The Money Is Missing

Lingyun Town's streets were exceptionally neat and clean, nothing like the filthy, disorderly medieval Western cities Su Hao had imagined. There was no stench of garbage or sewage. The streets were paved with tightly fitted stone slabs, and the houses on either side came in all manner of styles, yet stood in orderly rows stretching into the distance.

People flowed in and out of the Small Town without end. Most were villagers from nearby settlements bringing their goods into town to sell. Carts large and small came and went, making the place exceedingly lively.

For He Qingqing and Little Fatty, this was the first time in their lives they had seen so many people. Their eyes were filled with "people, people, people..." They curiously looked at this and that.

"Sugar Beasts! Two Copper Yuan each!"

He Qingqing and Little Fatty stared wide-eyed, swallowing hard.

"Wild Mountain Boar meat buns! Fresh-out-of-the-oven Wild Mountain Boar meat buns! Three Copper Yuan each!"

He Qingqing and Little Fatty caught the scent and immediately changed their minds.

"Hot, steaming flatbread~"

He Qingqing and Little Fatty wanted some too.

He Jianyong and Old Li were both particularly generous today. If their children liked something, they paid for it. Naturally, they did not leave Su Hao out either.

Su Hao tried a little of everything. Delicious! Then He Jianyong led them to a tailor shop and ordered two sets of novel-style clothes for each of the three children. The tailoring was quick; they only needed to wait a short while before collecting the finished garments.

Su Hao did as the locals did. Rather than making things difficult for the tailor by demanding something special, he chose a style that looked comfortable and natural. The top was divided into an inner layer and an outer garment. He chose white for the inner layer and pale blue for the outer garment. The style had something of an old-fashioned charm, and when cinched with a belt, it looked crisp and neat.

He Qingqing chose clothes with a bluish tint, blue and white intertwined. She looked exceptionally lovely in them, becoming a delicate young girl, slender and graceful.

Little Fatty's choice was the most flamboyant. At a glance, he looked like some rich young master, gaudy from head to toe. He somehow gave off the feeling of sunglasses, slippers, and beach shorts.

This time, Su Hao was too embarrassed to let He Jianyong pay for him. He paid out of his own pocket, spending two Silver Yuan. He suddenly realized that he seemed to be short of money again.

Next, He Jianyong took them to a weapon shop to pick out armor and blades.

The weapon shop was huge. Su Hao made a round of the place and found all kinds of armor and a rich variety of knives. There were also Spike Hammers, axes, long-handled sabers, spears, and all sorts of weapons, but he saw no swords.

His dream of becoming a swordsman shattered at once. In this world, the Human Race's enemies were mainly Ferocious Beasts with enormous bodies and formidable defenses. Perhaps swords simply were not as useful as knives.

Su Hao's armor had been replaced a year ago and still fit well enough, but his Short Blade was somewhat damaged and too short now. So he sold it to the weapon shop for two Silver Yuan, then spent five Silver Yuan on a blade around seventy centimeters long. He had lost three Silver Yuan in blood.

The more he looked at his new blade, the more he liked it. Only then did he realize there was nothing wrong with loving the new and discarding the old.

He Qingqing and Little Fatty also each picked out armor and long blades they liked, and the group left the weapon shop.

After strolling through the streets and buying all their daily necessities, they headed straight for Lingyun Warrior Academy.

Today was the day for new students to enroll at the Warrior Academy. The academy was especially bustling inside and out, packed shoulder to shoulder.

Enrollment was simple. As long as one sensed Blood Qi and became a Martial Artist before the age of twelve, they only needed to fill in their basic information and pay one Gold Yuan—one hundred Silver Yuan.

The requirements seemed simple, but very few could truly meet them. First, sensing Blood Qi before twelve alone eliminated a great many people. Then there was the one Gold Yuan tuition fee, which could be called an astronomical price. Not every family could produce that much money all at once.

Su Hao rummaged through his money pouch for a long time before finding one Gold Yuan. Reluctantly, he handed it to the registrar and received a special token bearing a cloud.

