Chapter 38

Meng Yi's face was like iron as he said stiffly, "These two are collateral descendants of the Ying clan, Qin Rong and Qin Yi. The Crown Prince ordered that they be sent to your academy. Make arrangements for them!"

The young man looked Qin Rong and Qin Yi over suspiciously. After studying them for a moment, he suddenly asked, "Could they be His Highness the Crown Prince's illegitimate sons?"

There was no other reason—their facial features were far too alike. Qin Rong resembled His Majesty the First Emperor, while Qin Yi resembled Fusu—

Could they be the children of His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince...

"Situ Ge!" Meng Yi said through gritted teeth.

"Come on! Don't be so serious! The moment you get serious, you lose!" Situ Ge said carelessly. Then, before Meng Yi could retort, he addressed Qin Rong and Qin Yi directly. "Qin Rong, Qin Yi, right? I've arranged things over here. Just follow her."

Following the direction of Situ Ge's fingertip, Qin Yi saw a woman standing at the door at some unknown time. Black hair, black clothes, black shoes—well, he could not see her shoes. She looked like the witch from Snow White, and Qin Yi jumped in fright.

"Follow her!" A wolf grandmother's smile appeared on Situ Ge's face. "Go on, go on!"

Was this really reliable? Qin Yi looked at Meng Yi with a face full of black lines. Only after seeing Meng Yi nod solemnly did he follow the woman uneasily.

Neither of them spoke along the way. Qin Yi stared closely at the woman leading them, yet no matter how he looked, he could not find the curves a woman ought to have on her. Didn't they say that even loose robes could not conceal a woman's exquisite curves? This woman was a genuine flat plain!

As if sensing Qin Yi's inward slander, the woman suddenly stopped and turned to look at him expressionlessly. Her face was cold and stern, her gaze sharp and awe-inspiring.

"Uh... are we there?" Qin Yi rubbed his nose and asked awkwardly. Qin Rong stepped forward, his body faintly shielding Qin Yi.

The woman lowered her eyelids and focused for a moment, then turned without a word and continued walking.

Qin Yi exaggeratedly patted his chest. Damn it, that scared the life out of him!

Upstairs, downstairs, upstairs, downstairs...

He had no idea how many floors they had gone up and down before the woman finally led them out of the building. The people they passed along the way wore strange smiles when they saw the woman guiding Qin Yi and Qin Rong. Their smiles made Qin Yi's hair stand on end.

No one spoke, and the atmosphere was terribly oppressive. After an unknown amount of time, the woman finally brought them to an office. She knocked on the door, then went inside.

Qin Yi and Qin Rong looked at each other, then walked in with stiff scalps—

There wouldn't be anything strange inside, would there!

Of course, there was nothing strange. It was merely something like a study.

Seeing the normal-looking man seated behind the desk, Qin Yi let out a breath of relief.

"Qin Rong and Qin Yi, students of Class One, First Year. They need a private two-person dormitory," the woman said, her words popping out like beans.

"Alright!" The man did not find it strange in the slightest. He agreed with a smiling face.

The woman turned and left. As she passed Qin Yi, he seemed to see a Siberian cold current rolling past...

"Hello, you two. I'm the homeroom teacher of Class One, First Year," the man said with a smile. "My name is Ying Mai. You can call me Teacher Ying!"

"Hello, Teacher Ying!" Qin Yi and Qin Rong greeted obediently.

"Ah!" Ying Mai smiled like Maitreya Buddha. After lowering his head to write and draw for a while, he handed them a slip of paper. "This has your class and dormitory locations. Go take a look at the dormitory first!"

"Alright!" Qin Yi accepted the paper, nodded, and left the teachers' office with Qin Rong...

Still, all of this was simply too bizarre!

Was this really a school?

Author's note: That's it for now, I'll write slowly~~

You all read slowly~~

Slowly~~~~~~~~~~

☆, Chapter 38: Separation

Chapter 38

Following Ying Mai's directions to the dormitory building, Qin Yi looked suspiciously at the villa-like two-story building before him and fell silent.

