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Chapter 1: Either Friend or Foe

Qiansi Academy.

A heavy snowfall in the dead of winter had just stopped, and as far as the eye could see, the mountains and fields were covered in a vast expanse of white, with thick icicles hanging from the tall pines and cypresses.

Qiansi Academy is located at the junction of three provinces in the mountains. It was originally unknown, but it became famous throughout the world because of the great Confucian scholar Zhu Liansheng. Although Zhu Liansheng was famous throughout the world, he did not live in seclusion. He only taught at Qiansi Academy.

"Qiansi Academy" was a semi-official institution with nearly a thousand students, all of whom were elites from across the country. The academy operated under a "headmaster responsibility system," with Zhu Liansheng serving as the headmaster. Below him were deputy headmasters, teaching assistants, lecturers, supervisors, administrators, dormitory heads, hall heads, and other management personnel. Each student's food, lodging, stipends, and writing materials were all provided by the academy.

The biggest difference between "Qiansi Academy" and other academies is that it not only teaches academic subjects but also martial arts. In prosperous times, it promotes physical fitness; in chaotic times, it teaches self-defense. It also encourages self-reflection three times a day. This is Zhu Liansheng's educational ideal.

The academy was divided into primary school and junior high school. Primary school was for young people aged 14 and above, while junior high school was for children under 14.

The academy has many teachers, who give lectures every seven days. The rest of the time, students primarily study independently. They can consult teachers or discuss problems with each other at any time. Students must record their daily reading progress in a "homework book," which is checked periodically by Mr. Zhu and several teaching assistants. In addition, the academy holds an annual examination and a major examination every three years to determine whether students can advance to a higher level of education.

Mr. Zhu and his teaching assistants usually only taught at the college, while primary school was mainly taught by a number of lecturers.

There is a large square in the academy. Three sides of the square are lined with tall pine and cypress trees, while the other side is covered with various vines that bloom in summer.

The morning classes had just ended when the elementary school children began their martial arts practice. After the children completed the basic content of the lesson, the instructor, seeing that there was still some time before noon and the weather was cold, instructed the children to disperse and have free time.

Upon hearing the order to disperse, the group of children, around ten years old, immediately cheered and ran off to play on their own.

"Meng Yuanjing, yesterday's snowball fight hasn't been decided yet, let's continue today..." A richly dressed boy of eleven or twelve strode over, surrounded by about a dozen children of similar age. Hearing him speak, the children immediately joined in the shouting, "Meng Yuanjing, do you still dare to compete?"

"Let's compete then, who's afraid of you, Zhu Yu?" This child named Meng Yuanjing was about the same age as the beautifully sculpted Zhu Yu, with sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, and a clear, handsome appearance.

Zhu Yu glanced at Meng Yuanjing's companions and pointed at them one by one: "Sun Jia, Qin Xiaolou... Today I'm going to show you how powerful I am, so come at me all at once."

Sun Jia was a tall boy, while Qin Xiaolou was handsome. Both of them were already extremely dissatisfied with Zhu Yu's provocation and arrogance. Sun Jia glared at him and immediately said, "Fine, let's compete..."

Before he could finish speaking, a snowball suddenly smashed into his forehead, followed by Zhu Yu's loud laughter. It turned out that Zhu Yu had struck first.

Sun Jia was furious and immediately bent down to grab Xue Kuai. Soon, dozens of children were chasing each other in the academy's spacious square.

Meng Yuanjing grabbed a large clump of snow, squeezed it tightly, aimed at Zhu Yu who was running, and threw it. But Zhu Yu was running extremely fast and dodged it in an instant. It looked like the snow was about to hit a small boy coming straight at him.

Before Meng Yuanjing could tell him to get out of the way, he suddenly saw the little boy catch the snowball and look in his direction with a smile.

The children who had been playing all stopped at some point and stared intently at the handsome young boy in a blue robe with a beaming smile on his face on the snow.

The boy was exceptionally handsome, with bright and lustrous eyes like black jade.

Despite being a cold, snowy world, the children suddenly felt as if they were surrounded by bright sunshine, and the flowers in the world suddenly bloomed before their eyes.

Zhu Yu stared blankly at the ethereal little boy, unaware that the snowball in his hand had fallen to the ground. He opened his mouth, about to speak, when Meng Yuanjing ran up to him, grinning and greeting him with unusual enthusiasm: "What's your name? Welcome. My name is Meng Yuanjing, you can call me Yuanjing."

"Junyu, my name is Junyu!" The boy smiled, like a spring breeze blowing across a lake. From then on, they became best friends with this friendly-looking boy.

From that moment on, Zhu Yu suddenly felt an intense hatred for Meng Yuanjing and also loathed the young boy.

The snowball fight stopped abruptly because of the arrival of this unfamiliar boy. The children all rushed over, curiously looking him up and down, asking all at once, "How old are you?"

"where u from?"

Does it snow where you are?

