Stranger Danger-Chapter 1204: He’s Here

Endless Learning Academy was the only academy in Snowview City. It was also their largest academy[1].

The name of the academy was Endless Learning. It was taken from the idiom, “The sea of learning is endless.”

The headmaster of the academy was named Chang Youya, meaning “An end exists”. It was a perfect match for the Confucian quote, “My life has an end, but the knowledge is endless.” It was a great match that was full of meanings.

Endless Learning Academy subscribed to the Confucian belief that education was for everyone irrespective of background. Because of this, they had a lot of students. They had eight hundred outer academy students, three hundred internal academy students, and over a hundred teachers, mentors and masters[2].

It was publicly accepted that the most knowledgeable, virtuous, and self-possessed person in the entire academy was Chang Youya. A model example of a Confucian gentleman, Chang Youya conducted and behaved himself in the ways taught by the Confucian sages all the time. Said to be the inheritor of their will and the possessor of their virtue, some people even believed him to be a Confucian sage of the new.

Because of this, Chang Wuya was deeply beloved by the people despite his lack of merits, highly respected despite his lack of an official position, and extremely reputable despite his lack of wealth.

Chang Youya’s favorite hobby was to cook a pot of excellent tea, sit at the Youya Rest, and study the Analects while admiring the snow or fish[3].

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Reading could improve one’s wisdom, and fishing could calm one’s heart. To improve one’s wisdom and to calm one’s heart was to tread along the way of the sages.

Today was not an exception. Donning a blue outfit, Chang Youya was sitting at the Youya Rest as usual. Holding a book in his left hand and carrying a fishing rod in his right with a focused expression, it looked like nothing could distract him from the task at hand.

Beside him, a red clay stove was boiling water and releasing puffs of hot air from time to time. It made him look even more handsome and sagely than he already was.

Chang Youya was alone right now, but if someone were to happen upon this scene, they would praise his sagely appearance and yearn to become like him one day.

No one knew that Chang Youya was anything but focused at the moment, however. He wasn’t as calm as he looked to be on the surface either.

An astute observer would know that from the fact that he hadn’t flipped his book or checked his fishing rod for a long time.

A calm, tranquil heart was most important when reading or fishing. To feel restless while performing either activity was to achieve nothing of worth. “If the heart is not even, then the mind is not at peace. If the qi is not smooth, then nothing will go right.” That was a truth of the world.

And yet, he just could not calm down no matter what he tried. He felt as if something bad was about to happen.

To be honest, it had been a long, long time since he felt this feeling.

The last time he felt this was when he received the order to assassinate Wan Haoran, the one they called the “Benevolence Who Fills The God Continent”. He had felt just as restless prior to the day of the assassination.

As expected, he was ambushed the very next day. It was such an ambush that it nearly cost him his life.

Since then, he had become increasingly cautious with everything he did. After he became one of the two Accountants of the Westwind Inn of Snowview City, he hid behind the curtains most of the time and acted the role of the strategist. He rarely accepted assassination missions anymore, much less put himself outside and gambled with his life. That was why he hadn’t felt this restlessness for a very long time.

That’s right. The famous headmaster of Endless Learning Academy and the famous sage of Confucian was none other than an Accountant of the Westwind Inn of Snowview City.

Although he was “just” an Accountant, Chang Youya’s position in the Westwind Inn was equal to that of God Medium, a Shopkeeper. It was because Chang Youya was responsible for training, managing, dispatching the assassins of the Westwind Inn on missions and more. His authority was at least equal to that of God Medium.

If not for the fact that Chang Youya was just a Trueman, he would be more qualified than the God Medium to be the Shopkeeper.

Some people might ask this: If the headmaster of Endless Learning Academy was really an Accountant of a Westwind Inn, then what about the academy itself? Their doubts would be right on the money. Endless Learning Academy was, in fact, the central headquarters of the Westwind Inn of Snowview City.

Specifically, the outer academy was a normal academy where knowledge was taught, and students were raised, whereas the inner academy was the infamous Westwind Inn. The students, the teachers, the mentors, the masters, they were all killers of Westwind Inn.

Who would have thought that the academy meant to educate others and uphold the principles of benevolence and justice would really be an organization of ruthless killers who viewed life like grass? It was as ironic as it was an effective disguise.

After all, no one would think that the famous academy of Snowview City, a sanctuary of knowledge and education, was really the monstrous Westwind Inn, just like no one thought that the famous and respected Chang Youya was really a notorious Accountant of Westwind Inn.

This was why the Westwind Inn of Snowview City would never be exposed; and why no one would ever find the skeletons in his closet.

But if that was true, then why was he feeling restless and uneasy? What was the source of this discomfort?

Could it have something to do with God Medium and Ghost Doctor’s operation?

Suddenly, a possibility entered Chang Youya’s head.

He was well aware of God Medium and Ghost Doctor’s plan to steal the Earthly Sovereign Bell, of course. In fact, he was the one who planned the whole operation. God Medium and Ghost Doctor were just the executors.

The reason he did not participate in the operation himself was because he was certain that God Medium and Ghost Doctor would be enough to handle an injured target. He had believed that all he needed to do was to sit here and wait for the good news.

This sudden premonition and unease made him realize that something might have gone awry, however.

“Old Wang.”

Chang Youya’s gaze darkened as he called out to an old servant in the distance. The old servant hurried to his side and asked, “What are your orders, my lord?”

“Arrange the men to transfer all of our accounts, intelligence, silver, and other valuables away immediately.”

Chang Youya ordered, “Command all the killers to leave this place as well.”

“What happened, my lord?” The old servant’s murky eyes suddenly turned bright and sharp like an unsheathed sword.

It was clear from Chang Youya’s order that he was planning to abandon this base altogether, but why?

“Just carry out your orders.” Chang Youya side-eyed the old servant.

Chang Youya possessed a handsome, refined countenance. Despite entering his forties, he looked the model image of a refined scholar. His eyes especially were deep and clear, warm and kind, old and wise.

However, when he turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Old Wang, his deep, clear eyes suddenly turned exceedingly narrow and vicious. It looked just like the gaze of a venomous viper, chilling and deadly.

“As you command, my lord.”

A chill crept up the old servant’s spine, and he did not dare to dilly-dally any longer. He immediately turned around and strode away.

Chang Youya stared at the back of the departing servant for a moment before setting down his fishing rod. He was going to leave this place first.

Although there was absolutely no proof that something bad was about to happen, Chang Youya was a man who believed in his own instincts. He was even more of a decisive man.

If nothing happened, then it was just a harmless scare. He could just return and resume his life as usual.

But if his instincts were correct, then he was saving his own life right now. Why wouldn’t he save his own life?

“My lord! Something terrible happened!”

It was at this moment a person ran up to him. He moved as swiftly as a bird.

“What’s wrong?” The evil feeling in Chang Youya’s heart was getting worse.

“The lifelamps of the Shopkeeper, the Accountant, and eighteen Cooks just extinguished, my lord!” The man hurriedly answered in a voice full of panic.

“What?”

Chang Youya paled, and the book in his hand scattered into countless pieces. They looked like snowflakes as they scattered to the wind. “I knew my premonition was right.”

“Order all units to evacuate Endless Learning Academy immediately. Quick!”

However, he had only taken a few steps when he suddenly stopped in his tracks, and his complexion darkened.

“My lord? What’s wrong?” The man saw this and asked in confusion.

“It’s too late!”

Chang Youya let out a deep sigh. “He’s already here.”

1. ... You don’t say? ☜

2. An old form of address for teachers, scholars. ☜

3. He can fish and read at the same time? Wow. ☜