Chapter 14

Wen Qingyin, having successfully rounded himself back, gave Pei Junheng an unfriendly sideways glare: "How are you here?"

As far as he knew, the lodgings assigned to them by Yingzhou Academy could be entered and exited freely only by the masters listed on the jade slips; others could enter the courtyard only with the master's permission.

Pei Junheng could actually enter Falling Star Courtyard while he was asleep, without his knowledge—this meant……

"What evil technique have you secretly cultivated?" He actually had the ability to break through the courtyard's restrictions.

Faced with Wen Qingyin's questioning, Pei Junheng was obviously unmoved; he leisurely raised the jade slip in his hand.

The jade slip showed that, besides Wen Qingyin, the other master of Falling Star Courtyard was——

Wen Qingyin stared, eyes wide in disbelief.

Heedless, he turned to grab the jade slip he had tossed on the bed, only to see that the name of the other master, which had been blank yesterday, had somehow been filled in.

Clearly written were the three large characters "Pei Junheng".

His roommate, with whom he would have to live day and night for three years, turned out to be Pei Junheng!

Wen Qingyin could not accept it.

"I want to change courtyards!" Wen Qingyin jumped up from the bed, furious at the unbelievable fact.

"Please go ahead."

Pei Junheng, on the contrary, sat down openly and, in front of Wen Qingyin, leisurely poured himself a cup of tea.

He wasn't wearing the uniform of the Wan Zhou Sword Sect today, but had changed into a plain white robe; the loose garment softened his fierce aura somewhat, as if the sword intent from the clouds had been drawn near, turning into a gentle pool of moonlight.

Before, Pei Junheng's imposing presence made people forget his age; now he looked like a young gentleman of his age.

However, Pei Junheng's calm, carefree demeanor only made Wen Qingyin angrier; he could not imagine sharing a room with him.

Even if he appeared flustered, what of it? If he had to live under the same roof as Pei Junheng, then only one of them would walk out alive.

With Pei Junheng around, there would be no him, Wen Qingyin; he feared that one day, upon seeing that hateful face, he would be unable to restrain himself from striking.

Seeing Wen Qingyin's current irritable state, Pei Junheng calmly drank the clear tea in his cup, his expression revealing just the right amount of wickedness.

He had thought that Hongyu Pavilion was the last place he would see Pei Junheng before the sect's grand competition.

Glaring hatefully at Pei Junheng, Wen Qingyin didn't even have time to snatch the jade slip before rushing straight out of Falling Star Courtyard.

Letting him live with Pei Junheng is impossible!

Wen Qingyin's angry footsteps faded from earshot; Pei Junheng lowered his gaze to the porcelain cup in his hand, the green tea reflecting his visage.

The flower-like fragrance faded with Wen Qingyin's departure, slowly dissipating from the tip of his nose; the peaceful, flushed sleeping face of Wen Qingyin from last night seemed to flash across the tea's surface.

Pei Junheng raised his hand and drained the tea in the cup in one gulp.

"Knock knock——"

Wen Qingyin knocked on the door of the courtyard where Zi Shu Zhi resided.

He thought that swapping to share a residence with Zi Shu Zhi would also work, as long as he didn't have to live under the same roof as Pei Junheng.

After leaving Falling Star Courtyard, Wen Qingyin specially examined himself from head to toe, needing to confirm whether Pei Junheng, who had come into his room while he slept the previous night, had done anything to him.

Otherwise, why would he have slept so deeply last night?

The more Wen Qingyin thought about it, the stranger it seemed, yet after checking twice carefully he found nothing abnormal.

Could it really be that he was overthinking?

Unable to find any clue, Wen Qingyin could only set his doubts aside for now; he looked at his right palm, where a scar like a budding apricot flower lay quietly closed in the center of his hand.

It seemed as if it would bloom in his hand at any second.

He didn't know whether it was his imagination.

Wen Qingyin's gaze lingered on the scar in his palm for a few seconds.

The scar on his palm seemed to have faded.

"Who is it?"

