Chapter 135: Promising Youth (Patreon)

“This is our destination, the town of Joywater, Young Master.”

Ye Wudi rubbed his eyes and stretched before turning his head to look at his elderly servant. He’d taken a nap after the long carriage ride had begun to bore him, though judging from the way his neck hurt, he’d probably have done better to endure the boredom like he had the previous days.

“What’s supposed to be so joyous about water?”

“Well…”, the old man – their household’s head servant – chuckled. “…I believe the town is primarily known for its many fine distilleries. I hear they even deliver their produce to the Lunar Peaks Sect.”

“Hmm… They’d be dumb not to, considering the proximity.”

Ye closed his eyes again.

“If only it were that simple, young master… Regardless, this is the location we are supposed to drop you off at, so you should get ready.”

“Alright, alright, just five more minutes.”

He yawned and stretched his arms.

“We will be in town in five minutes, Young Master. We may become the center of a commotion once they realize what a prestigious family you are from, you need represent the Wudi name well if that happens.”

“Alright, fine.”

What a damn hassle this was… well, he supposed these were the challenges he had to endure in return for his background and his talent. He sat up.

“Please let me help adjust your robes, young master.”

Ye let the old man fiddle with his robes while he tried his best to blink away the sleepiness.

Their arrival in the town did, as it turned out, not cause the predicted commotion. In fact, nobody seemed to pay their carriage much attention at all. Well, Ye supposed most of those bumpkins wouldn’t have the knowledge to recognize one of the grand cultivator clans of the realm. Or maybe they’d only heard of the precarious state the Wudi family was in after the disappearance of his father and not of the fact that it had been blessed with the birth of a once-in-a-generation genius – him – that would restore the family to its former glory.

“Well, their problem. Once I become a revered cultivator of the Lunar Peaks Sect, these folk will be paying for a chance to be grazed with my presence.”, Ye explained to the old man.

“Graced, Young Master.”

“Pfft, as if I care.”

“Young Master, you need to work on refining your etiquette. Once you are within the Lunar Peaks Sect, you cannot afford such bad manners, even with all your talent.”

Ye groaned. What a hassle…

The carriage stopped and the head of the four guards that were escorting them rode up to the window.

“Young Master Wudi, we have arrived at the inn.”

Ye didn’t waste any time jumping out of the carriage and the old man followed him, carrying with him a thick bundle of supplies. The two of them entered the inn, which seemed average if fairly large to Ye’s eyes. Inside, the old man took the lead, walking up to the counter, behind which a sturdy woman with a face marked with laugh-lines was busying herself sorting through mugs.

“Welcome, welcome, what can I do for the two of you?”, she greeted them, a wide smile on her face. “I’m warning you now, I don’t sell alcohol to children.”

She winked at Ye. He pouted in response. It wasn’t like he was keen on drinking something alcoholic, he’d hated it the last time someone had let him try it, but he didn’t like being called a child. He was already twelve years old, and plenty grown up to decide what he wanted on his own.

“Thank you for your hospitality, my lady. This is Ye Wudi, the young master of the Wudi Family from the town of Ashwood and I am his humble servant. He has traveled here to take the admittance exam of the Lunar Peaks Sect.”

“Already figured that’s what you were here for. Well, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve already received two other children with the same goal and the delegation from the Lunar Peaks Sect will arrive in three days from now to pick them up. Your young master can stay here and wait for them, maybe get to know the others in the meantime.”

“Excellent. What do I owe you for the room and accompanying meals?”

“Well, this is a new thing this year, but we’re actually being paid by the sect for taking care of their disciples. They’ve rented out the whole inn for the purpose, so you don’t owe me anything.”

“Ah, it seems the Lunar Peaks Sect is even more generous than the rumors would suggest. Very well then.”

He turned around and held out the bundle he was carrying.

“I still have some business in the town that the clan elders have tasked me with, and after that we will be making our way back to Ashwood. The family is counting on you to represent us well, young master.”

Ye grinned.

“No need to worry about that!”

“Come, let me show you your room.”, the innkeeper offered.

