Zhuang Xun controlled Bai Yujing to bring the brocade pouches into his dormitory room, opening them one by one.
Inside, most of them were personal items of young women, such as hairpins, scented sachets, and jade ornaments, with only a few love poems among them.
Zhuang Xun found it novel. Just as he was about to appreciate these poems written for him, he heard someone from Yan Pingsheng's side about to share gossip related to himself.
What gossip?
Curious, he read the poems on one side while preparing to eavesdrop on the other.
However, the sharp-faced youth who was about to share the gossip suddenly shut his mouth.
In the crowd, several impatient youths urged him a few times, solemnly promising that they would absolutely never spread it around.
But the sharp-faced youth still refused to speak.
Some thought Bai Yujing was coming and looked around nervously, only to turn back and see the sharp-faced youth stifling a laugh. They immediately realized they had been played.
The crowd: “...”
Soon, the sharp-faced youth was hoisted up by the crowd, his smugness instantly turning to terror.
Did this prank exist here too?
From behind, Zhuang Xun watched as the sharp-faced youth was dragged away to be ground against a tree.
This kind of behavior was actually very dangerous. If there were bad apples or people who didn't know their limits among the participants, the prank could easily turn into an accident.
In his past life, he had heard of a streamer who permanently lost a piece of his ammunition because of this.
...
After looking through these tokens of affection, Zhuang Xun disposed of the scented sachets that had a fragrance, just in case someone used this opportunity to poison him.
As for the hairpins, jade ornaments, and love poems, he checked them and found nothing unusual, so he stored them away in a box. After all, they represented the sincere feelings of others.
Afterward, Zhuang Xun leaned on the table, propping his chin in one hand, contemplating how he should respond to these young women's feelings.
After thinking about it for a long time, he decided to simply ignore it.
First, there were too many people asking him out, and the locations were all different. He simply couldn't run around to all of them.
Second, as a gentle guy, he just couldn't bear to see girls get sad!
—So, he just wouldn't go to any of them.
Having made his decision, Zhuang Xun felt a wave of relief. He stood up and went out to the bamboo forest to practice his martial arts.
Thus, on this night, there were quite a few people in the Outer Court who waited in vain, only to leave in disappointment.
“Sigh, I really am a man of deep sins.” Suddenly remembering this in the middle of the night, Zhuang Xun sighed softly and refocused his mind on his training.
...
On the third day of the fourth month, a date the Principal calculated to be highly auspicious for taking a master.
The master-apprentice ceremony, which the Wanxing Martial Academy had been promoting for a long time, was grandly held. All the notable factions in Zechuan City sent representatives to watch the ceremony, including many influential figures like heads of great families and presidents of merchant guilds. Even the City Lord's Manor had sent a First Rank grand expert.
In a quaint, antique-styled room.
Two lovely maidservants stared blankly at the youth in the bronze mirror.
He wore a cloud crown, a jade belt around his waist, splendid robes, and brocade slippers. His ethereal, otherworldly aura was blended with a touch of nobility. If he were to appear in a sacrificial ceremony, the commoners would probably mistake him for a deity manifesting in the world and bow down to worship him.
Zhuang Xun quietly gazed at himself in the bronze mirror. Though his face was completely expressionless, he had already praised his own peerless beauty a thousand times over in his heart.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock came from the door.
A respectful voice sounded from outside: “Chief Disciple, the ceremony is about to begin.”
Hearing this, the two maidservants each grabbed a corner of the cloak, gently draping it over Bai Yujing's shoulders.
Zhuang Xun locked eyes with his reflection in the bronze mirror. As two disciples pushed the door open, he stepped over the threshold.
Right at that moment, the clouds parted, and sunlight poured over him, gilding him in a golden glow.
...
Inside the Wanxing Hall.
The Principal, dressed in deep purple robes, sat on the high seat at the very top, a smile on his face.
Below him stood two neat, solemn rows of disciples.
Seated along the walls were the guests who had come to watch the ceremony.
At the very front of the disciples, a beautiful, gentle woman in green robes with picturesque features subtly surveyed her surroundings. She then chuckled softly, her voice not loud, but just enough for those around her to hear:
“What a grand spectacle. None of us received this kind of treatment back then.”