Hearing the knocking outside, a distant voice came from within the courtyard gate—it was Zi Shu Zhi's voice.

"Hey, young sect master, what brings you here?" Zi Shu Zhi, who had opened the door, looked in surprise at Wen Qingyin appearing at his courtyard gate.

After a brief stunned pause, Zi Shu Zhi suddenly realized: it turned out the young sect master valued him so much that he had returned to the courtyard and even personally come to visit him!

Before Zi Shu Zhi could be moved to tell Wen Qingyin of his loyal admiration for the young sect master, Wen Qingyin's decisive voice rang in his ears: "I want to change residences."

Change residences?

Zi Shu Zhi looked at Wen Qingyin and realized the young sect master's expression was far from pleasant.

"Why suddenly want to change residences?" You've only just spent one night here.

"Yingzhou Academy does not permit students to change residences privately; one must report to Lord Qing Xuan Shangjun and obtain permission, otherwise it counts as violating academy rules."

A head peeked out from behind Zi Shu Zhi; Chi Feiqian smiled narrowly and looked at Wen Qingyin, saying.

Although he didn't understand why Wen Qingyin was suddenly so determined to change residences, Zi Shu Zhi first had the young sect master sit down inside before elaborating.

The wind outside is strong; we mustn't let the young sect master be blown over.

Wen Qingyin followed Zi Shu Zhi and Chi Feiqian into the house; upon entering, he discovered that the structure of the Lotus Courtyard was completely different from that of Falling Star Courtyard.

"Why do you have two separate rooms?" Wen Qingyin wondered.

The residents of Lotus Courtyard, Zi Shu Zhi and Chi Feiqian, each had their own private bedroom, unlike Falling Star Courtyard where the two beds were separated only by a thin gauze curtain.

"Aren't all the academy's courtyards like this?"

Likewise puzzled by Wen Qingyin's question, after he described the situation in Falling Star Courtyard to them, both Zi Shu Zhi and Chi Feiqian wore expressions of shock.

"I never expected Yingzhou Academy to have such——" Chi Feiqian lowered his voice, "a shabby place."

Wen Qingyin: ……

That Falling Star Courtyard is simply unlivable.

A message notification sounded from the jade slip in Zi Shu Zhi's pouch; under the gaze of Wen Qingyin and Chi Feiqian, Zi Shu Zhi pulled out the jade slip to see that it was a notice from the academy.

"Please, all students, immediately proceed with your courtyard mates to Wulou Hall to collect the academy uniforms—are we going now?" Zi Shu Zhi read out the message's content.

Upon entering Yingzhou Academy, one naturally can no longer wear the uniforms of their respective sects; instead, they should change into Yingzhou Academy's uniform, after which there is no distinction between sects, and all are fellow students of Yingzhou Academy.

Do I have to go together with my roommate?

Wen Qingyin, who had just caught the keyword and furrowed his brow, saw Zi Shu Zhi, who was holding a jade slip, turn his head and look at him: "Right, little sect master, who is your roommate you share a house with?" Earlier, he had only been asking why the little sect master wanted to change lodgings, forgetting to ask who that person sharing the house with the sect master was.

It's Pei Junheng.

Wen Qingyin's expression froze.

That answer caught in Wen Qingyin's throat; he did not want to have any ties with Pei Junheng, even just in front of Zi Shu Zhi.

"Could it be an artifact cultivator?"

Seeing Wen Qingyin's stiff expression, as if he didn't want to elaborate, Zi Shu Zhi's expression grew even more puzzled.

The disciples of the Qianji Qiao Pavilion are mostly taciturn and withdrawn; it would indeed be uncomfortable for the lively little sect master to share a room with an artifact cultivator.

Wen Qingyin's lips slightly opened and closed, preparing to give a vague, evasive answer.

As long as he now goes to find Lord Qing Xuan and successfully changes his lodging, the fact that his roommate is Pei Junheng can be treated as if it never existed, saving him the trouble of explaining to Zi Shu Zhi later.

