Chapter 103: The Academy's Sinner

Gray was already up early as always. When Leila saw him bringing the little creature out, she asked with delight, “It opened its eyes? Amazing, it can already stand up!”

“Of course. Eagles are extremely tough creatures,” Ye Tian said with a smile. The little thing on his shoulder let out a shrill cry, instantly stirring quite a commotion in the cafeteria.

“Whoa, Gray, where did you get that?” Rabbit said, reaching out with a thieving hand.

“Watch out!” Ye Tian jumped in alarm. The little creature darted forward and pecked Rabbit hard on the hand. “Ouch, ouch!” Rabbit immediately clutched his hand and hopped about nearby. “It’s fierce,” Ye Tian said.

“Brother, my own brother, you should’ve said so sooner,” Rabbit said tearfully. “Who told you to move your claws so fast?” Ye Tian replied disdainfully.

“Fine, you win!” Rabbit rolled his eyes, ran into the kitchen, brought out a piece of beef, tore off a strip, and slowly dangled it before the little creature. “Want some?”

“Don’t waste your effort,” Ye Tian said with a laugh. “It won’t eat it.” Rabbit waved the meat in front of the little thing for a long while, but the latter never even looked at it, as though it were air.

“Hah, I refuse to believe it.” Not giving up, Rabbit went back to the kitchen, fetched a piece of wild boar meat, tore off a strip, and began to tempt the little one again.

No matter how Rabbit teased it, the young eagle kept steady on Ye Tian’s shoulder, showing not the slightest interest in the tempting food.

“I still don’t buy it!” Rabbit returned to the kitchen and brought out a whole pile of meat, trying each kind in turn.

“It’s useless. If it doesn’t want to eat, it won’t eat even if it starves to death,” Ye Tian said with a smile. At last Rabbit lowered his head in defeat.

“Gray, how did you train it? It’s incredible,” Rabbit said with an admiring look.

“I didn’t train it. It’s just a chick, and it can’t be more than half a month old,” Ye Tian said.

“Seriously?” Rabbit felt as though his jaw had hit the floor.

“Really,” Ye Tian said with a smile. “It has to do with their survival instincts.”

“Where did you get it? I want to buy one too,” Rabbit said, his eyes shining.

“A pet shop. I accompanied Miss Ackana to buy a pet yesterday, and this one came as a bonus. By the way, it’s not a magical beast, just a bird.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means it can’t use magic.”

“Then what’s the point? At the very least it ought to be a magical beast—that would be impressive!” Rabbit said in admiration. “Just think, a ninth-rank magical beast, heavens, how wonderful it would be if I had one!”

“Then you’d be dead soon enough,” Ye Tian said, shaking his head. “A ninth-rank magical beast—do you think people like us can command one?”

“Fair enough,” Rabbit said with a laugh. “For people like us, we’d probably die the moment we tried to form a contract.”

“By the way, I once saw a huge green turtle. Want me to get that for you as a pet?” Ye Tian asked with a sly grin.

“Get lost! Who would want something with a green head!” Rabbit said irritably.

“Hee hee, then there’s nothing to be done,” Ye Tian laughed.

“I was only saying it. People like us probably won’t even save enough in our whole lives to afford a pet,” Rabbit said with a bitter smile.

“Don’t worry. You’ll all have one someday,” Ye Tian comforted him. “No one knows what the future will bring.”

He reached out, took a piece of beef, tore off a strip, and handed it to the little creature. This time the young eagle swallowed it in one gulp.

“I thought it didn’t eat meat,” Rabbit said sourly, pouting.

“It’s carnivorous,” Ye Tian said with a smile, then tore off another strip and handed it over. The little one swallowed that too in a single bite.

“Good heavens, it eats so much,” Rabbit said, watching Ye Tian already tearing the third piece of beef. For a creature only half a foot long, that appetite was absolutely shocking.

“It grows very fast and needs a lot of nourishment,” Ye Tian explained as he tore the meat into strips.

“Gray, do you think this fellow tastes good?” Rabbit asked suddenly.

The little one immediately lifted its head and shrieked at him, startling Rabbit into jumping back. “Forgot to tell you, this one is quite intelligent,” Ye Tian said with a wry smile. “Be careful it doesn’t come after you when it grows up!”

