~~~

“Little Brother, you look… unwell.”

Liu Jin opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a yawn. The child blushes and quickly covers his mouth.

“Sorry, Elder Brother,” Liu Jin says to Xiao Nan.

The two are gathering herbs outside the city. Well, Liu Jin is gathering herbs. Xiao Nan is there to make sure no harm falls on Liu Jin while outside the city. Due to his status within the Xiao Sect, Xiao Nan has no need to bother with such things. For the prodigy of the Xiao Sect to use his time to guard the son of a local doctor is nothing less than absurd. Nevertheless, this is a task for which Xiao Nan gladly volunteered.

For various reasons, it is the first time the two have been together in quite a while.

“Master has been training my situational awareness,” Liu Jin explains. “According to master, I let my guard down too much while asleep. He seeks to fix that.” Liu Jin yawns again. This time he is able to turn his head aside and cover his mouth in time. “It has been… trying.”

Liu Jin’s words are only half true. While it is certainly true Old Jiang has been testing his awareness, Liu Jin has also been pushing himself to learn as much as he can. Before, Liu Jin had brief moments of free time, but no longer. Liu Jin uses his every waking moment to learn as much as he can. He devours texts one after another. He practices everything his master shows him hundreds of times.

Doing anything less would be folly. That is what Liu Jin firmly believes. After all, Liu Jin does not know when his master will reach his end, and maybe, just maybe, if Liu Jin learns all he can…

No. Liu Jin shakes his head. He does not dare think it.

“Hmm.” Xian Nan strokes his chin. “That does sound quite useful. I might try something similar with Xiao Fang. I have always said he lets his guard down far too much. Growing up as the heir to the Xiao Sect has given him too much security. He is too used to not being threatened.”

“By all means, please help Xiao Fang, Elder Brother. I am sure he will appreciate it as much as I do,” Liu Jin says, his tone carefully neutral. On the inside, Liu Jin is thinking his pain will be more bearable if he knows someone else is suffering through the same thing.

Especially if it is Xiao Fang.

Xiao Nan chuckles. “Your relationship with Xiao Fang remains the same then? Well, even calling it a relationship is a bit too much.”

Liu Jin just nods. After all, Xiao Nan is not wrong.

Once upon a time, Xiao Fang always had an insult ready for Liu Jin. Once upon a time, Liu Jin always had to bite his tongue when interacting with Xiao Fang. Their vastly different stations in life caused no end of friction between them. However, those days are gone. Their interaction is almost non-existent now. At best, Liu Jin sometimes sees him when he goes to the Xiao Sect’s compound. However, it has been a long time since they last exchanged words, hostile or otherwise.

They might as well not exist to each other.

“By the way,” Xiao Nan begins, “about the other thing...”

The teen trails off, not because he cannot bring himself to voice it, but rather because Xiao Nan knows he doesn’t have to. Liu Jin understands exactly what he is referring to. The younger boy closes his eyes. “That situation has not changed.”

“I see. I see,” Xiao Nan says, sighing. He is one of the few who fully understands Liu Jin’s plight. “A pity.”

Over a year has passed since Nine-Headed Snake God left his brand on Liu Jin’s body. Over a year has passed since Liu Jin managed to get the poison inside his body under control. Certainly, that Liu Jin is still alive in spite of his condition is worthy of celebration. That Liu Jin can now walk, eat, and sleep without being hindered by the poison is a testament to his skill. There is no doubt in Liu Jin’s mind that he will pass Nine-Headed Snake God’s test. He will survive the three years.

However, through all this time, Liu Jin has been unable to progress a single step in his cultivation.

It is just as his master predicted and just as Liu Jin feared. A year and a half has passed, and Liu Jin is still in the first level of the Inner Realm. The Dragon Bone needles inside his body help him maintain the unique flow of Qi that keeps the poison under control. However, due to that very flow, his cultivation has been severely hampered.

It bears noting Liu Jin is still young. It is still acceptable for him to be in the Inner Realm. Even by the standards of the Xiao Sect, Liu Jin’s current level is still passable. The issue lies not in Liu Jin’s level of power. Rather, the problem is that Liu Jin’s rate of progress has been reduced to non-existence, and the people of Eastern Port City have not missed this.

The whispers had already begun.

“That poor child.”

“It happens sometimes. Some people hit a bottleneck too soon and never manage to overcome it.”

“Well, it is only to be excepted. With his father’s condition being what it is, he should be thankful he even reached this point.”

“Yes, well, at least this will help him understand his place in the world. That family thinks too highly of themselves just because the Xiao Sect prizes them a little.”

Liu Jin hears whispers like that every time he walks through the city. It is not the first time he has to deal with something like this. People still whisper about his father every now and then. Liu Jin learned to cope with that. They were the whispers of fools who could not understand what an amazing man his father is. There was no reason to pay them any mind. Liu Jin knows he can learn to ignore these whispers as well. They are only the whispers of fools who have no idea what he has gone through.

His fists clench.

Yes, Liu Jin can learn to ignore them. In time.

“You know what, Little Brother? I believe a change of pace will do you some good,” Xiao Nan declares firmly. “How about leaving the city for a few days with me?”

“Leaving the city?” Liu Jin blinks. He looks at Xiao Nan’s face but finds nothing but seriousness there. Xiao Nan is completely serious about his offer. The teen is offering Liu Jin the opportunity to see the world outside Eastern Port City for the first time in his life.

“Uncle has entrusted me with some business in New Moon Town,” Xiao Nan explains. “I am going to visit the local branch of the Xiao Sect there and act as uncle’s representative. Naturally, I get to pick who to take with me. Little Brother, you are a disciple of the Xiao Sect. It is perfectly fine to take you along.”

The Xiao Sect’s authority is not limited to Eastern Port City. While the main branch of the Xiao Sect is indeed in Eastern Port City, the Xiao Sect also has other smaller branches in other cities of the empire. The same goes for the Yun Sect. That Xiao Nan has been entrusted with visiting one of the Xiao Sect’s branches is only natural.

Still, the way Xiao Nan brings it up is so natural that Liu Jin can’t help but think Xiao Nan has been planning this from the start.

“Your offer is a kind one, Elder Brother,” Liu Jin says as he thinks of the ramifications. Xiao Nan taking him along will cause some backlash for the prodigy of the Xiao Sect, however minor it may be. That Xiao Nan is willing to go through with it just to get him away from the city for a while fills his heart with gratitude. “However, it is not a decision I can make on my own. I must ask for father’s and master’s permission.”

“There is no need to worry, Little Brother. I already talked with them.”

“What?”

