Chapter 162: The Children Bullied by Great Sui

Chapter 162: The Children Bullied by Great Sui

Chen Ping'an walked out of the city gate and stood resting beside the official road, which was bustling with travelers. Not far away was a tea stall.

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Ping'an went and bought a bowl of tea, sitting down to drink.

The youth, who had almost never regretted anything before, began to feel some regret about leaving the Great Sui capital too quickly.

Just as Cui Chan had said, what if Bao Ping and the others got bullied, and he wasn't there? What then?

Chen Ping'an might not have a broad horizon, but he did have an understanding of the good and bad in people's hearts. Having never lived an easy life since childhood, and having once struggled simply to survive, using every trick he knew at a tender age, Chen Ping'an understood life's disappointments and the ugly side of human nature far better than Li Baoping, Li Huai, and Lin Shouyi.

Especially traveling alongside Cui Chan, through this cheap student's idle chatter and nonsense, Chen Ping'an increasingly understood one thing: just because someone wears a big official hat doesn't mean they're smart, and just because someone has great learning doesn't mean they're good.

Chen Ping'an drank his tea, gazing at the city wall, silently making up his mind.

————

Donghua Mountain, Cliff Academy. A hall hung with a plaque reading "Pine Waves," commonly referred to by the secular world as the Master's Courtyard or the Teacher's Residence.

The current nominal mountain master, the Grand Sui Minister of Rites, was drinking tea, enjoying a rare moment of leisure with a relaxed expression. Seven or eight people were present, all teaching masters of the academy, most of them quite old. Three vice-mountain masters were in attendance. Among them was an old man with a square face, dressed in a scholar's robe. He held back for a while, but finally couldn't help complaining: "These children are far too unruly!"

As if the word "unruly" wasn't enough to vent his anger, he added, "Utterly incorrigible!"

One must know that this vice-mountain master was not only a great scholar specializing in large lecture gatherings at the new academy but also a bona fide "gentleman" by status. His name had long been recorded in a Confucian academy registry, so his words carried more weight than those of so-called literary luminaries or scholarly leaders.

The Minister of Rites was a short, amiable old man, unremarkable in appearance. If not for the official robe he hadn't had time to remove, it would be hard to imagine him as a high-ranking second-rank official at the center of power. And Great Sui valued literature—for example, Great Li's title of Heavenly Official was assigned to the Minister of Personnel, while in Great Sui it went to the Ministry of Rites.

The short old man didn't let the vice-mountain master's words spoil his mood. He said cheerfully, "Tell me, how exactly are they incorrigible?"

The vice-mountain master said angrily, "Lin Shouyi has excellent talent and a solid foundation in the classics, but his temperament... Alas, he often skips class to browse miscellaneous books in the library. He reads them, but not a single Confucian classic—instead, he borrows a dozen or so Daoist scriptures from various heterodox schools. He's already borrowed twenty or thirty of them in such a short time. This is utterly improper! It's not that Confucian students can't read Daoist books, but at his age, what right does he have to talk about understanding things by analogy? If he goes astray, how can we explain it to... the former mountain master?"

The short old man nodded slightly, his tea-drinking speed noticeably slowing.

The vice-mountain master grew more heated. "And that little girl, Li Baoping, is even more lawless. During class, her mind often wanders a thousand miles away, completely lacking respect for teachers and the Way. She either reads that tattered travelogue of mountains and rivers or draws little figures in her books—and what figures! They're martial arts stances of those rough warriors!"

The short old man suppressed a smile, noncommittal, lowering his head to take a sip of tea.

The vice-mountain master continued, "The youngest, Li Huai... is honest and well-behaved. He doesn't skip class, doesn't cause trouble, and always does the assignments given by the masters. But his comprehension... it feels like he's a block of wood that just can't be opened! He dozes off in class, drowsy and drooling all over his desk. There's not a trace of being a personal disciple of the former mountain master. Alas, it worries me to death."

A relatively younger vice-mountain master teased, "Your Excellency Minister, our Vice-Mountain Master Liu has pulled out many of his beard hairs over this."

