Chapter 40: The Piece Falls

"Is Director Lu also here to examine those personnel files?"

Lu Chenzhou replied, "No, I am looking for Yang Jing'an, who served at the Imperial Observatory over a decade ago."

Director Song, having served in the Ministry of Personnel for only a few years, had never heard of this person. He hurriedly asked a more senior colleague working nearby, "Who is Yang Jing'an?"

The colleague's expression suddenly turned vacant and uneasy. He glanced at Lu Chenzhou, then lowered his head in silence. Lu Chenzhou sensed that something was amiss.

Fighting through her exhaustion, Jiu'er dragged her battered body forward. By the time she reached the pharmacy, she was drenched in sweat. Fortunately, there were some seasonal medicines available. She found a pair of tweezers and some alcohol for disinfection, and began to treat the splinters embedded in her skin.

Wan Qingchun frowned as he noticed Aya, who had been meditating, suddenly freeze as if startled, staring straight in his direction.

Ignoring her belongings, the proprietress ran to the spot where the old man had fallen. Her voice trembled, and her tone was filled with resentment.

If a challenger loses the match, half of the challenge fee is awarded to the champion, while the other half goes into the arena fund. When a champion wins ten consecutive matches, they receive the accumulated arena fund. If a champion is defeated mid-streak, the fund remains for the next champion.

In such a major competition, although even he could not win by cheating, having a father who served as a judge made it very easy to manipulate Hu Cheng in other ways.

Wei Po's face was ashen. He offered no rebuttal, knowing that whatever a loser says is nothing more than the frantic barking of a mad dog.

She could only grit her teeth, but there was nothing she could do. She certainly could not just run up to Hu Cheng and demand to know why he hadn't distracted Han Yiying.

Yet, there was no denying that the appearance of Ji Fengning was the only light Ji Xiaoyun, as a father, had seen in a long time—a glimmer of hope that dispersed the darkness. He took two steps closer and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Thousands of words eventually condensed into just two: "Fengning." Then, they bumped fists and shared a smile.

"Aya feels completely recovered now. Thank you for your concern, Master!" Aya seemed a bit flustered.

Since when, Yin Rou wondered, had the man before her ceased to be the ethereal, otherworldly beauty he once was? He had begun to show expressions, to harbor attachments; his stern face would occasionally soften with a flicker of tenderness. Though fleeting, it was enough to prove that his heart had begun to stir.

Chen Yifa’s face was pale, his eyes filled with venomous hatred as he looked at Yang Hengrui. He realized how absurd it had been to think he could use Xu Li to suppress him.

However, the rise of online education had only occurred toward the end of his life in that other timeline. His current actions had advanced the timeline significantly, but the internet was not yet advanced enough; online education was still ahead of its time.

Li Yidao hurriedly greeted Chen Shu, then pulled him outside to a secluded corner to talk.

"Don't panic yet. The... the situation is like this..." Zhu Yuepo gave Zhu Tou a rough account of what had happened.

Facing the encirclement of men brandishing steel shovels, even Wang Yanran felt a tinge of fear.

This was their first time entering the Demon Realm, but it would certainly not be their last. The arrival of demonic artifacts in the human world to sow chaos indicated that the Demon Realm had begun to act in the shadows. This was why she did not seek the Demon Emperor's help to resolve it; for all she knew, the mastermind behind it all could be the Demon Emperor himself.

So that was it... the master had finally fallen in love. No wonder one of the bedrooms in the villa had been redecorated in a pink style.

In the years since Princess Danyu had returned to the Shu region, the master had never stopped sending people there. Whenever he acquired some rare trinket, he would treasure it in a wooden box, ensuring it was sent off in time for the Princess's birthday.