Ye Chenyan let out a muffled laugh.
Yu Qingtang pinched his cheek and lowered his voice threateningly. “What’s that supposed to mean, Brother Ye? You think this is funny?”
“No. I think he’s funny.” Ye Chenyan put on a perfectly serious expression. “He has eyes but can’t see Mount Tai. He couldn’t recognize your hidden wisdom beneath that foolish exterior.”
“That had better be what you meant.” Yu Qingtang shot him a sidelong look, then casually tossed him two steamed buns. “I got these from that guy.”
Ye Chenyan’s expression turned strange. “You robbed him?”
“He gave them to me.” Yu Qingtang stuffed a piece of braised meat into his mouth and frowned thoughtfully. “I told him I was hungry, so he gave me two buns. But I didn’t dare eat them. I was worried there might be something wrong with them.”
“How about...”
He looked at Ye Chenyan expectantly. “You try one? I’ll decide what to do based on your complexion.”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
“Don’t worry.” Yu Qingtang patted his chest reassuringly. “I made him take a bite first, just to prove they weren’t poisoned...”
His voice grew quieter and quieter.
“But then he turned into a little paper cutout, so I still can’t be sure whether these buns are safe to eat.”
Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “And you still dare give them to me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll die?”
“Of course not.” Yu Qingtang clapped him solemnly on the shoulder. “You have to believe your life is tough enough to survive this!”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
“Hehe, I’m kidding.” Yu Qingtang gave him a foolish grin. “I memorized what that man looked like. If I see him again, I’ll definitely recognize him!”
Then he frowned in puzzlement. “But the cultivation method he uses must be extremely unusual. He actually managed to turn himself into a sheet of paper...”
“It is rare.” Ye Chenyan nodded lightly. “We can ask Scholar Xiao later—did the man look like someone from the academy?”
“Mm, he did.” Yu Qingtang nodded. “He even said he’d only just arrived and didn’t know anyone else, which was why he dared sell answers so openly.”
Ye Chenyan arched a brow but made no comment.
Even if the man really was unfamiliar with everyone around him, there was no way he would dare use his own face to run a business like that inside Four Books Academy.
Besides, they had just encountered another “Yu Qingtang” in the western part of the city.
From the looks of it, even if Yu Qingtang identified the academy disciple who had taken him away, they still might not catch the real mastermind behind it.
“There’s also this formation.” Yu Qingtang tugged Ye over to the front of the table. “Can you figure out where it sends things? If you can, maybe we can follow the trail straight to whoever’s collecting the money.”
Ye Chenyan lowered his head to inspect the formation, then looked back at him innocently. “You already know my skills are lacking.”
“Then what do we do?” Yu Qingtang slumped over the table. “I don’t know how either.”
“Wait. Scholar Xiao will come.” Ye Chenyan opened the food Scholar Xiao had bought and spread it across the table. “Eat first.”
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened slightly as he glanced sideways at him.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Ye Chenyan looked back.
“I am.” Yu Qingtang nodded honestly and obediently picked up his chopsticks. “Heaven and earth are vast, but eating comes first.”
...
About the time it took an incense stick to burn later, Scholar Xiao and Chi Yantian finally came hurrying over.
“Hey, you two already started eating?” Chi Yantian folded his arms in dissatisfaction as he strode inside and dropped heavily into a seat. He took the food Yu Qingtang handed him, stuffed his mouth full, and mumbled, “That fake Yu Qingtang turned into a scrap of paper and vanished. No idea what kind of technique that was.”
He pointed behind himself.
“This is Four Books Academy territory, so we left the rest to them to investigate.”
“Just as expected.” Ye Chenyan didn’t seem surprised in the slightest. “Same thing happened to the man Qingtang encountered.”
“He did remember what that man looked like. Should we still have him identify the guy?”
“Of course.” Scholar Xiao nodded seriously. “It’s still a lead.”
Yu Qingtang pointed at the transmission formation on the table. “And this. If you can trace it, maybe we can find whoever’s receiving the money.”
