Fast Travel Absurdity Sutra

Chapter 239: The Great Battle in the Capital in the Period Literature (19)

Old Li walked up quickly and called out to Su Qianjin.

"Student Su, wait a moment."

When Su Qianjin heard the voice, his body stiffened suddenly. He slowly turned his head and saw that it was Mr. Li. A complex look flashed in his eyes, with panic and a hint of expectation.

"Principal Li... Principal Li, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Su Qianjin asked stutteringly.

Old Li looked at Su Qianjin with a gentle yet scrutinizing gaze.

"Student Su, I know you have something on your mind. Do you know anything about Professor Ma?"

Su Qianjin's eyes dodged and he lowered his head.

He was silent for a long time, and then he stammered, "I... I don't know anything."

Mr. Li looked at Su Qianjin, who looked panicked, and sighed heavily. The sigh was filled with endless worry and helplessness, and it drifted slowly in the depressing atmosphere of the campus.

"Student Su, you are still young and have a long way to go. Making some mistakes is like stepping into an abyss from which there is no return, and it is very likely to ruin your entire life. You should be very clear about what kind of person Professor Ma is from your time with him on campus. He is passionate about his country and is determined to cultivate pillars of talent and promote academic progress. He would never betray his country or spread reactionary ideas. There must be a huge misunderstanding here."

Mr. Li leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on Su Qianjin's, and he continued speaking earnestly.

"If you know something, tell me now. Maybe you still have a chance to make amends and give yourself a chance to start over."

These words were like a sharp arrow, piercing through Su Qianjin's defenses and instantly hitting the depths of his soul.

These days, guilt has been haunting him like a thorn in his flesh.

He had no appetite every day, and the food tasted like wax in his mouth; at night, he lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep, and the scene of his participation in framing Professor Ma kept echoing in his mind.

He was like an ant trapped in a hot pot, struggling painfully in the tormenting predicament.

Every minute and every second felt like a blunt knife slowly cutting his conscience, and his days were filled with darkness.

Su Qianjin's body began to tremble slightly uncontrollably, and his heart was experiencing a fierce storm.

Conscience and fear were fighting fiercely in his heart. Reason told him that he should tell the truth, but fear made him afraid to bear the consequences.

It's as if time has stood still.

Li Xiao was very patient. He stood quietly beside her, his eyes full of encouragement.

After a long time, Su Qianjin slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with tears, which were swirling in his eyes and could burst out at any time.

"Principal Li, I... I was wrong."

Su Qianjin's voice was trembling and filled with tears.

"It was Cui Jinshan. That day, he saw Zhang Geming and I looking up foreign materials, and he had evil intentions. He threatened us, instructing us to secretly place misleading foreign books in Professor Ma's office, and then report us to the Revolutionary Committee. We were completely deceived by him at the time and were terrified that if we didn't do as he said, we would be arrested as counter-revolutionaries. Director Cui said viciously that if we didn't do as he said, he would throw us both in jail. I... I was so scared that I agreed in a moment of confusion. But as soon as I did it, I regretted it so much. Professor Ma was so kind to us, but I did something like this to let him down. I... I shouldn't have done this."

After saying this, Su Qianjin instantly lost all his strength. He suddenly covered his face with his hands, tears seeping out from between his fingers.

He could only cry silently.

At this moment, even though he was filled with sorrow, he didn't even dare to cry out loud, for fear that any movement would attract the attention of others and bring him into greater trouble.

Mr. Li listened quietly, without any joy of victory on his face.

His eyes were filled with pain and heaviness.

This country is in a special period. Children who should be swimming in the ocean of knowledge and growing up healthily are being forced to do things that go against their conscience.

Although he knew in his heart that he had made the right bet and had found the key to uncovering the truth from Su Qianjin, the heavy price he paid made him feel even more depressed.

Mr. Li was silent for a moment, and his sharp eyes quickly swept around. He had already noticed that many people were beginning to look at him with curiosity.

He sighed deeply, and that sigh was filled with helplessness about the times and worry about the future.

