Chapter II
"I'm sorry, but you're still three hundred silver lukes before you can enter our school......" The old woman behind the desk made me feel extremely unhappy. Her disgusted eyes kept looking at me. If I hadn't been sold into the martial arts arena, and had Dumb not snatched the big bag of gems and the sword that Master had left me, I would have trampled her under my feet by now, pointed my sword at her neck, and stuffed the gems into her mouth.
"And we don't accept students from unknown backgrounds, you know, the students here all have good family backgrounds, you have neither money nor a letter of introduction, how can I let you stay?"
Damn old woman!
But I can only curse it in my heart......
"The money, I will get it together as soon as possible, I only have three hundred yuan now, this is all my belongings......" I could only pretend to plead, hoping to move her.
"Would you like to come in?......," an old man's voice came from behind me. The kind voice, for a moment, made me think that the Master was behind me......
He is not a master, just a very dignified elder. The white robe was loose and luxurious, the thick and snow-white beard hung down to his chest, and the wrinkles on his face could hold peas. However, there was an astonishing light in those sharp eyes, which were so similar to Master's eyes......
"You'd love to come in?......" he walked up to me and repeated.
“...... Yes......" I looked at him confusedly. Who is he? Does he want to help me?
"Okay, you can skip paying the rest of the tuition first, but at the end of this semester, you must make up for it......" He looked at me seriously, "The first rule of our school is that you must not default on the tuition fees......"
"Okay, I will!" I nodded happily, as long as I can come in, even if I sell blood to pay off the debt, I will admit it, "Thank you, may I ask if you are ......"
"I'm Khedia, the principal of this school...... If you see that I'm disappointed, you can reconsider whether or not to get in......"
"How can you ...... casually," the old woman hurriedly called out......
"I opened this school, I don't care who I want to let in, I'm afraid you can't care......" Headmaster Hedia gave the old woman a cold look.
"Yes...... The headmaster ...... "The old woman hurriedly lowered her head and entered my name in the register.
If the school building outside is ornate and looks like a palace, then my dormitory must be a prison cell...... A simple furnishings, a wooden bed with two layers on top and bottom, and a thick straw mat covered with musty sheets. But I'm already happy, it's so much better than the real cell I've been in...... The surrounding walls were so dark that they could no longer be seen, and the windows were even smaller and pitiful.
"This is your room, number 302. You'd probably think you'd be going to live in a gorgeous single bedroom like everyone else, dreaming. Students who can't afford to pay the tuition fees can only live here......" The old woman was unwilling to hand me a key stained with patina, and said to me viciously.
I looked at her gratefully and smiled. I haven't had a good night's sleep in my bed in three months.
"There's another person in the same dormitory as you, and you'll see him in a little while. The old woman was bewildered by my expression, muttered a word, and turned away.
I put the package on my back on the bed and began to sort through the items I had received from the back office. A futon, a light blue uniform, a stack of textbooks, a Hearst sword, a washbasin, a kettle, and a pillow without pillowcases. I don't know what was stuffed in the pillow, but I was still happy to pat the dust off it and put it on the bed.
Hearst is an aristocratic school, and the tuition and fees for each semester cost six hundred silver Luke. Ten pieces of silver can make an ordinary family of three live happily with a full stomach for a month, and I now owe Hirsch a full three hundred silver luck......
I'm afraid I can't even afford tomorrow's breakfast, because I don't have any paper money on me, only two soldiers who bought steamed buns and found them, and I can't even afford to buy a steamed bun......
(Note: 10 Luk [coin] = 1 Luk [banknote, divided into 1, 10, 20, 50 Luk three denominations], 1 Luk is equivalent to 1 RMB yuan, 100 Luk = 1 silver Luke [1, 10, 20, 50, 100 denomination banknotes, 1 denomination silver coin], 1000 silver Luke = 1 gold Luke [1 denomination banknotes and gold coins], Jin Luke only circulates between banks and companies, and most people have no chance to see Jin Luke at all, let alone me...... )
Master said that this world is now full of all kinds of elements, that is, the power of magic. But a long, long time ago, humanity did not possess these powers. These forces have caused humanity to abandon its former civilization and gradually degenerate. That's why he hated magic, and he hated the power of the elements. What he taught me was a kind of "true qi" that he called "demon breaking". What kind of gas is true qi, I still don't understand. It's just that whenever I use it, it will swim warmly around me, making me feel comfortable and not wanting to move. It's a feeling, like a cute little mouse burrowing inside you, and as you please, stay where you let him stay.
