When He Yu finally emerged from the cultivation room, he found Li Heng waiting for him in the gray early morning light. As the night before, Li Heng was immaculate in his appearance. He leaned against one of the pillars that ringed the inner courtyard and regarded He Yu with a thoughtful look.
“Perhaps we got off on the wrong footing,” the other cultivator said. Much of his haughtiness from the previous night was gone, replaced by a subtle note of approval.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” He Yu said. This wasn’t at all what he’d expected to find when he emerged from his cultivation, but he was cautiously optimistic about the change.
“I will not try and hide behind your uncertainty. If we are to be housemates, I owe you at least that much.” Li Heng pushed off the pillar and took a step closer. “I had initially dismissed you because of your low cultivation and status. While your common birth can hardly be helped, your cultivation is another matter entirely. You spent your first night at the sect in cultivation, and that is at least worthy of notice. Many of our peers have spent weeks relaxing while they wait for the formal sect training to begin, as if they were guests in one of the Dragon Emperor’s summer palaces.”
“What’s wrong with my birth?”
Li Heng remained impassive except for the slight thinning of his lips at the question. “You’re a commoner,” he said as though that explained everything.
“Alright, so?” He Yu asked. He was a little prickled that Li Heng had simply assumed, but he couldn’t fault him. He wasn’t wrong, after all.
“You don’t know who I am, do you?” The question was the first real crack in Li Heng’s composure. His voice, his expression, and even the shift of his posture all betrayed a small measure of surprise as he spoke. The shock that he’d even noticed such small cues almost caused He Yu to miss what the other cultivator said next. “My father is General Li Bao, Marquis of the Western Passage.”
He Yu blinked. He’d known that there was a wider world beyond the forests surrounding Shulin. That the lands he lived in were part of a larger whole, governed by the faraway Dragon Emperor. But that had never really mattered. Shulin was isolated, unimportant, and crouched on the very southern edge of settled lands. He was dimly aware that a whole system of officials, scholars, and nobility supported the empire that technically ruled over his home, but beyond that he was ignorant.
“I see,” He Yu said, uncertain of how else to respond.
Li Heng appeared then to have come to a decision. He gave a curt nod and said, “Clearly. You have much to learn, it seems.”
That caused He Yu to relax somewhat. He’d heard that nobles could be quick to anger, but Li Heng didn’t seem to be the type. “I would be honored to receive your instruction, Sect Brother Li.” That was the proper form of address, right? Since they were sect brothers, that would level their social standing a bit. He hoped it would, at least.
The noble waved his hand in dismissal. “None of that,” he said. “If we are to share a residence, we should dispense with unnecessary formalities. Bonds formed in the sect stretch beyond a mortal lifespan, after all. Call me Li Heng.”
An uncomfortable mix of emotions settled over He Yu. On the one hand, he was grateful it seemed that Li Heng wasn’t going to lord his status over him. But he was being awfully forward, especially for someone he’d only just met. He didn’t get the impression that Li Heng was being disingenuous, though. Everything about the noble seemed perfectly frank.
Having noticed He Yu’s hesitation, the noble said, “You don’t trust me.” There was no accusation in his words, simply an observation and a statement of fact.
“I don’t know you.”
“Fair,” Li Heng said with another of his curt nods. “My interest in you extends beyond the simple fact that we share a home. As I have mentioned, you spent the night in cultivation. It shows that you have, at the very least, the necessary drive to follow your Way far. Further, it shows that perhaps I was wrong to so quickly dismiss you last night for your low cultivation. The sect wouldn’t have accepted you if you didn’t hold some measure of talent, so it would be unwise for me to ignore you out of hand.”
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He Yu wasn’t sure how to respond. “That was surprisingly forthright,” he found himself saying before he could think better.
“A noble ought to show his true face to the world, so that none may doubt his character,” Li Heng stated. Then he added with a touch less certainty, “Or so my father says.”
“I guess I’m just not used to such honesty,” He Yu admitted.
Li Heng broke into a broad, friendly grin. Despite the words from only a moment ago, He Yu thought he saw Li Heng’s true face for the first time. “Well then, we shall just have to change that, won’t we?” he asked, clapping He Yu on the shoulder.
