Finally escaping from the reception hall, Nan Xi took a deep breath of the fresh outdoor air and lazily stretched.
Maybe it was some instinct left over from his student days, but having a private talk with his old headmaster always made him a bit uncomfortable.
Still, he’d managed to fool the Old Headmaster.
Nan Xi rolled his shoulders and cast his gaze across the sprawling Daye Village School.
The weather today was surprisingly nice—the gloom of the past few days had been driven away by sunlight, revealing an endless clear blue sky.
For the dead of winter, this was a rare good day.
He counted on his fingers—right now the students should be in class, so not many were out and about on campus.
Perfect. At least if he wanted to take a stroll, he wouldn’t get mobbed by eager students and be unable to move.
With that thought, Nan Xi started walking, wandering leisurely through Daye Village School.
A few days ago, he’d been busy with promotional work.
Now that he had some free time, he could truly savor the place he’d spent only three short years at—his “alma mater.”
Over here… it looked like the disciple dormitory where he used to live.
Because of its butterfly-like shape, the students called it Butterfly Palace.
Back then, Butterfly Palace was the source of many horror rumors—for instance, a disciple had died in the latrine and his vengeful spirit lingered; or a disciple on the third floor had practiced the Fire Art and gone berserk, burning himself alive on the spot… pretty spooky stuff.
But one day, Nan Xi realized something.
He asked the other disciples a question.
—Aren’t we cultivators? If ghosts and monsters really exist, wouldn’t exorcising them boost our cultivation?
The disciples were stunned for a moment, then it dawned on them, and they launched a massive demon-catching activity.
Unfortunately, they turned Butterfly Palace upside down and didn’t find a single vengeful spirit.
And so the demon-catching activity was declared a failure.
And over there—oh, that was the wall Nan Xi used to climb when he played truant.
A full perimeter wall surrounded Daye Village School, meant to keep disciples from running off during class hours.
But that didn’t stop Nan Xi.
With his strength, climbing a wall was easy—he’d even found the lowest spot, where a simple jump was enough to get over and go play.
To stop Nan Xi and other disciples from skipping class, the Old Headmaster and the Elders repeatedly raised the wall.
But for every foot they added, Nan Xi just used a little extra force when jumping over.
Until one day, the Old Headmaster had all the added height removed and restored the wall to its original state, as if the battle of wits with Nan Xi had never happened.
Nan Xi went to the Old Headmaster and provocatively asked why he’d stopped raising it.
The Old Headmaster just gave a furious snort, his goatee trembling.
—I’m not going to keep playing your childish game.
And here…
Nan Xi stared at the tall building in front of him, lost in thought.
He’d never seen this building before.
Oh, he remembered—this teaching block was built the year he graduated, but unfortunately, he never got to see it put to use before leaving.
Sure enough, the rule that a school starts new construction as soon as you graduate applies everywhere.
Nan Xi smiled faintly and, with a few turns, found himself back at Rear Lake.
He felt as if he’d suddenly returned to his student days.
Back then, he’d also wander around campus with nothing to do, a complete street loafer.
And just as he’d hoped, he didn’t run into many people.
A few passing students recognized him and pestered him for autographs.
Nan Xi was generous—he cheerfully signed a “Nan” on their textbooks, robes, and even on their Spirit Sword pendants.
He even taught one disciple how to forge a leave slip so the Elders wouldn’t notice.
Youth was really something.
A faint smile tugged at Nan Xi’s lips.
But really, he wasn’t that much older than these kids.
Especially now, standing with his hands behind his back, gazing out at the wide lake—it gave him an air of youthful maturity.
Swoosh!
A sharp sound of something cutting through the air came from behind him.
Nan Xi tilted his head and, at the same time, raised his fingers to deftly catch the flying object between two fingers.
“Heh—”
He let out a cold laugh and turned his head to look at the girl behind him, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
Sure enough, it was that woman from Wuxing Sect, the Hall Master of Vermilion Bird Hall—Huazhu—who had been opposing him at every turn these past days.
“What a coincidence, Hall Master Hua.”
“Not a coincidence, Peak Master Nan.”
Huazhu spoke lightly and casually.
Surprisingly, compared to a few days ago, her tone carried much less hostility today.
But Nan Xi didn’t care about that.
He wasn’t one to keep his mouth shut.
“I didn’t expect that a grown woman like Hall Master Hua would still play games like throwing pebbles.”
“Hmph, mind your own business,” Huazhu shot him a glare. “If you could fix that foul mouth of yours, you’d be a lot easier on the eyes.”
“Does being easy on the eyes fill your stomach?”
“If you say a few nice words to make sister here happy, I might just treat you to a meal.”
Huazhu crossed her arms and said grumpily.
The somewhat haughty pose made her chest look rather full.
“Sister~”
“!?”
Huazhu’s rose-red eyes widened. She whipped her head around to stare at Nan Xi, disbelief flooding her face.
But when she met his mocking gaze, the shock in her eyes quickly turned into exasperation.
“Sister’s both beautiful and kind—please take pity on your poor little brother here and give him a meal.”
Nan Xi spoke in a shamelessly syrupy tone, taking thick-facedness to the extreme.
Of course, he only said things like this when no third party was present.
A big part of his earlier opposition to Wuxing Sect was just for show, for the Elders and disciples of Tianhe Sect and other sects.
But at the end of the day, Nan Xi was still a member of Wuxing Sect.
If he could say a few nice words to his fellow sect members, why not? And if he could annoy Huazhu while he was at it, even better.
After all, it was true that he couldn’t stand her.
“You’re really disgusting,” Huazhu said with a look of distaste, glaring at Nan Xi.
She snorted and turned her face away, refusing to meet his eyes.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“You!” Huazhu clenched her small fist and nearly stepped forward to punch him, but after a moment’s hesitation, she lowered her hand.
“Forget it. I’m not going to stoop to your level.”
“Then what if I want to stoop to yours?” The corners of Nan Xi’s mouth stretched almost to his ears.
“For example—Hall Master Hua is already at that age, so you shouldn’t try to copy the students’ makeup. It only makes you look older.”
As he spoke, he gestured toward the corner of her eye, where a crooked eyeliner line was clearly visible, looking quite ridiculous.
“Y-y-y-y-you… you jerk.”
Huazhu froze, then quickly rubbed the corner of her eye with the back of her finger to try to wipe off the makeup.
“I knew it! Deciding to be nice to you was a mistake!”
She pointed at Nan Xi’s nose and said angrily:
“And for the record, I’m only twenty-one years old! I’m not some old woman!”