Chapter 1: Haizhou Academy Begins Its Term!

The willow branches hang heavy with rain, and the pine trees are cloaked in a deep mist.

A heavy rain in Yuncheng has washed away the summer heat. As the downpour nears its end, the morning sky is filled with cool, refreshing wind.

A green wooden door creaks open, breaking the early morning stillness. The birds resting on the branches flutter away with startled cries, and dew falls from the leaves. A few cold droplets land on the face of the youth standing by the door.

The youth is dressed in a long robe of emerald green. Though not tall, their figure is delicate. Long hair is tied up, with a few loose strands falling along the temples and forehead, accentuating a pale and gentle face. At first glance, the youth has a refined and androgynous appearance—almost like a beautiful young man whose features could be called “pretty.” On their head rests a black square scholar’s cap, with two long tassels of interwoven green and white draping over the shoulders. Even with little expression on the face, the youth exudes a fresh, youthful energy—like new buds sprouting in early spring.

They don’t give off a girlish impression at all, but rather look every bit the part of a proper young scholar.

Lu Shujin wiped the dew from her face and looked up at the sky. It was still shrouded in a hazy gray mist.

She had gotten up especially early. After shutting the creaky wooden door and locking it, she slung her small bookcase onto her back and set off in the morning light toward Haizhou Academy.

Haizhou Academy was the most prestigious school in Yuncheng. It had been established for several decades and had produced more top scholars than one could count on two hands. The scholars teaching there all had impressive backgrounds. With continuous renovations and expansions over the years, both the environment and the quality of education had become among the finest in the entire Yan Kingdom. Many wealthy families would do everything they could to get their children admitted.

However, the current dean of the academy had come from a humble background and was particularly compassionate toward students from poor families. Every year, the academy would hold a literary examination and accept only three students from underprivileged households. Those who passed would be admitted with full tuition waived.

Lu Shujin had arrived in Yuncheng just in time to catch the application day for that exam.

She had fled from her aunt’s house, hiding and wandering eastward until she reached the city. By then, she had nearly run out of money and was worried about finding shelter—until this opportunity fell into her lap. She thought that if she could just get into the academy, she could both study and avoid the risk of being found by her aunt’s people. Without hesitation, she signed up for the exam.

Fortunately, all those years of staying quiet in her aunt’s house had been spent reading. She had never fought for anything, but she had read constantly. Her memory had been astonishingly good since childhood, and with the knowledge she had accumulated, she managed to secure one of the three spots.

The day Haizhou Academy began its term was particularly fine. It was late August, and the air was filled with the scent of unknown flowers. Tall trees lined both sides of the road, casting dappled shadows as the breeze passed through.

Lu Shujin stepped through the morning mist and into the sunlight, her figure lightly dusted with dew. Her ears were filled with birdsong and the noisy chatter of people. Occasionally, a carriage would rumble past her, adding to the lively atmosphere. The academy’s grand pillar gate loomed ahead, its magnificence visible from a distance. Carved lotuses adorned the pillars, and as one drew closer, two powerful lines of calligraphy could be seen etched onto the columns:

“There is a path up the mountain of books—diligence is the way.

The sea of learning is boundless—hard work is the boat to sail it.”

Standing in the center was a stone stele engraved with the words “Haizhou Academy.”

This academy, located in the bustling heart of Yuncheng yet nestled in a quiet corner, was a sacred place longed for by countless scholars. Standing before it now, Lu Shujin still felt as if it were all unreal—awestruck and excited.

Suddenly, the aroma of steamed buns drifted by. She turned her head and saw several students in pale blue Haizhou Academy uniforms running past her, gathering around a nearby bun stall.

As the steamer lid was lifted, white steam billowed upward, carrying with it the mouthwatering scent of freshly made buns. Without needing to shout for customers, the vendor easily drew a crowd.

Lu Shujin hadn’t eaten anything since rising early that morning. The moment she caught a whiff of the buns, her stomach growled with hunger. She quickened her pace and joined the line behind the students, waiting obediently for her turn.

The freshly steamed buns were white and soft, lined up neatly in the bamboo steamer. The aroma of the cooked dough wafted up and made her mouth water. As she stared intently at the buns, wondering how many to buy, she overheard a group of students chatting in front of her:

“Did you all hear what happened at Miss Xiang’s birthday banquet a couple of days ago?”

“What happened?”

