Chapter 32: The Jingzhe Guild Is Here Already?

The Dean of Instruction’s office.

Gu Yuexi had just reached the door and was about to knock when she heard the sound of conversation from within.

She paused, hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand anyway.

However, just as she was about to rap on the door, it was opened from the inside.

A middle-aged man in a suit, looking refined and gentle, walked out.

Gu Yuexi’s gaze inadvertently swept over the badge on his chest.

It was a badge composed of a sharp sword and a pair of wings. Below it were two elegant, flowing characters: Jingzhe!

BOOM!

In that instant, Gu Yuexi’s pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks!

’Someone from the Jingzhe Guild?!’

’Why are they here?! And with the Dean of Instruction!’

’They tracked me down this quickly?!’

Gu Yuexi’s heart sank.

Her mind reacted instantly. Almost subconsciously, she turned to leave!

But it was too late.

"Student Gu Yuexi?"

The Dean of Instruction’s slightly stern voice came from inside the office.

"What are you doing just standing at the door? Good timing. Come in, I need to talk to you."

Gu Yuexi froze in place. She knew she couldn’t escape now.

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her heart. She tried to school her expression back to its usual coldness, then turned around and walked into the office.

The Dean of Instruction wasn’t the only one in the office.

Even the principal, who was usually as elusive as a dragon showing only its head, was sitting bolt upright with a solemn expression.

And the middle-aged man from the Jingzhe Guild who had just opened the door had returned to the sofa with a smile, sizing Gu Yuexi up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.

This setup was clearly an interrogation!

"Gu Yuexi."

The principal pushed up his glasses and was the first to speak. In a tone that brooked no argument, he got straight to the point: "Let me ask you, did you go to the Black Forest today? And did you snatch something from the hands of the Jingzhe Guild?"

’It’s happening!’

Gu Yuexi’s heart sank to rock bottom, but her face remained impassive.

She remained calm and was just about to deny it.

But the man from the Jingzhe Guild on the sofa suddenly chuckled. His smile seemed gentle, but his eyes were as sharp as knives.

He didn’t look at Gu Yuexi’s face, yet his gaze seemed to pierce through her school uniform jacket, landing precisely on a certain spot.

"Little girl, no need to be in a rush to deny it," the man said slowly, a hint of amusement in his voice. "There’s a very faint spatial fluctuation on you, but it’s not something you can hide from me."

"It’s a Beast Taming Pouch, isn’t it? Don’t make things difficult for us. Why don’t you take out what you’ve hidden and let the principal and dean have a look?"

As a Fifth-Grade Beast Tamer, his Mental Power was far beyond that of an ordinary person, and he was extremely sensitive to the aura of a Beast Taming Pouch!

Gu Yuexi knew there was no point in hiding it any longer.

She straightened her back, her cold gaze fixed on the principal and the man. She spoke, enunciating each word, "The laws of the Great Xia Federation clearly state that all wild Demon Beasts and Heavenly and Earthly Treasures outside the cities are ownerless! He who is capable may claim them! How can something I obtained through my own means be called ’snatching’?"

Logically, she was correct.

This was an unwritten rule acknowledged by all Martial Artists and Beast Tamers.

In the wild, might makes right. Whoever was stronger got the spoils.

However, instead of showing any approval after hearing her words, the principal and the dean’s expressions turned even uglier.

The dean couldn’t help but slam his hand on the table, roaring, "Gu Yuexi! You still dare to argue?! Do you have any idea what you’ve taken? Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused the school?!"

Gu Yuexi didn’t speak, merely watching them coldly, a suspicion already forming in her heart.

The principal sighed, looking at her with disappointment in his eyes. He said earnestly, "Student Gu Yuexi, while that may be the logic of the situation, everything must also be considered in terms of fairness and reason."

"Those three cubs were discovered by Captain Leng Yan of the Jingzhe Guild and her Shadow Fang Squad, and it was at a terrible cost—they even lost two team members! By all rights, both in sentiment and principle, the cubs should belong to them!"

"For you to just jump in and snatch them away is truly against the rules!"

The principal’s voice sounded noble and righteous, but his true thoughts were something else entirely.

’Of course he wasn’t afraid of the Jingzhe Guild. Jiang City Lingwu High School was backed by the Great Xia Ministry of Education. Even if the Jingzhe Guild had a hundred times the courage, they wouldn’t dare do anything to the school.’

’But not being afraid didn’t mean he was willing to offend them.’

’After all, the Jingzhe Guild was one of Jiang City’s local powerhouses, controlling a vast amount of societal resources. Every year, many of the school’s students needed to intern there, and many training missions required their cooperation.’

’An intricate web of interests was involved.’

’Was it worth antagonizing such a behemoth for a single student?’

The principal subconsciously glanced at Gu Yuexi’s file: Contracted Beast, White-striped Aedes Mosquito; Martial Arts Talent, Inferior...

’The answer was self-evident.’

’To damage the school’s tangible interests for a "useless" student with no future? That was a terrible deal, a complete loss!’

’This student has some nerve, but she’s not very bright. She provoked someone she shouldn’t have. She can only blame her own bad luck.’

Hearing this, Gu Yuexi’s heart turned completely cold.

She understood now, though she had anticipated it from the very beginning.

The school had no intention of protecting her at all.

From the start, the principal and the dean had already sided with the Jingzhe Guild.

They didn’t care about the rules of the wild, nor did they care whether she, one of their students, lived or died.

All they cared about were the school’s interests.

’Offend the most powerful hunting guild in Jiang City for three Demon Beast cubs with High-Level Bloodlines?’

’Although the Jingzhe Guild wouldn’t dare do anything to the school directly, they would surely make things difficult for them in the future regarding resources and cooperation.’

’And her, Gu Yuexi?’

’In the eyes of the school’s upper management, she was just a "useless" student who had contracted the lowest-level mosquito, whose Martial Arts Talent was mediocre, and whose path as a Beast Tamer was completely cut off.’

’Antagonize a behemoth for a nobody?’

’They knew perfectly well which side of that equation held more weight.’

To be honest, Gu Yuexi had expected this sort of situation, she just hadn’t thought it would happen so soon.

’I was just trying to lie low at school until the joint exams...’

"Holy shit, are these two old geezers really selling out a student this shamelessly?"

Chu Sheng, who was perched on Gu Yuexi’s shoulder and hidden under her clothes, heard everything and was so angry he almost laughed.

’Just as I thought. No matter what world you’re in, it’s always about self-interest!’

"Student Gu Yuexi."

The man from the Jingzhe Guild stood up, that same fake smile plastered on his face. He walked up to her step by step and said in a tone that permitted no refusal:

"You see? The principal and the dean are both reasonable people. Now, hand over the Beast Taming Pouch."

"As long as you return the items to us, I can guarantee that we, the Jingzhe Guild, will let bygones be bygones!"