Chapter 4
Confidence surges through me, and I straighten my back even more.
The little princess’s face twists with rage.
Her long-time crush is protecting me in front of everyone and completely humiliating her.
“You! Just! Wait!”
She spits out the threat, then runs off crying.
…
Next class is illusion technique.
A few fellow disciples warn me.
“Be careful in class later—the illusion teacher is the little princess’s aunt.”
“Yeah, she’s terrifying. Last time someone badmouthed the little princess and she overheard, he got stuck cleaning toilets for a month. Came out smelling like it.”
“With what you did? You’re looking at least a year—no, five years!”
Another PrivilegedInsider, huh? No wonder the little princess acts so arrogant all the time.
I poke QiYaoheng, who’s napping beside me.
“Between you and the little princess, whose connections are stronger?”
He answers simply: “Mine.”
Perfect. I relax.
I lie down next to him and go back to sleep.
I’m deep in conversation with the duke of dreams when the illusion teacher wakes me with a splash of water.
“SuXiaotang, come demonstrate how to use illusion technique to sell a popsicle to someone frozen stiff.”
“Fail, and you clean toilets.”
She conjures a popsicle and hands it to me. “I’m the frozen person now… go ahead, start.”
I push back my dripping bangs, hold the popsicle sincerely, and say to her,
“Ma’am, would you like to buy some of your own merchandise?”
She grits her teeth. “I told you to use illusion technique!”
“But… you’re already frozen stiff… once you’re dead, won’t all your money be mine anyway? Why would I bother trying to sell you a popsicle?”
“Pfft!”
The disciples around us can’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
The teacher fumes. “Get out. Go clean toilets for five years.”
I point to QiYaoheng, who just woke up beside me.
“Can he come too? He was sleeping as well.”
“Both of you—get out!”
…
I bounce out of the classroom.
QiYaoheng follows beside me, calm as ever.
Even though I dragged him into it on purpose, he doesn’t blame me at all. Instead, he patiently comforts me.
“Don’t feel bad. Even inner disciples who’ve studied basic illusion for over ten years can’t do it.”
“You’ve only been here a few days. It’s normal not to know it yet.”
Somehow, he seems to know I’m upset.
To cheer me up, he takes me up to the mountains behind DivineCapital.
I ask, “Aren’t we supposed to be cleaning toilets? What if the enforcement hall finds out?”
He looks perfectly unruffled.
“I’m a PrivilegedInsider.”
5
And just like that, the two of us start our shameless life of skipping classes.
QiYaoheng completely wins me over.
He seems quiet and reserved, but every day he takes me on little adventures, turning ShenduSect upside down.
I want roast chicken—he sneaks into the beast garden, grabs a century-old spirit chicken, plucks it, lights the fire, and roasts it.
I want fish soup—he raids the medicine garden for a pot of thousand-year herbs.
Paired with spirit mushrooms, the aroma spreads everywhere.
QiYaoheng conjures two puppets to clean the toilets for us day and night.
The little princess comes to visit him at the toilets and gets splashed with filth by the puppets.
After that, she never dares come near the area again.
—
To thank him, I invite QiYaoheng home for dinner.
I rush back excitedly, only to find a note from my parents saying they’ve run off.
Translation: “Nannan, you’re in school now, so Mom and Dad are going to chase our own happiness”
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