“Miss Xiang, the fourth daughter of the Xiang family, presented a flower hairpin to Xiao Jin right in front of everyone at the banquet. And guess what that bastard did? He said the hairpin was ugly and refused to accept it! He embarrassed the entire Xiang family. The banquet ended in a huge mess. Truly shameful!”

Lu Shujin’s ears perked up. Her attention drifted away from the buns.

A short, chubby student up front said indignantly, “It’s that damned Xiao Jin again! Useless in both academics and martial arts, does nothing productive all day, just happens to have a pretty face. That’s why all the girls in Yuncheng are crazy over him! Miss Xiang is well-educated, gentle and lovely—offering him the flower pin was doing him a favor. And he couldn’t even appreciate it! If it were me…”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but a few of the boys exchanged knowing smirks. Even after buying their buns, they didn’t leave, choosing instead to continue gossiping by the stall.

“And that wasn’t even the first time he pulled something like this,” another added. “Just last month, didn’t he get into a brawl on the street with the third son of the Chen family? Heard he knocked out one of the guy’s front teeth.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Xiao Jin is spoiled rotten. Whenever he wants something, he just takes it by force. When the Chen boy didn’t give in, Xiao Jin started throwing punches.” He added with a scoff, “Just a spoiled dog who bullies others using his family background. If he dared act up in front of me, I’d teach him a lesson he wouldn’t forget!”

“And remember when he couldn’t even finish his end-of-term essay? The teacher made him copy lines as punishment. Hilarious!”

Lu Shujin had only meant to eavesdrop for fun, but the more she listened, the more unpleasant it became. The boys were piling insult after insult onto Xiao Jin, painting him as nothing more than a useless, arrogant dandy.

She instantly lost interest. Just as she was about to leave with two buns in hand, something soft suddenly hit the back of her head. Reflexively, Lu Shujin raised her hand to touch her head, then felt something fall to the ground behind her. The chattering voices filled with slander around her also stopped abruptly.

Confused, she turned her head and looked down. To her surprise, the thing that had hit the back of her head and landed by her heel was—a soft, white steamed bun.

When she looked up, she saw, about ten steps away, a handsome young man standing amidst a crowd of people. He wore a black brocade robe embroidered with gold, his long hair tied up high, with a few loose strands draping down over his shoulders. The early morning sun rose behind him, casting his silhouette in a halo of golden light that spilled onto the brocade boots at his feet.

For a moment, Lu Shujin’s eyes were dazzled—perhaps by the rising sun, or perhaps by the sheer radiance of this rich young master, who needed only a single glance to make it clear that he was not someone to be trifled with.

Clearly, he was the one who had thrown something at her head.

His brows were furrowed, his face dark, and the arrogance in his eyes was utterly unmistakable.

He spoke, and his tone was downright fierce:

“Who was talking bad about this young master?”

As soon as the boy spoke, the group surrounding him immediately stepped forward and roughly shoved aside a few students who were just passing by, striking an intimidating pose. One of them jabbed a finger at their faces and barked:

“You lot again, you damn rats! All you ever do is gossip like a bunch of gossipy old maids, slandering others—now you’ve even dared to slander Young Master Xiao? Tired of living, are you?”

“Yeah, looks like the only way they’ll learn is if we beat the lesson into them—hard.”

“Xiao-ge, how about we give these fools a proper lesson?”

One after another, their words filled the air. The once-busy street suddenly cleared out. The lively commotion just moments ago vanished completely. Even the steamed bun vendor, not wanting to get involved, quickly ducked out of sight.

The group of students who had just been so bold in mocking Xiao Jin now looked like they’d seen ghosts. They hadn’t expected to be caught red-handed. Not one of them dared make a sound—they stood frozen, dumb as rocks.

Standing among them, Lu Shujin stared blankly at the boy opposite her, who stood against the light, and her own expression turned slightly dazed.

She had spent most of her life cloistered within the deep inner courtyards and rarely interacted with outsiders—let alone met a youth this striking, clad in opulent robes and standing out so vividly in a crowd.

That boy’s deep black eyes stared straight into hers, openly hostile, the ferocity in his gaze completely unconcealed. It was as if the sheer intensity of it startled her—her once-calm heart suddenly skipped a beat, then began to race uncontrollably.

In all of Yuncheng, there was hardly anyone who didn’t know the wildly wealthy Xiao family. And Xiao Jin was the youngest young master of that family. From the moment he could walk, he had been stirring up trouble—yesterday knocking down the Li family’s swallow nest, today beating up the Zhao family’s only heir. He was never at peace.

