Chapter 035: Life in the Imperial Capital (13)
The lineup for the competition had been finalized, and it was already lunchti. A group of friends chatted and laughed as they headed toward the academy’s cafeteria.
Lunch at the academy was free for students. All they needed was their al card to receive the academy’s specially prepared set al for the day.
Of course, one could also pay money to dine on the second floor and enjoy a private customized al.
After all, the students were mostly just over ten years old, and few carried money with them. So usually, aside from the occasional gathering of teachers, the second floor was rarely visited.
But today, there were quite a few figures moving about on the second floor, making it unusually lively.
anwhile, the students queuing on the ground floor to receive their als remained orderly. Lan and Luo waited in line with their friends.
Suddenly, Xiao Xiong nudged Lan. “Bro, that kid I beat up yesterday—he’s right there by the second-floor railing.”
Lan and Luo followed his gaze upward and saw three boys leaning over the second-floor railing, pointing and laughing at the students eating below.
The burly, square-faced boy in the middle seed to sense Lan and Luo’s eyes on him. He turned his head and looked toward the line of students waiting for food.
“Hey, Eggplant Girl! Your dad’s a general, my dad’s a general too, but you’re out here hanging with so fishmonger’s brat? If your dad found out, wouldn’t he be so mad he’d explode with rage, maybe even jump three inches into the air? How about I ask my dad to pull so strings and have yours transferred back ho ‘for health reasons’—so your mom won’t be so lonely in the capital.”
The boy on the second floor shouted, his voice echoing down below, then burst into laughter with the others around him.
His voice was loud enough that the students on the first floor all looked up, confused.
Lan and Luo were puzzled too. Of everything he said, the only phrase they half-understood was “fishmonger’s brat,” which probably referred to Xiao Xiong. But his family actually ran a butcher shop. The capital city was near the sea, so they occasionally sold fish, but it wasn’t their main business.
The boy’s words were clearly targeted at soone among them. Lan and Luo looked back down the line.
Sure enough, Lubing’s face had gone red, her cheeks flushed like ripe apricots, seething with anger.
Lubing knew “Eggplant Girl” ant her. When she was seven, she’d accompanied her mother to visit her father on the frontier. Because of the different climate, she developed swelling all over her body.
She had to shave her head and apply a purple dicinal ointnt from head to toe—even her face and scalp were covered. After that, people in the military camp started calling her “Little Eggplant” and “Eggplant Girl.”¹
Her father, Lu Mingfeng, was a general at the frontier, commanding a twenty-mile stretch of the defense line.
In recent years, though the border was stable, smuggling was rampant. One of the smuggling routes was under Lu Mingfeng’s jurisdiction. So people tried to use him to gain profit but were firmly rejected.
The father of the boy upstairs was called Tao Lunfeng. He held the title of earl and worked as a strategic advisor for border affairs in the capital—a liaison officer, basically.
Although Tao’s military rank was technically on par with Lu Mingfeng’s, he was jealous of Lu’s command.
He once submitted a report to the military suggesting that since Lu’s family in the capital consisted of won and children, yet the Lu residence had nearly a hundred ard guards, and rumors were circulating about Lady Guan’s improper conduct—plus Lu Mingfeng had a dical history—it would be better to summon Lu back to the capital for dical treatnt and put an end to the gossip.
Lu Mingfeng was furious upon hearing this. His “illness” was just exhaustion from tending to his daughter’s condition and a brief fever.
His wife was the daughter of the late General Guan Shan, and the Guan family was known for martial discipline, with very few won in their household. The rumors were obviously planted.
Lu responded to the military with a letter:
“After more than a decade on the frontier, my body remains strong. Occasional fevers are but a natural occurrence. As for the rumors in the capital, I do not believe them—they are clearly slander, born of ill intent. I would rather guard this lonely outpost, fall drunk upon the battlefield, and die serving my country, rembered in the annals of history.”
The military, seeing his determination, dropped the matter.
That noble boy upstairs was nad Tao Ji. In one sentence, he insulted Lubing, her father, and her mother—how could Lubing not be furious?
However, it was forbidden to cut in line, argue, or fight in the cafeteria. Anyone caught would be suspended for six months for reflection. Plus, there were teachers on duty. Otherwise, Lubing would’ve charged up there already.
Lan and Luo realized what was going on. Lan said bluntly,
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you get revenge when the ti is right. Let’s eat first—it’s not convenient to throw punches in the cafeteria.”
In recent years, Lan had beco sothing of a “fist-first” kind of guy.
“Just don’t channel your sadness into your appetite,” Luo joked. “Getting strong is fine, but if you get chubby, your kicks won’t look good.”
Lubing managed a shy, signature smile at that.
Tao Ji had been gloating at Lubing’s angry expression, but when he saw her laughing and chatting with the others, his mood plumted and turned to anger. He now hated this whole group of students.
