The piercing scream caused everyone in the courtyard to suddenly change color. Before the sycophants could react, they felt a heavy kick to their faces. In an instant, they were dizzy and disoriented, each falling to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
The sudden turn of events left Ji Tongzhou stunned. Before he could react, he saw Lei Xiuyuan knock down one person with a kick, and in the blink of an eye, all his sycophants were kicked to the ground. He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but couldn’t utter a word.
The next moment, Lei Xiuyuan wiped his hands on his clothes and started walking towards him. Princess Lanya screamed in fright and shrank behind him, trembling.
Ji Tongzhou stood in front of her, finally finding his voice: “…What do you want to do?”
Lei Xiuyuan ignored him, brushing past him, apparently intending to return to his room as if nothing had happened.
Ji Tongzhou immediately became angry and shouted: “Stop! You hit people, and you think you can pretend nothing happened?!”
Lei Xiuyuan still ignored him. He couldn’t hold back anymore and stepped forward to grab Lei Xiuyuan’s clothes, pulling hard. Unexpectedly, Lei Xiuyuan blocked with one hand and kicked the back of his knee, causing him to lose balance and fall.
Princess Lanya cried out and ran over as if to support him. Suddenly, she felt her neck tighten as a hand grabbed her collar, and another hand grabbed her waist belt. She didn’t even have time to scream before she was thrown out of the courtyard like a cloud, landing hard on the ground, in too much pain to get up for a long time.
“Stop!” Ji Tongzhou struggled to get up from the ground and glared at him angrily. “Men fighting is one thing, but you drag a woman into it! Have you no shame?!”
Lei Xiuyuan glanced at him, wiping his hands on his clothes as if to wipe off something dirty: “You fight with Jiang Lifei, a girl, every day, and you talk about shame.”
Ji Tongzhou was immediately at a loss for words. In his heart, he had never really considered a male or female beggar as a girl. He steeled himself and angrily said: “What kind of woman is she? Go apologize to Lanya! Otherwise, I won’t let you off today!”
Lei Xiuyuan let out a low laugh that seemed contemptuous. This attitude completely enraged the proud young prince. Learning from his mistake, he no longer grabbed him from behind but quickly moved in front of him, raising his hand to grab him.
However, Lei Xiuyuan blocked again, and with a crisp “slap,” Ji Tongzhou felt his face go numb. He had been swiftly and decisively slapped.
This slap brought out all his arrogance and towering anger. Ji Tongzhou grabbed Lei Xiuyuan’s arm with lightning speed and punched him in the face.
Lei Xiuyuan seemed dazed by this punch, covering his face and looking at him with a gloomy expression. Ji Tongzhou sneered: “Will you apologize now?”
Before he could finish speaking, he was countered with a punch to the nose. He became furious and kicked out. The two children began exchanging blows, you punch me once, I kick you once. At first, there was some semblance of technique in their back-and-forth, but as the fight went on, it devolved into chaos.
Ji Tongzhou had long forgotten all the martial arts he had learned before. He just grabbed and clung to Lei Xiuyuan, not letting go no matter how the other tried to break free. Lei Xiuyuan, unable to shake him off and probably getting angry too, simply grappled with him. The courtyard was in complete disarray. They fought standing up, then against the wall, and finally ended up rolling and wrestling on the ground. The fight between these disciples of the prestigious Fledgling Phoenix Academy was no different from that of common ruffians in the outside world.
Ji Tongzhou had never suffered such a loss before, nor had he ever fought like this. At times he was consumed by rage, at others his blood boiled with excitement. Whether the boy opposite him was a beggar or some other kind of monster, he couldn’t think anymore. He only had one thought left in his mind: to beat Lei Xiuyuan to the ground. Princess Lanya, who had been caught in the crossfire, was long forgotten.
He couldn’t tell whether his fists landed on the other more or the other’s fists landed on him more. Lei Xiuyuan’s tenacity was beyond his expectations. Neither of them was willing to admit defeat, and they fought with increasing ferocity. There seemed to be some commotion in the courtyard, but neither of them noticed.
Suddenly, a cold female voice sounded above their heads: “It’s you two causing trouble again.”
Followed by a splash, a bucket of water was poured entirely over the two of them. Ji Tongzhou shuddered, and his spirit, which had been floating in the nine heavens, finally returned to the courtyard. Only then did he realize that his entire body ached, especially his face, which felt like the skin was about to split open. Lei Xiuyuan, who had been grappling with him, was no better off. His face was covered in blue and purple bruises, and blood from his mouth had flowed down to his neck. His gaze was cold and full of contempt like ice concealing a wicked fire. As soon as Ji Tongzhou saw this look in his eyes, he couldn’t help but want to throw another punch.
“Separate.” A hand inserted itself between the two, pushing and pulling, forcing the two children to involuntarily step back three paces each. Ji Tongzhou looked up, panting, and saw the black-veiled woman standing between them. Outside the courtyard, a crowd of children had gathered to watch the commotion.
The boy whose wrist Lei Xiuyuan had twisted earlier had already been helped up. His wrist was swollen high, like a purple carrot. Princess Lanya’s clothes were covered in mud, and she was sobbing with her head down. His sycophants all had nosebleeds and looked dejected… Suddenly, he saw Jiang Lifei. She was outside, watching him with wide eyes—humiliation and anger once again filled Ji Tongzhou’s body. He stubbornly raised his chin, as if unwilling to admit defeat.
“It’s only the third day at the academy, and you’ve already caused trouble twice,” the black-veiled woman’s voice was indifferent, showing no joy or sorrow. “Although you’re not involved with celestial arts or mystical techniques, and haven’t violated the disciples’ code of conduct, you still need to be punished. You two are forbidden from eating dinner tonight.”
