89. Chapter 89: Sima Yaner

On the way back, Zhang Shouzheng said nothing at all. His mood was so foul it seemed to have sunk to the very bottom, and he had no heart even to admire the sights outside. The others in the car remained silent as well. Even the spirit monkey, Kongkong, behaved itself on his shoulder for once, pawing through his hair as if searching for something. When it found nothing, it grew tired, leaped into his arms, and fell quietly asleep.

"Now that we have one less enemy, it feels wonderfully light," Jiang Litian said as he drove, much more cheerful than before. "Shouzheng, you and Nine are about the same age. In a few days, I’ll arrange for both of you to enter Emperor Dragon High School. You need to learn how to live in this society. Also, tomorrow I’ll take you out to buy some clothes and essentials. The way you two are dressed now, people will think you’re monsters."

"Are you just going to leave this old woman to one side?" Granny Yinshan’s cold voice sounded from the back seat.

"Of course not. I’ve started a company, and it happens to be short of someone as capable as you, Granny. Your timing is perfect. When the time comes, you can go straight to the company. Whatever you want to eat, wear, or do, just say the word. I, Jiang Litian, will never have a single complaint."

"Oh? I don’t really need any of that. I have enough savings to live out the rest of my life. But I have a very strong feeling that Meng Shiniang is in Dragon Capital as well. I remember that many years ago she had a lover here. Now she has vanished without a trace, so I suspect she has gone into hiding with that man."

Granny Yinshan stared out through the car window, her voice hoarse and edged with murderous intent.

Meng Shiniang had ruined nearly half her life. If not for that woman, how could she have fallen to such a state? She had not even been able to see her senior brother one last time.

"I have quite a wide network in Dragon Capital. I’ll keep an eye out," Jiang Litian said with a nod, his gaze fixed ahead.

Soon the car entered a residential compound. Though it could not compare with the one where Li Tagu lived, it was still within Dragon Capital’s inner ring, and so counted as an upscale district.

His home had four bedrooms, two living rooms, and a balcony. With four people now, it was just right. Later, once Granny Yinshan went to the company, she could simply stay there. When Zhang Shouzheng asked about the company’s name, Jiang Litian kept his mouth shut. After assigning rooms for him and Nine, he went to rest.

Zhang Shouzheng’s room was really just a rather large study. The wooden floor gleamed, and the furniture looked newly purchased, or else as if no one had ever lived there before.

Outside the study was a balcony with two wooden frames. From the frames hung two ropes, and beneath them sat a hanging chair. In all, there were two hanging chairs on the balcony, with a tea table between them and tea set upon it. Several potted plants were also placed there, though many had already withered yellow, clearly neglected for a long time.

"Kongkong, from now on, this is our new home."

Zhang Shouzheng lay down on the large bed and closed his eyes. Kongkong, meanwhile, rocked back and forth on the hanging chair, looking delighted.

He slept until nearly seven in the evening before getting up. The sky was already completely dark.

"Tonight, your senior brother will take you to eat something good, and then introduce you to someone," Jiang Litian said with a mysterious smile. As for who that person was, he did not say.

They went out through a direct elevator leading to the garage, which made travel very convenient. Even Granny Yinshan came along. She had changed into a long-sleeved dress of patterned silk, her hair meticulously arranged without a strand out of place. It almost seemed as though even the age spots on her face had faded somewhat.

About half an hour later, Jiang Litian led them to a private room in a grand hotel. Two people were already inside. One of them was a stunning beauty, about twenty years old, dressed in a white dress. She carried herself with grace and poise, and had a quiet, refined air about her. The other was a short-haired young man in a crew cut, about the same age as Zhang Shouzheng. When he saw them enter, his eyes moved over the group again and again, finally settling on Nine. He bared his teeth in a grin.

"Yaner, you’re here early as always."

Jiang Litian walked over with a slight smile, then turned to introduce Zhang Shouzheng and the others. At last he gestured to the girl in white and said, "This is Sima Yaner, the senior disciple of the Heaven-Origin branch. The one beside her is Zhong Zimo, an outstanding disciple of the Earth-Origin branch. Yaner has been in Dragon Capital for quite some time and works with me. As for this junior brother, he has only just left the sect to gain experience in the outside world."

"Sima Yaner greets Senior Granny Yinshan."

"Zhong Zimo greets Senior Granny Yinshan."

The two of them bowed with great respect. Granny Yinshan remained calm as ever and waved a hand at them. "No need for such ceremony. From now on, you may call me Granny, just like these younger ones."

"Greetings, Senior Sister."

Zhang Shouzheng and Nine exchanged a glance, then bowed together to Sima Yaner. After that, they gave Zhong Zimo a slight smile.

"Things are different here from the sect," Sima Yaner said with a gentle smile. "So just call me Sister Yaner from now on. Come, everyone, have a seat."

She took charge of the arrangements, especially choosing a good seat for Granny Yinshan before everyone else sat down.

"Zimo, this time I’ll arrange for you, Shouzheng, and Nine to enter Emperor Dragon High School together. Once you’re there, you must support one another. You may not know this, but besides our Heavenly Dao Sect disciples who go out to train, there are also people from other sects, as well as children from ancient aristocratic families. I don’t have any especially grand purpose in mind. I only want the three of you to safely get through three years of high school. But Emperor Dragon High School is full of hidden talent, so you must be careful. There are also disciples from demonic factions inside. If you find any information, you must report it to us as early as possible."

Jiang Litian spoke slowly, as though discussing a matter of no great importance.

"Senior Brother Jiang, with our Heavenly Dao Sect’s status as the foremost orthodox sect, who would dare bully us? You’re worrying too much," Zhong Zimo said with a careless grin. It was obvious he had confidence in his own arts and did not fear the people of those evil factions in the least.

"Junior Brother, do not be careless," Sima Yaner said gravely, glancing at Jiang Litian. "Do you know that in the past year or two, quite a few disciples from other sects have died inside Emperor Dragon High School? Their deaths were all bizarre in the extreme. In truth, the reason we’re sending you in this time is to investigate that matter."

"Could even the secular authorities fail to uncover the killer?" Granny Yinshan’s brows rose.

The ones enrolled in that school were all roughly the same age. How could any of them have possessed such great ability as to kill so many sect disciples? Would that not have caused universal outrage?

Jiang Litian shook his head. "They couldn’t find the culprit, otherwise the school would not have come to our company for help. They commissioned us to handle it, but Yaner and I both have company affairs to deal with, and simply cannot free ourselves. So for now we can only rely on the three of them. Still, we have gathered some leads. If nothing unexpected happens, this should all be the work of the demonic factions. It seems they want to eliminate the outstanding disciples of our orthodox sects one by one and weaken our strength."