A Good-for-Nothing

164. Li Zong’s Handling of the Matters (2)

Translator: Dragon Rider

He Changchun’s heart did a somersault and his lips gave a shiver.

Li Zong had made it very clear.

Indeed, the matter of Qiao Peiyu’s doings couldn’t be settled through legal measures, but if He Changchun failed to handle it properly, people of the Li family would definitely intervene.

“I see.” The last bit of air of dignity about He Changchun disappeared. Head down, seeming afraid to say or do something wrong, he didn’t look like an elder at all.

There was half an hour before the leave of absence Li Zong had been specially granted was over.

When walking out, Li Zong casually said, “Half of the Li family’s stocks and real estate have been transferred to He Zheng.”

He Changchun’s insides did a horrible somersault. Words utterly failed him. Who said Li Zong didn’t care about He Zheng?!

He Changchun knew that his family had offended Li Zong to the core. As the patriarch of the He family who always valued his respectability, he didn’t even personally see Li Zong off.

He Changchun seemed to have aged ten years after Li Zong’s visit.

He deeply regretted that the day before he told everybody he met that he’d disowned He Zheng. In order to undo the damage, he contacted his acquaintances, explaining to them that He Zheng had left home because he felt aggrieved at home, that He Zheng had indeed started cultivating and would prove to be the most talented one of the younger generation of the He family.

Afterwards, He Changchun’s relations with Qiao Peiyu deteriorated to the extreme. Qiao Peiyu had been somewhat mentally unstable since then, and her pretence of gentleness no longer existed. The two of them quarreled all the time, and the whole family was shrouded in tension. Status-conscious He Changchun found this unbearable and drove Qiao Peiyu out of the residence. Her two children stayed in the He family, but their relationship with He Changchun also gradually changed.

Ever since those stocks and real estate had been returned to He Zheng, the He family, which used to be quite wealthy, had been on the wane. The Zhu family continued their triumphant pursuit, dealing the He family one blow after another, sparing no efforts, ignoring their own losses. Had He Changchun not personally gone to Shen City and knelt down in the gateway of the Zhu family’s main residence begging for forgiveness, the He family would’ve been forced to the brink of bankruptcy.

After these events, the He family suffered a disastrous decline.

Sure enough it was after a period of time that all these happened. For the moment, there was still a semblance of peace in the He family.

He Zheng was having a lecture, totally unaware that his husband within merely two hours had settled for him the matter that had been haunting him for years. When he’d entered the classroom, He Zheng had still been dwelling on that post, but after the lecture started, he’d become too occupied to continue thinking about it.

It was said that there were two lecturers in this training course, one of whom was Zu Zhichong, He Zheng’s old acquaintance.

Zu Zhichong’s lecture was very pragmatic. It was about the main enemies of and various kinds of information about SMB.

This was like an orientation course.

The contents of Zu Zhichong’s lecture was pragmatic, but Zu Zhichong himself was anything but pragmatic.

This was the first lecture for all of them, so they were all very nervous. The classroom was in a deathly hush. When entering, Zu Zhichong thought he’d got the wrong place, and backed through the door to check the number on the frame before re-entering, muttering, “I didn’t get it wrong. Why are you guys all looking so nervous? This is not the college entrance examination.”

On hearing Zu Zhichong’s voice, He Zheng sitting in the last row rolled his eyes upwards.

Naturally Zu Zhichong saw He Zheng immediately after entering. With a big smile, he greeted them at large. “Morning, my dear trainees. I’m Zu Zhichong, the lecturer giving you this theory lecture. Originally it was Group Leader Li who was supposed to give you this lecture, but he asked for a leave of absence to deal with some private matters, so I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with me. All right, let’s not waste any time. First I’ll take questions. If you have any queries, feel free to ask.”

The trainees had thought that the lecturers would all be very stern, but to their surprise, this one named Zu Zhichong seemed very casual and approachable, so they all relaxed.

Someone asked in an undertone, “Mr. Zu, will we be officially listed as STTP cadets after the training course?”

“Alas, take it easy, boy. After the training course, there will be a test. You need to pass the test to become a STTP cadet. Of course, even if you become a cadet, you still could get weeded out if your performance is not good enough.”

Zu Zhichong clicked his tongue. “This is really a tough job in which we could get fired at any moment. We risk life and limb but are paid meagerly.”

With a expressionless face, He Zheng said, “Okay, Mr. Zu, I’ll relay this message to Li Zong.”

“Oh, this is just a joke! Some of you are mistakenly taking it serious,” Zu Zhichong hurriedly said.

Aware of the relations between He Zheng and Li Zong, all the others instantly dissolved into laughter.

Seeing the mood had livened up, Zu Zhichong got straight to the point.

“Now that the training course has officially started, first I’d like to fill you in on the make-up of SMB. In 2002, SMB, which is affiliated to the Department of Homeland Security, joined hands with the National Counter-demon Committee and established seven first-level action groups: the Rosefinch Avenue Office in Coastal City, the Hufang Bridge Office in Beijing, the Wuwei-shizi Counter-demon Committee in Sui City, the Fanghuali Office in Hang City, the Yellow River Road Office in Yu City, the Fengdu Office, and the White Jade Street Office in Ha City.

That very year, the Kunlun Xu Special Action Group and the Nanhai Sea Special Action Group, along with another two secondary action groups, were set up. The headquarters of the former two action groups are in Xijing City and Star City respectively.

You’ll be visiting all these places during your future internship, so I hope you’ll lodge these addresses firmly in your mind. Maybe someday you’ll find yourself in trouble in any of those cities and need to get to one of the offices to seek help.”

Zu Zhichong talked long-windedly throughout the lecture. There seemed to be nothing relevant to exorcism, but when the lecture was over, all trainees had a clearer idea of how SMB was organized, though they also felt rather groggy and tired.