Having just come from a world outside the city where clothes barely covered the body and food barely filled the stomach, into this dazzling, luxurious world within the walls, Li Diudiu still felt like he was dreaming.

Whenever the dream ended, he’d open his eyes and find Master standing before him, pulling the straw from his hair, asking if he was hungry.

If not hungry, good. If hungry, bear with it.

Walking the academy’s paths, watching the students come and go, Li Diudiu still didn’t feel like he’d become part of this world.

The classroom for the four of them sat right beside a small lake, with a stretch of woods along the shore and the classroom just in front of the trees.

When Li Diudiu arrived, he found he was the last one there. Zhang Xiaolin and Sun Rugong had deliberately come early to the dining hall to humiliate him, but the sight of Liu Shengying—who still looked like he hadn’t quite left his mother’s arms—arriving so early too was somewhat unexpected.

The four of them had clearly split into three camps. Zhang Xiaolin and Sun Rugong stood together chatting, occasionally glancing at Li Diudiu with obvious disdain, murmuring to each other about something—Li Diudiu figured it was nothing good.

Liu Shengying stood timidly alone by the door, glancing back and forth between Li Diudiu and Zhang Xiaolin’s group, unsure which side to choose, looking utterly wronged, as if he were the one being bullied by the other three.

They stood like that for a good while until it was nearly time for class, when instructor Yan Qingzhi finally arrived, carrying a few books. Seeing him approach, all four bowed at once.

Yan Qingzhi looked them over and tossed a set of keys to Li Diudiu. “From now on, you’re to arrive first every day. The task of unlocking the door falls to you. Before I arrive, have hot water ready—I want to make tea.”

Li Diudiu caught the keys and said nothing.

Being handed these keys meant not just being first to arrive every day, but last to leave as well.

He opened the classroom door and went inside. Yan Qingzhi sat down in the rattan chair, crossing one leg over the other in a way that hardly suited an instructor—the kind of posture that respectable people would look down on as coarse and ill-mannered. By rights, a teacher at the academy shouldn’t sit like that.

There were plenty of desks and chairs in the room, and the four of them were free to sit wherever they liked. Zhang Xiaolin and Sun Rugong sat together in the front row; Li Diudiu also sat in the front row, but chose a seat by the window on the side.

Liu Shengying stood there looking around for a long while, his eyes growing redder and redder, as if even choosing a seat were too much for him. In the end he sat down alone in the second row, looking thoroughly miserable.

“Are you afraid of me?”

Yan Qingzhi glanced at Liu Shengying. “Why sit so far away!”

Liu Shengying burst into tears.

Yan Qingzhi frowned. He’d meant to say more, but reconsidered—why waste his breath on a child like this.

“As is customary at Siye Academy, the first lesson won’t cover anything academic. Instead, it’ll be about character.”

Yan Qingzhi sat down in his chair and rapped his teaching cane against the desk. “Li Chi, go fetch water.”

Li Diudiu froze.

He stood up and asked, “Sir, aren’t we about to start the lesson?”

“That has nothing to do with you.”

Yan Qingzhi’s tone was flat, but every word carried an edge like a hidden blade. “The poor can have character, though character does them little good. Still, the poor have no need to sit through a lesson on it—among the poor, having good character won’t earn you respect, only cost you. Among the rich, whether you have good character or not makes no difference at all, because you aren’t one of them.”

Li Diudiu held back his anger. Ever since his first day at the academy, this self-proclaimed first-rank instructor had kept calling him poor over and over.

Li Diudiu stood there staring at Yan Qingzhi for a long while, and Yan Qingzhi stared back, then asked, “Do you have something to ask? Want to ask why the poor don’t deserve good character?”

Li Diudiu let out a slow breath and shook his head. “I want to ask you, sir, where the water room is.”

Something narrowed in Yan Qingzhi’s eyes—he hadn’t expected Li Diudiu to stay so composed even now, so he answered curtly, “Find it yourself.”

Zhang Xiaolin and Sun Rugong both laughed at the same moment—the very thing they’d been whispering about earlier was exactly this.

That evening after Zhang Xiaolin had been beaten, his family had gone to visit instructor Yan Qingzhi and presented him with a great many gifts, begging him to drive Li Diudiu out of the academy. Though the Zhang family held some influence, the academy had its own rules—even an instructor couldn’t simply expel a student who hadn’t broken any rule. The only way was to force Li Diudiu to leave on his own.

Zhang Xiaolin lowered his voice, speaking into Sun Rugong’s ear. “See, just like I said—the instructor won’t give him any favor. Keep this up and it won’t be long before that wretch leaves on his own. This academy was never meant for people like him anyway—a toad…”

Sun Rugong nodded with a smile. “You’re right. But look at him, taking it all like a dead pig unafraid of scalding water—clearly he’s not planning on leaving, and he’s even trying to curry favor with the instructor. Why don’t we…”

He leaned in close to Zhang Xiaolin’s ear. “Why don’t you tell the instructor after class that you’d like him to come to the woods by the lake for something urgent. Last time he beat you, that was the headmaster testing your martial skills on purpose—this time will be different…”

He smiled and continued, “The academy has a rule—students who fight, for any reason, get expelled. It’s considered a disgrace to the academy’s standing. In a bit, once you’re fighting Li Chi in the woods and you see the instructor coming, pretend to be at a disadvantage and let him land a few hits. The instructor’s taken your family’s gifts—he won’t do anything to you over it.”

Zhang Xiaolin was full of admiration at once—Sun Rugong really was a good friend, and this plan was excellent.

