Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

It seems that Shenxin has also fallen victim to her wickedness.

Despite sharing a similar plight with Shen Xin, Ying Qin Guan pretended not to understand in order to avoid exposing what happened in the toilet, and said naively, "Huh? What do you mean? Isn't Ahe a chef? What's wrong with creating some dishes?"

Yu Xietian's tone deepened as he said, "Those who understand will naturally understand, and those who don't won't understand even if I explain. If you don't understand, then there's no need to try. You'll understand when the time is right, but if possible, I hope you never will..."

Although Yu Xietian sounded like he was offering a well-intentioned reminder, Ying Qin Guan felt that what the other party said was all nonsense, as if he had said everything and yet nothing at all.

"Anyway, it's your good fortune that you don't know. Let's go."

Yu Xietian didn't say much and walked into the hotel with Ying Qin Guan.

Nocturne hadn't booked her birthday party at a top-tier hotel. But the one in front of her was quite unique. Looking up, Yu Xietian saw that the hotel's decor was inspired by Austria, with dim orange lighting, warm-colored carpets covering the floors, and the house constructed of Yassin mahogany...

Wait, Shenxin seemed to have said that this rosewood is very expensive?

Yu Xietian took a closer look and realized that it was actually wallpaper shaped like Aslan mahogany. Calling it a youthful version was an understatement; it was practically a beggar's version.

Ying Qin and Guan went to the room according to the location on the invitation. No one stopped them. The invitation served to indicate the location of the banquet and to represent Nocturne in inviting everyone to attend, rather than saying "those without an invitation are not allowed to enter".

"403...Arrived."

Faint sounds came from inside the room. Ying Qin Guan pushed open the door and entered. Inside was a huge dining table with many cold dishes and small pastries served before the meal.

The dining table was quite large, seating at least twenty-five or twenty-six people. There were already more than a dozen people there. Ying Qin Guan glanced around and recognized quite a few familiar faces: Naifeitian, Yin, Jiuyi, Jifa, Shijiuxiu, Iris, Luoshui, Zhong Hongyu, and so on. Why were the last two here? Their painting styles seemed out of place.

Nocturne sat in the main seat and smiled, "Please take your seats as well."

Ying Qin Guan responded, and Yu Xie Tian followed behind him as the two took their seats.

Ying Qin Guan sat down next to Nephalem, and Yu Xie Tian followed suit. Nephalem casually struck up a conversation, saying, "It's quite a rare sight, Yu Xie Tian. Didn't Shen Xin come with you?"

Yu Xietian perked up and chose to answer questions with questions.

"You meant to say 'your employees,' right?"

The Nephalem smiled but remained silent.

Yu Xietian's face turned pale instantly. He asked again, as if pleading:

"You just... meant to say 'your employees,' right?"

"First, don't answer questions with questions. Second, don't ask questions even when you already know the answer."

Iris chimed in from the side. She was tall and, just like in the City of Truth, seemed drowsy, but when she spoke, she was quite articulate.

She wasn't that close to Yu Xietian, but the fact that Yu Xietian had found himself a father was known to everyone from the City of Truth to the Seven Luminaries Capital.

Nephalem looked at him with sympathy, sighed, put his hand to his forehead, and said, "That's right, that's what I wanted to say."

"It's too late now! And your acting is too exaggerated!"

Obviously, bringing this up now will only invite criticism and attacks from Yu Xietian.

"As a leader, you need to know how to manage people." Nephalem began to impart his experience. "There are many methods, but none of them are suitable for you, so just accept your fate."

"I'm not going to accept my fate in this weird place." Yu Xietian didn't argue much. He always felt that every time this group of people got together, they could inexplicably reach a consensus and then persecute him, especially Shen Xin and Ying Qin Guan. After several struggles, he chose to give up arguing with people in this kind of place.

Not everyone can face the bloody consciousness slash like Shenxin!

After waiting for another ten minutes or so, people gradually gathered, and then the dishes were served.

Ye Qu had a wide circle of friends, but as Mu Nandong said, a birthday party wasn't a big deal, so he didn't invite too many people, just some close friends.

“Speaking of which, Nocturne is truly remarkable,” Jiu Yi sighed softly. “I haven’t celebrated my birthday since I turned eighteen, but she does. Not only does she celebrate, she makes a big fuss and invites everyone to her birthday party.”

