Wu Youren felt a little puzzled by this news. Could an instructor from Red Pine still not have heard about his true identity?
Many instructors had previously been unaware. After all, a foreign hostage prince coming to the martial academy was a rather sensitive matter.
Once the news spread, it could trigger a series of uncontrollable events.
But after his trip to Suotu Town, he had even attracted the Intelligence Agency's attention.
His four companions might have been all right, but his identity... should have spread quite widely.
After all, even Luo Xi, who did not work at the martial academy, had learned who he was.
So he frowned and asked thoughtfully, "Why sponsor me?"
The other female martial artist, who was from Liang, said with a smile, "Isn't it a good thing when someone gives you money?"
The female martial artist from Jin, however, said, "I heard an instructor thinks you have good potential."
Did that even count? Wu Youren shook his head. "Thank you, but I still have a long way to go. Better not to disappoint you."
"There are no hard conditions," the woman from Jin said straightforwardly. "Once you become a Knight, just look out for me a little."
Some sponsorships really did come with conditions, such as the one from that viscount's daughter.
But it was not impossible for someone like this woman, or Huo Laer-a subordinate of Earl Shengming-to be willing to invest heavily in someone.
Wu Youren still shook his head. "That would put me under a lot of pressure. I'm not used to disappointing people."
Ultimately, he was rather wary of people investing in him outright when they were complete strangers.
Even if the other party had no ulterior motives, and he did not mind fleecing someone, she was a fellow native of Jin, which made it rather...
The woman from Jin shook her head dismissively. "Oh, it's just a matter of accepting the loss if you're willing to gamble."
The woman from Liang pondered for a moment before saying, "Instructor Kaili said you've been to Suotu?"
"Tsk." Wu Youren clicked his tongue. Right, so that was what this was about.
"I have, but that was a long time ago."
These days, there was hardly any news of Suotu Town to be heard in the martial academy.
There was no bad news, but no good news either. The implications were well worth pondering.
"All right, don't keep us waiting," the woman from Liang actually urged him. "Instructor Kaili... doesn't have a very good temper."
However bad her temper was, could it be worse than that Knight who inspected discipline at the martial academy? Wu Youren found that rather hard to believe.
That Knight had come looking for him specifically, yet had backed off after hearing the name "Life and Death Knot." This one probably would not be any harder to deal with.
He thought it over. Someone already had their eye on him; simply keeping out of the way was no solution.
Once the situation developed, more people would only learn his identity, leaving him increasingly on the back foot.
The proper thing to do was to take the initiative and nip the trouble in the bud.
He forced out a smile and nodded slightly. "All right. When should I pay my respects to the instructor?"
"Right now," both women said in unison. The instructor was waiting in the teaching grounds.
The martial academy had over a hundred teaching grounds, which served as the instructors' shared working areas and consisted of individual small training fields.
Every instructor had their own area for teaching small classes.
The three students arrived at a small training field. Beneath the shade of a tree at its edge, a woman of about forty was examining a saber.
The woman had ordinary looks and a somewhat cold expression. Her brows were slightly furrowed, her attention entirely on the saber.
The three did not dare make a sound and could only stand a short distance away, watching quietly.
The woman stroked the blade as she pondered something.
Only when a leaf drifted down did she raise her head and glance at the three of them. Then she gave a snort and continued examining the saber.
"This is a weapon the instructor just had custom-made," the woman from Liang murmured. "She's probably considering how to nurture it."
At the Knight cultivation level, the weapons people used were generally exclusive to their owners.
Even their weight and design could differ, and to ensure greater offensive and defensive power, they also required targeted nurturing.
It was somewhat like how immortal cultivators refined magical treasures.
Another ten minutes or so passed before she put away the saber and looked at the three of them.
Then she said expressionlessly, "You're Wu Youren? Hmm, you do have a bit of beauty. Been to Suotu Town?"
A bit of beauty... Wu Youren felt a bad premonition stir, but he still cupped his hands and spoke politely.
"Greetings, Instructor. I went with Knight Luo Xi and left not long after arriving."
"I want the details." The woman's face showed little expression, but a trace of her imposing aura leaked out.
"Instructor, there were people from the Intelligence Agency there too," Wu Youren answered respectfully. "I really know very little."
"Trying to use the Intelligence Agency to pressure me?" Instructor Kaili snorted dismissively. "Do you know what I used to do?"
"Instructor, I truly don't."
"Then you don't need to know." Instructor Kaili curled her lip. "Never mind. It's inconvenient to question you now, with these two still here."
Hearing this, both women spoke up at once to excuse themselves.
"No need." The female instructor glanced at Wu Youren. "I hear you grow some good vegetables. I'll come get some tonight."
She said it quite naturally. Since she was going to reduce his tuition, what was taking a few vegetables?
Still, this also showed that among Great Liang's middle and upper strata, vegetables really were fine gifts worth presenting.
Tonight... a female instructor? Wu Youren nodded without betraying anything. "Sorry for the trouble, then."
Most likely, this was nothing good. But again, was he in any position to object?
That said, if she really wanted to do anything out of line, he was not entirely without the ability to resist.
With summer's arrival, the days had grown longer. When Wu Youren returned after dinner, it was not yet dark.
Someone was already waiting in front of his house. To his surprise... it was Cynthia again.
Wu Youren felt rather fed up at the sight of her, so he went straight around to the back of the house.
He picked two wolf peaches that had already turned red, bit into one himself, and casually tossed the other to her. "What is it?"
Cynthia caught the wolf peach, glanced at it, then tucked it into her jacket pocket.
She could not suppress the upward curl of her lips. "Nothing much. I just wanted to ask whether you're planning to leave the academy anytime soon."
"Soon?" Wu Youren gave her a thoughtful look, then slowly shook his head. "No!"
"I heard you... went to Suotu?" She was the second person to ask him that today.
Cynthia was clearly eager to try her hand. "There are quite a few of the Weird Race there. The academy has plenty of internal missions for instructors."
"Instructor Ke Li has a few slots for students, too. He's looking for people familiar with the situation."
The martial academy had over a thousand Knight-level instructors, but with the situation in Suotu still unclear, four or five instructors generally had to travel together.
Alternatively, having a senior instructor lead the way would make things a little safer.
Students who went with them would certainly be errand-running laborers, but the upside was that their safety would be assured to some extent.
Under such circumstances, the people instructors were willing to take under their wing were their own students. Outsiders had a hard time getting such opportunities.
Ultimately, dangerous or not, the missions were currently only posted within the instructors' internal system. They clearly did not want outsiders reaping the benefits.
The female Knight said that the Mirage Sea Alliance had some connections with Ke Li and could bring him along.
(First update, celebrating Alliance Leader "The Uncle Who Sells Lollipops.")