8. Before Enrollment
Perhaps because she had thoroughly beaten Lei Che that day, he didn’t come looking for trouble for the next few days.
Gong Yiling, however, spent these days showcasing her culinary skills, feeding the three girls well with the ingredients from Yan Chuyue’s garden.
Qiu Shui even wanted to drag her to the kitchen at night for some lessons.
As for why—
“As Master’s disciple and personal maid, this is a necessary skill,” the girl said seriously.
Yes, it was that direct.
“If you really want to learn, it’s fine.” Gong Yiling rubbed Qiu Shui’s head. “But I don’t have any ingredients for you to practice with. You’ll have to ask your Sister Chuyue.”
“Sister Chuyue…” Qiu Shui’s excitement faded slightly, and she seemed hesitant.
Feeling unlike herself, she quickly patted her cheeks. “Then… is Sister Chuyue asleep now?”
“She seems to go to bed early these days.”
Qiu Shui paused. “Master even knows when Sister Chuyue sleeps?”
Her tone held a hint of suspicion, but not quite.
“I have to guard against any troublemakers at night, so I’m always the last one to return to my room. If you all go to bed right away, then Chuyue is indeed the first.”
However… Gong Yiling felt that Yan Chuyue had been avoiding her these past few days.
Not exactly avoiding, but it was as if she were afraid of saying the wrong thing, deliberately avoiding being alone with her. Even when they did interact, it was only about trivial matters.
Of course, Gong Yiling attributed this to her being on her period.
“So Master didn’t specifically go to Sister Chuyue’s room to check if she was asleep…”
Gong Yiling was bewildered. “Why would I do that?”
“No… no reason!”
Qiu Shui took Gong Yiling’s arm and smiled. “Then Master, let’s go to sleep.”
“Don’t you want to learn how to cook? It’s not too late to ask her.”
Qiu Shui quickly shook her head, a contented smile on her face. “Not today. Let’s sleep, let’s sleep.”
—Girls are so hard to understand.
Miss Gong found both Qiu Shui and Chuyue strange.
But smelling the faint fragrance of the girl beside her, after a long day of cultivation, guidance, and cooking, Gong Yiling felt a bit tired.
“System, play ‘Katyusha.'”
“You listen to this to sleep?”
“Well, you don’t have it anyway. I haven’t heard your voice in a while, so I just asked.”
“…Are you bored?”
“I am. Now, count sheep, and make it snappy.”
“System under maintenance. Do not disturb.”
Another unsuccessful attempt at teasing the system.
—
—
The next morning, Su Youde summoned them.
“I’ve completed the enrollment procedures for Qian Yue Academy. I’m confirming with you one last time.”
“Are you sure you want to go?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then.” Su Youde handed them a few tokens. “These are the identification tokens issued by Qian Yue Academy, the only proof of identity for entering and leaving.”
The only proof was a single token?
When Gong Yiling took the token, she felt a slight prick, but when she looked, there was no mark on her hand.
Some kind of contract?
Su Youde explained, “Each person’s token is bound to them. Even if the owner willingly transfers it, it will immediately turn into a gray stone until it’s back in the owner’s hand.”
“Such a spiritual object exists?”
Gong Yiling marveled, finally understanding why Mo Ke had reported that it was extremely difficult for unauthorized personnel to enter Qian Yue Academy.
“Are there any other things to note? Please tell us everything, Elder.”
“I’ll take you there first. We can talk on the way.”
Over the next two hours, Su Youde prepared a giant crane for the five of them as transportation and explained all the details.
There weren’t many important things.
In principle, there were no seniors or juniors in the academy. Many students had encountered bottlenecks in their cultivation and had joined the academy after years of practice, their strength far surpassing the other students.
You couldn’t expect a Profound Void cultivator to call a Return to Origin cultivator “senior.” That would be absurd.
But the reality was different.
Qian Yue Academy was a microcosm of the relationships between the various Daoist sects of Bai Dao Mountain, excluding the top five.
Several sects that were friendly outside would also support each other within the academy, forming alliances.
There was competition, rivalry, and feuds between these alliances.
If you were from a neutral or lower-ranked sect, you had to understand one thing:
Loners weren’t welcome here and would face many difficulties. If you wanted to join an alliance, you needed a recommendation.
At that point, your own strength didn’t matter much, unless you were a star cultivator. Everyone had to follow the rules of the alliances.
Of course, these rules weren’t tyrannical. If you wanted to resolve a conflict, you just needed to complete some tasks issued by the alliance, and it could be done on the same day.
Speaking of this, Su Youde reminded them,
“Ruohuai Daoist Mountain has a long-standing feud with Ye Ao Daoist Mountain. Because of this, you will definitely be targeted by them at Qian Yue Academy.”
Ye Ao Daoist Mountain, the name sounded familiar… Oh, right!
Ye Ao Daoist Mountain, wasn’t that Lei Che’s sect?
“Was that man who fought with the Sect Master from Ye Ao Daoist Mountain?” Gong Yiling asked.
“How did you know?”
“The cave dwelling you assigned us is near theirs.” Gong Yiling shrugged. “He came looking for trouble, and I beat him up. He’s probably disfigured now.”
Su Youde: “…Huh?”
He chuckled wryly. “Speaking of which, I should warn you.”
“That guy… is also a new student at Qian Yue Academy.”
Huh???
This surprised Gong Yiling.
She thought she had just beaten up a troublemaker, but now it seemed she had stirred up a hornet’s nest.
