“Our strongest youth? Under twenty?” The bartender asked incredulously as he leaned over the counter to get a good look at Wu Shan. “Well, I’ll be, you must be one a’ them rogue cultivators, ain’t ya? Lookin’ for the match a’ the century, straight outtuva damn novel. Well, if ya lookin’ for the strongest youth, Zhang He is the direct disciple of Patriarch Blood Dragon, the Nascent Soul cultivator only a half step into Dao Seeking. Zhang He is in the first stage of Foundation Establishment last time I checked. Ain’t that right, Bo Lao?” He yelled at the waiter from across the room.

“You must be living under a rock, old man! Zhang He broke through to his second pillar years ago! He just developed his eighth Dao Pillar yesterday!”

“Ah… ‘s that so?” the old bartender laughed. “I must be gettin’ on in my years. A damn shame us mortal guppies won’t ever amount to nuthin’. So, kid. You sure you wanna challenge our Zhang He?”

Truth be told, Wu Shan could think of a dozen reasons why he shouldn’t fight Zhang He.

“Too weak.”

That was the primary reason.

The old bartender looked at him incredulously for a moment before roaring into a good-hearted laughter. “Ehahahahahahah! Eh, if he’s too weak, what does that make me? A tadpole?”

Wu Shan stopped himself just as he was about to reply ‘yes’. Instead, he chuckled along. While he also was an eighth pillar cultivator, he knew from Lao Chen that a Yin Yang cultivation base was the most primordial, and thus closest to the Dao, cultivation base that one could have. Anything else was degraded and further from the Dao. Besides, if this Zhang He developed their Eighth Dao Pillar just the day before, Wu Shan already had a head start on him.

“Hey, old man, suppose if I was to challenge this Zhang He, where would he be located usually?”

The old bartender laughed again. “In the Inner District, of course! At this time of day, he usually hangs around the Water Lily Pavilion, philanderin’ all the beautiful fairy-like ladies there. Can’t miss him. He’s a loudmouth, that boy.”

“Thank you for your information, old man.” Wu Shan did a half bow before producing a silver coin, handing it directly to the old man who looked at it incredulously.

Before he could call after him, Wu Shan was out of the building and headed towards the Inner District.

----------------------------------------

Lao Lin was a Nascent Soul. Despite that, she could be mistaken for a human if one looked past her strange eyes or otherworldly beauty.

This extended to her hobbies and likes. Father had told her that likes and hobbies makes a human. Thus, Lao Lin had vowed to find a hobby and a like.

The girls in her village loved to dress her up, so naturally, she gravitated towards fashion, and as such, she headed towards the most lauded fashion boutique in the city.

Coincidentally, her path led her to the Inner District, to the most beautiful clothing shop in the lands. Lucky for her, Gold Stone City was known for its beautiful clothing more than anything else, and because of her funds capable of kick-starting the economy of a township, she wasn’t at all mindful of her spending.

By the end of an hour, Lao Lin had found the most beautiful dress she could find, red and patterned with a majestic golden dragon. It also happened to be the most expensive piece of clothing made of pure Silver Dragon whiskers, with an affinity pointing towards fire, but it barely made a dent in her pocket money.

Because she promised not to fly in the city, Lao Lin set to walk around the Inner District, marvelling at the architecture. Her other ‘like’ was architecture. The Village had revamped their architecture to be the most beautiful it could be, striking a chord in Lao Lin’s soul. As such, she became a part of the building team that remodelled the entire Village. Her favourite kinds of buildings were pagoda and pavilions, so there was no shortage of them there.

A group of boys the age of Wu Shan shambled around the streets in a good-natured banter, some of them even having girlfriends with them. They wore red and black cultivator robes, but one in the middle stood out as he had a golden dragon crest across his chest.

Lao Lin almost didn’t notice, but now that she did, she couldn’t help but marvel at the fashion sense.

“Hey, Zhang! That fairy over there is throwing you eyes!” A friend of him cackled, causing him to turn around to look Lao Lin in her eyes.

“Greetings, my fair lady!” The boy bowed dramatically before approaching Lao Lin gingerly. She was about three-fourths his height, much to his adoration. “My name is Zhang He, dragon amongst men, phoenix amongst chickens, and the number one talent in the Hong province, perhaps even the Empire. Pleased to meet you.”

“My name is Lao Lin. I was simply appreciating the beauty of your clothing. It looks masterfully tailored.”

“Heheh, Lin-Lin,” Zhang He chuckled before going in to wrap his arm around her neck, much to her innocent surprise. “You don’t look half bad yourself. In fact, even without the dress, you’d look gorgeous. Then again, I’d love to make a comparison, if you catch my drift.”

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“Thank you, I suppose,” Lao Lin said.

“Lin-Lin, I’d like to make a proposal. We were just heading to the Water Lily Pavilion. Would you care to join me-“

“Yes,” Lao Lin replied swiftly. Zhang He’s smile turned wide as they made their way to the pavilion.

Once there, Zhang He’s friends dispersed around the pavilion to either find their own fairy or spend time with the ones they brought. Zhang He went to the private pavilion in the middle of the Lily Pond.

The sun was slightly above the horizon, inching downwards as Lin-Lin and Zhang He chatted. To Zhang He’s continued adoration and surprise, Lin-Lin talked most passionately about architecture and fashion, and when Zhang He started to recite the most beautiful poems he knew off from the top of his head, Lin-Lin would stare at him, transfixed by the beauty of the words.

To Zhang He, this date was quickly turning into something much more serious than his typical Saturday afternoon flings. Even after Lao Lin said that she only came to see the Pavilion, Zhang He was still obsessed with her. The girl with the strange eyes.

