Chapter 10: Side Hustle.
It was surprising how the old man always had everything and everyone under surveillance. He didn't need the disciples to report directly to him,he always had his mysterious ways of getting hands on information.
"Replying to Shifu,I met Miss Liu during the Mid-Autumn festival and found out how talented she was ,so Ming'er wanted to be friends with her,"he said in a low voice.
"I didn't train you for all these years just for you to lose yourself in a stupid emotion. Beautiful girls will always be there and they are a distraction don't let them ruin your ambition. You're the hope of this sect so get yourself together,"Linghun Yun said with solemnity sounding more like a warning
"Ming'er understands,"Baili Ming bowed apologetically.
He knew his master's attitude towards love and everything revolving around it. To him ,love was a fleeting emotion yet capable of destroying even the strongest men , making them lose their ambition and surrender to it. Linghun Yun was currently in the first place of the top ten martial artists in the Martial arts world. He wanted Baili Ming to inherit his position in both the sect and martial artists' rankings. Mistakes and distractions wouldn't be tolerated. Love was an inner demon that could hinder one from achieving a breakthrough. Linghun Yun was expecting him to continue the sect's legacy and not let down the founders. When he would reach the top of the world,he would pick any lady and marry her. Linghun Yun made sure to imprint this mindset on his favourite disciple. He couldn't lose him to a woman or because of a woman.
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Changsun Yue's fear of flowers came as a result of a childhood traumatic experience where his clasmen were massacred and each had a different flower lying on their lifeless body. So whenever he came across them,he would reminded of that massacre and it would make him hallucinate and get drawn back to that scene from years ago giving him panic attacks.
But three years ago , while he had gone out of the sect he was attacked by bandits, beaten up till he lost his conscious and fell into a one month coma and when he finally regained consciousness,he had lost most of his memories especially his childhood memories. He could no longer associate flowers with that traumatic occurrence from years ago. He had heard it from his master that he used to fear flowers but now he had gotten over it.
Changsun Yue had heightened sense of smell,he was able to distinguish even the most hideous scents. He was obsessed with fragrances and he happened to discover his hidden talent of making them. During daytime while he and other disciples went for patrols outside,he would secretly collect ingredients,refine fragrances,pack them in sachets and sneak out at night to deliver them to the vendors.
It was a good side hustle and he used to earn a lot of money since according to vendors,his perfumes had unique, charming and alluring scents. It was also why he could afford to buy those magnificent opulent robes from expensive silk shops. The disciples were many,the master was stingy hence the allowance they were given was barely enough to cater for their extra needs.
Those from wealthy backgrounds like Baili Ming didn't struggle much,the inheritance from his deceased parents was more than enough. Once in a while he would spoil his sect brothers whenever they went out , that's why even his junior brothers loved him much. Baili Ming was caring and considerate while Changsun Yue was the total opposite. His hard earned money was for his needs only.
In the vast and desolate disciplinary hall,a candle flickered dimly barely enough to illuminate the place. There on the floor was a thin mattress placed centrally,a thin quilt tucked in neatly under the mattress and a not so fluffy pillow. The room and everything around looked neat,a number of robes were hanged on one of the walls. Changsun Yue was supposed to look miserable locked up in the place for a week and a half now but he didn't let the surrounding affect his life. He was calm and composed. He sat near the slightly open window packing perfume vials and sachets into a bag with his sword by his side.
When doing deliveries, Changsun Yue had to disguise himself. He wore a mask made of skin to change his face,he wore a sedan hat to obscure the disguised face and rugged clothes. Every night he wore a different skin mask to confuse anyone who might have spotted him before. Packing everything he needed,he jumped out of the window carrying the stuffed bag and his sword, blending into the darkness and disappeared without a trace. Nothing could stop him,not even the tough mechanisms safeguarding the sect's territory.