bigabreads Chapter 66 Ghost Valley Attacks! The Headmaster, rubbing himself on the ground for warmth: It's
Chapter 66 Ghost Valley Attacks! The Headmaster, rubbing himself on the ground for warmth: It's
The entrance to Wanxiang Academy was blocked by heavy snow.
The northwest wind stung my face.
A convoy of vehicles was struggling to move through the snow.
The vehicle was decorated with a "Guigu" flag, which was now frozen stiff and drooping like a tattered rag.
"Achoo—!" The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing the old face of Master Guigu, which was blue and purple from the cold.
He was wrapped in a thick bearskin cloak, clutching a hand warmer that had long since gone cold, and shivered as he cursed:
"This Qin family... Achoo! They're utterly unreasonable! Why don't they just stay on perfectly good flat land and insist on building an academy in this desolate wilderness? Are they trying to freeze this old man to death?"
Standing beside him, Young Master Zhang (now the senior disciple) was also shivering and snotty-nosed, hunching his shoulders and fanning the flames: "Headmaster, I think that Qin Mo is just putting on a brave face! What 'Wanxiang Academy'? It's probably just a few dilapidated cave dwellings! This time, under the guise of 'exchanging knowledge,' we must thoroughly humiliate them! Let them know what true orthodoxy is!"
"Of course!" The headmaster sniffed, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes: "I heard they built some kind of 'glass house'? Hmph, just trying to attract attention! In this weather, what wind can glass block? It's probably already cracked from the cold!"
As they spoke, the carriage rounded a bend in the mountain pass. The view ahead suddenly opened up.
The entire faculty and student body of Guigu Academy fell silent.
On the mountainside ahead, amidst the wind and snow, stood a crystal palace that was crystal clear!
The enormous glass dome shimmered and sparkled under the snow. Most incredibly, there was absolutely no snow within three feet of the glass structure! The snowflakes melted into vapor before they even touched the ground, creating plumes of white mist that made the palace look like a fairyland!
"This...this is a mirage, isn't it?" Young Master Zhang rubbed his eyes, his jaw almost dropping to the snow.
……
Fifteen minutes later. At the entrance of the glass conservatory of Wanxiang Academy.
The Qin brothers had already received the news. Qin Mo, the second brother and the one in charge of diplomacy, had already straightened his clothes (although there were still some wrinkles on his collar from when he was pulled up) and was standing at the door to greet them.
The fourth brother, Qin Yue, stood to one side, fanning himself with a folding fan; he was in charge of keeping accounts.
The eldest brother, Qin Lie, was carrying a knife; he was there to keep things under control.
"Oh dear, Elder, you've come from afar. I'm so sorry I didn't greet you properly." Qin Mo pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, a smirk playing on his lips, and spoke through the crack in the glass door.
He was dressed...too thinly. He wore a pale white silk robe with only a thin gauze outer robe over it. Meanwhile, the headmaster and the others outside the door were bundled up like balls, their eyebrows and beards covered in frost.
"Qin...Qin Mo! Open the door! I'm freezing to death!" The old man's teeth were chattering, and he didn't care about the demeanor of a great scholar. He frantically pounded on the glass door.
"You can open the door." Qin Mo slowly blocked the doorway without moving: "But Wanxiang Academy is private property, especially this 'Warm Pavilion,' which has extremely high maintenance costs."
If the headmaster wants to come in for "exchange"...
He glanced back at the fourth brother. Qin Yue immediately understood, fiddled with the abacus, and held up five fingers with a smile: "Entrance fee, fifty taels per person. Tea is extra."
"Fifty taels?! Why don't you just rob me?!" Young Master Zhang jumped up and cursed.
Qin Mo shrugged, looking indifferent: "Then please go back. It's windy outside, be careful not to get facial paralysis." After saying that, he made a move to turn and leave.
"Here! I'll give it to you!!" The headmaster felt like his toes were about to freeze off; he didn't care about the money anymore. He simply pulled out a silver note from his pocket and stuffed it through the crack in the door: "Open the door quickly!!"
"Squeak—" The heavy double-glazed door finally opened.
