Chapter 148: Studying at Huai Mountain (Seventeen)
"The nights here, they all belong to them?" Liu Sheng asked.
"They" referred to those weird objects.
"Yes." Nangong Wan did not deny it.
"You deliberately didn't purify them completely, leaving them behind?"
Liu Sheng recalled the description of a "careless purifier" in the analysis results, suspecting it wasn't carelessness but rather intentional.
"Yes." Nangong Wan still did not deny it.
"The entire Hongxing Elementary School... is still here?" If so, just one teaching building alone must contain an unimaginable number of Little Tentacles.
"Yes."
"They, too, once lived..." Nangong Wan closed her eyes, concealing the sadness within them.
When she opened them again, she had regained her composure.
"And, you see, they can even tutor Xiao Shu at night." Nangong Wan said, feigning lightness, "Xiao Shu cannot continue like this; she needs enlightenment, she needs someone to tell her what behavior is bad and what is good."
Liu Sheng's mouth twitched a few times, recalling the scene of Ling Xiaoshu chasing 嘯天 (Xiao Tian) on all fours during the day.
"Indeed, Senior Sister has been thoughtful."
"She still needs to be urged to listen carefully during the daytime classes as well; it's also beneficial," Nangong Wan instructed.
Liu Sheng was somewhat puzzled: "Does she need to know those things? She doesn't have to take the imperial examination."
"But she understands the basic operating principles of this world, and the basic rules of how this country functions."
Liu Sheng fell silent.
"I can tell that you don't think these are the true principles and rules," Nangong Wan suddenly said.
These words struck at the heart.
Liu Sheng's pupils constricted slightly.
"I can see it from your policy essays," Nangong Wan continued, "This is also why I wanted to talk to you."
Liu Sheng said nothing, simply watching Nangong Wan with a blank expression, waiting for her to speak further.
"You don't believe in the Supreme God, and you don't think the Supreme God is the reliance for solving the weirdness now."
"Even," Nangong Wan revealed a mischievous smile, "your Spiritual Qi doesn't come from the Supreme God."
As soon as these words were uttered, Liu Sheng's mind instantly became a chaotic mess.
"It's over..."
"The identity has been exposed..."
"She must have figured it out during the battle."
"Will she kill us to eliminate the heresy?"
"What should we do? Should we kill her?"
"Can we kill her? We'll hand over our bodies to you; you try your best to kill her, go for it!"
"Haha... haha..."
"Forget it, if she wanted to kill, she would have killed already. Why would she bother talking so much to us?"
"That's true."
"You're right because you talk more."
"Let's wait and see."
So, Liu Sheng said, "You have no evidence."
It had taken her some effort to detect the difference in Spiritual Qi. Perhaps someone like Nangong Wan could sense it through some means, but proving it would be far from easy.
"Yes, I have no evidence, and I don't need it. Knowing it's not is enough," Nangong Wan said, spreading her hands indifferently.
"And then?"
"Then? We'll talk about the rest after you pass the imperial examination," Nangong Wan said rather mysteriously, "For now, what you need to pay attention to is not to expose yourself casually."
"Even someone like me, who just met you today, can tell, so you really need to be careful."
"There shouldn't be many people like Senior Sister, right?" Liu Sheng didn't directly admit it.
"Indeed, there aren't many like me in the world." Nangong Wan chuckled softly, quite pleased with herself, but it wasn't annoying, because it was true.
"But you still need to be a little careful; there are countless capable people in the capital," Nangong Wan said, her face stern, reminding her.
"Firstly, your policy essays are too obvious. It's a good thing your Lu Senior Brother didn't think much of it after reading them."
"What did you think after reading your Lu Senior Brother's article?"
"Every sentence revolved around the Emperor and the Supreme God," Liu Sheng said, carefully choosing her words.
Liu Sheng admitted that Lu Senior Brother's article was truly excellent, even beautiful, but upon reading it, she found no substantial content, only a pile of flowery compliments.