Especially Xiao Xiong, who had fought him just yesterday. Though Tao Ji’s face hadn’t been hit squarely, the punch had left his gums swollen—that alone had spoiled his appetite today.
Tao Ji was in the graduating class one level above. He and a group of noble kids who only liked martial arts but skipped their theory classes had failed to pass the graduation exams.
They happened to catch this year’s inter-school friendship competition and hoped to earn favor through a solid win, so they could graduate with dignity.
Without a diploma or any real skills, their influential families wouldn’t be able to place them in decent jobs.
Their noble parents would be too embarrassed to let them join the army as low-ranking soldiers.
Tao Ji knew that Xiao Xiong and his friends would definitely participate. He planned to teach them a harsh lesson during the match—ideally injuring them for life.
He also knew his family’s earl title was nothing special in the capital, so thrashing Xiao Xiong on the battlefield wouldn’t bring any trouble.
Bored, Tao Ji went back to his second-floor table.
Without him around, the group downstairs happily returned to their al.
They realized that Li Xin hadn’t shown up at all since he left earlier. Xiao Yi joked,
“Maybe he got found out and was beaten so bad he doesn’t dare co out anymore.”
After lunch, they cleared their trays. Just as they were leaving, “Tiny” Li Xin finally showed up.
He was about to say sothing when Luo spoke first,
“Go eat first. We’ll et at the usual place after you’re done.”
Everyone gestured for “Tiny” to go eat. He had gathered a lot of information that morning and wouldn’t be able to share it all at once, so he didn’t rush and went inside the cafeteria.
After eating, they planned to rest a bit. It wasn’t good to exercise on a full stomach. But Lan and Luo used the noon break to begin their ditation.
Xiao Xiong and Xiao Yi were used to this. They worked hard too, but not with the sa minute-by-minute dedication.
They knew the gap between themselves and the Lan-Luo brothers—and why it existed. But without soone constantly pushing them, it was hard to be like those two.
Lan and Luo still had ti to eat, sleep, play, chat, or even daydream. But in all the other ti, they were either working, learning, thinking, or practicing.
Influenced by them, Xiao Xiong and Xiao Yi began ditating too.
This made Lubing and Hou Ting feel a bit out of place.
They walked over and awkwardly sat near the Lan-Luo brothers, exchanging glances.
Finally, Lubing whispered,
“What are you practicing? Ancient martial arts?”
Lan’s ditation was interrupted. He scratched his short hair, a bit annoyed. “Sigh.”
Luo, also interrupted, brushed his long hair back and revealed a face identical to Lan’s. “We’re ditating. Haven’t you taken the magic course?”
“I heard you can’t learn real magic from that class,” Hou Ting said bluntly.
“Magic takes a long ti to learn,” Luo said, “but so people have already grasped it—and they’re about our age.”
He believed that he and Lan were no dumber than Li Yao. Li Yao had to learn lots of etiquette and other knowledge, too. So as long as they worked hard, they could catch up during the winter break and maybe learn how to use magic.
“Martial arts and magic both? Is there ti to learn everything? The teachers keep telling us, ‘Don’t bite off more than you can chew’—we should focus on one skill.” Hou Ting was confused.
“We can do it,” Luo said with confidence. “That guy I ntioned—he’s better at martial arts than Xiao Xiong. If he can do it, we should be able to too.”
“Wow, really? Who is he? Is he in our academy?” Lubing was curious.
“He’s our friend. I’ll introduce you if we get the chance. Great guy—just a little cocky.”
Since his ditation had already been interrupted, Lan joined the conversation.
“Can we learn too?” Lubing was still curious.
“I think you should go sit in on the academy’s magic classes first,” Luo advised. “There’s a lot of theoretical knowledge at the start. ditation without that is just sitting around confused.”
Lan nodded in agreent.
“I’ll give it a try!” Lubing said, determined. She looked at Hou Ting.
Hou Ting nodded too.
While they were talking, Li Xin had finished eating and ca running over.
“Boss! Boss! I heard a bunch of stuff this morning!”
Still over ten ters away, “Tiny” was already shouting.
“Boss, I got the scoop on the team competition! Registration ends this afternoon. Right now, twenty-one teams have already signed up. I squeezed in behind the teacher at the registration office and watched for a while. When I checked, our team was listed eighth. After that, three more groups registered, filling up the second sheet of nas. The third sheet only had one team when I left—so that’s twenty-one teams total. I also overheard the teacher say two teams were made up of students from last year’s graduating class. They passed all but three subjects, so they’re still hanging around the academy. They rarely co to class. One of the teams is made up of noble kids from military families. They love martial arts but failed everything else. If they leave now, they’d either go ho and loaf around or return to their clans. The governnt has no jobs for them—unless they beco low-ranking soldiers.”
Li Xin finally stopped for a breath.
Footnotes:
“Eggplant Girl” (茄子妹)– A cruel nickna derived from Lubing’s purple dication and bald head. It references her past illness and appearance, and is used mockingly by her peers.
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