One year passed.
Secret meetings between Mo Yan and Yu Sui, Mo Yan silently following Yu Sui around.....these had become routine.
Every day, Yu Sui was sentenced to strange and senseless punishments. And without fail, Mo Yan was always involved in those incidents, sharing in the consequences.
Su Nian and Duie, meanwhile, clashed like wild boars every single day.
These four had utterly disrupted the entire atmosphere of the academy.
Every corner whispered stories.....either of Su Nian and Duie's constant brawls, or of Mo Yan and Yu Sui's peculiar meetings.
The second year passed just like the first.....chaotic and emotionally charged.
---
Now, the third year...
Today again, Yu Sui and Duie were sentenced to pluck peas as punishment.
Both of them silently picked up their baskets and headed toward the academy fields.
The teachers were, by now, completely exhausted from this recurring nonsense.
As soon as they reached the fields, Yu Sui's temper exploded.
The reason for their punishment this time?
"Speaking to a pillow" and "giving a sword a name."
Absolutely ridiculous.
Yu Sui fumed, his voice echoing into the trees,
"Who makes these useless rules, huh? May the creator break his thumb! May he go blind in one eye! Just one eye!"
He was panting with frustration. Duie tried to calm him down,
"Let it go, brother… That man must've gone to heaven years ago."
---
A while later, as they worked, Yu Sui once again drifted into thoughts of Mo Yan.
Three years.
Three whole years had passed, and still Mo Yan hadn't said anything.
That silence didn't just hurt....it was torture.
Cruelty against a soft and innocent heart.
In hopelessness, Yu Sui finally turned to Duie,
"Duie… Can you teach me how to create a flute using a spell?"
Duie had long known this day would come.
Without a word, he asked Yu Sui to quietly follow him.
They walked through winding paths until they reached a place covered in dense trees.
Scattered among them were large and small stones, as if nature itself had created a secret training ground.
Duie took out a book from within his robes.
He always carried it with him, certain that one day Yu Sui would ask that very question.
He whispered the incantation.
Yu Sui followed his instructions.
And at last...he crafted his own flute.
---
A little while later...