Chapter 11: Farce

When Longqin set Longyin down, his cheeks flushed under the scrutiny of all those watchful eyes, both young and old. Especially when his eldest sister crouched down to tidy his clothes, those stares became even more unabashed. Longqin, however, paid it no mind, and Longyin, holding back his breath, turned all those brazen, disdainful glances into envy and bitterness in his own mind.

“Tsk, always needing adults to help—why don’t you just go home and suckle?” A mocking laugh sounded behind Longyin, and he could almost smell the sourness in the air. He turned to see which child it was. Though all here were children, those from great families bore a certain pride, and even the privileged sons of officials, apart from the unruly ones, usually kept their manners. Disdainful looks were already poor manners; no one would dare to mock so openly.

It was that little brat, At88! A small boy with rosy lips and white teeth, clearly from a prestigious family judging by the entourage, yet his demeanor… Longyin shook his head inwardly. Not a trace of a noble upbringing—he couldn’t even be bothered to argue with the boy. Such a character wasn’t worth his anger.

But the other wasn’t willing to let it go. “Poor wretch, you don’t even have a flying device!”

Longyin looked at him, his eyes filled with pity. Poor child, is flaunting your material wealth all you have left? When your family abandons you, you’ll be even more pitiful than a commoner.

“What are you looking at, pauper!” Bai Yao, seeing Longyin staring ever more intently at him, raised his chin and glared.

Longyin had expected his eldest sister to step in, but she just smiled at him, leaving it to him to handle. Longyin arched an eyebrow—so I’m to deal with this myself? Longqin’s smile deepened. Very well, I’ll handle it.

At this, everyone watched as Longyin, with a sweet smile, walked toward Bai Yao. The move caught many people’s attention, including Longqin’s. Bai Yao’s followers, seeing it was just a child, paid little heed, though they cast a few interested glances at Longqin.

“What’s your name?” Longyin asked.

“Hmph, pauper, you don’t deserve to know!”

Longyin nodded. “Doesn’t matter. I just wanted to tell you—my name is Longyin. The ‘Long’ of a dragon soaring the world, the ‘Yin’ of a silver river spanning the heavens.”

Bai Yao rolled his eyes at him. “Pauper, that name is wasted on you. What, you think that’ll make me interested in you?”

Longyin nodded again, his smile growing even sweeter. “I don’t know what ‘wasted’ means. Care to explain?” As those around looked on in confusion, Longyin bent his fingers, making each knuckle crack. People thought it was just a childish habit, but who could have guessed that, after cracking all ten fingers, Longyin would suddenly lunge, knocking Bai Yao to the ground, straddling him and pounding him with fists hard as iron. As he pummeled, he lectured: “Tell your father, money is no match for fists. Tell your mother, riches can’t buy a son with class. Tell your grandfather, after you, your family’s fortune won’t last three generations! This punch is on behalf of your whole family; this one’s for the President of the Federation; this one’s for the people of the Federation; this one’s for all the states; this one’s for the people of Dexin; this one’s from the faculty and students of Dexin; this one’s from myself; and this one… well, just because I want to hit you!”

It all happened in a flash. After the initial shock, Bai Yao’s followers were the first to react, finally rescuing their young master, who was howling in pain, from Longyin’s iron fists.

Longqin then stepped forward, as those followers were glaring at Longyin with ill intent. Longyin shook out his aching hands, straightened his clothes with exaggerated poise, then stood before Longqin and flashed a sweet smile at Bai Yao, who looked ready to devour him: “Oh, almost forgot—besides being a pauper, I’m a devotee of violence. Thanks for the opportunity! I feel much better now!”

This comical scene ensured that many remembered the four-year-old child named Longyin.

“What an interesting child! Is he a commoner?” An elderly man with a full white beard stroked it and asked the vice principal beside him with a smile.

“Yes, Principal. The boy’s name is Longyin, and his mental power has reached S-rank! Principal Duolin has already placed his file in the Cardmaker Academy,” the vice principal replied respectfully. The old man was none other than Dexin’s headmaster—Li Xian.

“Not bad—a mental power of S-rank. No wonder that old fox Duolin was interested,” Li Xian said, pointing at Bai Yao, who looked as if he could eat Longyin alive. “That child’s from the Bai family?”

Vice Principal Wu Rong’s face showed a trace of embarrassment—he was a direct member of the Bai family himself. Though he didn’t bear the surname, he was considered half a Bai. He had worked hard to forge a partnership between the Bai family and Dexin Academy, but such an incident was unforeseen. Fearing a misunderstanding, Wu Rong quickly explained, “Young master Bai Yao is the clan leader’s second son. Originally, young master Bai Ze was supposed to come, but he was called away at the last minute by his maternal grandfather to the Federal Card Academy.”

