First Day of Teaching (Part One) (2/10)

Watching the Old Man leave, even Hals couldn't help but marvel at how carefree and young he seemed.

Only after the Old Man's figure disappeared did Hals turn around and take out his key to unlock the door.

To his surprise, the room wasn't covered in dust. It was spotless. The house had more than one room. The first thing he saw upon entering was the living room, which was neither big nor small, measuring about twenty square meters. A coffee table sat in the middle, surrounded by a ring of sofas. Behind them was a window, and when he pushed it open, he could see the babbling stream.

Hals only took a cursory glance around the living room before continuing farther inside. After passing a small corner, he found himself in the bedroom.

He pushed open the door and entered. A bed big enough for three people stood inside. To its right was a desk, with a bookcase beside it.

Hals walked in, casually took off his robe, and tossed it onto the bed. Then he went to the desk and sat down, reaching for a book on the shelf and setting it on the desk.

Looking at the beautiful cover, Hals ran his left hand over it. He had never read books. When he was young and still in the circus, the exhausting daily performances left him no time to read, no matter how desperately he longed to.

The Circus's owner wouldn't spend money to hire someone to teach its children to read. After all, they were nothing more than commodities. Later, after escaping from his "father" and joining Spirit Hall, his days were filled with meditation and cultivation. After that, he had only taught himself a few characters for the sake of certain missions. Back then, he probably never imagined he would one day become a teacher, even if he'd taken the job because of a mission.

He opened the book, carefully wiped his hands on his trousers, and began reading every word, one by one. His childhood longing for and love of books slowly began to return. Like a dry sponge, he desperately absorbed the knowledge within its pages.

He didn't know how much time had passed. When Hals went to turn the page, he realized he had reached the end of the book. A little dazed, he looked up at the window. A crescent moon hung in one corner of the sky, scattering moonlight like a veil of white silk.

"It's already so late," Hals murmured to himself.

The Soul Flame in his eyes not only constantly refined his soul but also passively gave him the ability to see in the dark.

He gently closed the book, carefully returned it to the shelf, and got up to walk over to the bed.

He lifted the latch and pushed open the window. Hals felt that his strong body, powerful enough to rival a Soul Beast, was somewhat tired. Perhaps it was because he'd been tense for so long and had suddenly relaxed. He didn't give it much thought. Instead, he stood by the window, bathed in moonlight. He wanted to close his eyes and listen to the sounds of the valley at night, but unfortunately, he couldn't close them. So he simply stood there by the window, staring blankly.

Suddenly, Hals sensed something out of place. A Soul Flame was burning brightly in the house across the stream. Someone's there?

Hals focused his attention and studied the Soul Flame inside the house. A moment later, his expression turned strange.

He recognized its owner: Yu Xiaoya, the director of academic affairs at Star Luo Royal Academy.

Why is she living here? Hals wondered. If it was her, Song Gongran, who was on such good terms with her, couldn't possibly be unaware of it. Then why had Song Gongran told him he didn't know? Had Yu Xiaoya noticed something suspicious and come to keep an eye on him? Or had Song Gongran also noticed something amiss, and the two of them were only pretending in order to keep him calm?

No, that was impossible. Hals shook his head, rejecting the idea. Yu Xiaoya was no match for him. A wise man didn't put himself in danger, and as a high-ranking member of Star Luo Royal Academy, Yu Xiaoya wouldn't take such a risk.

But he had already observed the area. There were no other human Soul Flames in the valley, so there couldn't be any reinforcements. Then what was going on?

Questions swirled in Hals's mind, stirring up a ripple in his otherwise peaceful heart.

He closed the window and forced himself to stop dwelling on things he couldn't understand. Without taking off his clothes, he lay down on the bed. It was so soft that Hals, who had slept on a hard board for over a decade, couldn't get used to it. He tossed and turned, then finally got up, took a thin blanket from the bed, and went to sit in the corner with his right leg upright. He draped the blanket over himself and only then found a little comfort. After shifting around to find a slightly more comfortable position, he slowly fell asleep.

