The moon hung high in the night sky and the sound of guqin resonated in the Qin Gardens. The music seemed to be able to bring its listeners peace.
From the music, one could feel happiness and a longing for love.
In front of one of the buildings at the Qin Gardens, Tang Lan laid silently in a hammock, listening to the music. It brought her back to her youth and elicited memories from the past. She could not help but smile while she reminisced.
“Master,” a gentle voice sounded. Tang Lan opened her eyes and was met with the sight of a sweet-looking young woman underneath the moonlight.
The young woman’s eyes were clear and pure, but carried curiosity when she looked at Tang Lan. She had approached Tang Lan without being noticed, and what was more, she saw a smile on her master’s face. Her smile was beautiful, but the young woman had never seen it before. Was it because of the music?
“Tang Wan, why are you back?” Tang Lan asked.
“I wanted to come back to see you, Master,” Tang Wan answered softly. “Master, who is playing the guqin? It sounds like they are trying to convey a certain feeling.”
“He is back. The person playing is his disciple,” Tang Lan answered. She never expected Ye Futian to be on par with Hua Fengliu at such a young age. His music was able to pluck a person from reality, pulling them into the mood of the piece.
“He?” Tang Wan was puzzled at first but then remembered the person Tang Lan kept in her heart all these years. Her eyes twinkled. “The Qin Devil?”
“Yes. Since you’re back anyway, you can show his disciple around Donghai Academy tomorrow, help him get familiar with the environment. When he enters the academy next year, you’ll be schoolmates.” Tang Lan chuckled and continued, “But that rascal is good with words. Don’t be tricked by his sweet-talk.”
Tang Wan blushed. Tang Lan said the guy playing the guqin was a sweet-talker. What could he have said to Tang Lan for her to say that?
“Go now. Get some more rest. From now on, you don’t have to worry so much about me, focus on cultivation,” Tang Lan said gently. Of her two female disciples, she favored this younger disciple more. Tang Wan was young and beautiful, sweet and enchanting. She was very much like Tang Lan when she was a young girl. Tang Lan hoped that her beloved disciple would not end up like herself.
“I understand, Master,” Tang Wan replied. She turned and left the area but did not head back to her own living space. She followed the sound of the music and arrived at the building in which Hua Fengliu and Ye Futian were staying.
In front of the building, she saw a young man quietly strumming at the chords of the guqin. He seemed to have fallen deep into the music; a smile adorned his face, which made him seem much more attractive.
Tang Wan did not walk up to disturb him. Instead, she listened wordlessly from where she stood until the piece ended. The young man lifted his head and Tang Wan gave him a warm smile. “That was beautiful.”
“Thank you. My name is Ye Futian. Are you Ms. Tang Lan’s disciple?” asked Ye Futian with a smile.
“Yes. My name is Tang Wan. My Master wants me to take you around Donghai Academy tomorrow. Do you want to go?” asked Tang Wan.
“That sounds great!” he nodded.
“Then, I’ll come find you tomorrow.” Tang Wan smiled and was on her merry way. Ye Futain stood up, grabbed his guqin and entered the bamboo forest behind the building.
A rustling noise came from the bamboo forest; there also seemed to be a low hum. Up ahead, Ye Futian could see the stalks of bamboo shaking from a gust of strong wind. When he walked closer to the area, he could see Yu Sheng seated on the ground. His body was surrounded by a dim golden light, making his already intimidating physique even scarier. At the same time, his face seemed to be slightly contorted, as if he were suffering from great pain. The low hum from before was coming from within Yu Sheng. It was as if a ferocious force was attacking his body from the inside.
Ye Futian sat down on the ground and placed his guqin down in front of him; he began to play again. Under the sound of music, the suffering young man seemed to have calmed down but the scary force continued to attack. It growled and roared, almost like it was ready to devour Yu Sheng.
After a long while, the force finally calmed down. Yu Sheng opened his eyes but the look on his face was icy cold. However, when he looked over and saw Ye Futian, his gaze started to warm up.
“Yu Sheng, how long did your father say you had to cultivate this technique?” asked Ye Futian.
“Forever,” answered Yu Sheng.
“Can’t you stop?” Ye Futian felt terrible.
“It’s fine,” Ye Sheng scratched his head and smiled. “This way, I can become stronger.”
“You dummy. Rest well,” said Ye Futian. He left after picking up his guqin. However, Yu Sheng did not go rest. After Ye Futian left, he started to cultivate again. Ye Futian had almost been hounded to death on Mount Tianyao. Now that they were in the City of Donghai, there were even more powerful cultivators here. He had not cultivated long enough. At the plane he was in now, he was not capable of protecting Ye Futian. He had to become stronger and more powerful as quickly as possible.
…
The next morning, Donghai City was basked in the warmth of the bright sunlight.
In the Qin Gardens, Tang Lan sent people to take care of Hua Fengliu bright and early. Ye Futian felt bad for him, though, because everyone Tang Lan sent, was male. Hua Fengliu tried to protest in a roundabout way. He said that there were some things that females do in better detail. To this Tang Lan replied, “There’s me.” Hua Fengliu could only cry on the inside. He should have known better than to come back to the Qin Gardens. This was pure revenge.