“I suppose we will,” He Yu said with a chuckle, the apprehension about where this conversation could have gone draining away.
“Good to hear. Now, you’re coming to Senior Brother Ren’s physical training, right? It’s almost time.”
He Yu had very nearly forgotten about that. He gave a quick nod in the affirmative, before accompanying Li Heng to the training area.
“It’s good for us to be seen together,” Li Heng said as they approached the broad plaza near the sect’s outer gate. “Once the members of the outer sect all fully enter competition with each other, it’s good to know who is aligned with whom.”
He was about to ask Li Heng what he meant by that, but a sharp blow struck He Yu between the shoulder blades and sent him sprawling. He rolled over onto his back and saw a familiar figure standing over him, cracking her knuckles as she glared down in pure contempt. She was accompanied by another uniformed female disciple.
Blood rushed up He Yu’s neck, accompanied by a hot flash of anger. He’d been here less than a day and already Sha Xiang was pushing him around. On the road to the sect he’d held on to some small hope that she would just let things go, but it seemed now that hope had been in vain.
“Pathetic,” sneered Sha Xiang. She wore the uniform of an outer disciple and had a glove stitched with formation characters on each hand.
“Who’s this?” asked Li Heng as he offered a hand to help He Yu up. A slight frown was the only indication of his reaction to what had just happened.
“She’s another new disciple. From the same town as I am.”
“Beat you half to death in the tournament. At least now that I’m here I can see just how badly Dong Wei was holding me back. Still have to carry the shame of sharing the outer sect with you. I half expected you wouldn’t make it here in time.”
“Well, I’m glad we both have this opportunity,” He Yu said as he regained his feet, trying to sound as though he weren’t wishing she would simply drop dead and leave him alone. “There’s no reason to carry a grudge from back home.” He still held a sliver of hope that this would be the end of it, despite the attack. As unfair as the whole thing was, he just wanted it to be over with.
“Still don’t see why you got to join the sect,” she snapped. “I’ve already reached Foundation. And that’s before the sect training has even begun.” The condescension in her sneer grated on his nerves, but he tried not to let it show. If she’d reached the Second Realm, he was even more helpless than he had been during the tournament. She’d beaten him back home, and she looked about ready to do it again. He Yu wished she would just drop the whole thing, and let him be on his way.
Li Heng apparently felt much the same. He stepped between the two of them and said, “I should offer my congratulations on your advancement, then. Clearly, you have a bright future, Sect Sister. We’ll be on our way if it’s just the same. I wouldn’t want to keep Senior Brother Ren waiting.” His tone was the perfect example of manners and nobility, and he even gave her a congratulatory salute as he spoke.
“Like I’d let a worm like He Yu get off this hook. I still owe him for shaming me before Zhang Lifen. Get out of my way, pretty boy.” She took a step forward, but Li Heng didn’t move.
“That would be most unwise,” he said. There was a coldness to his words that surprised He Yu. It looked as though Li Heng was going to make something of this. He Yu wasn’t sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, having an ally to help him stand up to Sha Xiang wasn’t unwelcome, but at the same time, he feared what escalating things would truly mean for him going forward.
A flicker of uncertainty passed over Sha Xiang’s features before she squared her shoulders and drew herself up to her full height before Li Heng. She was nearly a head shorter than him. “I said get out of my way.”
“So you can beat up on a fellow disciple who has barely awakened to low Qi Gathering? I think not. Such behavior is more fitting of a bandit than an honored disciple of the Shrouded Peaks Sect. I refuse to stand by and allow it.”
He Yu couldn’t say what his housemate’s advancement was, but he’d clearly heard Sha Xiang’s boast about her own. A fact that wasn’t lost on Sha Xiang, either. For a moment it looked as though she might actually back down. Then, she shot a glance towards the female disciple at her side. Having an audience seemed to give her the necessary confidence to press on. “Guess I’ll have to teach you a lesson, too,” she said and launched a punch at Li Heng with her gloved fist.