Book 1: Chapter 23: Not a Place People Should Be In

“They’re people from Medicine and Natural Arts Departments. Their normal curriculum is usually studied indoors, which is why they are in more of a rush to head to those valleys.”

Lecturer Mu Qing stood next to the window, a slight smile on her face.

Her facial features were extremely ordinary, but all of these black-robed academy lecturers had an unrestrained and aloof feeling to them. When she spoke, a light breeze swept past her black robes, making her entire being seem like a single black japanese rose on a cliff.

“Alright, all of the male students should withdraw from this room. When you all settle down in your own rooms, you’ll have more than enough chances to see these things.”

When Lin Xi and all of the young men withdrew from this room, she gave the five Self Defense Department female students’ tallest Hua Jiyue a look and said, “Seems like your personality is the most straightforward, so I’ll leave this room to you. You won’t feel any dissatisfaction, right?”

Hua Jiyue shrugged her shoulders in indifference.

“This is the key to the room.” Mu Qing produced a clanking metal ring from her sleeves, many bronze keys hanging from it, every key a three inch long and narrow bronze piece. However, the decorative motifs on them were all different, the one she gave Hua Jiyue was one with an owl shaped design. Meanwhile, the designs of the other female students’ keys were respectively a northern goshawk, vine, skylark, and brambles.

“For the sake of being impartial, you all can either choose to return to your rooms, or you can come with me to look at the men’s rooms.”

“How can we miss this opportunity? Of course we have to go.”

…

After another pull on this corridor’s brass ring, a flight of bronze stairs shifted over, connecting them to a corner of the third floor.

None of the third floor rooms were locked. Mu Qing randomly pushed open a room. This time, the new students who were previously left outside because they were too reserved were the first to rush into this room.

This room was also on the cliff side, the scenery that was revealed through the window almost completely identical. However, the interior was completely different, from the ground to the walls, even the bed and couch were made of sturdy and heavy limestone mountain rock.

These limestone rock furniture all had some criss-crossed marks on them, only the mattress and bedding made of thick beast skin, making them look a bit softer.

“You were in the biggest rush to enter, the one with the least patience. All of you are going to be given a room anyway, there’s no reason to be this rushed at all, so this room is yours.”

Qiu Lu’s excited expression immediately became rigid, because he was the first one to rush into this room. Because they were shoving each other to get inside first, this room naturally became a bit more messy.

“The greatest meaning behind each room doesn’t lie in the rooms themselves, but rather in the people who have walked out of them.”

Mu Qing handed a key with an owl design to the somewhat sullen Qiu Lu, and then calmly said, “Using this room as an example, there has been a high general and two provincial supervisors.”

Hong!

Another commotion immediately erupted.

Qiu Lu’s eyes also brightened, saying excitedly, “Perhaps from today forth, another great general will walk out of this room.”

“Idiot!” Someone said quietly, shooting him a look.

“Who said that? Stand out here!” Qiu Lu was so angry his entire face flushed red. However, he didn’t see who it was that spoke.

“Alright, each person gets a key, and then you all can go find your respective rooms. The doors all have matching designs with the keys.”

“Teacher Mu, what are we doing after this?”

“If you haven’t learned to always hide some things to eat on you on your way here yet and are hungry, then you can look around this Self Defense Freshman Dormitory. One of the rooms will have things to eat… Otherwise, just stay in your rooms, when it comes time for morning classes, I will naturally bring you all over. However, you all must remember Green Luan Academy’s first rule.” Mu Qing said in a gentle manner. “Otherwise, as the first one to violate it, I will deduct one point from you all.”

“This rule is a bit strange. Why does it exist?” A golden spoon curled his mouth.

“This is a question you can ask Professor Situ who will be lecturing you all tomorrow, his reply will definitely leave you all with a deeper impression than I can. Girls, we can go… also, from now on, if you enter someone else’s room, a point will be deducted.” Mu Qing adjusted her hair a bit, chuckled, and then apart from Qiu Lu, the other new students were all made to leave. She then led the five Self Defense Department female students in turning around and leaving.

Lin Xi gave the key he was given a look, about to look for his own room. The design on his key was a fluttering black flag that looked like a dark cloud. However, as soon as he raised his head, he saw a deathly pale Li Kaiyun, even his legs shaking.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Xi asked in confusion.

Li Kaiyun’s hands were holding his chest, as if he was truly frightened badly. He whispered by Lin Xi’s ears, “Did you notice? Teacher Mu’s footsteps don’t make any noise at all! Her feet don’t even seem to need to touch the ground…”

Lin Xi stared blankly for a moment, and then he turned around. The tall and slender Mu Qing was currently walking on the suspended bronze stairs, the spacious academy black robes preventing him from seeing her legs, but he indeed couldn’t hear the slightest footstep sound.

His brows furrowed, and then he turned around to look at Li Kaiyun, because he was sure Li Kaiyun had more things to say. Otherwise, just this bit alone wouldn’t make the hot-blooded and loyal Li Kaiyun become like this.

Li Kaiyun finally gasped for breath, but his complexion was still deathly pale. “The inside of her robes is extremely terrifying… just now, I think I even saw something like a snake head sticking out.”

