AVL Chapter 133

Zhuxing House’s first practical training—they made a fierce ghost full of resentful energy scatter soul and spirit.

 

Except for Yan Ling and the severely injured Sheng Jiao who were unconscious for three days and nights, the others only suffered superficial injuries, recovering after half a day’s rest.

 

Yan Ling’s ears were shocked into injury. Madam Zhao said it would take ten days to half a month to recover—he could only temporarily be half-deaf.

 

In Jiusi Garden, Headmaster Liu with that cold face praised everyone with a few sentences one by one. But for Yan Ling who had bravely charged into battle, he only gave a “tsk” evaluation.

 

Yan Ling had cotton balls stuffed in his ears. He shouted at Lezheng Jiu: “Ge! Did the headmaster praise me?! What did he say? Was I very brave?!”

 

Headmaster Liu looked at him coldly. He looked like he didn’t want to praise him and even wanted to punish him by making him copy the sword manual a thousand more times.

 

Lezheng Jiu saw Headmaster Liu’s displeasure. Extending his hand to poke Yan Ling, he signaled him to hurry and shut up.

 

Yan Ling didn’t understand but still dejectedly closed his mouth.

 

Xi Jue frowned watching, suddenly raising a hand.

 

Headmaster Liu said indifferently: “Shut up.”

 

Xi Jue: “I haven’t said anything yet.”

 

“I know what you want to say.” Headmaster Liu’s face was so cold it could freeze. “He opportunistically took shortcuts and still wants praise? Dream on. Not punishing him with copying the sword manual already shows my benevolence.”

 

Xi Jue said displeased: “What do you mean opportunistic shortcuts? He risked his life going in to kill that vengeful ghost. Even his ears were injured—at such a young age already a little deaf. Even if you’re the headmaster…”

 

Headmaster Liu indifferently interrupted him: “…He knew I was guarding in the shadows.”

 

Xi Jue froze.

 

The others also looked at each other.

 

After saying this, Headmaster Liu directly left with a flick of his sleeves.

 

Yan Ling didn’t know what happened, still idly playing on his toes.

 

Xi Jue carefully thought back and also discovered the clue.

 

In the secret realm, Yan Ling had said “Maybe joining forces to subdue that fierce ghost is precisely our training this time.” From then on, he’d been very brave, as if not afraid of death.

 

Turns out he’d known all along that Headmaster Liu was hiding nearby and wouldn’t watch them die.

 

Xi Jue was silent for a long while. Extending his hand toward Yan Ling, he made an “awesome” gesture, saying: “Yan Ling’er, you’re truly amazing.”

 

Yan Ling didn’t understand but seeing this gesture knew it was praise. Happily he also made one: “Yes yes, I’m very brave!”

 

Xi Jue almost reached out to smack his head.

 

But thinking carefully—if Yan Ling had told them Headmaster Liu was protecting them nearby, they’d probably have given up struggling too—anyway nothing would happen, might as well be perfunctory.

 

Then Headmaster Liu probably would have punished the entire Zhuxing House together.

 

After class, Yan Ling packed his things and ran to buy osmanthus cakes, bouncing to Sheng Jiao’s quarters to see if he’d woken up.

 

Madam Wan had come over once during the day. Though the yin energy in Sheng Jiao’s meridians had been drawn out, forcibly activating his xiangwen still caused him severe injury. Even after waking, he’d need to recuperate a long time to fully recover.

 

She also said at the latest, he’d wake by tonight.

 

Yan Ling tiptoed into Sheng Jiao’s inner chamber. Lifting the bed curtain, he poked his head to see if Sheng Jiao had woken.

 

But what he thought were light movements actually weren’t light at all. Just approaching, he disturbed Sheng Jiao into furrowing his brows, slowly opening his eyes.

 

Seeing this, Yan Ling hurriedly rushed forward: “Sheng Jiao! You finally woke up!”

 

Sheng Jiao’s head ached splitting. After a while, he fully regained consciousness. Looking at the fluffy little head buried in his chest, he smiled helplessly and weakly, his voice hoarse: “Were you scared?”

 

Yan Ling couldn’t hear him speak, still rubbing blindly there.

 

Sheng Jiao recovered a bit, finally sitting up with difficulty. His face pale, Tianyan spiritual power depleted in his internal organs transmitted fine, dense pain. But much better than the severe pain when summoning heavenly thunder that day.

 

Yan Ling placed the osmanthus cakes at the bedside. Taking off his shoes, he directly climbed onto the bed, looking at Sheng Jiao longingly.

 

Only then did Sheng Jiao notice his ears: “What happened to your ears?”

 

Yan Ling carefully discerned his lip movements. Going “Ah,” he said loudly: “Can’t hear! Will take a few days to get better.”

