CHAPTER 77: TRUE TRUST

How could the body have possibly decayed so quickly overnight?

One of the two female students was left behind to protect the scene, while the other went to report the matter to an instructor, and before long, the dormitory room was packed with people.

After a thorough examination of the scene, the instructors ordered everyone to keep quiet about the incident, then took their findings to the coordinator's office.

"Wan Zhimei is a One Heart Church mole!"

The slip of paper by Wan Zhimei's pillow was sufficient evidence, and from there, it was easy to extrapolate the sequence of events that had led to her death.

"Wan Zhimei discovered the secret symbol of the One Heart Church, so she went to the specified location to pick up the pills. This slip of paper proves everything. If she wasn't a member of the One Heart Church, she wouldn't have recognized the symbol. The only thing that remains a mystery is why the One Heart Church decided to kill her."

"Perhaps she was about to do something that would expose her. Perhaps she simply outlived her usefulness or perhaps... she may have been framed."

"In any case, we have irrefutable evidence that she was a member of the One Heart Church."

"Investigate the Wan Clan right away, and notify the Hall of Guardians and authorities in their city!"

White Cloud Warrior Academy acted extremely quickly, setting everything into motion that very same day.

The Wan Clan's connection to the One Heart Church was exposed, and that night, the entire clan was apprehended.

After some interrogation, it was determined that there were over forty members of the Wan Clan that were aware of the situation, while all of the women, children, and elderly were oblivious.

Those who were in the know were imprisoned, while the others were released, and from that day forth, the Wan Clan ceased to exist.

However, this remained an unsolved case.

Why was Wan Zhimei killed? That question remained unanswered.

***

Fang Che was only made aware of Wan Zhimei's death the next day after emerging from the spirit qi gravity cultivation chamber.

He was eating in the cafeteria when the news arrived, and he hurriedly swallowed the food in his mouth before asking, "How did that happen? I saw Senior Sister Wan just yesterday!"

"Shh! Don't call her that! She was a One Heart Church spy!"

"B... But how? This is way too abrupt!" Fang Che exclaimed in a stunned manner, seemingly reeling from the news.

Mo Ganyun patted Fang Che on the shoulder as he sighed, "I know you were close with your cousin's friends, but what's happened has already happened, so we'll just have to accept it."

"I'm going to see my cousin," Fang Che declared as he rose to his feet.

"He's not here anymore. Your cousin wanted to postpone their mission for a day, but the academy turned them down, so they've already left."

Fang Che raised his bowl of soup, then downed it one go before delivering a brief eulogy. "Regardless of what type of person you were, our paths crossed in this lifetime thanks to fate, so I wish you a smooth trip to the other side."

"You still going to the cultivation chambers this afternoon?" Mo Ganyun asked.

"Of course. Time is of the essence."

Fang Che was very pleased with his own progress. He had already reached the fourth tier, and his foundation was extremely compacted and solid.

Mo Ganyun was a little flabbergasted by how quickly Fang Che had recovered from his grief.

If he were in Fang Che's place, it would've likely taken him at least several days to m,mentally recover.

"You free tonight? I wanted to discuss with you some things about our future," Mo Ganyun said.

"I'm meeting someone else tonight. Let's do tomorrow instead."

Mo Ganyun: "???"

Fang Che rose to his feet, then patted Mo Ganyun on the shoulder as he said, "I know what you want to say to me, but we're only first-year students at the moment, and it's too early to be talking about the future now."

Mo Ganyun's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

"True trust should only be afforded to those you've experienced life and death with," Fang Che continued.

"Isn't that a very pessimistic way to look at things?" Mo Ganyun asked.

Fang Che was silent for a moment, then smiled as he replied, "Someday, you'll come to understand that I'm not being pessimistic at all."

With that, he departed from the cafeteria, leaving Mo Ganyun to sit on his own in a contemplative silence.

He suddenly felt like he didn't know much about Fang Che at all.

As he spoke those parting words, there was a jaded air about him that Mo Ganyun had never seen before.

Among the eight-thousand-strong new student cohort, Mo Ganyun only had eyes for a select few.

He knew that he had very high standards, and the only peers in his year level that he respected were Qiu Yunshang, Xie Gongping, Fang Che, and Ding Jieran.

Among those four, Fang Che and Ding Jieran were the two that he held in the highest regard, but both of them had turned down his intentions of forming a team together in the future, not even allowing him to articulate the matter at all.

