While Yvette is being taught by her mother, inside a certain room, Daiyu and the old servant are silently looking at each other eye-to-eye while sitting with folded legs on the ground.
If a normal person is told to look at another person in the eye and handle minutes long of stifling silence, most of them might have lost control already. But this pair of servants has been quietly staring at each other for half an hour long yet no changes could be seen on their faces.
Surprisingly, the first to break the silence was not the 5-year-old Daiyu, instead, it was the old servant who spoke in a serene voice.
“Daiyu, as the servant who has been chosen by lady Yvette to serve her, are you ready to take full responsibility of protecting and serving her from this day onwards? Ready to forfeit your life for her should the need arise? Otherwise, say your objection now as this will be the last chance you shall have to consider.”
Uttering those words, the eyes of the old servant turned sharp as she gazed deeply into Daiyu’s eyes.
But even when those piercing eyes stared into her, Daiyu still looked back without being fazed. Instead, she quietly closed her eyes as the memories of the short time she spent with her lady surfaced.
‘Even though it may be short, since she has chosen me and given me more favour than needed, I can only do my best to return her favour even if this single lifetime is not enough.’
As a 5-year-old girl whose first memory was being taken as a servant and never received any great treatment, it was only natural when she has a feeling of reliance towards the person who gave her a better treatment without requesting much in return.
Once Daiyu finished with her thought, she slightly lowered her head and said.
“This servant is willing serve lady Yvette with her life, may it be through heaven and earth, this servant shall accompany the lady even until death.”
Hearing the sharp determination within those words, the old servant’s face softened.
“Good, now I will teach you all that you must know about being a servant and train you to become one.” Seeing Daiyu listening attentively, she continued. “As a servant, you must not only know how to serve your lady, you also need to protect her from any form of danger. You will become the sword and shield of your lady, cutting down her enemies and anything that could endanger her at her every command. To us servants in the clan, it is fine for us to die, but we must die in pride for protecting our masters.”
As she said those words, a sharp, prideful aura started to emanate out of her. Seeing this, a gleam appeared deep inside Daiyu’s eyes as she engraved those words into her mind.
While the pair of master and servant received their guidance, the world outside still kept on going. Hence, by the time they finished, the sky has been tinted by the red of dawn.
“It seems to be quite late already, it is a good time to end the lesson for today. I will come back next week, your Formationist tutor will come tomorrow, so you are free to do anything for the rest of the day.”
After pondering for a moment, Yvette decided to go to the Pavilion of Knowledge to read more general books within the first floor. With that decision, she unhurriedly left for the Pavilion of Knowledge after requesting Esfir to notify Daiyu of her location.
When she arrived at the Pavilion of Knowledge, it was as quiet as the day before, maybe even more peaceful. But as a place where most people only come to read techniques and find knowledge when they are in need, this place is always peaceful during ordinary days.
When the old protector saw Yvette walking towards the pavilion, she took the initiative to extend a greeting.
“Mistress, is there anything I can help you with?”
Stopping for a moment, Yvette was about to decline, but after she pondered over it, she asked.
“Can you take me to where the books regarding Formations are kept?”
“Certainly, please follow me, mistress.”
The old protector then took her into the pavilion, leaving her post empty. Seeing this, Yvette asked her.
“Is it fine to simply leave just like that?”
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“Yes, anyone who wish to enter the pavilion will have to receive a special imprint on their medallion unless they have a rank 4 medallion or higher.”
Glancing at the pocket of her robe where she stored her medallion, Yvette unconsciously nodded as she followed the old protector as they went through various bookshelves.
Passing a few other shelves with various labels attached to them, they finally arrived at a bookshelf with a ‘Formation’ label attached to it.
The old protector then looked through the books and took out a few before placing them down on a nearby table.
“These books should be fitting for a beginner formationist, if mistress needs anything else, this old woman will be outside.”
Saying that, she flashed a smile before walking out of the pavilion and back to her post.
When the old protector left her sight, Yvette finally picked one of the book from the pile on the table. Seeing the title ‘Basics of Formations’ on the book’s cover, Yvette took a seat on a nearby chair before started reading it.
Formations, it could also be called as a unique way to use energy. Who found it? Nobody has a sure answer for that. But one thing for sure, is that formations are one of the most ancient existence, maybe even older than during the founding of cultivation.
