The intense heat of Lu De’s gaze immediately sent Wei Suo and the others scurrying into the background. Not one of them felt safe remaining by Zu An’s side.

Those disloyal bastards. He calmly returned Lu De’s gaze. “Yang Wei picked on me first. He was the one who proposed this bet in the first place. Why am I the offender for accepting his wager?” 

“Have you forgotten our academy rules? The most important value we embrace is to respect the teachers. No matter how capable you are, if you don’t even have basic respect for your elders, you’ll only become a menace to the world once you’re out of the academy!” Lu De berated him sternly.

“I’m afraid that I don’t concur. A student should respect his teacher only if the teacher is a good role model. However, Yang Wei intentionally picked on his students because of personal reasons. Is such a person worthy of being respected as a teacher?” replied Zu An with a frown.

Lu De was further incensed by Zu An’s temerity to talk back to him. “No matter what, he’s still your teacher! Even if there’s an issue with him, you should leave it to the academy to investigate the matter. How could a student like you attempt to deal with him by your own accord?” 

“What do you mean by ‘dealing with him by my own accord’? Our bet was open and fair. Everyone present can testify on my behalf,” said Zu An as he gestured to the students around. “We invited Teacher Shang here to be our witness to ensure that everything was conducted appropriately.”

Shang Liuyu nodded in agreement. “Indeed. Teacher Yang agreed to it as well.”

“Teacher Shang, don’t be fooled by this fellow!” Lu De sent a smile Shang Liuyu’s way before turning back to Zu An with a stern expression. “You really are a gambler through and through, huh? One of our ten core academy rules prohibits gambling, but you openly walked into the Silverhook Casino to gamble with your money, causing a huge uproar. Do you know what kind of negative influence you have brought to our academy? I haven’t even taken you to task for that, and now you’re even betting against a teacher in the academy? Hmph! We don’t need a person like you in our academy. You should return to your Chu Estate!”

The surrounding crowd grew agitated. No one expected Lu De would dish out such a severe punishment as expelling Zu An on the spot.

Of course, given Lu De’s strength and standing in the academy, doing so was well within his authority.

Hong Xingying, hiding at the back of the crowd, sneered coldly. You sure acted arrogantly, huh? It looks like retribution has finally caught up with you! It must be humiliating for you to be expelled from the academy. Do you know how much the Chu clan values its reputation? You can be darned sure that Master and Madam won’t spare you easily!

Just two days ago, Hong Zhong had warned him to keep himself in check. In order not to cause trouble for his father, Hong Xingying wisely decided to stop messing with Zu An and focused his efforts on cultivating instead.

He had been in the midst of cultivating earlier when he was drawn over by the commotion. He followed the rest of the crowd, and was confronted with the sickening sight of Zu An basking in the limelight. He felt physically sick, as though he’d just eaten some shit. 

He was just about to turn his back on the nauseating sight when the situation took its dramatic twist. He was more than exhilarated by this development, and decided that he would add two dishes to his lunch later on to celebrate.

Another one who shared Hong Xingying’s feelings was Yuan Wendong. He had always been proud of the high standing he’d gained in the academy over the years, and was well-respected by many. He had hoped to announce his breakthrough to the fifth rank with a huge bang, but his plans had been ruined by Zu An.

He wouldn’t have felt so frustrated if he had lost to an expert. But, of all people, it had to be the piece of trash he had been looking down on all this while, Zu Wastrel An! His humiliation had been amplified a hundredfold. He would have much preferred to have been killed rather than live with this unbearable shame!

When he arrived at the scene and saw Zu An sitting haughtily on the chair with his legs crossed, he immediately felt an urge to step forward and teach that arrogant prick a lesson. However, he was forestalled by the presence of Pei Mianman. His previous defeat to her was fresh in his mind, and that took all the wind out of his sails. He could totally imagine Zu An shamelessly summoning his harem of women as soon as he tried to make a move, so he had no choice but to hold himself back.

That left him feeling stymied, but Lu De’s arrival brought about an unexpected development that chased away the heaviness in his chest.

Zu An noticed the trickle of Rage points from Hong Xingying and Yuan Wendong. Those two fellows are as persistent as cockroaches. However, this wasn’t the time to bother about them. He was just about to respond to Lu De, when Chu Huanzhao suddenly stepped forward to join the fray.

“Discipline Master Lu, you’re taking this too far. How can you expel my brother-in-law just like that? It’s not like he gambled in the academy. Besides, can the bet he made with the arithmetic teacher even be considered gambling? And anyway, the one who proposed the bet was Yang Wei, so why aren’t you punishing him?” Chu Huanzhao’s face was red with indignation.

Zu An gave her a thumbs-up. It looks like it’s always the sister-in-law who really cares for the brother-in-law. It seems suffering the vicious lashing of the Wailing Whip was not for nothing.

