Chapter 151: Bet and Deal

What surprised Fang Jie was that the student residences weren’t centralized. They were scattered across the academy. Some were beside gardens, and some were beside lakes; they all had great scenery.

Fang Jie liked this setting, but the only drawback was that the cafeteria wouldn’t deliver food to the residences.

Regardless of where the students lived, they could only eat at the cafeteria.

Fang Jie first returned to his residence to change. When Qi Lin saw Fang Jie who was exhausted and about to collapse, he quickly walked up and tried to help. Fang Jie rejected Qi Lin’s proposal of carrying him on his back and forced himself to walk to his room.

He was in no mood to observe the room that was going to belong to him in the next three years. The first thing he did was throwing his body onto the bed.

Fang Jie felt better after lying on the bed for about ten minutes, and he then changed out of his wet clothes and lied down a bit more.

Afterward, he got up and walked out of the door. As soon as he exited the room, he made himself look energetic to hide the fatigue and pain. It was not easy to make himself seem normal at this moment.

As soon as he walked out of his courtyard, he saw two people walking this way, side-by-side.

These two people were chatting, and they greeted Fang Jie from afar when they saw him.

They were Pei Chuxing and Yu Xiao.

Fang Jie raised his brows when he saw these two, then he showed an apologetic smile on his face before walking forward.

“My apologies. I agreed to visit you guys, but I ran into a little situation and weren’t able to do it. Please forgive me,” Fang Jie apologized after bowing.

Pei Chuxing and Yu Xiao quickly stopped Fang Jie from bowing.

Pei Chuxing said with a smile, “We knew what happened; how could we blame you? After my father learned about it, he even told me to pay you a visit. Your luck was bad since you ran into a criminal on your way. The Capital has been safe for a long time. Since you lived at Gold-Sharing Duke’s residence, and I learned that Gold-Sharing Duke left Chang’an recently, I wasn’t in a position to visit you. I wanted to apologize to you about it.”

Yu Xiao added, “You were already exhausted from the competition, so you were at a disadvantage when you ran into that criminal. Fortunately, your strength is good. Any ordinary people would have died.”

Fang Jie knew that these two young men wanted to pull him to their side, so he was polite and humble. However, it was this humbleness that added distance between them.

Pei Chuxing and Yu Xiao were smart people, so they saw through Fang Jie’s humbleness and politeness.

The three of them walked and chatted. Pei Chuxing and Yu Xiao didn’t mention paying him a visit again, and they also didn’t invite him to visit their families. Fang Jie was glad that they didn’t mention it, so he didn’t have to worry about all that.

When they were close to the cafeteria, they ran into people like Xie Fuyao and Mo Xidao. They went to eat as a group.

It had to be mentioned that the food at the academy was great, and liquor wasn’t prohibited.

Of course, none of this was free.

Since Yu Xiao said that he was going to treat everyone, others wouldn’t fight over the bill with him.

Fang Jie was stingy, and Zhang Kuang and Mo Xidao didn’t have extra money. As to Xie Fuyao and Pei Chuxing, they wouldn’t do it since fighting over the bill wasn’t noble-spirited.

This was a big difference between ordinary people and members of big families. If ordinary people ate and drank, they would usually fight over the bill. It showed respect to others, and it would also show that they weren’t stingy.

However, to members of big families, paying the bill when someone else said they would pay wasn’t a sign of respect; it was shameful. These people were all rich and didn’t mind the bill; they cared more about their reputation and face.

After sitting down and introducing themselves, the atmosphere became awkward. Zhang Kuang and Mo Xidao only lowered their heads and focused on eating and drinking. They didn’t talk at all.

It was clear that the two of them still didn’t like these members of big families. If it weren’t for Fang Jie, the two of them would have left.

Xie Fuyao was a unique figure. He was close with Fang Jie, Mo Xidao, and Zhang Kuang, yet he was a member of a big family, so he had things to talk about with Yu Xiao and Pei Chuxing. He was the necessary link between the two groups of people who seemed to be in two different worlds.

After drinking for a while, Pei Chuxing said to Fang Jie, “Since you have recovered, how about we tour Chang’an in a few days when the academy allows us to go out? I know that you haven’t traveled around since you got to the Capital. Chang’an is huge; there are many places to go and see.”

It seemed like Pei Chuxing also didn’t want to waste time in this awkward atmosphere.

“How dare I say no when Brother Pei has invited me?” Fang Jie toasted to Pei Chuxing and replied.

Since Pei Chuxing said it first, Yu Xiao couldn’t invite Fang Jie as well. He stood up and said, “Since you guys made a plan, don’t forget to remind me. A few friends called me earlier, so I’m going to check on them. I already told the waiter to put this meal on my account.”

“Since your guys have things to do, don’t mind us.” Fang Jie stood up to say farewell, and Yu Xiao and Pei Chuxing left the table.

After the two of them were gone, Mo Xidao chugged a cup of liquor and said, “It was uncomfortable when those two were here.”

“They are gone now, so let’s enjoy ourselves.” Zhang Kuang laughed and toasted to Xie Fuyao. He said, “You are different from them! We see you as a brother!”

Xie Fuyao seemed happy about this, so he quickly raised his cup and drank with Zhang Kuang.

