Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When Mu Nujiao asked the question, Dongfang Lie, who was also involved in the match during the preliminaries, immediately recalled how Mo Fan had suddenly disappeared after crushing him with a single punch. He was missing for quite some time after that, and it turned out that he had gone to the Ancient Capital!

“I think so, what’s wrong with everyone? Isn’t it obvious that I’m going to win the match?” Mo Fan glanced around him and saw everyone was staring at him in a strange way!

He was having difficulty describing the strange feeling. If he was to describe it in a bad-sounding way, it felt like they were staring at someone with a mental disorder. If he was to describe in a better sounding way, it seemed like they were struggling to believe something, yet he could see a hint of admiration in their eyes, too…

Mo Fan did not overthink it. He proceeded to the Healing wards to check on Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was the main reason the team was able to secure the victory. Mo Fan had to find out if he was alive or dead. If Zhao Manyan was dead, he would burn paper offerings and let the deceased man know that he had blasted the German team to the ground.

Mo Fan soon found Zhao Manyan, who was still lying unconscious on a sickbed.

Zhao Manyan was in pretty bad shape. It would take him some time to recover from his injuries. Mo Fan was about to leave when he saw an aged woman walking his way, her face all contorted.

In addition to her, Feng Li, his teammates who could still walk, a few Councilmen, Pang Lai, Chairman Shao Zheng, and Han Ji, who was done with the interview, came into the ward.

“So you guys have come to pay Zhao Manyan a visit, too? He has the life of a turtle, he won’t die so easily,” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

He initially thought he could amuse the people with his little joke, and they would proceed to send Zhao Manyan their regards, but the annoying old woman Zu Huiyin came up to him with Zu Jiming, who looked like he had just eaten a pile of dung. Both of them bowed to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was startled. He glanced at Han Ji, who was grinning like a cunning fox.

Mo Fan immediately realized something had happened!

“I’m so sorry, my nephew has been harsh with his words, and I have failed to teach him the proper manners. I have misjudged you and even uttered some absurd comments on your character. I have neglected the obligations as the chairman’s secretary, so I’ve come with my nephew to apologize to you. I hope you will forgive the two of us,” Zu Huiyin said in a soft voice. She was like a completely different person, losing her previous arrogant demeanor!

The chairman’s secretary was an authority figure with a higher position than Han Ji, the president of the Clock Tower Magic Association, but she was currently apologizing to a young man in front of the reporters and the other Councilmen! If they did not know Mo Fan was the savior of the Ancient Capital, they would never have believed it.

“I am actually a malevolent person, a nasty human being you can say. I’m expected to take troubles to heart, so I can assure you that I will definitely remember what you did.” Mo Fan was far from the forgiving kind. Besides, Mo Fan had wanted to get revenge on Zu Jiming a long time ago!

Zu Huiyin’s face fell as dark as charcoal after hearing Mo Fan’s words!

The man was a real villain. He was actually gloating over their situation!

Mo Fan was unwilling to show any mercy. Zu Huiyin was struggling to find a way out of the embarrassing situation.

The woman had almost lost her mind when Han Ji revealed who the savior of the Ancient Capital was!

Rumors of Zu Huiyin, the chairman’s secretary, accusing Mo Fan of being a malevolent person had long spread among the public. The whole world had set their eyes on the World College Tournament, so a comment like that was surely going to attract the attention of the reporters. In addition to that, the Lu Clan was pretty keen at setting Mo Fan up, so they had wantonly spread the news around to defame Mo Fan before he could make a name for himself through the World College Tournament. However, after Han Ji announced the news, the conspiracy that the Lu Clan and Zu Huiyin were organizing against Mo Fan suddenly collapsed, as the people immediately turned against them!

The people who had survived the Calamity of the Ancient Capital were particularly enraged by the rumors. Their respect for Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou was simply off the charts. Others were allowed to scold their parents, but they were not allowed to scold the two saviors of their city! After Han Ji revealed the truth, any negative news about Mo Fan immediately infuriated the people, forcing the Chairman’s secretary into such an awkward situation.

Zu Huiyin never thought it would come down to this when she was uttering her words so arrogantly. She would still able to recover from the situation even if Mo Fan was an emperor, but the calamity of the Ancient Capital was no longer something that she could twist with her power, as the people would not allow her to manipulate the truth!

So what if she was the Chairman’s secretary?

Did she kill a single undead, save anyone, or ferret out the members of the Black Vatican during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital?

She had not done a single thing. She was only an authority figure who pointed her fingers around. In less than an hour, the people were demanding Zu Huiyin be punished. The woman had never thought the people would get so crazy over such a petty matter!

It was the reason why Zu Huiyin had brought Zu Jiming along and apologized to Mo Fan in front of everyone. If she did not do so, she would be done for! The authorities higher up would not allow someone that was condemned by the people to be the Chairman’s secretary. She had crossed a line, and even the higher-ups did not dare to speak on her behalf!

The other authorities immediately drew a clear line between them and the Chairman’s secretary. Even the Lu Clan that had insisted on setting Mo Fan up quickly joined the other side and condemned Zu Huiyin for her inappropriate comment, since they had not really said anything harsh about Mo Fan.

