Chapter 24 Class (Part 1) Of course, I was having tutoring. ...
Bai Lu ran off as soon as she finished speaking, leaving Qingxing alone to slowly process the news.
She tilted her head slowly, staring at the empty windowsill, a big question mark rising in her mind.
What plan?
Was that bird there to let her read?
It wasn't until she opened the door and saw the dark brown bark on the ground that Qingxing realized she had to go to tutoring.
She picked up the bark and ran her hand over the densely packed characters on it, feeling a headache coming on: the spiritual lessons she had skipped for three lifetimes had finally come.
She has lived a carefree life these past few years. The only thing that makes her somewhat afraid is the "famous" spiritual practice course at Mount Taihua.
The reason was simple: Qingxing had worked in the kitchen for a year. After the spring that year, every mealtime, she would see a group of "pale and thin" inner disciples besieging the kitchen. They would wolf down their food, and some even cried while eating. At first, she thought something had happened outside and these disciples were rushing to the battlefield. Later, after another servant explained, she realized that these people were in such a sorry state because they had gone to study.
Therefore, after Jiu Quchen took her as his disciple, he never mentioned the matter of cultivation lessons, so Qingxing would not ask about it to avoid causing herself unnecessary trouble.
If spiritual practice is so terrifying, she might as well study some unofficial books on her own and learn some interesting knowledge.
But unexpectedly... Qingxing glanced at the two lines of small characters below the tree bark:
"The above courses are repeated every six days, with four self-study days per month. The course ends after six months. Disciples who skip too many classes will enter the next training course until they complete the course."
As if afraid she would overlook it, the small print was specially thickened with gold thread, flashing and piercing her eyes.
Qingxing sighed softly, silently reciting, "What's meant to happen will happen," and resignedly put the item away, then began packing her things according to her class schedule.
When Guda woke up and learned of this, it whispered in Qingxing's ear and mocked her all day. Qingxing ignored it, but the next day, before rushing to her morning class, she "snap" cast a dungeon array outside Tingyu Garden, locking Guda, who was still asleep, inside.
It was already summer, and dawn broke early. Because of her habit of waking up early, Qingxing wasn't particularly sleepy. The first lesson was "The History of Cultivation Under Heaven," and the teaching location was on Qiyun Peak. As Qingxing walked along the path leading to the school, she could occasionally see a few disciples with extremely dark circles under their eyes.
If you ask what the advantages of living in Tingyuyuan are, besides the large courtyard and comfortable living, there's only one other advantage—it's located halfway up the mountain, making it convenient to go anywhere.
So Qingxing arrived at the school not long after she started walking. It was an extremely tall building, filled with desks and cushions. Qingxing didn't know what kind of temperament the teacher of this course was, so to be on the safe side, she chose a seat slightly to the right of the middle.
The lights are dim in this area, so if the teacher were to ask a question, he probably wouldn't think to call on the student from there.
Qingxing placed the cloth bag on the side of the desk, took out the book "The Complete Book of Magic Formations" inside, and began to read it carefully.
She became easily engrossed in her books, her mind completely absorbed in the various magical formations within, oblivious to when the classroom filled up or when the teacher began his lesson. She kept her head down until someone tugged at her clothes several times before she looked up and glanced around.
I don't know what the person who arranged the course was thinking, scheduling this incredibly boring history class in the morning. The old professor's deep voice was practically a natural sedative. The students in the hall were either asleep or lying down, and apart from the students in the front row, there were very few people listening to the lecture.
The person who had tugged at her clothes—Qingxing—turned around and met the gaze of Duanmu Tingzhu, who was lying on the ground.
Duanmu Tingzhu styled his hair in the same bun as he had on Jade Tiger Peak. To avoid being discovered by his teacher, he pressed himself against the wooden floor, still holding onto Qingxing's clothes, his mouth opening and closing as if he were saying something.
"Hmm?" Qingxing lowered her head slightly, trying to hear him clearly. "Did you come to see me?"
She hadn't gone out yesterday, and only now did she remember that she seemed to have promised this junior brother the day before yesterday that she would give him spirit stones as compensation.
Qingxing thought he had come to collect a debt. While thinking that this junior brother was really greedy, even coming to the school to collect debts, she took out a purse from her bag, placed it in front of him, and said softly, "Two hundred spirit stones."
The spirit stone was placed in front of Duanmu. He first stared wide-eyed at Qingxing in disbelief, then began to open and close his mouth, trying to make the person in front of him understand something.
"Not enough?" Qingxing couldn't read lips, so she shifted her position slightly to lean closer. "But I only brought this much today. If it's still not enough, I'll have to wait until school ends to get you more."
