To my surprise, the talk I had been waiting for so much had not happened so quickly. After a brief talk, I had been asked to wait before I could have a proper talk with the Lord. The week had flown by as the tournament progressed, and with the light chill of autumn marking the turn of the seasons, I was finally called to the Lord’s estate.
The manor resided at the heart of the city, a vast and sprawling structure that sat right down the center, overlooking the entire city. I almost wondered if the manor alone was larger than the Cloudy Peaks sect. If it wasn’t, then it was quite comparable in size.
I walked for a good few minutes, trailing behind the guards escorting me. Both at the third realm. And these were just the guards manning the door, I shuddered to think what the actual troops were like. Likely all seventh realm or higher.
We walked for a few minutes through gardens upon gardens, full of various kinds of herbs and plants. I spotted an entire waterfall in a distant pond further away from the path through some shrubs.
The building soon became visible, not particularly large, but well warded and spread out in a pleasing design. The guards parted ways with me, remaining outside, as I was taken a hold of by a servant, who also seemed to be a cultivator, albeit only at the first realm.
“Honorable guest, the Lord awaits your presence,” the woman said with a bow, as she guided me through the corridors.
My gaze wandered around the premises taking in all the sights as I was led in. Soon, I stood outside the doors of a massive chamber, as the maid instructed me to stand by for a moment.
“Come in,” a voice instructed.
I glanced at the maid, who quickly slid the door open for me, before I made my way in. Lord Zhou sat further, on a simplistic seat, a table in front of him with papers spread all over. I bowed my head deeply in respect.
“It is an honor to work in your service, Lord Zhou,” I replied smoothly. Just a bit over a week ago, I would’ve been incapable of any proper courtesy.
“Raise your head, no need to be so stiff,” the Lord said, and I raised my head to meet the Lord’s eyes.
Lord Zhou continued to glance over his papers, frowning. His eyes glanced at me a moment later, as he assessed me in silence.
“Here, have a look,” the Lord said, handing the parchment to me. I glanced at the papers, grimacing visibly when I saw that they were accounting for taxes. But the math itself was fairly simple.
“Does… the Lord ask me to solve this?” I asked, looking up in confusion.
“Can you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. I nodded.
“Very well, in that case. Show us,” he said. I picked up the quill nested within the parchment sheet, noticing that it continued to run ink without any need to dip it in a pot. Spending a few minutes, I added the math for the numbers, crossed checking them by converting the characters into English numbers. Silently, I handed the paper back.
The Lord took the sheet, glancing over it. A moment later, he looked up at me, and nodded. “We know what your task will be here, Lu Jie.”
“Math teacher?” I asked, being unable to hold myself back.
The Lord laughed in reply. “That and more. We are aware of the Lost Souls, and their penchant for these kinds of tasks. More in recent years than before. I’d like for you to tutor my sons.”
I stared at the lord for a moment, before returning a nod. I definitely did not mind. Before I could ask any questions though, the Lord continued.
“We will provide a chamber and everything you need, if you wish to stay at our manor, but if not, then we will provide for arrangements elsewhere too. You will be expected to arrive here every weekend, to teach our sons. And afterwards, you will be learning from instructors on some key martial arts, and will continue your study of Alchemy. From a master you are likely already familiar with.”
I stared at the lord silently, unsure of what to say. He had gotten the old man to agree to teach me? Even after I left the sect?
“That sounds… like a lot to provide as a punishment,” I finally managed, staring at the Lord in bewilderment.
The Lord smirked. “We shall see if you say that once your training has begun. You walk a mysterious path, Lu Jie. One that needs to be nurtured and explored carefully. We have plans, and from the message that had arrived from the Shie clan, not much time to act upon them.”
My ears perked up on hearing the name. I had not seen Liuxiang even once since going to the trial. The Lord, apparently having already known something, extended a letter that appeared in his hands out of nowhere.
“Your friend had sent a message. But the sect has refused to accept things in your name, so we decided to keep it instead. Here,” the Lord said, extending the letter forward.
I walked ahead, grabbing it, and after an indication from the Lord that it was fine to read it, I broke the seal open.
“I’m sorry for vanishing without the word Lu Jie. The trial had taken me to my great-great-grandmother. She’d just reached the eleventh realm, reaching the status of Divinity and a feast will be held in the Jade court in her name. She pushed me to get through a breakthrough, and progress my cultivation faster than I’d planned, so that I could be named heir.
I can’t explain too much, but your secrets are safe with me. I’ll take a while before I can help you with our promise. But I’ll be there. Don’t worry about me, and take care. If luck has it, we’ll even get to meet before long.
— Shie Liuxiang”
I dropped the letter when it began to corrode all of a sudden, vanishing into smoke before it even hit the ground. In surprise I looked up, trying to process all the information.
“You have interesting friends,” the lord said.
I looked at him silently, before giving a light nod.
“Is there anything you would like then? About where you wish to live, and what you plan to do from now on?”
I gave the question some thought. “I’d like to stay in Taizhou,” I replied, looking at the Lord. The man nodded to me.
