"Boss, what do you think your master could possibly ask from us as repayment for his teachings?" Zhanxian wondered on the way to Yuen Zhou's house. Despite being so surefooted earlier, Zhanxian seemed rather concerned now that the contract had been successfully established.

"Don't worry about that right now. Let's first see if he actually teaches you anything worthwhile."

Han Xuhan cancelled the summoning cycle of the three minions and walked alone to his martial sister's hut. He needed the silence to think about his upcoming task, and make some ways to reach his objectives regardless of the obstacles in his way.

Prior to their short, introductory lesson 'Tentacles 101 'with Kong Ye, Yuen Zhou had secretly asked him to meet after the lesson. Han Xuhan was seriously concerned if it would be possible to come to an agreement to let his minions learn the 'Tenacious Tentacle' form with her once she revealed her reason for inviting him over to talk.

"Knock, knock, sister Zhou," he yelled the moment he reached her door, and then proceeded to kick the half-closed door open wide. He wasn't trying to be rude on purpose, of course. Han Xuhan merely did not want to walk in on her changing or showering or appear unnoticed only to find her under some aphrodisiac that required vitamin D.

One can never be too careful in the world of cultivation.

Sitting inside the front room, Yuen Zhou gave him a thin smile, saying, "that door costs twenty-six thousand spirit stones."

". . ." Han Xuhan's gaze shifted from her face to her door and back to her face three times before he let out a strained laugh.

"Wahaha, NICE! I thought you were serious for a second there, damn!"

"I was serious."

"Come on!" Han Xuhan threw his hands up with a grin. "It's the same door my hut has. Why would yours cost ten thousand times more than mine?"

"I had the door modified with some treasures I picked up during my travels. I'm a weak, vulnerable young lady, after all. You can never be too careful in the world of cultivation. What if someone covets something of mine...or worse, me? Surely, someone so weak and defenseless as me needs a decent sanctuary, right, martial brother?"

Han Xuhan was lost for words.

Weak?

Defenseless?

Vulnerable?

Yeah, right.

Restraining his sudden urge to break something valuable, Han Xuhan decided to play the game the way she wanted to play. He was pretty sure that she knew he was going to play along while being fully aware of her ridiculous attempt at steering the conversation. This was almost a play, scripted by her, now to be aided by him as an actor.

You want to act? Sure, you can count on me to never point that out! Let's hone our acting skills together!

What's this girl trying to do? From the way this conversation had started, he had a hunch that she required some assistance from him. The only thing he couldn't comprehend was the reason behind this roundabout method of expressing it.

"Oh of course, of course, martial sister," he vehemently agreed, shaking his head up and down. "I am obviously aware of your glaring weakness and fragility. Anyone who takes a good look at you would surely think of you as an absolute weakling, a delicate flower vase that must be handled with utmost care. My sincerest apologies for kicking the door there!"

For a moment, he felt a chill run down his spine as if a predator was breathing down his neck. Quickly shrinking back, he awaited the consequence of his 'nudging'.

The ridicule he had put in his words was necessary. He needed to test her, check the perimeter and depth of this play. Knowing where she was drawing the line was a great clue. Whether she would let him continue to spew nonsense like that or not...could essentially clear a lot of the fog on his path right now.

"Mm, it's okay, martial brother, we all make mistakes," Yuen Zhou began to say as soon as he had stopped speaking. "But that's a topic for another day. Right now, we need to talk about something more urgent. I need your help."

Giving himself an imaginary pat on the back for correctly guessing it, Han Xuhan spread his arms wide.

"How may I be of assistance, sister?" he asked confidently.

"I need the main layout of the sect's weight allotment for the Celestial Gateway Spell, the one which only sect master Xuan Zi has access to."

Han Xuhan had thought of many possibilities, many potential avenues he could help her with during this short period of time. What she asked, however, wasn’t one of those. It took him a couple of seconds to understand what exactly she was talking about.

"...I didn’t know that there was a confidential document with a layout of weight allotment different from what we saw," he said cautiously, his mind running on full overdrive mode.

"Oh, it's not necessarily different from the layout the disciples were given. I simply need the entire layout in one piece, accurate to the tiniest detail," Yuen Zhou waved his suspicion away casually.

"I know what you're thinking, martial brother Xuhan. I'm not trying to say that there might be a secret nefarious plan revolving around our teleportation here. I simply needed the map to confirm something."

Well, that was awfully specific...

Scratching his chin worriedly for a few seconds, Han Xuhan decided not to press her further over her motive and moved straight to business.

"Let's simplify this then. You need the weight allotment scheme, which you think only master Zi has access to, yes?"

Yuen Zhou nodded, looking relieved. "I would be extremely grateful if you can manage this for me. "

"Ahahah, sure, sure, I'll do my best!" Han Xuhan declared, slapping himself in the chest. Inwardly, however, his thoughts ran in a wee bit different direction.

The fact that she was not trying to look for the layout scheme herself meant that it wasn’t as easily available as she was making it out to be, which begged the question, why would a totally ordinary object like that would be out of her reach...?

Interesting. Very interesting!

"I can rest assured, then." Yuen Zhou beamed happily, getting up from her seat and patting him on the shoulder. "That was all I wanted to ask, martial brother! I shall go study the first form of master's new technique now..."

Speaking quite forcefully, she began pushing him out of her hut with a considerable amount of physical force.

Getting the cue, Han Xuhan smirked his way out of her hut and disappeared down the mountain peak.

Yuen Zhou stood quietly on her doorstep, making sure her martial brother was out of the vicinity. Seeing him pass out of sight, she turned around and faced the old man who had been sitting beside the two of them the entire time.

"See? Getting my hands on the map is THAT easy. The boy has a close relationship with the sect master. If he can't get access to the map, I'll just steal it."

The old man listened to her attentively, his eyes fixed on her feet with rigid discipline, as if he did not want to meet her stare.

"If that is the case, then I shall listen to your excellency for now. However, that boy dares to...covet your excellency. He will 'suffer' if your excellency keeps stoking the flame of passion like this." The old man put an extra emphasis on the word 'suffer', knowing she would get the implication.

Yuen Zhou didn't need to see his eyes to feel the murderous intent brewing in the room. But she also found the notion of Han Xuhan 'coveting' her laughably amusing. The reason he had played the character of an enamoured youth was definitely due to his quick wit. She had laid out the directions he needed to follow, behaving much differently from her usual self, which let him realize something was wrong. She had ended the conversation the moment he had agreed, lest he might break character without knowing the invisible threat sitting right beside him.

Han Xuhan was a very intriguing anomaly in the world of cultivation. A regular conversation between the two of them could reveal that easily. And the old man occupying the room right now might just slice him apart out of caution and curiosity if he ever came to know of such anomalous existences near her. Mu Ran, Han Xuhan, Kong Ye...perhaps not even Xuan Zi were safe from this 'old man'.

"You should concern yourself less with how I treat my friends, Li," she answered, displaying her stance bluntly.

The old man maintained his silence for a long moment before relenting with a sigh.

"My apologies, I overstepped my boundaries."

Nodding, Yuen Zhou was about to tell him to screw off from her home, only to see him suddenly stiffen up. The source of his discomfort made itself prominent three seconds later, as the door of her house violently slammed into the wall for the second time that day.

"Sister Zhou, we never discussed what I would get in return for helping you!" A boisterous shout came from behind.