~~~

“Yes, he did come here the other day to ask about it,” his father says. It is late at night. The task of gathering herbs is long finished. In the end, Liu Jin told Xiao Nan he needed to talk with his master before agreeing to anything which the older boy easily accepted.

“He did not talk with master but instead asked me to bring the matter to him,” Liu Jin’s father says, a thoughtful look on his face. “He is rather good at avoiding master. Beyond the time when they first met, I don’t think I have seen those two in the same room even once.”

Old Jiang laughs. “That is because that one has good sense.” The old master looks at Liu Jin. “It is something you could stand to learn from him.”

It is a quiet night at the clinic. His father is preparing Old Jiang’s medicine. Liu Jin cannot help but notice the treatments are becoming more frequent as of late.

“So Xiao Nan spoke true then?” Liu Jin asks, not that he ever doubted Xiao Nan. He would never make up a lie like that. “Father and Master are okay with me leaving the city?”

His father nods. “You have been pushing yourself quite hard lately. Some time away from training will do you good.”

“It will be a good experience for you,” Old Jiang adds. “Not having seen another city at your age is downright embarrassing.”

“Is it really okay?” Liu Jin is compelled to ask. “I still have much to learn and-”

“And your master could keel over and die at any moment,” Old Jiang finishes for him. He raises an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

Liu Jin looks down. His silence is enough of an answer.

Old Jiang sighs and taps his forehead.

“If you truly think a few weeks of training will make much of a difference in learning all I have to teach you before I die, then your ignorance is dangerously close to arrogance.” There is no heat in his master’s words. They simply are. Having finished preparing the medicine, his father serves it to Old Jiang who brings the steaming cup to his lips.

“You should not let master’s condition cloud your thinking,” his father adds. “One day, he will die. There is nothing he can do about it, so obviously there is nothing you or I can do about it. It is hard to accept but never think differently. However, just because that is true does not mean you should put undue stress on your body and mind.”

His master is dying so he must do all he can to learn from him during that time. That is the way Liu Jin has been thinking these past months. Liu Jin has been pushing himself night and day with that thought in his mind. Now, his father tells him that is not the proper mindset to have.

“I… understand.”

“No,” his father says with a stern voice, surprising Liu Jin. “You do not. You resent the idea and hold on to hope that is not there. That is natural and telling you not to think that way will not change it, son. Still, it will only make the pain greater when the inevitable comes.”

“Ho.” Old Jiang taps his chin. “And you have the gall to call me harsh.”

“I am simply showing parental kindness to my son.”

Old Jiang snorts then turns to Liu Jin. “Disciple, listen well. The truth is your progress has been more than acceptable. However, in your condition, there is a limit to how much you can push yourself. It is not up to you to question how I decide to teach you. Go to New Moon Town. It will give you a new perspective. You can consider that to be your training for now.”

Faced with his father’s admonishment and his master’s order, there is nothing Liu Jin can do but submit.

“I see.” Liu Jin nods. “I will submit to your wisdom.”

“Ah,” Old Jiang says as if remembering something. Liu Jin knows better than to believe his master is capable of forgetting. “There is just one thing I want you to keep practicing. You understand what I am referring to, right?”

Liu Jin does not need to think hard. It is something his master has been making him practice for the past six months. “Yes, master.”

“I expect you to at least master the first level by the time you get back.”

Just like that, Old Jiang gives Liu Jin a goal, something to strive toward in the weeks to come. Considering his progress so far, it is both a mercy and an unreasonable demand.

“It will be so, master.”

With that, the matter is settled, and the conversation soon turns to other subjects.

For the first time in his life, Liu Jin will leave Eastern Port City.

~~~