Ku Lo travelled in the tunnels after convincing Dai Meifen to leave first. How he managed that puzzled him, but he guessed she was too happy to care.
The situation was to his advantage, so he didn't care either.
"This should be it." According to the signs within the extensive tunnel system, his classroom should be on the other side of this wall covered by cobwebs and dust.
"Time to fake a confident face, and charm everyone." He pressed a stain on the granite tunnel's wall and a creaking noise began as the wall moved aside.
"Everything is okay now, Senior Brother is back." He strode into the familiar classroom with a smug smile. "With the promised answer."
Huang Gingge flew out of her seat. "Lo'er?… You did it!"
"Didn't I promise to deliver?" He welcomed her rushing into his embrace.
"How did you… What did you?" Rin Tin Tin said what the few sceptics were thinking out loud.
"I have my ways."
"You're my knight in shining armour, Ku Lo~" Rin Tin Tin got the note and walked into the tunnel, disappearing to no one's care.
After the tingles resided, he asked, "How about everyone else? Are you ready to leave?" His light-blue eyes hovered past everyone in the class while a hand caressed Huang Gingge's back.
Huang Qingling rose out of her seat. "Let's go, everyone. It's either this or the hallways."
"Right, let's leave." a man dressed in the regular outer sect white robes said and went in. "Don't worry Senior Brother Ku, we'll keep our mouths shut," another told. "Thank you, Senior Brother," the girl who'd been on the edge of a mental break thanked him as she passed him.
"Follow the signs," Ku Lo told the people walking into the tunnel. "Huang Qingling, Feng Huling, and Bo, could you three stay with me?"
"I can stay too?" Gingge asked; her hands tugging his white robe.
"That's given, babe."
"What is it, Ku Lo?" Feng Huling asked as she walked over to him.
"We need to help the other classes. They must be still stuck with no way out."
"What about the risk?" Huang Qingling asked.
"Like we aren't taking a risk with this already," he said, holding in a laugh before continuing. "Anyone in this class could rat me out, but they won't. However, wouldn't the other classes get suspicious, even annoyed if we made it without a scratch and no other class did? Also, I see a lot of profit in helping them."
Huang Qingling nodded. "It would cement you as a leader for our year's admissions."
"Yes, that's right," Feng Huling added.
Ku Lo turned to her. "That's my plan." After acknowledging her, he ended the hug and entered the tunnels.
...
In the centre of this 'squad', Ku Lo stepped into another class through a tunnel entrance, which in this case was a sliding bookshelf.
"What, who are you?" a man near them asked.
Ku Lo sidelined the man by pushing him aside while speaking, "No need for panic, we're from the other class and our intention here is to help."
"Ku Lo?" a slim, almost frail redhead asked. "Why are you here? What's that tunnel?"
"Cousin Niu?" Feng Huling replied to her first. "You're in this class?"
"Fairy Feng, is she from the Feng Family?"
Feng Huling nodded. "Yes, she's my dear cousin."
Ku Lo smiled for Feng Niu. "Nice to meet you. It seems that the Feng Family doesn't lack beauties."
"Hey!" The man from earlier scrambled to his feet. "Who are you to talk to Senior Sister Feng like that? Leave now or face trouble."
Ku Lo frowned and then became annoyed by this man. In his annoyance, he grabbed the man's neck and squeezed; this man would serve as an example, he thought while forcing the man into submission.
"Ku Lo, wait, stop!" Feng Huling exclaimed. "We're here to help. Not to scare them."
"Right, drop him now!" The class shouted.
His eyes re-accessed the situation, making him painfully clear this hadn't been the correct action. Even he became to see the heavy-handedness.
To salvage the mess, he quickly dropped the idea. "Are you alright? I didn't mean to—"
"Yeah, I'm fine," the man cut him. "But why would you ever—
"Ku Lo, you were here to help us?" Feng Niu interjected him and walked to Ku Lo's side. "You said you came helping in mind, right?"
"Yeah… That tunnel leads out. Your class can use it to avoid the hallways."
"Why should we trust them?" someone questioned. "They already hurt one of us, and now we should trust them? Laughable!"
"Stupid!"
"Senior Sister Feng?"
"Stupid I said," Feng Niu repeated. "It wasn't their fault this happened. It was a misunderstanding. No one is to blame. Moreover, these people here are to help us get out. The proof of it working is them being here."
The class began an exchange of words which Ku Lo and his squad watched from the sidelines. From it, Ku Lo noted one thing: Feng Niu was the power wielder in this class and should be treated as such. Not that he needed to do much since she seemed eager to be on his good side.
"I'll handle them for you," Feng Niu whispered to him.
"don't worry about it. I'll take care of the rest."
Feng Niu's rose lips moved to the sides, signalling that she wasn't buying it.
Ku Lo chuckled before stepping forward to address the class. "There are instructions in the tunnel, you can leave at your leisure. We'll come back in a bit and close it."
"Lo'er, are you going to leave them here like that?"
"What else, Gingge? We can't force them to obey us. We're giving them the right to choose."
Gingge nodded.
"We're leaving for the other classes. Feng Niu, will you come with us?"
"Of course!" Feng Niu exclaimed and hurried her steps to reach his side.
'Groupie groupies.' It was funny to see Gingge's and Huling's reactions to them, noting a new player on the block.
…
With the gained experience, convincing the next class proceeded much smoother. There were no qualms; it seemed that the girls in the class were gossipy to a fault, and so vouched for him. They all left the class except for a man who joined their group to vouch for the following class.
The plan rolled like a snowball from there. They'd show up in a class and make their intentions known before simply leaving.
Not once was there anyone left in the class when they returned to close the secret entrance.
Ku Lo's group also swelled from five to twenty-five in the end. Though the number of men in the group didn't change much as the voucher who joined was a woman four out of five times.
The notion behind this wasn't missed by Ku Lo. Yet, there would be no courting, not even on Feng Niu's case. As at that moment, his plate was too full already, and Huang Qingling flashing the contract made the notion firmer than steel.
Every class sent away, their group made for the exit.
There was no one waiting for them from the administration, meaning everyone had kept their mouth shut.
The coast clear, Ku Lo faced the group which had followed him. It was time for a speech. At first, he mumbled to himself, however. He'd never given a speech, yet now twenty superhumans who respected him waited for his mouth to open...
Gulp.
"You see? With my lead, we were able to push through this task you alone found impossible. Trust me in the future as you did back there, and I will never disappoint a single one of you."
Chin tilted upwards, his light-blue eyes swept through them.
"Now go home, study, cultivate, and don't let those Inner Court Disciples rule over you with fear they do not deserve." With a wave of his arm, the group of vouchers departed.