Tower.

Ascending the staircase, Bubai checked the time sheet in his storage and couldn’t help but mumble, "Time really flies when you are busy."

The grind didn’t leave him much spare time even when he was temporarily laid off.

Reaching the top of the secret passage, Bubai slid his tower key slip into the only available slot.

While waiting for his way of passage to open, his thoughts couldn’t help but stray.

"Surely, Shu Po Po should let me back in today, right?"

Yet, his musings were set aside when his sharp eyes caught Wei Er loitering in the tower’s entrance corridor.

Wei Er’s face brightened at the sight of him, and she bounded over, stopping just before him.

Her gaze flickered briefly to the shutting passage behind him before refocusing on his face, exclaiming, "Master, you're back early today.”

Bubai nodded, hoisting up a bulking sack in his hand. "Just going to turn in some stuff."

"Oh.” Wei Er’s eyes flitted around slyly before she coyly sidled up to his side, latching onto his arm. "Master~ how did Wei Er do in the past few days?"

How did she do? Heh. Honestly, she couldn’t even compare to his doll.

Nevertheless, Bubai still offered her a warm, encouraging smile, “Not bad.”

“Hehe~” Wei Er giggles bubbled forth happily at his response. Hugging his arm tighter, she asked in a tone sweet as honey, "Then, Master, can you agree to a tiny request of mine?"

Ah, the long expected ulterior motive. A knowing gleam flashed within Bubai's eyes, though he feigned innocence. "Hmm? What is it?"

Wei Er tiptoed, her face flushing as she breathed into his ear. "Master, how about you send me over as tribute instead of my sister?"

Merlin’s beard, he felt the hunger in her voice as she volunteered as tribute. Too bad her hunger wasn’t for him.

Though Bubai inwardly found the situation rather amusing…

Outwardly, Bubai’s eyes bore into her with a solemn expression, “Oh? Why are you so vehement on replacing your sister? Could it be you have… other thoughts?”

“No! No!” Wei Er’s eyes darted around in panic before declaring in a tone dripping with faux innocence. "Wei Er just wants to share my sister’s burden and be of use to master!”

Bubai regarded her with a measured expression. "Oh, and how can you be of use to me?"

With wide, innocent eyes, Wei Er asserted with an earnest expression. "Wei Er can be master’s spy!"

Woah. Surprise. Surprise. Internally, Bubai couldn't help but sneer at her audacity.

Externally, however, his warm smile remained intact, feigning interest. "Oh, really?"

Wei Er nodded vigorously, "Really. Really!”

For a moment, silence hung in the air as Bubai stared at her, his expression inscrutable.

Facing Bubai’s extended scrutiny, Wei Er’s excitement waned, replaced by a flicker of nervousness, yet she still didn’t give in.

Finally, when Bubai felt it was enough, he conceded. "Very well. Looking upon your performance recently, I’ll give you a chance."

Instantly, Wei Er erupted into cheers. "Yeah!"

“But.” Bubai's next words cut through her bubbling excitement like a knife, causing her expression to momentarily falter, "I hope you can be as smart as your sister and get me relevant info. If your results can’t satisfy me…"

Understanding his implications, Wei Er vowed, "Don’t worry, Wei Er will not disappoint master!"

"Good. Now, go to Xiao Lan to let her know, so she can brief you on what you need to do."

“Mm. Mm!” Nodding vigorously, Wei Er darted up the spiral stairs.

Halfway up, she glanced back, giving him a friendly wave. "Master, have a safe trip!" she called before disappearing around the corner.

Seeing this, Bubai was stung by a pang of nostalgia, but moments after, he shook his head to throw away the unwarranted emotions and a sigh escaped his lips.

"They were so much cuter when their hearts were still innocent."

But now they were corrupted with their thoughts, each picking a master to serve.

The younger of the two chose an outsider, but... he couldn’t blame her, nor could he deem her stupid.

After all, he never revealed his cultivation to the twins, and they were always under the misconception that he had no future. Her choice, in that light, seemed only natural.

On the flip side, the older twin had sharper instincts, but this was sometimes not a good thing...

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“The human heart is fickle, their thoughts ever-changing.”

Turning away, Bubai walked towards the tower’s exist, each step inevitable like the changes that befell those around him.

There was no turning back on some choices, but Bubai didn’t regret it.

In a demonic sect full of dual cultivators like this one, some matters are a no-brainer. Even if there was no Jia Shizi, it’ll be Elder Mo or Ma one day, perhaps even another person.

This was why he took the initiative into his own hands. For him, everything goes… as long as he can achieve his goals.

Stepping out from his tower, Bubai paused and watched the entrance rumble shut behind him.

His eyes flickered with a hint of intrigue when he sensed a vague connection coming from the upper floors of his towers even after the tower was sealed shut.

"It seems the range can… extend out?"

With each passing day of nourishment, Bubai discovered the detection range of his seed implanted in Wei Yi was expanding. Now, he could vaguely sense it even from outside his tower!

This strange connection even exceeded the capabilities of his divine sense that had its road hampered by the tower’s formations!

Of course, this seed sense wasn’t as potent as his spiritual or divine sense in other aspects, lacking all the visual and audio feedback his other senses could provide.

Instead, the seed sense only had a vague positioning functionality, akin to a weak beacon.

Sadly, outside of this tracker function, Bubai was still uncertain of the implanted seed’s full functionality and other potential applications.

After all, his extensive experience with the puppet An Jali really couldn’t be applied to his maid’s case.

