Li and Du, lend me your aid

Yulin Academy.

Xiang Yuan sat cross-legged beneath a corridor window, a saber cradled in his arms, dividing his attention three ways.

Before him lay an open courtyard. Beyond it stood a pavilion in a bamboo grove. The wind stirred the bamboo, but his heart remained still.

By his ear, Wang Wenxu lectured on Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, bringing the three schools together without favoring any. It was a way to cultivate oneself, and a way to govern the world.

Daoism and Buddhism were easy enough to understand, and Confucianism was no exception. Ever since Que Xin had crossed worlds to kill Lingguang, Xiang Yuan had known that there were greater worlds beyond their own, and that the various realms were connected. He could take familiar things in stride.

After listening for a while, Xiang Yuan narrowed his eyes and nodded along, his eyelids half lowered. Like a sponge, he soaked up every word of Wang Wenxu's earnest instruction.

He was a good teacher. It was a shame he'd been paired with Xiao He.

His third heart sent qi through the Ren Meridian, picking up where he had left off the night before. Riding the unstoppable momentum of Lone Star Chasing Moon, he opened another acupoint.

The qi reached Xuanji. Of the Ren Meridian's twenty-four acupoints, only Tiantu, Lianquan, and Chengjiang remained. He was on the verge of completing the meridian. Put simply, he was halfway to a perfect breakthrough from the Qi Refining Stage and could reach its peak at any moment.

A pleased smile crossed his face. He stopped circulating his qi, brought his three hearts together as one, and looked again at the long sword displayed on the shelf.

"Fine sword."

At noon, Wang Wenxu announced that class was over. Two figures shot out of the back row faster than the eye could follow, ran out the rear door, and grabbed Xiang Yuan from either side, hustling him straight to the academy dining hall.

Students could bring their own lunchboxes or pay for a meal at the dining hall, but academy rules forbade eating in the classroom. Everyone had to go to the dining hall.

Xiang Yuan never turned down a meal. He ordered enough for three, figuring that while he was still growing, he ought to eat his fill.

Wherever there were people, there were rivalries; wherever there were rivalries, there were factions. Yulin Academy didn't have many students, and they were divided into two camps.

One camp was Xiao He and Xu Jixian. The other... was everyone else.

Xiang Yuan sat at a table with the two Doubi. When he saw the students arriving in groups, chatting and laughing, his attention was immediately drawn to a female student.

She wore no makeup, yet was striking and poised, graceful and elegant, with an exceptional bearing. Students of every age looked like mere green leaves beside a bright flower, making her stand out from the crowd.

She wasn't very old, perhaps twenty, or a little younger.

Xiang Yuan wasn't concerned with the female student's looks. He watched her light, graceful steps, soft yet powerful, each one measured, and guessed that she was skilled in martial arts.

If he wasn't mistaken, she was the sword's owner.

A fine horse deserved a fine saddle. That wasn't bad at all!

Xiang Yuan was still thinking about the sword.

Xiao He followed Xiang Yuan's gaze. He saw the students gathered nearby and noticed the female student too. "Sima Qingyan, daughter of County Magistrate Sima Changhui. That woman knows a thing or two. She's always been at odds with me at the academy. Everyone else refuses to hang out with me because of her."

Could it be that they just found you obnoxious?

Xiang Yuan sighed. Then a thought struck him. He looked from one lecherous face to the other, puzzled.

That didn't make sense. You two should be trying to ingratiate yourselves with her. Why were you drawing a line between yourselves? Had you tried to flirt with her before and gotten beaten up?

Perhaps he understood Xiang Yuan's look. Xiao He said proudly, "You don't get it, Brother Yuan. Don't let her cool attitude fool you. Anyone can see what she's after. The Sima Clan knew I'd come to Fengxian County to study, so they sent her to the academy two years early to arrange a chance meeting and climb into the Xiao family. I don't even have to pursue her—she'll come to me on her own. What's not to like?"

Her coldness was an act, a tactic. She was using the contrast to hook a royal scion like him, someone who'd seen it all.

So everyone knew what the Sima Clan was up to? Was the current head of the Sima Clan Sima Zhao, by any chance?

Xiang Yuan was speechless. He'd never met anyone so shameless. Then again, he could think of one person who might be just as bad. He turned to Xu Jixian, wanting to hear his opinion.

Might as well enjoy the show.

Sure enough, Xu Jixian didn't disappoint. His opening words were enough to make anyone laugh.

"Brother Xiao, you've got it wrong. She isn't trying to hook you. She's after me. The Xu family's fortunes run deep; everyone in Dezhou knows it. When we fall to the bottom for a time, it means a trapped dragon is about to soar. Lord Sima sees my bright future, so he arranged for Qingyan to study alongside me. Childhood sweethearts, destined to fall in love, mutually devoted, and eventually wed."

Xiang Yuan hadn't seen them mutually devoted, but he had seen two birds of a feather.

