Descendants of the False Gods

Chapter 30: Life in the Imperial Capital (8)

“Bao Datin” Li Xin, along with Xiao Xiong and Xiao Yi, are all in the same grade. Due to Li Xin’s quiet nature, he was practically invisible, so Xiao Xiong and Xiao Yi had never heard of him until Li Xin became Lan and Luo’s follower, which made them familiar with each other.

Li Xin’s father was employed by a noble family as a warehouse manager, specifically to record and check the assets coming in and out of the warehouse. Occasionally, he would accompany his master on business trips to collect payments, so his position in the noble family was quite respectable. After school, Li Xin would usually go to the noble family’s residence to wait for his father to finish work.

As usual, Li Xin came to sit at a table and do his after-school exercises after school. It wasn’t long before the young master and his two companions came to the warehouse to inquire about Xiao Xiong. Li Xin wasn’t sure whether it was a good or bad thing, so he only told them about Xiao Xiong’s behavior at school, making an excuse that they weren’t close enough to know anything more.

The young master left helplessly with his two companions. As they were leaving, Li Xin vaguely overheard a few words, “Find… Liu Xiong… interest…”

Later, Li Xin inquired about the identities of those two individuals. He learned that they were relatives of the master of a small hill in the west side of the city and had come to visit the noble family with their parents.

Li Xin felt suspicious about the situation. Liu Xiong wasn’t well-known in school, only somewhat active in the martial arts class of their grade. The only notable event involving him was his participation in the battle at the west city’s grasslands, where he was knocked down in a single round. Given that this unremarkable student had people inquiring about him, Li Xin suspected it couldn’t be for anything good.

On his way home, Li Xin asked his father to wait for a moment at the city gate while he went to ask a classmate about magic class questions. He told his father to wait a bit and went to the courtyard where Lan and Luo lived.

After meeting with Lan and Luo, Li Xin told them about what had happened that day and said he had to leave quickly as his father was still waiting. After hearing the news, Lan and Luo analyzed the situation and came to the same conclusion as Li Xin. The two who were inquiring about Liu Xiong lived in the west city and were definitely from the Southwest Academy. Based on their conversation, it was clear that they were looking for an opportunity to take revenge and would likely target Xiao Xiong first.

Since the city guard patrols the central area, it was unlikely for them to strike in the city center. Lan and Luo lived near the central city gate, so they were safe from attack. Xiao Yi lived along the north-south city road, so the chance of an attack there was also low.

However, Xiao Xiong, living in the outer district, would face many opportunities for ambush since many areas there weren’t patrolled. The best plan was to have Xiao Xiong walk on the main central road, which was a thoroughfare for the patrols. This route would pass through the central city road, then turn onto the east-west road at the intersection, and finally reach the east city gate, from where Xiao Xiong could return home while remaining under the watchful eyes of the patrol.

Even if the patrol missed them by chance, no one would dare cause trouble in such a wide road, as it would be too obvious, and the patrol could easily track them down based on shopkeeper testimonies.

After determining this, Lan and Luo notified Yan Tie about their plan and quickly went to warn Xiao Xiong. On their way back, they also told Xiao Yi to be careful on the way home and take the main road.

A few days later, Xiao Xiong proudly told Lan and Luo, “Yesterday afternoon, on my way home, I walked on the central road like you said. Guess what? Before I even reached Xiao Yi’s house, I saw a few guys from the Southwest Academy hiding in a side alley. I pretended not to see them and just walked down the middle of the wide road. They followed me, so I just kept walking with Xiao Yi. On a whim, I told my aunt that we forgot to order ‘Wang Ke Ju’ dishes. My aunt immediately said, ‘If you want to eat, stay and have dinner with Xiao Yi, I’ll ask the waiter to tell your father when they go buy groceries.’ Haha! We went up to the second floor and sat in a room by the window, watching those guys stand across the street, waiting foolishly. They were even chased away by the store owners for disturbing business. In the end, they waited until dark, and when the stores closed, they left, looking like they had eaten something bitter. Haha! Xiao Yi saw all of it. Every time I think of it, I can’t stop laughing.”

The next morning, a similar scene happened. Xiao Xiong was so amused that his back hurt from laughing, and Xiao Yi, standing behind him, couldn’t help but laugh too. The content was nearly the same as the previous day.

It seemed the students from Southwest Academy didn’t believe Xiao Xiong and the others could hide from them by going to the restaurant. They thought it was just a temporary strategy. They didn’t believe Xiao Xiong and the others could keep using the same trick to avoid trouble.

Lan and Luo were also amazed. Could they really be this stupid? Did they not realize the restaurant was owned by Xiao Yi’s family? Lan and Luo decided to follow Xiao Xiong the next day to see if these guys were as foolish as they seemed. They made an arrangement to meet Xiao Xiong at the school gate and go home together.

