The irresponsible teacher Hu Jiaping continued to nap under a tree shade, completely unconcerned about the children’s cultivation progress.
Today’s situation was much better than yesterday. Nearly half of the children could slowly fly around the entire Chu Feng Academy. Those who could fly far had all gone off to play elsewhere. Bai Lige Lin was still gritting her teeth, flying crookedly above the disciples’ quarters, less stable than yesterday.
“It’s infuriating!” She simply jumped off her sword and sat on the ground. “I can’t concentrate at all, it’s all because of that Lei Xiu Yuan!”
Ye Ye absent-mindedly hovered on his sword above her head, looking around.
“Ye Ye, what are you looking at? Come down and talk to me!” Bai Lige Lin tugged at his clothes.
Ye Ye shook his head with a sigh: “Your most important task right now isn’t to worry about him but to quickly master sword flying. Do you want to spend money on meals every day?”
Bai Lige Lin’s face darkened, answering irrelevantly: “I never realized he was so treacherous before! I thought he was a gentle, good person!”
Ye Ye pondered: “When I first met him, I noticed his extraordinary talent. I just wondered why someone with such talent would be so weak. I thought perhaps it was just his personality…”
Bai Lige Lin was silent for a moment, then said: “So, he’s also from Gaul. If my sister hadn’t just told me, I wouldn’t have noticed at all. He doesn’t have any accent.”
“Ah,” Ye Ye nodded, “Chang Yue once told me she suspected he might be the child of Minister Lei from the Ministry of Rites… If so, he should have recognized me, but he never said anything. Thinking carefully, there are too many suspicious and inconsistent things about him.”
Bai Lige Lin gritted her teeth: “He’s such a good actor! Pretending to be so pitiful and weak! It’s hateful!”
Seeing Ye Ye constantly looking around distractedly, she asked curiously: “What’s wrong with you? What are you looking at?”
Ye Ye smiled sheepishly: “I don’t know where Chang Yue went. She was here just now.”
Bai Lige Lin rolled her eyes at him: “You only care about my sister!”
The library tower of Chu Feng Academy was on the highest floating island. Most disciples couldn’t fly there yet, so the island was empty except for a few cranes leisurely circling the lotus pond in front of the tower. The white lotuses in the pond were in full bloom, their pure white petals swaying gently in the wind.
Bai Chang Yue flew up to the floating island on her sword. As soon as she landed, she saw the young man leaning on the white stone railing, looking at the flowers. She stepped forward, about to speak, but he spoke first: “Have you come to reprimand me?”
Bai Chang Yue said calmly: “So you know you’re guilty… Why did you suddenly stop pretending?”
Lei Xiu Yuan chuckled softly: “Although I’m not sure how you saw through me, since you’ve already figured it out, there’s no fun in it anymore. Besides, I was getting bored of it anyway.”
“Bored of it?” Bai Chang Yue pondered for a moment. “I have something to ask you.”
“Oh?”
Bai Chang Yue stared at him: “Lei Xiu Yuan, you’re from Gaul, and you’re Minister Lei’s child, right?”
He made a sound like a laugh through his nose: “Are you guessing? Or did Jiang Li Fei tell you?”
“Half is a guess, and half is because I have an impression of you. Before Gaul fell, I should have seen you once.”
He didn’t speak, as if confirming it.
“You recognized Ye Ye from the beginning,” Bai Chang Yue added.
Lei Xiu Yuan’s voice was indifferent: “Yes, I recognized him as the Third Prince of Gaul from the start. So what?”
“Until a year ago, Ye Ye was still being hunted by Wu Gou’s people. Minister Lei is a righteous man who hates evil. His child shouldn’t leave a stain on his name.”
Lei Xiu Yuan glanced at her: “You’re quite good at insinuating… Suspecting me of working for Wu Gou? I’m not interested in your affairs. The world isn’t just about Wu Gou and Gaul.”
