The Dean

"If I'm not mistaken, you must be the new students of this year's Shrek Academy class?"

Before Ning Rongrong could take out any money, Flender brought up something else.

He straightened his black-framed glasses, and his whole demeanor changed.

First, he'd try to talk them into it.

"So what if we are? And what if we aren't?"

Ning Rongrong tossed out bag after bag of Gold Soul Coins. Each bag held a hundred. In this strange little shop, it was more convenient to pay with small change.

"If you are, I'll give you this crystal as a welcome gift."

Flender watched those bags of "fragrant" Gold Soul Coins, the corners of his eyes twitching. He tried to look away, but couldn't help glancing back.

That was a fortune of two thousand Gold Soul Coins!

But he had to look after Xiaogang's disciple...

"Such a good deal? Well, your guess wasn't wrong."

Ning Rongrong looked perplexed. Could even this profiteer have a change of heart?

But Flender really did follow through. He pushed the Gold Soul Coins Ning Rongrong had given him back toward her.

"Seriously? You're not afraid we're lying to you? What if we're from Soto Advanced Soul Master Academy, and we tricked you by claiming to be from Shrek Academy?"

"With your ages and cultivation, you wouldn't be interested in Soto Academy." Flender smiled confidently.

Then he adjusted the nose pads of his glasses again and said in what he thought was an imposing tone, "Besides, I'm the dean of Shrek Academy. I'm not so easy to fool."

The reaction he got wasn't quite what he'd hoped for.

"You're the dean who'll do anything for money?" Xiao Wu's surprised voice rang out at an inopportune moment.

"Who said that?"

It was true, but that didn't mean people could just say it.

Flender's thoughts turned, and he quickly figured out who had said it.

Dai Mubai was out of the question. He had always respected, even revered, Flender. Ma Hongjun was out of the question too; he was Flender's own disciple. That left Oscar, the little rascal who gossiped about him behind his back.

As for the other teachers, they were all Flender's good brothers. They wouldn't privately say such intimate things to the students.

Tomorrow, Oscar was getting extra training!

So he didn't deny it at all? Xiao Wu silently grumbled to herself.

But that was all right. Now she could move in with Jiang Jiu without a hitch.

"You really are the dean of Shrek Academy?" Ning Rongrong was the one who wasn't satisfied.

Whether it was Li Yusong, who had said during registration that they only accepted monsters, or Zhao Wuji, who had later revealed his seven-ring strength, they both fit her expectations of joining an interesting academy.

But this dean? A profiteer?

Well, he was certainly unique.

"Could my name, Flender, be fake?" Flender glared.

But all he got was dead silence.

"I really have nothing to talk about with you youngsters. Take the crystal and go. Classes officially start tomorrow, so remember to get some rest tonight."

Flender seemed rather dispirited.

And it was true. He had been retired for twenty years. What reputation could the Golden Iron Triangle possibly have among these little ones, barely eleven or twelve years old?

He lay back down in his recliner.

Ning Rongrong and the others were left looking at one another.

"I think his name really was Flender," Xiao Wu said, blinking.

She had paid close attention to the Soul Power Level of the dean of Shrek Academy back then. She had indeed heard the name Dean Flender.

"So he really is our dean?" Ning Rongrong's eyes seemed to ask.

Then she looked around the entire shop.

The dean of the academy wasn't even there when they were enrolling new students. He was just selling junk here?

How bizarre.

"Why are you still here? I'm not giving you dinner." Flender urged them along. He wanted to be alone and mend his wounded heart. He had just let two thousand Gold Soul Coins slip right through his fingers for nothing.

"Um, we'd like to rent a house at the academy instead of staying in the dormitory. Is that possible?" Xiao Wu asked without much hesitation.

"Remember to pay."

Sure enough, Flender didn't care. As long as they paid, that was fine.

If he could, Flender would have the students cover their own food and lodging.

The cafeteria at Shrek Academy was stingy as could be, but even a mosquito's leg was meat. Every little bit saved counted.

As for Xiao Wu and the others, they had their answer. The dean was of no further use to them, so the group left Flender's little shop.

"That's great! When we get back to the academy, we can find a few bigger rooms." Xiao Wu happily wrapped her arm around Jiang Jiu's.

They had already seen the dormitories the academy had arranged: small rooms of just over ten square meters, meant for two people.

It wasn't that they were bad.

If she and Jiang Jiu were the two sharing one, a smaller room would feel cozier.

But a bigger place would be more convenient to move around in, and with enough space in the bedroom, they could still arrange it to feel warm and cozy.

Ning Rongrong held the crystal in her hands and examined it carefully, but still couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"The dean said he was giving it to us. How should we divide it? One-fifth each?" She looked at the others.

Xiao Wu didn't know what it was either, so she looked at Jiang Jiu.

"Xiao San, you should know what this is, right? From the way you looked just now."

Jiang Jiu vaguely remembered that this thing could be used to make Dragon Whisker Needles, but aside from that, it didn't seem to have any other use.

"Oh, right. Tang San, you wanted to buy it just now too, didn't you?" Ning Rongrong had noticed what Tang San was doing earlier, but she wasn't in the habit of yielding.

"Mm. This is Hair Crystal, one of the most precious kinds of crystal."

"And this piece is top quality. It can be called a Crystal Board." Tang San explained it to Jiang Jiu.

"The most precious kind of crystal? Then it's worth collecting, but if it's only a crystal, two thousand Gold Soul Coins is hardly a good deal." Ning Rongrong murmured. Her knack for appraising treasures hadn't failed her.

In the end, crystal was just a decorative item. Even the finest crystal was only so-so. At most, it might be worth a few hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Tang San hesitated to speak.

"There's another use for it?" Jiang Jiu prompted him.

Tang San really wanted to get his hands on the Crystal Board. The Hair Gold inside it was just a decoration to everyone else, but in his hands, it could become an extraordinary Hidden Weapon.

"It's not convenient to show you on the street. I'll explain when we get back." Tang San nodded, then shook his head.

"Sure." Ning Rongrong put the crystal away. She was quite interested in its other uses too.

And if it turned out to be even more valuable, that would only prove how good her eye was.

"Do you want to keep looking around?" Jiang Jiu patted Xiao Wu's head.

"Let's call it a day. Jiang Jiu, didn't you want to buy new furnace equipment? After that, we can pick out a house!"

Xiao Wu was more excited about moving into their new home than about shopping.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing had no objections either.

When they reached the Blacksmith Shop, Ning Rongrong watched Jiang Jiu and Tang San chat easily with the blacksmiths and assistants, and couldn't help sighing.

"Xiao Wu, your big sister Jiang Jiu really is one of a kind."

She liked wearing men's clothes, didn't care much about dressing up, and enjoyed blacksmithing, yet her bearing was so captivating, with a mature charm that inspired trust. That was how Ning Rongrong saw her.

Xiao Wu blinked her big eyes, her gaze full of smiles, but said nothing.