When Zhang Yu walked out of the Academic Hall, a gust of wind blew over and ruffled his sleeves. The leaves and branches outside the door and the shadows of the trees below also swayed together.
Manager Wang had died yesterday, which was the day he left Xuanfu, in his exquisite residence outside the Academic Hall.
He seemed to have taken a large amount of secret medicine made from the flesh and blood of spiritual monsters and died together with one of his concubines. It was said that when the corpse was found, it was red all over, as if it had just been lifted out of a steamer.
He always felt that Manager Wang's death and his invitation to study being taken away seemed to have some connection.
According to Assistant Teacher Song, when Manager Wang took away the invitation, he cursed at him endlessly. It seemed that he was angry that he had recommended himself to the Academic Hall and thought that he was an opportunist who didn't have the qualifications to study in the Academic Hall, so he did this.
But if he really wanted to stop him, he only needed to secretly take care of the invitation. This way, not only could he delay time, but he could also evade the investigation later. And if he just wanted to express his attitude, he could have torn up the invitation on the spot. Why did he have to take it away?
Did this person have any other intentions?
He thought about it and learned from Assistant Teacher Song that Manager Wang liked to study. When he had nothing to do, he would go to Xuanwen Tang to drink tea. So he thought of a person that he might be able to get a more accurate judgment from.
After thinking about it, he walked over.
A short while later, he arrived at the Xuanwen Hall and found the manager, Qu Gong, on the third floor. Although he had only met this person a few times, they got along quite well. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he inquired about Manager Wang.
Qu Gong glanced at the people walking around in the lobby and said, "Brother Zhang, let's talk somewhere else."
He invited Zhang Yu to a well-lit tea room and asked his assistant to make two cups of fragrant tea. He waved his hand and dismissed him. He half leaned on the rattan chair and said with a smile, "Many people know that Wang Xingtong likes to study. Today, there are already two or three groups of people here to ask about him. Brother Zhang, if you want to ask, I will tell you everything I know."
Zhang Yu had nothing to hide. After thinking for a while, he recounted the incident of Manager Wang taking away his name card. In the end, he said, "I feel that there are many strange things in this matter. However, I have never had any contact with Wang Xingtong before. In Brother Qu's opinion, is his action really because he doesn't like me, a person who recommended myself to enter the school?"
Qu Gong straightened up and used his hand to turn the teaspoon in the cup. He then raised his head and said, "There are indeed many people in the school who cling to the old rules. They naturally look down on those who didn't enter the school through the 'right' way. But Wang Xingtong has never been an old-fashioned and upright gentleman. In the early years, in order to earn money for writing, he wrote many articles that belittled the current political situation in the newspaper office. Whatever the master told him to say, he would say. Today he would side with one, tomorrow he would side with another. He has no position to speak of. He has never flaunted himself as a moral gentleman. "
He smiled playfully. "And such a person, suddenly standing on the side of a moral gentleman, is definitely not because he read too many books."
Zhang Yu thought for a while and nodded.
Qu Gong picked up the teacup and gently blew at the floating tea leaves. He said, "In fact, it is very simple to take away Brother Zhang's invitation. Wang Xingtong has been in charge of the school for ten years and knows the tricks of the book. If he really wanted to stop you, he could have just found a random mistake in the book format and sent the invitation back. He could have made you unable to reason with him. But he clearly could have used this method, but he chose to use such a crude and clumsy method, which is unreasonable. This doesn't seem like the behavior of someone who has been in the school for many years."
Zhang Yu looked at Qu Gong and said, "Then, can it be understood that Manager Wang's words that day when he denounced me could be understood as him intentionally passing them out in order to hide his true intentions?"
Qu Gong drank a mouthful of tea and put it down. He crossed his hands on his stomach and changed into a more comfortable position to lean back. He looked up and then looked at Zhang Yu and said seriously, "Wang Xingtong definitely did not mean what he said. I don't know why he did this, but there is no doubt that it was because of Brother Zhang's invitation."
Zhang Yu couldn't help but nod. Qu Gong's judgment and his analysis were the same. That person's purpose was basically confirmed.
But what was the use of Wang Xingtong having this thing? Could it be that he wanted to use it to make a fuss? However, he was still in the academy, and it was not like he was in the previous booklet …
Huh?
