Chapter 80
"No."
Yinghua immediately pouted. "Why not?"
Before Wuming could answer, Yinghua said "Xie Zheng told me, You spend quite a lot of time with that cat. Do you like her that much?"
Wuming looked at him indifferently. Since when did Yinghua and Xie Zheng become this close? he thought.
"None of your business."
Wei Zhi immediately elbowed him in the side. "At least be nice to one single person every day."
Weiyang quickly nodded. "You should listen to that advice and be nice to me too."
Wei Zhi slowly turned her head and glared at him.
Weiyang immediately gulped.
Yinghua quickly shook her head. "It's okay."
"No, it's not," Wei Zhi said firmly.
Weiyang hurriedly changed the topic. "Why is he late again? Not today, please."
Wuming looked at him. "I told you, Wei Zhi. He won't come before ten."
"Yeah, my fault, genius," Wei Zhi replied dryly.
Yinghua smiled softly. "I'm sure Shifu Lin Yi must be stuck with some important work."
Weiyang groaned. "Yinghua, he looks fresh every single day while I had night practice and barely slept for a few hours."
"Quit complaining," Wei Zhi said.
All four of them leaned against the railing of the bridge, waiting.
Suddenly, as if appearing from nowhere, Lin Yi appeared in his usual dark robes. His long black hair flowed loosely behind him while his silver-grey eyes looked as dull and lazy as ever. A grin spread across his face as he waved his right hand at them.
"Yo. How are you all doing? Sorry, I got lost on my way."
Yinghua crossed her arms. "Shifu, you should at least come up with a new excuse. If you're not coming on time, then let us come late too."
"Nope," Lin Yi said shamelessly. "I can be late because I'm your Shifu. You can't because you're my students."
Then he suddenly added, "By the way, the Xue Zi examinations are approaching. If all of you are interested, you may fill out the applications and attend."
Instantly, Weiyang's exhausted appearance disappeared. The dark circles still remained, but he was grinning like a fool.
"YAYYYY! A new mission!"
Yinghua looked equally excited.
The very next second, both of them launched themselves at Lin Yi.
Just like two overly excited cats, they wrapped themselves around him, their cheeks pressed against his from both sides while grinning brightly. Lin Yi stumbled from the sudden attack, but his hands instinctively moved behind their backs to support them so they wouldn't fall.
He chuckled helplessly.
"Relax, you two."
After setting them back onto the ground, Lin Yi noticed both Yinghua and Weiyang staring at him with shining eyes as though they had just seen food after starving for days.
Chuckling, he took out four candidate slips and handed them out one by one.
Wuming accepted his silently.
Xue Zi examinations?
Nice trap, Lin Yi.
Looking towards his Shifu, Wuming asked calmly, "Are there any conditions for participating?"
Lin Yi looked directly at Wuming.
"Do you think there would be?"
"How would I know?"
Lin Yi smiled.
His dull eyes curved slightly, becoming eerily similar to a fox that had finally found prey. His expression looked exactly like a certain black-haired fox spirit smiling innocently while preparing something troublesome.
And seeing that smile, Wuming silently confirmed one thing. There were definitely conditions. Because xue zi exams are not just a simple exam of a few days, it might take days or perhaps even months.
Lin Yi said, "Though, you all have to complete five missions before competing." Wei Zhi immediately frowned. "Is it mandatory, Shifu?" Lin Yi hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm, no. But I want all of you fully prepared." Wuming looked at him and asked calmly, "So until now, were the past missions not enough?"
Wei Zhi continued, "We have already done twenty D-rank missions, twenty C-rank missions and thirty B-rank missions." Lin Yi nodded. "Yes and no." Then he raised one finger. "But not a single A-rank or S-rank mission."
"The other teams have already completed them twice while you all haven't done even one."
Lin Yi clicked his tongue. Immediately all four of them stared at him. Wuming narrowed his eyes. This bastard. He made us complete missions much faster than any other team. According to my information, Team Seven has completed almost twice the missions compared to all the other teams.
Weiyang intentionally sighed dramatically. "Why do you always drop a bomb after saying such pretty and nice words?" Lin Yi smiled. "Oh? Weiyang, are you upset?" He moved behind Weiyang and patted his head.
Weiyang pouted, folding his arms over his chest and lowering his head. "Hmph!" Lin Yi chuckled. Then he moved forward and stood before Wuming. "I am sure you already know what kind of missions these will be."
"Other than protecting the weak, there will be mercenary work, infiltration, silent assassinations, disguise and deception, bounty hunting and many more."
His smile disappeared.
"Now comes A-tier work, my little Renshou's."
"A mission where you all have to protect the client at all costs. Even at the cost of your own lives."
"Sometimes you may have to help the client achieve what they desire despite the risks involved."
"People hire Renshous because danger exists."
"And since we accepted this path, we will continue training while fulfilling our client's wishes."
Wei Zhi looked displeased.
"How is it any different from B-rank missions?"
Lin Yi looked at her.
"It is different."
"In B-rank missions, preserving your lives was always prioritized."
"In A-rank missions, your lives become secondary."
"And remember this."
"No one will be held accountable if you die." Silence descended. Even Weiyang stopped complaining. Lin Yi continued calmly."No matter how hard the day was, at night all of you will continue training."
"You will improve your stealth, weapon mastery and combat instincts."
"Because on A-rank missions, a single mistake means death." Weiyang groaned loudly. "Shifuuuu... are you trying to kill us before the enemy does?" Lin Yi smiled gently. "No."
"I am simply making sure the enemy fails to do so." The four children looked at each other.
For some reason, hearing those words from Lin Yi made the upcoming missions feel far more dangerous than before.
