Teacher, You're Out of Money?

As Yu Xiaogang said this,

he could not hide the smugness on his face.

The pride in his heart was almost full to overflowing.

Ever since he had arrived at Shrek Academy,

he had suffered one setback after another.

Now that Lu Ning and the others were away, he had finally held his head high thanks to Tang San. He was beginning to feel rather carried away, finally recovering the feeling of being the Grandmaster.

Zhao Wuji picked up the money pouch from the ground and glanced inside.

Several hundred Gold Soul Coins lay quietly inside, equivalent to almost half a year's tuition at Shrek Academy. At Yu Xiaogang's rate of spending, it could indeed last eight to ten days.

It had relieved Shrek Academy's most burning need.

Flender was not annoyed. Looking at Yu Xiaogang, he said with a smile, "Xiaogang, weren't you the one who spent all this money in the first place? It's only right that you replenish it. There's no need to flaunt it in front of us, is there?"

Yu Xiaogang looked at Flender and gave a soft snort.

"Flender."

"I spent the money, but I spent it on Shrek's students."

"I didn't pocket so much as half a copper coin, did I?"

"You can't even scrape together the funds for a single academy."

"You really are going backward as you get older."

Listening to him, Zhao Wuji felt as though the Gold Soul Coins in his hand were burning hot. He muttered, "Sure, it was spent on Shrek's students, but didn't ninety percent of it go to your disciple Tang San and Xiao Wu?"

"Wasn't it just because you couldn't stand losing? Xiao Ning didn't touch a single coin of the academy's money."

"You spent it all, so isn't it perfectly normal for you to find a way to replenish it yourself? What's there to act so arrogant about?"

His voice was quiet.

But Yu Xiaogang heard every word all the same.

They were like a thorn driven straight into his heart.

Even his voice began to grow hoarse. "This money is only the beginning. Next, I'll multiply it several times over."

"I focused on training Tang San and Xiao Wu before because we lacked resources."

"Once we've gathered enough money,"

"Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar will all receive my focused training."

Zhao Wuji clicked his tongue and said nothing more.

Wasn't this just favoring one side and slighting the other?

First, he used the academy's money to raise his own students.

Then, after earning a little money back,

he started flaunting it in front of the teachers. If not for their special identities, they could have earned money for the students at the Soto Great Soul Arena too. Yu Xiaogang... heh.

"All right. Since you say you'll earn money for the academy, Xiaogang, go ahead."

"We'll leave the teaching to you."

"Just don't make us sell the academy in the end."

Flender did not argue with Yu Xiaogang.

He merely smiled, wanting to put the matter behind them.

Yu Xiaogang nodded.

"That absolutely won't happen."

"As long as you trust me, I can produce more geniuses at Shrek Academy."

Shao Xin, who had been standing to one side listening for a long time, finally spoke slowly. "We can talk about geniuses later. The academy's rice jar is empty. If we don't settle the bill today, they'll come knocking on our door."

Shao Xin was the teacher whose Martial Soul was Sugar Bean. He had originally taught food-related classes at the academy, but ever since Yu Xiaogang had taken over all the courses, he had only been responsible for supplies and cooking.

Now that he spoke,

his heart was already full of resentment.

He did not particularly care whether he taught students.

But all the purchasing and expenses during this period had fallen on his shoulders.

Gold Soul Coins flowed out like water, without the slightest income in sight.

How could he not be anxious?

"Since Xiaogang has provided it, take this pouch of Gold Soul Coins and use it for now."

"We can't let these children go hungry, can we?"

Flender pointed at the pouch on the ground. Shao Xin casually picked it up and briefly glanced at the Gold Soul Coins inside. His expression softened a little. "All right, this should be about enough. We can even add a couple of meat dishes for the children."

"But we'll still need separate money for the medicinal ingredients."

"There aren't enough ingredients left for their medicinal baths tomorrow, either."

Seeing Shao Xin's actions,

Yu Xiaogang immediately grew a little anxious.

He had only wanted to use this money to regain some confidence in front of them.

He had not truly meant to hand it all over.

If he really gave them everything,

he would not even have the registration fee to send Tang San to the Soul Fighting Arena tomorrow.

"Wait."

"Leave me two Gold Soul Coins."

"You have to leave me some capital to place bets tomorrow, don't you?"

Yu Xiaogang reached toward the pouch in Shao Xin's hands. Shao Xin had never imagined that Yu Xiaogang would actually ask for money back after giving it away. He slowly opened the pouch and let him take it.

Yu Xiaogang did not hesitate either, reaching into the pouch and grabbing a handful.

He scooped up seven or eight Gold Soul Coins.

With that gesture, the confidence Yu Xiaogang had painstakingly built shattered all over the ground again.

Feeling the gazes around him,

even his hand clenched around the Gold Soul Coins was trembling.

Shao Xin could not bear to watch.

"Grandmaster, how about I borrow a little from the villagers tomorrow, and you take this pouch of money and keep gambling?"

"This really... isn't a solution."

Shao Xin's words were like a slap landing squarely across Yu Xiaogang's face.

They made Yu Xiaogang loosen his grip.

The Gold Soul Coins fell back into the pouch, while he stubbornly said, "We can't drain the pond to catch the fish."

"I'm making plans for the academy's long-term development."

Everyone watched and sighed softly.

He really did care about saving face!

At that moment, three figures came walking back toward the village entrance, chatting and laughing. The black-clad youth at the front looked at the people gathered there and did not forget to tease them. "Oh, all the teachers are here so late at night?"

"Even if you knew we were coming back, you didn't have to make such a grand show of welcoming us at the village entrance."

"Just putting together eight or ten tables of food would've been enough."

At the sight of the youth, a smile could not help spreading across Zhao Wuji's face.

"You brat, you're finally back."

"Forget eight or ten tables. You'll be lucky to get rice porridge and pickled mustard tonight."

Shao Xin was smiling now too.

"There's still some pickled mustard, but I doubt there's enough porridge for everyone to have a bowl."

"Our kitchen is so bare, even a thief would have to leave a couple of sacks of rice behind."

Hearing these half-joking words, Lu Ning noticed nothing unusual and simply assumed the two teachers were joking with him. He then turned toward Flender.

"Teacher, did you pocket the academy's money again?"

Flender coughed a few times.

Although he always presented himself as a profiteer outside, he had never taken a single coin from the academy. Even Lu Ning, Ma Hongjun, and the others had been raised by him little by little.

If not for Flender, Lu Ning and the others could have starved to death.

"Don't talk nonsense."

"The academy really is out of money."

"The academy's expenses have indeed been rather high lately."

Seeing that Flender did not look as though he was joking, Lu Ning reined in the playfulness on his face and looked at him seriously.

"Teacher."

"Are you really out of money?"

Hearing Lu Ning speak so seriously, Flender nodded gently. "The academy really has no money left."

"What Teacher Shao Xin just said was true."

"If we don't find a new source of income, even feeding ourselves tomorrow will be a problem."