For one, unlike with his puppet, Bubai still couldn’t communicate with Wei Yi through his seed!

It seemed some unknown criteria must be met to unlock this function, and he had no inkling of what that might be.

A heavy shroud of mystery still hung over his tribulation seeds, leaving him more questions than answers.

"Well, everything will be cleared up in due time."

Turning away from the tower, Bubai walked toward the direction of the South District, feeling the connection growing more and more vague with each step until it finally broke off entirely.

South District. Old Shen Fu’s Workshop.

Pushing open the creaky door to the modest workshop, Bubai's eyes quickly found the old master, seated hunched over on his weathered stool, adjusting his monocle and peering intently at the formation ball cradled in his palm.

Beside the old man stood a scrawny disciple in threadbare attire, fidgeting with the hem of his ragged robes as he awaited the old man’s judgment.

Seeing Bubai enter with a full sack slung over his shoulder, the disciple’s eyes shot him a fleeting glance of envy, before quickly lowering his gaze in deference.

Stepping into the warm workshop, Bubai cast a fleeting glance at the busy Old Shen, whose eyes never strayed from the formation ball, before walking over to a corner to silently admire the elaborate array of lanterns decorating the wall.

Silence stretched on, broken only by the soft shuffling of the nervous disciple’s feet and the hushed breaths of the seekers of knowledge.

Finally, Old Shen lowered his monocle and handed the formation ball back to the waiting disciple, prompting the man’s face to go pale, his nerves unraveling like threads in the wind as he stammered, "S-Senior-”

Old Shen shook his head, his expression grave yet not unkind. "I really want to pass you, but you haven’t even gotten the basics down, let alone tackle a more complex task.”

A pang of despair shot through the disciple's chest. He bowed his head, biting down on his lower lip.

Old Shen regarded him for a moment longer before letting out a weary sigh. "You may fetch another one from that box, but consider this your final opportunity. If you fail again…”

“I-I understand.” With hope lightening his heavy heart once again, the disciple looked up, bowing in acknowledgment, “T-Thank you senior for giving me another chance!”

“Go.” Old Shen waved him off with a resigned sigh.

The disciple nodded, then hurried over to the box, retrieving a formation ball and handling it with the utmost care as if it were a fragile and priceless relic.

After closing the box, he offered a reverent bow to the old master before departing from the workshop.

Old Shen watched the door to his workshop creak shut, his expression tinged with a hint of nostalgia.

"Another chance..." he muttered to himself before shifting his attention to Bubai who had been idly perusing his collection of lamps.

The old man quirked his lips disbelievingly, "Don't pretend. I know you're not here for my lamps."

Bubai turned to face the old master, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. “Haha...”

With a dismissive wave of his hand, Old Shen beckoned. "Enough. Bring it over, and let's get this over with."

Bubai complied, stepping forward and lowering the sack to the ground before the old man.

With deft fingers, Old Shen loosened the drawstring and withdrew a formation ball from the sack, his fingers tracing its contours with a practiced touch.

Leaking a short grunt of acknowledgment, he raised his monocle to his eye once more, scrutinizing the object with a stricter intensity, turning it round and round in his hand.

"You're using a brush," he remarked after a moment.

“Yes.” Bubai nodded sheepishly.

Without another word, Old Shen returned the ball to the sack and retrieved another, continuing his inspection, his expression unreadable behind the lens of his monocle.

Not long after, he lowered the monocle, his foot easing open the sack at his feet.

After peering inside, Old Shen turned his attention back to Bubai and offered a piece of advice, "A word from an old sage: start with freehand before the pen becomes your crutch."

Bubai's smile faltered slightly, a hint of embarrassment coloring his cheeks. "Yes, senior. Your guidance is duly noted."

With a nod of approval, Old Shen set aside his monocle and retrieved two jade slips from his workstation.

Bubai watched the busy old master for a moment before his eyes strayed toward the spot where the monocle lay innocently among the other tools.

Huh. Wonder how much black Qi he could harvest from it?

The distracted Bubai’s attention was quickly drawn back when the old man pivoted around, presenting him with the jade slips.

Handing over the first one, Old Shen declared, "This is your payment, 210 points this time."

Bubai accepted the jade slip, his heart trembling slightly with excitement. Kaching! Points get!

The old master then passed over the second slip, imparting its purpose with a knowing glance.

"You can present this when taking the other apprentice-level tasks on the list. They'll accept you, even without proof."

Bubai’s eyes lit up. A recommendation letter!

But… Bubai eyed the old man, “Old Shen, this…”

“Don’t think too much.” Old Shen waved off his hesitation with a dismissive gesture.

"It’s a win-win scenario. You've demonstrated proficiency in the basics, and they'll be thanking old Shen for sending you over to help them lighten their loads."

Bubai nodded, accepting the second slip.

"Thank you, Old Shen, for your kindness," Bubai murmured earnestly with a courteous salute.

Old Shen merely nodded, his focus already shifting back to the crafts at hand. "Okay, if you’ve got nothing else, drop these cores in the third box, gather your supplies, and be on your way.”

With a nod of understanding, Bubai proceeded to fulfill the instructions, carefully depositing the formation balls before collecting his materials from the designated boxes.

After another respectful bow to the old master, Bubai departed from the workshop.

Stepping back into the cool embrace of the winter air, Bubai's gaze was drawn to the flickering shadows cast by the lanterns lining the wall behind him.

Inhaling deeply, he gazed up at the overcast skies, his heart alight with the promise of new beginnings and the challenges that lay ahead.

“The points should be enough. Time to go exchange what I need.”