latelenovela Ch. 173 - Was Your Enemy's Ancestral Tomb on Taiping Mountain
Ch. 173 - Was Your Enemy's Ancestral Tomb on Taiping Mountain
Gazing at the resolute Shen Wushuang...The Bureau Director suddenly spoke up. "I recall there was a rumor on TV — something about this being the work of the Nanjiang Bandit?"
"The Nanjiang Bandit?"
The Dragon Guard's expression shifted instantly.
"Sir, you know them?"
When Shen Wushuang saw the Dragon Guard nod, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Chen Shu, oh Chen Shu... you've already got the fucking Dragon Guard keeping tabs on you...
"He's a third-year high school student, right? Beat my nephew! Impressive kid!"
The Dragon Guard chuckled lightly, not connecting the explosion to Chen Shu at all.
At the end of the day, the kid was just a student. How could a student possibly pull off something like this?
"I'll transfer the team from Frost Canyon over here. They've been investigating for two months — they should have some experience by now."
The Dragon Guard laid out his plan: investigate the explosion first, then trace the origin of the Fire Snake swarm.
Both incidents reeked of something sinister. There had to be an answer.
Seeing that no one needed him anymore, Shen Wushuang seized the chance and slipped away.
"Damn it — I'm not the one who blew it up, so why the hell do I feel like I'm the prime suspect?!"
Shen Wushuang cursed under his breath. He even considered burying Chen Shu alive on the spot.
...
"Hey Chen Shu, are we still turning in the mission?"
The trio had made it back to Nanjiang City proper and were wandering the streets aimlessly, looking like a pack of vagrants.
"Can't. We didn't collect any Fire Snake scales."
All three sighed.
Xie Sunan suddenly turned to him with a puzzled look.
"Look, Chen Pi — the mission failed, we didn't get the Lord Fire Snake's materials either. We literally came away with nothing."
"What was even the point of blowing up that mountain? Was your enemy's ancestral tomb in there?"
"..."
The corner of Chen Shu's mouth twitched. Do I LOOK like the kind of guy who blows up people's ancestral tombs?
He didn't bother explaining. The System-rewarded Explosion Potion was worth infinitely more than one Lord-rank Fierce Beast.
That thing could save his life when it really mattered!
After a beat, he spoke with absolute seriousness.
"Nobody was setting off firecrackers for New Year's. I was just trying to add a little holiday atmosphere — is that wrong? Absolutely not!"
Xu Xingxing chimed in. "So you blew up a mountain... to get the people of Nanjiang in the holiday spirit?"
"Yep, pretty much!"
Right as the three of them were talking, Chen Shu's phone suddenly rang.
His heart jolted. He glanced at the screen. "Old Shen? What's the word?"
Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing both froze — then spun around and walked away the very next second.
"Nothing to do with us!"
Chen Shu's mouth twitched. He answered the call, simultaneously holding the phone as far from his ear as possible.
"Chen Pi!"
Sure enough, Shen Wushuang's roar exploded from the speaker right off the bat.
"Was Taiping Mountain you?!"
"Mm... Teacher, what are you talking about? What Taiping Mountain?"
Chen Shu put on his best just-woke-up voice, slurring his words groggily.
"Don't bullshit me. I just came from the scene — that was definitely your potion."
Shen Wushuang didn't buy a single syllable of Chen Shu's act.
Only one person on the planet could produce an explosion like that.
"I really don't know. I didn't manufacture the thing — maybe other people have one too?"
Chen Shu was prepared to deny it to his dying breath. Otherwise, his New Year's vacation would probably end with another intimate rendezvous with nature.
"An explosion on Blue Star — the Dragon Guard's already launched an investigation. Your days are looking more and more like a prison sentence, you know that?"
Shen Wushuang sighed.
He'd finally gotten a talented student after all these years — who knew the kid would have such a death wish?
"I'm going to ask you one last time — was it you?!"
"No!"
"Good. Tell anyone who asks the exact same thing. Understood?"
"..."
