Chapter 152: Blocking the Way

"Sure, sure!"

The young girl instinctively nodded with innocent agreement, but a moment later, realization struck, and her body froze instantly in place.

An eerie quiet and awkwardness hung in the air.

Shen Yu said nothing, simply watching her quietly.

"Ha, it's quite peaceful here."

After a brief silence, the youth feigned nonchalance, jumped down from the wall, and, acting as though he hadn't seen Shen Yu at all, dusted off his clothes and walked away unruffled.

When he was still several yards away from the main gate, he suddenly turned his head, winked playfully at Shen Yu, and called out, "Ugly, shameless scoundrel!" before breaking into a light jog and disappearing into the distance.

Watching this scene, Shen Yu gave a slight shake of his head, tossed the brick from the ground back to its original spot, cast a glance toward the depths of the academy, and then left as well.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The night passed uneventfully.

The next morning, at dawn.

Shen Yu woke from his rest, gently pushed open his cabin door, and caught sight of yesterday's mischievous girl.

Only today, the girl held her head high and looked exceedingly haughty, a complete contrast to her attitude yesterday.

Humming proudly, she pointed to a jade plaque hanging from her chest—a precious badge of identity within the academy. Naturally, anyone possessing this plaque was free to enter and leave the academy at will.

Shen Yu glanced at it and remained silent.

The girl let out a huff, walked slowly into the academy, and purposely slowed her pace as she passed, swaying back and forth right in front of Shen Yu.

After pacing back and forth four or five times, seeing that Shen Yu showed not the slightest reaction, she finally straightened up like a proud little peacock and minced her way toward the depths of the academy with dainty steps.

Today seemed particularly crowded.

Before the lectures had even begun, another tall youth, standing seven feet tall and exuding the stern, chilling aura of the battlefield, strode over.

The tall man stopped before the main gate, produced a jade plaque from his bosom to show him, and after Shen Yu gave a slight nod, continued inside.

Halfway through the entrance, the tall man suddenly turned back and asked, "How is it that Shen Yu, a dignitary of the Daoist Sect, has ended up guarding the gate of an academy?"

Shen Yu gave him a look and said nothing.

The tall man didn't mind, laughed heartily, and turned to walk onward.

Morning sunlight filtered down through the dewy gaps in the tree leaves, and the academy entrance grew gradually livelier. Just as Shen Yu was preparing to sweep away the fallen leaves and dust at the doorway, yet another person approached.

This was a handsome man with a slightly gloomy disposition, dressed in yellow robes.

Instead of rushing inside, he paused to examine the small gatehouse and the gatekeeper lounging half-reclined beside it with considerable interest.

"Did you know that this gatehouse of the academy is actually quite extraordinary?"

Speaking with the natural ease of someone from a noble and distinguished background, the yellow-robed young man initiated the conversation.

Shen Yu noticed a dragon-shaped jade pendant hanging from his waist, thinking to himself that today's visitors were certainly an interesting lot.

Receiving no response, the yellow-robed youth showed no annoyance and continued, "The reason I say it's extraordinary isn't because of the house itself, but because of the people who used to live here... Do you know that before you, tracing backward, your immediate predecessor was Li Qinglian, the eldest disciple of the academy's former Master? Later on, he was expelled from the sect, and rumor has it he subsequently joined the Thousand Rivers Realm."

The yellow-robed man praised with admiration, "Back in the day, Li Qinglian was hailed by a certain Saint-realm Master of the academy as an unmatchable disciple in this world. In his youth, his poems and songs were renowned throughout the imperial capital, capturing the hearts of countless unwed maidens."

Hearing this name, a faint glint flashed in Shen Yu's eyes.

Su Mo had once made a comment about this person during a casual chat.

"He is the man with the proudest spirit, the most untrammeled temperament, and the greatest literary talent in the entire world."

Coming from Su Mo, those few brief words carried immense weight. Su Mo had even written a poem for this most dashing man in the world, and Shen Yu could still recall the final two lines:

His brush strokes startled wind and rain; his poems moved ghosts and gods to tears.

The yellow-robed man continued with a smile, "Going further back, there was a destitute scholar who had lived for who knows how many years. Usually unremarkable, who would have thought he was a profound Confucian Saint? It's said the old scholar's holy image even resided in the Temple of Literature for a time."

Pausing briefly, the yellow-robed man added, "Precisely because of this, after those two departed, the position of gatekeeper at the academy remained vacant for a very long time, and no one dared to sit in this seat with an easy conscience."

"And so?"

Shen Yu asked.

He was rather curious to find out what exactly this fellow was getting at.

The yellow-robed man smiled. "Just making conversation. But if I really did want to say something..."

The man slowly收起 his smile and said calmly, "It's simply that whoever sits here ought to mind their manners. You can't just lie around sleeping and sunbathing every single day. This is the academy, and furthermore, this is the imperial capital of the Great Tang."

Shen Yu looked at him and said with a trace of sarcasm, "You haven't even secured the position of Crown Prince yet, and you're already treating this place like your personal domain?"

Having his identity pierced in a single sentence, the young man's expression remained unchanged as he smiled and said, "Good discernment. My name is Li An, and I am the third eldest in my family."

The Great Tang Dynasty, the Third Imperial Prince, Li An.

He was also the prince currently most favored by the Emperor.

Shen Yu shifted into a more comfortable reclining posture, let out a casual "Oh," and said, "If you're going in, go in. If not, step aside and don't block the way."

Li An didn't move, smiling as he said, "There shouldn't be anyone behind me."

Shen Yu pointed toward the man's feet and said earnestly, "There's a dog. You're blocking its way."