Chapter 58

  Songs of Prelude (I)

  "I lost again," Elder Qin sighed, his eyebrows pressed together in thought as to how he lost so quickly.

  I'll give you an answer--he sucks. Oh my God, he sucks so bad. He's worse than the kids I used to play with back in elementary school! I mean, fine, maybe the chess theory isn't as developed in this world as it was back on Earth (I do not question how we happen to have the same game; I feel it is better for my sanity), but geez-Louise, it has to be better than this!

  I refuse to believe that someone like Elder Qin would be considered an 'expert' at chess. No, I will never believe it.

  "I just got lucky," I said... again... believing it less and less each time.

  "You sound less enthused each new time you say it," Even he noticed it, and I could only sheepishly smile.

  "No, no, I truly did get... lucky... haaah..."

  "..." His eyebrows winced for a moment before settling back into place. This was the sixth day in a row that he'd swung by to 'play chess' and just so happen to also check upon Xi Zhao and offer some advice.

  I didn't really mind--Xi Zhao was still practicing the sect's method and arts, as I haven't yet made one for him, and between Elder Qin and me... yeah, it was obvious who was better equipped to teach the kid.

  As for why I haven't made anything for the kid yet? Cost. I could feasibly create a perfectly tailored attacking art, but I'm still waiting a bit to see if I get any other 'freebie' rewards. Cultivation method is likely out of the question for the time being, as he'll simply have to suffer with his current one for a while; restarting his entire cultivation by now is a bit too late, and I'll simply eventually use Creation Points to upgrade the sect's main cultivation method, saving everyone from a whole lot of headaches.

  So, Elder Qin swung by to 'play chess,' though he spent most of the time here advising the kid, and I got to just do nothing.

  "I've heard that Elder Zhang came to seek a bit of trouble," he suddenly brought it up. I did consider complaining to him about the whole ordeal, but if I did, it would get in the way of Long Tao robbing the living hell out of him.

  "Just a small scuffle." I said.

  "I was surprised."

  "Hm?"

  "That you didn't come crying for justice."

  "..." It was time for my eyebrows to wince. Just? Maybe. Benevolent? Sure. But this guy was as petty and as grudge-bearing as they come, I tell you. "When have I ever?"

  "Will you be alright?" he asked, seemingly out of genuine concern. It felt... strange. After all, though Elder Qin had never been outwardly hostile toward Lu Qi, unlike most others, he was extremely indifferent. The relatively sudden change was a bit... unsettling.

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  "Just keep an eye out in case he decides to torch my mountain," I shrugged.

  "Why would he torch it?"

  "Maybe he'll be really cold."

  "..."

  "There's an old saying," I said. "The child not embraced by its village will burn it down to feel its warmth."

  "Hm, fascinating," Elder Qin. "Except Elder Zhang isn't a child, this isn't a village, and cultivators don't feel seasonal cold."

  "... I heard Xi Zhao has a few questions to ask you. Why don't you go and do something you actually can?"

  "Being a gleeful winner is unbecoming, Elder Lu," he said, standing up.

  "Then let me be unbecoming."

  I followed him out as I actually liked listening in to the lesson, and Elder Qin didn't seem to mind. I--well, Lu Qi, really--don't have any meaningful understanding of the sect's cultivation method or its arts. Lu Qi learned the bare minimum and forgot even that; after all, most of the time he cultivated, it was actually Spirit Sage directly guiding the Qi the way it's supposed to go.

  The level of care he showed to Lu Qi when the latter was young was quite... touching, honestly, which made it that much more baffling that he hadn't come here in over fifteen years.

  "So, if I move it like this...?"

  "Yes. And then you can spin counterclockwise to gather momentum."

  "Ah! It will also make it easier to dissipate the excess Qi through my soles!"

  "Exactly! Ho ho, I must say, you are quite clever; I almost want to thieve you away."

  "A-ah. Uh, forgive me, Elder Qin, but I cannot abandon my Master!"

  "... didn't you already do it once?"

  "That was that; this is this! Elder Lu is the greatest man in the world, and I will never abandon him!" Hey.

  Hey, hey, hey.

  Look at that old geezer giving me a stink eye, wondering just how I managed to manipulate the kid. Except, I really didn't! How the hell was I supposed to know that my offhand advice, done in pure desperation for Creation Points, would somehow inspire the kid to undergo Enlightenment, grasp Sword Qi, and basically become one of the most talented kids in the entire sect overnight?!

  If I had that kind of clairvoyance as my talent, you think I'd be so cautiously nervous about everything I do?!

  Thankfully, Xi Zhao was remaining silent about the whole ordeal. I told him to not disclose my 'fixed' version of the art, and, true to his promise, he didn't.

  I don't think the sect would really do anything to me if they found out, but once it was out... I could no longer be low-key. Even now I wasn't, what with my disciples deciding to put on the showtime show in front of everyone, but at least most of the attention is bound to them, and everyone just legitimately assumes I lucked out.

  If they learned that I managed to fix one of the sect's arts?

  Yikes.

  I'd never live a day of peace ever again!

  "Master," Long Tao, like a ghost, appeared beside me. Sadly, I'm used to it by now; he would appear and disappear quite often these past few days, probably practicing. He'd mastered it just this morning--or, at least, gained initial mastery of it. How do I know? Because the system informed me and gave me 100 Creation Points as a reward.

  "You've gained mastery in it?"

  "Indeed. It took longer than I thought it would."

  "Did you say something?"

  "I said--no, I didn't say anything," There was the unspoken 'hear no evil, see no evil' paradigm between us. He didn't say outrageous stuff like, 'I managed to gain initial mastery in this art that no other human within ten thousand miles could, and it took 12 days instead of 3', and I didn't question just how it was that his father seemed to know and have everything. "I'll leave tonight."

  "When will you be back?" I asked. Right now, it wouldn't be impossible to 'hide' that he was gone for a few days; Elder Qin would probably let it slide on principle, but if somebody came swinging by and demanding a duel...

  Well, we have Xi Zhao to buy us time.

  I've instituted a simple rule: if you want to challenge Long Tao or Dai Xiu, defeat Xi Zhao first. You can imagine how the first few challenges went.

  "I'm not sure. Fifteen days, at most. Southwest of here are the so-called Desolate Cliffs. My father mentioned something about them."

  "... stay safe." I said.

  "You too," he replied with a faint grin, disappearing yet again.

  Haah. Is this how it felt for my mom and dad to send me off to college?

  ... yeah, probably not. I'm not anxious that something will happen to him--I'm anxious that he will happen to the world.