The square-faced old man retorted seriously, "Just vice-mountain master!"

The short old man laughed heartily, set down his teacup after turning sideways, and asked, "Is there no good news? If it's like this again, I won't dare come next time."

The square-faced old man's mood improved slightly, and he nodded. "There is. Strangely enough, those two teenagers, Yu Lu and Xie Xie, stand out. They're more like pure seeds of Confucian scholarship. Their manners and interactions are normal, and they usually respect teachers and revere the Way. Especially Yu Lu—gentle, kind, respectful, frugal—he's exactly like the elite scions of Great Sui's top powerful clans. He seems more worthy of focused cultivation."

The short old man still didn't rush to a conclusion. He smiled as he looked at a tall old man who had been secretly dozing off. "Old Mao, what do you think?"

The tall old man, who had a long red wooden tablet tucked into his belt, jolted when called, opened his eyes drowsily, and said, "Huh? Is Your Excellency leaving already? Won't you stay a bit longer?"

The Minister of Rites, still smiling, said, "Since Old Mao so earnestly urges me to stay a while longer, I suppose I'll stay a bit more?"

Laughter filled the Master's Courtyard.

The short old man patiently summarized the vice-mountain master's complaints concisely. After listening, the tall old man named Mao wore a look of realization. "I see. Well then, I do have a few words to say."

The short old man joked, "We're all ears."

The tall old man sat up straight and asked, "Whose learning is greater—Qi Jingchun's, or that of everyone present?"

Silence.

Wasn't that obvious?

The tall old man asked again, "And whose judgment is better—Qi Jingchun's, or that of all the masters here?"

Still obvious.

The square-faced vice-mountain master thought for a moment, not directly refuting anything, but lowering his voice slightly to ask, "Old Mao, that Lizhu Cave Heaven, now the Great Li Longquan County town, is just a small place. They say it has only five or six thousand people. The number of children suitable for primary education must be very small. Could it be that Mr. Qi had no choice there?"

The tall old man was none other than Mao Xiaodong of the academy. Back when the Great Li Cliff Academy was established, it was this man who helped Sage Qi Jingchun build it bit by bit. Whether in cultivation, seniority, or moral scholarship, he was undeniably the academy's foremost figure. So everyone, including the Minister of Rites, willingly addressed him as Old Mao.

Mao Xiaodong, hearing Vice-Mountain Master Liu's question, smiled. "Of course it's possible. And it's not just 'possible'—it's the absolute truth!"

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Mao Xiaodong looked around the room. "It's Great Sui that needs these children. Better if they were all geniuses, shining brilliantly. And you'd try to get them to choose to stay in Great Sui's court when they grow up, to save face for yourselves and incidentally slap Great Li in the face. I don't have such boring thoughts..."

The Minister of Rites quickly coughed lightly, then naturally picked up his teacup and lowered his head to drink.

The tall old man didn't care about such things and continued speaking without restraint. "If it were me, those little ones personally taught by Qi Jingchun—let them eat and drink as they please. If they want to study, they study; if they want to slack off, they slack off. Whether they amount to anything later, I couldn't care less. As the acting vice-mountain master in charge of the academy, I have so many students under me, and every year there will be more. Where do I have the time or energy to listen to you complaining about these kids climbing trees, skipping class, drawing little figures?"

The assembled masters exchanged glances.

The short old man sitting in the main seat continued drinking his tea calmly, though his cup was already empty.

The tall old man stood up with a smile. "I'll go check on the engraving of books at the Chongwen Workshop. That's a huge matter and needs close supervision. I won't keep you from your tea, Your Excellency."

The short old man rose accordingly, saying amiably, "Then I won't delay you masters in your work of transmitting the Way and teaching."

Mao Xiaodong grumbled, "Your Excellency, couldn't you finish your tea before leaving..."

The tall old man stood on tiptoe slightly, glanced at the teacup, and said, "Oh, it's empty! Your Excellency, you really should have another cup, give our academy some face, won't you? If word gets out that we don't welcome you, that wouldn't be good. What if the Ministry of Revenue takes offense on behalf of the Heavenly Official and deliberately withholds the silver needed for the academy's Chongwen Workshop engraving? Who would I appeal to for justice?"

