A Letter from the Crown Prince's Mansion

After Spirit Hall took the Evil Soul Master away, Shrek Academy was quiet for two days.

Quiet only meant no new Evil Soul Masters came leaping out. Training hadn't eased up one bit.

Morning runs, basic sparring before noon, Soul Power control in the afternoon, reviews at night. Bai Jin wrote out the tasks simply enough, but carrying them out was anything but easy.

Ma Hongjun thought he'd lost weight.

Oscar thought his legs no longer belonged to him.

For the first time, Ning Rongrong discovered that even a support-type Soul Master could be so exhausted she didn't want to look at her tower.

Tang San adjusted the fastest.

He already had a habit of training over the long term, and he wasn't afraid of hardship. What truly caught his attention were the occasional remarks Bai Jin made.

For instance, Blue Silver Grass wasn't only for Entanglement.

For instance, a control-type Soul Master's job wasn't to trap an enemy, but to leave them only the choices you allowed.

The remarks were brief, yet each one struck right at the heart of what he'd been thinking.

Bai Jin never asked about his background.

He didn't ask about his Hidden Weapons or his footwork, either, or why a twelve-year-old child had reactions like his.

That silence only made Tang San more wary.

Because he could tell Bai Jin wasn't ignorant. He just couldn't be bothered to say anything.

On the afternoon of the third day, a secret letter arrived at Shrek.

There was no name on the envelope, only a tiny seal from the Crown Prince's Mansion.

When Bai Jin saw the seal, the candy in his mouth stopped for half a beat.

Flender happened to pass by and glanced at it. "The Crown Prince's Mansion?"

"Mm."

"You know the crown prince?"

"I do."

"What sort of relationship?"

Bai Jin thought for a moment. "She owes me money for a meal."

Flender's hand paused halfway through adjusting his glasses.

He caught that "she," but a clever man knew better than to ask.

The secret letter was brief.

Someone in Heaven Dou City had recently been investigating Spirit Hall's activities in Suotuo City. The Crown Prince's Mansion had sent word, hoping Bai Jin would come by.

It was signed Xue Qinghe.

The handwriting was gentle and neat, without the slightest hint of an edge.

Bai Jin smiled anyway.

"Quite a convincing act."

That night, he left Shrek.

Before leaving, he handed the training over to Luo Wenshan.

Luo Wenshan took the plan. When he reached the last line, his hand trembled.

"My lord, this intensity..."

"They won't die."

"I'm worried they'll make a fuss."

"Then give them more training."

"And if Headmaster Flender objects?"

"Show him the bill."

Luo Wenshan's expression turned solemn at once. "Understood."

Heaven Dou City, the Crown Prince's Mansion.

Xue Qinghe sat in the study beneath soft lamplight, unfinished state papers spread across the desk. When she looked up, her face held just the right measure of weariness and warmth.

To outsiders, at least, she was a gentle, courteous crown prince.

The study door closed.

Bai Jin sat across from her and casually picked up a pastry from the desk.

"Your pastries are much better than Shrek's."

Xue Qinghe smiled. "If you like them, Senior, you may take some back."

"Don't call me Senior. Makes me sound old."

"Then Mr. Bai?"

"Even older."

Xue Qinghe's smile didn't waver. "Then what would you like me to call you?"

Bai Jin answered earnestly, "Big brother."

The study fell silent for a moment.

Xue Qinghe's smile finally faded a little.

"Bai Jin."

"Much better."

Bai Jin took a bite of the pastry.

Qian Renxue watched him, exasperation in her eyes alongside a measure of genuine ease.

In all her years in Heaven Dou, she'd grown used to probing, flattery, falsehood, and scheming. Everyone who looked at her saw only Xue Qinghe.

Only Bai Jin looked at her each time as though he saw a young girl who'd been assigned far too much homework.

It annoyed her.

And sometimes, it made her feel that this identity hadn't swallowed her whole.

At Spirit Hall, she was the young mistress.

In Heaven Dou City, she was the crown prince.

Only someone like Bai Jin dared knock on the door beyond the two identities she worked so hard to maintain and ask if she was tired.

Infuriating.

But rare, too.

That was why she'd written to Bai Jin.

Not to ask for help.

Simply because he was someone worth informing.

That was enough.

"I heard you went to Shrek."

"Mm."

"And you're training Tang San and the others?"

Bai Jin looked up.

"News travels fast."

Qian Renxue's tone was even. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's young lady is there, and so are clues to the Clear Sky Sect. I could hardly ignore it."

That was more like her.

Gentleness was only the shell. Inside lay the sharp edge befitting Spirit Hall's young mistress.

Bai Jin said, "I know."

Qian Renxue set down her pen.

"You always know more than you say."

"Is that a compliment?"

"A warning."

She looked at Bai Jin. Her tone remained steady, but a barely perceptible note of seriousness entered it.

"I've been in Heaven Dou for years. I've seen too many people die because they knew too much. You may not be afraid, but that doesn't mean the people around you aren't."

Bai Jin didn't answer at once.

For once, he was quiet a while.

Qian Renxue went on, "Those children at Shrek are still young. Ning Rongrong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Tang San... What they're getting caught up in now may be more than they can bear."

Bai Jin raised his head. "That's why they need training."

Qian Renxue paused.

"They can't hide from it," Bai Jin said. "If they learn a little more, they'll have a little less to cry about when something really happens."

"You know that, and you still want to get close?"

"Why not?"

Qian Renxue looked at him. "Tang San could become a problem for Spirit Hall."

Bai Jin finished the pastry and brushed off his hands.

"Could."

"And you still teach him?"

"Right now, he's just a child."

Qian Renxue fell silent.

Bai Jin continued, "Besides, teaching someone doesn't mean choosing their path for them."

The wind outside the window was faint.

Qian Renxue lowered her eyes. A long time passed before she spoke. "You're always like this."

"Like what?"

"You know so much, yet you act as if nothing matters to you."

Bai Jin smiled.

"Care too much and you'll go bald."

Qian Renxue: "..."

She suddenly had no wish to continue that conversation.

"I asked you here to warn you. The Evil Soul Master in Suotuo City had someone behind him. They're investigating a particular bloodline, and Blue Silver Grass as well."

Bai Jin's eyes shifted slightly.

"Blue Silver Grass?"

"Mm."

"Who gave you that information?"

Qian Renxue didn't answer immediately.

Bai Jin looked at her.

"Xiao Xue."

At those two words, Qian Renxue's fingers tightened slightly.

Bai Jin's tone grew unusually serious.

"Going undercover in Heaven Dou is your mission. That doesn't mean you have to live like an island."

Qian Renxue raised her eyes, her gaze cool.

"I know my limits."

"Someone who knows her limits wouldn't hide every emotion behind Xue Qinghe's face."

Silence settled over the study.

After a long while, Qian Renxue took another letter from a drawer.

"The information came from the outskirts of Slaughter City."

Bai Jin took the letter.

It contained only one sentence.

Someone had put a price on Tang San's head.

After reading it, Bai Jin suddenly smiled.

"Looks like the holiday's over."

Qian Renxue looked at him. "You're going back?"

"Mm."

"Is one Tang San worth guarding personally?"

Bai Jin stood and slipped the letter into his sleeve.

"I'm not guarding him."

He looked toward Suotuo City.

"Someone reached into my classroom."