Era of Mist

Shi Tiexin found the situation absurd. Meanwhile, in the disciplinary office of Fengming First Middle School, the infamous "Square-headed Demon Star," Zheng Kaoming, found it equally absurd and unbelievable.

A few students had come to his office in the middle of the day to file a complaint.

This was nothing new. There were always disputes among students. Even at a prestigious institution like Fengming First Middle School, such things were unavoidable. In fact, some of the top students had even more petty issues, their fussiness driving him up the wall. Although Zheng Kaoming was endlessly annoyed by it, as the dean of discipline, he still had to do his job properly.

But these particular students today nearly made Zheng Kaoming’s eyes pop out of his head.

"What did you say?" Zheng Kaoming’s tone was one of utter disbelief, as if he’d just seen a pig fly. "Say that again?"

"T-T-Teacher Zheng..." The four students stood in a line before him. They were supposedly the victims, but right now, they were all trembling like quails. They were none other than Teng Chaoguo’s four lackeys.

These lackeys had a solid plan before they arrived, but the moment they reached the door of the disciplinary office, they all wanted to back out. It couldn’t be helped. To them, seeing Zheng Kaoming was like mice running into a cat. They usually couldn’t avoid him fast enough; now they were actively seeking him out. Wasn’t that just asking for death?

The four of them hesitated at the office door for a long time, ultimately lacking the courage to open it. But just because you don’t move forward doesn’t mean fate won’t give you a push. They didn’t enter, but the door opened from the inside, and a large, square head emerged.

Seeing these four characters, Zheng Kaoming’s eyes immediately widened, and he opened his mouth, ready to lecture them for a solid ten minutes. But one quick-witted lackey had a flash of inspiration and let out a dry wail, cutting off Zheng Kaoming’s scolding before it could begin.

"Teacher, we were beaten up! We were beaten up so badly!"

Zheng Kaoming was stunned. Had the sun risen in the west? These four delinquents were actually here to tattle to him? What a rare sight. So, Zheng Kaoming decided to ask them properly, which led to the scene from before.

"What did you say? Say it again, and explain yourselves clearly this time!"

Since these four were hooligans, they had a bit of a ruffian’s grit. Things had already come to this, so their only option was to charge ahead. One of them, who had a sly face, secretly pinched the fatty on the back, prompting the one who looked the most simple and honest of the four to speak.

The fatty twitched the flesh on his face, trying to make himself look less menacing, and complained with a woeful expression, "Teacher Zheng, we were beaten up! This morning, right here on campus!"

The other three chimed in right on cue.

"Yeah, yeah, we got beaten up real bad!"

"Teacher, look! My tooth was knocked loose!"

"Look at the bruise on my face! My cheek is swollen this high! We really took a beating!"

Zheng Kaoming had a pretty good idea of what kind of characters these four were. Seeing their bruised and swollen faces, it seemed they really had taken a beating. Brawling on campus was a major issue and could be a huge headache if not handled properly. However, it looked like no serious harm was done, so Zheng Kaoming relaxed slightly, his curiosity piqued.

"Who did this to you?" Zheng Kaoming looked the boys up and down, then his expression darkened and he barked, "Speak! Did you get into a gang fight?!"

"No, no, no, it wasn’t a gang fight. We were all beaten up by one person."

"Right, right, just one guy. And we’re not the only victims! There’s also Teng Chaoguo, and he got it even worse!"

One person?

Zheng Kaoming thought for a moment. ’Chen Yuanlong did it?’

Chen Yuanlong, an eleventh grader and a sports-track student at Fengming, was a professional Sanda fighter. He had already won the city championship and qualified for the Beisu Province tournament. He was one of the best fighters in all of Fengming First Middle School.

Calling him "one of" was accurate, because there was a twelfth grader who had won the provincial championship and was even stronger than Chen Yuanlong. But it was also correct to say he wasn’t just "one of," because that other student, along with all the elite twelfth-grade classes, had already been moved to a different campus.

He was there in total isolation, undergoing high-intensity, closed-off studying. The goal was to make a run for this year’s Beisu Province Champion Scholar in the college entrance exams, or maybe even the top Champion Scholar of all Nanzhili.

On this particular campus, Chen Yuanlong’s fighting skills were second to none.

"No, no." The four exchanged a glance. ’This is probably our only chance to get that guy kicked out! We’ve set the stage, now it’s time to go for the kill.’ Then, in perfect unison, they all accused, "It was Shi Tiexin!"

"Who?!"

Zheng Kaoming’s eyes widened.

"Teacher Zheng, you have to get justice for us!"

"Look how badly he beat us!"

"We can’t even go to class! We have to go to the hospital! Shi Tiexin has to pay for our medical bills and missed school time!"

"If I get this checked out, it’ll qualify as a minor injury! Intentional assault causing minor injury, that’s enough to get him sentenced!"

The four of them chattered and clamored, getting on Zheng Kaoming’s nerves. He suddenly roared, "All of you, shut up!" The four fell silent at once. Zheng Kaoming looked at the four problem students, snorted coldly, and said, "I’ll ask, you’ll answer. No more nonsense, understand?"

The four nodded in unison, acting very obedient.

"The one who beat you up was Shi Tiexin?" Zheng Kaoming repeated, emphasizing the name. "Shi Tiexin from Class 28 of the tenth grade?"

"Yes, that’s him!"

"When did this happen?"

"This morning, during the break after second period."

"Where?"

"In the Black Loo... no, no, I mean in the old restroom behind Academic Building Four."

"How did he do it?"

The four immediately started talking over each other. One said Shi Tiexin was unstoppable, taking on all five of them at once. Another, feeling that was too embarrassing, quickly denied it, saying Shi Tiexin had tricked them with a dirty scheme. A third felt that wasn’t right either; if they downplayed it, they might not get the guy expelled. They had to make his crime sound more serious.

Zheng Kaoming just listened quietly to the four of them give their incoherent testimony, a cold smirk playing on his lips.

"One last question for you—why did he hit you? Or rather, what caused the conflict between you?"

The fatty blurted out, "Because he brought people to search our..." SLAP. Another one of them smacked the fatty on the head, breaking out in a cold sweat. The fatty quickly corrected himself, "We don’t know, we don’t know! We have no idea why. We were just using the restroom, and he suddenly rushed in and beat us up."

"Hssss..." Zheng Kaoming took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and shook his head, muttering, "I’ve really never met a student like this before..."

"Right, right, Teacher Zheng! It’s an unforgivable outrage! He must be expelled—"

Without looking up, Zheng Kaoming said, "Get out."

"Right, right, Teacher Zheng is absolutely right! He must get out..."

"I’m talking about you lot! Get out! Get out right now!" Zheng Kaoming slammed his hand on the desk with a BANG, making the four students jump. The circular patch of hair on his big, square head practically stood on end. Zheng Kaoming was furious. "Pestering me, making false accusations, and talking utter nonsense! All of you, get the hell out!"