Fifteen

When Zhou Mu heard Youqi say that while staring at him, his ears inexplicably grew hot — just like the day Youqi had mentioned not being able to bite him.

'Mhm, sweet, right?' Zhou Mu withdrew his hand. 'Too bad I only brought a little bit…'

Youqi was still savoring the taste, but his hand moved faster than his thoughts, grabbing the hand Zhou Mu was trying to pull back and tuck into his pocket — swift, precise, and firm — pulling him forward.

'Huh?' A flicker of confusion crossed Zhou Mu's face. Well, it wasn't strange that Youqi liked being close to him; everyone did, and he didn't mind it himself. But he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something odd about the way Youqi was holding his hand, even though the two of them often had more intimate contact.

What exactly was odd about it…

Zhou Mu had read in Ancient Fierce Beast Studies that the Youqi was a Wind Riding creature; wind was like their tentacles, or an extension of their thoughts. And right now, even though Youqi was just holding his hand, he felt the wind around them grow subtle.

The light breeze became 'sticky,' billowing Zhou Mu's clothes, swirling gently around him, brushing his cheeks with a touch so soft it was like rippling water — more like being wrapped in someone's body heat, warming Zhou Mu's face all the way down to his neck.

It's the wind. Such strange wind.

Youqi calmly asked in return, 'What's wrong?'

His eyes and brows grew even more composed — the genes of a predator showing through.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Mu simply found the wind's caress subtle yet comfortable, like being gently stroked after a full meal. Deciding this didn't fall into the category of danger, he drawled, 'Oh, nothing.'

Youqi held Zhou Mu's hand all the way back to the dormitory building.

Only then did Zhou Mu emerge from that near-food-coma feeling and remember what he'd been meaning to say earlier.

He abruptly picked up the thread: 'It's okay if you didn't eat enough today. I can make pastries too. Next time I do, I'll save some for you. You really have to eat properly. My dad and mom are always telling me to eat only seventy percent full — I argue with them all the time. I heard you and your mom don't get along well, so you should take even better care of yourself…'

Chun Shijiu had been the one to reveal that detail. It wasn't hard to understand.

The Fierce Beasts of the Yao Clan liked to train their offspring to become independent early. The more elite the predator, the stronger their independence — or rather, the less intimate their family bonds.

Especially among ancient Fierce Beasts, who might even sense a threat from their own cubs and toss them out as soon as they reached a certain age.

But after entering the new era, the Yao Clan as a whole had integrated with modern civilization. Some of the older Yao's thinking might not have fully converted, leading to a very contradictory living environment for some of the newer generation.

To put it in dog terms, this type of new-generation Yao usually didn't have very good socialization training…

Youqi, unwittingly turned into a dog once again, was silent for a while, then recalled the rich sweetness from earlier: 'Alright. Then you supervise me.'

'No problem,' Zhou Mu declared expansively. 'I said it before — in exchange, I can take care of you in all aspects of study and daily life.'

Youqi: '…'

'What are you talking about?'

Chun Shijiu appeared, hanging upside down from the doorframe, throwing out a line out of the blue.

Zhou Mu almost raised his hand on reflex. Fortunately, having lived in Human Race cities for years, he only let out a 'What the hell.'

'What are you doing popping up like that? Can't you see we're having a heart-to-heart!' Zhou Mu said warily.

'Oh, then I came at just the right time,' Chun Shijiu said with a grin. 'I love hearing other people's private matters. So, have you opened your hearts yet?'

Zhou Mu: '… Shameless!'

Youqi raised a hand and smacked Chun Shijiu down, giving him a warning look.

'Don't be so fierce,' Chun Shijiu raised his hands, taking two steps back. 'I've been hanging here for a while, got here before you two. Practicing shutting off my five senses in noisy places.'

What's the point of practicing that for no reason? Zhou Mu didn't believe a word of it.

Seeing Zhou Mu's look of suspicion, Chun Shijiu thought to himself: You lie so earnestly, yet you have the nerve to wear that expression, wary of the latest scams?

Chun Shijiu snorted. 'It's been confirmed that the University Games will be held at Hualing. I'm participating in the Mind State Project.'

Zhou Mu: '…'

What, the Yao Clan University actually has a Sports Meet? And what's the Mind State Project — competing to see who can endure the most?

But for someone like Chun Shijiu, he didn't seem to have much of an advantage.

But Chun Shijiu's words sparked an idea in Zhou Mu. 'Is it just medals? Is there prize money?'

'Of course there is. There are sponsors.' Chun Shijiu looked at Zhou Mu and smirked unkindly. 'You wouldn't be thinking of signing up too, would you? For you, you'd probably only be able to serve as competition equipment.'

'Pah!' Zhou Mu grabbed Youqi and ran.

.

During a meeting in Teacher Luo's Office, Zhou Mu couldn't help but ask about this Sports Meet.

'Senior brothers and sisters, which events at the University Games Hualing is hosting soon have the highest prize money? Have any of you participated? I did a quick check and found some events are similar to Human Race competitions. I'm thinking of signing up, but I'm not sure what to choose — Mind State, track and field, swimming, sword riding…'

'Hold on, those aren't the same at all. Mind State is all seated meditation competitions. The competition time isn't limited to the event period. There's a championship match from thirty years ago that's still going on because the participants were two turtles. Nowadays, only the most fucking boring, trouble-seeking people sign up for Mind State events.' Teacher Luo wore an expression of utter disdain.

