None of us will back out now, Yin." Gale answered, and the others nodded in agreement to this statement. They all were certain no matter how this would end, they would gh with it regardless of how it ended.

  The night ent together, each with a bit of a pce to sleep. Room service delivered a te dinner, and they headed back to school at the first signs of the m. As much as they may have disliked it, and even Tang Yin did so, by now, due to the treatment the literary department received, they uood the education or at least the skills they could learn there.

  They expected it to end like usual; the teacher would enter, give them a w exercise and then vanish to his other css. But instead, this time, things were a bit different. The heavy door opened, and they all sat down at their pces and waited for something to happen wheered.

  He had short bck hair, a long bck grown, and his hands behind his back with a noble bearing.

  "You may address me as the Grandmaster.", he said to them and shocked all of them in the same breath. Then, i line, Yu Hua started to tremble, "From now on, all of you will be my students."

  "Like seriously?" Tang Yin blurted out, and she felt the Grandmaster's amusement literally.

  "Yes, I am quite serious; after the happenings of the st evening, Tang San informed me of a few curious facts. First, I am holy ashamed that children like you have beeed as you were for years."

  "We don't need grown-ups, especially useless ones.", Yu Hua interrupted, "All you ever do is lie and cheat, and what does a spirit master more useless than we want with us? Think you be our savior or what?"

  Silent agreement from all sides, and even Tang Yin knowier than to think like that, kept her mouth shut, feeling unfortable. On one side, the Grandmaster was her Brother's teacher and, until now, seemed to be a det person; oher, the others had bee her friends, and she did not want to betray their trust. They ged many of their inal pns to aodate her and treated her as if she had been one of them for years.

  Damn it.

  "Yu Hua, maybe..." Tang Yin tried to say something but didn't know what to say until she crossed her fingers and hoped she wouldn't make a mistake by saying so.

  "Yu Hua, we don't really know him; he does not know us. But I believe even if he uses us for our own gain, what advantages he give us pensate for it." Sileang Yin squirmed inside. Hopefully, this was no mistake.

  "She is right.", Gale agreed, "we don't o like him, but we make a deal with him. A deal, ironcd, agreed over by us all and for ain, right Grandmaster?"

  "If I don't agree, then I leave right away, correct?" Yu Hua threw in angrily. The silent nod from the others was agreement ihe one belonging to Damian is the one who vinced Yu Hua to finally agree. The Grandmaster gazed at them, them and their study of trasts. They were too adult; he did not believe children could carry eyes like that. Eyes that told of distrust, determination, and ess.

  "Y-yes, w-we trusted T-tang Y-Yin because D-Damian said s-she is a g-good. N-now we -to s-see about y-you." Ning Feng stuttered, and Damian stared at the Grandmaster with a gaze that could tear apart a weaker person.

  "I agree; write your Deal, state your case, and I will sign. I decided to sign since you took Tang San and me along on the spirit hunting operation. Just one question, why did you do so?" The Grandmaster's words were silent again as all eyes fell on Tang Yin; she had been the oo propose the Deal.

  "Simple. Knowledge, safety in numbers. There are few better martial artists than Tang Yins Brother, and everyone will agree that your knowledge about Spirit mastery as is sed to none. If we want this to succeed, we need knowledge above all." Gale answered for them, "After all, even Spirit Hall respected you in that regard, Yu Xiaogang."

  Yu Xiaogang, the same st name as Yu Hua, is pronouhe same. Could they belong to the same ? Or was it a ce?