With a weapon now in hand, He Yu set his sights on purchasing a combat art for the guandao along with tutoring from an inner sect disciple on how to use it properly. While he didn’t have much context for how many sect points he’d paid for the weapon, it had certainly felt like a lot. He was certain he’d have to pay even more for the art and the lessons. To that end, he set about his daily sect jobs with renewed vigor.
At the end of the week, his hard work paid off unexpectedly. Elder Wen hadn’t announced what the prizes for that week’s competition were, or even what the nature of the competition was. So it came as a total surprise when on the last day of lessons for the week, He Yu’s name was called.
“Outer Disciple He has completed more than twice the number of sect assignments as the next disciple, and has amassed the greatest number of contribution points out of all the first-year disciples,” Elder Wen announced once He Yu had taken his place at the Elder’s side.
He Yu looked at Elder Wen in shock. How had he, of all people, managed to beat out everyone else in contribution points? It couldn’t be because of his advancement. He was still the least advanced outer disciple in the entire sect so far as he could tell. Were the others just all that lazy? The nobles he could understand. At least to a degree. Li Heng made no secret the fact that he’d brought resources with him, and could request more from home should he need them. He Yu had assumed the same would hold for Tan Xiaoling. But the rest?
Elder Wen flicked the sleeve of his robe and a small pill box appeared in his hand. “This pill will greatly aid your cultivation, and allow you to perform even greater services to the sect,” he said, the corners of his mouth tugging ever so slightly upward. “Make sure you take it in an environment with abundant qi, to reap the greatest benefit from it.”
He Yu took the pill and thanked Elder Wen. It would be perfect to take the following day at the waterfall. As Elder Wen finished the day’s lecture, He Yu lost himself in all the ways the pill would benefit him. He’d been beginning to feel rather stuck since he’d not yet made any progress—at least any that he could notice—towards the late First Realm. Of all his companions in the sect, he was the only one still at the Qi Gathering stage.
With his head still swimming among all the dreams of advancement as he left the lecture, he saw Chen Fei sitting by herself on one of the tree-lined paths winding between the outer sect buildings.
She seemed a bit muted, giving only a slight smile when she saw him.
“Chen Fei,” he said as he drew close. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“Sure,” she replied. Normally he’d have expected more of a reaction from her. At least a bit more curiosity.
“Is everything alright?” he asked. It wasn’t—even he could see that.
She heaved a sigh and then sat down on a nearby rock. “It’s Qiao Xia,” she said after a moment.
It took He Yu a moment to recall who Qiao Xia was. She’d been the girl that had accompanied Sha Xiang that first day, and had often been seen with her ever since.
He Yu hesitated for perhaps a bit longer than he should have, since she looked up at him, clearly expecting something. She’d left more than enough space for him to join her. He supposed he didn’t need an invitation. At least not a spoken one. After taking a seat next to her on the rock, he asked, “What did she do?”
“She’s been telling everyone I’m a barbarian. Said that once the dueling ban is over she’ll drive me out of the sect and send me back where I belong.”
“So you’re leaving the sect?” he asked, heart dropping. He couldn’t have said why, but he desperately wished she would say no.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Chen Fei’s face fell. “So you think so too?”
“What?” Then, as he realized what she must have taken from his reaction, he quickly said, “No! The opposite. You should stay. I mean, if you want.”
“Oh.”
“Besides, you’ve got more of a right to be here than I do, after all.” It was true, but something in him didn’t like saying it. It made him sound awkward. “Anyway,” he said, desperate to change the subject, “are you coming to the waterfall tomorrow?”
Her face screwed up a bit at that. Some strange blend of a grin and a grimace. The grin soon won out, and she nodded. “If that’s all you wanted you should have just asked.”
“Wasn’t that what I just did?”
She sighed and shook her head, but seemed to have mostly forgotten her earlier mood. “Usual time?” she asked.
He Yu nodded. “Li Heng said he’d be busy tomorrow, so he won’t be coming.”
“Huh,” Chen Fei said. “Tan Xiaoling said the same thing.”
“So, it’ll be just us then,” he said.
“Looks like it,” she said, a ghost of a smile on her lips.
He Yu quickly excused himself, fearing he’d only say or do something incredibly stupid if he stayed. By the time he made it back home, he still hadn’t managed to figure out if that had been the right move. He also couldn’t figure out why it was so damn hard to think straight whenever he was around Chen Fei.
When He Yu sat down with a huff across from Li Heng, the noble arched an inquisitive eyebrow. When He Yu said nothing further, Li Heng stood and began to prepare tea.
“You typically don’t need an invitation to speak,” he said when he’d finished with the tea and returned to the table.
“I am not sulking,” He Yu said.
“I didn’t say you were.”
He sighed and accepted the cup Li Heng passed across the table. “I asked Chen Fei to come with me to the waterfall today.”
“I’d assumed the two of you would be headed there tomorrow. I take it she turned you down then? Surprising, given the way she acts around you.”
“No, she said she’d come.”
Li Heng set down his tea cup. “So I fail to see the problem then?”
“I don’t know what to do around girls. I couldn’t hardly make friends back home, let alone catch the eye of any girls.”
“Well, she clearly sees something in you already, so just keep acting however you have been,” he said with a shrug.
“That’s your advice? I thought you’d have something better than that, seeing as you’ve managed to nab a princess, of all people.”
At that, Li Heng nearly spat out his tea. “There is nothing between me and Princess Tan,” he said, brows drawing together.
“No?” He Yu asked. A part of him was tempted to tease Li Heng about it, but there was something to the way the noble had stiffened at the suggestion that made him hesitate.
“No. That would be inappropriate.”
“I’m not so sure she thinks that way,” He Yu said. “I’ve seen how much time you two spend together when we go to the waterfall.”
By now Li Heng’s noble’s mask was fully in place. “Princess Tan is a peerless talent in our generation. I would be a fool not to accept cultivation pointers from her. Besides, she has said herself that the reason she came to the Shrouded Peaks Sect is to make friends outside the restrictions of her rank.”
“So you’re just friends,” He Yu said. His tone left no doubt as to what he thought of that.
Li Heng, who’d by now regained his composure, flicked his sleeve and took another sip of his tea. “For someone who—by your own admission—is ignorant of the intricacies of courtship, you certainly have some opinions on the matter.”
“I didn’t say anything about courtship!”
“So you’re not interested in courting Sect Sister Chen?”
His shoulders slumped. “I don’t know,” he admitted.
Li Heng shook his head. “Look, Yu, back home I had my pick. Between my status and my clear talent at cultivation, I could basically have any girl I wanted.”
“Thanks,” He Yu muttered.
“Listen,” Li Heng said, holding up a hand to stop any further comment. “It may seem absurd, but once you break through into the higher realms, the same will be true for you. Compared to mortals, cultivators are absurdly wealthy. You’ll have no lack of choice in prospective matches. The same will hold true for Sect Sister Chen. People like Princess Tan and I don’t have the luxury of choosing our matches based on any feelings we may have. Politics gets in the way. If you can find a match now, before such considerations become important, you should take the opportunity.
“If you think there might be something between you, then let it grow. From where I stand, she clearly sees something in you. I think we both know you feel the same way. Just keep doing whatever it is you’ve been doing because that’s what got her interested in the first place. Be yourself, and I’m sure it’ll work out fine.”
He Yu stewed in that non-advice while Li Heng cleaned up. Be yourself sounds all fine and good, especially if you’re the son of a powerful noble who can have your pick. At least Li Heng was right about one thing—whatever had gotten Chen Fei interested in him, it wasn’t anything he’d done on purpose. If only he could have said what exactly that had been.