Zhou Mu thought of Chun Shijiu's smug face and was speechless.

'Also, while the Yao Clan's track and field and aquatic events have similar names to the Human Race's, the variations are far different. Not suitable for you to participate in.'

Luo Guanzhong gestured with his chin toward Yan Xingke.

Yan Xingke transformed to show him his tail, which was missing a section. 'That's right, it's too intense. And it's not just our Hualing students; the teams from various Yao Clan Universities will definitely be top contenders. We don't have any 'sportsmanship' here. Do you know what the Runner-up does if they want to overtake and secure first place?'

Zhou Mu hesitated. 'It wouldn't be…'

Yan Xingke: 'Exactly — knock the first-place contestant out!'

Zhou Mu's expression relaxed. Oh, just knock them out.

Yan Xingke was still lost in reminiscence. 'It's not the first time Hualing has hosted. We hosted one three years ago too. Back then, I had to bring a shield just to watch the matches live. It was chaotic. Even so, my tail got injured by a stray hit from a contestant. With Yao endurance, some matches last for days and nights… Anyway, as a member of the Human Race, you'd better not participate!'

'Not purely Human Race,' Zhou Mu emphasized. 'I just heard the prize money is good and wanted to give it a try. If it doesn't work out, participation is what matters.'

'Doesn't matter to me, I support you either way.' Luo Guanzhong said with an air of serene detachment. 'My school accepts ghost cultivators anyway. It's just a matter of tweaking the records.' As he spoke, he picked up a form listing the disciples' basic information — for example, after Zhou Mu's name was 'Age: 20.'

Luo Guanzhong took a pencil and scribbled, changing 'Age twenty' to 'Lived to twenty' — a difference of one character.

'See? The charm of our Chinese language.'

Zhou Mu: '…'

Anyway, there was still time before the Sports Meet. Zhou Mu decided to first look into these events.

After the meeting, he headed straight for Chuanfang Building to find Youqi.

He didn't have anything else to do today besides the meeting, so he'd used flour he brought from home and borrowed a senior brother's Tripod Cauldron to bake some Crispy Rolls. Thinking Youqi had liked the Golden Milk Cake, he'd probably like these too, so he saved some to bring to him.

He'd promised to supervise Youqi's recovery of normal eating, after all.

When he arrived at Chuanfang Building, not only was Youqi there, but Teacher Cao and his disciples — Youqi's senior and junior brothers — were also present.

Even though they'd been Youqi's senior and junior brothers for so long, seeing Zhou Mu actually put them more at ease, and they all broke into smiles. After all, in the hearts of these senior and junior brothers, and even Teacher Cao, they were probably the ones who could best understand Zhou Mu.

Before Zhou Mu appeared, the ones most in danger, most likely to be eaten by Youqi at any moment, were them!

This wasn't Zhou Mu's first visit, so he greeted them familiarly. But with so many people around, of course he couldn't say the snacks were only for Youqi. Taking the pastries out of his bag, he said, 'Hello, Teacher Cao. I brought some afternoon tea for everyone.'

The flaky pastry effect Zhou Mu achieved was no less than the master chefs' at the banquet. After high-temperature baking, the dough had expanded, layers pushing against each other, the gluten network dried to a crisp, flaky texture. The enticing golden-yellow color shone with a glossy sheen, almost allowing the viewer to imagine its light, crunchy mouthfeel…

As soon as they were laid out, everyone couldn't help but let out a low cheer, their mouths watering faster.

Zhou Mu was really working hard to avoid being eaten, even bringing food. Too bad all these people around could see that Youqi hardly ate anything. Looked like they'd be the ones to benefit this time, hahahaha!

Zhou Mu found a knife in the lab — who knew what herbs it had been used to cut before — cleaned it, and sliced the whole cylindrical Crispy Roll into several pieces. With his eye for measurement, he could keep the weight difference between pieces to within one gram.

Youqi stared fixedly.

It wasn't the first time he'd seen Zhou Mu's knife skills, and this was just cutting a dessert.

Seeing Youqi's reaction, the others grew a bit uneasy. You don't want to eat it yourself, but you're unhappy about us eating nearby?

Zhou Mu felt uncomfortable under the stare. His courage wasn't as small as the others', so of course he muttered a quiet complaint: 'What's so interesting about this? My knife skills are superb, cutting equal pieces…'

Youqi said quietly, 'Why?'

Zhou Mu was taken aback. 'Why what?'

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Youqi rested his chin on top of Zhou Mu's head, staring at the Crispy Rolls still radiating warmth from being kept insulated. His tone held a trace of grievance and dissatisfaction — the kind that would make a mentor doubt their own senses: 'Why are they equal…'

Zhou Mu felt the warmth from his head instantly transmit through his body, his cheeks flushing slightly as he understood.

'Oh!' Zhou Mu raised his hand and chopped down. Two-thirds of the Crispy Rolls were cut and placed in front of Youqi. The rest were divided equally, then divided equally again, for all the others to share.