"You might not think much of it, but this is an A-grade article," Nangong Wan said, "Leaving aside the Emperor, any Xuezis who can communicate with gods are invariably filled with gratitude and respect for the Supreme God. This is an instinct that comes from forming a connection with a god."
"So, you stand out just like that brightly colored rabbit among the green rabbits that the teacher just mentioned."
"I've wanted to complain about this for a long time! Where are these brightly colored rabbits and green rabbits anyway!"
"You should disguise yourself well; I will also help you adjust."
"These are the court gazettes since the beginning of spring this year. Take them and study them carefully to understand the political climate at court. Your Senior Brother and Senior Sister have all read them. I will also send you new ones every morning."
Nangong Wan took out a large stack of books from her Storage Pouch and piled them on the ground.
Then she pulled out even more publications. Liu Sheng saw the June issue of "cultivation theory" on the top.
"You also need to read these core publications frequently to know the latest research directions." Nangong Wan smiled, "But I'm not worried about you in this regard, after all, two articles in this year's 'cultivation theory' are from your hand."
Liu Sheng was a little embarrassed and quickly put all the books and periodicals on the ground into her Storage Pouch.
"As for your Spiritual Qi, I will tutor you individually every night; don't reveal any flaws." Senior Sister Nangong was truly considerate, but Liu Sheng couldn't understand her purpose.
Or.
"She wants to pull you into her faction."
"She's showing you her authority here."
"She just wants to tell you that she is a god in this realm."
"To the convenience store owner, to these teachers and students, if she bestows everything and controls everything, isn't she a god?"
"Just like the Supreme God outside the Weird Domain."
"She's shaking you, testing you, and then trying to recruit you."
"What faction?"
"Blasphemers."
Thinking of these three words, Liu Sheng raised her eyes and looked at Senior Sister Nangong with a new, scrutinizing gaze.
"You might feel that none of this is the truth, so why force yourself to write and do things this way." Nangong Wan seemed not to notice Liu Sheng's gaze, only looking up at the god's face in the sky.
"I once thought that way too, and it made me very miserable." She didn't know what she was thinking of, a bitter smile gracing her lips.
"When you don't yet have the ability to prove what the truth is, try to follow the rules of this world and integrate into it."
"Only then will you have the chance to gain enough power to prove the truth you seek."
Nangong Wan turned her head, her gaze fixed on Liu Sheng.
Their eyes met, and a turbulent storm surged in Liu Sheng's heart.
...
Finally, the night talk ended, and Senior Sister Nangong let Liu Sheng go back to sleep.
Xiao Shu didn't need to sleep and continued elementary school.
Liu Sheng followed Nangong Wan's instructions and found an empty room in the bamboo dormitory where the female Disciples lived.
There were four rooms in the bamboo dormitory in total. The bamboo doors of the other two rooms were tightly shut; they should be Lin Shuying and Qu Chunyan's rooms.
They were probably already deep in dreamland.
After all, they were truly tired.
Even with the Dragon Tiger Pill, Liu Sheng's eyelids couldn't help but droop.
So she entered the room, closed the door.
She took out the bedding from the cabinet, spread it casually, and lay down.
Before long, regular breathing sounds arose, and Liu Sheng was already asleep.
Meanwhile, the part of Liu Sheng that was not yet asleep directed the Little Tentacles to activate the protective array to obscure Divine Sense and block prying eyes, just in case.
Then the Little Tentacles orderly took out the books given by Nangong Wan from the Storage Pouch.
A portion of the Little Tentacles quickly flipped through the books, inputting them into the world's library at a speed too fast for the naked eye to discern. Soon, this large stack of court gazettes and periodicals was completely inputted.
Another portion of the Little Tentacles grew eyes and simultaneously read several books that had already been inputted.
Each of Liu Sheng, through this, studied diligently, occasionally even exchanging ideas with each other.
And so, Liu Sheng's first day of studying at Huai Mountain ended in an explosion of productivity.
The clear breeze and bright moon, the god's face slightly closed.
Huai Mountain, separated from the outside world's disturbances, rested peacefully amidst the cicada's chirping.