Capítulo 19: Chapter 16: Luo'er's Secret_1
The one who made the move wasn't Luo'er, or rather, he hadn't even considered making a move. The one who truly took action was Cheng Ziang, who silently lunged forward like a bolt of lightning, swiftly grabbing the man's face and slamming his head ruthlessly into the ground.
"Boss!" Seeing their leader bleed from the blow, his followers couldn't bear it and picked up some sticks to charge at Cheng Ziang.
Cheng Ziang, totally calm, watched the thugs charging at him. He nonchalantly picked up a stick from the ground and moved among them with lightning-like speed. Before anyone could react, several of the gangsters were already on the ground, screaming in pain, clutching their joints and sensitive areas.
Cheng Ziang, with his back to them, casually discarded his wooden stick, his face expressionless. Luo'er stared at him blankly. He'd always thought Cheng Ziang had no particular talents, but he hadn't expected his close-range combat skills to be so powerful, and more intense than he'd anticipated.
"You bastard..." The gang leader, struggling to get up, found Luo'er emotionlessly stepping into his line of vision, with a heavy foot stomping on his face. The gang leader's head hit the ground. This time, he didn't have the strength to get up. Clutching his head, he moaned in pain, with blood splattering on the ground.
Luo'er felt no sympathy for such a man. Watching him wail under his foot, he felt no emotion within himself.
Suddenly, the sound of a siren came from the distance, and two military vehicles raced towards them. A group of soldiers got off and surrounded the few brawlers.
Luo'er recognized these men. They were the stationed troops of Haiya Academy, primarily responsible for sealing off the entire Haiya Academy and its jurisdictions, and maintaining internal order. Both Haiya Academy and Haiya Town had no police; any violation of discipline was dealt with by the Military Police.
"All of you, raise your hands." The soldiers pointed their weapons at the group, and the leading officer ordered loudly.
Luo'er glanced around – everyone was looking at him, seemingly waiting for him to make a decision. He sighed, slowly raising his hands.
Seeing Luo'er surrender, everyone else gave up resistance, and willingly let the soldiers lead them to the military vehicles.
They were taken to a nearby barrack. As essentially quasi-military individuals, the students of Haiya Academy were directly sent to the Military Police for investigation.
"What's your name?"
In the interrogation room, five people were chained together. Facing them was an officer wearing a Military Police cap. He seemed to think that Luo'er was the leader of the assault, so he called him first for questioning.
"Luo'er!" Luo'er replied calmly.
"Why did you fight?"
"They provoked us first!"
"Just because they provoked you, you retaliated?"
"The academy regulations state racial discrimination is a serious violation!" Luo'er was even more assertive than the officer.
"The academy also states that brawling is a serious violation." The officer's tone hardened.
"So we deserve to be insulted?" Luo'er retorted.
"If they had started the fight, we would have arrested them, too."
"But we were already hit!"
"If everyone resolved problems the way you did, what need would there be for Military Police!"
"I only consider the safety of our team members. Our team has girls, if they get bullied because of our inaction, can your Military Police make up for it?"
"You're twisting words!" The officer was a bit irritated.
Tangmo, sitting in the back, watched Luo'er worriedly, concerned that Luo'er might annoy the officer. She was the team leader, but it was still difficult for her to intercede in this situation, so she could only hide behind Luo'er with an apologetic look on her face.
"You all just sit here and reflect!" The officer seemed unwilling to continue the interrogation. Grabbing the list, he stood up and prepared to leave.
Just as he reached the door, he ran into a comrade. They whispered to each other for a bit, and suddenly the officer frowned at the mention of a name. He turned to look at Luo'er, then exchanged a few words in a slight panic with his comrade.
Then he walked up to Luo'er and asked him sternly, "Who is Luo Qishan to you?"
"I don't know this person!" Luo'er answered firmly.
The officer gazed into Luo'er's eyes, pondered for a moment, and then exchanged a glance with his comrade in arms. The latter nodded, understanding, and walked out of the interrogation room.
During this time, the officer didn't ask Luo'er a single question, pacing back and forth in the interrogation room. The others watched this oppressive scene in silence, worried for Luo'er. Luo'er sat in his chair, eyes closed, not uttering a word, although he had an idea of what was about to happen.
After a while, the comrade came back inside, whispered something in the officer's ear, and the officer nodded. Looking at Luo'er, his gaze softened.
"You can leave now!" Having dismissed his comrade, the officer walked over to unlock Luo'er's handcuffs.
"What about my companions?" Luo'er didn't resist, but started worrying about the other members of his team.
"I said you can go!" The officer repeated, raising his voice.
