After lunch, Ye Yin led the work-study students from Dorm 7 back to their room. As soon as he opened the door, he saw a very familiar figure: Yu Xiaogang. The man was sitting on Ye Yin's bed, holding an exquisite belt with twenty-four gems.
"Get down, get down," Ye Yin said, shooing Yu Xiaogang off his bed. "Grandmaster, what are you doing on my bed?"
Resentment from Yu Xiaogang +10!
Yu Xiaogang was bewildered. This was the bedding he had given to Tang San, so how did it end up on Ye Yin's bed? Before he could speak, Ye Yin interrupted him.
"Grandmaster, I know your intentions," Ye Yin said. "But as long as I'm here, you can forget about harming Little San. He's my sworn brother, even if we're not related by blood!"
Tang San looked at Ye Yin with a newfound warmth. He then turned to Yu Xiaogang and snorted disdainfully.
Resentment from Yu Xiaogang +12!
Yu Xiaogang understood immediately. To take Tang San as his disciple, he first had to win over Ye Yin. "Ye Yin, actually, I came to find you this time."
Ye Yin was confused. "Find me?" He followed Yu Xiaogang out to the corridor. "Grandmaster, what do you want with me? Could it be that since Little San won't take you as his master, you want to take me instead?"
Yu Xiaogang's stiff face twitched. Take you as my disciple? With your pathetic talent, are you even worthy?
Ye Yin, of course, didn't know what Yu Xiaogang was thinking. "It seems your mind is quite sharp. You couldn't answer my questions back then, so it looks like neither your talent nor your innate spirit power are anything special," he said. "Perfect, a master with poor talent and low innate spirit power taking a disciple with poor talent and low innate spirit power."
Yu Xiaogang's face was frozen in a twitch. Useless! he thought. No matter how hard he tries, his spirit power will never break through level twenty-nine. When he had this thought, he suddenly paused. Hadn't he heard of a similar situation somewhere before?
Ye Yin continued, oblivious to Yu Xiaogang's internal struggle. "Although you want to take me as your disciple, I refuse!"
Resentment from Yu Xiaogang +22!
Yu Xiaogang was almost driven mad with anger. Who wants to take you as a disciple? And you even had the audacity to refuse!
"Grandmaster," Ye Yin said, "I also want to find a Spirit Master with high strength and talent to be my master."
Resentment from Yu Xiaogang +18!
A million grass mud horses galloped through Yu Xiaogang's mind. He wanted to escape, but he couldn't! Although he was disgusted by Ye Yin, he forced a smile onto his face. Otherwise, with Ye Yin obstructing him, he would never be able to take Tang San as a disciple and prove his theory.
"Ye Yin, I truly want to take your sworn brother, Tang San, as my disciple," Yu Xiaogang said, his voice as pleasant as he could make it. "Although I am not outstanding in all aspects, my theoretical knowledge is unrivaled. The fact that I was the only one to see Tang San's talent should tell you everything."
Ye Yin fell silent, and just as Yu Xiaogang thought he had convinced him, Ye Yin spoke again.
"So you're saying that even without you, Tang San can still become a powerful Spirit Master, and you'll get to unfairly claim the title of a genius's master!" With that one sentence, Yu Xiaogang almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
Resentment from Yu Xiaogang +15!
"I…" Yu Xiaogang stammered.
Ye Yin waved his hand. "Forget it. Since you want to claim this title, it's not impossible. It all depends on your sincerity." His gaze fell on the spirit-guided storage belt in Yu Xiaogang's hand, and a smile appeared on his face—innocent, cute, and pure.
Yu Xiaogang's heart was roaring. This is a gift for my future disciple! What am I supposed to do, give it to you now? He had only one thought in his mind: regret. If he had known, he never would have brought his most valuable possession.
Resentment from Yu Xiaogang +19!
Seeing that Yu Xiaogang wasn't reacting, Ye Yin turned to leave. "Since Grandmaster is unwilling to take a disciple, then forget it."
Yu Xiaogang grabbed him. "Wait!" He gritted his teeth and placed the spirit-guided storage belt into Ye Yin's hand. "Here, take it."
Ye Yin took the belt, examining it up and down. He smiled at Yu Xiaogang. "Grandmaster, please don't force yourself. If you don't want to take Tang San as a disciple, then you don't have to."
Resentment from Yu Xiaogang +22!
Yu Xiaogang's face was plastered with a tight smile. Am I unwilling to take Tang San as a disciple? I am unwilling to give you such a precious treasure!
"No forcing, not at all," he said, forcing the words out.
Ye Yin nodded and casually tied the spirit-guided storage belt around his waist. "I can make Tang San take you as his master, but whatever you teach him, you must include me."
Yu Xiaogang nodded in agreement. "Okay!"
Ye Yin turned and went back into Dorm 7. Yu Xiaogang leaned against the wall, quietly waiting. He kept replaying what had just happened in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong. The spirit-guided storage belt was gone, he owed Ye Yin a favor, and he also had to let Ye Yin listen in on his teachings to Tang San. It felt like he had been completely taken advantage of and given a valuable treasure away for free.
Resentment from Yu Xiaogang +10!
Resentment from Yu Xiaogang +12!
...
Ye Yin looked at the constantly refreshing resentment values, a little bewildered. What was Yu Xiaogang angry about now? But as long as Yu Xiaogang was angry, that was a good thing.
Ye Yin found Tang San. "Little San, I think you should take Grandmaster as your master."
Tang San was startled. His gaze fell on the spirit-guided storage belt on Ye Yin's waist. "Ye Yin, what's wrong? He gave you a belt, so you're going to sell me out?"
Resentment from Tang San +5!
Ye Yin rolled his eyes. Why are you speaking such blunt truths?
"Of course not," he said. "It's just a mere belt. Am I, Ye Yin, that kind of person?" He leaned close to Tang San's ear and whispered, "Because Grandmaster saw that you have twin spirits."
With that one sentence, Tang San's hair stood on end. His eyes were wide with shock.
"How about it?" Ye Yin whispered. "Do you want to take Grandmaster as your master now?"
Tang San let out a long breath and nodded. The fact that Yu Xiaogang had seen such a big secret of his showed that the Grandmaster was truly remarkable. "I'll go out and take him as my master right now."
Ye Yin pulled Tang San back. "That won't do. Because you snorted at him just now, he's completely unwilling to take you as a disciple now. If it weren't for me pleading with him, Grandmaster wouldn't even be waiting outside. So, you wait here. I'll go talk to him properly and make sure he takes you as his disciple."
Tang San was moved to tears. After so many years, this was the first time he had felt such warmth. "Ye Yin, thank you."
Ye Yin patted Tang San's shoulder. "What's there to thank me for? Who told you that you're my sworn brother, even if we're not related by blood?"