“All right then!” The two old men nodded at the same time. They had been friends for many years after all. While they had previously argued quite vigorously, neither wanted to damage the harmony between them, so this was an appropriate solution to the problem.
“Here, this is the plaque for my Alchemy Department. Just hold onto this, and you’d be able to freely enter the Alchemy Department,” Wu Song Lin handed an iron plaque over to Ling Han.
“Old Man Wu, this brat just arrived to the Academy to report today, so I’m going to take him to the Martial Arts Department to register first, then make arrangements for his accommodation,” Lian Guang Zu said tugging on Ling Han, and left quickly.
Lian Guang Zu dragged Ling Han off for a very considerable distance before finally stopping, when he asked the teacher in charge of enrollment, “Why had you let this brat run off to Old Man Wu’s?”
The teacher felt very wronged. How could he have known that Ling Han loved to run around so much? He had just barely been gone for a while, and when he returned, Ling Han had disappeared. Yet he dared not argue with the Headmaster, and could only lower his head humbly and admit his fault. Thankfully, Lian Guang Zu only wanted to vent some of his displeasure, and was not really blaming him.
“Good brat, ah, he had defeated Qi Yong Ye at the mere level of fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier. He should have about twelve Battle Stars, a whole eight Stars more than what he should have at his current cultivation level. Not even that brat, Can Ye, would be able to match this kind of talent!” Lian Guang Zu murmured, his eyes bright. “Such a genius of martial arts, how could he waste his time on concocting alchemical pills.”
If these words were heard by Wu Song Lin, based on his understanding of Lian Guang Zu, he’d definitely be able to guess that the latter had come up with a wicked idea.
“You arrange for him to stay in a more remote location… also, arrange for him to be taught by a teacher that has no disciples—you must not let Old Man Wu find him!”
He was indeed two-faced! [ED/N: Literally black-bellied :3 ]
The teacher in charge of enrollment could not help sweating, and nodded hesitatingly. This was the Headmaster, so he definitely had to obey his words. But Wu Song Lin was also the Headmaster of the Alchemy Department, plus he was also a Black Grade high level alchemist. In Rain Country, his status was more or less right below the Emperor of Rain Country. If Wu Song Lin really intended to rebuke him, would he able to withstand the consequences?
Lian Guang Zu of course understood the possible consequences, and so he said, “After you’re done with this, take a vacation for half a year. You will still be paid your monthly salary during your vacation.”
The teacher in charge of enrollment heard this, and was instantly delighted. This not only allowed him to lie low until Wu Song Lin calmed down, he could even be paid without working at all. This was naturally the best option for him.
“Which teacher would be the best?” After Lian Guang Zu had left, the teacher in charge of enrollment thought furiously. “Ah, I’ve got it!” He smiled, “Old Mo!”
“Old Mo?” Ling Han was carrying Hu Niu with one arm, while his other hand was holding onto a light bundle that only contained a few changes of clothing.
The teacher in charge of enrollment said, “Old Mo’s real name is Mo Gao. He also used to be a genius of our Martial Arts Department, but later on, it was as if he had been possessed. He actually proclaimed that he wanted to create the ultimate sword arts technique in this world. The result was that his cultivation level stagnated and he did not advance any further. If it was not for the fact that the Headmaster sympathized with his talent and took him in as a teacher at the Academy…. ai!
But in any case, the Headmaster intends to teach you personally, so you do not have to concern yourself with Old Mo’s cultivation level.”
Ling Han was led by the teacher to an extremely remote location. There were only a bare few courtyards here, and they were all in shambles. The wild grass by the side of the pathway had already reached the height of his waist, so it was likely that no one had lived here for a very long time.
“Peng, peng, peng,” the teacher stepped forward to knock on the door.
After quite some time, a voice finally came from within, and said, “Who is it?”
“Old Mo, it’s me!” The teacher said. From the looks of it, the two of them were quite familiar with each other.
The door opened, and out walked a medium-sized man. He should have been less than forty years old, but his whole face was covered with a beard and he looked extremely disheveled—as he had not trimmed it in any way, it simply grew as it liked; thus, appearance-wise, he appeared like a man who was in his sixties or seventies.
