Shorty

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Brother Tianyi, are you in there?"

A young yet energetic voice resounded outside.

Wu Tianyi slowly opened his eyes after an entire night of cultivation. Now that he has entered the Foundation Establishment realm, he was able to sense the spiritual energy of the individual standing outside his house from a distance, allowing him to identify this individual without needing to actually see them.

[Hmm? Who's this?]

However, Wu Tianyi was unable to recognize this particular spiritual energy. With that being said, it also felt oddly familiar to him despite not knowing this individual.

A few moments later, Wu Tianyi went to open the door.

"Hey, Brother Tianyi! Did you oversleep? Today is the start of a new month, so we can head to the Treasury Hall to collect our monthly allowance! It's weird for me to be knocking on your door, since you are always the one who finds me first."

"..."

Wu Tianyi stared at the petite figure before him with slightly wide eyes, seemingly in a daze.

Standing before him was a young girl that was almost half his height and presumably half his age. She was the type that could easily be mistaken as someone still in her childhood. However, despite her young appearance, this little girl is actually an entire year older than Wu Tianyi, making her his senior.

Furthermore, she emitted the aura of someone at the 6th level Qi Condensation realm.

"What's wrong? I know you are enchanted by my charming body and beautiful face, but you should really stop staring at me and say something," said the little girl after Wu Tianyi remained silent.

"This childish voice… this short figure… are you perhaps Xiao Mei…?" Wu Tianyi mumbled her name that hasn't left his mouth for countless years ever since her unfortunate death.

"Who are you calling a shorty, you bastard?! But yes, it is indeed I, the future number one beauty, Xiao Mei!" she nodded with enthusiasm.

Seeing her energetic face and hearing her sweet voice, Wu Tianyi unknowingly smiled.

Because his family had abandoned him shortly after his birth, Wu Tianyi had spent the majority of his childhood in an orphanage, and that place is also where he first met Xiao Mei.

Since they lived in the same place, they had a relationship as siblings and close friends at the same time.

"Okay, enough dazing around! I know that you are still half asleep, but we need to hurry up and head to the Treasury Hall before the line gets too long!"

Xiao Mei suddenly grabbed Wu Tianyi's hand before dragging him away.

Sometime later, when they arrived at the Treasury Hall, Xiao Mei dropped to her knees with a distressed face.

"T-T-This is all your fault, Brother Tianyi! Look at that line! Because you woke up late, we are going to have to wait for hours before it's our turn!" Xiao Mei sighed loudly.

"It's only three Spirit Stones. We can return another day when there are fewer people," he said to her.

"Nonsense! I am only a hair away from reaching the 7th level Qi Condensation and becoming a Senior Disciple! If I don't breakthrough by this week, the next evaluation won't happen for another 4 months, which means I will have to be a Junior Disciple for four more months! I must get these Spirit Stones before today even if I have to stand here all day!"

Wu Tianyi smiled inwardly at her enthusiasm. Not only is she passionate about cultivation but she's also extremely talented. In fact, Xiao Mei is one of the most talented disciples amongst the Junior Disciples.

Thus, they began waiting in line with hundreds of other disciples ahead of them.

"Brother Tianyi, is that idiot Du Fuwei still bothering you?" Xiao Mei suddenly asked him. "Once I become a Senior Disciple, I will definitely get justice for you. However, you should still give up on that Bing Meiling girl. She has too many admirers. You will only hurt yourself if you continue to chase her. And I am not saying that your appearance is inferior to others, but your cultivation is truly lacking, and in the cultivation world, if you want to get any woman, much less a beautiful woman, you must either already have power or have the capability to obtain it."

As far as she was aware, Wu Tianyi has been a disciple at the Unwavering Sword Academy for two years, yet his cultivation has barely improved this entire time.

"Instead of chasing after something that's nearly impossible to catch, why don't you chase after someone who's closer to you? For example…" Xiao Mei began blushing towards the end of her sentence.

"Thank you for the concerns, but I have already given up on Bing Meiling." Wu Tianyi nonchalantly said, dumbfounding her.