"No!" Duanmu seemed to have finally given up trying to communicate. His face turned bright red, and he shouted, "I asked you to give me some space! You're blocking my way!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
As soon as Duanmu finished speaking, several wooden slips flew over with a strong gust of wind. Qingxing instinctively turned her head, and the wooden slips grazed past her ears, then thudded into the floor along the edge of Duanmu's palm, leaving several cracks around them, as if it were some kind of warning.
Qingxing looked up and saw the teacher's face clearly for the first time in half an hour.
He sat behind his desk, holding a rolled-up booklet in one hand. His brows were furrowed, and his gaze sweeping over the two men was full of authority.
The hall was silent; you could hear a pin drop. Some of the sleeping disciples were startled awake, staring blankly in Qingxing's direction, trying to figure out what had happened.
The teacher stood up from behind his desk and slowly walked towards them. He was not tall, but he had a strong presence. When he got closer to Qingxing, he spoke, his beard trembling, his voice booming: "Not paying attention in class is one thing, but speaking so loudly, as if you're afraid I can't hear you?"
Qingxing didn't speak. It was indeed her fault for being impolite first. She lowered her head and obediently accepted the reprimand.
“What is my classroom? Which school of thought are you from? State your name…” The teacher stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence—he saw Duanmu Tingzhu lying like a frog behind him.
Duanmu Tingzhu had originally planned to feign death to get away with it, but he hadn't expected the teacher to come down. He was at a loss and tried to get up, but as soon as he bent his left leg, his right leg wouldn't move—it was obviously stuck on the desk behind him.
He closed his eyes in despair, and finally could only look up at the white-bearded man in front of him, meeting the strange gazes of those around him with an awkward yet polite smile:
"Good morning, sir. Would you like some of my newly drawn talismans? They're free!"
Qingxing turned her head to the side, covered her face, and thought to herself that it would have been better if the child hadn't said anything. Now that she had said this, the teacher would probably be so angry that he would be furious.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, the white-bearded old man's lips twitched, and his anger gradually rose. He breathed heavily, his cheeks turned a deep purplish-red, and he directly used magic to throw Duanmu and Qingxing, along with the desk, out of the school, slamming the school door shut with a "bang."
"You two don't need to come to my classes anymore! I will report this to the elders and have you repeat the course next term!"
Pens and paper clattered to the ground. Qingxing and Duanmu Tingzhu exchanged a silent glance. For the first time, the latter's face was expressionless, as if he was completely helpless.
The desk was smashed to pieces. Qingxing calmly got up, first patted the dust off her clothes, then walked to the overturned desk, obediently picked up a pile of wood pieces, and piled them in front of the school gate.
Duanmu's buttocks hurt a little from the fall. He hissed softly, braced himself with his hands behind his back, and stared at the azure sky with a look of utter despair.
"Senior sister," he said, no longer having the strength to be angry, his voice filled with weariness, "I've discovered that we're not only destined to be enemies, but also incompatible in some ways."
"The first time I met you, I lost over a hundred talismans—that's all money!" His voice trembled with heartache as he said this. "The second time I met you, haha," he pointed to the tightly closed school gates, his expression one of despair, "I'm going to have to repeat the course!"
“I’ve already returned the spirit stones to you, so the first one doesn’t count.” Qingxing walked to his side and held out a hand. “As for this second one…”
Why did you keep talking to me in the school?
Qingxing pulled the person up, feeling a little puzzled: judging from the first half hour of class, this teacher didn't care about his students at all. As long as they didn't make a sound, she suspected that even if someone secretly cut off the teacher's beard, he wouldn't say anything.
She was reading her book peacefully when Duanmu Tingzhu tugged at her, which led to the series of events that followed. If it weren't for him, they wouldn't have been thrown out of the school, nor would they have had to repeat their studies.
"Who wants to talk to you? Don't flatter yourself!" Duanmu rubbed his butt and said speechlessly, "Your right side is my reserved spot. If you don't move aside, how am I supposed to get past you!"
After thinking it over carefully, Qingxing realized that the seat on the right had always been empty and no one had ever been there.
"That's not right." Duanmu seemed to just realize something. He looked Qingxing up and down and asked in surprise, "I heard from Senior Brother Wenren that you entered the sect two years ago... If that's the case, why are you taking the same class as me?"
Before Qingxing could answer, he opened his mouth wide in surprise, as if he had discovered something extraordinary:
"You didn't spend two years retaking the course, did you?!"
"No." Qingxing coughed lightly and said calmly, "I haven't taken any cultivation classes before. The elders were afraid I would embarrass myself if I went out, so they arranged for me to take extra classes."