“What is it? If there’s nothing important, I have to go practice my sword techniques!” The man said. He was obviously Mo Gao.
“I’m here to deliver a student to you!” The teacher pointed at Ling Han, and said, “His name is Ling Han! All right, I’ve delivered him successfully to you, so I’ll take my leave!”
It was as if a fire had been lit under his behind. He immediately ran off, terrified that he would encounter Wu Song Lin. In that case, he’d really be trapped between a rock and a hard place.
Ling Han stared at Mo Gao, and Mo Gao also stared back at Ling Han. For a moment, neither of them opened their mouths to speak.
After a while, Mo Gao finally nodded, and said, “Since I’m a teacher here, I can’t really decline an assignment given to me by the Academy. In the future, you can just follow me to practice sword techniques.”
“All right!” Ling Han was indifferent.
“The few courtyards nearby are all empty. Just pick any which one to stay in!” Mo Gao turned back round and returned to where he had come from. “I’ll just leave this door open, and you can come in whenever you like. But it is strictly forbidden to disturb me when I’m practicing my sword techniques.”
Ling Han shrugged, and together with Hu Niu, went off in search of an appropriate place of accommodation.
The courtyards here were all in shambles, with dust coating every surface. He chose a slightly better courtyard, and began a cleaning campaign. The courtyard had to be habitable, right?
Hu Niu too tried to give a hand, but naturally, she was more of a hindrance than of help. With a flop, bits of dust flew all around in the air and her small face was transformed into the face of a little floret cat, causing Ling Han to laugh loudly in spite of himself.
After busying themselves for over half a day, they had at least managed to completely tidy up a single room. Ling Han did not go immediately to seek out Liu Yu Tong, and trusted that she would take good care of Ling Zi Xuan.
“Anyone here?” A voice was heard from the doorway. Ling Han walked over to take a look, and there stood a young boy in his teens, who was pushing a small cart. There was a sack of rice, some meat, and vegetables on the cart.
“Meat! Meat! Meat!” Hu Niu’s eyes had immediately lit up. She took a leap and pounced over, scaring the young boy so much that he had fallen onto his behind on the ground.
He was here to deliver the food rations. It looked like Ling Han would be preparing his own meals in the future.
Ling Han smiled, walked over and pulled the young boy up. He asked, “How many days is this food for?”
“Ten days,” the young boy said, “After ten days, I’ll come back to deliver some more food.”
Ling Han shook his head, and said, “This is not enough, there’s only enough here for a single day.”
“One day?” The young boy was shocked, and his eyes swept over Ling Han in doubt. No matter how it was, he really could not see how it was possible that Ling Han would have such a huge appetite.
“Never mind, just deliver the food here. Money’s no issue,” Ling Han said, smiling.
“The Academy does not have any regulations on the daily amount of food, but are you guys sure you can finish eating so much?” The young boy was in disbelief.
Ling Han did not bother to explain himself. In truth, the one with such a huge appetite was not himself, but Hu Niu.
The young boy unloaded the food from the cart, and pushing the cart, he departed. Hu Niu immediately started to jump around Ling Han, looking very impatient.
“Don’t rush, it’s not even night yet!” Ling Han said with a laugh.
Hu Niu was instantly displeased and pouted, baring her teeth at Ling Han.
Ling Han laughed loudly and said, “I won’t be cooking today. We’ll go and walk around the city. We’ll have to buy new blankets and other essentials, as well as prepare a few more changes of clothing. After we’re done shopping, we can go eat.”
“Meat! Meat! Meat! Meat!” Hearing the word ‘eat’, the little girl immediately began to jump around again, her earlier displeasure completely gone.
Ling Han brought the little girl and went out. He had already applied for permission from Lian Guang Zu so that the girl could stay with him here. Otherwise, if she had to stay outside the Academy grounds, Ling Han really had no idea who would be capable of caring for her.
He held onto Hu Niu’s hand and walked to allow the girl to get used to walking with two legs, and not keep thinking about walking around on all fours.
“Come see, come see, Zhu Wu Jiu is challenging Nangong Ji!” They hadn’t even left the grounds of the Academy before hearing this announcement from a student who appeared to be extremely excited.