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Su Yu looked at Xiao Bao in surprise and asked, “But don’t you prefer it here? Why do you want to go back to the capital?”
“I’m just so tired of that student from our class who keeps coming to challenge me every day,” Xiao Bao complained, his patience with Hou Shijie reaching its limit.
Su Yu hadn’t expected this to be the reason and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Seeing Su Yu laughing like that, Xiao Bao felt a bit embarrassed and annoyed. “Daddy, what’s so funny? What’s there to laugh about?”
“Doesn’t this count as ‘familiarity breeds contempt’?” Su Yu said, unable to contain his laughter.
Xiao Bao gave Su Yu an exasperated look and said, “Who needs to be familiar with him? I don’t even know this person.”
He disliked trouble and didn’t like being disturbed when he was working on something. But it seemed like Hou Shijie didn’t understand that, as he would come over to bother Xiao Bao no matter what he was doing.
“If you let Hou Shijie bother me again, I might not be able to resist giving him a good beating,” Xiao Bao would definitely be ruthless if he had to take action.
“Do you really dislike him?” Su Yu asked.
Xiao Bao nodded earnestly. “If he wants to challenge me and spar during my free time, that’s fine. But he doesn’t respect boundaries at all. No matter what I’m doing, if he wants to challenge me, I have to agree, or he’ll take my things.”
Just the thought of what Hou Shijie had done filled Xiao Bao with disgust. He had never encountered such shameless behavior before.
This was the first time Su Yu had seen Xiao Bao so angry.
“Since that’s the case, you don’t have to go to the academy starting tomorrow. We’ll return to the capital in half a month,” Su Yu said.
“Okay, Daddy is the best,” Xiao Bao said contentedly as he pulled Xiao Zhi away.
After they left, Su Yu called for Yuan Xu and the others. “What’s going on?”
Yuan Xu explained everything that had happened recently to Su Yu. “I feel like Hou Shijie is just doing this because he doesn’t want to lose to Young Master.”
“He will never win against Xiao Bao,” Su Yu said firmly.
No one spoke. They had all witnessed Xiao Bao’s learning abilities firsthand. Now, as he began to learn martial arts techniques, no matter how complex the moves, he could replicate them with 80% accuracy after just one viewing.
The articles Su Yu asked him to memorize, no matter how long, he could recite word for word in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Such abilities were rarely seen, apart from in the young masters. It was simply impossible to win against him. Moreover, Hou Shijie had used the method that Xiao Bao disliked the most, so Xiao Bao would probably like him even less in the future.
“Tomorrow, go and inform the dean that the kids will not be attending class,” Su Yu instructed.
“Okay.”
The next day, when Hou Shijie eagerly went to find Xiao Bao, he couldn’t find him in the classroom. He looked at the people who were close to Xiao Bao and asked, “Where’s Zhiqin? I’m here to challenge him.”
“Until next March, he won’t be coming,” the person replied without even looking up.
“What? Is he avoiding me?” Hou Shijie exclaimed.
“You’re overestimating yourself. His family goes to the capital every year for the New Year. He told us before that he would leave at the latest next month,” the person responded. Hou Shijie seemed to be taking himself too seriously.
Frowning, Hou Shijie asked, “Why is he going to the capital?”
“His father is from the capital, and their family is there. What’s wrong with going back? Besides, haven’t you noticed how much he dislikes you?” They could all sense that Xiao Bao really despised him, and it was not just a casual dislike. It was as if he wanted to crush him.
“I’m just looking to spar with him. What’s wrong with that?” Hou Shijie retorted.
Seeing his reaction, the others didn’t want to say much more. It’s no wonder Xiao Bao disliked him so much; he brought it upon himself.
After not going to the academy, Xiao Bao could finally sleep contentedly. Wang Jinhe felt helpless after learning the reason why Xiao Bao wasn’t attending.
How could there be such a person?
If it weren’t for this, Xiao Bao and the others wouldn’t have to miss school before returning.
“Even though we’re not going to the academy now, we’ll have to go after we return. Xiao Bao, what are your plans?” Wang Jinhe asked.
“If he dares to bother me again when we go back, I’ll beat him up.” No one at the academy wanted anything to do with Hou Shijie.
It didn’t matter if they didn’t know each other. Xiao Bao simply didn’t like the person and didn’t want to be friends with him.
Wang Jinhe was at a loss for words. He wanted to tell Xiao Bao that it’s not right to resort to violence, but seeing Xiao Bao’s angry expression, he couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“Okay, as long as you’re happy,” Wang Jinhe said. As long as Xiao Bao was happy, everything was fine. With Xiao Bao’s current abilities, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
This put her completely at ease.
Su Yu glanced at Wang Jinhe, wondering if he should tell her that it might be too early to be happy.
They had originally thought they would leave Xie Family Village for the capital in half a month. However, three days later, a letter arrived that disrupted all their plans.
Su Yu opened the letter delivered by a messenger hawk. After reading it, his expression turned grim.
Wang Jinhe, who was working, sensed the sudden change in Su Yu’s demeanor and looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Qi Empire has already taken action, but it’s on a small scale for now. Also, there was a heavy snowstorm in Qi Empire a few days ago, causing many people’s houses to collapse. With no money or food, the people in Qi Empire will have a hard time this year and the next,” Su Yu said, frowning.
Wang Jinhe looked at Su Yu in shock. “Do they not care about the people’s well-being at all?”
The heavy snowfall would inevitably lead to snow disasters, and yet they would rather use the food for war than to feed the people. How are the people supposed to survive this winter?
Su Yu nodded with a serious expression. “Yes, they are neglecting their own people.”
“Su Yu, if that’s the case, there may be many refugees at the border. We need to transport more food over, just in case,” Qi Empire was not far from Xuan Empire, so it was not impossible for the people of Qi Empire to seek refuge there.
Su Yu shook his head. “Even if the people of Qi Empire want to seek refuge in Xuan Empire due to the conflict, we can’t let them into the city while we’re at war. If there are spies among them, the consequences would be dire.”
Wang Jinhe was taken aback and fell silent. Su Yu was right; she had oversimplified the situation. She had only thought about the people seeking refuge, without considering the ongoing conflict between the two countries and the possibility of spies.
“I’ve been thinking too narrowly.”
“You’re not thinking too narrowly. You’re just looking at the problem from your own perspective, while I’m looking at it from a different angle,” Su Yu reassured Wang Jinhe.
“From now on, I will secretly arrange for the transportation of food, forage, and medicinal herbs to the border. Once everything is in place, we will return to the capital.”
“Okay.”
After discussing these matters with Wang Jinhe, Su Yu passed on the information he had received to Xuan Feiran, asking him to make the necessary preparations.
In the following days, both Wang Jinhe and Su Yu were extremely busy.