Thinking of this, his mind flashed.
This thing may not be useful to Wang Xingtong himself, but it was very useful to some people!
He stood up and clasped his hands to Qu Gong. He said, "Thank you Brother Qu for clearing my doubts. I will take my leave first."
Qu Gong also stood up from the rattan chair and returned the salute with a serious face. He said, "Brother Zhang is too polite. If you have any questions, you can ask me again." When he sent Zhang Yu out of the tearoom, he seemed to casually say, "Brother Zhang, do you know about the 'scholar'? I heard that these days are coming to an end. I think if there are any cards on both sides, they may try to play them out as much as possible. "
Zhang Yu looked thoughtful.
Out of Xuanwen Hall, he walked on the flagstone road covered by the branches and leaves of the Golden Parasol Tree. Under the shade of the tree where the sunlight could not penetrate, he walked and thought.
Just now, he thought of one thing. The person who used his name list must have known his name. When his reputation of killing the Heavenly Salamander spread out, if the other party heard it, he would most likely be a little suspicious. But there were many people with the same name, so he might not be sure. So, the most reliable thing was to try to find out his place of origin, age, and past experience to see if it was the same person.
What could be more convenient than the invitation? Everything that should be recorded in the invitation would be there.
If that was the case, then even if the other party had a powerful background, they were most likely not from the upper echelons of the academy. Otherwise, they would be able to find out his specific information very quickly, and there would be no need to do this.
So, when he was investigating the other party, the other party was also investigating him!
Moreover, he realized that he had overlooked something previously.
In other words, the person who stole his book might not necessarily enter Taiyang Academy.
The current Taiyang Academy wasn't without opponents. Over the past 60 years, due to the needs of the military, the Protectorate General's Office had supported three academies, one large, two small, and one large. In order to weaken Taiyang Academy's influence, the Protectorate General's Office had even transferred many people from the academy to these academies.
These academies had always opened their doors to disciples who were able to enter Taiyang Academy. They would even spare no effort to nurture them. It was quite possible that the person had gone there. However, because of this choice, the effort and reward were not proportional. If the other party's background was powerful enough, they would definitely not be willing to accept this.
Other than that, there was actually another place to go.
That was to the Army of God!
Previously, all the soldiers in the Army of God had entered through the examination. Even though the situation was different now, if someone entered as a student, regardless of whether it was promotion or promotion, they would usually be one step ahead of others. They might even inherit more powerful divine robes.
And if the other party was originally someone who wanted to enter the Army of God and only wanted to obtain a higher position in the Army of God, then it would be very reasonable.
Especially when one entered the Army of God, no one would test one's knowledge. This would also perfectly avoid the shortcomings of one's lack of knowledge.
He thought to himself. If everything was as he had deduced, then the other party should have already confirmed his true identity. Following this train of thought, Manager Wang's death might not be as simple as it seemed on the surface.
Also, could the letter that was sent by the imposter Zhao Xiangcheng be related to this matter?
"It seems like I have to stay in the academy as much as possible for the next few days, try to find items that can replenish my Divine Energy, and read the chapters of the Great Dao. I will think of other things when I have enough strength to protect myself."
When he thought of this, he became vigilant.
The academy was very safe, but when it concerned his life, he could not be too careful.
Thus, he immediately returned to his residence, took out the red gloves, and put them on. He also took down the Xia Sword that was hanging on the wall, ready to carry it with him.
Previously, he was only an assistant teacher, and he had entered through self-recommendation. If he carried a sword around in the academy, it would be easy to cause trouble. But now, it was different. His other identity was a student of the Xuanfu, so there were some things that he did not have to worry too much about.
Because it was already noon, he took a pill and meditated. When the sun set, he came out of meditation and left his residence. This time, he was going to the warehouse.
This area was located in the southwest corner of the academy. In fact, it was a storage area that was separated by the academy. Although it was still within the academy, because there were more outsiders, there was a stone wall in the way that led to the academy's interior.
When he passed by, there were people who checked the identity of the people coming and going. However, when they saw that he was wearing the robes of an assistant teacher, and that he had an outstanding appearance, not only did no one come up to question him, they even bowed respectfully to him.