As they headed up a stairway, she continued to talk, though Ye only listened with one ear.

“…You can take your time to recover from the journey; it must’ve taken a long time to get here all the way from Ashwood. If you need anything, feel free to ask. Dinner will be served at sunset; you’ll hear me ring a bell when it’s ready.”

They stopped in front of a large wooden door.

“Here we are. Make yourself at home. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

With that, she left him to his own devices and Ye entered the room. Not too bad. The room was spacious, everything seemed decently clean and the furnishing was acceptable. It wasn’t like what he was used to at their family estate, but he’d seen worse on the way here.

As a first order of business, he got to unpacking the bundle the old man had handed him. Two sets of spare clothing, some rations of food, his notebook, a good chunk of money and, most importantly, his sword and a manuscript of their family’s martial techniques.

He took some time stowing everything away, then he decided that now was the perfect time to finish his nap. It was only noon, so he had a lot of time to kill before dinner. He hopped onto the bed made himself comfortable.

…

When Ye woke up, the sun indicated that it was already late into the afternoon. Not a bad thing too, since he was already feeling a small tinge of hunger in his stomach. Since there wasn’t much of anything to do up here, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to head downstairs already.

When he got there, the innkeeper was nowhere to be seen, but a boy somewhere around his age was seated at one of the tables. From what Ye could see, he was quite a bit shorter than him and had a slim build, his tussled brown hair not helping to make him seem anything less like a wimp. He was also entirely absorbed in observing what looked to Ye like a bunch of random rocks he had laid out across the table.

Ye decided to ignore him for the time being. Instead, he walked up to the counter, reached up – he was quite tall for his age, so he almost didn’t have to get on his toes for this – and used the ring on his finger to decidedly knock.

That stupid old ring had been the only thing his father had left him with four years ago before making his way towards the former Roaring Thunder Sect’s territory on the invitation of some acquaintance to ‘grasp a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ – only to never be heard of again. It wasn’t worth anything much, but he still wore it as a signifier of his lineage.

The loud knocking startled the rock boy, who only now seemed to realize that he wasn’t alone anymore.

“O-oh, h-hi!”

Ye rolled his eyes and kept looking behind the counter. He had no interest in talking to the boy right now.

“Sorry, I didn’t notice you. I’m Meilin. Meilin Loh.”

Ye knocked on the counter again.

“Umm… are you here for the admittance exam as well?”

Wait, this guy was here for the admittance exam? He turned around to face the boy, who greeted him with an awkward smile.

“I’m Ye Wudi, heir to the prestigious Wudi Family of Ashwood. And yes, I’m here for the exam.”

The boys face turned contemplative.

“Ashwood? I think I know that name. It’s that one backwater town west of Moonlake city, isn’t it?”

Backwater? Backwater?!? Did this guy want to pick a fight? Looking at his face, it didn’t really seem like it. Instead, the boy seemed entirely oblivious to the insult he had just spoken.

Maybe he’s just dumb?

Ye decided to see past the remark for the time being.

“Do you happen to know where the innkeeper is?”

“Oh, I think she went out to buy some ingredients for dinner.”

“I see…”

“You can sit here if you want to wait for her.”

The boy pointed to a chair at his table. Ye took a deep breath and sighed. Well, he had nothing better to do anyways.

As he took a seat, the boy quickly cleared his most of the table from the things he had been starring at before. They were indeed rocks. Some of them were oddly shaped or colored, but they were still undeniably just rocks. Ye shook his head.

“So… Meilin, yes? What’s your preferred weapon, Meilin?”

He took a closer look at the boy. As he’d noted from the start, he was thin, very thin in fact. There was no way he had any strength in that wimpy frame of his, nor did his intellect seem very high.

“What? I… I don’t really…”

He seemed unusually startled by the question. Maybe a twenty-five.

“I don’t have a preferred weapon. I don’t really have any experience fighting.”

This guy wanted to become a disciple at the Lunar Peaks Sect, yet he didn’t even know how to fight? Not suited to be a cultivator. Twenty. At most twenty.

