Chapter 28 - 28 How Useless
Slightly earlier.
Lei Buxiao rushed back to the Talisman Master Association as soon as he received the communication talisman from Lu Wang.
The few from the Sword Cultivation Academy had Jiang Cheng’s dossier surrounded, making it impenetrable.
Lei Buxiao wanted to see for himself who was opposing him.
Liu Qi wanted to see the true face of the “genius” who had left him unconscious.
Lu Benwei pondered over the taste of the Talisman Master Certificate in his heart.
Bai Wendao, on the other hand, watched from the sidelines, not in a rush to see the dossier. With his advanced age and vast experience, he did not have the same impatience as the younger cultivators.
Lu Wang stood beside Bai Wendao and sighed, “This young cultivator named Jiang Cheng is really a genius!”
Bai Wendao was shocked, “Who!?”
“Jiang Cheng.”
“You know Jiang Cheng too?”
“I haven’t met him, but this Muscle Relaxation Talisman is indeed his handiwork.”
Jiang Cheng drew the Muscle Relaxation Talisman!?
Bai Wendao widened his eyes, disbelieving what Lu Wang said.
In his memory, the image of Jiang Cheng surfaced. How could this sunny, kind-hearted, knowledgeable, and humble youth be the one to draw such an extremely sinister and perverse talisman?
Lei Buxiao said, “The dossier has Jiang Cheng’s information. Old Lu, how about I directly summon him to the Talisman Master Association with a communication talisman for a face-to-face confrontation?”
“No way!” Lu Wang immediately refused.
Lei Buxiao retorted angrily, “Jiang Cheng isn’t part of your Talisman Master Association, so why are you protecting him?”
Lu Wang thought to himself: Lei Buxiao is truly reckless, no wonder he’s only the dean of a B-grade academy even at the Core Formation Stage. This Muscle Relaxation Talisman incident has nothing to do with my Talisman Master Association. Now you have the dossier and want to summon Jiang Cheng to the Talisman Master Association for confrontation, putting the Talisman Master Association and me, the president, in a difficult position. I kindly inform you about the person behind the scene, yet not only do you not thank me, you want to implicate me instead!
Before Lu Wang could speak in his own defense, Bai Wendao interjected, “Indeed, this cannot be done.”
Everyone respected Bai Wendao.
Even Lei Buxiao was willing to patiently ask for Bai Wendao’s opinion, “Professor Bai, the culprit is right before us, why can’t we confront him?”
Bai Wendao still did not believe that Jiang Cheng was the one who drew the talisman.
He stated, “It’s possible that Jiang Cheng created this talisman, but there is no evidence to prove that he’s the one selling them in the Task Hall and causing chaos in the academy! The one selling the talismans might be someone else. We should first verify in the Task Hall. We must not wrong a good person.”
The crowd looked at each other, feeling that what Bai Wendao said was reasonable.
It wouldn’t be honorable to wrong a good person, and indeed, they should be more cautious.
Lei Buxiao, a straightforward person, was willing to apologize to Lu Wang for the misunderstanding.
As Dean Lei was a Core Formation cultivator, Lu Wang had no reason not to give him a way out.
After a courteous exchange, the two seemed to get along harmoniously and joyously.
With the misunderstanding resolved, Lei Buxiao wanted to borrow Jiang Cheng’s dossier to go verify at the Task Hall.
However, Lu Wang couldn’t give it to him. Lei Buxiao was an outsider, and if the information of a Tongtian Sect Talisman Master was given away casually, then what would become of Tongtian Sect’s laws and dignity?
After some discussion, Lu Wang decided to personally carry the dossier and accompany Lei Buxiao and his group to the Task Hall.
That was the official reason.
In reality, Lu Wang also wanted to meet “Jiang Cheng” in person and see who could come up with such a heaven-defying thing like the Muscle Relaxation Talisman.
The Task Hall was part of the Outer Sect system in the Tongtian Sect.
The general sect properties were under the jurisdiction of the Outer Sect, while Inner Sect disciples only needed to focus on cultivation and breakthroughs to maintain the sect’s strength.
At the entrance of the Task Hall, Elder Sun Decai of the Tongtian Sect Wuyue branch had been waiting for a long time.
“Elder Sun, you’ve been waiting long.”
“President Lu, Dean Lei, Daoist Bai…”
There weren’t many high-level cultivators in Wuyue City, so even if they weren’t close, they recognized each other.
