behavior is a serious violation of school rules; it is recommended that they be stripped of their core class status and expelled from the school!"
His voice was high-pitched and thin, like fingernails scratching a blackboard. After reading it, he turned the paper over and showed it to everyone, as if it contained some kind of imperial edict.
"You're talking nonsense!" Su Ling'er was so angry that her face turned red, and she didn't even notice her ponytail swinging forward. She took a step forward, but was stopped by Leng Feng's outstretched left arm.
More and more students gathered around. Some had just come out of the cafeteria, holding their lunchboxes and tiptoeing to peek inside; others had run over from the dormitory building, their shoes untied. Whispers rippled through the crowd: some said Lin Chen shouldn't have embezzled the food, others said Qin Hao was settling a personal score, and most were simply observing—they couldn't afford to offend either side, and would side with whoever won.
Seeing the growing crowd, Qin Hao grew even more confident. He took another step forward, now only two steps away from Lin Chen, his finger almost poking Lin Chen's chest: "Lin Chen, if you hadn't embezzled anything, would you dare let us search you? Would you dare hand over all your mission proceeds for inspection? I bet you just don't dare, you're guilty!"
His voice was so loud that people inside the mission hall peeked out to see what was going on.
Su Ling'er couldn't hold back any longer. She peeked halfway out from behind Leng Feng's arm and shouted at Qin Hao, "You're talking nonsense! We encountered an assassination attempt by the Black Serpent Organization in Black Wind Ridge, and we even raided the Evil Clan's stronghold, obtaining evidence of their collusion with people within the school! We didn't even settle accounts with you, and you're turning around and accusing us!"
"Evidence?" Qin Hao's henchmen immediately clamored, "Show it! Talk is cheap, who'll believe it if you don't show it!"
"Exactly! Anyone can make up lies!"
"Maybe they themselves are traitors within the evil race, fabricating false evidence to fool people!"
Leng Feng pulled out the Black Serpent Organization's token from his pocket, along with several fragments of clothing belonging to the evil cultivators, and spread them out in his palm. The token was black, with snake patterns gleaming eerily under the light; the tattered cloth still bore traces of black blood, emitting a faint, fishy stench.
He stepped forward, holding the token up to Qin Hao, his voice low but like a hammer striking a wooden board: "Black Serpent Organization token. A relic of the evil cultivators. Qin Hao, you hired the Black Serpent Organization to ambush us in the mountains. You dare say it wasn't you?"
Qin Hao's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. He looked at the token, a sneer playing on his lips. "What does this prove? You think you can just pick up a piece of scrap metal on the roadside and claim it's mine? Lin Chen, is that all you're capable of?"
Chu Fan took out the jade slip from his backpack and held it up to eye level. The jade slip was bluish-white, with a smooth, mirror-like surface that reflected a faint light under the school streetlights.