The next morning, Zhong stepped outside and learned that Hui Lian had already been escorted back to her house, rewarded generously for introducing him.
I hope I got more than her, he thought sourly as he sat down to breakfast prepared by the Luo clan. I'm the one who did all the work!
The meal was immaculate. He'd heard it was made from the meat of a spirit beast, some kind of bull with copper for skin. Once the hide was cut away by the cook, the flesh beneath was tender, rich with a heavy flavor that lingered in the mouth.
I need to find time to hunt spirit beasts myself, or better, tame one!
He hadn't finished eating long before Luo Chen arrived, carrying a box in both hands. Zhong frowned, puzzled. He hadn't asked them for anything, yet here they were presenting him with payment.
Do they think they can name the price? Who gave them the right?!
Luo Chen caught the look on his face and quickly dropped to one knee, speaking with care. "This is merely a gift for Master Zhong. When you wish to request payment, you may store it with ease. Please, accept it."
He opened the box. Inside lay a ring carved from spirit stone, and Zhong's divine sense traced the intricate array etched into it. After a moment of inspection and quick theorizing, he murmured, "A storage ring?"
It resembled the spatial bags of his old world, but the design was far more compact and the space within much broader. Of course, that also meant it consumed far more of the ambient energy around it.
Something that could never have existed in my world, he mused. These people don't know how lucky they are.
If such an artifact had appeared back home, it would have been useless, the air there held nowhere near enough energy to sustain it.
Zhong happily accepted the gift and finished his meal. "I'll be returning soon for payment. For now, I need to get back to teaching my disciple."
Luo Chen's ear twitched. Had he heard that right? Disciple!
"Master Zhong, you may invite them into our sect! We would be honored to accept and will provide every facility your disciple could need!"
Eagerly, Luo Chen put the offer forward, but Zhong rejected it at once.
"Nonsense! My technique is divine. If my pupil were to practice here, wouldn't that mean I'd lose everything to the prying eyes around me? Tsk, tsk."
Seeing Zhong's irritation, Luo Chen quickly bowed his head in apology. His followers fumbled in disbelief. None of them had ever seen their master humble himself to this extent, not even before envoys of the imperial court.
"This junior has eyes but failed to see Mount Tai!" Luo Chen exclaimed. "Please, accept this for your disciple. Should they wish only to visit our sect, they may do so freely at any time."
He produced a jade slip of his own, the Luo clan leader's emblem, and marked another with his authority. With a pulse of qi, the slip awakened, its status raised to the highest rank of disciple. Luo Chen pressed it into Zhong's hands.
"This way, your teachings remain secret, but your disciple may still use our facilities to cultivate. And if they prefer, they can train apart while keeping your arts hidden. I swear they will still gain insight, for the Luo are the strongest in this town!"
Luo Chen spoke quickly, heart pounding, stealing glances at Zhong to gauge his reaction. He wanted ties to this man by any means possible, not only for his daughter's sake, but for the clan's future.
A hundred ties to martial masters could not compare to one bond with a healing master, for a healer's strength was endless.
--
"Good, good. As expected of the Luo clan's leader, your reasoning is sound. This senior will gladly accept your kindness."
Zhong smiled and laughed, not only at receiving a free pass to all those excellent training grounds, but also at the sight of the most powerful man in town bowing to him. Such delight could only escape as laughter.
Seeing Zhong in such high spirits eased Luo Chen's tension. "If Master Zhong is pleased, then this junior must excuse himself to attend other matters."
"Very well. I'll take my leave as well." Zhong rose to his feet, and the moment he stood, Luo Chen commanded the guards to escort him from the area.
Not only that, but Luo Chen also honored his wish for secrecy.
Zhong felt no eyes on his back, no lingering presence in the shadows.
That man is truly honored. Too bad he has no idea what's coming for him.
