Volume Two: The Boy of a Thousand Faces, Truth in Disguise Chapter Thirty-Two: Ke Zhen, the Eccentric

Huo Ye took 1,000 points from the ones he had seized from Cheng Lu and handed them to Lei Limi, keeping the other 1,000 for himself. He could be indifferent to money, but points were something he desperately needed. As the academy’s top student, he was well rewarded with a generous amount of base points for this exam—yet it was still only 1,000. It became clear that the fifty thousand points granted for setting the mountain ablaze were truly an astronomical sum. Huo Ye had looked into it: to acquire a weapon on the level of his Demon-Slaying Twin Blades, one would need at least ten thousand points, and even then, such weapons might not be available for purchase. After all, the blades were forged by Master Qi Shenqiao, the greatest smith since the legendary Bronze-Armed Demon.

Alice let out a disgruntled “hmph” and said, “With his pitiful skills, how did he manage to accumulate so many points? He must have robbed quite a few people.”

Huo Ye agreed, “True. But tell me, Lei Limi, how did he end up bullying you? You should be able to beat him.”

Lei Limi lowered his head, looking somewhat guilty.

Huo Ye suddenly understood. “You’re afraid to fight?”

Lei Limi nodded.

Huo Ye pressed his lips together. This was a serious problem. Lei Limi had never been good at direct combat; his strengths lay elsewhere. During their childhood sparring sessions, Lei Limi was invariably the one getting thrashed by the other three. In fact, it seemed to have left him with a childhood trauma—was his inferiority complex because of them? Huo Ye felt as if he had just solved a great mystery.

Suddenly, Huo Ye thought of Ke Zhen. He had reviewed Ke Zhen’s profile over the past few days. Though Ke Zhen’s personal habits were questionable, he had mastered the two most crucial and difficult aspects of being a teacher: teaching all without discrimination and tailoring his instruction to each student’s strengths.

If Lei Limi could study alongside them under Ke Zhen… Huo Ye saw real potential there. At the very least, it had to be better than Lei Limi’s current situation.

So Huo Ye asked, “Lei Limi, who is your advisor?”

Before Lei Limi could answer, Alice interjected, “It’s some old bald guy named Meng Lou—the most disgraceful professor at the academy. He’s notorious for snatching up promising students but has no idea how to actually teach them. Lei Limi had signed up for another mentor’s class, but that old man stole him away. Xiao Yu and I wanted to confront him on Lei Limi’s behalf, but Lei Limi actually talked us out of it! Can you believe it? He just accepted it. How could you let that slide?”

Alice’s face was full of exasperation. She remembered how hard she’d tried to fight for Lei Limi, only for him to give in before they could do anything. How could anyone be so resigned? Some things simply shouldn’t be endured.

“I see…” Huo Ye thought for a moment, then asked Lei Limi, “If I could arrange for you to have a better mentor—actually, the same one Alice and I have now—would you want to join us?”

Huo Ye was confident Ke Zhen could help Lei Limi, even though he himself had never attended Ke Zhen’s classes. Still, he trusted him implicitly. Of course, it was Lei Limi’s choice to make; Huo Ye would never presume to decide someone’s future just because they called him “big brother.”

Lei Limi’s eyes lit up. “Really? Of course, I’d love that!”

He had never dared make trouble before because Meng Lou wielded real power at the academy. There were stories of students who tried to leave Meng Lou’s class, only to be blacklisted so that no other teacher would take them, and ultimately expelled for being without a mentor for a semester, no matter their promise.

In truth, Lei Limi had never had an escape route—until now. Huo Ye’s offer was everything he’d hoped for. Since childhood, Lei Limi had deeply admired Huo Ye; learning of Huo Ye’s dark-compatibility had only reinforced his belief that his “big brother” was destiny’s chosen one. Besides… he’d get to attend class with Alice, which was wonderful.

Thinking this, Lei Limi stole a glance at Alice, who was still fuming over last year’s incident—she looked so cute.

Huo Ye, meanwhile, took in Lei Limi’s silly grin and chuckled inwardly. Youth was a marvelous thing.

Lei Limi was lucky to have Huo Ye’s favor; the last would-be suitor of Alice whom Huo Ye disliked—the one called Yan Motang—was now traumatized beyond repair.

With Lei Limi’s agreement, Huo Ye connected with Ke Zhen via Feixun.

“What’s up?” Ke Zhen slurred, his words slightly muddled.

“Are you drinking again?” Huo Ye asked, exasperated.

“Yeah.”

“It’s the first day of term, Old Ke—an auspicious beginning, and you’re drowning yourself in alcohol? What about setting a good example for your students?”

“Setting an example? Outward appearances are meaningless. As long as I teach you well, what does it matter? Besides, alcohol is the water of life for me, you know?”

“Do you even know what ‘the water of life’ is? That’s 96% distilled vodka—basically pure ethanol!”

“Is that so? Huh, I’d love to try it. My birthday’s in two months, by the way—how about you—”

“Forget it! That stuff would kill you!”

“I’m an Ability Walker, aren’t I?”

Huo Ye felt his liver twinge. He never considered himself especially level-headed, but he could at least stay calm in conversation—except with Old Ke, where the tone always spiraled out of control.

Alice and Lei Limi were both stunned; Huo Ye had left the Feixun on speaker, so they heard everything. Was this really going to be their future teacher?

Alice was not pleased. Her brother had warned her that this mentor was a bit off-kilter, but she had not expected him to be quite so shameless, so utterly unfazed at saying things that made you want to scream.

Taking a deep breath, Huo Ye steadied himself and said, “Alright, let’s get back on topic. Do you know Meng Lou?”

“Meng Lou? Of course. Why, has that old fossil crossed you?”

“My very talented friend—the one I mentioned before—is currently under his supervision. I think he’s being wasted there. Can you take him on?”

“Oho!” Ke Zhen cried, and there was a clattering sound over the connection. He said, “Sorry, I just jumped out of bed a bit too hard and broke it.”

Huo Ye felt an urge to curse. So you’d been talking to me from bed this whole time? Could you show a little respect?

“Man, I’ve dreamed of poaching students from Old Meng for years—my little spade’s been itching for action. Say no more, I’ll take your friend. Head straight to Meng Lou’s office—you three go now, I’ll join you soon!”

“If you’re transferring his student record, why do we have to be there?” Huo Ye asked. When Ke Zhen had taken Alice as a student, she hadn’t needed to go in person.

“Obviously, to annoy Old Meng even more!”

“Honestly… Old Ke, if I ever surpass you, the first thing I’ll do is give you a good beating.”

“Funny, your old man said the same thing years ago.”

“He told me about it. Sounds like you got thrashed pretty badly that time.”

“Eddie, that bastard…” Ke Zhen muttered to himself, then hung up.

Lei Limi and Alice were left speechless, both thinking, “Is it too late to change my mind?”

The room fell silent. None of the three knew what to say—after a conversation with Ke Zhen, you needed time to clear your head.

In the end, Alice spoke first. “So… are we really going?”

Huo Ye’s teeth ached, but he rubbed his forehead and said, “Let’s just go. There’s no need to give a guy like that face. If there’s any trouble, Old Ke will deal with it—and he’ll probably use it as an excuse to torment Meng Lou even more.”

In just a few days of acquaintance, Huo Ye felt he had already figured out Ke Zhen’s personality.