Hearing Elder Gu call me his little brother and Senior Song, his sister, makes me quickly check whether they are related. An easy feat, considering I had done both their medical checks.

The answer is no. I give an internal sigh of relief, but I quickly notice that Senior Song has a look of surprise on her face. There’s also a touch of affection there.

So, if they’re not related, but he’s still calling her a little sister and me little brother… So that might mean he considers himself to be in a sworn sister/brother relationship with her?

And if so… does the way he’s addressing me mean he expects me to marry her?

A quick glance at his face gives me all the answers I need.

He’s clearly shipping the two of us, as his eyes glance back and forth between us with a strangely approving look. Noticing both the closeness of her to me and my blushing face.

… While I don’t think I would mind, isn’t this moving way too fast?

“Don’t you think it’s a little early for that sort of thing?”

Funnily enough, she says the same thing.

But she has some strange blush on her face, as she looks away and towards me several times. Almost as if she wants me to say the opposite.

I’m getting mixed signals here.

Despite the weird turn things are taking, he moves on from this subject and turns towards me with a different look.

“Thank you for healing me. I noticed that there were some beneficial changes, in addition to that.”

He gives a slight bow as he says this.

“While I know you were working on the behalf of your master here, as compensation for me helping her, I believe you deserve more than just my thanks.”

He reaches into his sleeve and pulls out a bracelet.

Learning from my previous lessons, I don’t immediately use my scan on it. Letting him explain instead.

"You might have heard of these, as they are called Space Qi artifacts. This here is a space bracelet, with about 5000 cubic meters of space.

“It should help you with some tasks that my sister over here will give you.”

A glance at her gives me some insight into the situation.

She’s not used to him calling her his sister. But she seems to prefer this over whatever they had before.

Thinking on this bracelet, this is an obscenely valuable item. Even for the young masters whose families can buy them large amounts of things, this would be a big ask. If anything, they would receive 1000 cubic meters or less for one.

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Once you get into the 20000 and up range, you’re dealing with organizational level qi artifacts. For the obvious reasons.

So, why is he giving something this large to me?

… Though if I think of it in monetary terms, what I did is at least worth that much.

Not only that, but I suspect there’s another reason for it too.

I give a bow to him and say my thanks for the extraordinary gift. And then quickly take it in my hands.

As soon as I touch it, I use my scan to make sure there are no traps on it or within.

It’s safe.

As I slip it onto my arm, some ideas come to mind about how I could use this.

Before I dive too deep into that, though, I refocus my attention on the people before me. They appear to already be discussing the future as I was looking at the bracelet.

“How many people do you think realized the severity of your condition?”

“Probably only the patriarch, but he would have been able to tell, anyway. I disguised the injuries as a moderate backlash. I don’t think anyone would suspect that I would hide things so much.”

He takes a pause before continuing to speak.

“I take it your disciple is still learning how to properly control his techniques?”

Senior song looks away for a moment, before answering.

“Somewhat. He has good control over the abilities, but the ramifications of such things are what I’ll need to work with him on.

“How high it goes and what comes next is going to take a while to teach.”

He nods his head, an affirmation of her words.

It feels weird to be talked about while in the same room with them. But it seems like this is a part of the culture, and surprisingly, a sign of respect.

If they didn’t care for me, they would have this conversation after sending me out of the room. Although it’s between them, they're indicating that they don’t want me to get involved in the conversation, while still showing that they value me.

I dislike this cultural difference.

It feels condescending. Displaying the differences in statuses between people. Which is a very real thing in this world, but still doesn’t feel right to me.

It’s at this time that Elder Gu claps his hands, drawing my attention back to him. It resounds in a way that isn’t loud, but clear, as if he did it right next to my ear.

I suppose it’s a good time to introduce you to my disciples, as it’s been a long time coming that my little sister finally got hers. I expect you all will interact far more in the future.

The doors to the next room slide open with both the disciples that had met us outside standing there. It seems the clap that he had made was not only for us, but also for them.

The gaunt, long-haired young man, while still slightly listless, moves in sharp and respectful motions as he bows to his master…

The somehow typical jade beauty bows gracefully, befitting the disciple of an esteemed master.

As they raise themselves up to see him, their eyes widened in surprise. Being his disciples for a long time likely gave them some insight into his changes in demeanor. Hence, the angry gaze that the young lady had given us when we had first arrived, as they could tell that he was deeply injured and being close to him, knowing who it was for.

My guess based on the little I’ve seen, is that this isn’t the first time that he’s done something for Senior Song.

And that’s when their eyes drift over to me, As I am the only one that would have caused such a change in him and Senior Song. The common denominator. Where they were dismissive before, now they are curious.

“Hao. Qin. Introduce yourselves.”

““Yes, Master Gu.””

They turn directly at me. With the young man stepping forward to speak first.

He folds his hands and gives a nod of respect.

“I am Hao Da, disciple of Master Gu. The heavens blessed me to be learning from his shining swordplay. There is no one else that I…”

Elder Gu interrupts him with a half-scowl.

“Too much. Qin.”

The young woman steps forward and also fold her hands while nodding, all in one smooth motion.

“I am Qin Cuifeng, one of Master Gu’s disciples. I’m glad to make your acquaintance.”

While she’s mostly looking at me, she seems to glance frequently at Master Gu.

… why is she looking at him so much?

Ah. She’s looking at his now perfect looking skin.

Sigh.

This will be a headache for the future, won’t it?

A glance back at Qin Cuifeng shows her eyes glowing at me.

Yep. Definitely a headache.