The Minister of Rites, almost a head shorter than Mao Xiaodong, put on a pained expression and bowed. "Old Mao, please spare me. Let's pretend you're the mountain master and I'm the vice-mountain master, shall we?"

"Not acceptable!" Mao Xiaodong laughed loudly and turned away.

After the tall old man left, the short old man looked helpless and said huffily, "I came here to escape the quiet, and here I end up getting lectured. And we're supposed to be on the same side! I won't dare again!"

Laughter erupted again in the Master's Courtyard, even the square-faced vice-mountain master couldn't help smiling.

The atmosphere was harmonious.

————

Donghua Mountain within the Great Sui capital wasn't particularly lofty compared to the Five Sacred Mountains. It only stood out as tall and elegant because it was the tallest among shorter hills.

At the summit stood a millennium-old ginkgo tree. A little girl in a red cotton-padded jacket, after daydreaming for a while, expertly hugged the trunk and slid down in one smooth motion.

She found an old scholar waiting for her, like a farmer waiting by a tree stump for a rabbit. He was truly tall, squinting with a mischievous grin, looking like anything but a good man.

The tall old man asked, "Skipping class again at this hour?"

The girl was honest. "Yes. I know the academy has rules. I'll accept the punishment."

The old man smiled and asked, "What, when Qi Jingchun taught you before, did he hit your palm for skipping class?"

The girl shook her head. "Skipping class doesn't get you hit. Mr. Qi never cared about that. But if we got something wrong that he taught in class, the first time he'd remind us, and the second time he'd hit."

The old man let out an "oh" and asked curiously, "What were you looking at up there?"

The girl paused, then, considering the old man's age, answered, "The scenery."

The old man became more interested. "What scenery is so beautiful? I wouldn't know."

The girl blinked. "Old sir, why don't you climb up and see for yourself?"

"A scholar climbing a tree is a disgrace to literary grace."

The old man quickly waved his hand, then soon realized, "Oh, I see—you want us both to break the rules, so I can't report you, right? Clever little girl."

The girl chuckled, then shook her head.

The old man understood her thoughts and asked, "What's wrong? Was I wrong about it being a disgrace to literary grace?"

The girl patted her clothes and explained, "Once, my kite got caught in a branch, and Mr. Qi climbed up to get it for me. Another time, I threw Li Huai's underwear up there, then ran home. Later I heard Mr. Qi still helped get it down. The scholars here at your academy always make such a fuss over trivial things..."

The old man corrected her, "Not 'your academy'—'our academy.'"

The old man bent over, hands behind his back, and smiled at the girl. "Do you think your teacher, that fellow named Qi Jingchun, is better than all the teachers here?"

The girl sighed.

She thought to herself, This old sir is tall, but why does he always ask such unwise questions?

The old man said earnestly, "Little girl, let me tell you, our rules are many. Aside from not having as much learning as your teacher, we're not completely without merit. There are reasons. 'Follow your heart's desire without overstepping the bounds'—you've heard that saying, right? Do you know what comes before it?"

The girl nodded. "It's 'and at seventy,' and before that, 'at sixty, the ear is attuned.'"

The tall old man was stunned for a long moment, unable to speak.

The old man's learning was profound beyond imagination—it wasn't that he didn't understand the meaning, but he couldn't fathom how such a strange answer had popped out of that little girl's head.

The girl waved her hand, ready to leave. "Old sir, my name is Li Baoping. I'm a newly enrolled student, but I won't avoid punishment. I've already familiarized myself with all the rules. I know I have to copy an essay within three days. I'll finish it tonight and hand it to Mr. Hong myself. If you don't believe me, you can ask Mr. Hong."

Li Baoping patted her chest. "Don't worry, I write faster than I run!"

The old man couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. He quickly called back the heroic little girl. "I haven't finished my lecture yet. Don't rush. Listen to my reasoning, and consider it as your punishment."

