Era of Mist

The four lackeys felt incredibly wronged. Sure, they had come looking for trouble with Shi Tiexin, but they had also taken a genuine beating. In the past, they’d had a grand time blackmailing and extorting others, never caring how frustrated or miserable their victims felt. Today, they had suffered a real, major loss, but Zheng Kaoming didn’t believe them. For the first time, they truly experienced what it felt like to be aggrieved.

’Our chests feel like they’re about to be torn apart, okay?!’

"M-m-me, making false accusations? Me, causing trouble?" The four of them were panting with indignation, blurting out rashly, "Square Head, you don’t believe us!"

"S-Square Head?!" Zheng Kaoming was about to explode. It was arguably his physical flaw, and he hated it when people brought it up. It was one thing for colleagues he was close with to joke about it, but for a few punk kids to call him Square Head? ’They must have a death wish!’

"Bullshit!" Zheng Kaoming was on the verge of fury. "You bunch of turtle-egg bastards, you dare come to my office and frame a fellow student? Who is Shi Tiexin? A weak scholar who doesn’t even have the strength to tie up a chicken! And who are you lot? And who is that Teng Chaoguo? You think I don’t know him? One guy beating up five? You’ve really got some nerve to say it, and even more nerve to make it up!"

The four of them were stunned.

’A weak scholar who doesn’t even have the strength to tie up a chicken?’

’Could it be that in your eyes, sir, that ferocious hard-ass looks like *that*? And you say *we* have the nerve to make things up? You’re the real master of fiction here!’

Zheng Kaoming felt his mind clear with anger. He decided he had to crush these four idiots with pure intellect. He asked loudly, "You said Teng Chaoguo was also beaten, and beaten badly at that. So where is he? Why didn’t he come here to file a complaint?"

"Teng Chaoguo... he..." The four didn’t know what to say.

Zheng Kaoming couldn’t help but sneer. "The one who supposedly got beaten the worst didn’t come to report it, yet you lot, who seem fine, run over here to stir up trouble. What’s that about? Or are you telling me Teng Chaoguo was beaten so badly he’s been hospitalized?"

They were used to spouting nonsense. One of the lackeys immediately blurted out a lie, "Yes, yes, that’s it! He’s in the hospital, in the emergency room!"

Zheng Kaoming wasted no time. He made a call to the security department. "Hello, it’s me. Did any students leave campus today? No? Good." CLICK. He hung up the phone and just stared at the four of them, a smirk on his face. "Should I call the school infirmary to double-check? See if student Teng Chaoguo is currently being resuscitated there?"

The four were speechless. They had no idea how to talk their way out of this.

It seemed their story of "making things up to frame a classmate" was about to be confirmed.

The fatty gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He felt so wronged that he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out the truth. "Teng Chaoguo... he... he’s not in the hospital. He’s too ashamed to show his face!"

"Why?"

"Because he—"

"Hey, Fatty!" The other lackeys tried to stop him. But Fatty shook them off and yelled indignantly, "What’s there to be afraid of? Is there anyone who doesn’t know by now? I’m going to say it! Teng Chaoguo doesn’t dare show his face because he was completely humiliated this time! He got thrown into a urine bucket for a bath!"

"PFFFT—!" Zheng Kaoming almost spat out his drink. In his long career as a dean of discipline, he thought nothing could faze him anymore. But this was genuinely horrifying. He wore a true expression of disbelief. "A... a urine bucket... bath?"

Since the cat was out of the bag, the other lackeys threw caution to the wind and all started talking at once. "Yeah, in the black lavatory! A bunch of the urine buckets were knocked over!" "SPLASH! It flowed all over the floor! The stench was unbearable!"

This... Seeing the four of them swearing up and down, Zheng Kaoming started to have his doubts. The situation was just too bizarre. If they were just making up a lie to frame someone, they usually wouldn’t concoct such a gruesome plot point. Besides, if a story like this got out, they’d never be able to show their faces at this school again. It wasn’t worth sullying their own names to this extent just to frame one person.

Zheng Kaoming was half-convinced, half-skeptical. "Did anyone see it?"

"Everyone saw it! Everyone!" "All the students in Class 28 know about it!" "Come with us and see! Sir, if you just come take a look, you’ll understand!"

’Take a look?’

’Hm, a look wouldn’t hurt. Seeing is believing.’

Zheng Kaoming stood up. "Let’s go. We’ll go have a look. If you dare to lie to me..."

"We wouldn’t, we wouldn’t! It’s the absolute truth!" Seeing that they had convinced Zheng Kaoming, the four felt as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun. They joyfully crowded around him as they headed for the "trash class" building. ’This is the first time the square-headed demon has seemed so nice! He’s like an incarnation of justice and righteousness! We’re counting on you, Square Head, to uphold justice for us!’

A moment later, the five of them appeared at the trash class’s black lavatory.

Zheng Kaoming looked at the floor of the black lavatory, his expression grim. He suddenly pointed at the ground and barked, "Is *this* what you meant by ’splashed all over the floor’?"

The four of them stood dumbfounded, completely clueless as to what had happened. The floor of the trash class’s black lavatory wasn’t just not unbearably smelly; it was actually quite clean, with no trace of anything.

’Wha-what is going on?!’

"N-no, this isn’t right! This isn’t right!" The four lackeys rushed in, unable to believe their eyes. They looked left and right, gesturing wildly. "It was here! Right here! These buckets were all knocked sideways, and the urine spilled out everywhere, and..."

But looking at the urine buckets, they were all full to the brim. It was impossible to tell if any was missing.

’D-did we see a ghost?!’

’This is so freaky!’

"N-no way! This is impossible!" The four were horrified. They frantically surrounded Zheng Kaoming. "S-sir, you have to believe us! You have to believe us!"

Zheng Kaoming had lost his patience. He shot the four a look of disgust but ultimately decided to handle his duties with a bit more rigor. "I’ll give you one last chance. Let’s see if there are any other witnesses. Didn’t you say all the students in first-year Class 28 know about this? Let’s go. We’re going to Class 28 to see if anyone will actually corroborate your story!"

The four exchanged uneasy glances. ’Go to Class 28 for testimony? But we’ve already seriously pissed them off. Who would be willing to testify for us?’

’Our only hope is that the reputation of the Black-Handed Hungry Tiger still holds some weight. We can try to quietly threaten a few people and see if that still works.’

When they arrived at Class 28, it was almost time for the afternoon session to start, and about half the students were already in the classroom. Seeing Zheng Kaoming enter, the students of the trash class held their breath as if they had encountered a natural predator. But when they saw the four stooges peeking in from the doorway, the Class 28 students immediately exchanged subtle glances. They knew what was up.

"I need a moment of your time to ask a few questions. This afternoon, someone came to me and accused your classmate, Shi Tiexin, of assaulting Teng Chaoguo and four others during the break after second period this morning." Zheng Kaoming scanned the room. "Did anyone see this happen?"

The boys and girls of Class 28 instantly felt nothing but contempt for the four guys. ’Damn, when they were bullying others, they acted all high and mighty, pretending to be some big-shot gangsters. Now they get beaten up and go crying to the teacher? They’re a disgrace to delinquents everywhere! Compared to a true tough guy like Shi Tiexin, they’re nothing but trash!’