The next morning, it was time for Yu Xiaogang's class.
Four long tables stood in the open-air classroom. Even this early in the morning, the sun was unusually fierce, scorching the tabletops.
Oscar and Ma Hongjun had arrived early and sat shoulder to shoulder on a long bench.
As for the others... not a single one had come.
Yu Xiaogang paced back and forth in front of the tables, his hands clasped behind his back.
He wore his usual gray robe. Even after three washes, it still gleamed with grease, and grains of rice from last night's dinner clung to the cuffs.
"Just you two?" He swept his gaze over them and raised his voice. "Where's Tang San? Xiao Wu? Zhu Zhuqing? Even Dai Mubai isn't coming?"
Oscar and Ma Hongjun exchanged a glance. Neither answered.
A long moment passed, and Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened.
Only then did Oscar say quietly, "Teacher Yu, Mubai said he wasn't feeling well..."
"Not feeling well!" Yu Xiaogang snorted. "I don't think he's unwell. He just looks down on this Grandmaster's lessons!"
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He slapped his thigh. "You little brats crowd shoulder to shoulder to attend Li Hanqiu's classes.
"But when it's my class, only you two show up. What sort of behavior is that!"
Ma Hongjun shrank back and pulled half a roasted sweet potato from inside his clothes.
He had held out all morning and was already so hungry his stomach felt glued to his spine. Sneakily, he stuffed the sweet potato into his mouth.
"Ma Hongjun!"
Yu Xiaogang's sharp eyes caught him, and he rushed over in two strides.
"Eating in class! Who taught you those manners?!"
Ma Hongjun trembled at the shout. The sweet potato fell to the ground with a thud, rolled twice, and became coated in dirt.
His eyes reddened at once, and he pouted in grievance.
"T-Teacher Li lets us eat..."
"Teacher Li! Teacher Li!" Yu Xiaogang's face flushed crimson. "Don't mention him to this Grandmaster! This is Shrek, not Li Hanqiu's backyard!
"If he lets you eat, go find him! Don't sit here in my class!"
Oscar hurriedly waved his hands in alarm. "Teacher Yu, Hongjun didn't mean it. His martial soul is flawed. There's evil fire in his body, so he gets hungry quickly..."
"Hungry? Even if he's hungry, he can't eat! Class is class!"
Yu Xiaogang flicked his sleeve and turned toward the podium, still muttering:
"Li Hanqiu, Li Hanqiu. A wet-behind-the-ears brat thinks he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as this Grandmaster? Sooner or later, this academy will be ruined in his hands!"
As he spoke, footsteps sounded beneath the covered walkway.
Yu Xiaogang looked toward the sound and saw two figures approaching side by side.
The one in front was tall and blond, aloof and proud; the one behind was slender and dark-haired, with a cool, detached air.
They were Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.
The anger on Yu Xiaogang's face instantly gave way to an ingratiating smile.
He hurried forward to greet them. "Mubai's here! Come, come, come, sit inside. Zhu Zhuqing's here too. Perfect, perfect."
An indifferent smile hung at the corner of Dai Mubai's mouth as he stared meaningfully at Yu Xiaogang.
From beneath the covered walkway, he had heard every word of Yu Xiaogang calling Li Hanqiu a "wet-behind-the-ears brat."
"Yu Xiaogang." He raised his chin, his voice icy. "You seemed to be saying some unpleasant things about Teacher Li just now."
Yu Xiaogang still believed Dai Mubai was at odds with Li Hanqiu and took this as praise. His face filled with smug satisfaction.
"It was nothing. I was merely voicing my dissatisfaction to the world.
"By the way, Mubai, this Grandmaster's lesson today happens to cover the finer points of circulating soul power. For you..."
"I don't attend a useless fool's classes," Dai Mubai said.
"Mubai, how can you say that! This Grandmaster has taught theory for over thirty years. How could I be..."
"Over thirty years of teaching, and your soul power level is only twenty-nine." Dai Mubai cut him off.
"Calling you useless is giving you too much credit."
Yu Xiaogang choked, his face instantly turning ashen.
Standing behind him, Zhu Zhuqing's lips curled slightly, and she could not hold back a laugh.
