Chapter 46
Chapter 46: How Old Are You? (2 in 1 Chapter)
Panda Novel
Hao Ren walked toward the banner and saw a line of smaller characters underneath the big ones: “Thursday, March 18th at 8 PM in Shaw Auditorium.
“Next Thursday is a full week from now, but the school couldn’t wait to put up the banner at the main gate. It is undoubtedly their way of showing off,” Hao Ren thought.
Although East Ocean University was currently a comprehensive university, its goal was to become a research-focused university. To reach that goal, the school had been working hard to hold science and technology lectures and establish science research projects. Directed by this strategy, East Ocean University’s research branch had been growing while its comprehensive abilities were still improving. Its undergraduate programs were ranked among the top ten nationally while the development of masters and doctors had been moving into more advanced areas.
While he walked through the campus, Hao Ren leaped over one puddle after another. After the storm, the tree-lined campus was full of cool and refreshing air.
After he walked from the main gate to the southern entrance, Hao Ren crossed a street and returned to his dorm. He found that his roommates were already gone, so he picked up his bag and walked back to the campus for the lectures.
In the classroom, Zhou Liren spotted Hao Ren and yelled, “Ren, are you a kept man now?”
“Stop your nonsense!” Hao Ren hurried over and knocked Zhou Liren’s head with his book.
“Then why didn’t you come back last night? We all thought that you had been kept by a rich lady!” Zhou Liren covered his head with his hands and laughed.
“Isn’t that your dream?” Hao Ren slapped Zhou Liren’s head twice with his book, though not with force.
Xie Yujia, who was sitting in front of them, heard their bickering. She turned to look at them.
“Did you stay the night in the home of the little girl you are tutoring?” Zhao Jiayi came over and asked.
“Yeah. I couldn’t come back because of the storm and had to stay the night in their home,” Hao Ren said.
“They should have asked you to stay the night. Is it possible they want you to be their son-in-law?” Cao Ronghua also joined the conversation.
“We analyzed the situation for half a night and thought that the little girl has some hidden motives. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to see you race at the Athletic Games,” seeing that Hao Ren had stopped assaulting him, Zhou Liren raised his head and said.
Slap!
Hao Ren’s book landed harshly on his face again.
“Stop your wild guesses! I stayed there for the night because of the storm,” Hao Ren tossed the book onto the desk before sitting down.
“Then you and Xie Yujia…” Zhou Liren leaned toward him and lowered his voice, “…have nothing going on?”
“F*ck! You are such a gossiper!” Hao Ren glared at him.
“This information is worth 1,000 yuan. If you have a girlfriend, Zhao Jiayi will lose 1,000 yuan to me and Cao Ronghua,” Zhou Liren snickered.
“B*tch!” Hao Ren tapped Zhou Liren’s face with the back of his fist.
The morning and half of the afternoon passed uneventfully in classes.
Hao Ren spent some time preparing that night’s tutoring lesson for Zhao Yanzi, and the last class was over before he noticed.
There were still two hours before dinner time. They usually spent it on playing cards in the dorm or playing World of Warcraft at the internet cafes.
The students filed out of the classroom. Suddenly, Hao Ren noticed that the students who had walked out of the room all stopped at the door.
Hao Ren and Zhou Liren walked to the door slowly and saw Su Han, who rarely showed herself on campus, standing at the door. She looked like she was waiting for someone.
At the sight of Hao Ren, Su Han walked forward and said, “Mr. Hao, please take a walk with me around the campus.”
Hearing her words, the surrounding classmates suddenly turned quiet. Xie Yujia also stared at Su Han and Hao Ren in astonishment and confusion.
“Are you afraid of me?” at Hao Ren’s silence, Su Han asked.
“Let’s go then!” Hao Ren squared his shoulders and escorted Su Han to the stairs pretentiously.
His classmates were left behind, gaping at them.
They went down the stairs and out of the Academic Building. On the way, the students they met all shot strange glances at them since they had never seen Su Han walk with a male student before.
Today, Su Han was dressed in black and white. The short-sleeved sweater with a U-shaped neckline accentuated her elegant long neck and showcased her beautiful head like a statue.
She wore big retro bracelets which made her arms look slimmer and more feminine.
Hao Ren looked askance at her up-close and wondered which of the two women, Su Han or Zhao Hongyu, had a better taste in fashion.
When he turned his head around, he saw Zhou Liren and others sneakily following them in the distance.