"You must know that magic and true qi are both compressible energies with a catalytic effect. Except for the different forms of expression, the methods they use are similar. When people learn magic, they also learn true qi, and the two are compatible. But magic and true qi have nothing to do with each other. Some people have profound magic, but their true qi is mediocre. Some people are very strong, but their magic is very low-level. Therefore, only those who cultivate both magic and true qi can become real masters...... However, this is just a secular opinion, and the demon-breaking true qi I have taught you is different from ordinary true qi and magic. Its function, as its name suggests, is a super super true qi used to break magic, as well as the health care effect of prolonging life, which can be described as the best martial arts for fitness. However, I haven't reached the top level yet, so maybe by the time you succeed in cultivation, you'll have already died hundreds of times, but you don't have to cultivate to the top level, you can still be proud of the world, just like me, cough cough ...... "When Master said these words to me back then, his expression was so serious, and his saliva splashed all over, but I didn't dare to laugh out loud. At that time, I was just trying to eat the plate of peanuts in front of him......
Now that I think about it, even if it's a plate of peanuts at this moment, I'm afraid it will become a delicious meal of my dreams......
I once read in a book, like Master said, that the wizarding world does not always exist. A huge explosion 20,000 years ago destroyed the entire human civilization at that time. Since then, human beings have gradually begun to possess new abilities and start a new civilization...... Magical Civilization ......
As I pondered, the door opened. A boy with a weak body and a parted head walked in.
"Are you ......," he looked at me in surprise. His voice is very good, if you don't look at the clothes, only hear his voice, I'm afraid you will think that it is a coquettish girl who deliberately pretends to have a rough voice......
"Like you, students who can't afford to pay tuition......" I hurriedly sat up from the bed, stretched out my hand, and shook hands with him, "Leng Yu ......"
"Hello, my name is Ye Bing. You can just call me Ah Bing. You should be from the East like me, Leng Yu...... The name is like an oriental name...... "He wears a light blue school uniform with patches on it, and you don't have to walk into this dormitory to tell that he is a poor student." The bloodless face was pale and pale, but he looked quite handsome and beautiful. It's really enviable for a boy to look like this...... No, it's supposed to be sad, right......
"It's good if you call me Ah Yu, I don't know where I'm from, I just know that I used to live on a mountain called Dragon's Tooth...... "When that dumb bastard sold me to the martial arts arena, I had completely lost the concept of geography......
"Haven't you heard of Dragon's Tooth Mountain...... But why are you wearing a mask?" he looked at my face curiously.
If it weren't for his reminder, I'm afraid I would have forgotten that I was still wearing a mask: "Because I was disfigured, the fire burned ......" This is the reason I have thought of a long time ago, and a simple sentence can make people lose their curiosity.
"I'm sorry......" he said with a yawn, "I don't know ......"
"It's okay, I'm used to it...... "You must not let anyone know that I was once a slave, whoever it is......
It was already evening, and Ah Bing twisted the crystal lampshade in the bedroom. The soft, yellowish light immediately brightened the room.
"You only came today?" he asked me as he climbed to the top bunk and flipped through his book.
"Yes, I just registered today, and I still owe half of the school's tuition......"
"Do you want to work? We have just left a clerk in the store, there is a vacancy, if you want, I can help you talk to the boss. Ah Bing poked his head out of the bed and looked at me with a grin.
"Really, great, when can I go to work!?" I looked at him in surprise. Ah Bing is really a good person, and I was still thinking about how to find a job to earn money to support myself, and he had already opened his mouth to answer the problem in my heart for me.
"Hehe, tomorrow will do. The wages are very small, only two hundred and fifty rukhs a month, but it is enough. But tips are sometimes quite a lot, and a semester's tip is enough for us to pay for tuition. That shop was introduced to me by Professor Bingke, and it was a restaurant that only the upper class nobles could visit. If I hadn't been a student of Hearst, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be qualified to work part-time. Ah Bing retracted his head, still smiling, "But I'm always working there alone, if you go, it should be a little more lively......
A hundred Rooks are worth one Silver Rook. But two hundred and fifty rukhs can already get me through for a month. If there are still tips, and if you give a lot as he said, I believe you will be able to make up the arrears at the end of the semester.
"Thank you, Bing......" I looked at the top bunk gratefully.
"Thank you, we're all poor, it's too polite to say these things, haha...... Good night......"
Ah Bing put the lampshade on, and darkness returned to the bedroom. Then a deep tiredness came over me...... I've been on the road for seven days in a row, asking for directions during the day, and sleeping in corners and grass at night......
I found myself standing in the golden hall, with countless musicians playing beautiful music, beautiful waiters walking around me, and a noble lady in a long red dress coming up to greet me affectionately.
I looked down in surprise and saw the snow-white and gorgeous dress on my body. I started laughing and held out my right hand to her......
"You slave, why are you standing here! This is not the place for people like you! Guards, arrest him......" A shout of rage came from beside me...... She was angrily pointing at me, shouting at the guards all around......
I shook off the young lady's hand in a panic and began to run away in a panic...... Bumping into one waiter and nobleman after another, I heard my rapid breathing and my flustered heartbeat......
