Chapter Sixty-Three: Hello

With a faint creak, the red lacquered wooden door was slowly pushed open by Su Bai.

A corridor paved with blue stone slabs appeared before him. As he walked along it, the sound of students reading echoed from both sides. Su Bai looked up and saw a latticed window more than five feet above. For some reason, he remembered how his homeroom teacher used to secretly observe the class from that spot and the glass of the back door during his school days. Every time he whispered with classmates during study periods, he’d feel a chilly sensation on his back. If he turned to look at the door, he’d inevitably lock eyes with his favorite teacher. So there was always one or two lookouts; whenever the teacher approached, they'd give a timely warning.

At this thought, the corners of his mouth lifted gently. Though his memories carried some bitterness, there were always precious fragments he could never let go. Since arriving in this world, he’d lived almost in solitude. Now, thrust into a bustling environment, Su Bai’s heart stirred with excitement. Humans are, after all, creatures of community; those who prefer solitude are the minority. Most yearn for companions, and Su Bai was no exception.

He tread lightly through the corridor, stopping at the stairway to the first floor, then suddenly slapped his forehead. “Oh no, I just realized I forgot to ask which class I'm in…”

Just then, he noticed a plainly dressed ten-year-old boy peering into classrooms throughout the first floor.

“At my age, I should be on this floor,” Su Bai mused, crouching beneath a classroom window. “Maybe I’ll just pick this class. As a transfer student, it's probably fine to choose whichever fits. That cheap master must have thought so too, hence not telling me my class.”

With this in mind, he approached the door and peeked inside.

But something felt off—“Strange, why has the reading stopped?” As he puzzled over this, a burly figure appeared before him.

...

“Oh, so that's what happened. Just head up to the office on the second floor—wait, you probably don’t know which room it is either.”

At that moment, Su Bai resembled a student caught playing with his phone in class, head lowered to stare at the floor. The man who’d caught him peeking finally saw him clearly: a fair, beard-free face paired with thick brows and large eyes—a true picture of a refined young gentleman. Yet despite his scholarly appearance, his muscular build was utterly incongruous. Standing nearly two meters tall, he exerted a palpable pressure on Su Bai, giving the impression of a muscular child hero.

He looked down at Su Bai, and seeing his aggrieved expression, decided not to scold him further. After all, he'd been through this stage himself and understood. He sighed and said, “Alright, you can stay in my class for now. I'll ask for instructions after class and help you with the paperwork.”

The moment he heard “Alright,” Su Bai perked up instantly, his hopeful face making the man genuinely smile.

“My surname is Sun. Just call me Mr. Sun here.”

...

“Come in, let everyone meet you.”

Instantly, over twenty pairs of young eyes turned toward Sun Xiuyuan. When Sun Xiuyuan had noticed Su Bai outside, he’d asked them to stop reading, sparking their curiosity—what was their teacher up to?

A child’s face peeked out from behind Sun Xiuyuan’s burly figure, carefully surveying the crowd. Yet as their gazes fell on him, he quickly ducked back behind Sun Xiuyuan. Encouraged by Sun Xiuyuan’s look, Su Bai shyly stepped forward, still unable to meet the eyes of those seated below. Head lowered, he recited his self-introduction like a robot, stumbling through it without much sense.

“Alright, you can sit over there.” Su Bai followed Sun Xiuyuan’s gesture. His seat was the first by the wall, next to a girl who looked about eleven or twelve. Her bright, lively eyes, dark and shining, were set in a delicate oval face. Her skin was as fair and smooth as jade, a straight nose above a dainty cherry mouth—utterly adorable. Though young, it was clear she would grow into a stunning beauty. Her graceful posture made even Su Bai steal a second glance.

He quickly turned away, muttering under his breath, “You're really tempting fate, living days with such a sense of judgment.”

Su Bai bowed to Sun Xiuyuan and the students, then quietly took his seat.