Boom—! A wave of heat, carrying the scent of jasmine, like a spring tsunami, instantly engulfed the frozen group of people!
So warm! It's so warm! It's a comfort that seeps into your pores, a bliss that emanates from your very bones!
The headmaster and his group stumbled in, and before they'd taken two steps, they began frantically tearing at their clothes. "Hot! So hot!"
"This bearskin cloak is like an oven! Take it off!"
In no time, this group of "orthodox literati," who had been wrapped up like dumplings just moments before, stripped down to their undergarments and sprawled unceremoniously on the rattan chairs beside them, letting out shameful sighs: "Ah...we're alive again..."
Only then did they have time to look around. What they saw next made their eyes nearly pop out of their sockets in shock.
Outside, snow was falling heavily, and water froze instantly. Inside, however, the trees were lush and green, and flowers were in full bloom! Huge banana leaves stretched out, wisteria vines hung down, and even a few butterflies were fluttering about!
"This...how is this possible?" The headmaster slid off his chair, looking around in shock. Suddenly, his hand touched the ground.
Hot? The floor is actually hot?!
"This...this..." The old man, who had spent his life studying Confucian classics, now looked like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world before. He lay prostrate on the ground, his hands frantically groping the copper-patterned floor tiles: "Hot! All hot!" "Qin Mo! You...you buried a fire dragon underground?!"
"This is a privilege reserved for emperors! You're overstepping your bounds! This is sorcery!"
Qin Mo held a cup of tea in his hand, looking down at the mountain chief lying on the ground, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes.
He didn't explain what "underfloor heating" or "water circulation" were. Explaining to someone like that is a waste of breath.
"Headmaster, be careful what you say." Qin Mo pushed up his glasses, a cold glint flashing on the lenses: "This is 'Investigating Things to Gain Knowledge'."
If the headmaster doesn't understand, he can pay a small tuition fee and have one of my students teach him.
"Students?" Young Master Zhang got up from the ground, unconvinced, and pointed at a few children drawing not far away: "These peasants? What could they possibly know? They're probably just lazing around and sleeping!"
Following his finger, I saw several students dressed in Qin family-made school uniforms (those cool and stylish outfits) sketching on a table in a corner of the greenhouse.
Their expressions were focused, and their brushstrokes were fluid. Most importantly—they were only wearing a single layer of clothing, sleeves rolled up, revealing healthy, tanned arms. Some even had fine beads of sweat on their foreheads from the heat.
In contrast, the students brought by Guigu Academy, though they had taken off their cloaks, were still wearing thick cotton robes underneath. They were all huddled up, their hands red and swollen from frostbite, unable to even hold a pen, and their faces were pale and sickly.
This comparison is practically a public execution!
"This..." Young Master Zhang opened his mouth, but found he couldn't find a rebuttal. They're painting in spring, while you're shivering in winter. What's the point of comparing them?!
Just when the atmosphere became extremely awkward.
"Thank you for coming from afar, everyone." A gentle voice, as warm as a spring breeze, rang out.
Su Wan emerged gracefully from the depths of the flowerbed, carrying a huge crystal tray. She had changed into a light gauze dress, her long hair casually tied up and adorned with a jade hairpin.
Because it was so hot in the greenhouse, her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she exuded a sweet, peach-like glow.
"Sister-in-law." Qin Mo, who had been looking aloof, immediately changed his expression the moment he saw Su Wan come out.
He walked over quickly and took the tray from her hands with remarkable ease.
"Why did you bring it out yourself? Where's the third brother?" Qin Mo lowered his voice, his tone carrying a hint of reproach and heartache.
"Third brother went to cut the melon." Su Wan smiled and pointed to the things on the tray: "Guests are guests, we should treat them."
Everyone looked closely. What was in the crystal plate was—chilled watermelon!
Red flesh, black seeds, and a wisp of steam rising from them. In this snowy winter, the visual impact of this plate of watermelon is greater than that of a room full of flowers!
"Watermelon...?!" The headmaster rubbed his eyes hard, wondering if he was just confused from the heat.
"This is summer! It's the twelfth lunar month! Where would you find watermelons in the twelfth lunar month?!"
