Chapter Twelve: Roommates

A month passed in the blink of an eye. In that short month, the cultivation of every upper-level member of the Wudang Sect underwent a qualitative leap under the relentless nourishment of immortal pills and elixirs and the bombardment of profound Heavenly Dao teachings. Everyone was immersed in the joy brought by cultivation. If those old fossils of Wudang had known what a rocket was, they would certainly have used its speed to describe the straight-line rise of their cultivation. However, the direct consequence of the Wudang disciples' rapid improvement was the sharp decline in the thousands of spirit pills and immortal elixirs in Zhang Hupan's Universe Ring. This also made Zhang Hupan realize the value of the pills and elixirs he had never even considered worthy of notice before. As a result, no matter how much Kuye and the others flattered him now, they could forget about coaxing even half a pill or elixir out of Zhang Hupan. Of course, Zhang Hupan had also gained a great deal during this month. He had gradually developed some understanding of modern society, though it was still only book knowledge. Ever since Song Feng had tasted the benefits that one time, his enthusiasm had been astonishing. Though he had never been a teacher before, he had begun preparing lessons until late at night, neatly filling three or four notebooks. Naturally, the consequence of working so hard was that a large portion of the immortal pills and magical artifacts in Zhang Hupan's Universe Ring flowed into Song Feng's pockets. Thus, Song Feng trembled in fear every time he went to the rear mountain of Wudang. After all, an ordinary man was innocent, but possessing a treasure was a crime! The Wudang seniors in the rear mountain could kill Song Feng thousands of times a day with their glares alone. In the end, under Kuye's supervision, they settled on a nine-to-one distribution plan, and Song Feng finally escaped the daily thousands of "glaring killings." Naturally, Song Feng received the smaller share. Even so, he became the richest man in the Wudang Sect—excluding Zhang Hupan, of course.

"University is currently the highest temple of education in human society. It gathers the greatest number of the world's finest scholars, professors, and scientists. A university is also a place that imparts knowledge and trains all kinds of outstanding talents, such as doctors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs. The world's earliest university was the University of Bologna, established in medieval Italy. When it was founded, it had only one major—law. Later, it successively established theology and medicine. Law represented the highest achievement of the humanities, while medicine represented the highest achievement of the natural sciences. The greatest contribution of Bologna's legal education was promoting the revival of Roman law, thereby promoting the later revival of humanistic thought. The scale of universities today has long surpassed that of universities in those days. Nowadays, a university can be said to be a miniature version of society; a university is a small social living district..." Song Feng launched into another endless teaching session.

"So, at a university, you can learn a great deal of worldly knowledge and gain a good understanding of worldly culture?" After hearing Song Feng's introduction to universities, Zhang Hupan could not help feeling intrigued.

"You could put it that way!"

"Do you have any way to arrange for me to study at a university?" Zhang Hupan had developed a strong interest in universities. At the same time, he believed that studying at one could help him integrate into worldly life more effectively. He did not want a repeat of the tragedy at the foot of the mountain!

"There shouldn't be any problem. I can tell some Wudang disciples working in government departments to arrange it!" Song Feng agreed without hesitation. What a joke—his ancestor had spoken. How could he not make the arrangements? Besides, many Wudang disciples were stationed in certain special government departments, and some even held important positions. If they could not handle such a small matter, they might as well be expelled from the sect.

"Then arrange a school for me in Hangzhou!" Hearing that there would be no problem, Zhang Hupan was delighted. After a moment's thought, he decided that his first stop in the mortal world would be Hangzhou. After all, Zhang Sanfeng had found him by the West Lake. Perhaps he might find some clues about his own origins there, though that was almost impossible. But people always harbored a sliver of hope. Besides, Zhang Hupan truly wanted to return and see the place where he had been born. Thus, Zhang Hupan decided to study in Hangzhou.

Naturally, Zhang Hupan was so happy that he grabbed a handful of immortal pills and elixirs for Song Feng, then waved him off to arrange the university matters. Thus, Song Feng, already in his forties or fifties, happily scampered off to handle the task. Once he reached the door, the group of old and young members naturally had to divide up the spoils! Meanwhile, Zhang Hupan immersed himself in fantasies of university life. After all, poor Zhang Hupan had lived for a hundred years without ever leaving Wudang Mountain. Apart from Zhang Sanfeng and some demonic beasts in the Immortal Valley, he had never interacted with anyone else. In ordinary people's eyes, spending every day with several dozen old men discussing the Heavenly Dao and listening to interesting tales of the mortal world would be unbearably dull and frightening. But Zhang Hupan had never lived alongside so many people day and night, nor had he ever experienced such bustle and happiness! Once his century-old state of mind opened up, the resulting surging emotions would be a hundred or even a thousand times greater than those of ordinary people!

