Chapter 18: Conspiracy (Asking for Recommendations and Tips ^_^)

The several first-year students looked at each other, unsure how to respond.

Lin Rou spoke up directly, “Hey, are you all mute? My husband’s asking you a question.”

Her fierce demeanor startled the first-years a little. A boy with a spiky haircut answered, “He’s our classmate, his name is Xiao Xiong. We were just messing around on our phones, and all of a sudden, he was dead. None of us know what happened.”

Zhang Xiaofan nodded. He lifted the eyelids of the deceased; the appearance of death was much like any other corpse. Next, he felt along the chest—there was no caved-in bone, no sign of external trauma.

“Could it be poison?” Zhang Xiaofan murmured.

“Honey, should I draw some blood and run a test?” Lin Rou asked sweetly.

Zhang Xiaofan nodded, “Thank you.”

Lin Rou’s eyes sparkled with excitement at his words. “It’s no trouble at all! It’s what I should do for you, darling.”

Unbothered by the strange looks from her classmates, she made a cut on the corpse’s arm, dabbed a bit of blood with a cotton swab, and walked off, beaming.

Zhang Xiaofan began searching the deceased’s clothes. Aside from some loose change, there was nothing suspicious that might have caused death. Then he noticed the phone tightly gripped in the dead boy’s hand. Frowning, he picked it up. It was a decent phone, barely any scratches. Zhang Xiaofan shook his head; there was nothing noteworthy about it.

At that moment, the police and doctors arrived on time, their faces expressionless, moving like automatons as they quietly tended to the aftermath of the death.

Not long after Zhang Xiaofan returned to his seat, he suddenly noticed a message on his phone. When he saw who had sent it, his pupils contracted in surprise—it was him!

Wang Hu: Zhang Xiaofan, the grove by the school track, 1:30 p.m. Don’t be late.

Zhang Xiaofan frowned. Why would Wang Hu message him out of the blue?

A cold smile curled at his lips. That guy was now being hunted by their classmates—he was finally getting a taste of what he and Su Qianqian had suffered that night.

He replied: What do you want?

Wang Hu: A plan to survive! If you want to live, come.

Zhang Xiaofan: What are you talking about?

After that message, Wang Hu didn’t reply, which left Zhang Xiaofan puzzled. What exactly was Wang Hu up to?

His classmates were still discussing who the killer might be, but it was all wild speculation. Zhang Xiaofan had no interest in listening any longer.

He managed to make it through to just after one o’clock. After much deliberation, he finally decided to go meet Wang Hu.

First, Wang Hu might actually know a way to survive. Second, Zhang Xiaofan was confident that, one on one, he had nothing to fear from Wang Hu. Third, Wang Hu was barely keeping himself afloat—surely he wouldn’t be so foolish as to try anything now.

He told his classmates he needed to use the restroom, and as he made his way there, he glanced around and confirmed no one was following. Then he headed straight for the track.

There were quite a few people on the field, but they were all from other classes having PE. Walking there, Zhang Xiaofan didn’t stand out at all.

He made his way to the grove, where traces of the fire he’d set that night still lingered.

“Xiaofan.” A voice called from deep within the woods.

“Wang Hu. Hmph, didn’t expect you’d end up like this,” Zhang Xiaofan said when he saw the disheveled Wang Hu.

Wang Hu truly was in a sorry state. Once, he’d been a class tyrant, nearly on par with Song Feng, but ever since Zhu Kai showed up, he’d been crushed and made the class enemy. Now, even meeting up had to be done in secret.

At Zhang Xiaofan’s mocking tone, Wang Hu snapped, “Zhang Xiaofan, cut the crap. I’m like this today because of you. If you’d let me kill Su Qianqian that night, I’d have been out of this game by now.”

At that, Zhang Xiaofan’s gaze turned cold. “Wang Hu, say that again and I’ll kill you right here.” As he spoke, flames flickered to life in his palm.

“Alright, alright,” Wang Hu immediately relented. “It’s too late to talk about that now. Right now, you know who our common enemy is, don’t you?”

Zhang Xiaofan replied, “Tch, isn’t it that killer?”

“The killer is an enemy, true, but the most dangerous person is Zhu Kai.”

“Hah! Wang Hu, I know you and Zhu Kai don’t get along, but you don’t have to sow discord like this,” Zhang Xiaofan said coldly.

“Xiaofan, mock me if you want, but I know you’re not blind to the situation. My guys have reported to me. Zhu Kai is targeting me in the class, trying to bring me down. Hmph, once I’m finished, you or Murong Feng will be next. And… heh, you know what that guy’s like—a lecher through and through. I’m afraid Lin Rou and Su Qianqian might be his next targets.”

“You—what—did—you—say?” Zhang Xiaofan enunciated each word, his voice icy.

“Don’t get me wrong, Zhang Xiaofan. Unlike me, Zhu Kai doesn’t know restraint. Sure, I like beauties like Su Qianqian, but I know where the line is. Zhu Kai is different. You’ve heard about Chen Jing, haven’t you? She’s having a rough time with him now.”

“She told you that?”

“That’s right. She came to me, wants to work together to bring Zhu Kai down!” Wang Hu locked eyes with Zhang Xiaofan. “But the two of us alone aren’t enough. I need your help.”

“This is a bit tricky,” Zhang Xiaofan said, frowning deeply. Outwardly, he said little, but inwardly he knew Zhu Kai was indeed a problem.

The man was arrogant, reckless, and above all, dangerously powerful. In just two days, he’d made the entire class his domain. If things went on like this, Zhang Xiaofan himself would likely be his next victim.

In truth, Wang Hu’s alliance proposal was exactly what he needed. The only thing missing was a plan to deal with Zhu Kai.

Wang Hu said, “I’ve got an idea, and it’s…”

When Zhang Xiaofan heard the plan, his eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly. “Not bad at all. Alright, I’ll cooperate. But I hope you’re sure of yourself. You’ve seen how strong Zhu Kai is.”

“Don’t worry. He’s tough, but I’ve called in an expert.”

“Who?”

“Since we’re allies now, I’ll tell you. Han Dahai, you know him, right?”

Zhang Xiaofan’s brows rose. Han Dahai—the guy who’d been involved with Chen Jing? He remembered seeing them together outside the office that time, and Chen Jing had said Han Dahai’s uncle was a level-four Taoist priest.

“You mean Han Dahai is bringing his uncle?” Zhang Xiaofan asked.

“Looks like you know quite a bit. That’s right, Han Dahai’s uncle is a level-four Taoist. With him, we’ll have what it takes to deal with Zhu Kai,” Wang Hu said with pride.

Zhang Xiaofan nodded. A level-four Taoist was nothing to scoff at. The two then discussed the plan further, ultimately agreeing that tomorrow, Zhu Kai would pay the price.