Then, he raised his hand and gently patted Su Qianjin's shoulder, his voice gentle but with some unquestionable strength.

"Student Su, you've taken a brave step by telling the truth. Let's go to my office. I hope you can muster up the courage to come forward and expose Cui Jinshan's conspiracy. This is not only to clear Professor Ma's name, but also for your own sake, so that you can free yourself from this quagmire of error."

Su Qianjin gritted his teeth, as if he had made some kind of decision, nodded firmly, and a hint of determination flashed in his eyes.

"Mr. Li, I'm willing. I don't want to make any more mistakes. Let's go to your office. I'll follow your instructions."

In Mr. Li's office, Su Qianjin sat at the table, the pen in his hand trembling slightly.

He took a deep breath and began writing the detailed letter of denunciation, stroke by stroke. Every word seemed to be washing away his sins; every sentence exposed Cui Jinshan's ugly conspiracy.

He wrote down in detail and without reservation how Cui Jinshan used threats and inducements and how he instructed them to frame Ma Pingyuan step by step.

Mr. Li took this letter of denunciation and, together with some upright colleagues, delivered the letter to the senior leaders of the Revolutionary Committee of the Beijing University District where Beijing University was located.

Fortunately, there is always a way out. He suddenly remembered that he had met a senior leader of the Revolutionary Committee several times. Although they were not close friends, they had developed some friendship through several exchanges in the past.

He thought that this leader had always been sensible and might do his part to help Ma Pingyuan out of consideration for their past friendship.

Holding on to this glimmer of hope, Mr. Li hurriedly contacted the leader and explained his purpose in sincere words.

After hearing this, the leader pondered for a moment and finally agreed to talk to Cui Jinshan in private.

Not long after, the leaders of the Revolutionary Committee found an opportunity to meet with Cui Jinshan.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was somewhat depressing. The dim light spread weakly around, and the shadows on the wall swayed slightly with the movements of the two people.

The leader did not directly produce the so-called evidence, but first exchanged a few words with Cui Jinshan, and then changed the subject and mentioned his friendship with Mr. Li.

He smiled and said, "Director Cui, I know Mr. Li. He's an upright man, devoted to education. He's so concerned about Ma Pingyuan's situation, there must be something hidden behind it. Wasn't your handling of this matter a bit too hasty?"

After hearing this, Cui Jinshan's expression changed slightly. He subconsciously clenched his fists and his eyes dodged.

He looked out the window. The gloomy sky was covered with dark clouds, which seemed to indicate that a storm was coming.

After hesitating for a long time, Cui Jinshan gritted his teeth and finally agreed to release Ma Pingyuan reluctantly.

In this way, Ma Pingyuan luckily escaped and was acquitted.

When Ma Pingyuan walked out of the Revolutionary Committee's door, the sunlight penetrated the thin clouds and shone on his slightly haggard face.

There were few pedestrians on the street in front of the door, and the trees on both sides swayed gently in the breeze.

He immediately saw Mr. Li who had been waiting at the door for a long time, and gratitude surged in his heart like a tide.

Ma Pingyuan walked forward quickly, shook Li Lao's hand tightly, his eyes full of gratitude: "Li Lao, thanks to you, if it weren't for you, I would really be finished this time."

Mr. Li smiled and patted Ma Pingyuan on the shoulder, saying in a kind tone:

"We are all fighting for truth and justice. We were able to rescue you this time thanks to Su Qianjin. If he hadn't stood up and exposed Cui Jinshan's conspiracy, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

Ma Pingyuan was slightly stunned after hearing this, then nodded heavily:

"Su Qianjin is a very honest boy. When I get back, I will definitely thank him."

At this time, Lantian finally returned to the capital after going through hardships.

She stepped into the familiar street. Some of the shops on the street had their doors closed, while others had little business, revealing an indescribable sense of depression.

She thought that as soon as she came back she would have to throw herself into a tense and fierce rescue operation and do her best to save Ma Pingyuan, but she didn't expect that Mr. Ma was safe and sound thanks to Mr. Li's efforts.