"Are you also studying at the academy?"

"Where are you in your studies?"

………………

“I’m ten years old. It doesn’t snow where I’m from.” Junyu answered calmly, her smiling gaze sweeping over each person. Then, she turned around and suddenly saw a pair of eyes staring intently at her.

Jun Yu smiled amicably at those cold eyes, which immediately looked away after a glare. Meng Yuanjing said loudly, "This kid is called Zhu Yu, he's despicable, Jun Yu, don't pay him any attention."

Zhu Yu glared at him and was about to throw a punch when a big man suddenly ran up to him, panting, and whispered, "Young master, the ancient bow has been found."

Zhu Yu was overjoyed and no longer cared about Meng Yuanjing. He immediately took the small ancient bow from the big man's hands, but his steps faltered, showing that although the bow was small, it was very heavy. He reached out and pulled, and it was drawn easily.

Just then, a flock of snowbirds flew overhead. These snowbirds often fly low to and fro after a snowfall. Zhu Yu drew his bow, and the small arrow flew out with a "whoosh." A snowbird landed on the ground, and the dozen or so children around him immediately cheered.

Zhu Yu laughed triumphantly and looked at Meng Yuanjing: "You come here."

Meng Yuanjing snorted, took a few quick steps forward, drew his bow and nocked an arrow. With a "whoosh," the arrow flew out and fell to the ground.

The children took turns trying, but no one could draw the ancient bow anymore. Sun Jia could draw it, but he couldn't shoot down the bird.

Everyone except Junyu had already tried it. Qin Xiaolou, with her delicate features, asked curiously, "Junyu, do you want to try it?"

Meng Yuanjing said with a grin, "Jun Yu just arrived, so there's no need to try."

Zhu Yu also gave Jun Yu a cold look. He was almost twelve years old. Because he had heard Jun Yu say that he was ten years old, he said in a grand manner, "Little brat, you don't need to try."

Junyu smiled, said nothing, walked over, picked up the bow, and, though it was very difficult, managed to draw it.

Everyone was a little surprised to see her draw her bow. Junyu looked at the sky and smiled, "I'll shoot down three feathers from this bird..."

The moment the word "come" was uttered, the little arrow flew out. The children looked up and saw three snow-white feathers slowly drifting down from the sky. The startled snowbird had already flown far away in fright.

A burst of cheers erupted from all around. Zhu Yu's face turned extremely ugly. Before he could speak, a loud shout rang out, "Which brat stole the ancient bow?"

The children were terrified and scattered in all directions. Junyu turned around and saw a tall, burly man with disheveled hair striding after her. Meng Yuanjing had already run quite a distance, but seeing that Junyu hadn't moved, he immediately ran back a few steps, trying to pull her along to escape. By then, the burly man was already beside Junyu, and Meng Yuanjing, seeing this, dared not go any further, standing there dumbfounded.

The burly man picked up the small bow that had been thrown on the ground, and when he looked up, Meng Yuanjing and the group of boys who had been hiding behind the big pine tree were all terrified and sweating bullets for Junyu.

The burly man's fierce, Vajra-like gaze suddenly met the smiling face of the unfamiliar little boy, and his anger subsided. He raised his voice and said, "Child, did you take this little bow?"

His voice was like thunder, deafening, but Junyu still smiled and shook his head: "Sir, it wasn't me. But I just used this ancient bow too."

The burly man paused for a moment when he saw the child's calm smile before saying, "Okay, I believe you are a good child."

"Thank you, sir."

As soon as the burly man left, the children who had just scattered and fled immediately surrounded him.

Meng Yuanjing patted his chest. Junyu laughed and said, "Why are you running?"

"That's the head instructor of the armory. He has a terrible temper; his nickname is 'The Devil.' If he catches you all stealing ancient bows to play with, you'll definitely get a good beating. Junyu, The Devil is the most indiscriminate person, so it's strange that he didn't beat you up."

Junyu smiled and said, "I think this gentleman is quite nice. Why would he beat me up without even knowing what happened?"

"Hey, does this barbarian even deserve to be called 'sir'?"

"He's the head instructor at the academy, so why isn't he a teacher?"

Zhu Yu sneered, "Kid, you're lucky today. You might not be so lucky in the future."

After saying that, he strode away.

He took a few steps and saw his group of companions still surrounding Junyu, chattering away. He couldn't help but get furious: "Why aren't you getting out of here?"

The dozen or so children seemed too afraid to disobey and immediately gave chase.

Junyu watched them walk away and asked Meng Yuanjing with some curiosity, "Who is Zhu Yu? Why is he so arrogant?"

The handsome Qin Xiaolou quickly said, "His father is the current prime minister. He has eight servants with him when he studies here. Many of them have become his followers. They bully other students all day long. Hehe, but once he tried to steal an ancient sword and was caught by the devil. Although the devil didn't beat him, he scolded him severely."

