Instructor Ma was running breathlessly, afraid that Gu Qingyan would catch up.

“Instructor Ma, what’s wrong with you?” Supervisor Sun asked, puzzled.

He looked flustered and frantic, as if he had seen a ghost.

Ma opened his mouth but didn’t say anything, his face dark and ugly.

Supervisor Sun saw his expression and started to guess what was going on.

With a serious tone, he advised, “Instructor Ma, we’ve worked together for so many years. I’ll say this one more time for you — Gu Qingyan is a good kid who respects teachers and values education. Why do you have to keep targeting him?”

“You know, a little intimidation is enough. It’s been more than a month already, and you’re still not done?”

He patted Ma on the shoulder: “County Magistrate Hong clearly wants to favor him. We’re all at the county school; there’s no need to go against the county magistrate, right?”

Ma’s face grew even more strange.

His lips trembled a few times and he lowered his voice to say, “Old Sun, that Gu Qingyan is very strange.”

“Ah, look at you,” Supervisor Sun said, convinced Ma was biased, “That kid’s smile is so cheerful.”

Ma thought about Gu Qingyan’s smile and felt uncomfortable all over: “He… he said he admires me.”

“What?”

Supervisor Sun was speechless, furrowing his brows as he looked at Ma’s old face.

Was Ma really that ugly? Usually, he liked to scowl and looked like an old horse, full of wrinkles.

Sun hadn’t noticed before how confident Ma felt about himself. The kid was handsome and charismatic—why would he like Ma?

“What does he admire about you? Admire how you target him? Or how you pick faults? Or maybe he admires your sarcastic tone?”

Ma was angry and embarrassed: “How would I know what exactly he admires? But the way he looks at me… ah, I can’t even say it.”

Supervisor Sun couldn’t listen anymore: “Instructor Ma, have you not been sleeping well recently? Maybe you should see a doctor.”

Ma was so mad he was stomping his feet: “You’re the crazy one.”

Then he ignored Supervisor Sun and ran off, sleeves swinging.

“Ah, I was just trying to help and got insulted,” Supervisor Sun sighed, thinking his goodwill was unappreciated.

He shook his head and planned to check on the school.

At the entrance, he saw Gu Qingyan surrounded by a crowd, the boy’s smile bright and full of lively energy.

Stroking his beard, he thought, “Sure enough, old Ma is just imagining things.”

Gu Qingyan fit in perfectly at the county school. He had always been talkative and cheerful, and in just a few days, he was well-liked by his classmates.

Because the previous group of students under Chief Clerk Bai were quite overbearing and often bullied others, when Gu Qingyan arrived, the classmates accepted him readily.

On the day Gu Qingyan enrolled, he calmly dealt with Ma’s harassment and used his talent to impress everyone.

A few classmates looked up to him as an idol and would do anything to help him.

Except for Instructor Ma, Gu Qingyan felt he was loved by everyone else at the county school.

The kitchen auntie even gave him two extra pieces of meat when she saw him.

Gu Qingyan figured that Ma’s bad temper might make things difficult for him for three or five months, or even three or five years.

But surprisingly, after just about a month, Ma sounded the retreat and stopped targeting him.

Not only did Ma stop targeting him, but he even seemed a bit afraid of him, turning around and leaving without saying a word whenever he saw him.

The classmates privately complained on Gu Qingyan’s behalf: “Instructor Ma is too much. Every time he sees Brother Gu, he looks like he’s seeing something dirty and just turns to run away. Where is the dignity of a teacher?”

Gu Qingyan smiled and defended Ma, “Everyone has likes and dislikes. If Instructor Ma likes me, it’s my honor. If not, then I just don’t have that luck. Good or bad, I accept it peacefully. You all don’t need to stand up for me.”

“Brother Gu, your temper is too good. Your broad mind is something we should all learn from,” a classmate sighed.

Gu Qingyan smiled but said nothing.

During break time, he quietly opened the system courses.

The teacher in the course was none other than Instructor Ma.

He still wore a serious face, but was meticulous, working wholeheartedly—surpassing most teachers in the real world.

Gu Qingyan studied hard, and before the class ended, he patted Ma on the shoulder.

“Old Ma, you’ve worked hard. I will study well and pass the exams to bring glory to you.”

The system’s Ma showed no expression.

Gu Qingyan stretched and opened his eyes just in time to see Ma entering the classroom.

