Pov: Lu Xiaoran
While Roman and I stood in front of the society, I heard a voice say, "Young man, why don't you rest a bit?" I recognized that familiar voice immediately. When we turned our heads, we saw our master, but he looked strange. His clothes were filthy and smelled terrible, covered in waste stains. It was as if he had just come from a dump.
Seeing him like this, I couldn't help but ask, "Master, what happened to you? How did you end up like this?"
He coughed a bit and replied, "It's a long story, disciples. Pushpa accidentally fell into a dump truck, so I got a bit dirty trying to save her." As he spoke, he pointed to Pushpa, who was behind him. Surprisingly, she looked much cleaner than he did and was glaring at him with anger. I sensed that our master was hiding something.
Pov: Vik
After teleporting away from Louriel's place, I found myself in a garbage dump, and I got dirty because of it. As I tried to escape the dump, Pushpa, who I had been holding, suddenly jumped from my arms and ran away. She sat a short distance from me.
I figured she didn't like the smell. Ignoring her behavior, I first got myself out of the garbage. Exiting, I discovered I was in a dark back alley, with no street lamps around. I approached Pushpa to take her back, but every time I got close, she made a gagging sound. I realized I needed to get rid of the smell first.
Not wanting to embarrass myself again, I contacted my system. "System! Why did you teleport me to a dump?"
System: "Host! I was in a hurry, so the destination got a bit messed up. I intended to send you to the road outside this alley, but you ended up here."
I felt like the system might be hiding something from me. But first, I needed to find my disciples and take a bath. I asked the system, "Hey, can you teleport me to my disciples' location?"
System: "You don't need to worry. I already teleported you near your disciples. You just need to walk a little."
As it spoke, it showed me a map with Lu Xiaoran, Roman, and my location marked. Rather than walk, I thought I should try to teleport a short distance, so I told this to the system.
System: "Are you seriously trying to teleport again? Do you remember what happened last time? You created a wormhole!"
Vik: "Don't worry, I won't mess up this time."
System: "Okay, do what you like."
I didn't waste time and performed a short-distance teleportation. Soon, I picked up Pushpa, despite her protests, and executed the teleport. We were engulfed in white light. When it faded, I found myself in front of an old housing society, where my two disciples stood.
A young girl was talking to Lu Xiaoran, advising him to take a rest.
Sigh! This disciple of mine really is a playboy. Here I am, escaping from a lady and her skeletons who wanted to stew me while he flirts with a girl. I had thought he was heartbroken because his fiancée was with another man, but I was wrong—he's just as bad as me. I quietly approached them and said, "Young man, why don't you rest a bit?"
They both turned back. They recognized me and looked surprised. Lu Xiaoran asked, "Master, what happened to you? How are you in such conditions?"
I finally realized I was still dirty from the garbage dump. Coughing lightly, I said, "It's a long story, disciples. Pushpa accidentally fell into a dump truck, so I got a bit dirty."
Pushpa: "Meow!!!!!!?"
After blaming my situation on Pushpa, I asked them about their situation, and they shared what had happened to them while I was away. As we talked, the girl who had spoken with Lu Xiaoran approached us with a tray of dumplings.
She handed the tray to Lu Xiaoran, saying, "Even if you don't want to rest, at least eat something. I know you're worried about the people in your village, but standing here won't help. So eat these." Then she spotted me, took out two dumplings from the tray, and handed them to me. "Take these. If you're hungry, you need to work. You're young, and opportunities will come. I don't know your circumstances, but begging won't help. If you don't have anywhere to go, come with us. Our village needs young people."
Vik: ????
She handed me the dumplings and walked away. I realized she thought I was a beggar.
System: "Host, she isn't wrong. You currently look like a beggar."
Pushpa: "Meow!!!!"
I could understand the system's view, but why did Pushpa nod? How could she hear our conversation if the system spoke in my mind?
System: "I told you this cat is not ordinary."
Vik: "Okay, but can you help me clean up?"
System: "You are a void-traveling realm expert alongside being a mage and body cultivator. With all this, you should know at least one simple cleaning spell or magic."
After hearing this, I remembered there were many cleaning spells designed for clothes and bodies. High-level cultivators often used these spells since they spent most of their time meditating, which left little time for cleaning. I quickly cast a spell on myself and became clean. All the dirt was gone. My hair turned smooth and ashen white, and my skin became fair. However, I didn't understand why my golden robe had turned dark gray.
System: "That's because you used too much power in the spell. It's like adding too much bleach to your clothes. While it got rid of the dirt, it also changed the color of your robe. So, you still look like a beggar in a gray robe—just more handsome."