That night, Haoren had a dream.
It was a strange feeling as he had yet to have dreamt even once ever since the beginning of his life in this body.
The dream was filled with darkness, but he could feel furiously fast winds pass by his body as a loud boom responded around him.
It all continued till he felt an impact accompanied by an even louder noise, something akin to an explosion.
After that, everything went silent till a set of steps began to approach me.
"Ho~ a child? This sure is not something you see every day!"
Whoever this person was, carried me in his arms and I fit in there easily as if I were an infant.
"Such a meeting... Surely, this must be the fate of some sort."
The man rambled on, "You don't seem to have any keepsakes or a name, huh? But a life must possess a name..."
"Haoren. That should be a good name. Make sure to become someone others will look up to! As for my name..."
The man began to walk as he paused for a moment.
"...Gongsun Jiang... It's Gongsun Jiang."
His voice was low and his words hushed, but they were ones that I'll never forget
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"..." Haoren sat on his bed lost in his own thoughts. The dream still remained within his mind as he recalled memories from "his" past.
"Ha..." He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Gongsun Haoren... Huh?"
He now understood why he couldn't lie about his name, it was simply that precious to "him".
A life must possess a name, and he had taken away that name as well as that one's life... To take another's life for sustenance was one thing but to take away a name, the very thing that defined one's existence? It was simply evil.
Haoren rose from his bed and began to walk away as the shadows took off his clothes brought new clothes and dressed him. The shadows now seemed to be far more dexterous and worked rather skillfully.
"Hm.. Not here?" Exiting his room, Haoren noticed that the lavish room right by his room was now empty and the bed sheets had been tidied. "Downstairs?"
Feeling the presence of someone downstairs Haoren climbed down the stairs realizing how the house seemed strangely bright today.
"Huh?" His jaw fell from surprise as he saw warm food set up in front of him at the table he never really used.
His mouth salivated as he looked at this, and he only looked away when he sensed someone approach. It was Li Feng who held a pot with a steaming aroma of deliciousness leaking out of it.
...
Last Night, back in Li Feng's room,
...
After having been guided to the lavish-looking bedroom, Li Feng was on full alert! After all, there's no way that someone as arrogant as Haoren would stay in that humble-looking place while letting her stay in this room.
To begin with, such a bland room was usually left for the servant of the master! "No signs of use..." The room was in a rather pristine condition, other than some dust there were no signs of anyone having lived in it.
'A trap! That must be it!'
And so, Li Feng did not sleep at all as she meditated while refining her inner energy. But... Nothing happened.
...
'Is he just one of those naive people who treat their guests well? Or one of those who act all pretentious while saying they enjoy the mundane style of life?'
As she grumbled in her mind, Li Feng thought of another little plan... She would try and find out Haoren's secrets!
It doesn't matter whether it was an innate ability or an esoteric power, Li Feng held the confidence to be able to unveil the secrets behind it to strengthen herself.
Moreover, her intuition told her that there was something to be gained from Haoren, 'Even that oldie used to complement my intuition!' The "oldie" in question was her teacher and the person who "taught" her the ways of society's shadows.
All this brought Li Feng to her current situation of cooking food in Haoren's kitchen!
The process of making a meal was quite simple, his kitchen was decked out with a bunch of spirit tools ranging from simple fire runestones used for lighting a fire to a freezing compartment which was basically a refrigerator, which according to her body only the real rich guys had.
'Fucking rich fuckers... Well it makes my job easier, I guess.'
As for how Li Feng learnt how to cook? It was her teacher... No, he didn't teach her, that fellow didn't know how to cook himself, how the fuck would he have taught her? He just forced her to cook for him and she had to learn it herself. Li Feng could now even cook a delicious dish in a fucking wilderness!
She was good at almost everything she tried and the same went for cooking!