Tomorrow, he'd definitely throw out the mattress...

Hals came back to himself and "woke up." He casually tossed the blanket onto the bed, pushed himself up from the floor with his right hand, and stretched. He'd slept soundly for the first time in ages, and it put him in a good mood.

He raised his right arm in front of him and looked at the clear, jade-green Soul Arm. Hals felt a little wistful. At some point, he had gotten used to having this arm. He no longer struggled to control his strength like he had at first.

He slowly clenched his fist twice, then glanced out the window. The sky was only just beginning to turn pale. It seemed he'd gotten up quite early. He pushed open the window and took a deep breath of the fresh air outside, then pulled out the chair in front of the desk and sat there, staring into space. At this time of day, he would usually be preparing breakfast for his master. But now that he'd left Spirit Hall, he had nothing to do.

Thinking of it, Hals began to miss Bibi Dong and worry about how she was doing. Had she eaten? Was anyone giving her a hard time? How was her cultivation going?

"Haah." Hals sighed helplessly, his expression turning troubled. Damn Qian Xunji...

Still, with his right arm at her side, he could worry a little less. The most important thing now was to infiltrate the Star Luo Empire, build up his own forces, and then return to kill that bastard Qian Xunji. But all of it depended on strength. He couldn't rush...

He stopped thinking about Spirit Hall's troubles and suddenly remembered that Yu Xiaoya had said the day before that someone would bring him his qualification badge and explain his duties. But no one had come by yesterday.

After thinking it over, Hals picked up his robe from the bed, shook it out, and draped it over himself. Then he opened the bedroom door and headed outside.

Yu Xiaoya was right across the way. He could go ask her now.

Outside, the air was damp. Hals locked the door, used his Soul Power to cross the stream, and arrived at Yu Xiaoya's house. He raised his hand and knocked, then waited in silence.

"Creak."

The door opened, and a woman with messy hair and disheveled clothes peered through the gap, bleary-eyed.

Seeing Hals standing at the door, Yu Xiaoya froze for a moment, then suddenly came to her senses.

"Ah!"

With a shriek, Yu Xiaoya slammed the door shut, cutting off the words Hals had just been about to say.

"..."

A moment later, the door opened again. Yu Xiaoya's face was a little red, but her hair and clothes were now neatly arranged. "Yu, Yu Hun, g-good morning," she stammered.

Hals's face beneath his hood remained expressionless. "Morning. I came to ask where my qualification badge is and what I'm supposed to do today."

Yu Xiaoya let out a sigh of relief and opened the door wider to welcome Hals inside. "Come in and we'll talk."

As he entered Yu Xiaoya's room, Hals glanced around and noticed that its layout was the same as his own.

She asked Hals to sit, poured a cup of water for each of them, then pushed his cup toward him and sat across from him, holding her own.

After taking a sip, Yu Xiaoya spoke in a clear voice. "Well, since I live here too, I thought I'd bring you your qualification badge while I was at it, and tell you what you need to do today."

As she spoke, Yu Xiaoya took a badge from beneath the coffee table and handed it to Hals. "This is your qualification badge. It was already very late when I went to your place yesterday, and I was worried you might have gone to bed, so I decided to come see you today instead."

Hals took the badge and looked it over before pinning it to his robe. Then he looked up and continued listening to Yu Xiaoya.

After talking for a long while, Yu Xiaoya, her mouth parched, downed the water in her cup and closed her eyes contentedly for a moment. Then she realized she wasn't alone—there was a man sitting across from her. Her face reddened again, and she changed the subject. "Well, I'm going to the teaching building today too. If you're not in a hurry, I'll go change, and then we can go together?"

Hals nodded. "Sure."

Yu Xiaoya seemed a little flustered. She casually set her cup on the coffee table and hurried toward the bedroom, but whether intentionally or not, she didn't close the door...