Bai Chang Yue was silent for a moment, then said: “When I first met you, I noticed something was off. When you were beaten and crying as if you were about to die, your heartbeat remained calm. You weren’t afraid at all. You were pretending.”
Lei Xiu Yuan finally seemed to show some interest, smiling faintly: “Oh? Your hearing seems very keen. No wonder you noticed.”
“Yes,” she stared at him, “Many times when you were crying, your heartbeat was very calm. I thought I was overthinking it, but the day before yesterday in Xiao Bang Chui’s courtyard, I heard you provoke the Young Prince. You did it on purpose. Why? You’re so capable, why did you need Xiao Bang Chui to stand up for you? She’s just a girl, why did you involve her?”
Lei Xiu Yuan plucked the stamen from a lotus and threw it into the pond, sneering: “Why should I answer?”
“Because she considers you a true friend. You deceived her.”
He suddenly shook his head, throwing all the stamens in his hand into the lotus pond, and said indifferently: “I’m tired of this. You can leave now.”
Bai Chang Yue silently looked at him for a while, then said softly: “Behaving like this… you’ll regret it in the future. You won’t gain any true friendship.”
She flew back to the disciples’ quarters on her sword. From afar, she saw Bai Lige Lin wobbling on her sword above the quarters, with Ye Ye and Li Fei guarding her on either side.
“Sister!” Bai Lige Lin looked up and suddenly saw her. As soon as she spoke, her spiritual energy dissipated, and the stone sword could no longer hover. It fell straight down, but fortunately, Li Fei pulled her, preventing her from falling flat on her face.
“Where did you go? Ye Ye was worried sick!” She teased deliberately, pushing Ye Ye in front of Bai Chang Yue. “Alright, she’s here now. You should have seen how distracted you were earlier!”
“Mischievous girl.” Ye Ye unhappily tapped her head, looking at Bai Chang Yue with slight concern. “Did you go to find Xiu Yuan just now?”
Bai Chang Yue nodded: “Yes, he knows everything, but it seems he has no connection with Wu Gou.”
“Stop mentioning that guy!” Bai Lige Lin was still resentful. “I’m so angry I still can’t fly!”
Ye Ye frowned: “Your inability to fly has nothing to do with Xiu Yuan. It’s because you’re not focused.”
Li Fei, hearing them mention Lei Xiu Yuan and then Wu Gou, asked curiously: “What are you talking about? What’s wrong with Xiu Yuan?”
Bai Chang Yue thought for a moment and said: “It’s good to tell you too. Simply put, we once suspected Lei Xiu Yuan might have connections with Wu Gou.”
Li Fei was startled: “No way!”
“Ge Lin and I are daughters of the Bai noble family from Gaul. We’ve practiced dance since childhood. After the Bai family was wiped out by Wu Gou, I escaped with Ge Lin, and we made a living by performing everywhere. Ye Ye is the Third Prince of Gaul. After Gaul fell, he was constantly hunted by Wu Gou’s people until he met us a year ago. The three of us supported each other, evading Wu Gou’s pursuit, heading east, and finally reaching the borders of Yue, where we were temporarily safe. Coincidentally, Chu Feng Academy was about to start its initial selection then, so we three arrived at Lu Gong Town. This was before we met you and Lei Xiu Yuan.”
Li Fei was shocked again: “Ye Ye is a prince?!”
She couldn’t help but look at Ye Ye. Although she had always felt he had an extraordinary demeanor, she never imagined he would be a prince. Wasn’t that similar to Ji Tongzhou? Both were from royal families, yet they were worlds apart!
Ye Ye smiled bitterly: “I’m no longer a prince. Gaul fell when I was only seven. To escape, I even changed my name. Back then, Wu Gou had long coveted Gaul, and Gaul was on guard. Unfortunately, no child with spiritual roots had been discovered in the royal family until I was born. But it was too late. Before I could become an immortal, Gaul had already fallen. A seven-year-old child, even with spiritual roots and excellent talent, was no match for over a hundred military generals, let alone with immortals on their side. Among those hunting me were disciples from immortal sects. I almost died at their hands.”