September was the time when freshmen reported for enrollment, and also the liveliest period of the year at every university. The school gates were packed with senior students holding signs for their colleges and departments, warmly greeting the new students. Naturally, the enthusiastic male seniors' eyes always landed on the youthful and beautiful female freshmen. It did not matter if they were not from their college or department. As long as they were beauties, those seniors were happy to cross boundaries and help—and they even had to compete to help, because the handsome seniors from the beauties' own colleges would not allow it! Although the female seniors did not blatantly use such a fine occasion to flirt with handsome boys as the male seniors did with pretty girls, they were no less enthusiastic. As long as a boy was handsome, their faces bloomed like spring flowers and their mouths turned as sweet as honey, leaving the young boys utterly unable to tell east from west. Their hearts held only one thought: Damn, university really lives up to its reputation. There really are so many beautiful girls, and they're so enthusiastic! I have to make the most of these four years!

While every university in Hangzhou was putting on a fiery, passionate spectacle, Zhejiang XX University on Kaixuan Road in Hangzhou's Jianggan District was naturally staging the same scene! However, there was one young man with an utterly ordinary appearance, dressed in shabby clothes, carrying a navy-blue travel bag, and sporting a crew cut. At a glance, he was clearly someone who had never seen the world and had just emerged from some remote mountain village. He stood stupidly at the school gate, looking up at the six characters "Zhejiang XX University" and murmuring, "So this is the legendary university! Ah, I've finally come to university too!" He looked so out of place that everyone cast him a look that said, I despise you! The pretty senior girls in particular avoided him from a distance as if he were a ghost. Not one of them showed any intention of warmly coming over to guide him.

This rustic young man was naturally our protagonist, Zhang Hupan. Ever since Song Feng had introduced him to universities, Zhang Hupan had decided to spend his first few years there and learn some human knowledge along the way. Before leaving Wudang, Zhang Hupan had hurriedly taught the old Wudang men while returning to the Immortal Valley to grab a large handful of what he considered weeds and refine tens of thousands of inferior immortal pills. He left some for the lower-level Wudang disciples and hid some in his Universe Ring for use in the mortal world. Ten days before the start of term, Song Feng delivered Zhejiang XX University's admission notice to Zhang Hupan. On the day before Zhang Hupan left Wudang, Song Feng once again carefully explained some school rules and matters requiring attention. He then gave Zhang Hupan a credit card with virtually no spending limit. Zhang Hupan refused to accept it, since he felt that he was obeying his master's orders to temper himself in the mortal world, and that he had to support himself through many things to truly experience life's bitterness and sweetness. However, after Song Feng's earnest persuasion, he reluctantly accepted ten thousand yuan as tuition and backup funds. Besides the admission notice and money, Song Feng also prepared an identity card identifying Zhang Hupan as a Guest Elder of the government's Special Department. Qingteng, meanwhile, stuffed a Sect Leader token into Zhang Hupan's hands. Although Zhang Hupan possessed Wudang's supreme token, that item was simply too high-level, and very few people could recognize it. Zhang Hupan had firmly refused both the identity card and the token at first, but after hearing Song Feng's explanation, he happily accepted them. Song Feng had respectfully said at the time, "Ancestor, you're a godlike figure of the Wudang Sect. How could those youngsters in the mortal world recognize you? And we can't reveal your identity. If those idiots offend you, we'll become sinners of Wudang for all eternity. With these tokens, you can also teach us useless Wudang disciples when convenient, so we won't bring shame to our founding patriarch!" Zhang Hupan thought about it and agreed, so he accepted them without further protest.

On the day of his departure, the old men of Wudang wept as if the heavens and earth were collapsing! Zhang Hupan still felt shaken whenever he thought of it. After bidding farewell to Wudang, Zhang Hupan got a crew cut and bought some everyday clothes and shoes. Although he had a Universe Ring, he still bought a travel bag so he would not appear too conspicuous, placing some daily necessities inside it. But how could Zhang Hupan, who had never experienced the human world, possess the modern aesthetic sense popular among ordinary people? Which merchant was not as crafty as a fox? The moment they saw this inexperienced young Taoist, they naturally pushed all kinds of outdated merchandise on him. Poor Zhang Hupan was cheated without realizing it, and even kept marveling at the kindness, friendliness, and warmth of the people in the mortal world.

