Book 14: Chapter 63

Redirected Attention

“That was amazing,” remarked Su Xiao, bobbing his head from a distance.

Su Xiao neither recognised Shi Weiliang’s song or saw her performance, but he was sure she won with her performance. “Why did you call me out for a walk? I missed Miss Shi’s performance. Say something!”

“I will. I will. Please wait for a while longer.” Xiang Baxian, standing in front of Su Xiao, couldn’t stop checking around.

Xiang Baxian was basically out of bounds by the terms of his curfew during martial law. Confucianism’s elites had sealed off Daren Academy from foreigners, which included government officials who hadn’t been granted permission. The Ministry of Justice would need to have Principal Huang’s approval if they wanted to bring Xiang Baxian in again, let alone have the luxury of time to arrest him again during times of political unrest. As such, he had the fortune of enjoying peace at the academy.

As Tang Ye assumed, Su Xiao had nothing left to learn from Jin Zhaoying when he visited. At most, Jin Zhaoying could only share whatever tidbits she had on the remaining competitions, so the visit was short. Su Xiao should’ve been able to arrive at the competition venue before it commenced given the remaining time. Alas, Su Xiao bumped into Xiang Baxian, who told him he had something to tell him. Su Xiao thought it’d be a quick sentence or two, never expecting to walk circles endlessly without any explanation.

“There are a lot of outsiders on the premises today, so I cannot feel assured unless I check thoroughly.”

“That’s the eighth time you’ve said that! You said that when the first contestant took to the stage, and the event is over now!”

“Please be patient. Please be patient.” Xiang Baxian’s eyes never rested for he was constantly on the lookout for someone who might pop out of some obscure corner. “I grew up in the academy. There should not be any outsiders who know this place, so it should be safe.”

“Then why are you scared?!”

“This is no trivial matter. Would I be able to bear the consequences if someone found out I revealed this?”

“Oh?” Su Xiao took out a small notebook and charcoal pencil from his shirt. “Go ahead.”

“Do you remember how we went and interrogated Miss Bai, the girl with the Seven Champion White Princes, about where she went?”

“You know about that?”

Xiang Baxian made a face to suggest it was asking the obvious. “I know everything that happens in the academy, not to mention you all speak in bloody loud voices.”

I see.

“You know something about it that we don’t?”

“No. However…” Xiang Baxian pulled his shoulders up to his ears as if to protect his neck from a sneak attack. “I do not know about Miss Bai, but the young master with her, he left the academy.”

“The young master?”

Song Chi’s face came to Su Xiao’s mind. He was the only person who fitted Su Xiao’s definition of a refined young master. Plus, Song Chi was good with broadswords.

Xiang Baxian shook his head. “No, no, Young Master Song was always on the academy premises. He has not left in days. Whenever he has time, he reads in the courtyard or somewhere else; he seems to not associate himself with any of the idol competition; he did not even prepare for it. He had been reading for two hours in the courtyard before you arrived to question Miss Bai.”

“Who is the young master if not him?”

“There is one more person!” Xiang Baxian looked around again and then, in a softer voice, said, “The one with the sword that’s kind of like a girl.”

***

“I’m back!” Su Xiao pushed the door open and entered with heavy steps.

“Su Xiao.”

Shi Weiliang and company were ecstatic to see Su Xiao return. They’d be in a serious dilemma if their team’s competitor had yet to return when the next event was about to begin, after all.

As soon as he saw Shi Weiliang, Su Xiao grabbed her hands and beamed. “Miss Shi, that was amazing. Your performance was magnificent!”

Although Shi Weiliang was happy to receive praise, she was concerned to see Su Xiao seemed oblivious to the fact that he was next up.

“Su Xiao, we were just discussing the song,” Mu Anan came out of nowhere to say.

Su Xiao immediately released Shi Weiliang’s hands and took a giant step backwards upon seeing Mu Anan. As soon as he avoided Mu Anan, though, Tang Ye gripped his shoulders and said, “You’re finally back.”

“Oh!” Switching to a whisper, Su Xiao told Tang Ye, “I need to have a word with you in a second.”

Tang Ye nodded.

“Miss Shi, did you compose the song? It sounds amazing! Can you sing it for me more often in the future?”

“I can, but it’s not my composition. You think too highly of me; there’s no way I could compose such a nice melody or write such beautiful lyrics.”

Gossip-gobbler Wang Zi immediately asked, “Professor Guan said something about it being the most talented woman, Li Linglong’s song. Where did you learn it?”

Li Longlong remained a household name frequently mentioned despite her retirement a long time ago. Legend was that she performed a dance atop the city walls despite the war between the Central Plain’s and the foreigners. How could Wang Zi pass up an opportunity to find out more when she learnt for the first time that her best friend was connected to a woman of legends?

Shi Weiliang smiled. “When I was young, a young lady and her husband came to eat at my place, and she stayed around to teach me for a few days after she saw me playing my instrument.”

The class, green with envy, nodded.

Wang Zi queried, “Was she the Li Longlong Professor Guan mentioned?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. I only remember she was really pretty and had a really nice voice. Ah, her husband was really handsome, too.”

Shi Weiliang’s classmates started whispering about how they wanted to see the couple. Meanwhile, Su Xiao and Tang Ye had sneaked outside.

After hearing Su Xiao’s recount of what Xiang Baxian shared, Tang Ye replied, “In that case, there’s more to this than what meets the eye, and Ling Shaoxuan is suspicious.”

Su Xiao nodded. “Big Brother Ming did say that either Ling Shaoxuan or Bai Yumo are up to something… Judging from what we know now, they both seem shady.”

Tang Ye stopped to think, then stated, “Let’s test them out one by one in the contests.”

Su Xiao understood the assignment because archery was up next.