Li Baoping had already assumed a sprinting stance. Hearing this, she had no choice but to stop, wide-eyed. "Old sir, go ahead. But if your reasoning isn't good, I'd rather go copy the book."

The old man was choked by her words. "Think about it: the Supreme Sage only dared to do that at his age. If ordinary people just do as they please, disregarding all rules, isn't that bad?"

The girl nodded. "Of course it's bad."

The old man burst into laughter. "Alright, I'm done with my reasoning. You don't have to copy the book."

Now it was Li Baoping's turn to be stunned. "That's it?"

The girl sighed heavily, looked at the old man, hesitated, then finally bowed and began to sprint down the mountain.

The old man was amused and annoyed. "Little girl, what was that look just now? Did you think that even though I'm older than your teacher Qi Jingchun, I understand less than he does, right?"

Li Baoping slowly nodded. She never lied. Since the old man had seen through her, she wouldn't deny it.

The old man smiled. "Then do you know that I just look old, while Qi Jingchun looks young? Actually, he's older than me! So his learning being a bit greater than mine isn't surprising."

Li Baoping looked skeptical.

The old man seemed a bit annoyed. "Why would I lie to a little girl like you?"

Li Baoping no longer rushed down the mountain. She crossed her arms, walked a few steps left, then a few steps right, looked up at the tall old man, and asked a strange question. "Even if you're younger than my teacher and thus have less learning, why is my little master-uncle, who is even younger than you, still more learned than you?"

The old man clicked his tongue. "More learned than me? I really don't believe that."

Li Baoping grew anxious, thought carefully, looked around cautiously, then put a little hand beside her mouth and whispered, "I'll tell you, but don't tell anyone."

She then gestured with her hand at her head. "If my teacher's learning is this high, then my little master-uncle's learning is at least this high."

Li Baoping gestured at her shoulder, then moved her hand to her ear. "By the time my little master-uncle learns a few more characters on the way home, his learning will soon be this high!"

The old man was dumbfounded, and could only echo, "Then your little master-uncle is truly remarkable, truly remarkable!"

Li Baoping nodded vigorously. "Isn't he! My little master-uncle is incredibly amazing!"

The old man suddenly sighed emotionally. "It's good to be impressive, good to be impressive. If he's impressive, he can protect our little Baoping in the future."

Li Baoping's expression dimmed slightly. She forced a smile, then shot off like an arrow, running far away while turning back to wave goodbye. "I'm leaving now. Old sir, I think your learning is actually pretty good too, about this high..."

She tried to gesture with her hand, but running too fast, she stumbled and fell hard onto the ground. In the blink of an eye, she scrambled up and ran down the mountain even faster.

The tall old man patted his waist, and the "Discipline" ruler revealed its true form. Gazing into the distance at the shrinking red figure, the old man sighed. "Jingchun, I should have met that young man."

————

Donghua Mountain had a small lake, its water clear to the bottom, filled with a dense growth of lotus. But since it was winter, the leaves were all withered, making the scene seem particularly desolate.

A tall teenager sat by the shore, holding a green bamboo fishing rod, fishing. Occasionally people pointed at him, but no one approached to chat.

Finally, a dark-skinned, plain-looking girl came to stand beside him. "Is fishing interesting?"

Yu Lu nodded with a smile. "Interesting, indeed."

Xie Xie asked, "What's interesting about it?"

Yu Lu gave the answer with a smile. "When a fish bites, I'm happy. Even if it gets away in the end, I'm still happy."

Xie Xie seemed vaguely annoyed.

Yu Lu stared at the lake surface, suppressing a smile, and revealed the truth. "Alright, alright, I'll be honest. I'm actually practicing martial arts."

Yu Lu explained slowly. "Not to mention holding the rod, just my sitting posture has a specific method. I need to be still as a mountain, yet move like a river. Then, the moment the fish truly bites, my entire being shifts from stillness to motion in an instant, aligning with the Daoist principle of the fine line between yin and yang reversal. There's a martial arts secret manual that says, 'When one part is still, nothing is not still; when one moves, all bones follow.' So by fishing like this, I can nourish my muscles and bones and replenish my primal qi."