“Bai Ze—is that the boy with SS-rank physique from birth?” Li Xian’s face cleared. “So this isn’t Bai Ze. Well, the Bai family’s sincerity in this partnership is only so-so. Let’s speak plainly, Xiao Rong—you know Dexin’s circumstances as well as I do. I’ll say no more about the rest. You yourself came from that organization. We principals have no say in matters regarding it. Whether the Bai family’s candidate can enter that organization is entirely up to him.”

“Yes, Principal. Rest assured, I will report this to the Bai family. As for young master Bai Ze…” Wu Rong hesitated.

Li Xian waved it off. “If Bai Ze can’t come, so be it. I know what sort his grandfather is. The fact that he took Bai Ze straight to the Federal Card Academy likely means he wants the boy to inherit his power there. Well, when our people go to the Federal Card Academy, there will always be opportunities for collaboration.”

“Yes, there will be opportunities. Thank you, Principal, for your understanding.”

Li Xian looked at Wu Rong with a faint, ambiguous smile. “Xiao Rong, remember—even though you’re a direct Bai, don’t forget you belong to Dexin now.”

The words made Wu Rong break out in a cold sweat. “I would never harm Dexin’s interests!”

“All right, that’s enough. Go on now. We’ve got quite a few scions of great families here this year, each more troublesome than the last. Even that commoner boy will keep people on their toes. Go, before things get out of hand!” Li Xian turned away after a quick look at the children who’d come to the academy this time. He shook his head—Dexin was in for a lively spell; these little ones’ capacity for trouble was no less than that of their senior brothers and sisters.

“Yes, Principal!”

That veiled conversation concluded at last, and meanwhile, in the reception hall, the tension was about to erupt into chaos at any moment.

“You pauper, how dare you hit me? I—I’ll kill you!” Bai Yao, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, had never been beaten so mercilessly before. Tears welled in his eyes, and humiliation, rage, and hatred surged up all at once. He shrieked at his followers, “Kill him! Kill him for me!”

With his elder sister standing behind him, Longyin felt emboldened; Bai Yao’s threats left him utterly unfazed.

Kill me? This idiot—does he think this is his own home? Longyin looked at Bai Yao with infinite pity. If this boy ever goes up against other rich scions, he wouldn’t even know how he died.

Longqin, surrounded by a ring of elite Card Cultivators, helplessly patted Longyin’s head. “Xiao Yinyin, of all people to imitate, why did you choose your second sister?”

Longyin looked up at Longqin with a cheerful grin. “I used to think so too, but after venting just now, I realized violence feels wonderful! I must strive to be more like second sister!” He even waved his little fist for emphasis.

Longqin’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Be more like your second sister?”

Longyin immediately sensed danger and blinked. “I mean, only when the opponent’s IQ is as low as five. Violence is more appropriate then! Otherwise, I’ll always try to follow your example, eldest sister!”

Though not fully satisfied, Longqin nodded. “That’s more like it.”

Longyin surreptitiously wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Xiao Yinyin, watch closely. I’ll teach you how to escape unscathed from an enemy encirclement.”

Longyin widened his eyes eagerly—he’d never seen his eldest sister fight before!

But soon, Longyin stared in dumbfounded amazement as events flew off in a direction he could never have imagined.

What was happening? The crowd encircling them was being scattered, thrown out one by one.

“To cause trouble in Dexin is to make an enemy of Dexin. This is your warning. Next time, troublemakers will be expelled!”

Longyin sat in a chair, still unable to comprehend how things had turned out this way. Hadn’t he just caused trouble himself? Yet for fighting, he received only a verbal warning, while the beaten party got a week’s detention! What a bizarre twist—he couldn’t make sense of it at all!

His eldest sister patted his head with a smile. “Can’t figure it out, can you?”

Longyin nodded vigorously.

“The reason is simple. The Enforcer Captain’s orders were changed—by me,” she said.

Longyin sweated. Big sister, your violence is legendary!

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll find out?”

Longqin’s smile was bright and charming. “Who would ever suspect me?”

Longyin broke out in a cold sweat. Poor Enforcer Captain—he silently lit a candle for the man in his heart.

This turn of events left not only Longyin but a crowd of onlookers utterly bewildered. Now, whenever people looked at Longyin, their gazes were different. Longyin covered his face inwardly—he really wasn’t a Dexin insider. And as for his sister’s methods, there was no way he could ever learn them!

At that moment, Wu Rong hurried over, giving Longyin a deep look before announcing the start of the entrance examination. Though everyone already knew what the outcome would be, and the school was well aware, the procedure had to be followed—an unspoken agreement among all present.