Volume One: Another World Chapter Nine: A Hundred Days of Struggle—Attending the Same School as You

Li Yu carefully examined the layout of the room. It resembled the grand hall of a mountain stronghold; every wooden bench was covered with animal pelts.

“These familiar colors and stripes…” Li Yu ran his hand over the pelt beneath him and was startled. “Good heavens, this is tiger skin!”

He didn’t have time to be amazed for long before five or six nimble women emerged from the side of the room, each carrying something in both hands. There was grilled meat arranged on wooden trays, unknown fruits filled to the brim in brown jars, and sealed black urns brought forth…

Old Mu beamed and gestured invitingly, prompting everyone in the hall to turn their gaze toward Li Yu. Clearly, they wanted him to take the first bite.

Li Yu stared blankly at the table laden with food. Are they inviting me to dine?

If we’re eating, where’s the rice? Where are the chopsticks?

“Let’s eat together,” Li Yu managed to say with some difficulty.

Then he watched as the people around the table began to eat without hesitation, grabbing huge chunks of meat and stuffing them into their mouths. The sealed black urns were opened, releasing a rich aroma of alcohol, and they drank straight from the jars.

The room was instantly filled with the mingled scents of meat and wine…

“You’re so wild!” Li Yu felt hesitant. On one hand, he had only an empty bowl in front of him—no chopsticks, no rice. On the other, he was wary of the unfamiliar food, fruit, grilled meat, and wine. While the locals consumed it without issue, he wasn’t from this world; would a Blue Star native suffer adverse effects?

What if these foods were safe for locals but poison for him, like deadly arsenic?

Then it would be: wine and meat pass through the gut, Li Yu ascends to the heavens.

“This… looks delicious.”

As Li Yu hesitated, many in the hall secretly observed him, including Mu Yinhua.

She grabbed a piece of grilled meat from a tray and placed it in Li Yu’s bowl. “Tiger meat,” she said.

“….”

My friend, eating a protected species is a crime!

You could be executed for that.

Li Yu glanced up and saw that many people had stopped eating, watching him. Clearly, his reluctance to eat had drawn attention.

This wasn’t good… Too many odd behaviors would arouse suspicion.

Li Yu swallowed hard. He swore it wasn’t greed for tiger meat—it was for the sake of advancing his career in this other world.

“So fragrant!” Li Yu took a big bite of tiger meat, feeling saliva flood his mouth, prompting him to chew several more times.

Seeing Li Yu eat, the people in the hall resumed their feast.

“Cough… cough…”

Li Yu hadn’t swallowed properly and began to cough violently. Mu Yinhua handed him a wooden bowl, and he gulped down its contents.

“That’s much better,” Li Yu sighed in relief, but before he could finish speaking, blood began to stream from his nose and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious…

The hall fell silent; a dozen pairs of eyes stared in shock at Li Yu sprawled on the floor.

“There’s poison in the wine!” one of the men realized, quickly throwing his bowl to the ground.

The hall erupted in chaos, with several others tossing their bowls aside.

Only then did Old Mu react. He hurried forward, lifted Li Yu’s eyelid to check, then pressed his hand to Li Yu’s wrist, channeling a warm energy into his body.

“He’s drunk…” Old Mu said gruffly. “This youngster’s constitution is too weak—he can’t handle a few sips of fruit wine. Keep eating. Xiao Mu, take him back to his room.”

…

What a commotion—who would have thought someone could be felled by a bowl of fruit wine that’s usually served as soup?

The tension in the hall eased. This fruit brew was a local specialty, made from more than ten kinds of fruit and ingredients that replenish blood and energy; it didn’t even qualify as medicinal wine.

When Li Yu groggily came to, he saw Mu Yinhua keeping watch outside, making him realize something—the village seemed to place unusual importance on him.

Li Yu scratched his head, recalling that he’d drunk a few sips of potent wine before passing out.

Ashamed, he wished he could slap himself. How could he fail to restrain himself? It wasn’t as if he’d never seen tiger meat before—wait, actually, he’d never eaten tiger meat.

“I fainted from the wine; was it poisoned? But that can’t be—I’ve had plenty back home… Strange, why do I feel so energetic now, as if I have boundless strength?”

This wasn’t a normal hangover! Try as he might, Li Yu couldn’t figure out what had happened.

“Are you alright?” Mu Yinhua noticed something amiss and knocked, entering the room.

“I’m fine, really.” Li Yu, peering through the open door, saw the river of stars overhead and two bright moons hanging in the sky.

Taking advantage of Mu Yinhua’s inattention, he stealthily checked his phone for the time and instantly lost interest in admiring the otherworldly night.

“Oh no, it’s already past midnight.”

Li Yu hurriedly sent Mu Yinhua out with a few quick words, then focused his mind and returned to Blue Star.

Back in his room, he carefully checked his little arrangements to confirm the door hadn’t been opened, then finally creaked it open.

“Ahhh,” Li Yu yawned loudly, stumbling bleary-eyed into the living room.

“You’re home? Why didn’t you answer when I called?” Huang Xiu was working on her homework in the living room. Seeing Li Yu emerge, she pouted, her voice trembling with a hint of tears. “I thought you…”

“What did you think?” Li Yu scratched his head and lied without missing a beat. “A classmate dragged me out for drinks this afternoon—I’ve been sleeping in my room ever since.”

“It’s alright. Are you hungry? Want something to eat?” Huang Xiu brushed away the glimmer of tears in her eyes and asked.

“No, I’m fine. Let me take a look at your papers first.” Li Yu shook his head. Luckily, the scent of wine and meat still lingered on him, so Huang Xiu didn’t suspect much and obediently agreed.

Li Yu corrected the papers quickly. His foundations in every subject were solid, and since he’d taken the Purification Pill, many things he’d once forgotten or blurred had returned to his mind.

“You got this question wrong, and this one too… Why so many basic mistakes?”

Li Yu tapped Huang Xiu’s head with a red pen, asking helplessly.

“I…” Huang Xiu pouted.

After coming home and failing to reach Li Yu by phone or knocks on the door, she had feared he had left again, just like years ago.

She’d been anxious all night; merely managing to work on the test papers was already impressive—how could she ensure accuracy?

“Alright, alright. If you want to do well, you have to give your all.” Li Yu said no more, setting the papers aside. “The college entrance exam is just around the corner. You need to prepare with everything you’ve got.”

“Fight for a hundred days—you’ll get into Tsinghua!” Li Yu waved his hand.

“Fight for a hundred days… I want to be your classmate…” Huang Xiu whispered.

Her voice was so soft that Li Yu didn’t hear it.