Chapter Fifty-One: Conflict

The instructors and assistants at Tyding Academy held rather idle positions, so Ye Ran left Tyding at five in the afternoon.

He did not rush to investigate the underground nest; instead, he first paid a visit to Red Leaf Academy.

Red Leaf Academy was open to the public, and upon entering, Ye Ran quickly learned that the visitors from the Temple were all staying in the dormitory behind the study hall.

It was a low but ornate building, originally intended for the children of nobility. When the chosen ones from the Temple arrived, the administration hurriedly vacated it for their use. Though not large, its interior decorations were more refined than those found in most aristocratic homes.

“Auntie, I’m looking for Michelle in room 306,” Ye Ran said as he made his way to the northern entrance of the building. A small garden lay between the dormitory’s wings: the southern side housed the boys, the northern side the girls.

The dorm matron was an elderly lady. She consulted the roster, found Michelle’s name, and said, “Michelle… Young man, she moved out two days ago.”

“She moved out?” Ye Ran’s brow furrowed.

“That’s right, Miss Michelle returned to the Temple. You’re Ye Ran, aren’t you?” A girl in pink pajamas descended the stairs. She had a graceful figure and a pretty face.

She recognized Ye Ran; before the martial arts exam, when Ye Ran and Michelle clashed over a certain incident, she had been present as well.

Ye Ran’s memory was good and he naturally remembered her too. They had met twice: once, a fleeting glimpse on Clay Tile Street, and again at the entrance to Red Leaf Academy.

Ye Ran nodded.

Covering her mouth with a yawn, the girl smiled and said, “I’m Miffy, Michelle’s best friend. My brother left after losing to you, unable to stay here out of shame, and Michelle went back with him.”

She glanced at Ye Ran. “Michelle spoke about you to me. You shouldn’t be looking for her anymore. Surely you know the gap between you and her. Even if you’ve entered Tyding Academy and become an instructor there, you’re still not worthy of her.”

“A man should be magnanimous. Clinging to a girl isn’t always admirable or moving; perhaps, in Michelle’s eyes, you’re just… pathetic.”

Though it was their first meeting, her words were not only blunt but verged on venomous.

Even the dorm matron was left speechless, shocked by the directness of her attack.

Miffy then covered her mouth, giggling. “Sorry, I may have gone too far, but that’s what I mean. Though you defeated my brother, he’s still better suited for Michelle than you. Besides, she never cared for you; otherwise, why would she leave without a word, following my brother? Don’t you think?”

She watched Ye Ran’s expression with interest, fully expecting him to erupt in anger and insults. Honestly, she had no desire to entangle herself with someone like Ye Ran, but even more, she didn’t want him to see Michelle again. So she decided to drive him away with the most direct and ruthless words possible, to rid herself of this man who couldn’t see his own place.

Yet Ye Ran’s response was unexpectedly calm. “You think you know me well, and you know Michelle well too.”

“Isn’t that so?” she retorted.

Ye Ran’s face seemed to smile, yet it was tinged with mockery. “Perhaps. But maybe I know you even better, Miffy. A year ago, you and Michelle entered the Sixth Sky Temple, along with a young lord from the north named Ansel. You pursued him relentlessly for half a year, but he was always indifferent.”

Ye Ran looked straight into her increasingly furious eyes. “Because he likes Michelle. Unfortunately, you’re both caught in unrequited love. The two of you have long been the laughingstock of Stormflow City, fodder for idle gossip. Your hope for Michelle and Zhao Ziyang to be together is only so Ansel will finally give up hope, giving you another chance.”

“Ye Ran, I warn you—if you dare spread such nonsense again, I’ll tear your mouth apart!” Miffy, who had been eager to spar verbally, was now livid.

Compared to her fabrications, Ye Ran’s piercing words struck much closer to her sore spot.

Ye Ran glanced at her and stepped forward. “When I knew Michelle, you were still nursing. With your limited capability, you think you can stir up trouble before me?”

“Miffy, if I were Ansel, even if every woman in the world died, I still wouldn’t choose you. So shameless. Such… a wretch.”

Ye Ran not only spoke, but spoke with finality. He pronounced the words “wretch” with slow, deliberate clarity, each syllable ringing with disdain.

Miffy’s face changed entirely. She raised her hand to slap Ye Ran, but Ye Ran, who rarely resorted to violence, this time didn’t show mercy. He caught her wrist, flung her aside, and then faced Miffy’s furious counterattack.

“Crash!”

“Bang!”

The sounds of fighting soon echoed throughout the building. Students hurried downstairs, even those from the boys’ dormitory rushed over.

When they witnessed the scene in the girls’ dormitory, they were stunned.

Ye Ran and Miffy were locked in fierce combat, but it was clear Miffy was at a disadvantage: her face bore several handprints, there was a footprint on her back, and her hair was disheveled as if she were about to explode in rage.

Ye Ran, meanwhile, stood composed, his clothes spotless.

Around them, bottles and jars lay shattered on the floor, and even the tables at the entrance were reduced to splinters. The dorm matron cowered in a corner.

Seeing that she could neither outargue nor outfight Ye Ran, and with more and more spectators gathering, Miffy, furious and humiliated, burst into tears, hugging her knees and squatting on the floor, sobbing in utter misery.

The girls hurried to comfort her, while the boys who had arrived grew thoroughly enraged, their accusing and indignant gazes all fixed on Ye Ran.

One of the boys stepped forward and shouted angrily, “Hey, what class are you from? Is it right for you to bully a defenseless girl like this?”

“Yeah, is bullying girls what makes you a man?”

Others echoed, voicing their reproach.

“Tyding Academy. Ye Ran. If you want to know what happened, ask her yourself,” Ye Ran replied, not even bothering to explain.

Tyding Academy? Ye Ran?

The group of boys were momentarily stunned, then their accusations grew even fiercer.

“Ye Ran, what’s your problem? Didn’t get accepted, so you come here to Red Leaf and bully girls?”

“So what if you’re from Tyding Academy? This won’t end today.”

“Damn it, now even people from Tyding Academy are pushing us around. How big is your ego?”

A tall boy stepped out from the crowd and gestured for silence. The onlookers quieted.

He strode up to Ye Ran and said, “I am Samo Bikul from the Thunder Temple. I don’t know her well, but what you did today went too far. Give us an explanation, or you won’t leave until you’ve dealt with me first.”