Their eyes met again, and Gu Qingyan gave a sincere smile, full of gratitude.

Ma trembled and thought he might really be sick!

After class, Ma didn’t want to stay even a moment longer and left quickly.

A classmate complained, “The teacher is getting more careless in class. The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. Maybe we should chip in and give him a nice gift.”

“You want to give a gift, go ahead. I don’t need one,” Gu Qingyan said as he packed up.

“Even if you gave one, the teacher wouldn’t like me anyway.”

Whether liked or not didn’t matter; Gu Qingyan felt happy inside because he had learned what he needed.

Watching his back, a group of classmates sighed, “Brother Gu really has patience. At this rate, he won’t learn much at the county school, just wasting time.”

Gu Qingyan left the county school and went straight to a nearby study.

At this time, he noticed that his two younger sisters only recognized his name.

Their father, Gu Tongsheng, had only taught Gu Fengmian before, thinking it enough if the daughters could recognize a few characters and didn’t need to study.

Now that Gu Qingyan was here, of course, he wouldn’t let things stay that way.

The sisters couldn’t attend school, but they could buy books and learn at home.

“Two sets of writing supplies, just ordinary ones.”

“Alright, two sets of ordinary writing supplies, three taels of silver each, total six taels.”

Gu Qingyan raised an eyebrow. In ancient times, studying was expensive. Everything cost money, and ordinary families couldn’t afford it.

Gu Tongsheng could afford to send Gu Fengmian to school for ten years because of his solid family background. Being a student official, he even ran a private school to earn money, but even so, the Gu family always lived frugally.

Without the attendance system, Gu Qingyan would have been kicked out of the Li family and wouldn’t even have enough to buy the basic study supplies.

“Also get another pack of paper,” Gu Qingyan said.

He looked around the study. Books related to the imperial exams were displayed prominently, with storybooks and poetry collections on the side.

Since hearing from the county magistrate about the Battle of Hongxing, Gu Qingyan felt he knew too little about history.

“Do you have books on historiography?”

The shopkeeper smiled and said, “Of course we have some. Please, right this way.”

He took out a thick stack of books from the back, all covered in dust.

The shopkeeper quickly wiped them off and explained, “History books sell for a high price. This batch came in before the New Year. We usually don’t display them outside, afraid they’d get flipped through and damaged, causing a loss.”

Gu Qingyan immediately realized these books probably wouldn’t sell and were just waiting for a gullible buyer like him.

He reached out his hand. “May I take a look first?”

“Of course, just don’t damage them,” the shopkeeper enthusiastically said. “Sir, these are history books brought in from the provincial capital. Reading them will definitely help with the imperial exams. Which official doesn’t read a few history books?”

“If you buy them and get familiar, you’ll know more than others, and your chances of passing the exams will be higher.”

God knows when he went to Qingzhou Prefecture to buy books, he was fed a bunch of nonsense and bought this set of history books in a daze.

The price was expensive, and in Lingchuan County they couldn’t sell at all. He had already wasted dozens of taels of silver on them.

Gu Qingyan’s fingers touched the history books.

[Detected: History book set. Would you like to add it to your collection?]

Gu Qingyan blinked.

Add to collection? The system even had this function? How had he never noticed before?

Suddenly he recalled that when his ancestors were focused on him studying, they had equipped him with the Four Treasures of the Study and imperial exam books. Gu the Scholar had also left many books behind.

So after arriving in Lingchuan County, all his study materials came from his ancestors. He had never spent money buying books himself.

[How to add to collection?]

[Host: Gu Qingyan]

[Age: 15]

[Points: 32]

[Occupation: Student (Occupation-related books can be added to the system collection. System data has no physical form and can be read repeatedly.)]

[Host can add books to the system by touching them.]

Gu Qingyan’s eyes lit up.

This was basically a personal library on hand.

[Add to collection.]

[Consumes 1 point, addition successful.]

Gu Qingyan barely had time to feel sorry about it before the system showed a bookshelf with that history book set sitting there all alone.

“Shopkeeper, how much for this set of history books?” Gu Qingyan asked, looking up.

The shopkeeper made a hand gesture, “Fifty taels of silver.”

“If you’re sincere about buying, I can give you a cost price — forty-nine taels and you can take them.”

Gu Qingyan silently put down his hand. Tch, just by reaching out, he saved fifty taels.

Books in ancient times were way too expensive, but he liked the feeling of saving money.