Shen Wushuang hung up without another word. He couldn't be bothered anymore.
As long as Chen Shu never admitted it out loud, nobody would ever know it was him.
Chen Shu arrived home bursting with pride.
Taiping Mountain was practically deserted — he hadn't caused Nanjiang City a single yuan in damages, and on top of that, he'd wiped out an entire swarm of Fierce Beasts.
He was Nanjiang City's hero!
...
For the next two days of vacation, Chen Shu stayed home and behaved himself. Not a single incident.
"Ouyang Bao, I'll be heading over tomorrow. How's your 'studying' been going?"
Chen Shu reached out to his student in Daxing City.
The pay-to-win whale himself: Ouyang Bao.
"Teacher Chen, I've already grasped the essence! Nobody in my class can beat me anymore!"
"Next step — I'm planning to dominate all of Daxing City. Any suggestions?"
"..."
The corner of Chen Shu's mouth twitched, and he closed his phone on the spot.
Oh, give it a rest. He'd just casually given Ouyang Bao a few pointers — everything else had absolutely nothing to do with him...
...
The next morning, bright and early, Chen Shu arrived at school.
"What? Why's everyone staring at me?"
Chen Shu strolled into the Beast Taming Hall with his backpack slung over his shoulder.
But every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on him with a strange look — tinged with something unmistakably close to fear.
Tang Lie and his crew couldn't even bring themselves to make eye contact.
"What do you think? Get in line!"
Shen Wushuang snapped.
The guy set off a bomb on Blue Star. Who the hell wouldn't be scared of him?
The moment Chen Shu returned to the formation, everyone around him instinctively took several steps back.
Xu Xiaoyu spoke up. "Chen Shu — did you go plant a bomb at Taiping Mountain right after dinner that night?"
"..."
Chen Shu's mouth twitched. Your imagination's certainly vivid.
Who runs out to a mountain in the dead of night to plant bombs...
"Alright! Move out — we're heading to Daxing City!"
Shen Wushuang led the class onto the bus parked at the school gates.
"While we've got time, there's something I need to announce!"
Shen Wushuang continued. "At the end of February, the city-level Beast Taming Competition begins!"
"If we can take first place, we'll receive generous rewards — and qualify for the provincial Beast Taming Competition!"
Despite the announcement, the class didn't seem particularly interested.
More than a few gazes drifted toward Chen Shu.
"At the provincial competition, placing in the top five earns bonus points on the college entrance exam!"
Chen Shu's eyebrows rose slightly. He wasn't short on resources these days.
But college entrance exam bonus points? Now that was useful.
"Teacher Shen, did Fang Si lead a team three years ago?"
Shen Wushuang nodded. "Back then, Fang Si used her S-rank contract spirit to take first in the city. She even made it to the Nancang Province competition — but unfortunately only placed fifteenth."
"Fifteenth?"
Chen Shu frowned. He hadn't expected even Fang Si's result to be so underwhelming.
Having an S-rank contract spirit made you a top-tier genius in Nanjiang City — but across the entire province, there were absolutely people who could match her.
Shen Wushuang explained. "Fang Si's individual combat power was formidable. Unfortunately, her two teammates dragged her down. Otherwise, she might've had a shot at the top ten."
"Chen Shu, you're entering the Beast Taming Competition — that's non-negotiable. I'll give the other two slots some thought."
Since students only had one contract spirit each with very few skills, the organizers had designed it as a three-person team format to keep things entertaining.
"What's there to think about? It's the three of us!"
Chen Shu pointed at Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing beside him.
"Absolutely not! We need people with actual combat power!"
Shen Wushuang shut it down immediately. This wasn't an Alternate Dimension — in a straight-up fight, the two of them would be next to useless.
"Teacher, my Thunderbird can spit!"
"I can torture the opponent with Love Is a Ray of Light!"
"Oh, give it a rest..."
The moment Shen Wushuang pictured their contract spirits' abilities in action, his resolve to keep them out hardened even further.
Nanjiang Second High simply couldn't afford to lose that much face...