Suddenly, a platoon of guards stopped in front of me, they held sharp spears in their hands, the sharp tips of which reflected a piercing light, pointed at me neatly, and shouted in unison: "You lowly slave............!
"I'm not a slave......!"
The harsh sunlight kept my eyes from opening completely, and I gasped and turned my head away from the sun that was stinging my eyes. There were no guards, no attendants...... Only the rudimentary bed, the rudimentary chairs, and the rudimentary walls......
"Are you awake, get up, I'm going to be late for class...... Ah Bing handed me a warm steamed bun and said to me as he nibbled on his steamed bun.
I took the snow-white steamed bun and shook my head. Sky...... Do I even dream that I am a slave......
The icy water cleared my mind completely. I splashed the water from the basin on my face, then picked up a towel and wiped my face. Putting on my thin school uniform, I saw myself in the half-sized mirror...... The light blue uniform was slightly wide, and the hem of the long blouse hung down to my legs. Two wide white strips on the school uniform, slanting from the shoulders to the waist. The left chest of the uniform is embroidered with the words "Hedia College" in red.
I think my height is not low, but why is this school uniform so big? I looked at Ah Bing, who was a whole head shorter than me, in confusion, his school uniform was so suitable...... It's just that there are more patches, and the washing is a little white.
"Let's go, you must not be late for the first day of class!Otherwise, if Professor Bingke gets angry, you will be unlucky......" Ignoring the confusion in my eyes, Ah Bing grabbed me and dragged me out of the dormitory.
"Ah Bing, He's really big...... Are you sure your direction is the classroom?" Seeing the splendid buildings in front of me, I timidly stopped and grabbed Ah Bing, who was hurrying. Ah Bing's hands are soft and thin, smooth and boneless to hold, it seems that his family background should have been very good, not as rough and hard as my hands. Master used to say that I was a natural pianist, because my fingers used to be slender and slender, just like Ah Bing's hands now. But Master said that even if I was a natural magician, he would try his best to completely erase it, let alone a pianist who had never even seen a piano?
"Heavenly ...... Nonsense, can I not know? Hurry up, don't hesitate!" Ah Bing turned his head and looked at me like an idiot, turned his head and grabbed me to continue walking.
The green grass on both sides of the road made me feel refreshed, and the students in school uniforms who came and went also made me feel a sense of relief for no reason. It's so lively...... Although many people looked curiously at the mask on my face, no one could tell that I had been a slave......
The buildings all around me were so huge and splendid, like giants standing around me, looking down on me. I struggled to puff up my chest, breathed in the cold air of the morning, and caught up with Ah Bing's footsteps.
"Be confident, you're not a slave anymore, you're free...... As long as you can get out of here, a new page will open in your life......" I said to myself silently in my heart.
A series of exclamations suddenly sounded from the front...... I looked up curiously, but stopped in surprise......
Am I dazzled? How could there be such a beautiful character in this world...... Not far in front of us, a girl in a blue school uniform walked gently in front of us...... The simple school uniform looked incomparably luxurious on her, as if reflecting the brilliance of all the sun, and her long black hair shining like a waterfall was blown in the air by the wind. With a confident smile on her snow-white and pretty face, she looks so beautiful from the side...... With a small and straight nose, ruddy lips, a soft face outlined by a fairy, and a long and beautiful neck, she looks like a fairy who does not eat fireworks in the world...... Her slender figure was slender and erect, her knee-length skirt exposed her crystal clear skin, and her two tender calves could arouse all kinds of reverie, but her noble temperament immediately made those who produced those reverie ashamed......
She walked as if she was floating gently in the clouds, so leisurely, so elegant, like a blue cloud, or a budding blue lily, flying in front of my eyes......
Countless boys around me, like me, stood still and looked at the direction she was heading away. There was a look of infinite admiration in his eyes...... God, I don't think I'm the only one who hasn't seen a beautiful woman......
"Who is she?......" I stared blankly at the girl's back, asking Ah Bing, who was trying to pull me away.
"That, all boys' dream lovers, Snow City Moon, like us, is also a freshman this year. The heir of one of the five great families in the world, gone......"
Is there really a god in this world? If not, then why is there such a moving girl?
"When do you want to see it!" Ah Bing's sudden and vigorous tugging made me almost chew on, "Otherwise, it's really late......"
I was pulled forward by Ah Bing, but I still reluctantly turned my head and looked at the girl......
The morning sun shone on us as we ran, and the vast campus was filled with the laughter of the crowd and the majesty of the teaching building...... The beautiful girls who were as beautiful as poetry left a moving figure on the campus, and I, a poor man who had hardly seen a decent woman, opened his mouth in surprise and probed around......
Hearst ...... Are you the heaven of my heart?......