Lantian suddenly felt annoyed and secretly blamed himself for coming back too late and not being able to help.

She couldn't help but blame the arrogant Ergou in her mind:

"Sassy Ergou, why didn't you tell me that Ma Pingyuan was arrested by Cui Jinshan?"

The wind blew gently on the street, picking up a fallen leaf on the ground.

As Lantian walked, he communicated with Ergou in his sea of ​​consciousness.

Desser Ergou quickly explained:

"Oh, host, think about how important your mission is! If those biochemical laboratories aren't destroyed, the entire planet could face catastrophic destruction. In comparison, Ma Pingyuan's imprisonment is really just a small matter. Besides, hasn't Mr. Li been trying to rescue him? I figured that since Mr. Li was here, and your mission was urgent, I didn't bother you."

After hearing this, Lantian looked into the distance. The sky gradually cleared up and the sun shone on the earth.

After thinking about it carefully, she felt that what the arrogant Ergou said made sense.

Under the circumstances at that time, even though he knew that Ma Pingyuan had been arrested, he was really too busy to deal with it. If those biochemical laboratories got out of control, the consequences would be unimaginable, and they had to be dealt with as a priority.

She shook her head and stopped dwelling on the matter. As long as Ma Pingyuan was safe and sound, that was enough.

However, the gears of fate did not stop there, and everything was just a brief calm before the storm.

Inside a villa in the capital, the surroundings are tightly covered with thick black curtains, making it airtight. The only few dim wall lamps emit a weak and swaying light, casting shadows in the room, adding a bit of eerie feeling.

Cang Yong was wearing a black Chinese gown and sitting upright on the sofa, but his posture at this moment could not hide his inner irritability.

His brows were furrowed like two mountains about to collapse, and his thick eyebrows were almost twisted into a knot.

His face was as gloomy as the sky on the eve of a storm, so dark that water seemed to drip out of it.

Recently, he discovered that he might have had some bad luck.

Whatever I do, nothing works. I fail at anything.

The moment he learned the news that Ma Pingyuan was acquitted, the sinisterness that had been hidden in his eyes was instantly ignited and turned into raging anger.

He slammed the coffee table beside him, causing the teacup on the table to clang and some tea to spill out.

"This Cui Jinshan is such a complete waste!"

Cang Yong gritted his teeth and said this. Because he was angry, he even spoke the native language of the island country. Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"If he can't even handle such a trivial matter, what else can he accomplish?"

His voice trembled slightly with anger, echoing in the somewhat empty room, adding a chill.

Yoshiko Kuraki was standing beside them. She was wearing a plain modified cheongsam and had a graceful figure.

Seeing this, she leaned forward slightly, with a gentle yet cautious smile on her face, and whispered comfortingly:

"Lord Cangyong, please don't be angry. Although this plan failed, our foundation is still there, and there will definitely be opportunities in the future."

Her voice was gentle, like a spring breeze, trying to soothe the turmoil in Cang Yong's heart.

When Cang Yong heard this, a sneer appeared on his face, and that smile was full of ridicule and unwillingness.

He raised his head, looked at Kuraki Yoshiko coldly, snorted, and said:

"Chance? Humph, now that Ma Pingyuan has gone through what he's been through, he's definitely on high alert against us. It won't be easy to attack him as easily as before!"

As he spoke, he stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the room. Each step was so heavy that it almost made a hole in the floor.

Just at this moment, the door of the stronghold was hurriedly pushed open with a "creak", and Cang Yong's men walked in quickly with panic expressions.

He was breathing slightly heavily, and his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat. It was obvious that he had been jogging all the way here.

He walked up to Cang Yong and respectfully presented him with a document. The cover of the document was dark brown and exuded a mysterious air.

Cang Yong glanced at his subordinate in confusion, then reached out to take the document.

He slowly opened the file and scanned it quickly.

In an instant, his expression changed drastically. His originally gloomy face turned as pale as paper, and his lips began to tremble slightly.

"How can this be?"

He whispered to himself, his voice filled with shock and disbelief.

He seemed to be under a spell of immobilization, standing frozen in place.