Baiyuan Academy

Chu Ming walked along the path, occasionally encountering students around his own age.

After about fifteen minutes, he finally saw the gate Yan Cong had mentioned.

Beyond the gate was a small courtyard, decorated with artificial hills and waterside pavilions, along with several dark-ink pavilions connected by a covered walkway.

Some students were reading or reciting, swaying their heads as they spoke; others were discussing things in low voices or playing chess in pairs.

Holding Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy, Chu Ming was just about to pass through the Middle Academy's gate when a student in one of the pavilions set down his book and walked over.

"Brother Chu?"

The newcomer's voice sounded familiar.

Chu Ming turned his head. "Lu Xian?"

The newcomer was Lu Xian, second in the Willow Town Academy Exam and the son of a private tutor. He had once written out two excerpts from Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy from memory.

Lu Xian should not have been able to enter the Middle Academy, but his father, Lu Hong, had somehow managed to persuade Registrar Feng Yuan to make an exception and admit him.

"Have you just come to register, Brother Chu?"

Looking at Chu Ming with his bundle on his back and the thick book in his arms, Lu Xian's expression shifted.

"Mm." Seeing a familiar face—though they weren't exactly close—Chu Ming smiled. "Could you show me where to register, Brother Lu?"

"Of course." Lu Xian pointed toward the pavilion. "Wait a moment, Brother Chu. I'll go get my book."

"All right."

Chu Ming headed for the Middle Academy's gate, and Lu Xian soon caught up with him.

The Middle Academy was laid out much like the Lower Academy, only with fewer students.

Lu Xian led Chu Ming to a side courtyard. Chu Ming took out the identity token Feng Yuan had given him, confirmed his details, and completed his enrollment without a hitch.

After that, the two headed to the Middle Academy's dormitory area.

"Brother Chu, there's no lodging fee at the Middle Academy of Baiyuan Academy. This is where we live."

"Normally, each courtyard has two or three rooms. You came late, Brother Chu, so I'm afraid you won't get a room facing the sun."

Lu Xian was very welcoming as he led Chu Ming to a courtyard called Cloud-Perch Academy. "Brother Chu, this is where you'll be staying from now on."

Then he cleared his throat, straightened his clothes, and knocked on the courtyard gate. "Senior Brother Ning, Senior Brother Liang, are you there?"

After knocking, he glanced back at Chu Ming, envy flashing across his face. "Lord Feng treats you well, Brother Chu. He even arranged your courtyard. Unlike me—my courtyard was assigned at random. They just put me wherever there was room."

"Brother Chu, Cloud-Perch Academy is one of the better courtyards in the Middle Academy. Senior Brothers Ning and Liang are both well-versed scholars, too. They're strong contenders for promotion to the Upper Academy."

As he spoke, the courtyard gate swung open. A fair-skinned youth in a pale robe stood in the doorway. "What is it?"

"Um, Senior Brother Ning, this is Chu Ming, first in the Willow Town Academy Exam. He's just come to register..." Lu Xian knew Ning Hao, but the other man didn't seem to know him.

"You're Chu Ming?" Ning Hao pushed the half-open gate all the way back and fixed his gaze on Chu Ming. "Senior Brother Xu gave me word. Come in."

Senior Brother Xu? Xu He, the one who was always by Feng Yuan's side?

Chu Ming smiled. "Sorry for the trouble, Senior Brother Ning."

Holding Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy, he stepped into the courtyard.

Lu Xian lingered awkwardly at the gate. "Brother Chu, I still have some reading to do, so I won't come in. Um, I live at Pine Wind Courtyard."

"Brother Chu, Senior Brother Ning, I'll take my leave."

"Thanks for showing me the way, Brother Lu." Chu Ming turned and returned the salute, but Ning Hao remained expressionless as he slowly closed the gate and pointed west. "The room in the west wing is yours."

"All right."

The courtyard gate faced south, with one room each to the east, west, and north.

Chu Ming was about to enter his room when the eastern door opened. A disheveled youth with messy hair and rumpled clothes, his face smeared with ink, poked his head out. "Is he the one Senior Brother Xu mentioned?"

