After the men retreated to the open road, they withdrew off to the side, clearly unwilling to come into conflict with Shrek Academy.
Tang Ya's gaze had remained fixed on Bei Bei. Bei Bei turned back to look at her, and when their eyes met, he felt a tug at his heartstrings.
In the shadows nearby, Mu Yueye smiled, then said in a low voice,
"All right, there's nothing more for us to do here. Let's go."
Mu Yueye spoke calmly, but Yan Shaozhe, who stood beside him, asked,
"We're just leaving? What about Bei Bei and Tang Ya?"
Mu Yueye fell silent for a moment, then turned to look at Xuan Zi, who was tearing into a chicken leg nearby.
Xuan Zi paused, swallowed the chicken in his mouth, and asked,
"What is it?"
Mu Yueye said,
"Old geezer Xuan, I'm leaving my little brother to you."
Xuan Zi paid no mind to Mu Yueye's disrespect. He merely scratched his head and said,
"You want me to wait? I'm not responsible for admissions. I haven't gone through those procedures in years, so I can't make heads or tails of them."
Yan Shaozhe smiled, then said to Xuan Zi,
"Rest assured, Elder Xuan. The recommendation letter I gave Bei Bei is the genuine article, and it's in the format for a Tang Sect recommendation. I've already spoken to the people at the admissions office. You don't need to show yourself; just protect Bei Bei from the shadows."
Only then did Xuan Zi nod. He went on to say,
"In that case, I know what to do."
Mu Yueye looked at Xuan Zi and said, half joking and half serious,
"Please don't let your guard down this time. He's my brother, and nothing can happen to him. Otherwise, we'll have lost the whole game."
Xuan Zi nodded, though Mu Yueye's words barely stirred him. He stroked his greasy beard and said,
"Don't worry. No matter how lacking my strength is, I can still escort two children without any trouble."
Hard to say, Mu Yueye thought, though he showed no emotion on his face. Before leaving, he warned Xuan Zi a second time to keep a close eye on Bei Bei.
Fortunately, Xuan Zi did well enough this time. Against all expectations, nothing went wrong, and the journey passed without incident.
After Tang Ya's enrollment formalities were completed, the days passed peacefully for a while.
On the morning three days later, Bei Bei crouched by the shore of Sea God Lake, looking at Mu Yueye with a somewhat ingratiating expression.
"Brother, give me an answer."
As Mu Yueye washed his armpits with water from Sea God Lake, he said to Bei Bei,
"Would you stop pestering me? I've already made myself perfectly clear. Whether for the greater good or for personal reasons, with your circumstances, going to the outer court for a stint? What a joke."
Bei Bei could only say with an awkward smile,
"Just come with me. You don't even have to say anything."
Mu Yueye dried himself off and said,
"You're imagining things. If you had me go with you to talk about it, it would only have the opposite effect. Great-great-grandfather would be even more opposed to you going to the outer court."
"Why?" Bei Bei's tone carried a hint of confusion. Mu Yueye simply said calmly,
"Because he'd be afraid I had similar ideas, and that both of us would end up wasting our time in the outer court."
In theory, or rather, according to the rules on paper, the inner and outer courts had equal teaching staff and resources.
In practice, though, everyone knew that was impossible. Even setting aside those who depended entirely on chance, the people in control of inner court resources who genuinely had something to offer and didn't want to be disturbed frequently naturally charged astronomical sums.
Everyone understood that.
So it was easy to imagine how much Mu En would bristle and glare if he learned that Bei Bei planned to drag Mu Yueye along to talk about entering the outer court.
He might even bring out the family discipline to knock some sense into the two brothers. Mu Yueye wasn't going to join in the foolishness.
At this stage, an arm couldn't twist a thigh. If they had an idea, they could follow the proper procedures and discuss it. If they couldn't talk him around, they could wait until the day they could.
Mu Yueye understood that a matter handled slowly could work itself out.
Just after Mu Yueye came out of the water and changed his clothes, Zhang Lexuan's voice reached him, drawing closer.
Mu Yueye looked up and saw Zhang Lexuan running toward him, shouting as she ran,
"Xiao Ye! Elder Mu is looking for you!"
When Bei Bei saw Zhang Lexuan approaching, he tactfully stopped pestering Mu Yueye and quietly stepped aside.
Zhang Lexuan went straight past Bei Bei and said to Mu Yueye,
"Elder Mu is looking for you. He wants you to hurry over."
Mu Yueye instinctively looked at Bei Bei. Seeing his innocent, bewildered expression, he nodded and said to Zhang Lexuan,
"I'm coming. Lead the way, Sister Lexuan."
Zhang Lexuan nodded, then led Mu Yueye deep into the Sea God Pavilion.
In a quiet room beneath the Sea God Pavilion's tree, Mu Yueye took a deep breath, feeling the life force so dense it had nearly taken physical form.
Mu En, too, seemed to have returned to the way he had been several years ago, hale and hearty, without a trace of decline.
"Great-great-grandfather, you wanted to see me?"
Mu Yueye stepped forward and looked at Mu En, his tone mild and a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
Mu En stroked his beard and smiled at Mu Yueye.
"I've heard about that little girl Tang Ya. You handled it well."
Mu Yueye lowered his head slightly, then said,
"I merely borrowed the academy's reputation. It was all thanks to the academy's efforts."
Mu En smiled and looked Mu Yueye over as he said,
"Good. Neither arrogant nor impatient-you have the bearing of an expert."
Mu Yueye smiled along, unsure what Mu En intended to do. Then Mu En raised a hand, and a flash of light passed. Mu En placed a box wrapped in red velvet on the table.
"Great-great-grandfather, what is this?"
Mu En spoke slowly.
"This is one of the three inherited Soul Bones of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, once one of the Upper Three Sects. When disaster befell the clan, its sect master at the time was killed on the spot, and the people of Spirit Hall dug out his Soul Bone."
Mu En paused there and slowly pulled back the red velvet as he continued,
"Later, Spirit Hall fell, but the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had scattered as well. These Soul Bones were obtained by three separate branches. The one before you is the only External Soul Bone among them."
As the red velvet came all the way off, two slender bones appeared before Mu Yueye, joined only at their ends by thin lengths of bone.
The Soul Bone's color was peculiar. The left side was gold, while the right was a deep black, like a bone that had been poisoned.
At the connections at the top and bottom, gold and black intertwined.
As a whole, the Soul Bone looked like a mask.
Mu Yueye looked up at Mu En, who said,
"This Soul Bone is extremely particular about compatibility. Only those with pure lightning, light, or darkness can master it. My light bloodline fell a little short, and I couldn't control it back then, so I could only let it lie dormant. It was the same for your parents, but unexpectedly, when it came to you, you gave me hope again..."