Rising Phoenix

Gu Nanyi had acted instantly, and just as that young man had jabbed forward at Feng Zhiwei’s nose, he had swiped forward and cut the guy’s finger.

 “Ah!”

A glass shattering scream filled the air, annoying Gu Nanyi again. He snapped his fingers unhappily, and the chopsticks flew forward, stabbing past the young man’s eyes and slicing through his hair.

This casual move might go unnoticed by those who did not understand Kong Fu, but Feng Zhiwei had picked up some things from that man in the large robe. A round and blunt object like a chopsticks should not be able to cut through hair like a razor. This move sent shivers down her spine.

This lesson was enough, and Feng Zhiwei had already grabbed Gu Nanyi and was ready to drag him away and leave, but the young man could not resist, and as he rolled in pain he cried out like a pig in the slaughterhouse: “You all dare to hurt me! You dare — I will destroy you all—”

Feng Zhiwei sighed. Why were people never more creative with their threats?

The cuff in her hand moved and quietly slipped out from under Feng Zhiwei’s fingers. Gu Nanyi turned and stopped in front of the yelling boy and raised his feet.

 “Ka Cha.”

He brought his foot down and smashed the young man’s perfectly healthy hand.

And then he spoke a single emotionless word: “Noisy.”

The dining hall fell silent.

One student bravely held back a burp after eating too many beans…

Another endeavored to silently swallow a huge bite of rice without daring to chew…

But then a hoarse voice broke the silence. “Who dares to cause trouble in Qing Ming Academy.

Breaths of relief filled the dining hall as a middle-aged man wearing a colorful robe appeared at the door to the hall. It was the Dormitory Head of the Politics and History Hall, the “Iron Faced God of Death.”

Behind him stood a group of strong men – the academy’s guard.

The students were even more terrified of the Death God than they were of Gu Nanyi. Yan Huaishi immediately rushed over to whisper to a servant behind the Iron Faced Yama.

Feng Zhiwei saw the servant’s cuffs wave, but could not see what had been put in his hands.

The Dormitory Head stood, back to Yan Huaishi and his servant. He stared straight ahead, a metal ball rolling in his hand. After hearing the wounded young man’s complaint, he replied with a quiet “oh” and fell into silence.

The newcomer group glared at Feng Zhiwei triumphantly, all happily expecting Feng Zhiwei’s doom, but Feng Zhiwei only smiled sweetly in return, wondering if that young man who’d hit Feng Hao with a brick was still alive. If he was, Zhiwei thought that she should find a way to introduce him to Young Master Gu.

The Dormitory Head stayed silent for a long time, and the atmosphere grew more and more oppressive. Many different expressions dotted the faces of the crowd, and while some smiled at Feng Zhiwei’s misfortune, others were worried.

The silence remained until Yan Huaishi and the Head’s servant finished waving around their cuffs, and the Dormitory Head finally coughed a single time and slowly spoke. “Young Master Yao, the academy does not allow anyone to create disturbances. You … are not taking this matter seriously.”

Everyone was shocked — what was up with the Head today? Yao Gong Zi had only spoken when his fingertip had gotten cut off, but the Dormitory Head did not even question the perpetrator and actually blamed the victim?

The Dining Hall fell into uproar, and the group of young man were so angry their faces paled. They cried out, “Dorm Head Li, this is not just!”

 “Look at my hand! Look at my hand!” The wounded young man cried out in pain and indignation, gesturing with his crushed hand. “Can you ignore this?!”

 “Nonsense!” Dormitory Head Li’s face darkened, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise and anger. “Hurting people also breaks academy rules. Who did this! Reveal yourself and apologize to Yao Gong Zi, and pay for his medical bills!”

He called out with a loud voice and stern expression, but everyone could tell which side he was on. Everyone turned to strange gazes towards Feng Zhiwei and wondered what kind of relationship he had with the dorm head. But while all of them were spinning wild yarns, Feng Zhiwei was screaming in her heart.

Young Master Gu would definitely lose control!

She did not have time to come up with a good plan, so she quickly signaled Yan Huaishi to block the Dorm Head so that she could drag Gu Nanyi away.

The cooperative Yan Huaishi cried out and stumbled on flat ground, smoothly falling forward. As he moved, Feng Zhiwei also cried out and fell towards Gu Nanyi. As she moved, she grumbled internally about her luck as her face fell toward Gu Nanyi’s foot.

She knew that Young Master Gu did not like being touched, and she could only hope that when her face met his foot, this single-minded man would be distracted and forget what the dormitory head had said…

Gu Nanyi’s shoulders shifted.

She fell slowly towards him.

Gu Nanyi turned his head immediately.

Feng Zhiwei secretly celebrated.

And then Lin Shao leaned in, reached over and caught Feng Zhiwei!

 “Ah ya, what’s up with you!” The constant trouble finding young man suddenly recovered his conscience and caught Feng Zhiwei before she could fall to the ground. “You idiot! You can even trip on flat ground…”

“Peng!”

A body flew through the air. The unfortunate Lin Shao who had somehow managed to screw everything up with the best of intentions flew through the air and crashed into the kneeling dormitory assistant just as the man was bending down to check on Yan Huaishi, and the crash threw the head, his assistant, and Lin Shao into a long dining table. Food and soup flew through the air, and bowls cartwheeled through the sky and fell into the crowd of people. Cries of alarm and disgust filled the hall.

As soon as Gu Nanyi had touched Lin Shao, a group of shadowed figures had flashed forward and shot at Gu Nanyi like unfurled lightning.

Gu Nanyi moved forward to meet Lin Shao’s bodyguards, and with a whirl of his white veil pushed forward as a sky-blue, cyan whirlwind grew around him.

Suddenly, chaos filled the hall. Bowls and chopsticks shattered as the students panicked and rushed for the door. Feng Zhiwei’s eyes fell open in astonishment, but she could not follow the speeding figures or tell how intense the fight was becoming. She only knew that after today, this dining hall would be a remnant of history.

Through the chaos she could pick up fragments of speech as Lin Shao’s bodyguard shouted: “… Take him down, he hit the Prin…” and then “Take the Chang Ying Placard, get reinforcements…”

A figure rushed forward and grabbed Feng Zhiwei’s arm. She could only smiled bitterly and did not struggle.

Gu Nanyi suddenly turned his head away from his fight and looked at Zhiwei. Suddenly, the sky blue cyan flashed, and with a loud bang, a deep and long crack appeared in the floor as he flew towards Feng Zhiwei.

In the chaos, a voice yelled. “Get Head Xin! Subdue the uproar!”

When she heard the shout, Feng Zhiwei lifted her gaze and smiled at the ceiling, wondering why her fate was so bitter. Why could she not pass her life with peaceful days?