Before the Shi family could answer, Wu Qing spoke up first. For some reason, she disliked this guy intensely, whether because he was Chu Chuyan's husband or because he had bullied her before.
Wu Qing usually has a bad temper and isn't very popular, but his explanation was reasonable, and many people nodded in agreement.
Zuan replied, "Of course I don't doubt the principal's impartiality, but what if the Shi family bribed the students of the academy beforehand? Most of the people who attacked me in the secret realm were students from the Earth Class, and during the fight, they were clearly under the orders of the same person."
"Is that so?" Jiang Luofu frowned. A staff member from the academy had already come to report to her that the number of students who came out this time was incorrect; there were far fewer than before, resulting in greater losses than in any previous expedition.
Jiang Luofu frowned as well. Such a devastating loss was unprecedented in a century and was already considered a very serious accident. She would have to explain it to the Ministry of Ceremonies afterwards.
Wu Qing fell silent. Coming from a prominent family, she naturally knew some of the inside information. Not to mention the Shi family, even the Wu family had some insiders in the academy. After all, some students from poor families were relatively easy to bribe, as they had no power or influence.
Shi Kun recovered from his initial disorientation and seized the opportunity to say, "Nonsense! Our Shi family has never done such a thing. In my opinion, it's possible that you and your classmates discovered some rare treasure in the secret realm and became greedy, so you suddenly attacked the others and then turned around and blamed me."
Many people who were close to the Shi family echoed his sentiments. Apart from Xie Xiu and Pei Mianman who guessed the inside story and Zheng Dan who knew the inside story, the others nodded in agreement. Indeed, what Shi Kun said was reasonable.
Moreover, considering Shi Kun's usual gentle and refined demeanor, coupled with Zu An's thuggish personality, people subconsciously tend to trust Shi Kun more.
Zuan frowned. There was indeed no evidence of what happened in the secret realm before, since the parties involved were all dead. Shi Kun must have expected this, which is why he dared to make a rash move in the secret realm.
Qiao Xueying opened her mouth, about to say something, but was stopped by Zu An. Although he didn't know how the Shi family controlled Qiao Xueying, they obviously wouldn't have left no means of checks and balances, so he didn't want to make things difficult for her.
Moreover, even if Qiao Xueying spoke, it would be useless. Shi Kun could simply deny it, and now there's no way to prove anything.
Noticing that Qiao Xueying was still alive, a shadow crossed Shi Kun's eyes. However, he knew that now was not the time to confront her, so he continued to attack Zu An: "If you hadn't launched a sneak attack, how could you, a mere third-rank, have hurt those fourth-rank seniors in the Earth Class?"
Zu An laughed: "If you want to talk about other things, I really can't think of any other way to respond to you right now, but I'm not sleepy when it comes to chatting about this. If I remember correctly, you are a fifth-rank official, right? If it weren't for your servant saving you just now, you would probably have been slaughtered by me like a chicken by now."
"You!" Shi Kun's face flushed red instantly. He still couldn't understand what had just happened. The thought of being forced to that point in front of everyone was an utter disgrace.
Shi Kun's anger level increased by 888!
Hearing the word "slave," Shi Lezhi's face twitched. Although he knew he was a slave of the Shi family, he was still an eighth-rank expert. Even though the Shi family had always been considerate of him and treated him with great respect, this guy actually used such an insulting term.
"You brat, you're asking for it!" he said, making a move to pounce.
Anger level from a madman +999!
Jiang Luofu casually took a step forward and stood in the middle. Although she didn't say anything, her meaning was clear: people in the academy are not for outsiders to teach a lesson.
Shi Lezhi's breath hitched. He, an eighth-rank official with no potential for advancement, was clearly incomparable to Jiang Luofu, who was in the prime of her life. He dared not offend this mysterious woman and could only retreat dejectedly.
No wonder everyone in the academy says that Zuan is a gigolo, and that women always protect him!
Of course, he was just making a rant; he didn't really believe that he could live off the esteemed Jiang Luofu.
At this moment, Chu Chuyan also spoke up: "I can also testify about what happened in the secret realm. Although I did not personally witness how those people chased and killed Azu, I did personally witness Shi Kun's subsequent pursuit of the two of us."
Zuan, standing to the side, secretly sighed at his silly wife's honesty. She insisted that she had seen it, so what? With her usual popularity and the impression she gave everyone, would anyone doubt her?
At this moment, the crowd erupted in uproar. If the previous conflict between Shi Kun and Zu An was merely a spectacle, the moment they heard that even Chu Chuyan was in danger, the group was filled with righteous indignation.
How dare you lay a hand on our goddess? What good is being handsome if you can't even do that?
Xie Xiu unfolded her fan and suddenly stepped out from the crowd: "Miss Chu, as far as I know, although Young Master Shi's cultivation is extraordinary, it should be slightly inferior to yours. Even with a few companions, it would be impossible for him to hunt you down."
This was also a question on the minds of many people present. Upon hearing this, they nodded and looked at her with puzzlement.
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