"What is it?" Qin Rong asked, raising a brow.

"Did they have to treat us this well?" Qin Yi sighed helplessly. "Are all the dorm buildings this luxurious?"

"Let's go in and take a look first!" Qin Rong said as he looked at the dormitory building.

"Oh, alright!" Qin Yi nodded and took out the key to open the door. Directly facing the entrance was a bright, square living room. The furnishings inside looked extremely familiar. Aside from the absence of electrical appliances such as a television, it was much the same as the furnishings in the villa in J City on Earth.

Qin Yi raised his brows in astonishment and turned to look at Qin Rong. Sure enough, Qin Rong was also pursing his lips suspiciously.

"Maybe Crown Prince Fusu had it arranged," Qin Yi said casually. Qin Rong neither confirmed nor denied it, merely raising his brows. Since they still had to report to their class, Qin Yi and Qin Rong did not rest much. After taking a brief look around the dormitory, they locked the door and left together.

They followed the little path back the way they had come and moved toward the teaching building according to the markings on the paper. It was nearly noon by then, and the academy was gradually filling with people. By the time they passed through the bustling crowd and reached their classroom, it was already empty.

They were probably on their lunch break. Qin Yi pursed his lips helplessly. He subconsciously glanced at Qin Rong, then sighed and headed toward the teachers' office.

As they passed through the corridor, an elderly man dressed in a Daoist robe and carrying an immortal air walked toward them. Qin Yi had become completely speechless about the garbled aesthetic standards of this planet. He smiled at the old man, quickened his pace, and passed him. Unexpectedly, when the man passed Qin Rong, he suddenly cried out in surprise. "Please wait, young friends."

Respecting the elderly and caring for the young were traditional virtues. Although they were somewhat impatient, Qin Yi and Qin Rong obediently stopped and turned to look at the old man.

"This young friend, this old man is Tianku. May I ask your surname?" The old Daoist stared straight at Qin Rong and asked with a smile.

"Qin Rong." Qin Rong glanced coldly at Daoist Tianku and replied.

"May I ask which sect you studied under?" Daoist Tianku continued.

"I have no sect." His martial arts had originally been cultivated from the secret manuals Andre had given him, so naturally, he belonged to no sect or school.

"Oh?" The old Daoist's eyes lit up, and his voice became even gentler. "This old man is a third-generation elder of the Heavenly Origin Sect. Young friend Qin Rong possesses outstanding natural talent, and the martial arts you practice also suit our sect. If you have no master, this old man can recommend you to join our sect."

Qin Yi stared speechlessly at the old Daoist, who was using the tone of someone luring a child away to abduct his own big brother. He immediately rolled his eyes and curled his lips disdainfully. Still, out of respect for the elderly, he said nothing.

"Our Heavenly Origin Sect is the foremost sect on the Rainbow Continent. We have countless gifted disciples, and several patriarchs have even shattered the void and ascended into the immortal realm. With young friend Qin Rong's aptitude, if you join our sect, you will surely ascend to heaven and become a saint within a hundred years," Tianku said at once when he saw the pair's indifferent expressions.

Qin Yi had little interest in things like cultivating immortality and becoming a saint, so he merely raised his brows without comment. Seeing Qin Yi's expression, Qin Rong only smiled fondly without speaking.

When Tianku saw that neither of them was tempted, he grew somewhat anxious. After carefully observing their movements and expressions, he realized that the crux lay with Qin Yi. He immediately focused on Qin Yi for a while. Yet the longer he observed, the more astonished he became. His gaze flickered before he said to Qin Rong, "This old man has observed this young friend's physiognomy. He is a man of great fortune. As the saying goes, blessings never come in pairs, but misfortunes never travel alone. Great fortune is always accompanied by great calamity. With the strength you two possess now, when the time comes, I fear..."