“Chapter 103: The Academy’s Sinner”

“Not bad—it even bears a grudge,” Rabbit said with a bitter laugh. “Forget it, I’d better hurry and get things ready, or Lady Ruth won’t have anything to eat when she comes.”

“So someone’s taken a fancy to you, huh?” Ye Tian said with a laugh.

“That’s right,” Rabbit said grandly. “My cooking is only a little worse than yours. As for everything else, I don’t even put it in my eyes.”

“Keep boasting, and be careful you burst your own hide,” Ye Tian teased.

“I’m not bragging. Go ask them if you don’t believe me—am I not the strongest? Who dares even snort in front of me?” Rabbit continued proudly.

“Hmph!”

Instantly Rabbit shivered all over and turned his head mechanically, only to see a group of chefs with fire in their eyes.

“Uh, well...” Rabbit glanced left and right, looking for a chance to escape.

“My dear comrade Rabbit, we snorted. What are you going to do about it?” the chefs said as they closed in slowly.

“What I said just now was a joke,” Rabbit said hurriedly, looking at Ye Tian. “Gray, why didn’t you say something?”

“I did. You just didn’t listen,” Ye Tian said helplessly. “See? There goes your boast, bursting right open.”

“Brothers, attack!” one chef shouted, waving a hand.

At once, all the chefs surged forward together.

“I was wrong!” Rabbit cried, clutching his head and fleeing in panic.

“Oh, people,” Ye Tian sighed, shaking his head. Leila, standing nearby, covered her mouth and laughed quietly.

“You’re quite wicked too.”

“It has nothing to do with me,” Ye Tian said with a shrug. “I really did say so. You heard it just now.”

“What do you want to eat?” Ye Tian asked. Then he gently lifted the little creature and placed it on the girl’s shoulder, startling Leila.

The young eagle first cried out in displeasure, but when it saw Leila looking tense, it crouched down obediently.

“Good boy,” Ye Tian said, patting the little thing. “All right, what do you want to eat?”

“Mm, soup dumplings!” the girl said with a smile.

“I’m speechless. That’s rather troublesome,” Ye Tian said.

“But I really want to eat them,” Leila said softly, biting her lip.

“Then let it be tonight. I’ll prepare this afternoon, and we can have them tonight. How’s that?”

“Mm, mm.” Leila’s face lit up with delight.

“Wonderful, they’ve become late-night snacks already,” Ye Tian said, pressing a hand to his forehead. For the love of the divine chef, please don’t let me be struck by lightning!

He didn’t bother with anything too elaborate. He made a pot of porridge, and as for the rest, sandwiches and the like were actually quite tasty too. Then there was that red strawberry jam; Ye Tian truly had his eyes opened. So life could be lived in another way, too.

He was leisurely eating breakfast when several girls came storming in, each covering her face with a fan.

“Something wrong, ladies?” Ye Tian asked, rising.

“There is!” one of the girls said fiercely. “It’s all your fault!”

With that, she lowered the fan, then quickly covered her face again.

“What happened?” Ye Tian asked in surprise.

“What do you mean, what happened? Didn’t you see?” another girl said angrily.

“Honestly, I didn’t,” Ye Tian replied.

Leila quickly got up and whispered something into the ladies’ ears. They froze for a moment, then nodded.

Leila sighed and leaned close to Ye Tian’s ear, whispering a few words.

“Oh, you’ve got pimples. I thought it was some huge matter,” Ye Tian said.

At once, several murderous glares fell upon him.

“All right, all right, it’s my fault. Actually, you don’t need to worry too much. I think they’ll be gone by tomorrow.”

“Really?” one girl asked eagerly.

“Probably,” Ye Tian said, scratching his head.

“Mm!”

The intensity of those killing gazes instantly increased.

“I mean it, absolutely!” Ye Tian hurriedly added.

“Hmph.”

The young ladies snorted in dissatisfaction.

“Really, this is partly your own fault. I told you I didn’t know how to make slimming dishes, but you insisted I do it. Well then, see? You overdid the nourishment and now you’ve broken out in pimples.”

“You know what caused it?” one of the ladies frowned.

“How would I know? It’s just that yesterday’s soup really was very nourishing, and we drank it too, but we didn’t get pimples,” Ye Tian said.

“Then why?” one girl looked ready to cry.