Duanmu Tingzhu: ?
He went over the sentence in his mind, and finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! Tutoring! Hahahaha! Unheard of!" He laughed so hard he almost couldn't breathe. "Oh, I can't take it anymore! What's that saying again? You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth!"
Qingxing remained expressionless until the person in front of her had finished laughing, then she stretched out her right hand in front of him and snapped her fingers crisply.
The laughter stopped abruptly, and Duanmu's throat felt like it was blocked by a wad of cotton; he couldn't utter a sound.
He stared wide-eyed, covered his mouth, and no matter how hard he tried, he could only make "uh-uh-uh" sounds, which were extremely unpleasant to hear. Finally, having no other choice, he could only repeatedly show Qingxing his throat, his eyes asking: What did you do?
"Silent Array." Qingxing smiled slightly, turned around with her hands behind her back, "I learned it half an hour ago, the effect should be good."
She moved lightly, ignoring Duanmu Tingzhu who was struggling on the spot. Helpless, Duanmu Tingzhu could only follow Qingxing closely, trying to get her to untie him.
"Don't talk while eating." Qingxing glanced indifferently at Duanmu, who was glaring at her angrily across from her. The two of them had the same subjects. This junior brother had only been with her all day. She was a little annoyed by the classes. She had finally found a break to come to the kitchen to have a bowl of soup. She was not in the mood to break the spell yet. "I'll talk after I finish eating."
Upon hearing this, Duanmu immediately turned his grief and indignation into appetite and took a big bite of the brown sugar steamed bun.
"Senior Sister, I knew you'd be here!" Shen Wanfeng flew over like a gust of wind and sat down next to Duanmu. "What have you been doing these past two days? I couldn't find you anywhere!"
"Tutoring." Qingxing glanced at Xie Yuzhou and Wenren Xi behind her and quietly unsealed the silence array.
With the obstruction gone, Duanmu Tingzhu felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He first touched his throat to make sure there was no problem before he began to accuse her: "Senior sister, you are a beast in human form!"
"Hmm? How could Junior Sister Qingxing have a 'beastly heart'?" Wenren Xi approached and said with a smile, "Junior Brother should pay more attention in class and not misuse idioms."
Duanmu protested, "She wouldn't let me speak!"
"It's so you can concentrate on the lesson," Qingxing said dismissively.
"Senior sister is going to class too?" Shen Wan asked in surprise. Xie Yuzhou, who was standing next to her, also turned his gaze to Qingxing.
"Ah...yes." Qingxing brought this up for the third time today. Not wanting to explain further, she changed the subject, "Junior Sister doesn't look well. Did the incident at Jade Tiger Peak disturb your rest?"
“I get annoyed just thinking about it.” Shen Wan casually picked up a steamed bun and kneaded it in her hand. “My senior brother and I flew around Jade Tiger Peak for a day and a night, but we couldn’t find even a trace of demonic energy. I don’t know who has such extraordinary abilities to send demons in without anyone noticing.”
"Perhaps there's a mole among us." Xie Yuzhou lowered his eyes, grasped her wrist, and put the steamed bun back in its place, speaking calmly.
His words were like a thunderclap, leaving the four of them stunned. Some disciples nearby turned to look. After Shen Wan reacted, she jumped up and covered his mouth tightly: "Hahahaha, Senior Brother is really good at joking, hahahahaha."
“Oh dear, junior brother’s joke was rather lame.” Wenren Xi suddenly had a flash of inspiration and laughed to cover it up. “When it comes to humor, I’m still more skilled at it.”
Qingxing didn't speak. They all knew that if there was a traitor within Taihua Mountain, this matter would not be so simple.
The sect leader couldn't possibly have overlooked this, but since she hadn't said anything, they couldn't speculate wildly, lest they cause unnecessary commotion.
Thinking of this, Qingxing thought to herself: Maybe it's related to that mysterious "world-destroying villain".
"Stop talking nonsense." Duanmu Tingzhu burped, ignoring the atmosphere around him, and asked instead, "Do you get spirit stones as a reward for helping the sect leader?"
Shen Wan: ?
She, Xie Yuzhou, and Wenren Xi all turned their heads at the same time, looking at him with a strange gaze.
"Why are you looking at me?" Duanmu asked, looking puzzled. "Don't you know that people die for money and birds die for food?"
“I understand.” Shen Wan tilted her head and asked curiously, “Aren’t you surnamed ‘Duanmu’? Why do you always talk about spirit stones? Logically speaking, you shouldn’t lack such things.”
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Author's Note: Apricot Baby's School Days [Lower-eared Rabbit Head]
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