Ye Futian was still laughing as he stepped out of the residence. He, along with Yu Sheng and Tang Wan departed on the black wind eagle.
In the air, Ye Futian looked down at the large city. His feelings about the city down below were complicated. He was afraid of it, but at the same time he wanted to conquer it.
“Tang Wang, are there a lot of geniuses at Donghai Academy?” Ye Futian asked.
“Yeah. All the geniuses from well-known families all across the East Sea Prefecture are usually sent to Donghai City to further their education and, of course, Donghai Academy is the first choice. For example, people say that over half of all the young Mandate Sorcerers in the East Sea Prefecture are gathered at Donghai Academy,” Tang Wan explained.
Ye Futian slowly nodded. He could understand this. It was only natural for families of Mandate Sorcerers to want to send their children to study at the best academy.
“Are you feeling stressed?” Tang Wan smiled at Ye Futian. Her smile was sweet and beautiful.
“Stress?” Ye Futian wanted to smile. “Doesn’t exist.”
“Looks like you’re pretty confident,” chuckled Tang Wan.
Ye Futian did not reply but, instead, threw her a question, “By the way, have you heard of a person named Hua Jieyu at the academy? She’s about your age.”
With Fox’s looks, it would be impossible for people at the academy not to know her.
At the mention of this name, Tang Wan gave Ye Futian a strange look. “You aren’t planning to try anything with Donghai Academy’s number one beauty, are you?
“Donghai Academy’s number one beauty?” Ye Futian was dumbfounded. Almost immediately a huge smile spread across his face. She was actually here!
Furthermore, she was more well-known than he thought. She really was a fox.
“Didn’t she just get into Donghai Academy?” Ye Futian asked curiously.
“Yeah, but her performance at the Spring Quarter Entrance Exams was incredible. All the higher-ups were shocked. Plus, I heard she comes from an impressive background. So, her popularity skyrocketed as soon as she entered the academy. She was the talk of the town. Also, with her looks it’s only natural that she was crowned the academy’s number one beauty,” Tang Wan explained. “Do you have a crush on her? I think you should just forget about it.”
Ye Futian looked at Tang Wan. It looked like she didn’t know about Hua Jieyu’s background. If she did, then she would have been able to guess that Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu knew each other.
“Why?” he asked.
“Hua Jieyu has countless suitors at the academy but even the most popular guys have all been turned down. So, I don’t think you have a chance.” Tang Wan gave him a light smile.
“I get it,” Ye Futian’s smile got even bigger. “Do you know why she turns all of them down?”
“Probably because she’s too prideful,” said Tang Wan.
“It’s because she already has someone she likes,” he said.
“Who?” Tang Wan was curious.
“Me,” answered Ye Futian, smiling at Tang Wan.
She smirked. “Master said you were good with words, turns out they were for bluffing.”
Ye Futian was speechless in response to her comment. Then, thinking about Tang Lan, said he felt a bit upset.
After dropping off the trio, the black wind eagle was off again.
Donghai Academy was majestic. The main doors were open allowing access to anyone and everyone. In all of the East Sea Prefecture, no one dared to cause trouble at Donghai Academy, so the academy never had to worry about preventing intrusions.
Students came and went. The youngest was around the age of thirteen or fourteen, and the oldest was not over twenty. Everyone looked upbeat; the campus was vibrant.
“There are so many pretty girls here,” said Ye Futian as they entered. Hearing his very first comment about Donghai Academy, Tang Wan felt many pairs of judging eyes on them. It was embarrassing.
As people walked past them, they could not help but stare. Ye Futian was handsome, Tang Wan was beautiful, and Yu Sheng looked strong and intimidating. Naturally, this trio would attract a lot of attention.
At this time, a pair of eyes landed on Ye Futian and his friends. The corners of her mouth lifted into a smug smile.
“It’s him,” said a young woman around the age of sixteen.
“Mu Yunni, is he someone you know?” asked a classmate of hers.
Ye Futian was heading in their direction. His eyes did a quick sweep and saw the Mu siblings from yesterday amongst a group of people. It was hard to tell whether or not they were smiling at him.
“Can I help you with something?” asked Ye Futian. The siblings had walked up to him.
When Mu Yunni saw how confident Ye Futian looked, she was reminded of how pitiful he had looked to her the day before. She snickered at him, “Found someone else to back you up?”
“What’s it to you?” he asked with a smile.
“Nothing, I’m just asking,” she laughed. Then the group brushed past Ye Futian and continued on their way. Right after walking past Ye Futian, Mu Yunni told the person next to her, “That guy is the Qin Devil’s disciple but the Qin Devil is now handicapped. He even had the nerve to come to my house and beg my father to take in his disciple. Isn’t that such a joke?”
Ye Futian heard her words and stopped in his tracks once again. He turned to Tang Wan and jostled his shoulders. “What happens if I beat someone up at Donghai Academy?”