Xie Xie was dubious.

Yu Lu didn't look at her at all. "You could say I've never practiced martial arts, and you'd be right—I've never practiced fist stances or postures. But you could also say I've been practicing martial arts all along, and that would also be right. When I eat, when I sleep, when I walk, and now when I fish, I'm always thinking about those martial arts secrets. The advantage of a good background is that the secret manuals at home, even if not of the highest rank, rarely have errors. And many fist techniques and sword scriptures contain apparent contradictions that hold the greatest wisdom, especially fascinating."

Xie Xie sat on the ground, hugging her knees, staring at the slender fishing rod. "It's a shame you didn't go to cultivate on a mountain."

Yu Lu said aggrievedly, "Hey, hey, hey, Miss Xie, don't rub salt in my wounds like that."

Xie Xie was silent for a moment, then said, "Now that we're finally living in peace, my heart feels unsettled instead. What about you?"

She answered herself. "Yu Lu, you'd be fine anywhere. I'm far inferior to you in that respect."

Yu Lu turned his head unexpectedly and shook his head. "I like being alone on night watch by the campfire."

Xie Xie asked doubtfully, "Why?"

Yu Lu turned back to face the lake. "I don't know. I just like it."

Xie Xie smiled. "Then do you like her—the girl who almost became the crown prince's consort?"

Yu Lu's face was expressionless at first, then quickly broke into a smile, answering evasively. "Miss Xie, here we must be cautious in word and deed."

Xie Xie gave a mirthless smile. "Li Huai came to me before, showing off his jade hairpin. How come you don't have one?"

Yu Lu smiled slightly. "You don't have one either. It's not strange that I don't, but it's wrong that you don't. Such a pretty young lady, after all."

Xie Xie's face darkened. "Please be cautious in your words!"

Yu Lu suddenly flicked his wrist, the fishing rod bending into a beautifully perfect arc. The tall young man laughed. "Bite!"

The girl stood up and walked away. "Men are all no good!"

Yu Lu carefully played the fish while watching her back, muttering, "Whether I'm good or not is debatable, but someone is really good. Hmm, just a little biased—no book chest, no hairpin, only the straw sandals that everyone gets. Alas, it's really a bit disappointing."

Xie Xie turned around and strode toward Yu Lu.

Yu Lu quickly tried to remedy the situation. "I didn't mean anything else. We're all the same—it's not about scarcity but about inequality. Don't misunderstand..."

The girl didn't stop. Yu Lu dropped the fishing rod, not even caring about the fish on the line, and ran for his life.

Xie Xie picked up the rod that hadn't been dragged far by the fish and hurled it into the middle of the lake. Then she clapped her hands and left.

Yu Lu was dumbfounded. This time, he was truly furious. He muttered indignantly, "If it were Chen Ping'an's fishing rod, just try it. Would you still be so aggressive? I'll take your surname!"

————

Lin Shouyi wore a plain yellow jade hairpin in his bun. The boy had darkish skin, but it didn't hide his handsome features. Although he had made an impression at Cliff Academy as cold and taciturn, Lin Shouyi was still very popular among the girls. Great Sui women couldn't take official examinations, but that didn't prevent them from openly pursuing learning; before marriage, they could attend various academies.

As usual, whenever he encountered a class he didn't like, Lin Shouyi would go to the library to read.

Walking along, he was very conspicuous.

Among the first batch of students at the new Cliff Academy, the native Great Sui students were either wealthy or noble, either from influential families in the capital or deep-rooted local aristocratic clans. All were children of privilege, born into families of bronze cauldrons and inherited honor.

Lin Shouyi's presence seemed like a clear spring from a mountain stream, captivating many girls.

His cold, aloof demeanor only stirred the fighting spirit of those noble girls. Everything Lin Shouyi did seemed unique and unconventional—his plain clothes, his extremely simple living, a world apart from the usual pampered princes and nobles around them. This, they thought, was the true demeanor of a pure Confucian scholar.