"Eh? Really? You are not lying just to get me to shut up, right?" Xiao Mei looked at him with a dazed look, seemingly in disbelief. "Look at me in the eyes and say it again!"

Wu Tianyi turned to look at her in the eyes and spoke with a calm yet serious expression, "I have more important things to worry about than something as silly as romance."

"..."

Xiao Mei looked at him with a puzzled expression, as he has a very different demeanor than she could remember. In fact, it was almost like he had turned into an entirely different person after the summer vacation.

"Are you really okay, Brother Tianyi? Did all the beatings from Du Fuwei finally affect your head? You used to be so passionate about romance, always talking about how you want to have the most beautiful woman in this world as your wife." she asked him with a genuinely worried face.

"Even I can grow up, you know? I am simply not in the mindset or situation to think about these kinds of things anymore."

Looking a bit disappointed, Xiao Mei asked, "Then what are your goals now?"

"I have many goals, but if I must only have one, that would be to become stronger… stronger than I ever was."

"...That's not very ambitious of you, as you are not even that strong to begin with." Xiao Mei looked at him weirdly.

Wu Tianyi did not respond and merely smiled.

A few hours later, Wu Tianyi and Xiao Mei were finally at the front of the line.

"Junior Disciples will receive 3 spirit stones," said the Elder there as he handed each of them 3 spirit stones.

"What are your names?"

"Xiao Mei."

"Wu Tianyi."

The Elder nodded before writing their names on some kind of book to keep track of those who had already received their allowance for this month.

After receiving their monthly allowance, Xiao Mei said, "Brother Tianyi, why don't we go and get something to eat? It's been a while since we last spoke with each other, after all."

"Yes… it's been a while indeed." Wu Tianyi nodded with a mysterious feeling behind his words.

Sometime later, Wu Tianyi and Xiao Mei sat before a table in the cafeteria and began eating.

"Did you visit the orphanage during the summer vacation, Brother Tianyi?" Xiao Mei suddenly asked him.

"...No, I was on a mission throughout the summer vacation."

"No wonder why I didn't see you there when I visited…" Xiao Mei sighed.

"I will go there at another time," he said.

"You better! Sister Song was very worried that something might have happened to you when you never showed up!"

Wu Tianyi nodded.

"By the way, how's your family? It's been almost four years since they adopted you, right?"

"My parents are very caring for me, especially my mother! If not for them, my cultivation would not have advanced so quickly." Xiao Mei spoke with a bright expression.

"That's good to hear."

After they finished eating, Wu Tianyi suddenly said to her, "Give me your hands."

"Eh?"

Xiao Mei did not question him and extended her arms.

Wu Tianyi then retrieved a small pouch from his robes and dropped it onto her palms.

"What's this?" Xiao Mei could feel a bunch of clunky and hard objects inside, almost like rocks.

"Don't open it until you return to your room."

Xiao Mei showed him a gentle smile and said, "Although I don't know what is inside, thank you, Brother Tianyi."

A few minutes later, the two of them left the cafeteria.

However, after walking for a few minutes, they were stopped by a group of Junior Disciples.

"Wu Tianyi, what a coincidence! It feels like forever since I last saw you!" One of the figures said to him.

"Du Fuwei!" Xiao Mei frowned after seeing his face.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little devil, Xiao Mei. Why are you still hanging around someone as useless as him? I know that you both came from the same place, but it's time for you to abandon him and find more worthy friends."

"If you say one more word, I will go over there and beat you up!" Xiao Mei growled.

The few people behind Du Fuwei unconsciously took a few steps back.

"Oi, Brother Du, let's do this at another time — when that little devil is not with him. She's quite the troublemaker and is somewhat infamous among the Junior Disciples. They say that anyone that gets involved with her will encounter misfortune." One of them whispered in his ears.

"Hmph! Although that little devil may scare you, she's just a damn shorty in my eyes! If she dares to cause trouble for me, I will speak with my uncle, who is a Sect Elder for the Junior Disciples!" Du Fuwei said with a proud expression.