Chapter 128: Bribes (2)
Chui—or rather, Assistant Instructor Ximen Qing—called the names written on the list.
“Shen Shilin. Song Yu. Tai Zhenzhe. Jin Xizhi. That is all. The four called, step forward.”
At those words, the cadets in the lecture room began to stir.
Jin Xizhi linked arms with Shen Shilin and said.
“What is it? Why call us suddenly? By any chance, because we bullied that beggar girl?”
“How could that be? Why would an assistant instructor act as backing for a beggar girl like that with nothing better to do? It must be the effect of my mom and dad scattering bribes last night.”
“Ah—right! That was yesterday! Then why are they calling us? Ah, is it to give us something like a letter of recommendation or a certificate of commendation?”
“What else would it be? Anyway, the more of a rustic someone is, the faster the effect of bribes. Well, in order to make up for the cost of buying a credential and cross the break-even point, they have to collect payments tightly, so what can they do? I understand~”
Then Song Yu and Tai Zhenzhe beside them also giggled.
“Geez. It hasn’t even been long since he took the money, and there’s already a reaction? Truly legendary. The effect of bribes is indeed sure, isn’t it?”
“Ugh, receiving a recommendation letter or commendation certificate so openly is a bit embarrassing. Well, it must be something like an award for outstanding grades, right? I should send a carrier pigeon to Father later. Telling him to feed him bribes more often.”
Soon, the four cadets walked toward the podium.
Shen Shilin, Song Yu, Tai Zhenzhe, and Jin Xizhi. They held their heads high and stiffened their necks.
Shen Shilin, who stepped furthest forward, was smiling brightly while looking at Ximen Qing in front of her.
‘His appearance is sickening, but unexpectedly he is quick to understand. It will be easy to train him in the future. It will be possible to keep getting credits for free.’
Sure enough, Ximen Qing praised the four cadets in front of him openly.
“Your grades have been very good so far.”
“You flatter us. Hahaha—”
“Be sure to tell your mothers and fathers as well. That I received the sincerity they sent yesterday well.”
“Of course. We must. I will deliver it well. Sincerity. Hahaha—”
Shen Shilin looked back at the cadets inside the lecture room while uttering the word sincerity.
Far from being ashamed, she had a proud look.
‘…Meeting good parents is also a skill. If you’re annoyed, why don’t you feed him bribes too?’
The cadets who locked eyes with Shen Shilin all slunk their heads slightly.
Far from being angry even after witnessing injustice, they appeared as if lamenting why they lacked the power to commit injustice themselves.
At that moment,
Rumble—
Ximen Qing suddenly pulled something behind the podium.
Clang… Thud!
It was a cast-iron pot large enough for several people to easily fit inside, and it was filled with firewood.
When on earth did he bring such a thing into the lecture room?
The cadets looked back and forth between Ximen Qing and the cast-iron pot with puzzled expressions.
Soon.
“Jin Xizhi.”
Ximen Qing called one of the quartet.
“Yeees?”
Jin Xizhi raised her innocent face and answered.
Ximen Qing looked at her and said.
“The ‘sincerity’ your mother and father sent yesterday. I received it well.”
“Oh, it was nothing.”
“It was a very good dagger. Look. Rubies and white jades are set alternately on its hilt. It looks very expensive at a glance.”
“…?”
Ximen Qing suddenly pulled a sack out of the pot.
Then he pulled a dagger adorned with gems out of the sack.
Ximen Qing peered at the dagger this way and that, revealing it clearly in front of the cadets.
“To give such a good thing, that sincerity is indeed commendable.”
“Uh… well… Assistant Instructor. I appreciate your gratitude, but you don’t have to be thankful so openly.”
Jin Xizhi whispered softly into Ximen Qing’s ear while forcing a smile.
It was her first time seeing a crazy bastard who openly bragged about a bribe like that.
By any chance, was he trying to threaten the other cadets that if they were to offer bribes, it had to be at least this level?
But Ximen Qing paid no heed and called the next name.
“Next. Tai Zhenzhe.”
“Yes?”
“Tell your parents that I received the book well.”
“Yes—well… what is a mere book like that anyway.”
“What else? A bundle of bank notes stuffed tightly between the pages of an erotic album.”
“…!”
Ximen Qing pulled out a book in front of Tai Zhenzhe’s eyes.
And he began to flip through the pages rapidly.
The bank notes contained inside fluttered in the air.
“Ah, wh-what?! No, why are you pulling that out here?!”
Tai Zhenzhe hurriedly prostrated himself, attempting to pick up the bank notes that fell on the floor.
At that moment,
Swoooosh!
a blast of cold, strong wind blew from somewhere.
It swept all the bank notes that were about to fall into Tai Zhenzhe’s hands into one place.
Flutter, flutter, flutter!
The bank notes swept by the wind were all sucked into the pot as if moved by an invisible hand.
It was truly enough to make a ghost wail.
While Tai Zhenzhe wore a blank expression as if possessed by something, Ximen Qing called the next name in an indifferent tone.
“Next. Song Yu.”
“Uh… uh…”
Song Yu, the most cowardly among the four, was already pale in the face.
Ximen Qing patted Song Yu’s shoulder and said.
