Volume 1, Chapter 6 – A Strange Turn

An hour later, in the school building by the road, the three main parties to the incident—Bai Xiang, Zhou Ji, and Tang Min—were brought into an empty classroom and essentially shut in.

The teacher in charge of them started making calls to confirm the situation.

“You’ve got the thermos? Testing it now? Okay, I understand.”

“Mr. Ma… it’s just a laxative.” Zhou Ji was all impatience. “Tang Min already said it was a prank. Do we have to make it this formal? I’m trying to get to the hospital!”

“If it really is only a laxative, there probably won’t be much follow‑up.”

Ma Bolan looked at him, then at Bai Xiang, and left the rest unsaid.

He was head of the Moral Education Office at No. 1 and had been pulled over to keep an eye on them for now. As for Gao Feng, he’d gone with the old principal to deal with Han Li.

Now that it was public, both sides stuck to their stories.

Tang Min had admitted she put something in, but said it was only a laxative. Her motive: she thought Bai Xiang saying in public she planned to apply to Qizhou University’s Sword Institute was too arrogant, so she wanted to “prank her,” “teach her a small lesson.”

Bai Xiang, however, insisted it wasn’t a laxative, but poison enough to kill.

If this had happened on campus and been handled inside, the school would’ve had an easier time. But it had blown up outside—and two Inspectorate officers had gotten pulled in.

Ma Bolan had handled enough students to see at a glance that this was tied to the student council and to Zhou Ji. Tang Min alone didn’t have that kind of nerve; even a laxative would be too nasty.

But dare he say so?

He knew Zhou Ji’s background too. Best to keep out of it.

So he dragged a little stool into the hall, shut the door, and adopted an attitude of: as long as you don’t come out, do whatever you want.

“Bai Xiang.” Zhou Ji, satisfied with the door between them, flicked his gaze to her. “I didn’t expect you to trot out that excuse to stall for time.”

“But will it work?” He laughed. “Bai Shengju was formidable in his youth; Shenming Sword Dao even ranked among the Seventy‑Two Paths at the start. But he’s old now, and Shenming’s long since fallen.”

“Dragging time only works if you have enough cards. You don’t. The longer this goes, the worse you lose.”

“Zhou Ji’s right.” Tang Min, too, tried to dissuade Bai Xiang, watching Zhou Ji’s face to make sure he liked what he heard before daring to go on.

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“You might not know Zhou Ji’s family. It’s absolutely not as simple as the rumors—if anything, those are conservative…”

“And think about it: what motive would I have to poison you?”

“It was just to make you look bad. If you go tell Inspector Zhao you were wrong, there’s still room to fix this…”

Clearly, the two of them both thought Bai Xiang was deliberately blowing things up and stalling for time, waiting for Bai Shengju to show up and “set things right,” which was why she’d lied that it was deadly poison.

“I’m genuinely curious.”

Sitting sideways in the front row, Bai Xiang didn’t look at them when she spoke. She stared at the door and said, “What did I ever do to you that you’d feel this level of malice toward a brand‑new student you’ve never even met?”

Tang Min frowned. “It was only a prank…”

“Zhou Ji put you up to it, didn’t he.” Bai Xiang cut her off. “You don’t even have the nerve to look at me. I don’t believe you have that kind of backbone.”

“Even so, it’s odd.” She turned to Zhou Ji. “Shenming Sword Dao’s influence is tiny now. We have no competition with Qingya Sword Dao. Even if we were at odds for some reason, there should’ve been a period of testing first.”

“Especially…” Her eyes narrowed, golden irises flashing in the dim. “I’ve heard President Zhou is a ladies’ man.”

“No invitation to me, no refusal from me, yet you jump straight to a targeted move—this isn’t your style.”

“So you’re not the planner. Someone else with a grudge wants me dead.”

When she finished, both Tang Min and Zhou Ji were struck dumb.

Arrogant?

From anyone else, saying Zhou Ji should have tried inviting her first would be the height of arrogance.

He’d ridden family status since childhood. What kind of girl hadn’t he seen? It’s not like he’d freeze in place just because one was pretty.

