Physical mage, challenge me to a solo duel!

The reception room next to the principal's office at Lanling Magic High School.

Bai Jingting and another elderly man sat at opposite ends of the tea table, not exchanging words.

The old man wore a simple black-gray coat over a shirt with obvious creases, old leather shoes, a plump figure, and a slightly balding head.

Glug glug...

The boiling water in the kettle churned, breaking the silence.

Bai Jingting reached out and lifted the kettle, poured the tea into the open glass teapot, meticulously rinsed the tea, and then brewed it.

The emerald green tea leaves swirled and tumbled in the glass teapot as boiling water agitated them, filling the entire reception room with the aroma of tea.

After a long silence, the old man sitting opposite Bai Jingting finally couldn't help but speak up: "Principal Bai, this matter was not done by me."

Bai Jingting ignored him, rinsed the teacup with hot water, and placed it in front of the old man opposite him.

Lift the glass kettle and pour the piping hot, fresh tea into the teacup; the water level gradually rises.

Bai Jingting's hand was very steady, and he only stopped when the tea water rose slightly above the rim of the teacup due to its own surface tension.

Not a single drop spilled.

"Boss, please have some tea." Bai Jingting smiled and gestured, then poured tea into the teacup in front of him.

Stop when it's seven-tenths full.

The old man opposite him frowned slightly: "Hasn't Tong Xin been caught yet?"

Bai Jingting smiled slightly: "Sir, if you are concerned about the specific progress of the case, you should ask the law enforcement system. This is a school."

The old man sighed deeply: "Principal Bai, believe it or not, Tong Xin is definitely not one of my people, and this matter has nothing to do with me."

Bai Jingting picked up his teacup and swirled it slightly: "So all of this was Wu Jie's conspiracy, he orchestrated it all himself, then killed Tong Xin to silence him and frame you?"

The old man gently shook his head: "This... I'm not sure, but I feel that Wu Jie is very rational and shouldn't do such a thing."

"Yes, how could a smart man like Wu Jie do something so stupid?" Bai Jingting said, seemingly expressing his feelings.

The old man had no expression.

Bai Jingting gently blew on the tea leaves floating in his cup and sighed softly, "Boss, you're almost at retirement age, aren't you? Why bother?"

The old man leaned forward slightly: "Principal Bai, I've already said, this matter has nothing to do with me."

Bai Jingting took a sip of tea: "Having served as the second-in-command for nearly twenty years, has that not exhausted your ambition? Seeing that you only have a few years left, you still want to chase after that position. Unfortunately, you've misplaced your ambition."

boom!

The old man slammed his hands on the tea table, his face contorted with anger: "Bai Jingting! Were you even listening to me?!"

Bai Jingting watched as the tea in front of the old man was shaken out of balance, overflowing from the teacup and meandering across the tea table until it dripped onto the ground.

"Look, it's out of bounds." Bai Jingting pointed to the spilled tea in front of the old man, then gently placed the teacup back on the table. "Boss, you should retire. Apply for medical retirement; at least you can retain some dignity."

"Hmph, dignified." The old man sneered, "You seem convinced that I was the mastermind behind this."

Bai Jingting smiled and looked at the old man before him: "I have a 'truth' to share, would you like to hear it?"

The old man showed no fear, simply saying, "This is not in accordance with regulations."

Bai Jingting seemed to have heard a joke: "You actually know it's against regulations?"

After a moment of silence, the old man slumped into his chair as if his spine had been removed: "Your student was not harmed."

Bai Jingting remained unmoved: "That's why I'm willing to give you a dignified ending."

The old man said, "The law enforcement system has not yet caught Tong Xin."

"I'm not surprised by this. You've been working in Lanling City for over twenty years, so you must have some connections. But are you willing to take the gamble? Once Tong Xin is caught, it won't be something that can be resolved by medical retirement."

Even if you don't care, don't you think about your children? They'll all be implicated because of you. As a mage, they won't be able to get into any official department. Are they supposed to become mercenaries abroad?" Bai Jingting said.

The old man looked up: "Principal Bai, why are you chasing after me and biting me?"

Bai Jingting said with a smile, "Isn't it precisely because of my granddaughter that you're interested in her? It's just that I might have been chasing after Wu Jie instead, but you couldn't outmaneuver him."

The old man fell silent for a moment.

Bai Jingting continued, "This matter needs to be resolved before my granddaughter and her student are released, so I hope to see news of your medical retirement tomorrow."

The old man looked up and said, "They just went in today, and I also need to go through the procedures for retiring due to illness."

Bai Jingting said dismissively, "Who knows what the dangers are like inside the Lingnan Sand Bridge? They're all first-year high school students; they might not be able to last five days, so I need to get this done quickly. As for the process, your connections from all these years are perfect for this; it'll be a proper beginning and a proper end."

All those years of goodwill have turned into the reins that bind me to death.

How ironic.

The old man got up to leave, but as he reached the door and his hand touched the doorknob, he stopped, turned around, and said seriously, "Whether you believe it or not, I am a student who is prepared to compensate you afterwards."

"I believe you." Bai Jingting nodded. "I believe that if you succeed, you will ask the medical department's extraordinary mage to heal him. You might even be able to apply for a guaranteed admission spot for him to make up for your current guilt. But these are just your temporary thoughts."

You must understand that when you make a decision, you must be prepared to pay the corresponding price. Moreover, some boxes, once opened, are very difficult to close again.

"The price." The old man nodded. "Yes, this is my price. And what about yours, Bai Jingting?"

A dignified extraordinary being reduced to the position of principal of a magic high school, calling a foolish mid-level mage like me "leader"—is this the price you pay?

So what was your decision back then?

Bai Jingting straightened his back slightly, and Gu Bo said calmly, "It's none of your business."

"Yes, I'm just a power-hungry, self-righteous old man, a defeated dog barking wildly in this small corner of Lanling City. If I could really understand the upper echelons' intentions, I wouldn't have wasted so many years."

The old man shook his head and chuckled to himself, then pushed open the door and left, leaving only one sentence: "Take my mistake as a warning, Bai Jingting, don't make the same mistake again."

The door to the reception room closed gently. Bai Jingting poured out the slightly cooled leftover tea from his cup and then poured in freshly brewed tea.

The next day, at Qi Xiaohao's villa.

Xu Jun sat in the living room drinking tea and reading the newspaper, just like he usually does.

Until he saw a news article in the newspaper.

"Chi Jiayan retired due to illness. It was so sudden. Wasn't he with Wu Jie...?"

Xu Jun frowned slightly, sensing that something was amiss.

Xu Jun then got up, casually tucked the newspaper under his arm, and walked towards the door.

"Brother Xu, dinner's almost ready, where are you going?" the housekeeper, who was cleaning the living room, asked in confusion.

"Xiao Hao is away these past two days, so I have some free time and I'm planning to visit some old friends."