“Tell them thank you for the silver blocks in the apple crate.”
“M-My parents didn’t send such things though?”
“They are silver blocks engraved with the seal of your Song Family Manor. I remember clearly whose sincerity I received.”
Ximen Qing shook several silver apples in front of Song Yu’s eyes.
On the bottom of the glittering apples, the seal of the Song Family Manor’s patriarch was clearly stamped.
Those silver apples dropped into the pot in front of all the cadets.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Each time the sound of silver colliding with iron rang, Song Yu’s face drooped further downward.
It was an attitude one hundred and eighty degrees different from when he walked around with a stiff neck earlier.
Soon, Ximen Qing turned his head.
“Next. Shen Shilin.”
“…”
Even at Ximen Qing’s call, Shen Shilin did not answer.
She merely glared at Ximen Qing with her arms crossed.
Whether she did or not, Ximen Qing shook a robe in front of Shen Shilin.
“Tell your parents that I received the clothing well. And along with it, the bundle of exchange slips inside.”
“What are you doing now, with this?”
“I am making sure it is clear who made the expression of sincerity.”
“Are you slightly lacking? How can this be an answer to sincerity? How could you repay grace with enmity like this!”
Shen Shilin shouted in a fury.
The atmosphere of the lecture room turned freezing in an instant.
But whether she did or not, Ximen Qing threw the robe and the bundle of exchange slips in his hand entirely into the cast-iron pot.
Inside the cast-iron pot, miscellaneous things were already piled high.
The dagger adorned with gems, the thick book and bank notes, the apples made of silver blocks, the large robe and bundle of exchange slips…
Soon, amid the focused gazes of numerous cadets, Ximen Qing continued speaking.
“Last night, the parents of these four cadets—Shen Shilin of the Shenshi Merchant Alliance, Song Yu of the Song Family Manor, Tai Zhenzhe of the Dajing Bank, and Jin Xizhi of the Yingjun Escort Agency—sent me these ‘bribes’. Along with the request to take good care of their sons and daughters, that is.”
A statement about bribes uttered in an open place.
And the illicit physical evidence displayed openly.
The faces of Shen Shilin, Song Yu, Tai Zhenzhe, and Jin Xizhi finally flushed bright red.
The overbearing attitude from just moments ago was nowhere to be found.
Ximen Qing continued speaking.
“Of course, besides these, many petty expressions of sincerity were made. So I also prepared this occasion to respond to those numerous supports.”
Inside the cast-iron pot, various treasures were already piled high.
Ximen Qing said, putting it on the lectern.
“Go tell your parents. That the newly arrived assistant instructor makes expressions of sincerity in this manner.”
At the same time, a small flame shot up from the tip of Ximen Qing’s finger.
It was the True Samadhi Fire, which could only be manifested when one’s internal energy exceeded the first-class realm.
Whoooosh!
A hot flame arose inside the cast-iron pot.
It began to blaze vigorously, burning and melting everything inside.
“…”
“…”
“…”
All the cadets in the lecture room stared blankly at the flames.
It was the same for Shen Shilin, Song Yu, Tai Zhenzhe, and Jin Xizhi, who had been called forward.
Rumble—Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle…
The sound of exchange slips and bank notes burning, and silver melting down.
“Listen carefully. I do not know of things like ‘requests’, ‘gifts’, ‘affection’, or ‘loyalty’.”
Through that sound, Ximen Qing’s voice sank heavily.
“But you see, I know very well about ‘solicitation’, ‘bribes’, ‘corruption’, and ‘irregularities’.”
Visible through his shaggy bangs, Ximen Qing’s eyes burned with an eerie blood-red color.
“I declare at this place. Do not bring things like bribes to my class.”
Before the overwhelming momentum Ximen Qing emitted, the cadets froze.
“If there is anyone who proffers such trash again, I will immediately refer them to the disciplinary committee by the authority of the assistant instructor. You all must know what School Rule Article 33 is, right?”
Especially the three who were standing at the very front—Song Yu, Tai Zhenzhe, and Jin Xizhi—trembled in their legs, staining their crotches yellow.
Soon, Ximen Qing’s gaze directed toward the four cadets in front of the lectern.
“School Rule Article 33. All faculty, staff, and cadets in the Ascending Heaven Academy must not receive, demand, or promise money or goods, regardless of whether it is related to their duties and regardless of its designation, such as donations, sponsorships, or gifts. Any violation shall result in expulsion or suspension for more than one hundred years.”
In front of them, the gold, silver, and money inside the cast-iron pot were burning hot.
Ximen Qing spoke.
“If you want to receive good credits, study hard. If you absolutely want to use underhanded money, distribute it to other classmates rather than me and bribe them to achieve lower grades than yours. In the future, that way will be faster.”
“…”
Shen Shilin, who was at the very front, raised her head with a start upon feeling Ximen Qing’s gaze.
In front of her.
Flick—
Ximen Qing flicked a single exchange slip.
The ignited exchange slip fluttered over, turning to ashes in front of Shen Shilin’s face, scattering.
And Ximen Qing’s voice, as spicy and dry as the ashes, followed in a low tone.
“If you have a fucking problem with it, bring your parents.”