Chapter 74

With his mind wandering, Tang Jie had already bowed down, saying, "Thank you, Senior, for your generous gift!"

On this side, Xie Fengtang was still playing chess with Baihe, and said, "I called you here to ask how you've been recently."

"Everything is fine with the student."

"Hmm. Have you heard about Min Dong's matter?"

Tang Jie respectfully replied, "I have heard some, but I am not clear on the details."

Xie Fengtang did not explain to him but said leisurely, "A student was killed, another went missing. This year's Xiyue Academy is not very peaceful."

"It is indeed not very peaceful," Tang Jie repeated, lowering his head, being cautious not to say anything wrong.

Xie Fengtang was not willing to let him off and continued, "I heard that Zhuang Shen is close to you?"

"We are just acquaintances, not close friends," Tang Jie corrected, without showing any emotion.

"But according to what I know, he came to see you before he went missing?"

"He came to ask for help with his studies for the major exam, but I refused. Recently, such matters have been quite common, and Zhuang Shen is just one of them. The students are really too busy," Tang Jie carefully worded his response.

Xie Fengtang chuckled, "Is that so? I heard your literary skills are quite good. The establishment of the literary department at Xiyue Academy has always been criticized by the students. It seems you don't have such concerns?"

"Actually, it is a bit troublesome," Tang Jie smiled, "But the academy teaches us literature and reading to teach us the principles of being a good person. Cultivating immortality and practicing magic is like wielding a sharp weapon. If one doesn't understand principles and doesn't know how to be a good person, then it's better not to cultivate. Because of this, the student dares not be negligent."

Xie Fengtang raised an eyebrow, "That's well said, but it's another matter to put it into practice. There are always some people who speak grandly but are ruthless in secret."

Tang Jie smiled, "The student dares not boast, but the basic principles of not harming the innocent and repaying kindness are definitely understood and can be done."

"Repaying kindness?" Xie Fengtang's eyes narrowed, "Then who do you think has shown you kindness?"

"Wu Family's two elders and the Wei Family," Tang Jie immediately answered.

"Have you repaid them?"

"The student is making efforts."

At this point, Tang Jie's heart stirred, thinking this might be the opportunity to change the Peiyuan Pill to the Longevity Pill. He quickly said, "Actually, these days, the student has thought about sending some spiritual medicine to the Wu Family's two elders. Unexpectedly..."

"Unexpectedly what?" Xie Fengtang asked.

Tang Jie deliberately hesitated before telling the story of Wu Xing.

Of course, he did not say he was afraid that the Heavenly Palace would notice his attitude towards the Wu Family's two elders. He only said that buying the Longevity Pill was difficult, so he entrusted Wu Xing to handle it.

"Is this true?" Xie Fengtang's face became serious.

In a well-governed era, righteousness comes first.

No matter how dirty things are in secret, the surface must maintain a sense of righteousness, and some justice that does not harm one's own interests is always defended.

For Xie Fengtang, a bottle of Longevity Pill was not a big deal, and it was certainly not as important as filial piety to parents. Wu Xing's act of embezzling the gift for his parents was extremely outrageous.

Tang Jie smiled bitterly, "How could the student dare to lie about such a matter?"

He had no good feelings towards Wu Xing and did not care about his fate. If he could use this matter to obtain spiritual medicine for the Wu Family's two elders and further strengthen Xie Fengtang's confidence in him, it would be a great value.

To put it bluntly, he was now talking about this matter, just like when he asked Zheng Shufeng for three taels of silver as monthly pay, both to show his "loyalty and righteousness" through filial piety to the Wu Family's two elders.

From this perspective, Tang Jie's filial piety had a strong utilitarian motive, turning his efforts into returns, enticing others to invest in him.

But Tang Jie did not mind.

Even without the returns, he would still be good to the two elders. If filial piety could bring additional returns, why not take them?

Public and private, black and white, are easily confused, and it is hard to determine right and wrong. Therefore, his approach to dealing with things was simple: if doing something was harmless to others and beneficial to himself, he would do it.

Of course, this "harmless to others" did not include enemies and people he despised.

Hearing Tang Jie say this, Xie Fengtang immediately took out a talisman, wrote a few words, and burned it. He then said to Tang Jie, "I will have someone investigate this matter. If it is true, I will definitely..."

He did not finish, but Tang Jie had already bent down, "If it is true, please, Dean, do not punish Wu Xing, and do not publicize it. No matter what, he is the two elders' son. The two elders would not want to see him expelled from the academy. If it is because of me that he becomes a dropout, it would be a failure rather than a success."

Xie Fengtang was taken aback, but finally nodded, "I am beginning to believe that you are a good person. Don't worry, if it is true, I will not interfere, but I will reward you well. If you can come in first in this major exam, the academy will reward you with a bottle of Longevity Pill, and... another mysterious gift. What do you think?"

Tang Jie was first stunned, then overjoyed and bowed, "Thank you, Dean, for your generous gift!"

The academy's rules have always been to prioritize the few, and competition is everywhere.

The top three in the major exam are always rewarded, which is a yearly certainty.

But this time would be different.

Although Xie Fengtang did not specify, it was clear that the so-called mysterious gift was most likely the qualification to enter the first floor of the Tianyi Pavilion.

The reason it was called a mysterious gift was to avoid the problem of what to do if he did not come in first. By calling it mysterious, the academy could decide the reward later.

Xie Fengtang's move was clever, both offensive and defensive.

Previously, he only gave Tang Jie small rewards to pull him in. But after the Min Dong incident, his suspicion of Tang Jie increased, and Tang Jie's performance indeed satisfied him, so he could consider letting him learn the Xiyue secret techniques.

Teaching secret techniques is a great honor for each student, but for the Xiyue Academy, it consumes no resources, making it the most cost-effective investment. Even if he made a mistake, it would only mean one more direct disciple, which would not harm the sect.

With the Longevity Pill from the academy, Tang Jie would not have to go around looking for people to trade for medicine, making it known to everyone.

As for how to send it back... sigh, he would think of a way.

Solving two major issues at once, even though he knew Xie Fengtang's intentions were for the military manual, Tang Jie still felt grateful to Xie Fengtang.

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