Meeting with Senior Lijie

Hyunhei arrived at his destination after 6 hours of walking nonstop. The manor is a well-hidden place within a bamboo forest. It is located behind Mt. Tianluo. He must stay there until he masters the Art of Light. A pond in front of the entrance gate has lotuses and koi fish in it. Hyunhei could only believe that a manor this large could be found that quickly if someone had a map for searching this kind of place. He entered the main house and tried to find anyone inside.

"Hello? Anyone home?" There were no other noises besides birds and the bamboo leaves rustling with the wind. Hyunhei assumed that no one was home yet, so he left the house and searched the other parts of the manor. He found another pond behind the main house, three times as large as the other one. There was a porch above the pond with a bridge leading to it. The pond was also filled with white lotus flowers and pods. He continued to call for the lord of the manor until someone pointed a sword at his throat.

"Speak your intentions, or your head will fall off." A young man quite taller than him stood in front, glaring at him fiercely. Hyunhei could not think of what to say to this handsome yet fearsome man. His pastel-mint hair was flowing with the wind. His sparkling blue eyes with long eyelashes glared at him like he would be eaten alive. Chen Lijie wore a delicate white Hanfu that matched his white sword and was about to take his life.

"S-Senior Lijie, I'm a junior disciple. My uncle, Sect Leader Huo, permitted me to join the Light Elemental Class." With that, Chen Lijie withdrew his sword and went to the main house without saying a word. Hyunhei followed his senior and found himself at the front of the bedroom. It was spacious and had two separate beds, one on each end.

"This manor has only one bedroom, so you'll sleep here with me. Avoid too much noise in this place if you don't want to spend the rest of your days in the woods. We will divide the house chores so you won't be idling around here."

"Senior, I'm bad at cooking." Hyunhei blunted out.

"Not a problem. You'll be the one gathering the ingredients for the food. This manor needs cleaning maintenance, and you're the one in charge. In short, you need to do all the chores except cooking. But make sure you'll have enough time for your cultivation training."

Hyunhei is good with chores and time management. He can finish the chores early in the morning and train until sunset. He glanced at Lijie, who was preparing the tea, and noticed he looked too young.

"How old are you, Senior Lijie?" Hyunhei asked without hesitation.

"What did I tell you?" Lijie continued to swirl the tea to help it release its aroma when poured into the cup. Hyunhei bit his lips and looked down. After some time, he organized his belongings and began cleaning the house. Lijie provided him with a list of ingredients for dinner. It's not much, but it may be difficult to find in such an isolated area. After cleaning the floor and furniture, Hyunhei organized the books in the manor's study and ground the ink for later use. He ensured to fill up the water containers from the spring behind the manor. He folded the laundry and neatly placed it in the wardrobe.

Lijie was just watching his junior student diligently do the chores he gave him while he was reading a pile of medical books. He wanted to test the young man's capabilities, so he handed him a list of herbs that needed to be found. A short time later, Hyunhei departed from the manor to search for those ingredients. He carefully examined the manor. Everything was organized and clean, and no dust was found. Even the torn robe he wanted to throw out was clean and mended, ready to be used again. He was impressed and bothered at the same time. The fact that a young master from a wealthy family can do all the things a servant usually does ticks him off. He's also annoyed that Hyunhei is the nephew of his cherished Master Huo and why they look almost the same.

The sunset has already tinted the sky with red and orange hues, but Hyunhei still needs to return from picking the ingredients. Lijie became anxious and began pacing back and forth in the lobby. This was the first time he felt that way, and he could not explain why he felt those emotions. Sitting nervously on the porch behind the main house, he sipped some tea to calm his nerves. At first glance, Hyunhei looks stupidly gentle and soft, but he feels enormous spiritual power from that lad. With this, he confidently ordered him to find the herbs, which are problematic because they are in dangerous places around the forest. He's still determining if his student can defend himself well when encountering dangerous flora and monsters, let alone survive the steep terrain.

Lijie finally decided to check on Hyunhei, but when he was about to leave the manor, he noticed a sluggish man walking in his direction. His clothes were torn and covered in dirt and plant stains. He approached the man and was shocked to see that it was Hyunhei, full of bruises and wounds. His lips were pale, and his face was burning red.

"S-Senior, I got all of the stuff y-you asked for." He was about to collapse when Lijie suddenly rushed in and caught him. Hyunhei's temperature is so high, and his wounded body shivers from feeling cold. Judging from the color of his fresh wounds, he was poisoned by the monstrous wild flora he probably encountered along the way. Lijie brought him to the bedroom and stripped him off to clean his wounds. After dressing Hyunhei's wounds, he changed his clothes and ran towards the kitchen to concoct a medicine to counter the poison. Lijie was grinding the herbs when he heard his cry.

"Ugh… My head… It hurts a lot. Arghh…" Hyunhei was crying in pain. Tears continue to flow from his eyes. Lijie rushed into the room and saw the pitiful situation of his student. He felt so bad seeing the result of the "test" he gave him.

"I'm so sorry. It was all my fault. Please, stop crying," Lijie begged as he tried to hold the hands of his injured student.

"S-Senior, I-I did very well, r-right?" Hyunhei tried to speak as clearly as possible despite the pain and nauseous feeling he was having. Hearing his words, tears began to fall from Lijie's eyes. He pressed Hyunhei's hand while begging his pardon repeatedly. Lijie recalled something painful from seeing Hyunhei's state. His seven-year-old little brother died after sending him off to gather the herbs Lijie needed for his training. He regretted it all his life and saw the same thing in Hyunhei, which made his heart ache.

After a couple of minutes, Lijie helped Hyunhei drink the medicine and continued to look after him until he fell asleep. Seeing his student getting a little better while fast asleep, he changed the wet cloth from his forehead and was about to discard the water when Hyunhei tightly held his hands.

"R-Rushi, don't leave me behind, p-please?"