Thus, Zhang Hupan wore an outfit the peddler had praised as the most fashionable in the world: a blue shirt so tacky it practically reeked of country life, awkward khaki trousers, and a pair of white-and-red sneakers. To avoid attracting attention, Zhang Hupan restrained his immortal aura. His eyes were no longer crystal clear, only slightly brighter than those of ordinary people. Once he believed he had dressed like someone from the mortal world, he bought a train ticket and hurried all the way to Zhejiang XX University.

"Hey, buddy, what are you standing here spacing out for? With the way you look, you could drool yourself dry and no beauty would come over to guide you. Come register with me!" A fair, plump hand landed on Zhang Hupan's shoulder, and a slightly helpless voice interrupted his recollections.

Zhang Hupan turned his head and saw the owner of the fat hand. The fellow stood about 170 centimeters tall and weighed roughly 170 jin as well. He wore a typical traitor's hairstyle, and his tiny eyes were set into a face as round as a washbasin. They were so small that one would have trouble finding them without looking closely. Yet when those tiny eyes fixed on the raised bottoms of beautiful women, they occasionally flashed with light, forcing people to admit that small eyes had their advantages. At the very least, they gathered light easily, making it easier to focus and see things clearly.

"My name is Zhang Hupan. May I ask what I should call you?" Since someone had taken the initiative to greet him, Zhang Hupan politely and warmly introduced himself and asked, even though the fellow kept glancing elsewhere with divided attention.

Seeing how polite Zhang Hupan was, the fat man could only awkwardly withdraw his lecherous gaze, swallow, and answer, "My name is Hu Zhiming. I'm a freshman in the Applied Chemistry department. What about you?"

"Me too!" Hearing that the fat man was also a freshman in Applied Chemistry, Zhang Hupan said happily. Although the fat man's appearance and gaze were both rather lewd, Zhang Hupan was still delighted to have met his first fellow student at university.

"Then let's go register together, buddy!" Hearing that Zhang Hupan was actually his new classmate, Hu Zhiming was overjoyed. Zhang Hupan clearly looked like a country boy who had never seen the world, and someone without the slightest appearance or aura of a leader, like Hu Zhiming, could only win over people like him. Back in high school, Hu Zhiming had had a classmate who followed his lead in everything. That classmate had been just like Zhang Hupan. Hu Zhiming's father happened to be a businessman with some money, so the two had each gotten what they needed. The classmate had satisfied Hu Zhiming's desire to play the big brother while receiving a certain amount of financial support in return. Unfortunately, that classmate had been admitted to another school this time.

Zhang Hupan had never left the mountain gate. Although his cultivation was terrifyingly high, he had never come into contact with the colorful human world, so he inevitably felt uneasy in this unfamiliar place. Now that he had met such a familiar and enthusiastic classmate, Zhang Hupan was very happy despite the fellow's ugly appearance. He imitated Hu Zhiming and hooked an arm around Hu Zhiming's chubby shoulder. Then he asked an impatient-looking senior student for the registration location, and the two walked off arm in arm toward it.

The registration site was at the sports plaza. By the time Zhang Hupan and Hu Zhiming arrived, it was already packed with people. They did not finish registering until nearly noon, then took their dormitory key and headed toward the residence building. As it turned out, Zhang Hupan and Hu Zhiming really did have some affinity. They were assigned to the same dormitory, Room 203, and even had the upper and lower bunks. Hu Zhiming was on the upper bunk, which made the other four roommates silently worry for Zhang Hupan.

Six people lived in the dormitory. Apart from Zhang Hupan, the others came from different parts of Zhejiang. The other four were named Zhang Zhipeng, Li Yong, Ma Guojie, and Chen Youmi.

"Everyone, it's rare that fate brought us together. I'll treat you all to lunch!" After getting to know everyone, Hu Zhiming realized that he was the only one in the dormitory whose family had some money. His little eyes turned, and he began his campaign of monetary diplomacy.

"Great!" Since someone was treating them, the young men were happy to agree, and the proposal was unanimously approved. Although Zhang Hupan had long since stopped eating mortal food, the warm, lively, and passionate atmosphere filled him with a warmth and familiarity he had never experienced before. Thus, without a second thought, he joined the group. (To be continued)