I Thought His Back Looked Like a Dog

Three months flew by. Aside from a chicken thief breaking into the house, things had been peaceful.

"Xiao Yin, Third Sister, let's go!"

Early in the morning, Old Jack called for the siblings from outside the courtyard, urging them to set off.

Although he had no idea how Tang Hao had scraped together the tuition for a junior Soul Master academy, Tang Hao's actions had improved Old Jack's opinion of him. Even though Tang Hao hadn't come out to see them off today, he hadn't mocked him, either.

"Okay, Grandpa Jack." Aside from the clothes he was wearing, Tang Yin had only one change of clothes in his bundle and nothing else, so he had been sitting in the courtyard waiting for some time.

Third Sister, on the other hand, had gone into the storeroom and still hadn't come out. He had no idea what she was busy packing.

Some time ago, Tang Hao had gone off somewhere. When he returned, he not only told them both they would be going to Nuoding Academy, but also brought back several outfits made from what was clearly high-grade fabric.

Of course, most of them were for Third Sister. Tang Yin had just two sets, all told. According to Tang Hao, he had gone to see their aunt.

That surprised Tang Yin a little. He hadn't expected Tang Hao to get in touch with Tang Yuehua so soon because of his arrival.

Nearly a quarter of an hour later, Third Sister finally came out of the storeroom with a large bundle on her back. She was also dressed very differently from usual.

Not only did she have a leather belt around her waist with a small iron hammer hanging from it, but her left sleeve bulged beneath the cuff, with the faint glint of metal showing through.

Looks like this girl's been making quite a few things behind my back lately!

Tang Yin kept his face impassive, but he knew exactly what was going on. How could he not have noticed the changes around the house?

At least Third Sister had the decency to keep it from him, secretly picking up the old craft from her previous life whenever he was away.

Tang Hao, though, had gone too far. He often called Third Sister alone into the smithy right in front of him, and then the sound of hammering would ring out.

He even kept it from his own son. Did you have to wield the Clear Sky Hammer to learn Chaotic Cloak?

Tang Yin scoffed to himself. What would Tang Hao, an uneducated brute with nothing but hammers and Ah Yin on his mind, know?

Even if Third Sister had promised Tang Hao she wouldn't teach anyone else, Tang Yin was confident that if he really wanted to learn, she'd give in.

That was the confidence that came from using the older-brother-is-as-good-as-a-father card to overpower Tang Hao, her biological father.

Of course, thanks to Tang Hao's recent change, Third Sister's relationship with him had clearly improved.

She was still that Tang Sect outer disciple, starved for affection.

Tang Hao had not only taken care of their enrollment, but had also changed his former despondent ways and devoted himself to playing the stern teacher and loving father for Third Sister, earning himself a good deal of favor.

The rice porridge on the table and the note were proof enough!

Holy Soul Village wasn't far from Nuoding City. Even on foot, the journey took only half a day.

Having accompanied Old Jack on deliveries for years, Tang Yin knew the way well. Third Sister, however, was leaving the village for the first time. Curiosity lit up her face, and she kept excitedly asking Tang Yin about this and that.

At noon, the three of them ate a little dried food and continued on their way. By the afternoon, the tall, sturdy walls of Nuoding City came into view.

After the guards checked them over, the three entered Nuoding City. Along the way, Tang Yin also took Third Sister to buy bedding.

At first, Third Sister had insisted on buying just one set to save money, but Tang Yin overruled her.

The trip to Nuoding Academy went without a hitch. Before long, they arrived at the academy gates.

"Big brothers, my younger sister and I are new students here to enroll. Could you tell us what we need to do?" Familiar with the story, Tang Yin handed the bedding to Old Jack, then stepped forward before him and asked the guards calmly, without being servile or overbearing.

"New students?" The idle guard paused at the sound of his voice, then turned to look at the three outside the gate.

His eyes went first to Old Jack. Seeing how he was dressed, the guard's gaze flickered with disdain. Then he looked at Third Sister. Though her clothes were high-grade, the somewhat shabby bundle on her back and the bedding in front of her made him frown. Finally, he looked at Tang Yin, who had only a small bundle and nothing in his hands.

