After everyone left, Headmaster Laurent discreetly pulled Lei Ting aside.
"Got any rewards for me?" Lei Ting asked, eyeing the old man who never quite acted his age.
"Rewards? The academy's honor is your honor too! If we'd lost, you'd be just as humiliated."
"I don't care much about honor," Lei Ting grumbled. "Next time, I'm not lifting a finger."
The old man gritted his teeth and shoved a small object into Lei Ting's hand—a smooth, translucent stone with faint streaks of color swirling inside.
"What's this junk?" Lei Ting squeezed it skeptically.
"**Recovery Stone**," Laurent huffed. "Helps focus during meditation. Rare as dragon teeth! Worth thousands of gold. I was saving it for a worthy disciple... until you came along."
"That's it?" Lei Ting scoffed. With the **Soul-Calming Pearl** inside him, this trinket was useless.
"Give it back then!" Laurent made a grab, but Lei Ting dodged.
"Thanks, old man!" He turned to leave—no good came from Laurent's "gifts."
"Wait!" The headmaster lunged with surprising speed for a wind mage his age. His eyes locked onto the **Gale Staff** in Lei Ting's hand, glowing with greed.
"That staff... you're **lightning**-aligned. A **wind** staff is wasted on you."
"It's **mine**," Lei Ting said, tucking it behind his back.
"I know! But I'll **buy** it!" Laurent's voice turned desperate. "Name your price!"
"Can you afford it?" Lei Ting smirked. Academy mages weren't exactly rolling in gold.
Laurent deflated. "Fine. How about... **half the academy**? You'll be honorary headmaster!"
Lei Ting shook his head so hard his neck cracked.
"Ungrateful brat!" Laurent wailed. "That staff deserves better!"
---
Back with his friends, Lei Ting found them waiting—even the battered but recovering Frandrex.
"What did the headmaster want?" Sisi asked, eyeing Laurent's dramatic silhouette in the distance.
"Just praised my bravery," Lei Ting lied smoothly.
Dinner in the cafeteria was a feast, courtesy of Lei Ting's victories. Tables groaned under roasted meats, spiced stews, and honey-glazed pastries.
Seated beside Maria, Lei Ting barely tasted the food. His mind was elsewhere.
"Teacher Maria," he whispered, leaning close. "Since I performed so... **vigorously** today, don't I deserve a reward?"
Maria's cheeks pinked. "What kind of reward?"
"The moon's lovely tonight," he murmured. "Maybe a quiet walk?"
She nodded, pulse racing.
---
Under the silver-lit trees, Lei Ting pulled Maria into the shadows just as Laurent's muttering echoed nearby.
"Old coot's stalking me for that staff," Lei Ting grumbled.
Hand in hand, they fled deeper into the grove, laughter bubbling between them. By a fishpond, the world narrowed to just the two of them—the scent of jasmine in Maria's hair, the warmth of her waist under his hands.
"You're more beautiful than the moon," Lei Ting whispered, cringing at his own cheesiness.
Maria's lips parted slightly as he leaned in—
***Rustle.***
They froze.
Above them, dangling from a branch like a misplaced lantern, was **Aijier**—the swordsmanship prodigy, her golden training robes fluttering.
For a suspended second, three pairs of eyes blinked at each other.
"Uh," Lei Ting said. "Lady... what are you doing up there?"
"...Swinging." Aijier deadpanned. "And... moon-viewing."
Her grip slipped. With catlike grace, she dropped down, dusted herself off, and marched away stiffly. "Carry on."
Maria buried her face in Lei Ting's chest. "She **saw** us!"
"Relax," Lei Ting said, patting her back. "She won't talk."
"How do you know?"
"Because," he sighed, "she also caught me stealing library books once. At this rate, I'll need to **silence** her permanently."
Maria groaned.
**What new chaos will this accidental witness bring?**