If these reasons for being drawn to Lin Shouyi were only superficial, certain seemingly unnoticed details gave great impetus to their admiration.

For instance, Lin Shouyi was highly regarded by the great scholar Dong Jing, an old man renowned throughout Great Sui's court and countryside for mastering both Confucian and Daoist learning. Dong Jing often called Lin Shouyi to his humble thatched hut for private instruction.

Whenever there was a thunderstorm, he would personally take Lin Shouyi to the tallest Iron Tree Mountain within the Great Sui capital. The reasons for this, to outsiders, were not just for spectacle but also to glimpse the underlying principles. No wall is airtight in this world. Dong Jing had his close friends, and being famously a drunkard, after a few good rounds of wine, he would let slip some clues. It turned out Lin Shouyi was a once-in-a-century genius for cultivation. Once he nurtured his grand hao ran qi and supplemented it with the Five Thunder True Method, he would surely become a transcendent figure starting from the Middle Five Realms, and he was expected to break into the Sixth Realm before the age of twenty-five.

Simply put, this meant Lin Shouyi, as a cultivation prodigy, had the potential to challenge the Tenth Realm, far exceeding the scope of ordinary geniuses.

Suddenly, a panting child ran up to Lin Shouyi. It was Li Huai. Seeing Lin Shouyi, he immediately burst into tears, sobbing heartrendingly. "Lin Shouyi, my painted wooden puppet is gone! Someone stole it!"

Lin Shouyi asked, "You didn't lose it?"

Li Huai shook his head desperately. "Impossible!"

"How many people live in your dormitory?"

"Counting me, four."

"Do you have any suspects?"

Li Huai shook his head again.

Lin Shouyi frowned deeply. Finally, he led Li Huai back to his own dormitory, pulled out several banknotes from under his book chest, and handed them to Li Huai. This money had been sent by his family to the Pillow Courier Station in Red Candle Town. The day Lin Shouyi received that family letter, his expression had been terrible.

Li Huai panicked. "What are you doing? I just want my painted puppet! I don't want money!"

Lin Shouyi said, "Go back to your dormitory and tell your roommates that you lost the painted puppet... somewhere, anywhere. Whoever finds it and returns it gets this money."

Li Huai asked blankly, "Will that work?"

Lin Shouyi said helplessly, "Try it for now."

The next day, Li Huai happily found Lin Shouyi. "That method actually worked!"

Lin Shouyi said irritably, "Lock your chest in the future. Stop showing off your little trinkets."

Li Huai said angrily, "I'm grateful, and I'll pay you back eventually, but don't you dare talk about them that way!"

Lin Shouyi slapped the little brat on the head. "Stop bothering me. I'm going to the library."

"Watch out you don't turn into a bookworm!" Li Huai made a face at Lin Shouyi and ran off in a flash.

A few days later, Li Huai came to Lin Shouyi again with a mournful face, head drooping, timid and hesitant to speak.

Lin Shouyi, blocked at the library entrance, sighed. "What is it? The painted puppet stolen again?"

The child said weakly, "No, this time it's the set of little clay figurines..."

"Did you lock the chest?"

"Yes, I swear! Two locks! I keep the keys on me at all times."

Lin Shouyi felt a headache coming on and rubbed his brow. "I'll go find Mr. Dong and see if he has a solution. It can't go on like this."

Li Huai suddenly looked up with a forced smile. "Forget it. I'll look for them myself. Maybe they'll come back on their own."

Before Lin Shouyi could stop him, Li Huai had already run off. The boy wouldn't listen even when called.

————

Li Huai and Li Baoping happened to have class together that day. After class, Li Baoping found Li Huai, who was deliberately avoiding her. She noticed the swelling at the corner of his mouth and couldn't help asking, "What happened?"

Li Huai shrank his neck. "I fell."

Li Baoping glared. "Talk!"

Li Huai pursed his lips, about to cry, but held back, looking even more pitiful. "Got into a fight with someone. I couldn't beat them."

"Who!"