At a blind corner, Zhong dispelled his disguise and returned to Wu Han's form. Blending seamlessly into the street, he made his way back toward the Wu clan estate.
At the front gate, Wu Han wondered if anyone would stop him, but he strolled past the guards without the slightest trouble. The ease of it nearly made him burst out laughing.
That woman… hahaha!
He held the laughter inside his chest and walked back home, where he spotted his grandfather sipping tea in the pond pavilion. Playing the part of the dutiful grandson, he went to pay his respects.
The moment Wu Zhen saw his grandson return after vanishing without a trace, he rushed forward and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"My grandson! I thought you were dead!"
"Come now, Grandfather, I won't die that easily."
Wu Zhen's concern was understandable—assassination was always a possibility with the family's political strife—but Wu Han much preferred being embraced by someone soft like Luo Lan rather than his grandfather's wiry arms.
"Where have you been? Wait, your cultivation… you're at the fifth stage already!?" Wu Zhen's eyes widened as he sensed the change. His grandson had advanced two stages in a single week!
"I always knew you were a genius!" Wu Zhen's joy overflowed. "This must be celebrated! Oh my, oh my, who should I invite, how large should it be? Hah, no question—make it the grandest of all!"
While his grandfather chattered with excitement, a shout boomed at their doorstep.
"WU HAN! REVEAL YOURSELF!"
The voice belonged to none other than Wu Wei, the clan leader.
"What's the meaning of this!? Begone from my lawn!" Wu Zhen snapped, sweeping his sleeve. A burst of force crashed across the pond, sending waves surging and scattering the fish into the rocks.
"Your grandson dared to break his punishment, leaving the house without permission!"
Wu Han gave a mocking laugh. "I had an appointment with my master. If you have a problem, take it up with him."
"I don't care who your so-called master is, you'll be crippled today! Get him!" Wu Wei roared. Two followers lunged forward at his command.
"You dare!?" Wu Zhen bellowed, drawing his sword and charging to defend his grandson.
But Wu Wei had expected that. He unsheathed his own blade, and steel met steel with a deafening crash. The clash sent a violent gale ripping across the pavilion, shaking the waters and rattling the stones.
Still, there was no time to marvel at the power.
Two Wu clan warriors lunged at him, one wielding a spear, the other a sword.
The spear uncoiled like a snake and plunged with terrifying speed, leaving a shimmering afterimage in its wake.
The sword moved in a perfect, arcing flow, every motion efficient and deadly.
Both were Fifth Stage cultivators. Wu Wei knew this was overkill for someone who had only recently been at Fourth Stage, and he had been told Wu Han had not taken the body-refining pill.
Killing him now would be a decisive way to claw power back for the clan.
If fortune favored them, they might kill his grandfather too!
Foolishness! thought Wu Han as he raised his hand.
Rank 1 magic, Cone of Cold.
CRACK.
The warriors screamed as a blast of ice blasted outward. Wu Han had siphoned leftover energy from Luo Lan, the remnant power making his spell far stronger than usual.
The cone did not freeze them solid, but it stopped their limbs and held them motionless.
That bought him time to slip back inside the house.
"Break them loose, Ming'er," the male warrior snarled, forcing breath and will against the frost. He shattered the ice that bound him, bleeding where shards had bitten. The woman did the same and the two pressed after Wu Han into the entryway.
"Let's kill him!" the woman cried in triumph.
"Ye—"
Before her partner could answer, the ceiling answered for them. An icy spike plunged down like a spear, struck the man cleanly in the skull, and he crumpled, dead before he hit the floor.
"!!" Ming froze in shock as her husband lifeless at her feet.
Crude…
A metallic rasp echoed from deeper within the house.
Wu Han stepped into view, dragging a great sword along the floor. The blade screeched across the boards as he smiled.
"Did you like it? I learned that trick at the Luo estate," he said, raising the great sword with casual ease.
"Oh, and there's another trap at the door. It only deactivates when I die. So… come!"