What the administrator was most curious about actually wasn't Wu Youren's combat strength.
He wanted to know how this young man from Jin had managed to get involved with Hong Yan.
But gossip about a Great Knight wasn't so easy to pry into, especially when Instructor Hong was so difficult to talk to.
The two chatted for quite a while, mostly about the finer details of fighting the Weird Race.
The administrator wasn't even a Knight Apprentice. Poverty in his childhood had held him back, but after decades at Red Pine, he had seen plenty.
Wu Youren was a Knight Apprentice, but his relevant knowledge was pitifully scant. The two actually had quite a lively conversation.
They kept talking until dinnertime, when the young man from Jin had to head to the dining hall.
The administrator said there was no need for him to go. He would get some food from the Martial Academy's staff dining hall, and they could eat and drink together.
His rank was a little higher than a handyman's, so he ate for free, and the food was even better than the students' free dining hall.
But the words "eat and drink together" gave Wu Youren quite a fright, and he said he had arranged to meet a friend in the dining hall.
Only then did the administrator ask, seemingly casually, "How did you meet Instructor Hong?"
"I don't know why she remembers me either." The young man from Jin looked utterly bewildered. "I actually don't dare get close to her."
"Oh? Why?" The light of gossip flared in the administrator's eyes.
"Doesn't she..." Wu Youren looked at him speechlessly. "Doesn't she dislike people from Jin?"
"Oh, come on." The administrator couldn't help rolling his eyes. "You mean what happened to her whole family? That's not how it was!"
This time, it was the young man from Jin's turn to gossip. "Care to elaborate?"
"I could." The administrator rubbed his chin. "Have a drink with me, and I'll tell you over drinks."
The corner of Wu Youren's mouth twitched. "Actually, I'm not that curious. My mother said I'm not allowed to drink before advancing to knight."
With that, he turned and headed toward the dining hall. "You should go eat soon too."
"So..." Watching his departing figure, the administrator looked thoughtful. "He doesn't take a Great Knight all that seriously?"
Although Wu Youren hadn't stayed to "have a drink" with him, he still paid for a meat dish and brought it back for the administrator to enjoy with his alcohol.
"Thanks for your guidance this afternoon. Eat more and drink less, and you can live a healthy life."
He really had learned quite a bit from their chat, and that remark the other man had let slip was also crucial.
Before this, he had been puzzling over why Instructor Hong treated him this way, and whether there was some deeper meaning behind her various actions.
It couldn't be helped. As a hostage in an enemy country, he had to be highly vigilant about everything.
If he were in Jin, even if he couldn't become Cynthia's lover, there would have been no problem being ordinary friends.
But now, to avoid potential trouble, he could only find an excuse to cut off contact.
Strictly speaking, these were his predecessor's feelings. As a transmigrator, he had no need to rush to put himself in those shoes.
Yet he had no choice. His identity was too sensitive; even changing his allegiance was impossible.
Traitors never came to a good end. Even to the people of Great Liang, a turncoat like him would be nothing more than a tool, a clown.
He couldn't exactly explain to people: Hey, hey, I'm a soul from another world!
At the same time, he didn't reject his predecessor's feelings toward his family and Great Jin.
Now he no longer had to rack his brains over Instructor Hong's intentions, which... really spared him so much trouble.
So he still hoped the administrator would eat more meat and drink less alcohol.
Early the next morning, Wu Youren began preparing certain means he would need to deal with the Weird Race.
He had been rather free with his spending lately. The mere forty yuan of starting funds he'd had left had shrunk severely, to less than twenty-five.
But necessary expenses still had to be paid. His top priority now was to improve his chances of survival as much as possible!
That afternoon, a knight of twenty-four or twenty-five came looking for him, bringing Instructor Hong's written authorization.
It was actually a special pass bearing Great Knight Hong Yan's seal.
The knight's name was Luo Xi. He wasn't tall, nor was he particularly heavily built.
Still, someone who had advanced to knight at his age had potential that couldn't be underestimated.
He was extremely friendly and didn't treat Wu Youren as an outsider at all. The first thing he said upon meeting him was, with a smile, "A private room, young friend?"
He even toured the vegetable patch with great interest, remarking that a little extra greenery really did soothe the heart and refresh the spirit.
Wu Youren understood that this attitude probably stemmed from a misunderstanding, but would he have to be a fucking idiot to point it out?
Sure enough, barely a few words into their conversation, Luo Xi volunteered that a senior female student should have delivered the authorization.
Red Pine really wasn't a college, merely a martial academy, but people still used terms like senior female student and junior male student.
Huddling together for warmth was human nature, nothing unusual.
Luo Xi had happened to run into the senior student and done it for her. He offered this casual explanation because he didn't want Instructor Hong to mistakenly think she had been shirking.
Naturally, Wu Youren was sincere in return, and the two talked about everything.
In Luo Xi's eyes, this "private room" was a joke. Not only did drafts whistle through it, it was close to the toilets too.
But then again, a martial artist who had only just arrived didn't have to live in the dormitories. How much freedom was that?
The key was... he had such a large patch of land to grow vegetables on?