Fang Jie said with displeasure, “How could you say that? They treated us to liquor and food. We need to be polite and have etiquette. We need to thank them! Even if we don’t thank them, we need to say something else.”

Zhang Kuang thought Fang Jie was really complaining, so he asked subconsciously, “What should we say?”

Fang Jie raised his hand and shouted, “Waiter, bring over the menu. Let us add a few more dishes!”

…

It was comfortable sitting on a stone stool in a garden in the sunset, especially after a great meal.

Xie Fuyao looked at Fang Jie who was lying on the grass with his arms and legs spread out. Seeing Fang Jie ignoring his own image, Xie Fuyao laughed and said, “I have never seen someone stingy like you. Even though you didn’t have to pay, you didn’t have to eat so much that you could barely walk.”

Fang Jie chuckled and rubbed his bulging belly while saying, “They wanted to treat us, so we should be good guests. Is there anything else that would please the host more other than enjoying ourselves?”

Then, he sighed, “I wanted to order some food for takeout. Unfortunately, I felt like that would be a little too shameless.”

“Is it that? Or are you too full to eat anything for the rest of today?” Xie Fuyao joked, “You are someone with status now. You should pay some attention to your etiquette and behaviors.”

“None of that is meaningful; getting full is more important.” Fang Jie shook his head and said, “It is better to cultivate when you have time, and the toughest thing in the world is having no food to eat.”

“It is better to cultivate when you have time, and the toughest thing in the world is having no food to eat,” Xie Fuyao repeated it and praised, “It is an interesting phrase.”

“There are many interesting phrases, but I only want to ask you one thing.” Fang Jie slowly sat up with difficulty and asked Xie Fuyao earnestly, “Why did you hold back during the martial tests?”

Xie Fuyao was surprised, then he shook his head with a smile. “I didn’t hold back.”

“You think I will believe that?” Fang Jie replied, “Theoretically, everyone thought that you tried to kill me. I even thought that you tried to kill me. Therefore, we should be quite distant from each other. Why do you think I instantly tried to treat you to liquor after the entrance exam?”

“Why?”

“I need to thank you for not killing me,” Fang Jie sighed, “Others saw me knocking you down, but they didn’t see you pulling back your finger forces intentionally when I got close. Since you dared to challenge a professor, how could you only master the Spring Variation and the Summer Variation of Four Symbol Finger? Others might not have realized at the time, but they must have figured it out afterward.”

“Didn’t you do the same? Did you use your full strength?” Xie Fuyao asked.

Fang Jie smiled and didn’t deny it.

“Fang Jie…”

“Huh?”

“You… really can’t cultivate?”

“Yeah, everyone knows it. You don’t?”

“I know, but I just want to hear you confirm it.”

“You are adding salt to injury, you know that?” Fang Jie rolled his eyes and sighed while looking at the sun that was no longer eye-piercing, “Most of you guys who can cultivate probably would think how come I, a wastrel who can’t cultivate, became the no.1 student in the entrance exam.”

Xie Fuyao shook his head and said, “I didn’t think that.”

“Many people think this way,” Fang Jie said, “When we were being tested by the professors this morning, many people started looking at me differently. I know that it is contempt. Even though I’m the no.1 student, it wouldn’t change the fact that they look down on me. I’m not from a prestigious background, and I don’t have the talent for cultivation. No one would think that I have a bright future. In fact, most of the people in the world are like me. Therefore, they would achieve nothing in life, and they would only be the background of this era.”

“Only idiots would think this way,” Xie Fuyao said, “The people are the most important in the world. Regardless of how powerful a nation is and how rich the big families are, none of this can last without normal people.”

Fang Jie smiled and replied, “You think like Marx-Lenin.”

“What is that?”

“A philosopher who believes in utopia and that everyone is equal.”

“It is a bold idea, but it isn’t realistic. Also, this philosopher has a strange name. What does it mean?”

Fang Jie didn’t know how to BS anymore, so he quickly changed the topic.

“Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t come to the academy if there is a big war? Why did you come here when you know Great Sui is going to wage a war in the northwest?”

After a moment of silence, Xie Fuyao shook his head and said earnestly, “I don’t know how you think, but I feel like… this war won’t be easy. Us who entered the Martial Arts Academy might not stay here for three years.”

Fang Jie’s expression changed, and he couldn’t help but say, “If others hear this, you will suffer.”

Xie Fuyao shook his head and said, “Why should I be afraid? You won’t tell others. How about we bet on it? If we can study peacefully in the academy for three years, then you win, and I will teach you Yin Yang Sword of Wudang Mountain. If we can’t, then I win. How about this?”

“See… I knew you held back strength. You only used Four-Symbol Finger and didn’t show Yin Yang Sword. What should I give you if I lose?” Fang Jie asked stingily.

“Stand by me,” Xie Fuyao said calmly but seriously, “If we have to go on the battlefield, I hope you will stand by me.”

“Why?”

“In the entire Martial Arts Academy, few people know more about the battlefield than you do. Also, few people know how to survive on the battlefield. As long as the Xie Family isn’t prosperous again, I can’t die.”

Fang Jie fell silent.

When the sun disappeared, he slowly stood up and walked toward his residence.

“Deal.”