The two shameless fellows weren't exactly speaking quietly. The students on the other side heard every word. If Sima Qingyan hadn't held them back, a few young men would already have come over to demand an explanation.

Feeling the students' contemptuous stares, Xiang Yuan lowered his head and ate, silently protesting his innocence. Xiao He and Xu Jixian had said all that. He hadn't said a word.

He'd been ostracized by his classmates on his first day. They wouldn't invite him to their parties later, either. What was he supposed to do?

After lunch, Xiao He led Xiang Yuan to the pavilion to rest. Everyone they passed fled at the sight of them. Nobody showed the slightest interest in currying favor with King Zhao or the Grand Secretariat.

How obnoxious did you have to be?

Xiang Yuan gave up. He knew that in his classmates' eyes, he was no better than Xiao He and Xu Jixian. Even if he cut ties with them at lightning speed, it wouldn't help.

So be it. He was here to study, after all. A little peace and quiet would be nice.

Meanwhile, Xu Jixian kept his promise and went to kneel before Wang Wenxu. When the teacher refused, he rolled on the floor; when he still wouldn't budge, Xu Jixian threatened to wail and hang himself.

He had no shame, so he drew a crowd of students. Wang Wenxu was the one who lost face.

Xu Jixian returned in triumph after the time it took an incense stick to burn, chin held high like a black rooster fresh from battle.

"Brother Xu, did it work?"

"When I step in, how could the teacher refuse?"

Xu Jixian was delighted. Xiang Yuan was just starting to feel relieved, ready to praise him despite his better judgment, when Xu Jixian changed tack. "But the teacher said he couldn't break the rules. Once he set a precedent, there'd be endless trouble. In class this afternoon, he'll test Brother Yuan with a set of questions. Whether you pass or fail depends on this one try."

"This is how you handle things?"

Xiao He was furious. "Brother Yuan hasn't studied much. He barely talks. How's he supposed to answer questions? He's even more useless than the two of us!"

Who are you calling useless?

Xiang Yuan's temples throbbed. He hadn't studied much in this life and could barely read and write, but things had been different in his previous life. Even if he'd forgotten most of what he learned after graduation, a skinny camel was still bigger than a horse.

For example...

Well, anyway, Xiao He and Xu Jixian were illiterate. He wasn't.

Afternoon classes began. Xiang Yuan followed the two Doubi into the lecture hall. They were considerate enough to step aside, one on either side, leaving him the seat in the middle of the back row.

Wang Wenxu entered the classroom. His gaze swept over the class and stopped on Xiang Yuan. Given who had recommended him, there was a hint of distaste in his eyes.

After all, birds of a feather flock together. Xiao He and Xu Jixian couldn't make any decent friends.

"Today's lesson is about farming..."

"Farming is the foundation of the nation and the people's lifeblood. Food is heaven to the people. Where does food come from? It can only be had through hard work in the fields..."

"You don't know your grains from your greens because you've never done a day's labor. You stay far from the fields and know nothing of the hardship of farming. Though the academy holds farming classes and often sends you to work in the fields, you only labor for a day at a time. You still don't understand the seasons, the spring plowing and summer tending, or the autumn harvest and winter storage..."

"Standing here at the lectern, I urge you to learn farming and mulberry cultivation, and to value both study and labor. I hope you will understand the hardships of farming and the toil of farmers, learn how difficult it is to grow food, and realize the foundation of the people's livelihood. Cultivate yourself, put your family in order, govern the nation, and bring peace to the world—this is the aspiration of us scholars. May we all strive toward it together."

Wang Wenxu set the tone for the lesson, then used his own life as a teaching aid, describing his experience with farming. His tone was calm and he didn't boast about himself. He spoke only of the farmers' toil and the difficulty of working the land.

After the first half of the lesson, he handed out exam papers and asked the students to write a poem about farming.

In an instant, Xiao He and Xu Jixian's mouths twitched in unison, as if they'd rehearsed it.

There was nothing to say about Xiao He and Xu Jixian's lack of learning. Xiang Yuan stared blankly at the blank sheet of paper along with them because he'd encountered countless poems in his previous life and couldn't decide whether to copy one.

There was no way he could write a poem himself. He didn't have the talent.

If he didn't copy one, he'd fail the test and everyone would think he was illiterate. That would be humiliating.

But if he did copy one, he had a conscience. It felt wrong, and he wasn't shameless enough to do it.

Besides, poetry was born of nature, a stroke of inspiration. The realms were connected; what if someone before him had already "copied" the poem? If he got caught on the spot, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing?

What was he supposed to do? Copy or not?

While Xiang Yuan hesitated, Xiao He and Xu Jixian raised their pens at the same time, both looking as solemn as if they were attending a funeral. Their brushes flew across the page as though the words were coming straight from their souls.

If those two could scrape together a poem, then I had to write one too.

I'll just copy something.

Just this once.

Xiang Yuan picked up his brush and silently recited, This student begs your pardon. Li and Du, lend me your aid.