He lifted his gaze, just in time to meet Chi Feiqian's smiling eyes looking over.

With a fox-like smile identical to Lord Qing Xuan's, those curved smiling eyes unchanged, as if they could see what Wen Qingyin had in mind.

Wen Qingyin froze; just as he was about to speak, a knocking sound suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

Someone has come outside the gate.

Wen Qingyin was worrying about how to fool Zi Shu Zhi; upon hearing the knock, he immediately turned around.

"I'll open the door." Wen Qingyin eagerly walked to the courtyard gate.

However, as soon as he opened the door, Wen Qingyin's motion froze in place; his expression, which had relaxed from not needing to make up an excuse, turned cold.

The person outside the gate was a head taller than Wen Qingyin, forcing him to tilt his head slightly upward to look at him.

This person bore the face that had just made Wen Qingyin angry enough to flee the door, his sharp eyes half-lowered as they gazed at Wen Qingyin.

It was actually Pei Junheng.

How did Pei Junheng know he was at Zi Shu Zhi's place?

"Little sect master, who has come?"

Seeing Wen Qingyin go out and then hearing no further movement outside, Zi Shu Zhi ran over to check the situation; upon stepping out, he saw Wen Qingyin standing off with someone at the gate.

The puzzled Zi Shu Zhi, upon seeing who stood at the gate, instantly changed his expression: "Pei Junheng, what are you doing here?"

Zi Shu Zhi protectively shielded Wen Qingyin behind him; although he didn't understand why Pei Junheng had come to Luohue House, it didn't stop him from shouting.

"This place doesn't welcome sword cultivators; I advise you to leave quickly, or my pills won't be vegetarian." Zi Shu Zhi threatened, despite the fact that his offensive pills had all been fed to the lake's Xuanwu during his time at Hongyu Xie.

He was about to reach out to drive Pei Junheng out of Luohue House, but he hadn't expected that Pei Junheng's expression would remain unchanged under his words; instead, his gaze fell unabashedly onto Zi Shu Zhi's back.

"I've come to find my roommate." Pei Junheng said calmly.

"What are you looking for your roommate for in our Luohue House?" Zi Shu Zhi laughed angrily at Pei Junheng, his tone mocking: "Could it be that your roommate is still in our Luohue House......"

At the end of his words, Zi Shu Zhi suddenly realized, his mocking words catching in his throat; he stiffly turned his neck, giving a ghost‑seen look backward.

Sensing Zi Shu Zhi's disbelief, Wen Qingyin likewise doubted life: ……

Whenever he encounters Pei Junheng, nothing good ever happens.

If he continues to share lodgings with Pei Junheng, he will likely become a jinx for the rest of his years at Yingzhou Academy.

"Little sect master, is that guy Pei Junheng your roommate?"

Zi Shu Zhi asked, his voice trembling.

Although Wen Qingyin said nothing, his silent expression already explained everything.

No wonder Wen Qingyin came to him earlier with a cold face asking to change lodgings; he never expected the little sect master's roommate to be such a heart‑less beast in human form!

"Little sect master, let me swap lodgings with you! I'll take responsibility for whatever happens!" Zi Shu Zhi steeled himself, ready to die.

As long as it helps the little sect master escape this sea of suffering, he is willing to do anything.

Zi Shu Zhi put on an air of bearing humiliation and burden, ready to sacrifice himself for the little sect master.

However, before Zi Shu Zhi's harsh words had even landed, a faint voice came from behind him: Chi Feiqian said, "Watch out, or Lord Qing Xuan will catch you all in one pot~"

Zi Shu Zhi: ……

I almost forgot that there is still Lord Qing Xuan's younger brother here.

The plan to swap lodgings with Wen Qingyin came to nothing before it even began; now he can only go to Lord Qing Xuan to explain his wish to change lodgings.

Apparently unaware of the undercurrents swirling, Pei Junheng, who stood at the center of the turmoil, instead looked past Zi Shu Zhi toward Wen Qingyin, adopting an inviting posture.

"But shall we now go together to the Hall of Nothingness?"