But he was also the apple of the Xiao family’s eye. No matter what trouble he caused, it was always cleaned up by the all-powerful Xiao family, who had Yuncheng under their thumb.

Just as that chubby student had said earlier—wherever Xiao Jin went, sycophants and bootlickers surrounded him, forming a protective phalanx that made others instinctively avoid him, fearing trouble might spill over.

This current situation had clearly given the lackeys the perfect opportunity to show off and curry favor. They rushed forward as one and completely surrounded the steamed bun stall.

Lu Shujin, holding her buns, suddenly found herself trapped in the center. She blinked her dark eyes, a wave of panic rising in her heart. Just as she was about to speak up and explain that she hadn’t been involved in the earlier gossip, the brocade-clad youth strode over. With just a few large steps, he was suddenly right in front of her—his striking face now vivid and close.

The next moment, he reached out and gave her shoulder a shove.

“Shorty, what are you staring at?” he demanded.

It was the first time in Lu Shujin’s life that someone had called her “shorty.”

Back at her aunt’s house, her delicately pampered cousins—both older and younger—were all shorter than she was. Even her male cousin, who was the same age, was barely taller. But now, standing in front of this young man, she couldn’t even say the nickname was undeserved.

Xiao Jin was one of the tallest students in all of Haizhou Academy. Even without looking at his face, his height alone made him stand out in any crowd. When he stood directly in front of Lu Shujin, it was like facing a wall. If she wanted to meet his eyes, she’d have to tilt her head up.

The force of his shove wasn’t exactly light—she stumbled back a few steps, and the steamed buns in her hands slipped and fell to the ground.

But she had no time to mourn the loss of her breakfast. Hastily, she raised her hands and tried to calm the stormy youth in front of her:

“Please don’t start a fight. We’re all scholars here—let’s talk things through.”

Then she pointed to the short, chubby boy standing to the side and said,

“He’s the one who said you embarrassed the Fourth Miss of the Xiang family at her birthday banquet—called you disgraceful.”

She turned and pointed at the next one:

“He said you’re arrogant and violent, that you fought in the street.”

Another:

“He said you’re all bark and no bite, relying on your family’s power.”

And another:

“He said you were punished by the teacher for failing to write your final essay—and that everyone laughed at you.”

Lu Shujin calmly summarized their gossip and pointed each of them out, one by one. At the end, she looked directly at Xiao Jin, her gaze steady:

“None of that came from me. I don’t know them.”

The few boys, now exposed by this clean-looking scholar with a few sentences, instantly panicked. They waved their hands frantically and denied it all:

“Young Master Xiao, don’t listen to this nonsense! He’s making it all up—we were just passing by!”

Xiao Jin’s face darkened. He glanced at Lu Shujin with narrowed eyes, then suddenly raised a foot and kicked the short, chubby boy square in the chest:

“He’s not even from Yuncheng—how could he come up with these stories? You pig-brained fool, trying to play me for a fool?”

The short, chubby boy tumbled backwards from the force of the kick, landing on the ground and clutching his chest with a groan.

Lu Shujin was surprised—she hadn’t expected that the supposedly arrogant and brainless troublemaker could be so sharp. Just from her few sentences, he had picked up on her accent and realized she was an outsider.

Whether or not Xiao Jin was easy to fool was another matter—but one thing was clear: his fists were hard, and he didn’t hesitate to use them. This wasn’t the first or second time he had publicly beaten someone.

On the very first day of classes at the academy, he was already making a scene by the gate, chasing a few people off while they clutched their heads and cried out in pain.

Lu Shujin had never seen such a sight before. Watching it now made her heart pound with anxiety—worried she’d somehow be dragged into the mess.

Fortunately, it didn’t come to that. Xiao Jin’s beatdown was swift and efficient—he showed no hesitation or messiness. Once the group of boys lay groaning on the ground, clutching their bruises, he stopped. He took a brocade handkerchief from one of his bootlicking lackeys and calmly wiped the blood off the back of his hand. His cold, stern expression was intimidating to the extreme.

Then, he pulled something out and tossed it to Lu Shujin. She caught it on instinct and looked down—it was a small silver ingot.

“For you,” Xiao Jin said. He casually tossed the now-bloody handkerchief onto one of the groaning boys and gave her another glance.

“For the buns.”

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