"Roommates... but I fought three of them alone. I didn't embarrass you guys!"

"Let's go!"

The girl was crisp and efficient, using no more than two words per sentence.

She gave Li Huai orders. "Go to your dorm and wait for me. Hurry! I'll be right there!"

Li Huai nervously returned to his dormitory. The three roommates, only slightly older than him, were chatting together, completely ignoring him. But the glances they cast at Li Huai were full of mockery and contempt. This little hick from Great Li was hopeless at studying, crude in speech, exuding rustic backwardness from head to toe. He even treasured a battered book chest, and inside it, he actually hid straw sandals—more than one pair!

Li Huai silently walked to the threshold outside the dormitory, squatted down, and started drawing circles on the ground. Before long, he saw Li Baoping storming toward him, carrying that narrow saber named Xiangfu in her hand...

Li Huai was so startled he could barely stand up. Finally getting to his feet, his legs felt weak. He swallowed his saliva and whispered, "Baoping, do we need to bring a knife when we fight?"

Li Baoping glared at him, shoved him aside, and strode into the dormitory. "Fighting doesn't need it; getting beaten does? Move!"

Though drenched in cold sweat from fear, Li Huai gritted his teeth and hurried after her, shouting, "Li Baoping, wait for me!"

Li Baoping pointed at the three with the still-sheathed narrow saber and said coldly, "Who stole Li Huai's clay figurines? Hand them over!"

The three were momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.

Li Baoping's anger flared. "Who hit Li Huai? Step forward!"

The three exchanged smiles, then rolled their eyes.

Li Baoping, swinging the sheathed saber, gave those three little bastards a thorough beating.

Though Li Baoping wasn't very tall, her strength had been tempered hard from childhood. Having practiced boxing alongside Chen Ping'an and trekked through mountains and rivers, dealing with these soft-handed peers, who were even worse than embroidered pillows, was easy for her. And when two armies meet, momentum matters. Li Baoping's first move was shockingly fast. The scabbard swept horizontally, smashing into the cheek of a ten-year-old boy, spinning him around on the spot. Then she brought the scabbard down vertically on the head of the second wretch, making him howl. The third didn't dare fight back at all and tried to run, but Li Baoping caught up, leaped, and kicked him in the back. He crashed into the bed, hurt and scared, and just lay there feigning death.

Li Baoping swept her gaze over them, pointing with the end of the scabbard. "Bring back that set of clay figurines today and give them to Li Huai! If any of you dares to bully Li Huai again, I'll beat you so badly your own parents won't recognize you! I, Li Baoping, mean what I say!"

Li Baoping saw one of them sneaking a look up at her. She raised her arm to strike with the scabbard, and the terrified boy quickly backed away.

Li Baoping gave a cold laugh, turned furiously, and saw Li Huai standing inside the threshold. Her anger boiled over. "Li Huai! With that cowardly look of yours, don't you ever call him 'little master-uncle' in front of me again. If you do, I'll hit you every time!"

As if struck in a sore spot, Li Huai squatted on the ground, hugging his head and sobbing.

Glancing sidelong at Li Huai, Li Baoping seemed even angrier than when she had arrived. She stormed off, narrow saber in hand.

Inside the room, a boy with a big lump on his head said furiously, "This isn't over! I'll make sure you little shrew knows who you've hit!"

————

Two days later.

In the Master's Courtyard, the square-faced vice-mountain master slapped the armrest of his chair. "Lawless! Preposterous! In broad daylight, from the youngest to the oldest, they actually dared to brawl openly! Not one of them was missing! No one is to interfere in this. I want to see just how bad our esteemed Cliff Academy's seeds of hope for Great Sui can get!"

The others all looked at the tall old man, who, for once, wasn't dozing with half-closed eyes. The old man thought for a moment, then nodded. "Let it be that way."

Someone timidly asked, "Old Mao, which way is 'that way'?"

The tall old man's expression was indifferent, as if speaking in riddles. "Just 'that way.'"

His stance made even the square-faced great scholar with the gentleman's status feel a chill down his neck.