"Yu Xiaogang." Dai Mubai stepped forward. "Were you about to say that Teacher Li took some girl into the city to get a hotel room again?"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes darted, as though he had found a straw to cling to. "Yes, yes! This Grandmaster saw it with his own eyes! Last night, he took two young girls to the Rose Hotel again!
"Mubai, you mustn't let that beast in human skin..."
Yu Xiaogang began spreading rumors and slandering Li Hanqiu, blurting out whatever filthy words came to mind.
If not for the female students present, he probably would have been even more foul-mouthed.
"I know."
Dai Mubai gave a faint, supremely arrogant smile and interrupted Yu Xiaogang.
"Last night, Teacher did indeed take Zhu Zhuqing and me to the hotel."
"I went along myself. How could it be false?"
Looking at Dai Mubai's slightly raised chin and smug expression, Yu Xiaogang gaped wide enough to fit two eggs into his mouth.
"Y-you said what? You went to a hotel with Li Hanqiu!?"
In truth, last night had been a celebration of the sisters' reunion.
Li Hanqiu had taken them to Suotuo City on Holy Light Ao for a proper restaurant meal.
It had been too late afterward, so they had stayed at a hotel.
Yet somehow, coming from Dai Mubai's mouth, those words sounded a little strange.
But Yu Xiaogang knew none of that!
He simply assumed Li Hanqiu and Dai Mubai had gone to the hotel to do that, and his expression instantly shattered.
His mouth hung open. Suddenly, something occurred to him, and only after a long while did he squeeze a few words from his throat:
"You... who did you just call Teacher?"
Dai Mubai did not answer immediately. He folded his arms and raised his chin a little higher.
"Teacher, of course. The man who teaches us sisters, Li Hanqiu."
Yu Xiaogang's legs weakened. He stumbled two steps backward and struck the corner of a table.
"Impossible... you, you, Li Hanqiu... how could he..." His tongue tangled, and his eyes bulged as though he had seen a ghost.
"What?" Dai Mubai raised his eyebrows. "Do I need to report to you, Yu Xiaogang, when I take a master?"
"Dai Mubai!"
Just then, Tang San's voice rang out from beneath the covered walkway.
Tang San approached with Xiao Wu following behind him. Farther back was Ning Rongrong, who had arrived late.
Tang San had happened to hear Dai Mubai's words.
He strode over, his face taut and his eyes fixed on Dai Mubai.
"You said Teacher took you to a hotel last night?"
The tension in his voice was unmistakable.
"With Zhu Zhuqing too?"
Dai Mubai met his gaze and smiled sweetly. Yet that smile held a blatant hint of provocation.
"Oh?"
"If it isn't my eldest and second senior fellow disciples. Your junior disciple offers his greetings."
Tang San's pupils abruptly contracted.
He stood rooted to the spot, his expression as though someone had pressed pause. Only his fingertips moved, digging deeper and deeper into his palms.
At being called "second senior fellow disciple," Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and she instinctively started to respond.
Then something occurred to her. She stole a glance at Tang San, then looked at Dai Mubai with his head held high.
For a moment, she swallowed the words she had already begun to say.
"Mubai." Li Hanqiu's voice came from behind them.
He had arrived at some point, holding two books.
"What's all this racket?"
He walked up to the podium and swept his gaze over them.
Yu Xiaogang looked utterly defeated, Dai Mubai stood with his arms folded and a cold smile, and Tang San had his head lowered, his expression hidden.
"Class is starting," Li Hanqiu said. "Everyone, return to your seats. Also, Gangzi, if you have nothing to do, go back and clean the toilets. Don't come out here and make a spectacle of yourself."
Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth, wanting to say something. In the end, he stamped his foot and slunk away.
Li Hanqiu glanced at his retreating back, not bothering with him.
"Tang San, Xiao Wu." He beckoned them forward.
"I forgot to tell you two. Last night, I formally accepted Mubai as my disciple. From now on, he's your fourth junior fellow disciple."
Li Hanqiu's words confirmed what Dai Mubai had said earlier.
At that, everyone present wore a different expression: shock, surprise, eagerness to watch the drama unfold, and more.
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