After school, the four of them met at the gate as planned and walked south. Passing by the blacksmith shop, they told Yan Tie that Shen Yi had invited them to ‘Wang Ke Ju’ for dinner and they might be late coming back.

With Yan Tie’s permission, they walked leisurely down the central road, acting arrogantly as though on a casual stroll. After passing several shops, they spotted a few boys from Southwest Academy hiding in an alley, constantly glancing toward them.

Lan and Luo found it amusing. Were they skipping class to watch them eat? They didn’t even get past ten meters before another alley revealed more boys from Southwest Academy, dressed like noble children.

No wonder Xiao Xiong had been laughing so much lately. The group of boys didn’t try to hide their intentions at all.

The four of them followed their plan and entered ‘Wang Ke Ju’ in full view of the Southwest Academy boys, heading straight to a private room on the second floor by the window.

Looking out from the window, they saw the boys below, gathered in frustration, pointing at them while standing across the street in front of a shop.

Although they couldn’t hear their words, it was clear what they were trying to express.

Xiao Xiong leaned out of the window, laughing loudly, and yelled, “Today, big brother is having another feast. Are you waiting for us to finish? If you’re getting hungry, just let me know, and I’ll ask the waiter to pack up some leftovers for you! Hahaha!”

His words were like water splashing into hot oil, causing an immediate uproar below. The group of boys started cursing loudly, pointing at the window.

Lan and Luo watched in disbelief, their understanding of the situation completely turned upside down. The boys had been hiding nearby for days without even attempting to cover their tracks, and now they were cursing and waiting for food, making fools of themselves.

The noise attracted the attention of several nearby shop owners, especially the one across the street, who rushed out, cursing at the boys, “You bunch of good-for-nothings! You don’t buy anything and just stand here every afternoon like door gods? Get out of here!”

The shop owner’s scolding was enough to send most of the boys running off, leaving only a few stubborn ones who stood their ground.

The shop owner, seeing they were ignoring him, ran back inside. Moments later, the window upstairs opened, and the owner carefully unwrapped a paper bundle, dumping its contents—flower petals—onto the group of boys below.

The petals rained down on the storefront, the shelves, and even the heads of the remaining boys. The boys who had been so arrogant moments ago immediately started screaming and ran off in panic, cursing as they fled.

A cold breeze blew through the street, bringing with it a familiar smell—something like “Asawei,” a kind of herb used for medicine that smelled quite unpleasant. Lan and Luo recognized the scent immediately.

The shop across the street was a herbal medicine store owned by Old Sun, a cheerful man who had surprised everyone with his ruthless use of Asawei to drive pests away.

The Southwest Academy boys quickly disappeared, their plans thwarted, and the day’s drama came to an end.

Two days later, someone found their way to the blacksmith shop and left a letter addressed to “Lan Qi.” During dinner, Yan Tie handed the letter to Lan with a curious look. Lan read it without saying a word and passed it to Luo. Luo glanced at it briefly and simply muttered, “Ignore it,” before tossing it into the fireplace, continuing to eat.

Yan Tie and Yan Bo exchanged puzzled glances but shrugged and resumed their meal.

A few more days passed. Before school ended that day, dozens of students from Southwest Academy arrived at the school gate, holding banners and shouting slogans.

The banner read, “Duel is sacred! Expel all those who desecrate this sacred oath!” The smaller signs were similarly accusatory, calling for the expulsion of “lowly trash” and demanding justice for Southwest Academy.

This caused a stir, and the school principal, along with the vice-principal, had to intervene and mediate. Lan and Luo, bewildered, were called to the academy’s committee to explain the situation.

Lan finally realized what had happened, clenching his fists in anger. Luo gently patted his brother’s arm and explained calmly, “The other side challenged us to a duel, but after losing, they refused to accept defeat. Then, using their numbers, they ganged up on us. This has been known to many students. We refused the duel because of their lack of integrity. They left a ‘challenge letter’ at our store but never received a clear response, so the so-called ‘violation of the duel oath’ is not valid.”

The committee members exchanged murmurs, and teachers were sent to gather more information from the students and gather their opinions. After some quiet discussion, the committee decided to send Lan and Luo back to class for now, while they would handle negotiations with Southwest Academy and inform the involved students of the outcome later.

The situation quickly spread throughout the academy, with some students saying the individuals involved had damaged the school’s reputation and should be expelled, while others insisted that a new duel should be arranged under official supervision.

However, the majority of students believed that the Southwest Academy students were simply sore losers, making baseless accusations, and demanded that the school issue a formal protest to Southwest Academy.

The next day, the committee held a brief meeting for the entire school, informing everyone that Lan and Luo had not violated any sacred duel oaths and would not be responding to Southwest Academy’s protest.

However, the school announced that to maintain the reputation of both institutions, a “friendly competition” would be held between the two schools at the Imperial Arena. The top three winners would receive ‘Battle Soldier’ replicas, with the costs covered by both schools.