“Hmph!” Ji Tongzhou glared fiercely at Lei Xiuyuan. At this moment, the person he despised most had changed from Jiang Lifei to this smelly beggar. Although he wanted nothing more than to continue fighting with him, the black-veiled woman would surely stop them again.
He wiped his bleeding mouth forcefully and strode back to his room. He kicked open the door in anger, entered, and slammed it shut with all his might, causing a large patch of dust to fall from the wall.
The black-veiled woman ignored him and first looked at the child with the swollen wrist, saying, “The bone isn’t broken, it’s just dislocated. Don’t worry.”
She lifted the child with one hand. A jet-black sword had materialized under her feet at some point. She continued, “Everyone, go back to your rooms. And you—” She looked at Lei Xiuyuan, “You shouldn’t have been so heavy-handed with your fellow disciples.”
Lei Xiuyuan showed a faint smile and said softly, “I understand.”
Although this child was smiling, his eyes were cold… The black-veiled woman silently flew away on her sword, and the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed.
Bai Ligelin was still in shock. She gently tugged at Li Fei’s clothes and whispered, “You… you live in the same courtyard as this kind of person… He must be a madman!”
Li Fei didn’t speak. Her current state of mind could no longer be described as merely shocked—it was more like her world had been turned upside down. Earlier, while eating with Bai Ligelin and the others on the northern island, they had only eaten half their meal when they heard that a fight had broken out at the disciples’ quarters. Children being naturally curious, everyone flew back. She had heard the commotion from afar and followed it, only to discover that Lei Xiuyuan and Ji Tongzhou were fighting.
Completely different from her impression of Lei Xiuyuan, the child fighting was like a fierce beast, expressionless, with cold eyes, his attacks both heavy and vicious. This scene made none of them dare to intervene, and even she felt a bit scared.
How could Lei Xiuyuan be like this? He should be cowardly and prone to crying. Even if he were beaten until his nose bled, crying out for “Big Sis,” it would be much easier for her to accept than this—although she didn’t admire the weak Lei Xiuyuan, it was better than this stranger.
She remembered Bai Changyu’s words, that Lei Xiuyuan was dangerous, that his every move was fake, and that she should be careful of him.
That shy and weak little boy who always stuck by her side was fake.
“Xiao Bang Chui, you sleep on Gelin’s side from now on,” Bai Changyu said calmly. “Stay away from him.”
Li Fei neither nodded nor shook her head. She watched Lei Xiuyuan’s figure, a mix of red and white, walk out of the courtyard. For some reason, she instinctively followed him. She didn’t notice what Gelin and the others were shouting behind her.
As if hearing her footsteps, Lei Xiuyuan stopped. He covered his face without turning back, only saying faintly, “…I’m very annoyed. If you have any accusations, find some free time to scold me for a day later.”
Li Fei tilted her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly spoke: “Xiuyuan, are we still friends?”
Lei Xiuyuan still didn’t turn around. His voice was soft and faint: “We were never friends.”
Li Fei frowned: “What do you mean?”
“You’re not deaf, don’t make me repeat myself.” He seemed to be getting impatient.
Li Fei was silent for a moment, then said, “Thank you for your concern last night.”
He laughed: “I wasn’t concerned about you. You’re so easily moved… You didn’t eat the candy? No wonder you were still so energetic this morning.”
Li Fei’s whole body shook. She remembered what Ri Yan had muttered, saying that eating this candy would only make one hungrier, and whoever gave her the candy surely had ill intentions. At the time, she hadn’t paid any attention, but now thinking back, she felt cold sweat all over—was he trying to harm her? Pretending to care while setting a trap? Was it a momentary prank? Or was there some hidden purpose? Why?
Her heart grew colder bit by bit. After a while, she suddenly spoke: “…What’s your purpose? Why?”
“No comment.” Lei Xiuyuan started walking slowly forward. Li Fei followed behind him, her voice slightly trembling: “Lei Xiuyuan! Don’t you think you owe me an explanation? I considered you a friend!”
This was the first time she had made friends in her almost eleven years of life. They had gone through the initial and secondary selections together, supporting and encouraging each other, entering the academy together. Although she didn’t know what it meant to “share joys and sorrows” as mentioned in plays, she cherished these friends very much. She wanted to share good things with them, and when they had difficulties, she wanted to help and share the burden—she didn’t want this pure memory to be tainted, and she was even more unwilling to believe that it was full of hypocrisy and malice.
He stopped again. This time, he finally turned around. His gaze was cold yet mocking: “You wanted to be friends with that disguised weakling because he could satisfy your sense of superiority and charity, right? Without this coward to make you look good, are you feeling uncomfortable?”
“What nonsense are you talking about!” Li Fei got angry. “How funny, so this is how you’ve been seeing me all along? If you have something you’re unhappy about, why not just say it openly and straightforwardly? Hiding in your heart and secretly setting traps for people, no one looks down on you for being weak, but they do look down on you for being hypocritical!”
Lei Xiuyuan sighed in annoyance: “What kind of person you are has nothing to do with me. I have no personal grudge against you. I’m just following someone’s…”
He suddenly stopped speaking, then quickly sighed again: “Alright, I’m already tired of this. Don’t bother me anymore.”
Li Fei silently watched his back. Suddenly, she spoke again: “Lei Xiuyuan, those things you told me during the secondary selection, and about Brother Lu, were they true?”
As he walked, he said faintly: “False.”
“…Have you ever said anything true since we’ve known each other?”
“You guess.”
Li Fei let out a cold laugh and couldn’t ask another word. She turned and left, her sleeves swishing.