Tie Ci leaned against the weapon rack, chewing on a grass root—threads of sweetness.

Just now in the crowd, there had been a girl with a slender waist and long legs whose profile as she turned reminded her of Feiyu.

Of course it wasn’t Feiyu—Feiyu was much more beautiful than her, but their shamelessness was comparable.

Thinking of Feiyu made her inexplicably irritated, yet she didn’t spit out the grass root. She closed her eyes and chewed the grass root even more slowly, including the upper part that had become somewhat bitter.

Commotion came from the entrance, but she didn’t open her eyes.

The commotion intensified, with vague exclamations from the women and what seemed like the sound of hooves, but she still didn’t open her eyes.

She had been learning archery and horsemanship since age three. She had no intention of hiding her skill, nor of showing off.

But the sound of hooves grew closer and closer, arriving nearby in an instant. Voices erupted all around as people surrounded her position.

Tie Ci had no choice but to open her eyes, whereupon a tall, magnificent black horse crashed into her field of vision like a mountain.

She looked up. From her angle, she could only see the dazzling sunlight slanting down from above and a pair of black boots in the saddle.

In the sunlight, a tall figure was vaguely outlined. He rode over like a gust of wind, and as he swept past her knees, he leaned down and scooped with one hand.

Black hair cascaded down, brushing her face with a faint scent of wood and leaves.

Tie Ci was still bewildered when her body suddenly felt light. In the next instant, daylight poured over her face, horse mane brushed against her, and with a thump, she was sitting in the saddle.

Behind her was the man’s warm chest. As the horse’s back rose and fell, through the light contact of skin, she could feel the fullness and elasticity of a young body.

The scent of wood and leaves grew stronger. From the corner of her eye, she could see shoulders full of satin-black hair. An arm reached around in front of her to control the reins, sleeves rolled up to the elbow, revealing powerfully lined forearms and long, strong fingers.

The exclamations and cries around them made Tie Ci’s ears ring.

Her first reaction was to use her waist strength to inconspicuously throw the person behind her off, but she heard him laugh and say, “Don’t move—I’m teaching you!”

Tie Ci realized this was the new archery instructor teaching horsemanship, and he had casually used her as a teaching tool. She immediately settled down and stopped moving, nodding as she said, “Please, feel free—your horsemanship is truly excellent!”

The person behind her chuckled low, a deep tone that seemed to roll from his chest. Tie Ci could feel the subtle vibration behind her and straightened her back slightly.

Below came the female students’ sighs of frustration.

Countless fiery gazes fixed on Tie Ci, wishing they could drag this brat down from the horse and stuff him under hooves as big as bowls.

But the man on horseback ignored those stares, running a circuit around the vast martial arts field at his own pace. The crowd surrounded the sides of the field, watching as the two figures’ black hair flew like banners, intertwining and unfurling. One slender, one tall—like pearls and jade complementing each other’s brilliance. Gradually they fell silent, inexplicably finding this scene pleasing to the eye, unable to generate any hostility.

The crowd gradually quieted. Tie Ci listened to the whooshing wind, the scent of wood and leaves floating around her. She usually disliked being too close to strange men, but at this moment her mind was peaceful. Hearing the rhythmic clip-clop of hooves, she smiled and said, “It seems we’ve gone around once. Shouldn’t you put me down now and let another student experience this?”

The person behind her seemed to turn his head slightly, saying lazily, “Have you learned it yet?”

“Learned it, learned it!”

“So quickly?” the person behind her said. “You have exceptional talent.”

Tie Ci wasn’t sure if he was praising or subtly mocking her, so she good-naturedly replied, “It’s all thanks to good teaching from the teacher.”

The person behind her laughed and said, “Ye Shiba, you’re from the capital, right? I heard you’re like a firecracker—explode at the slightest touch, even daring to contradict teachers and not give them face. Meeting you in person, you don’t seem like your reputation at all!”

“Sir, you speak incorrectly,” Tie Ci said seriously. “This student is the most gentle and soft-hearted person. I only speak up when I see injustice—it’s inevitable. But in my bones, I’m most respectful of teachers and their teachings. When I encounter difficulties, I merely consult with teachers. How could that be considered contradiction? Please don’t let those petty people spread false rumors and create misunderstandings about this student.”