To Lao Lin, he was just amusing to listen to.

Zhang He continued to recite a poem when one of his friends arrived at the private Pavilion with a lazy smile on his face.

Zhang He stopped reciting and glared at his friend. “Why are you here, Deng?”

“You have a challenger, Zhang.”

“Tell them to wait. I’m on a date, after all,” he smiled warmly at Lao Lin who was scribbling a beautiful blueprint of a pagoda on a parchment that was provided.

“He happens to be quite impatient. He already defeated Yu in one exchange. Careful, Zhang,” Deng smiled devilishly.

“I could defeat Yu in half an exchange, that lazy oaf…” Zhang muttered.

Zhang sighed, pained by having to be separated from Lao Lin even for a second, stood up.

“I’m afraid I’ll be leaving you here for a minute. I’ve got to take out some trash.”

“That’s fine.”

Zhang He crossed the long bridge connecting the pavilions and arrived at the main one, where an unruly youth stood on top of the unconscious forms of about a dozen cultivators.

Zhang He was unimpressed.

“You were looking for me?” He asked.

“Prove me wrong, that you are not weak,” Wu Shan said.

“He’s an arrogant one, isn’t he? Alright, as the challenger, I should decide the combat parameters, but I will give you the honour. A fight to the death? First blood? How long you can last fighting me? You decide.”

“You’re the arrogant one,” Wu Shan frowned. “Battle to first blood. I don’t wish to kill you.”

“I’ll make it quick. I don’t want to keep Lin-Lin waiting.”

Wu Shan used the Yang Arms technique to create a spiked gauntlet. Using the Yang Fist technique to propel himself, he launched himself forward toward his opponent.

Zhang He’s expression turned serious in the blink of an eye and Wu Shan’s fist seemed to plough right through him, sticking out from his back. Wu Shan’s heart skipped a beat. Had he killed him?

Zhang He dispersed in a shower of droplets, sobering Wu Shan back into action, ducking beneath an oncoming spearhead that was millimetres away from striking him.

Zhang He jumped back and Wu Shan cursed himself.

“Afraid to kill, are we? Hmph. What a child,” Zhang He scoffed. Wu Shan began to wonder at the spear that Zhang He produced out of nowhere. Was it a Qi construct like the ones created from Yang Arms?

Wu Shan took a deep breath and calmed his mind. Using his gauntlets, he fell into the Yang forms that he had painstakingly practiced for ten years. Zhang he collided with Wu Shan in a spray of sparks. Although Zhang He had technique in spades, Wu Shan had pure strength to compensate, thus pushing the Gold Stone City talent behind by inches.

Wu Shan unleashed a spinning roundhouse kick which was parried by the butt of the spear, releasing a loud bang which rattled all the glassware in the pavilion. Wu Shan kicked off the spear and landed on a nearby table.

On Zhang He’s cheek manifested a hair-thin wound that dripped one drop of blood the size of a pinhead.

“I win,” Wu Shan smirked. Zhang He was also smiling. Suddenly, Wu Shan saw the gash on the back of his hand dripping blood on the table.

“Looks like we both win, doesn’t it?” Zhang He admitted. “May I ask of your name? You were quite the match for me.”

“My name is Wu Shan. It was a good match.”

“May I ask what sect you are a member of?”

Wu Shan thought about the question for a moment. The village sect had no name, but it was commonly known as the Yin-Yang sect after the cultivation manuals that were being practiced inside. Wu Shan shrugged internally. That was a good a name as any.

“The Yin-Yang Sect.”

“If you’ll excuse me, Wu Shan of the Yin-Yang Sect, I have a date to return to.” Zhang He half bowed. Wu Shan did the same, and they both parted their ways like that.

Zhang He kept smiling all the way to the private pavilion, marvelling at the fight he had just endured. Ah, was it not a long time ago since he was equally matched with someone of his age?

Once he returned to his beautiful date, he saw her blueprint of the pagoda, finished and even coloured. It was breath-taking.

Zhang He appeared behind her, wrapping his arms around her neck lovingly. “What beauty you have created.”

“I know,” Lao Lin muttered. “I’d like if this Pagoda was built over there,” Lao Lin pointed at an area next to Zhang He. “It would look beautiful, would it not?”

“Yes, yes it would.”

The sun was dipping beneath the horizon and soon, fireflies were abuzz, lighting the pond iridescently.

After almost hours of conversation, Lao Lin excused herself.

“I’m certain that father would like to know where I currently am. Have a good night, Zhang He,” Lao Lin turned around to leave.

Zhang He was overcome with so many emotions at the same time. His usual philandering personality would grab her and pin her to the table playfully and have his way with her, with her consent of course. He would hug her from behind and whisper sweet things in her ears to make her cheeks rosier than they usually were.

But… he was tongue-tied. Lao Lin was just someone he could not afford to scare away. She wasn’t like other girls, and that’s what made her even more endearing. What he wanted to hear from her the most, he couldn’t achieve that by regular means.

He needed to be told that she loves him.

Zhang He had a brilliant idea. Before she could get very far, he stood up. “Lin-Lin, let me escort you to your father! It is dark, and although you are in the Inner District, anything could happen to a wandering beauty like you!”

Lao Lin stopped to consider his words before shaking her head. “I could handle myself,” she informed matter-of-factly.

“I would still feel much better if I could accompany you. Lin-Lin. Please?”

Lao Lin thought about it for a moment before simply nodding. “I don’t see why you couldn’t.”

Zhang He thanked the gods and ran after her, following her around like a puppy.