Chapter 10: The Stick of the National Teaching Academy
Although Tang Thirty-Six was now covered in filth, his clothes tattered and torn, looking very different from his legendary image, his sharp and caustic words, along with the utterly carefree look in his eyes, quickly allowed Tianhai Ya'er to recognize him. His face immediately turned extremely ugly.
Back then, the reason he had gone to the Heavenly Dao Academy for the Green Vine Banquet was because Tang Thirty-Six had declared to the entire capital that he would cripple him.
The final outcome of that incident was that, due to the restraints of the Heavenly Dao Academy's masters, Tang Thirty-Six was unable to attend that Green Vine Banquet. Tianhai Ya'er used the excuse to throw a tantrum, directly crippling one of Xuan Yuan Po's arms, only to be beaten into a cripple himself by Luo Luo.
The two had never formally met until today, but that didn't stop Tianhai Ya'er from blaming his own crippled state on Tang Thirty-Six.
He stared at Tang Thirty-Six, his face pale, his eyes filled with venom, as if he wanted to devour him. But he did nothing. Instead, hearing Tang Thirty-Six's last words and recalling the rumors about this guy's temperament, a sense of ominous foreboding arose in his heart. He cut in sharply, "I was talking to Chen Changsheng! It has nothing to do with you!"
Go ahead and hit me if you dare!
Tianhai Ya'er was shameless, despicable, and vicious. He dared to say that to anyone, including Chen Changsheng, but he simply didn't dare say it to Tang Thirty-Six.
Because he knew Tang Thirty-Six really could swallow his pride and strike.
Tang Thirty-Six was slightly taken aback, not expecting the guy to react so quickly. Unable to think of any other good method, he simply resorted to being unreasonable. "I don't care. I'm going to fight you anyway."
Having said that, he said to Chen Changsheng, "Help me roll up my sleeves."
At this moment, his left hand was holding a bowl of soy milk, and his right hand was holding half a fried dough stick. There was indeed no way for him to roll up his sleeves himself.
Rolling up one's sleeves was an action everyone understood, carrying a certain symbolic meaning—it was a signal for departure.
Tianhai Ya'er's face turned slightly pale as he said, "I'm not going to fight you. Anyway, I'm a cripple. If you're not afraid of losing face, then go ahead and do it yourself."
Chen Changsheng was just pondering whether he should actually roll up Tang Thirty-Six's sleeves when he heard the words "not afraid of losing face" in that sentence. He thought, well, that settles it; no need for me to think anymore.
Sure enough, upon hearing "not afraid of losing face," Tang Thirty-Six didn't hesitate at all. Instead, his eyes lit up, and he said, "What is face?"
Tianhai Ya'er looked at him uneasily and said, "What do you want to do? Do you really intend to bully a disabled person like me in front of so many people?"
Misty rain shrouded the Hundred Flowers Lane. The rain wasn't heavy, and it was even gradually lightening. On the side where the Li Palace priests and the Imperial Forest Army were maintaining order, many citizens of the capital had already gathered.
Tianhai Ya'er's reputation in the capital was extremely bad, but after all, he was a boy less than fourteen years old, and he had been crippled for nearly a year. His legs were as thin as reeds, making him look quite pitiful. If someone were to strike him while he was in his wheelchair, it would surely invite much criticism. But Tang Thirty-Six was hardly afraid of criticism or blame.
He looked at Tianhai Ya'er with a smile and said, "Do you know what I loved to do most when I was a kid?"
Tianhai Ya'er stared into his eyes, his voice trembling slightly. "What?"
Tang Thirty-Six said, "I loved to take a stick and chase after dogs that had fallen into the river, beating them relentlessly."
Tianhai Ya'er understood his meaning. He shivered and cried out in a trembling voice, "Someone, quick! The only grandson of the Tang family of Wenshui is hitting someone! He's going to strike me, a cripple, from behind!"
Tang Thirty-Six wasn't in a hurry. He let him shout until Tianhai Ya'er's voice finally died down, then he said to the crowd outside the lane, "Everyone, look carefully. I haven't laid a hand on him."
Indeed, he hadn't hit Tianhai Ya'er. He hadn't even touched Tianhai Ya'er's clothes.
As he spoke, he deliberately raised the soy milk and fried dough stick in both hands to show everyone that even if he wanted to hit someone, he couldn't.
Then his expression suddenly turned cold, and he viciously kicked Tianhai Ya'er right in the chest and stomach!
A dull thud rang out!
Tianhai Ya'er, along with his wheelchair, was sent crashing into the rainwater on the ground, his head bloodied and bruised.
Tang Thirty-Six's kick was too fierce. The crippled boy curled up like a shrimp, his face deathly pale, in too much pain to even speak.
In front of the National Teaching Academy's gate, outside Hundred Flowers Lane, there was dead silence. No one could speak.
No one had expected that a moment ago, he was smiling, holding up his soy milk and fried dough stick, all cheerful and harmless, and the next moment, he would actually deliver such a vicious blow to the disabled boy in the wheelchair!
The guards of the Tianhai family, as well as Zhou Ziheng, hadn't expected it either, so they were completely unable to stop it.
A fierce gust of wind howled as the Tianhai family's attendants and guards rushed to the scene and shielded Tianhai Ya'er.
Zhou Ziheng had long since dropped his paper umbrella. His right hand was already gripping his sword hilt, his face full of rage as he stared at Tang Thirty-Six, as if he would draw his sword at any moment.
Tang Thirty-Six still paid no attention to this Star Gathering realm powerhouse. He looked at the surrounding crowd, raised his soy milk and fried dough stick even higher, and said, "Everyone, look carefully. I really didn't use my hands, let alone strike him. I used a kick."