Lu De responded calmly, “For privately proposing a bet to a student despite being a teacher of the academy, he is henceforth terminated from his position in Brightmoon Academy. What else do you have to say?”

The sudden announcement of Yang Wei’s abrupt termination sent shockwaves around the classroom once more. While Yang Wei had wagered to back out of the academy on his own accord, it was still just a verbal promise. He could always have chosen to hang around shamelessly if his skin was thick enough.

However, things were different now that the academy had officially terminated his position. There was no way for Yang Wei to return, and it was likely that no other academies in the prefecture would be willing to hire him.

Chu Huanzhao was poised to retort, but Lu De cut her off with a sharp look. “Speaking of which, Chu Second Miss colluded with this fellow to deceive me at the gates of the academy not too long ago. I haven’t settled that score with you yet.”

Chu Huanzhao wilted under Lu De’s intimidating stare. As a young woman, it was difficult for her to stand up against someone of Lu De’s caliber.

Finally, it hit Zu An. Now I know why I feel like this fellow is picking on me. It’s all because of what happened back then! Still, isn’t he nitpicking here?

Shang Liuyu spoke up, a cool expression on her face. “Going by Disciple Master Lu’s words, shouldn’t I, as the witness of their bet, be punished as well?”

“Teacher Shang, that’s not my intention. It was out of kindness that you participated, in order to maintain a sense of fairness. Punishing you for this would not be appropriate.” Lu De put on his most handsome smile as he answered Shang Liuyu. His receding hairline made him look less than charming. 

“Tsk!” The crowd clicked their tongues in unison. 

Of course, none of them dared to voice out their criticism of Lu De’s actions. Well, except for one.

“Aiyo, Discipline Master Lu. You sure are exemplifying the very meaning of ‘double standards’ here.”

Zu An blinked his eyes in surprise. The voice was smooth and sweet, which surely meant it belonged to a gorgeous woman. But, for some reason, he felt that something about it was a little off.

With his sharp eyes, he noticed Lu De’s cheeks twitching a little in response. Not only that, many of the male students swallowed fearfully, and some even began trembling uncontrollably.

Their female counterparts, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned.

A light breeze brought with it the scent of perfume, filling the classroom with a pleasant aroma. Zu An wondered idly if this was the scent of a renowned brand.

Behind it came a slim figure. Dressed in a white robe, with long hair, shapely eyebrows, peach blossom eyes, and delicate facial features—if this person wasn’t a man, he would surely have countless pursuers after him.

In Zu An’s mind, the only one who could possibly match him was Xie Xiu. However, despite Xie Xius’ delicate, feminine appearance, his manner and gestures were masculine, which made it impossible to mistake his gender.

The man walking toward him had a feminine manner that made it really hard to distinguish whether he was a man or a woman. Whether it was the way he folded his arms, or the way his hips swayed as he walked, there was a distinctive feminine quality to it all.

“Who’s that person?” 

Zu An was, after all, someone who had lived in the information era, and he had seen all kinds of unholy things on the internet. In comparison to them, this man seemed perfectly normal. At the very least, his appearance was attractive, which made him much less disturbing.

What he was most curious about right now was the man’s identity.

Unfortunately, Wei Suo wasn’t around to chip in with the necessary information. The coward had long since burrowed into a hidden corner somewhere. Instead, it was Shang Liuyu who secretly whispered the details to him. “He’s Bai Susu, a teacher in charge of imparting cultivation in the academy. The Yellow class has very few cultivation classes, and you’ve only arrived just a few days ago. There’s no reason for you to have met him yet.”

“Bai Susu…” Zu An found the name rather odd for a man.

“Aiyo~” Lu De imitated Bai Susu’s feminine tone, then spat in disdain. “As a man, could you at least try to be less disgusting? You’re really giving me goosebumps!”

“You treated little sister Shang so kindly earlier, yet you act so crudely towards me?” Bai Susu sniffed coyly. “How do I pale in comparison to little sister Shang? Is it my looks?”

There was the sound of dry retching. The surrounding crowd reached their limits of tolerance, and hurriedly dispersed.

Even Shang Liuyu’s carefree smile looked a little stiff. Clearly, she had not appreciated the comparison all that much.

Lu De’s face darkened. “Bai Susu, don’t butt into things you have no business in. Scram!”

“Haiyoh! Look at what you’re saying!” Bai Susu raised his hand daintily. He perfectly adopted the pose of a courtesan beckoning her customers in a brothel. All he lacked was a handkerchief in his hand. “They’re my students too, so how could this possibly be none of my business?”

Zu An’s eyes widened as the reality of the situation sank in. Clearly, Bai Susu was at loggerheads with Lu De. It would serve him well to cling tightly to this beautiful man’s slender thighs in the future.

However, just observing Bai Susu’s mannerisms made him swallow hard. What if this fellow is into guys? What am I to do if he lusts after my dashing face?