Ye kept a notebook where he ranked all notable peers he met by their potential, using a scale from zero to one hundred. His twin brother, who had no talent cultivating at all was his benchmark for a zero, while he himself – a generational genius – was a 100. So far, he hadn’t met anyone he couldn’t fit somewhere in between.

“I see. Well, I prefer the weapon of brave warriors and immortal heroes, the sword. Its blade mirrors the noble essence of my soul.”

Meilin scratched his head.

“I don’t really understand much about weapons, but… aren’t swords kind of impractical?”

Before Ye had the time to process the boy’s utterly clueless remark, the sound of footsteps on the stairway interrupted the two. A moment later, another boy their age entered the room. His robes were simple and well-worn, but Ye could make out broad shoulders and a robust body underneath.

“Hey, I’m Nuo Taolong. Nice to meet you! I take it you’re also disciple candidates?”

This guy seemed a lot easier to talk to. And, judging from his physique, he was also a lot better suited as a disciple candidate. Hmm… I’d say he’s a fifty at least.

“Yes, we are. My name is Ye Wudi. I hail from the Wudi Family of the town of Ashwood. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“I’m Meilin. I’m from Brittlestone.”

“Great.”

Nuo took a chair and joined them at the table.

“I’m from Redwell village by the way. My family owns a large farm in the region.”

A country bumpkin…

While Ye considered whether it was worth hiding his contempt for the newcomer’s background, Meilin’s face immediately lit up at the mention of the village’s name.

“I’ve heard about Redwell! Say, do you really have red water coming out of a spring?”

“Well, it’s not really all that red, just a little rose tinted. I know there’s rumors that it has healing properties or some such, but that’s all bullshit. It’s not even nice to drink, tastes awfully. We use it to water our fields though; the plants don’t care.”

Meilin’s enthusiasm didn’t seem blunted by the negative assessment.

“Rose tinted, you say? Can you tell me more about the ground the spring comes from? You know, the color, composition and such. Is it soil? Porous rock?”

Ye exchanged a confused look with Nuo.

“I don’t really know, sorry. It’s not fertile soil, that’s all I care about.”

“Hmm, shame. I’ll have to travel there and take a look myself sometime then.”

Ye looked at Meilin, raising one eyebrow.

“Say, you really care about rocks, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do! I mean, is there anything more interesting?”, the strange boy answered, beaming with a smile.

Yes. A lot of things in fact. Most things, even.

“Why do you even want to become a cultivator then?”

“Well, I want to reach the Dao Attunement and attune to the earth element of course. Pa told me there’s no better way to learn about rocks than that!”

That made… an uncomfortable amount of sense for such an utterly senseless statement.

“Wait, what’s Dao Attunement?”

Ye raised an eyebrow. Ignorant country bumpkin. Meilin answered in his stead.

“It’s the fifth realm of soul cultivation.”

“Alright, cool and… what’s a realm?”

Forty points.

He listened in disbelief as Meilin patiently explained the answer. Rock boy didn’t seem the least bit bothered by this remarkable display of ignorance. When he was finished with his explanation, Ye interjected.

“You know, Nuo, should really know this information if you want to become a cultivator.”

“I mean, it’s really my family that wants me to. Honestly, kinda seems like a hustle to me. I was quite content at the farm, and I really don’t want to fight anyone.”

Ye forgot to blink as he starred at the boy. Thirty points. And that’s just because you can’t be on the same level as rock boy.

“Yeah, I understand that. I’d also rather avoid hurting anyone.”

Ye facepalmed. Why did he have to get mixed up with the oddball candidates? They’d never become disciples anyway. He couldn’t imagine that he’d meet another disciple candidate he’d deem less suitable than these two.

The door opened and the innkeeper entered, holding a basket with various vegetables and some meat inside it.

“Ah, I see the three of you have already gotten to know each other. I’ll start getting dinner ready now. In the meantime, I’ve brought you some more company!”

With those words, she passed by the counter and disappeared into what had to be the kitchen. The boys turned back to the door, where a girl had just entered the room. She looked a little younger than them, probably no older than ten, and she was walking with a long wooden staff. The most notable thing about her, however, was that her eyes were covered by a blindfold.