Indeed, he hadn't struck Tianhai Ya'er from behind; he had kicked him from behind.
Zhou Ziheng let out an angry roar. The sword blade left its sheath, and a surge of sword intent rose sharply, echoing before the National Teaching Academy's gate.
The target of this powerful sword intent was, naturally, Tang Thirty-Six.
Having observed the steles and comprehended the Dao at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, and having practiced diligently, Tang Thirty-Six's cultivation level had advanced rapidly. At such a young age, he had incredibly reached the upper level of Thorough Light, but he was no match for a Star Gathering realm opponent.
Yet, he still didn't even glance at Zhou Ziheng. He continued walking toward the gate of the National Teaching Academy.
From the moment he entered Hundred Flowers Lane and saw Zhou Ziheng, he knew this man desperately wanted to be seen by the world. So, from start to finish, he simply refused to look at him.
This was, of course, an insult.
Zhou Ziheng was a priest of the Zhechong Hall, a guest official of the Tianhai family, and an instructor at the Ancestral Temple. Any one of these identities meant he had the right to be arrogant.
An arrogant man could hardly bear such an insult. So, even though he now knew Tang Thirty-Six's identity, he still intended to draw his sword.
But the sword never left its sheath.
Suddenly, a dense series of bowstring sounds filled the air.
Dozens of Imperial Forest Army soldiers formed a formation behind Tang Thirty-Six, their divine crossbows leveled. The sharp crossbow bolts, pulsating with energy, were terrifying.
A deputy general stood behind them, his face like ice, his hand gripping his sword hilt, staring at Zhou Ziheng. The warning was clear: if he moved, he would die.
Tang Thirty-Six and Chen Changsheng entered the National Teaching Academy. The gate closed with a sharp snap.
It sounded like a crisp slap.
Tianhai Ya'er was supported by his attendants and guards, his face pale and wracked with pain.
Zhou Ziheng stood in the light rain, his face pale, and said coldly to the deputy general, "I want to know, does General Xue know about this?"
As everyone knew, the Imperial Forest Army, responsible for the security of the entire capital, was under the command of Xue Xingchuan, the continent's second-ranked divine general. And General Xue had always been loyal to Her Holiness the Empress.
The attitude the Imperial Forest Army had shown today in front of the National Teaching Academy carried a clear hostility toward the Tianhai family.
The deputy general looked at Zhou Ziheng as if he were an idiot and said, "My maternal grandfather's family only has this one descendant. If I don't stop you, do you want your entire family to be wiped out?"
Having said that, he waved his hand to signal his subordinates to disperse, then walked into the inn across from the National Teaching Academy, continuing to drink tea and daydream.
Inside the National Teaching Academy, Xuan Yuan Po and Chen Changsheng enthusiastically dragged Tang Thirty-Six into the library.
"Your enthusiasm is making me quite uncomfortable," Tang Thirty-Six said, looking at the expressions on their faces and finding it strange.
Chen Changsheng looked at him with relief, and Xuan Yuan Po also seemed to have a weight lifted off his shoulders.
"You don't know, these past few days, that crippled little monster has been outside the gate every day spewing filth. We were really at our wit's end. We were counting on you to come back."
Chen Changsheng looked at him gratefully and said, "Sure enough, as soon as you came back, you settled everything. Otherwise, we really wouldn't have known what to do."
Tang Thirty-Six was a bit smug, but also a bit annoyed. "You just let people block the gate and curse at you? What kind of backbone is that?"
Chen Changsheng looked a bit embarrassed and said, "I really don't have experience dealing with these kinds of things."
Xuan Yuan Po added from the side, "Tianhai Ya'er relies on being a cripple to curse recklessly. He has no shame. What could we do? Were we really supposed to beat him up?"
Tang Thirty-Six thought to himself, didn't I just kick him? And it felt great. Why not?
Chen Changsheng said helplessly, "That guy is like a pile of shit now. No matter how you handle it, you can't avoid dirtying your hands. So we had to wait for you to come back."
Tang Thirty-Six said, "Why did you have to wait for me to come back?"
Chen Changsheng turned to look out the window.
Xuan Yuan Po was more honest and said, "You have more experience with this kind of thing. Besides, we all know you're even more shameless than he is."
Tang Thirty-Six was stunned for a moment, then furious. "What do you mean by that? You two, explain yourselves! Does that mean you think I'm also a pile of shit?"
Xuan Yuan Po was momentarily at a loss for words, not knowing how to explain. He wanted to smooth things over but didn't know what to say.
Chen Changsheng comforted him, "What we mean is that your ability to be unreasonable and not mind getting dirty is just the thing for dealing with someone like him."
Tang Thirty-Six reconstructed this sentence in his mind and got even angrier. "So I'm just a shit-stirring stick? How is that any better?"
Of course, he wasn't really angry; it was just banter. Chen Changsheng and Xuan Yuan Po had indeed been waiting for Tang Thirty-Six to return. Neither of them was good at talking or scheming. Luo Luo naturally had the ability, but her identity was too sensitive. So, to solve the problems the National Teaching Academy was currently facing, they could only rely on Tang Thirty-Six. In fact, few people noticed that many of the academy's previous problems had been solved by Tang Thirty-Six.
After listening to Chen Changsheng explain the new rules of the National Church, Tang Thirty-Six thought for a moment, then dunked the fried dough stick in his hand into the soy milk and said, "Drown them."
Chen Changsheng and Xuan Yuan Po didn't understand. What did "drown them" mean?
(The next chapter will be in the evening.)