He wouldn’t spend the silver, but he was generous with his two little sisters, having already gotten two sets of the Four Treasures of the Study for them.

Just as he was about to leave, the shopkeeper called out repeatedly, “Don’t go, don’t go! I’ll give you an even better price — forty taels, and they’re yours. This is already at a loss.”

It had been years since anyone asked about the price. Seeing this young master spending money without blinking, he must be well-off.

The shopkeeper was determined to hold onto this business.

Gu Qingyan politely declined, but having gained the benefit, without this trip he wouldn’t have known the system could add books to the collection.

Even if he found out later, by then he would have missed so much.

Seeing the shopkeeper’s dejected face, Gu Qingyan suggested, “This price is too high. You won’t sell these in Lingchuan County. Why not open them up for rental? The money you get each time will be small, but small amounts add up, and you can recover your costs eventually.”

The shopkeeper perked up, “You can do that?”

Gu Qingyan continued, “Not just history books, other books can be rented too. For those who come every day, you could offer a monthly pass at a slightly cheaper price than a one-time visit.”

“Think about it, there must be many people who want to study in Lingchuan County, but many families are poor and can’t afford to buy books.”

“They don’t have money to buy, but they have money to pay for reading. Spending a little each month to read at the shop — many would be willing.”

“You won’t get much from each person, but with many people, the money adds up. You’ll also gain a good reputation. Later, if they have extra money and want to buy something, they’ll definitely buy from you.”

The shopkeeper listened more and more eagerly, suddenly energized.

Gu Qingyan didn’t hold back, explaining how the bookstore membership system worked.

The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, eager to try it out immediately.

“Listening to you is worth more than ten years of study. Young master, with your insight, you’ll definitely pass the imperial exams one day.”

Feeling he shouldn’t take the idea without giving something back, the shopkeeper took out two sheets of fine paper. “Please, don’t refuse.”

Gu Qingyan smiled and accepted.

The paper was high quality — too good to waste on practicing calligraphy, but great for writing letters.

Speaking of which, last time he sent a thick letter to Pei Xuan. Guangzhou Prefecture was so far from Lingchuan County, he wasn’t sure if it had arrived.

Gu Qingyan missed him for a moment, then took the large package and headed home.

---

Guangzhou Prefecture — Xia Liu hurried and finally returned to the camp before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

He hadn’t even caught his breath when Pei Xuan appeared.

“My lord,” Xia Liu quickly stood and bowed.

Pei Xuan asked, “Is he doing well?”

Xia Liu hurried to reply, “The young master was injured.”

“What!” Pei Xuan’s expression darkened slightly.

He was on military duty and couldn’t stay in Lingchuan County, but before leaving, he had left a calling card. How could Gu Qingyan have been injured?

Could it be that the locals saw him as a lone, young boy with only a woman by his side and took advantage of him?

“But he’s already recovered,” Xia Liu added.

Pei Xuan furrowed his brow. “What happened? Tell me everything at once.”

Seeing Pei Xuan’s serious expression, Xia Liu didn’t dare to take a deep breath this time. He recounted everything he had seen and heard since arriving in Lingchuan County.

“As soon as I arrived, I sensed something was wrong. Although the common people didn’t know the Taiping Sect was behind it, there was widespread gossip about the mountain rumors. Young Master Gu bravely ventured alone into the tiger’s den, which everyone praised.”

“Fortunately, Young Master Gu only suffered some superficial wounds. When I saw him, his face looked rosy and he was full of energy—already more than half recovered.”

“I was afraid of disturbing him, so I took it upon myself to visit the Lingchuan County magistrate, Hong Ya, and learned the truth from him.”

“The Imperial City Guard has taken over the cave. I didn’t dare to go deeper but checked around and found nothing unusual.”

Pei Xuan’s face darkened. “You did well.”

A cold sharpness flashed in his eyes.

Xia Liu continued, “Young Master Gu prepared many gifts and also a letter.”

He pulled out the heavy, thick letter from his chest.

Pei Xuan took it and immediately wanted to open it.

“You should go rest.”

After Xia Liu left, Pei Xuan carefully tore open the seal.

As he read, a slight smile appeared on his stern face.

Gu Qingyan’s handwriting was wild and flowing. Reading the letter felt as if the young boy was right there, animatedly talking to him.

Pei Xuan glanced back, and his ears slightly flushed.

