“Young Master Lu! This servant greets you!” Ji Kang put on his best cheerful smile as if he had missed Lu Wu and had no idea that he had done anything wrong.

“You have some nerve to show up now after your disappearing act!”

“Disappearing act? Young Master, I hadn’t realized you would be looking for me. I merely felt that my room was an unsuitable place for cultivation and went to find somewhere out in nature where I could better sense the Primeval Qi. My apologies Young Master, I thought we were all going to focus on cultivation this week because of Master's deadline.”

“Oh. Well then why didn’t you inform me where you were going first! I have a right to know what my servants are up to and where!” Lu Wu had paused for a moment at the start, only now considering that Ji kang may have been focusing on what Shen Lan had told them to do rather than spitefully avoiding Lu Wu, and in fact this also touched upon Lu Wu’s sore spot because he had been lazy and hadn’t yet made any progress. However years of being spoiled and having every whim catered to wasn’t going to be outweighed by such petty things as empathy or reason.

“My apologies Young Master, I didn’t want to disturb your cultivation. After all, Master Shen told us that you had B grade talent, although my cultivation was so far without progress for all I knew you were on the cusp of a breakthrough!” Ji Kang mixed a hearty dose of flattery with another concealed jab at Lu Wu’s laziness, in the hopes that Lu Wu would want to avoid embarrassment and just forget the entire incident.

Lu Wu looked embarrassed and rubbed his nose.

“Well,” Lu Wu said “Now that you’re back you shouldn’t seclude yourself again. Going out into nature might help you better feel the Primeval Qi but it also removes you from being at my disposal and that is unacceptable.”

“Yes Young Master. If there’s nothing else right now though, I need to inform Master Shen of my progress.” With this crisis seemingly dealt with, Ji Kang turned and started walking towards the main building once again.

Ji Kang gloomily noted that the command by Lu Wu not to enter seclusion had not been given with an expiration date built in. This meant that although he had already reached Qi Condensation and therefore no longer needed to be worried in the immediate future, in the long term he would be unable to enter seclusion ever again until he got Lu Wu to rescind the order.

“Progress? What progress?” Lu Wu asked and by now Yu Shuren had opened his eyes and focused on the conversation.

Ji Kang was determined to be delayed no longer by Lu Wu’s pettiness so pretending no to have heard him, Ji Kang knelt down before the main building and shouted to Shen Lan.

“Master! Ji Kang wishes to inform you that he has reached Qi Condensation!”

“What!? Qi Condensation! Is that true Ji Kang?” Lu Wu demanded, “That’s impossible! How could you reach Qi Condensation before me, a B grade talent! Answer me!”

Ji Kang knew that Shen Lan must have heard and was almost certainly on her way or here already so he didn’t raise his head and remained silent while trying to gesture for Lu Wu to be careful with one of his hands.

“Silence.” Shen Lan’s aged voice rasped out quietly, but somehow it cut through Lu Wu’s incredulous shouts like a knife. Lu Wu fell silent and only belatedly understood Ji Kang’s gesture. Clearly Ji Kang couldn’t ask for Shen Lan’s attention and then ignore her to explain himself to Lu Wu. To do that would have been a slap to Shen Lan’s face and total disrespect for her as the master of all three of them.

“Stand and give me your wrist.” Shen Lan walked slowly over to Ji Kang and took the wrist offered.

“Congratulations young man, clearly your dedication is to be commended.” Shen Lan said this while shooting a disapproving gaze at Lu Wu and Yu Shuren. “Come with me and we will discuss what cultivation manual fits you best among those I have available for the Qi Condensation stage.”

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“Yes Master!” Ji Kang cupped his hands and bowed before matching Shen Lan’s pace and following her into the main building.

Lu Wu and Yu Shuren were left alone in the courtyard. Lu Wu looked furious and a little chastened, whereas Yu Shuren just looked regretful. If only Yu Shuren had thought to hide from Lu Wu he could also have broken through by now.