“Very well. And before we forget, here. The reward for your efforts,” Lord Zhous said, putting his hand to the side. I watched in surprise as a spirit sat in his palm, a flower of silver sat in his hands, looking at me with beady eyes.
“Sii?” the little plant said, stumbling over towards me.
Even though Twilight wasn’t with me, I could somehow still hear her shouting in delight. Gently, I picked up the silver spirit lilly. The spirit sniffed my hands, before it began to chime happily and rub itself against my palm.
I smiled, putting it on my shoulder.
“Make your preparations, Lu Jie. You have till tomorrow morning to leave the sect premises and reach your new home,” the Lord said, and I bowed my head in respect.
“I hope you are ready for things to be different, Lu Jie. The actions, and to some extent, your very existence will be bringing change to this world. You have been given a seed. A seed for a new era. It is our duty to help you nurture it.”
I glanced back at the Lord, bowing once, before I stepped out, my heart racing in a mixture of nervous excitement.
Things were changing, and only time would tell if for better or for worse.
***
“Why the hell do ya have so much junk?” Su Lin asked me, making a disgusted face as he carried out another pot filled with spirit herbs.
Su Lin and his brother Cao Chen had both arrived at the sect to help me move out. Without even a letter or any other method of communication for the task. Zhang had stayed back at Taizhou with granny Lang, to take care of the old women and the shop.
“How’s business been going?” I asked Su Lin, hauling over a bundle of pointless notes from my desk. I would have to stack them one day, but that day was certainly not going to be today.
“Better than we’d ever expected. Things have changed down there. Ya’ll see when we get there,” Su Lin said, and I nodded.
“Ya sure went and became famous though,” Su Lin said, as we passed by a pair of disciples who looked at me as if they’d just seen a fish with legs.
“It’s not funny,” I grunted to the snickering Su Lin, putting my bundle of notes onto the cart standing outside the sect.
“Sure is for me,” Su Lin replied, putting over his bunch of items. I elbowed the snickering boy, and laughed when he actually stumbled from the impact, making me realize that I was a fair bit stronger than I had been before.
Our banter continued, a light back and forth, as we slowly but surely emptied out the room. I stood in the empty chamber now, the sun soon to be rising over the horizon, as I felt a melancholy fill my heart.
I have lived here for years now. But the past few months of my life spent in this place had been something else entirely. There was a strange sense of loss I felt at having to leave, but I also knew that I had to one day or another.
“I can’t say I’ll miss you. But it was good while I was here,” I said out loud. A meow interrupted my thoughts, and I glanced down to see a familiar cat rubbing against my feet.
“Nyan!” I exclaimed, bending down to pet the cat. Nyan raised his backside to me, very clear about where he wanted his scritches, as he continued to rub himself against my feet.
“You want to come with me too?” I asked the cat, who let out another meow. Which I opted to take as a yes.
With one last look at the chamber, I turned and walked outside. In silence, I made my way through the sect with Nyan in my hand, ignoring the glances and whispers.
“Definitely left a mark didn’t ya?” Su Lin said once more. “Did ya hear what they're calling ya?” he asked, and I looked at the boy confused.
“What? They gave me a name?” I asked, surprised.
“Sure did. The Twin Flame demon, they call you. Not the most flattering name, but it sure is terrifying.”
I grimaced, cringing hard internally. Of course I had gotten a stupid and edgy name like that. Though against my wishes, a smile rose my lips upwards as well. I could not deny being pleased.
“Master! Labby is ready!” Labby waved from the cart ahead, as I walked closer. Labby sat amidst all the things I had, which was a lot more than I’d anticipated, but definitely not too much for a big cart. Sheldon sat nearby on the cart as well, sleeping contently, with Twilight sleeping on the little turtle.
I smiled, setting Nyan down on the cart before I hauled myself up.
Together with Su Lin, I sat at the cart, glancing at the sect one last time.
“Time to go huh?” Su Lin asked.
I nodded, as the cart rocked forward, Cao Chen pulling ahead, when I heard a distant scream coming for me.
“Lu Jie!” I heard a figure scream, running towards me. My eyes widened in surprise, when I noticed Yan Yun running, her face flushed, and sweat on her face.
“I… I need to… go with you too,” she panted, catching her breath. I frowned watching the girl, unable to sense any form of cultivation from her whatsoever. As if she’d somehow become a mortal.
I decided not to comment, waiting for Yan Yun to gather herself. “I… need a place to stay. I can do work too, and I promise I won’t be a burden. So can I please—”
“—Sure,” I interrupted Yan Yun, extending a hand. A smile creeped on my face as I watched Yan Yun’s eyes go wide in surprise “Hop right along.”
Hesitantly, she grasped my hand, pulling herself over and seating herself next to me.
“Hmph. Do not expect Leiyu to do any chores. That only applies to Yan Yun,” the eagle said, manifesting nearby as he took a perch nearby.
I laughed, watching the road pass by, as the sect began to pull away. The sun hovered over the horizon, slowly rising into the bright sky indicating a brand new day.
I took in a breath, feeling my heart beating with trepidation at everything that was to come.
It was time to head to our new home.