The letter was so long—except for the first two pages which briefly mentioned local life, the next six pages were nonstop praise.

“I can’t help but miss Brother Pei’s agile, leopard-like figure; every move is full of strength and grace.”

“Especially when wielding a weapon, your coordination and power are astonishing—truly admirable.”

“Moves others think impossible are effortless for Brother Pei, as if you have done them millions of times—so natural and skillful.”

“Brother Pei… your posture… your style… unforgettable… truly admirable… learning from you… thinking of you every day… extraordinary skill…”

When Gu Qingyan wrote this letter, he had just used the skill of “Embodying the Prince of Huai.”

At that time, he wished he could film his heroic posture like a movie. The six pages of praise weren’t really for Pei Xuan—they were really self-praise.

Such cheesy words, but if directed at oneself, it wasn’t excessive. Gu Qingyan wrote with great enthusiasm, flowing nonstop.

No one knew Gu Qingyan was a bit narcissistic, and Pei Xuan would never discover this truth.

Even Pei Xuan, who had seen the world, had never encountered such direct flattery.

His cheeks were warming. Pei Xuan thought to himself, this kid’s words are exaggerated and slick-tongued.

Yet he couldn’t help reading it again and again, unconsciously reading it multiple times.

“Sir, Xia Liu said the tomb of the Prince of Huai has appeared?”

Zhang Huaimin suddenly burst in.

Pei Xuan quickly put away the letter. Besides the red ears, his cold gaze betrayed no emotion.

“Well, I was wrong,” Zhang Huaimin said.

Zhang Huaimin was pinned to the ground by that killing stare and quickly left, then came back and requested again, “Sir, Zhang Huaimin requests an audience.”

“Come in.”

When Zhang Huaimin returned, he sneakily looked up, but Pei Xuan had already returned to his usual expression. There was no trace of the previous sharpness.

That cold face made Zhang Huaimin suspect he had been too excited and misread the situation.

“Sir, the tomb of the Prince of Huai has appeared. Should we go back and fight for it?” Zhang Huaimin said excitedly. “If it were someone else, it might be fake again, but those Taiping Sect people are making a fuss, maybe it’s real.”

“Besides, Xia Liu said the Taiping Sect’s left protector showed up. That madman has some real skills; maybe they really found the tomb.”

“Damn it, we’ve been looking for the Prince of Huai’s jade seal for years—we can’t let those lunatics get their hands on it.”

Pei Xuan frowned. “The Imperial City Guard is guarding it. Can you even get in?”

Zhang Huaimin immediately fell silent.

“That pack of wolfhounds sure has a sharp nose,” Pei Xuan said coldly.

“The Prince of Huai’s tomb has already disappeared. Guarding it is useless. Don’t make trouble.”

Zhang Huaimin thought it over and agreed. The tomb disappeared—who knew where it would appear next time? Going now would be a waste of time.

He brightened up again and smiled, “That’s right—let them waste their efforts.”

“But I really didn’t expect that young Master Gu, looking so pale and delicate, acting like a little noble son, would actually have such a big nerve. He’s lucky to have survived at the hands of the Taiping Sect.”

Pei Xuan furrowed his brows even tighter. “After this incident, the Taiping Sect will definitely bear a grudge. Send a few men to secretly protect him.”

“Yes, sir,” Zhang Huaimin answered repeatedly.

“Don’t get too close,” Pei Xuan reminded him. “Qingyan is very sharp; don’t let him notice, or it will only cause more trouble.”

“Yes, sir,” Zhang Huaimin thought to himself, When did the lord become so careful?

Grinning, he added, “My lord, I see that young Master Gu brought many local specialties. The brothers are all drooling. How about letting them share some?”

Pei Xuan raised an eyebrow at him.

Zhang Huaimin slapped his own mouth. “Look at me, the goods are outside. My lord, you eat first.”

“All right. Save me some of each, and the rest you can distribute among yourselves.”

Pei Xuan thought to himself that Gu Qingyan had written in the letter to divide the gifts and win goodwill.

Well, he didn’t really need to win goodwill, but since it was the kid’s goodwill gesture, he couldn’t reject it.

Zhang Huaimin hurried off to handle it.

Pei Xuan couldn’t help but pull out the letter again to read it.

“My lord,” Zhang Huaimin burst in once more.

Pei Xuan frowned, then saw him carrying the gifts inside. “Young Master really has a heart. There’s a small bundle inside, specially for you.”

