Chapter 367:”Rise of the East Wing (2)”
Yan Bu Gui’s brow was furrowed. He did not want to involve Jun Wu Xie with such matters.
But Jun Wu Xie readily agreed: “Let’s go.”
Even the Qing Yun Clan fell before her. How can the headmaster of a decrepit academy compare to that?
“Good! I’ll wait for both of you in the headmaster’s study!” He Qiu Sheng left hurriedly after saying that.
After He Qiu Sheng left, Yan Bu Gui’s eyes softened immediately as his gaze fell upon Jun Wu Xie in helplessness.
“Jun Xie, you don’t need to…..”
“I’ll go.” Jun Wu Xie said curtly. The concept of the servitude as a disciple to a Master was foreign to Jun Wu Xie and she was only just learning from her observation of Qiao Chu and the others and that little bit was all she knew at that moment.
Yan Bu Gui sighed heavily. He knew that Jun Wu Xie did not speak much but it was clear to him that his new little disciple was a little man of his words. Whatever passed those lips became unwavering truth, and could not be changed easily.
Jun Wu Xie handed the little black cat into Rong Ruo’s care once again and left to go to the headmaster’s with Yan Bu Gui.
Along the way, they passed several Phoenix Academy disciples. When those youths saw Jun Wu Xie with Yan Bu Gui, they started pointing and whispering among themselves blatantly, paying no heed nor showing any respect for Yan Bu Gui’s position as a Master in the academy.
Yan Bu Gui was used to their disrespect and had not ever been affected by all that. But this time, his eyes glanced at Jun Wu Xie, feeling sorry that Jun Wu Xie had to suffer under those pointing fingers and hushed whispers.
But Jun Wu Xie did not seem affected by it in the least. Yan Bu Gui could see that his little disciple’s back would stand just as straight and not bend in the slightest even if the sky fell on them then.
He had been worried as he thought Jun Wu Xie might not have had to suffer from so many gazes thrown at them, full of disdain.
But the fact was, Yan Bu Gui could not have been more wrong!
Before Jun Wu Xie had embarked on her quest to force a change of the regime in Qi, her reputation had been in tatters. They looks the people of the Qi Kingdom had given her in those days had been many times worse. But…..
She had never been bothered by them. Her eyes had not even bothered to rest on those people even for a second then.
The original Phoenix Academy had had a huge campus but its lands had shrunk drastically after it had been rebuilt. Due to its lack of funds, the academy’s buildings had not been refurbished or properly maintained for years and its decrepit facade were painfully visible, showing starkly the academy’s embarrassing financial situation.
The headmaster’s study was a small little place and the paint on the door was peeling. Weeds grew in the crevices of the steps leading up to the door and the whole place looked dismal.
As they pushed the door open, a slouchy old man with a full white beard was in the room, sitting behind his table. Upon the old and wrinkled face, a pair of eyes narrowed as He Qiu Sheng stood at one side, criticizing Yan Bu Gui and his new disciple, Jun Wu Xie endlessly in a high pitched voice.
When he saw Yan Bu Gui and Jun Wu Xie enter, He Qiu Sheng’s complaints intensified and the pitch of his voice started to rise even higher.
The expression on Yan Bu Gui’s face was clearly flustered but Jun Wu Xie was a placid calm, looking as though those complaints had nothing to do with her.
“Headmaster, look over here. These two people are flagrantly flouting your rules! I had just tallied the numbers earlier today and over the past few days, the East Wing’s losses had increased by another ten over taels! If we are to continue to indulge them, they might drag the whole Phoenix Academy down with them.” He Qiu Sheng continued persistently.
The moment money was mentioned, the headmaster’s bored expression perked up. He raised his head and stared at Yan Bu Gui and Jun Wu Xie.
“Bu Gui, when are you going to pay up on the money still owing? We cannot allow you to drag your feet on the payment indefinitely. You allowed this disciple of yours to injure another disciple of the South Wing, and when the news of this incident reaches the ears of his family, the family is going to come after you! And if they decide to withdraw their child from the academy, we would lose another source of income here!” The old headmaster nagged at Yan Bu Gui, his face deeply aggrieved.