The woman speaking was named Zhou Ziruo, a true disciple of the Posuo Courtyard in the Upper Two Courts of the Wanxing Martial Academy.
Beside her, a woman in a white dress, with pale skin and a delicate, sickly beauty that evoked pity, said softly, “Senior Sister Zhou, the Chief Disciple represents the face of our Wanxing Martial Academy. If the spectacle were too small, we would be ridiculed by other factions.”
Her name was Lin Qingsu, a true disciple of the Pianqian Courtyard in the Lower Three Courts of the Wanxing Martial Academy.
“The face of the academy, huh...”
Zhou Ziruo sighed. “Sigh, I never expected that after the four of us competed for so long, someone else would end up stepping over our heads.”
Lin Qingsu lowered her gaze. “To be chosen by the Principal, Senior Brother Chief must have his extraordinary qualities.”
“Senior Brother Chief is stepping over my head?”
“...”
Zhou Ziruo ignored the burly man who had looked up to search around, her gaze shifting to a cold-faced man with sharp, chiseled features. She smiled faintly and said:
“Senior Brother Yang, aren't you going to say something to show your stance?”
The man she addressed was named Yang Ling, a true disciple of the Jixin Courtyard in the Lower Three Courts.
Although he came from the Lower Three Courts, his strength surpassed that of Zhou Ziruo from the Upper Two Courts, making him the strongest among the four true disciples.
Yang Ling crossed his arms, remaining silent for a moment before saying, “What is done is done. What else is there to say?”
“Hmm—for example... saying something to our new Chief.”
Yang Ling's gaze suddenly turned icy, staring intently at Zhou Ziruo, whose smile remained unchanged. “Stepping forward to cause trouble today is no different from a blood feud over obstructing someone's path, and it would only make us a laughingstock to outsiders. I hope Junior Sister Zhou knows her boundaries.”
“Ha, since even Senior Brother Yang can understand this logic, I naturally do as well.”
Zhou Ziruo raised her hands above her head and stretched lazily, saying with a smile, “Today is a joyous day for our Senior Brother Chief, so we must naturally make him happy. I also want to see Senior Brother Chief's heroic bearing. There have been quite a few rumors about him lately.”
A celestial descending to the mortal realm... the rumors make him sound so miraculous, she thought, finding it rather amusing.
The burly man, who had round, bell-like eyes, a childish face, and stood over eight feet tall, stopped looking around and turned to Zhou Ziruo. He asked directly, “Senior Sister Zhou, did Martial Uncle Yi instruct you to target Senior Brother Chief?”
His name was Shi Kaishan, a true disciple of the Linjia Courtyard in the Lower Three Courts.
Hearing this, the smile on Zhou Ziruo's face faded slightly. She tilted her head and looked at Shi Kaishan with a bright smile.
“Oh? What do you mean by that, Junior Brother Shi?”
Shi Kaishan replied honestly, “I heard from some of the junior brothers below that Senior Brother Chief seems to have stolen Martial Uncle Yi's position. Is that true?”
Zhou Ziruo suddenly laughed. “Ah~ so you've been misled by others. That is naturally false. My master's heart lies in the martial path; why would he care about power and influence?”
She pointed a finger at her own head. “Junior Brother Shi, practicing martial arts isn't just about training the body; you also need to train your brain. Don't just believe everything you hear.”
Shi Kaishan reminded her, “Senior Sister Zhou, have you forgotten? The Linjia Vest I practice is a mid-tier martial art. It has no mental cultivation, so it can't train the brain.”
“Then you can read more books and practice writing. Perhaps that will make your almond-sized brain a bit bigger.”
“Oh, I'll give it a try,” Shi Kaishan muttered. “Though I don't think it will be of much use.”
Zhou Ziruo's smile began to falter, and a blue vein throbbed faintly at her temple.
She ignored Shi Kaishan, took a deep breath, and fanned herself with her slender hand. She kept comforting herself in her heart: Don't get angry at a fool, don't get angry at a fool. It's not worth it, not worth it...
Rate on N.U.