"System... oh no, it's grown in a greenhouse." Su Wan smiled and placed the watermelon on the table, picked up a slice and handed it to Qin Mo: "Second brother, have a taste, it was just taken out of the ice cellar, it'll cool you down."
Qin Mo took the watermelon. He didn't rush to eat it, but instead looked at Su Wan's rosy cheeks, his eyes slightly darkening. The scene on the soft couch just now was still vivid in his mind. Cooling him down? This watermelon probably wouldn't be able to quell the fire in his heart.
But he still obliged and took a bite. "Crunch." Crisp, juicy, and sweet to the core.
"Mmm." Qin Mo nodded, giving Zhang Gongzi, who was still swallowing his saliva, a provocative look: "Very sweet. Sister-in-law's are the best."
"Give me one too! I want one too!" The headmaster finally couldn't hold back any longer, throwing all pretense of civility and decorum to the winds!
In this sweltering, sweaty room, a bite of ice-cold watermelon is a day that even the gods wouldn't trade!
A group of people swarmed forward and quickly devoured the entire plate of watermelon. "Delicious! So delicious!"
"Waaaah, I want to study here too! I'm not going back to Guigu!"
"This isn't an academy; it's paradise!"
The students of Guigu Academy ate watermelon while shedding tears of regret. They looked at other schools' uniforms, their classrooms, and then at the watermelon in their hands.
Was the life I was living before even human?
Seeing the morale of the troops crumbling, the headmaster grew anxious. He wiped the watermelon juice from his mouth, trying to salvage some dignity: "Ahem! Although... although living conditions are decent, scholars are supposed to be 'ascetic'! How can they indulge in pleasure?!" "Qin Mo! You are corrupting the minds of our students!"
"Corrosion?" Qin Mo sneered. He put down the melon rind, elegantly wiped his hands, and put his gold-rimmed glasses back on. The aura of a refined scoundrel was fully unleashed.
"Does the headmaster think that letting students study amidst frostbite and hunger is the right way?"
"Then how can someone who can't even afford to eat properly, or hold a pen properly, govern a country and bring peace to the world?"
He approached step by step, his voice not loud, but every word piercing: "My Qin Family Academy does not cultivate ascetic monks, but only nurtures—nobility."
"If you don't even have the ability to provide a good life for your family, no matter how much you study, you'll just be a useless person."
"You...you..." The headmaster was speechless, his hand trembling as he pointed at Qin Mo.
"Alright, Second Brother, that's enough." Su Wan walked over and gently tugged at Qin Mo's sleeve, trying to smooth things over: "If Headmaster likes it here, he can stay a few more days without any problem."
Qin Mo turned his head and looked at Su Wan, the coldness in his eyes instantly turning into tenderness.
He took Su Wan's hand in his own, squeezed it in his palm, and said in front of everyone, as if no one else was around, "I'll listen to my sister-in-law."
Then, he turned to Qin Yue, the fourth brother, and reverted to his shrewd businessman demeanor: "Fourth brother, did you hear that?" "The headmaster wants to 'stay a few more days'."
"Considering the losses in our glasshouse, and the market price of off-season fruit..."
"Give him a VIP bill."
Qin Yue's abacus trembled, and he grinned from ear to ear: "Alright, Second Brother! Don't worry, I'll definitely give the Headmaster a 'favorable price'!"
"Accommodation fee is 100 taels per night, watermelon is 10 taels per slice, underfloor heating wear and tear fee..."
As the headmaster listened to those astronomical figures, his eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted on the spot. But then he looked at the howling wind and snow outside, and then at the warm floor beneath him.
He gritted his teeth and hugged the large pillar beside him tightly: "Give it to me! I'll give it to you!" "Don't send me away! I'd rather die than leave!"
"This is my home! Nobody's going to pull me off this heated floor!"
Looking at this group of "masters" who were once high and mighty but now refused to leave, Su Wan and the Qin brothers exchanged a glance and saw smiles in each other's eyes.
Qin Lie walked in unnoticed, carrying a freshly polished Tang sword. Looking at the snow falling heavier outside, his voice was steady and powerful: "With more people, the wall needs to be built higher." "Tomorrow, I'll go and demolish that hill over there." "To build you an even bigger one."