Chapter 45

Wei Ming's face was covered in porridge, scalding hot. Although the temperature wasn't enough to injure him, the humiliation he felt was unprecedented. For a proud person, enduring such humiliation might be worse than death.

Without a doubt, Wei Ming was proud, but at that moment, he could do nothing. He merely stood up from the ground.

His hair, face, and even his neck were covered in porridge, making him look both pitiful and ridiculous, but he didn't rush to wipe it off. His expression had already returned to its usual coldness as he stood up. Even with the porridge, his cold face looked quite comical.

He ignored the four people, Lu Ping and the others, who had witnessed his humiliation, and didn't chase after the woman. Instead, he turned and walked into the porridge shop, the very one from which he had just been thrown out. Then, with a calm tone, he said to the shop owner, "Give me a bowl of shrimp porridge. I'm waiting for someone."

The owner looked surprised, clearly not expecting such a reaction from the young man. Still in a daze, Wei Yang asked again, "Is that okay?"

"Please wait a moment," the owner replied, returning to the kitchen and quickly bringing out a bowl of shrimp porridge.

"Thank you," Wei Ming bowed slightly, then took out a handkerchief from his chest and carefully wiped off the porridge from his face, hair, clothes, and neck.

Then he began to drink the porridge, very calmly, as if nothing had happened.

Lu Ping and the others looked at each other, and even Xi Fan, who was skilled at judging a person's inner thoughts from their actions and expressions, couldn't guess what Wei Ming was thinking at that moment.

"Are we still going to have porridge?" Su Tang asked.

"Of course, are you not hungry?" Lu Ping said.

"Let's go," Mo Lin said, walking in first. The four of them sat at a table, ordered four bowls of porridge, and couldn't help but keep looking at Wei Ming, as if he were the pickled vegetables in the porridge, making it taste better with each glance.

Until footsteps were heard from outside, and two more people arrived at the porridge shop.

The two people outside were stunned, and the four inside were also stunned, but Wei Ming remained calm. He stood up and bowed to the people outside, "Young Master, you've arrived."

Wei Tianqi and Wei Yang had come, but Wei Ying was still nowhere to be found. Throughout the journey, he had never walked with the group, and his only appearance was last night when he took action.

"Why are they here too?" Seeing Wei Ming, Wei Tianqi felt much more at ease and was eager to regain his dignity from Lu Ping and the others.

But Wei Ming didn't look back at the four of them; he just bowed and replied, "Perhaps because the shrimp porridge here is very good, and they happen to know about it."

"Even with them here, the best porridge loses its taste," Wei Tianqi said.

"Then, shall we take it to go?" Wei Ming asked, as if seeking Wei Tianqi's opinion.

"What?" Wei Tianqi almost thought he had heard wrong. With Wei Ming's intelligence, he couldn't believe he didn't understand what he meant. But to take it to go, to choose to back down again? To back down to these guys again?

Wei Tianqi felt like lashing out, but thinking of Wei Ming's usual meticulousness, he suspected there might be some intention behind it.

"Never mind," he quickly restrained himself, ultimately trusting that with Wei Ming, there would be a satisfactory outcome.

Two bowls of shrimp porridge were quickly brought out, and Wei Tianqi took a few bites, feeling quite pleased. Perhaps it was because the shrimp porridge was indeed delicious, or perhaps it was because seeing Wei Ming had dispelled much of his unease.

Then he began to wait, waiting for Wei Ming's arrangements, waiting for Wei Ming's actions. But soon he saw that Lu Ping and the others had already paid and were preparing to leave.

Wei Tianqi looked at Wei Ming, who was drinking his porridge seriously.

Steady and composed, this was the quality that his father, the city lord Wei Zhong, always appreciated about Wei Ming. Wei Tianqi realized that he should indeed learn more from Wei Ming.

What were his plans?

Wei Tianqi speculated and anticipated, and then he saw Lu Ping and the others walk out of the porridge shop, gradually disappearing down the street, while Wei Ming continued to drink his porridge.

Wei Tianqi waited patiently for a while, finally confirming that Wei Ming had no plans at all. He immediately felt displeased.

"Explain," Wei Tianqi said.

Wei Ming didn't ask, "Explain what?" He was a smart person, and talking to smart people was always easier because he knew exactly what Wei Tianqi wanted explained.

"We have things to do, and getting sidetracked is inefficient," Wei Ming said.

It sounded like an excuse, like a justification, but for Wei Tianqi and the entire city lord's residence, this explanation was enough. There was no stronger explanation.

Because the city lord's residence valued efficiency. Inefficient things were not done, and this was their logic. Wei Ming was acting according to the logic of the city lord's residence, and even Wei Tianqi had nothing to say.

This was also why Wei Ming had quickly calmed down. When the porridge was poured on his face, he realized that he had done something inefficient and unnecessary.

Such things should end there.

So he immediately returned to his usual rhythm, went back to the porridge shop, and waited for Wei Tianqi and the others to meet up, as they had agreed.

So when Wei Tianqi suggested he take action against Lu Ping and the others, he remained calm. He wouldn't let his emotions get the better of him again. He was always meticulous in his actions, and perhaps he had been too unsettled by the disruption of his plan last night. He was always successful and smooth in his actions, and he hadn't expected a small setback to affect him so much.

Such a mistake, one was enough for him to learn from. He was a smart person.

Wei Tianqi, having nothing to say, could only continue drinking his porridge. And Lu Ping and the others, after walking down the street, also stopped to wonder.

They were also waiting, waiting for the city lord's residence to react, waiting for them to cause trouble, but to their surprise, there was no reaction. They walked all the way to the end without any trouble.

"What's going on?" Mo Lin scratched his head. His medical skills had already failed him multiple times, and this time, his "assassin's experience" had also been inaccurate.

"It seems he doesn't want to get sidetracked," Xi Fan, after carefully analyzing Wei Ming's mindset, made a conclusion that was close to the truth.

"Should we go back?" Su Tang looked at Lu Ping. Lu Ping had originally intended to talk to Wei Ming, but was dissuaded by Mo Lin's "assassin's experience" about waiting for the right moment, which turned out to be a misjudgment.

"Forget it, I can't walk anymore!" Mo Lin was terrified by Su Tang's suggestion.

"Then let's do it later!" Lu Ping didn't insist.

Mo Lin breathed a sigh of relief. When he said he couldn't walk anymore, he quickly remembered the time Lu Ping had carried Su Tang forward with determination, and he feared that Lu Ping might immediately pick him up and stride back. Fortunately, this terrifying scenario didn't happen.

"Let's find a place to stay for the night. We can go to Zhiling City and Tianzhao Academy tomorrow," Xi Fan said.

That night, everyone stayed in Wangshan Town. The next morning, they met again at the town's entrance and headed towards Zhiling City.

It was only then that the students from Xiakeng Academy realized a problem.

They were forced to go to Zhiling City's Bipolar Academy because the Tower of Souls had collapsed, but what were the four students from Zhaifeng Academy doing? They had followed them all the way.

(10:00 AM, feels like an early update...)

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