Li Diudiu picked up the water kettle and walked out of the classroom. Glancing back, he saw Yan Qingzhi sitting there with his legs crossed, lazily going on about something—probably just going through the motions. That man didn’t look anything like a first-rank instructor.

Yesterday Li Diudiu had already learned where the water room was. In fact, back in the classroom when Yan Qingzhi had humiliated him, he’d genuinely wanted to stand up and challenge him—but in that instant he’d suddenly thought of his master, who had fought tooth and nail to get him into this academy and told him not to cause trouble. So he’d held back.

At the water room he fetched hot water and carried the kettle back. The rattan kettle was something of a small luxury for an ordinary family—it kept the water warm, though not for very long.

For an ordinary family in these times, every copper coin saved was one not spent.

He brought the water back, only to find Yan Qingzhi already coming out of the classroom, arms full of books. He glanced at Li Diudiu. “What took you so long? I’ve already finished my lesson, and you’re only now bringing the water back. Run there and back next time.”

Li Diudiu took a deep breath and nodded. “This student will remember.”

“Don’t call yourself a student. You’re not one yet.”

Yan Qingzhi said this and walked on ahead. Li Diudiu looked down at the kettle in his hand and asked, “Aren’t you going to make tea, sir?”

Without turning around, Yan Qingzhi said, “I’m afraid tea made with water you fetched will be tainted with your poverty. Consider this first kettle a wash for yourself. Leave it there.”

With that, he walked off.

Li Diudiu, only eleven years old, stood there feeling helpless and furious all at once. He truly wanted to smash the kettle and walk away, but he suddenly remembered the look in Yan Qingzhi’s eyes just now—the man had been waiting for him to lose his temper.

Just then Zhang Xiaolin came out of the classroom, glanced at Li Diudiu, and said with a laugh, “Oh, does poor water taste good?”

Li Diudiu took another deep breath and held back.

He carried the kettle back into the classroom. Sun Rugong said to him with a smile, “Come sit and study. The instructor said to review on our own. You didn’t hear what he taught just now—want me to teach you?”

Li Diudiu glanced at him and shook his head. “Thanks, no need.”

Liu Shengying opened his mouth to say he could teach him too, but seeing the look on Sun Rugong’s face, lowered his head and said nothing.

Zhang Xiaolin chased after Yan Qingzhi to tell him to meet him at the lakeside woods later. He’d already planned his excuse—first he’d only mention something important, and then, once they were in the woods and Yan Qingzhi had seen Li Chi hit him, he’d claim he only wanted to thank the instructor for helping him get even, and worried that others might see and it would reflect badly on the instructor, so he’d asked to meet in the woods instead.

Everything was planned. All that was left was for Li Diudiu to take the bait.

Li Diudiu sat down and opened the textbook the academy had given him. He’d already read through much of it the night before—the material was simple; Master had already taught him all of this by the time he was five. It looked entirely unremarkable to him.

About a few dozen yards from the classroom, on the low wall bordering the garden, Gao Xining sat watching, her small face pale with anger. She was angry at Yan Qingzhi for bullying someone, and angry too that Li Diudiu showed not the slightest bit of temper.

But then it occurred to her—if Li Diudiu lost his temper at the instructor, that would give Yan Qingzhi exactly the excuse he needed to expel him.

“Is he really that timid, or did he think of that too?” Gao Xining muttered to herself.

About a quarter hour later Zhang Xiaolin came running back, sat down beside Sun Rugong, and made a gesture of success. Sun Rugong grinned back at him.

“I told the instructor. We agreed to meet in the woods after class today.”

Zhang Xiaolin looked thoroughly pleased with himself.

More than half an hour later, Yan Qingzhi returned, sat down, glanced at the kettle on the floor beside him, and pointed. “Li Diudiu, the water’s gone cold. Go fetch another kettle.”

Li Diudiu stood. “Yes.”

Yan Qingzhi’s eyes narrowed again. He wondered—was this child naturally timid and obedient, or was he simply very good at enduring things? Either way, it was clear Li Chi wasn’t going to talk back to him in public, and Yan Qingzhi found that rather dull.

Li Diudiu fetched water a second time, made tea for Yan Qingzhi, then returned to his seat to listen to the lesson. Yan Qingzhi was teaching mathematics, one of the academy’s core subjects, though most students disliked it because it was tedious.

Li Diudiu took careful notes. Before he’d even finished writing, Yan Qingzhi suddenly stood and strode over, his face dark with anger. “I never said any of you could take notes. Are you planning to take my teaching outside the academy to show off? Or are you so poor you want to sell your notes for money?”

This time Li Diudiu truly nearly lost control.

Yan Qingzhi picked up his notes, glanced at them, and something shifted in his eyes. A moment later he tore the page to pieces and flung them aside. “Clean this up after class. One more mistake and I’ll have you expelled.”

Li Diudiu took several deep breaths in a row.

“Yes.”

He gave the single-word reply and sat back down, but Yan Qingzhi frowned. “Who told you to sit? Stand there—stand until class ends for the day.”

Li Diudiu’s fists clenched tight, veins standing out on his small hands.

Before his anger could break loose, a clod of dirt suddenly flew in from outside, striking Yan Qingzhi square on the forehead with startling precision. The clod shattered, coating his face in dirt.

“Who did that!”

Yan Qingzhi roared, turning to look outside, but there was no one in sight.

Behind the garden wall, Gao Xining crouched with her heart pounding—she really had been furious enough to grab a clod of dirt and hurl it, and to her own surprise, her aim had been dead-on.

“Hmph…”

Gao Xining crouched there, giving a small, satisfied snort.

“That’s for bullying people!”

…

…