Yu Shuren had begun to sense the flow of qi inside himself but he was hesitant to begin attempting to open his dantian as the book specifically cautioned against stopping once you start and Lu Wu had been restless these past days. If Yu Shuren had attempted to break through, Lu Wu would have almost certainly interrupted him for one of the ridiculous errands he had sent Yu Shuren on in the past days.

“I’m going into seclusion and I won’t leave until I’ve also broken through! Yu Shuren, do not disturb me for any minor matters!” Lu Wu gave this announcement and then stomped away.

Yu Shuren rolled his eyes but answered with a respectful voice in the affirmative. He was exasperated, to hear Lu Wu speak an outsider would think it was Yu Shuren who had been the one plaguing Lu Wu with “minor matters” when clearly Yu Shuren had just wanted to seclude himself and break through before the one week deadline.

But life was unfair and Yu Shuren knew that well. A spoiled little shit like Lu Wu got to boss him and Ji Kang around and then pretend he was the put-upon, benevolent master.

As Yu Shuren sat back down under the overhanging eaves to start his breakthrough attempt he continued thinking. Clearly Ji Kang was already chafing under the contract’s requirements, and he had shown he had the wit to evade being restricted. Perhaps Ji Kang would be interested in discussing how they could both rid themselves of their mutual problem.

Shen Lan led Ji Kang through the hallways of the main building to a staircase that went down. At the bottom was a heavily fortified door that, when Shen Lan touched it, flashed with innumerable runes, linked together in inscrutable ways. She opened the door having deactivated the protection array and led Ji kang into a massive underground library that seemed to take up the entirety of the area directly beneath Shen Lan’s courtyard.

Rows of bookshelves stretched to each wall, occupying about half of the available space, while the other half consisted of a comfortable seating area with several chairs surrounding a couple tables as well as another fortified door.

Shen Lan closed the door behind them and reactivated the array before standing up straight for the first time Ji Kang had ever seen. She stood tall with a straight back and imposing posture, striding down the rows of shelves with the easy stride of an athlete in the prime of their life. This shift from hobbling old crone to cultivator untouched by time was so startling and complete that Ji Kang forgot to continue following Shen Lan for a moment before snapping back to his senses and catching up.

Shen Lan walked through the library with a sense of purpose so clear it was obvious she knew its contents like the back of her hand. She selected a half dozen books from one of the more remote shelves before striding over to one of the tables to put them down and take a seat. She gestured for Ji Kang to sit across from her and waited for him to do so before she spoke.

“Surprised, are you?” When Shen Lan broke the silence first it was to ask a terse question while giving Ji Kang the same searching gaze she had given him three days ago when she accepted the three boys as disciples.

“Yes, Master.” Ji Kang answered briefly before falling silent, he had decided not to ask questions. If Shen Lan wanted to explain her secrets to him she would, if she didn’t then asking would do no good.

“Your intelligence truly isn’t bad. You’ve no doubt decided that I will either take the initiative to explain why I decided to reveal this deception to you, or I will not and nothing you can do would be able to pry the information from me.”

Having his thoughts seen through so easily was shocking for Ji kang. He had developed unusual intelligence at an early age and learned to conceal his true thoughts and feelings by harsh necessity. He was shocked that Shen Lan seemed able to read him like a book, but was forced to accept that her years of experience, combined with whatever she had observed over the past three days allowed her to discern a great deal about how he thought.

Ji Kang’s expression remained entirely blank while he considered this. He now knew that his ability to fake his facial expressions had been seen through, so he defaulted to a skill he had mastered even before he learned to fake the reactions that would fit the situation best, his ability to remain blank and unreadable like a corpse.

From the preamble to this conversation Ji Kang could tell it was likely to be an incredibly important discussion that would no doubt inform every plan going forward, so he resolved to approach it as respectfully as possible while proactively hiding his feelings as best he could.