Wu Youren saw Rossi again outside an apartment building; those living inside were almost entirely bachelor martial artists.
Rossi did not invite him in, though his attitude was fairly normal, at most slightly perfunctory.
He gave him two pieces of python meat, about three or four jin, which was reasonable enough.
When Wu Youren brought it back, the administrator offered to pay him for it.
Wu Youren merely smiled and waved his hand, explaining that Rossi hadn't charged him anything either. "Consider it a gift from me."
Over the next few days, apart from occasionally attending free public lectures, he spent his time tending the vegetable patch.
The rest of the time, he mainly cultivated in the backyard.
Right next to his quarters was a martial training ground, but he only slipped in quietly whenever he needed to use the equipment, keeping his presence as faint as possible.
Even so, whenever he went to the training ground, he could overhear conversations between other martial artists and pick up on the situation.
What people talked about most recently was the incident in Suotu Town.
The anomaly there was growing increasingly severe, with grand knight-level Guizu appearing—and more than one.
Great Liang had already mobilized the military to head over, and the Martial Academy had dispatched several teams to take part, some even led by head instructors.
Casualties were inevitable, and word had it they were quite heavy, though the veracity of such rumors was anyone's guess.
Wu Youren paid close attention to news like this as well. He had basically digested the gains from his previous venture out.
By a rough calculation, he had saved around eight months of cultivation time.
Where he might previously have needed two years before qualifying to attempt a breakthrough to knight, it would now take less than a year and a half.
This feeling... was truly fantastic!
Even though he knew his identity had been exposed and he likely wouldn't be able to roam outside at will anymore, there was no harm in dreaming, right?
As for developing toward becoming an ability master? Such a wonderful prospect was something he didn't have the luxury of dwelling on right now.
One day, he attended another public lecture and was unexpectedly singled out by the instructor to answer a question.
He was somewhat taken aback at the time, though while rare, such occurrences were not unheard of.
If it had been an academic lecture, Wu Youren certainly wouldn't have bothered answering seriously, but then again, he would never have gone out of his way to attend an academic lecture in the first place.
He stated his understanding, and based on the details of his answer, the instructor posed a follow-up question.
The instructor's second question was much more pointed, yet Wu Youren still laid out his perspective.
When it came to cultivation, there were seldom any perfect techniques.
The people of Liang had noticed this as well; as their saying went, "Even some people have their heart on the right side."
Of course, having a heart on the right, like having double pupils, was generally considered out of the ordinary.
Yet differences in cultivation approaches were entirely normal, and the details the instructor asked Wu Youren about fell right into that category.
There was no right or wrong in such debates; the instructor merely gave a few comments before telling him to sit down.
However, once the public lecture ended and Wu Youren was about to slip away, the instructor beckoned to him. "You, come here!"
The instructor had felt a spark of interest and wanted to ask the youth: Would you be willing to apprentice under me?
"Of course I'd like that," Wu Youren nodded repeatedly, delight showing on his face.
After a slight hesitation, however, he added, "It's just that when it comes to the tuition fee, this disciple is a bit short on coin."
Poor people couldn't afford to practice martial arts at all, yet martial artists didn't necessarily have much money either—most were fairly pinched financially.
Those able to enter the Martial Academy were slightly better off, but whether it was blood food, medicinal cuisine, or physical upkeep and medical treatment, what didn't cost money?
Even Knight Rossi wouldn't pass up a chance to make extra money on the side.
Yet whether intentionally or not, Wu Youren laid on his Jin accent a little thicker in that reply.
The moment the instructor heard it, his interest evaporated completely. There had been too many people earlier for him to notice the accent clearly; who could have guessed the boy was from Jin!
At Red Pine Martial Academy, some instructors didn't care about nationality, and some instructors were foreigners themselves.
This instructor, however, was not one of those open-minded types; he harbored a dislike for people from Jin.
On top of that, the boy's answer was that he had no money—hell, even if you were from Great Liang, I might not have taken you!
He waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it then. Stingy brat—even if you had money, I wouldn't want to teach you now!"
Quite a few martial artists overheard this exchange.
Some felt sorry for the youth; after all, it was truly rare for an instructor to take the initiative like that.
Yet others noted it silently in their minds: cultivation, insight, and looks were all quite decent, and yet he was stymied by a lack of money!
Presently, Wu Youren was like a startled bird. Having drawn a bit of the limelight this time, he promptly retreated back into his little cabin.
For three days straight, he didn't attend any public lectures. On the fourth day, someone came knocking.
The visitor this time was Subar, his former roommate, who brought along two female martial artists.
It turned out that Wu Youren had gained a bit of modest fame within the Martial Academy—mainly circulating among the female practitioners.
With over ten thousand teachers and students at the Martial Academy, not that many female practitioners actually paid attention to him.
However, among those who did know of him, the general consensus was that in terms of looks alone, disregarding cultivation, he easily ranked in the top three.
It was just that previously, no one knew much about Wu Youren. Though some female practitioners were intrigued, they didn't want to risk embarrassing themselves by approaching him rashly.
Yet when he publicly admitted to being strapped for cash, certain people saw an opportunity.
Where there were poor people in the academy, there were also wealthy ones. And sure enough, someone had tracked him down through his roommate.
Subar didn't actually believe Wu Youren was all that destitute—after all, he had sponged quite a few meals off him.
Still, since there was an introduction fee to be made, why turn it down?
*Fine, I really am broke...* Wu Youren hadn't expected that so many people were paying attention to him.
Of the two female martial artists who came, one was a viscount's daughter, and the other was her close friend.
Crucially, her family boasted two grand knights—her viscount father and her second elder brother, both decorated with military merits—so the family was flush with coin.
The female martial artist stated that she had come to the Martial Academy simply to make connections, and she was on good terms with several knight instructors.
She hadn't formally apprenticed to anyone, as her family already had grand knights, but quite a few instructors were eager to humor her.
She stated very bluntly: his lack of apprenticeship fees was an easy fix; she could take care of it for him.
However, accepting this meant accepting the patronage of the viscount's household, so in the future, he would naturally have to heed her orders.
Wu Youren was rather speechless inside. *Are you grooming me to be a live-in son-in-law?*
If she had truly been celestial in beauty—or taking a step back, even passably attractive—he might just have agreed.
The problem was that she really fell short in looks, bearing a certain resemblance to Yan Sanmin.
Fortunately, her approach wasn't quite as unseemly as Yan Sanmin's; she was seeking mutual consent.
A family boasting two grand knights certainly had the confidence to act like that.
Her face practically screamed, *If you don't say yes, you're the one missing out!*
Wu Youren could only reply, "My apologies. My family suffers from a chronic affliction... I have a habit of killing in my sleep. Subar can testify to that."
Subar nodded frantically. "See? Just like I told you."
Hearing this, the female martial artist looked somewhat displeased. "I merely saw some talent in you and worried it might go to waste."
"Killing in your sleep... I find that rather strange. If you're asleep, how could you ever touch me?"
This was a textbook case of saying one thing while meaning another.
Yet it was hardly surprising. Once the investment was finalized and the academy no longer had any ground to intervene, whatever she wanted to do would be entirely up to her.
Even if force were involved, would a viscount's family with two grand knights have any scruples when dealing with a boy from a foreign land?
Chapter 34