The next time Wu Youren saw Luo Xi was outside an apartment building whose residents were almost all unmarried martial masters.
Luo Xi did not invite him inside, but his attitude was fairly normal, a little perfunctory at most.
He gave him two pieces of python meat, weighing three or four jin, which was a reasonable enough amount.
When Wu Youren brought it back, the caretaker did mention paying him.
But Wu Youren smiled and waved a hand, saying Luo Xi had not charged him either. "Consider it a gift from me."
Over the next few days, aside from occasionally attending free public lectures, he kept busy in the vegetable patch.
The rest of the time, he mainly cultivated in the backyard.
There was a training ground right beside his residence, but he only slipped quietly inside when he needed to use the equipment, keeping as low a profile as possible.
When he went to the training ground, however, he could overhear conversations between other martial artists and learn something of what was happening.
The topic everyone discussed most lately was the incident in Suotu Town.
The Weird situation there was growing increasingly serious. Weird Race beings at the Great Knight level had already appeared, and there was more than one.
Great Liang had already dispatched military forces, and the academy had sent several teams to participate as well, some led by head instructors.
Casualties were inevitable, and reportedly quite heavy, but opinions differed on reports like these.
Wu Youren also paid close attention to such news. He had already pretty much digested the gains from his last outing.
By a rough calculation, he had saved himself around eight months of cultivation.
If he could have considered attempting to become a Knight in two years before, now he would not even need a year and a half.
That feeling... was truly wonderful!
Even though he knew his identity had been exposed, and he most likely could no longer go out whenever he pleased, surely he could at least think about it?
As for developing into an Ability User? He could not spare any thought for such a wonderful prospect right now.
One day, he attended another public lecture and was unexpectedly called on by the instructor to stand up and answer a question.
He was somewhat dazed at the time. Still, while this was uncommon, it was not unheard of.
Had it been an academic class, Wu Youren certainly would not have answered seriously, but he would never have voluntarily attended one anyway.
He explained his understanding, and the instructor posed another question based on the details of his answer.
The instructor's second question was much more pointed, and Wu Youren once again stated his views.
When it came to cultivation, there was often no absolutely perfect cultivation method.
The people of Liang had noticed this too. As they put it, "Some people even have their hearts on the right."
However, having one's heart on the right, like having double pupils, was generally considered a sign of being unlike ordinary people.
Differences of opinion in cultivation were perfectly normal, though, and the detail the instructor asked Wu Youren about fell into that category.
There was no right or wrong in such debates. The instructor offered a few comments, then told him to sit down.
After the public lecture ended, however, just as Wu Youren was about to slip away quietly, the instructor beckoned to him. "You, come here!"
Having spotted promising talent, the instructor was itching to ask the boy whether he wanted to become his disciple.
"Of course I do." Wu Youren nodded repeatedly, delight showing on his face.
But after a moment's hesitation, he added, "It's just that, regarding the tuition gift, this disciple is a little short of money."
The poor simply could not afford to practice martial arts, but martial artists were not necessarily wealthy either. Most were not particularly well-off.
Those who could attend the academy were a little better off, but whether it was blood food and medicinal meals or bodily maintenance and treatment, what did not cost money?
Even Knight Luo Xi would not pass up a chance to earn some extra money.
Whether intentionally or otherwise, though, Wu Youren slightly emphasized his Jin accent in this reply.
The instructor immediately lost interest upon hearing it. There had been too many people around earlier for him to make out the boy's accent. Who would have thought he was actually from Jin!
Some instructors at Red Pine Martial Academy did not care about nationality, and some were foreigners themselves.
But this instructor was not one of those exceptions. He was rather ill-disposed toward people from Jin.
And the boy's answer was actually that he had no money-even if you were from Great Liang, I still wouldn't necessarily take you, damn it!
He waved a hand. "Forget it, then. Such a penny-pincher. I wouldn't want to teach you even if you had money!"
Quite a few martial artists overheard this conversation.
Some felt sorry for the boy. After all, it was truly rare for an instructor to make the first approach.
But others quietly took note: his cultivation, knowledge, and looks were all quite decent, yet money had actually become his stumbling block!
Wu Youren was now a bird startled by the twang of a bow. After attracting this little bit of attention, he immediately withdrew into his little room again.
He skipped public lectures for three days straight. On the fourth day, someone came to his door.
This time, it was his former roommate Subar, who had brought two female martial artists along.
As it turned out, Wu Youren already had a little reputation at the academy, mostly among the female martial artists.
There were over ten thousand students and teachers at the academy, and not that many female martial artists had noticed him.
But among the female students who knew of him, it was universally agreed that, judging by looks alone and disregarding cultivation, he could comfortably rank in the top three.
Before this, however, no one had known much about Wu Youren. Though some female martial artists were interested, they did not want to rashly invite a rebuff.
But when he publicly admitted he was short of money, someone really did spot an opportunity.
Where there were poor people in the academy, there were rich people too. And now, hadn't someone come to his door through his roommate?
Subar did not actually think Wu Youren was all that poor-he had mooched several meals off him, after all.
Still, if there was an introduction fee to be earned, why not earn it?
All right, I really am poor... Wu Youren had never expected so many people to be paying attention to him.
Of the two female martial artists who had come, one was a viscount's daughter, and the other was her close friend.
The key was that her family had two Great Knights-her viscount father and her second elder brother. Both had military merits to their names, and the family was not short of money.
The female martial artist said she had come to the academy to make friends, and was on good terms with several Knight instructors.
She had not formally taken a master, since her family had Great Knights, but quite a few instructors were willing to give her face.
She stated it very plainly: his lack of money to take a master was easily resolved, and he could leave it to her.
But that would count as accepting sponsorship from the viscount's family, so naturally, he would have to follow her orders in the future.
Wu Youren was a little speechless. Is she grooming me to be a live-in son-in-law?
If she had truly been as beautiful as a heavenly immortal-or, lowering the bar, even passably attractive-he might have agreed.
But the problem was that she really fell a little short. In looks, she bore some resemblance to Yan Sanmin.
Fortunately, she was not as ugly in her grasping as Yan Sanmin. She only sought a willing arrangement.
A family with two Great Knights did have the confidence to do this.
Her face practically spelled out, "You'll be missing out badly if you don't agree!"
Wu Youren could only say, "Sorry, but there's a longstanding ailment in my family... I'm prone to killing people in my sleep. Subar can testify."
Subar nodded frantically. "See? That's what I told you."
The female martial artist looked somewhat displeased at this. "I merely thought you had a little talent and worried it would go to waste."
"Killing people in your sleep... I do wonder, how could you touch me while you're dreaming?"
This was a textbook case of saying one thing while meaning another.
Still, it was hardly surprising. Once the investment arrangements were settled and the academy had no grounds to intervene, whatever she wanted to do would be her own affair.
Even if she used force, what would a viscount's family with two Great Knights need to worry about when dealing with a boy from another country?