Chapter 85: Is Zhao going to start a fight?
Liang Shanzhang had been waiting anxiously for Zhao Yunjing, and finally he arrived. He grasped the other's hand tightly, tears streaming down his face with emotion.
"I dreamt of Lord Liang! He said I would receive a good student today and that I should nurture him well! I know he was talking about you!"
Zhao Yunjing grasped her hand in return: "I have dreamt of a grumpy old man with a white beard for three nights in a row. He told me to stay at Huilan Academy and said that this place would be my lucky place."
"real?"
"Fake."
Headmaster Liang laughed heartily: "You're quite an interesting kid. Go ahead, go to the school building and put your luggage down first. If you want to rest, come to the lecture hall this afternoon. If you don't want to rest, I'll have someone deliver your things to you. You can go to the lecture hall with them now."
Huilan Academy has three small lecture halls and one large lecture hall. The large lecture hall is similar to the public lecture hall in modern universities, and it is a compulsory course that all students must attend. The teacher will randomly call attendance, and there is a special table for signing in. There are also people keeping an eye on attendance to prevent anyone from signing in for others.
Zhao Yunjing's name had been marked with an X every day for ten days, but today it was finally marked with a checkmark. The Master was very happy, but also a little unhappy, and wanted to do something about it.
Throughout the two-hour lesson, the teacher kept cuing him. At first, he wanted to dampen his arrogance, but after asking a few questions, Zhao Yunjing had his own unique insights, some of which were very fresh and even a bit far-fetched, but they were logically consistent and made up for themselves. Later, the teacher simply wanted to test his foundation.
The lesson was over, and the basics had been covered. The teacher was genuinely happy this time. After class, he even chatted with him for half a cup of tea. If it weren't for Young Master Chen interrupting, the teacher could have talked on and on forever.
Master Wang chuckled dryly: "Alright, go eat first. If you're free tonight, feel free to come find me anytime. I'm very happy to chat with you young people. When Lord Liang was still alive, he often asked us to interact more with our students, saying that we would find people who would challenge us. I didn't believe it before, but now I do. Zhao, you are excellent, and I will definitely teach you everything I have learned!"
"Thank you, Master."
After Master Wang left, Young Master Chen clicked his tongue and said, "Congratulations, Brother Zhao! You've already made a name for yourself on your very first day and become a celebrity at the academy!"
Where is the canteen?
"Turn left at the next intersection. Hey Zhao Yunjing, I'm not jealous of you, I'm just kindly reminding you that the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind. You'd better be careful. Huilan Academy isn't as simple as you think. Not everyone who comes here is here to pursue knowledge."
"I have taken your words of advice to heart, Brother Chen. Thank you."
“I’m telling you this not to get your thanks, but because I don’t want my opponent to die before the competition even starts, since I gave up Shanglin Academy to come to these places.”
Zhao Yunjing paused, and then Young Master Chen left.
"Brother Zhao! The canteen is this way! Come quick!"
A boy of about twelve or thirteen waved to him. Zhao Yunjing looked closely and recognized him as an acquaintance. He smiled and said, "Xiao Ran, you're here too."
It was at that tea stall where he competed in calligraphy with Young Master Chen that day, which is now the son of Hu Dasao Milk Tea Shop owner and his wife, Hu Peiran.
Hu Peiran originally planned to take the entrance exam for Shanglin Academy next spring. However, after hearing that Zhao Yunjing went to Huilan Academy and that even the county magistrate's son had transferred from Shanglin Academy to Huilan Academy, the three members of the Hu family held a small meeting and decided to go to Huilan Academy as well.
With the precedent set by Zhao Yunjing and the fifteen students who took the entrance exam, Huilan Academy simply changed the fixed annual exam period to a long-term validity period, allowing students to take the exam and enter the academy at any time. This time, Hu Peiran was enrolled along with three friends who lived on the same street as him.
"Then we'll be classmates from now on, Hu. Please take good care of me."
Hu Peiran blushed: "Brother Zhao, it should be you who gives me more guidance. Brother Zhao, I've read all your articles, they're really, really well written. May I ask you questions in the future? I also want to be as knowledgeable as you, Brother Zhao."
On that day, Xiao Hu was very friendly to Chu Liu and Xiao Wu, and generously shared what he had learned. He seemed to be a kind-hearted person, so Zhao Yun Jing naturally reciprocated.
The two chatted along the way and soon arrived at the canteen.
Zhao Yunjing and Hu Peiran got their food and looked around.
The students were eating in twos and threes, and there were no empty tables left. When they saw the two people standing there, everyone looked over.
Two students who took the entrance exam with Zhao Yunjing raised their hands: "Zhao—"
A burly man pressed one of them down with each hand, forcing them to sit back down: "No talking while eating or sleeping. It's okay that you're late and don't know these rules, just remember them from now on."
"What should I feed you—"
The two students were in so much pain in their shoulders that they couldn't speak.
"I'm telling you, just eat your food properly, and don't try to steal the limelight if it's not your place, you know what I mean?"
"You! You've utterly disgraced civilization!"
Another student called out, "Brother Zhao, we're done eating, there are empty seats here!"
He was slapped hard across the face as soon as he finished speaking, and he was stunned by the pain.
The burly student who assaulted the boy was named Feng Wei, from the neighboring Taoyuan County. Taoyuan County is separated from Taohua County by only a few mountains, and it is even poorer than Taohua County. The county school in Taoyuan County had long been closed down, and students from Taoyuan County all came to Taohua County to study.
Every place has its own small groups, and Huilan Academy has students from two counties. Over the years, students from Taoyuan County have always come in groups, which is originally a small group. The local groups naturally did not accept them. Over time, Huilan Academy developed a large group based on the region and countless smaller groups under it.
Feng Wei enrolled four years ago and is now twenty-five years old. He failed the last imperial examination and didn't even pass the lowest level. He plans to take the exam again in two years. Because of his straightforward personality, love of showing off, and willingness to stand up for others, he became the leader of that large group in Taoyuan County.
Feng Chuan slapped the two men, picked them up and threw them aside, then sat down in an empty seat and said unhurriedly, "Empty seat? Where did you get an empty seat?"
The two students, realizing what had happened, turned red with anger: "The academy is a place for learning, not for violence! You resort to violence at the slightest disagreement, which is not only disgraceful to scholars, but also unworthy of being called a teacher!"
Feng Wei slapped them both again, leaving them stunned: "You! You! You!"
"If you don't leave, I'll break all your legs!" Feng Wei threatened. "Get out!"
His three supporters started shoving the two students, hurling insults at them.
These two students came from a much farther place; they were neither from Taoyuan County nor Taohua County. Therefore, the students from Taohua County did not react much when they saw them being bullied by Feng Wei.
Just as the two students were about to be pushed out of the cafeteria, Zhao Yunjing strode over and said, "Stop."
Feng Wei had been waiting for this moment. He laughed and said, "Is Zhao going to start a fight?"
Zhao Yunjing pulled two classmates behind him, one in each hand, and said calmly, "My two friends are right. The academy is not a place for violence and fighting, but it doesn't say that we can't have martial arts duels."
He moved his neck and wrists: "Should we do it here, or go outside?"
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