The person behind her laughed, “Aren’t you contradicting me right now?”

Tie Ci: “Sir, you forcibly carried me up on your horse like a bandit, and I obediently accepted it. If this also counts as contradiction, then this student truly doesn’t know how to conduct herself!”

The person behind her made an “mm” sound, “From your tone, you’re not very happy about me teaching you to ride? How many people dream of this opportunity but can’t get it!”

“As a person, one must know how to share and not hoard everything for oneself,” Tie Ci said. “Although I’m extremely reluctant to part with this, I don’t want to incur the displeasure of my fellow students, so I must painfully tell you, sir—please let those people have their turn. I’m begging you.”

“No.” The person behind her tightened his grip around her waist. “I was originally planning to let you down after one circuit, but I can’t bear to see you in pain. Let’s go another round, shall we?”

Tie Ci fell silent, feeling she might need to defy yet another teacher.

After all, when you have many lice, you don’t feel the itching.

The person behind her suddenly gripped tighter and sighed, “Oh my, so slender.”

Tie Ci’s anger flared, and she was preparing to give him something harsh when the person behind her added, “I heard you made a bet with the entire academy—if you don’t get three ‘Excellent’ grades, you’ll drop out. So please don’t contradict me, your teacher, or I’ll give you a ‘Poor’ grade right away.”

Tie Ci was deeply amazed by his shamelessness, but one phrase surprised her even more: “Made a bet with the entire academy?”

“Mm, word of this has spread. And they’ve opened a betting pool. The odds… one to ten.”

Tie Ci laughed, unsurprised.

“Aren’t you going to ask whether I participated? Whether I bet on you winning or losing?”

“Naturally, you bet on me winning.”

Tie Ci spoke casually without thinking, but the other person actually laughed.

“Quite confident, aren’t you?”

“Really? Sir, you truly have such keen insight for recognizing talent?” Now Tie Ci was surprised and tried to turn around to get a clear look at this talented person. But the other person tightened his arm and laughed, “Whoa there, don’t rub against me.”

Tie Ci rolled her eyes.

She almost blurted out “I won’t go in.”

“Since I’ve shown you such tremendous support, shouldn’t you reciprocate?”

“I’d like to hear about this fraud.”

“Fraud?”

“The ‘fraud’ in extortion.”

The other person laughed again, each vibration of his chest seeming to announce his good mood. “It’s understandable that those little idiots at the academy don’t like you.”

“Hmm?”

“Can pigs understand human thoughts?”

“Don’t insult pigs.”

It was already the third circuit. Tie Ci looked around—if she didn’t get down soon, she’d be torn apart and devoured by those adorable little piglets.

“Well said. Let’s use our time to discuss how to slaughter pigs for meat instead. Because although the betting pool has opened, the scale isn’t big enough yet.”

“Your meaning?”

“I won’t give a quiz today, and you don’t need to demonstrate martial arts or archery today either. Let those adorable little piglets think your archery and horsemanship aren’t refined. Let them be happy for a few days.”

“Then you’ll take the opportunity to expand the betting pool and lure people to invest money?”

“Sigh, this brother has been short of cash lately and urgently needs money. Please help me out.”

The teacher had instantly become a brother.

“Bro, are you so certain I can win? What if I lose?”

“Brother, you don’t seem like a reckless man who would start a game without confidence. Are you? Because if you are, I’ll throw you down right now and give you a ‘Poor’ grade to send you on your way early.”

“…Alright.”

“Brother is truly a straightforward person…”

“Seventy-thirty split. I get seventy, you get thirty.”

“…I placed the bets, I win the money, and you get seventy? Why don’t you just rob a bank!”

“Without me, who would you bet on? Without my cooperation, you wouldn’t earn a penny!”

“You cooperate? Then if you don’t cooperate, you go lose!”

“If I lose, I lose. My head can be severed, my blood can flow, but my money cannot go out!”

“…Sixty-forty. I get sixty, you get forty.”

“You might as well put me down. When business doesn’t work out, friendship remains. Just write those two words ‘Poor’ nicely.”

“…Fifty-fifty, can’t go any lower!”

“Deal!”