Formations are divided into two types, those that was formed by cultivators, and those that are naturally formed. But there is also another formation formed by cultivators, which are commonly known as Arrays.
Unlike formations, which runs itself using a prepared power source or from the world, arrays require someone to constantly feed it power.
There are three ways to make formations, which are called Rune Formation, Treasure Formation, and Energy Formation…
As Yvette engrossed herself into her book, she did not notice the arrival of a certain black haired girl.
Seeing that Yvette is engrossed in her book, Daiyu decided to keep quiet and silently keep watch over her.
Moments later, Yvette finally lifted her head from her book and caught sight of Daiyu. Even so, she still calmly spoke as she picked up another book from the pile.
“Rather than wasting time standing, find a book and read with me.”
Without commenting on her words, Daiyu bowed slightly before going around the first floor in search of a few books of her interest.
Once Daiyu’s back left her sight, Yvette focused back to her book, engrossing herself into it.
When she finished her second book, she realized that Daiyu has yet to return. But putting her faith on her handmaiden, she reached out towards the pile for another book to read.
At that moment, her pair of fox ears twitched as a faint sound of heavy footsteps entered her ears.
Usually, as cultivators, most people would not even cause the slightest disturbance from their footsteps because of their control over their strength unless they are making heavy footsteps on purpose or if they are carrying something heavy.
Hence, with her curiosity piqued, Yvette retracted her hand that was reaching out for the pile and moved towards the source of the sound.
But when she arrived, she saw Daiyu carrying a stack of books about half her size with unstable steps. Afraid of the possible bad outcomes, Yvette approached Daiyu without being noticed and took half of the stacked books she was carrying.
Noticing the reduction of the weight, Daiyu examined her surroundings and saw Yvette who is carrying some of the books she was been carrying.
Seeing this, she was about to request her mistress to allow her to carry them on her own, but then Yvette glanced towards Daiyu, giving her a look before walking away. With that, she could only give up on her attempt to carry the books on her own and follow behind Yvette.
Once they returned to the table, Yvette involuntarily glanced towards the books she has been carrying, and saw the title ‘Arts of Crafting’ written atop the cover. But neither of them said anything as Yvette took a book from her pile and begun to read, followed by Daiyu who sat next to her after being thrown another look.
Time passed as the pair of girls quietly read inside the serene pavilion.
By the time they realized it, the pair has already finished reading all their books, while the sky outside has already turned dark.
With no intention to stay, Yvette stood up and walked out of the pavilion with Daiyu in tow.
As they walked, Yvette suddenly spoke.
“The next time I decide to read, you may simply read next to me.”
Hearing those sudden words, Daiyu internally felt grateful as she continued to faithfully follow behind Yvette. Yet the sense of responsibility silently burned within her eyes as she gazed at her mistress’ back.
Outside, the old protector from before still stood at her post. When she saw Yvette and Daiyu coming out of the pavilion, she nodded with a smile as she followed their backs as they walked away.
Once the pair returned before their room, they said nothing to each other as Daiyu gave a bow towards Yvette as she returned to her room before she went back to her own room.
But unlike most others of their age, who would have rested once they returned to their room, the pair returned to continue their cultivation.
Suddenly, as she was about to meditate and start cultivating, a memory within her mind surfaced, causing her to unable to focus. When she delved into her memory, she realized that it was a memory which was covered in ‘fog’ in the past.
She noticed that the ‘fog’ covering a piece of memory has cleared up ever since she read a few books inside the pavilion. But because she did not wish to stop reading at the time, she ignored it and kept on reading until she forgot about it until now.
Wanting to focus on cultivating, she decided to ignore the memory and was about to continue cultivating. But each time she was about to enter a meditative state, the newly uncovered memory started to fill her mind, as if it was pestering her to take a look at them and does not wish to wait.
With no other options, she closed her eyes and delved deep into her mind to examine the new memory.
After giving it a quick look, she realized that this memory is filled with a few knowledge regarding formations. But she realized that the knowledge from this memory has a few difference with the knowledge from the books. There are also a few formations inside the memory, but because she did wants to spend the rest of her night cultivating, she stopped examining the memories and proceeded to meditate.
This time, the piece of memory no longer pestered her, allowing her to quickly enter a state meditation and to start cultivating.