Chapter 148: Something Strange Is Afoot

At dawn, Xiao Nan finished washing and dressing, and the whole family sat silently at the table, eating breakfast.

Under ordinary circumstances, if Tan Qiuyi had learned that Xiao Nan was certain of gaining admission to a prestigious school—and had even received the full support of Yuanjiang No. 1 High School—she would have been overjoyed.

She might even have secretly returned to her bedroom and lit a few sticks of incense.

Xiao Nan had discovered this once by accident.

In everyday life, Tan Qiuyi always told her two children that Xiao Zhenjiang had merely gone missing in another world and had not died. As a result, the little girl had always believed that her father might one day return.

The old Xiao Nan had been simple-minded and had never doubted the truth of those words.

But now, Xiao Nan knew that his mother, Tan Qiuyi, had long since abandoned all hope of that happening.

At some unknown point, she had even begun secretly burning incense and making offerings.

...

The atmosphere was unusual today, and Xiao Nan naturally knew why.

The news on television had not mentioned yesterday’s martial contest at the school in the slightest. The situation was more than a little strange.

Compared with the overwhelming coverage of the incident in which Li Shaohua had killed a barbarian, this method was strikingly similar. It was another move by the Li family.

Ever since news had broken that Li Shaohua of the Yuanjiang Li family had practiced a forbidden demonic art, been killed on the spot, and displayed signs of deification, the situation had entered an unknowable phase.

Perhaps Tan Qiuyi had thought that, after such a major incident—one witnessed by the people of Yuanjiang—the Li family would surely become the target of universal condemnation.

They could not possibly have the energy to concern themselves with her family, much less remember that Xiao Nan had killed Li Shaohua...

But when she returned home, she discovered that things were nothing like that.

The depth of the Li family’s roots in Yuanjiang Prefecture, and the strength of its influence, exceeded even her imagination.

She switched through several of the largest local channels, yet not one television news broadcast contained so much as a word about the incident.

The little girl was dissatisfied as well. She asked Xiao Nan for some money and deliberately went out to buy several newspapers.

The family then discovered, to their astonishment, that neither the evening papers from the previous day nor the morning papers of today had mentioned the matter.

As for the education sections, they did nothing but heap praise upon Xiao Nan, calling him the student most likely to follow in Qin Shuang’s footsteps and gain admission to a prestigious university in the Imperial Capital, the pride of Yuanjiang, and so on.

Some of the remarks were so exaggerated that even Xiao Nan blushed when he read them.

It was as though the once-famous prodigy Li Shaohua had never existed at all.

As if he were merely a figure someone had invented in a dream.

The Li family’s influence was truly formidable.

When something abnormal occurs, there is always a reason behind it.

The Li family’s diversion of public attention was clearly more than a mere tactic.

Tan Qiuyi possessed little skill in martial arts, but her mind was meticulous. She could smell something unusual in all this.

Judging others by her own heart, no matter how she considered it, she could not believe that the Li family would let Li Shaohua’s death pass so easily.

“Mother, don’t worry. The Li family has caused such a huge disturbance and is now diverting attention and deceiving the public. They can’t possibly be doing it merely to muddle through. They must have some plan. This is not something we need to trouble ourselves over. I’m afraid many people have already begun taking action.”

“Oh? Little Nan, do you know something happening behind the scenes?” Tan Qiuyi’s expression eased. She stopped what she was doing and looked at him in puzzlement.

She had noticed that, without her realizing it, her child had grown increasingly intelligent. He now had his own opinions about many matters.

And afterward, events would often prove him right.

At times she felt extremely proud, yet she could not help feeling a faint sense of regret.

She was always thinking that once a child grew up, he would spread his wings and fly, and that the days he remained at home would grow fewer and fewer.

But everything had two sides.

A young eagle spreading its wings and soaring into the heavens was a good thing.

From what she could see, her child’s future was destined to be magnificent. There was no longer any need for her to worry over him.

The time had come to let go completely.