But Bai Xiang.

Those singular features, paired with that face and figure.

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Above all, the way she said it—as if it were self‑evident, with a crisp, upright tone.

Zhou Ji even found himself wanting to agree; it sounded reasonable.

She really was unusual.

He’d been seething over the humiliation of having his face stepped on in public, but the anger ebbed now.

He’d never taken No. 1’s student council seriously.

A high‑school council is small potatoes; he was only playing around. He’d always despised the ones who flocked over, thought their minds childish—nothing like the high‑society ladies his family had shown him.

But Bai Xiang—what she did, what she said—were things girls their age, even society ladies, wouldn’t dare dream.

If a girl like that ended up his, taking her out would do wonders for face.

“I’ll just say it straight.” Zhou Ji leaned back, eyes narrowed. “My grandfather is Zhou Jing’an.”

Zhou Jing’an.

Riffling her memory, Bai Xiang instantly understood what Zhou Ji was leaning on.

Zhou Jing’an, current Dao Master of Qingya Sword Dao.

Qingya is the only sword dojo in the Chilong Circuit among the “Seventy‑Two Paths,” and that setup has held in this circuit’s city for a long time.

At least three generations—hence the talk of a Qingya faction. That network is no small thing.

With Zhou Jing’an as his grandfather, Zhou Ji was essentially Qingya’s crown prince.

No wonder he dared to be so brazen at No. 1.

Bai Xiang let her eyes sweep Zhou Ji’s face and saw the shadowed thoughts beneath it clear as day.

Definitely not Earth anymore.

She thought.

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Technology had advanced and society was modern, but Great Yu was, to the letter, a feudal dynasty.

In a feudal realm, measured by Qingya’s weight against Shenming’s, Zhou Ji was a great noble; she, at best, a merchant’s daughter.

Not only Zhou Ji—No. 1 itself belonged to the great nobles. Schools and companies out in society were essentially princelings and peers.

As for Bai Xiang—never mind that she’d only just entered the Dao—even if she’d already forged her sword and inherited Shenming’s master’s seat, in these people’s eyes she was an ant to pinch at will, raising not the slightest ripple.

They feared only two things: force that exceeded the bounds of the rules, and checks from the imperial house.

Which was why Zhou Ji wanted me to go explain things to Inspector Han.

Imperial hounds…

Drawing in the Inspectorate was the right move.

“?”

Seeing Bai Xiang ignore him entirely, Zhou Ji felt a little stung.

What made her so sure of herself? Did she not know who his grandfather was?

But lying to the Inspectorate is a major crime—she couldn’t not know that!

Could it actually be poison…?

“What I gave you—did you swap it?”

He snapped toward Tang Min, suddenly uncertain.

“Huh…?” Tang Min was stunned. She didn’t understand why he was asking.

“Speak! Did you swap it!?”

“No! How could I? I didn’t dare…!?”

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Tears filled Tang Min’s eyes; she was a picture of grievance.

She had followed instructions one hundred percent!

Zhou Ji could decide her future—how could she dare change what he gave her?

I didn’t think you would, either.

Zhou Ji steadied his breathing, reining himself in for the moment.

But the whole thing was too abnormal.

First—how did Bai Xiang tell that the water was off?

If she’d just entered, there’s a brief “return‑to‑innate” phase where you can sense fortune and misfortune—that would barely fly.

But her foundation was so solid she’d clearly begun Nurture the Spirit long ago. How did she just happen to catch it? And then flip it and accuse them of poisoning?

Thinking of that thermos undergoing testing in the school lab, Zhou Ji felt hollow inside.

“Hello—?”

As luck would have it, the sound of Ma Bolan answering a call came through the crack in the door.

After a moment, Ma pushed the door open and looked at Zhou Ji and Tang Min with a complicated expression.

“You two… step out a moment.”

Both faces went a bit pale. Zhou Ji forced a smile. “So… Teacher Ma, the test result…?”

Ma Bolan shook his head.

“It’s not a laxative.”