Lin Xi was startled. “Something like a snake head?”

“Yeah, about this size, and I’m sure it was alive, because it immediately pulled back.” Li Kaiyun made a fist to show the size, indicating that the ‘snake’ was at least the size of a fist.

Suddenly, Li Kaiyun couldn’t speak anymore, his face becoming even more pale.

It was because right at this moment, Lecturer Mu Qing, on that suspended bronze stairs, suddenly turned around and gave him a look, seemingly even giving him and Lin Xi a malicious chuckle.

Creak

After sending the five Self Defense Department female students to the fifth floor, she pushed open a wall, and then walked inside, it was unknown where she disappeared to inside this labyrinth-like building.

“Lin Xi, you think she heard what we said? Huh? Don’t tell me you aren’t scared?” Li Kaiyun gave Lin Xi a strange look. He didn’t see any fear from Lin Xi’s face.

Lin Xi laughed, and then he patted Li Kaiyun’s shoulder. “What is there to be scared of? She is a lecturer of this academy, as well as someone who watches over this freshman dormitory. The more terrifying she is, the less of a chance of anyone harming us.”

Li Kaiyun stared blankly. “Your words seem to really make sense… then in a bit, should we explore this freshman dormitory a bit?”

Lin Xi immediately shook his head. “We’ll have more than enough time in the future. Who knows what kind of torment we’ll have to go through for our first class in Green Luan Academy.”

“Heaven’s choice… However, aptitude is only two, yet Professor Qin still wanted him into the Self Defense Department, and in the end, he really did enter this department… for him, I wonder if this is a blessing or misfortune.” When the wall turned just now, the black-robed Mu Qing stood there without moving, her ears moving slightly, muttering this to herself.

…

Lin Xi had no idea that the black-robed lecturer behind that wall was still contemplating the issue of his future prospects, currently holding that key while looking for his own room.

As he moved along this third floor corridor, people continuously pushed open doors and entered, which was why Lin Xi didn’t have to waste time examining the doors’ designs one by one.

After walking all the way down this corridor, only after reaching the second to last room did Lin Xi see a door no one pushed open with a black flag that seemed to be facing fierce winds.

Right at this time, a skinny and tall youngster who had a long blade and a bow on his back walked towards him.

There were originally four ‘border barbarians’ who had long blades on their backs, but in the end, there was only one who carried his long blade into Green Luan Academy. This was why it was rather easy for Lin Xi to remember this rather quiet but unyielding youngster’s name: Tang Ke.

“Tang Ke, seems like we’re neighbors?”

Lin Xi looked at the diagram on the door of the room beside his with curiosity, a heavy piece of armor.

Tang Ke froze for a moment. Golden spoons, border barbarians and bumpkins didn’t really get along with each other to begin with, which was why he didn’t expect Lin Xi who entered via heaven’s choice would actually take the initiative to introduce himself.

“Yes.” When he saw the armor diagram on the door next to Lin Xi’s room, he nodded in a bit of an uncomfortable manner.

Lin Xi laughed and said, “Tang Ke, do you mind if we chat with each other a bit? We can do it now, or we can wait until you drop off your stuff.”

Tang Ke entered another momentary stupor. He lowered his head, his eyes perfectly lining up with his own dirt-covered, worn-out cloth shoes. “Chat with me? … why?”

“Why?” Lin Xi gave this habitually silent and rather uncomfortable tall and skinny young man a look, becoming a bit stunned. Then, immediately afterwards, he chuckled and said, “Because I admire you.”

Lin Xi’s smile was extremely pure, his tone also extremely easygoing, but Tang Ke’s entire body went rigid without any reason. “I… I have no interest in fun with sun and dragon[1].”

“Fun with sun and dragon?” Lin Xi looked strangely at Tang Ke, asking with curiosity, “What is that?”

The expression on Tang Ke’s face became even more embarrassed, “It is… playing with butts, I don’t like that stuff.”

Lin Xi was completely dumbstruck, truly stunned. Then, he couldn’t help but roar with laughter, laughing so hard his waist was bending over. However, when he straightened his body again, he looked at Tang Ke seriously and with pity, nodding towards the long blade and bow on his back, “When I said I admire you, it was just because even if you couldn’t hold on, you still wanted to bring those things here on your back. When I said I wanted to chat with you, it was just to hear about some things from the border army. I naturally don’t like that stuff either.”

Tang Ke’s dark and skinny face immediately flushed completely red. Lin Xi rubbed his stomach that was starting to hurt from laughing, but he still managed to hold himself back. “I came from Deerwood Town, the Uncle Liu who drove me here was also an old border army soldier. He didn’t tell me anything about the border army, but whenever the border army is mentioned, they always make it sound like some extremely dangerous place. For my words just now to even make you think that kind of stuff… this border army, just what kind of place is it exactly?”

“The border army…” Tang Ke took a deep breath. Even though he could tell that Lin Xi’s expression was extremely sincere, he still subconsciously stroked the blade on his back. “The border army… is not a place people should be in.”

1. old term for homosexuality

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