 

After shouting, he probably found it fun, still laughing foolishly without a care.

 

Sheng Jiao was helpless.

 

Yan Ling said loudly again: “The headmaster praised you! Said you broke through potential in desperate circumstances, have a kind heart protecting classmates—especially good.”

 

He didn’t care whether Headmaster Liu praised him, but was happy all day because Sheng Jiao received praise.

 

Yan Ling originally wanted to discuss with Sheng Jiao what the vengeful ghost’s words meant. But because he couldn’t hear, they couldn’t communicate normally at all. He could only give up for now, waiting until both recovered to talk.

 

But by the time both fully recovered, playful Yan Ling had forgotten about this matter again.

 

Tianyan Academy’s arranged curriculum was very tight. Yan Ling only loved playing and studying medicine. Each exam was very hard to pass—he had to rely on Sheng Jiao and others to barely avoid being scolded by Headmaster Liu.

 

He originally planned to use ‘Idle Listening to Sounds’ to cheat. But after doing it once, Headmaster Liu immediately had Man Tingzhou make an ear cuff that could completely block the ‘Idle Listening to Sounds’ xiangwen. Each exam, it was clasped on Yan Ling’s ear.

 

The first time wearing the ear ornament, unable to cheat, Yan Ling almost didn’t even get a C. He was punished to copy books several times.

 

Xi Jue was proud and arrogant—he couldn’t let himself fall behind others. But he had a “wastrel’s” inexplicable self-esteem and didn’t want others to know he worked hard. So each time after studying diligently in his quarters until midnight and ranking first on the exam, he’d act like “Heh, these questions—I can casually rank first. What? You can’t?”

 

Angering others to gnash their teeth, isolating him even more.

 

Four years at Tianyan Academy passed almost in an instant. Everyone also grew into tall, slender youths.

 

—Except for Yan Ling.

 

In these four years, Yan Ling’s cultivation barely reached Golden Core. But his height rarely grew. Though only two years younger than others, he was a head shorter. When speaking, he had to keep looking up.

 

In the library pavilion, fourteen-year-old Yan Ling had a slender frame. His baozi face had slimmed a bit but still had some flesh—looking jade-white and cute. Every time Zhuxing House people saw him, they wanted to pinch a few times.

 

Yan Ling was standing on tiptoes trying to reach a book on the top shelf. But after several tries, he couldn’t get it down. Just getting angry, a hand reached up and took down that dusty scroll.

 

Yan Ling’s face turned green. Thinking he was about to face another round of “shorty” insults, he turned around to discover it was Fu Man.

 

Belated firecracker sounds crackled, hurting his ears.

 

Fu Man handed him the scroll, smiling: “Do you need anything else?”

 

Yan Ling breathed a sigh of relief. Taking the scroll, he shook his head: “No need. I just want to look.”

 

After all, that scroll’s sound was completely different from other books.

 

But when Yan Ling opened the cord and hastily scanned it, his brows furrowed into bean-shaped brows.

 

“What’s all this mess? Can’t understand a single word.”

 

Fu Man was also looking for books. Hearing this, he leaned over and glanced: “Oh, this is a technique that can change memory and cognition. The name… um, the name here seems dirty—can’t see it clearly. You want to learn it?”

 

“Change memory and cognition?” Yan Ling asked puzzled. “Is it a Spirit-grade technique?”

 

“Mm, very hard to learn.”

 

Yan Ling probed: “Can I change other people’s memory that I’m short?”

 

“Oh, that’s not possible.” Fu Man held back laughter. “Can’t change established facts.”

 

Yan Ling felt a bit stifled, asking gloomily: “Then can I change my own cognitive memory so I won’t be so obsessed with being tall or short?”

 

Fu Man hadn’t studied this technique either. Taking the scroll, he looked carefully: “It doesn’t seem written here. Why don’t you learn it yourself and try?”

 

This trash-tier Yan Ling furrowed his brows even tighter: “How could I learn a Spirit-grade? Why don’t you learn it and tell me—if it’s useful, I’ll work hard to learn it?”

 

Fu Man was very interested in Spirit-grade techniques. This was his first time knowing Tianyan Academy’s library pavilion had this scroll. Hearing this, he nodded happily: “Okay.”

 

Yan Ling found the books he needed, holding them in his arms as he left the library pavilion.

 

Outside it was snowing. Yan Ling didn’t know if he’d listened to that Southern Territory saying “holding an umbrella indoors makes you short.” Single-mindedly wanting to grow taller, he didn’t hold an umbrella even outdoors—just braving the snow, holding scrolls as he returned from the library pavilion to Zhuxing House.

 

Midway, passing the sparring grounds, Feng Yu and Liu Changxing were sparring with a group of young cubs from Lixiang House.