Qin Yi rolled his eyes unconcernedly. He truly could not be bothered with this man's jianghu-style talk. He immediately tugged Qin Rong's sleeve, signaling that they should leave.

Seeing this, Tianku grew anxious and blurted out, "Brother Qin Rong, from your every word and action, it is clear that you care deeply about this young friend. Don't you want enough strength to protect him?"

"Protect your sister!" Qin Yi could not help shouting. "What is wrong with you, old man? If you want to scam people, find someone else. My brother and I won't accompany you."

With that, he tugged Qin Rong's sleeve and turned to leave.

"Wait. Young friend, through your own twists of fate, you have obtained great fortune. For now, your life is naturally safe. But this great fortune of yours came in a strange manner. Dark clouds loom behind it, mysteries pile upon mysteries, and dangers are everywhere. Will you not think of your brother? You have your own fortune to protect you, but what about your brother? When danger arrives, can you simply leave him to his fate?" Tianku used a blink to appear before Qin Yi and Qin Rong again, speaking with earnest gravity.

Qin Yi's heart jolted at those words. Much of his impatience faded. Andre had once said that he had been framed and had thus ended up here, and that he was working hard to recover his strength before returning. But no one could say whether the people who had framed Andre would suddenly appear here. If that happened, Qin Rong was always by his side—would he be in danger?

When Qin Rong saw Qin Yi frowning in thought, he knew what Qin Yi was considering. His heart sank as well. He had not considered his own safety. But even with only a tiny fraction of his strength restored, Andre was already so formidable. How terrifying, then, would Andre's enemies be? If he kept wandering about idly every day, when a crisis truly descended, would he be able to protect Qin Yi?

Tianku was old and shrewd. Seeing the two youths' silence, he knew his words had reached them. In truth, half a month earlier, he had calculated the traces of an alien star invading their world. A divine oracle had also descended, saying that one of them had a great connection to his sect. That was why he had spared no effort to use the Qiankun Shift for half a month to reach the Qin Dynasty. Fortunately, his luck had been good, and he had directly found the alien stars. As long as he could persuade the alien star to return to the sect with him, his task would be accomplished.

He immediately smiled smugly and said slowly, "This old man knows that you two have some ties to Qin Emperor Ying Zheng, but this old man is not boasting. Ying Zheng only achieved such accomplishments through twists of fate. His foundation is still shallow, incomparable to great sects like ours that have been passed down for ten thousand years. If young friend is willing to return to the sect and cultivate with this old man, I can guarantee that within three years, you will break your core and form an infant soul."

Hearing Tianku's words, Qin Yi and Qin Rong frowned at the same time and exchanged a glance. Qin Yi muttered, "Why do I always feel like this man is a swindler?"

"Young friend, you naturally possess your own great fortune. You are one destined by fate, beyond the interference of people like us. So rest assured, we absolutely will not harm anyone." Tianku's face turned solemn as he spoke meaningfully. The scent of destiny on Qin Yi was far too dense. Even the Heavenly Origin Sect did not dare meddle in it, lest they damage their sect's fortune. Though they could not bring him back into the sect, they would not casually offend such a person either. Fate might already be determined, but it was also the most unpredictable thing in the world; even a trivial matter could cause it to stray from its path. The consequences were not something ordinary people could bear.

"But—" Qin Rong only half believed Tianku's words and was about to argue when Qin Yi interrupted him.

"Forget it, Big Brother." Qin Yi tugged Qin Rong's sleeve as he spoke. Then he glanced at Tianku. Tianku knowingly smiled without saying anything and moved ten zhang away from them.

Still worried, Qin Yi had Andre set up a barrier around them before he spoke to Qin Rong. "What that man said vaguely makes some sense. After all, we promised Andre we would help send him home, and we'll definitely run into the people who framed him. It would be good to increase our strength before then. I'm lazy by nature and don't have any great ambitions, so I'll have to rely on you in this regard. Since an opportunity like this has come along, you should seize it properly! Once you've mastered your studies, you can protect me in the future!"