Tang Yin was young, but his clothes, manner of speaking, and composure before strangers made the guard unconsciously put away his contempt.

A rural noble and his old butler and maid, then?

Tsk, nobles sure knew how to have fun. They even brought a girl who'd awakened her Martial Soul along as a maid to wait on them at school.

"Go through this gate and follow the main road straight ahead. Turn right at the first intersection, and after a hundred meters you'll see a big sign for new student registration." The guard curled his lip. Without even checking the proof issued by Spirit Hall, he waved them inside.

"That went surprisingly smoothly!" Tang Yin raised an eyebrow. He'd already been getting ready to show them the proof from Spirit Hall.

After saying goodbye to Old Jack and giving him a reassuring look, Tang Yin led Third Sister through the academy gates.

The registration office for new students wouldn't be hidden away in some obscure corner. They could see its sign from a distance. At the intersection, though, Tang Yin came across a middle-aged man with a buzz cut, wearing scholar's robes and standing with his hands behind his back.

The man gave the siblings a meaningful once-over, then passed them and headed toward the guard at the gate. Before long, the guard's respectful voice rang out.

"Grandmaster, you're here!"

"Mm. Have you noticed any particularly unusual new students lately?" His voice was stiff, the sort of tone that came from someone unaccustomed to dealing with people.

The guard looked a little helpless, but still managed a smile. "Nothing special. But, Grandmaster, I'm just an ordinary person. How would I know about that sort of thing? You'd be better off asking the dean directly. He has the records for all the new students."

"True. I'd forgotten." The man the guard called Grandmaster nodded, then turned without expression and strolled toward the dean's office, hands still behind his back.

"Brother, do you know him?" Noticing that Tang Yin was acting strangely, Third Sister followed his gaze. All she saw was the back of a man with his hands behind him. She remembered him as the middle-aged man who'd given them a scrutinizing look when they passed each other just now.

"I don't know him, but I think that guy's back looks just like a dog!"

"It doesn't look like one!"

Third Sister looked again, uncertain. Seeing only an ordinary, greasy middle-aged man, she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Brother, you're teasing me again. Can't I tell a person from a dog?"

"If you really can, then your brother's relieved." Tang Yin smiled faintly, lost interest in that so-called Grandmaster, and took Third Sister by the hand as they headed toward the registration office.

"Brother, you're saying weird things again." She pouted, then glanced back at the man's figure and muttered, "It doesn't look like one!"

The sign for new student registration stood out clearly, and the building was grand. After all, it was the students' first impression of the academy.

As soon as they went in, they saw a bespectacled woman behind a counter not far away, nodding off.

Tang Yin walked up to the counter and lightly rapped his knuckles on the tabletop.

"Hello. We're here to register as new students!"

"Huh? Oh, yes. Please show me your proof from Spirit Hall." Startled awake, the woman fumbled for a moment, adjusted her glasses, then looked at the siblings.

With the woman's help, Tang Yin and Third Sister completed the enrollment procedures as a regular student and a work-study student, respectively. But when it came to assigning dormitories, they disagreed.

"I don't want to stay in the regular student dormitory. I want to stay with my brother in the work-study student dormitory." When Third Sister learned she'd have to be separated from her brother, she looked thoroughly unhappy.

"This..." Tang Yin frowned slightly, hesitating.

Nuoding City was a small city with a small population, so there weren't many children who could become Soul Masters. The entire academy had only one dormitory building.

Normally, students of the same year, boys and girls alike, shared one large dormitory. Work-study students were an exception. There were so few of them that every year group had to squeeze into one room.

To be honest, Tang Yin wasn't comfortable with his younger sister sharing a room with the other students, either. What if she ran into a boy like that lecherous rabbit...

After all, work-study students didn't pay tuition. The academy wasn't a charity; it wasn't going to make an exception for the siblings.

Of course, it was another matter if regular students chose to suffer for no reason and stay in the work-study dormitory.

In the end, just like in the original story, Third Sister stayed in the work-study dormitory with Tang Yin.