The big guy, Sun Jia, said in a deep voice, "I hate this kid. Junyu, don't pay any attention to him, he'll bully you."

Junyu smiled but didn't speak. Meng Yuanjing thought she was scared and laughed, "Junyu, don't be afraid, we will all help you."

Thank you.

"It's okay, we're all your friends."

After the children dispersed, Meng Yuanjing patted his chest and said, "I'm so hungry. Come on, Junyu, let's go eat."

Junyu nodded, and the children went together to the academy's main dining hall. Zhu Yu had changed into a snow-white silk robe with a vermilion collar, and a translucent red jade pendant was tied to her belt. She was carrying food to this table.

Zhu Yu smugly shoveled a mouthful of food into his mouth, then spat it out. "Pah! Only pigs would eat this stuff. I really don't understand why Mr. Zhu wouldn't let my cook take care of me. What bad luck..."

“If you want to be a young master, go back to your Prime Minister’s mansion. Your father is the Prime Minister, but you are not. Stop showing off here,” Meng Yuanjing glared at him with disgust and muttered under his breath.

Zhu Yu glared at him, and Meng Yuanjing was about to glare back when Jun Yu pulled him back: "Yuanjing, go eat, I'm so hungry."

Everyone brought their food and sat down at a long table, eating and chatting.

"Junyu, your archery skills are amazing. Did you learn it before?"

“My father was a hunter, and he was the best archer. He taught me all of that.”

"Your father is a hunter? Haha, the kind of poor woodcutter who never knows where his next meal will come from?" A mocking voice drifted over. Zhu Yu looked Jun Yu up and down in his slightly worn blue robe. "Little beggar, if you're willing to be my follower, I'll immediately reward you with a few new outfits. How about it?"

Meng Yuanjing was furious. He stood up, clenching his fists, but Junyu quickly pulled him back, saying, "Yuanjing, let's eat."

Zhu Yu saw that the young boy ignored her completely and continued eating as if nothing had happened. Her delicate face flushed red, and she slammed her hand on the table. Jun Yu suddenly looked up and gave her a cold look.

Since the young boy appeared, he had been all smiles at everyone. This was the first time Zhu Yu had seen his gaze turn angry and cold, and she couldn't help but withdraw her hand from slamming the table.

"Junyu..."

A dignified middle-aged woman walked briskly towards the cafeteria. When she saw Junyu, she seemed relieved, her expression both loving and happy: "Junyu, you said you were going for a walk outside. I thought you were lost."

This middle-aged woman is Mr. Zhu's wife, named Mei Mei, and also one of the martial arts instructors at the academy. Junyu is the orphan of an old friend she brought back today.

Upon seeing his master's wife arrive, Zhu Yu dared not say anything more. He glared at Jun Yu and quickly slipped away with his followers.

Junyu bowed to her and smiled, "Master's wife, I won't get lost. Yuan Jing and the others brought me to the cafeteria for lunch."

"Oh, is that so?" Mei Mei glanced at Meng Yuanjing and the other children indifferently. "From now on, Junyu will go to school with you. You should look after each other."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Meng Yuanjing stood up excitedly, and Junyu looked at him and became elated as well.

Junyu had already followed Meimei outside. Meng Yuanjing wanted to follow, but seeing that his master's wife hadn't spoken, he had to stop. Junyu turned around and saw him standing there looking sullen, so she made a face at him. Meng Yuanjing immediately cheered up, and when he looked again, Meimei had already quickened her pace, and Junyu jogged after her.

The academy was built into the hillside, and due to the large number of students, the surrounding area was densely packed with dormitories. The plaza and dormitories were located at the bottom and halfway up the mountain. Ascending eighteen steps along the mountainside, there were several spacious and elegant wooden houses, which served as the offices of the headmaster, Zhu Liansheng, and several teaching assistants. At the very edge, next to a huge ancient locust tree, was a wooden house that housed the academy's library.

Junyu followed his master's wife into the quiet and secluded library, arriving at a small, clean attic. Mei Mei closed the door and said gently, "Junyu, you will live here from now on."

Junyu nodded, looked at the bright and clean room, then at the vast sea of books outside, and smiled: "Thank you, Master's wife."

Mei Mei sighed, "In the past, your mother and I shared a common wish: to establish an academy to teach martial arts, open to both men and women. However, your mother has passed away, and this academy was not founded by me. To this day, not a single girl has been able to study here. Junyu, you are the first girl in this academy, and even Master Zhu does not know your identity. From now on, you must be very careful in your actions and words, and never reveal your identity."

Junyu nodded vigorously: "Master's wife, I definitely will."

Mei Mei suddenly remembered Zhu Yu and the other kids she had just seen in the cafeteria. These kids were at the age where everyone disliked them and they especially loved to cause trouble. So she said, "If anyone bullies you, just tell me and I'll take care of those kids."

Looking into those gentle eyes, which were almost as kind as her own mother's, Junyu bowed deeply to her: "Yes, Master's wife."