Luo Xi had entered Red Pine Martial Academy seven or eight years ago. He had now graduated and was applying to stay on as an assistant instructor.
He had never heard of any such precedent at the martial academy.
There were a few people who grew vegetables at the Martial Academy, but they were all aged instructors with nothing to do, passing the time as they enjoyed their twilight years.
The people of Great Liang were accustomed to gathering resources with the blades and spears in their hands, or else settling wherever the pasture grew.
Just as Wu Youren had put it before: "Great Jin stockpiles grain; Great Liang stockpiles guns."
It wasn't that nobody knew how to grow vegetables, but that nobody treated it as an instinct, planting things whenever they had nothing to do.
And now, such a freak had suddenly appeared!
Luo Xi didn't consider why a young man from Jin would have such tastes. What he was thinking was that the boy had the status to do this!
In other words, it was just as Wu Youren thought: nothing more than a beautiful misunderstanding.
But Luo Xi had a pressing need. He longed to prove himself, to become an assistant instructor at Red Pine!
That was why he had been running around, helping the senior student deliver the authorization!
Then again, could someone whom Great Knight Hong Yan had specifically issued written authorization for be ordinary?
When Wu Youren explained that wolf peaches, a kind of vegetable, preferred dry weather to rain, he couldn't hold back.
"Speaking of rain, Tianjing has had quite a lot of acid rain in recent years... the weather has been a little abnormal."
I've done this question before! Wu Youren had just picked up a little knowledge from the administrator.
He nodded. "Yes, it should be caused by the Weird Race. Ah, that's why I can only plant more wolf peaches."
"The Weird Race really is a scourge to humanity." Luo Xi nodded in wholehearted agreement, his movements exaggeratedly large.
"So, young friend, only tending your vegetables is a little too relaxed... you should get out more and have a look around."
He didn't actually believe the boy only liked growing vegetables. Otherwise, what was the point of getting this special pass?
"What I want most is to kill the Weird Race." Wu Youren gave a helpless, wry smile. "Unfortunately, a lot of people don't want me taking risks."
Sure enough, he has powerful backing. Luo Xi nodded silently without replying.
Then the young man from Jin gave another soft sigh. "That's precisely why I asked Instructor Hong to issue written authorization!"
Heaven and earth could bear witness: although his words might have muddied the waters, had he told a single lie?
Luo Xi's eyes lit up. "You have a way to find the Weird Race?"
"Impossible. I'm only a Knight Apprentice." Wu Youren shook his head decisively. "I just want to give it a try."
"Then could you count me in?" Luo Xi asked cautiously.
He didn't entirely believe the boy.
If you have no leads at all, would a Great Knight go so far as to issue written authorization for you?
But some things were best seen through and left unspoken. Flaunting little tricks of cleverness at every turn wouldn't do!
"Count... you in?" Wu Youren was a little dumbfounded. What the hell kind of bizarre turn is this?
He could vaguely guess at something, but on the whole, he was still rather confused.
The crux of the matter was that going to the Rust Belt alone really would be highly dangerous.
He had been planning to use his remaining funds to prepare more means of ensuring his safety.
Many of the steps involved weren't easy to arrange, but he had nobody he could invite along either.
His earlier plan had been to take a gamble. He was already a hostage; without a little madness, there was no making it through.
After all, if you didn't push yourself, how would you know you couldn't do it?
But now, a knight had actually come rushing over to volunteer as his hired muscle...
He took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "Fighting the Weird Race is pretty dangerous, and we might not even find any."
"Of course we might not find any." While the boy was pondering, Luo Xi had also prepared himself mentally.
"But that doesn't matter. We can treat it as a little outing. You don't think I'd be a burden, do you?"
Dangerous or not, wouldn't you still go if I didn't volunteer?
A place a Knight Apprentice dares to go, and you say that to me... just how little do you think of full-fledged knights?
From these words, Wu Youren had already guessed what the other man was thinking. This really is a fucking pain in the balls!
But could this be another method of the Life and Death Knot?
He didn't like this brain-racking feeling.
He wasn't afraid of racking his brains, but if he had to do it every moment of every day-he might as well give up resisting!
"Then it'll just be the two of us. I suggest you let Instructor Hong know, though, so nobody says I dragged you into a trap."
That's definitely a test! Without hesitation, Luo Xi said, "Then just the two of us. I'll keep you safe!"
Seventy percent chance he's with the Life and Death Knot! Wu Youren simply couldn't help thinking that. Could there really be such a coincidence in this world?
But one remark had led to another, and things had already reached this point. There was no room for regrets.
He nodded slightly. "All right, then. If we end up coming back disappointed, just don't blame me, Instructor Luo."
"We're only going to kill the Weird Race. What's there to blame anyone for?" At this moment, Luo Xi's sense of duty was absolutely lofty. "I'm not an instructor yet!"
The two then exchanged wristwatch numbers so they could contact each other at any time.
After that, Wu Youren continued preparing for the trip.
Though he now had a knight for a teammate, who knew whether that teammate was human or ghost? Keeping the power to choose in his own hands was still the safest bet.
(Starting next week, updates will speed up: two chapters on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, all 3,000 words. Please support the novel by keeping up with new chapters, voting, and adding it to your library.)