Zu Huiyin had the urge to tear apart the people of the Lu Clan. She was actually speaking on behalf of the Lu Clan, yet they dared to destroy the bridge after crossing the river!

Zu Huiyin was still bowing, and did not even dare to look at Mo Fan’s shoes. She was extremely regretful of what she had done. Why would she bother speaking on behalf of Zu Jiming? Her nephew had always been clever in trivial matters, but he always failed to grasp the bigger picture. Why did she bother trying to fawn upon the Lu Clan? It had nothing to do with her in the first place!

“Chairman, you do know… that it was just a misunderstanding,” Zu Huiyin felt the urge to cry. The whole situation had changed in just an hour. She did not dare imagine what was going to happen to her next.

“As the Chairman’s secretary, you must take responsibility for everything you said. If Mo Fan isn’t willing to accept your apology, I hope that you can find a way to calm the hatred of the people,” Shao Zheng replied calmly.

Shao Zheng already knew it would come down to this, even though he was quite shocked by the punitive response that the people had sent against the woman. The people might even ask him to step down if he said a single bad comment about Mo Fan…

Shao Zheng had no intention of lending Zu Huiyin a hand. The woman had been pulling political tricks to form cliques and factions in the party. As a matter of fact, Shao Zheng had long wanted to get rid of her. Even though the woman was his assistant on the surface, she was actually a spy that his political enemies had planted beside him. Shao Zheng was planning to put a lot of policies into practice, yet his enemies kept intervening.

Shao Zheng believed he had always fulfilled his obligations with a clear conscience. As such, for the sake of the bigger picture, and the people, this Zu Huiyin must step down from her role!

—

As the people were leaving, Feng Li suddenly turned to Mu Nujiao and said, “Mu Nujiao, contact your family, tell them that you will be replacing Zu Jiming in the upcoming matches.”

Zu Jiming was walking out of the ward, and staggered with wide eyes when he heard the words.

“Advisor, I…” Zu Jiming tried to speak.

“That’s enough! I’m well aware of the conflict between you two, but our country’s ranking is currently at stake. I don’t want any conflicts between the members of the team to become a factor that might lose us a match, and it’s unnecessary to say that it’s unfair or anything. If you were the one that won us the match, I wouldn’t hesitate to expel Mo Fan from the team either!” Feng Li was incredibly stubborn whenever he had made up his mind.

Zu Jiming felt like he was going to fall apart. He had failed utterly, even before he could face Mo Fan directly!

Zu Jiming never thought he would be kicked from the team like this. He was hoping that he could redeem himself with an outstanding performance in the upcoming matches, just so his aunt, Zu Huiyin would not be so angry at him, since he was still fairly useful to her. However, he was nothing but a pile of dung if he was no longer a member of the national team!

His situation was worse than all the nightmares he had imagined!

—

—

The thin curtains were swaying slightly. In a ward close to the stadium, Mu Ningxue, with her head leaning against the headboard, was struggling to describe the complicated feeling in her heart.

As she expected, someone came into the room, and it was none other than the hero that the whole country was cheering for.

Mu Ningxue looked at the man, at the indifferent, yet somewhat perverted grin on his face…

“Xuexue, I’ve come to see you, how are you feeling?” Mo Fan came forward. He still had some obvious injuries on his body, yet he seemed to be as energetic as an ox, as if there was nothing that could knock him to the ground.

Mu Ningxue lifted her gaze. She was about to respond when she saw obvious lip marks on the side of Mo Fan’s cheek. It was pink, and from the look of it, the lips’ owner was surely an attractive woman…

Mu Ningxue tried her best to ignore it, but Mo Fan quickly stuck his face close to her. Mu Ningxue who had initially decided to be nicer to Mo Fan, was immediately filled with anger and disgust!

“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?” Mu Ningxue’s voice lacked liveliness.

“Not yet,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was utterly confused. He went into the restroom to take a look at the mirror, and was surprised to see clear lipstick marks on his face.

Mo Fan instantly felt like he had been struck by lightning. He quickly rubbed his face.

-Goddamn it… those were Mu Nujiao’s lips…-

Mu Nujiao finally had a chance to vent out all the pressure she had been feeling. She was so excited that she kissed Mo Fan on the face when the unconscious Zhao Manyan was the only person in the ward. It did not mean anything much, it was obviously just her way of sharing her joy, since she had put in a lot of hard work for the chance to join the national team.

The woman who had been promoted to an official member of the national team subconsciously gave Mo Fan a kiss in response to her overwhelming joy surging up. However, when Mu Nujiao realized she had definitely crossed the line, she immediately fled like a panicked doe.

Mo Fan could not even take advantage of her. He simply forgot about the kiss and came to pay Mu Ningxue a visit, just so he could tell her how impressive he was in the match, yet reality had always been cruel to him.

“Xuexue, hehe, I’ve rubbed them off, what was I going to say… look at you, why are your hands so cold again? Let me warm them up for you…” Mo Fan began.