"Two destined individuals, please proceed straight up to the mountain peak. You are invited."
A young attendant with hair tied in hanging ear buns chirped brightly, gesturing with an inviting hand.
"Huh? Just like that? We're the 'destined ones'?"
He always said this was some shady academy, pulling these gimmicks to fool people.
Lu Chao followed Xiao Youcheng up the mountain in a daze, climbing endless flights of stairs with no end in sight.
Half an hour later, Lu Chao, panting heavily, finally reached the summit and laid eyes on an ancient-looking academy.
Calling it an academy was a stretch—it resembled a temple more, serene and profound, as if even breathing might disturb its tranquility.
"I’ve come today to pay my respects to the academy’s headmaster. Would the elder kindly announce our arrival?"
Xiao Youcheng cupped his hands in salute toward an elderly man sweeping at the entrance.
The old man shook his head sternly, then pointed to his own ears and mouth before resuming sweeping, directing his broom toward where the two stood. He was mute and deaf.
Cough, cough, cough!
Lu Chao covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve, pulling Xiao Youcheng back down the steps.
Since they were here to seek knowledge, barging in wasn’t an option.
"What if we write it down? Maybe he can read?" Lu Chao whispered his suggestion.
Xiao Youcheng glanced around helplessly. "There’s no place to grind ink here."
They couldn’t exactly bend over and grind ink on the spot, could they? And they’d need water for that—who knew where to find any nearby?
"Ugh, stop overcomplicating it. We’ll write on the ground and drag the old man over to see," Lu Chao said, handing Xiao Youcheng a small pebble before approaching the elder.
"Respected elder, would you honor us with a moment?" Lu Chao grinned, muttering under his breath as he cupped his hands and gestured politely.
Whack!
The old man scowled and swung his broom to shoo them away. Lu Chao nimbly dodged to the side, glancing between the stone-faced elder and the aloof, noble Third Prince.
Sighing, he rubbed his chest.
Both of them are absolute tyrants.
A short while later, Lu Chao picked up the broom and resignedly began sweeping in the old man’s place, grumbling nonstop.
"Y’know what, old man? This job’s perfect for introverts. Not a soul in sight—why even sweep? Fallen leaves return to their roots, nourishing the earth for spring blossoms."
He hummed a tuneless melody as he worked.
The elder swept silently, the corner of his mouth twitching imperceptibly.
Xiao Youcheng, meanwhile, helped gather the swept leaves into bamboo baskets.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally cleared the courtyard.
This time, when they pulled the old man over, he didn’t raise his broom.
But alas, the elder glanced at the characters on the ground and shook his head again.
Lu Chao pressed his lips together and turned to Xiao Youcheng. "Yukang, maybe we aren’t the destined ones? Did that kid trick us?"
(Yukang was Xiao Youcheng’s courtesy name—they’d agreed to use it while traveling incognito.)
Xiao Youcheng studied the old man, now resting nearby, and whispered, "Do you think he’s the headmaster testing us?"
Lu Chao shook his head. "No way. Look at his arms—the tan lines on his wrists show years of sun exposure. And his fingernails? Cracked and caked with dirt. This man’s worked hard labor all his life. You’ve read too many novels."
The headmaster of an academy ought to be more like Lord Lu, dignified and scholarly.
Xiao Youcheng sighed. "So we just wasted our time?"
Lu Chao shrugged. "What can we do? Consider it exercise."
Xiao Youcheng, however, looked crestfallen. "That sly old man tricked us into doing his chores."
Seeing how much effort Xiao Youcheng had put into reaching this remote academy—and how much he’d hoped for this—Lu Chao softened.
"The old man can’t speak or hear. We chose to sweep. How’s that his fault? If you really want in, we’ll just come back tomorrow."
He raised an eyebrow playfully.
"Or maybe the headmaster’s secretly watching us right now?"
Xiao Youcheng’s excuse for switching academies was that the Emperor had him under surveillance. Still young, he couldn’t waste his life idling in his estate—he needed something to occupy his time.
Since he wasn’t studying statecraft or preparing for imperial exams, neither county schools nor mainstream academies suited him. His paranoid father might suspect him of forming factions. So, he’d picked this obscure academy for amusement.
"Which novel did you get that from?"
Xiao Youcheng’s heart skipped a beat.
"Novels always have some immortal-looking elder appearing mysteriously—ahem—'Young master, I see extraordinary potential in you. Would you care to become my disciple?'"
Lu Chao hammed it up, gesturing dramatically, and Xiao Youcheng couldn’t help but laugh.
Just as they were about to leave, the young attendant reappeared and motioned to Xiao Youcheng.
"Young master, the headmaster requests your presence."
"Chao, wait for me here. I’ll come find you," Xiao Youcheng said anxiously, glancing back repeatedly as he followed the attendant inside.
Lu Chao waved cheerfully, watching him go before plopping onto a sun-warmed rock.
The academy’s view was breathtaking—rolling hills and plains stretched below, a cool breeze carrying away the stifling air. Birds chirped, insects hummed, and the sun’s warmth lulled him into a doze.
When Lu Chao woke, Xiao Youcheng still hadn’t returned. Stretching, he rubbed his growling stomach.
Hungry.
He eyed the locked gates, then spotted the old man under a tree, whittling something with a small knife.
Lu Chao edged closer cautiously—still wary of the broom—but when the elder didn’t shoo him, he squatted nearby and pulled two meat buns from his pocket. He offered one to the old man and stuffed the other into his mouth.
The elder glanced up, took the bun stoically, devoured it in three bites, and resumed carving.
With a flick of his blade, he sharpened a hard piece of wood effortlessly, shaping it into a pencil-like point.
Lu Chao gaped, giving an impressed thumbs-up.
That wrist strength! That precision! Damn!
In the time it took to eat a bun, the elder drilled two holes into a bamboo tube, bent a thinner bamboo strip into it, and loaded the sharpened "arrow" into the front.
Thwack!
The arrow shot past Lu Chao’s face, landing seven or eight meters away.
"Holy—!! Is that a slingshot? A crossbow?!"
What man wouldn’t love weapons like this? Lu Chao scampered to retrieve the arrow, grinning like an excited child.
Every time the old man gave a signal, Lu Chao would come running over eagerly, like a happy little puppy.
"You're the best, old man!!! Absolutely amazing!!"
Seeing his silly grin, the old man's lips curled slightly as he handed him the slingshot.
"You're letting me play with it?! Woah!! You're seriously the best, old man!!"
Though Yingge had given him a pair of wrist blades, their range was nowhere near as far. They were decent for close combat but fell short at a distance. This tiny bamboo tube, however, had such incredible range and power—it was unbelievable.
Behind the wall, inside the gate.
Xiao Youcheng couldn't help but smile as he watched Lu Chao's antics through the gap.
"Master actually brought out the spotted bamboo—he’s really going all out."
He recalled the first time he mentioned Lu Chao to his master, how the old man had scowled, his brows and eyes twisted in disdain.
"Don’t just dump any stray cat or dog on me! I’m only teaching you because the Crown Prince asked! And now you bring another one? If they can’t pass my test, no one’s word will make a difference!"
Now, seeing the old man’s smug little smirk—ha.
...
