125 The Secret of the Piercing Fang

"Just because you don't know him doesn't mean no one you know does," Chen Wen said, hinting at something.

"You mean..." Zhong Yun hesitated, "Liu Yunqi?"

It wasn't that he was slow-witted, but Yang Tianlie was so incredibly famous, and he lived such a low-profile life, that in all his years, Zhong Yun had never heard any news about him. Everything he knew came from history books, legends, and films. Honestly, Zhong Yun wasn't even sure if Grand Marshal Yang Tianlie was still alive. To him, the Grand Marshal was more like a legendary figure. Being told that someone close to him actually knew the man was quite a shock.

"Marshal Yang Tianlie is the forefather of the Yang family. During that war of national salvation, he was the only direct descendant left," Chen Wen said with a smile. "Everyone in Liu Yunqi's father's generation is his child."

"Oh." Tian Hai was genuinely amazed. Grand Marshal Yang Tianlie had been his idol since childhood, and hearing such unknown details about him, he asked with great interest, "Marshal Yang Tianlie must have been over fifty during the war of national salvation. How many children did he have later on?"

Chen Wen actually knew this. "He was fifty-eight that year. After the war ended, to ensure the continuation of the Yang family line, he took five more wives and sired eight sons and one daughter in total. Liu Yunqi's father is the third eldest."

"Wow, he really was vigorous in his old age," Tian Hai said with a mischievous grin. People always loved such gossip.

For some reason, a spark of inspiration flashed through Zhong Yun's mind as he remembered someone. "Are all nine of his children still alive?"

Chen Wen was about to nod when a sensational rumor crossed his mind. He hesitated before saying, "They should all be."

"Should?" Tian Hai asked, surprised. "Do you not know?"

"I heard that twenty years ago, Old Marshal Yang disowned one of his sons," Chen Wen whispered.

"Really?" Tian Hai's eyes lit up. A secret—a real, juicy secret. He said excitedly, "Tell me more."

Zhong Yun pricked up his ears as well. He wanted to know if that person was who he thought it was.

"I don't know the full details, actually," Chen Wen said, shrugging. "I heard it from my aunt during a chat. They say the Old Marshal's eldest son was a brilliant prodigy, as talented as little Yun here."

"When he was thirty, he piloted a 'Type-7' mecha to represent Davo in the Interstellar Mecha Tournament, bringing home the tenth-place trophy and becoming a hero to the people of Davo."

"What? He’s 'Sting-Tooth'?" Tian Hai nearly jumped up upon hearing this.

"Sting-Tooth" was the callsign of the pilot who won the tournament with a "Type-7" mecha. No one knew his real name; everyone just called him "Sting-Tooth." To this day, he is still widely recognized as the King of Mechas. The mysterious "Sting-Tooth" was, aside from Marshal Yang Tianlie, Tian Hai's greatest idol. He never expected to learn the identities of two idols in a row, and even more bizarrely, that they were father and son. His excitement was palpable.

Chen Wen glanced at him, thinking, even if Sting-Tooth is your idol, you don't have to be so dramatic.

"Then why was Sting-Tooth disowned by the Old Marshal?" Zhong Yun asked, noticing they were about to go off-topic.

"Because of a woman," Chen Wen said, holding up a finger.

A woman? Zhong Yun recalled the name of that person and smiled faintly.

***

"Did Sting-Tooth betray his family for a woman?" Tian Hai's eyes widened, feeling dizzy from the barrage of bombshell news.

"To be precise, he betrayed Old Marshal Yang," Chen Wen corrected. "It is said that in order to save that woman, Sting-Tooth stole the most important thing the Old Marshal possessed."

"That incident caused quite a stir at the time, but it was kept out of the media, so the general public never knew."

Zhong Yun wanted to ask who the woman was, but the shuttle came to a stop, and the driver reminded them they had arrived at school. Zhong Yun and Tian Hai got off and parted ways.

First-year courses were relatively light, with only three classes in the morning, each about an hour long. This morning, there were two elective classes that required moving to different rooms. Being an elite school, there were quite a few students in the painting major, most of whom were women—something Zhong Yun hadn't expected.

The instructor for basic art was a refined middle-aged woman. Although the years had left their mark on her face, her quiet and elegant demeanor was still very endearing. After a brief self-introduction, Zhong Yun found a seat in the corner. The teacher, whose surname was Wei, spoke in an engaging way. Her pace was unhurried but rhythmic, and even though she covered theoretical knowledge, it wasn't boring.

The class ended quickly, followed by a class on the brief history of art, taught by the same elegant woman.