But why? Is there something I don't understand? What's wrong with forging a close brotherhood like the one between Jun Hefang, Wu Zhibing, and Hua Kaixie?

Mo Ganyun was truly perplexed.

Fang Che heaved a faint sigh as he emerged from the cafeteria.

Mo Ganyun was naturally a great candidate to become his future companion, but it was still too early to consider such things.

Mo Ganyun was still too young.

The bond between Jun Hefang, Wu Zhibing, and Hua Kaixie definitely hadn't been forged overnight, nor had it been forged in the academy.

The two of them had been through thick and thin together for over four years, enduring countless hardships together to reach this point.

If they were to tell a story about all of their past experiences, then it would take days and nights!

They were true brothers in every sense of the word, aside from blood ties, and Mo Ganyun wanted that for himself.

However, Fang Che and Ding Jieran couldn't fulfill that desire of his, nor could anyone else in the new student cohort.

These things took time and shared experiences, so Fang Che was in no rush.

As for what happened to Wan Zhimei, that was something that he felt no guilt about.

If she weren't a member of the One Heart Church, she wouldn't have recognized that symbol, and she wouldn't have died.

Seeing as she had recognized the symbol, gone to the designated location, and taken the pill waiting there for her, she deserved to die.

Fang Che had originally planned to keep her around to see if he could use her to lure out bigger fish, but given that he had to focus wholeheartedly on his cultivation for the next few months, he didn't have the patience to carry out his original plan.

After his afternoon cultivation session, Fang Che took a brief rest, then cleansed his entire body with spirit power. It was not as refreshing as taking a bath, but it was certainly more sanitary than nothing.

From there, he left the academy to purchase two jars of wine and a few dishes, then headed straight to the scripture library.

Just like always, the old man at the scripture library had his head buried in a book. In his current state, reading was the only thing that he could do, and given how long he had been at the scripture library, Fang Che's guess was that he had most likely already read every single book in there.

Hence, he was definitely the most knowledgeable person in the academy, making him the perfect person to answer his queries.

The situation surrounding Wei Zihao had to be addressed right away. The darkness was already capable of taking on the form of a human face, and that was extremely unsettling.

Of course, he couldn't just visit the old man empty-handed.

***

Inside the scripture library, the old man's eyes lit up slightly as he caught sight of the wine and food that Fang Che was carrying.

He had already been at the scripture library for two hundred years. Initially, his comrades and colleagues would pay him frequent visits, and he was always telling them not to waste their time visiting him.

As time passed, the visits became more and more infrequent.

Eventually, some of them perished in battle or were transferred away, and at this point, he barely received any visits at all.

There were only a few people who would occasionally visit to share a drink with him, but that was becoming rarer and rarer an occasion.

If I could go back in time, would I still burn through the entirety of my cultivation base to save my comrades?

This was a question that he had asked himself countless times, and every time, the answer was a resounding yes!

There were times when he felt sad, frustrated, and even resentful, but he never regretted his decision.

He had only been able to survive up to this point thanks to the sacrifices of countless past comrades, so it was only right that he did the same for his own comrades.

"What are you doing here?" the old man asked as Fang Che set down the wine and food he was carrying.

"I missed you, so I decided to come and visit you," Fang Che replied with a smile.

"You think I'm some gullible child?" the old man harrumphed. "What do you want from me? Hurry up and spit it out, then get out of here!"

"There's no hurry, let's have a drink together first."

Fang Che removed the dishes from their oil paper bags one by one, and there was a total of ten dishes.

After that, he pulled out a pair of large bowls, then broke the clay seals on the two jars of Iron Will Wine, instantly filling the entire area with the potent aroma of wine.

A hint of warmth welled up in the old man's heart as his gaze roamed over the dishes.

They were all dishes that nourished the body and were perfect for someone in his physical state.

It was certainly a very thoughtful gesture.

Fang Che filled one of the bowls all the way up to the brim with wine, then carefully offered it up to the old man with both hands.

"You're more of a thoughtful young man than I imagined," the old man sighed, then took a sip of wine before setting his bowl back down.

Fang Che filled his bowl to the brim again, and only after that did he sit down across from the old man.

Only after the old man had begun eating did Fang Che do the same, observing immaculate etiquette the entire time.

"So what is it that you want this time?" the old man asked.