“It’s nothing now.” Nephalem didn’t seem to care. He knew that Jiu Yi was referring to Nocturne’s freedom to “do whatever he wanted”, but he still had to refute it. “What’s so great about celebrating a birthday at this age? When you’re seventy or eighty, it’s more like you can still raise your arms and call for friends and family to come to a gathering. Don’t argue with me about the birthdays of the elderly. Although they are both birthdays, they are completely different concepts.”

Although Nephalem always have a strange, inexplicable competitive spirit, this statement seems to make a lot of sense: people doing the same thing at different ages give off completely different vibes.

Of course, pursuing girls is an exception; it's always romantic, from eighteen to eighty years old.

The friends of Nocturne come from all over the world, with different professions and ages. The largest group consists of teachers and classmates from the Imperial Academy, making up almost a third of the group. Among the rest are newspaper writers with dark circles under their eyes, unknown artists with long hair, elegant noble ladies, and punk singers with wild hairstyles.

After a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere in the room gradually became lively. The hotel waiter brought out a birthday cake, and Nocturne cut a piece for everyone. When handing over the cake, the recipient also gave him/her a gift.

"!" Yu Xietian was shocked when he saw the first person present a gift. "A gift?! You need to give a gift?! I didn't prepare one!"

He genuinely hadn't thought about the gift at all. Shen Xin went straight to the hospital, lying paralyzed in bed, not wanting to move at all. Naturally, he didn't remind Yu Xietian, so... Yu Xietian really forgot about it.

A sense of panic rose within him, and as he spoke, he looked at Ying Qin Guan and his group beside him, asking, "Are you all ready?!"

He desperately wished these people would also say no; at that moment, his mindset was like that of a primary school student who hadn't done his homework.

However..

"Not to be rude," Jiu Yi sighed, "but without the Divine Heart, you can't even think of such a small thing?"

Nephalem glanced sideways and said, "Silver, are you ready for me?"

Miss Yin gave a weak reply.

Both men were clearly prepared, so Yu Xietian could only turn his gaze to Ying Qin Guan, hoping to find a kindred spirit. Then he saw Ying Qin Guan pull out two gift boxes from his robes...

You even secretly prepared this behind my back... Wait! Two?!

How come he has two?!

Could it be...?

Noticing Yu Xietian's gaze, Ying Qin Guan shook his head at him and said, "Don't overthink it. This is mine. I asked Mu Nandong to open this for me... Mu Nandong asked me to deliver this on his behalf."

Chapter Thirteen: The Gift

The teacher is checking homework, and those who haven't done it stand up. So you stand up, which is awkward enough. But what's even more awkward is... you're the only one in the whole class who stands up.

Yu Xietian is now facing such an awkward situation.

He was a man of principle, so naturally he wouldn't offer to give him the cake and try to get away with it. Watching Nocturne happily cutting the cake, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, hoping to get some help from the three people beside him. But thinking about it, he figured these three probably wouldn't kick him when he was down like Shenxin, but getting their help was unlikely either.

"Damn it, what am I going to do? Do I have anything on me that I could give as a gift?"

Yu Xietian began searching her body.

Three Ibrahimovic coins, two 20-Ibrahimovic notes, two mints I grabbed from the counter at a hot pot restaurant when I was feeling extravagant, a few napkins I picked up while eating at a noodle shop, a lighter that was almost out of fuel I found on the street, half a pack of cigarettes I took while doing business with my previous client, and an empty wallet...

Who is this penniless wretch?! Who is this penniless wretch who can't even scrape together fifty Eevee coins?! Just looking at all that stuff on him, the stench of poverty hits you right in the face!

It was me. It's alright then.

Yu Xietian was plunged into despair. The others had already given gifts; Ye Qu had asked if he could open them directly, and naturally, no one refused. Most of the gifts weren't expensive, but they all contained the giver's good intentions... What was he going to do with his?! Give him a lighter that had run out of fuel, something he'd found on the street?!

Just as Yu Xietian was in a panic, the punk singer presented him with a gift—a record. It's true that people's potential can be brought out when they're forced to. Yu Xietian immediately thought of what he could give as a gift.

Records ≈ Songs ≈ Singing ≈ Performing special skills!

Got it!

Watch me, Yu, perform a chest-breaking boulder trick... what a load of rubbish!

