Xu Fang looked at Mu He before him. Judging by appearances alone, he was nothing but a smug little bully, arrogant toward his equals and a coward toward his betters.
But who could have guessed that his true identity was Great Deacon Huzhen of the Black Vatican, and that he had played a part in both the Bocheng Blood Disaster and the Ancient Capital Catastrophe?
He'd hidden himself well...
Mu He had no idea what Xu Fang was thinking and continued to prattle on. "My Mu Bai awakened the Ice Element. He has a bright future ahead of him. Even that good-for-nothing brat Mo Fan got lucky and awakened the Fire Element.
"And you? The Light Element? Tsk, what a useless attribute. Tell me, why even bother training it? Even if you reach Intermediate Level, you'll still be a cowardly turtle.
"It couldn't have been easy for your parents to leave you some money. If you ask me, you might as well sell me your family's house and use the money to become a little country squire."
"What's it to you?" Xu Fang didn't give him the time of day. He was only living here; he wasn't a servant of Mu Family Manor. Who did Mu He think he was, ordering him around?
And there was no way this guy would shed his disguise and try to assassinate him.
Xu Fang was a member of the Lie Clan, after all. The entire Bocheng military was keeping an eye on him. If Mu He dared make a move, Salang, whose plans he'd ruined, would be just as eager to silence him.
Mu He snorted. "You're still young. You haven't had a taste of how harsh society can be."
"Sounds like you've had plenty of beatings."
"You!"
Mu He clenched his fists, then took a deep breath. "Think it over. If you decide to sell, come find me anytime."
With that, he turned and left, ignoring Mo Jiaxing, who stood nearby apologizing with an ingratiating smile.
"Sigh..." Mo Jiaxing sighed, his head drooping. "Fang Zai, I'm not trying to lecture you, but you really ought to change that temper of yours. He's a big shot in the Mu Family. We just have to put up with it, and it'll pass."
After living so long in an era of rigid class divisions, Mo Jiaxing had no real concept of equality.
Or perhaps people with such beliefs were the true oddballs.
Like Mo Fan. And like Xu Fang himself.
Xu Fang didn't feel like trying to persuade him, so he changed the subject. "Uncle, if you sell the house, where will you live?"
"Ah, I'll rent a place." Mo Jiaxing said he would rent, but his eyes instinctively drifted toward his beat-up pickup truck.
Xu Fang understood. The "house" Mo Jiaxing was talking about was probably that pickup.
"Uncle, how about this? I have another house, one my maternal grandparents left me. If you don't mind, you can stay there for a while."
"No, no, I couldn't!"
Mo Jiaxing waved his hands repeatedly.
"Uncle, don't rush to turn me down," Xu Fang said. "The house is in a remote spot, in a town on the edge of the city. It's not somewhere you could easily rent out anyway.
"Besides, it's an old, run-down place, and no one's lived there for years. You staying there would bring it back to life a bit. There are two trees in the backyard that my grandfather planted. One's a jujube tree, and the other's also a jujube tree. You could water them when you have time."
Hearing that, Mo Jiaxing was actually a little tempted.
"Also, you don't need to keep working for the Mu Family. The military has a Procurement Convoy that runs from the city to Xuefeng Mountain. The pay's pretty good, and the route stays inside the Safety Zone, so it's very safe. The person in charge is a friend of my mom's. I'll ask her to add your name to the list," Xu Fang said.
Mo Jiaxing felt conflicted. On the one hand, Xu Fang was offering exactly what he needed. On the other, it was hard for a middle-aged man to accept help from a child—especially when that child was his son's friend.
Xu Fang could guess more or less what was going through his mind.
He was willing to help Mo Jiaxing not because he was Mo Fan's father. More importantly, Mo Jiaxing himself was worthy of respect. He was honest and kind, optimistic and hardworking, and as forgiving as possible toward the younger generation.
For one thing, even though Mo Jiaxing himself was so malnourished that his face had turned sallow, he had never skimped on food or clothes for Mo Fan and Ye Xin Xia. When Mo Fan wanted to attend high school, Mo Jiaxing had sold the house without a second thought.
With both his parents dead, Xu Fang was willing to spend a few extra words on Mo Jiaxing for that alone.