After he successfully walked out of the wall, he saw a large piece of flat and open ground. It was piled with all kinds of sundries. In the southeast direction, there were rows of houses of different heights. Everywhere, there were people pushing small carts. Among them, there were a few sturdy domesticated barbarians.
It was noisy here, and dust filled the air. It was chaotic and dirty. It was hard to imagine that the quiet and secluded interior of the academy was just a wall away.
His gaze swept over the place. This was the place with the most miscellaneous items in the academy aside from the official storeroom. Previously, he didn't have the time nor the excuse to come here. Thus, he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to walk around and see if he could find any items that contained Origin Energy.
However, after going around for more than a summer, he didn't find anything special.
He thought about the few items that contained Origin Energy that he had encountered before, and thought to himself, "Could it be that this kind of thing can only be found in those ruins?"
Right now, the sun was already setting in the west. Since he did not find anything, he did not waste any more time. He directly went to the place that Ren Yi had mentioned and walked towards the tallest gate.
At this moment, Ren Yi was instructing his subordinates to move things. His eyes were sharp, and he saw Zhang Yu in a glance. He hurriedly gave orders to the people next to him, and then he happily walked up and cupped his hands, saying, "Assistant Teacher Zhang, you've come."
Zhang Yu nodded in return, saying, "Assistant Ren, I've come to pick up these medicinal ingredients."
"Good, good. Assistant Teacher Zhang, this way please." Ren Yi's face was full of smiles as he led the way. When he passed by a short and skinny middle-aged man, he patted the man's shoulder, "Old Yang, go pour a cup of tea."
The man gave a simple and honest smile. He looked at Zhang Yu, clasped his right hand, and then walked out with his head lowered.
Zhang Yu turned his head sideways, his gaze lingering on the man's back for a moment.
"Come, come. Assistant Teacher Zhang, sit inside." Ren Yi invited Zhang Yu to a large open room. Although there were still many people here, it was clear that there were often people cleaning up here, so it was relatively clean.
"Assistant Teacher, please sit for a moment. I'll have someone bring the medicinal ingredients over."
Ren Yi called out and very quickly, his subordinates carefully brought in the medicinal herbs that Zhang Yu had purchased and placed them on the open platform near the window. There were about thirty bags of herbs and they took up a large area on the open platform.
Ren Yi smiled, "Assistant Teacher Zhang, you can inspect them. If there are any problems, I can go and exchange them."
Zhang Yu checked and found that the quantity was much more than what he wanted to buy. It was just that the quality was a little uneven. However, considering that the requirements for ordinary medicinal herbs and the pills he refined were different, it was impossible for outsiders to know the key points here. This was still acceptable.
Hm?
Just as he was inspecting one of the medicinal ingredients, he suddenly felt something strange. He pinched it with two fingers and picked it up to take a look. This was a bone fragment about the size of a fingernail. What surprised him was that there was actually an extremely weak Origin Energy on it, but it was so weak that he almost could not detect it if he did not pay attention.
He looked at Ren Yi and asked, "Where did you buy this bone fragment?"
Ren Yi glanced at it, then picked up a shabby book and flipped through it. He said, "I bought it from a small trading company called Fu Tong. Could it be that Assistant Teacher Zhang is not satisfied? Then we can exchange it again. "
Zhang Yu put down the bone fragment. There was really too little Origin Energy on it. Even though it was covered by gloves, it was completely absorbed in a breath. He said, "I'll have to trouble Assistant Teacher Ren to make another trip for me. Buy as many of these medicinal ingredients as you can. I have a use for them, so you don't have to worry about the price."
Ren Yi smiled, "What are you talking about? I'm more than happy that Assistant Teacher Zhang is willing to take care of our business. I'll personally make a trip there tomorrow."
At this moment, the sound of heavy footsteps came from outside. The simple and honest man called Old Yang walked in with a cup of tea in his hand.
Ren Yi said with dissatisfaction, "Old Yang, why are you so slow?"
Old Yang lowered his head and did not say anything.
Ren Yi's expression was one of disappointment. He took the cup of tea and waved his hand, "Forget it, forget it. You can leave."
Just as Old Yang was about to leave, a voice came from behind him.
"Wait a moment."
Old Yang's body froze.
Zhang Yu looked at him and casually said, "What happened to your right hand? Can you let me take a look? "
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