 

Yan Ling, having nothing to do, stopped and glanced outside. Suddenly meeting a pair of beautiful eyes.

 

A youth not many months different from Yan Ling watched Yan Ling. His eyeballs seemed unable to move—after a long while, as if waking from a dream, he hurried out.

 

In the heavy goose-feather snow, tall and slender Yan Ling stood in black clothes, his dark garments unable to conceal his flamboyant cheerfulness. His features like a painting—looking over quietly seemed like an exquisite snowy scene.

 

Ying Zhuo fell at first sight. Seeing Yan Ling braving the snow, he hurriedly used spider silk to casually hook an umbrella and open it, walking quickly to hold an umbrella for Yan Ling.

 

Yan Ling’s brows furrowed. He retreated half a step: “Who are you?”

 

Ying Zhuo coughed dryly, seeming somewhat embarrassed. He said quietly: “Lixiang House, Ying Zhuo.”

 

“Oh.” Yan Ling asked again: “Why are you holding an umbrella for me?”

 

Ying Zhuo hurriedly said: “Shixiong didn’t bring an umbrella. This snow is so heavy—let me escort you back to Zhuxing House.”

 

Yan Ling detected Ying Zhuo’s great flattery. Frowning: “I don’t want an umbrella, and I don’t want you to escort me.”

 

Calling him shixiong for no reason, even knowing he was from Zhuxing House—strangely creepy.

 

He didn’t like it at all.

 

Ying Zhuo was about to persevere when Yan Ling suddenly said: “Sheng Jiao!”

 

Not far away, a snow-white figure stood holding an umbrella. Seeing Yan Ling, he slightly raised the umbrella, revealing a handsome, gentle face.

 

Sheng Jiao smiled and beckoned to him.

 

Yan Ling, who’d just said “don’t want an umbrella,” immediately bounced over holding books—like a bird returning to nest, fluttering under Sheng Jiao’s umbrella in one motion, looking up at him with a smile.

 

Ying Zhuo frowned watching the two standing side by side walking farther and farther. The budding sprout not yet fully formed was immediately nipped in the cradle.

 

Sheng Jiao held the umbrella with one hand while forming hand seals with the other to melt the snow on Yan Ling, saying: “Went to the library pavilion?”

 

“Mm mm.” Yan Ling was covered in snow, but the books in his arms hadn’t been touched by half a snowflake. He said happily: “Found another pile of medical books—want to see if Yudu’s legs can be treated.”

 

Sheng Jiao casually brushed a lock of Yan Ling’s hair behind him. Hearing this, he raised his brows slightly: “Didn’t Madam Wan say Yudu’s legs can’t be treated?”

 

“Yeah.” Yan Ling said casually. “But I still have to try. What if I can cure them?”

 

Sheng Jiao froze for a moment.

 

If others knew that Madam Wan, who had the best medical skills in the entire Thirteen States, had determined there was no cure, they’d definitely give up immediately without making any attempts. But Yan Ling always maintained curiosity and wouldn’t lose confidence because of Madam Wan’s words.

 

Sheng Jiao watched Yan Ling, extending his hand to touch his head.

 

Yan Ling looked at him puzzled.

 

Sheng Jiao said: “…There were snowflakes.”

 

The umbrella had a barrier blocking wind and snow. Yan Ling didn’t understand why snowflakes floated onto his head again, but didn’t ask much. Nodding his head: “After the new year, we’ll graduate. What do you want to do after?”

 

Sheng Jiao moved his gaze from Yan Ling’s face, saying flatly: “Might go to Xiezhi Sect.”

 

Yan Ling pursed his lips: “Did your father make you go again?”

 

“Not really.” Sheng Jiao smiled. “Headmaster Liu said my xiangwen is suited for Xiezhi Sect—I’d surely accomplish something.”

 

Only then did Yan Ling relax his brows.

 

“What about you?” Sheng Jiao asked.

 

Yan Ling said matter-of-factly: “Me? Of course I’ll go home with Father and Mother.”

 

Sheng Jiao’s steps paused: “Return to Yan Family Mountain?”

 

“Yeah.” Yan Ling yawned, saying casually: “My parents said after I graduate from Tianyan Academy, we’ll return to Yan Family Mountain to continue our reclusive life. From then on, we probably won’t come to Central State anymore.”

 

Sheng Jiao lowered his eyes watching the snowflakes falling densely on the ground. Without reason, he softly repeated Yan Ling’s words.

 

“Won’t come to Central State anymore…”

 

Yan Ling, seeing Sheng Jiao stop walking, said with a confused face: “Sheng Jiao, what’s wrong?”

 

Sheng Jiao looked up with a smile, saying gently: “Nothing. Let’s go.”

 

**

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