Chapter 401: Exposed

“Attention, students of Fāngcǎodì Academy…” the voice continued to drift across the plaza. “All classes, form up in columns facing the stadium gate, from right to left. Students, form up by class and count off!”

As the command was given, the scattered students in the plaza immediately ran towards the front of the stadium. The police also began to clear away the ordinary naturalized citizens. A large open space was instantly cleared in front of the stadium entrance.

“Primary School, Year One, Class One—” a student stood at his position, one arm raised high, the other held out flat.

“Primary School, Year One, Class Two!”

“Primary School, Year One, Class Three!”

…

“High Primary, Year One, Class Four!”

…

With a chorus of shouts, the students ran towards their respective classes. In less than three minutes, more than a dozen lines of varying lengths had formed in front of the stadium. Although the students who came to the stadium today were not organized, and not all the class monitors were present, they still quickly assembled according to the organizational and command procedures of their usual drills.

At first, Zhou Zhongjun and Nan Wan’er were completely taken aback and didn’t know what to do. Zhou Zhongjun reacted quickly. Seeing that all the people who looked like students were running towards the front of the stadium, she quickly called out and followed them. The few female disciples with them also followed subconsciously.

“What are you following for!” Zhou Zhongjun said anxiously. “Quick, disperse!”

In that moment of hesitation, the plainclothes detectives and Political Security Bureau agents on duty in the plaza had already noticed this group of “female students.” A detective gave a slight signal, and five or six team members and agents surrounded them, stopping Zhou Zhongjun and the others.

“Political Security Bureau!” the leader said, flashing his credentials. “Show me your identification!”

Although the leader didn’t draw his weapon, the several people around him had already drawn their firearms. Five or six firearms of varying lengths surrounded them.

“I… I don’t have it!” Zhou Zhongjun cursed inwardly. Where would she get any identification? Seeing that she was about to be exposed, she secretly gripped the Emei piercer in her sleeve and retorted with feigned composure, “I’m just out for fun today. Why would I need to bring identification?”

“Oh.” The detective looked at the others. “You don’t have any either?”

Nan Wan’er and the others could only shake their heads.

“Are you all students of Fāngcǎodì?”

Zhou Zhongjun knew she couldn’t panic now. She had no choice but to bite the bullet. “That’s right! We’re all from the high primary school.”

She had overheard a few phrases just now and used them in her desperation.

The leader looked them over from head to toe, his gaze lingering on Nan Wan’er for a long time. Then he said politely, “Fellow students, since you are students of Fāngcǎodì, you should have some basic knowledge.” With that, he motioned for the leader, Zhou Zhongjun, to step forward.

Zhou Zhongjun smiled sweetly at the officer, steadied herself, and secretly observed her surroundings, preparing to strike at any moment.

The leader took out a small booklet from his satchel, with “National Education and Science Popularization Question Bank” written on it. He flipped through a few pages and read clearly, “May I ask, what is three to the power of three? And how do you explain the Senate’s governing philosophy of ‘sole representation’?”

How would Zhou Zhongjun know any of this? She secretly gritted her teeth and forced a smile. “I… I’ve forgotten…” The fingers gripping the Emei piercer tightened.

The officer shouted, “Hands up, behind your head, kneel!”

Zhou Zhongjun glanced out of the corner of her eye. The other female warriors were already surrounded by a circle of dark gun muzzles. Nan Wan’er had her hands raised high and was slowly kneeling.

Zhou Zhongjun wanted to resist, but she was surrounded by firearms and had completely lost the initiative. To act rashly would be to be blown to pieces. She clenched her teeth, her heart filled with unwillingness. To think that she and her fellow disciples had penetrated this den of demons and were on the verge of achieving great merit, only to be exposed so inexplicably by the Aussies… A mixture of unwillingness, regret, and vexation welled up in her, and tears began to form in her eyes.

“Hurry up!” the leader roared, giving her no time for sentiment. “Kneel! Hands behind your head!”

Zhou Zhongjun had no choice but to place her hands behind her head. Just as she was about to kneel, a firework rocket suddenly sounded in the distance, followed by two more in succession. Her heart leaped. It was the signal to attack! Had Abbess Miejing and the others already made their move?

The nearby crowd indeed became agitated. There’s a chance! Just as she was about to leap up, there was another crisp crack. A police baton landed squarely on Zhou Zhongjun’s back, and she stumbled and fell to her knees.

“Kneel properly, hands behind your head!” A dark gun muzzle was pointed at her head. The scene she had envisioned—of the firework rocket going off and attacks erupting from all sides—did not happen!

Filled with hatred, Zhou Zhongjun placed her hands behind her head. A man swaggered over and ran his hands down her arms and sides. She couldn’t help but let out a small “ah,” her body trembling.

“Emei piercer!” The man pulled the weapon from her sleeve and threw it on the ground. He then found a dagger at her waist. Zhou Zhongjun bit her lip and endured it. She hadn’t expected that after finding the weapons, the man wouldn’t be finished. His two hands moved down, all the way to her hips. This humiliation almost made Zhou Zhongjun faint.