“Let me take a look.” Scholar Xiao leaned closer, his expression turning thoughtful. “If we wait until it activates, we may be able to trace the direction of the spiritual power.”
Yu Qingtang’s thoughts immediately took a sharp turn.
“Huh? You mean we have to give him twenty thousand spirit stones?”
“Think carefully, Brother Xiao. That sounds exactly like a scam!”
“Obviously I’m not paying out of my own pocket.” Scholar Xiao laughed helplessly. “Since Four Books Academy is investigating this, naturally we just provide them with the lead.”
“Of course, if there’s anything within our abilities that we can help with, we should lend a hand...”
He lowered his voice and leaned toward the other three.
“At Four Books Academy, making contributions to the academy earns bonus points on your exams.”
“Oh!” Yu Qingtang’s eyes lit up. “There’s that option too? Does Four Books Academy have any other work that needs doing?”
“Instead of hoping the three of us somehow pass the exam, we might as well hope we can scrape together enough points by doing odd jobs.”
Scholar Xiao hesitated. “There probably are some, but...”
“Are you really not willing to try studying a little harder? Reading and taking exams can be quite enjoyable, everyone...”
“No!”
All three answered in perfect unison.
“Ah.” Scholar Xiao shook his head helplessly. “Fine. Later I’ll take you back to Four Books Academy and find some commissions that count toward your score.”
“But there’s a limit. You can only use twenty bonus points on any one exam, and you need fifty points to pass. So you’ll still have to earn at least thirty points yourselves.”
Yu Qingtang looked up gloomily. “Thirty points...”
“Only thirty.” Scholar Xiao looked at him with the exasperation of someone watching iron refuse to become steel. “You could probably get that much just by guessing, couldn’t you?”
Yu Qingtang blinked. “When you put it that way, I suddenly feel a little confident.”
“Right?” Scholar Xiao smiled. “Thirty points really isn’t difficult.”
“I meant I’m confident in my luck.” Yu Qingtang rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe I should practice my cultivation method a couple extra times before the exam.”
Ye Chenyan found that amusing. “Don’t you hate practicing too?”
“That’s only because I didn’t have studying to compare it to before.” Yu Qingtang looked miserable. “Now cultivation suddenly doesn’t seem so unacceptable.”
...
That afternoon, the group followed Scholar Xiao to Four Books Academy, where they received temporary student tallies and set out to complete commissions for points.
Chi Yantian was sent to the Painting School to serve as a model. Supposedly, all he had to do was stay still.
Yu Qingtang watched as Chi Yantian was arranged into an odd pose, then scratched his head. “Can Brother Chi really manage this? He’s never been able to sit still. And they gave him this job?”
Scholar Xiao smiled at him. “Would you rather do it?”
“Me—” Yu Qingtang scratched his chin. “If they let me lie down and sleep, sure. Otherwise I couldn’t hold one pose for that long either.”
“That’s not all.” Scholar Xiao pointed toward the center with the same pleasant smile. “Look.”
A Senior Sister suddenly spoke up. “Junior Brother, could you take off your clothes?”
“Huh?” Chi Yantian looked genuinely baffled and scratched his head. “Oh. How much?”
The Senior Sister answered with complete seriousness, “However much you’re willing to take off.”
“Take off a little more and I’ll give you another five points.”
Chi Yantian’s eyes lit up.
He immediately whipped off his shirt.
Yu Qingtang paled in horror. “Brother Xiao, this is a respectable Painting School, right? I’m not going to see erotic paintings of Brother Chi flooding the Nine Provinces afterward, am I?”
“No, no. Senior Sister knows what she’s doing.” Scholar Xiao smiled amiably, though he still turned back and called out, “Senior Sister, show some restraint. He’s the holy son of the Heavenly Fire Cult. If you draw anything too strange, you might start a conflict!”
“The holy son...” The Senior Sister’s smile became subtly peculiar. “Hmm. Not bad. Inspiration has struck.”
She turned toward Yu Qingtang and Ye Chenyan, still smiling pleasantly.