After exchanging pleasantries, they immediately got down to business.
Lu Wang pulled out Jiang Cheng’s dossier, and Elder Sun Decai checked the records of tasks taken from the Task Hall. Comparing them, they quickly concluded that “Jiang Cheng” was indeed “Jiang Cheng.”
Lei Buxiao was instantly furious, “Well, Jiang Cheng! Just wait and see how I deal with you!”
Since the Task Hall was ultimately under the management of Sun Decai, he didn’t want to escalate the issue. He preferred to resolve it privately, so as not to affect the operations of the Task Hall.
“Dean Lei, please be patient. Look at Jiang Cheng, he’s only eighteen and still studying at Wuyue Advanced Middle School. Given his age, even if there was a mishap, could he really be held responsible?”
Lei Buxiao was taken aback and said, “Elder Sun means…”
“Of course, we couldn’t just blame the student. We would need to bring in the parents, and the school that taught Jiang Cheng should also not be neglected. Didn’t Jiang Cheng win second prize in a talisman-drawing competition? The Wuyue Advanced Middle School that taught him and allowed him to enter the competition surely can’t be free from involvement, right?”
“Indeed, that’s true.”
Lei Buxiao opened Jiang Cheng’s file and dialed the emergency contact number Jiang Cheng had provided.
Sun Decai felt relieved seeing this move.
Students might be thoughtless, but parents and schools probably wouldn’t be.
With the parents and Wuyue Advanced Middle School stepping in to mediate, this matter would likely be resolved without much trouble.
According to Professor Bai’s explanation, Lei Buxiao’s requirements were actually quite simple. As long as Jiang Cheng stopped making talismans and offered an apology to Dean Lei, this incident would probably be over.
At this moment, Bai Wendao had a complicated expression on his face.
Was the Muscle Relaxation Talisman really drawn by Jiang Cheng?
He felt life was full of disillusionment and uncertainty.
If Jiang Cheng wasn’t reliable, then were there any dependable students in this world?
Bai Wendao still harbored a glimmer of hope, believing there must be more to the story with Jiang Cheng.
Soon, Lei Buxiao connected with Jiang Cheng’s parents through the communication talisman.
Lei Buxiao even turned on the speakerphone so that everyone could hear how Jiang Cheng’s parents would respond.
“Who is this?”
“Are you Jiang Cheng’s father?”
“Yes, I am. May I ask who’s speaking?”
“I am the dean of Tianheng Sword Cultivation Academy in Wuyue City, Lei Buxiao.”
“Uh, what can I do for you?”
“Your son, Jiang Cheng, created a talisman that severely disrupted our school’s teaching order. Would it be convenient for you to come to the Task Hall in Wuyue City? We’d like to discuss something with you face-to-face.”
“Jiang Cheng disrupted your school’s teaching order?”
“That’s right. He’s suspected of assisting a large number of students in cheating during exams.”
“Did Jiang Cheng do this?”
“Yes. Do you have any other questions? You can come and discuss them with us in person.”
“Hahaha. You’re saying Jiang Cheng is affecting your school? Then, how incompetent must you all be to be influenced by him? I know my son, and you’re trying to tell me he’s disrupting your school? When he was in primary school, he couldn’t even influence his deskmate. Next time you try to scam someone, please come up with a more believable excuse. I’m very busy. Is there anything else? If not, I’m hanging up.”
The call was disconnected.
Everyone looked dumbfounded.
Lei Buxiao held the communication talisman in one hand, still not having recovered from Jiang Cheng’s father’s mocking tone.
“How incompetent must you all be?”
This sentence echoed continuously in the ears of the people at the Sword Cultivation Academy.
On the other side, Jiang Cheng’s real father, Jiang Lei, hung up the phone and said to a beautiful middle-aged woman next to him, “Just a scam call. By the way, when shall we go back and see Jiang Cheng? It seems he just finished his college entrance exams, and the results should be out soon.”
The woman said, “How about in a couple of months? Let’s surprise him while he’s still in Wuyue.”
Jiang Lei smiled, “Okay. That kid, Jiang Cheng, may not have any big talents, but he’s never caused any trouble since he was young, and he’s never even been in a relationship, which makes him so easy to raise.”
“And you’re happy he’s not dating?”
“We can talk about that in college. He’s young; there’s no rush.”
The woman sighed, “There are many temptations in college.”
“Don’t you know our son? He’s so honest, he wouldn’t just go around being a playboy even in college. Don’t worry.”