“I don’t know anything behind the scenes... But, Mother, you were there that day. You should have seen it. The Li family lost a son, and that son was exposed in a scandal. He was even suspected of colluding with the beast barbarians. That’s a huge matter, isn’t it?

“But that’s precisely where things become strange. The people present behaved very oddly.

“Whether it was Principal Sun, Aunt Su, or even Teacher Tang... none of them reacted strongly. They simply watched the Li family leave.

“Stranger still, they took no follow-up action afterward and even allowed the Li family to conduct damage control. What does that tell us?”

Without waiting for Tan Qiuyi to answer, Xiao Nan transformed into Sherlock Holmes and launched into a forced deduction.

Rubbing his chin, he held a fried dough stick in his left hand but did not eat it. Instead, he pondered carefully.

“The calmer things appear, the more dangerous they are likely to be. I imagine that Principal Sun and the others did not refrain from asking questions because they lacked the courage. They simply did not want to ask. They must be calculating something—or they have certain scruples.”

Xiao Bei stared at Xiao Nan with shining eyes, filled with admiration.

After he explained the matter, every detail seemed suspicious, and the entire affair had practically turned into a mystery drama.

She suddenly interrupted. “Are they afraid that the Li family might stake everything on one desperate gamble, and that Aunt Su and the others wouldn’t be able to deal with them?

“But wouldn’t the army be mobilized? Surely the Li family can’t stand against the Empire? And there’s the military as well...

“Oh no! Li Shaoyun is an officer, and he has an army under his command, doesn’t he? It’s over! Our city is going to be conquered!”

“Where did you get that plot from?” Xiao Nan could not help laughing.

He had to admit that the little girl’s imagination ranged far and wide. She was quite good at guessing.

Still, she was not entirely wrong. Although there were some inaccuracies, she had come fairly close to the truth.

If even a young girl could understand that much, there was no reason others could not see it as well.

And yet some truly could not. The common people remained foolishly convinced that once someone exposed a conspiracy, the entire nation would immediately grasp the situation, punish the culprits, confiscate their property, and exterminate their families as easily as turning over a hand.

History had long since proven that villains were not helpless creatures waiting to be bound and brought to justice.

They would fight for their lives. They would strike back.

If one lacked sufficient strength and acted rashly, one would not only be courting death but might also cause matters to deteriorate beyond imagination.

No one knew whom the officials of Yuanjiang would ultimately support.

Would they merely occupy their posts without doing their duty, or would they secretly fan the flames?

More likely still, they might choose to stand aside and watch the two sides fight for the sake of certain利益.

After all, the Li family’s collusion with the beast barbarians was merely Xiao Nan’s own interpretation—or, to put it more accurately, a guess.

Just a guess.

And since it was only a guess, it could be wrong.

Without evidence, who would act on your word?

A single careless move could cost lives. How could anyone treat the matter lightly?

Judging from what had been revealed during the martial contest, Li Shaohua’s actions appeared, on the surface, to amount to nothing more than a scion of a wealthy family failing to resist temptation and practicing the Primordial Spirit Visualization Method.

...

On his way out to school, Xiao Nan encountered Qin Shuang, just as expected.

The young woman remained as cool and distant as ever. Her brows and eyes resembled a tranquil lake beneath distant mountains, revealing nothing of her thoughts.

This time, Xiao Nan did not even wait for her invitation. He tactfully opened the door and got into the car.

Qin Shuang was as she had always been. The faint concern in her eyes clearly showed that she was worried about something.

“I thought you would hurry back to the Imperial Capital today. Didn’t you say that the Greenlake Trial, presided over by your mentor, was of great importance and could not be interrupted? If the delay affected your cultivation and that Mentor Yunxi blamed you, wouldn’t that be troublesome?”

Xiao Nan was considerate by nature. He could not be too selfish.

Qin Shuang had stayed in Yuanjiang not to enjoy herself, but to lend him her support.

“It’s nothing. Don’t listen to Teacher Tang’s nonsense.” Qin Shuang sounded utterly unconcerned, her voice calm and revealing no emotion. “I’ll leave after today.”