Before he could say anymore, Luo'er had already cuffed his hands back, looked up at the officer, and said, "You can send your brother out again. If my companions aren't released, I won't leave!"
"You..."
The officer glared at him. He knew what Luo'er was saying, but he couldn't find a reason to refuse him right now. He walked out of the interrogation room and started making a call. Tangmo, worriedly, said to Luo'er, "Luo'er, you go ahead, don't worry about us!"
"Don't worry, I won't abandon any one of you!" Luo'er turned around, his expression resolute.
After a while, the officer hung up the phone, his face full of resentment. Walking in silently, he uncuffed everyone without a word.
"You can all leave now." He gestured with his hand.
"Why?" Tangmo couldn't help asking, surprised.
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't!" The officer said coldly, also glancing at Luo'er.
Tangmo remained silent, understanding from the other party's gaze that their release must have had something significant to do with Luo'er.
On the return trip, Luo'er didn't utter one word, his complexion not looking so well. Despite being filled with questions, Tangmo didn't dare ask him. They all walked back in silence to the academy.
"Luo'er must have secrets!"
The next day during class break, Tangmo pulled Hu Daoke into a quiet corner to discuss earnestly.
"You mean the events from last week?" Hu Daoke asked.
"Not just that, haven't you noticed that many teachers and instructors at the academy know Luo'er!" Tangmo exclaimed.
"Now that you mention it," Hu Daoke said while tapping his head, "when we were recruiting Baiyue, Luo'er easily fetched the list from the teacher, and furthermore..."
"Furthermore what?"
"It seems like there's always been this rumor around the academy..." Hu Daoke cautiously said.
"What rumor?"
"There seems to be some connection between Luo'er and our Principal." Hu Daoke silently whispered into her ear after glancing around.
"Our Principal?" Tangmo was taken aback, "What was the name of our Principal again?"
"I think...it's Luo...Qishan!" Hu Daoke belted out while tapping his head.
"Luo Qishan?" Tangmo inquired.
"Luo!"
"The 'Luo' in Luo'er?"
"Yes, exactly!"
As soon as the words were out, both of them realized the connection.
"Both Luo'er and Luo Qishan share the same surname 'Luo'!" They both exclaimed simultaneously, as if they'd found a clue.
"If they both share the surname 'Luo', then what exactly is the relationship between Luo'er and the Principal?" Tangmo had the feeling that she was getting close to a huge secret.
"Father and son perhaps?" Hu Daoke propounded a rather unfamiliar concept to them.
"Father and son?"
"Well...considering the Principal's age, probably grandfather and grandson." Hu Daoke corrected.
"When we were being interrogated that day, Luo'er denied having any relation with the Principal."
"Huh..." Once again they were both at a loss for words.
From the time of their birth, they had been told they did not have any parents in a substantial sense, just birth mothers. They were all raised in the academy. If the academy's claim was true, then what was the real relationship between Luo'er and Principal LuoQishan?
"Maybe...we could ask Luo'er?" proposed Hu Daoke.
"Well... that seems like the only option." Tangmo nodded in agreement.
They found Luo'er and brought him into a secluded corner.
"What's up, you two?" Luo'er glanced at them nervously. Their looks made Luo'er uneasy.
"Luo'er, what's your relationship with Principal Luo Qishan?" Tangmo went straight to the point.
Luo'er was stunned for a moment before responding in a subdued voice, "I.... have no relation with him..."
"That's not true, some people in the academy saw you two together!" Hu Daoke countered.
"Luo'er," Tangmo stared into his eyes, asking earnestly, "Is Principal Luo Qishan your father, or... something else?"
Luo'er sighed and slowly said, "It's better for you two if you don't know."
"Why?" Tangmo asked.
"It's not beneficial for you." Luo'er did not specify.
"Just what kind of damning secret are you hiding?"
"Sorry...I can't talk about it..." Luo'er lowered his head and, gritting his teeth, replied.
He wasn't sure what would happen if he revealed the secret, but he didn't want Luo Qishan to be implicated because of him. Even though he didn't particularly like Luo Qishan, Luo'er didn't want to cause him any trouble.
"Luo'er, you..." Tangmo looked at him with disbelief.
"I'm sorry..." Luo'er lowered his head and uttered an apology, then silently walked away.
"Sister Moumou..." Hu Daoke watched Luo'er's departing figure, becoming somewhat anxious.
"Little Ke, we'll have to do our own investigation, no matter how difficult. We need to uncover the truth!" Tangmo faced him and spoke calmly.
"Okay, understood!" Hu Daoke nodded seriously.
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