Chapter 39: Secrets

  Transtor: Krukist

  Half an hour ter, ierside pavilion of Southwestern Marquis Manor’s rear garden, Lin Yu chatted with Shuitian. Though he’d grasped that Shuitian wasn’t treating him as a puppet, questions lingered. “ Puye, why me for Vice Head?”

  Lin Yu had only retly learned from Lin Lihat “Puye” means Head Master, or Dean. Heavenly Cloud Academy’s urio of Puye marked Shuitian as a t figure, one of the kingdom’s elite beh the royals—his scruffy look be damned.

  He’d guessed right. Han Ya’s equal footing stemmed from her royal blood—her mother, sister to the current Heavenly Cloud Emperor, hailing from the mighty Han . Raised in the pace, her lineage was ironcd, bolstered by her mentor, another Puye.

  “No faeans net, keeping the Dining Pavilion from more chaos,” Shuitian said, lifting a fist-sized jug from the stoable. His gaze, slightly clouded, fixed on the man-made pond teeming with dozens of koi. “A fa-backed Vice Head would let Great Houses sink their cws into the Academy…”

  He reted years of effort. Lin Yu’s pulse quied— Shuitian’s push for academic freedom souraight out of Earth. If not for knowing he was a native of the Heavenly Sun ti, Lin Yu might’ve pegged him as a transmigrator.

  The Academy stood as a fortress, fed by Shuitian and his fellow Puye. The Dining Pavilion was its lone breach—rife with agents from Heavenly Cloud City’s seve Houses, all mere staff. With the Vice Head spot open, their eyes locked on it. A House appointee would crack the Academy’s armor, undoing decades of work.

  Shuitian needed someoainted by the seven Houses, ideally a Spirit Chef with no bag—a rare fier Lin Yu, crashing into his view.

  Lin Yu gave a wry smile. “By agreeing, I’m stepping into danger, aren’t I?”

  The Houses, salivating over the role, would shred a oner like him for snagging it. But Shuitian shook his head, a smirk tugging his lips. “No. Your ck of ties—being mine—means they’ll watch you, not touch you. You’re just a tool to bahem.”

  *Tool?* Lin Yu’s mouth twitched at the modern term from this otherworldly man. It clicked: one Vice Head slot, seven Houses—none united. His appoi would drag their fight underground. Still, sitting there meant trouble.

  Shuitian didn’t deny it, chug. “Your father, Lin Chaodong—I knew him.”

  A flicker of sorrow crossed his eyes as he stepped to the pavilion’s edge, staring at the koi. “Ba the Medical Institute, he was my senior. I pestered him with questions…”

  “You’re a Spirit Apothecary too?” Lin Yu gaped. Situ g had pegged Shuitian as a Spirit Brewer, Formation Master, and powerhouse—now this? Too freakish. At forty-something, matg his father’s age, such feats screamed prodigy. In novels, a younger Shuitian would’ve been the destined lead.

  Shuitian inged with regret. “Yeah, I’ve walked many paths—none led far.”

  Lin Yu recalled Situ g’s parting shot about medie. Was Shuitian his endgame? Shaking it off, he waited for more.

  “Truth is, Nan Zhan and the others weren’t wrong,” Shuitian said softly. “I could’ve stuck you in the Pavilion as a regur Spirit Chef. Cooking Spirit Feasts drains you—only so many a day. But because your father, my senior Lin Chaodong, trusted you, I think you fix this mess.”

  He locked eyes with Lin Yu. “Lin Chaodong braved the Savage Peaks outside Heavenly Cloud City for your meridians. If he saw that mu you, you’re no ordinary man.”

  His voice deepened. “You won’t let me down.”

  With that, Shuitian turned a. Lin Yu sat alone in the pavilion, mulling those words. Trust was the root of it all? His lips twitched—not disbelief, but a sudde.

  “Wait.”

  He snapped back. “What damn duty? This is Shuitian dumping it on me. I could skip the Pavilion, ditch Vice Head, and live free.”

  Yet sorrow crept in. “Is Father really gone?”

  Fused with the inal’s memories and bonds, Lin Chaodong’s mention pierced him deep…

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