Special skills can certainly be given as gifts, that makes sense. But breaking a boulder on one's chest just doesn't seem appropriate. Ying Qin Guan's Consciousness Slash is certainly a special skill, but can it be used as a gift? No, it won't work! It has to be a special skill that is visually appealing!

Think of a solution quickly, Yu Xie Tian!

Ying Qin and his group, ultimately mindful of their past friendship, didn't directly help Yu Xietian, but they subtly swapped places, delivering their gifts before Yu Xietian to buy him some time. Whether it will ultimately succeed depends on his own fate.

What did Teacher Ying prepare for the woman?

When Nocturne arrived at Yingqin Pass, he asked with great interest.

Ying Qin Guan took the cake, handed over the gift box, and said, "I wasn't quite sure what to give you, so I bought some jewelry. I don't know if it would suit you."

"With a woman whose beauty surpasses even that of a goddess, she seems quite suitable." Nocturne was indeed Nocturne, quite confident, accepting Ying Qin Guan's gift but not opening it.

"Then thank you very much, Teacher Ying..."

Just as Ye Qu finished expressing her gratitude and was about to head towards Yu Xie Tian, ​​Ying Qin Guan suddenly spoke up, "Wait a moment... there's another gift."

"Oh?" Nocturne asked, somewhat surprised, "Teacher Ying prepared two gifts?"

"No... this is something Mu Nandong asked me to give you. He said he's busy and doesn't have time to attend this kind of banquet. But you have indeed helped him with many things, so he prepared something for me."

As Ying Qin Guan spoke, he handed over the gift box.

Nocturne took it, somewhat surprised. She lowered her eyes and smiled slightly, "Did Teacher Mu say what's inside again?"

Ying Qin Guan shook his head.

"To be honest, the woman was incredibly curious and wanted to open it to see what was inside. If Teacher Mu were here and asked if she could open it, I imagine his answer would be..."

"casual."

"what ever."

"Either is fine."

"It's alright."

Ying Qin Guan, Jiu Yi, Iris Flower, and Nephalem gave different answers. But essentially, they were all the same; Mu Nan Dong didn't care about such things and felt it didn't matter.

So Nocturne opened the gift box... Inside was a book, its pages yellowed and tattered. Nocturne flipped through it and whispered, "This is... a fragment of the Hidden Records."

A fragment of the Hidden Chronicles...

Even if Nocturne is a semi-observer, her judgment is naturally reliable. A professional observer can tell the truth from falsehood at a glance, even if they see a secret story they haven't seen before.

The three core elements of the Hidden Chronicles are: believe in yourself, be wary of alien races, and do not rely on goddesses. As long as you can understand the metaphors behind them, it is not difficult to make a judgment. For example, the book that Yu Xietian bought before, Shen Xin saw at a glance that it was fake because the idea behind it was actually alluding to the harm that humans inflicted on the Rebellious Ghosts, which directly violated the core elements of the Hidden Chronicles. It was only natural that it was seen through.

There are many fragments of the Secret Chronicles, which are scattered all over the world for various reasons. Collecting these fragments is a hobby of various folklorists and hermits. Cao Cailan did so, as did Nocturne. The fragments of the Secret Chronicles were a great gift for them.

"The woman should thank Teacher Mu, but since he refuses to come to the banquet, she doesn't want to go there on her own initiative. If Teacher Ying sees Teacher Mu, please convey the woman's thanks."

Ying Qin Guan had no idea what the two were up to, but since Ye Qu had said so, he could only nod in agreement.

Nocturne put away the incomplete copy of the Hidden Chronicles, walked towards Yu Xietian, and said with a smile, "Why didn't Little Divine Heart come?"

"She's in the hospital," Yu Xietian sighed, "because she ate something unclean..."

—The uncleanliness here is not unclean in a physical sense.

"That's a real pity. The lady should go see Xiao Shenxin later. And Mr. Yu, what brings you here...?"

“Miss Nocturne.” Yu Xietian’s eyes sharpened as he said, “The gift I’m giving you is a performance. This is my unique skill, which most people have never seen before.”

"Ah..." Nocturne's smile was somewhat forced. Although Yu Xietian spoke in a seemingly reasonable manner, she immediately sensed something was off.

"Really?" Iris asked lazily. "Did you forget to bring a gift, so you have to perform something on the spot? It's not necessary. It's okay if you didn't bring one."