4 Chapter 4 Admission Notice_1

But recently, Zheng Qing didn't have the time to care for that ungrateful little puppy.

His high school examination results were already out; his score reached the standard for a first-rate university, yet he hadn't received any admission letter. Hence, his family had been keenly concerned with the neighborhood's elderly mail lady these past few days. After all, she handled all the mail correspondence in the community.

Usually, things didn't progress as per common thinking, but sometimes even the most abstract thinking couldn't grapple with why things turned out a certain way.

One morning, after Zheng Qing woke up, he skillfully reached out to scratch Poseidon, who had nestled by his pillow.

Despite being a small white dog, there were many light blue stripes on its body. Along with the white base coat, they resembled the ocean waves. Zheng Qing thought for a whole night and gave it an impressive name, Poseidon!

But that day, instead of the usual soft touch of the puppy, he came across something firm. Opening his tired eyes, Zheng Qing was stunned, but he sat up in surprise shortly after.

Laid in front of Zheng Qing was a letter.

Strictly speaking, it was a letter, an unknown origin one, without any stamps, postmarks, or postal codes.

The letter, made from parchment, felt thick and comfortable in hand. On the back of the envelope, a circle was stamped with red seal paste, within which was a triangular symbol.

The front of the envelope, written in bold red characters, was clear and prominent:

Pingyang City

Liberation Road Yunhua Community

Building No. 7, Unit 3, Room 201, smallest bedroom

To be received by Student Zheng Qing

The first thing Zheng Qing did was to look up towards the sword hanging on his bookshelf—it was secure, without the slightest anomaly. He jumped out of bed, rushed to the living room, and saw the trembling wisp of green smoke in the incense burner under the family altar, just as tranquil as usual. He examined the room thoroughly, whether it be the thin talisman paper pasted to the doorframe or the heavy talisman engraved on the windowsill, all remained intact and undisturbed in their original places.

He washed his hands and pulled out a piece of yellow talisman paper from the grey bag of talismans. Zheng Qing muttered a lengthy spell, then watched as the talisman paper slowly fell onto the letter.

Nothing happened.

Zheng Qing felt as if he had just acted like a madman.

It should not be something unclean, he made a face, perhaps his parents left it by his pillow before going out in the morning?

Unlikely. He quickly dismissed the idea. If his parents had received such a suspicious-letter, it definitely wouldn't end up in his hands.

Carefully tearing open the envelope, a large admission notification was in Zheng Qing's view. On its cover was the same triangle symbol wrapped in a circle, and on top of it four bold words written in rounded seal script:

First University

Underneath the seal script on the right, was a line of small running script: "Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous."

Upon opening the notification, the left side featured eight neat running characters, "Book mountains have a path, Learning sea has no shore," drawn with a writing brush—quite magnificent.

The other side, at the top, clearly stated in small characters:

'Our university is a key institution authorized by the Department of Education for higher education recruitment'

Below were standard Song style print:

Student Zheng Qing,

We're honored to inform you that you've been admitted to the Astronomy Department in Jiuyou Academy of First University, four-year course.

Examination Candidate No: 08043203119

Notification No: 20080010007

First University

July 28, 2008

In the blank area, there was also a red emblem, a circle with a smooth character "study."

Accompanying the notification was a light yellow card, which read: "Please reply within a week of receiving this notification. The interviewer will contact you within 24 hours and guide you in preparing what's necessary. Any other requirements can be discussed with the interviewer."

Also included were a receipt for a flight ticket departing from Chang'an Ephesus Airport on September 1, and a certificate for a full scholarship, on which various colorful seals were crowded together, a dazzling array of reds and greens.

Lastly, there was an A4-sized hard light-green blank card.

Both of his parents were at work, leaving Zheng Qing alone at home. Holding this incomprehensible letter, he felt skeptical—after all, he was clear about his own affairs. He distinctly remembered the three universities he applied to: His first choice was Capital University, his second choice was Western University, and his third choice was the Normal University just outside his house, all with a major in finance.

When did he apply to this university?

But his name was correct, the examination candidate number was also correct; they were definitely his.

Astronomy Department of Jiuyou Academy? Was it an astronomy major? But it seemed he hadn't seen this major in the application guide. Besides, with such an austere name, he wouldn't have chosen it.

Caressing the blank hard card, Zheng Qing's first reaction was this was a scam. Indeed, it might be some third-rate university that registered a fancy foreign name and then used it to make money in their home country. This kind of story wasn't unheard of.

Then he was confused. If this was indeed the "First University," it should be quite prestigious. However, he hadn't heard of such a name domestically. Although there seemed to be a similar notion abroad, was it France or Germany?

Touching the deflated grey cloth bag on his chest, Zheng Qing's eyebrows slowly raised. His intuition told him: this admission letter definitely had something to do with what he learned from the Master.

He entered the bathroom, scooped up a handful of cold water, and splashed it on his face. Zheng Qing felt every cell in his body activated by this coldness.

Leaning against the sink, he scrutinized the guy in the mirror attentively, hmm, his face glowing yes, it indeed was akin to the face of someone about to experience a stroke of luck, but it could also be the effect of the cold water.

In the mirror appeared a gentle face, eyes not too big but shiny, a nose as short as other oriental faces, with a roundish feel. Faint fuzz was starting to grow around the corners of the mouth. His short hair, neatly trimmed, obediently lay flat all around, but on the top of his head, a tuft of stubborn hair stood erect, not willing to conform to its brethren.

"Damn it." He scooped up a handful of cold water and forcefully patted that tuft of hair, flattening it. Of course, he knew this was just a psychological comfort. Once the water dried, the tuft of hair would spring back up.

Chuckling softly, Zheng Qing shivered; a silver pocket watch tumbled out from his sweatshirt's round collar and dangled in mid-air, wobbling around, restless.

This pocket watch was a gift from his master on his twelfth birthday.

That was his first time at Hui Zi Ji, and his first contact with that hidden world.

The silver watch cover popped open, the hands on the watch face quietly moved—not for one second, two seconds, or three seconds, it seemed that nothing could obstruct its quiet, stubborn movement.

Zheng Qing's smile froze on his face in the mirror as beads of water on his face and hair converged, rolled down along his cheek to the chin, then dripped onto his chest.

Seemingly in a daze, he thought he saw a young figure practicing calligraphy.