After school, Zhong Yun didn't go home because his parents said they were staying at the office for lunch. He walked out of his school gates and entered Mingzhu School. Although the campus was huge, he had already memorized the map and headed straight for the Music Academy.

The Mingzhu School of Music was famous; it was the best in the country. Its dean was the renowned Master Gelo, the only master to have won all four major music awards. In his youth, he had even studied in the high-civilization Gellan Empire. With Master Gelo at the helm, it was an ivory tower for music lovers, and even the current superstar singer, Ming Yunyu, had studied there for a time.

Now, Liu Yunqi was also a student there.

At the entrance of the Music Academy, a group of a dozen or so boys stood holding flowers. Some looked relaxed, some smug, and others nervous. Zhong Yun hesitated, wondering if he should buy flowers too. He asked a guy nearby who was anxiously peering through the gate, "Excuse me, where is the flower shop?"

The boy turned around impatiently. Seeing Zhong Yun's clothes—he had changed into his school uniform—the boy's expression turned wary and hostile. Then, looking at Zhong Yun's face, his expression turned to astonishment, followed by a hint of disdain.

This guy is quite expressive; maybe he's in the performing arts program? Zhong Yun found it amusing, but out of politeness, he repeated his question.

"Go down that alley, take a left at the first intersection, and you'll find it."

Zhong Yun thanked him and turned to leave, only to hear the boy muttering behind him, "People really have no shame when it comes to picking up girls at the Music Academy..."

The flower shop was quite large with a wide variety of flowers, suggesting strong demand at Mingzhu School. Zhong Yun casually picked a few simple, elegant flowers and had the clerk wrap them up.

"You have great taste," the female clerk said, looking at his selection with surprise. Flower arrangement was an art, but she might just have been trying to be nice.

When he returned to the academy gate with the flowers, more boys had joined the waiting crowd. The gate was closed tight. Upon asking, he learned that non-students were forbidden from entering. Seeing the stern, impartial guard, Zhong Yun knew there was no point in arguing.

"Then could you please deliver a message for me?"

"Who do you want to see?" The guard efficiently pulled out a small communicator.

"Liu Yunqi."

Although Zhong Yun spoke quietly, many students nearby heard him, and a clamor immediately erupted. Liu Yunqi had only been enrolled for six months, and having missed the first five, she had only just started attending classes two days ago. Yet, she had quickly claimed the title of the school's number-one beauty, causing as much of a sensation as Ming Yunyu once did.

These past two days, Liu Yunqi was the hottest topic at Mingzhu School. Her beauty, which seemed otherworldly, was different from Ming Yunyu's, but it was just as intoxicating. A boy—an ordinary-looking boy at that, wearing the uniform of Yuehu Academy—had come to the gates of the Mingzhu Music Academy claiming he wanted to see Liu Yunqi. And the way he spoke, he seemed quite close to her.

How could they not be in an uproar?

Mingzhu School and Yuehu Academy were just across the road from each other. Both were prestigious, and they had been rivals for a long time. The students naturally looked down on one another. Today, Zhong Yun walking around Mingzhu in his Yuehu uniform was already provocative enough, and now he was trying to pursue their school beauty? That was too arrogant!

The Mingzhu boys were filled with righteous indignation, glaring at Zhong Yun. The boy who had given him directions was especially astonished. This guy really had guts. To come to the Music Academy looking like that to chase girls was impressive enough, but to set his sights on Liu Yunqi? He was a true talent. His skin was thick as a fortress wall.

Could Liu Yunqi be someone you could even dream of? The boy shook his head. He had heard that yesterday, the school's star soccer player, Li Zhipeng, who was extremely popular with the girls, had tried to invite Liu Yunqi to the Mingzhou Grand Theater for a musical, only to be rejected to his face.

If even someone as handsome as Li Zhipeng couldn't succeed, buddy, with that face of yours, you should just go home and sleep. That was what the boy thought. Many of the boys present seemed to reach the same conclusion, sneering as they prepared to watch the show, intending to mercilessly mock the Yuehu kid when he walked away in shame.

Suddenly, the gates of the Music Academy creaked open. Because the gates were made of a mist-like material, one could see a blurry figure but not clearly. The hearts of the Mingzhu students leaped into their throats. No way...

The gate opened, and a very pretty girl walked out. Seeing the standoff, she was startled, pulled back, and nearly retreated inside. Seeing that it wasn't Liu Yunqi, the boys relaxed, cursing themselves for being paranoid—how could Liu Yunqi possibly know this kid from Yuehu?