Being stared at by Yuan Mo, Diego blinked curiously. “What happened?”

In response, Yuan Mo’s body trembled as he gestured for Diego to step into Samuel’s room.

However, Diego didn’t and instead asked, “Where’s Shi Mei?”

“I sent her to her room. There’s no need to worry about her. However, this kid is a different matter entirely.” Yuan Mo shrugged helplessly.

Realising the implication, Diego stepped into the room to see countless stones scattered all around the place, in the middle of which lay a boy, his back facing the sky and face making an intimate contact with the floor. His eyes were closed and saliva dripped out of his mouth, just short of frothing.

Underneath the layer of his bright chestnut hair, his smooth skin rose in the shape of a fingernail-sized red lump on his forehead. The lump was neither too high, nor too low, present at the exact centre of Samuel’s forehead, right above his glabella.

Looking at the scene, Diego covered his mouth. His breath choked in his throat, causing his body to tremble as he tried his best not to laugh. However, a moment later, he burst out laughing, rolling back and forth on the floor while holding his stomach. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes. As his breath grew shorter, an unhealthy flush began creeping up on his face, forcing him to stop.

Taking deep breaths, he patted his clothes and got up, afraid of seeing Samuel’s face for fear of laughing. All of a sudden, he noticed an unamused Yuan Mo, causing his nerves to tense.

Cowering, he said, “I-I didn’t do it on purpose. I swear.”

Yuan Mo looked from the apologetic Diego to Samuel on the ground and couldn’t help but sigh. With an expression saying ‘kids these days’, he said, “Clean up this mess.”

Yuan Mo shook his head once more before leaving.

Watching Yuan Mo leave, Diego heaved a sigh before cleaning up the pebbles scattered in the room. Looking at the unconscious Samuel on the ground, Diego thought hard for a moment before walking out of the room. When he returned, he had a pot of water in his hand.

‘My teacher wakes me up like this. This should work, right?’

Feeling a little nervous, he raised the pot before pouring it down on Samuel’s head.

Samuel’s eyes immediately snapped open. Short of breath, he raised his head to look around. But when he did so, he felt an impact from the back of his head. A beat later, sounds of clanging metal filled his ears.

Samuel’s drowsiness vanished in an instant as he looked around to see himself in his room, his torso soaked, a stunned Diego standing in front of him blankly and a pot still spinning on the ground. Mechanically raising his head, he stared Diego in the eye.

“You really want to fight, huh? Fine! You win!” Samuel growled, his fist swinging at Diego’s face.

Diego backed off, raising both his hands midair as if surrendering. He tried to explain, “I really didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t mean to hit you with that pebble or the pot.”

While he spoke, his hands moved to grab the incoming fist. Then he twisted Samuel’s arm, pinning the latter down in an instant.

Samuel’s ears buzzed due to the impact. He struggled crazily, all to no avail.

Diego explained: “Look, I only wanted to fight you. But you asked me to leave and then when I knocked on the window, you got hit by a stone and fell unconscious. To wake you up, I poured cold water on you, but then you hit your head in the pot and blamed me. I only helped you and—”

“What help?” Samuel roared. “All you did is cause trouble and are now blaming me. Do you even know how much it hurts?!”

Looking at Samuel, Diego felt his anger rising. He pressed harder. “I tried to help you and now you’re blaming me?! My master was right, you people from Emriticia are all rotten to the core. I should avoid talking to you idiots. Hmph!”

Down below, Yuan Mo raised his head as if looking at the sky in helplessness. Worse, he knew Diego truly tried to help. However, he also knew Samuel wasn’t in the wrong either.

Heaving a helpless sigh, his voice boomed through the ears of both boys, “Both of you. Come down. Now. Don’t you dare tarry.”

Looking at both kids about to fume from their ears, Yuan Mo coldly asked, “What happened? Tell me from the start. Don’t miss a single detail. Otherwise…”

He left his words hanging. Instead of completing them, he knocked on the floor with his staff, producing a sonorous echo. Looking at the scene, both Samuel’s and Diego’s hair stood on end and an icy shiver ran down their spine, dousing their simmering anger.

“Let me explain! You? Shut up. Don’t imitate me. Ugh.” Both boys spoke at the same time, their voices in complete sync.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he said, “Samuel, you explain first. Diego, you after.”

Samuel immediately began speaking, “I was sleeping, and an idiot woke me up, saying he wanted to fight me. Then he began throwing…” Samuel explained in great detail, not forgetting to insult Diego at every once in a while. “That’s about it. It still hurts.”

“Okay.” Yuan Mo nodded after Samuel’s explanation. “Diego, you start.”

“I don’t have time after, so I came in the morning to fight. But this coward kept hiding… And then when I helped him, he punched me. All I did was self defence. Then I tried to explain myself but… now you know what happened.” Diego also explained all he knew. Although he mocked Samuel, he clearly lost out in eloquence, making him even more annoyed.

Yuan Mo looked at Samuel for a moment before turning to look at Diego.

‘This kid. When will he grow some tact? Although he means well, he doesn’t know how to say it and is too clumsy at times. I will ask Zhu that from time to time, he should teach this troublemaker some stuff other than fighting.’

He closed his eyes before coldly replying, “Let’s settle it with Monastery’s traditions for conflict. I hope you both don’t mind. Prepare yourselves. You have fifteen minutes. Not a second more.”

Hearing his words, Diego’s eyes lit up as he smirked. To his side, Samuel blinked in confusion, unsure of what was to happen.