"This token is proof of identity for students of Lingyun Warrior Academy. Don't lose it. If you lose it, you'll have to pay to replace it," the registrar solemnly instructed.

Su Hao thought for a long time but could not figure out where to put the thing so it would not be easily lost. In the end, he tossed it into his money pouch.

After successfully enrolling and having their dormitories assigned, He Jianyong and Old Li returned to Tea Mountain Outpost.

One dormitory at the Academy housed four people. Little Fatty and Su Hao had been assigned to the same room, while their other two roommates had yet to appear.

There were fewer girls, so their dormitories were arranged on the other side of the Academy. After Su Hao and Little Fatty finished settling in, they took He Qingqing to find her dormitory and waited outside while she put her things in order.

At this moment, Little Fatty turned to Su Hao and asked, "Xiangwu, what do we do next?"

Su Hao looked baffled. "What do you mean, what do we do?"

Little Fatty said with a conflicted expression, "My dad and the others have all gone back. Now it's just the three of us, and it feels a little..."

Su Hao understood. Little Fatty was scared.

Leaving the shelter of one's parents for the first time to face one's own life alone—it was only natural to feel lost.

Su Hao patted Little Fatty on the shoulder. "You don't need to do anything. Just wait for the Academy's arrangements. Didn't you receive a list of precautions? Just do what it says."

Little Fatty was still uneasy. "But... I still feel kind of empty. Don't you feel anything at all, Xiangwu?"

Su Hao laughed. "What could I feel? Isn't it all the same? Don't worry, Little Fatty. It's just your first time at school. You'll get used to it. You'll come to like this place."

Little Fatty nodded and said nothing more.

Before long, He Qingqing came out. Although she hid it well, Su Hao could still sense that she was just as uneasy and bewildered as Little Fatty.

He could not help shaking his head inwardly with a sigh. Sure enough, they're children.

"Let's go!" Su Hao waved and walked ahead.

"Where are we going?" Little Fatty hurried after him and asked.

Su Hao raised the list of precautions in his hand and calmly said, "I'm taking you around to familiarize yourselves with the place, otherwise I'm afraid you'll get lost. Then we'll go have dinner."

Little Fatty asked, "Isn't this your first time here too, Xiangwu?"

Su Hao nodded. "Yeah, first time here!"

Little Fatty looked at him with worship in his eyes, while an inexplicable envy also surfaced in He Qingqing's gaze. She wanted to be like Wu Xiangwu too—calm, natural, and wise when things happened, as though everything were under control.

"This is the dining hall. Come here to eat from now on... Over here is the Martial Arts Field, where basic training is held. I reckon we'll be spending a very long time here in the future... And here is the bathhouse, where you wash... This building is the classroom, where cultural lessons are taught... Over there is where the teachers live. Normally, you won't come here unless you have business..."

Little Fatty and He Qingqing's eyes were full of little stars.

"Alright, that's about it. Did you remember everything?"

He Qingqing nodded. Little Fatty nodded at first, then shook his head. "Xiangwu, if you're here, why do I need to remember it?"

Su Hao gave a cold snort. "Hmph, do you take me for your nanny? You're thinking too much."

Little Fatty smiled awkwardly and said nothing.

Su Hao looked around. The sun had already set, so he said, "Let's go! Time to eat."

Little Fatty suddenly said, "Alright! Since it's the first day, I'll treat you guys to something tasty!"

Before Su Hao and He Qingqing could object, he immediately dragged them toward the boys' dormitory. "Come on, come on, let's go back and get the money first."

Su Hao frowned. "Little Fatty, from now on, don't leave valuables like money in the dormitory. You have to carry them with you."

Little Fatty waved dismissively. "Ah, it's fine. Don't worry. It can't grow legs and run away, can it?"

After returning to the dormitory, Little Fatty searched for a while before suddenly crying out in panic, "Xiangwu, come help me look! I can't find my money!"

"!!!" Su Hao suddenly had a bad feeling.

Thanks to Nidad and Smoke Dissipates Clouds Vanish All is Void for the tips and monthly votes, and to World in the Left Eye for the monthly vote.