“These guys…” Hao Ren didn’t know what to do with them. He knew Su Han was aware that the guys were following them. Since she had come for him, she didn’t intend to keep their meeting a secret.
“I have made a thorough investigation on this issue,” Su Han said abruptly when they were more than a dozen meters away from the Academic Building.
A faint fragrance floated from her cherry-shaped mouth. Even without make-up, Su Han was a great beauty.
“You mean the issue of my identity?” Hao Ren asked. Since they were far away from other people, Hao Ren wasn’t worried about being overheard.
“Yes,” Su Han nodded and said. “I asked Lu Qin and talked to Zi. I have a clear understanding of the whole situation.”
“Then do you acknowledge my identity now?” Hao Ren asked.
“Yes, barely. Since East Ocean is determined, I have made an exception for you. You are not from the orthodox background, but due to the special circumstances and the insistence of Zi’s parents who are my benefactors, I will temporarily give you a chance,” Su Han, walking with light steps, said.
“Temporarily?” Hao Ren caught the keyword and asked.
“Right, only temporarily. The result of my negotiation with East Ocean is that if you don’t succeed in the cultivation of the techniques of the Dragon Tribe, I, as an inspector, will have to deprive you of the qualification of becoming a member of the Dragon Tribe. And the time limit…” Su Han paused for a second before she said, “…is only one month.”
“I need to a breakthrough of the Spirit Concentration Scroll?” Hao Ren asked.
“In your dreams. It is just a basic technique, and you are not counted as a cultivator even if you mastered it. I meant Kan-level which is the lowest level in the cultivation system of the Dragons. Qian, Kun, Xun, Dui, Gen, Zhen, Li, and Kan 1 ; these are the eight levels, and Kan is the lowest!” Su Han said coldly.
Hao Ren was a bit disappointed. It had taken him almost two weeks to break through the first level of the Spirit Concentration Scroll, and maybe he was one of the least talented guys. It would be extremely difficult for him to reach Kan-level within one month.
“I’ve told you everything you need to know. If you can’t meet my requirement, I’ll have to do my duty despite my feelings for East Ocean. In the next while, I will closely monitor your cultivation progress,” Su Han continued.
Hao Ren silently lamented his ill fate. Now he was not only monitored by the school’s vice president and his “father-in-law”, but also by Su Han, the beautiful teacher who was in the center of the attention.
Being under the supervision of these three people was worse than being roasted in the elixir furnace.
“I have to warn you. I’m not the only inspector in the Dragon Tribe. I am lenient with you, but when other inspectors notice you, you won’t be so lucky.”
Hao Ren asked in bafflement, “You mean…”
“If you’re lucky, they will only interrogate you. But if you’re not, they might kill you,” Su Han said, emphasizing each word.
When Hao Ren froze in astonishment, Su Han turned to look at him and said, “Don’t panic.”
She took out a silver necklace from her pocket. “This necklace holds a special array formation designed by me which can conceal the faint dragon presence in your body and keep other inspectors from noticing you.”
Relieved, Hao Ren berated her silently for scaring him by not taking out the necklace earlier.
Instead of putting the necklace in Hao Ren’s hand, she faced him and put it around his neck.
Zhou Liren and others who had been following them from a distance were all stunned. “What’s happening? How intimate are Su Han and Hao Ren? She’s putting a necklace on him! And the necklace seems to be her gift to Hao Ren!” they thought.
Hao Ren had not expected that Su Han would put the necklace on him herself.
Of course, Zhou Liren and his buddies were not the only witnesses. The other students loitering around campus had also seen it. After all, Su Han rarely showed herself on campus and everyone would notice the super beauty wherever she went.
Everyone was shocked, but Zhou Liren was on an extreme; he put his finger in his mouth and almost bit it off.
“With the array formation I designed on it, only I can put it on you or take it off you,” Su Han lowered her slim and soft arms and explained.
Hao Ren tried to take it off but failed. Besides, the necklace seemed to be made from a special material which couldn’t be broken easily.
“Fortunately, the necklace is quite pretty. Otherwise, it would look like a dog collar,” Hao Ren thought to himself.
If Zhou Liren had heard this ungrateful thought, he would have strangled Hao Ren with jealousy because he would have passed out in happiness if Su Han had put a dog collar on him.
“Of course, this necklace has other functions. One of them is that I can track your whereabouts anytime I want,” Su Han continued.
“F*ck! I have been tricked!” Hao Ren thought, “This Su Han is really a fox. She pretended to be concerned about my safety, but her real intention is to monitor and control me!”
