A mountain peak lies still and grand amongst its peers. It radiates a soothing glow as a waft of air brings down a scent unbeknownst to those whom approach. Pine and cedar would fill the nostrils and an overwhelming feeling of wilderness stimulated their sinuses. From the source of the smell, where the root lies and the source produces, a robed decent-looking man with a sturdy jaw and a toned body sweeps laboriously at the hardwood floor. It had only been a month since he was invited to Xiang Manor, a place secluded far from society. What the man whose complexion seemed worrisome and tired didn’t know, was he would be doing only chores.

“Wu Feng,” A sweet voice came from around the corner and a cute-faced girl peered out from the screen walls.

“How come you’re so slow… you should know how to sweep the floor in the time it takes to drink a tea cup!” She pouted, and the man named Wu Feng shrugged his shoulders and glanced at the incense burner beside him. The incense burner was ornate and seemingly made of gold, but its most distinguishing quality was the patterns on its exterior. It gave off a mysterious and unknown aura to those who attempted to pry into its secrets. Atop it, a smoking incense stick barely burned, but a haughtily-colored smoke visible to the human eye wafted out at a great pace.

“Again with that Mysterious Burner. You haven’t rid of it yet?” The girl waves around her face as the smoke flows into her face. 

“What’s it to you, Xiang Yao, when you haven’t yet reached the 5th level of the Foundation Tempering Stage.” His shoulders drooped down and with a look of longing on his face, Wu Feng replied. Wu Feng reminisced his past with the girl. It had only been a half-year since then, and all the while, she continues to pester him such as a little sister. It only occurred to him when he came to the manor that she was half a year older than him. Xiang Yao makes a funny face and mocks him, obviously because she wasn’t in a good mood.

“En. I’m just about done now. Shall we get going?” Wu Feng let out a chuckle. He put his broom down beside the screen door where Xiang Yao waited and went back to snuff out the stick of incense.

“Wait– don’t extinguish it yet, it has quite a pleasant smell.” Wu Feng sighed, and walked out of the room with Xiang Yao in the lead. As he went, passerbys that were nobly dressed made faces of disgust and visible scorn, some even spitting his way. As they did this, Xiang Yiao glared at them as though she would eat them alive. Soon after this threat, they stopped, and Wu Feng made a face as if he deeply regretted his position. None of the manor’s maids or residents liked him. This was obvious because he had barely gotten to the 3rd level of Harnessing Body Stage, a whole great realm and a minor realm below Xiang Yiao’s cultivation, yet he had received the manor master’s favor. As for the Manor Master, Xiang Yang, he was a kind and mild-tempered man, so as such, none feared him and even dared to complain about his choices. However, a certain amount of respect was demanded as he was the highest in cultivation in the manor and was the head of the Xiang family, whose presence encompassed the whole manor. 

A knock and a door creaked ajar. Xiang Yao held out her hand to halt Wu Feng who obediently stopped and began discussing something with a guard standing at the door. Shortly after, the door opened and soon a room filled with patterns of dragons, pheonixs, and other fey atop banners that surrounded the room met Wu Feng’s gaze. However, Wu Feng wasn’t surprised in the least and was even a bit stone-faced as he passed the shining illustrations. In front of him was something that moved his expression, being a jade pedestal separating two cushions of which there was two men.

One which Wu Feng recognized was a modestly-dressed middle-aged man with a stubble that never seemed to change, but behind his normal appearance lied a power that made Wu Feng shiver. This was the Xiang patriarch Xiang Yang. However, this aura paled in comparison to the man in the other cushion. His gruffy and messy hair along with his torn clothes made him seem like a beggar but from his complexion he was no older than Xiang Yang perhaps even younger. He had a bit of a conniving look to him, but Wu Feng believed it to be a trick of his eyes. Xiang Yao and Wu Feng bowed as Xiang Yao greeted the patriarch.

“Greetings, Father, I have brought Junior Brother Wu as requested.” The beggar-like man sneaked a glance at Xiang Yao and found himself drool a bit but quickly composed himself as he wiped the saliva off of his mouth. He didn’t even spare Wu Feng a glance. Xiang Yao noticed this and her expression dimmed as she attempted to perceive the beggar-like man’s intentions. She didn’t have time to do this, however, since Xiang Yang had spoken up.

“Good, my daughter, you may go now.” He nodded to the beggar-like man but he didn’t respond. Xiang Yao had visibly frowned as she hesitated but showed herself out nonetheless. Wu Feng raised an eyebrow but found his expression stiff up as two powerful gazes look at him. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.

“This Wu Feng is thankful for being brought here, Patriarch, but… must I ask why you have brought me here today?”, He quickly let out as he almost collapsed from the pressure. Xiang Yang whispered a few words to the man with a grim expression before straightening up once more. The beggar-like man had laughed loudly in response to this and shortly after, the pressure Wu Feng felt had been withdrawn and Wu Feng felt at ease without the pressure being put upon him.

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“Hmph, that girl was not bad, however, after being subjected to Mysterious Burner alongside the Thousand Wilderness Stick, this young man doesn’t seem to have developed as much.”