“Probably because you ladies usually eat too well. Look at us—we don’t often have such mountain delicacies and sea treasures. We only take the occasional tonic, and nothing happens. You’re different, though. You’ve eaten everything there is to eat; your nutrition is definitely higher than ours. Then you had another strong tonic on top of that. Yes, that should be it. I think it’ll definitely be gone tomorrow,” Ye Tian said with certainty.

“What are we supposed to do today, then?” one girl asked.

Ye Tian spread his hands. “Actually, the way you look now is rather cute,” he added.

At once, four or five small feet stamped down on the top of his own.

“Ow, that hurts!” Ye Tian cried, immediately clutching his foot.

“Hmph.”

The ladies were in the wrong, and Ye Tian had a point. It seemed they could only wait and see whether it would disappear by tomorrow. If it didn’t, they shivered at the thought—how were they supposed to face anyone after that?

“By the way, it’s best if you don’t use anything at all. Just act as you usually do, and don’t cover it with any makeup or powder. It should be gone by tomorrow. Also, ladies, maybe you ought to pay a little attention to your diet,” Ye Tian said.

“None of your business!” Thump, thump, thump, thump!

Four or five little feet once again came down on the injured one.

“Ladies, that’s going too far,” Ye Tian sobbed, clutching his foot.

“Hmph!”

After venting their anger, the ladies hurried off. If others saw them with pimples, how embarrassing would that be!

“Hee hee, Gray, there were quite a few people coming to eat yesterday,” Leila said with a grin.

“It’s fine. If one comes, I’ll kill one; if two come, I’ll kill a pair,” Ye Tian said indifferently.

“You really aren’t afraid.”

“The more debts one has, the less they weigh. The more lice you have, the less they itch. Since I’ve already offended them, what can I do?” Ye Tian said, sitting back down to finish his breakfast.

“Mm. For now, you’re probably already the enemy of the entire academy!”

“Is it really that serious?” Ye Tian was startled. “It’s only a few pimples.”

“That’s different. A girl’s face is her life,” Leila said seriously.

“That I admit. But what use is even the prettiest girl if she doesn’t have the kind of good heart that deserves such a lovely face? Otherwise it’s a pity.”

In the end, Ye Tian still underestimated the consequences of this matter. By now, he was like a bringer of plague; wherever he went, girls would grind their teeth and curse him behind his back. Since he couldn’t hear them, it didn’t matter.

Still, it wasn’t all bad. The rumors about the academy’s slimming medicinal meals vanished, replaced instead by tales of the deadly medicinal meal. At this moment, the owner of that legend was diligently wiping down the staircase.

“Do you need something?” Ye Tian asked, looking up at the woman who had been standing beside him for quite a while.

“Respected Instructor Lilya,” said the newcomer. It was none other than Lilya, whom he had not seen for a long time. Yet the beauty’s expression did not seem too good; there was a trace of worry in it.

“I hear you’ve become famous again,” Lilya said with a bewitching smile, casually brushing back her hair. Unfortunately, Ye Tian paid her no attention at all and just kept his head down, wiping the stairs.

“I honestly suspect you may not be a man,” Lilya said hatefully.

“That needn’t trouble Instructor Lilya,” Ye Tian said with a smile, looking up. “In any case, I have no intention of marrying you. Still, Instructor Lilya, you seem even more beautiful lately. Something good happen?”

“Meeting you is the greatest good thing that could happen to me,” Lilya said with a wicked little laugh. “Is this the pet you bought? Some kind of magical beast I’ve never seen before?”

“Oh, it’s not a magical beast. It should count as a bird. Where I come from, we call it an eagle,” Ye Tian explained.

The little creature lifted its eyelids, glanced at the beauty once, and then went right back to sitting motionless on the stairs.

“Oh, quite a proud little thing,” Lilya said with a smile.

“I say, respected Instructor Lilya, you wouldn’t be holding a grudge against a bird, would you?” Ye Tian asked helplessly, standing up. “Do you need something? If not, I’d like to keep working. I’m sure you have plenty of your own duties.”

“I finished them. I was bored, so I came to watch you work,” Lilya said with a pout.

“All right, I surrender,” Ye Tian said helplessly. “Respected Instructor Lilya, what is it? Say it.”

“Could you not call me that? It sounds awkward,” the beauty said with a frown. Then she swayed gracefully up to him and lightly tipped his chin with a finger.

“Who are you?”