He didn't greet Chu Ming, only looked at Ning Hao and asked.

"Mm. Chu Ming." Ning Hao wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Liang Yuan, how many days has it been since you bathed?"

"..." The youth named Liang Yuan seemed not to hear him. He rolled up his sleeve, wiped the ink from his face, and answered calmly, "I bathed last night."

"By 'last night,' do you mean the night before yesterday, or the night before that?" Ning Hao added.

"..." Chu Ming paused mid-step.

Liang Yuan wiped at his face a few more times. When the ink wouldn't come off, he finally stepped out of the room, bringing with him a strange odor. The smell of ink mixed with something else...

Chu Ming was some distance away, but his senses were sharp. He caught the smell at once.

Perhaps having such sharp senses wasn't a good thing. Senior Brother Liang had definitely gone more than three days without bathing.

Liang Yuan walked to the center of the courtyard, picked up the teapot on the stone table, and tipped it into his mouth. "Senior Brother Ning was off by..." He gulped. "Two yesterdays, at least."

"..." Chu Ming edged toward his room, unable to stand it much longer.

Ning Hao's brows furrowed at that. He glanced at the teapot and said in a flat voice, "Then this pot of tea suits you well. It's been sitting here three yesterdays longer than you have."

The courtyard fell silent.

The next moment—

"Pfft..." Liang Yuan's face darkened. "Bleh, bleh, bleh! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You didn't ask."

"I have to ask?"

"You do." Ning Hao's expression remained calm as he turned to Chu Ming. "Junior Brother Chu, this is your Senior Brother Liang Yuan."

"Senior Brother Liang." Holding his book, Chu Ming just wanted to get inside and breathe some fresh air.

He opened the door, went in, and shut it.

"Whew..."

Watching Chu Ming's back, Liang Yuan shook out his robe. "Senior Brother Ning, this junior doesn't look like Senior Brother Xu, and he isn't wearing an expensive robe either. Why was he given his own room in Cloud-Perch Academy as soon as he arrived?"

Cloud-Perch Academy wasn't the finest courtyard at Baiyuan Academy, but it was still among the best. A courtyard's quality reflected a student's scholarship, background, and status.

Ordinary courtyards were assigned at random. A place like Cloud-Perch Academy was a symbol of the academy's standing.

Ning Hao stared at the west room where Chu Ming had gone. "I'm not sure. Senior Brother Xu He only told me that a student named Chu Ming would be moving in, and that we should make some room."

"By the way, you've been cooped up in your room for days. Have you finished the painting?"

At that, a peculiar smile spread across Liang Yuan's face, the kind of proud smile so common among geniuses.

"Of course I have. I finished it while you were opening the gate."

"Let me see." Ning Hao headed toward the east room, but stopped at the doorway. "Actually, bring it out. The smell in there is too strong."

"...Wait." Liang Yuan dashed into the room, carried out a scroll, and strode confidently into the courtyard.

It was an ink-wash landscape painting, and the ink was still wet.

"Senior Brother, what do you think?" Liang Yuan spread the painting across the stone table.

Ning Hao studied it, a hint of surprise crossing his otherwise calm face. "Junior Brother, this painting of yours, modeled after one by Old Master Tang Bai, has a certain charm. It should fetch a good price."

"Heh, naturally. At my current level, one painting is enough to pay for a good meal for both of us. We won't have to rely on our Lineage for money." Liang Yuan lifted his chin slightly.

"How about the Immortal Brew Pavilion tonight?" Ning Hao suggested.

"...Tonight won't work. I haven't sold the painting yet. In a few days, we can go to the Calligraphy and Painting Workshop, sell it, and then treat ourselves to a good meal."

"Fine..." Ning Hao paused and glanced toward the west room. "Should we bring along our new junior brother?"

Liang Yuan considered it for a moment. "Sure. It'll be a good chance to get to know each other. If Senior Brother Xu He arranged this, then this Chu Ming must be no ordinary person."