---

“Hello, my name is Gu Fanshuang.”

Just as Su Bai sat down, a pleasant voice sounded in his ear. He turned and saw the girl he’d noticed earlier extending her hand in greeting.

Reflexively, Su Bai glanced to the side—oh, sorry, just the wall there. He timidly reached out and shook her cool little hand, then shyly said, “Um...hello, my name is... Ming Li.”

But the moment he shook hands, Su Bai sensed this girl was not as harmless as she appeared.

“This hand doesn’t belong to a sheltered young lady. Only years of wielding weapons could have produced such calluses.”

Outwardly, Su Bai remained awkward, but inside, he speculated, “These children are probably not ordinary; perhaps they’re all as formidable as Wei Mingyuan.”

“Could you let go now?” Gu Fanshuang’s tone betrayed a hint of displeasure.

“Oh, sorry, sorry. I’m...” Su Bai, seasoned in the art of deception after many brushes with death, found it easy to fool this group.

“No problem.” With that, Gu Fanshuang turned away and listened attentively.

Su Bai buried his head, sneaking another glance at her. Once he confirmed everyone had seen his awkwardness, he focused on Sun Xiuyuan.

“Let's turn to page eighteen…”

As Su Bai listened intently, a pair of eyes silently observed him.

“This brat hides his skills well. If not for Dong Muming’s intel, I wouldn’t see through his act.”

...

The lesson lasted until noon.

“That’s all for today.” Sun Xiuyuan closed his textbook, about to leave, when he suddenly remembered something and returned, saying, “Almost forgot—tomorrow is the monthly exam for the Heaven Class. Prepare yourselves.”

“Ahhh~~~”

More than half of the twenty students groaned in protest.

Sun Xiuyuan slapped the desk, silencing them instantly. “Enough whining. This is your first monthly exam since admission—it won’t be too hard. Besides, you’re Heaven Class students. Even if I didn’t want you to take the exam, the deputy head wouldn’t let you off. Let’s see what you can achieve with your lazy attitudes.”

Glancing at Su Bai by the wall, Sun Xiuyuan continued, “Look at him—first day here, and does he have any extreme reaction to the exam?”

With Su Bai’s bewildered expression, Sun Xiuyuan nodded approvingly at him and pointed to those most opposed earlier. “Our little Ming has bravely joined this exam—you can’t let him leave you behind, or you won’t hear the end of it.”

“I…” Su Bai’s eyelid twitched. This odd feeling of being dragged into trouble was all too familiar. And what was with that approving look?

“Damn! Didn’t expect to face an exam on my second day here.” Su Bai felt overwhelmed. He truly knew nothing; going to this test was like carrying a lantern to the latrine—looking for trouble.

When Sun Xiuyuan mentioned the exam, Su Bai resolved to follow him later and get his exam status revoked. Yet instead, he was used as a model student. Poor Su Bai had no way to protest.

He turned to Gu Fanshuang and said, “Um...could we review together? I don’t know anything; I’ll probably hand in a blank paper tomorrow.”

Gu Fanshuang tilted her head and said softly, “We can, but there’s so much material—I’m not sure you’ll get through it all.”

...

“Are you sure he covered all this?” Su Bai’s face twitched as he looked at the small stack of notes Gu Fanshuang brought out.

Gu Fanshuang giggled, “Today was just a half-day so we’d have time to review; the material isn’t that much. Usually, we have full-day classes and have to copy each other’s notes.”

“Damn…” Su Bai grumbled inwardly, “I thought I came here to learn martial arts. Why is there so much coursework?”

He picked up one notebook gloomily. Inside, neat and elegant characters filled the pages—clearly written by someone practiced in calligraphy, a world apart from Su Bai’s own scrawls.

“Beautiful handwriting won’t feed me,” he thought, resignedly donning his mask of misery and continuing to study.