 Wu Feng found himself with an excited expression. He had suspected it to be the Thousand Wilderness Stick in the month’s of time he spent studying various manuals at the library diligently. Apparently, the Thousand Wilderness Stick was supposed to give one the feeling of being in the wild and allow one to develop their senses after inhaling it. This allowed for an easier time gaining enlightenment, however, it had the effect of subjecting one’s condition to constant exhaustion, akin to having explored the wilderness for a thousand years. Much to Wu Feng’s dismay, while he had experienced the side-effect many times over more than a cultivator of the same level due to being exposed for so long, this so-called enlightenment effect didn’t appear once nor did Wu Feng’s cultivation raise because of it. Even though he didn’t have much talent, enlightenment should theoretically help him achieve the next step. This was uncalled for because Wu Feng spent years of hard-boiled effort simply to achieve his goals. Since he was a small child at four years old, to his now fifteen year old self. Eleven years, but he only managed to enter the cultivation world and slightly consolidate himself in it.

“What was it like being under the effects of the Thousand Wilderness Stick?” Wu Feng snapped out of his thoughts and recalled how difficult it was for him to move and that by the end of the day, he couldn’t even think. The beggar-like man leaned forward and raised an eyebrow.

“How come? The Thousand Wilderness Stick doesn’t have such a severe effect…” The beggar-like man drowned himself in thought for a moment before recalling.

“En, it must be the Mysterious Burner that made it so.” Xiang Yang shook his head, and then stared at the beggar-like man.

“No, Junior Brother Wang, even with the Mysterious Burner, my family members never suffered such a severe effect. Although Wu Feng was acquainted with my daughter, Xiang Yao, only when he had sniffed this Thousand Wilderness Stick that this Yang decided to take him in. If not for his relation with Xiang Yao, I may not have found him or even considered him to be out of the ordinary.” The one with the surname Wang looked back before he had a realization.

“So you brought me here today, Senior Brother Xiang, to inspect him to confirm whether he’s truly out of the ordinary.” 

“En.” Xiang Yang nodded. Wang had a sullen look before opening his mouth again to speak.

“But you’re aware of my status in the Sect, right? That despite my talent, I had been expelled. Even if I might be knowledgeable about such matters, my being here may hurt your reputation.” Suddenly, Xiang Yang’s faced became serious.

“En, Wang Xiao, I brought you here even when considering this, because I believe you are innocent and didn’t have such intentions when those Sect Brothers and Sisters had accidentally perished.” Wu Feng glanced up at this, seemingly at the right time, as a sneer showed yet disappeared just as quickly on Wang Xiao’s face. Even the blink of an eye would miss this moment.

“Good. By the way he described how he felt, I don’t have an exact reason but have a lingering feeling as to why.” Suddenly, Xiang Yang’s face lit up, as if he was eyeing a Heavenly Treasure.

“However, I need to take a closer inspection in order to confirm it.” Xiang Yang quickly nodded before staring at Wu Feng to sit down. Wu Feng complied and let Wang Xiao to walk towards his back and assuming a similar position behind him. Wu Feng noticed out of the corner of his eye how the beggar-like man walked before, silently noticing that he seemed to be moving a meter without stepping twice. When he blinked, he was already gone from his vision. Wu Feng didn’t believe his eyes and simply sat in silence as Wang Xiao placed their hands on his back.

A tingling sensation ran through his back then it seemed to have converged back into the palms on Wu Feng’s back. He thought this was simply what happens when a stranger’s hands laid on him but he didn’t realize until later that it may have been something else. Much to Wu Feng’s dismay, he was quickly sent out without a word after Wang Xiao inspected him and Wu Feng now stood there like an old pumpkin before Xiang Yao, who seemed elated to see that he was fine, had approached him.

“How was it, Junior Brother Wu? Did that beggar hurt you?” Wu Feng, struck out of his daze, gazed at Xiang Yao longingly and a tear rolled down his eyes. Noticing this, Xiang Yao hurriedly comforted him by bringing a handkerchief to wipe away the tear. She looked at him with concern and before she could say words of comfort, he interjected.

“It’s nothing, Senior Sister Xiang… just that seeing you having waited for my return and comforting me like this makes me feel as though I was truly liked by a beauty and had something to recall for it.” Xiang Yao held her mouth agape as Wu Feng confessed, before taking a step back and throwing the handkerchief at his face then turning around with a red blush on her ears.

“Shameless! How come you can say such honeyed words– of course you’re fine, and for this, I’m damning you to cleaning my room for the next few weeks!” She quickly hurried off, before muttering out a sentence.

“I hope he’s fine… I know who that beggar is, and his identity isn’t exactly pure…” Wu Feng, not hearing this, stood there with an awestruck expression before frowning.

Xiang Yao’s room was the messiest, if not the most uncleanliest room. Somehow, it earned a reputation as a one of the three Hell’s in the manor. The first was the dungeon under the manor, the second one was a dilapidated old shed that laid in a trashed and desolate part of the manor of which unruly disciples were assigned to and the third was Xiang Yao’s room. Although Wu Feng was a bit curious and visited the dungeon and even stayed in that shed for a day, both weren’t as bad as Xiang Yao’s room.

Wu Feng soon made his way to his room as the sun began to set and sat on his bed reflecting upon this experience. Only gloom and misery permeated that room that day and it was even said that an evil spirit had passed by that day and occupied that room. Wu Feng had many who disliked him, but that day, some of them even began to sympathize with him. However, he was unaware of this, and more shockingly, he heard a knock on his door. He predicted that it must’ve been Xiang Yao who came to inform him of his duties and almost forgot to open the door before he remembered another time when he had neglected her. Swiftly, he rose to open the door to greet the guest that happened in front of his door that evening.