Seeing the regretful expression on Hao Ren’s face, Su Han smiled. “There’s no use crying over spilled milk. As I told you, you can’t remove it until you find someone more powerful than me,” she said.
Looking at her beautiful smiling face, Hao Ren lamented silently that beautiful women were the most ruthless. He searched his brain for a person more powerful than Su Han and found one: Zhao Yanzi’s Third Uncle.
However, that Third Uncle didn’t like Hao Ren and probably won’t waste his strength to help. As to the other people, neither Lu Qing nor Zhao Hongyu had greater strength than Su Han.
“This damn Inspector! She traped me, and I am now totally under her control! The woman looked cold, but she is actually very cunning,” Hao Ren silently berated the beautiful woman who was worshipped and admired by all the guys in the school.
“Well, what other questions do you have for me? I can walk with you for another half hour,” Su Han’s fleeting smile vanished while she continued the walk.
Hao Ren hurriedly followed her. “I’d like to know how many Inspectors are out there…”
Zhou Liren, Zhao Jiayi, and Cao Ronghua continued to follow them. When they saw Hao Ren walking shoulder to shoulder with Su Han while talking animatedly, they were green with envy.
“The number of Inspectors is not fixed. Some wander around between cities and are disguised as artists, musicians and such, and others, like me, stay in one city and supervise the dragons in that area,” Su Han answered Hao Ren patiently.
Hao Ren was pleased to obtain this useful information. He continued to ask, “Then how can I recognize these Inspectors?”
This question was important to him, and he had to know the details.
“You can’t recognize the Inspectors, especially those who wander around. Even elders like Lu Qing probably can’t spot them. Only Inspectors can sense each other’s existence,” Su Han explained.
Inspectors were like secret agents whom you can’t avoid. Even the mighty East Ocean Dragon Clan has to be respectful towards them. No wonder Zhao Hongyu was cautious when she mentioned Su Han. Hao Ren had a better understanding of the situation now.
“This thing you gave me,” Hao Ren pointed at the necklace and asked, “Will it last forever?”
“The array formation on the necklace lasts only one month. After one month, unless I transfer more energy into it, the array formation will automatically stop working,” Su Han answered him.
No one would expect such patient explanations from Su Han, who was so cold in the class that she never answered her students’ questions.
Hao Ren wasn’t the only one who was surprised. Zhou Liren and the other students, both male and female who were watching them from a distance, were also astonished to see Su Han talk incessantly with a male student.
The sky was cloudy, but the air was quite refreshing. Beautiful Su Han dressed in black and white walking shoulder to shoulder with the ordinary-looking Hao Ren under the willow shades along the lake bank was not a perfect picture, but others felt like they were intimate.
“That was why I gave you the time limit of one month. If you can reach Kan-level in one month, your body will release pure dragon energy, and the other Inspectors won’t easily detect you. Besides, if you get to Kan-level, you will have some strength to defend yourself even if you meet a tough Inspector,” Su Han added.
Looking at her, Hao Ren suddenly realized that she was, in fact, helping him.
“Since you don’t acknowledge my official status, why do you want to help me?” Hao Ren asked her.
Su Han sighed a little. “Because I owe East Ocean a favor and helping you is to return that favor,” she said.
“What kind of favor?” Hao Ren continued to ask.
Su Han looked at him and thought for a while before answering, “I grew up in the East Ocean Dragon Palace. Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu took care of me before.”
“Dragon Palace?” Hao Ren raised his voice in astonishment. He was stunned that it did exist.
“Yes. It’s hidden under the water of East Ocean, and I think Zhao Guang will take you there one day. Most of the elders of East Ocean are in the Dragon Palace, guarding the place while cultivating. Only a few clever ones are in the city assisting Zhao Guang,” Su Han said.
Strange feelings surged in Hao Ren’s heart. He had thought the so-called dragons looked a bit too ordinary and thus was surprised that the legendary Dragon Palace really existed.
“To Zhao Yanzi and others who live in the city, the Dragon Palace should be like their home and base, right?” he thought.
“So you grew up in the Dragon Palace?” Hao Ren asked her with interest.
“I am an orphan and was adopted by an elder of East Ocean. That’s why I spent my childhood in the East Ocean Dragon Palace,” Su Han said lightly.
When she said those words, her expression was calm without a trace of sadness.
After a few seconds of consideration, Hao Ren asked rudely, “I’ve been wondering, how old are you?”
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