Wuming looked at Lin Yi and said, "Then I am even more certain that you have already found us our first A-tier mission. Care to tell us?"
Lin Yi smiled. "Of course, Wuming."
"This time, we have to protect a female engineer from the Nation of Ye."
"The Forest Nation."
Weiyang immediately raised his hand. "Isn't that the nation ruled by one of the Sovereigns? Ye Ying?" Lin Yi looked surprised. "Did you actually study, Weiyang?" Weiyang shook his head. "No."
"Wei Zhi was studying and I was sitting there, so I just heard her talking about the Sovereign." Wei Zhi froze.
Wait. He was actually listening to me? And on top of that, he remembered it? The coldness in her eyes softened as she looked at Weiyang's back. Lin Yi nodded. "I think you should study together with Wei Zhi, Weiyang."
"You will improve a lot." Weiyang looked horrified. "No way."
"I am not studying with this hag."
"She will eat me alive."
That was it. The tiny bit of good image Wei Zhi had of him shattered instantly. Without hesitation, she stepped forward and punched him in the back. Weiyang groaned and stumbled forward, grabbing Lin Yi's robes for support. "What monstrous strength!" Lin Yi looked at the group thoughtfully. Animal strength? Have none of you noticed Yinghua? In terms of pure physical power, she could probably take all of you on together despite her size and appearance.
Lin Yi's hand landed on Weiyang's blond head. He gently patted it, almost smothering him as his hand disappeared inside the messy hair. Yinghua smiled softly. "Weiyang, you shouldn't say such rude words to a lady." Weiyang immediately turned toward her, looking offended. "From what angle does she look lady-like to you?"
"The only lady I see here is you!" Yinghua immediately blushed. However, she did not smile. Lin Yi burst into loud laughter. Meanwhile, Wei Zhi's expression darkened. She looked exactly as if she wanted to commit murder. She was already preparing another punch when Yinghua suddenly hugged her from behind. "Spare this poor young soul!"
"Please, Wei Zhi!"
"Let this young boy continue living his life!" She dramatically sang the words as if she were performing on stage. Wei Zhi twitched. Wuming, who had been silently watching all this, suddenly spoke. "I feel like my ears are going to bleed." Wei Zhi immediately glared at him. "If so, why haven't they bled until now?"
"Please bleed faster. Faster." Prompted by absolutely no one. Wuming simply turned away. He walked toward Lin Yi. At the same time, he grabbed Weiyang by the collar and pulled him aside. Caught off guard, Weiyang stumbled and nearly fell onto Wuming, Weiyang's hand fell on Wuming's shoulders, stumbling. "Get up, idiot," Wuming said calmly.
Weiyang immediately straightened himself. "Who are you calling an idiot, idiot?"
Yinghua watched the two bicker, her eyes unconsciously drifting toward Wuming. There was always warmth in her gaze whenever she looked at him, a warmth so gentle that even she herself had never noticed it. Beside them, Lin Yi clapped his hands and smiled. "Well then, everyone, we will begin the mission tomorrow. For today, all of you are free. Consider it a day off."
Weiyang's eyes immediately sparkled. "Really? Really?" he asked excitedly before quickly turning toward Wei Zhi. "You promised you would teach me that new spell you learned about." He joined his hands together pitifully. Wei Zhi looked at him with complete disbelief, her expression clearly saying, are you serious right now?
Lin Yi burst into laughter. Yinghua followed right after him. Strangely, both of them laughed in almost the same manner, graceful yet unrestrained, elegant yet wild at the same time. Their laughter carried through the bridge like a pleasant melody.
Wuming glanced toward Yinghua. She was laughing softly, one hand covering her mouth, her eyes curved into crescents, looking far too pleased by Weiyang's antics. Wuming looked away almost immediately.
The Ye Nation tomorrow, huh?
What an annoyance.
What a complete waste of time.
My precious time keeps getting stolen away.
Couldn't I have been born a little older? Fourteen perhaps? Or even sixteen? But no. I had to be a damn child.
Lin Yi stretched lazily. "Alright, I'll be leaving now. Wei Zhi, stay in the city for a while. I might have work for you."
Wei Zhi nodded. "I also have an errand to run for Lady Yin Fu. I'll finish it and come find you. Around noon?"
Lin Yi hummed thoughtfully. "Sounds good."
Weiyang immediately looked horrified. "Wait! Don't steal her from me!"
Lin Yi blinked innocently. "Me? Never. Never."
Wei Zhi walked forward, standing between Weiyang on her right and Wuming on her left. She lightly smacked Weiyang's shoulder. "Idiot. I said I'll come back and teach you. First let me finish my work. Lady Yin Fu asked me to run an errand."
Weiyang crossed his arms and grumbled, but did not argue further.
A moment later, Lin Yi vanished.
Wei Zhi vanished as well.
Only Wuming, Yinghua and Weiyang remained standing on the bridge.
Without another word, Wuming turned around and began walking away. The morning sun illuminated his silver-white hair while the machete in his right hand spun lazily between his fingers.
Both Yinghua and Weiyang silently watched his retreating figure.
Weiyang suddenly remembered the moment from earlier when he had stumbled into Wuming. Their eyes had met.
At first, all I had seen was coldness. Absolute coldness. But when I had looked longer, i had realized something else. Those eyes were empty. Dull. Lifeless. Like the eyes of dead people from my nightmares. I saw hatred, Weiyang thought quietly. Hatred for someone. Maybe for many people. But not for me. When he looked at me, I thought he hated me. Yet when he looked at Yinghua, somehow that hatred seemed even deeper. At first I thought it was because of his family. But no.
End of 80