“They kept hunting you because you have spiritual roots?” Li Fei felt that although he spoke lightly, it sounded terrifying. Fleeing from the age of seven, for a full four years—what kind of hellish life was that?
Ye Ye nodded: “To eliminate the root of the problem. Wu Gou relied on Zong Quan, the new elder of Dragon Seat Five Zhang Mountain. Once the royal family had an immortal who could become a high-ranking member of an immortal sect, it would be a time for us to hold our heads high. Chang Yue, her sister, and I went through countless hardships to reach Chu Feng Academy, all to become immortals. I’ve long given up on restoring the country, but Zong Quan must be eliminated.”
This was the first time the three of them had told her about their past, which concealed so many secrets and so much bloodshed. Li Fei suddenly realized that by telling her these things, they truly considered her a trusted friend, a confidant they could entrust their lives to.
Her heart warmed, and she said softly: “I’ll help too.”
Bai Lige Lin held her hand, smiling: “We’ll talk about helping later. We’ve just entered the academy! In a year, when the major sects come to select new disciples, entering an official immortal sect will be our first real step.”
She sighed: “Right now, mastering sword flying is indeed the most urgent matter.”
Ye Ye flicked her forehead: “Finally understood? Get on your sword and continue practicing.”
He led Bai Lige Lin away to continue practicing sword flying. Li Fei noticed Bai Chang Yue seemed to have more to say, so she asked: “Chang Yue, what does all this have to do with Xiu Yuan?”
Bai Chang Yue looked at her and said softly: “Xiao Bang Chui, Lei Xiu Yuan is a very dangerous person. You’d better stay away from him.”
Dangerous? Lei Xiu Yuan? Li Fei was so surprised she laughed: “Why would you say that?”
“He has extraordinary potential, probably ranking first among this year’s Chu Feng Academy disciples. I once suspected he might be involved with Wu Gou, but now I’m certain they have no connection. However, this child gives me a very bad feeling. Every word and action seems fake, and his intentions are unclear. You should be careful.”
Bai Chang Yue rarely spoke so much, and her expression didn’t look like she was joking. Moreover, her personality probably didn’t even know what a joke was.
Li Fei fell into silence.
Thinking back, she realized she had never really thought deeply about Lei Xiu Yuan. He appeared weak and incompetent, and his performance in the second selection was mediocre. But the Black Veil Lady had also said that this year’s second selection was the most difficult in history, and the eighteen selected disciples were all outstanding. Leaving herself aside, Ye Ye and his two companions, Ji Tongzhou and the Princess, and the other children she wasn’t yet familiar with—which one of them lacked pride? Even Ji Tongzhou’s lackeys were usually very arrogant.
A person should know their abilities best. With spiritual roots stronger than ordinary people and great potential, one who has looked down on others since childhood shouldn’t be weak.
Why was Lei Xiu Yuan so different? None of them had even noticed anything unusual about him. From the moment they met, he had always appeared as a weak figure, only crying when faced with problems, hiding behind her and calling her “Big Sis,” making them overlook the fact that he had passed both the initial and second selections.
She suddenly remembered the few small demons killed by Lei Xiu Yuan during the second selection. Each one died swiftly and decisively, showing how cold-hearted and merciless the killer was. Afterward, he had sat on the ground, crying loudly, causing her to hear and go to him… Could it be that he had discovered her early on and deliberately made noise to draw her over?
The more Li Fei thought about it, the more alarmed she became. All the inconsistencies about Lei Xiu Yuan that she had never deeply considered before now surfaced one by one.
Was he pretending? Why?
She didn’t quite dare to believe it, nor did she want to believe it.
“However, I think he probably won’t be close to you or me in the future. Perhaps I’m overthinking it, but you’d better be aware.”
After Bai Chang Yue finished speaking, she flew away on her sword, leaving Li Fei standing there in a daze, recalling every detail since meeting Lei Xiu Yuan, feeling a sense of shock and unease.