Chapter 235: It Has to Be You

“Xu Chuyao, I saw you steal my pin.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I haven’t borrowed it for a year.”

“I saw it inside here.”

Shen Ning pointed at her little landscape ball.

Xu Chuyao was lounging on the sofa playing on her phone. Hearing this, she looked back and muttered, “Yes, yes, you see everything. No one can see better than you.”

Scanning that landscape ball all day and night — anyone who didn’t know better would think she had an internet addiction.

*Buzz, buzz.*

The phone in her hand vibrated. It was a message from Principal Lü, containing only two characters:

**[Come here!]**

More than ten minutes later, Xu Chuyao and Shen Ning arrived at the office building together. Don’t ask why it took so long; when girls head out, they naturally have to check the mirror and fix their hair.

Chuyao was fine, but Little Shen couldn’t help but admire herself in the mirror for a while, so the process took some time.

“We’re here. Why the rush, Principal?” Xu Chuyao pushed open the office door, only to see someone unexpected. “Director Sui, why are you here?”

The person in the office was indeed Director Sui Feng, who had just stepped off a plane. He had barely sat down and hadn’t even had a chance to drink water before urgently asking Principal Lü to bring Xu Chuyao over.

“I’m here to catch you, obviously. *Cough, cough, cough!*”

“Drink slowly. There’s no rush.”

Xu Chuyao sat on the sofa, pulling Shen Ning down to sit with her.

What was the hurry? The situation was already like this; what else was there to be anxious about? Even if she heard that Wen Shengqing and Chu Ku had started fighting, Chuyao wouldn’t have much of a reaction.

Sui Feng finally managed to catch his breath. He set down his water cup and said with a serious expression, “Something bad has happened, Chuyao. Marshal Wen and that General Chu who just returned have started fighting!”

Xu Chuyao stood up abruptly, looking very surprised.

“They’re really fighting?”

Sui Feng was startled by the girl’s reaction and nearly knocked his cup over. After steadying himself, he said, “It’s not exactly a real fight yet — it hasn’t reached that point — but both sides have already drawn their lines and are recruiting people.”

He quickly recounted the events at the Council Hall: Zhou Tian and the other three had run out to welcome General Chu, while Wen Shengqing had left without even a glance. Then, the two sides had begun to clash in the hall.

“That General Chu is an eccentric man. Even when the old Council Speaker said such unpleasant things, he just smiled without any reaction. Instead, it was the four people standing behind him who looked embarrassed. By the way, speaking of those four, it’s strange. They usually keep a low profile and are afraid of trouble. Why were they so decisive this time?”

At the time, the scene was intense. Although many people stood on Wenyuan City’s side, it was obvious at a glance that those people were all talk and no action. The more they talked, the less they dared to fight.

In contrast, Zhou Tian and the others appeared silent and old-fashioned, but their entire auras were restrained and unified. They gave off a feeling that they could risk their lives at any moment.

Sui Feng couldn’t understand why the two groups were so diametrically opposed.

“It’s normal,” Xu Chuyao said. “From the looks of it, Wen Shengqing is actually at a disadvantage when it comes to high-ranking Spirit Power Users.”

Those people were all veteran generals who had done the dirty work for Wen Shengqing back then. Now, seeing the fate of the Extinction Party, they felt a sense of shared tragedy. They had no choice but to stand up and support Chu Ku, taking the path of seeking life through death.

Simply put, if someone is ready to trade their life for yours, they aren’t going to waste time talking.

Sui Feng nodded and said in a heavy voice, “No wonder Wenyuan City refused to see him immediately and is busy looking for external help to check General Chu’s subordinates…”

Xu Chuyao yawned and asked casually, “He’s looking for external help? Who did he find?”

“You.”

“What?”

“You. I’m not joking,” Sui Feng said very seriously. “He asked me to find you.”

The corner of Xu Chuyao’s mouth twitched violently.

It made sense. In the current situation, who else could suppress several Rank 4s all at once? More importantly, who else was as young and vigorous as she was?

“I didn’t expect Wenyuan City to place such high hopes on you,” Sui Feng said, then suddenly thought of something. “By the way, you told me on the phone that you’d tell me why you knew Chu Ku’s name once I returned. Have you known him for a long time?”

“Yeah,” Xu Chuyao yawned. “I investigated him.”

Concise, simple, and convincing. However, Sui Feng was a bit confused. “Investigated? Why would you investigate him?”

General Chu was a man of great power and presence, one of the only three Rank 5s in the world. Judging by how others treated him, he was an untouchable figure. Why would she investigate him for no reason?

Xu Chuyao spread her small hands. “You’re the one who told me to investigate.”

Sui Feng thought she was joking and chuckled. “Don’t talk nonsense. When did I ask you to investigate him? At most, I only asked you to investigate…”

Mid-sentence, his smile vanished and shifted to Xu Chuyao’s face.

‘About that…’

He froze. Chuyao knew he had realized.

Only Shen Ning remained confused, not knowing why her leader was stunned or why her friend was laughing.

After a few seconds of silence amidst the girl’s bell-like laughter, Sui Feng asked tentatively, “What rank was the person you investigated? The Leader?”

Xu Chuyao stopped laughing and nodded slightly.

Sui Feng nearly blacked out. He quickly remembered another thing.

“Then what he said in the Council Hall, about those brothers of his…”

“Exactly. They are several high-ranking members of the Supreme Society.”

Now he finally understood why Wen Shengqing had specifically asked for Chuyao and insisted it had to be her.

Seeing her former leader’s dumbfounded look, Xu Chuyao felt a sense of pride, but then she thought of her own situation and a hint of sadness rose in her heart.

“Forget it. Tell me, what’s the deadline Wenyuan City gave? When is the latest I can arrive?”

Sui Feng looked up at her. The girl who had just been high-spirited and laughing was now like a plant hit by frost.

After a moment of thought, he replied, “Marshal Wen didn’t give a specific time, but he said ‘as soon as possible.'”

As everyone knows, the hardest thing on a menu is “whatever,” the hardest gift to buy is “anything,” and the hardest time to meet is “as soon as possible.”

In this context, “as soon as possible” meant the only time given was for travel. If the flight took one day, then please come tomorrow. If the train took seven days, then please arrive next week.

After thinking quickly for a moment, Xu Chuyao gave her answer. “I need to stay for a few more days. I’m waiting for a teacher to return. I can go after that.”

“Alright. I’ll send a message to Wenyuan City first, saying you have some personal matters to attend to and will depart in a few days.”

Sui Feng didn’t press further. They would be going together anyway, so they could discuss things on the way.

***

He didn’t have to wait long because the very next day, the teacher Xu Chuyao had been waiting for, Li Xueli, returned.

“Xu Chuyao, are you there? I’m here.”

Li Xueli arrived at the pre-arranged school auditorium, dragging two large suitcases behind her.

“I bought some books about geology and rare stones.”

That was the reason she had only just returned.