As for her reasoning for cooking? She needed to get Haoren to hire her so that she could observe him up close. The ability to control shadows simply held that much value to an assassin like her. Even if all she could accomplish was to be able to counter that ability, that would still be a great boon.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
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"Li Feng?" Haoren asked as he looked at Li Feng who was holding a pot of steaming food.
"Um..." Li Feng slightly lowered her gaze, and after a moment looked nervously at Horen with upturned eyes, "I made this since I woke up early..." Saying this she lowered her gaze once again.
"Is that so?" Haoren's voice was unamused.
'Tch! What a prick!' And Li Feng's thoughts were annoyed.
Without any words spoken, Haoren sat down by the table and began to have his meal. Li Feng also followed suit as she took some food as well.
'Mmh~ As expected of my skills~!'
Li Feng enjoyed herself and with how delectable these works of art were, Haoren would have relished them as well if the current matters did not weigh so heavily upon his mind.
"You..." Putting down his chopsticks, Haoren spoke addressing the girl who had made this "feast", "I recall you asking me to teach you about my shadows?"
"Yes?" Li Feng answered a bit unsure yet, surprised as Haoren's gaze felt a bit hollow to her.
It was hard to feel almost as if did not exist and it caught her off guard.
"While my own ability is not one that can be taught, I can teach you some other techniques..." Li Feng was surprised even more by these words as this was definitely not something she expected to happen.
"However, I belong to no orthodox lineage or school so I can not take you in as a disciple, Nor can I adopt you as my child." Horen continued as Li Feng retorted in her mind, 'I am not dying to call you father either!'
Not knowing any of this, Haoren continued, "Therefore, it'll be an employment contract. You'll be taught by me while you work under me. Is that acceptable for you?"
'What the...' Li Feng was flabbergasted, this was what she had planned to get from Haoren but, to think she got it so easily?! 'Something's fishy...'
However, Li Feng wasn't a coward so, she decided to snatch the opportunity before her instantaneously, "I'd be glad to!"
As for why Haoren mentioned this, it was because "his" memories had somewhat recovered after that dream. He knew full well of what had happened to him, what had prompted this sudden rush of memories.
His soul was being healed as he remained close to Li Feng. He could now feel it, the slow but definite process of regeneration... But how? The best explanation he could think of was a special physique of some sort, an innate ability like his own.
He wanted to know more about the other Haoren and so, he had to keep Li Feng close to him and it just so happened that his soul's recovery brought about memories of "his" own youth's education.
As Haoren began to eat his food, 'This is delicious~' Haoren felt his soul heal...
...
As Li Feng looked at Hao who had continued his meal, she realized something, 'His gaze... it's unfocused.'
Even as he ate his food, although he looked in its direction he didn't focus on it nor did his eyes show any movement.
"Your eyes..." Li Feng spoke without realizing it, a bad habit she gained from her body.
"Hm?" Haoren simply tilted his head inquisitively, not understanding what she meant.
To which, Li Feng began to panic trying to gather her words. Looking at this Horen realized what she meant.
"Ah..." He held his hand over his eye, "My eyes lacked vision since birth."
"Ah... That was rude of me..." Li Feng had fumbled, this kind of matter was most certainly a sensitive topic for someone prideful like Haoren.
"I don't mind it." Saying this Horen continued his meal. Li Feng also did the same as an awkward silence enveloped them.
And then they fucked! Well, not now, but eventually they did like trust me they did!
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"Under the heavens grace and the earth's nurturance, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth blesses all under heavens."
He walked back and forth with measured steps as he spoke this.
"Yet, this "blessing" is not ubiquitous. To absorb and refine spiritual qi one needs to possess talent, a talent that manifests itself in the form of a spiritual root."
His gaze turned to Li Feng as he continued, "If one doesn't possess a spiritual root they can not hope to progress their strength."
Hearing this Li Feng raised her hand, "What?" Haoren questioned, his tone clearly annoyed from being interrupted.
"Is there really no way for someone without a spiritual root to get stronger?"
