Inside Soaring Dragon Academy, students in different colored tunics littered around the hall. The wall was painted red with gold details, beautiful paintings of mountains and calligraphy were hung in silver frames, and porcelain vases sitting on oakwood stands lined up along the corridors.

Today's lessons has ended, thus the students were granted to do whatever recreational activities they wished as soon as they were of no disruption to the academy's tranquility. ​​

"Hey, did Master Yang died?"

"What nonsense are you spewing? Do you want to receive retaliation if Master Yang or one of his disciples heard you?"

"You can't blame me for assuming that. I saw Grandmaster Wei in the hallway just now, he was humming and smiling! You can't blame me for assuming that his greatest rival finally crocked."

"Are you certain you're not going blind? Grandmaster Wei, smiling? You could've just told me he was about to plot someone's murder."

"If you don't believe me then don't! And you must be living under a rock if you haven't heard the rumors going around for quite a while."

"What rumors?"

"Tsk, you just made my point—"

"Hey!"

"—let me enlighten you, my friend. Many weeks ago, some students personally witnessed the Grandmaster smiling while he was talking with someone over the telephone. They mentioned that the person on the other line might be someone very important to the Grandmaster because he was talking so fondly at them."

"You don't possibly mean..."

"What? You have an idea who?"

"And you tell me that I live under a rock. Of course I do, you fool! Who else would the Grandmaster speak so fondly of if not his second disciple?"

"Second disciple?"

"You must have hit your head pretty hard, it's the Grand Disciple Life he was probably talking to that day."

"Ahh...so that's why."

"That's why, what? What happened?"

"Eh, I saw a weird group who probably came back from their missions. They were drenching wet as if they came out of a marathon."

"Ah, yes. I saw them too. They made quite the scene that the teachers had to chase them and bring them to the disciplinary room."

"Hey, guys! Have you heard?" Two heads snapped towards the voice.

"What is it now?"

"Those weird group from before, they said that Grand Disciple Life and Death came back together!"

"Now I see the reason why Grandmaster Wei was in cloud nine earlier!"

"Huh, so you weren't being delusional after all—"

"You—!"

"But that's not all, I heard that Grand Disciple Life brought her husband with her!"

Choking sound resounded.

***

"We're finally here!" Han Taiyi excited said, climbing up on the ship's railings and leaning her upper body forward to look at the approaching island.

Chu Lizheng didn't bother to scold her overly enthusiastic behavior, instead said, "What's there to be excited about? It's not as if you were gone for many years."

"But going back with Shengming and Jihuo makes a difference!" She retorts defensively, glaring at her friend.

Lillie and Ethan had left their new friends for a moment to retrieve their bags from the cabin. Ethan went on ahead of her to the docks while she goes to crew's break room to fetch her Senior Brother.

Speaking of that white-haired drunkard, as Lillie expected, she was greeted by a sight of her Senior Brother dancing along an off-tune song that he and his friends—the crew—sings on top of their lungs.

"...and the memories brings back, memories bring back you!"

"Doo doo, doo doo doo doo!"

The sound was so atrocious that sirens wouldn't dare come near this ship to allure it to its doom. If Lillie didn't know any better, she would've concluded that this has been the reason why the seagulls flew off the ship's premises.

Blocking the screeching they shamelessly call singing, Lillie dived into the mess and flung the tipsy albino over her shoulder before wordlessly leaving the group who shouted protests at her for stealing their best drinking buddy.

"What the—? Aww, way to ruin the fun, Junior Sis."

"We've reached shore. Better sober up unless you wish for everyone to see you being carried by your Junior Sister." Lillie triggered his manly pride. Death hates it when his masculinity was being questioned.

"When was I ever drunk?" Death slurred, denying the obvious.

"The way you are now doesn't convince me of the contrary."

"Put me down then, I'll show you I can walk perfectly fi—"

Lillie dropped him unceremoniously, earning her a loud yelp from the albino.

"I wasn't ready!" Death winced as he nursed his sore rump that cushioned his fall.

"Uh huh." She uttered drily. "Hurry up or I'll leave you behind."

"Why are you so mean to me all of a sudden?" No, Death did not pout nor whine just now. He refuse to believe it even if someone hands him proofs.

Lillie glanced at him over her shoulder. Her brown contacts chilled. "Don't think I wasn't aware that you tried to steal my wine."

"I was just checking up on it! Would you believe everything that guy tells you over your Senior Brother, who you have gone through the fires of hell with?" Death attempted a guilt-trip, which his Junior Sister didn't even batted an eyelid at.

"Waah, I'm sorry! Stop staring at me like that!" He latched onto her thigh like a koala. "But still, I thought you were the type who would choose their bros before ho—"

People roaming around the ship simply watched in amusement at the sight of a demure-looking woman walking without difficulty while a full grown, white-haired man hold onto her ankle—dragging his slumped body along with her like a toddler refusing to leave the candy aisle.