"Min'er, tell her what to do." The amicable smile on Zhang Fe's face faded as soon as the Yun family carriage disappeared from sight. Stretching his neck, he looked down on Yun Da Xia with disdain. She met his look without a change in her expression.
It was best not to feed into any hostility, especially with the current state of the kingdom's affairs.
The Zhan family. They held power she knew she could not touch at the moment. After all, the name of the emperor's most beloved woman began with Zhan.
At her uncle's words, Zhan Yuemin beamed a bright smile. "Yes, second uncle. Little Xia, although we're in different departments, we will have the basic classes together. Isn't that wonderful?" She clapped her hands together, the corners of her eyes crinkling in delight. "Big brother Ge, will you be joining us?" She directed her watery eyes to the third prince, fluttering them shyly.
"Hmm? I'm sorry, Min'er. I have to meet with Professor Long." He cast distrustful eyes onto Yun Da Xia. "If I could, I would accompany you." Her nose twitched in response. How quaint.
A giggle interrupted her musings, "It's alright, I understand. I'll see you later, yeah?" Zhan Yuemin smiled at him then turned to look at Yun Da Xia. "Come on, Little Xia. It's important that we arrive early."
Walking through the academy was picturesque; bouts of flowers and trees decorating the expanse. Some students walked around the campus, Zhan Yuemin smiling and greeting every one of them. Many of them returned the sentiment, glancing towards the woman walking behind their goddess and whispering amongst themselves. The waste of the Yun family decided to come out and show her face here. All mentions of her name were saturated in ridicule.
"Maybe the general is using the academy to get rid of her. No one would bat an eye if she died on an assignment." A boy murmured to his group of friends. Another slapped his shoulder; rolling his eyes. "Duh, you don't need to speak so softly like its a secret. I'm surprised he didn't do it sooner."
"Maybe he was holding onto hope that she could cultivate. I mean, the general, his son and even his wife are formidable cultivators. They wouldn't have believed that their kid was a piece of trash until they probably got fed up."
A girl eyed the two figures walking in the direction of the forest, stroking the body of something furry burrowed in her arms. "Seems like she's about to perform the initiation rite."
"As if any spirit beast would choose to bind themselves to someone worthless. They'd make her their next meal instead."
A smirk bloomed on another girl's face, "Hey, didn't we hear that the beasts in the forest are being more unruly recently? And the school has been trying to keep it under wraps?"
With her improved senses, Yun Da Xia could still hear the laughter of the group even though she could no longer see their silhouettes. Many of them started betting if she would even live to see the sunrise of tomorrow or next month. She was satisfied by their discussion; glad to see that people thought so little of her. That kind of reputation would be helpful in dispelling any suspicions that could arise.
As she followed Zhan Yuemin, they passed groups of people training with weapons and others training their cultivation. Some groups were gathered around a vat of what looked to be blue bubbling liquid. Every so often, a small beast would run around; nipping and yapping with a playmate. With time, the number of people slowly dwindled. The pavement beneath her feet changed; worn grass cushioning her footfalls instead.
After some time, towering trees began to peek through the spaces in-between buildings. Eventually, the space before her opened up; the borders of the woodland coming into view. Before the dense forest was a small, sturdily built shed. Zhan Yuemin entered, beckoning her in. Yun Da Xia hesitated.
"Stop wasting my time. I have no desire to kill you right now."
Instead of the saccharine sweet voice she had been using a while ago, a dry, impatient voice came out of Zhan Yuemin. Yun Da Xia blinked in shock, studying the other girl. Outwardly, nothing about her changed. But there was something odd about her disposition now.
A sigh escaped the other's lips, and Yun Da Xia felt a force propelling her into the shed. She didn't resist but kept her guard up. Zhan Yuemin seemed to be bordering in the area between the fifth and sixth stage of Earth cultivation. She could take her on if need be.
The shed was stockpiled with an array of different materials: ranging from food supplies to survival tools. She didn't turn to look at Yun Da Xia, "Know your place."
A click echoed in the small space; Yun Da Xia thought it sounded like the guns of her time.
"I don't want to stain my hands red with any unnecessary deaths. So just remember to stay out of my way and you'll live." Zhan Yuemin stuffed some things into a small pouch; then gave it to Yun Da Xia.
The look in her eyes was so different from the soft and cheerful look she held in front of Tian Chan Ge and her fellow students. They were chilling, seemingly numb to mortal pleasures. "You're incapable of going against me." She stated it as a cold, hard fact. Zhan Yuemin was praised as a genius, and she knew she was. Her cultivation was currently bordering in the area between fifth and sixth stage cultivation. Against a Yun Da Xia who could not even cultivate, it would be a massacre.
Yun Da Xia did not go against her words, "Then thank you for the reminder. I wouldn't dream of it." Although the words were placating, her tone was not humble nor did she lower her head towards Zhan Yuemin in any way.
Zhan Yuemin felt the tips of her lips pull down, but she did not bother responding to the other girl.
She turned towards the forest. Frankly speaking, the daughter of the general wasn't a threat to any of her plans, but she wouldn't be against her dying in the initiation rite either. If she did, or if she didn't; it wouldn't affect her own goals.