“Would these two Junior Brothers... also like some points? I happen to have—”
“I’ll pass!” Yu Qingtang immediately grabbed his collar in alarm. “I don’t have Brother Chi’s impressive muscles, so I’d be embarrassed to take anything off. Forget it, forget it.”
“Ah.” The Senior Sister smiled gently and shook her head. “The beauty of the human body lies in muscular strength, but also in slender delicacy. If one can appreciate only a single kind of beauty, wouldn’t that be terribly narrow-minded?”
“Junior Brother, I think you would be perfect...”
Ye Chenyan yanked Yu Qingtang behind himself and cupped his hands with a smile. “My apologies, Senior Sister. He’s already spoken for. It wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“Hmm?” Regret appeared on her face. “So young, and already married off in the prime of your youth.”
“Then you, Junior Brother...”
“I’m spoken for too.” Ye Chenyan took another step back with Yu Qingtang. “Brother Chi, we’re counting on you. Good luck.”
With that, he turned and hurried out of the Painting School with Yu Qingtang without looking back.
Yu Qingtang wiped at nonexistent tears. “Brother Chi is sacrificing way too much for this family.”
“It’s fine.” Ye Chenyan gave him an amused look. “Matchmaking portraits of him without clothes have already spread all across the Nine Provinces anyway.”
“Hm?” Scholar Xiao’s ears perked up curiously. “What story is this?”
“Points first.” Ye Chenyan looked at him. “What commission did you arrange for the two of us? Don’t tell me...”
He pointed behind himself.
Scholar Xiao hurriedly shook his head. “Of course not!”
“Brother Ye is going to the martial-practice platform. Four Books Academy may be an academy, but we’re still an immortal cultivation sect. Plenty of disciples are always striving to improve their combat skills.”
He smiled pleasantly.
“Having an Out-of-Body cultivator like Brother Ye serve as a sparring partner should be worth five points a day.”
Yu Qingtang pointed at himself. “What about me?”
“I’m a music cultivator, at least. Maybe... send me to the Qin School?”
“No, no.” Scholar Xiao smiled slyly. “Brother Yu is going to the Chess School.”
“The Chess School?” Yu Qingtang’s expression turned strange. “But I don’t know how to play chess!”
“The Chess School has more than just chess.” Scholar Xiao led him onward. “Anything played at a table falls under their purview. For example... cards. Dice.”
Yu Qingtang: “...”
The moment he stepped into the Chess School behind Scholar Xiao, a wave of excitement hit him head-on.
It was nothing like the refined atmosphere he had imagined. Dice rattled in cups, chips clattered across tables, and excited shouts rang through the hall.
Yu Qingtang slowly turned his head.
“Your academy has this too?”
“Won’t the academy head arrest everyone?”
“The academy head allows it.” Scholar Xiao beamed. “They’re not allowed to gamble with money, only points.”
“If someone loses all their points, all they can do is study through their tears and try to score higher on the next quiz. The academy head probably wishes they’d lose every last point in here.”
He paused.
“But you should be careful. The gambling tables in the Chess School are the one place in all of Four Books Academy where cheating isn’t forbidden.”
“Huh?” Yu Qingtang pointed at himself. “Then I...”
“He relies on cheating.” Scholar Xiao’s eyes curved with amusement as he patted Yu Qingtang on the shoulder. “You rely on outrageous luck. Everyone uses what they’ve got.”
Yu Qingtang scratched his chin. “I guess that works... but I don’t have any points to start with. Can I even sit down at a table?”
Scholar Xiao smiled slyly. “I’ll lend you five. You can only use twenty points per exam anyway. If Brother Yu wins more than you need, just pay me back.”
Yu Qingtang turned to look at him. “Then what are you doing?”
“Keeping you company.” Scholar Xiao pointed at the other disciples in the room. “And keeping an eye on them. If they get desperate after losing and decide to turn violent, I’ll grab you and run to the martial-practice platform to find Brother Ye.”
Yu Qingtang: “...”
So this was a high-risk zone.
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