"Hm..." As Haoren fell into his thoughts, Li Feng looked at him somewhat expectantly, "There are some, changing one's body by consuming some heavenly treasure, by making one's body and soul forcefully absorb grand quantities of Qi, to become a new life form... But all of these except for the first will cause damage to one's soul and mind...."
"Ah..." Haoren continued as he recalled something, "One can also implant or steal another's spiritual roots, but of course, such a thing will have its own consequences. So, make sure not to do such a thing, alright?"
"Mhm!" Li Feng nodded as she began to get bored of the lecture.
"Anyways, I will examine your talent before we begin the next lessons." Haoren snapped his fingers and tendrils of shadows brought a small crystal ball out of the house like a conveyer belt.
'They seem a bit stiff...' The shadows were not as dexterous as before, even though they sat in the canopy of a tree, the courtyard was simply too bright in the day for the shadows, 'Hoh~ So, they have such a weakness...'
Li Feng took note of this within her mind, as this would definitely be a handy little thing to use.
"Place your hand on the crystal and meditate while attempting to absorb the ambient qi of heaven and earth." As the ball reached before Li Feng, Haoren spoke to her.
"Think of the things that make you feel the most comfortable, feel the wind flowing right at your body and the sound of every passing moment..."
However, even then Li Feng did not feel anything, To begin with 'what the fuck's with this spiritual Heaven and Earth bullshit?!' She did not get what the fuck he was talking about
But...
'Maybe...'
She was not completely clueless as she began to absorb outer energy into her body using one of her "arts"...
"Hm?" Haoren who was standing by her side noticed the odd flow of spiritual qi as the crystal began to glow a faint hue...
The glow grew a bit brighter and fluctuated till it formed a pattern...
"You may open your eyes now." As Haoren's voice reached her ears, Li Feng opened her eyes.
Her eyes widened as she looked at the crystal before her. A spider's web-like pattern covered it, it was radiant yet held a familiar glint to it, "Metal?"
In response, to her whisper, Haoren, stepped forward, "Indeed," He took the crystal in his hands, "The elemental attributes are wood and metal. However, instead of being separate roots, it's a singular root with a mix of both attributes."
"Does that mean it's good?" Not caring much about the esoteric shit, Li Feng wished to skip the info dump and asked the real questions.
"Well... It is passable." Haoren was entirely unimpressed.
"And what does that mean?" Li Feng spoke with a barely maintained smile as she felt a vein pop on her forehead.
"Hah..." Haoren sighed helplessly further annoying Li Feng, "Our bodies are made of the five elements— Fire, water, wood, earth and metal. Most possess one of these elements within their spiritual roots as they are what we are most familiar with. But at times there would be a mutation which will cause one to have an irregular element."
"And mine is like that?" Li Feng interjected, to which Haoren nodded.
"Yes, however, yours is a combination of two elements that simply do not mix well. Metal cuts wood and thus, the quality of your roots is simply too poor."
"So much so, that it's a waste of my time to even teach you." Saying this Haoren turned away from Li Feng.
No words were spoken yet, Li Feng understood the intent... 'How long has it been...'
This was just like the past, in the cold streets that remained dark and damp despite the colourful flashing lights of the main roads... Those people would frown, gaze coldly, mock and turn away hoping to forget the "filth" they set their eyes on.
In their eyes, we were all worthless, worse than a stray dog.
Clenching her teeth, Li Feng glared at Haoren. She got up and turned to leave, there's nothing that guy can or will teach her.
"Where are you going?"
As she was about to leave, Haoren's voice called out to her.
"..." To which Li Feng simply glared at him.
"While It is a waste of my time, I never said that I wouldn't do such a thing." he turned to her, his dark eyes still unfocused yet, they definitely settled themself onto her, "I will not go back on my words so easily after all."
After this, Haoren's image in Li Feng's mind was somewhat along the lines of arrogant, narcissistic, annoying, rude, pretty and a bloody idiot.