---

As he read, Su Bai’s lips suddenly curled into a smile. He realized the material was nearly identical to what he’d seen in the bamboo hut—mostly astronomy and calendrical studies, plus some poetry and literary analysis.

“Looks like, except for a few foreign languages, about seventy or eighty percent of this is already memorized.”

With this realization, a smile appeared on Su Bai’s face, catching the attention of the diligent Gu Fanshuang.

She asked curiously, “Weren’t you just frowning? Why are you smiling now?”

“Oh, I...I just remembered something happy, haha.”

Su Bai gave a goofy smile, dodging the question. Gu Fanshuang didn’t bother with him further; in her mind, she’d already categorized him as “simple and timid.” She had no intention of talking more.

Su Bai didn’t relax, instead focusing on the foreign languages. These included the tongues of several nations surrounding Great Ming, especially the two northern nomadic tribes, whose languages were explained in detail.

Time slipped by; before they knew it, moonlight had replaced sunlight, streaming through the gauze window onto both of them.

Gu Fanshuang felt tired, put down her notebook, and stretched. Just then, Su Bai looked up, and their eyes met.

Embarrassed to be caught by Su Bai, Gu Fanshuang quickly sat upright and resumed reading.

By now, Su Bai had finished all the linguistic material Gu Fanshuang had noted. Thanks to his photographic memory, these were no challenge. Yet, for some reason, he felt a strange familiarity with Gu Fanshuang, a feeling that flickered in and out, leaving him uncertain. He even felt a desire to get closer.

He shook his head to dispel these improper thoughts. “I’m a man who loves learning—how could I let such things cloud my mind? Hah, women.”

Gu Fanshuang, too, could no longer concentrate. She knew most of the material by heart, and this Ming Li somehow gave her a sense of familiarity she couldn’t understand.

Both put down their notebooks and looked at each other. Gu Fanshuang noticed Su Bai’s calm eyes and commented, “Why not keep up the act? You did well—I really couldn’t see through it.”

“I just wanted to test my guess,” Su Bai replied, putting on a serious face that made Gu Fanshuang’s heart skip.

“I guess...I guess you finished reviewing, right? Haha!” Unexpectedly, Su Bai was only joking.

“You!” Gu Fanshuang, irked by his frivolity, snorted and walked out, forgetting her notebook.

“Luckily, I salvaged that blunder, or my good impression would’ve been wasted. But why was she so nervous? Did she really think I’d say something important?” Watching Gu Fanshuang walk away, Su Bai picked up her notebook and examined it.

Meanwhile, in the Dayan Sect—

A young man in a deep blue uniform knelt before a shadow, speaking softly, “This kid headed south, then disappeared at the rebels’ stronghold.”

The shadow snarled, “There are plenty of sects in Shengzhou. You expect me to check them all?” He coughed violently.

“Disciple wouldn’t dare, but the news is gone—like mud in water. We’ve searched for a month and found nothing. We suspect...well, suspect he’s been killed by the rebels.”

The young disciple grew less confident as he spoke. Along the way, they’d nearly been caught as cannon fodder by passing officials, so they dared not act rashly. Most of their information was guesswork. Whether Su Bai was dead, they could not say.

“Enough!” the shadow barked. “Useless lot. If you’re no help, I’ll have to go myself.”

The figure turned, and moonlight lit his face: sallow, emaciated cheeks and sunken eyes. It was the Ninth Elder of Dayan Sect—Xi Menghe.

Since Dong Muming’s death, he’d become the Eighth Elder, sending dozens of disciples south to search for Su Bai, but so far had found nothing useful.

He walked to the desk, picked up a pen, and hastily wrote on a slip of paper.

Then, he looked at the cage of pigeons beside him, took a handful of feed, and offered it in his palm. After feeding, he placed the note in a small tube tied to a carrier pigeon’s right leg.

“Go.”

Watching the pigeon fly away, Xi Menghe murmured, “Ming Li, your master will come looking for you soon. Hehehe.”