NOVEL NEXT Chapter 64: Victim of slander
Student Hei looked at me for a bit before responding
“In my previous city, a Taoist priest calculated my horoscope and said I was a cursed star that would hurt everyone who was close to me. He said that… the predicted freezing winter was ... my fault” He said the last sentence with a low voice. I tensed but continued listening
“People in my previous city wanted to kill me so my granduncle sent someone to bring me here. This story spread widely and now everyone in this city also knows...”
Uncle Hei had to send someone to protect his grandnephew while he was with me on an assignment. He never said anything. I saw red and I could only laugh out loud.
“Hahahaha. Sorry teacher Wei this, I just heard something ridiculous” I said while standing. She had finished checking everyone's progress and was drinking tea leisurely at the center. I went to the teacher desk area so I could watch everyone
“ Teacher Wei, could I say a few words from here?” Better ask first or I would be kicked out before I started my speech
“You seem to have something important to say. Go ahead, student Bai,” She said with a smile. Student Hei had his head down and hands clenched
“I just heard the most absurd rumor. I need to say a few words about it.
You see, for a few years and until a few weeks ago there was a rumor about me that everyone knows. It was proven to be slander. Right?” I saw few nods and I continued
“Today, another fellow student is the victim of slander. I thought my example would have helped a few of my schoolmates be more critical”
I waited 2 seconds to let them digest that
“Student Hei came to our city to avoid harm because of this slander. And now he faces the same from all of us? AnNan city is better than that! We are all working hard for the emergency preparation not because it was predicted by some Taoist priest that we never heard of” I had a pretty good idea who the priest was
“We are making preparations because someone proved that all weather catastrophes we have faced since the inception of our city, maybe even earlier, followed a pattern. And that pattern was used to predict not only the freezing winter but any future weather catastrophe.
This is history and logic. Anyone good enough in mathematics could use the pattern to calculate it. You all saw the papers displayed at the school library” I insisted to be available for all. The more people understood it the more they would be motivated to research other things I did not think about
“Those who saw the paper, was it based on any date of birth of a human or beast alike?” students were looking at me open mouthed but no one answered
“I did not see any date of birth” said teacher Wei helpfully
“Did those papers mention anything about a cursed star, a child or an adult?”
“No” said teacher Wei again
“So how come we, as students, as AnNan citizens and as fellow cultivators, could believe that student Hei or anyone else could be the reason for the upcoming freezing winter? How could we believe anything else this unknown Taoist priest said?” I let that sink while I looked at student Hei
“Student Hei, you are lucky to come to AnNan city. How could you stay in a city where no citizen investigated that fake priest? Where their own city lord did not verify if this slander was due to bribery or treason?”
Then I bowed toward him “I welcome you to AnNan city and wish you happiness here. I hope that I would not be the last one to do so”
With this, I went to the tea area and took the cup of tea teacher Wei prepared for me and drunk it in one shot
...
“I allow all students to go to the library right now to read those papers” announced teacher Wei when no student commented on my scolding.
The green bamboo flower tea did not calm me. I was angry. I knew that, as a cultivation world, superstitions were common with cultivators and non-cultivators alike.
Star reading was hand in hand with prediction and seer abilities. There were true cultivators that could use their own cultivation base to predict major and minor events but there were also charlatans who used it for bad intentions
You just need a grandmother - like mine - to say out loud a few times that you were a cursed child that killed his parents to make you lose all your friends. It did not matter that I had not seen my parents for 5 years or that there was no proof of their death…
Hoping to change everyone’s mind would be almost impossible. Even with a well thought speech - and my speech was not good -
I was angry because I was pretty sure I knew that Taoist priest. In my last life, He said the same thing 7 years after the freezing winter passed and everyone believed him.
You are a cursed star that killed your parents. You are the reason for the past freezing winter. Alas, if I had met you before that catastrophe we could have avoided it...
I still remember it. It was used as a reason by anyone who wanted to steal from me. It was the city lord, uncle Huai, who stopped them at the end. He proved that this was a fake priest who was bribed to say that. Too bad he was killed before he said who bribed him. Now, I know it was someone from the toxic family and I was pretty sure my money was used for it.
I had to talk to uncle Hei, find out which city was that scammer and stop him. He did it to a 17 year old me but now he was doing it to an 11 year old kid.
He had to be taken down!
“Stop brooding and tell us how was your mission outside the city” said teacher Wei
I looked around and there was only her and student Hei. Everyone else left for the library. Student Hei had red eyes, I behaved like I did not see that and decided to answer my teacher
“It was long and tiring but gratifying. I learned a lot, did you know that most children start farming at 8 years old? Schools in their village would stop during planting and harvest seasons!”
“I am pretty sure some students here would love the break. I heard some had parties everyday during that unexpected week vacation”
“I was never invited to any of them” I replied
“By the way, student Hei. Did you know that your granduncle was the one who was assigned to me as an official during my mission? I am sorry he could not come and get you by himself” I turned to student Hei
“I knew he was on a mission but I was not aware he was with you” replied student Hei
“Ah. I forgot to talk to the library clerk… you two continue chatting. I will go fix the other’s problems” said teacher Wei before leaving
…
“Even I know she did that on purpose” I said while smiling
“Yes”... “Thank you for talking for me student Bai” said student Hei
“You are older than me so you can call me Ah Shin if you want”
“Only if you call me Ah Jiang or Jiang-ge”