Zhang Huaimin deliberately didn’t leave, waiting to see what was inside.

“Not leaving yet?”

“Heh heh, my lord, I just squeezed it — seems like some medicine pills. You should open it and take a look; maybe the brothers can use them too.”

Zhang Huaimin praised enthusiastically, “Last time the Four-Union medicine bottles saved many brothers; this time…”

He rubbed his hands together, as sly as could be.

Pei Xuan knew this subordinate’s character well, so he opened the small bundle right in front of him.

When he opened it, he was surprised.

Whoosh!

He pulled out an iron sword and reached out to touch it. “Though not sharp enough to slice through iron, it’s still a rare and fine blade.”

“The young master really cares for you. Such a fine iron sword must have taken a lot of time hammering. Maybe the moment you left, young master immediately found someone to forge it, which is why he could send it now,” Zhang Huaimin kept flattering.

If Gu Qingyan heard that, he would definitely say Zhang Huaimin was overthinking.

He didn’t care that much about Pei Xuan. The iron sword was just a reward from the system.

But Pei Xuan didn’t know this. His heart warmed again, realizing once more how thoughtful Gu Qingyan was toward him.

“Oh, there really is a bottle of medicine.”

Zhang Huaimin reached out to grab it but was slapped away.

“It’s an antidote pill.”

Pei Xuan was even more surprised. He glanced at the nearby note and frowned. “Such a good medicine… I wonder where he got it from. It must have cost a lot.”

If the effect was truly as written, it was even better than the antidote pills he’d requested from the imperial medical institute.

Zhang Huaimin couldn’t take his eyes off it and loudly praised, “Young Master Gu is amazing! How did he know we needed this the most?”

“Damn, Guangdong Prefecture is full of poison. When we go out on missions, it’s easy to get bitten. With this antidote pill, the brothers’ lives have one more layer of protection.”

Pei Xuan gave him a cold look.

Zhang Huaimin added, “Ah, that was a mistake. If I’d known young master was so generous, we should have sent more gifts. Those previous local specialties were worthless. If I’d known, we should have sent coral pearls for young master to play with.”

Pei Xuan snorted coldly but still opened the bottle, pouring out more than half.

Zhang Huaimin quickly tucked it away. “I knew my lord cares for his subordinates. Being under your command is a blessing I must have earned in a past life.”

Pei Xuan just felt annoyed by the noise.

Zhang Huaimin, sensing it was a good time to stop, grabbed a handful of red dates, eating them as he headed out. “My lord, I’m off to handle my duties. The red dates young master sent are really sweet.”

“Wait.”

Zhang Huaimin stopped, looking at him in confusion.

A flicker of awkwardness crossed Pei Xuan’s face.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, “If someone writes you a letter and most of it is praising you, why do you think that is?”

Zhang Huaimin immediately said, “That must mean they want something—they’re asking me for a favor.”

“And what if they’re not asking for anything?”

Pei Xuan rejected that idea outright.

Gu Qingyan didn’t even use the business card he left behind and would rather take risks alone than trouble him. Praising him like that definitely wasn’t about asking for something.

Zhang Huaimin scratched his head. “Why would they praise me for no reason? That’s weirdly sentimental. If it’s a girl praising me, then she probably likes me and wants to get close. But if it’s a guy, I’d just kick him away and tell him to scram.”

Pei Xuan’s expression darkened with disdain. “How crude. Now scram.”

Zhang Huaimin quickly left, but outside he found it strange.

“Wait, why am I crude? The lord is asking these girly questions now? Could it be someone wrote a letter praising him? Looks like our lord’s heart is fluttering.”

Inside the room, Pei Xuan frowned tightly as he turned the letter over and over.

Adore him?

Gu Qingyan adore him?

Could it be because of that time the mountain bandits stopped them, and Pei Xuan’s skilled fighting left an impression on the kid?

No wonder most of the letter was praising him. Reading it again, Pei Xuan was surprised—was he really such a peerlessly handsome figure in Gu Qingyan’s heart?

At that age, young boys really are prone to developing feelings for older men.

Looking at the iron sword, the antidote pill, and the pile of local specialties, Pei Xuan felt conflicted.

How was he supposed to tell the kid that nothing could ever happen between them?

Oh well, youthful admiration always comes fast and goes fast. With time and distance, the boy would soon forget him.

Pei Xuan’s face showed hesitation as he thought this.