Because the academy buildings had been expanded multiple times, they were somewhat irregular, with varying distances between the dormitories. Ancient trees stood thickly among them, and the cicadas’ cries rose and fell, making the place feel even more peaceful and serene. Leaving the dormitories behind, William Carter walked into a grove of green bamboo, no longer holding back, and burst out laughing freely.

When he was fourteen, he and his master traveled down the mountain. The two of them stayed by the East Sea for two months before returning home. As usual, after being roughed up by Emily Bennett upon his return, Emily Bennett hugged a fat white cat and told him that there was a chubby kid in the academy who looked just like the cat. Because William Carter had come back a month later than usual, she had no one else to beat up, so that chubby kid ended up getting thrashed by her for a whole month.

Back then, William Carter often wondered what that chubby kid, whom Emily Bennett called “Fat Cat,” looked like. Since he himself had suffered a month of undeserved misfortune, just imagining the scene of a little chubby kid being whipped by Emily Bennett with a thin bamboo stick, crying and wailing, was enough to make William Carter fall asleep with a smile.

So just now, when Brian Cooper admitted that he was the chubby kid from back then, William Carter really couldn’t help but laugh out loud. It seemed that the little chubby still had quite a shadow in his heart.

After laughing for a while, William Carter finally stopped and began to wander around the bamboo grove. It was the hottest time of the year, but fortunately, the dense bamboo blocked out the sunlight, so the dappled rays that filtered through the leaves weren’t so scorching.

William Carter had come to the academy many times, but usually entered through the side gate and went straight to Charles Bennett and the others’ Tong Courtyard, rarely visiting the areas where students gathered, so he wasn’t familiar with the locations of the lecture halls and classrooms.

However, he had come to this bamboo grove often as a child, where he and that little demon Emily Bennett had fought no less than three hundred rounds—though he lost every single time.

There was also an elegant stone pavilion in the bamboo grove, hexagonal in shape, with upturned eaves and a pointed roof. Beside the pavilion was a clear spring, so the pavilion was named Bamboo Spring Pavilion. Inside was a stone table, three stone stools, and a long bench on each of three sides, with nothing else.

William Carter squatted by the spring, scooped up a handful of water and drank it. The sweet, cool water instantly dispelled all his summer heat. This was one of the reasons William Carter liked to play in the bamboo grove—after getting beaten up, at least he could drink a few mouthfuls of spring water to catch his breath.

After washing his face with the spring water, William Carter walked into the pavilion, lay down directly on one of the long benches, and closed his eyes. This was the truce ground for him and Emily Bennett; it was usually at this time that William Carter would show off what he had seen and heard during his travels.

After being exaggerated and embellished by William Carter, what was originally just climbing mountains, meeting old men, and tricking high officials and wealthy merchants during a boring journey, instantly became a thrilling adventure where masters roamed everywhere, immortals flew in the sky, and flying swords could take heads at any moment.

Every time William Carter saw Emily Bennett listening with eyes shining and utterly absorbed, he felt immensely satisfied, and even considered going to a restaurant to tell stories—maybe he could make money quickly that way.

“You like the Bamboo Spring Pavilion too?” Just then, a somewhat cool voice sounded. William Carter opened his eyes to see the cold-faced scholar White House standing in front of the pavilion, looking at him.

William Carter sat up, a bit surprised, and asked, “Why are you here? Did Hunchback Wang finish his lecture so quickly?”

“Wang the... hunchback naturally hasn’t finished, but it’s the same old stuff. Only he can talk about it with such enthusiasm, and those idiots still listen with eyes aglow. I got bored, so I came out for a walk,” White House said calmly.

To treat what most academy students considered a forbidden act—skipping class—with such nonchalance was enough to make William Carter see him in a new light.

“William Carter.” William Carter stood up with a smile.

White House was slightly taken aback before replying, “White House.”

This was the first time the two introduced themselves—just their names, but both felt it was enough.

“Want to lie down together?” William Carter pointed at another long bench and asked with a smile.

“Why sit when you can lie down?” White House retorted, a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

“Of course. Too bad the little chubby didn’t come out, otherwise he’d definitely want to lie down too.” William Carter lay down, reached out, and plucked a bamboo leaf from outside the pavilion to chew on.

“Little chubby?” White House lay down as well, hands crossed behind his head, looking a bit puzzled.

“Oh, you might not know, it’s Brian Cooper, the big guy.” William Carter turned his head to explain.

“I know. That chubby kid is big, but not very brave—he doesn’t even dare kill a chicken. Letting him sneak out of Hunchback Wang’s class? Even if you lent him a few guts, he wouldn’t dare.” White House curled his lip as he spoke, but from his tone, his relationship with Brian Cooper seemed decent.

“White House! You’re talking bad about me behind my back again!” Before William Carter could respond, a large figure burst into the pavilion, panting and furiously pointing at White House’s nose and shouting.

Chapter Six: Pushing Open the Door to Making Money

William Carter turned to the side, propping his head up with one hand, looking at the furious Brian Cooper and the calm-faced White House. No matter how you looked at it, the burly Brian Cooper seemed to have the weaker presence.

Earlier, Brian Cooper had seriously warned William Carter not to mess with White House, but now he was the one yelling at him, which left William Carter a bit confused. However, William Carter could tell that the two were definitely familiar with each other, and Brian Cooper wasn’t really afraid of White House.