After being searched one by one, they were all tied up with their hands behind their backs and roped together, then led away. Throughout the process, both the naturalized citizens and the natives only watched from a distance. No one came closer to watch the excitement—it was very dangerous to be a spectator under the Senate’s rule, especially when the police were on duty. Getting close and being hit with a baton or a pepper ball was a light punishment; you could even get shot.

At the intersection outside the stadium, Abbess Miejing and a dozen or so male and female experts were waiting. They had not shaved their heads or changed their clothes like the others and were dressed as ordinary natives.

Abbess Miejing was on the side of the street. After sneaking out of the inn, she had shed her disguise and resumed her nun’s attire, wearing a conical hat and a monk’s robe, holding prayer beads and an alms bowl, posing as a nun begging for alms along the street. Her sword was hidden in her staff.

The other dozen or so comrades were also disguised and scattered on both sides of the street, ready to intercept any Aussie reinforcements once the incident began.

This place was not far from the stadium, and she could hear the sound of the loudspeaker broadcast. But she didn’t know what the broadcast meant, only feeling a secret sense of wonder. Who has such skill to be able to speak so loudly out of thin air? Could there be a hidden master here?

She was worried about Zhou Zhongjun and the other disciples in front of the stadium, very concerned about whether they could retreat safely after their strike. Of course, with her years of experience in the jianghu, she knew that to fight a bloody path out from under the noses of so many Aussie soldiers and agents, many would have to die.

At this thought, she couldn’t help but feel anxious. The Hengshan Sect’s own strength was not great. In recent years, with the world in turmoil, the number of tenants fleeing their lands had increased day by day, making it increasingly difficult to collect rent. Various bandits and official bandits constantly harassed the local area, and their economic situation was becoming more difficult by the day. That was why they had accepted Old Man Shi’s summons to come to Lingao—they urgently needed a powerful backer in the court and to alleviate their financial difficulties.

This time, more than half of the sect’s middle-aged and young disciples had been mobilized. If the losses were too heavy, the sect’s strength would be greatly reduced, and it would be difficult to say whether they could maintain their current status in the martial world in the future…

Suddenly, the signal of a firework rocket came from the direction of the plaza. Abbess Miejing’s heart tightened. They’ve made their move!

However, after the three firework rockets, there was another crisp crack. There was no commotion from the stadium—if a battle had broken out there, the plaza and the surrounding area would have been thrown into chaos, with crowds of people fleeing in all directions. But now there was nothing.

Although the crowd on the street looked a little frightened, there was no mass panic. Some shopkeepers stood at their doors watching, and some people quickened their pace, but no one closed their shops or fled.

“What’s going on?” Abbess Miejing couldn’t see the situation at the stadium, and there were no large groups of Aussie reinforcements here. For a moment, no one knew what to do. Should they immediately draw their swords and rush out to create chaos and support Zhou Zhongjun and the others, or should they continue to wait here to intercept the Aussie reinforcements?

Her comrades across the street exchanged several glances with her, as if asking for her intentions. Abbess Miejing frowned, deep in thought. Suddenly, someone called from behind her, “Master!”

Abbess Miejing quickly turned around and found it was an Aussie constable. Her heart tightened, and she quickly put her palms together. “This poor nun pays her respects.”

The constable looked Abbess Miejing up and down. “You’re a new face, nun. Are you new here? Or local?”

Abbess Miejing quickly said, “Yes, this poor nun has only recently arrived.”

“Do you have an ordination certificate?”

“This poor nun does not…” Abbess Miejing’s attitude was very calm. Ordination certificates were a rarity in the Ming Dynasty. Thanks to Zhu Yuanzhang’s extremely strict religious policies, most monks and nuns in the Ming Dynasty did not have them. Even in the Hengshan Sect, very few nuns had them. So it was not surprising to say she didn’t have one.

“Then do you have a local religious practitioner’s registration certificate?”

Abbess Miejing naturally didn’t know what a “religious practitioner’s registration certificate” was. She thought this Aussie constable was just like his Ming counterparts, looking for an excuse to extort money. She immediately put on a smile. “This poor nun has just arrived and is unfamiliar with the local rules. I hope the officer will be lenient…” She crumpled a few circulation coupons in her hand and tried to stuff them into his.

“No, no,” the other party didn’t fall for it at all. “Without a registration certificate, you are begging illegally. Come with me to the police station!”

Abbess Miejing hadn’t expected this. For a moment, she couldn’t tell if this was a real regulation or if the other party had already seen through her and was using it as an excuse to arrest her.

Her several companions around her were also at a loss. As they hesitated, the police officer became impatient. “Let’s go, let’s go.” He reached out to grab Abbess Miejing.

In that instant, Abbess Miejing understood. She was carrying a long sword and hidden weapons, standard “deadly weapons.” There was no way she could get through the “police station” without being discovered. She let out a long cry, struck out at the police officer with a backhand palm, and the long sword in her staff was already unsheathed.