"Uncle, Mu He likes to spout nonsense, but one thing he said was true. If Mo Fan wants to become a Primary Mage, he absolutely needs the resources to back it up. A Magic Tool costs at least a hundred thousand. How can he manage without money? Uncle, you don't want Mo Fan to spend his whole life unable to become a mage, do you?"
Mo Jiaxing was thoroughly convinced. He rubbed his hands awkwardly. "Th-then thank you, Fang Zai. I'll still pay rent..."
"That's a minor thing. But, Uncle, I should warn you in advance that the house is tiny. Mo Fan and Xin Xia..." Xu Fang said.
"That's no problem!"
Mo Jiaxing hurriedly replied, "Mo Fan can live at school, and Xin Xia can stay with her aunt. It's already more than enough if there's room for me."
The worse Xu Fang made the conditions sound, the more relieved Mo Jiaxing seemed.
The next morning, Xu Fang arrived at school early and was greeted by all kinds of strange looks.
The rooftop incident the day before had made him famous among the first-year students.
People joked that Water and Light Element students should meet on the rooftop, but in all the years Tianlan Magic High School had been open, Xu Fang was the only one who had actually jumped.
Fortunately, he was thick-skinned and didn't care. He went straight to a seat at the back by the window.
"Well, well, if it isn't Xu Fang. Guess the rooftop wasn't high enough to kill you." As soon as he sat down, Zhao Kun San, Mu Bai's lackey, came over to provoke him.
Zhao Kun San was acting like a slave who'd finally turned his fortunes around. He'd awakened the Wind Element. Sure, he was still miles below Mu Bai and Mo Fan, but compared with Xu Fang's Light Element...
"Xu Fang, you used to act so smug when you were little. Looks like karma finally caught up with you!" Zhao Kun San gloated. "How about calling me Third Brother? I'll look after you."
He'd been timid before awakening, then started throwing his weight around afterward. That was Zhao Kun San for you.
Xu Fang was just about to show this guy the art of cursing someone's ancestors back eighteen generations when a voice rang out beside him. "Zhao Kun San, shut your filthy mouth!"
Mo Fan strode over, with Zhang Xiaohou, skinny as a rack of ribs, following behind him.
Zhao Kun San instinctively shrank toward Mu Bai, then stuck out his chin. "Mo Fan, I was talking about Xu Fang. What's it to you?"
"Say one more word and I'll teach you how to behave!"
Zhao Kun San grumbled under his breath but didn't dare say anything else.
Seeing his lackey get threatened, Mu Bai felt humiliated and said coldly, "Mo Fan, don't push it."
"Green Tea Man, did I ask you?"
"You!"
The two top students in the class were squaring off, and everyone else craned their necks to watch.
Xu Fang tried to calm things down. "Forget it, Bi Fan. We're classmates. All this swearing just makes us look bad."
"Blondie, you..." Mo Fan frowned, but before he could say anything else, Xu Fang spoke up. "If you ask me, since we're all mages, we should settle this properly in the ring. After school today. Whoever backs down is a coward. How about it?"
Xu Fang held up his fist, big as a sandbag, and Mu Bai's composure cracked.
Mages?
They'd only just awakened and couldn't even cast a single spell. What kind of mages were they? If Xu Fang wanted to beat him up, he should just say so!
Xu Fang and Mo Fan had both honed their street-fighting skills in brawls. Mu Bai would get beaten up by either of them.
That little punk had definitely done it on purpose!
Mo Fan was delighted, and fanned the flames. "Blondie's right. If you're a real man, let's fight! Whoever chickens out is a coward!"
As the two looked at him with ill intent, Mu Bai's expression shifted back and forth. Just as he was wondering how to get out of it, a voice as sweet as a song rang out.
"What are you all doing? Don't you know class is starting? Get back to your seats!" Head Teacher Xue Mu Sheng scolded them.
"Making a racket on the first day of school! What kind of behavior is that? The class rules are posted up front. Anyone who breaks them again will be dealt with according to the rules!"
Seeing the students settle down, Xue Mu Sheng nodded in satisfaction. "Now hand out the textbooks and get ready for class."
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